Sikhism arose in the Punjab region of north-western India during the 15th

century C.E. This vibrant religion embodied a theology of monotheism, asserting that

God is essentially One (Ek Onkar). Numerous passages within the Guru Granth
Sahib (the Sikh holy book) reiterate the importance of this idea, including the very first
stanza, known as the Mool Mantra. It reads: "One Universal Creator God. The Name Is
Truth (...) Self-Existent." The Sikhs reject any division of God, including the notion that
God can produce avatars or human incarnations.

Generally, God is described by Sikhs as the creator of the universe, singular, supreme,
timeless, omnipresent, and perfectly moral. Sikhs claim that God's very essence is
unchanging Truth (Sat Namm). In addition, God is also described in seemingly
anthropomorphic terms, such as in the aforementioned Mool Mantra, which describes
God as "Creative Being Personified." Although Sikhs, like Muslims, bestow many names
upon God in order to describe His various traits, they most commonly refer to God
as Wahiguru.

Sikhism also features elements of pantheism or panentheism. Stories attributed to Guru

Nanak suggest that he believed god to be everywhere in the physical world as in
pantheism. Similarly, the Sikh tradition typically describes God as the preservative force
within the physical world, present in all material forms. Each of these worldly forms was
created as a manifestation of God. These ideas, taken together with the prevalent Sikh
belief that God is the transcendent creator who exists independent of the world, could
be interpreted to suggest that Sikhism is panentheistic.