Gurmat

Gurmat (gur-mat, mat, Sanskrit mati, i.e. counsel or tenets of the Guru, more specifically focusing the mind towards the Guru) is a term which may in its essential sense be taken to be synonymous with Sikhism itself. Etymologically, Gur means wisdom and Mat means Tenet/Belief. Generally, Gurmat is theology includes teachings of Sikh Bhagats and Sikh Gurus which is incorporated in Guru Granth Sahib.

It covers doctrinal, prescriptive and directional aspects of Sikh faith and praxis. Besides the basic theological structure, doctrine and tenets derived from the teachings of Guru Nanak and his nine successors, it refers to the whole Sikh way of life both in its individual and social expressions evolved over the centuries. Guidance received by Sikhs in their day-to-day affairs from institutions established by the Gurus and by the community nurtured upon their teachings will also fall within the frame of gurmat. In any exigency, the decision to be taken by the followers must conform to gurmat in its ideological and/or conventional assumptions.

Guru and God are considered the same. The 'guru' here in gur-mat means the Ten Gurus of the Sikh faith as well as gur-bani, i.e. their inspired utterances recorded in the Guru Granth Sahib. The instruction (mat) of the Guru implies the teaching imparted, and the example set by the Ten Gurus in person. Direction derived from these sources is a Sikh's ultimate norm in shaping the course of his life, both in its sacred and secular aspects. The spiritual path he is called upon to pursue should be oriented towards obtaining release, i.e. freedom from the dread bondage of repeated births and deaths, and standards of religious and personal conduct he must conform to in order to relate to his community and to society as a whole are all collectively subsumed in the concept of gurmat.

Theologically, gurmat encompasses a strictly monotheistic belief. Faith in the Transcendent Being as the Supreme, indivisible reality without attributes is the first principle. The attributive-immanent nature of the Supreme Being is also accepted in Sikhism which posits power to create as one of the cardinal attributes of the Absolute or God of its conception. The Creator brought into being the universe by his hukam or Will, without any intermediaries. Man, as the pinnacle of creation, is born with a divine spark; his liberation lies in the recognition of his own spiritual essence and immanence of the Divine in the cosmic order. Fulfilment comes with the curbing of one's haumai or ego and cultivation of the discipline of nam, i.e. absorption in God's name, and of the humanitarian values of seva, selfless service to fellow men, love and tolerance.

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