Nanak told that no prophet or King or a ruler has any authority to take away the human right of a person to love God by any name and by any method he likes. No ‘one particular name of God is inferior or superior to His other names used by other people. Therefore, no person should be forced to adopt particular name of God for remembering Him. If a person names Him, Ram, Bhagwan, or Gobind instead of Allah, he does not become a nonbeliever or a nonreligious person. Everyone he has a right to choose any name for God, depending upon his language and culture.
It is something like the freedom of children to express their affection and regards for their father by adopting any name dad, papa, pita, pidar, bapu, etc. A particular name does not exhibit either more or less respect for the father. Nanak preached there is one God, one humanity, hence only one faith even when people use different methods to worship Him,
To preach equality of different names, Nanak himself adopted in his hymns, scores of names for God then prevalent in different: religions and sects. He saved helpless persons from the religious tyranny of being forced a particular name of God on them by the people in power and protected their right to love God by the name they may choose.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 7, 1986
