The Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji (the Sikh sacred text) opens up with the Mul Mantra, a prayer that is foundational to the Sikh faith and theology. This prayer describes the nature of God (Waheguru) and is repeated often by practitioners of the Sikh faith. I first found it sometime in 2007 or 2008, in a song by a kirtan singer named Snatam Kaur. I thought the song was pretty, so I looked up the meaning of the words:

“One Universal Creator. Truth is It’s Name. The primal creative Being and doer of everything. Beyond fear. Beyond vengeance. The image of the Undying. Beyond birth. Self-existent. Realized by the Guru’s grace. Repeat, chant, and meditate: True in the beginning. True throughout the ages. True here and now. O Nanak, forever and ever true.”

I have loved this prayer ever since the first time I read it. For me, it describes a God who is more of a transcendent energy than a father in the sky, meticulously pouring over every detail of life. And at the same time, it still describes a God that is ever-present and all-loving.

The Mul Mantra was first given to the world by Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. As a child, he was highly reflective and spiritual, both astonishing and angering the adults in his life. He grew up in India, where the main religions were Hinduism and Islam. As an adult, he disappeared for three days in the Kali Bein River and was assumed dead. When he emerged from the river, he did not speak for an entire day. But when he did finally speak, he said, “There is no Hindu. There is no Muslim.”

What he meant by this was that religious labels did not matter to God as much as the inner purity of a person’s heart and their resulting actions. He then revealed the Mul Mantra.

People who chant this mantra daily find that it helps them to calm the mind and come into a space of inner focus and peace – a place where fear and negative self-talk are pushed aside. Those who chant this mantra also have chanted it to help remind them of their place in the larger cosmos. They have used it to help with their spiritual growth and self-awareness.

I haven’t read all of the Sikh scriptures, but from what I’ve read so far, they remind me a bit of Psalms in the Bible. They are poetic and full of love and adoration for Waheguru. I can’t wait to read the rest of the text and share with you what I learn, here.

What are the prayers or mantras that you chant to yourself?