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Nirgun Sargun the

Quantum God Theory in
Sikh Philosophy

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1 Contents Page

1 Contents Page.............................................................................................................. 2
2 Introduction................................................................................................................. 3
3 Inherent Problems With Islam-Sikhism Rebuttal ....................................................... 4
4 Detailed Argument Against The Impossible God....................................................... 5
4.1 The Islam-Sikhism Website on Not Being Able to Know Truth of God: .......... 5
4.2 The SikhingTruth Response to Not Being Able to Know Truth of God: ........... 5
4.3 The Islam-Sikhism Website on Authenticity of Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji:...... 5
4.4 The SikhingTruth Response on Authenticity of Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: ..... 6
4.5 The Islam-Sikhism Website on Rationality and Revealed Truth: ...................... 6
4.6 The SikhingTruth Response on Rationality and Revealed Truth: ...................... 6
4.7 The Islam-Sikhism Website on the God of Nirgun and Sargun – With
Attributes and Without Attributes:.................................................................................. 7
4.8 The SikhingTruth Response on the God of Nirgun and Sargun – With
Attributes and Without Attributes:.................................................................................. 7
4.9 Reductio ad Absurdum for Nirgun and Sargun Debate ...................................... 9

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2 Introduction
This essay attempts to correct misunderstandings or false statements made by Muslim
scholars regarding:

• Applying the Universal Law of Non-Contradiction to the Infinite God

• The Nirgun-Sargun concept of God in Sikhism
• The authenticity of Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: the Sikh Holy Scripture

It should be noted that the majority of this article has been compiled in response to
articles which were published on the following website. The blue text highlights extracts
taken from the Islam-Sikhism website or other Islamic websites.

http://geocities.com/islam_sikhism/theo/nir_1/nir1.htm

Sikhism respects all religions and supports the concept of ‘Sarbat Dah Bhalla’ which
means ‘Good for all’. Sikhs do not have any ill will towards any community as all human
beings are sons and daughters of one God.

“See the brotherhood of all mankind as the highest order of Yogis; conquer your own
mind, and conquer the world.” - (Guru Granth Sahib, Page 6)

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3 Inherent Problems With Islam-Sikhism Rebuttal

Before I start to provide you with an answer I would like to bring to light a few inherent
problems with your argument. Your argument is based around the nature of God. Such an
argument is in itself preposterous! How can one hope to understand God when we fail to
understand ourselves?! Unfortunately, our egotistic selves are absorbed by questions and
we waste time on needless tasks, instead of spending what little time we have to develop
our relationship with God. Nevertheless, as Aquinas showed, logic and reason can be
used to reinforce our belief in God, so let’s crack on.

As an introductory note, I would like to point out that the application of the universal law
of non contradiction in a situation regarding God, especially when considering the God of
classical theism (which is the case), is not wholly applicable. God created the creation
and everything in it. God existed before logic and reason. We do not have the grounds to
say that God abides by laws which we as humans have thought up, so applying such a
law to an argument adds nothing. After all, this ‘universal’ law can only apply within the
universe, inclusive of everything within the creation, how can it apply to something
which is beyond the universe itself?

Also, to effectively argue on the nature of God implies that we fully understand God
because without a full understanding of something how can we hope to build an argument
which is wholly inclusive? This can be illustrated by quantum physics. Quantum physics
seemingly violates logic and the universal law of non contradiction. This is because the
same particle can exist in two places at the same time, and can exist and not exist at the
same time. Things can come into existence spontaneously not following cause and effect
relationships. This is based on empirical evidences. Just because this aspect of science
could be regarded as seemingly contradictory to logic and reason does not make it
meaningless, and nor does it make the law of non contradiction untrue. It could merely be
that we do not yet fully understand quantum physics and that the bigger picture will fit
better. Whether we achieve this understanding remains to be seen, but one thing is for
certain, it is not possible to fully understand God. As the Shiri Guru Granth Sahib Ji
Reveals: “How can my tongue describe Your countless virtues? They are uncountable,
and forever indescribable”, “By thinking, God cannot be reduced to thought, even by
thinking hundreds of thousands of times” and “If anyone presumes to describe God, he
shall be known as the greatest fool of fools!”.

In summary, logical reasoning can be used to help one reinforce their beliefs in God but
its usefulness in providing an insight into the nature of God is questionable. Therefore,
applying logic to revealed truths such as God being Sargun and Nirgun is not fully
legitimised. The argument will be discussed below in more detail.

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4 Detailed Argument Against The Impossible God

4.1 The Islam-Sikhism Website on Not Being Able to Know Truth of God:
‘These Sikhs postulate that Truth is God, and God transcends rationality; but, since man
is bound by rationality, man is incapable of consciously knowing the Truth (God); and up
until man transcends the conscious (rationality) to become one with God, the Truth will
remain elusive.’

4.2 The SikhingTruth Response to Not Being Able to Know Truth of God:
God can be described to be the Ultimate Truth. This is not to say that God is only truth.
The SGGSJ tells us that one of the virtues of God is ‘Sat Naam’. God’s name is Truth. It
is this concept which you have failed to understand and why the argument you have put
forward is flawed.

The fact that God is described as truth does not mean that we cannot know basic truths
about the nature of God as revealed by SGGSJ without being connected to God. For
example, the God of Classical theism is described as being omnipotent, omnibenevolent
and omnipresent. One could argue that these attributes of God are illogical. How can
something exist in more than one place at one time? The answer is simple, and one which
is accepted widely by believers in God. God is not restricted by the same laws which we
are subject to. After all, God is the one that created everything! For example, God is not
subject to time as everything in the creation is. God transcends this dimension as well as
all other dimensions. It is for this reason, among others, that God is referred to being the
Ultimate Truth. God is constant. The SGGSJ reveals, “[God is] True In The Primal
Beginning. True Throughout The Ages. True Here And Now. Nanak says, [God is]
Forever And Ever True.” Therefore, God is the epitome of truth and not simply
restricted to being only truth as your statement suggests.

Sikhism is about experiencing God and connecting the soul to the infinite Lord. It is true
to say that one cannot fully know God. This is known as the epistemic distance, the
knowledge gap between ourselves and God. It is not possible to know God completely as
God is infinite, but this does not mean that we cannot know truth, and what is even higher
than truth is truthful living. This is how a Sikh aims to live life.

Therefore, as truth and the Ultimate Truth is not quite the same thing one cannot contend
that just because we cannot know God we can not understand truth. Hence your argument
is flawed.

4.3 The Islam-Sikhism Website on Authenticity of Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji:
‘However, such a postulate is convoluted and self-defeating since we assert that Sikhism
is contradictory not on that which is claimed to be transcendent, but that which is subject
to observation: That which is proposed or stated; that is, the Guru Granth Sahib, which
is a book of propositions. Hence, when a Muslim states that the Nirgun-Sargun concept
of God is contradictory, it is not that the Creator is contradictory, but rather the man-
invented theology-proper of Sikhism that is contradictory and false.’

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4.4 The SikhingTruth Response on Authenticity of Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji:
Your statement about the SGGSJ being ‘a book of propositions’ is simply untrue. What
you have failed to understand is that the written word, Bani, is revealed Truth. Written
and signed by the Gurus’ themselves, it is unique. It is also free from contradiction. Any
apparent ‘contradictions’ are due to a lack of understanding on the reader’s behalf. This is
apparent in this case as the apparent ‘contradiction’ of the Nirgun-Sargun concept is in
fact not contradictory and only appears so to those that do not understand the infinity of
God. Hopefully after reading this response God will bless you with a better
understanding.

Guru Gobind Singh Ji Says: “O God! The day when I caught hold of your feet, I do not
bring anyone else under my sight; none other is liked by me now; the Puranas and the
Quran try to know Thee by the names of Ram and Rahim and talk about you through
several stories, but I do not accept any of them. The Simritis, Shastras and Vedas
describe several mysteries of yours, but I do not agree with any of them. O sword-wielder
God! This all has been described by Thy Grace, what power can I have to write all this?”
As is shown here, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, as with all the other Guru’s and spiritual writers
of the Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji were divinely connected to God and what they have
written is equivalent to the Word of God. The same cannot be said for the Quran which
was written many years after the death of Prophet Mohammad and never authenticated as
the Truth by him.

4.5 The Islam-Sikhism Website on Rationality and Revealed Truth:

‘To begin with, any meaningful interpretation of a given proposition can only be made by
the use of one's rationale. And since the proposition is tangible, it is subject to rational
scrutinisation, which allows one to determine its truth or falsity. Thus, one does not need
to become one with God to determine the truth-value of an alleged divinely revealed
proposition.’

4.6 The SikhingTruth Response on Rationality and Revealed Truth:

As has been outlined above, what is written within the SGGSJ and other Sikh scriptures
such as the Dasam Granth are not simple propositions, they are revealed Truths.
However, what has been revealed can of course still be rationally analysed. But, when
concepts such as the Nirgun and Sargun nature of God are to be analysed caution must be
taken as even though these are presented in a tangible format, i.e, ink, the concept itself is
intangible as it refers to God. As God transcends rationality, rational arguing cannot
definitively determine the truth or falsity of the concept. What reasoning can help to do is
to show whether the concept is logically consistent with human observed rationality. But
even if the answer is that it is not consistent, it does not mean the concept is false. At
most all one can conclude is that it is not logically consistent within the human capacity
of reasoning. Nevertheless, it will be shown that God does indeed transcend rationality
and therefore God does not necessarily have to work within its rules.

Also, whatever the answer is, it is independent of the idea that God is beyond rationality.
Remember that Truth and God are inherently related but not exactly the same things.
Therefore just because a divinely revealed truth can be proved to be logically consistent

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does not mean you have become one with God, as you have also suggested. Sikhism does
not say you need to become one with God to know truth, as truthful living is part of a
Sikh’s way of life, whatever level of spirituality they are at. What seems to be lacking in
your understanding though is God’s infinite nature.

Also, what is key is that when one does connect to the Lord these truths are revealed
without the need for rational thought. This is referred to as the noetic aspect of a spiritual
experience. Therefore to suggest that ‘the only way to get a meaningful interpretation is
through one’s rationale’ is not true. It simply requires one to sit and meditate on the One
Lord. Meaning can be a very subjective thing. As the SGGSJ says, “O mortal being,
vibrate and meditate on the Lord of the World. ||2|| If you do not vibrate and meditate on
Him now, when will you, O Sibing of Destiny? When the end comes, you will not be able
to vibrate and meditate on Him. Whatever you have to do - now is the best time to do it.
Otherwise, you shall regret and repent afterwards, and you shall not be carried across to
the other side. ||3||” I hope you understand that by merely asking questions, true
understanding will never be obtained.

4.7 The Islam-Sikhism Website on the God of Nirgun and Sargun – With
Attributes and Without Attributes:
‘For example, Sikhism's concept of God is that He is both Nirgun (attributeless, formless,
transcendent) and Sargun (attributed, personal, immanent, diffused in creation, manifest)
[3] at the same time, which of course is contradictory.’

4.8 The SikhingTruth Response on the God of Nirgun and Sargun – With
Attributes and Without Attributes:
This apparent ‘contradiction’ is, as has been explained above, due to a lack of
understanding on your behalf. The Sargun-Nirgun concept helps to perfectly explain the
infinity of the Lord. What must be understood is that God is beyond the concept of time.
Therefore, is it perfectly reasonable to suggest that God can be Nirgun and Sargun at the
‘same time’. Also, God is limitless and not restricted to boundaries of logic that us mere
humans are. We cannot hope to fully comprehend an incomprehensible being. Also, we
cannot fully understand the nature of God through merely logic and reason alone.
Therefore, how can one hope to intellectualise God?

Quantum physics is a great illustrator of how things may not seem logically consistent,
and how something can be everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Have a look at the
following video (The double slit experiment)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rQiF2cRKdc

This is not just something that is accepted by Sikhs. Ironically, even Islam could be
argued to be contradictory on such a topic if a similar argument is followed. Islam
suggests that God has 99 names. Some of these are shown below:

52 Al-Haqq (
‫ )اــ‬The Truth, The Real

15 Al-Ghaffar (‫ )ا ــــر‬The Ever Forgiving
81 Al-Muntaqim (
‫ )ا ــــــ‬The Avenger

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Al-Mudhell (‫ )اــل‬The Giver of Dishonour

48 Al-Wadood (‫ )اــدود‬The Loving, The Kind One

73 Al-Awwal (‫ ) اول‬The First

74 Al-Akhir (‫ )ا‬The Last

If we follow the nonsensical argument that you have followed it could be questioned how
God can be both the Ever Forgiving and the Avenger at the same time? Also, how can
God be The Giver of Dishonour and The Loving? Moreover, how can God be both The
First and The Last at the same time? Are these not contradictory statements as well? The
truth of the matter is that God is limitless and beyond time so anything is possible. God is
not limited to reason and logic.

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4.9 Reductio ad Absurdum for Nirgun and Sargun Debate

I would like to end with a Reductio ad Absurdum argument created by the SikhingTruth
Team. This is given below:

God is limited to human reason and logic

God is the greatest possible being
Having limits is not as great as being limitless
Therefore, God must be limitless
Hence, God cannot be limited by human reason and logic.

The inherent property of God is that God is unconstrained and to have a limit is logically
inconsistent to the definition of God’s All Powerfulness. I hope after reading this article
God will bless you with a better understanding so that you may experience the Lord as
apposed to continually asking questions which will only get you so far in your
spirituality.

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