The Sikh Fateh!

The Gurmukhi text you see above represents the Sikh greeting. It is the proper way for a Sikh to greet another person. Over our history, Sikhs greeted even non-Sikhs with an energetic Fateh. The Fateh can be roughly romanized as: Wa-hey-goo-roo ji ka khaa-la-sa. Wa-hey-goo-roo ji ki fa-tay-h.

"Waheguru" is the Sikh word for "God."

Each Sikh who has formally confessed to be a Sikh (there is a ceremonly called Amrit Sinchaar), becomes a "Khaalasaa." Khaalasaa is a persian word meaning direct property of a lord. In Sikh context, we, the Khaalasaas, belong directly to God and no other.

The word "Fateh" means victory; however, it is also a successful complition of any task that a Khaalasaa undertakes. And that, too, belongs to Waheguru, as Waheguru is the source of all strength and capacity.

Generally, the Fateh is written in English as: "Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa. Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!!"