God

CRITICAL: NEVER use ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ, despite it being the single most natural, warm, and common Punjabi word for God in daily Sikh speech. ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ inherently ties God’s identity to the specific Sikh doctrine of revelation mediated through the closed lineage of the Ten Gurus and the Guru Granth Sahib; using it would imply endorsement of that revelation structure rather than a generic reference to the one true God. ਭਗਵਾਨ is the Hindu-devotional option, also rejected. ਪਰਮੇਸ਼ੁਰ is the settled, neutral Punjabi Christian standard.