The Patti composition revealed by Guru Nanak Sahib consists of thirty-five stanzas, each containing two lines. This composition is based on the thirty-five letters of the alphabet prevalent at that time. In this composition the Guru has established a foundational system based on letters. In the
rahau line, by addressing his own mind, the Guru provides insights, saying, “O fool! Why do you remain forgetful? You will be considered truly educated only when you are able to settle the account of your deeds in IkOankar’s (the Divine) court.” The Guru goes on to explain the mystery of the letters, enlightening that the limits of IkOankar, the Creator, cannot be known. All beings are under IkOankar’s command, and no one else can exercise authority over them. All-pervading IkOankar is the cause of everything in the creation. An arrogant being who forgets IkOankar and is engrossed in worldly matters continues to suffer. However, if a being recognizes the eternal IkOankar through the Wisdom (Guru), they are freed from suffering. The being who understands the mystery explained through these thirty-five letters becomes one with IkOankar.
O mind! Why do you forget, O foolish mind? You will be considered learned only when you give the account of your deeds, O sibling! In the twelfth couplet, Guru Nanak delivers a message through the letter ਝ ( ‘jhajjhā,’ #14) and says, O being! Why are you so anxious, agonizing over sustenance? Whatever is to be given,
IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One) is giving that. Having given and given, IkOankar watches and issues the Command. Each and every being is taken care of. The word used here is
‘jhūri,’ which conveys a kind of psychological and mental pain and struggle with an element of repentance. The Guru urges us not to waste our time struggling mentally — just by struggling, we do not get anywhere. We might be fixated on what we have done in our past, calculating consequences for our transgressions, attempting to keep score. We keep thinking about these things we cannot change and it causes us anxiety. We are reminded that whatever is to be given, whatever we need, that is what the One gives us. And whatever is being given is given to every single being in creation. The One sees all of us, and issues the Command accordingly. The One is taking care of all of us, prescribing certain things based on our routines, on our behaviors, and on our needs. In order to get out of our own internal struggles, in order to get out of this repentance or pain resulting from what we have done in the past, we ought to realize that whatever the One wants to happen is what happens, and the the One takes care of even those of us who might consider ourselves to be unworthy of care. In the mundane or worldly sense, we struggle when we are entangled in some form of
Maya (the attachment to transient things and relationships). We die in that worry, because we are fixated on maintaining a particular relationship or accumulating a particular thing. But if we are to internalize and apply the lesson from this couplet in an abstract or trans-worldly way, we would again recognize that there is no difference between the One and us, us and the ‘other,’ ‘good’ and ‘bad.’ The One takes care of all beings, and all beings are operating within the Command. Will we overcome this mental struggle? Will we move out of paralysis over past actions and instead move into recognition that we are constantly being nurtured and cared for? Will we change our behavior in this recognition?
