Sikhism's universal message of equality and love is being spread by people from diverse ethnicities. On Guru Nanak's 550th anniversary, an aerospace engineer who wants to open a gurdwara in Jamaica, an African-American who discovered her faith in a yoga class, and a 21-year-old baptised Christian who is now spreading the word of Sikhism through her website share their experiences about their journey towards finding the Sikh faith. Along with these, there are many instances of people from different ethnicities spreading the message of Sikhism worldwide. Let's look at what they have to say:
Gurpreet Kaur
Gurpreet Kaur, a Texas native, became a Sikh in January 2017. Her book, My Journey into Sikhi; A Tell-All by an African American Convert," inspired by the reading of Guru Granth Sahib, reveals her journey from a baptised Christian girl to a Sikh and how she finally found in Gurbani what she was looking for on a social (considering all humans equal) and spiritual level.
The 21-year-old business student at the University of Texas , Austin is the one who came up with the term "Afrodhari" for herself. She says that she is proud to be Black, Sikh, Amritdhari, and Afrodhari. In addition, Gurpreet is the administrator of the website "Embracing Sikhism," which is devoted to easing cultural tensions in all parts of the world, including the east and the west. Sharing what inspired her to follow Sikhism, she says, “ What inspired me to receive Amrit (Sikh ceremony of initiation) was the desire to dedicate my life as a servant of humanity and cultivate spiritual discipline,”
Lathan-Dennis Singh
Lathan, a Rastafarian and a Jamaican friend of Bob Marley, was a student of aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan when he encountered a turban-wearing tall and stunning Sikh man. Lathan was seventy-two years old at the time. Sharing his experience as a follower of Sikhism, he says, “ Beauty of the turban attracted me..my fascination for the Sikh faith starting growing. For three months, I went to the gurudwara every Sunday.”
Krishna Kaur
After moving to the United States in 1968, Harbhajan Singh Yogi, also known as Yogi Bhajan and considered a master of Kundalini Yoga, began teaching yoga there. Hundreds of people flocked to his yoga sessions, and many of them went on to convert to Sikhism. Although the majority of these ‘American Sikhs’ were white people, an African-American woman Krishna Kaur, who was born in Los Angeles, was one of the first African-Americans to join the Sikh faith by partaking in Amrit at the Akal Takht in 1971. Krishna Kaur says, “ I was on a spiritual quest when I met Yogi and found that Sikhism and the Sikh community had what I was seeking.”
Gursoorma Singh
Gursoorma Singh (then known as Charles King) was introduced to the teachings of Guru Nanak and the religion of Sikhism for the very first time in a world geography class. He took the Amrit on the festival of Baisakhi in 2019 after becoming a Sikh five years earlier. Recounting the time when he started following Sikhism, Gursooma Singh says “I was contemplating suicide but the message of Gurbani changed my thinking and I decided to follow the path of Guru Nanak.”
Second-generation Black Sikhs in the US
Yogi Bhajan was a major motivating factor in bringing Awtar Singh Khalsa and Har Krishan Kaur Khalsa, who were both of African American descent, into the Sikh faith in the middle of the 1970s. The couple gave birth to two sons, both of whom are members of the second generation of black Sikhs; their names are Siri Chand Singh Khalsa and Lakhmi Chand Singh Khalsa.
Gurfateh Singh
Gurfateh Singh, a citizen of Liberia, became a member of the Sikh faith 14 years ago after a Christian missionary presented him with a book on the religions of the world. Today, he is the leader of a Sikh religious organisation in the countries of Nigeria and Liberia in West Africa, and he is trying to raise money so that he can rent a flat for a gurdwara and a hostel for an orphanage.
Kalasinghas in Kenya
When the British began building a railway line in Kenya in the late 19th- early 20th century, a number of Sikhs from undivided Punjab moved there. Kala Singh was among them. They began to refer to him, as well as any other Sikhs who appeared to resemble him thereafter by the name Kalasingha. Sikh immigrants in Kenya built the Sikh place of worship, Gurdwara Makindu in 1926. According to Khalsa, the locals are the ones who work as sewadaars (volunteers) in the gurdwara and manage the langar (free lunch for the community) as well as other concerns.
Darshan Singh Rudel
In 1997, Darshan Singh Rudel, a citizen of France made the decision to become a Sikh. At the holy site of Anandpur Sahib, he attained the status of Amritdhari Sikh and later married a Sikh woman named Malvinder Kaur, who now works as an English instructor at a college in Nangal. He now resides in Nurpur Bedi, located in the Ropar district of India.
Shiv Charan Singh
Shiv Charan Singh, who was born in Scotland, had his first encounter with Yogi Bhajan in the year 1980 in Amsterdam when he was working as a waiter at the Golden Temple restaurant and was greatly influenced by the Sikh religion. He received his spiritual name in 1982. In the year 2000, he and his wife, Satya, established the Kriya Centre in London and started providing teacher education. After waiting another four years, they finally began the Guru Ram Das Project.
Chinese-Origin Sikhs
Guru Nanak's Free Kitchen langer inspired Chinese-origin Vancouver resident Pat Cheung to become Pat Singh Cheung. He has grown his hair and beard and wears a turban in preparation for becoming an Amritdhari. Sharing his experiences as a Sikh, Pat Singh, says “ Sikhism is about treating all as equals.”
Also, Sunder Singh Khalsa, who lives in the United States, maybe the first Sikh of Chinese descent. Another would be Malaysia-based turban-wearing Chinese-origin Sikh, Jasmeet Kaur. She later published her story on 'Basics of Sikhi' in Mandarin, explaining how her journey in Sikhism began in 2004-05.
Sikhism as a religion has been around since the 15th century CE. Over the past decades, the tenets of the Sikh faith have spread across the lengths and breadths of the globe. At the core, Sikhism is about serving humanity.Through these years, people belonging to other faiths started following the Sikhi way of life.
*Based on an article published on 6th November 2019, in TOI+