Sikhism[edit]

In Sikhism the term Shabad has two primary meanings. The first context of the term is to refer to a
hymn or paragraph or sections of the Holy Text that appears in Guru Granth Sahib, the main holy
scripture of the Sikhs. The Guru Granth Sahib is organised by chapters of ragas, with each chapter
containing many shabads of that raga. The first Shabad in Guru Granth Sahib is the Mool Mantar.
The script used for the Shabad is Gurmukhi. Shabad is the term also used to refer to hymns within
other Sikh scriptures, like Deh Siva Var Mohe. The second use of the term Shabad in Sikhism is for
the holy name of God, Waheguru.

Other faiths and philosophies[edit]

Esoterically, Shabd is the “Sound Current vibrating in all creation. It can be heard by the inner
ears.”[1] Variously referred to as the Audible Life Stream, Inner Sound, Sound Current or Word in
English,[citation needed] the Shabd is the esoteric essence of God which is available to all human beings,
according to the Shabd path teachings of Sant Mat, Surat Shabd Yoga, Eckankar, Vardankar (a
split-off from Eckankar),[2][3] and Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness.
Adherents believe that a satguru, Eck Master, or VARDAN Master, who is a human being, has
merged with the Shabd in such a manner that he or she is a living manifestation of it at its highest
level (the “Word made flesh”). However, not only can the Satguru attain this, but all human beings
are inherently privileged in this way. Indeed, in Sant Mat the raison d’être for the human form is to
meditate on the Sound Current, and in so doing merge with it until one’s own divinity is ultimately
realized.
Naam ("Word") has been described through the use of several different terms. Sant Baljit Singh, a
contemporary Sant Mat Master, uses the term "Light and Sound Current". He describes it as the
connecting link between human beings and God.