Names of God in Sikhism are names attributed to God in Sikhism by Sikh gurus.
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Names of God in Sikhism are names attributed to God in Sikhism by Sikh gurus.
 | This section needs expansionwith: Please add more names used by Sikhs for God (with citations!), plus a audio file of how to pronounce each name (native Punjabi speakers requested for this).. You can help by adding to it. (May 2023) |
Below is a list of some names used by Sikhs for God:
| No. | Gurmukhi | Romanization [variant spellings] | Translation | Reference(s) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Names of Indic origin: | ||||||||||||||||
| 1. | ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ | Waheguru [Vaheguru] | Wonderful Enlightener | [1] [2] | ||||||||||||
| 2. | ਅਕਾਲ ਪੁਰਖ | Akal Purakh | The Timeless Being | [3] | ||||||||||||
| 3. | ੴ ਇੱਕ ਓਅੰਕਾਰ | Ik Onkar [Ek Onkar] | One Creator | [4] [5] | ||||||||||||
| 4. | ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ | Nirankar | Formless | [6] | ||||||||||||
| 5. | ਸਤਿ ਨਾਮੁ | Satnam | True Name | [7] | ||||||||||||
| 6. | ਪਰਮੇਸ਼ੁਰ | Parmeshur [Parameshwara] | Supreme Lord | [8] | ||||||||||||
| 7. | ਪੁਰੁਸ਼/ਪੁਰਖ | Purusha/Purakh | Being | [9] | ||||||||||||
| 8. | ਹਰਿ | Hari | Seizer (of sin) | [10] [11] | ||||||||||||
| 9. | ਮੋਹਨ | Mohan | Charming, Enchanting or Captivating | [10] | ||||||||||||
| 10. | ਜਗਦੀਸ਼ | Jagdish | Lord of the World | [11] | ||||||||||||
| 11. | ਕ੍ਰਿਸ੍ਨ | Krishan [Krishna] | Black | [9] | ||||||||||||
| 12. | ਕਰਣਹਾਰ | Karanhar | Helmsman | [12] | ||||||||||||
| 13. | ਗੋਬਿੰਦ | Gobind [Govind] | Cow Herder | [9] | ||||||||||||
| 14. | ਅਲਖ | Alakh | Unperceivable | [12] | ||||||||||||
| 15. | ਅਗਮ | Agam | Unaccessible | [12] | ||||||||||||
| 16. | ਰਾਮ | Rama [Raam] | Dark | [10] [11] [9] | ||||||||||||
| 17. | ਮਹਾਰਾਜਾ | Maharaja | Great King | |||||||||||||
| 18. | ਚੱਕਰ ਚੱਕਰਵਰਤੀ | Chakara Cakaravaratī | Universal Wheel Turning Emperor | |||||||||||||
| ਠਾਕੁਰ | Thakur | Lord | ||||||||||||||
| Names of Islamic and Persian origin: | ||||||||||||||||
| 1. | ਅਲਹੁ | Allah | The God | [10] [11] | ||||||||||||
| 2. | ਰੱਬ | Rabb [Raab] | Lord | [10] [11] | ||||||||||||
| 3. | ਖੁਦਾ | Khuda | Lord | [11] | ||||||||||||
| 4. | ਰਹੀਮ | Rahim [Raheem] | Merciful | [11] | ||||||||||||
| 5. | ਕਰੀਮ | Karim [Kareem] | Generous | [11] [12] | ||||||||||||
| 6. | ਸਾਹਿਬ | Sahib | Companion | [11] | ||||||||||||
| 7. | ਖਡੂਰ | Kadur [Khadur] | [12] | |||||||||||||
| 8. | ਸੱਚਾ ਪਾਤਿਸ਼ਾਹ | Sache Patishah | True Master King | |||||||||||||
| 9. | ਸ਼ਹਿਨਸ਼ਾਹ | Shahenshah | King of kings | |||||||||||||
The various names for God in Sikhism may stem from either the Indic traditions or the Islamic one. [12] Others are unique to the Sikh tradition, such as Waheguru, Akal Purakh, and Sarabloh. Employment of these terms does not mean Sikhs accept the religious context they are understood in their original sources. [12] For example, the meaning of the words Hari or Ram as used by Sikhs does not mean the same thing as these terms do in the Hindu (particularity Vaishnav) traditions. [12] Usage of these names does not mean Sikhs conceptualize their concept of God in the form of the incarnated devas or devis from Indic mythology, but rather they are used to describe various aspects of God as per Sikh theology. [12]
The Sikh gurus adopted the names for the divine from various faith systems as they saw these sectarian differences in linguistics as unimportant in-comparison to the actual message they were trying to spread. [12] On page 64 of the Guru Granth Sahib, various Islamicate terms for God are also presented freely. [12]
Your names are countless. I do not know their end, but I am sure that there is no one else like you.
— Guru Granth Sahib, page 877 [12]
Sikhism, also known as Sikhi, is a monotheistic religion and philosophy, that originated in the Punjab region of India around the end of the 15th century CE. Sikhism is classified as an Indian religion or Dharmic religion along with Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups and among the largest in the world with about 25–30 million adherents.
The Guru Granth Sahib is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru following the lineage of the ten human gurus of the religion. The Adi Granth, its first rendition, was compiled by the fifth guru, Guru Arjan (1564–1606). Its compilation was completed on 29 August 1604 and first installed inside the Golden Temple in Amritsar on 1 September 1604. Baba Buddha was appointed the first Granthi of the Golden Temple. Shortly afterwards Guru Hargobind added Ramkali Ki Vaar. Later, Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru, added hymns of Guru Tegh Bahadur to the Adi Granth and affirmed the text as his successor. This second rendition became known as the Guru Granth Sahib and is also sometimes referred to as the Adi Granth.
Waheguru is a term used in Sikhism to refer to God as described in Guru Granth Sahib. It is the most common term to refer to God in modern Sikhism.
The following outline is provides an overview of Sikhism, or Sikhi.
Japji Sahib (Punjabi: ਜਪੁਜੀ ਸਾਹਿਬ, pronunciation: ) is the Sikh thesis, that appears at the beginning of the Guru Granth Sahib – the scripture of the Sikhs. It was composed by Guru Angad, and is mostly the writings of Guru Nanak. It begins with Mool Mantra and then follow 38 paudis (stanzas) and completed with a final Salok by Guru Angad at the end of this composition. The 38 stanzas are in different poetic meters.
Ik Onkar, also spelled Ek Onkar or Ik Oankaar ; literally, "one Om", hence interpreted as "There is only one God or one Creator") is a phrase in Sikhism that denotes the one supreme reality. It is a central tenet of Sikh religious philosophy.
The Mūl Mantar is the opening verse of the Sikh scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib. It consists of twelve words in the Punjabi language, written in Gurmukhi script, and are the most widely known among the Sikhs. They summarize the essential teaching of Guru Nanak, thus constituting a succinct doctrinal statement of Sikhism.
The Sarbloh Granth or Sarabloh Granth, also called Manglacharan Puran or Sri Manglacharan Ji, is a voluminous scripture, composed of more than 6,500 poetic stanzas. It is traditionally attributed as being the work of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru. Scholars, on the other hand, attribute the work to after the Guru's death, being authored by an unknown poet. The work is mostly revered by the Nihang sect.
Satnam is the main word that appears in the Sikh sacred scripture called the Guru Granth Sahib.
. Hinduism has pre-historic origins, while Sikhism was founded in the 15th century by Guru Nanak. Both religions share many philosophical concepts such as karma, dharma, mukti, and maya although both religions have different interpretation of some of these concepts.
In Sikhism, God is conceived as the Oneness that permeates the entirety of creation and beyond. It abides within all of creation as symbolized by the symbol Ik Onkar. The One is indescribable yet knowable and perceivable to anyone who surrenders their egoism and meditates upon that Oneness. The Sikh gurus have described God in numerous ways in their hymns included in the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of Sikhism, but the oneness of formless God is consistently emphasized throughout.
Nanakpanthi, also known as Nanakshahi, is a Sikh sect which follows Guru Nanak (1469-1539), the founder of Sikhism.
Akal Purakh is an interchangeable Sikh name used to denote God, or the omnipresent divine.
Akal Ustat is the name given to the second Bani present in the second holy scriptures of the Sikhs called the Dasam Granth. It is composed of 271 verses, and is largely devotional in nature.
Gurū Nānak, also known as Bābā Nānak, was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated as Guru Nanak Gurpurab on Katak Pooranmashi, i.e. October–November.
Guru Maneyo Granth refers to the historic statement of the 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708) shortly before his demise on affirming the sacred scripture Adi Granth as his successor, thereby terminating the line of human Gurus. Installed as the Guru Granth Sahib, it is now the central holy scripture of Sikhism, and the eternal living Guru of all Sikhs. It is central to Sikh worship as it is said to imbibe the one light of the creator manifested in the Ten Sikh Gurus‐one spirit in ten forms.
Sikhism prohibits idolatry, in accordance with mainstream Khalsa norms and the teachings of the Sikh Gurus, a position that has been accepted as orthodox.
Sikhism has often been criticised by non-Sikhs regarding its texts, practices, and societal norms, but Sikhs and other scholars argue that these criticisms are flawed and are based on a biased and poor understanding of the texts, especially of the multiple languages used in the Sikh scriptures. They also argue that most Western scholars who attempted to interpret Eastern religious texts were missionaries and could not overcome the bias they carried with them, irrespective of whether they were translating the Quran, Vedas, Puranas or the Guru Granth Sahib. Sikhism's founder Guru Nanak rejected ritualistic worship and encouraged belief in one God: Waheguru. The veneration and bowing to the Guru Granth Sahib, has often been interpreted by Western scholars as akin to idolatry, as observed by the Hindu faith, which defeats the ideology of Guru Nanak. Other scholars dismiss Sikhism as, either consciously or spontaneously, a syncretism of the Hindu Bhakti and Islamic Sufi movements.
Sikh sects, denominations, traditions, movements, sub-traditions, also known as sampardai in the Punjabi language, are sub-traditions within Sikhism that believe in different approaches to practicing the religion. All sampradas believe in the One Creator God typically rejecting both idol worship and caste systems. Different interpretations have emerged over time, some of which have a living teacher as the leader. The major historic traditions in Sikhism, states Harjot Oberoi, have included Udasi, Nirmala, Nanakpanthi, Khalsa, Sahajdhari, Namdhari Kuka, Nirankari and Sarvaria.
Rama, known as Ram Avatar or Raja Ram, is considered an important figure in Sikhism, due to his inclusion as one among the 24 incarnations of Vishnu in the Chaubis Avtar, a composition in the Dasam Granth traditionally and historically attributed to Guru Gobind Singh. The discussion of Rama and Krishna is the most extensive in this section of the secondary Sikh scripture. The composition is martial, stating that the avatar of Vishnu appears in the world to restore good and defeat evil, but asserts that these avatars are not God, but agents of the God. God is beyond birth and death. The famous Savaiya and Dohra from the Rehras Sahib, read daily be devout Sikhs, comes from Ram Avtar Bani. However, it is not to be confused with Sikhs believing or worshipping Raja Ram or Krishan. It is clear from Guru Gobind Singh's verses in Chaupai Sahib, a part of Sikh Nitnem, or daily prayer.
Waheguru: The name that Sikhs use for God. Waheguru means 'wonderful God'
There are many names of God in Sikhism; the most uttered is Waheguru which means wonderful Lord. Satnam means True name. Akal Purakh is Timeless one or eternal being. Sikhs believe that one true God is the Lord of all religions and they do not have the exclusive right on Him. No single religion can have the monopoly of God and different religions are various ways towards the same Waheguru. "You are the Father, Mother, Friend, Brother, with you as Friend, support everywhere, what fear can I have?"
Parmeshur/Parameshwara: the Supreme Being, God
Different names are used for God in Sikhism, including Satnam, Hari, Ram, Mohan, Allah, Khuda, Rabb, but usually the term Satnam (True Name) or Wahe Guru (victorv to the guru) is used as a mantra. Reciting Sikh prayers is another form of Nam simaran.
Sikhs frequently call God Waheguru, meaning literally "praise to the Guru', or 'the wonderful, awe-inspiring Guru'. Guru Nanak used the names Akal Purukh, the Being Beyond Time, but also the honorific title Sahib, meaning Lord, Ram, Hari, from Hinduism, and Allah or Khuda (Creator) from Islam. On page 64 of the Guru Granth Sahib there is a list of Islamic names for God: "Allah, Alakh, Agam, Kadur, Karanhar, Karim." Man Mohan Singh translates the passage as: 'He is the unseen, inscrutable, inaccessible, omnipotent and bounteous creator.' Clearly, sectarian names meant little to Guru Nanak. In preaching to Hindus he would use names with which they were familiar, if his audience were Muslim he would respect their sensibilities by using Islamic terms. The message mattered more than engaging in wrangling which would only deflect his hearers from listening to and accepting the truth which he was eager to convey. Sectarian argument would defeat his purpose completely. As he once said: 'Without the Guru one prates, prattles and wrangles' (AG 466). ... The names given to God may be unimportant but there is no suggestion that God becomes incarnate in any form as some Hindu teachings assert. The use of the name Ram or Hari, for example, did not imply the acceptance of the Hindu mythology associated with them. Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind, in particular, describe themselves as divinely appointed messengers sent by God to alleviate the sufferings of humanity in the so-called Kal Yug, Age of Darkness, when God's teachings are forgotten, but they never described themselves as incarnations.
