Baba Nanak announced, O respected Holy Man! Please hear the Truth that I pronounce. Without Satnam (The Name “Truth”) I don't have any other miracle. I may wear the clothes of fire and build my home in the Himalayas. I may eat the iron and make earth move to my orders. I may expand myself so much that I could push the earth. I may weigh the earth and the sky against few grams of weight. I could have so much power that I push apart any person just by asserting. But without Satnam (The Name “Truth”), all of these powers are momentary like the shadow of the clouds.

Bhai Gurdas Var 1 A blessed Gursikh Bibi ji informed us that she was in possession of divine vision of Dhan Dhan Guru Gobind Singh ji two weeks gone (June 04). She revealed that she could hear the Khalsa all chanting ‘Sat Sat Sat…’. Why was it that Guru Gobind Singh Ji wanted her to know that “Sat Sat Sat” was said in the world of Truth Sach Khand where his godlike vision came from? It is interesting that 3 centuries into Sikhism that the great majority of Sikhs associate only chanting of “Waheguru Waheguru” with Guru Gobind Singh ji and not “Sat Sat Sat”. Only a handful of holy folks I Am mindful of including Harbhajan Singh Yogi USA, Dya Singh Australian Muscian, Sant Sheesha Singh India still do Satnam. Otherwise, the word “Satnam” appears to have been lost for hundreds of years because of different customs inside Sikhism introduced by numerous non secular leaders. These days it gets interpreted as the True name. And frequently Waheguru is added afterwards, so “Satnam Waheguru” gets interpreted as the True name is “Waheguru”.

However the saying Satnam Waheguru does not appear in Guru Granth Sahib Ji. To get to the genuine meaning of Satnam we have to dig deeper. The following verse by Guru Gobind Singh Ji attests what Bibi ji experienced: Guru Gobind Singh Ji published the following Dohira that is sung at the end of the “Sikh Artee”.

“Aisay chand partaap tay dayvan badhi-o partaap teen lok jai jai karai rarai Naam Sat jaap”

After exalting Ad Shakti (God the Primal Power) All divine beings were exalted. The 3 worlds resounded with ‘Hail! Hail ! ‘ and the name (Naam) of Truth (Sat) was repeated (Jaap).

When you strip away all the outer layers of Sikhism, under the uniform, the image, the history, the weird language and ceremonies you are left with an easy seed that it began from. That seed is called “Sat Naam”. 2 words Sat and Naam.

Author Preeto Dassan has a rather more information regarding Satnam on their Satnaam website, dass satnam satnam satnam many blessings.

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The purposes and objectives of chanting are many and it depends on the tradition.

In many traditions the ultimate aim of chanting is to reach enlightenment.  Many of the Eastern traditions such as the Yogic, Vedic and Tantric traditions and also Buddhism and Hinduism have this objective.  Chanting is believed to be a direct path to enlightenment, the highway to enlightenment according to the seekers on this path.

Meanwhile the concept of “mystical love” is the goal of other traditions such as in Sufism and here the mantra acts as the tool.   This mystical love is cultivated through the use of the chanting of mantras.

In many other areas around the globe chanting can also be found, for example the indigenous cultures of Australia  and America, the Aborigines and Native Indians.   The practice of chanting is also found in Islamic, Jewish, Mongolian and Balinese traditions to name a few.

There are similar themes regarding the goal of chanting throughout many traditions.  As mentioned before chanting is a path to reach enlightenment and mystical union.  Inward transformation, transcendence and achieving a union with the divine are other purposes.  Chanting seems to act as some sort of bridge to reach other realms and as a means of connection.

Chanting could be said to be a universal phenomenon given that the practice occurs within so many traditions, cultures and regions of the world.  There seems to be something inherent in the power of sound. In particular the use of the voice to cultivate power through chanting all the traditions seem to be aware of and are harnessing in their individual traditions and paths.