Brahm Das further asked him how the Lord existed before creation. ‘There was neither night nor day, neither sun nor moon, no earth, nor firmaments. He alone was there. There was neither birth nor speech, neither air nor water, neither creation nor destruction, neither coming nor going. There was neither male nor female, neither caste nor reincarnation, neither pain nor pleasure. The Unspeakable One was Himself the speaker, the Unknowable One had alone the knowledge of Himself’, answered Guru Nanak.
The Almighty, as seen by Guru Nanak, is Ik Onkar, the One. He is the Creator and the creation. The Nirakar (Formless) manifests through creation so the question of divisions does not emerge. The Supreme is Satnam, the only Truth and it is futile t to please Him through rituals and sacrifices. Outward forms, formulas, incantations, image-worship and superstitions are of no use.
Guru Nanak exhorted the people to establish a direct link with the Almighty through a simple marg of Nam-simran, chanting the Name. Divine love is the only way of salvation. When he was weighing wheat-flour in the provision store, as Nanak would reach the number 13 (tera), which in Punjabi means ‘yours’, Nanak could only utter, ‘Tera, Tera, Tera…
( Lord, I am Thine, I am Thine)’.
Can there be a love of God without service? All living beings are God’s own and none can obtain any reward without rendering service, says Guru Nanak. In fact, we shall be rewarded according to the service we render. Vand-chchakna, sharing, incorporates another aspect of Sikh faith. It is like providing service to society and people. But this sharing should be based on kirat karni, honest livelihood. ‘Nam japna, vand-chchakna and kirat karna’ along with seva, form the main pillars of Sikhism as propounded by Guru Nanak.