''Waheguru'' (, pronunciation: , literally meaning "Wow Guru", figuratively translated to mean "Wonderful

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 ...

" or "Wonderful Lord") is a term used in

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 ...

to refer to God as described in ''

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 ...

''. It is the most common term to refer to God in modern Sikhism.

Meaning

The meaning of the word (usually spelled in English as ''Waheguru'') is traditionally explained as 'wondrous!' ( Punjabi word analogous to "wow" in English), and ''

guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...

'',

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

for 'teacher, spiritual guide, God', which taken together are said to carry the meaning, 'Wondrous Lord'. It is built upon an expression of awe and amazement of the divine. Another explanation for the term's meaning is that it refers to a great instructor who takes away the darkness from their pupil and enlightens them. Waheguru is described and envisioned as a formless and omnipresent deity by Sikhs with whom a devotee is able to establish a personal relationship with by following the teachings of the

Sikh Gurus 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 ...

. Waheguru is considered to be ultimate goodness, into which the purified soul merges whilst evil is vanquished.

History

The hymns to Waheguru contained in ''Guru Granth Sahib'' have been composed by Bhatt Gayand.

Usage

The word is also used in Sikhism as a main

mantra A mantra ( ; Pali: ''mantra'') or mantram (Devanagari: मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) belie ...

and is called ''gurmantra'' or ''gurmantar''. The term also finds usage in the '' jaikara'' (

battle cry A battle cry or war cry is a yell or chant taken up in battle, usually by members of the same combatant group. Battle cries are not necessarily articulate (e.g. "Eulaliaaaa!", "Alala"..), although they often aim to invoke patriotic or religio ...

greeting Greeting is an act of communication in which human beings intentionally make their presence known to each other, to show attention to, and to suggest a type of relationship (usually cordial) or social status (formal or informal) between individ ...

, and

parting phrase A valediction ( derivation from Latin ''vale dicere'', "to say farewell"), parting phrase, or complimentary close in American English, is an expression used to say farewell, especially a word or phrase used to end a letter or message,

introduced by

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 ...

: ''"Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh''" (translated as 'the Khalsa belongs to God and victory belongs to God'). This phrase is used in the '' Amrit Sanchar'' ceremony, the Sikh baptismal ritual for initiation into the

Khalsa The term ''Khalsa'' refers to both a community that follows Sikhism as its religion,Khalsa: Sikhism< ...

order.

Notes

References

{{Names of God Names of God in Sikhism Sikh beliefs Creator gods Conceptions of God

Meaning

History

Usage

See also

Notes

References