Mool Mantra: What is God?

Recently, I had heard the Mool Mantra from Japji Sahib – where Guru Nanak Dev had expressed the characteristics of God/Creator. In most of the places where I have come across such an attempt – it is often fraught with numerous inconsistencies (as in my last post). This Mool Mantra however, in my mind does describe the Origin as best as it possibly could be within the limitations of spoken word with hardly any inconsistencies in its rendering.

(courtesy: Sikhwiki)

ik o^Nkaar sat naam kartaa purakh nirbh-a-o nirvair akaal moorat ajoonee saibh^N gur parsaad.
vwihgurU kyvl iek hY[ s`cw hY aus dw nwm, rcnhwr aus dI ivAkqI Aqy Amr aus dw srUp[ auh infr, kInw-rihq, Ajnmw qy svY-pRkwSvwn hY[ gurW dI dXw duAwrw auh prwpq huMdw hY[
There is but one God. True is His Name, creative His personality and immortal His form. He is without fear sans enmity, unborn and self-illumined. By the Guru’s grace He is obtained.

jap.
aus dw ismrn kr[
Embrace His meditation.

aad sach jugaad sach.
prwrMB iv`c s`cw, XugW dy SurU iv`c s`cw,
True in the prime, True in the beginning of ages,

hai bhee sach naanak hosee bhee sach. ||1||
Aqy s`cw auh hux BI hY, hy nwnk! insicq hI, auh s`cw hovygw[
True He is even now and True He verily, shall be, O Nanak!

IN this Mantra there was one thing that seemed to be different from my understanding of the spiritual journey as I have come to know. And that is the supremacy of a Guru. For after all, even Guru Nanak Dev did not have a real living Guru! Here is a very nice discussion on this point:

Gur stands for Guru: Master, Spiritual Teacher, Guide. Prasad translates as favour, grace; thus He is attained by the Grace of the Enlightener.

The above translation is that which is given by the majority of Sikhs. Both Macauliffe and Dr.Gopal Singh have suggested that the Mool Mantar was intended as epithets of God – Macauliffe suggest the phrase to mean, "the great and bountiful."

Guru Nanak Dev ji had no human Guru; his Guru was Satgur. Sat(TRUE/TRUTH)gur(In Gurmukhi litteraly meaning IDEA/SOLUTION/KEY to a problem) It was during the spiritual supremacy of his successors the favour of the Guru was invoked, and deemed indispensible for deliverance. Moreover, suggests Macauliffe, though Gur Prasad does sometimes in the Guru Granth Sahib means the Guru’s favour, it more often expressed by Guru Parsadi.

Dr.Gopal Singh says that "…many Sikh and European translators have joined the word Gur and Prasad together to suggest: "By favour (or Grace) of the Guru (is He dwelt upon)". But here Guru Nanak is giving, in monosyllables, the attributes of God. The Guru here, therefore, is Guru-in-God whose Grace is invoked. As such Guru can only be rendered as "Enlightener" which is also its literal meaning in Sanskrit."

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