Sat Sri Akaal
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Sat Sri Akaal (Punjabi: ਸਤਿ ਸ਼੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲ, sati śrī akāla) is a Punjabi greeting. It means roughly, "He/She Be Blessed Who says Truth is God". In Punjabi the greeting one uses is tied directly to the religion of the one being greeted and Sat Sri Akaal is used only to greet Sikhs. The proper greetings for Hindus and Muslims are Namaste and Assalamu Alaikum respectively. If one does not know the religion of the person they are greeting, it is suggested that the neutral greetings Hello or Hi (both being emulated from English) be used.
"Sat Sri Akaal" is used by Sikhs throughout the world when greeting other Sikhs regardless of their native language. For instance, two members of the Punjabi Diaspora who exclusively speak English may still greet each other with this blessing, although this is by no means universal.
The usage of Sat Sri Akaal as a greeting, although used by the majority of people who identify themselves as being Sikh, is regarded as incorrect usage by Amritdhari (Orthodox) Sikhs, as the term is historically the second half of the Sikh war cry, "Bolay So Nihal, Sat Sri Akaal", and is still used in the same way. According to the Sikh rehat maryada, Amritdhari Sikhs greet each other with Vaheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Vaheguru Ji Ki Fateh, meaning "Victory belongs to God, The Khalsa belongs to God.
