What is Sikhism? A Conversation with UBC Sikh Chaplain Inderjeet Singh

This is the twentieth episode of  the second season of What Matters Most. I spoke with UBC Sikh Chaplain Inderjeet Singh. This episode was recorded in February 2024, but due to a backlog of episodes is only being released in May 2024. I am happy for you to be able to hear it and learn about Sikhism.

Indy, as his friends know him, offered a lot of information about the origins of Sikhism in India, and its connections and differences from Hinduism and Islam and Buddhism, even as these religions clearly influenced Sikhism and do so today through the Guru Granth Sahib, the collection of holy writings that make up what is considered the final guru. 

I thought the discussion regarding Gurus, teachers, not prophets he stressed, was enlightening. There were ten human gurus and we discussed the first guru, Nanak, and the second guru, Angad, as well as the tenth and final human Guru Gobind Singh, who decreed that the Guru Granth Sahib , linked here, would be the final and eternal Guru; but "the first version of the book was compiled by the 5th Sikh Guru, Arjun, at Amritsar in 1604 ce. He included his own hymns and those of his predecessors, the Gurus Nanak, Angad, Amar Das, and Ram Das, and a selection of devotional songs of both Hindu and Islamic saints (notably the poet Kabīr)," as the Encyclopedia Britannica describes. 

Guru Granth Sahib is a fascinating collection of literature as it is in many ways a compilation, as just described, of writings from other religions and original compilations from many of the Gurus. This might as Indy said lead to particular issues of translation, but anyone who has translated literature from another language, especially religious literature, knows, it is a process fraught with issues and complexities. Most of the “hymns are arranged according to the musical modes (ragas) in which they are to be sung. The language is mostly Punjabi or Hindi, interspersed with Marathi, Persian, and Arabic words.” Marathi is a language spoken mostly in the Indian state of Maharashtra.

There is a lot more to learn about Sikhism and I would be interested to hear from listeners to the podcast: is there a particular aspect of Sikhism you are most interested in knowing more about? Please let me know. Perhaps something more on langar, the free kitchen that is found in Sikh gurdwaras. Inderjeet coordinates Guru Nanak's Free Kitchen, which provides nearly 50,000 meals per year to the unhoused on Vancouver's Eastside. Or perhaps more on the theology of Sikhism? This is something about which I would love to learn more.

What Matters Most is produced by the Centre for Christian Engagement at St Mark’s College, the Catholic college at UBC. The CCE is a centre at St. Mark’s College that explores the Christian and Catholic intellectual tradition and seek to learn from others, other Christians, members of other religious traditions, and from those who do not claim any particular or formal religious affiliation.

Thanks to Martin Strong, Kevin Eng, and Fang Fang Chandra for all of their help and support in crafting this and all the other episodes. I also want to thank our donors to the Centre, whose generosity enables this work to take place at all: Peter Bull, Angus Reid, and Andy Szocs. In addition, the Cullen Family, Mark and Barbara, continue to support the work and outreach of the CCE, particularly in our lecture series. 

Since St. Mark’s Centre for Christian Engagement seeks to enable the creation of a culture of encounter and dialogue, let me invite you into that discussion. Send me questions, send me ideas for guests, send me comments. Please follow me on Twitter @biblejunkies, or on Facebook, at Biblejunkies, or on Instagram @stmarkscce. Or email me or Ms. Fang Fang Chandra at cceconferences@stmarkscollege.ca. Let us know what you think.

I also want to thank people who have been rating the podcast. The ratings have grown in number and they remain at 5 stars. Thank you so much for your kind support. ask you to help out by letting people know about the podcast. If you are enjoying the podcast, please let your friends know. You can also let people know by rating and reviewing What Matters Most on your favourite podcasting platform. This lets people find the podcast more easily and lets people like you enjoy the work that we are doing. I think these are important and inspiring discussions and I would like people to have a chance to listen in! 

Upcoming Episodes:

And now some news on upcoming podcast episodes:

Dr. Sara Parks of St. Francis Xavier University, where I hope to discuss many things, but definitely her excellent book Gender in the Rhetoric of Jesus, Women in Q. if you have an opportunity to read it before she appears later this summer, please do. It’s excellent and I learned something new within the first five pages of starting it. 

There will be a hiatus of recording new episodes at some point this summer, but I am trying to figure out how we might nevertheless get you new material all through the summer. Keep listening to stay up to date.

Finally, some upcoming events:

May 17, 2024 Sister Damien Marie Savino will be offering the second annual Laudato Si’ lecture, Educating for Laudato Si' at St. Mark’s College. Please click on the link to register!

May 16, 2024, Sister Damien Marie Savino will also be doing a workshop on Laudato Si’ at St Joseph the Worker church in Richmond, B.C., so if you are local please come for 7 pm to the parish centre on May 16. 

Finally, the CCE is presenting a conference in 2025, The Promise of Christian Education: Past, Present and Future,  MAY 1-3, 2025, at ST. MARK'S COLLEGE, VANCOUVER, CANADA. Please consider sending in a proposal for a paper. If you are a graduate student and we accept your proposal to present a paper, we will cover your conference registration fees and the cost of the conference banquet. You do not have to present a paper to come. You can purchase a conference pass and simply attend all of the sessions. Consider joining us in Vancouver in 2025.

Three Confirmed Pleanry Speakers: 

Dr. Margaret MacDonald, St. Mary's University, Halifax

Dr. Samuel Rocha, University of British Columbia, Vancouver

Reverend Dr. Stan Chu Ilo, De Paul University, Chicago

John W. Martens

Director, Centre for Christian Engagement, St. Mark's College at UBC