rārai rāmu citi kari mūṛe hirdai jin̖ kai ravi rahiā.
gur parsādī jin̖ī rāmu pachātā nirguṇ rāmu tin̖ī būjhi lahiā.17.
-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
Guru Amardas solidifies the significance of finding the way, 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 ਰ (‘rārā,’ #32), we are led to realize that for us, the learned and learner, it is easy to get lost in the darkness of ignorance. We wander and wonder about the way, and this couplet clarions the answer: the path can be found with those who deeply contemplate Ram (the beautiful charming One), a synonymous divine name of IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One). In the company of the yearners, we can passionately remember IkOankar, and with experiencing grace, the presence of the beautiful All-pervasive begins to be felt within. The flawless, beautiful, charming One who we cannot capture in our imagination, the one we cannot touch, the one we can only feel, we receive that. Through feeling and experiencing grace and absorbing that intangible feeling, the beautiful, charming One is unwrapped from within our hearts. Guru Amardas inspires us to spend time with the ones who can help us recognize this grace as we feel it. We can get inspired by the ones who have the One in their hearts, but we are advised to take the eternal wisdom from the Guru. Bringing the beautiful, charming One into our consciousness is the first step towards liberation, and it might become explicit in people’s lives in unique ways, but what is essential is that we be willing to seek it. In the same way that the sun’s rays shine everywhere, yet only a few feel the light. Similarly, we are inspired to feel the Light of the One with the ones who feel the Light. In the chaotic world of Maya (the allure of transient things and relationships), it is difficult and confusing to recognize the ones whose hearts the beautiful, charming One resides, but their virtues are telling of them. When we become one with something, we embody it completely. Similarly, those in whom the beautiful, charming One resides embody the virtues of IkOankar. They are fearless, genuine, and a treasury of virtues. In worldly relationships, it’s easy to recognize love, obsession, and fascination. Before following the path with others, it would be helpful to ask: Does their love reflect eternality, unconditionality, and virtue?
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