Sri Guru Granth Sahib: Review of ੴ (Ik▫oaŉkār)

Ambarsaria · #1 (**permalink**) 14-Oct-2011, 02:40 AM

This is based on Professor Sahib Singh’s following work,

sRI gurU grMQ swihb drpx
(Sri Guru Granth Sahib Darpan)

Professor Sahib Singh uses his great grasp of Punjabi, Sanskrit and writing styles/constructions based on these in the composition of writings. His inherent and deep knowledge and upfront presentation allow us to review, comment, agree or disagree but it is all in the open.

ੴ is the first composite word in Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji. The phonetics of this word while quite clear has also seen variations and has lead to change of possible meaning(s) as a result.

Phonetics:
I am no Phonetics expert but I can relate to Dr. Kulbir Thind’s marvellowus contributions in this regard and accept the phonetics presented by him as follows,

Quote:

ੴ1, E Aqy >

‘iek EAMkwr’

Ik▫oaŉkār

(Ref: http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gur...n=Page&Param=1)
This is in full alignment with Professor Sahib Singh’s description and dis-assembly of the word.

Quote:

Note: I do not like or accept from my learning the “Ik –Ongkaar”. The sound of “g” in this is inappropriate in any possible forms from silent to full.

Meaning of ੴ:

1-ie`k[ E-EAM[ > -kwr[

Quote:

‘E’ sMsik®q dw Sbd hY[ Amr koS Anuswr ies dy iqMn ArQ hn:-

‘E’ is a word from Sanskrit. It has three possible meanings.

Quote:

(1) vyd Awid Drm-pusqkW dy ArMB Aqy A^Ir ivc, Ardws jW iksy piv~qr Drm-kwrj dy ArMB ivc A`Kr 'EN' piv~qr A`Kr jwx ky vriqAw jWdw hY[
Used as EN, an auspicious word at the beginning or end of religious books.

Quote:

(2) iksy hukm jW pRSn Awidk dy au~qr ivc Awdr Aqy siqkwr nwl ‘jI hW’ AwKxw[ so,‘EN’ dw ArQ hY 'jI hW'[

A way and preamble in answering respectfully like “ji haan” (colloquially “yes respectful one”)

Quote:

(3) EN-bRhm[
Brahma, a Hindu God /deity.

Quote:

iehnW ivcoN ikhVw ArQ ies Sbd dw ie`Qy ilAw jwxw hY-ies ƒ idRVH krn leI Sbd 'EN' dy pihlW '1' ilK id`qw hY[ ies dw Bwv ieh hY ik ie`Qy 'EN' dw ArQ hY 'auh hsqI jo iek hY, ijs vrgw hor koeI nhIN hY Aqy ijs ivc ieh swrw jgq smw jWdw hY['

So which one applies!

To confirm the proper application of meaning, '1' is used in Sri Guru Granth Sahib.

Quote:

qIjw ih`sw > hY, ijs dw au~cwrn hY 'kwr'[ 'kwr' sMsik®q dw iek ipCyqr hY[ Awm qOr qy ieh ipCyqr 'nWv' dy A^Ir ivc vriqAw jWdw hY[ ies dw ArQ hY 'iek-rs, ijs ivc qbdIlI nw Awvy['

The third part (> ) is from Sanskrit and is a syllable used at the ending of a word. It stands for “one essence that may not change”.

Quote:

eykMkwru-eyk EAMkwr, auh iek EAM jo iek-rs hY, jo hr QW ivAwpk hY[
so, "<>" dw au~cwrn hY " iek (eyk) EAMkwr" Aqy iesdw ArQ hY "iek Akwl purK, jo iek-rs ivAwpk hY"[

Hence,

Quote:

<> stands for “One creator present as one essence everywhere”.

Appreciate any comments and corrections of any errors as all errors are mine to correct.

Sat Sri Akal.

Seeker9 · #2 (**permalink**) 14-Oct-2011, 03:31 AM

That is a very detailed explanation. I will download and read more
I also have a couple of translations and would offer the following
that most of you will probably already be familiar with

================================================== =============
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
Chant and meditate.
True in the primal beginning, true throughout the ages
True here and now.
O Nanak, Forever true

(Dr Sant Singh Khalsa, MD)
http://www.gurbanifiles.org/translations/
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/gurmat-vichaar/37225-sri-guru-granth-sahib-review-ik.html

================================================== ==============
God is one. It is true. He is the Creator. He has no concern with
anything. He has no enemy. He is immortal. He does not take
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=37225
birth. He came into existence on His own. He is realized by Guru’s
(divine teacher) grace reciting God’s name.

Recite

Mentioned above is true from the beginning, for
a long time. It is true now. Nanak says it will always be true.

(Swarn Singh Bains)
http://swarnbains.tripod.com/

================================================== =================

So both translations describing a few common characteristics:

- One-ness
- Beyond birth
- Self-existent
- Immortal
- This is the Truth

harry haller · #3 (**permalink**) 14-Oct-2011, 22:52 PM

Gurfatehji

As Ambersariaji has kindly provided us with

One creator present as one essence everywhere

How can these two letters encapsulate sikhi. What can we learn from them? If we were to focus only on Ek Onkar for the moment, what can it teach us?

The statement is pretty definitive, there is an energy that kickstarted the big bang, and all life that spewed forth from that bang has an element, an essence of creator. The creator is different from 'god' as we have no record of the creators word, of the creators thoughts, unlike the Old Testament. So for christians it is easier to personalise God, clearly we were never meant to personalise the Creator.

I have never created anything in my life, if I had created a life, and I wanted the best for that life, would I nurture it personally, or give it the tools to nurture itself, again a stark difference between Christian and Sikh. Creator must seem quite a aloof Creator by comparison, no garden of eden, just sort of, here you go, theres the toolbox, get on with it. Creator does not seem to treat us like children, Creator seems to treat us as adults with free will, mind you, I have always thought the best brought up children were the ones that were never treated like children.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=37225

If Creators essence is everywhere, and bearing in mind Sikhism and science go hand in hand, then we are talking at a molecular level, I am no scientist, so I am afraid I cannot expand this any further, but Carbon comes to mind, but then again, it does not say Creator is everywhere, it says the essence is

wikki says
In philosophy, essence is the attribute or set of attributes that make an object or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it loses its identity.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=37225

So essence of vanilla is the smelly bit without all the bits that do not smell, so essence of Creator could possibly be described by the lines following, namely,
to have no fear, to make no enemies, to recognise that what is now, was before, and always will be,

but going back to the line, one Creator present as one essence everywhere............................

I have to stop here, I will think further on this at bedtime, I look forward to the interpretation of others, thanks

harry haller · #4 (**permalink**) 17-Oct-2011, 15:23 PM

I needed a few days to think this through before the next line, it has certainly made me think harder about the rest of creation, and knowing that an creator exists as one essence in everything puts a different perspective on things,
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=37225

MY wife rang me that evening to tell me that 'spot' the ferret was ill. Now I am not keen on the ferrets, I do not even know why we have them, they smell something terrible, but I had finished thinking about the above line, and I drove home to see Spot.

Spot looked terrible, my wife was worried about the vets fees, I was worried about the vets fees, however earlier that day, the shop had done ok, we had taken enough to afford the vet without a huge problem, I picked Spot up and looked at him, I had never looked at him before, not that close, he looked bad.., I cannot do much about animals dying in India or Africa, or even children, but here in front of me was our ferret, who although was not dying, did not look great, We paid extra to get him seen to that moment, and a few hours later he was pumped full of steriods, and antibiotics for an ear infection. If creation looks you in the eye and asks for your help, how can you refuse, if you have animals, then you have to put their needs above your own, or else, do not keep animals. The trees, the ferrets, the snails, the ants, spiders, all creation, all contain essence of creator, all need to be existed with, side by side, some need to be eaten, eat them with respect and gratitude, some need to be worn, wear them with respect, and that is what Ek Onkar means to me, I could spend another year figuring it out completely, and I am sure as time goes on, my understanding will get better, thank you

Ambarsaria · #5 (**permalink**) 17-Oct-2011, 16:57 PM

Harry Haller ji thanks for a wonderful post. One thing to watch out is the mis-conception and may be I am wrong to say so, that a ditto image of the creator resides in all of us. That is not true from my understanding. An image that does not differentiate between you and me, a Hindu neighbor, a Muslim neighbor, a Christian neighbor, and all humans resides identically in all of us per the creator's definition of how much of what we should be capable of. A similar image resides in various life forms specific to their needs but without favoritism within each segment.

So this kind of defeats the line about merging as we can not merge more than how we are created. Whole ether is the creation and the creator that creates is in the total sum. Creator never created anything apart from the creator's architectural plans.

Understand of course but don't try to merge when one doesn't even have a choice to un-merge.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=37225
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=37225

Sat Sri Akal.

harry haller · #6 (**permalink**) 17-Oct-2011, 17:09 PM

Ambersariaji,

Excuse my quick replies, I only post here when I am working, so I have to grab the chance as work and my brain allows, but I fully agree with you on the merging point, as I understand it, everything is present and ready to go, I have a pristine 1994 V8 LSE in my head, I just do not know how to drive it yet, although I am learning, maybe I should get some 'L' plates so other enlightened souls know I am learning and can make allowances for my constant bad driving the wrong way down one way streets, but one day............

harry haller · #7 (**permalink**) 17-Oct-2011, 17:16 PM

Ambersariaji,

On your point of the ditto image, allow me to share my own thoughts regarding this,

If we are all blessed with an essence of creator, and each of us has a singular essence, than that essence will not be the same as another, as once interpretation and experience is applied to it, it becomes personal, through life, and study of our own individual way, we become enlightened, an elder, an Iman, a Gyani, each at the top of his/her understanding and learning, but only within that essence, what seems to be the end, is just the beginning, I do not think any religion can take you further than that, after that, with the knowledge you have, you have to find your own way further, at this point there is no sikh, no muslim, no hindu, only man and creator, look forward to your thoughts

Ishna · #8 (**permalink**) 17-Oct-2011, 17:51 PM

Regarding essence within and without, there might be value in doing a SriGranth search for the English term 'with water' to read some of the shabads with ideas like:

ਕਹੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਹਮ ਤੁਮ ਗੁਰਿ ਖੋਈ ਹੈ ਅੰਭੈ ਅੰਭੁ ਮਿਲੋਗਨੀ ॥੪॥੩॥
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=37225
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=37225
कहु नानक हम तुम गुरि खोई है अम्भै अम्भु मिलोगनी ॥४॥३॥
Kaho Nānak ham ṯum gur kẖo▫ī hai ambẖai ambẖ miloganī. ||4||3||
Says Guru Nanak, the Guru has destroyed my sense of 'mine and yours'. Like water with water, I am blended with God. ||4||3||

(from here)

It's all just the swirl of water.

harry haller · #9 (**permalink**) 17-Oct-2011, 18:52 PM

Ishnabhenji,

Know what I think about that statement, if our minds are like oil and water, with one to be manmukh, and the other to be gurmukh, then Guru is washing up liquid! (which as we all know, allows oil and water to mix, or am I the only male here who is an expert on dishwashing)