gagai goi gāi jini choḍī galī gobidu garabi bhaïā.
ghaṛi bhānḍe jini āvī sājī cāṛaṇ vāhai taī kīā.7.
-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 seventh couplet, through the letter ਗ (‘gaggā,’ #8), Guru Nanak says that the being who has not sung the virtues of Gobind, the Earth-Knower, through mere words, has become engrossed in pride. That being seeks to find the Earth-Knower, IkOankar (One Creative and Pervasive Force, 1Force, the One) through mere talks. We cannot seek the One through discussion alone. The discussion might be good for creating some kind of understanding, but it leaves us without the experience of feeling and causes us to go through the motions of intellectualizing and displaying knowledge. Going through these motions leaves us incomplete or unrefined. Our understanding is only half-baked. IkOankar created this kiln-like world for us to be baked or fired in. We are raw and unrefined vessels, shaped by the One – not yet cultivated and polished by the kiln. We are all going through a process of preparation and refinement by the One who made us, Who is all-capable. When we are full of ego, that ego must be burned out of us in the kiln. Heat is required – it is uncomfortable and even painful. But this is necessary in the process of refinement. When we sing the praises of the Earth-Knower, we begin to know that One more intimately. We begin to know that One experientially. This is how we move from logical knowing to emotional knowing. Will we talk less and sing more? Will we commit to going through the necessary refinement process? Will these half-baked vessels become fully baked?
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