yayai janamu na hovī kad hī jekari sacu pachāṇai.
gurmukhi ākhai gurmukhi būjhai gurmukhi eko jāṇai.29.
-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.
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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 twenty-ninth couplet, Guru Nanak delivers a message through the letter ਯ (‘yayyā,’ #31) and says that if the being recognizes the Truth, or the Eternal IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force the One), then they do not wander through the cycle of birth and death again. In our pursuit of knowledge and connection with the One, we might think about and hear about many places of the Divine. How do we get to know that One? The Guru says that only those who are Wisdom-centered come to know the Divine. What does it mean to be Wisdom-centered? These beings sing the praises of IkOankar through the Wisdom. They experience IkOankar pervading all spaces and recognize IkOankar alone as everything. This is how one recognizes the Eternal. It is not about knowing everything about the One or describing the One. It is about having a relationship with the One through Wisdom-orientedness such that our knowing the One is experiential and emotional rather than logical and intellectual. Will we root ourselves in the Wisdom and sing the praises of IkOankar? Will we experience the all-pervading Presence of the One?
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