There is a deeply profound sentiment tied to martyrdom in Sikhi as well as in many other faiths groups. Throughout the ages, we have seen challenging circumstances of oppression that have chosen to desecrate the bodies of those who address it.
What is the language of violence? How do we find language for translating the unspeakable? Who speaks for those who suffer violence?
Join panelists Dr. Anokh Singh, Dr. Bavenjit Kaur, and clinical counselor Palwinder Kaur Gill, who will draw on their personal and professional experience to engage in conversation: What problems with alcohol look like in Sikh communities; why they occur; common challenges folks face when engaging with the healthcare system, and how we can harness hope, empathy, and Sikhi when we are struggling.
The world knows a Guru to be an influential teacher, spiritual master, or popular expert. The Sikh world refers to ten founder personalities as well as the Guru Granth and the Khalsa Panth as the Guru. Guru Nanak Sahib considered “Sabad” to be the Guru. This conversation will dive deep into the Sikh context of what Guru is, “Gurgaddi” as the enthronement to the status of the Guru in Sikh tradition, and how the eternal co-Guruship came about by the Command of Guru Gobind Singh Sahib to Granth-Panth. Within a month of this conversation are the first Prakash of Guru Granth Sahib and its Gurgaddi, Gurgaddi Purabs of Guru Nanaks II, IV, V & VIII.
Join us in a conversation with Dr. Shimi Kaur Kang and Dr. Jasjeet Kaur to learn how to treat screens like food: consume healthy tech, limit junk tech, and eliminate toxins.
This Sidak course provides participants aged 18-40 a 2.5 hour per day learnings for 5 days. Each day will consist of a Hukam reflection, an interactive themed activity, and a learning session. The course will delve into the Bani of Guru Nanak Sahib “Sidh Gosti: Learning through Dialogue.” It will provide participants with an opportunity to enhance their personal relationship with IkOankar, engage in critical conversations about issues affecting Sikh families and the Panth, and develop opinions on non-Sikh issues that are supported by a Gurmat framework. The participants will develop a deeper understanding of the theme and tangible applications of the learnings.
Join us in conversation with Harinder Singh and Jasleen Kaur as we try to understand Miri-Piri from a Gurmat (Guru’s Way) perspective, as inferred from Bani (wisdom), Tavarikh (history), and Rahit (lifestyle).
Fathers sometimes underestimate their role. Loving, actively involved fathers contribute to their children’s well-being and development, strengthening their self‑esteem. What's different about being a Sikh father? Being born and raised in Sikh households may cause fathers to relook at their own childhood experiences and seek guidance. What worked well for their fathers 20 or 30 years ago may not work with the kinds of challenges fathers face today. Join us for this candid conversation with our panelists, who will share their thoughts on whether they are inspired or perhaps intimidated by the strong father figures in our history? And whether fatherhood has changed their Sikhi?
Join the Sidak team as they share the meaning, role, and importance of Guru in Sikhi.
Join us for an afternoon of coffee and tea as we learn about our speakers. Painter, poet, and CEO of SikhRI, Inni Kaur, and painter, Kanwar Singh (Art of Punjab), will discuss how Sikhi has shaped their journeys in life as artists.
Join us for discussion that will centre around the Sikh community in Toronto (and Toronto area), shattering normative ideas of the ideal Sikh.Enjoy refreshments and snacks while engaging in open dialogue. For the curious and open-minded. All are welcome. You don't need to be a Sikh or know anything about Sikhi to attend.
Teens Workshop (led by Inni Kaur & Anu Kaur Bal) & Parents Workshop - (led by Harinder Singh)
Come hang out with the volunteers, staff and leaders of the Sikh Research Institute! Learn about what we do and connect with some awesome people working on advancing Sikh education and leadership in the community.
Sidak is a leadership development program for young adults seeking to increase their commitment towards the Sikh Faith. This two week intensive immersion into the Sikh culture, language, values and community is held annually in the summer.
Please join us for an evening of Gurmat Sangīt Kīrtan along with a presentation on the launch of the "Nād" project at Mata Tripta Ji Gurdwara Sahib.
We invite you all to join us for an evening of Gurmat Sangīt Kīrtan along with a presentation on the launch of the "Nād" project.
“Guru & I” by Sardarni Inni Kaur and “The Heritage of Gurmat Sangit” by Sardar Manjit Singh.
Arpinder Kaur, has put together a PowerPoint presentation which features Sikh history, Panjabi poetry, and emotional stories of the Sikh homeland. From the popular sites like Panja Sahib & Nankana Sahib, Waris Shah's tomb, Dargah of Bulle Shah & Pir Mian Mir, to place of Martydom of Akali Phula Singh and countless mothers from torture chambers of Zakhira Khan, the presentation captures not only the history but also integrates the Sikh teachings to both the young and the old.
The work that will be discussed is based on semi-structured interviews of 40 Sikh immigrant drivers of yellow taxis who came to United States mostly from the various villages in the northwest Indian state of Punjab, India.
A deep-rooted desire to connect with the land of his ancestors propelled Singapore-based Amardeep Singh to visit Pakistan and delve into the vestiges of a community, which was impelled to move eastwards owing to the partition of the Indian sub-continent in 1947. The dream was fulfilled in 2014 when he undertook the journey to explore the Sikh legacy in West Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pakistan Administered Kashmir.
Music has a very unique role in creating and propagating Sikh values. The width and depth of Sikh musical heritage will be shared based on selected Gurbani compositions along with resources for learning Sikh music from beginning to advance levels. The current state of Sikh music will be discussed in relation to Indian music and World music based on available literature and professional standards.
Please join Sarbpreet Singh, who has been mentoring young Sikhs for twenty-five years, for a conversation about Sikh Education, in which he will talk about his personal journey as a teacher and offer new ideas for meeting the challenges that we are all so familiar with, through Sikhia, a bold new initiative to redefine Sikh education.
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.
The British transferred the power in 1947 and the Panjab was partitioned, and later truncated in India. Millions were butchered and displaced in the aftermath. Plundered and violated, the Panjab has been caught between the Indo-Pak politics ever since. The presentation revisits the partition through Toba Tek Singh, and asks who’s Panjab is it anyway and who owes reparations to it. It assesses the current state of Panth vis-à-vis SGPC, Akalis and the community, and contextualizes the current political struggle for rights with special reference to Bapu Surat Singh and Gurdarspur attack.
The attack on the Darbar Sahib in the June of 1984 was a defining moment in contemporary Sikh history. The standard narrative promoted by the media and the Indian state in its White Paper on the attack have largely ignored the communal motivations of the state as they relate to its inextricable relationship to Hindutva. We will survey contemporary conflicts, in particular the desecration of the Babri Masjid in 1992 and Gujarat in 2002, to understand the significance of the state-sponsored terror in 1984.
What does being Sikh means in Punjab in ethical terms? If you happen to be an unwanted girl and then assert your choices to make Punjab an honorable space for humankind, what will patriarchy do to you? How will Sikh institutions respond to you who invoke sacrifices made to oppose injustice and intolerance? Let us discuss with reference of Inqlab Kaur who is in jail for a crime every Sikh is supposed to commit every moment.