What Do Sikhs Believe About God and Creation?

Sikhism: Beliefs in the Origin of the Universe

Big bang, conceptual artwork
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Some religions, like Christianity, believe in a trinity. Others, such as Hinduism, believe in a multitude of demi-gods. Buddhism teaches the belief in God is unimportant. Sikhism teaches the existence of one God, Ik Onkar. First Guru Nanak taught that the creator and creation are inseparable in the way that an ocean is made up of its individual drops.

Christianity traditionally teaches that God created Earth in seven days, about 6,000 years ago. Modern Christian creationism theories are continuing to evolve which attempt to make sense of incompatibilities in biblical scripture with irrefutable science. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, all believe Adam to be the original man. Sikhism teaches that only the creator knows the origin of the universe. Guru Nanak wrote that God’s creation consists of a multitude of universes and that no one knows for certain how, or when, creation took place.

Kavan se rutee maahu kavan jit hoaa aakaar||
What was that season, and what was that month, when the Universe was created?

Vael na paa-ee-aa panddatee je hovai laekh puraan||
The Pandits, the religious scholars, cannot find that time, even if it is written in the Puranas.

Vakhat an paa-i-ou kaadee-aa ij likhan laekh kuraan||
That time is not known to the Qazis, who study the Koran.

Thit vaar naa jogee jaanai rut maahu naa koee||
The day and the date are not known to the Yogis, nor is the month or the season.

Jaa karahaa sirtthee ko saajae aapae jaanai soee||
The Creator who created this creation-only He Himself knows. SGGS||4

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Khalsa, Sukhmandir. "What Do Sikhs Believe About God and Creation?" Learn Religions, Aug. 27, 2020, learnreligions.com/sikhs-believe-about-god-and-creation-2993486. Khalsa, Sukhmandir. (2020, August 27). What Do Sikhs Believe About God and Creation? Retrieved from https://www.learnreligions.com/sikhs-believe-about-god-and-creation-2993486 Khalsa, Sukhmandir. "What Do Sikhs Believe About God and Creation?" Learn Religions. https://www.learnreligions.com/sikhs-believe-about-god-and-creation-2993486 (accessed March 19, 2024).