Q. What is our Mool Mantar (the basic Creedal Formula)?

Our Mool Mantar is:

One Sole Supreme Being, Eternal Truth, Creator, Without Fear, Without Rancor, Timeless Form, Un-incarnated, Self-existent, Realized by the Grace of holy Preceptor.

This is the first statement in The Holy Sikh Scripture, Guru Granth Sahib, given by Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. Within this Mool Mantar, lies the seed of the complete ethics and theology of Sikhism.

1 OANKAAR (One Sole Supreme Being): Is our philosophy. The numeral, 1, and not the word, one, is used to express the oneness of the Creator. This means, it cannot be divided into parts. The symbol used for Oankaar means He is constant and forever, and this universe is His creation.

SATT NAAM (Eternal Truth): Is our religion. Its pursuit, through chanting and meditation on it, is our religious practice.

KARTA PURAKH (The Creator): Is our way of life. Every thing, within as well as without our perception, is His creation.

NIRBHAU (Without fear), NIRVAIR (Without rancor): Is our civic code. A follower of such a creator should not have any fear, nor should he/she have enmity towards anyone.

AKAAL MOORAT (Timeless form): Is our culture. Like Him our aesthetics should not be time dependent.

AJOONI, SAEBHAN(G) (Un-incarnated, self-existent): Is our fiscal policy. We should not depend upon any other entity than one Akaal Purakh.

GUR PRASAAD (Through the Grace of Holy Preceptor): All this can be achieved through the Shabad or Grace of the Guru. Our own efforts will not lead us anywhere. By humble supplication we can achieve all these attributes in our lives.

This Creedal formula (Mool Mantar) in this form comes thirty three times in Guru Granth Sahib.

Dr. Hakam Singh of the Sikh Welfare Foundation of North America is in the process of translating Prof. Satbir Singh's Punjabi book "Sau Sawal", One Hundred Questions.