Mul Mantar

Common card · No. 440667

The Mūl Mantar (Punjabi: ਮੂਲ ਮੰਤਰ, [muːlᵊ mən̪t̪əɾᵊ]) is the opening verse of the Sikh scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib. It consists of twelve words in the Punjabi language, written in Gurmukhi script, and are the most widely known among the Sikhs. They summarise the essential teaching of Guru Nanak, thus constituting a succinct doctrinal statement of Sikhism. It has been variously translated, with the interpretation of the first two words (Ik Onkar) particularly contested. These are rendered as "There is one god,” "One reality is,” "This being is one,” and others. Sometimes the disagreements include capitalising the “G” in “god,” or the “R” in “reality,” which affects the implied meaning in English. Some consider it monotheistic, others monist. The general view favors the monotheistic interpretation, but not the Abrahamic understanding of monotheism. It is rather "Guru Nanak's mystical awareness of the one that is expressed through the many." The remaining ten words after the first two...

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