There are many verses in Sri Guru Granth Sahib and by its scribe Bhai Gurdas prophesizing that Sikhi or the Wisdom of Guru, Gurmat, would enlighten all corners of the world. Since the time of that prophesy the ethnic Sikh Diasporas have been taking roots outside Panjab successfully, especially in the West, but the corresponding extent of Sikhi has not been experienced in the new lands. In contrast, the other world religions from the East like Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sufi Islam are visibly beginning to make an impact on the West during the same period. What impeded Sikhi from making similar inroads in the West is a challenge to our institutions.
What will be discussed is as to how the world class scholars, sociologists and intellectuals may accept the challenge to freshly define Sikhi Universals for the new world. Those Sikhi Universals will be desired to be operationalized in the North American cultures. New emphasis will divert Sikh intellectual and institutional resources from a mode of policing the Sikh religiosity to highlighting the spiritual, socio-cultural and political human values that serve today’s civil societies.
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