Vahiguru ji ka Khalsa, Vahiguru ji ki Fatih!
In earlier times, students learned the alphabet and its forms by writing on wooden tablets called ‘Patti.’ On these tablets, they did not just learn how to write letters. These tablets symbolized the sacred act of learning, where each letter came alive under the careful guidance of a teacher. The letters are a doorway into an entire world of language, culture, and knowledge—an entirely new way of seeing and experiencing. Inspired by this tradition, a poetic form called ‘Patti’ emerged, using the letters of the script sequentially to convey profound subjects and universal truths.
In Guru Nanak Sahib’s ‘Patti,’ the simple act of learning is transformed into an invitation to connect with IkOankar, the One. Praising the One, the Guru reminds us that true wisdom transcends intellectual knowledge and resides in the heart and deeds of a sincere seeker. Though tradition says this message was first directed at a pandit, Guru Nanak Sahib’s words extend to us all, challenging our assumptions about what it means to be truly educated.
In the fourth couplet, Guru Nanak Sahib addresses us all with urgency:
If someone understands the wisdom, that one alone is educated, is a Pandit.
When one realizes the One alone in all beings, then one does not say ‘I’ or ‘me.’
The Pandit is the highly educated religious expert. The Pandit influences society due to their status. The Pandit holds spiritual and political authority and influence. The Pandit’s knowledge can cause them to accumulate pride and ego within.
But who is the pandit within us? This is the part of us that is arrogant at what we know, that pursues knowledge so that we may wield it, that pursues learning so that we too may have influence and authority.
Using the letter ਙ (‘ṅaṅṅā’), the Guru shows us that those who read exhaustively, learn without end, 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 scholars.
When we truly become educated, we realize that in all beings, there is only the One. In this deep understanding, we do not speak in ego or otherness. We are able to dissolve ourselves in the Wisdom. We become truly insightful. In this knowing, we come to navigate the world with the understanding that the same Light operates everywhere, in every being and every space, and we act accordingly.
The Guru tells us that learning is measured not by what we know but by how we live.
Are we still caught up in saying ‘I,’ and ‘me?’
The Guru’s call beckons us to a deeper understanding that moves beyond words and leads us into a living relationship with the Eternal, with the All-Pervasive. We are inspired to transcend apparent dualities. We are urged to immerse ourselves in spiritual teachings to gain true insight.
Each couplet in Patti calls us to move beyond intellectual pursuits and into a transformative experience.
May we let go of superficial learning.
May we embrace these teachings with our whole being.
May the Wisdom-Guru guide us!
