Waheguru
Encyclopedia
Waheguru is a term most often used in Sikhism
Sikhism
Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing...

 to refer to God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

, the Supreme Being
Supreme Being
The term Supreme Being is often defined simply as "God", and it is used with this meaning by theologians of many religious faiths, including, but not limited to, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Deism. However, the term can also refer to more complex or philosophical interpretations of the...

 or the creator of all. It means "The Good/Best Teacher" in the Punjabi language. Wahi means "good" (a Middle Persian borrowing) and "Guru
Guru
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...

" is a term denoting "teacher".

"Waheguru" is the distinctive representation of God's name in the Sikh dispensation. In Sikh scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib
Guru Granth Sahib
Sri Guru Granth Sahib , or Adi Granth, is the religious text of Sikhism. It is the final and eternal guru of the Sikhs. It is a voluminous text of 1430 angs, compiled and composed during the period of Sikh gurus, from 1469 to 1708...

, the term does not figure in the compositions of the Gurus, though it occurs therein, both as Vahiguru and Vahguru, in the hymns of Bhatt Gayand, the bard contemporary with Guru Arjan, Nanak V (1553-1606), and also in the Varan of Bhai Gurdas
Bhai Gurdas
Bhai Gurdas was a Punjabi Sikh writer, historian, preacher and religious figure. He was the original scribe of the Guru Granth Sahib and a companion of four of the Sikh Gurus.-Early life:...

.

The most common usage of the word "Waheguru" is in the greeting Sikhs use with each other:
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh
Wonderful Teacher's Khalsa
Khalsa
+YouWebImagesVideosMapsNewsMailMoreTranslateFrom: ArabicTo: EnglishEnglishHindiEnglishAllow phonetic typingHindiEnglishArabicAssumptionGoogle Translate for Business:Translator ToolkitWebsite TranslatorGlobal Market Finder...

, Victory is to the Wonderful Teacher.

Usage in Sikh scripture

"Waheguru", and its variant "Vahiguru", appear only 18 times in Shri Guru Granth Sahib. Waheguru occurs twice on Ang 1403 and once on Ang 1404. Other words used in the Guru Granth Sahib
Guru Granth Sahib
Sri Guru Granth Sahib , or Adi Granth, is the religious text of Sikhism. It is the final and eternal guru of the Sikhs. It is a voluminous text of 1430 angs, compiled and composed during the period of Sikh gurus, from 1469 to 1708...

 to refer to God are: Onkar, Satguru
Satguru
Satguru does not merely mean true guru. The term is distinguished from other forms of gurus, such as musical instructors, scriptural teachers, parents, and so on...

 ("true teacher"), Satnaam ("true name"), Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...

, Rahman
Rahman (name)
Rahman is an Arabic male name. It is the elative of Raḥim, based on the triconsonantal root . In Islam, the name ar-Raḥmān, meaning "The Beneficent, The Most Merciful in Essence, The Compassionate, The Most Gracious" is considered most special of the Names of God in Islam. Rahman can be short...

, Purusha
Purusha
In some lineages of Hinduism, Purusha is the "Self" which pervades the universe. The Vedic divinities are interpretations of the many facets of Purusha...

h, Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...

, Khuda
Khuda
Khuda or Khoda is the Pashto word for "guide" and has come to be used as "Lord" or " God" in both Pashto and Persian. Formerly used for Ahura Mazda, today mostly of God in Islam by not just Pashto and Persian speakers, but also by Urdu speakers as well...

 among others. Indeed, a verse in Guru Granth Sahib just highlights the very fact that different people use different 'words' :
Koyi Bole Ram Ram, Koyi Khudaye :: Some call (you) Ram
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...

 Ram, Some Khuda
Khuda
Khuda or Khoda is the Pashto word for "guide" and has come to be used as "Lord" or " God" in both Pashto and Persian. Formerly used for Ahura Mazda, today mostly of God in Islam by not just Pashto and Persian speakers, but also by Urdu speakers as well...

Koyi Seve Gosain, Koyi Allah :: Some serve (you) as the Gosain, some Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...

Kaaran Karan Kareem :: You alone are the cause of everything
Kirpa Taar Raheem :: Shower your mercy and Compassion (on all)


Guru Gobind Singh
Guru Gobind Singh
Guru Gobind Singh is the tenth and last Sikh guru in a sacred lineage of ten Sikh gurus. Born in Patna, Bihar in India, he was also a warrior, poet and philosopher. He succeeded his father Guru Tegh Bahadur as the leader of Sikhs at a young age of nine...

, M10 (1666-1708), used "Waheguru" in the invocatory formula ("Ik Onkar Sri Waheguru ji ki Fateh", besides the traditional "Ik Onkar Satguru Prasada") at the beginning of some of his compositions as well as in the Sikh salutation ("Waheguru ji ka Khalsa Waheguru ji ki Fateh"). Bhai Gurdas
Bhai Gurdas
Bhai Gurdas was a Punjabi Sikh writer, historian, preacher and religious figure. He was the original scribe of the Guru Granth Sahib and a companion of four of the Sikh Gurus.-Early life:...

 at one place in his Varan
Varan
is a kaiju that first appeared in Varan the Unbelievable . Physically, Varan resembles a giant reptile with skin membranes between his arms and legs, allowing him to glide much like a flying dragon or flying squirrel; he also has a horned head....

 (I.49) construes "vahiguru" as an acrostic
Acrostic
An acrostic is a poem or other form of writing in which the first letter, syllable or word of each line, paragraph or other recurring feature in the text spells out a word or a message. As a form of constrained writing, an acrostic can be used as a mnemonic device to aid memory retrieval. A famous...

 using the first consonants of the names of four divine incarnations of the Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

 tradition appearing in four successive eons.
Modern scholars, however, affirm that the name Vahiguru is owed originally to the Gurus, most likely to the founder of the faith, Guru Nanak, himself. According to this view, Vahiguru is a compound of two words, one from Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...

and the other from Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

, joined in a symbiotic relationship to define the indefinable indescribable Ultimate Reality. "Vah" in Persian is an interjection of wonder and admiration, and "guru" (Sanskrit guru: "heavy, weighty, great, venerable; a spiritual parent or preceptor") has been frequently used by Guru Nanak and his successors for "satiguru "(True Guru) or God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

. Bhai Santokh Singh, in Sri Gur Nanak Prakash (pp. 1249-51), reporting Guru Nanak’s testament to the Sikhs has thus explicated "Vahiguru": "Vah" is wonder at the Divine might; while guru means a spiritual and devotional teacher.

Significance, meaning, usage

Cumulatively, the name implies wonder at the Divine Light eliminating spiritual darkness. It might also imply, "Hail the Lord whose name eliminates spiritual darkness." Earlier, Shaheed Bhai Mani Singh
Shaheed Bhai Mani Singh
Bhai Mani Singh, a great Sikh personality of 18th century, occupies a very esteemed position in Sikh history. He assumed the control and steered the course of the Sikh destiny at a very critical stage in their history. A scholar, a Sikh, and a leader, Bhai Mani Singh laid down his life to uphold...

, Sikhan di Bhagat Mala, gave a similar explication, also on the authority of Guru Nanak. Considering the two constituents of "Vahiguru" ("vahi" + "guru") implying the state of wondrous ecstasy and offering of homage to the Lord, the first one was brought distinctly and prominently into the devotional system by Guru Nanak, who has made use of this interjection, as in Majh ki Var (stanza 24), and Suhi ki Var, sloka
Sloka
Sloka may refer to:* Sloka, Latvia, a neighbourhood of Jūrmala, Latvia* Sloka meter, a Sanskrit meter* Śloka, a Hindu prayer* Sloka Gora, a small settlement in central Slovenia* Sloka...

 to pauri
Pauri
Pauri is a city and a municipal board in Pauri Garhwal district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand.-Geography:Pauri is located at...

 10.

Apart from the use of this interjection, the attitude of wonder and total submission at the sight of Divine Greatness is prominently visible in Guru Nanak as evidenced for example in the hymn in Dhanasari:
ਗਗਨ ਮੈ ਥਾਲੁ ਰਵਿ ਚੰਦੁ ਦੀਪਕ ਬਨੇ ਤਾਰਿਕਾ ਮੰਡਲ ਜਨਕ ਮੋਤੀ ॥ (663)
Gagana mai thālu ravi candu dīpaka banē tārikā manḍala janaka mōtī
In the bowl of the sky, the sun and moon are the lamps; the stars in the constellations are the pearls.


in measure Suhi:
ਕਉਣ ਤਰਾਜੀ ਕਵਣੁ ਤੁਲਾ ਤੇਰਾ ਕਵਣੁ ਸਰਾਫੁ ਬੁਲਾਵਾ ॥ (730)
Ka'uṇa tarājī kavaṇu tulā tērā kavaṇu sarāphu bulāvā
What scale, what weights, and what assayer shall I call for You, Lord?


and in Japji:
ਕੇਤੇ ਪਵਣ ਪਾਣੀ ਵੈਸੰਤਰ ਕੇਤੇ ਕਾਨ ਮਹੇਸ ॥ (7)
Kētē pavaṇa pāṇī vaisantara kētē kāna mahēsa.
So many winds, waters and fires; so many Krishnas and Shivas.

ਕੇਤੇ ਬਰਮੇ ਘਾੜਤਿ ਘੜੀਅਹਿ ਰੂਪ ਰੰਗ ਕੇ ਵੇਸ ॥ (7)
Kētē baramē ghāṛati ghaṛīahi rūpa ranga kē vēsa.
So many Brahmas, fashioning forms of great beauty, adorned and dressed in many colors.


In Asa Di Var
Asa di Var
Asa Ki Var is a collection of 24 pauris or stanzas written by Guru Nanak Devji .Some people argue that the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev ji wrote the first 9 together on one occasion and later wrote 15 more stanzas on a different occasion but Professor Sahib Singh and some of the foremost Sikh...

 (GG, 462-75) the opening sloka to pauri 3 is woven round "vismad—vismadu nad vismadu ved", "wondrous is the sound, wondrous the wisdom". Wonder and ecstasy are expressed at the cosmic order and its mystery full of contradictions, yet all comprehended in the Divinely-appointed system. This salok concludes with: "Ever present to our gaze is wonder. At the sight of this mystery are we wonderstruck. Only by supreme good fortune is it unravelled." In the opening salok to pauri 4—"bhai vichi pavanu vahai sadvau", "in (the Lord’s) fear bloweth the wind with its myriad breezes" — is expressed wonder at the cosmic “fear” under which the universe operates in obedience to the Divine Law, the Lord alone being exempt from such fear.

In Japji, besides other themes, one that stands out prominent is wonder at the cosmic order, its infinitude and the mystery of its moral élan. As a matter of fact, the theme of Japji may be said to be what occurs in the course of stanza 4: "vadiai vicharu" ("contemplation of Divine infinity"). In stanza 16, for example, is the expression of wonder at the limitlessness of space. Stanzas 17-19, each beginning with asankh (infinite), are uttered in the same mood.

In stanza 22— "patala patal lakh agasa agas", "countless the worlds beneath, countless the worlds above" —is a vision of the limitlessness of the universe. So are stanzas 24, 25, 26, 27, 32, 34, 35 and 36. It is in response to this overwhelming vision of Guru Nanak that the unique Name of the Supreme Being, Vahiguru, originated. No other name could have been adequate to express what in his vision he found lying at the heart of the cosmos, compelling a response in the human self attuned to devotion and ecstasy.

Guru Amar Das
Guru Amar Das
Guru Amar Das was the third of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and was given the title of Sikh Guru on 26 March 1552.-His life:...

 has also employed the term in Gujari ki Var (GG, 514-16) and in Astpadis in Malar (GG. 1277). In the former, it is calculated that the interjection "vahu-vahu" ("Hail, hail the Lord") is used as many as 96 times. The interjection "vahu" ("hail, wondrous is the Lord") occurs in Guru Ram Das
Guru Ram Das
Guru Ram Das was the fourth of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and was given the title of Sikh Guru on 30 August 1574.-Early life:Ram Das was born in Lahore, Punjab on 24 September 1534[1] to a Sodhi family of the Khatri clan. His father was Hari Das and his mother Anup Devi. His wife was Bibi Bhani,...

 in conjunction with "Satiguru "(compounded from Guru) in sloka 2 in Sloka Varan te Vadhik (GG, 1421). In Guru Arjan by whose time the formulation Vahiguru appears to have become current and acquired distinctiveness as the Name Divine, the phrase ‘Gur Vahu’ figures in Asa measure (GG, 376). This is only as inverted form of Vahiguru and has the same force and significance. Kavi Santokh Singh in Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth (p. 5686) uses the two terms as synonymous: “simrahu vahiguru guru vahi, or contemplate ye Vahiguru, the Lord all hail.”

The earliest use of Vahiguru, in this form, is traceable to Varan by Bhai Gurdas and to Gayand’s hymns in the Guru Granth Sahib
Guru Granth Sahib
Sri Guru Granth Sahib , or Adi Granth, is the religious text of Sikhism. It is the final and eternal guru of the Sikhs. It is a voluminous text of 1430 angs, compiled and composed during the period of Sikh gurus, from 1469 to 1708...

. In both it may be said to have occurred contemporaneously, for while no date can be assigned to Bhai Gurdas’ Varan, the work may be assumed to have appeared soon after the compilation of the Scripture in 1604, being so much alive with its spirit and phraseology. Gayand in the course of his lines encomiastic of Guru Ram Das
Guru Ram Das
Guru Ram Das was the fourth of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and was given the title of Sikh Guru on 30 August 1574.-Early life:Ram Das was born in Lahore, Punjab on 24 September 1534[1] to a Sodhi family of the Khatri clan. His father was Hari Das and his mother Anup Devi. His wife was Bibi Bhani,...

 (GG. 1403) made use of Vahiguru as the supreme Name Divine in recognition of the primacy and appeal it had by then come to acquire in the Sikh tradition. In this Savaiyya numbered 11, the term occurs twice as Vah Guru. Earlier in that numbered 6, it is repeated thrice as Vahiguru in the opening line, expressing fervour of devotion. So also in the concluding line of Savaiyya 7. In Savaiyya 12, Vahu Vahu (Wonder, personifying the Lord) signifies the Supreme marvel, embracing the infinitude of the universe. In Savaiyya 13, this name is used twice once as Vahiguru in the opening line and Vah Guru in the last line. In the concluding line of Savaiyya 8, Vahiguru is used thrice, concluding with the interjection "Vahi" ("Hail").

Some relevant lines from Bhai Gurdas, Varan, may also be reproduced here: vahiguru guru sabadu lai piram piala chupi chabola, putting faith in Vahiguru, the Master’s teaching, the seeker drains in peace and tranquillity the cup of devotion
  • (IV. 17); "paunu guru gursabadu hai vahiguru gur sabadu sunaia", ""paun—guru" is the Master’s word wherethrough he imparted the holy name Vahiguru"
  • (VI. 5); "vahiguru salahna guru sabadu alae", "to laud the Lord let me give utterance to the Master’s Word"
  • (IX. 13); "satiguru purakh daial hoi vahiguru sachu mantra sunaia", "the holy Master in his grace imparted to the seeker the sacred incantation Vahiguru"
  • (XI. 3); "nirankaru akasu kari joti Sarup anup dikhaia, bed kateb agochara vahiguru gursabadu sunaia", "the Formless Lord manifesting himself granted sight of His unique effulgent self and imparted to the seeker the Word Vahiguru, that is beyond the ken of Vedas and the Muslim Scriptures"
  • (XII. 17); "vahiguru gurmantra hai japi haumai khoi", "Vahiguru is the Master’s incantation".


By repeating it egoism is cast out:
  • (XIII. 2); "dharamsal kartarpuru sadh sangati sachkhandu vasaia, vahiguru gur sabadu sunaia", "Guru Nanak in the temple at Kartarpur established the Realm Eternal as the holy congregation, and imparted to it the Divine Word Vahiguru"
  • (XXIV. 1); "sati namu karta purakhu vahiguru vichi ridai samae", "let the seeker lodge in his heart the holy Name, the creator immanent, Vahiguru"
  • (XL. 22). In these verses, "Vahiguru" signifies the supreme name Divine, to which devotion may be offered. It is transcendent and annular of sin and evil, thus combining in itself the ‘attributed’ and the ‘unattributed’ aspects in consonance with the Sikh doctrine voiced in the Scripture. The main point is that by Guru Arjan’s time and after, this name over all others was established as the object of devotion. The term received the final seal in the time of Guru Gobind Singh.


Vahiguru is for Sikhs the gurmantra
Mantra
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...

 (invocatory formula received from the guru) or nam for repetition (silently or aloud, with or without a rosary
Rosary
The rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...

) and meditation upon the Supreme Reality. Bhai Gurdas in his Varan refers to it variously as japu mantra (invocation for repetition), guru sabadu (the Guru’s Word), sachu mantra (true mantra) and gurmantra. It is also called nam (the Name), and is sometimes compounded as “Satinam-Vahiguru” to be chanted aloud in congregations. Nam japna (repeated utterance of God’s Name, i.e. Vahiguru) is one of the three cardinal moral principles of Sikhism, the other two being kirat karni or honest labour and vand chhakna or sharing one’s victuals with the needy. Since the manifestation of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699, Vahiguru has been part of the Sikh salutation: "Vahiguru ji ka Khalsa, Vahiguru ji ki Fateh" ("Hail the Khalsa who belongs to the Lord God! Hail the Lord God to whom belongs the victory! !" ). It has since also been the gurmantra imparted formally at initiation to the novitiate by the leader of the Panj Piare administering the rites.

Works cited

  • Sabadarth Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Amritsar, 1959
  • Gurdas, Bhai, Varan. Amritsar, 1962
  • Mani Singh, Bhai, Sikhan di Bhagat Mala. Amritsar, 1955
  • Santokh Singh, Bhai, Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth. Amritsar, 1927-35
  • Sher Singh, Philosophy of Sikhism. Lahore, 1944
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