The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (176 page)

(Pañj
b
, ‘undying’; Skt., ‘ambrosia’). The nectar of immortality. For Sikhs, amrit has several related meanings. ‘Taking amrit’ (amrit
chhaka
) means receiving initiation (
amritsanskar
) at the
kha
e-d
-p
hul
ceremony with sweetened baptismal water. In popular usage, amrit is often holy water believed to have healing properties, especially water which has been close to the
di
Granth during a
p
h
(reading). Used metaphorically in the
di Granth, amrit suggests both immortality and sweetness particularly as a result of meditation upon God's name (
n
m
simaran), e.g. ‘Ambrosial (amrit) is the True Name’ (