Christianity & Sikhi
Ik Onkar: One God in Sikhism and Christianity
Sikhi opens with Ik Onkar, 'There is One God', the very first words of the Guru Granth Sahib. Both Sikhs and Christians are fiercely monotheistic: one Creator, without fear or hatred, beyond birth and death, self-existent. Christianity confesses the same one God, whom Jesus called Father, and then says something more about who Jesus is. On the sheer oneness of God, the two faiths stand remarkably close.
What Sikhi teaches
The Guru Granth Sahib opens with the Mool Mantar, the foundational statement of Sikh belief, whose first symbol is Ik Onkar (ੴ), ‘One God’:
Sikhs commonly address God as Waheguru (‘Wonderful Lord’). God is nirankar, without form, beyond gender, never taking birth, present in all creation yet not identical with it. Sikhi firmly rejects idols and any picturing of God.
What Christians believe
Christianity is just as fiercely monotheistic: there is one God, the Creator, whose very nature is love.
Where they meet
Both confess one God, the Creator, without fear or hatred, eternal and self-existent, who is to be loved with the whole heart. Ik Onkar and ‘the LORD our God is one’ stand strikingly close.
Where they differ
Sikhi holds that God is nirankar, formless, and never takes human birth; Christianity confesses that the one God made himself known in the person of Jesus, the Word made flesh. The fierce monotheism is shared; whether God has come among us in a person is where the two faiths part.
Guru Granth Sahib quotations follow the widely published Khalsa Consensus (Sant Singh Khalsa) English translation; translations vary, compare others at srigranth.org. Page numbers refer to the Ang (page) of the Guru Granth Sahib. Bible: King James Version. Every reference on this page was checked against its source.
The word itself
ੴ (Ik Onkar) → One God / One Creator
Ik Onkar (Gurmukhi ੴ) joins 'Ik' (one) with 'Onkar' (the one, all-pervading Creator). It opens the Mool Mantar and the whole Guru Granth Sahib, and is the heart of Sikh monotheism: God is one, without a second.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Ik Onkar mean?
- Ik Onkar means 'One God' or 'One Creator.' It is the opening phrase of the Mool Mantar and of the Guru Granth Sahib, and expresses the core Sikh belief in one formless, all-pervading God.
- Do Sikhs and Christians believe in the same God?
- Both are strict monotheists who worship one Creator, without fear or hatred, eternal and self-existent. Sikhi holds God is formless and never incarnate; Christianity confesses the one God revealed in Jesus. The oneness of God is deeply shared; the difference is whether God became human.
- Who is Waheguru?
- Waheguru ('Wonderful Lord') is the most common Sikh name for God, the one formless Creator described in the Mool Mantar. Sikhs remember and meditate on this God through the Naam, the Divine Name.
Come and see
Guru Nanak taught that the One God is known through the Name and through selfless love; the Gospel tells of a God who came in person to serve and to save. The most direct way to know Jesus is to read his words for yourself. There is no pressure here.
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