Jo Bole
So Nihaal or Bole So Nihal (Punjabi: ਜੋ ਬੋਲੇ ਸੋ ਨਿਹਾਲ,
meaning "Whoever utters, shall be fulfilled.") is part of the
traditional greeting used by the followers of the Sikh religion.
Jo Bole So Nihal...Sat Sri Akal is the Sikh slogan or jaikara (literally
shout of victory, triumph or exultation). It is divided in two parts or
phrases. The first, "bole so nihal" or "jo bole so nihal", is a
statement meaning "whoever utters (the phrase following) shall be happy,
shall be fulfilled," and the second part "sat sri akal" ("Eternal is the
Holy/Great Timeless Lord"). This slogan, first popularized by Guru
Gobind Singh, Guru Nanak, has become, besides being a popular mode of
expressing ebullient religious fervour or a mood of joy and celebration,
an integral part of Sikh liturgy and is shouted at the end of ardas or
prayer and said in sangat or holy congregation. One of the Sikhs in the
sangat, particularly the one leading ardas, shouts the first phrase, "jo
bole so nihal", in response to which the entire congregation, including
in most cases the leading Sikh himself, utter in unison "sati sri akal"
in a long-drawn full-throated shout. The jaikara expresses the Sikh
belief that all victory (Jaya or jai) belongs to God, Waheguru, a belief
that is also expressed in the Sikh salutation "Wahiguru ji ka Khalsa,
Wahiguru ji ki Fateh" ("Khalsa is of God and to God belongs the
victory", or "Hail the Guru’s Khalsa! Hail the Guru’s victory!")
Sat Sri Akal has been so used through the 300-year history of the Sikh
people, since the creation of the Khalsa. In a normal situation, when
two Sikhs meet they exchange greetings by saying "Sat Sri Akal".
Although it is now the customary Sikh greeting, it does not have the
sanction of history or orthodoxy. "Wahiguru ji ka Khalsa Wahiguru ji ki
Fateh", the other salutation, is generally used only by people
punctilious in the observance of proper form. Those addressing a Sikh
religious congregation will, as a rule, greet the audience with the
salutation, "Wahiguru ji ka Khalsa Wahiguru ji ki Fateh". "Sat
Sri Akal" shouted in unison responding to the call "jo bole so nihal" is
a call to action, or expression of ecstatic joy or an invocation for
Divine aid or succour. While sat or sati (Sanskrit satya) means ‘true’,
‘good’, ‘abiding’, ‘real’ and ‘eternal’, sri is an honorific denoting
beauty, glory, grace or majesty.
Sati has the sanction of Guru Nanak’s Mul Mantra in the Japu where it
appears, after Ik Onkar, as a constituent of Satinamu (Reality Eternal).
Akal also occurs in Mul Mantra in the phrase Akal Murati (Form Eternal),
descriptive of the Absolute.
