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Nirgun and Sargun

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nirgun and Sargun is terminology used within Sikhism to refer to the ineffable (nirgun) and the manifest (sargun) nature of God.[1] There is no dichotomy in the nirgun and sargun nature of God,[2] as there only One (Ik Onkar).[3][4]

"He Himself is formless, and also formed; the One Lord is without attributes, and also with attributes."

— SGGS. Ang 250

In the Guru Granth Sahib

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Before creation, God existed all alone as Nirgun in a state of Sunn Samadhi, deep meditation, as says Guru Nanak.[5]

"There was darkness for countless years.

There was neither earth nor sky; there was only Its Will.

There was neither day nor night, neither sun nor moon.

They (God) were in deep meditation.

There was nothing except Itself."

— SGGS. Ang 1035

Then God willed, created the universe, and diffused into nature as Sargun.[6]

In Indian philosophy

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The Sikh view of the dual nature of Absolute God runs parallel to Shankara's Vedic (Saguna and Nirguna) Brahman conception, as well as the tradition of Indian philosophy in general.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Pemberton, Kelly; Nijhawan, Michael (2009-01-13). Shared Idioms, Sacred Symbols, and the Articulation of Identities in South Asia. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-90476-0.
  2. ^ Current Thoughts on Sikhism. Institute of Sikh Studies. 1996. p. 253. ISBN 978-81-85815-01-5.
  3. ^ Singha, Surindara Pala (2004). Inner Dynamics of Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Nanak Dev University. p. 140. ISBN 978-81-7770-115-9.
  4. ^ "Ang 250 of Guru Granth Sahib Ji - SikhiToTheMax". www.sikhitothemax.org. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  5. ^ Munde, Amarpreet Singh. "Introduction to Sikhism - Section II: God and His Universe". www.gurmat.info. Retrieved 2017-12-11.
  6. ^ "BBC - GCSE Bitesize: Evolutionary biology". Retrieved 2017-12-11.
  7. ^ Singh, Mohinder. History and Culture of Panjab. Atlantic Publishers & Distri.