Dear Hps ji,
A nice question needs a similar reply.I have made an effort to explain 'Naam' and its relevance in the context of Sikh religion.It will answer your queries as well that you have on some other posts.
Your observation ,on the face of it, seems to be correct.The inference is ok.However,it is the Bani of Kabeer ji.He might have taken recourse to the naam of 'Rama'. In the case of sikhs the general reference is understood to be 'waheguru' and some suggest that even 'satnam' would be ok.There is no standardisation of 'naam' as such.Even 'waheguru' is not stated to be 'Naam'.It is in practice though.I am quoting below extracts of an Article and hope you will like it.God has many names and he can be remembered by any name.Read it and enjoy it. I have removed the material that contained reference to some researches. [I shall send you that article, if required.You may send a private message giving me your mail id]
In nut-shell
The Word, or the Divine Name, is the indwelling revealer of God. It is the cosmic Principle, the cause of all Creation and identified with the Holy Spirit and Creative Transformative Power of God. A Divine Name is the Divine Essence in one or the other of its infinite aspects. The Divine Essence is the One Universal Substance and is identical with Absolute Reality.
In Sikhism, philosophically, an identity of spirit is clearly recognised, based on the concept of the Logos, between the Divine Name (NAAM), or the Word of God, the spirit of the prophets and Gurus, and the Divine presence or the Light of God.
Naam-The Language of Divine Power
According to Guru Nanak everything in the universe is created by the power of Divine Name (NAAM) and without the Divine Name there is no way (The Japji, Pauri 19). He explains that all the visible forms are held by the Divine Name; everything takes its rise from the Divine Name and is again absorbed in it. The Divine Name is the essence of the four Vedas and is the repository of the True Reality. The Divine Name is synonymous with the Divine Word or Sabad.
God is the Ultimate Reality which has innumerable Names assigned to Him and the Names are identical with His being. There is no difference between His Being and His Name. The Name, Form and the essential Nature of God are the same; there is no difference between them – all the three are conscious and sublime bliss by nature. Guru Nanak says –
Hearkening to the Name bestows
Truth, divine wisdom, contentment,
To bathe in the joy of the Name
Is to bathe in the holy places. The Japji, Pauri 10.
Name and Potency
Name is the potency of God, who, in the pre-creation stage, existed without a Name. It is the agency through which God Creates. It is the spirit of God and the enlightened and purifier of the soul. Name has created everything in this universe.
Guru Nanak emphasizes on the recitation of the Divine Name (NAAM) which stands for God and His Creative Transformative Power and is the most powerful and effective means of attaining identity with the Divine Being. For attuning with God, Simran, or remembrance, and repeating of the Divine Name, or invocation, enables the disciple to reach that stage of absorption where he finds himself in His presence; it is a simple yet very efficacious method for internal spiritual growth of the disciple and supplies inexhaustible stores of energy and vitality for concentration and paves the way for reaching the Lord – the ultimate objective of one’s life.
All names to stand for God
All these names stand for the same God. To these Names of God more Names have been added by the Sikh Gurus, such as, Piara, Pritam, Mitter, Sajjan, Satguru, Waheguru, etc..
God belongs to all religions. He does not belong to any particular religion. This broader outlook of Guru Nanak led him to the conception of a secular God, and the rejection of a sectarian one. In the Sukhmani (Ashtpadi, 3, Pauri 8), Guru Arjun Dev affirms –
Of all Religions the best Religion is:
To utter the Holy Name with adoration,
And to do good deeds.
Waheguru and significance to Sikhs
However, now Waheguru – Wondrous Lord – has assumed a special significance as a name of God for the Sikhs as, for instance, Allah is for the Muslims, Ram and Ishwar for the Hindus. This development took place much after the formation of the Khalsa. Wahe-guru is not so much a name of God as the expression of the entire feeling of elation which man gets from an aesthetic experience of nature and of the cosmology.
Guru Nanak frequently uses the word ‘Sabad’ in place of the Divine Name. Sabad, or the Divine Word, is believed to have descended directly from the Divine Spirit, in which the Divine Knowledge is embodied and is the power and potency of God Himself. Therefore, Sabad, the Divine Word, the Divine Name and NAAM are synonymous with the True Reality. Says Guru Nanak, in Asa-di-Var:
God created Himself
And assumed a Name
Second, besides Himself,
He created Nature.
Seated in Nature He watches
With delight what He creates. Rag Asa (SGGS-463)
If the Divine Word of the Guru remains in the heart of a disciple, it is believed, he is always free from any kind of fear, anxiety and pain; he remains indifferent to joy or grief and maintains his equanimity under the most stressful and trying conditions.
Word, or the Divine Name.
It is the way of His expression. The phenomenal world is the attribute with which God is described. The attributes of God can be found only in an outward expression or manifestation in the external world. Besides, it is through these attributes that God manifests His creative activities in the world. Therefore everything of this world is an aspect of the Divine Name, or the Word, to which it owes its existence.There is no value that is more valuable than the Name of God. The Divine Name is a priceless wealth, it is eternal and True. It cannot be destroyed by fire, death or any other means.Help youself with any type of 'Naam' the end result should be 'deliverance'.Hope you will enjoy this and should dispell your fears.
I have taken every care to check this for errors.However, english is not my first language.Hence the errors may be excused.
yours
cool
E&OE