Akal Ustat (, , lit. ‘the praise of the Timeless One’) is the name given to the second Bani (sacred composition) present in the second holy scriptures of the

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

s called the

Dasam Granth The ( Gurmukhi: ਦਸਮ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ''dasama gratha'') is a collection of various poetic compositions attributed to Guru Gobind Singh.

. It is composed of 271 verses, and is largely devotional in nature.

Synopsis

The word "Akal" mean the "timeless primal being" and the word "Ustat" (from the Sanskrit word 'stuti') means "praise". So together, the words "Akal Ustat" mean "the praise of the Timeless One". In it,

Guru Gobind Singh Guru Gobind Singh (; born Gobind Das; 22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708) was the tenth and last human Sikh gurus, Sikh Guru. He was a warrior, poet, and philosopher. In 1675, at the age of nine he was formally installed as the leader of the ...

, the tenth

Sikh Guru The Sikh gurus (Punjabi language, Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖ ਗੁਰੂ; Hindi: सिख गुरु) are the spiritual masters of Sikhism, who established the religion over the course of about two and a half centuries, beginning in 1469. The year ...

writes that

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

is worshipped by various peoples in many different ways, and with varying names and methods: The scripture is notable for its unalloyed disavowal of the

caste system A caste is a fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (endogamy), foll ...

, and of cultural elitism in general. At various points in this composition, Guru Gobind Singh speaks out against the belief that some people are superior to others, by virtue of belonging to a particular religion, region, history, culture, colour or creed. Instead, he clearly and firmly states that "all human beings are equal ": Within the Manglacharan Puran, Guru Gobind Singh further does a ''Teeka'' of the Akal Ustat, as Baba Binod Singh had asked Guru Gobind Singh what the Bani meant in terms of spirituality.

Ritualism A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...

is criticized in the composition as an overemphasized method to reach God. Parts of the work are read out during

Amrit Sanchar Amrit Sanskar (, pronunciation: , lit. "nectar ceremony") is one of the four Sikh Sanskaars. The Amrit Sanskar is the initiation rite introduced by Guru Gobind Singh when he founded the Khalsa in 1699. A Sikh who has been initiated into the ...

baptismal ceremonies. Occasional references are made to the Abrahamic mythology found within the Quranic texts and practices of Muslims. Most references in the work are directed at the corpus of Indic mythology. Some Sikh writers have claimed that verses 211–230 of the work were not authored by Guru Gobind Singh, likely because they may be interpreted as praising the goddess Durga. Other Sikh scholars claim the composition is incomplete in its extant form and is missing parts.

Gallery

File:Concluding verses of Japu Sahib and opening verses of Akal Ustat - from the Anandpuri Hazuri bir (manuscript) of the Dasam Granth.jpg, Concluding verses of Japu Sahib and opening verses of Akal Ustat - from the Anandpuri Hazuri bir (manuscript) of the Dasam Granth dated to the late 17th century File:Verses of Akal Ustat - from the Anandpuri Hazuri bir (manuscript) of the Dasam Granth.jpg, Verses of Akal Ustat - from the Anandpuri Hazuri bir (manuscript) of the Dasam Granth dated to the late 17th century File:Detail of a page of a manuscript of the Sarbloh Granth showing verses of the Akal Ustat composition.jpg, Detail of a page of a manuscript of the

Sarbloh Granth The Sarbloh Granth or Sarabloh Granth (, ', literally 'Scripture of Pure Iron'), also called Manglacharan Puran or Sri Manglacharan Ji, is a voluminous scripture, composed of more than 6,500 poetic stanzas. It is traditionally attributed as bein ...

showing verses of the Akal Ustat composition in a Teeka File:Akal Ustat from the 1765 "Patna Missal" Dasam Granth Manuscript.jpg, Akal Ustat from the 1765 "Patna Missal" Dasam Granth Manuscript

References

Bibliography

* The Wondrous Play, Dr. Jodh Singh. * The Life and Ideals of Guru Gobind Singh by Surindar Singh Kohli, 1986, Munshiram Manoharlal {{Dasam Granth Sikh scripture Dasam Granth