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.
"Hair in Sikhi is part of the protocol, as well as part of the tradition...You emulate the modalities you believe in of the ones you love."
Join us in conversation with Harinder Singh, Jasleen Kaur, and Manvinder Kaur as we try to understand Women & Gender in Sikhi from a Gurmat (Guru’s Way) perspective, as inferred from Bani (wisdom), Tavarikh (history), and Rahit (lifestyle).
“Everything starts in the Sikh culture from Guru Nanak Sahib. And when Guru Nanak references the word Vai-sakhi, he actually brings it out of nature. Sak is a branch. If you look at humanity as being the tree symbolism..."
"In this episode, we cover topics like the Guru Granth Sahib, Guru Nanak Dev Ji's teachings, Guru Angad, the 10 Sikh Gurus, understanding the 5K's, and much more."
"In this episode, we cover the history of Sikhism and its basic principles. They also discuss the importance of meditation and the need to understand the native terms of Sikhi like Sicky and Saki."
Join Harinder Singh and Jasleen Kaur as they discuss the larger Sikh context around the latest events in Panjab.
Several new South Asian nation-states were born as the British Raj ended in 1947.
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!
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? How does it relate to the reverence Sikhs collectively show to the Guru Granth Sahib? And how, given recent cases in the news, can we understand individual and collective responses given the current realities on the ground?
Join us in conversation with Harinder Singh and Jasleen Kaur as we try to understand Dan from a Gurmat (Guru’s Way) perspective, as inferred from Bani (wisdom), Tavarikh (history), and Rahit (lifestyle).
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.
In this conversation, we discuss 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.
As the world becomes more interconnected, we understand how some have an abundance of monetary wealth, and others do not, and the more we understand the various needs unaddressed in our backyards and abroad.
What is the Guru’s grandeur? Why was the Guru martyred? How did the two contemporary texts document the Guru’s narrative?
Miri comes from Perso-Arabic “Amir” or “Emir” and signals political power. Piri comes from the Perso-Arabic “Pir” and signals spiritual power. Miri-Piri encapsulates the Political-Spiritual doctrine in Sikhi, rooted in both the worldly and the timeless...
For the Sikhs globally, 1 Cet 553 is the Nanakshahi new year’s day. Cet or Chet is the month. 553 is the Nanakshahi year. Do you know about Nanakshahi?
This essay locates and contextualizes the hawk in foundational Sikh texts, history, and lifestyle. It also connects how Baj in Khalsa tradition affects the Sikh psyche when the people see it.