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Ek Onkar (also ੴ, ਇਕ/ਏਕ ਓਅੰਕਾਰ, Ēk Ōaṅkār, Ek Onkar, Ik Onkar and other variants) means one God and is a central tenet of Sikh religious philosophy. It is also a symbol of the unity of God in Sikhism, and is commonly found on Gurdwaras.

Ek Onkar is from Sanskrit ekomkāra, the sandhi of eka "one" and ''omkāra, the name of the Aum syllable, meaning "the Single Aum".

Ek Onkar in the Gurmukhī script is a combination of three letters: Ek Aum and Kar - which is a line drawn over the Om, signifying the continuity, timelessness and eternal presence of Aum (God)^[1].

Ońkāra is itself found in ancient Sanskrit literature. Sanskritic rules of sandhi or phonetic liaison turn the 'm' of Om into a velar/guttural 'ń' when preceded by the velar/guttural 'ka', so that the nasal consonant and the velar 'ka' can both be spoken at the back of the mouth. Liaison removes the unrefined pronunciation which would result from a labial 'm' followed by a velar 'ka' producing a clumsily pronounced Omkāra. Any conjunct nasal consonant can be represented however, by a 'm' with a dot above or below, but in pronunciation, must match the consonant group to which the proceeding consonant belongs.

Ek Onkar is the first phrase in the Mool Mantra:

One Universal Creator God. The Name Is Truth. Creative Being Personified. No Fear. No Hatred. Image Of The Undying, Beyond Birth, Self-Existent. By Guru's Grace. True In The Primal Beginning. True Throughout The Ages. True Here And Now. O Nanak, Forever And Ever True.

David C. Lane ^[2] makes reference to a dissertation by an un-named writer that describes of how Paul Twitchell, founder of Eckankar, derived the name of his new religion from Ek Onkar.

1. ↑  Late Baba Thakar Singh of Damdami Taksal, Amritsar
2. ↑  The Making of a Spiritual Movement: The Untold Story of Paul Twitchell and Eckankar (David C. Lane)

• About.com page on Ek Onkar

• Gateway for India page on Sikhism

• About.com page on Ek Onkar

• Information on Ek Onkar (Punjabi)