The Nature of God and the Mool Mantra

Sikhism: A Living Tradition

Sikhism is one of the world’s youngest major religions, founded by Guru Nanak in the Punjab region of South Asia in the late fifteenth century. It is important to understand from the outset that Sikhism is a distinct, independent religion — not a synthesis of Hinduism and Islam, even though it emerged in a region where both traditions were present. Guru Nanak received what Sikhs believe was a direct revelation from God, and the teachings he proclaimed stand on their own foundations. Today there are more than 530,000 Sikhs living in Britain. The largest communities are in Sandwell, Birmingham and Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, and in Ealing (which includes Southall) and Hillingdon in west London.

The Mool Mantra: The Foundation of Sikh Belief

At the very opening of the Guru Granth Sahib (GGS 1a) stands the Mool Mantra (also spelled Mul Mantar). The phrase “Mool Mantra” means “root formula” or “foundational verse.” It is the first composition in the Guru Granth Sahib and is considered by Sikhs to be the most complete summary of their belief in God. The Mool Mantra opens with the numeral 1 — in Punjabi script, Ik Onkar — followed by a series of attributes.

The Mool Mantra teaches that God is: one (Ik Onkar); the Truth (Sat Nam — whose name is truth); the Creator (Karta Purakh); without fear (Nirbhau); without enmity (Nirvair); beyond time and death (Akal Murat); self-existent (Ajooni Saibhang); and known through the grace of the Guru (Gur Prasad). These attributes paint a picture of God as both utterly transcendent — beyond human comprehension — and intimately present within creation.

God as Creator

Sikh teaching holds that God is Karta Purakh — the “Doer,” the Creator being. The universe exists because of God’s hukam (divine will or command). This concept of God as Creator has two dimensions that students must be able to distinguish: God shown in and through the universe, and God as separate from the universe.

First, Sikh teaching holds that God’s presence is visible within creation. The natural world — its beauty, its order, its interdependence — reflects and reveals the divine. Looking at a sunrise over the River Beas near Amritsar, or the community gathered at the Golden Temple, a Sikh sees not just the physical world but a manifestation of divine glory. In this sense God is immanent — permeating all things.

Second, Sikh teaching is clear that God is not identical to the created world. God existed before creation and will exist after it ends. God is not limited by time or physical form. In this sense God is transcendent — entirely other than and beyond the universe. The Mool Mantra’s phrase Akal Murat (deathless form) captures this: God is beyond the cycle of birth, death and decay that governs all created things.

Ik Onkar and Strict Monotheism

The numeral “1” at the start of the Mool Mantra is not accidental. Guru Nanak’s first public declaration, recorded in the Janamsakhis, was “Na koi Hindu, na koi Musalman” — “There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim.” This was a proclamation that divisions of religion, caste and status do not exist before God. The oneness of God (Ik Onkar) leads directly to the oneness of humanity. Because there is one God, all people share the same divine light within them.

Sikh monotheism is strict. There are no lesser gods or goddesses, no trinity of divine persons, and no deity who is God’s equal or rival. God is addressed in the Guru Granth Sahib by many names — Waheguru (Wondrous Lord), Hari, Ram, Allah — but these are understood as different names for the one, same God. The use of diverse names reflects Guru Nanak’s vision that all humanity, of different faiths and backgrounds, is reaching for the same ultimate reality.