Shabad, Naam, Amrit, Hukam, Guru - Are They Synonyms?

[Ishna]

My personal glossary. It is always evolving.

Hukam
1. Laws of nature. 2. The consequences of actions. 3. The way things eventuate (or do not eventuate).

Haumai
1. Believing you are beyond hukam. 2. Believing you are separate from the Ik Onkar.

Naam
1. The state of being achieved by realising you are united with the Ik Onkar. 2. Perceiving the hukam. 3. Characterised by a sense of interconnectedness, contentment, responsibility, service.

Guru
1. Human teachers (e.g. Guru Nanak). 2. Life itself as teacher (Sat Guru).

Shabad
1. Teachings of human teachers; Bani. 2. The experience of life.

Sat
1. Absolutely real.

Ik Onkar
1. One Universal, Dynamic Creation

 

[Original]

Do you think Satguru, Naam, Shabad, Hukam, etc. are essentially interchangable words when reading Gurbani, or are they distinct concepts?

...first n foremost, always go with the literal, from the simple to the complex and see whether its being entertained by the discerphing system in your head ? Let's try sat guru - 2 syllables, sat and guru. Both within their own domain have 2 distinct meanings, that is sat=truth and guru=teacher. Sat in its wider and narrow is down to the individual if you're a philosopher [thinker], but if you're a believer, say for instance Sikh, then sat is an objective [absolute, Nanak said its his Nirankar, Mohammed said its his Allah, as philosopher's we cannot challenge them because their truth do not fall under knowledge but belief] that is, God. Gurbani depicts satguru in many allegories - but in essence as someone with authoritative wisdom and representation of the house of God. Modern thought however, sees satguru differently, that is, sat=truth and guru=shabd. Put them together you get sat saroop. That is to say, sat being subjective [how the individual perceives it, what might be sat to you will be asat to say man from mars]. And, since sat is now without objectivity [everyone cannot see it] you will now add the shabd [the guru bit] which is sound [formless] makes sat saroop something which is without form but is alive n kicking. This is exactly what Baba Ji Nanak said when put under the scanner by the Yogis, "shabd guru, surat dhun chella".

As regards Nam, it is too wide for me to explain it in one hit - maybe another time, its complimentary and in some cases interchangeable with shabd. Hukam is literally speaking, an order. If you were to just read into its signification, that is to say, allow common sense to prevail here, who is the pronouncer of Order [hukam] ? Nanak's ideology presupposes a God who did before the crack of dawn laid down rules n regs [determinism] and this order becomes His Hukam.

When reading Gurbani [an academic view] its always fruitful to know the society in which the authors of Gurbani lived so that you're better placed to understand their train of thought in relation to their social, moral, religious and overall agendas.