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A boy in a turban during the Sikh Turban Showdown at the Sikh Foundation of Virginia in January. (source: PBS)

Sikh Foundation of Virginia holds “Turban Showdown”

March 13, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

A recent piece by PBS’ Religion and Ethics NewsWeekly featured an event at a Gurdwara in northern Virginia in January called the “turban showdown”: In January, the Sikh Foundation of Virginia held a “Turban Showdown” for the pre-school children and older youth of its gurdwara in Northern Virginia. Parents helped the children wrap their turban or keski and then watched them walk down a runway. Youth and education coordinator Surinder Singh explained the meaning of the turban and why it […]

Categories: Sikhism, TV/Movies • Tags: Fairfax Station, PBS, Religion and Ethics NewsWeekly, Sikh Foundation of Virginia, Turban, Virginia

A reflection for International Women’s Day

March 8, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

When the legacy of the second Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Angad (1504-1552), is discussed, the building of institutions and infrastructure for the Sikh community is often mentioned. In particular, he is renowned for developing the Gurmukhi script (the basis of the Sikh scriptures) to make the Guru’s hymns more accessible, for furthering the cause of women’s rights, and for strengthening the institution of langar, the community kitchen started by Guru Nanak (his predecessor) that is open to all and […]

Categories: Events, Sikhism • Tags: Guru Angad, International Women's Day, Langar, Mata Khivi

Celebrate Sikh Environment Day on March 14, 2013

February 22, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

When Guru Har Rai became the seventh Guru of the Sikhs in March 1644, he brought with him a legacy of a sincere appreciation of the natural environment, an appreciation that we are rediscovering today. As our society at-large is becoming more aware about environmental issues, it is timely that Sikhs explore the ethos enshrined in our teachings about our relationship with nature. On this anniversary during the past two years, EcoSikh, a non-profit organization (whose stated mission is to […]

Categories: Events, Sikhism • Tags: EcoSikh, Guru Har Rai, Sikh Environment Day, Sikh Vatavaran Diwas

"The Golden Temple During the Day." (Adam Perez | Huffington Post)

A hitchhiker’s guide to Darbar Sahib

February 14, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

For Sikhs around the world, Darbar Sahib, the center of the Sikh faith in Amritsar, India, is held in sacred esteem. Also known as Harmandir Sahib or as the Golden Temple, Sikhs around the world endeavor to visit this place constructed in the early 17th century by Guru Arjan. Such is the devotion of Sikhs to this place that in the 19th century, the Sikh king, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, gilded the upper walls of the structure in gold. After its […]

Categories: Interfaith, Sikhism • Tags: Adam Pervez, Angela Dollar, Captain Stephen Phillips, Carolyn O'Donnell, Darbar Sahib, Golden Temple, GT1588, Harmandir Sahib, Huffington Post, John Busteed Ireland, Wanderlust and Lipstick

New graphic novel about Guru Harkrishan released by Gyan Khand Media

February 4, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

A few days ago, I received a copy of Gyan Khand Media’s new graphic novel about the eighth Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Harkrishan (1656-1664), entitled “Guru Har Krishan – The Eighth Sikh Guru”: He led the Sikhs for two and a half years and spent part of that time in Delhi tending to the sick and poor during an epidemic of smallpox. Thousands were healed by Guru Har Krishan. The disease subsided in Delhi but the Guru took the […]

Categories: Art, Literature, Resources, Sikhism • Tags: Bhupendra Singh Ahluwalia, Daljeet Singh Sidhu, Graphic novel, Guru Har Krishan, Guru Harkrishan, Gyan Khand Media, sikhcomics.com

Snatam Kaur (source: YouTube user sopurkh)

Snatam Kaur’s “I am a Sikh”

January 30, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In the video above, spiritual vocalist Snatam Kaur provides an overview of the Sikh faith. The beautifully narrated video is filmed at the Gurdwara in Bridgewater, New Jersey and is dedicated to the Sikhs who were murdered at the Gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin last August: In the honor and memory of those people who lost their lives at the Oak Creek Wisconsin Gurdwara (Sikh temple) shooting in the summer of 2012. Snatam Kaur, along with the Sikh community of […]

Categories: Sikhism • Tags: Bridgewater, New Jersey, Oak Creek, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Snatam Kaur, Wisconsin

Photo of Balpreet Kaur posted on Reddit. (source: Reddit)

The Top 5 Sikh American Stories of 2012: The inspiring grace of Balpreet Kaur

January 10, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In September, one Sikh American woman from Ohio became an inspiration to Sikhs and non-Sikhs alike. Balpreet Kaur was standing in line at the airport when an individual surreptitiously took her photo and posted it on the website Reddit, with the caption: “I’m not sure what to conclude from this.” The object of the photo was an attempt at mockery. Among the first 100 responses to the posting on Reddit were harsh and derogatory comments about Balpreet Kaur’s facial hair, […]

Categories: Reflections, Sikhism • Tags: Balpreet Kaur, Huffington Post, Reddit, Top 5 Sikh American Stories, Women in Sikhism

Picture of the Day: The “Fortress Turban”

January 3, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In the United Kingdom, a traveling exhibit has on display the “Fortress Turban”, worn by Nihang Sikhs — a sect of Sikh warriors dating back to Guru Gobind Singh’s time at the turn to the 18th century — as part of their soldier attire: This Turban is known as a Dastaar Boonga or turban fortress worn by a group of skilled warrior Sikhs called Akali Nihangs. It was used to protect the head in battle and to hold their weapons, […]

Categories: Picture of the Day, Sikhism • Tags: Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, fortress turban, nihang, United Kingdom

The mother of Guru Gobind Singh, Mata Gujri, imprisoned in an open tower with his two younger sons, Sahibzada Zorawar Singh and Sahibzada Fateh Singh (source: Sikh Gurus and Sikh Gurdwaras)

Remembering the martyrdom of Mata Gujri, Sahibzada Zorawar Singh and Sahibzada Fateh Singh

December 26, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Today, Sikhs commemorate the martyrdom of the mother of Guru Gobind Singh, Mata Gujri, and his two younger sons, Sahibzada Zorawar Singh (age 9) and Sahibzada Fateh Singh (age 6). The three were kidnapped when the Sikhs were fell upon by Mughal forces in a surprise attack in 1705. With the aim of wounding the growing Sikh movement, the governor of Sirhind, Wazir Khan, attempted to coerce and then force the Guru’s children to convert to Islam or face death. […]

Categories: Events, Sikhism • Tags: Fatehgarh Sahib, Guru Gobind Singh, martyrdom, Mata Gujri, Sahibzada Fateh Singh, Sahibzada Zorawar Singh, Wazir Khan

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Category Archives: Sikhism