Ik Onkar

ੴ

The One Creator, formless and timeless, remembered as Waheguru

Ik Onkar, written ੴ, means 'One Creator, One reality.' It opens the Mul Mantar composed by Guru Nanak (1469-1539) and stands at the head of the Guru Granth Sahib. Sikhs call the One God Waheguru, the Wonderful Lord: timeless, fearless, without enmity and without form.

Devotees turn to God through the Name itself, remembered in song, meditation and service. Because God is Nirankar, 'without form', Sikhs do not picture God. Instead ੴ crowns the scripture as a sign of that oneness, and Guru Nanak is remembered each year at his Gurpurab.

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Wikimedia Commons (public domain), Unknown authorUnknown author

In art and place public-domain and openly licensed images

Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple), Amritsar, reflected in the Sarovar at dusk. Sikhism's central shrine, where the Ik Onkar message is recited.Photo: Jasleen Kaur, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Gurdwara Janam Asthan at Nankana Sahib, 2020. It marks the birthplace of Guru Nanak, who first proclaimed Ik Onkar.Photo: Shahzaib Damn Cruze, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Handwritten manuscript page with red and black ink, ca. 1799–1849. It reflects the Sikh tradition of copying sacred text by hand.Wikimedia Commons (public domain), Unknown authorUnknown author

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The Deity Project makes no images of Ik Onkar, because Sikh teaching holds that God is without form. The tradition instead honours the written sign ੴ, the Mul Mantar, Gurmukhi calligraphy and the poetry of Gurbani, all to be treated with reverence.

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