Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...

, Nām Japō (, pronunciation: ), also known as Naam Japna or Naam Simran, is the remembrance of God or the Akal Purkh, the supreme formless power that is timeless and immortal, through the

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

or contemplation of the various

Names of God There are various names of God, many of which enumerate the various Quality (philosophy), qualities of a Supreme Being. The English word ''God (word), god'' (and its equivalent in other languages) is used by multiple religions as a noun to ref ...

(or qualities of God), especially the chanting of the word "

Waheguru ''Waheguru'' (, pronunciation: , literally meaning "Wow Guru", figuratively translated to mean "Wonderful God" or "Wonderful Lord") is a term used in Sikhism to refer to God as described in ''Guru Granth Sahib''. It is the most common term to re ...

" ('Wonderful Lord') representing the formless being, the creator of all the forms, and the being omnipresent in all forms. Less commonly, it is the vocal singing of

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

s from the

Guru Granth Sahib The Guru Granth Sahib (, ) is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru following the lineage of the ten human gurus of the religion. The Adi Granth (), its first rendition, w ...

; Singing of hymns with musical accompaniment is generally referred to as ''

kirtan Sikh ''kirta''n with Indian harmoniums and '' Kenya.html" ;"title="tabla'' drums (a common and popular pairing), in Kenya">tabla'' drums (a common and popular pairing), in Kenya (1960s) ''Kirtana'' (; ), also rendered as ''Kiirtan'', ''Kirt ...

''. While contemplating God's names a devotee is able to get '' nām'', the divine connection with God. Through ''nām'', the devotees are able to harness Godly qualities and remove the five thieves.

Overview

''Nām Japna'' is the remembrance of God or the Akal Purkh, the supreme formless power that is timeless and deathless, by repeating and focusing the mind on a single repetition of one of God's various names or qualities. A particular name or phase is administered to someone when they are initiated into the Sikh faith more often than not this is the

Mul Mantar The Mūl Mantar (, ) is the opening verse of the Sikh scripture, the ''Guru Granth Sahib''. It consists of twelve words in the Punjabi language, written in Gurmukhi script, and are the most widely known among the Sikhs. They summarize the essen ...

, which is repeated throughout the

. Many other names are also found in

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 ...

's Jaap Sahib, which contains 950 names of God. The guideline in the '' Rehat Maryada'' of

demands that 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 ...

engage in ''Nām Simran'' as part of his or her daily routine. ''Nām Japō'' is one of the three pillars of Sikhism, along with ''

Kirat karō Kirat Karō ( Gurmukhi: ਕਿਰਤ ਕਰੋ) is one of the three pillars of Sikhism, the others being Naam Japo In Sikhism, Nām Japō (, pronunciation: ), also known as Naam Japna or Naam Simran, is the remembrance of God or the Akal P ...

'' and ''

Vaṇḍ chakkō () is one of the three main pillars of the teachings of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikhism. The other two pillars are ''Naam Japo'' and '' Kirat Karo''. It means to share what you have and to consume it together as a community. This could be ...

''. Critical importance is given to the meditation in the

as the way in which humans can conquer ego, greed, attachment, anger and lust, together commonly called the Five Evils or Five Thieves and to bring peace and tranquility into one's mind. The Sikhs practice both the quiet individual recitation of ''Naam'' in one's mind, commonly called ''Naam Simran'', and the loud and communal recitation of ''Naam'', called ''Naam Jaap''. However, this is not a strict definition of these phrases. This ''Nām Simran'' (recitation of nām or literally merging with the nām) is believed to have immaculate properties

Guru Arjan Guru Arjan (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਰਜਨ, pronunciation: ; 15 April 1563 – 30 May 1606) was the fifth of the ten total Sikh Gurus. He compiled the first official edition of the Sikh scripture called the Adi Granth, which later expande ...

further describes the benefits of Nām in ''

Sukhmani Sahib Sukhmani Sahib (), known under the title of Gauri Sukhmani in the scripture (named after the Gauri (raga), Gauri raga musical measure it belongs to), is usually translated to mean ''Prayer of Peace'' is a set of 192 ''Pada (foot), padas'' (stanz ...

'' (beacon of peace prayer, Raga Gauri), '' Ashtapadian'' (eight couplets) 1-3, such as it to cure all pain, destroy ego and difficulties, and for it to save even your enemies. In the Guru Granth Sahib:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nam Japo Sikh practices Chants Meditation

Overview

See also

References