Understanding Mool Mantar

luv4u · 22-05-2007, 12:53 PM

Mool Mantra
Ik onkar, satnam, karta purakh, nirbhau,
Nir vair, aakaal murat, ajooni se bhang,
Gur parsaad. Jap. Aad sach jugaad sach,
Hai bhi sach naanak hosi bhi sach.

luv4u · #21 (**permalink**) 07-06-2007, 12:15 PM

Mool Mantra Standing Majestically in the opening slok Of Japji Sahib

Japji Sahib consists of the Mool Mantra,an opening Salok, a set of 38 pauris(hymns) and a final salok. This Bani called Japji Sahib, appear at the very beginning of the SGGS from Page 1 to Page 8. It is regarded as the most important or 'set of verses' by the Sikhs and is recited every morning by all practising faith in Sikhism. The word ‘Jap’ means to ‘recite’ or ‘to ‘chant’. ‘Ji’ is a word that is used to show respect as is the word ‘Sahib’.

This Bani was composed by the founder of the faith, Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji who was the first of ten human Gurus of this faith. They were responsible for the creation of this faith which took place over period 1469 to 1708 - a period of about 239 years. At the point when the last of these Gurus departed this Earth, the Guruship was passed to the Sikh Holy Book, the SGGS The Sikh treat this as a living Guru and the respect shown for the or ‘Message of the Gurus’ is unique in this religion.
The message given in Japji Sahib is said to be a summary of the message contained within the whole of the SGGS.s. All Nitnem Gutkas start with Japji Sahib but may also contain other bani (hymns) as well.

The description of Japji Sahib that follows is taken from "The Encyclopedia of Sikhism" by Harbans Singh (published in 1996 by the Punjabi University, Patiala):

...Japji is the most riveting Sikh Prayer recited by the devout early in the morning. The composition is not assigned to any particular raga or musical measure, as is the rest of the Scriptural text...

"Japji is universally accepted to be the composition of Guru Nanak, the founding prophet of Sikhism, although, unlike other scriptural hymns and compositions, it remains anonymous without being credited individually to any of the Gurus..."

"Preceded by what is called Mool Mantar, the basic statement of creed, the Japu comprises an introductory sloka and 38 stanzas traditionally called pauree and a concluding Salok attributed by some to Guru Angad. The initial Salok too appears again in the Scripture as a preamble to the 17th Astapadi of Guru Arjan's famous composition Sukhmani, the Psalm of Peace. The entire composition including the Mool Mantar, two saloks and the thirty eight pauris form the sacred morning prayer Japji Sahib or “Japu Nisanu”. It serves as a prologue to the Scripture and encapsulates Guru Nanak's creed and philosophy, as a whole..."

"The message of the “Japu” is abiding in nature and universal in application. It simply describes the nature of Ultimate Reality and the way to comprehend it, and is not tied to any particular religious system.
In a word it simply defines Sikhism, the religious view of Guru Nanak..."

Source: Sikhiwiki
http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php?title=Japji_Sahib

luv4u · #22 (**permalink**) 08-06-2007, 08:38 AM

Guru Granth Sahib and Placement of Mool Mantra

Mool Mantraforms the very first line in the SGGS. Guru Granth Sahib is the Sikh's Holy Book. If it is not in use it is wrapped in decorative silks and placed on a platform.

During the day the book is opened on cushions (manji). If it is not being read it may be covered with a cloth called a rumalla. Whilst it is being read a fan called a chauri (a sign of authority) may be waved over it. The book is made up from the sacred writing of six of the gurus. it contains 1,430 pages, 3,384 hymns and is always exactly the same. The language it is written in is Gurmukhi (literally "from the mouth of gurus")...a written form of the panjabi. It is treated like a live guru; with great respect. Wherever the book is can be considered a meeting place for Sikhs.

Mool Mantra: A Relook.

Sikh mantra; the first hymn in the Guru Granth Sahib. The ‘Mool Mantra’ sums up Sikh beliefs about God, and is said to be Guru Nanak's first teaching. Translated from the Gurmukhi script, it says, ‘There is only one god. His name is truth. Present in all beings, creator of everything, he is without fear or hate. He is timeless, beyond birth and death. Self-existent, he is known by the Guru's grace’.

The nine statements of the ‘Mool Mantra’ are:

Ik Onkar ‘There is only one God’: Sikh statement that God is one (monotheism). It is formed from two letters in Gurmukhi script, and is often used as a symbol.
Sat Nam ‘His name is Truth’: Sikh name for God. The name itself is a holy formula, or mantra, that contains everything about God. Sikhs believe that chanting or meditating on God's name will enable the worshipper to get closer to God, and eventually to reach a state of pure understanding, peace, and salvation.

Karta Purakh ‘He is the creator of everything’: Sikhs believe that God is the creator and ‘mover’ of everything; nothing happens without God's will. Sikh attitudes to the sanctity of the God-given environment and the human body are shaped by this belief.

Nir Bhau ‘He is without fear’: Sikhs believe that God has no fear because he is in control of the world, and nothing exists outside his domain to threaten him.

Nir Vair ‘He is without hate’: Sikhs believe that God cares equally for everything he created. Thus everyone is forgiven for mistakes if they are sincerely sorry, as God is goodness and mercy.

Akal Murat ‘He is timeless’: Sikhs believe that God is immortal, that he has always existed and always will; he has no limits and can see all events. As God is everywhere (omnipresent), he has no need of movement, he just ‘is’.

Ajuni ‘He is beyond life and death’.

Saibhang ‘Self-existent’: Sikhs believe that God is not in relation to another; he exists self-sufficiently in relation to himself.

Gur Prashad ‘He is known by the Guru's grace’.

roopk · #23 (**permalink**) 08-06-2007, 01:22 PM

Mool Mantra lewading to Sikh Monoethism and Personal God

The "Mul Mantra", that epitomizes the formula of the Sikh creed, enunciates that God is the One only God whose name is Truth, and who is the Creator, without fear and without hate; the Eternal, whose "spirit pervades the universe"; the Ungenerated Purakh, Self-existent, to whose worship the grace of the "Guru" leads.

God is described as One, "Ek Oankar". There is but One God. Innumerable passages in the Guru Granth amply prove this. But what does "unity" mean? Does it mean a unity in the sense of monoism, that is, the unification of all realities (whether finite of infinite; whether created or uncreated), into the one Reality called God? Or does it mean the unification of all gods and goddesses into One God, as the Greeks did in ancient times? Or does it mean the One underlying principle or source from which all multitudes arise as the Greek philosophers' thought? Or does it mean the one only Good as opposed to evil in the world as Zoroaster's God came to represent? Or does it mean the Unique One, the Transcendental One?

The God of Guru Nanak cannot be the God of "Advaitists", because for Guru Nanak and his Sikhs, the world is not illusion, "maya". It is real:

"Sache tere khand sache brahamand
Sache tere loa sache akar" (SGGS, p.463)

(Real are Thy realms and real Thy Universe. Real are Thy worlds and real the created forms.)

Professor Harbans Singh in his book, "Guru Nanak and Origins of the Sikh Faith", poits out:

"One of the conspicuous mark of Guru Nanak's teaching was its spirit of affirmation. It took the world as real and embraced man's life in its various aspects."

The God of Guru Granth cannot be the Absolute of the monists, because the entire Guru Granth is a litany of hymns addressed to someone personal. The One, Guru Nanak speaks of is a transcendental one. But the transcendence is not in the sense of Deism, whose deity has no connection whatsoever with the world. For Guru Nanak He is also immanent, that is, not in the sense of pantheism but in a monotheistic sense. He is transcendent, since He is above the world as the highest being and as the ultimate cause, unique in every sense of the word. He is also immanent, since He is "present in" the world. This "present in" is certainly not the same as "identical with" the world. In the Guru Granth transcendence of God is greatly emphasized:

"Sochai soch(i) na hovai je sochi lakh var.
Chupai chup na hovai je lai raha liv tar.
Bhukhia bhukh na utari je banna puria bhar.
Sahas sianapa lakh hohi ta ik na chalai nal(i)" (SGGS, p.1)

The English translation follows:

"Not by thought alone;
Can He be known
Though one thinks
A hundred thousand times;
Not in a solemn silence
Nor in deep meditation
Though fasting yields and abundance of virtue
It cannot appease the hunger for truth
No by none of these,
Nor by a hundred thousand other devices,
Can God be reached."

The hymn extolling His transcendence are comparably more in number than those which stress His immanence.

Transcendence should be conceived not as something, "Up above" or beyond space; it is rather an essentially absolute independence, self-sufficient. In like manner, immanence is not a mixture of Divine Beings with created realities, but a mode of spiritual prescence, absolutely irreducible to that of corporeal prescence and by that very fact, infinitely more intimate, enveloping and capable of inhering in everything.

Guru Nanak says:

"Ekai pargat(u) ekai gupta ekai dhundhukaro"

i.e.

"The One is Revealed
The One is Hidden
The One is behind the Dark Veil"

This states that God is so transcendent that revelation is needed to know Him:"The One is Revealed". He is so immanent that He cannot be seen:"The One is Hidden", yet since He is the Ground of all, He is said to be the One behind the veil: "The One is behind the Dark Veil"

.Therefore the God of Sikhism is a "personal" God, otherwise the "Pita", "Pritam" and "Khasam-sahib" will have no meaning.

"Ek(u) pita ekas ke ham barik" (SGGS, p.611)

i.e.

"The One God is the Father of all; We are His children."

......Guru Nanak says that God is the Creator of heaven and earth. Even the highest gods of Hinduism: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are all created by Him. Guru Nanak denies any kind of material cause by bringing in "Hukam" in the concept of creation, consistently and rightly. The creation takes place through His Will.

"Hukami hovan(i) akar..."
"kita pasau eko kavau"
"Jo tis(u) bhavai soi karasi"

His Will it is that creates the forms...
How speak of Him who with one Word did the
whole Universe create.
What He wills He ordains

Some scholars such as Dr. Sher Singh think that Guru Nanak's idea of creation is monistic. This is misleading. A correct understanding of the Guru's concept of creation, gives a better clue to the understanding of his concept, than using Hindu philosophy. The term creation expresses the way in which the world and everything pertaining to the world have their origin, ground and final goal in God. It implies a comprehensive action of God on the world and a total relationship of the world to God. The concept transcends all categories of thought, and the metaphysical systems like pantheism, emanationism and dualism cannot be reconciled with the doctrine of creation, because on the positive side, it is the action of a "personal" God.

Creation embraces the whole of reality of the world, not just its begining, but its whole existence including its consummation; and not just its static being, but its dynamism and activity. We must, therefore, insist that creation is not a "cause" within the category of causes, but the living transcendent ground of the world and its movement. Creation means everything without exception, is God's action and God's beneficient action towards man. The belief in Creation is to see someone behind all things, to see the world as "gift".

The goal of creation can only be man, as person and as community. How true this is when the sociological implication of "langer" is considered. Only man can receive love as love. Creation is considered as a free act of God to man. It means that the whole of reality comes to him as a "sabad" (Word) of God, summoning and inviting him to an equally total response, in which man responds to the "sabad" with the fullness of his own being and of his world.

"Nirankar(u) akar(u) hoi, ekmakar(u) apar(u) sadaia
Ekmakarah(u) sabad dhuni Oankar(i) akar(u) banaia"...Varan Bhai Gurdas, 26.2

The Guru uses words like "Kartar", "Siranda", "Usaranahar", "Khaliq" and "Karanhar", which are all personal names, as if to mean that the Creation is the action of a Personal God.

adopted from:***************
http://www.sikhnet.com/Sikhnet/discu...&High light=0
__________________

luv4u · #24 (**permalink**) 08-06-2007, 09:21 PM

Mool Mantra and Indication Of Gods Attributes

The Guru Granth Sahib contains many Names for God, both masculine and feminine. These are all used to describe God. Ultimately, the Gurus do not consider God to be male or female.

The Mul Mantra states that God is 'Ajuni' - Unborn. Thus stating that God belongs to neither sex.

luv4u · #25 (**permalink**) 09-06-2007, 08:36 AM

Ek Onkar,Mool Mantra and Bij Mantra

Guru Nanak's concept and vision of the Supreme Being is embodied in terse terms in the Sikh Fundamental Creed, Mool Mantra, literally meaning the Root Formula. Because of its importance as a basic theological declaration around which revolves the whole Sikh philosophical thought, it is most appropriately placed in the very beginning of the Sikh scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib. It affirms in unequivocal terms Guru Nanak's uncompromising belief in monotheism. In the original the text read as:

"Ek Onkar Satnam Karta Purush Nirbhau Virvair Akal Murat, Ajuni Saibhang Gurprasad(i)"

The English rendering would approximate to:

There is One and only One God who is transcendent as well as immanent. True and Eternal Name. Creator and Person. Without Fear and without Enmity. Timeless Form, Unborn, Self-existent. Realized by Divine Grace.

Besides Mool Mantra there is another term Bij Mantra (Seed Formula) which is occurs in Guru Arjun's composition 'Sukhmani' (Pearl of Peace). The original text where it appears runs as:

Bij Manter sarab ko Gyan. Chahu Varona meh japey kou Naam."

It's English version is:

All can be enlightened with Bij Mantra. Anyone from four castes can meditate on it.

It may be noted that this is entirely in contrast to the traditions of the caste ridden Hindu society wherein the lower castes are not entitled to benefit from enlightenment of Mantras for meditation, etc.

The term Bij Mantra signifies any word or phrase out of which develops a prayer meant to be meditated upon or chanted to invoke Divine blessing. Almost all the Sikh scholars and theologians are unanimous in recognizing Ek-Onkar as the Bij Mantra out of which has emanated Guru Nanak's vision of the Supreme Being in the form of Mool Mantra. That is why it stands majestically at the head of the Mool Mantra and forms its integral part.

It is constituted of two components

- Ek and Onkar. Ek means one, and is written as a numerical figure '1'. Onkar stands for the Primal mystical Divine Name of God referred to as Brahma in the Vedic literature. In order to grasp fully the underlying spiritual significance and meaning of Ek-Onkar each of its components needs to be studied in depth, beginning with Onkar.

The root of Onkar is traceable to the Hindu sacred syllable Om, also written as Aum. Historically, in the beginning, Om was used as a reply of approval or consent. It is equivalent to the English word 'Amen' uttered at the end of a Christian prayer, meaning 'so be it'.

At a later stage, with the evolution of Indian philosophic thought, the sages of Upanishads pronounced it as an adequate symbol of the Absolute Transcendent Reality, Brahma. It is considered as the unity of all sound to which all matters and energy are reduced in their primordial form, hence fit as a symbol for Atman (soul) or Brahma, the Supreme Being, which is the unity of all existence. These - and possibly some other - considerations led the Vedic sages to accord to Om the highest Divine reverence and worship. As a very sacred and powerful Mantra it forms part of daily worship and meditation by Hindu devotees. It is treated as the holiest symbol of Divinity calling it Nada Brahma or Shabda Brahma in the form of sound. Its nearest equivalent in the West is Logos or the 'Word'. St. John's Gospel expounds it thus:

"in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God." The Word was the true light that enlightens all men!

Written in original, it is composed of three letters of Sanskrit alphabet, corresponding to A U M of English alphabet. According to the polytheistic tradition of Hinduism it also represented the Hindu Trinity, each letter standing for one of the deities, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

This, is obviously, was not acceptable to Guru Nanak whose concept of God was based on unalloyed monotheism. His was One and Only One Supreme Being, an Indivisible Entity. This belief in the unity of God he has re-iterated in various ways in his other compositions as well. At one place he emphatically affirms, Sahib mera Eko hai, Eko hai Bhai, eko hai.

In English:

'My Master is One, One only, Oh Brother, He is Sole.'

So Guru Nanak's revealed Scripture place numerical figure '1' before Onkar thus enhancing his firm conviction in the unity of God. Its main importance and underlying significance lies in the fact that one is not represented by 'one' in words, but by a numerical figure '1'; thus completely eliminating any possibility of words being given different meaning. It was Guru Nanak's own inspired vision that transformed AUM into Ek-Onkar representing the Supreme Being, the Sole Absolute Eternal Reality which, while manifesting itself in multiplicity as Onkar, is still in its essence 'Sole and Absolute'; Transcendent as well as Immanent. Impersonal is also Personal in

Ek-Onkar.

By the large, Sikhs worship 'Waheguru' as God's name for constant remembrance by repetition aloud or Sotto Voce. In Sikh parlance, this is known as 'Naam Simran'. There are, however, many a Sikh who also meditate upon and use Ek-Onkar for 'Naam Simran'. Like 'Waheguru' this is also considered to be a powerful Mantra for achieving spiritual progress and Divine Grace for final emancipation of the individual soul.

In conclusion, it can be said that Ek-Onkar is the true symbol of Sikhism given to us by Guru Nanak based on his spiritual experience and inspired vision at the very inception of the Sikh faith

Mool Mantar (the basic Creedal Formula): A relook

Our Mool Mantar is summarised in the following manner

1 (Ek) Oankaar
Satt Naam
Karta Purakh
Nirbhau
Nirvair
Akaal Moorat
Ajooni
Saibhang
Gur Prasaad.
(SGGS; P. 1)

One Sole Supreme Being, Eternal Truth, Creator, Without Fear, Without Rancor, Timeless Form, Un-incarnated, Self-existent, Realized by the Grace of holy Preceptor.

This is the first statement in The Holy Sikh Scripture, Guru Granth Sahib, given by Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. Within this Mool Mantar, lies the seed of the complete ethics and theology of Sikhism.

1 (Ek) OANKAAR (One Sole Supreme Being): Is our philosophy. The numeral, 1, and not the word, one, is used to express the oneness of the Creator. This means, it cannot be divided into parts. The symbol used for Oankaar means He is constant and forever, and this universe is His creation.

SATT NAAM (Eternal Truth): Is our religion. Its pursuit, through chanting and meditation on it, is our religious practice.

KARTA PURAKH (The Creator): Is our way of life. Every thing, within as well as without our perception, is His creation.

NIRBHAU (Without fear), NIRVAIR (Without rancor): Is our civic code. A follower of such a creator should not have any fear, nor should he/she have enmity towards anyone.

AKAAL MOORAT (Timeless form): Is our culture. Like Him our aesthetics should not be time dependent.

AJOONI, SAEBHAN(G) (Un-incarnated, self-existent): Is our fiscal policy. We should not depend upon any other entity than one Akaal Purakh.

GUR PRASAAD (Through the Grace of Holy Preceptor): All this can be achieved through the Shabad or Grace of the Guru. Our own efforts will not lead us anywhere. By humble supplication we can achieve all these attributes in our lives.

This Creedal formula (Mool Mantar) in this form comes thirty three times in Guru Granth Sahib.

Mool Mantra: A gift Of Guru Nanak

No other spiritual instrument energizes the HUMAN- GOD uniting power as does Guru Nanak’s Mool Mantar. Powerful, inspiring, and enlivening, it has unequivocal force to propel the human conscience into the doorsteps of the Guru’s Dar (door) and Waheguru’s Ghar (Abode).

This article analyses three issues. First, it lays out the meaning of the terms “Mool Mantar.” Second it attempts to explain the eleven concepts of the Mantar, and third, it attempts to answer the very common question regarding the composition of the Mantar. This questions is usually asked in the following form: is the Mool Mantar till Gurparsad, or Nanak Hosee Bhee Sach ?

Indian philosophy and spirituality uses three terms to represent three basic ways of bring about change within the human condition. Jantar refers to the use of an external instrument to achieve transformation. Mantar refers to the use of articulated sounds to do the same. And finally Tantar refers to the use of projected thoughts to bring about change. Since Sikhism regards Guru and God to be in the form of Shabad, and hence a function of naad (sound), Sikh spirituality therefore acknowledges the utility of the Mantar above all. Tantar is rejected, while Jantar has only physical utility (The Kakars and Shastars for instance).

Mool can be translated as root, original, inaugural, basic, or foundational. Considered in totality it means the most important. Indeed, the Mool Mantar is unmatched in its place and importance in Sikh Life. The Mool Mantar appears on page 1 of the Guru Granth Sahib (GGS) and again at the start of every Rag, every major Banee, and every major section and subsection of the GGS.

The Mool Mantar starts with the numerical ONE. It underlines the Sikhi conviction that God was One. The curved line that extends from the E that is called the Kaar signifies that anything and everything was under the control and power of the One God and that nothing was outside of its influence. Taken together, EK OANGKAR refers to the One and only One God who is transcendent as well as immanent.

Satnam originates from two Sanskrit words Satya and Aass It signifies permanence, omnipresence and ubiquity. Sat signifies something that was true in reality (as opposed to being true in relativity) and also that God was not a function of time and space. Karta translates as Creator and Purakh, translates as being. Read together these two words explain a special characteristic of God’s creation namely that He creates and then resides within His creation. Nirbhou comes from the Sanskrit word Bhou meaning fear. The root word of Nirvair is Vair meaning enmity. Both these words have pre-fixes (Nir) added which negate (or reverse) the meaning. God is hence Fearless because he has no Enemy (an equal or a superior). Akaal comes from the root word Kaal which means time bound or death bound. The addition of the prefix (A) negates the meaning. Moorat is the Sanskrit word for the Punjabi word Saroop and thus refers to form. Akaal explains Moorat. Taken together Akaal Moorat means His Stature is NOT time bound. In other words, having created all Form (creation) and having being residing inside all Form, God was still Formless and Timeless. Ajunee comes from the word Joon meaning life form. Again, the prefix (A) negates the meaning, effectively explaining that God does not come within the parameters of life forms – He creates all life forms, yet is above it all. Saibhang,is composed of two Sanskrti words Swaiy and Bhu(n) The former means self and the latter created. God, therefore came into being by Himself. Gurparsaad again consists of two words Gur meaning Guru, and Parsaad meaning blessing. By this attributes of God is meant that He is reached by the Guru’s Blessing. (Parsaad should NOT be pronounced as Parshaad – the latter pronunciation makes it to mean the deg that is served in the Guru Ghar !).

Now to the question of where does the Mool Mantar end. The answer is straight forward if one looks closely at the composition, arrangement, grammar and logic of its use. The following points will help.

1. From Ek Oangkar till Gurparsaad – all eleven words are attributes (explanations) of the characteristics of God. Grammar wise they are adjectives. The NEXT word, JAP, however, is stated with an aungkar below the P. In Gurbani the aungkar signifies one or more of three things – masculine, singular or noun (proper name). JAP with an aungkar is there fore a singular noun. It is thus the name and title of the next composition. We add the world Ji out of respect and call it Jap Ji. The word Jap as a singular noun therefore cannot be part of the Mool Mantar. Jap (with an aungkar) is NOT an adjective and NOT an attribute of God. In other parts of Gurbani where JAP appears as a verb, it appears with a Sihari to the P – as it does some 100 times in the first 300 pages of GGS. (Note: the aungkar appears grammatically below Naam, Purakh and NirVair in the first 11 words of the Mool Mantar. In each it signifies the masculine gender of all three words. In none of this does the aungkar signify a noun, simply because God can have no proper names. The aungkar below Nirbhau, however is not a grammar sign, it appears as a vowel (u) that actually makes the (u) sound – hence Nirbhau. Note also the sihari to the word Moorat – signifying its feminine gender.

2. Ek Oangkar till Gurparsaad is NOT in poetry form. No word rhymes with the other. There is no poetical form or verse in the 11 words. However the next 10 words, Aad Sach, Jugaad Sach, Haibhee Sach, Nanak Hosee Bhee Sach are indeed in poem form. The measure of such poetry (17 – 22 matras) is called a Slok. On page 285 of the GGS, Guru Arjun Dev Ji wrote the word SLOK above the line Aad Sach, Jugaad Sach,Haibhee Sach, Nanak Hosee Bhee Sach which appears there again. Obviously The first 11 words of the Mool Mantar cannot be seen as being part of the next 10 words – the compositions of both sections are worlds apart – one is verse the other lyrical.

3. It therefore makes sense to say that that while the GGS starts with the Mool Mantar, the Japji Banee starts with a title name – JAP- and consists of 38 pauris and two sloks. The first slok is Aad Sach, Jugaad Sach, Haibhee Sach, Nanak Hosee Bhee Sach, and Guru Nanak writes the numerical ONE after the Slok – signifying this is the first slok. This slok is followed by 38 paurees – all numbered 1 till 38. A pauree is another form of verse. (That is why the numerical 1 appears twice in the Japji numbering – the first numeral is for the first slok, and the second for the first pauree.) The Japji ends with another slok – Pavan Guru Panee Pita. And at the end of this slok, again Guru Nanak writes the numerical 1 to say this is NOT the 39th pauree, but ONE more slok.

4. It therefore also makes sense to say that the 11 words of the Mool Mantar are part of the GGS per se, but NOT strictly part of the Japji. In the same way, this same Mool Mantar is stated before other Banees for instance, Assa Di Vaar, and all major ragas. It is again appearing therein as a Mool Mantar, but NOT as part of Assa Di Vaar and the other Banees.

Gurbani grammar is the result of painstaking but recent research. Prof Sahib Singh of Khalsa College spent his entire life putting the puzzle together. He succeeded in producing a complete reference text of Gurbani grammar in 1951 and a ten-volume translation of the entire GGS on the basis of grammar as late as 1961. The erroneous belief that Mool Mantar extends until Nanak Hosee Bhee Sach is therefore simply the result of non-exposure to Gurbani grammar

May the repeated recitation of the Mool mantar take the reciting Sikh into the folds of the unity that the Guru Himself enjoyed with God.

http://indysfraternity.blogspot.com/2007/03/mool-mantar-gift-fo-guru-nanak.html

Mool Mantra as per Sikhiwiki

The Mool Mantar is said to be the first composition uttered by Guru Nanak Dev ji upon enlightenment at the age of 30. Being the basis of Sikhism it encapsulates the entire theology of Sikhism. It is also the most brief & comprehensive composition encompassing universally complex Religious, Social, Political, Logical, Martial & eternaly TRUE humanitarian concepts. Concepts, evaluated & proved as flawless beyond any ambiguity what so ever. The proceeding Japji Sahib and the rest of the SGGS totaling 1430 pages, is detailed amplification of the Mool Mantar.
This is the verse that all beginners to Sikhism have to learn and repeat over and over again until it becomes an automatic process. After learning this short verse and its full meaning, it is common for beginners to awake early in the morning, wash and sit and mediate on the Mantar for 10 to 20 minutes focussing on the sound and meaning of each word. It is said that the rest of the Guru Granth Sahib is an elaborations of the Mool Mantar and that this Mantar is an explanation of the word – Ek Oankaar, which is the first entry in the SGGS and this Mantar.

"The Mul Mantra, the Root Mantra, is the only cure for the mind; I have installed faith in God in my mind" - SGGS page 675

luv4u · #26 (**permalink**) 09-06-2007, 12:38 PM

Ek Ong : Exploring the meaning

Guru Nanak made the institution of the Guru the pivot point of the Sikh religious system. Without the Guru, Nanak said, there could be no salvation. What about all the people who did not get to know the Guru? Can they not be saved? (thank you for answering)

Now, as far as what is "really real," please remember "What is the very first word of Siri Guru Granth Sahib?" (This is the very first word of Japji Sahib, also. It is the very first thing that Guru Nanak spoke as Guru.) It is a very beautiful word, and for our relative minds, it is also a great sticking point. This word is "Ek," which means "ONE." He said Ek Ong Kar, which means "All of the phenomena and manifestations which we experience, all that we have ever experienced and EVER will experience," ALL these manifestations come from ONE, infinite Source ("Ong")."

Infinity is universal, one and the same with itself. But it affects us relative human beings in various ways: the aspect of Infinity that produces or generates everything that manifests we call Ek Ong Kar. The same Infinity that holds the ultimate, Identity and non-dualistic meaning of all this is called Truth, or Sat Nam. Finally, the awareness aspect of Infinity that experiences and understands the ultimate wisdom of all this is called Wahe Guru ("Absolute Wisdom"). And, there is a little song that a Sikh once wrote which says:

"Ek Ong Kar is what you are,
"Sat Nam is what you'll be,
"And your Siri Wahe Guru,
"Is all you'll ever need say or do."

Realizing the meaning of that song, in one's own life, is the life of a Sikh, and it is the fulfillment of everything that humanity has been searching for, for aeons (millions, and millions, and millions of years, throughout the all the universes and worlds).

The great difference between the relative world of our senses and the Absolute reality of Ek Ong Kar, Sat Nam, and Wahe Guru, is that the relative, physical world is impermanent, it is always changing, it is based on duality, it is causally generated by something that preceded it (karma), and nothing within it will ever last.

Is There Life After Death? Is The Guru The Only Salvation? [extracted from]

SAINT AND SOLDIER · #27 (**permalink**) 10-06-2007, 09:33 PM

mool mantar har naam rasaa-in