thathai thāni thānantari soī jā kā kīā sabhu hoā.
kiā bharamu kiā māiā kahīai jo tisu bhāvai soī bhalā.20.
-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.
Commentary
Literal Translation
Interpretive Transcreation
Poetical Dimension
Calligraphy
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 twentieth couplet, Guru Nanak delivers a message through the letter ਥ (‘thatthā,’ #22) and says, That IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One) alone is pervading each and every place. The phrase used here is ‘thāni thānantari,’ popularly ‘thaani taanatari.’ That IkOankar is the One through Whom everything in existence has been created. So then what ought to be called illusion? What ought to be called Maya (the attachment to transient things and relationships)? Whatever pleases IkOankar, that alone is good. If the One pervades every place and every being, if everything originates from the One, if all of creation is subject to the One’s command, then what can we separate and call illusion or Maya? These things, too, are part of the One’s command and are part of the One’s creation. Can we really say that some things are just the operations or workings of Maya? What if instead of trying to figure out how to describe the Command versus Maya, we understood Maya as part of the Command? What if we developed an understanding that whatever happens is good and pleasing to the One? If we can work to believe and experience this learning on an emotional level, we will move through the world with an understanding that whatever happens is good. We will not become confused with our own thoughts or judgments about what is ‘good’ or ‘bad,’ what the world tells us, and what people might say about Maya. This couplet is about acceptance – the question of Maya no longer becomes consequential. Instead, we are urged to see everything operating under the One. Can we transcend our desire to explain and categorize ‘good’ and ‘bad’? Can we move to understand the unity of all of creation? Can we come to know illusions, entanglements, and doubts as part of the One who pervades each and every place and body?
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