Waheguru – its meaning and origin of the word

Waheguru – its meaning and origin of the word

Finally, I am writing about this. It’s been some time when I thought of writing this, but changed my mind as other things were circling around on the Internet that needed the attention. Now, it’s the time to talk about this and finally debunk the claims of many who’re just like shadows, which are dark and have no meaning.

Gurbani has many names of Waheguru according to His actions/attributes. He can be called Ram, Allah, Gobind, Kaal, Mahakaal, etc. And all these words have meanings, not just the names, like many people believe. I even read on Quora, someone posted that Waheguru doesn’t have a meaning, and I was literally shocked to hear that type of stupidity. How could people be so ignorant?

Few fringe groups of Hindus have been saying that the words like Gobind and Ram are for the avatars of Vishnu. What about Allah or Khuda? Were there any avatars of Vishnu or any deity with that name? Are we going to have a belief that if the word Gobind comes, then it’s for Vishnu and if it’s Allah then some Muslim God?

Actually, these lunatics have failed to grasp the knowledge of gurbani. I remember an article in The Tribune back in 2003 or 02, when the RSS was saying that the Sikhs are Hindus. It amazes me that only around 2% of the Indian population is the number of Sikhs. What these 2% can do to them that they’ve been claiming it for years? What purpose they have?

There seems a big game behind this whole promulgation of the anti-Sikh stories that the people have been writing on the Internet to show how they are not mentally strong enough to grasp the reality. There’s a time when the Buddhists have been in India and it’s a widely spread religion then. Now if you see you can find only few of them living in India. The same anti-Sikh propagandists are doing to Sikhs. But they will never be successful in doing that, because Sikhs are not just the people with rosaries in their hands.

The origin of the word Waheguru comes from different words which were there before the arrival of Guru Nanak Dev ji. There’re two sources which are discussed while trying to get the source of the word. One is the vaar of Bhai Gurdas ji and the other is Suraj Parkash/Nanak Parkash of Bhai Santokh Singh ji. We will go through them both.

Origin of the word Waheguru: Waheguru word has been in Sikhs since the beginning of Guru Nanak Dev ji. Guru Nanak Dev ji gave Waheguru as gurmantar. There’re some misconceptions on the Internet regarding the popularity of this word in Sikhi. I read someone write Waheguru word was started at the time of Guru Teg Bahadur ji, which is wrong. We’ve gurbani compiled by Guru Arjan Dev ji, the fifth Sikh Guru, and the vaars of Bhai Gurdas ji where the word Waheguru can be seen. In Guru Nanak Parkash, Bhai Santokh Singh ji wrote that Guru Nanak Dev ji made the name of Waheguru from different letters.

ਇਉਂ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਨਾਨਕ ਨਾਮ ਬਨਾਯੋ । ਸੁਨਿ ਸ੍ਰੁਤਿ ਸੰਤਨ ਚਿਤ ਸੁਖ ਪਾਯੋ ॥੬੩॥

We will translate the required verses to make it clear.

Second question that people usually have is that in Guru Granth Sahib, Guru Sahib didn’t write the word Waheguru, so how we could believe that it’s gurmantar. Khalsa ji, the whole bani is of Guru Sahib. We can’t say that this’s the bani of Bhagats or Bhatts, so we don’t believe in that. No. We believe in everything written in Guru Granth Sahib ji. When we bow down to Guru Granth Sahib ji, are we bowing only to the bani of the Sikh Gurus, or the whole bani? And more importantly, Guru Gobind Singh ji wrote Waheguru word many times in his bani, and there shouldn’t be an iota of doubt left.

We are Sikhs. We follow what Guru Sahibaan have said or written. Back in the 1920s, the anti-Sikh propaganda was at peak when some handful of so-called Sikhs preached how the bani of Bhagats shouldn’t be there in Guru Granth Sahib ji or the names like Ram and Allah should be replaced with Waheguru. If you see now, you will not find those people anywhere because the anti-Sikh propagandists know they can’t convince Sikhs to stop reading gurbani or to make them stop believing in gurbani, what they can do is mistranslate the meanings to confuse the Sikhs. Like many Hindu fellows are affirming that Ram for Waheguru is actually Ramchandra, and Madho is for Krishna. These fringe elements are introduced which are working on the Internet for long to create the conundrum among Sikhs as well as other religions to prove that Sikhism is part of Hinduism.

On the other hand, some workers of agencies are also at top to wholly change the meanings of gurbani and the Sikh History, who are none other than the people with long beards and turbans, who will look like Sikhs to us, but their inner projection will be known to the panth in future. Some of them have exposed themselves with their open repugnant simulations of those who’ve been out from Sikhi for long. Kaala Afghana for the start. And then Darshu. Dhadriyawaala these days. Dhunda. Baljeet Delhi. And many more. They look like Sikhs but are actually termites who are giving hard blows to the root of Sikhi. Even with so much help from ‘them’, they can’t be successful in their course.

This’s a very delicate time for all us Sikhs. Our great aplomb and a very deep connection with the Guru Sahib could make us not fall into the traps.

Let’s discuss the vaar of Bhai Gurdas ji. It’s the first vaar and the last pauri. We will get the help of gurbani and Suraj Parkash and Guru Nanak Parkash to understand this.

ਸਤਿਜੁਗਿ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਵਾਸਦੇਵ ਵਵਾ ਵਿਸਨਾ ਨਾਮੁ ਜਪਾਵੈ ॥
ਦੁਆਪੁਰਿ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਹਰੀਕ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਨ ਹਾਹਾ ਹਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਜਪਾਵੈ ॥
ਤੇਤੇ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਰਾਮ ਜੀ ਰਾਰਾ ਰਾਮ ਜਪੇ ਸੁਖੁ ਪਾਵੈ ॥
ਕਲਿਜੁਗਿ ਨਾਨਕ ਗੁਰ ਗੋਵਿੰਦ ਗਗਾ ਗੋਵਿੰਦ ਨਾਮੁ ਅਲਾਵੈ ॥
ਚਾਰੇ ਜਾਗੇ ਚਹੁ ਜੁਗੀ ਪੰਚਾਇਣ ਵਿਚਿ ਜਾਇ ਸਮਾਵੈ ॥
ਚਾਰੋ ਅਛਰ ਇਕੁ ਕਰਿ ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਜਪੁ ਮੰਤ੍ਰੁ ਜਪਾਵੈ ॥
ਜਹਾ ਤੇ ਉਪਜਿਆ ਫਿਰਿ ਤਹਾ ਸਮਾਵੈ ॥੪੯॥੧॥

Before translating this pauri, let’s get back in history to find what few scholars were saying. At the time of Bhai Vir Singh ji (or before/after that), there were few people who were saying that this pauri is not written by Bhai Gurdas ji. They had their own reasons. Few of the points that are mentioned which were popular among the scholars then are as following:

1.      At the time of Bhai Gurdas ji, there’s Guru Hargobind Sahib ji or Guru Arjan Dev ji, but in the pauri Bhai Sahib wrote ‘Gur Govind.’ Why he didn’t mention Guru Hargobind Sahib ji? Why he skipped all the gurus and stated Guru Gobind Singh ji?

2.      Krishan and Ramchandra are merely the avatars of Vishnu, not Satguru. And only Krishan was 16 kalaa sampooran among the other ones that Vishnu had taken incarnations of. And they learned from Vasisht and Ghor Angra.

Pandir Tara Singh Nirotam wrote that Vasdev, Har, Gobind and Ram were the names of Waheguru in different yugs and Guru Nanak Dev ji took the first letter of each to make the word Waheguru. He translated the words like this: Vasdev – Omnipresent; Har – destroyers of sins; Gobind – True before the earth; Ram – One within whom the saints achieve Oneness.

In Gyaan Ratnaavli, written by Bhai Mani Singh ji Shaheed, he wrote that Guru Nanak Dev ji meditated on the words Vasdev, Har, Gobind and Ram for nine-nine yugs. That also means that Guru Nanak Dev ji was Waheguru Himself.

ਸਤਿਜੁਗਿ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਵਾਸਦੇਵ ਵਵਾ ਵਿਸਨਾ ਨਾਮੁ ਜਪਾਵੈ ॥

Satyug satgur Vasdev vava (ਵ) Vishna naam japaave.

One more issue that the scholars had with this was that they couldn’t define was it Vasdev from who the vava (ਵ) was taken, or Vishna. If we believe that there’s a satguru in Satyug whose name was Vasdev, then it’s wrong. Because there’s no text which says that. If we think that Vasdev is for Vishnu, then Vishnu doesn’t have any incarnation with the name of Vasdev in Satyug. If we say Vasdev was the father of Krishan, and from his name he’s known as Vasudev, then it’s in Dwapar, not Satyug.

Other issue was that who was asking to meditate, Vasdev or Vishna? Some might say that it’s Vishnu from whom the letter vava (ਵ) was taken. That will clear the doubt when we would talk about the name in Kalyug.

The Sikh scholars say that Vasdev was not actually an incarnation but the name which was popular then. Actually, all the names of Waheguru were there in the earlier yugs too. Many people who have not much knowledge about gurbani or Sikhi say that Ram is for Ramchandra every single time when it comes in gurbani. Well Ramchandra was born in Treta. Let’s read the following verses.

ਰਾਮ ਜਪਉ ਜੀਅ ਐਸੇ ਐਸੇ ॥ ਧ੍ਰੂ ਪ੍ਰਹਿਲਾਦ ਜਪਿਓ ਹਰਿ ਜੈਸੇ ॥੧॥

Chant the name of Ram like Dhruu and Prahlaad did.

Dhruu was born in Satyug, how would he chant the name of Ram before he’s born in Treta? So, Ram word comes for Waheguru many times, and few times for Ramchandra and Pars Ram. We can have another shabad.

ਪੰਚਾਲੀ ਕਉ ਰਾਜ ਸਭਾ ਮਹਿ ਰਾਮ ਨਾਮ ਸੁਧਿ ਆਈ ॥

The daughter (Draupti) of the king of Panchal learned the way to chant the name of Ram (Waheguru) in the hall (of Duryodhana.)

If we go and read the history as written by many Hindu scholars, we will see that it’s said Krishna saved Draupti. But here why Ram word comes? Shouldn’t it be Krishna? Or is there any deep meaning of this word than just Ramchandra? And why Draupti got sudh (understanding) to chant His name at that time but not earlier?

Also, there’s another meaning of this line which we are skipping because the purpose here is to understand the names of Waheguru which had been in different yugs. Let’s read the verse again.

ਸਤਿਜੁਗਿ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਵਾਸਦੇਵ ਵਵਾ ਵਿਸਨਾ ਨਾਮੁ ਜਪਾਵੈ ॥

From where vava (ਵ) was taken then? Guru Nanak Parkash can help us here to understand this.

ਵੱਵਾ ਵਾਸੁਦੇਵ ਤੇ ਲੀਨੋ ।

Vava is taken from Vasdev.

That gets cleared that it’s taken from Vasdev, not Vishna. Another challenge that we face is, is Vasdev some deity or person or Waheguru? And what’s the meaning of Vasdev? We are going to take the help of gurbani to grasp it.

ਵਾਸੁਦੇਵ ਸਰਬਤ੍ਰ ਮੈ ਊਨ ਨ ਕਤਹੂ ਠਾਇ ॥

Vasdev is present everywhere, not even one place is without Him.

ਵਾਸੁਦੇਵ ਜਲ ਥਲ ਮਹਿ ਰਵਿਆ ॥ ਗੁਰਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ਵਿਰਲੈ ਹੀ ਗਵਿਆ ॥

Vasdev is infused in water and land. Only few understand it with Guru’s grace.

ਵਵੈ ਵਾਸੁਦੇਉ ਪਰਮੇਸਰੁ ਵੇਖਣ ਕਉ ਜਿਨਿ ਵੇਸੁ ਕੀਆ ॥
ਵੇਖੈ ਚਾਖੈ ਸਭੁ ਕਿਛੁ ਜਾਣੈ ਅੰਤਰਿ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਰਵਿ ਰਹਿਆ ॥੩੨॥

(From the letter) vava (ਵ) (Guru Nanak Dev ji gives wisdom to the pandha), Vasdeo parmeshar, who have worn this cloth-like world to see everyone.

He sees and knows everything, He’s inside and outside of the body.

ਵਵੈ ਵਾਰੀ ਆਈਆ ਮੂੜੇ ਵਾਸੁਦੇਉ ਤੁਧੁ ਵੀਸਰਿਆ ॥
ਏਹ ਵੇਲਾ ਨ ਲਹਸਹਿ ਮੂੜੇ ਫਿਰਿ ਤੂੰ ਜਮ ਕੈ ਵਸਿ ਪਇਆ ॥੧੨॥

(From the letter) vava (ਵ) (Guru Sahib says that), this’s your turn, foolish (to meet Waheguru), you’ve forgotten Vasdeo.

This time is not going to come again, foolish; you will go to yamdoot (after death if you do not chant His name.)

What is the meaning of Vasdev/deo then? If the meaning of Ram is ramya hoyaa, then what does Vasdev/deo mean?

It means the one who’s making us live in the world. Think of this whole world as the body of Waheguru. We all are living inside Him. Guru Gobind Singh ji wrote it in Dasam Guru Granth Sahib that millions of Shivji, Brahma, Vishnu etc., are in His body.

ਕਾਲ ਪੁਰਖ ਕੀ ਦੇਹਿ ਮੋ ਕੋਟਿਕ ਬਿਸਨ ਮਹੇਸ ॥
ਕੋਟਿ ਇੰਦ੍ਰ ਬ੍ਰਹਮਾ ਕਿਤੇ ਰਵਿ ਸਸਿ ਕ੍ਰੋਰ ਜਲੇਸ ॥੧॥

First half of the verse is complete. The second half is still pending. And we might have a confusion here. ਵਵਾ ਵਿਸਨਾ ਨਾਮੁ ਜਪਾਵੈ. Did Vishna ask to do the meditation on the name of Vasdev? Or people were worshipping Vishna? This confusion is among many translators because it’s not clear who’s asking to do the chanting. Vishnu or the people? I heard in the katha that from Vasdev (Waheguru), Vishnu was born. So its meaning is that the beginning of Vishnu was from Vasdev (Waheguru), and from Vasdev vava (ਵ) is taken.

ਦੁਆਪੁਰਿ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਹਰੀਕ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਨ ਹਾਹਾ ਹਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਜਪਾਵੈ ॥

Dwapar satgur Harikrishan haha (ਹ) Har Har naam japaave.

In Dwapar, Krishna was born, haha (ਹ) from Har word is taken. People used to chat Har. But was Har word there earlier before Dwapar? Sometimes it occurs to people that haha (ਹ) letter is taken from Krishna as it’s written Harikrishan. No. When we read Suraj Parkash, we see Bhai Gurdas ji talking with the people in Kanshi.

Here, in his vaar, he didn’t mention that Har word is taken from Krishna, or haha (ਹ) letter is taken from Harikrishan. It might be that he’s mentioning the yug and the person born in a particular yug, and then added the words and letters in the same verse too. The next dilemma, if we go with this logic comes that we’ve already discussed in the translation of the first verse. There’s no incarnation of Vishnu with the name of Vasdev, or any person with that name. Bhai Vir Singh ji vehemently said that. Or there might be a piece which is missing and hasn’t been found somehow. I really can’t comment on this right now. Maybe in future, if I get my hands on some script, I will add the required lines in this post.

So when Bhai Gurdas ji was in Kanshi at the time of Guru Hargobind Sahib ji, he talked with the pandits. He discussed about gurbani, Guru Granth Sahib ji, origin of the word Waheguru, etc. Following are the verses worth mentioning here from Suraj Parkash about the conversation between Bhai Gurdas ji and the pandits.

ਵਾਸੁਦੇਵ ਸਤਿਜੁਗ ਮਣਿ ਨਾਮ । ਹਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਤ੍ਰੇਤਾ ਫਲਦ ਅਕਾਮ ॥੩੮॥

In Satyug, the name of Waheguru was Vasdev.  In Treta, name of Waheguru was Har, which was the boon (for the devotees.)

ਦ੍ਵਾਪੁਰ ਗੋਬਿੰਦ ਬਿਜਯ ਪ੍ਰਚੰਡ । ਕਲਿ ਕੇਵਲ ਰਾਕਾਰ ਅਖੰਡ ।

In Dwapar, name of Waheguru was Gobind, which was like victory and intensity.  In Kalyug, Ram word was supreme.

ਵੇਦ ਚਤਰ ਜੁਗ ਜਹਿ ਨਿਸਤਾਰੇ । ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਅਵਲੰਬ ਹਮਾਰੇ ॥੩੯॥

Who gave wisdom in the four yugs for liberation. That Waheguru is my hope.

Vasdev was the name of Waheguru in Satyug. In Treta, the name was Har. In Dwapar, the name was Gobind. And in Kalyug the name was Ram.

These verses are very vital to add a missing link without which people can think that the names which are used to make the word Waheguru are from the different incarnations of Vishnu.

So the meaning of the main line is that in Dwapar, Krishna was born. And haha (ਹ) letter comes from Har, which’s also present in the earlier yug.

Before I had my hands on this part of Suraj Parkash, I used to think that the Vasdev was the jaap of Satyug, Har jaap was in Dwapar, Ram jaap was in Treta, and Gobind jaap was in Kalyug. It was incorrect. Giani Gurbachan Singh ji Khalsa Bhindrawale said that the jaap of Satyug was Vasdev, Treta’s was Har, Dwapar’s was Gobind, and Kalyug’s was Ram.

ਤੇਤੇ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਰਾਮ ਜੀ ਰਾਰਾ ਰਾਮ ਜਪੇ ਸੁਖੁ ਪਾਵੈ ॥

Tete satgur Ram ji rara (ਰ) Ram jape sukh paave.

In Treta, Ramchandra ji was born. From Ram rara (ਰ) letter is taken and by chanting Ram people will be blessed.

I think Ram and Har words are two of the most misinterpreted words by those who’ve been convincing the people and themselves that Sikhs are Hindus or Sikhs worship the deities. While listening to the veechar of a gursikh, I heard him say some verses that I couldn’t find. Later, a bibi posted them on Facebook. I am writing them here. These are from Dasam Guru Granth Sahib, 33 savaiyee.

ਕਾਹੂ ਲੈ ਠੋਕ ਬਧੇ ਉਰ ਠਾਕੁਰ ਕਾਹੂ ਮਹੇਸ ਕੌ ਏਸ ਬਖਾਨਯੋ ॥

Some people have tied the Shivalinga around the stomachs (means they worship it), some say Shivji is the Supreme.

ਕਾਹੂ ਕਹਿਯੋ ਹਰਿ ਮੰਦਰ ਮੈ ਹਰਿ ਕਾਹੂ ਮਸੀਤ ਕੇ ਬੀਚ ਪ੍ਰਮਾਨਯੋ ॥

Some say that in temples Waheguru is, some say He’s in Mosques.

ਕਾਹੂ ਨੇ ਰਾਮ ਕਹਯੋ ਕ੍ਰਿਸਨਾ ਕਹੁ ਕਾਹੂ ਮਨੈ ਅਵਤਾਰਨ ਮਾਨਯੋ ॥

Some people say chant Ramchandra, some say Krishna, some have believed that incarnations are Waheguru.

ਫੋਕਟ ਧਰਮ ਬਿਸਾਰ ਸਬੈ ਕਰਤਾਰ ਹੀ ਕਉ ਕਰਿਤਾ ਜੀਅ ਜਾਨਯੋ ॥੧੨॥

Stop doing all these are worthless activities, only believe in Kartar (Waheguru) who’s doing everything.

ਜੌ ਕਹੌ ਰਾਮ ਅਜੋਨਿ ਅਜੈ ਅਤਿ ਕਾਹੇ ਕੌ ਕੌਸਲ ਕੁੱਖ ਜਯੋ ਜੂ ॥

If you say Ram (Waheguru) is unborn and undefeated, then why He took birth from the womb of Kausalya? (Means those who are saying Ramchandra as Waheguru, they are wrong, because Waheguru is unborn but Ramchandra/Vishnu is not.)

In the tika of Dasam Guru Granth Sahib ji, a note is given that these deities are not worthless if we compare to the human beings; they have a huge responsibility to run this world under the Command of Waheguru. But if we compare them to Waheguru, they can’t be Waheguru. We respect them, but we do not worship them. It’s like calling P.A. a Prime Minister.

This is what I’ve been saying to many people that Sikhs do not hate the deities. No. They are created by Waheguru for a purpose. But we do not worship them like many other civilizations do.

In Guru Nanak Parkash, Bhai Santokh Singh wrote that Ramchandra ji said that above him is the name of Waheguru (Ram), with whose name he and other companions of his built a bridge.

ਚੌਪਈ ॥
ਨਿਜ ਤੇ ਅਧਿਕ ਹੇਤੁ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਰਾਮੂ । ਜਗਹਿ ਲਖਾਯੋ ਲਿਖ ਕਰਿ ਨਾਮੂ ।
ਸਰੁਵਰ ਪਰ ਗਿਰਿਵਰ ਧਰਿ ਭਾਰੇ । ਤਰੁਵਰ ਕੇ ਪਾਤਨਿ ਸਮ ਤਾਰੇ ॥੫੮॥

In the same granth, Bhai Santokh Singh ji wrote that the letter rara is taken from Ramchand. Our indecision might play a role in there because we might be thinking that rara is taken from Ramchandra, son of Dasharatha. Right? Let’s take a step back and read the verse where Bhai Gurdas ji told to the pandits in Kanshi about the origin of word Waheguru.

ਕਲਿ ਕੇਵਲ ਰਾਕਾਰ ਅਖੰਡ ।

Rara (ਰ) comes from Ram, which was the supreme name (means many people used to chant this name of Waheguru) in Kalyug.

Treta and Ramchandra, son of Dasharatha, if we are going to mix, the translation will not be correct. There is one more word to discuss here to get the clear meaning of Ramchand. Raghunath. Almost all the Hindus will say that Raghunath means Ramchandra, son of Dasharatha, but what they don’t know is the meaning. If we look into gurbani, we see Raghunath (Raghnath) word comes in there too.

ਸੰਗ ਸਖਾ ਸਭਿ ਤਜਿ ਗਏ ਕੋਊ ਨ ਨਿਬਹਿਓ ਸਾਥਿ ॥
ਕਹੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਇਹ ਬਿਪਤਿ ਮੈ ਟੇਕ ਏਕ ਰਘਨਾਥ ॥੫੫॥

I was debating with a guy few days back whose main intention was to prove there’s no separate and distinct religion as Sikhism, and Sikhs worship the deities, or gurbani talks about worshipping of the deities. He used the above verses to prove his point. He even got the verses from Dasam Guru Granth Sahib ji to prove that Raghnath is but Ramchandra, son of Dasharatha. When I brought the word Har and a shabad from Dasam Guru Granth Sahib ji with different meanings in almost all the lines, he started saying Har is Waheguru/Ram/Allah. That’s the problem with these people. They can’t just stay on one point because the base where they are standing is not strong enough to support their claims, which are based on the knowledge that they had of the Hindu scriptures.

Now the question is, is Guru Teg Bahadur ji saying that if we have any problem we should go and pray to Ramchandra, son of Dasharatha? No. Then what is the meaning of Raghunath? Ragh(u) means parkash, Naath means supreme (or the One who’s controlling everyone.)

There’s one more interesting word in gurbani. Raghuraaya. This word is similar to Raghunath. Following are the verses from gurbani that we can check.

ਦੁਸਟ ਸਭਾ ਮਹਿ ਮੰਤ੍ਰੁ ਪਕਾਇਆ ॥ ਪ੍ਰਹਲਾਦ ਕਾ ਰਾਖਾ ਹੋਇ ਰਘੁਰਾਇਆ ॥੩॥

Prahlaad was born in Satyug, and Ramchandra was born in Treta. How he saved Prahlaad then? Interesting, right? Here again, Raguraaya is for Waheguru. Raghu means parkash, Raaya means King (of the World.)

At the end of Suraj Parkash, Bhai Santokh Singh ji used the word beri four times with different meanings.

ਦੋਹਰਾ ॥
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਮਮ ਬੇਰੀ ਕਟੋ ਨਿਜ ਬੇਰੀ ਪਰ ਚਾਰਿ ।
ਇਹ ਬੇਰੀ ਹੁਇ ਭਵ ਸਫਲ ਬਿਨ ਬੇਰੀ ਕਰਿ ਪਾਰਿ ॥੩੪॥

Why I mentioned it here is because one word can have multiple meanings. Same is true for the words which come in gurbani, which many people link to the deities without knowing the meanings. So santhea and katha are two very important things for Sikhs to understand gurbani and historical granths.

Now come to the translation of Ramchand. Ram means ramyaa hoya, Chand means parkash/calmness (it’s actually used for moon, from which we are taking parkash. There are few verses in Guru Granth Sahib, where the meaning is taken as parkash - ਕਮਲ ਨੈਨ ਅੰਜਨ ਸਿਆਮ ਚੰਦ੍ਰ ਬਦਨ ਚਿਤ ਚਾਰ॥) Almost the same meaning that we have above for Raghunath and Raghuraaya.

ਕਲਿਜੁਗਿ ਨਾਨਕ ਗੁਰ ਗੋਵਿੰਦ ਗਗਾ ਗੋਵਿੰਦ ਨਾਮੁ ਅਲਾਵੈ ॥

Kalyug Nanak gur Govind gaga Govind naam alaave.

In Kalyug, Guru Nanak Dev ji was Waheguru Himself. The word gaga (ਗ) comes from Govind, (the word that people were chanting.)

This verse clears a couple of things. First is, the letters taken to form Waheguru are not from the deities because if it were true, then the letter that would have been taken in this verse should be nana (ਨ) from Nanak because in Dwapar and Treta the incarnations were talked about and here Gur Nanak Dev ji. Second is, the names like Har and Ram were not given by the incarnations of those periods, because in Kalyug Guru Nanak Dev ji didn’t give the word Gobind/Govind but Waheguru.

There are some people too who are calling themselves scholars (Internet and Google-search experts actually) and saying that Guru Nanak Dev ji is mentioned here in this verse because he’s an incarnation of Vishnu. That’s not only wrong but laughable too. I tried to answer that in the below two initial chapters about the life of Guru Nanak Dev ji. You can check it out.

Chapter 1 – Before the Arrival Chapter 2 – The birth

So from the different names of Waheguru, Guru Sahib took the initial letters to make the word.

·        Vava comes from Vasdev (Waheguru).

·        Haha comes from Har (Waheguru).

·        Gaga comes from Govind (Waheguru).

·        Rara comes from Ram (Waheguru).

There’s a perception about the word Satgur which comes in this vaar. I read few translations. They mentioned that Satgur word is for Guru Nanak Dev ji. It shocked me a little. But when we read gurbani we see that somewhat same is written there.

ਤ੍ਰੇਤੈ ਤੈ ਮਾਣਿਓ ਰਾਮੁ ਰਘੁਵੰਸੁ ਕਹਾਇਓ ॥
ਦੁਆਪੁਰਿ ਕ੍ਰਿਸਨ ਮੁਰਾਰਿ ਕੰਸੁ ਕਿਰਤਾਰਥੁ ਕੀਓ ॥
ਉਗ੍ਰਸੈਣ ਕਉ ਰਾਜੁ ਅਭੈ ਭਗਤਹ ਜਨ ਦੀਓ ॥
ਕਲਿਜੁਗਿ ਪ੍ਰਮਾਣੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਗੁਰੁ ਅੰਗਦੁ ਅਮਰੁ ਕਹਾਇਓ ॥
ਸ੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਰਾਜੁ ਅਬਿਚਲੁ ਅਟਲੁ ਆਦਿ ਪੁਰਖਿ ਫੁਰਮਾਇਓ ॥੭॥
ਗੁਣ ਗਾਵੈ ਰਵਿਦਾਸੁ ਭਗਤੁ ਜੈਦੇਵ ਤ੍ਰਿਲੋਚਨ ॥
ਨਾਮਾ ਭਗਤੁ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਸਦਾ ਗਾਵਹਿ ਸਮ ਲੋਚਨ ॥
ਭਗਤੁ ਬੇਣਿ ਗੁਣ ਰਵੈ ਸਹਜਿ ਆਤਮ ਰੰਗੁ ਮਾਣੈ ॥
ਜੋਗ ਧਿਆਨਿ ਗੁਰ ਗਿਆਨਿ ਬਿਨਾ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਜਾਣੈ ॥
ਸੁਖਦੇਉ ਪਰੀਖਤੁ ਗੁਣ ਰਵੈ ਗੋਤਮ ਰਿਖਿ ਜਸੁ ਗਾਇਓ ॥
ਕਬਿ ਕਲ ਸੁਜਸੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਗੁਰ ਨਿਤ ਨਵਤਨੁ ਜਗਿ ਛਾਇਓ ॥੮॥

It’s not only limited to Ramchandra, Krishan, but also the bhagats like Kabir, Trilochan, Beni, Jaidev, Ravidas, etc., are chanting the name of Guru Nanak Dev ji. Waheguru is omnipresent. When the Bhatts heard that there’s no difference between Waheguru and Guru Nanak Dev ji, they wrote the savaiyee. Some time back some ‘Sikhs’ were arguing that this should not have been included in Guru Granth Sahib ji because there’s only worshipping of Waheguru, not any Sikh Guru. What they don’t know is that there’s no difference between the Sikh Gurus and Waheguru.

ਗੁਰੁ ਪਰਮੇਸਰੁ ਏਕੋ ਜਾਣੁ ॥ ਜੋ ਤਿਸੁ ਭਾਵੈ ਸੋ ਪਰਵਾਣੁ ॥੧॥

There are other meanings too of the above-mentioned savaiyee but I am not writing them here. This’s just to say that Waheguru is omnipresent and he happened to be in Krishan and Ram too, so that jot of Waheguru might have been called Satguru in the vaar of Bhai Gurdas ji. The only issue that we can have is that if we’re translating Satguru as Waheguru, then who was Vasdev? Was there any being in Satyug whose name was Vasdev? My hands are empty for this answer as I do not have any source to answer this question. (And I have not seen any good preacher saying that Vasdev was some being in Satyug but Waheguru from whose name vava letter is taken.) But it’s been confirmed that the letters from the words are not from the names of the incarnations but the names of Waheguru in different yugs.

ਚਾਰੇ ਜਾਗੇ ਚਹੁ ਜੁਗੀ ਪੰਚਾਇਣ ਵਿਚਿ ਜਾਇ ਸਮਾਵੈ ॥

The four of them (words) in four different yugs were there, and they all were merged in the fifth (Waheguru.) (Or they are emerged from the word Waheguru in different yugs.)

ਚਾਰੋ ਅਛਰ ਇਕੁ ਕਰਿ ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਜਪੁ ਮੰਤ੍ਰੁ ਜਪਾਵੈ ॥

Four different letters were used and Waheguru mantra (was made and) was asked to chant.

ਜਹਾ ਤੇ ਉਪਜਿਆ ਫਿਰਿ ਤਹਾ ਸਮਾਵੈ ॥੪੯॥੧॥

(A person who chants the name of Waheguru, he will) go where (he) came from, (will be One with Waheguru.)

So this was the whole translation of the pauri of Bhai Gurdas ji which is getting mistranslated by many people.

I heard about a person named Kaala Singh Naamdhari (it’s years back, not now), who said differently about the origin of this word. He said vava is taken from Baba Nanak (Guru Nanak Dev ji), haha is taken from Guru Hargobind Sahib ji, gaga is taken from Guru Gobind Singh ji, and rara is taken from Ram Singh Namdhari. Which is wrong. Make sure you are not falling into these traps.

Meaning of the word Waheguru: The meaning of Waheguru is known to many people. But I am still writing it to complete the part as there might be some out there who are new to Sikhi and do not know the meaning of the word.

Let’s go back to Guru Nanak Parkash.

ਚੌਪਈ ॥
ਨਿਰਗੁਨ ਨਾਮਨ ਤੇ ਵਧਿ ਐਸੇ । ਸੋ ਕਰਿ ਅਰਥ ਬਖਾਨੋਂ ਜੈਸੇ:-
'ਵਾਹਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਅਚਰਜ ਕੋ ਹੋਈ । ਅਚਰਜ ਤੇ ਪਰਿ ਉਕਤਿ ਨ ਕੋਈ ॥੬੨॥
'ਗੋ' ਤਮ ਨਾਮ ਅਗ੍ਯਾਨ ਅਨਿੱਤ । 'ਰੋ' ਪਰਕਾਸ਼ ਕਿਯੋ ਜਿਨ ਚਿੱਤੁ ।
ਇਉਂ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਨਾਨਕ ਨਾਮ ਬਨਾਯੋ । ਸੁਨਿ ਸ੍ਰੁਤਿ ਸੰਤਨ ਚਿਤ ਸੁਖ ਪਾਯੋ ॥੬੩॥

Wahe means ashcharaj (inexplicable/wonderous). G(u) means agyaan da haneera (ignorance). Ru means parkash (wisdom). So Waheguru is the Inexplicable/Wonderous One who removes the ignorance from the hearts of devotees and gives them wisdom.