January - December 2011 Vol. 13 No 1-2 page 73 ’S CONCEPT OF ( REALITY)

Prof Hardev Singh Virk, PhD #360 Sector 71, SAS Nagar (Mohali) -160071 Email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT It is unfortunate that Nanakian Philosophy failed to impact at global level despite its unique world-view. Nanakian Philosophy dialectically unites the ideas of God and the World created by Him. No school of that God is Karta Purkh in the same sense as implied by Nanakian Philosophy. Guru Nanak discarded the of the whole pantheon of and of Hindu . He laid the foundation of a strictly monotheistic religion in India for the first time. Guru Nanak's God is absolute, formless one, inscrutable, boundless, self-existent, ineffable and beyond time. Guru Nanak's God is both transcendental and immanent, pervading the macrocosm as well as the microcosm. The idea of divine self-expression in the World is another revolutionary theological concept introduced by Guru Nanak. The concepts of Truth (Sach), the Name (Naam), the Word (Sabd), the Divine Preceptor (Guru), and the Divine Order (Hukm) form the key-concepts of divine self-expression. Guru Nanak is the first prophet of God in the history of world who removed the dualism and dichotomy between the spiritual life and empirical life of man. We may conclude that Guru Nanak's vision of God was far more scientific/logical and comprehensive than his predecessors both in the East and the West.

INTRODUCTION As the Word of the ccording to Bhai Jodh Singh [4] the well known comes to me, so do I Sikh savant, philosophy depends on the A express it, O Lalo. conclusions reached by human reason and thought but religious truth depends upon the intuitive He had this intuitive experience of the individual, who reveals it to the world experience and came face in human language as far as possible. But in India, to face with the supreme religion and philosophy went hand in hand. All the six reality as has been schools of Indian philosophy discuss the existence of recorded allegorically in God, the creation of the Universe, the nature of human his earliest biography and , its redemption and how to achieve it. The by Bhai Gurdas, too, in his testimony of the Indian rishis or the intuitive experience first var . Guru Nanak recorded in Vedas and Upanishads was considered to be himself described his a valid proof. encounter with God in his

own words in as follows: Guru Nanak was not a philosopher, as understood by its hau FwFI vykwru kwrY lwieAw ] generic meaning, but essentially a religious man who proclaimed to the world what he experienced in his own rwiq idhY kY vwr Durhu PurmwieAw ] soul. He was a messenger of God who narrated what he FwFI scY mhil Ksim bulwieAw ] received in his divine communications: I was a minstrel jobless and He (God) put me to this work. Sing my praises day and night was the order from his jYsI mY AwvY Ksm kI bwxI qYsVw krI igAwnu vy lwlo ] presence. AGGS, M 1, p 722 [1]. The True God summoned the bard to His palace. He got the robe of honour of singing His everlasting attributes, page 74 UNDERSTANDING – The Research Journal and was provided the ambrosial food of the Name. understanding of God is beyond human beings. The minstrel proclaimed what he was ordered through the (contradicting the encounter between Guru Nanak and Word. the God expressed earlier) However, Nānak also Those who praise the Truth meet the Perfect (God ) describes God as being not wholly unknowable. God is Nanak. considered sarav vi'āpak (omnipresent) in all creation AGGS, M 1, p 150.[1] and visible everywhere to the spiritually awakened . God in Sikhism is depicted in three distinct aspects, viz. God also repeats the same in a similar in himself, God in relation to creation, and God in vein in Sri Rag: relation to man. During a discourse with Siddhas hau FwFI hir pRB Ksm kw hir kY dir AwieAw ] (popularly known as Siddh Goshit ), Hindu recluses, hir AMdir suxI pUkwr FwFI muiK lwieAw ] Guru Nanak in reply to a question as to where the I am a minstrel of the God, and; Transcendent God was before the stage of creation I have come to the God's Door. replies: The God has heard my sad cries from within; Awid kau kvnu bIcwru kQIAly suMn khw Gr vwso] He has called me, His minstrel, into His Presence. Awid kau ibsmwdu bIcwru kQIAly suMn inrMqir vwsu lIAw ] AGGS, M 4, p 91.[1] What can you tell us about the beginning? In what home did the Absolute dwell then? In Hinduism the concept of god is complex and depends "To think of the Transcendent Lord in that state is to on the particular tradition. The concept spans conceptions enter the realm of wonder. Even at that stage of sünn, he from absolute to , and permeated the entire void" . A study of Vedic hymns shows that the early AGGS, M 1, p 940. [1] rishis believed in polytheism. They deified the forces of Nature and suggested to carry out yajnas (sacrifices) to GURU NANAK ’S CONCEPT OF GOD AND ITS placate gods to secure their goodwill, granting mundane IMPLICATIONS happiness and a delectable heavenly life after death. The Guru Nanak defines the concept of God through His principal Vedic gods Pusan, Visnu, Indra, Rudra, Agni attributes: later on gave place to Brahma (the creator), Visnu (the preserver) and Siva (the destroyer). These three gods < siq nwmu krqw purKu inrBau inrvYru Akwl formed the of the Hindu , when Guru Nanak mUriq AjUnI sYBM gur pRswid ] was born in Punjab. Guru Nanak discarded the polytheism AGGS, Manglacharan (Commencing Verse), p 1. of Vedic rishis and rejected the hierarchy of gods and The One Supreme Being; Eternal Reality; the goddesses () of Hindu faith. Guru Nanak preached Creator Person; Without Fear; Without Rancour; the worship of one God in truth and spirit. Unborn; Self-Existent; Realized through Divine Grace. The Sikh faith founded by Guru Nanak is strictly monotheistic in its system. This means that God is The interpretation of these attributes in Sikh believed to be the One and the sole Reality in the spiritual tradition and literature will lead us to the Universe, and there is no other entity worthy of worship. true significance of Sikh belief and its idea of All other worship is false and a waste of precious human God. It is unfortunate that most of the Indian and life. God in Sikhism is believed to be eternal. All else that foreign scholars of Sikhism have tried to is visible, had a beginning and will end. God alone is misinterpret the originality of Guru Nanak’s Timeless ( ). Akal is one of the key concepts in Sikh concept of God because of the theological terms spiritual thought introduced by Guru Nanak. Its spiritual used by him. According to Grewal [3]: “ The and philosophical signification in Sikh religion is impression that Guru Nanak’s religious ideas unprecedented in Indian philosophy. present a great deal of similarity to the ideas which one can easily discover in contemporary According to Wikipedia [7], Nānak's interpretation of God Islam and Hinduism has a strong basis in the is that of a single, personal and transcendental creator with terms and concepts used by Guru Nanak in his whom the devotee must develop a most intimate faith and compositions; but this impression is quite relationship to achieve salvation. Sikhism advocates the misleading. In the context of his theological belief in one God who is omnipresent and has infinite thought, current terms and concepts undergo a qualities. This aspect has been repeated on numerous significant change, so significant indeed that they occasions in the Aad Gurū Granth Sāhib and the term ik acquire a new meaning.” For example, the term ōankār signifies this. In the Sikh teachings, there is no Ram has been used by the Sikh Gurus for God in gender for God. Nānak further emphasizes that a full AGGS [1] and whenever they use it for Rama, the January - December 2011 Vol. 13 No 1-2 page 75 king of Ayodhya, the distinction is made crystal the same as that of mundane love, though its inner clear to remove any confusion. Talib [6] has further meaning is spiritual and not physical. The greatest resolved this conflict: “Sikh Gurus adopted the example of divine poetry is Guru Nanak’s Baramaha names like Rama and Krishna derived from Indian Tukhari in AGGS, in which the soul pines in sorrow of mythology for God as these were current among the separation as months and seasons roll by. God as Indian people and had become synonymous with Beloved is one of the important modes of conceiving God in common speech. In AGGS, Ram-Nam Him in the spiritual poetry of the Sikh faith: means literally God’s name and implies devotion, imil sKIAw puCih khu kMq nIswxI ] prayer, .” ris pRym BrI kCu boil n jwxI ] I meet with my companions and say, "Show me the The concept of God as Creator Person (Karta Purakh) of insignia of my Husband God”. the world has far reaching implications in the religious I am filled with the sublime of His Love, and I do history of India. A positive relationship between God and not know how to say anything. the world is a revolutionary postulate in Sikh religion. God AGGS, M 5, p 459.[1] is both Transcendent and Immanent. shows that God is prior to and distinct from the world. Concept of Absolute Reality in AGGS of God is a symbolic way of expressing God’s The Manglacharan (the Commencing Verse of SGGS) is connection with the world. God himself transforms into a philosophic testimony of Guru Nanak's poetic and creation, i.e., changing his nirguna form into sarguna scientific vision of the Supreme Reality. Reality is one form. and non-dual. Hence the Manglacharan commences with the numeral 1 before 'Open Oora', which represents Guru Nanak’s God is conceived as without any form and Existence or Being. It is followed by Satt Naam which designated as Nirankar or Nirakar and Guru Nanak means the Supreme Reality is true and it is manifested in himself called Nanak Nirankari. No image or idol or any Truth, Existence and Being. The other features of figurine can represent God, or be worshipped as God. All Reality are its transcendence and immanence, creator creation is God’s visible form ( sarguna roop ), but no part person, without fear or hatred, beyond time and space, of it is a substitute for God. God is also nirguna, without self-existent, transcendental cosmic spirit made manifest physical attributes and unattached to , manifested by by grace of the Guru. Thus Guru Nanak projects the its three gunas . Guru Nanak has employed some other nature, potentialities and characteristics of Supreme terms to represent God, for example, Brahm or Parbrahm, Reality or God of his vision. This concept of Reality is Gurudev, Satguru, Thakur, Sahib, Swami, Parmeshwar, unique, scientific and revolutionary and it differs in its Prabhu, Sacha, Pritam, etc. connotation from the Vedantic concept. (Please, review this sentence in relation to earlier version of jaessi mae An equally important attribute of God or Absolute Reality aavae khasam ki bani. What kind of Khasam Guru defined in AGGS is its Time-transcendence (Akal-Murt) . Nanak is talking about? According to Ahluwalia [2], “This new conception of God marks a qualitative change in the cognition of the ultimate The very first sloka after Manglacharan elaborates Reality from Being to Spirit. This revolutionary change, further the nature of : heralded by the Sikh in the history of Indian Awid scu jugwid scu ] religious thought, leads to a new conception of Time”. It is unfortunate that most of the Sikh scholars have failed to hY BI scu nwnk hosI BI scu ] realize the significance of Sikh doctrine and interpreted AGGS, Jap, p 1. attributes of God in Vedantic terms. It was Professor Reality or God was in existence before the Puran Singh [5] who first of all realized the unique commencement of creation and time (yugas) during the contribution of the Sikh Gurus in re-interpreting the epoch of cosmic void. God existed at the beginning of concept of God: “Guru Nanak does not take the Vedantic this universe, i.e., creation of space and time. God exists conceptions as real. He calls them dead matter and they now and will also exist in the future (even when the are good only for the museum of human thoughts”. universe is annihilated).

Concept of Sahaj - Bhakti was introduced by the Sikh The Sikh philosophy dialectically unites the ideas of Gurus as distinct from prevalent Bhakti cult of India. It is God and the world. Transcendence shows that God is also known as nirakar bhakti . One great departure is made prior to and distinct from the world. Immanence of God by the Sikh Gurus in calling God as a bridegroom and represents God's connection with the world. God himself individual as brides of God. The seeker views him in transforms into creation, i.e., changing His nirguna form the character of a loving wife, patiently waiting for into sarguna form: reunion with her Lord. The imagery used by Sikh Gurus is srgun inrgun inrMkwr suMn smwDI Awip ] page 76 UNDERSTANDING SIKHISM – The Research Journal

Awpn kIAw nwnkw Awpy hI iPir jwip ] Universe, which we know in our ordinary experience The Formless God is attributed and un-attributed; and discover through the agency of science. In short And gone into absorption in the cosmic void. Naam is Truth, or the knowable aspect of Reality. Naam Saith Nanak : He has made creation, Himself on it is immanent in the universe and its practice is the only meditates . formula prescribed by the Sikh Gurus to realize God. In AGGS. M 5, p 290.[1] fact, whatever is created is Naam :

The Manglacharan in the AGGS is an expression of Guru jyqw kIqw qyqw nwau ]ivxu nwvY nwhI ko Qwau ] Nanak's intuitive insight into the metaphysical realm, All that is cre ated is His manifestation . which presents an integrated view of the basic Reality that AGGS, Jap, p 4. [1] is monistic, but whose manifestation is pluralistic: inrMkwr Awkwr Awip inrgun srgun eyk] Guru Nanak was always antipathetic to any view of the eykih eyk bKwnno nwnk eyk Anyk ] world, which denigrated its reality or made the world He Himself is formless, and also formed; the One God is illusory. He was, therefore, firm on the principle that the without attributes, and also with attributes. Describe creation is as real as the creator -- it includes, besides the One God as One, and Only One; O Nanak, He is the material existence, the culture of man, his thoughts and One, and the many. his values. Guru Nanak discards the Vedantic conception AGGS.M1,p.250 [1] of Reality in Asa-di-Var, and proclaims that this universe is real, not an illusion: The conceptual framework of the Manglacharan is scy qyry KMf scy bRhmMf ] comprehensive enough to include some of the most scy qyry loA scy Awkwru ] significant attributes of the Absolute (Supreme Reality). AGGS, M 1, p 463. Even the manifest aspect of Reality, namely, the physical Real are Thy continents; Real is the universe; universe, defies measure and count: Real are these forms and material objects; AMq n jwpY kIqw Awkwru ] Thy doings are Real, 0 God. AMqu n jwpY pwrwvwru ] AGGS. M1, p. 463 [1] Limitless the creation; Limitless the expansion . The Guru calls this vast Universe as His mansion: AGGS, Jap, p 5.[1] iehu jgu scY kI hY koTVI scy kw ivic vwsu ] This moving universe is the divine mansion of the true Perhaps, God alone can contemplate the vastness and God; totality of the cosmic existence. The Guru assures us that And the true one lives therein . the light and grace of the Absolute are ever with man in AGGS, M 2, p 463[1] his search for Supreme Reality. A person of cosmic (brahm gyani) can experience Reality and Guru Nanak has identified the manifest Reality with all his doubts are dispelled: Nature: jw kY irdy ibsÍws pRBu AwieAw ] nwnk sc dwqwru isnwKqu kudrqI ] qqu igAwnu iqsu min pRgtwieAw ] Nanak, the beneficent Lord alone is true and He is He, who receives faith of Lord in himself, revealed through His Nature . His mind is illumined by the Reality of the Real. AGGS. M1, p.141 [1] AGGS, M 5, p 285.[1] God transformed Himself from nirguna to sarguna, Ultimate Reality is subtle and incomprehensible but can be created Nam(u) and Kudrat(i), i.e; Nature: realized through Guru's Word ( sabd) unconsciously: AwpInY Awpu swijE AwpInY ricE nwau ] hir jI sUKmu Agmu hY ikqu ibiD imilAw jwie ] duXI kudirq swjIAY kir Awsxu ifTo cwau] gur kY sbid BRmu ktIAY AicMqu vsY min Awie ] AGGS, M 1, p 463. The God is the subtle, unfathomable entity; so how is one His-self He created and manifested His Name; to attain Him? It is through Guru's Word that our doubt is And then He created Nature and abiding within it, dispelled and the self-dependent Being cometh into our He reveled in His wonder. minds . AGGS, M 3, p 756.[1] The description of Nature by Guru Nanak in Asa-di-Var is a new dimension in the history of religious thought: Guru Nanak has combined the symbol Satt with Naam, kudriq idsY kudriq suxIAY kudriq Bau suK swru] which literally means 'Name'. When we refer to the world kudriq pwqwlI AwkwsI kudirq srb Awkwr ] of names and forms, we refer to the concrete, empirical (Continued on page 72) page 72 UNDERSTANDING SIKHISM – The Research Journal

the period which were later handed over to (Continued from page 76) . (h) He stirred the feelings of the listeners through All that is visible is His Nature;All that is heard too is His music and discussions. This is the unique Nature….In the nether regions and skies is the manifestation method of effective communication of Guru of His Nature; Of His Nature are all the manifestations . Nanak AGGS.M1, p.464 [1] (i) To instill confidence and will to stand against injustice among the downtrodden and to In a way, scientific study of Nature is sanctioned in Sikh remove fear from the minds of all. He was not religion in an identical manner as it was pursued by Kepler afraid of facing the ferocious Lodi king at and Newton in the Christian world. (Do you need this sentence Delhi or Babar at Saidpur . Likewise he stood to validate Nanak’s philosophy?) firm at his viewpoints while facing Pundits at To sum up the concept of Supreme Reality as presented in Kurukshetra, Hardwar, Banaras, Allahabad, AGGS is unique, scientific and revolutionary. It is not a mere Ajodhya or Mullahs at Mecca and Medina. abstraction. Its realization is possible through the practice of (j) While communicating with the learned he Sabd and Naam. Guru Nanak was blessed with the vision of adopted their colloquial vocabulary to reply in God or Reality in Nature: their own language. sWiq pwvih hovih mnu sIql Agin n AMqir DuKI ] (k) Methodology of communication started with gur nwnk kau pRBu idKwieAw jil Qil iqRBvix ruKI ] creation of suitable calm, serene, environment demolishing inner cravings with attained realization, and for peaceful dialogue in sweet voice and mind being at peace; The God's presence was revealed to polite tone touching the heart instantaneously; Guru Nanak in the three worlds; In the woods, waters and spread of magnetic aura, simple, straight and over the earth . to the point delivery; and closed with poetic AGGS. M5, p.617 [1] deliberations accompanied by lilting music. The magnetic effect of this delivery was CONCLUSIONS instant acceptance. It was further firmed in by Guru Nanak’s concept of God is unique but it needs to be actual activity and actions to exhibit the interpreted in modern scientific context. The originality of suitability of application of what he sang. Guru Nanak’s concept of God has been over-shadowed (l) Giving the message of unity and Supremacy because of the theological and mythological terms used by of God, Love and remembrance of God, him. Ik Oankar, Karta Purkh and Akal Murat delineate some equality fraternity and brotherhood, truth and unique features of Supreme Reality. Guru Nanak’s concept of truthful living, service to humanity, earning God is more universal and can prove to be a harbinger of and sharing and performing meditation or World peace. Spiritual and empirical domains are not opposite remembering God while performing normal poles of Reality as propagated by Vedanta School of duties without going to secluded place and Philosophy. doing any hard penance. (m) Whatever he preached he put the same into REFERENCES action. There was no duality. This won over 1. AGGS = Aad . 1983 (reprint). Publishers: the confidence of the people and caused Shiromani Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar. (M = attraction and a multiplier effects of his Mahla, i.e., succession number of the Sikh Gurus to the House of words. Nanak, p = Page of the AGGS. M is replaced with the name of (n) He preached with love, sweetness, politeness or Bhatt with their Bani.) with a sense of belongingness. His actions 2. Ahluwalia, J.S. 1985. Akal Murat . In: The Concept of the created inquisitiveness and magnanimity. Divine, G.N.D. University, Amritsar, pp.100-113. 3. Grewal, J.S. 1982. From Guru Nanak to Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Guru Nanak Dev REFERENCES University, University, Chapter 5, p. 31. 1. AGGS = Aad Guru Granth Sahib. 1983 4. Singh, Bhai Jodh, 1977. Indian Philosophical and Religious (reprint). Publishers: Shiromani Gurdwara Thought and Guru Nanak . In: Teachings of Guru Nanak (ed. Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar. (M = Taran Singh), Punjabi University, Patiala, pp.1-10. Mahla, i.e., succession number of the Sikh 5. Singh, Puran, 1981.Spirit of the Sikh, Punjabi University, Gurus to the House of Nanak, M is replaced Patiala, Part II, Vol. 2, p.141. with the name of Bhagat/ Bhatt for their Bani, 6. Talib, G.S. 1977.The Idea of Supreme Being (God) in Sikhism. p = Page of the AGGS). In: Teachings of Guru Nanak (ed. Taran Singh), Punjabi University, Patiala, pp. 22-32. 7. Wikipedia, . Section 3: Eastern Religions (3.2, Hinduism).