Guru Nanak - Ek Omkar
Ivan M. Granger April 30th, 2008
Ek Omkar
by Guru Nanak
English version by John Stratton Hawley and Mark Juergensmeyer
1
Omkar
True name
Person who creates
Beyond fear and opposition
A form beyond time
Unborn, self-born
The guru’s grace.
Repeat this.
The ancient truth, ageless truth
Is also, now, truth.
And Nanak says,
It will always be truth.
— from Songs of the Saints of India, Translated by John Stratton Hawley / Translated by Mark Juergensmeyer
/ Photo by Koshyk /
Those first lines, “1 Omkar” or “Ek Omkar” are the opening lines of the Sikh holy book, the Adi Granth Sahib. “Ek Omkar” forms a primary mantra and a core statement of belief for the Sikh faith.
Omkar is the fundamental sound “OM” that permeates and underlies all of existence. Omkar is understood as God or the “true name” of God. Omkar is the sound or vibration of God through which creation comes into existence (what, in Christian theology, would be called The Word). Thus Guru Nanak refers to Omkar as the “Person who creates.”
“Ek Omkar” is read to mean “God is One,” and since all of creation is the result of Omkar’s vibration of manifestation, all of creation similarly is One in God. “Ek Omkar” is an assertion of supreme inclusivity and sacred unity.
The ancient truth, ageless truth
Is also, now, truth.
I love these lines, but they can cause confusion if we read them superficially.
Fundamentalists of various religions have a tendency to misunderstand statements like this and assert that religion should remain fixed. Too often that attitude leads to cultural and intellectual fossilization. They confuse religion with God, the practice with the Goal. This happens especially when the esoteric heart of religion is lost.
When the wise proclaim that truth doesn’t change they are speaking of something deeper. Guru Nanak is proclaiming that Truth is eternal, not just in the past, not just in the distant future, but it is equally present right here, right now. It is “beyond time / Unborn, self-born.” It is a living, accessible Truth, not simply a perpetuation of belief or form of worship.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not at all suggesting we should neglect religious tradition. We must honor the traditions and practices that have brought us into this very moment. But we must honor them by understanding them. In fact, if we don’t understand our religious traditions, we won’t understand the present moment or our cultural identity.
But it is only through directly experiencing the Eternal that our traditions reveal their full meaning. Without that direct experience of Truth, we are simply acting as museum curators. Cultures change — always. We must always be engaged in that change, intelligently adapting the ancient ways, integrating them into the living present.
To do that properly, we must be aware that beneath the shifting surface of time and human activity, there remains a fundamental state of being that is “beyond time,” and this can be directly witnessed. We need true, deep mystics to understand how to live our ancient faiths in the present moment. Better still, we must each become true, deep mystics ourselves. Then we will know and properly honor “the ancient truth, ageless truth” that Guru Nanak and all great sages proclaim.
Have a beautiful day today!
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Guru Nanak |
Guru Nanak is the founder and first guru of the Sikh religion.
He was born in a small town outside of Lahore, India to a family in the merchant caste. As a young man, Guru Nanak married and had children. Yet he didn’t fit easily into family expectations. He seems to have only reluctantly entered the clerical profession suggested by his family, often feeling the call to turn inward in meditation at key points in his life.
Guru Nanak’s moment of enlightenment came when, after singing devotional songs, he bathed in the Vein River near Sultanpur. In that moment he was elevated to the heavenly state, where he received amrit, the drink of immortality — in the form of the divine name. He remained in deep silence after this transcendent experience for some time, and then he started to formulate his revelation through the statement, “There is neither Hindu nor Muslim” suggesting the universal brotherhood we all share through the divine vision.
After this awakening, Guru Nanak left his job and became a wandering holy man. He eventually settled at Kartarpur along the Ravi River, where he lived out the rest of his life.
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Sat Shri Akal!
Dear Ivan
Thank you for giving this beautiful poem to all your readers. It is called the Mool Mantra, (the root/basic )mantra and we pray it every day (even more than one time).
Hope your health is better now, you are in my prayers.
love
manpreet kaur
Ivan,
I look forward to your poems and commentaries every day. Some resonate more than others, of course. That’s the nature of such things. I am always impressed by the quality of your commentary–not just its fluency and grace (as a copy editor, I make a living out of assessing and amending people’s prose) but also its balance and thoroughness. Today, for example, you alert us to the pitfalls of thinking superficially or with prejudice. It is too easy to fall into the delusion that we are fully enlightened and don’t need to question our understandings of the dharma or of institutions or people. Your poem selections and commentaries invite us to listen, and listen again. Thank you.
You wrote at length today, so I think you are well,
Maura
Ong Kaar and Omkar…
I received an email from someone in an American Sikh community pointing out that most Sikhs say Ongkar or Ong Kaar, not Omkar, in the Mool Mantra. The source I used actually transliterates it as Omkar in English, but I am aware that the more common usage is Ongkar. I should have mentioned that in my commentary for clarity. I think the translators may have used Omkar that is closer to Hindu usage.
—
And, thank you, Manpreet and Maura, for the kind and wise notes.
Ivan
OM, MUNI PADMI HUM,
were words chanted by Buddah centuries back,
we here the echo,Dukhia sab sansar.Guru jee,
kirpa karo maharaj.
Dear Ivan
Translations are sooo difficult, so there are many versions of the Mool Mantra. But basically they are the same… all words to express the same divine experience.
i can not resist to send you a translation of Khushwant Singh (writer and journalist)
There is One God.
He is the supreme truth.
He, the Creator,
is without fear and without hate.
He, the Omnipresent,
pervades the universe.
He is not born,
nor does He die to be born again.
By His grace shalt thou worship Him.
Before time itself
there was truth.
When time began to run its course
He was the truth.
Even now, He is truth
and evermore shall truth prevail.
You see what i mean…different words, expressing the same.
Hope it was not too pushy to send this comment.
Satnam!
“But it is only through directly experiencing the Eternal that our traditions reveal their full meaning. Without that direct experience of Truth, we are simply acting as museum curators. Cultures change — always. We must always be engaged in that change, intelligently adapting the ancient ways, integrating them into the living present.”
That is the essence : the test, the final test of our ‘ knowing’ and ‘ being’ is our conduct!!
incidentally, narinder had, on 13 april 2008, posted in the Sacred Poetry Discussions in http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com , “Nanak’s Song of Remembrance ” , narinder’s humble homage to nanak’s song of Love ,” Ek Omkar ”
Thank you, michael……….
narinder
Dear Friends !
My Name is ‘Omkar’ ! I want to know the real mean of My Name…
I am 18 years old Guy and want to Adopt Qualities of My Name..
Thanks to Ivan and other Frinends for reading this
Reply on My Yahoo ID- divinity.personified@yahoo.co.in..
Thanks Again..
Dear OMKAR,
You are priviledged to have your name as OMKAR as this word comprises of OM+KAR. As invented by our saints since ages, in the last stage of their SAMADHI they have found that HE the CREATOR has the last known form in the form of sound OM. So to conclude HE IS OM. the other word KAR depicts that HE IS THE DOER.
OM itself is the combination of three letters: A+OO+M which also has very deep meaning. A is ACHUT or VISHNU the protector, OO stands for UPENDRA or BrAHMA JI the Creator and M stands for MAHAKAAL or SHIV JI the deasroyer. The combination of these three Gods is HE the ONE GOD.