The founder of Sikhism -Guru Nanak lent unique mean­ing to the al­pha­bet in his own inim­itable style, which was God-or­dained and God-gifted. How else could one for­mu­late the mean­ing of each let­ter of the al­pha­bet? What a beauty is this Patti Likhi re­vealed a group of hymns in the early pages of Guru Granth Sahib.  WSN proudly pre­sents this piece in which Bhupin­der Singh from Hous­ton takes you through this unique com­po­si­tion, in­still­ing a love for the Gu­ru’s script Gu­ru­mukhi and re­spect for the mother tongue Pun­jabi. Read, rel­ish, en­lighten and en­joy. 

THIS BANI -THE RE­VEALED COM­PO­SI­TION OF “PATTI LIKHI” -is a unique les­son im­parted by Guru Nanak, us­ing the let­ters of the Al­pha­bet to con­vey their spir­i­tual sig­nif­i­cance. As per the Pu­ratan Janam Sakhi -the old ver­sion of fa­bles of Guru Nanak, when Guru Nanak was 7, his fa­ther Mehta Kalu took him to the Pandha -teacher named Gopal for his ed­u­ca­tion. The Pandha wrote the 35 let­ters of the Al­pha­bet on the Patti or Takhti -a wooden tablet or slate of the times.  The Patti is coated with yel­low clay paste and then dried in the sun. When dried, with a sharp­ened reed pen, the al­pha­bets are writ­ten over it. It can be washed and re­coated and used again.

The place where Guru Nanak wrote the Patti is at a walk­a­ble dis­tance from Guru Nanak’s birth­place -Gur­d­wara Janam Asthan, presently in Pak­istan. 

One day, dur­ing school, the child Guru Nanak sat in a cor­ner, away from the rest of the stu­dents -deeply en­grossed in writ­ing and hum­ming while writ­ing. The whole day passed but the child did not show his work to his teacher. The leg­end goes that be­fore the end of the day, when asked to show his work, the prodi­gal mys­tic child brought 3 Pat­tis– slates and handed one to the Pandha, while still hold­ing on to the re­main­ing two.  

The learned teacher Gopal was stunned to see acros­tics – praises of God us­ing all the let­ters of Al­pha­bet.  Gopal struck in awe asked Guru Nanak why he does not learn what his fa­ther wants him to learn. He re­minded Guru Ji that he will be tak­ing over from his fa­ther the prop­erty ac­counts of the vil­lage and will be man­ag­ing those. Guru Nanak replied, “That knowl­edge will not in any way help you in ob­tain­ing lib­er­a­tion“. The teacher was very much as­ton­ished at the words of the young child. Pandha asked him, “Nanak, tell me some­thing which could help me in the at­tain­ment of sal­va­tion“. 

Guru Nanak gave a com­plete dis­course which is part of Guru Granth Sahib on Page 16, but for this dis­cus­sion let us re­strict our­selves to Patti which is on page 432. The Pandha was very im­pressed as he saw in the child Nanak, mak­ing of a great per­son­al­ity. He rec­om­mended to the child Gu­ru’s fa­ther that Nanak should be un­der the charge of Pan­dit Brij Nath, who can teach him San­skrit and scrip­tures, as he does not have any­thing more to teach child Nanak.

The rev­e­la­tion -“Patti Likhi” -let­ter by let­ter of the 35 Al­pha­bets of Gur­mukhi, is re­mark­able and takes one to a new level of en­light­en­ment:

ਸ (Sassa):
ਸਸੈ ਸੋਇ ਸ੍ਰਿਸਟਿ ਜਿਨਿ ਸਾਜੀ ਸਭਨਾ ਸਾਹਿਬੁ ਏਕੁ ਭਇਆ॥
ਸੇਵਤ ਰਹੇ ਚਿਤੁ ਜਿਨ੍ਹ੍ ਕਾ ਲਾਗਾ ਆਇਆ ਤਿਨ੍ਹ੍ ਕਾ ਸਫਲੁ ਭਇਆ ॥੧॥

He, who cre­ated the world, is the One Lord and Mas­ter of all. For those, whose con­scious­ness re­mains com­mit­ted to His re­mem­brance (in Ser­vice) – blessed is their birth, and their com­ing into the world. ||1||

 

ਮਨ ਕਾਹੇ ਭੂਲੇ ਮੂੜ ਮਨਾ ॥ ਜਬ ਲੇਖਾ ਦੇਵਹਿ ਬੀਰਾ ਤਉ ਪੜਿਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
O mind, why for­get Him? You fool­ish mind! When you have to ren­der your ac­count, and bal­ance due is cleared, O brother, only then shall you be judged wise. ||1||Pause||

ੲ (Eevree):
ਈਵੜੀ ਆਦਿ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਹੈ ਦਾਤਾ ਆਪੇ ਸਚਾ ਸੋਈ॥
ਏਨਾ ਅਖਰਾ ਮਹਿ ਜੋ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਬੂਝੈ ਤਿਸੁ ਸਿਰਿ ਲੇਖੁ ਨ ਹੋਈ॥੨॥

The Pri­mal Lord is the Giver; He alone is eter­nal. There is no out­stand­ing bal­ance due from the Gur­mukh, who un­der­stands the Lord through these let­ters. ||2||

ੳ (Ooraa):
ਊੜੈ ਉਪਮਾ ਤਾ ਕੀ ਕੀਜੈ ਜਾ ਕਾ ਅੰਤੁ ਨ ਪਾਇਆ॥
ਸੇਵਾ ਕਰਹਿ ਸੇਈ ਫਲੁ ਪਾਵਹਿ ਜਿਨ੍ਹ੍ਹੀ ਸਚੁ ਕਮਾਇਆ॥੩॥

Sing the Praises of the One whose limit can­not be found. They alone ob­tain the fruits (of achiev­ing the pur­pose of life) who serve Him (by med­i­tat­ing) be­com­ing truth­ful. ||3|| 

ਙ (Nganga):
ਙੰਙੈ ਙਿਆਨੁ ਬੂਝੈ ਜੇ ਕੋਈ ਪੜਿਆ ਪੰਡਿਤੁ ਸੋਈ॥
ਸਰਬ ਜੀਆ ਮਹਿ ਏਕੋ ਜਾਣੈ ਤਾ ਹਉਮੈ ਕਹੈ ਨ ਕੋਈ॥੪॥

One who un­der­stands spir­i­tual wis­dom be­comes a Pun­dit, a re­li­gious scholar. One who rec­og­nizes the One Lord among all be­ings does not talk in ego. ||4||

 ਕ (Kakka):
ਕਕੈ ਕੇਸ ਪੁੰਡਰ ਜਬ ਹੂਏ ਵਿਣੁ ਸਾਬੂਣੈ ਉਜਲਿਆ॥
ਜਮ ਰਾਜੇ ਕੇ ਹੇਰੂ ਆਏ ਮਾਇਆ ਕੈ ਸੰਗਲਿ ਬੰਧਿ ਲਇਆ॥੫॥

When the hair grows grey, then they shine with­out sham­poo. The hunters of the King of Death come, and bind him in the chains of worldly at­tach­ment (Maya). ||5|| 

ਖ (Khakha):
ਖਖੈ ਖੁੰਦਕਾਰੁ ਸਾਹ ਆਲਮੁ ਕਰਿ ਖਰੀਦਿ ਜਿਨਿ ਖਰਚੁ ਦੀਆ॥
ਬੰਧਨਿ ਜਾ ਕੈ ਸਭੁ ਜਗੁ ਬਾਧਿਆ ਅਵਰੀ ਕਾ ਨਹੀ ਹੁਕਮੁ ਪਇਆ॥੬॥

The Cre­ator is the King of the world; He owns all of us as He is pro­vid­ing sus­te­nance (of breath to live). By His Bind­ing, the en­tire world is bound; no other Com­mands pre­vail. ||6|| 

ਗ (Gagga):
ਗਗੈ ਗੋਇ ਗਾਇ ਜਿਨਿ ਛੋਡੀ ਗਲੀ ਗੋਬਿਦੁ ਗਰਬਿ ਭਇਆ॥
ਘੜਿ ਭਾਂਡੇ ਜਿਨਿ ਆਵੀ ਸਾਜੀ ਚਾੜਣ ਵਾਹੈ ਤਈ ਕੀਆ॥੭॥

One, who re­nounces singing of the songs of the Lord of the Uni­verse, be­comes ar­ro­gant in his speech. One who has shaped the pots, and made the world the kiln, de­cides when to put them in it (and out). ||7|| 

ਘ (Ghagha):
ਘਘੈ ਘਾਲ ਸੇਵਕੁ ਜੇ ਘਾਲੈ ਸਬਦਿ ਗੁਰੂ ਕੈ ਲਾਗਿ ਰਹੈ॥
ਬੁਰਾ ਭਲਾ ਜੇ ਸਮ ਕਰਿ ਜਾਣੈ ਇਨ ਬਿਧਿ ਸਾਹਿਬੁ ਰਮਤੁ ਰਹੈ॥੮॥

The ser­vant who per­forms ser­vice, re­mains at­tached to the Word of the Gu­ru’s Shabad. One who rec­og­nizes bad and good as one and the same – in this way he is ab­sorbed into the Lord and Mas­ter. ||8|| 

ਚ (Chacha):
ਚਚੈ ਚਾਰਿ ਵੇਦ ਜਿਨਿ ਸਾਜੇ ਚਾਰੇ ਖਾਣੀ ਚਾਰਿ ਜੁਗਾ॥
ਜੁਗੁ ਜੁਗੁ ਜੋਗੀ ਖਾਣੀ ਭੋਗੀ ਪੜਿਆ ਪੰਡਿਤੁ ਆਪਿ ਥੀਆ॥੯॥

He cre­ated the four Vedas, the four sources of cre­ation, and the four ages – through each and every age, He Him­self dwells in all as the Yogi, the house-holder, the Pun­dit and the scholar. ||9||

ਛ (Chhachha):
ਛਛੈ ਛਾਇਆ ਵਰਤੀ ਸਭ ਅੰਤਰਿ ਤੇਰਾ ਕੀਆ ਭਰਮੁ ਹੋਆ॥
ਭਰਮੁ ਉਪਾਇ ਭੁਲਾਈਅਨੁ ਆਪੇ ਤੇਰਾ ਕਰਮੁ ਹੋਆ ਤਿਨ੍ਹ੍ ਗੁਰੂ ਮਿਲਿਆ॥੧੦॥

Ig­no­rance ex­ists within every­one; doubt is Your do­ing, O Lord. Hav­ing cre­ated doubt, You Your­self has caused them to wan­der in delu­sion; those whom You bless with Your Mercy meet with the Guru (and their ig­no­rance is re­moved). ||10||

ਜ (Ja­jja):
ਜਜੈ ਜਾਨੁ ਮੰਗਤ ਜਨੁ ਜਾਚੈ ਲਖ ਚਉਰਾਸੀਹ ਭੀਖ ਭਵਿਆ॥
ਏਕੋ ਲੇਵੈ ਏਕੋ ਦੇਵੈ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੂਜਾ ਮੈ ਸੁਣਿਆ॥੧੧॥

That hum­ble be­ing who begs for wis­dom has wan­dered beg­ging through 8.4 mil­lion in­car­na­tions. The One Lord takes away, and the One Lord gives; I have not heard of any other. ||11|| 

ਝ (Jha­jha):
ਝਝੈ ਝੂਰਿ ਮਰਹੁ ਕਿਆ ਪ੍ਰਾਣੀ ਜੋ ਕਿਛੁ ਦੇਣਾ ਸੁ ਦੇ ਰਹਿਆ॥
ਦੇ ਦੇ ਵੇਖੈ ਹੁਕਮੁ ਚਲਾਏ ਜਿਉ ਜੀਆ ਕਾ ਰਿਜਕੁ ਪਇਆ॥੧੨॥

O mor­tal be­ing, why are you dy­ing of anx­i­ety (for pos­ses­sions)? What­ever the Lord is to give, He shall keep on giv­ing. He gives, and gives, and watches over us; ac­cord­ing to the Or­ders which He is­sues, His be­ings re­ceive des­tined sus­te­nance. ||12|| 

ਞ (Nyanya):
ਞੰਞੈ ਨਦਰਿ ਕਰੇ ਜਾ ਦੇਖਾ ਦੂਜਾ ਕੋਈ ਨਾਹੀ॥
ਏਕੋ ਰਵਿ ਰਹਿਆ ਸਭ ਥਾਈ ਏਕੁ ਵਸਿਆ ਮਨ ਮਾਹੀ॥੧੩॥

When the Lord be­stows His Glance of Grace, and then I re­al­ize there is no sec­ond (who can pro­vide). The One Lord is to­tally per­vad­ing every­where; the One Lord abides within the mind. ||13|| 

ਟ (Ta-tta):
ਟਟੈ ਟੰਚੁ ਕਰਹੁ ਕਿਆ ਪ੍ਰਾਣੀ ਘੜੀ ਕਿ ਮੁਹਤਿ ਕਿ ਉਠਿ ਚਲਣਾ॥
ਜੂਐ ਜਨਮੁ ਨ ਹਾਰਹੁ ਅਪਣਾ ਭਾਜਿ ਪੜਹੁ ਤੁਮ ਹਰਿ ਸਰਣਾ॥੧੪॥

Why do you prac­tice hypocrisy (con­sumed in worldly pur­suits and ex­hibit­ing your as­sets), O mor­tal? In a mo­ment, in an in­stant, you will de­part from the world. Don’t lose your life in the (life’s) gam­ble – hurry to the Lord’s Sanc­tu­ary. ||14|| 

ਠ (T’hat’ha):
ਠਠੈ ਠਾਢਿ ਵਰਤੀ ਤਿਨ ਅੰਤਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਚਰਣੀ ਜਿਨ ਕਾ ਚਿਤੁ ਲਾਗਾ॥
ਚਿਤੁ ਲਾਗਾ ਸੇਈ ਜਨ ਨਿਸਤਰੇ ਤਉ ਪਰਸਾਦੀ ਸੁਖੁ ਪਾਇਆ॥੧੫॥

Peace per­vades within those who link their con­scious­ness to the Lord’s Lo­tus Feet. Those hum­ble be­ings, whose con­scious­ness is so at­tuned, are saved; by Your Grace, they ob­tain peace. ||15|| 

ਡ (Dadda):
ਡਡੈ ਡੰਫੁ ਕਰਹੁ ਕਿਆ ਪ੍ਰਾਣੀ ਜੋ ਕਿਛੁ ਹੋਆ ਸੁ ਸਭੁ ਚਲਣਾ॥
ਤਿਸੈ ਸਰੇਵਹੁ ਤਾ ਸੁਖੁ ਪਾਵਹੁ ਸਰਬ ਨਿਰੰਤਰਿ ਰਵਿ ਰਹਿਆ ॥੧੬॥

Why do you make such os­ten­ta­tious shows, O mor­tal? All that ex­ists (is per­ish­able) shall all pass away. So serve Him, who is con­tained and per­vad­ing among every­one, and you shall at­tain eter­nal bliss. ||16|| 

ਢ (Dhad­dha):
ਢਢੈ ਢਾਹਿ ਉਸਾਰੈ ਆਪੇ ਜਿਉ ਤਿਸੁ ਭਾਵੈ ਤਿਵੈ ਕਰੇ॥
ਕਰਿ ਕਰਿ ਵੇਖੈ ਹੁਕਮੁ ਚਲਾਏ ਤਿਸੁ ਨਿਸਤਾਰੇ ਜਾ ਕਉ ਨਦਰਿ ਕਰੇ॥੧੭॥

He Him­self es­tab­lishes and dis­es­tab­lishes; as it pleases His Will, so does He act. Hav­ing cre­ated the cre­ation, He watches over it; He is­sues His Com­mands, and eman­ci­pates those, upon whom He casts His Glance of Grace. ||17|| 

ਣ (Nhaana):
ਣਾਣੈ ਰਵਤੁ ਰਹੈ ਘਟ ਅੰਤਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਗੁਣ ਗਾਵੈ ਸੋਈ॥
ਆਪੇ ਆਪਿ ਮਿਲਾਏ ਕਰਤਾ ਪੁਨਰਪਿ ਜਨਮੁ ਨ ਹੋਈ॥੧੮॥

One whose heart is filled with the Lord, sings His Glo­ri­ous Praises. One, whom the Cre­ator Lord unites with Him­self, is not con­signed to rein­car­na­tion. ||18|| 

ਤ (Tat-ta):
ਤਤੈ ਤਾਰੂ ਭਵਜਲੁ ਹੋਆ ਤਾ ਕਾ ਅੰਤੁ ਨ ਪਾਇਆ॥
ਨਾ ਤਰ ਨਾ ਤੁਲਹਾ ਹਮ ਬੂਡਸਿ ਤਾਰਿ ਲੇਹਿ ਤਾਰਣ ਰਾਇਆ॥੧੯॥

The dread­ful world-ocean is so very deep; its lim­its be­yond reach. I do not have a boat, or even a raft (of spir­i­tual wis­dom); I am drown­ing – save me, O Sav­ior King! ||19|| 

ਥ (T’hat’ha):
ਥਥੈ ਥਾਨਿ ਥਾਨੰਤਰਿ ਸੋਈ ਜਾ ਕਾ ਕੀਆ ਸਭੁ ਹੋਆ॥
ਕਿਆ ਭਰਮੁ ਕਿਆ ਮਾਇਆ ਕਹੀਐ ਜੋ ਤਿਸੁ ਭਾਵੈ ਸੋਈ ਭਲਾ॥੨੦॥

In all places and in­ter­spaces, He is; every­thing which ex­ists is by His do­ing. What is doubt? What is called il­lu­sion (Maya)? What­ever pleases Him is good. ||20|| 

ਦ (Dadda):
ਦਦੈ ਦੋਸੁ ਨ ਦੇਊ ਕਿਸੈ ਦੋਸੁ ਕਰੰਮਾ ਆਪਣਿਆ॥
ਜੋ ਮੈ ਕੀਆ ਸੋ ਮੈ ਪਾਇਆ ਦੋਸੁ ਨ ਦੀਜੈ ਅਵਰ ਜਨਾ॥੨੧॥

Do not blame any­one else; blame in­stead your own ac­tions. What­ever I did, for that I have suf­fered; I do not blame any­one else. ||21|| 

ਧ (Dhadha):
ਧਧੈ ਧਾਰਿ ਕਲਾ ਜਿਨਿ ਛੋਡੀ ਹਰਿ ਚੀਜੀ ਜਿਨਿ ਰੰਗ ਕੀਆ॥
ਤਿਸ ਦਾ ਦੀਆ ਸਭਨੀ ਲੀਆ ਕਰਮੀ ਕਰਮੀ ਹੁਕਮੁ ਪਇਆ॥੨੨॥

His power es­tab­lished and up­holds the earth; the Lord has im­parted His color (beauty) to every­thing. His gifts are re­ceived by every­one; all plea­sure and pain is as per our past deeds. ||22|| 

ਨ (Nan-na):
ਨੰਨੈ ਨਾਹ ਭੋਗ ਨਿਤ ਭੋਗੈ ਨਾ ਡੀਠਾ ਨਾ ਸੰਮ੍ਹਲਿਆ॥
ਗਲੀ ਹਉ ਸੋਹਾਗਣਿ ਭੈਣੇ ਕੰਤੁ ਨ ਕਬਹੂੰ ਮੈ ਮਿਲਿਆ॥੨੩॥

The Hus­band Lord en­joys eter­nal plea­sures (through His cre­ation), but He is not seen or un­der­stood (by me). I am name­sake soul-bride, O sis­ter, but my Hus­band Lord has never met me. ||23|| 

ਪ (Pappa):
ਪਪੈ ਪਾਤਿਸਾਹੁ ਪਰਮੇਸਰੁ ਵੇਖਣ ਕਉ ਪਰਪੰਚੁ ਕੀਆ॥
ਦੇਖੈ ਬੂਝੈ ਸਭੁ ਕਿਛੁ ਜਾਣੈ ਅੰਤਰਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਰਵਿ ਰਹਿਆ॥੨੪॥

The Supreme King, the Tran­scen­dent Lord, cre­ated the world, and watches over it. He wit­nesses and un­der­stands, and knows every­thing; in­wardly and out­wardly, he is fully per­vad­ing. ||24|| 

ਫ (Faffa):
ਫਫੈ ਫਾਹੀ ਸਭੁ ਜਗੁ ਫਾਸਾ ਜਮ ਕੈ ਸੰਗਲਿ ਬੰਧਿ ਲਇਆ॥
ਗੁਰ ਪਰਸਾਦੀ ਸੇ ਨਰ ਉਬਰੇ ਜਿ ਹਰਿ ਸਰਣਾਗਤਿ ਭਜਿ ਪਇਆ॥੨੫॥

The whole world is caught in the noose of Death, and all are bound by its chains by agents of death. By Gu­ru’s Grace, they alone are saved, who seek to en­ter the Lord’s Sanc­tu­ary. ||25||

ਬ (Babba):
ਬਬੈ ਬਾਜੀ ਖੇਲਣ ਲਾਗਾ ਚਉਪੜਿ ਕੀਤੇ ਚਾਰਿ ਜੁਗਾ॥
ਜੀਅ ਜੰਤ ਸਭ ਸਾਰੀ ਕੀਤੇ ਪਾਸਾ ਢਾਲਣਿ ਆਪਿ ਲਗਾ॥੨੬॥

He set out to play the game, on the game dice cloth of the four ages. He made all be­ings and crea­tures his pawns, and He Him­self threw the dice. ||26|| 

ੳ (Ooraa):
ਊੜੈ ਉਪਮਾ ਤਾ ਕੀ ਕੀਜੈ ਜਾ ਕਾ ਅੰਤੁ ਨ ਪਾਇਆ॥
ਸੇਵਾ ਕਰਹਿ ਸੇਈ ਫਲੁ ਪਾਵਹਿ ਜਿਨ੍ਹ੍ਹੀ ਸਚੁ ਕਮਾਇਆ॥੩॥
Sing the Praises of the One whose limit can­not be found. They alone ob­tain the fruits (of achiev­ing the pur­pose of life) who serve Him (by med­i­tat­ing) be­com­ing truth­ful. ||3|| 

ਭ (Bhabha):
ਭਭੈ ਭਾਲਹਿ ਸੇ ਫਲੁ ਪਾਵਹਿ ਗੁਰ ਪਰਸਾਦੀ ਜਿਨ੍ਹ੍ਹ ਕਉ ਭਉ ਪਇਆ॥
ਮਨਮੁਖ ਫਿਰਹਿ ਨ ਚੇਤਹਿ ਮੂੜੇ ਲਖ ਚਉਰਾਸੀਹ ਫੇਰੁ ਪਇਆ॥੨੭॥

Those who search find the fruits of their re­wards; by Gu­ru’s Grace, they live in the Fear of God. The self-willed man­mukhs wan­der around, and they do not re­mem­ber the Lord; the fools are con­signed to the cy­cle of 8.4 mil­lion in­car­na­tions. ||27|| 

ਮ (Mamma):
ਮੰਮੈ ਮੋਹੁ ਮਰਣੁ ਮਧੁਸੂਦਨੁ ਮਰਣੁ ਭਇਆ ਤਬ ਚੇਤਵਿਆ॥
ਕਾਇਆ ਭੀਤਰਿ ਅਵਰੋ ਪੜਿਆ ਮੰਮਾ ਅਖਰੁ ਵੀਸਰਿਆ॥੨੮॥

In emo­tional at­tach­ment, he dies; he only thinks of the Lord, the Love of Nec­tar, at death time. As long as the body is alive, he keeps read­ing other things, and for­gets the let­ter ‘M’, which stands for mar­naa – death and Madu­soodan- God. ||28|| 

ਯ (Yayya):
ਯਯੈ ਜਨਮੁ ਨ ਹੋਵੀ ਕਦ ਹੀ ਜੇ ਕਰਿ ਸਚੁ ਪਛਾਣੈ॥
ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਆਖੈ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਬੂਝੈ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਏਕੋ ਜਾਣੈ॥੨੯॥

He would never be rein­car­nated again if he rec­og­nizes the True Lord. The Guru-ori­ented speaks, un­der­stands, and knows only the One (All per­vad­ing) Lord. ||29|| 

ਰ (Rarra):
ਰਾਰੈ ਰਵਿ ਰਹਿਆ ਸਭ ਅੰਤਰਿ ਜੇਤੇ ਕੀਏ ਜੰਤਾ॥
ਜੰਤ ਉਪਾਇ ਧੰਧੈ ਸਭ ਲਾਏ ਕਰਮੁ ਹੋਆ ਤਿਨ ਨਾਮੁ ਲਇਆ॥੩੦॥

The Lord is per­vad­ing among all; that He has cre­ated. Hav­ing cre­ated His be­ings, He has put them all to work; they alone re­mem­ber the Naam, upon whom He be­stows His Grace. ||30|| 

ਹ (Haha):
ਹਾਹੈ ਹੋਰੁ ਨ ਕੋਈ ਦਾਤਾ ਜੀਅ ਉਪਾਇ ਜਿਨਿ ਰਿਜਕੁ ਦੀਆ॥
ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਧਿਆਵਹੁ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮਿ ਸਮਾਵਹੁ ਅਨਦਿਨੁ ਲਾਹਾ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਲੀਆ॥੩੪॥
There is no other Giver than Him; hav­ing cre­ated the crea­tures, He gives them sus­te­nance. Med­i­tate on the Lord’s Name, be ab­sorbed into the Lord’s Name, night and day, and reap the Profit of the Lord’s Name. ||34|| 

ਲ (Lalla):
ਲਲੈ ਲਾਇ ਧੰਧੈ ਜਿਨਿ ਛੋਡੀ ਮੀਠਾ ਮਾਇਆ ਮੋਹੁ ਕੀਆ॥
ਖਾਣਾ ਪੀਣਾ ਸਮ ਕਰਿ ਸਹਣਾ ਭਾਣੈ ਤਾ ਕੈ ਹੁਕਮੁ ਪਇਆ॥੩੧॥

He has as­signed peo­ple to their tasks, and made the love of Maya (worldly at­tach­ment) seem sweet to them. We pass time by eat­ing, drink­ing; en­dure pain and plea­sure equally what­ever oc­curs, by His Will, by His Com­mand. ||31|| 

ਵ (Wawa):
ਵਵੈ ਵਾਸੁਦੇਉ ਪਰਮੇਸਰੁ ਵੇਖਣ ਕਉ ਜਿਨਿ ਵੇਸੁ ਕੀਆ॥
ਵੇਖੈ ਚਾਖੈ ਸਭੁ ਕਿਛੁ ਜਾਣੈ ਅੰਤਰਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਰਵਿ ਰਹਿਆ॥੩੨॥

The all-per­vad­ing Tran­scen­dent Lord be­holds the world; He cre­ated the form it wears. He be­holds, tastes, and knows every­thing; He is per­vad­ing and per­me­at­ing in­wardly and out­wardly. ||32|| 

ਰ (Rarra):
ਰਾਰੈ ਰਵਿ ਰਹਿਆ ਸਭ ਅੰਤਰਿ ਜੇਤੇ ਕੀਏ ਜੰਤਾ॥
ਜੰਤ ਉਪਾਇ ਧੰਧੈ ਸਭ ਲਾਏ ਕਰਮੁ ਹੋਆ ਤਿਨ ਨਾਮੁ ਲਇਆ॥੩੦॥
The Lord is per­vad­ing among all; that He has cre­ated. Hav­ing cre­ated His be­ings, He has put them all to work; they alone re­mem­ber the Naam, upon whom He be­stows His Grace. ||30|| 

ੜ (Rhaara):
ੜਾੜੈ ਰਾੜਿ ਕਰਹਿ ਕਿਆ ਪ੍ਰਾਣੀ ਤਿਸਹਿ ਧਿਆਵਹੁ ਜਿ ਅਮਰੁ ਹੋਆ॥
ਤਿਸਹਿ ਧਿਆਵਹੁ ਸਚਿ ਸਮਾਵਹੁ ਓਸੁ ਵਿਟਹੁ ਕੁਰਬਾਣੁ ਕੀਆ॥੩੩॥

Why do you quar­rel, O mor­tal? Med­i­tate on the Im­per­ish­able Lord, and be ab­sorbed into the True One. Be­come a sac­ri­fice to Him. ||33|| 

ਹ (Haha):
ਹਾਹੈ ਹੋਰੁ ਨ ਕੋਈ ਦਾਤਾ ਜੀਅ ਉਪਾਇ ਜਿਨਿ ਰਿਜਕੁ ਦੀਆ॥
ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਧਿਆਵਹੁ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮਿ ਸਮਾਵਹੁ ਅਨਦਿਨੁ ਲਾਹਾ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਲੀਆ॥੩੪॥

There is no other Giver than Him; hav­ing cre­ated the crea­tures, He gives them sus­te­nance. Med­i­tate on the Lord’s Name, be ab­sorbed into the Lord’s Name, night and day, and reap the Profit of the Lord’s Name. ||34|| 

ਅ (Airaa):
ਆਇੜੈ ਆਪਿ ਕਰੇ ਜਿਨਿ ਛੋਡੀ ਜੋ ਕਿਛੁ ਕਰਣਾ ਸੁ ਕਰਿ ਰਹਿਆ॥
ਕਰੇ ਕਰਾਏ ਸਭ ਕਿਛੁ ਜਾਣੈ ਨਾਨਕ ਸਾਇਰ ਇਵ ਕਹਿਆ॥੩੫॥੧॥

He Him­self cre­ated the world; what­ever He has to do, He con­tin­ues to do. He acts, and causes oth­ers to act, and He knows every­thing; so says Nanak, the poet. ||35||1||

Read­ing this bani ‘Patti Likhi’ to­day makes us re­al­ize that Guru Nanak was a born poet, with true spir­i­tual wis­dom and one with God.

The uni­ver­sal mes­sage that flows from these al­pha­bets is that the en­tire world is God’s Cre­ation, and it runs as per His Will. We are just like pawns in the grand scheme and we should al­ways re­mem­ber Him. Guru Nanak’s core mes­sage is in the Ra­hao -Pause line (bold let­ters above) af­ter the first stanza, where Guru Ji’s says to learn to stay on track on the pur­pose of life. First, start with an un­der­stand­ing of the world where you live. Next by un­der­stand­ing the pur­pose of life, stay fo­cused on achiev­ing that ob­jec­tive. Suc­cess is only achieved by those who stay fo­cused and are clear about their ob­jec­tive. Here, Guru Nanak has ad­dressed his mind as a brother, re­mind­ing it that it will have to ren­der ac­count on how the cap­i­tal of breath which is life has been uti­lized. There it will be judged as ed­u­cated only if it made the right choices.

Nor­mally the teach­ing of the let­ters is usu­ally by their as­so­ci­a­tion with com­mon words, such as ‘A’ for ap­ple. But these al­pha­bet let­ters are unique, as they are part of a sa­cred lan­guage and they are the build­ing blocks of all the teach­ings. The let­ters have tran­scended their realm of con­vey­ing the ba­sic pur­pose as sound, trans­port­ing us in the realm of sa­cred sound. 

Read­ing this bani ‘Patti Likhi’ to­day makes us re­al­ize that Guru Nanak was a born poet, with true spir­i­tual wis­dom and one with God. 

Many peo­ple re­late Gur­mukhi as an in­ven­tion of the sec­ond Mas­ter -Guru An­gad, but this ev­i­dence of Guru Nanak Dev con­firms the ex­is­tence of the script much ear­lier. 

The dis­cern­ing reader may have noted that the arrange­ment of the al­pha­bet is dif­fer­ent from the stan­dard­ized al­pha­bet as we know to­day. Now, that is the con­tri­bu­tion of Guru An­gad in re­ar­rang­ing the po­si­tion of let­ters, stan­dard­iz­ing, and pop­u­lar­iz­ing it. 

Un­for­tu­nately, Sikhs are drift­ing away from their lan­guage -the lan­guage of their scrip­tures, the re­mark­able acros­tics un­der the in­flu­ence of other lan­guages. In the process, we are de­priv­ing our­selves of Gur­bani. Al­ready many Hindu and Mus­lim Pan­jabis have dis­tanced them­selves from the lan­guage and the script.  We who con­sider this as our di­vine her­itage should not be­come the cause of its demise by pa­tron­iz­ing other lan­guages at the cost of our mother tongue.

The Fifth Mas­ter Guru Ar­jan salutes spir­i­tual wis­dom of Guru Nanak say­ing, 

“ਗੁਰੁ ਨਾਨਕੁ ਜਿਨ ਸੁਣਿਆ ਪੇਖਿਆ ਸੇ ਫਿਰਿ ਗਰਭਾਸਿ ਨ ਪਰਿਆ ਰੇ ]4]2]13]”
Those who have heard, and seen Guru Nanak, do not de­scend into the womb of rein­car­na­tion again.

Let us all pray that may the Guru grant us his grace so we learn to lis­ten and see our Guru.

Ref­er­ences:

1. www.Sikhi­tothe­max.org
2. www.sikhi­wiki.org/​in­dex.php/​Pat­ti_­Likhi
3. Singh, Prof. Sahib. Sri Guru Granth Sahib Darpan. Vol­ume 3. Raj Pub­lish­ers.
4. Singh, Bhai Vir. San­thiya Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Vol­ume VI. Bhai Vir Singh Sahit Sadan.
5. Singh, Bhai Vir. Sri Guru Nanak Chamatkar. Poor­barath (Vol­ume 1). Bhai Vir Singh Sahit Sadan
6. Singh, Sat­bir. Baliyo Chi­rag. Life of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. New Book Co.
7. Surma, M. S., Guru Nanak Apos­tle of Love. B. Jawa­har Singh Kir­pal Singh & Co.

 

An en­gi­neer by pro­fes­sion, hail­ing from Myan­mar, ed­u­cated in In­dia, Bhupin­der Singh is a Hous­ton-based busi­ness­man, with a keen in­ter­est in writ­ing books and ar­ti­cles on Sikh his­tory, mo­ti­va­tion and spir­i­tu­al­ity. The books he has writ­ten in­clude, Con­nect­ing with the Mas­ter – A col­lec­tion of es­says on top­ics re­lated to Sikhism, Gur­mat Quo­tient (GQ) – Book on de­vel­op­ment of Spir­i­tu­al­ity, Rehraas – With mean­ing and com­men­tary in Eng­lish, Why are We Here? – Be­come ex­plor­ing the pur­pose of hu­man life, Fish Eat Fish World – An Il­lus­trated Chil­dren’s book, Hu­mil­ity – A Spir­i­tual Jour­ney, In Bul­ly’s Eyes – An Il­lus­trated Chil­dren’s book on Bul­ly­ing.