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Concept

Ik Onkar

Ik Onkar
Original: Sukh Vector: Mrmw · CC0 · source

Overview

Ik Onkar (ੴ) is a phrase in Sikhism that denotes the one supreme reality. It is a central tenet of Sikh religious philosophy.

Ik Onkar are the first words of the Mul Mantar and also the opening words of the Sikh holy scripture Guru Granth Sahib.

Ik (ਇੱਕ) is interpreted as "one and only one, who cannot be compared or contrasted with any other", the "unmanifest, Lord in power, the holy word, the primal manifestation of the Godhead by which and in which all live, move and have their being and by which all find a way back to Absolute God, the Supreme Reality."

Ik Onkar has a distinct spelling in the Gurmukhi script and the phrase is found in many Sikh religious scriptures and inscribed in places of worship such as gurdwaras. Some Sikh flags are decorated with the Ik Onkar glyph.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).

Possible passages

Found by search and not yet checked by a person; they may only mention the idea in passing.

  1. xxxiii. 26), that is, who rules the heaven; and “Him that rideth (la-rokeb) upon the ʻarabot” (Ps. lxviii. 4), i.e., who rules the ʻarabot, the uppermost, all-encompassing sphere. It has also been repeatedly stated by our Sages that there are seven rekiʻim (firmaments, heavens), and that the uppermost of them, the all-surrounding, is called ʻarabot.

    Moses Maimonides, The guide for the perplexed

    States what Ik Onkar is.

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  2. But by sacred things one must not understand simply those personal beings which are called gods or spirits; a rock, a tree, a spring, a pebble, a piece of wood, a house, in a word, anything can be sacred. A rite can have this character; in fact, the rite does not exist which does not have it to a certain degree.

    Émile Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life

    States what Ik Onkar is.

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  3. FOURTH ARTICLE [I, Q. 11, Art. 4] Whether God Is Supremely One? Objection 1: It seems that God is not supremely _one._ For "one" is so called from the privation of division. But privation cannot be greater or less.

    Aquinas Thomas, Summa Theologica, Part I

    States what Ik Onkar is.

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Related ideas

Place in the tradition

Part of Nondualism.

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