• Study Resource
  • Explore Categories
    • Arts & Humanities
    • Business
    • Engineering & Technology
    • Foreign Language
    • History
    • Math
    • Science
    • Social Science

    Top subcategories

    • Advanced Math
    • Algebra
    • Basic Math
    • Calculus
    • Geometry
    • Linear Algebra
    • Pre-Algebra
    • Pre-Calculus
    • Statistics And Probability
    • Trigonometry
    • other →

    Top subcategories

    • Astronomy
    • Astrophysics
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Earth Science
    • Environmental Science
    • Health Science
    • Physics
    • other →

    Top subcategories

    • Anthropology
    • Law
    • Political Science
    • Psychology
    • Sociology
    • other →

    Top subcategories

    • Accounting
    • Economics
    • Finance
    • Management
    • other →

    Top subcategories

    • Aerospace Engineering
    • Bioengineering
    • Chemical Engineering
    • Civil Engineering
    • Computer Science
    • Electrical Engineering
    • Industrial Engineering
    • Mechanical Engineering
    • Web Design
    • other →

    Top subcategories

    • Architecture
    • Communications
    • English
    • Gender Studies
    • Music
    • Performing Arts
    • Philosophy
    • Religious Studies
    • Writing
    • other →

    Top subcategories

    • Ancient History
    • European History
    • US History
    • World History
    • other →

    Top subcategories

    • Croatian
    • Czech
    • Finnish
    • Greek
    • Hindi
    • Japanese
    • Korean
    • Persian
    • Swedish
    • Turkish
    • other →
 
Profile Documents Logout
Upload
1 When We Walk With The Lord
1 When We Walk With The Lord

... 1 When We Walk With The Lord D A D A D When we walk with the Lord In the light of His Word G D A D A What a glory He sheds on our way! D A D A D While we do His good will He abides with us still, G D AD And with all who will trust and obey. ...
Vol. 5 - 查經資料大全
Vol. 5 - 查經資料大全

... to iniquity; but also to restrain even the devil's slaves in the most furious enticement to their best-beloved sin. 1. Sin is most hateful. It is the only object of God's infinite hatred. His love is carried upon variety of objects. He loves, in the first place, infinitely, his own blessed self; his ...
An Exposition of the Epistle of James
An Exposition of the Epistle of James

... might be seasoned with more love and goodwill. Consider it. That is, though sense will not find it so, yet in spiritual judgment you must so esteem it. Pure joy. That is, a matter of chief joy. See 1 Timothy 1:5. Whenever you face. This signifies such troubles as come upon us unawares, as sudden thi ...
RTF - PeaceMakers.net
RTF - PeaceMakers.net

... tribulation to them that trouble you, so to you who are troubled and endure it (for ‘we count them happy,’ says James, ‘that endure,’ (James 5:11), rest with saints, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, to take vengeance on them that know not God, ...
(Vol. 1》(George Whitefield)
(Vol. 1》(George Whitefield)

... (here was the lust of the flesh, and lust of the eye) but, above all, a tree to be desired to make one wise, wiser than God would have her be, nay, as wise as God himself; she took of the fruit thereof, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat. As soon as ever she sinned herself, she ...
JM NOTES 2 - Christian Messages
JM NOTES 2 - Christian Messages

... has not come yet, but we hope for His coming while we are alive. "The sky, not the grave, is our goal." Phil1v7 Paul had the saints in his heart as a fond parent, and it was right for him to wish that God's good work in them would be perfected until the Lord's coming. Paul joins bonds with the defen ...
Volume 18, Number 36, August 28 to September 3, 2016 The
Volume 18, Number 36, August 28 to September 3, 2016 The

... them, we shall quickly wander into curious and perplexed questions, wherein the consciences of guilty sinners are not concerned; and which, therefore, really belong not unto the substance or truth of this doctrine, nor are to be immixed therewith. It is alone the relief of those who are in themselve ...
The Rare Jewel Of Christian Contentment
The Rare Jewel Of Christian Contentment

... Philippians that he did not seek after great things in the world, and that he sought not 'theirs' but 'them'. He did not long for great wealth. His heart was taken up with better things. 'I do not speak', he says, 'in respect of want, for whether I have or have not, my heart is fully satisfied, I ha ...
holy living - Christian Classics Ethereal Library
holy living - Christian Classics Ethereal Library

... narrow funds of the colleges, there was the stronger ground for insisting on the natural maxim, that those who cannot pay in money must pay in kind. At Cambridge it cannot be discovered that Taylor succeeded in any of the more public objects of scholarship, increase of rank or increase of income. Th ...
T_SIrnAH En WT
T_SIrnAH En WT

... are very different,--I have deemed it my duty (after reading some of the Commentaries, as they call them, of the disciples of Valentinus, and after making myself acquainted with their tenets through personal intercourse with some of them) to unfold to thee, my friend, these portentous and profound m ...
Here is another outstanding teaching card from Don Gossett, revised
Here is another outstanding teaching card from Don Gossett, revised

... Biblical meditation is NOT the emptying of our minds as taught in Eastern religions. Quite the opposite! Christian meditation involves filling our mind with the Word of God. ...
EPH_MSTR - Calvary Chapel of Anne Arundel County
EPH_MSTR - Calvary Chapel of Anne Arundel County

... path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. In the heavenly is where God wants to take you, into the presence of the Lord, it is in His presence that FULLNESS come. It is even greater than joy that comes from serving Him, as great as that is. ...
Leader`s Guide - Precept Ministries International
Leader`s Guide - Precept Ministries International

... Writing a leader guide poses many of the same dilemmas prepping for a class does. When everything is said and done, no matter how much you prepare and I include in this leader material, there will always be questions that lie beyond. Don’t let this discourage you. Soak yourself in the Word, prep to ...
Book of Malachi - Chapter 3 - South Walton Church of Christ
Book of Malachi - Chapter 3 - South Walton Church of Christ

... NKJV WHO CAN STAND IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD? ‘He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly’ ‘He who despises the gain of oppressions’ ‘He who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes’ ‘He who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed’ ‘He who shuts his eyes from seeing evil’ ...
Living Under God`s Law: Christian Ethics
Living Under God`s Law: Christian Ethics

... There are those who enter the field of ethics with a goal of dispelling legalism. Perhaps they were raised in a church that imposed all sorts of rules on the kids: don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t play cards, and they have felt these as a big burden. So as ethicists they want to emphasize our freedom ...
The Catechism of the Council of Trent or (The Catechism for Parish
The Catechism of the Council of Trent or (The Catechism for Parish

... contents are not altered and this copyright notice is included with the distributed copy, provided that the following conditions are adhered to. This electronic document may not be offered in connection with any other document, product, promotion or other item that is sold, exchange for compensation ...
0380-0380- Anonymus - Constitutions of the Holy Apostles
0380-0380- Anonymus - Constitutions of the Holy Apostles

... She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. She tasteth that it is good to labour; her lamp goeth not out all the whole night. She stretcheth out her arms for useful work, and layeth her hands to the spindle. She openeth her hands to the needy; yea, she reacheth forth her hands ...
PG_20_22_Eusebius_Ca..
PG_20_22_Eusebius_Ca..

... Origen, was doubtless due also in large measure the deep respect which Eusebius showed for that illustrious Father, a respect to which we owe one of the most delightful sections of his Church History, his long account of Origen in the sixth book, and to which in part antiquity was indebted for the e ...
1 - Documenta Catholica Omnia
1 - Documenta Catholica Omnia

... Knowledge Of God Obtained Through Faith Is Clearer But while this is so, yet God, as the Apostle says, left not himself without testimony, doing good from heaven, giving rains and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. Hence it is that the philosophers conceived no mean idea of ...
Ζ Χ Ψ Ω Β Ν Μ
Ζ Χ Ψ Ω Β Ν Μ

... With its inconsistencies and errors, A. Allison Lewis, over several years ending in 2008, is totally responsible for English translations, references and selected quotes. Users bringing errors to my attention would be greatly appreciated. [Differences of philosophy such as to text type(s); English o ...
January - December - Oblates of St. Francis de Sales
January - December - Oblates of St. Francis de Sales

... Look at the word closely: “dis-ease.” Dis-ease, then, is anything – be it physical, emotional, psychological, social, spiritual, material – that causes pain, discomfort, agitation, anxiety or distress. The Gospel reminds us that Jesus stands ready to receive any – and all – “dis-eases” with which we ...
Zechariah
Zechariah

... reclaimed; so incorrigibly flagitious, so shamelessly, so prodigiously wicked were they, till there was no remedy. This their vile stubbornness made him sore displeased with them; and put thunderbolts into his hands to destroy them; for though fury be not in God, Isaiah 27:5, to speak properly, he ...
Myths, Misquotes and Misconceptions about St. Ignatius Loyola
Myths, Misquotes and Misconceptions about St. Ignatius Loyola

... give me love of yourself, along with your grace.”13 An expert Latinist produced it in consultation with Ignatius. The Church formally approved this Latin edition of the Spiritual Exercises, and Ignatius himself used it for seven years when directing people in the retreat.14 The distinction is import ...
Parents - Eglise du reste de Jesus Christ
Parents - Eglise du reste de Jesus Christ

... every phase of the home, and offers specific instruction on many of the problems which give so much concern to thoughtful and often anxious parents today. Some years before her death, she indicated her desire to get out “a book for Christian parents” that would define “the mother’s duty and influenc ...
steps - The Adventist Home
steps - The Adventist Home

... every phase of the home, and offers specific instruction on many of the problems which give so much concern to thoughtful and often anxious parents today. Some years before her death, she indicated her desire to get out “a book for Christian parents” that would define “the mother’s duty and influenc ...
< 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ... 84 >

God in Sikhism

The concept of ""God"" in Sikhism is uncompromisingly monotheistic, as symbolized by ""Ik Onkar""(one all pervading spirit), a central tenet of Sikh philosophy. However Sikhs believe that God also prevails in everything. The fundamental belief of Sikhism is that God exists, indescribable yet knowable and perceivable to anyone who is prepared to dedicate the time and energy to become perceptive to their persona.The Sikh gurus have described God in numerous ways in their hymns included in the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of Sikhism, but the oneness of the deity is consistently emphasized throughout. God is described in the Mool Mantar, the first passage in the Guru Granth Sahib, and the basic formula of the faith is: ੴ ਸਤਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਕਰਤਾ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਨਿਰਭਉ ਨਿਰਵੈਰੁ ਅਕਾਲ ਮੂਰਤਿ ਅਜੂਨੀ ਸੈਭੰ ਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥ ikk ōankār sat(i)-nām(u) karatā purakh(u) nirabha'u niravair(u) akāla mūrat(i) ajūnī saibhan(g) gur(a) prasād(i). There is but one all pervading spirit, and it is called the truth, It exists in all creation, and it has no fear, It does not hate and, it is timeless, universal and self-existent!, You will come to know it through seeking knowledge and learning.Knowledge of the ultimate Reality is not a matter for reason; it comes by revelation of the ultimate reality through nadar (grace) and by anubhava (mystical experience). Says Guru Nanak, budhi pathi na paiai bahu chaturaiai bhai milai mani bhane which translates to ""He is not accessible through intellect, or through mere scholarship or cleverness at argument; He is met, when He pleases, through devotion"" (SGGS, 436).The Guru Granth consistently refers to God as ""He"" and ""Father"". However, this is simply because the Granth is written in north Indian Indo-Aryan languages (mixture of Punjabi and dialects of Hindi) which have no neutral gender. Since the Granth says that the God is indescribable, the God has no gender according to Sikhism.Guru Nanak prefixed the numeral one (ik) to it, making it Ik Oankar or Ekankar to stress God's oneness. God is named and known only through his Own immanent nature. The only name which can be said to truly fit God's transcendent state is Sat (Sanskrit Satnam, Truth), the changeless and timeless Reality. God is transcendent and all-pervasive at the same time. Transcendence and immanence are two aspects of the same single Supreme Reality. The Reality is immanent in the entire creation, but the creation as a whole fails to contain God fully. As says Guru Tegh Bahadur, Nanak IX, ""He has himself spread out His Own “maya” (worldly illusion) which He oversees; many different forms He assumes in many colours, yet He stays independent of all"" (SGGS, 537).God is Karta Purakh, the Creator-Being. He created the spatial-temporal universe not from some pre-existing physical element, but from His own Self. Universe is His own emanation. It is not maya (illusion), but is real (sat) because, as say Guru Arjan, “True is He and true is His creation [because] all has emanated from God Himself” (SGGS 294).But God is not identical with the universe. The latter exists and is contained in Him and not vice versa. God is immanent in the created world, but is not limited by it. “Many times He expands Himself into such worlds but He ever remains the same One Ekankar"" (SGGS, 276). Even at one time ""there are hundreds of thousands of skies and nether regions"" (SGGS, 5). Included in Sach Khand (Realm of Truth), the figurative abode of God, there are countless regions and universes"" (SGGS, 8). Creation is ""His play which He witnesses, and when He rolls up the play, He is His sole Self again"" (SGGS, 292). He is the Creator, Sustainer and the Destroyer.What is the Creator's purpose in creating the universe? It is not for man to inquire or judge the purpose of His Creator. To quote Guru Arjan again, ""The created cannot have a measure of the Creator; what He wills, O Nanak, happens"" (SGGS, 285). For the Sikhs, the Creation is His pleasure and play ""When the showman beat His drum, the whole creation came out to witness the show; and when He puts aside his disguise, He rejoices in His original solitude"" (SGGS, 174, 291, 655, 736).Purakh added to Karta in the Mool Mantar is the Punjabi form of Sanskrit purusa, which literally means, besides man, male or person, ""the primeval man as the soul and original source of the universe; the personal and animating principle; the supreme Being or Soul of the universe."" Purakh in Mool Mantar is, therefore, none other than God the Creator. The term has nothing to do with the purusa of the Sankhya school of Indian philosophy where it is the spirit as a passive spectator of prakriti or creative force.That God is nirbhau (without fear) and nirvair (without rancour or enemy) is obvious enough as He has no sarik (rival). But the terms have other connotations, too. Nirbhau not only indicates fearlessness but also the absence of fearfulness. It also implies sovereignty and unquestioned exercise of Will. Similarly, nirvair implies, besides absence of enmity, the positive attributes of compassion and impartiality. Together the two terms mean that God loves His handiwork and is the Dispenser of impartial justice, dharam-niau. Guru Ram Das, Nanak IV, says: ""Why should we be afraid, with the True One being the judge. True is the True One's justice"" (SGGS, 84).God is Akal Murat, the Eternal Being. The timelessness involved in the negative epithet akal has made it popular in Sikh tradition as one of the names of God, the Timeless One, as in Akal Purakh or in the slogan Sat Sri Akal (Satya Sri Akal). One of the most sacred shrines of the Sikhs is the Akal Takhat, the Eternal Throne, at Amritsar. Murat here does not mean form, figure, image or idol. Sikhism expressly forbids idolatry or image-worship in any form. God is called Nirankar, the Formless One, although it is true that all forms are the manifestations of Nirankar. Bhai Gurdas, the earliest expounder and the copyist of the original recension of Guru Granth Sahib, says: ""Nirankar akaru hari joti sarup anup dikhaia (The Formless One having created form manifested His wondrous refulgence)"" (Varan, XII. 17). Murat in the Mool Mantra, therefore, signifies verity or manifestation of the Timeless and Formless One.God is Ajuni, un-incarnated, and saibhan (Sanskrit svayambhu), Self-existent. The Primal Creator Himself had no creator. He simply is, has ever been and shall ever be by Himself. Ajuni also affirms the Sikh rejection of the theory of divine incarnation. Guru Arjan says: ""Man misdirected by false belief indulges in falsehood; God is free from birth and death. . . May that mouth be scorched which says that God is incarnated"" (SGGS, 1136). Nevertheless, there are verses in the Guru Granth Sahib that seem to support the teaching that God incarnated, on which the some Sanatan Sikhs call on, like:ਜਗ ਅਉਰੁ ਨ ਯਾਹਿ ਮਹਾ ਤਮ ਮੈ ਅਵਤਾਰੁ ਉਜਾਗਰੁ ਆਨਿ ਕੀਅਉ ॥jag aour n yaahi mehaa tham mai avathaar oujaagar aan keeao ||In the great darkness of this world, the Lord revealed Himself, incarnated as Guru Arjun.ਤਤੁ ਬਿਚਾਰੁ ਯਹੈ ਮਥੁਰਾ ਜਗ ਤਾਰਨ ਕਉ ਅਵਤਾਰੁ ਬਨਾਯਉ ॥thath bichaar yehai mathhuraa jag thaaran ko avathaar banaayo ||O Mat'huraa, consider this essential truth: to save the world, the Lord incarnated Himself.(SGGS 1409)The Mool Mantar ends with gurprasadi, meaning thereby that realization of God comes through Guru's grace. In Sikh theology Guru appears in three different but allied connotations, viz. God, the ten Sikh Gurus, and the gur-shabad or Guru's utterances as preserved in the Guru Granth Sahib. Of God's grace, Gurus' instruction and guidance and the scriptural Shabad (Sanskrit sabda, literally 'Word'), the first is the most important, because, as nothing happens without God's will or pleasure, His grace is essential to making a person inclined towards a desire and search for union with Him.God is thus depicted in three distinct aspects, viz. God in Himself, God in relation to creation, and God in relation to man. God by himself is the one Ultimate, Transcendent Reality, Nirguna (without attributes), Timeless, Boundless, Formless, Ever-existent, Immutable, Ineffable, All-by Himself and even Unknowable in His entirety. During a discourse with Hindu recluses, Guru Nanak in reply to a question as to where the Transcendent God was before the stage of creation replies, ""To think of the Transcendent Lord in that state is to enter the realm of wonder. Even at that stage of sunn, he permeated all that Void"" (SGGS, 940). This is the state of God's sunn samadhi, self-absorbed trance.When it pleases God, He becomes sarguna (Sanskrit saguna, with attributes) and manifests Himself in creation. He becomes immanent in His created universe, which is His own emanation, an aspect of Himself. As says Guru Amar Das, Nanak III, ""This (so-called) poison, the world, that you see is God's picture; it is God's outline that we see"" (SGGS, 922). Most names of God are His attributive, action-related signifiers, kirtam nam (SGGS, 1083) or karam nam (Dasam Granth, Jaap Sahib). God in the Sikh Scripture has been referred to by several names, picked from Indian and Semitic traditions. He is called in terms of human relations as father, mother, brother, relation, friend, lover, beloved, husband. Other names, expressive of His supremacy, are thakur, prabhu, svami, sah, patsah, sahib, sain (Lord, Master). Some traditional names are ram, narayan, govind, gopal, Allah, khuda. Even the negative terms such as nirankar, niranjan et al. are as much related to attributes as are the positive terms like data, datar, karta, kartar, dayal, kripal, qadir, karim, etc. Some terms peculiar to Sikhism are naam (literally name), sabad (literally word) and Vahiguru (literally Wondrous Master). While nam and sabad are mystical terms standing for the Divine manifestation and are used as substitute terms for the Supreme Being, Vahiguru is a phrase expressing awe, wonder and ecstatic joy of the worshipper as he comprehends the immenseness and grandeur of the Lord and His Creation.Immanence or All-pervasiveness of God, however, does not limit or in any way affect His transcendence. He is Transcendent and Immanent at the same time. The Creation is His lila or cosmic play. He enjoys it, pervades it, yet Himself remains unattached. Guru Arjan describes Him in several hymns as ""Unattached and Unentangled in the midst of all"" (SGGS, 102, 294, 296); and ""Amidst all, yet outside of all, free from love and hate"" (SGGS, 784-85). Creation is His manifestation, but, being conditioned by space and time, it provides only a partial and imperfect glimpse of the Timeless and Boundless Supreme Being.That God is both Transcendent and Immanent does not mean that these are two phases of God one following the other. God is One, and He is both nirguna and sarguna. ""Nirguna sargunu hari hari mera (God, my God is both with and without attributes),"" sang Guru Arjan (SGGS, 98). Guru Amar Das also had said, ""Nirguna sarguna ape soi (He Himself is with as well as without attributes)"" (SGGS, 128). Transcendence and Immanence are two aspects of the same Supreme Reality.The Creator also sustains His Creation compassionately and benevolently. ""My Lord is ever Fresh and ever Bountiful"" (SGGS, 660); ""He is the eradicator of the pain and sorrow of the humble"" (SGGS, 263-64). The universe is created, sustained and moved according to His hukam or Divine Will, and Divine purpose. ""The inscrutable hukam is the source of all forms, all creatures. . . All are within the ambit of hukam; there is nothing outside of it."" (SGGS, p. 1). Another principle that regulates the created beings is karma (actions, deeds). Simply stated, it is the law of cause and effect. The popular dictum 'As one sows so shall one reap' is stressed again and again in the Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS, 134,176, 309, 316, 366, 706, 730).The created world, though real, is not eternal. Whenever God desires, it merges back into His Timeless and Formless Self. Guru Gobind Singh calls this process of creation and dissolution udkarkh (Sanskrit utkarsana) and akarkh (Sanskrit akarsana), respectively: ""Whenever you, O Creator, cause udkarkh (increase, expansion), the creation assumes the boundless body; whenever you effect akarkh (attraction, contraction), all corporeal existence merges in you"" (Benati Chaupai). This process of creation and dissolution has been repeated God alone knows for how many times. A passage in the Sukhmani by Guru Arjan visualizes the infinite field of creation thus:Millions are the mines of life; millions the spheres;Millions are the regions above; millions the regions below;Millions are the species taking birth.By diverse means does He spread Himself.Again and again did He expand Himself thus,But He ever remains the One Ekankar.Countless creatures of various kindsCome out of Him and are absorbed back.None can know the limit of His Being;He, the Lord, O Nanak! is all in all Himself.Man, although an infinitesimal part of God's creation, yet stands apart from it insofar as it is the only species blessed with reflection, moral sense and potentiality for understanding matters metaphysical. Human birth is both a special privilege for the soul and a rare chance for the realization of union with God. Man is lord of earth, as Guru Arjan says, ""Of all the eight million and four hundred thousand species, God conferred superiority on man"" (SGGS, 1075), and ""All other species are your (man's) water-bearers; you have hegemony over this earth"" (SGGS, 374). But Guru also reminds that ""now that you (the soul) have got a human body, this is your turn to unite with God"" (SGGS, 12, 378). Guru Nanak had warned, ""Listen, listen to my advice, O my mind! only good deed shall endure, and there may not be another chance"" (SGGS, 154). So, realization of God and a reunion of atma (soul) with paramatma (Supreme Soul, God) are the ultimate goals of human life. The achievement ultimately rests on nadar (God's grace), but man has to strive in order to deserve His grace. As a first step, he should have faith in and craving for the Lord. He should believe that God is near him, rather within his self, and not far away. He is to seek Him in his self.Guru Nanak says: ""Your beloved is close to you, O foolish bride! What are you searching outside?"" (SGGS, 722), and Guru Amar Das reassures: ""Recognize yourself, O mind! You are the light manifest. Rejoice in Guru's instruction that God is always with (in) you. If you recognize your Self, you shall know the Lord and shall get the knowledge of life and death"" (SGGS, 441). The knowledge of the infinitesimal nature of his self when compared to the immenseness of God and His creation would instil humility in man and would rid him of his ego (a sense of I, my and mine) which is ""the greatest malady man suffers from"" (SGGS, 466, 589, 1258) and the arch-enemy of nam or path to God-Realization (SGGS, 560). Having surrendered his ego and having an intense desire to reach his goal (the realization of Reality), the seeker under Guru's instruction (gurmati) becomes a gurmukh or person looking guruward. He meditates upon nam or sabda, the Divine Word, while yet leading life as a householder, earning through honest labour, sharing his victuals with the needy, and performing self-abnegating deeds of service. Sikhism condemns ritualism. Worship of God consists of reciting gurbani or holy texts and meditation on nam, solitary or in sangat or congregation, kirtan or singing of scriptural hymns in praise of God, and ardas or prayer in supplication.
  • studyres.com © 2026
  • DMCA
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Report