gagai gobidu citi kari mūṛe galī kinai na pāiā.
gur ke caran hirdai vasāi mūṛe pichle gunah sabh bakhasi laïā.15.
-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 ਗ (‘gaggā,’ #8), Guru Amardas delivers a profound reminder about the value of connecting with Gobind (Earth-Knower, Creation Force), a divine name synonymous with IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One). Guru Amardas stresses that without this essential connection, we remain foolish. The distinction between merely talking about being Wisdom-oriented and practicing it is clear: information without application is just education, not true learning. We can only fully embrace something when we engage with it, experience it, and make it a part of our daily practice. Talking may spark appreciation, intellectual understanding, and curiosity—it can open the door—but if we stop there, it becomes nothing more than empty preaching. Preaching without action is like creating a mirage in the desert, deceiving ourselves. Remembering the Earth-Knower, Gobind, a synonym for the One, inspires us to enshrine the teachings of Nam (Identification with IkOankar) in our hearts, following it as a guide through life. As humility blossoms in our hearts and permeates our lives, our misdeeds and missteps are forgiven by embracing the Wisdom (Guru). Our thoughts, perceptions, beliefs, and actions radiate with illuminated positivity. Like a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly, Identification with the One casts off the burden of the accounts over our heads. Just as something must be deeply absorbed to reach the skin’s epidermis, we ought to be thoroughly drenched in humility and love for the One. Our thoughts, words, and actions move in harmony with Identification. Without this alignment, we remain like a color that fades after the first wash. Do we aspire to be colors that last only one wash, or do we wish to leave a radiant, lasting mark?
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