Author: Pritam Singh
Publisher: Guru Nanak Dev University
Year: 2002
Language: multilingual
Pages: 253
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8177700103
Description
All religions are unanimous that Ultimate Reality is unfathomable. Sikh religion is no exception. After all, runs the Sikh Scripture's argument how can a creature encompass, wholly, its own Creator? Notwithstanding even more categorical statements than this, occurring repeatedly in all the scriptures of the world, about the utter indescribability of the Only Omniscient, Omni-resent, Essential Reality, we still find all of them referring again and again to the qualities that characterize it.
These qualities or attributes, which vary from religion to religion in their order of priority, provide some of the basic material to interpreters working on the philosophy, sociology and cosmology of religions. In the Sacred Book of the Sikhs also, one may come across any number of divine attributes, but those which must have struck the founder, Guru Nanak, as the most prominent and essential, were woven by him in short rhythmic composition, called the Mul Mantra, the seminal formula, consisting of 14 basic structural units.
The compiler is grateful to all scholars whose timely and unstinted co-operation to him and the department made the Mul Mantra Seminar a success.
Contents
Preface to the First Edition
Introduction
The Interpretations of Mul Mantra
The Classical Concept of Mantra
Ek-Oamkar
Sat(i)nam(u)
Karata Purakh (u)
Nirbhau, Nirvair (u)
Akal Murat (i)
Ajuni
Saibham
Gurprasad (i)
The Influence of Mul Mantra on Gurbani
Mul Mantra: Some Philosophical Reflections
Philosophy of Mul Mantra
A Linguistic Analysis of the Mul Mantra
God of Mul Mantra and the Veda: A Comparative Study
Comparative Study of Monotheism in Mul Mantra and the Bible
Mul Mantra: An Untenable Koranic Parallel Examined
Tao and Ek Oamkar: a comparison between Two Powers
Bibliography
Index