Lehal Library

38 The Punjab and the Birth of Sikhism was the Lover (Pritam) and Master (Khasam) of his devotee; He was also the Great Giver (Data). Nanak did this to show human dependence on God rat.her than invest Him with anthropomorphic qualities. Although Nanak used both Hindu and Muslim nomenclature for God, Ram, Govinda, Harl Murali, Rab, and Rahim, the attribute he usually ascribed to Him was that of the True Creator (Sat Kart.ar) or The True Name (Sat Nam) .'};ii In equating God with the abstract principle of truth, Nanak avoided the difficulty met by other religious teachers who describe Him only as the Creator or the Father: if God created the world, who created God? If He is the Father, who was His father? But Nanak's system had its own problems. If God is truth, what is the truth? Nanak's answer was that in situations when you cannot decide for yourself, let the guru be your guide. THE GURU. The Bhaktas and the Sufis had emphasized the necessity of having a spiritual mentor; Nanak went further and made the institution29 of the guru the pivot of bis religious system. Wtthout the guru, said Nanak, there could be no salvation. He was the guide who prevented mankind from ~'traying from the straight and narrow path of truth; he was the captain of the ship which took one across the fearful ocean of life. But the guru. insisted Nanak, was to be regarded as a guide 28 The word nam is usually lranslated as name, whereas in fact ir means much more: il is the adorauon of God. At a later slage in the evolution of Sikhism, Vahiguru became the Sikh name for God. Vahigun1 literally means 'Hail Guru' and is very close to tht: Muslim Suhhan Allah. It has been suggested that the word is a combination of differeut Hindu names for God: Vasudev, Han, Go\inda, and Rama. There is no basis for this suggestion. None of the Sikh commentators suppon this view. 29 Dr Sher Singh has noL exaggerated the imponance of the inMiuition of gurusbip in saying that 'the bt:lief of unity in the plurality of the gurus served as a useful purpose in the development of Sikhism. But for this belief there would have been no Sikh nation.' (Philbsophy uf Sikhism., p. 46.) The concept of a continuing spiritual succession war; known LO the Buddhisl.S and is cUJTent to this day in the succession of the Lamas. Nanak believed that Lhe personality of the guru could pass to the ctisciple and raise him to a status ofequality: •As one lamp can light another without losing any of its light, so can a teacher impart wisdom to his disciple and elevate him to equaJily.'