Sacred text · Sikh practice
Mul Mantar
One Divine Reality; whose Name is Truth; the Creator; without fear or enmity; timeless in form; beyond birth; self-existent; known through the Guru’s grace.
ੴ ਸਤਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਕਰਤਾ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਨਿਰਭਉ ਨਿਰਵੈਰੁ ਅਕਾਲ ਮੂਰਤਿ ਅਜੂਨੀ ਸੈਭੰ ਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ
Ik Oaṅkār Sat Nām Kartā Purakh Nirbhau Nirvair Akāl Mūrat Ajūnī Saibhaṅ Gur Prasād
The opening of the Guru Granth Sahib, and the statement of what Sikhi holds the divine to be. It stands before the Japji Sahib and is the first thing in the scripture; it is recited at the start of the daily prayers and returned to constantly.
Source: Guru Granth Sahib, Japji Sahib
The count shown here is Japa's suggestion, not a rule of the tradition. Follow the form and number you were taught.
Not counted on beads
How many times
Japa suggests five times a day. Follow the number you were taught.
Japa counts this one without a mala: a plain daily number rather than a ring of beads, with the words kept in view while you say them. Counting is unlimited and free.
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What the words say
Ik Oaṅkār — written with the numeral one — is one being, one reality, and the numeral is doing the work: the claim is oneness, not merely singularity. Sat Nām, whose name is truth. Kartā Purakh, creator being. Nirbhau nirvair, without fear and without enmity. Akāl Mūrat, beyond time in form. Ajūnī, not born. Saibhaṅ, self-existent. Gur Prasād, known by the Guru's grace. The English here is an interpretive rendering; no short translation carries these terms without loss.
Where it comes from
Composed by Guru Nanak (1469–1539). Traditions differ on where the Mul Mantar ends — this app carries it through Gur Prasād, which is the most common boundary, while others continue into the Jap line that follows.
How it is practised
Recited at the opening of the Japji Sahib in the morning nitnem, and repeated on its own in simran. The count here is a personal goal; no number is prescribed.
References
- Guru Granth Sahib, Ang 1 (Japji Sahib)
- Sikh Rehat Maryada (SGPC), on nitnem
Keep it, and count it every day.
Japa keeps this text beside a large, calm counter on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, with a haptic for every bead and an optional bell at the end of each round. Counting is unlimited and free.
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