Nirgun and Sargun
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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
Within Hinduism, they are adjectives, indicating God's transcendence of all qualities, properties, and predicates (nirguna) or God's possessing qualities (saguna).[5][6]
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.[7]
"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.[citation needed]
In Indian philosophy
[edit]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.[8] Saguna is the divine with form, Nirguna without form.[9] Advaita sees Nirguna Brahman as the ultimate reality.[10]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ 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.
- ^ Current Thoughts on Sikhism. Institute of Sikh Studies. 1996. p. 253. ISBN 978-81-85815-01-5.
- ^ Singha, Surindara Pala (2004). Inner Dynamics of Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Nanak Dev University. p. 140. ISBN 978-81-7770-115-9.
- ^ "Ang 250 of Guru Granth Sahib Ji - SikhiToTheMax". www.sikhitothemax.org. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
- ^ Johnson, William John, ed. (2009). "saguṇa". A dictionary of Hinduism. Oxford reference online premium (1st ed.). Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0-19-172670-5.
- ^ Johnson, William John, ed. (2009). "nirguṇa". A dictionary of Hinduism. Oxford reference online premium (1 ed.). Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0-19-172670-5.
- ^ Munde, Amarpreet Singh. "Introduction to Sikhism - Section II: God and His Universe". www.gurmat.info. Retrieved 2017-12-11.
- ^ Singh, Mohinder (1988). History and Culture of Panjab. Atlantic Publishers & Distri.
- ^ Rambachan, Anantanand (2001-01-01). "Heirarchies [sic] in the Nature of God? Questioning The "Saguna-Nirguna" Distinction in Advaita Vedanta". Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies. 14 (1). doi:10.7825/2164-6279.1250. ISSN 2164-6279.
- ^ Saha, Niranjan (2019). "Saguṇa and Nirguṇa-Bhakti, Advaita Vedānta, and Madhusūdana Sarasvat". Journal of Vaishnava Studies. 28 (1): 73–82.
