Harinder Singh is the Senior Fellow at the Sikh Research Institute. He holds a BS in Aerospace Engineering from Wichita State University, an MS in Engineering Management from the University of Kansas, and an MPhil from Punjab University in the linguistics of the Guru Granth Sahib.
He co-founded the Sikh Research Institute and the Panjab Digital Library, envisioned the Kaur and Singh Academy, and organized the Free Akal Takht campaign.
He appears on radio and television programs and speaks at universities, parliaments, museums, conferences, and civic institutions. He has authored several books and numerous articles integrating the political and the spiritual. He consults on curriculums, exhibitions, and films and is featured in many documentaries on the Sikhs, the Panjab, and South Asian matters.
His current focus is on developing critical thinking for Sikh institutions via the State of the Panth report series and developing open-source decoding of Guru Granth Sahib in contemporary Panjabi and English for a global audience.
He has served on the National Conference on Community and Justice boards, The Fellowship of Activists to Embrace Humanity, The Nanakshahi Trust, among others. He looks for culturally-specific things to experience and a light roast pour-over coffee to sip during travels, reads and binge-watches to stay in touch with what the world is up to, and listens to sabads, poetry, Hir, jazz, and political rap.
Harinder Singh resides with his family in the United States.
The Khalsa inauguration on Vaisakhi day in 1699 infused the Sikhs and gave them a structure of ideas and institutions that continue to shape their lives both individually and collectively. We will discuss Panthic leadership through Sikhi ideals and historical models. We will also explore the current deficits in leadership and their code of conduct. How can Love-drenched & Wisdom-centered impetus revive organic leadership in the vicinity of ideals!
To commemorate International Women's Day, Harinder Singh highlighted that the Sikh culture, as envisioned in the Guru Granth Sahib and created by the Ten Nanaks, insists on complete equality.
Join Harinder Singh and Jasleen Kaur as they discuss the larger Sikh context around beadbi as a political problem in need of a political solution. What is beadbi? How has it been dealt with historically? What are its Panthic and legal understandings?
Sikh Research Institute (SikhRI) has released its eighth report in the State of the Panth series titled Dan: Sikhi & Giving, exploring what it means to give in a Sikh context, how giving is understood throughout Sikh history.
Sikhs believe in the idea of IkOankar (1Force, Oneness, One Universal Integrative Force).
In Sikh ideals, preference is not to use the term "God" as it often carries gendered imagery. Instead, we embrace ੴ pronounced as IkOankar, the genderless and transcendent Being. IkOankar is not just gender-neutral; it transcends gender.
"I think it matters because what is our indigenous term? And what is the term which those who were studying us in the last hundred years started calling us? Our native term is Sikhi. Sikhism is something which was born out of the study of religions..."
When we look at the two meanings as they existed at the time (in Sanskrit and in Pali) and incorporate them into what we now call Sikhi, it actually means learners who are of the Guru. Guru is a mentor, Guru in Sikhi is Perfection.
The initiation of community development with Guru Nanak Sahib marked the introduction of protocols aimed at organizing and highlighting the essential roles of governance and unity in any community.
Delve into the profound essence of "Chardi Kala" in this enlightening podcast episode. Discover how embracing Nam and forging a connection with a potent force converge to bring forth the manifestation of Chardi Kala—Rising Power.
It has been 39 years since the 1984 Sikh Genocide orchestrated by the Indian government. Why is the legal course of action still necessary? What outcomes have been achieved so far, and what else is being pursued?
In the second composition of the “Sabad Hajare Patisahi 10” (popularly Shabad Hazare Patshahi 10) series, Guru Gobind Singh Sahib emphasizes union with the 1.
In the first composition of the “Sabad Hajare Patisahi 10” (popularly Shabad Hazare Patshahi 10) series, Guru Gobind Singh Sahib redefines everything yogic. Yoga is reframed as the original idea of union or the connection with the 1.
Multiple sources of knowledge, visits to historical places, and personal experiences to date fuel the deeper meanings of Sabad Hajare (popularly Shabad Hazare) attributed to Guru Gobind Singh Sahib.
Guru Arjan Sahib gifted the eventual Guru Granth Sahib to humanity. Why did the Guru envision it? How did the Guru compile it? What did the Guru curate?
Personal reflections on wrestling with being ‘in the world’ but ‘not of the world’ while the why, what, and how ‘of the world’ keeps creeping in.
In recent news and current events, “beadbi” has come to the forefront as a topic of discussion. But do we as Sikhs collectively understand what beadbi is, how it has been dealt with historically,...