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Binh of Sikhism 37 CONCEPTION OF GOD. Nanak was a strict monotheist. He refused to accept any compromise on the concept of the unity of God. In thjs he disagreed with the Bhaktas, who, despite their professjon of monotheism, believed in the reincarnations of God and of His avatars. Since God was infirute, argued Nanak, He could not die to be reincarnated, nor could He assume human form which was subject to decay and death. Nanak disapproved of the worship of idols because people tended to look upon them as God instead of symbolic representations. Nanak believed that God was sat (both truth and reality), as opposed to asat (falsehood) and mitkyii (illusion). He thus not only made God a spiritual concept but also based principles of social behaviour on the concept. If God is Truth, to speak an untruth is to be ungodly. Untruthful conduct not only hwts one's neighbours; it is also irreligious. A good Sikh therefore must not only believe that God is the only One, Omnipotent, and Omniscient Reality, but also conduct himself in such a way towards his fellow beings that he does not harm them: for hurtful conduct like lying, cheating, fornication, trespass on a person or on his property, does not conform to the truth that is God. This principle is stated categorically by Nanak in the operung lines of his most celebrated morrung prayer, the Japft, and is the mill mantra or the basic belief of Sikhism.27 Nanak believed that the power that was God could not be defined because God was nirankiir (formless). All of rus descriptions of God were consequently admissions of an inabil• ity to define Him. Thou hast a million eyes, yeL no eye hast Thou. Thou hast a million forms, yet no form hast Thou. Thou hast a million feet, yet no feet hast Thou. Thou an without odour, yet millions of odours emanate from Thee. With such channs, 0 Lord, hast Thou bewitched me. Thy light pervades everywhere. (Dhanasan1 Despite the difficulty of definition, Nanak used a variety of names for God. He was the Father (Atii) of all mankind; He 27 Quoted on p. 30.