Misinterpretation Of Word Oankar

If there is any word that is misunderstood in the Sikh Scripture - the Aad Guru Granth Sahib (AGGS) and leads the Sikhs to accept ancient philosophy or Hindu Mythology, it is the word, ‘Oankar’ (EAMkwru), also pronounced by many Sikhs as ‘Omkar’ or ‘Aumkar’. The chief cause of this misunderstanding is the Bani known as "Dakhni Oankar" under Ramkali Raga appearing on page 929-938 of the AGGS. This Bani, in fact, is a discourse between Guru Nanak and a Pundit of OMKAR TEMPLE in South India. The various translations / interpretations of this Bani indicate that the word, EAMkwru, used in the title of this Bani and in the first Pauri (stanza) is mispronounced as well as is misunderstood.

The present study of the first stanza clearly indicates that Guru Nanak is talking about the philosophy of the Pundit of Omkar Temple. In rest of the Bani (from stanza # 2 to 54 including Rahaoo - Pause) Guru Nanak is clearing the confusion of the Pundit about nature and attributes of God. Guru Nanak explains to the Pundit that there is no Trinity (Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva) of God to which the word, ‘Oankar’ or ‘Omkar’, is implied. Guru Nanak further explains to the Pundit that God is ‘One and Only’; does not come into anthropomorphic form (AwjUnI); and no specific/descriptive (ikrqm) name can be coined for God since God is an ‘Eternal Entity’ and ineffable. The critical analysis of the first stanza of this Bani (EAMkwru) also indicates that the word, EAMkwru, has no bearing on the < , the original and unique logo coined by Guru Nanak, which is the first word of the Commencing Verse (commonly called Mool Mantra) of the AGGS. The AGGS starts with this logo, < . It is just ‘1 + Open Oora with its open end extended’, which should be pronounced as ‘Ek Oh Beant or Anant’ (One Oh). The mispronunciation of as Ek Oankar or Ek Onkar or Ek Omkar or Ek Oamkar or Ek Aumkar under the influence of ancient philosophy should be forsaken.

Background

The word, < , with which the Commencing Verse (commonly called as Mool Mantra) of the Aad Guru Granth Sahib (AGGS) [1] starts, is a unique and original logo coined by Guru Nanak [2, 3]. The irony is that it is mispronounced as Ek Oankar or Ek Onkar or Ek Omkar and is misunderstood to be originated from OM (Oam/Aum) by majority of the Sikh scholars and the Sikhs at large. The Sikh literature indicates that Bhai Gurdas [25] was the first, who has introduced that < is coined by Guru Nanak by placing ‘One’ (1) before the ‘Oora’ E (Open Oora with extended end) and pronounced it as ‘EAMkwru’ (Oankar/Omkar). Then Bhai Kahn Singh [17] and Dr Sahib Singh [21] followed him and confirmed that < is iek EAMkwru, which originated from ‘OM’ ( 1 + E + kwr meaning 1 + Om + Kar. Kar is a suffix of Sanskrit words). Thereafter, many scholars followed them and the pronunciation of this original and unique logo, < , became permanently imbibed in the Sikh psyche as Ek Oankar or Ek Onkar or Ek Omkar. Consequently the ‘< ‘ , the logo coined by Guru Nanak lost its originality and uniqueness and became the part and parcel of philosophy of Vedas and Upanishads. Moreover, the Commencing Verse also became the Mool Mantra according to the Veda’s philosophy. The question here to be resolved is:
Was Guru Nanak preaching the philosophy ofVedas and Upanishads or his own original and unique philosophy?

A critical study of Sikh history and ancient philosophy about the Omkar Temple in the South India; Guru Nanak’s visit to that temple; and a discourse between Guru Nanak and the Pundit of Omkar Temple revealed that mispronunciation of the original and unique logo, < , either as Ek Oankar or Ek Onkar or Ek Omkar is based on the misunderstanding of Bani of Omkar (Oankar or Onkar). In the present study this mispronunciation of < and its misunderstanding have been resolved to prove that philosophy of Guru Nanak is original and unique.

INTRODUCTION

The word ‘EAMkwru’ is transliterated into Roman differently by different authors, for example, Oankar, Onkar, Omkar, Aumkar, Oamkar, Ongkar, etc. But here in this study ‘EAMkwru’ will be spelled as ‘Omkar’, which has been explained later. Moreover, there are also different stories and views about ‘Omkar’:

a. Giani Harbans Singh

1. This Bani is a dialogue between Guru Nanak and a Pundit of Raja Shivnab in the Janam Sakhi Volume 2 of Harji.
2. This is a dialogue between Guru Nanak and the Priest of a famous temple named ‘Omkar’ on an island in Madh Bharat (Central India) in Guru Shabd Ratnakar, Punjabi Mahan Kosh.
3. This is a dialogue between Guru Nanak and a Pundit of Banaras (Varanasi) in ‘Punjgranthi Steek’ by Bhai Veer Singh.
4. This is a discussion between Guru Nanak and a Pundit Brij Nath in ‘Twarikh Guru Khalsa’ according to Giani Gian Singh.
5. This is a teaching (updesh) to Gopal Misar in South India according to Pundit Tara Singh Narouttum.
6. Some authors say that this Bani is called ‘Dakhni Omkar’ since it was composed in South India.

After giving different views of above scholars Giani Harbans Singh further says that:

1. The title of the Bani is just ‘Omkar’ not ‘Dakhni Omkar’ because the adjective ‘Dakhni’ is for the Raga Ramkali. Therefore, its right title is ‘Omkar’ under the Raga Ramkali Dakhni. He is following the views held by Prof Sahib Singh [21], and Dr Trilochan Singh .
2. We are not concerned with the above different views of different authors, the main theme of this

Bani is that Guru Nanak has composed this Bani to explain to the Pundit, who teaches to his students, to write ‘O Namo’ at the top of patti (a small wooden board used to write with a washable paste) but he himself does not have any faith in ‘Omkar’.(Omkar is misunderstood as Akal Purkh by Giani Harbans Singh.)

1. The beginning, middle and end of this Bani is so impressive that one who reads or listens to it attentively, even during his sleep, is imbibed in this great Bani that he does not want to leave it at all.

b. Dr Sahib Singh

According to Dr Sahib Singh ‘Omkar’ is combination of Om + Kar. And ‘Kar’ means ‘Ek Ras - pervades everywhere’ supported by quoting that as in ‘Dhunkar’, ‘Dhun’ means sound and word ‘Dhunkar’ means the sound, which pervades everywhere. “During first odyssey (odasi) when Guru Nanak was returning from Sangladip and passing through Somnath Duarka on the bank of river Nirbda reached a place where a temple, known as Omkar Mandir, was situated. He observed that the people of that place worship an idol of ‘Shiva’ as the idol of ‘Omkar’. The students of that temple used to write ‘Om Namha’ on the wooden plank and they also considered the idol of ‘Shiva’ as the idol of ‘Om’. In the first Pauri (stanza) the differences between ‘Shiva’ and‘Omkar’ have been explained.”

c. Dr Trilochan Singh

Dr Trilochan Singh [24- p 293] writes about the story of visit of Guru Nanak to the Omkar Temple as follows:

Omkar the Temple and Omkar the Song About 53 kilometers from Khandwa is a small township called Mandhata on the Narmada River, which is considered sacred because it is believed to have sprung from the body of Shiva. A small streamlet named Kaveri forms a loop and encircling around merges back into Narmada forming a small island. This island resembles the mystic word Om. The place is known as Omkareshwar and the main temple in it is known as Omkar. The island is also known as Shivapuri while the section on southern bank is divided into Brahmapuri and Vishnupuri, bringing the whole Hindu Trinity there, but identifying Shiva with the “Supreme Being…..According to tradition, the linga, representing Shiva, was installed here by King Mandhata Chakravarti who gave his name to the town. This linga is called Parameshvara (the Supreme Being) and is considered to be one of the most sacred of the twelve lingas. Guru Nanak was surprised to note that profound polytheistic worship of the Hindu Trinity. He composed here his famous composition Omkar in the Raga Ramkali Dakhni and its relation to the Absolute. The opening verse of this composition gives the Guru’s views on Omkara:

From Omkar Brahma was created,
From Omkar was created mind and spirit;
From Omkar, Time and space were created.
From Omkar, Books of wisdom were created.
Omkar is the world of liberation.
Reflect seriously on the Word Om,
The Word Om is the essence of three worlds.