ṅaṅṅai ṅiānu būjhai je koī paṛiā panḍitu soī.
sarab jīā mahi eko jāṇai tā haümai kahai na koī.4.
-Guru Granth Sahib 432
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 fourth couplet, Guru Nanak delivers a message through the letter ਙ (‘ṅaṅṅā,’ #10) and says that one alone is knowledgeable, is educated, and is a Pandit who understands the essence of wisdom. The word used here for wisdom is ‘ṅiānu,’ popularly ‘niaan.’ When one realizes the One alone in all, then one does not say ‘I’ or ‘me.’ In the Guru’s context, the Pandit, or the priest, is considered a highly educated religious expert who influences society due to their religious status. These are scholars, ‘masters’ in particular subjects, and those whose knowledge has caused them to accumulate pride and ego within. But the Guru reframes who the true Pandit is by reframing what it means to be truly educated and truly knowledgeable. Those who read and read and learn and discuss and display their knowledge are not truly educated. It is those who understand the essence of the Wisdom, figure out the wisdom behind these letters, and have experiential knowledge of this wisdom that we ought to consider the true ‘Pandits,’ the true scholars. These truly educated ones realize that in all beings, there is only the One, IkOankar (1 Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force). They understand and know on an emotional and experiential level that all beings are equally pervaded by that One. Because of this deep understanding, they do not speak in ego or otherness. Those who have these knowledges and are able to dissolve themselves in the Wisdom are the really insightful ones. They are without egos because they come to navigate the world with the understanding that the same Light operates everywhere, in every being and every space, and they act accordingly. Will we understand the essence of the Wisdom? Will we experience the all-pervasiveness of the One?
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