Jasleen Kaur

Research Associate

Jasleen Kaur is a Research Associate at the Sikh Research Institute. She has received a Religious Studies B.A./M.A. from the University of Virginia, focusing on South Asian Religions through the lens of literature and poetry.

She is one of the commentators and transcreators of The Guru Granth Sahib Project. She is passionate about projects that create comfortable spaces for community members of all ages and backgrounds to engage in dialogue and learn from one another. She also loves singing in her free time, whether on stage with her friends or alone in her kitchen.

She hopes to go back to school to pursue a Ph.D. in either religious ethnography or history and fulfill her dream of teaching and learning from others.

Jasleen Kaur resides with her family in the United States.

Videos

Thursday
,
17
April
2025

Explore Var Sat (Mahala 3) 1/2

Var Sat, commonly known as ‘Satvar’ or ‘Satvara,’ is an old and popular poetic form based on the seven days of the week. In it, each stanza begins with a particular day of the week and describes an idea, sentiment, or belief associated with that day....

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Thursday
,
10
April
2025

Countdown to Vaisakhi 2025: Jasleen Kaur

Jasleen Kaur serves as a Research Associate at SikhRI and one of the commentators and transcreators of The Guru Granth Sahib Project....

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Thursday
,
20
February
2025

Explore Thiti (Mahala 1)

Thiti refers to a lunar calendar day—a count from the first to the fifteenth day based on the moon's phases. As a poetic form, Thiti is based on the fifteen lunar days of the Indic calendar months....

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Thursday
,
19
December
2024

Explore Var Sat (Kabir Ji)

The poetic form ‘Var Sat’ (a composition based on the seven days of the week) is commonly called ‘Satvar’ or ‘Satvara.’ It is a unique literary style that connects each day of the week with a specific idea, emotion, teaching, or reflection....

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Tuesday
,
26
November
2024

Explore Patti (Mahala 3)

The essence of this composition is revealed in the stanza of rahau (pause). In it, worldly accounting (entanglements) is described as useless....

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Thursday
,
17
October
2024

Explore Patti (Mahala 1)

Patti is a poetic form based on the Gurmukhi alphabet. Historically, students used a wooden tablet, known as patti in Panjabi, to practice writing the alphabet. The Guru Granth Sahib includes many compositions based on the alphabet....

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Podcasts

Tuesday
,
28
February
2023

Sabad Hajare Patisahi 10 - Sabad 08: That One

In this ninth podcast, Harinder Singh and Jasleen Kaur explore Guru Gobind Singh Sahib’s utterances on the vastness of IkOankar. They discuss the Guru’s description of how even the holiest of people lost themselves in intense concentration......

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Tuesday
,
21
February
2023

Sabad Hajare Patisahi 10 - Sabad 07: Creator Death

In this eighth podcast, Harinder Singh and Jasleen Kaur explore Guru Gobind Singh Sahib’s utterances on the Creator as Death, and the Guru’s guidance of considering IkOankar as the only Force of both coming and going, creation and death....

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Tuesday
,
14
February
2023

Sabad Hajare Patisahi 10 - Sabad 06: Beloved Friend

In this seventh podcast, Harinder Singh and Jasleen Kaur discuss the popularly known composition uttered by Guru Gobind Singh Sahib in the forests of Machhiwara in late December....

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Tuesday
,
7
February
2023

Sabad Hajare Patisahi 10 - Sabad 05: Creator Ruler

In this sixth podcast, Harinder Singh and Jasleen Kaur explore Guru Gobind Singh Sahib’s utterances on the Creator Ruler, and his guidance of considering IkOankar as the only true Ruler....

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Tuesday
,
31
January
2023

Sabad Hajare Patisahi 10 - Sabad 04: Divine Protector

In this fifth podcast, Harinder Singh and Jasleen Kaur explore Guru Gobind Singh Sahib’s many invocations of divine names and attributes and their contexts in larger Indic systems....

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Tuesday
,
24
January
2023

Sabad Hajare Patisahi 10 - Sabad 03: Mentor Specified

In this fourth podcast, Harinder Singh and Jasleen Kaur discuss what it means to attach to the feet of the Supreme Being, the poisons we are collecting, and the remembrance we are being asked to collect instead....

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Articles

Monday
,
11
October
2021

Exploring Death in Salok Mahala 9

Death is a thing we all must do. But we are deeply afraid of it. How do we form a relationship with death? This article explores Salok Mahala 9 as Guru Teghbahadar Sahib helps us confront our fear of death and understand the lessons death......

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Wednesday
,
21
July
2021

Miri-Piri: The Spiritual-Political Sikh Doctrine

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......

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Friday
,
14
May
2021

Reflecting on Time, One Becomes the Willing-Servant

A reflection on the play of past, present, and future, the play of creation, and the importance of Remembrance. ...

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Thursday
,
1
October
2020

Circles of Influence, Circles of Abuse

Healing and accountability in the wake of allegations old and new...

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Wednesday
,
9
September
2020

Sikhi & Sexuality

Sexuality is a confusing and often avoided topic. It is generally relegated to being a "private" matter, and therefore not openly discussed or engaged with, even within close circles and small communities....

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Thursday
,
7
November
2019

Sikhi & Abortion

Abortion as defined by the the Oxford dictionary is a “deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy.” Abortions have long been performed and long been the subject of considerable debate....

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