[1][2] In Sikhism it is used to describe a being who has attained spiritual enlightenment and divine knowledge and power through union with God.
[3] "Sant" is sometimes translated as "saint", but this is a false cognate (there is no etymological commonality) as "sant" is derived from the Sanskrit root sat,[4] which can mean "truth, reality, essence", while "saint" is derived from the Latin word sanctus, which means "holy, sacred",[1] derived from Indo-European root sak-, "to sanctify".
[5] Schomer and McLeod explain sant as preceptor of Sat or "truth, reality", in the sense of "'one who knows the truth' or 'one who has experienced Ultimate Reality', that is a person who has achieved a state of spiritual enlightenment or mystical self-realisation".
The word is used in various contexts:[2][6][8] Traditional In Hinduism, a Sant has an important place in the life of a devotee.
The identity of the true sant is also stated in the holy scriptures of Hinduism that one who is a true sant will have complete knowledge of all the holy books and will initiate three types of mantras (names) thrice.