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Theology

Sarbloh Japji Sahib: A Deep Study

Professor: Sikhi University Source: SikhLibrary

The Sarbloh Japji Sahib is a composition attributed to Guru Gobind Singh Ji that opens with an extended meditation on creation through the single Creator, drawing on cosmological frameworks similar to but distinct from the Japji Sahib of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. This course provides close textual reading of the Sarbloh Japji, examining its theology of creation, its devotional imperatives, and its place within the extended Nitnem of the Nihang Khalsa.

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What you'll learn

  • Identify the structural parallels and theological differences between the Sarbloh Japji and Guru Nanak's Japji Sahib
  • Analyze the cosmological framework presented in the opening verses of the Sarbloh Japji
  • Explain the significance of the refrain 'Meditate on the One Name' as the devotional imperative of the composition
  • Interpret specific passages from the Sarbloh Japji with reference to Gurmat theology
  • Describe the role of the Sarbloh Japji within the Nihang daily liturgical practice
  • Evaluate how the Sarbloh Japji contributes to the broader theological vision of the Sarbloh Granth

Key terms — ਸ਼ਬਦਾਵਲੀ

ਜਪੁ

Recitation; the act of repeating or meditating upon the divine name — the title of the opening composition of both the Guru Granth Sahib Ji and the Sarbloh Granth

ਨਾਮ

The divine Name; not merely a word but the living presence and reality of Waheguru, the supreme treasure of Sikh spirituality

ਸਿਮਰਨ

Remembrance; loving, attentive meditation on the divine Name, the central spiritual practice of Sikhi

ਸ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਟੀ

Creation; the entire manifested universe brought into being by Waheguru's Hukam (divine command)

ਹੁਕਮ

Divine command or will; the Gurmat concept that all of creation unfolds according to Waheguru's sovereign decree

ਸ਼ਬਦ

The divine Word; the creative, sustaining, and liberating power of divine utterance that permeates creation

ਮਾਲਾ

Prayer beads; a devotional tool for counting repetitions of the divine name during simran practice

ਬ੍ਰਹਮਾ

Brahma; in Indic cosmology, the creator deity through whom Waheguru's creative power manifests — appears in the Sarbloh Japji's account of creation

ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ

Waheguru; the Sikh name for God, combining 'wah' (wondrous) with 'Guru' (teacher/enlightener) — the Name Sikhs are enjoined to remember

ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ

Formless One; the divine in its transcendent, form-free aspect, a key epithet in Sikh theology

Lessons

1. Introduction to the Sarbloh Japji

Full course contents
  1. Introduction to the Sarbloh Japji
  2. The First Verse: Creation from the One
  3. The Devotional Imperative: Meditate on the Name
  4. The Second Verse: Light, Earth, and the Cosmos
  5. Brahma and the Vedas: Cosmic Agents in the Sarbloh Japji
  6. Vishnu's Incarnations and the Spectacle of Creation
  7. The Creation Continues: Gold, Mount Meru, and the Four Types of Life
  8. The Cosmological Framework: Four Ages, Elements, and Social Order
  9. Pain, Pleasure, and the Divine Decree
  10. The Invisible Creator and the Pervasive Divine Presence
  11. The Name, the Abode, and the Light in All Things
  12. Hari Maya, Lakshmi, and the Sustaining Grace

A Japji by Another Name

The tradition of beginning the day's spiritual practice with a ਜਪੁ — a recitation of fundamental theological truths — is central to Sikh practice. For the mainstream Sikh Panth, this is the Japji Sahib of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the opening composition of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji. For Nihang Singhs, the extended Nitnem includes the Sarbloh Japji Sahib attributed to Guru Gobind Singh Ji, which opens the core text of the Sarbloh Granth. The existence of a Japji attributed to the Tenth Guru alongside the Japji of Guru Nanak is not theologically surprising: both compositions are meditations on the nature of the divine and the path of the soul, and the tradition of teaching through sacred recitation is continuous across the Guru period.

Position within the Sarbloh Granth

In the structure of the Sarbloh Granth as published by the Buddha Dal, the Sarbloh Japji follows the Manglacharan. Where the Manglacharan invokes the divine through praise and petition, the Japji section moves into doctrinal statement and cosmological meditation. The title of the published edition of this section — "Sarbloh-Japji-Sahib-Sri-Sarbloh-Granth-Manglacharan" — suggests that in some presentations the Manglacharan and the Japji are treated as a continuous compositional unit, though they are distinguishable by their different modes: the Manglacharan is primarily hymnic praise, while the Japji is primarily cosmological and devotional teaching.

The Opening Context

The published translation of the Sarbloh Japji opens with the heading: "The Holy Word of the Tenth Patshahi" — explicitly attributing the composition to Guru Gobind Singh Ji. The first verse then begins with the phrase that gives the composition its devotional center: "Meditate on the One Name, O mind, with your prayer beads. Nanak, remember the Guru, the Sustainer of the Universe." The mention of Nanak at the end of the verse is significant: it places the Tenth Guru in the tradition of Guru Nanak, suggesting a continuity of teaching across the Guru lineage rather than a departure from it.

2. The First Verse: Creation from the One

The Text of the First Verse

The first verse of the Sarbloh Japji reads: "From the pure One Creator, the divine Word came forth. From it, all creation originated. Within creation, there is vast expansion. The Creator alone knows it. How many forms does the Creator assume? Within each form, the Unseen One resides" (Baba Santa Singh 1973, 1). This verse establishes the creation theology of the composition in compact form. Three moves are made: first, the divine Word (ਸ਼ਬਦ) proceeds from the One Creator; second, from this Word all creation comes into being; third, the Creator is simultaneously the creator and the indwelling reality within all created forms.

The Shabad as Creative Principle

The assertion that creation originates from the divine Word (ਸ਼ਬਦ) is one of the most important theological statements in the Sarbloh Japji. In Sikh theology, the Shabad is not merely spoken utterance; it is the creative, sustaining, and liberating power of the divine. The Guru Granth Sahib Ji consistently teaches that the Shabad is the Guru — the living divine teacher whose voice is available to every soul through scripture and through the stillness of the heart. The Sarbloh Japji's grounding of all creation in the Shabad is thus theologically consistent with the mainstream Sikh view of reality.

The Unseen in Every Form

The concluding line of the verse — "Within each form, the Unseen One resides" — expresses the Gurmat teaching of divine immanence. The divine is ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ (formless) and yet present within every form. This paradox is not resolved logically but held as a living theological truth: the One who is without form has taken form, and the One who takes form never abandons its formlessness. The Sarbloh Japji's first verse thus opens with a statement of the deepest theological conviction: that all of creation is simultaneously the expression of the divine and the dwelling place of the divine.

3. The Devotional Imperative: Meditate on the Name

The Rahao Verse

Following the cosmological opening, the Sarbloh Japji's first verse includes a Rahao — a pause verse that in Sikh hymnody marks the central teaching of the composition: "Meditate on the One Name, O mind, with your prayer beads. Nanak, remember the Guru, the Sustainer of the Universe" (Baba Santa Singh 1973, 1). The Rahao verse is the still center of the hymn, the teaching to which the devotee is meant to return after exploring the surrounding material. All the cosmological elaboration before and after this verse is in service of this single imperative: remember the One Name.

The Mala as Devotional Instrument

The reference to the ਮਾਲਾ (prayer beads) in the Rahao is notable. Prayer beads are a devotional tool for counting repetitions of the divine name during ਸਿਮਰਨ, and their mention in the Sarbloh Japji is consistent with classical Sikh devotional practice. The mala is not a magical object but a practical aid to the concentration of the mind on the Name. The verse's instruction — "with your prayer beads" — is simultaneously a practical instruction (use the mala) and a metaphorical one (count your blessings by returning again and again to the Name).

The Signature 'Nanak'

The use of the signature "Nanak" in this verse is one of the most discussed features of the Sarbloh Japji. In the Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the Gurus composed using the signature "Nanak" to express their identity with the first Guru and with the divine light that passed through the Guru lineage. If the Sarbloh Japji is attributed to Guru Gobind Singh Ji, his use of "Nanak" follows this convention. This practice demonstrates that the Gurus understood themselves not as independent spiritual authorities but as vessels of the same divine light — a tradition of unity across the Guru lineage. The signature functions as both personal humility and theological statement.

4. The Second Verse: Light, Earth, and the Cosmos

The Expansion of Creation

The second verse of the Sarbloh Japji elaborates the cosmological vision established in the first: "From the One Creator, light manifested. He created the earth, the sky, and the firmament. He created the heavens and Kailash. He created bodies and infused them with breath. He created time. Within each sight, the Unseen One resides" (Baba Santa Singh 1973, 1). The verse moves systematically from the most fundamental creative act (light) through cosmological structures (earth, sky, heaven, Kailash) to biological life (bodies and breath) and temporal order (time), in each case returning to the refrain: within each created thing, the Unseen One resides.

Light as the First Creation

The statement that light was the first thing to manifest from the One Creator is theologically significant. Light (ਜੋਤਿ) in Sikh theology is the divine reality itself — the light of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji is the light of the divine, and every soul carries the divine light within it. When the Sarbloh Japji states that light was the first creation, it is saying that the divine's first expression of itself was its own luminous nature — that creation begins with an act of self-revelation. This teaching parallels the opening of the Gospel of John in the Christian tradition ("In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was Light") and the Zoroastrian veneration of light as the first divine creation, suggesting that this cosmological insight transcends any single tradition.

Kailash and the Sacred Mountain

The mention of Kailash — the sacred mountain in the Himalayas associated in Hindu tradition with Shiva and in Jain and Buddhist traditions with various sacred sites — is one of many instances in the Sarbloh Japji of Indic cosmological references being incorporated into a Gurmat framework. The Creator made Kailash as one element within the comprehensive creative act that produced the entire universe. This inclusion of Indic sacred geography in the cosmological inventory is consistent with the Sarbloh Granth's broader project of affirming Gurmat monotheism through the full range of Indic theological vocabulary.

5. Brahma and the Vedas: Cosmic Agents in the Sarbloh Japji

Brahma as Divine Instrument

The third verse of the Sarbloh Japji introduces Brahma as a cosmic agent of the One Creator: "From the One Creator, Brahma came into being. Brahma contemplated the four Vedas" (Baba Santa Singh 1973, 1). This verse employs a standard Gurmat theological move: it acknowledges the Puranic tradition (Brahma as creator deity) while subordinating it to Gurmat monotheism. Brahma does not create independently; Brahma comes into being from the One Creator and functions as an instrument of the divine creative will. The same move is made in the Guru Granth Sahib Ji, where Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva are acknowledged as cosmic agents while Waheguru is affirmed as the sole ultimate reality.

The Four Vedas

Brahma's contemplation of the four Vedas is significant in the context of Gurmat theology. The Vedas — Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda — are the foundational scriptures of the Brahmanical tradition, and Gurmat theology consistently acknowledges their existence while asserting that they cannot fully comprehend the divine: as the Guru Granth Sahib Ji states, the Vedas speak of the divine but cannot reach the divine's end. The Sarbloh Japji's mention of Brahma contemplating the Vedas places these texts in their proper theological context: they are instruments through which the divine reality is sought, but the seeking itself is initiated and sustained by the divine will.

Vishnu's Incarnations

The third verse continues: "Vishnu manifested ten incarnations. He Himself, detached, creates the spectacle. As His command unfolds, so does the manifestation." The reference to Vishnu's ten incarnations (ਦਸ ਅਵਤਾਰ) — the dasavatar tradition of Puranic Vaishnavism — is treated in the same theological mode: Vishnu's incarnations are expressions of the single divine will, not independent divine interventions. The phrase "He Himself, detached, creates the spectacle" is the hermeneutical key: the divine creates this entire cosmological spectacle of Brahmas, Vishnus, Vedas, and incarnations while remaining detached — not bound by or identified with any particular manifestation.

6. Vishnu's Incarnations and the Spectacle of Creation

Detachment as Divine Attribute

The concept of divine detachment expressed in the Sarbloh Japji — "He Himself, detached, creates the spectacle" — is one of the most philosophically important statements in the composition. In Gurmat theology, the divine is not entangled in creation. Waheguru creates, sustains, and dissolves the universe without being defined by or limited to any of these acts. This teaching has practical spiritual implications: it models the ideal of the Gurmukh (God-oriented person) who acts in the world with full engagement but without ego-attachment. The divine's detachment is not indifference; it is the freedom of the fully liberated sovereign (Singh and Mann 2015, 38).

The Command as Creative Principle

"As His ਹੁਕਮ unfolds, so does the manifestation" — this line identifies the divine command as the mechanism of creation. In Sikh theology, Hukam is not merely an occasional act of divine will but the continuous, pervasive reality through which all of creation is sustained moment by moment. The Japji Sahib of Guru Nanak Dev Ji opens with an extended meditation on Hukam, and the Sarbloh Japji's reference to Hukam in its third verse places it in explicit continuity with this teaching. Creation does not run on its own mechanical laws independent of the divine; it is at every moment an expression of the divine sovereign will.

Ten Incarnations within One Framework

The ten incarnations of Vishnu — fish, tortoise, boar, man-lion, dwarf, Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, the Buddha (in some listings), and Kalki — represent in Puranic tradition the successive divine interventions to restore cosmic order across the ages. The Sarbloh Japji's reference to these incarnations without naming them individually but simply citing "ten incarnations" treats the entire Puranic framework as one element within a larger divine plan. The spectacle of cosmic history with all its divine interventions, its heroes and its demons, its ages and its transformations, is the single divine creator's play — observed with detachment and governed by Hukam.

7. The Creation Continues: Gold, Mount Meru, and the Four Types of Life

The Physical Universe

As the cosmological account develops, the Sarbloh Japji enumerates the physical creation: "Gold, Mount Meru, the snows, and the earth were created. Animals, birds, aquatic creatures, fire, and the expanse of the sky were made" (Baba Santa Singh 1973, 3). This catalog moves from precious metals and sacred mountains through the major categories of the natural world. Gold and Mount Meru represent in Indic cosmology the axis and splendor of the universe — they are the cosmic center and the cosmic substance of perfection. The Sarbloh Japji's inclusion of these symbols acknowledges their cosmological significance while placing them within the comprehensive creative act of the One.

The Four Types of Living Beings

"Those born from eggs, from wombs, from sweat, and those that spontaneously manifest — all were brought forth" (Baba Santa Singh 1973, 3). This classical schema — andaj (egg-born), jeraj (womb-born), setaj (sweat-born), and utbhuj (earth-sprung) — appears in both the Guru Granth Sahib Ji and the Sarbloh Japji as a comprehensive description of all living things. Its presence in both texts is one of the markers of a shared theological vocabulary. The point is not taxonomic accuracy but theological comprehensiveness: the One Creator made all life in all its forms, and all life carries the divine light within it.

Cosmic Time: Hells, Heavens, and the Four Ages

The verse continues: "Hells, heavens, the four ages, night, day, moments, and months were formed. Wind, water, and fire; the Master, the servants, and the slaves." The four ages (ਚਾਰ ਜੁਗ — Sat Yuga, Treta, Dvapar, Kali Yuga) represent in Indic cosmology the full span of cosmic time, from the age of perfect virtue to the current age of decline. The Sarbloh Japji's enumeration of cosmic time alongside physical creation and living beings completes the comprehensive cosmological picture: the One Creator is the author of space, matter, life, and time — the totality of what exists.

8. The Cosmological Framework: Four Ages, Elements, and Social Order

Social Order in the Cosmology

One of the more challenging elements of the Sarbloh Japji's cosmological catalog is its inclusion of "the Master, the servants, and the slaves" among the things created by the One. This inclusion of social hierarchy within the cosmological enumeration raises important questions about how the text understands social order. Does the Sarbloh Japji treat social hierarchy as divinely ordained and therefore legitimate? The text does not elaborate, and students should be cautious about drawing strong conclusions from a cataloging passage. What the inclusion does demonstrate is the text's commitment to comprehensive cosmological accounting: every aspect of experienced reality, including social organization, is within the scope of the divine creative act (Fenech and McLeod 2014, 289).

The Four Elements

"Wind, water, and fire" — three of the classical four or five elements (earth, water, fire, air, and in some frameworks space) — are listed among the created things. The reference to the elements in the cosmological inventory is significant because elements in Indic philosophical tradition are not merely physical substances but the basic principles of phenomenal existence. The divine creates the very building blocks of the physical world, not merely the world built from those blocks. This is a maximally comprehensive creation theology: there is nothing that exists that was not brought into being by the One Creator.

The Kanak Dohra and Caste

The passage beginning "Caste after caste was..." (Baba Santa Singh 1973, 3) appears to address the origins of social and caste division within the cosmological narrative. Students of Sikh theology will note that the Guru Granth Sahib Ji consistently challenges caste discrimination as a human failing incompatible with the divine light present in all beings equally. The Sarbloh Japji's cosmological treatment of caste — placing its origins within the created order — does not endorse caste hierarchy but contextualizes it as part of the created world that the divine transcends. The divine light in every form renders caste spiritually irrelevant to the question of liberation.

9. Pain, Pleasure, and the Divine Decree

Two Garments

The Dohra verse "Pain and pleasure are like two garments; such is the conduct of human existence. Virtue and sin accompany the soul; the Divine Decree is beyond all measure" (Baba Santa Singh 1973, 3) is a compressed but profound statement of Gurmat anthropology. The comparison of pain and pleasure to garments — something worn rather than something constitutive of the self — suggests that neither painful nor pleasurable experience defines the soul. The soul is the wearer of both; it is not identical to either. This teaching is consistent with the Guru Granth Sahib Ji's consistent message that the soul's true identity is its divine light, which is neither reduced by suffering nor inflated by pleasure.

Virtue, Sin, and the Hukam

The second line of the Dohra addresses the moral dimension: "Virtue and sin accompany the soul; the Divine Decree is beyond all measure." In Gurmat theology, virtue and sin are real moral categories that accompany the soul through its journey, but they are not the ultimate framework: the divine decree (ਹੁਕਮ) is beyond both. This does not mean that virtue and sin are irrelevant — the Gurus consistently encourage righteous living. It means that the divine's sovereign grace operates beyond the strict accounting of merit and demerit. The soul that takes refuge in Waheguru is not saved by its virtue but by the divine's limitless grace.

The Experiential Wisdom

The two-garment metaphor also invites a more experiential reading: the person who understands pain and pleasure as garments worn on the journey, not as the journey's destination, is less likely to be swept into desperate suffering by pain or inflated arrogance by pleasure. This is a teaching with immediate practical relevance for the Khalsa who must face the full range of human experience — from the suffering of oppression to the joy of liberation — while maintaining the steady awareness of the divine presence that is the mark of the ਗੁਰਮੁਖ.

10. The Invisible Creator and the Pervasive Divine Presence

The Invisible and Unborn

A later section of the Sarbloh Japji addresses the paradox of divine presence in stark terms: "The Creator, Maya, is invisible and unborn. In water, fire, earth, air, in all living beings, in the sky, the spheres, and the underworld. In the heavens, the earth, and the fourteen worlds; the Lord Gopal is the Master of all" (Baba Santa Singh 1973, 5). This verse holds together two seemingly contradictory affirmations: the divine is invisible and unborn (transcendent, beyond perception) and yet is present in water, fire, earth, air, and all living beings (immanent, pervasive). This is the classical paradox of Gurmat theology and of much mystical theology across traditions.

The Fourteen Worlds

The reference to the "fourteen worlds" (ਚੌਦਾਂ ਲੋਕ) draws on the Indic cosmological map of reality, which divides existence into seven upper realms (lokas) and seven lower realms (patalas). The divine is present in all fourteen — the full extent of the cosmological universe. This affirmation of pervasive divine presence in every cosmological realm, including the underworlds, is a statement of divine sovereignty without exception: there is no realm of existence from which the divine is absent, no corner of creation that falls outside the divine purview.

Maya Within Theology

The reference to "The Creator, Maya" — identifying the divine with Maya (the creative power of illusion/manifestation) — is theologically complex. In Advaita Vedanta, Maya is the power of illusion through which Brahman appears as the multiplicity of the world. In Gurmat theology, Maya is the condition of the ego-bound soul that mistakes the created world for ultimate reality. The Sarbloh Japji's identification of the Creator with Maya suggests a more positive understanding: Maya as creative divine power, the very capacity of the divine to manifest as the world. This reading is consistent with the Manglacharan's identification of Maja Lakshmi as a manifestation of the divine sustaining power.

11. The Name, the Abode, and the Light in All Things

The Central Verse

"The Name and the Abode are present within every heart; the Light permeates all. You are the Word and the Scripture; You provide the sustenance to every mouth" (Baba Santa Singh 1973, 5). This verse distills the spiritual teaching of the Sarbloh Japji to its essentials. The ਨਾਮ (divine Name) and the ਧਾਮ (divine Abode) are not distant realities to be attained through long effort; they are present within every heart. The light that permeates all creation is not merely metaphorical — it is the living divine presence that animates every form of life and every heart that beats.

The Divine as Provider

The declaration that the divine "provides the sustenance to every mouth" extends the spiritual affirmation into the most basic material reality. The food by which every living being is sustained is a gift of the divine — the Creator who brought all beings into existence is also the constant provider who maintains them in existence. This teaching has practical implications for the Sikh practice of ਲੰਗਰ (communal kitchen): serving food to all who come is an act of participating in the divine's own sustaining grace, made concrete in human community.

You Are the Word and the Scripture

The declaration "You are the Word and the Scripture" (ਤੂੰ ਹੀ ਸ਼ਬਦ ਤੂੰ ਹੀ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ) is remarkable in a text that is itself a granth (scripture). The divine is not merely the subject of scripture; the divine is the Word that scripture expresses and the very Shabad that makes scripture sacred. This statement prevents scripture from becoming an idol — a fixed object of worship that replaces the living divine — by insisting that what makes scripture holy is the divine presence within it, not the physical text itself. The ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ is the Guru not because of the ink and paper but because the divine Shabad speaks through it.

12. Hari Maya, Lakshmi, and the Sustaining Grace

The Return to Maja Lakshmi

After the extended cosmological survey, the Sarbloh Japji returns to the devotional theme of the opening Manglacharan with the verse: "Taking the form of Lakshmi, Hari Maya manifests Her radiance. She nourishes the entire world and is the treasure of peace for the saints" (Baba Santa Singh 1973, 5). This return is structurally significant: the entire cosmological meditation — the account of creation, the enumeration of living beings, the affirmation of the pervasive divine presence — is framed by the devotional invocation of the sustaining divine grace. The cosmology is not an abstract intellectual exercise; it is a meditation that deepens the devotee's appreciation of the grace they receive moment by moment.

Nourishment as Spiritual Metaphor

The image of divine grace as nourishment — "She nourishes the entire world" — connects the cosmic and the intimate. The same divine reality that creates and sustains the fourteen worlds also nourishes the individual soul. This connection between cosmic scale and intimate care is one of the most distinctive features of Gurmat theology: the divine is not a distant cosmic principle but an immediately present, personally caring reality. The Sarbloh Japji's Maja Lakshmi imagery makes this intimacy palpable: the Creator who fashioned the cosmos also brings sustenance to each mouth in each moment.

The Composition as Devotional Practice

The Sarbloh Japji, taken as a whole, is both theological instruction and devotional practice. Its cosmological passages train the mind to see the divine as the ground of all existence; its devotional passages train the heart to respond to that ground with gratitude, surrender, and the continuous practice of ਸਿਮਰਨ. This integration of understanding and practice is the hallmark of Gurmat spirituality: it is not enough to understand the theology of divine immanence intellectually; the teaching must become the living experience of the devotee who meditates on the Name in every breath. The Sarbloh Japji is an invitation to that living experience.

References & further reading

  1. Baba Santa Singh, ed. Sarbloh-Japji-Sahib-Sri-Sarbloh-Granth-Manglacharan. Sri Anandpur Sahib: Panth Akali Buddha Dal, 1973.
  2. Singh, Sahib. Sri Guru Granth Sahib Darpan. 10 vols. Jalandhar: Raj Publishers, 1972.
  3. Singh, Kamalroop, and Gurinder Singh Mann. The Granth of the Tenth King. Amritsar: Singh Brothers, 2015.
  4. Shackle, Christopher, and Arvind Mandair, eds. Teachings of the Sikh Gurus: Selections from the Sikh Scriptures. London: Routledge, 2005.
  5. Fenech, Louis E., and W. H. McLeod. Historical Dictionary of Sikhism. 3rd ed. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014.
  6. Cole, W. Owen, and Piara Singh Sambhi. The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. 2nd ed. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 1995.

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Course test

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1. What does the first verse of the Sarbloh Japji identify as the origin of all creation?
2. What is the Rahao verse in the Sarbloh Japji's first section?
3. Why does the Sarbloh Japji use the signature 'Nanak' in its Rahao verse?
4. How does the Sarbloh Japji treat Brahma's role in creation?
5. What does 'The Creator, Maya, is invisible and unborn' express theologically?
6. The 'four types of living beings' mentioned in the Sarbloh Japji refers to:
7. What does 'Pain and pleasure are like two garments' teach about human experience?
8. The statement 'You are the Word and the Scripture' in the Sarbloh Japji conveys:
9. What is the Hukam (divine command) in the context of the Sarbloh Japji's creation theology?
10. Why does the Sarbloh Japji return to the Hari Maya / Lakshmi theme at its conclusion?

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