Basic Sikh beliefs

Sadh sangat I am trying to put together an article about basic sikh beleiefs. Its incomplete still as I need to write about Guru and Gursikh. Please provide your feedback - it will be read by prospective sikhs - (people cusious about sikhi but dont know much )

Basic Sikh Beliefs:

The sikh set of beliefs is called Gurmat which is constructed around two options – The content was revealed to gurus and is thus of divine origin and second, the search for and the knowledge of truth are important, but living with these aims is the paramount goal of sikh life :

kyqy bMDn jIA ky gurmuiK moK duAwr ] (62-11, isrIrwgu, mÚ 1)
kaytay banDhan jee-a kay gurmukh mokh du-aar.
There are so many entanglements for the soul. Only as Gurmukh do we find the Gate
of Liberation.
schu ErY sBu ko aupir scu Awcwru ]5] (62-11, isrIrwgu, mÚ 1)
sachahu orai sabh ko upar sach aachaar. ||5||
Truth is higher than everything; but higher still is truthful living. ||5||
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/essays-on-sikhism/14586-basic-sikh-beliefs.html

The gurmat thus constitutes both belief and practice. A belief that does not find expression in practical action has no place in sikh thought.

piq ivxu pUjw sq ivxu sMjmu jq ivxu kwhy jnyaU ] (903-3, rwmklI, mÚ 1)
pat vin poojaa sat vin sanjam jat vin kaahay janay-oo.
Worship without faith; self-discipline without truthfulness; the ritual of the sacred
thread without chastity - what good are these?
nwvhu Dovhu iqlku cVwvhu suc ivxu soc n hoeI ]6] (903-3, rwmklI, mÚ 1)
naavhu Dhovahu tilak charhaavahu such vin soch na ho-ee. ||6||
You may bathe and wash, and apply a ritualistic tilak mark to your forehead, but
without inner purity, there is no understanding. ||6||

GOD(Vahiguru):
The Sikhs believe in the unity and unique nature of Vahiguru. They are fiercely opposed to any anthormorphic conceptions of the divine. Hence Vahiguru has no relatives, no mother, no father, no wife, no son, no rival who may become a potential contender.

swcy sicAwr ivthu kurbwxu ] (597-5, soriT, mÚ 1)
saachay sachiaar vitahu kurbaan.
I am a sacrifice to the Truest of the True.
nw iqsu rUp vrnu nhI ryiKAw swcY sbid nIswxu ] rhwau ] (597-5, soriT, mÚ 1)
naa tis roop varan nahee raykh-i-aa saachai sabad neesaan. rahaa-o.
He has no form, no color and no features; through the True Word of the Shabad, He
reveals Himself. ||Pause||


Vahiguru is essentially different form the world and consequently is beyond human language and categories such as gender. Vahiguru is omnipotent, omnipresent and transcendent Sovereign. There is however, a fundamental polarity between Vahiguru and the creation which leaves no provision for divine incarnation. Vahiguru is called Ajooni in the opening verse of Guru Granth sahib which means beyond birth and death.

<> siq nwmu krqw purKu inrBau inrvYru Akwl mUriq AjUnI sYBM gur pRswid ] (1-1, mÚ 1)
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=14586
ik-oNkaar sat naam kartaa purakh nirbha-o nirvair akaal moorat ajoonee saibhaN gur parsaad.
One Universal Creator God. The Name Is Truth. Creative Being Personified. No Fear.
No Hatred. Image Of The Undying, Beyond Birth, Self-Existent. By Guru's Grace ~
Vahiguru runs the world with justice and grace. The principle of justice represents the stern aspect of divine nature: Vahiguru the father figure destroys evil and supports good, (M1, GG, 1028) and in the process uses human beings as instruments in human history. Guru Nanak believed that Indian rulers who had become corrupt deserved moral retribution, which came in form of Mughal invasion(M1 GG 360).

Kurwswn Ksmwnw kIAw ihMdusqwnu frwieAw ] (360-12, Awsw, mÚ 1)
khuraasaan khasmaanaa kee-aa hindusataan daraa-i-aa.
Having attacked Khuraasaan, Baabar terrified Hindustan.
AwpY dosu n dyeI krqw jmu kir muglu cVwieAw ] (360-12, Awsw, mÚ 1)
aapai dos na day-ee kartaa jam kar mugal charhaa-i-aa.
The Creator Himself does not take the blame, but has sent the Mughal as the messenger of death.

In loving and gracious aspect, Vahiguru the mother figure listens to the prayers of human beings and fulfills their wishes. Vahiguru pardons their wrongdoings and continues to love and care for them. Divine grace is all-powerful and can wash away all previous evil. It can transform a heron (the symbol of hypocrisy) into a swan (purity).


Grace by its very nature a divine gift, and it cannot be acquired as a matter of right. Nonetheless human beings are expected to prepare themselves actively to receive it.

Vahiguru, the king of kings bestows power and withdraws power from political rulers and brings about changes in nature with oceans becoming dry land and mountains submerging under deep seas (which has now been acknowledged by science).

ndIAw ivic itby dyKwly QlI kry Asgwh ] (144-11, mwJ, mÚ 1)
nadee-aa vich tibay daykhaalay thalee karay asgaah.
He makes mountains submerge in rivers, and turn the deserts into bottomless(figurative for very deep) oceans.

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