tatai tārū bhavjalu hoā tā kā antu na pāiā.
nā tar nā tulhā ham būḍasi tāri lehi tāraṇ rāiā.19.
-Guru Granth Sahib 433
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.
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Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
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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 nineteenth couplet, Guru Nanak delivers a message through the letter ਤ (‘tattā,’ #21) and says that the world-ocean is ‘tārū,’ popularly ‘taaruu,’ is deep. Its end cannot be found. There is no boat or raft. We are drowning, O Sovereign, the One who takes us across! Take us across. This world is vast, deep and treacherous. Waves of vices surge through it, engulfing us and pulling us in. If an ocean is deep, it is not just any swimmer who can swim that ocean. The swimmer who wants to swim in treacherous waters must train for it. They might first practice floating, and then paddling, they might practice different techniques for moving with currents and maintaining stamina. Just as a swimmer must first practice and apply their learnings, we too must practice so that we may cross the world ocean. But what if we can’t? The Guru addresses IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One) as the Sovereign, the Emancipator of all beings, and asks for help on behalf of all of us. We do not have the boat of wisdom nor the raft of love to cross over — to disentangle ourselves from vices, to stop drowning, and to make these lives fruitful. We ask the One to carry us across and help us spend our time here wisely. Through a relationship with the One, through the grace of the One, we become prepared to deal with nuanced and larger versions of Maya (the attachment to transient things and relationships) and vices. Will we engage in this kind of learning and preparation? Will we prepare ourselves for the next waves of vices? Will we learn and apply what we learn to be prepared to swim across the world-ocean? And if not, will we follow the Guru’s guidance on how to ask for help?
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