Nirgun and Sargun

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NirgunandSargun is terminology used within Sikhism to refer to the ineffable (nirgun) and the manifest (sargun) nature of God. [1] There is no dichotomy in the nirgun and sargun nature of God, [2] as there only One (Ik Onkar). [3] [4]

Contents

"He Himself is formless, and also formed; the One Lord is without attributes, and also with attributes."

— SGGS. Ang 250

Within Hinduism, they are adjectives, indicating God's transcendence of all qualities, properties, and predicates (nirguna) or God's possessing qualities (saguna). [5] [6]

In the Guru Granth Sahib

Before creation, God existed all alone as Nirgun in a state of Sunn Samadhi, deep meditation, as says Guru Nanak. [7]

"There was darkness for countless years.

There was neither earth nor sky; there was only Its Will.

There was neither day nor night, neither sun nor moon.

They (God) were in deep meditation.

There was nothing except Itself."

— SGGS. Ang 1035

Then God willed, created the universe, and diffused into nature as Sargun.[ citation needed ]

In Indian philosophy

The Sikh view of the dual nature of Absolute God runs parallel to Shankara's Vedic (Saguna and Nirguna) Brahman conception, as well as the tradition of Indian philosophy in general. [8] Saguna is the divine with form, Nirguna without form. [9] Advaita sees Nirguna Brahman as the ultimate reality. [10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Pemberton, Kelly; Nijhawan, Michael (2009-01-13). Shared Idioms, Sacred Symbols, and the Articulation of Identities in South Asia. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-135-90476-0.
  2. ↑ Current Thoughts on Sikhism. Institute of Sikh Studies. 1996. p. 253. ISBN   978-81-85815-01-5.
  3. ↑ Singha, Surindara Pala (2004). Inner Dynamics of Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Nanak Dev University. p. 140. ISBN   978-81-7770-115-9.
  4. ↑ "Ang 250 of Guru Granth Sahib Ji - SikhiToTheMax". www.sikhitothemax.org. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  5. ↑ Johnson, William John, ed. (2009). "saguṇa". A dictionary of Hinduism. Oxford reference online premium (1st ed.). Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN   978-0-19-172670-5.
  6. ↑ Johnson, William John, ed. (2009). "nirguṇa". A dictionary of Hinduism. Oxford reference online premium (1 ed.). Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN   978-0-19-172670-5.
  7. ↑ Munde, Amarpreet Singh. "Introduction to Sikhism - Section II: God and His Universe". www.gurmat.info. Retrieved 2017-12-11.
  8. ↑ Singh, Mohinder (1988). History and Culture of Panjab. Atlantic Publishers & Distri.
  9. ↑ Rambachan, Anantanand (2001-01-01). "Heirarchies [sic] in the Nature of God? Questioning The "Saguna-Nirguna" Distinction in Advaita Vedanta". Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies. 14 (1). doi:10.7825/2164-6279.1250. ISSN   2164-6279.
  10. ↑ Saha, Niranjan (2019). "Saguṇa and Nirguṇa-Bhakti, Advaita Vedānta, and Madhusūdana Sarasvat". Journal of Vaishnava Studies. 28 (1): 73–82.
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