jajai joti hiri laī terī mūṛe anti gaïā pachutāvahigā.
eku sabadu tūṁ cīnahi nāhī phiri phiri jūnī āvahigā.4.
-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
Guru Amardas calls upon both the learned and the learner again, 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 ਜ (‘jajjā,’ #13), he unwraps a firm awakening that anyone and everyone who allows their consciousness to be robbed can be called a fool. Our consciousness is the light of IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One) that reveals our path in this world. Overly fixated on accumulating worldly knowledge, we nearly extinguish this light within. We tend to allow ourselves leniency. It’s comforting to absolve ourselves as we sit on the sidelines, assuming that only others are prey to this robbery. Yet, we are corrected that at any moment, we have avoided using our inner navigator and our light and allowed theft to happen. Indulged deep in ignorance, we suffocate the spark of the light, whereas the light is the answer as it expels the shadows of vices and negativities. We stray from our true purpose, underutilizing the richness that life has to offer. We focus on accumulating degrees, accolades, and societal titles while forgetting contemplation of Sabad (hymn-like stanza that exemplifies the word-sound of the Infinite Wisdom). Scattering our attention, we forget to learn, which is essential, the Wisdom of the light that helps us recognize and remember the culture of Oneness. We continue oscillating in the life cycle of birth and death, unaware and stuck in a loop devoid of any true joy. Allowing our ignorance to steal our ability to connect, we spectate illusively. This makes us burn in the wrath of the vices, extinguishing the essence that carries the potential of eternal comfort, the one with everlasting warmth and solace. This light is our torch in the darkness; without visibility, which debts will we settle, and what burdens can we release?
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