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Articles on Sikhism |
The Mul Mantar (Punjabi: ਮੂਲ ਮੰਤਰ, Mūl Maṃtar, pronounced Mool Mantar) is the first composition in the Sikh holy book, the Adi Granth. It is a series of affirmations and is the basis of Sikh theology.[1] The Mul Mantar is the first composition of Guru Nanak and the origin of the Adi Granth. The Adi Granth begins with the Mul Mantar and it occurs more than one hundred times throughout the text.[2] The Mul Mantar is the most widely known part of Sikh scripture but it has posed a challenge to translators.[3]
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The text of the Mul Mantar [edit]
ੴ ਸਤਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਕਰਤਾ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਨਿਰਭਉ ਨਿਰਵੈਰੁ ਅਕਾਲ ਮੂਰਤਿ ਅਜੂਨੀ ਸੈਭੰ ਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
- Transliteration: ikk ōankār sat(i)-nām(u)</eqweqād(i) sach(u) jugād(i) sach(u) ॥ he bhì sach(u) ॥ nānak hōsī bhiì sach(u) ॥1॥
- English: EK ON KAR, SAT NAM, KARTA PURKH, NIRBHAO, NIRVAIR,
AKAAL MOORT, AJUNI, SAI BHANG, GUR PRASAD
- English: One God, the true name, the creator, without fear, without hatred, timeless, self-existent, made known by the Guru.
- The small letters are not etymologically part of the word but are included in the Guru Granth Sahib for liturgical recitation.
Etymology [edit]
Mul means root, it has a similar etymological origin to the Punjabi language word Muli which means white radish.[4] A Mantar or Mantra is "an empowering formula for repetition". The Mul Mantar is thus the root statement of Sikhism.[5]
Translation [edit]
The Mul Mantar consists of nouns and adjectives but no verbs or pronouns. In addition, the nouns in the Mul Mantar do not have exact counterparts in European languages and the Gurmukhi script does not distinguish between upper and lower case letters. Thus, it poses a challenge to translators.
The first affirmation, for example, Ik Onkar has been rendered multiple ways. It has been translated as "'There is one god', as ‘One reality is’, and ‘This being is one’" and the varying capitalization of "God", "Reality", or "Being" affects the meaning in English.[6]
A number of translations erroneously change the Mul Mantar from a list of qualities to a statement of facts and Possessive adjectives.[7] For example, they may change Satnam from "truth by name" to "His name is truth", which adds a masculine quality to God which does not appear in the original Gurmukhi.[8]
There is some controversy on where the Mul Mantar ends. The Mul Mantar ends with "Gurprasad", as in "provided by the Guru's grace." After this is the name of the Bani "Jap", and the first line of the Jap Bani. This can be corroborated by the number of times that the mantar appears at the beginning of every Raag, as well as the shortened version, before major Banis. However, many scholars believe this to be also part of the Mul Mantar.
References [edit]
- ^ Nesbitt, Eleanor M. (2005-11-15). Sikhism: a very short introduction. Oxford University Press. pp. 22–24. ISBN 978-0-19-280601-7. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
- ^ Kalsi, Sewa Singh; Marty, Martin E. (2005-03). Sikhism. Chelsea House Publishers. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-7910-8356-7. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
- ^ Nesbitt, Eleanor M. (2005-11-15). Sikhism: a very short introduction. Oxford University Press. pp. 22–24. ISBN 978-0-19-280601-7. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
- ^ Nesbitt, Eleanor M. (2005-11-15). Sikhism: a very short introduction. Oxford University Press. pp. 22–24. ISBN 978-0-19-280601-7. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
- ^ Nesbitt, Eleanor M. (2005-11-15). Sikhism: a very short introduction. Oxford University Press. pp. 22–24. ISBN 978-0-19-280601-7. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
- ^ Nesbitt, Eleanor M. (2005-11-15). Sikhism: a very short introduction. Oxford University Press. pp. 22–24. ISBN 978-0-19-280601-7. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
- ^ Nesbitt, Eleanor M. (2005-11-15). Sikhism: a very short introduction. Oxford University Press. pp. 22–24. ISBN 978-0-19-280601-7. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
- ^ Nesbitt, Eleanor M. (2005-11-15). Sikhism: a very short introduction. Oxford University Press. pp. 22–24. ISBN 978-0-19-280601-7. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
Further reading [edit]
- Macauliffe, M.A (1909). The Sikh Religion: Its Gurus Sacred Writings and Authors. Low Price Publications. ISBN 81-7536-132-8.
- Shackle, C (1981). A Guru Nanak Glossary. School of Oriental and African Studies. ISBN 0-7286-0243-1.
- Singh, Dalip (1999). Sikhism in the Words of the Guru. Lok Sahit Prakashan. ISBN B0000CPD3S.
- Singh, Dr. Gopal (1962). Guru-Granth Sahib Vol.1. Taplinger Publishing Co. ISBN.
- Singh, Dr. Santokh (1990). English Transliteration and Interpretation of Nitnaym Baanees, Sikh Prayers for English Speaking Sikh Youth. Sikh Resource Centre. ISBN 1-895471-08-7.
- Osho (1994). The True Name, Vol.1 : Discourses on Japji Sahib of Guru Nanak Dev. New Age International(P) Ltd. ISBN 81-224-0606-8.
- Dr Sahib Singh, D Lit (Jan 1972). Shiri Guru Granth Sahib Darpan. Raj Publishers (Regd), Adda Husharpur Jallundhar.
External links [edit]
- English and Hindi translations
- Translation of Sri Guru Granth Sahib in >52 languages Machine translation of SGGS can be read from linked site by choosing appropriate language in transliterate and translation fields
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