mammai mohu maraṇu madhusūdanu maraṇu bhaïā tab cetaviā.
kāiā bhītari avro paṛiā mammā akharu vīsariā.28.
-Guru Granth Sahib 434
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 twenty-eighth couplet, Guru Nanak delivers a message through the letter ਮ (‘mammā,’ #30) and says that forgetting IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force the One) is like death. This forgetting happens when we are in attachment. The being only remembers when death arrives and time has run out. The divine name used for IkOankar here is Madhusudan, which can be interpreted as the one who destroyed a particular demon named Madhu. However, madhu also means sweet, so Madhusudan can be understood as the element of the Divine that destroys those things that seem sweet to us — attachment to transient things and relationships. In other words, Madhusudan is the Destroyer of the sweetness of attachment. Death and attachment are things we live our lives with but that we do not actively think much about. We only think about IkOankar when death comes. Is this the death of the mind or the body? There are two possible interpretations. It is true that we only remember the Divine when physical bodily death is near. It is also true that if we are not in remembrance, it is as if the mind or consciousness has gone through a kind of death. When we are only focused on the body, we might remember those things needed for the body – we do not have time to think about our behaviors or make an effort to change them. The Guru says that when our bodies are full of strength, we live in the body and ‘read’ other things, which is to say we spend our time doing other things or putting our efforts toward other things! We are engrossed in worldly affairs that create more attachment, and we spend our lives forgetting the reality of death. We do not ‘read’ the other needs of the body — we do not cater to them or take care of them. We do not practice remembrance. When we are dying, we regret wasting time in attachment, and that is when we finally remember the One. The Guru is urging us not to delay any longer. Will we practice remembrance here and now, while these bodies still have strength in them? Will we remember the One who can destroy the sweetness of attachment and free us from worldly entanglements?
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