Satyam Shivam Sundaram

It would be interesting to speculate what would God write if he must sign a document. The language and script of God's signature don't pose the same challenge as it could be any language and script, people understand. It is the name that matters.

Naming is a human activity. Aristotle said that names arise not from divine inspiration but from human agreement. Names used for God are attributes and metaphors rather than human-like personal names, and only indicate human agreement.

Religions generally accept that God is beyond human limitations, so focusing on attributes and metaphors is more appropriate than personal names. Therefore, it appears that if God must sign, he would write the best description of God rather than his proposed names. Legend has it that at least one document bears the signature of God. It is said that to appreciate and authenticate Tulasi's Ramcharitmanas, God put his signature on it - Satyam Shivam Sundaram.


Here, satyam is not truthfulness but indication of the ultimate reality and akin to sat in another similar description of God - sat chit anand. However, sachhidanand is how we describe God as his true nature, whereas Satyam Shivam Sundaram is God's description of himself in relation to this world - ultimate reality, benevolent and Beauty. All theistic religions accept that God is the ultimate reality and creator of this world. God is benevolent (Shiv) who only loves and ensures welfare of his creation (sometimes through painful ways). While sundar doesn't indicate beauty of the physical form of God, it indicates the perfection and harmony of his attributes (aishwarya) along with God being the source of beauty in this world.