INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

perception of Vahiguru with that of the human hand: one can perceive the hand by
distinguishing and naming the thumb, forefinger, and so on, but “like five separate
fingers becomes very strong when clenched to a fist, similarly Vahiguru is the collection
of all power.” Although the whole creation is believed to be a divine manifestation,
the formless God does not incarnate but is known by its name. It is within this
cosmological framework the majority of my interlocutors explained Vahiguru as a
name of the almighty and formless God, or “the eternal power (akal shakti) which you
cannot touch nor see, but you can feel,” as one man put it. That the sacred formula of
Vahiguru designates a singular divine power is further emphasized by the way Sikhs
let the word Satnam, or “the true name”, precede the compound in recitations and
calligraphic inscriptions. Consistent with this view, the term Vahiguru does not comprise
references to the Sikh Gurus since they were messengers and spiritual preceptors
who bestowed the world knowledge and the name of God. From this understanding
Vahiguru is commonly said to be the gurmantra, that is, the sacred formula
charged with power, which is given to the disciples of Sikhs for remembrance of the
divine. Several interlocutors alleged that any godly name, even Allah and Jehovah,
could be used to recall and meditate on God, but Vahiguru was the sacred name sanctioned
by their Gurus. For Amritdhari Sikhs it is said to be the gurmantra that was
given to Sikhs at the time of the Khande di pahul ceremony and which all initiated
Khalsa Sikhs should continually remember and recite.
INNER AND OUTER ACTION
The ways in which local Sikhs have come to use the gurmantra in their religious and
social life are countless. The abstract teaching of the divine name is “thingified” in
inscriptions of the gurmantra that are printed on posters, stickers and other materials
to be used as amulets pasted on rear windows, entrances to the house, and other
places to protect the holder from misfortune. 543 In the everyday life, people may internally
repeat the name of Vahiguru when they are riding a cycle or scooter, walking,
sitting, travelling on a bus, or going to bed. A middle-aged Amritdhari woman used to
put on a tape with simran practices in the morning and sang along while completing
her domestic duties. In moments of emotional distress or physical discomfort many
Sikhs will recite the name or God in a voiced or soundless manner to gain inner
strength and courage. This is particularly noticeable in speech acts that seek divine
assistance to shield human or supernatural ill wishers. An elderly Sikh man, for instance,
used to repeat the gurmantra to ward off all possible dangers caused by humans
and spirits when he sometimes had to walk alone through the city in the middle
of the night. Upon facing evildoers in the reality or in dreams the utterance of
Satnam Vahiguru is believed to invoke the power behind the name for protection. As
an elderly Amritdhari woman argued, those who are not performing simran are more
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Along with the signs of Ik omkar, the first inscription in Guru Granth Sahib, and the Degh-
Tegh-Fateh or Khanda sign.
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Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008