Patti (Mahala 1)

Guru Nanak Sahib

This composition is revealed by Guru Nanak in the rag or musical mode of Asa. Asa is a mood of hope, expectation, and devotion. It inspires and encourages the listener to take on something that might seem dichotomous at its surface—an element of transcending duality threads through these couplets (saloks). Patti is a slate or tablet one writes on to learn the alphabet or study something that involves repetition and memorization. In the larger global context, alphabets impart wisdom and understanding. Letters are seen as more than just what is written but vehicles for deeper knowledge transfer. Each couplet features alliteration of the particular letter it begins with. There is a rich tradition of using various alphabets to explore the divinity within the letters and impart understanding. In this composition, Guru Nanak uses the letters to impart knowledge that transcends rote memorization and repetition and moves into the experiential. The ordering of this composition does not correspond with the current organization of the Gurmukhi alphabet that might be familiar to readers. This is because the alphabet was not standardized until Guru Angad. For reference, we have provided the standardized Gurmukhi alphabet below and will refer to the central letter of each couplet to orient readers.

In the first couplet, Guru Nanak says, 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! Delivering the message through the letter ਸ (‘sassā,’ #4), the Guru says the ‘Sahib,’ the Sovereign of all, is solely the One. That Sovereign created creation. Seekers who stay steadily engaged with the Sovereign and serve successfully spend their time here. IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One), the Sovereign created creation. That One alone is the Sovereign of all. Those seekers whose consciousness is attached to the Creator, who serve the Creator continuously, make their coming into this world fruitful. When our minds are connected and absorbed with that One, we make these lives a success. To serve the Creator is to contemplate the Creator in every moment. This is how we fulfill the real objective of life. It is important to note in this first couplet that though the cultural paradigm referenced in Patti is of a student and a teacher or a mentor and a mentee, the first ‘positional’ address in this couplet is of siblinghood. The Guru speaks to us as equals, encouraging us to understand that it is only when the accounts are given and when we are to reflect on how we spend our time here that we will really know who is learned or educated. This is different from literate or book astute – this is about understanding the principles and ideas that the Guru will delve into in the proceeding couplets. Our purpose is to get to a culture of Nam (Identification with the One). The question we will continue to ask ourselves as we move through the couplets is whether we understand these ideas and principles experientially, not just intellectually. Do we want to move past rote and repetitive learning into the abstract? Into the personal? Will we become seekers who serve and find success in this life?