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ਰਾਗੁ ਸਿਰੀਰਾਗੁ | Raag Siree-Raag
Gurbani (14-53)
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Pahre (74-78)
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Gurbani (151-185)
Quartets/Couplets (185-220)
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Chaupaday (348-364)
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ਰਾਗੁ ਗੂਜਰੀ | Raag Goojaree
Gurbani (489-503)
Ashtpadiyan (503-508)
Vaar Gujari (508-517)
Vaar Gujari (517-526)
ਰਾਗੁ ਦੇਵਗੰਧਾਰੀ | Raag Dayv-Gandhaaree
Gurbani (527-536)
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Gurbani (537-556)
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ਰਾਗੁ ਵਡਹੰਸ | Raag Wadhans
Gurbani (557-564)
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Chhant (565-575)
Ghoriaan (575-578)
Alaahaniiaa (578-582)
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Gurbani (660-685)
Astpadhiya (685-687)
Chhant (687-691)
Bhagat Bani (691-695)
ਰਾਗੁ ਜੈਤਸਰੀ | Raag Jaitsree
Gurbani (696-703)
Chhant (703-705)
Vaar Jaitsaree (705-710)
Bhagat Bani (710)
ਰਾਗੁ ਟੋਡੀ | Raag Todee
ਰਾਗੁ ਬੈਰਾੜੀ | Raag Bairaaree
ਰਾਗੁ ਤਿਲੰਗ | Raag Tilang
Gurbani (721-727)
Bhagat Bani (727)
ਰਾਗੁ ਸੂਹੀ | Raag Suhi
Gurbani (728-750)
Ashtpadiyan (750-761)
Kaafee (761-762)
Suchajee (762)
Gunvantee (763)
Chhant (763-785)
Vaar Soohee (785-792)
Bhagat Bani (792-794)
ਰਾਗੁ ਬਿਲਾਵਲੁ | Raag Bilaaval
Gurbani (795-831)
Ashtpadiyan (831-838)
Thitteen (838-840)
Vaar Sat (841-843)
Chhant (843-848)
Vaar Bilaaval (849-855)
Bhagat Bani (855-858)
ਰਾਗੁ ਗੋਂਡ | Raag Gond
Gurbani (859-869)
Ashtpadiyan (869)
Bhagat Bani (870-875)
ਰਾਗੁ ਰਾਮਕਲੀ | Raag Ramkalee
Ashtpadiyan (902-916)
Gurbani (876-902)
Anand (917-922)
Sadd (923-924)
Chhant (924-929)
Dakhnee (929-938)
Sidh Gosat (938-946)
Vaar Ramkalee (947-968)
ਰਾਗੁ ਨਟ ਨਾਰਾਇਨ | Raag Nat Narayan
Gurbani (975-980)
Ashtpadiyan (980-983)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਾਲੀ ਗਉੜਾ | Raag Maalee Gauraa
Gurbani (984-988)
Bhagat Bani (988)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਾਰੂ | Raag Maaroo
Gurbani (889-1008)
Ashtpadiyan (1008-1014)
Kaafee (1014-1016)
Ashtpadiyan (1016-1019)
Anjulian (1019-1020)
Solhe (1020-1033)
Dakhni (1033-1043)
ਰਾਗੁ ਤੁਖਾਰੀ | Raag Tukhaari
Bara Maha (1107-1110)
Chhant (1110-1117)
ਰਾਗੁ ਕੇਦਾਰਾ | Raag Kedara
Gurbani (1118-1123)
Bhagat Bani (1123-1124)
ਰਾਗੁ ਭੈਰਉ | Raag Bhairo
Gurbani (1125-1152)
Partaal (1153)
Ashtpadiyan (1153-1167)
ਰਾਗੁ ਬਸੰਤੁ | Raag Basant
Gurbani (1168-1187)
Ashtpadiyan (1187-1193)
Vaar Basant (1193-1196)
ਰਾਗੁ ਸਾਰਗ | Raag Saarag
Gurbani (1197-1200)
Partaal (1200-1231)
Ashtpadiyan (1232-1236)
Chhant (1236-1237)
Vaar Saarang (1237-1253)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਲਾਰ | Raag Malaar
Gurbani (1254-1293)
Partaal (1265-1273)
Ashtpadiyan (1273-1278)
Chhant (1278)
Vaar Malaar (1278-91)
Bhagat Bani (1292-93)
ਰਾਗੁ ਕਾਨੜਾ | Raag Kaanraa
Gurbani (1294-96)
Partaal (1296-1318)
Ashtpadiyan (1308-1312)
Chhant (1312)
Vaar Kaanraa
Bhagat Bani (1318)
ਰਾਗੁ ਕਲਿਆਨ | Raag Kalyaan
Gurbani (1319-23)
Ashtpadiyan (1323-26)
ਰਾਗੁ ਪ੍ਰਭਾਤੀ | Raag Prabhaatee
Gurbani (1327-1341)
Ashtpadiyan (1342-51)
ਰਾਗੁ ਜੈਜਾਵੰਤੀ | Raag Jaijaiwanti
Gurbani (1352-53)
Salok | Gatha | Phunahe | Chaubole | Swayiye
Sehskritee Mahala 1
Sehskritee Mahala 5
Gaathaa Mahala 5
Phunhay Mahala 5
Chaubolae Mahala 5
Shaloks Bhagat Kabir
Shaloks Sheikh Farid
Swaiyyae Mahala 5
Swaiyyae in Praise of Gurus
Shaloks in Addition To Vaars
Shalok Ninth Mehl
Mundavanee Mehl 5
ਰਾਗ ਮਾਲਾ, Raag Maalaa
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Gurmat Vichaar
Gurmat Vichar - Discussions
Waheguru
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<blockquote data-quote="Archived_Member16" data-source="post: 53917" data-attributes="member: 884"><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><strong><span style="font-size: 18px">Waheguru - Article by G. S. Talib</span></strong> </span></span></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong>WAHEGURU</strong> or <strong><a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Vahiguru" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Vahiguru</span></a></strong> also spelt and pronounced <strong>Vahguru</strong>, is the distinctive name of the Supreme Being in the <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Sikh" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Sikh</span></a> dispensation, like YHWH in Judaism and Allah in Islam. In Sikh Scripture, the <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Granth_Sahib" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Guru Granth Sahib</span></a>, the term does not figure in the compositions of the Gurus, though it occurs therein, both as Vahiguru and Vahguru, in the hymns of Bhatt Gayand, the bard contemporary with <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Arjan" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Guru Arjan</span></a>, Nanak V (1553-1606), and also in the Varan of <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Bhai_Gurdas" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Bhai Gurdas</span></a>.</span></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Gobind_Singh" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Guru Gobind Singh</span></a>, Nanak X (1666-1708), used Vahiguru in the invocatory formula (Ik Onkar Sri Vahiguru ji ki Fateh, besides the traditional Ik Onkar Satigur Prasadi) at the beginning of some of his compositions as well as in the <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Sikh" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Sikh</span></a> salutation (Vahiguru ji ka Khalsa Vahiguru ji ki Fateh varied as Sri Vahiguru ji ki Fateh). <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Bhai_Gurdas" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Bhai Gurdas</span></a> at one place in his Varan (I.49) construes vahiguru as an acrostic using the first consonants of the names of four divine incarnations of the Hindu tradition appearing in four successive eons. Some classical Sikh scholars, such as <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Bhai_Mani_Singh" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Bhai Mani Singh</span></a>, <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Bhai_Santokh_Singh" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Bhai Santokh Singh</span></a> and Pandit <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Tara_Singh_Narotam" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Tara Singh Narotam</span></a>, taking this poetic interpretation seriously, have traced the origin of the term in ancient mythology. </span></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Modern scholars, however, affirm that the name Vahiguru is owed originally to the <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Gurus" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Gurus</span></a>, most likely to the founder of the faith, <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Nanak" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Guru Nanak</span></a>, himself. According to this view, Vahiguru is a compound of two words, one from Persian and the other from Sanskrit, joined in a symbiotic relationship to define the indefinable, indescribable Ultimate Reality. Vah in Persian is an interjection of wonder and admiration, and guru (<a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Sanskrit" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Sanskrit</span></a> guru: heavy, weighty, great, venerable; a spiritual parent or preceptor) has been frequently used by <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Nanak" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Guru Nanak</span></a> and his successors for satiguru (True Guru) or God. <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Bhai_Santokh_Singh" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Bhai Santokh Singh</span></a>, in Sri Gur Nanak Prakash (pp. 1249-51), reporting <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Nanak" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Guru Nanak</span></a>’s testament to the Sikhs has thus explicated Vahiguru: Vah is wonder at the Divine might; <strong>gu</strong> is <strong>spiritual darkness</strong> while <strong>ru</strong> is <strong>illumination</strong> brought to eliminate this darkness. </span></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Cumulatively, the name implies wonder at the Divine Light eliminating spiritual darkness. It might also imply, “Hail the Lord whose name eliminates spiritual darkness.” Earlier, <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Bhai_Mani_Singh" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Bhai Mani Singh</span></a>], Sikhan di Bhagat Mala, gave a similar explication, also on the authority of Guru Nanak. Considering the two constituents of Vahiguru (vahi + guru) implying the state of wondrous ecstasy and offering of homage to the Lord, the first one was brought distinctly and prominently into the devotional system by <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Nanak" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Guru Nanak</span></a>, who has made use of this interjection, as in Majh ki Var (stanza 24), and Suhi ki Var, sloka to pauri 10. </span></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Apart from the use of this interjection, the attitude of wonder and total submission at the sight of Divine Greatness is prominently visible in <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Nanak" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Guru Nanak</span></a> as evidenced for example in the hymn in Dhanasari: </span></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">“gagan mai thalu ravi chandu dipak bane tarika mandal janak moti (GG, 663); </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">in measure Suhi: </span></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">“kaun taraji kavanu tula tera kavanu saraphu bulava” (GG, 730); </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">and in <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Japji" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Japji</span></a>: </span></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">“kete pavan pani vaisantar kete kan mahes, kete barame gharati ghariahi rup rang ke ves” (GG, 7). </span></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">In <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Asa_ki_Var" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Asa ki Var</span></a> (GG, 462-75) the opening sloka to pauri 3 is woven round vismad—vismadu nad vismadu ved, wondrous is the sound, wondrous the wisdom. Wonder and ecstasy are expressed at the cosmic order and its mystery full of contradictions, yet all comprehended in the Divinely-appointed system. This <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Salok" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">salok</span></a> concludes with: “Ever present to our gaze is wonder. At the sight of this mystery are we wonderstruck. Only by supreme good fortune is it unravelled.” In the opening <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Salok" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">salok</span></a> to <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Pauri" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">pauri</span></a> 4—bhai vichi pavanu vahai sadvau, in (the Lord’s) fear bloweth the wind with its myriad breezes—is expressed wonder at the cosmic “fear” under which the universe operates in obedience to the Divine Law, the Lord alone being exempt from such fear. </span></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">In <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Japji" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Japji</span></a>, besides other themes, one that stands out prominent is wonder at the cosmic order, its infinitude and the mystery of its moral élan. As a matter of fact, the theme of <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Japji" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Japji</span></a> may be said to be what occurs in the course of stanza 4: vadiai vicharu (contemplation of Divine infinity). In stanza 16, for example, is the expression of wonder at the limitlessness of space. Stanzas 17-19, each beginning with asankh (infinite), are uttered in the same mood. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">In stanza 22—patala patal lakh agasa agas, countless the worlds beneath, countless the worlds above—is a vision of the limitlessness of the universe. So are stanzas 24, 25, 26, 27, 32, 34, 35 and 36. It is in response to this overwhelming vision of <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Nanak" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Guru Nanak</span></a> that the unique Name of the Supreme Being, Vahiguru, originated. No other name could have been adequate to express what in his vision he found lying at the heart of the cosmos, compelling a response in the human self attuned to devotion and ecstasy. </span></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Amar_Das" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Guru Amar Das</span></a> has also employed the term in Gujari ki Var (GG, 514-16) and in Astpadis in Malar (GG. 1277). In the former, it is calculated that the interjection vahu-vahu (Hail, hail the Lord) is used as many as 96 times. The interjection vahu (hail, wondrous is the Lord) occurs in <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Ram_Das" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Guru Ram Das</span></a> in conjunction with Satiguru (compounded from Guru) in sloka 2 in Sloka Varan te Vadhik (GG, 1421). In <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Arjan" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Guru Arjan</span></a> by whose time the formulation Vahiguru appears to have become current and acquired distinctiveness as the Name Divine, the phrase ‘Gur Vahu’ figures in Asa measure (GG, 376). This is only as inverted form of Vahiguru and has the same force and significance. Kavi Santokh Singh in Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth (p. 5686) uses the two terms as synonymous: “simrahu vahiguru guru vahi, or contemplate ye Vahiguru, the Lord all hail.” </span></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">The earliest use of Vahiguru, in this form, is traceable to Varan by <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Bhai_Gurdas" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Bhai Gurdas</span></a> and to Gayand’s hymns in the <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Granth_Sahib" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Guru Granth Sahib</span></a>. In both it may be said to have occurred contemporaneously, for while no date can be assigned to <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Bhai_Gurdas" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Bhai Gurdas</span></a>’ Varan, the work may be assumed to have appeared soon after the compilation of the Scripture in 1604, being so much alive with its spirit and phraseology. Gayand in the course of his lines encomiastic of <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Ram_Das" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Guru Ram Das</span></a> (GG. 1403) made use of Vahiguru as the supreme Name Divine in recognition of the primacy and appeal it had by then come to acquire in the <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Sikh" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Sikh</span></a> tradition. In this <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php?title=Savaiyya&action=edit" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Savaiyya</span></a> numbered 11, the term occurs twice as Vah Guru. Earlier in that numbered 6, it is repeated thrice as Vahiguru in the opening line, expressing fervour of devotion. So also in the concluding line of Savaiyya 7. In Savaiyya 12, Vahu Vahu (Wonder, personifying the Lord) signifies the Supreme marvel, embracing the infinitude of the universe. In Savaiyya 13, this name is used twice once as Vahiguru in the opening line and Vah Guru in the last line. In the concluding line of Savaiyya 8, Vahiguru is used thrice, concluding with the interjection Vahi (Hail). </span></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Some relevant lines from <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Bhai_Gurdas" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Bhai Gurdas</span></a>, Varan, may also be reproduced here: vahiguru guru sabadu lai piram piala chupi chabola, putting faith in Vahiguru, the Master’s teaching, the seeker drains in peace and tranquillity the cup of devotion (IV. 17); “paunu guru gursabadu hai vahiguru gur sabadu sunaia, paun—guru is the Master’s word wherethrough he imparted the holy name Vahiguru (VI. 5); vahiguru salahna guru sabadu alae, to laud the Lord let me give utterance to the Master’s Word (IX. 13); satiguru purakh daial hoi vahiguru sachu mantra sunaia, the holy Master in his grace imparted to the seeker the sacred incantation Vahiguru (XI. 3); nirankaru akasu kari joti Sarup anup dikhaia, bed kateb agochara vahiguru gursabadu sunaia, the Formless Lord manifesting himself granted sight of His unique effulgent self and imparted to the seeker the Word Vahiguru, that is beyond the ken of <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Vedas" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Vedas</span></a> and the <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Muslim" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Muslim</span></a> Scriptures” (XII. 17); vahiguru gurmantra hai japi haumai khoi, Vahiguru is the Master’s incantation. </span></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">By repeating it egoism is cast out (XIII. 2); dharamsal kartarpuru sadh sangati sachkhandu vasaia, vahiguru gur sabadu sunaia, <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Nanak" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Guru Nanak</span></a> in the temple at <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Kartarpur" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Kartarpur</span></a> established the Realm Eternal as the holy congregation, and imparted to it the Divine Word Vahiguru (XXIV. 1); sati namu karta purakhu vahiguru vichi ridai samae, let the seeker lodge in his heart the holy Name, the creator immanent, Vahiguru” (XL. 22). In these verses, Vahiguru signifies the supreme name Divine, to which devotion may be offered. It is transcendent and annular of sin and evil, thus combining in itself the ‘attributed’ and the ‘unattributed’ aspects in consonance with the Sikh doctrine voiced in the Scripture. The main point is that by <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Arjan" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Guru Arjan</span></a>’s time and after, this name over all others was established as the object of devotion. The term received the final seal in the time of <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Gobind_Singh" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Guru Gobind Singh</span></a>. </span></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Vahiguru is for <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Sikh" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Sikhs</span></a> the gurmantra (invocatory formula received from the guru) or nam for repetition (silently or aloud, with or without a rosary) and meditation upon the Supreme Reality. <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Bhai_Gurdas" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Bhai Gurdas</span></a> in his Varan refers to it variously as japu mantra (invocation for repetition), guru sabadu (the Guru’s Word), sachu mantra (true mantra) and gurmantra. It is also called nam (the Name), and is sometimes compounded as “Satinam-Vahiguru” to be chanted aloud in congregations. Nam japna (repeated utterance of God’s Name, i.e. Vahiguru) is one of the three cardinal moral principles of <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Sikhism" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Sikhism</span></a>, the other two being kirat karni or honest labour and vand chhakna or sharing one’s victuals with the needy. Since the manifestation of the Khalsa by <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Gobind_Singh" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Guru Gobind Singh</span></a> in <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/1699" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">1699</span></a>, Vahiguru has been part of the Sikh salutation: Vahiguru ji ka Khalsa, Vahiguru ji ki Fateh (Hail the <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Khalsa" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">Khalsa</span></a> who belongs to the Lord God! Hail the Lord God to whom belongs the victory! ! ). It has since also been the <a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Gurmantra" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff">gurmantra</span></a> imparted formally at initiation to the novitiate by the leader of the Panj Piare administering the rites. </span></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong>Bibliography </strong></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"> <ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><em>Sabadarth Sri Guru Granth Sahib</em>. Amritsar, 1959</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Gurdas, Bhai, <em>Varan</em>. Amritsar, 1962</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Mani Singh, Bhai, <em>Sikhan di Bhagat Mala</em>. Amritsar, 1955</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Santokh Singh, Bhai, <em>Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth</em>. Amritsar, 1927-35</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Sher Singh, <em>Philosophy of Sikhism</em>. Lahore, 1944</li> </ol><p>Above adapted from article By G. S. Talib </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><a href="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php?title=Waheguru" target="_blank"><span style="color: #810081">http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php?title=Waheguru</span></a></span></span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Archived_Member16, post: 53917, member: 884"] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2][FONT=Times New Roman][B][SIZE=5]Waheguru - Article by G. S. Talib[/SIZE][/B] [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2][B]WAHEGURU[/B] or [B][URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Vahiguru"][COLOR=#0000ff]Vahiguru[/COLOR][/URL][/B] also spelt and pronounced [B]Vahguru[/B], is the distinctive name of the Supreme Being in the [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Sikh"][COLOR=#0000ff]Sikh[/COLOR][/URL] dispensation, like YHWH in Judaism and Allah in Islam. In Sikh Scripture, the [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Granth_Sahib"][COLOR=#0000ff]Guru Granth Sahib[/COLOR][/URL], the term does not figure in the compositions of the Gurus, though it occurs therein, both as Vahiguru and Vahguru, in the hymns of Bhatt Gayand, the bard contemporary with [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Arjan"][COLOR=#0000ff]Guru Arjan[/COLOR][/URL], Nanak V (1553-1606), and also in the Varan of [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Bhai_Gurdas"][COLOR=#0000ff]Bhai Gurdas[/COLOR][/URL].[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2][URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Gobind_Singh"][COLOR=#0000ff]Guru Gobind Singh[/COLOR][/URL], Nanak X (1666-1708), used Vahiguru in the invocatory formula (Ik Onkar Sri Vahiguru ji ki Fateh, besides the traditional Ik Onkar Satigur Prasadi) at the beginning of some of his compositions as well as in the [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Sikh"][COLOR=#0000ff]Sikh[/COLOR][/URL] salutation (Vahiguru ji ka Khalsa Vahiguru ji ki Fateh varied as Sri Vahiguru ji ki Fateh). [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Bhai_Gurdas"][COLOR=#0000ff]Bhai Gurdas[/COLOR][/URL] at one place in his Varan (I.49) construes vahiguru as an acrostic using the first consonants of the names of four divine incarnations of the Hindu tradition appearing in four successive eons. Some classical Sikh scholars, such as [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Bhai_Mani_Singh"][COLOR=#0000ff]Bhai Mani Singh[/COLOR][/URL], [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Bhai_Santokh_Singh"][COLOR=#0000ff]Bhai Santokh Singh[/COLOR][/URL] and Pandit [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Tara_Singh_Narotam"][COLOR=#0000ff]Tara Singh Narotam[/COLOR][/URL], taking this poetic interpretation seriously, have traced the origin of the term in ancient mythology. [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]Modern scholars, however, affirm that the name Vahiguru is owed originally to the [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Gurus"][COLOR=#0000ff]Gurus[/COLOR][/URL], most likely to the founder of the faith, [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Nanak"][COLOR=#0000ff]Guru Nanak[/COLOR][/URL], himself. According to this view, Vahiguru is a compound of two words, one from Persian and the other from Sanskrit, joined in a symbiotic relationship to define the indefinable, indescribable Ultimate Reality. Vah in Persian is an interjection of wonder and admiration, and guru ([URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Sanskrit"][COLOR=#0000ff]Sanskrit[/COLOR][/URL] guru: heavy, weighty, great, venerable; a spiritual parent or preceptor) has been frequently used by [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Nanak"][COLOR=#0000ff]Guru Nanak[/COLOR][/URL] and his successors for satiguru (True Guru) or God. [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Bhai_Santokh_Singh"][COLOR=#0000ff]Bhai Santokh Singh[/COLOR][/URL], in Sri Gur Nanak Prakash (pp. 1249-51), reporting [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Nanak"][COLOR=#0000ff]Guru Nanak[/COLOR][/URL]’s testament to the Sikhs has thus explicated Vahiguru: Vah is wonder at the Divine might; [B]gu[/B] is [B]spiritual darkness[/B] while [B]ru[/B] is [B]illumination[/B] brought to eliminate this darkness. [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]Cumulatively, the name implies wonder at the Divine Light eliminating spiritual darkness. It might also imply, “Hail the Lord whose name eliminates spiritual darkness.” Earlier, [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Bhai_Mani_Singh"][COLOR=#0000ff]Bhai Mani Singh[/COLOR][/URL]], Sikhan di Bhagat Mala, gave a similar explication, also on the authority of Guru Nanak. Considering the two constituents of Vahiguru (vahi + guru) implying the state of wondrous ecstasy and offering of homage to the Lord, the first one was brought distinctly and prominently into the devotional system by [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Nanak"][COLOR=#0000ff]Guru Nanak[/COLOR][/URL], who has made use of this interjection, as in Majh ki Var (stanza 24), and Suhi ki Var, sloka to pauri 10. [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]Apart from the use of this interjection, the attitude of wonder and total submission at the sight of Divine Greatness is prominently visible in [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Nanak"][COLOR=#0000ff]Guru Nanak[/COLOR][/URL] as evidenced for example in the hymn in Dhanasari: [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]“gagan mai thalu ravi chandu dipak bane tarika mandal janak moti (GG, 663); [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]in measure Suhi: [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]“kaun taraji kavanu tula tera kavanu saraphu bulava” (GG, 730); [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]and in [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Japji"][COLOR=#0000ff]Japji[/COLOR][/URL]: [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]“kete pavan pani vaisantar kete kan mahes, kete barame gharati ghariahi rup rang ke ves” (GG, 7). [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]In [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Asa_ki_Var"][COLOR=#0000ff]Asa ki Var[/COLOR][/URL] (GG, 462-75) the opening sloka to pauri 3 is woven round vismad—vismadu nad vismadu ved, wondrous is the sound, wondrous the wisdom. Wonder and ecstasy are expressed at the cosmic order and its mystery full of contradictions, yet all comprehended in the Divinely-appointed system. This [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Salok"][COLOR=#0000ff]salok[/COLOR][/URL] concludes with: “Ever present to our gaze is wonder. At the sight of this mystery are we wonderstruck. Only by supreme good fortune is it unravelled.” In the opening [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Salok"][COLOR=#0000ff]salok[/COLOR][/URL] to [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Pauri"][COLOR=#0000ff]pauri[/COLOR][/URL] 4—bhai vichi pavanu vahai sadvau, in (the Lord’s) fear bloweth the wind with its myriad breezes—is expressed wonder at the cosmic “fear” under which the universe operates in obedience to the Divine Law, the Lord alone being exempt from such fear. [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]In [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Japji"][COLOR=#0000ff]Japji[/COLOR][/URL], besides other themes, one that stands out prominent is wonder at the cosmic order, its infinitude and the mystery of its moral élan. As a matter of fact, the theme of [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Japji"][COLOR=#0000ff]Japji[/COLOR][/URL] may be said to be what occurs in the course of stanza 4: vadiai vicharu (contemplation of Divine infinity). In stanza 16, for example, is the expression of wonder at the limitlessness of space. Stanzas 17-19, each beginning with asankh (infinite), are uttered in the same mood. [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]In stanza 22—patala patal lakh agasa agas, countless the worlds beneath, countless the worlds above—is a vision of the limitlessness of the universe. So are stanzas 24, 25, 26, 27, 32, 34, 35 and 36. It is in response to this overwhelming vision of [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Nanak"][COLOR=#0000ff]Guru Nanak[/COLOR][/URL] that the unique Name of the Supreme Being, Vahiguru, originated. No other name could have been adequate to express what in his vision he found lying at the heart of the cosmos, compelling a response in the human self attuned to devotion and ecstasy. [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2][URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Amar_Das"][COLOR=#0000ff]Guru Amar Das[/COLOR][/URL] has also employed the term in Gujari ki Var (GG, 514-16) and in Astpadis in Malar (GG. 1277). In the former, it is calculated that the interjection vahu-vahu (Hail, hail the Lord) is used as many as 96 times. The interjection vahu (hail, wondrous is the Lord) occurs in [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Ram_Das"][COLOR=#0000ff]Guru Ram Das[/COLOR][/URL] in conjunction with Satiguru (compounded from Guru) in sloka 2 in Sloka Varan te Vadhik (GG, 1421). In [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Arjan"][COLOR=#0000ff]Guru Arjan[/COLOR][/URL] by whose time the formulation Vahiguru appears to have become current and acquired distinctiveness as the Name Divine, the phrase ‘Gur Vahu’ figures in Asa measure (GG, 376). This is only as inverted form of Vahiguru and has the same force and significance. Kavi Santokh Singh in Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth (p. 5686) uses the two terms as synonymous: “simrahu vahiguru guru vahi, or contemplate ye Vahiguru, the Lord all hail.” [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]The earliest use of Vahiguru, in this form, is traceable to Varan by [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Bhai_Gurdas"][COLOR=#0000ff]Bhai Gurdas[/COLOR][/URL] and to Gayand’s hymns in the [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Granth_Sahib"][COLOR=#0000ff]Guru Granth Sahib[/COLOR][/URL]. In both it may be said to have occurred contemporaneously, for while no date can be assigned to [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Bhai_Gurdas"][COLOR=#0000ff]Bhai Gurdas[/COLOR][/URL]’ Varan, the work may be assumed to have appeared soon after the compilation of the Scripture in 1604, being so much alive with its spirit and phraseology. Gayand in the course of his lines encomiastic of [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Ram_Das"][COLOR=#0000ff]Guru Ram Das[/COLOR][/URL] (GG. 1403) made use of Vahiguru as the supreme Name Divine in recognition of the primacy and appeal it had by then come to acquire in the [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Sikh"][COLOR=#0000ff]Sikh[/COLOR][/URL] tradition. In this [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php?title=Savaiyya&action=edit"][COLOR=#0000ff]Savaiyya[/COLOR][/URL] numbered 11, the term occurs twice as Vah Guru. Earlier in that numbered 6, it is repeated thrice as Vahiguru in the opening line, expressing fervour of devotion. So also in the concluding line of Savaiyya 7. In Savaiyya 12, Vahu Vahu (Wonder, personifying the Lord) signifies the Supreme marvel, embracing the infinitude of the universe. In Savaiyya 13, this name is used twice once as Vahiguru in the opening line and Vah Guru in the last line. In the concluding line of Savaiyya 8, Vahiguru is used thrice, concluding with the interjection Vahi (Hail). [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]Some relevant lines from [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Bhai_Gurdas"][COLOR=#0000ff]Bhai Gurdas[/COLOR][/URL], Varan, may also be reproduced here: vahiguru guru sabadu lai piram piala chupi chabola, putting faith in Vahiguru, the Master’s teaching, the seeker drains in peace and tranquillity the cup of devotion (IV. 17); “paunu guru gursabadu hai vahiguru gur sabadu sunaia, paun—guru is the Master’s word wherethrough he imparted the holy name Vahiguru (VI. 5); vahiguru salahna guru sabadu alae, to laud the Lord let me give utterance to the Master’s Word (IX. 13); satiguru purakh daial hoi vahiguru sachu mantra sunaia, the holy Master in his grace imparted to the seeker the sacred incantation Vahiguru (XI. 3); nirankaru akasu kari joti Sarup anup dikhaia, bed kateb agochara vahiguru gursabadu sunaia, the Formless Lord manifesting himself granted sight of His unique effulgent self and imparted to the seeker the Word Vahiguru, that is beyond the ken of [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Vedas"][COLOR=#0000ff]Vedas[/COLOR][/URL] and the [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Muslim"][COLOR=#0000ff]Muslim[/COLOR][/URL] Scriptures” (XII. 17); vahiguru gurmantra hai japi haumai khoi, Vahiguru is the Master’s incantation. [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]By repeating it egoism is cast out (XIII. 2); dharamsal kartarpuru sadh sangati sachkhandu vasaia, vahiguru gur sabadu sunaia, [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Nanak"][COLOR=#0000ff]Guru Nanak[/COLOR][/URL] in the temple at [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Kartarpur"][COLOR=#0000ff]Kartarpur[/COLOR][/URL] established the Realm Eternal as the holy congregation, and imparted to it the Divine Word Vahiguru (XXIV. 1); sati namu karta purakhu vahiguru vichi ridai samae, let the seeker lodge in his heart the holy Name, the creator immanent, Vahiguru” (XL. 22). In these verses, Vahiguru signifies the supreme name Divine, to which devotion may be offered. It is transcendent and annular of sin and evil, thus combining in itself the ‘attributed’ and the ‘unattributed’ aspects in consonance with the Sikh doctrine voiced in the Scripture. The main point is that by [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Arjan"][COLOR=#0000ff]Guru Arjan[/COLOR][/URL]’s time and after, this name over all others was established as the object of devotion. The term received the final seal in the time of [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Gobind_Singh"][COLOR=#0000ff]Guru Gobind Singh[/COLOR][/URL]. [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]Vahiguru is for [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Sikh"][COLOR=#0000ff]Sikhs[/COLOR][/URL] the gurmantra (invocatory formula received from the guru) or nam for repetition (silently or aloud, with or without a rosary) and meditation upon the Supreme Reality. [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Bhai_Gurdas"][COLOR=#0000ff]Bhai Gurdas[/COLOR][/URL] in his Varan refers to it variously as japu mantra (invocation for repetition), guru sabadu (the Guru’s Word), sachu mantra (true mantra) and gurmantra. It is also called nam (the Name), and is sometimes compounded as “Satinam-Vahiguru” to be chanted aloud in congregations. Nam japna (repeated utterance of God’s Name, i.e. Vahiguru) is one of the three cardinal moral principles of [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Sikhism"][COLOR=#0000ff]Sikhism[/COLOR][/URL], the other two being kirat karni or honest labour and vand chhakna or sharing one’s victuals with the needy. Since the manifestation of the Khalsa by [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Gobind_Singh"][COLOR=#0000ff]Guru Gobind Singh[/COLOR][/URL] in [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/1699"][COLOR=#0000ff]1699[/COLOR][/URL], Vahiguru has been part of the Sikh salutation: Vahiguru ji ka Khalsa, Vahiguru ji ki Fateh (Hail the [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Khalsa"][COLOR=#0000ff]Khalsa[/COLOR][/URL] who belongs to the Lord God! Hail the Lord God to whom belongs the victory! ! ). It has since also been the [URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Gurmantra"][COLOR=#0000ff]gurmantra[/COLOR][/URL] imparted formally at initiation to the novitiate by the leader of the Panj Piare administering the rites. [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2][B]Bibliography [/B][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] [LIST=1] [*][I]Sabadarth Sri Guru Granth Sahib[/I]. Amritsar, 1959 [*]Gurdas, Bhai, [I]Varan[/I]. Amritsar, 1962 [*]Mani Singh, Bhai, [I]Sikhan di Bhagat Mala[/I]. Amritsar, 1955 [*]Santokh Singh, Bhai, [I]Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth[/I]. Amritsar, 1927-35 [*]Sher Singh, [I]Philosophy of Sikhism[/I]. Lahore, 1944[/LIST]Above adapted from article By G. S. Talib [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2][URL="http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php?title=Waheguru"][COLOR=#810081]http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php?title=Waheguru[/COLOR][/URL][/SIZE][/FONT] [/QUOTE]
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