Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced GCE in Religious Studies – Anthology
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Finally, we c ome to that phrase of the Mul Mantra which states that God is
known to man by the Guru’s grac e.... The immediate diffic ult y is t he word ‘Guru’...
[whic h term] may refer t o a human prec ept or or t o God manifest as t he word
(shabad). There is no agreement among sc holars as t o whic h int erpret at ion is
c orrec t here. It is suggested that the Guru is God for the following reasons. First, it
would be unc harac teristic of Guru Nanak to assert his importanc e to the extent of
suggesting that only through him or at his pleasure is God made known. Sec ond,
t he Sikh view of revelat ion is one whic h insist s t hat God is always ac t ive in t he
proc ess of revelation, that this prec eded the human Gurus and also takes plac e
beyond the teac hing of the Gurus, through other inspired beings. Finally, t he
subject of the rest of the Mul Mantra is God and it seems logical to suppose that
this is also the subjec t of the phrase being disc ussed here. The assertion would
seem to be that just as God is self-enlightened so God is the enlightener who
cannot be disc overed by philosophic al st udy; aust erit ies will not c ompel appearanc e
and inc antations, sac rific es or hymns of devotion c annot induc e divine
manifest at ion:
God does what God pleases. No one can tell God what to do. (AG 2)T he init iat ive is always God’s.
Guru Nanak’s concept of God apparently leaves little place for free will because
there is no room for dualism. Everything that happens has been predetermined and
oc c urs bec ause of the divine will. By this c ommand (hukam) both good and evil
happen: ‘God drives all according to the hukam, God’s pen writes our deeds’
(AG 1241):
Through the Divine Will greatness is won, some bec ome high and some
low; some get joy and some pain; some are lost in transmigration and
some are blessed. (AG 1)However, this is not t he c omplet e st ory. Right living c annot ac hieve release but
it can lead to a better life in the next round of existence:
Good actions may procure a better form of life, but release comes only
through grac e. (AG 2)Humanity is always free to accept the Guru’s word or reject it even if the
opport unit y t o hear it in t he first plac e is given by God. In keeping wit h t he view
t hat God is t he only realit y, and self revealing is t he belief t hat only divine
revelation occurs, people discover the immanent presenc e of God. Like Kabir, Lalla
and many other sants, the idea of God residing ‘at home’ is very strong in the
teac hing of the Gurus. Consequently Gum Nanak rec ommended the householder
st age of life as t he one in whic h his followers should at t ain God-realization and
explore its meaning. Guru Tegh Bahadur expressed this view most forc ibly:
Why do you go to the forest to find God who lives in all and yet remains
dist inc t? T he Divine Being dwells in you as well, as fragranc e resides in a
flower or the reflection in a mirror. God abides in everything. See God,
therefore, in your own heart. (AG 684)