sidhaṅṅāiai simrahi nāhī nannai nā tudhu nāmu laïā.
chachai chījahi ahinisi mūṛe kiu chūṭahi jami pākaṛiā.2.
-Guru Granth Sahib 434
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 ਙ (sidhannaiai, #10) and ਨ (‘nannā,’ #25), Guru Amardas begins this couplet. This couplet reminds us of the innate and human ability ‘to remember.’ Guru Amardas emphasizes that remembrance of the Nam (Identification with IkOankar) always ought to be a priority. We, the plants of IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One), first do not ground the seed of true identification, and then we misinterpret true nurturance. Neglecting the true nourishment of remembrance of Nam day by day, like a plant, our aging bodies bring us closer to the end of our physical life cycles. Yet, willing ignorance closes our eyes to the inevitable truth—there is no escape from the storm of death. Typically, humans are said to become wiser as we age, but an inverse occurrence manifests when true identification is forgotten. Due to our fixations with false identities as we wrinkle instead of wisdom, only our ignorance increases. As the lack of remembrance festers, our recognizable distance from IkOankar widens. This distantness manifests a darkness that makes us focus only on the non-virtues. Akin to a spider, we continue to weave webs that make our accounts grow heavier by the day. With a systemic web of our pending accounts and a void of Identification, can we escape the web of falsehood and death?
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