Ik Onkar

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File:Ek onkar.svg
Ik Onkār,[1] a Sikh symbol (encoded as a single character in Unicode at U+0A74, Template:Script)

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Ik Onkar, also spelled Ek Onkar or Ik Oankaar (Gurmukhi: Template:Script or Script error: No such module "Lang".; Script error: No such module "IPA".); literally, "one God",[2][3][4][5] hence interpreted as "There is only one God[6] or one Creator"[7]) is a phrase in Sikhism that denotes the one supreme reality.[8] It is a central tenet of Sikh religious philosophy.[1]

Script error: No such module "Lang". are the first words of the Mul Mantar and also the opening words of the Sikh holy scripture Guru Granth Sahib.[9] The first symbol "ik" is actually not a word but the Punjabi symbol for the number 1.[10][11]

Script error: No such module "Lang". (Template:Langx) is interpreted as "one and only one, who cannot be compared or contrasted with any other",[12] the "unmanifest, Lord in power, the holy word, the primal manifestation of the Godhead by which and in which all live, move and have their being and by which all find a way back to Absolute God, the Supreme Reality."[13]

Script error: No such module "Lang". has a distinct spelling in the Gurmukhi script[14] and the phrase is found in many Sikh religious scriptures and inscribed in places of worship such as gurdwaras.[15][16][17]

In Mul Mantar

File:Guru Har Rai - Mool Mantar.jpg
Mul Mantar written by Guru Har Rai, showing the Ik Onkar at top.

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". Script error: No such module "Lang". is also the opening phrase of the Mul Mantar, present as opening phrase in the Guru Granth Sahib, and the first composition of Guru Nanak and the final salok is by Guru Angad. Further, the Mul Mantar is also at the beginning of the Japji Sahib, followed by 38 hymns and a final Salok by Guru Angad at the end of this composition.[18]

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Description

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File:300-year-old Guru Granth Sahib manuscripts found in a village of Maharashtra.jpg
300-year-old Guru Granth Sahib manuscript found in a village of Maharashtra. The Ik Onkar (ੴ) written calligraphically is notable

Script error: No such module "Lang". is the statement of oneness in Sikhism, that is 'there is one God'.[19][20]

According to Wendy Doniger, the phrase is a compound of Script error: No such module "Lang". ("one" in Punjabi) and Script error: No such module "Lang"., canonically understood in Sikhism to refer to the "absolute monotheistic unity of God".[9] Etymologically, the word Script error: No such module "Lang". denotes the sacred sound "om" or the absolute in a number of Indian religions.[9] Nevertheless, Sikhs give it an entirely different meaning.[9][21][22] Pashaura Singh writes that "the meaning of Oankar in the Sikh tradition is quite different in certain respects from the various interpretations of this word in the Indian philosophical traditions",[21] and the Sikhs "rather view Oankar as pointing to the distinctively Sikh theological emphasis on the ineffable quality of God, who is described as 'the Person beyond time,' the Eternal One, or 'the One without form'."[9] Script error: No such module "Lang". is, according to Wazir Singh, a "variation of Om (Aum) of the ancient Indian scriptures (with a slight change in its orthography), implying the seed-force that evolves as the universe."[23] Guru Nanak wrote a poem entitled Oankar in which, states Doniger, he "attributed the origin and sense of speech to the Divinity, who is thus the Om-maker".[9]

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File:Artwork from a folio of a Janamsakhi manuscript explaining the meaning of Ik Onkar using a traditional theory, involving symbolism from Indic deities.jpg
Artwork from a folio of a Janamsakhi manuscript explaining the meaning of Ik Onkar using a traditional theory, involving symbolism from Indic deities

Pashaura Singh goes on to state,

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He also considers the process of reification of the concept of Script error: No such module "Lang". as having begun with the writings of Guru Nanak and Guru Arjan themselves,[24] with the numeral ੧ (one) as emphasizing the unity of Akal Purakh in monotheistic terms.[24]

Other common terms for the one supreme reality alongside Script error: No such module "Lang"., dating from the Gurus' time include the most commonly used term,[21] Akal Purakh, "Eternal One," in the sense of Nirankar, "the One without form," and Waheguru ("Wonderful Sovereign").[21]

Depictions

In 2019, Air India launched a direct flight from London to Amritsar with the phrase Script error: No such module "Lang". printed in golden colour with a red background, on the tail of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The plane was launched ahead of and in honour of the 550th anniversary of Guru Nanak’s birth.[25]

The Gurmukhi symbol ੴ is registered under just three TLDs[26][27][28] as verisign supports gurmukhi letters in these TLDs:[29] ੴ.com, ੴ.net and ੴ.cc.

See also

References

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External links

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  1. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ a b c d e f Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Dogra, Ramesh Chander, and Gobind Singh Mansukhani. Encyclopaedia of Sikh Religion and Culture. pp 138–39: "Ek-Omkār / Ik-Omkār / Ekankār It is from the Sanskrit word Omkar. The mystic name of God. It is used at the beginning of prayers and holy recitations, and also at the beginning of writing respectful salutations. The unmanifest, God in power, the holy word, the primal manifestation of Godhead by which and in which all live, move and have their being and by which all find a way back to Absolute God. God is the Supreme Reality. His other name is 'Sat Nām'. The Sikhs meditate on God as Ek-Omkar, and not in any other way like worship of idols “Rām Nām Jap Ek-Omkar". (GGS, p. 185) Ek Omkar is the Transcendent Lord of entire creation, who existed before the creation and who alone will survive the creation. (GGS, pp. 296 and 930, and Bhai Gurdas Var, 4011.)"
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Signs and Symbols. London: Dorling Kindersley, 2019. Template:ISBN. p. 185. "Ek Onkar Meaning 'God is one', these first two words in the Guru Granth Sahib are the ones most repeated by Sikhs. They are one of the cornerstones of Sikhism, and in their written form make up one of the most famous symbols of the Sikh religion."
  16. ↑ Britannica Encyclopedia of World Religions. 2006. Template:ISBN. p. 500: "IK OANKAR (Punjabi: 'God is One'), expression or invocation that opens the ADI GRANTH, the primary SCRIPTURE of SIKHISM. The expression is a compound of the numeral 1 and the letter that represents the sound “o” in Gurmukhi, the writing system developed by the Sikhs for their sacred literature. Referring to the Sikh understanding of the absolute monotheistic unity of God, the expression is the central symbol of Sikhism."
  17. ↑ McLeod, W. H. 2005. Historical Dictionary of Sikhism (2nd ed.), Lanham, MD: Scarecrow. p. 97: "IK-OANKAR. A popular emblem used by Sikhs, a combination of the Gurmukhi figure 1 and the letter O, taken from the Adi Granth, where it is employed as the first part of various invocations. It represents the unity of God ('One Oankar' or One Being). The emblem is a common feature of Sikh logos and frequently appears on buildings, clothing, books, letterheads, and so on. 'Oankar' is actually a cognate of “Om” and can carry the same mystical meaning. Many Sikhs, however, object to any suggestion that they are the same word. For them 'Om' is Hindu whereas 'Oankar' is Sikh."
  18. ↑ Arvind Mandair (2008), Shared Idioms, Sacred Symbols, and the Articulation of Identities in South Asia (Editor: Kelly Pemberton), Routledge, Template:ISBN, page 61
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ a b c d Singh, Pashaura. 2014. The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies, editors by P. Singh and L. E. Fenech. Oxford University Press. Template:ISBN. p. 227.
  22. ↑ "It should be however, be emphasized that the meaning of Script error: No such module "Lang". in the Sikh tradition is quite different in certain respects from the various interpretations of this word in the Indian philosophical traditions." (Pashaura Singh 2006: 247)
  23. ↑ Wazir Singh (1969), Guru Nanak's philosophy, Journal of Religious Studies, Vol. 1, Issue 1, page 56
  24. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  29. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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