vavai vārī āīā mūṛe vāsudeu tudhu vīsariā.
eh velā na lahsahi mūṛe phiri tūṁ jam kai vasi païā.12.
-Guru Granth Sahib 435
The Patti by Guru Amardas Sahib comprises eighteen stanzas (couplets), each containing two lines. The first stanza is followed by the rahau, which informs that the study of mere worldly accounting and writing systems is futile unless they help the being to introspect about their deeds in life. The remaining stanzas are addressed to the Pandit, the teacher, and it is stated: O foolish Pandit, you never remember IkOankar. You will regret wasting your life when you depart from this world. You are not on the path and are also leading your students astray. Though you read religious texts, you do not put them into practice. You are consumed by material attachment. This life is an opportunity to connect with the all-pervading IkOankar, but you live in ignorance. Whereas those who connect with the Wisdom (Guru) and sing praises of IkOankar settle all their accounts and are honored in the court of IkOankar.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
O mind! What kind of account have you studied that giving the account of your deeds has remained hanging over your head? Delivering the message through the letter ਵ (‘vāvā,’ #34), Guru Amardas helps us to remember the significance of human birth, a treasure beyond measure. Mythologically, spiritually, religiously, and scientifically, humans are considered to be among the most intelligent species. Human birth is regarded as the only birth in which we are entrusted with the capacity to praise IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One). This makes this gift of life incredibly precious. Despite being aware of this, the egoistic learned instructs us that identifying with the One is not our concern. We are all bestowed the key to free ourselves from the cycles of birth and death, but too often, we squander this lifetime chasing after what is temporary or even harmful. We are unable to see the forest for the trees. When death comes for us, we will leave empty-handed, for we spend our lives doing everything except look within and focus on meeting Vasudev (the All-Pervading IkOankar), a divine name for the One. It’s a paradox to realize that life could be much simpler and more meaningful if we just discovered and aligned with Vasudev. Yet, we still choose temporary comforts and fleeting pleasures over true discipline. We have the power to shed all our burdens, but instead, we chase what is meaningless, create chaos, complain about it, and endlessly add to our accounts. What is it that drives us toward attachment and material accumulation? What emptiness are we trying to fill with things?
Tags
