Shabda (Sanskrit:शब्द,IAST:Śabda) is theSanskrit word for "speech sound". InSanskrit grammar, the term refers to anutterance in the sense oflinguistic performance.
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In classical Indianphilosophy of language, the grammarianKatyayana stated thatshabda ("speech") is eternal (nitya), as isartha "meaning", and that they share a mutual co-relation. According toPatanjali, the permanent aspect ofshabda issphoṭa ("meaning"), whiledhvani ("sound, acoustics") is ephemeral toshabda.
Om, orAum, a sacred syllable ofHinduism,Buddhism,Jainism andSikhism, is considered to be the first resonating vibrational sound within an individual being. It also denotes the non-dualistic universe as a whole. In Buddhism, Om corresponds to thecrown chakra and white light.
Bhartrihari, on the other hand, held ashabda-advaita position, identifyingshabda as indivisible, and unifying the notions of cognition and linguistic performance, which is ultimately identical toBrahman. Bhartrhari recognised two entities, both of which may be referred to asshabda. One entity is the underlying cause of the articulated sounds, while the other entity is the functionality that is used to express meaning. Bhartrhari thus rejected the difference posited between the ontological and the linguistic bylogicians. His concept ofshabda-brahman which identified linguistic performance and creation itself ran parallel to the Greek concept oflogos.
Language philosophy in Medieval India was dominated by the dispute of the "naturalists" to theMimamsa school, notably defended byKumarila, who held thatshabda designates the actual phonetic utterance, and the Sphota school, defended byMandana Mishra, which identifiessphota andshabda as a mystical "indivisible word-whole".
Śabda (शब्द) means relying on word, testimony of past or present reliable experts,[1][2] specifically theshruti,Vedas.[3] Hiriyanna explainsSabda-pramana as a concept which means reliable expert testimony. The schools of Hinduism which consider it epistemically valid suggest that a human being needs to know numerous facts, and with the limited time and energy available, he can learn only a fraction of those facts and truths directly.[4] He must rely on others, his parent, family, friends, teachers, ancestors and kindred members of society to rapidly acquire and share knowledge and thereby enrich each other's lives. This means of gaining proper knowledge is either spoken or written, but throughSabda (words).[4] The reliability of the source is important, and legitimate knowledge can only come from theSabda of reliable sources.[2][4] The disagreement between the schools of Hinduism has been on how to establish reliability. Some schools, such asCarvaka, state that this is never possible, and thereforeSabda is not a proper pramana. Other schools debate means to establish reliability.[5]
InSikhism, the termShabad (Gurmukhi: ਸਬਦ) has two primary meanings.
The first context of the term is to refer to a hymn or paragraph or sections of theHoly Text that appears inGuru Granth Sahib, the main holy scripture of the Sikhs. The Guru Granth Sahib is organised by chapters ofragas, with each chapter containing manyshabads of thatraga. The firstShabad in Guru Granth Sahib is theMool Mantar. The script used for theShabad isGurmukhi.Shabad is the term also used to refer to hymns within other Sikh scriptures, likeDeh Siva Var Mohe.Shabad Vani is devotional singing of hymns from Sikh scriptures.[6]
The second use of the termShabad in Sikhism is for the holy name of God,Waheguru.[6]
Esoterically,Shabd is the “Sound Current vibrating in all creation. It can be heard by the inner ears.”[7] Variously referred to as theAudible Life Stream,Inner Sound,Sound Current orWord in English,[citation needed] theShabd is theesoteric essence ofGod which is available to all human beings, according to the Shabd path teachings ofSant Mat,Surat Shabd Yoga,Eckankar, Vardankar (a split-off from Eckankar),[8][9] andMovement of Spiritual Inner Awareness.
Media related toShabda at Wikimedia Commons
