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Lessons In Leadership:
a la Sikhi

DYA SINGH

 

 

 

 


When I am in-between kirtan 'gigs' and tours, I do have time to look around to see what else is happening in the world, and if I feel that it is worth mentioning, I try to write about it.

The work of SikhRI and its doyen, Harinder Singh, has often been mentioned in these very pages of Sikh chic.com.

I have known Harinder for some time. He has always struck me as a very forthright Sikh without any vehms (hang-ups) about Sikhi. In my mind, he is a true model of the 'miri-piri' spirit.

Last night I was able to attend a class held by him on 'Leadership The Sikhi Way' in my hometown, Melbourne (Australia). It is a series of three lectures on Sikh Leadership - not what is, but what it should be in accordance with Sikh philosophy.

I must commend Harinder for his analyses. His research is phenomenal and his delivery style is dynamic. Most welcome is the out-of-the-box lateral thought which has gone into Harinder's presentations.

My reason for this article is to spread the word about this amazing resource available to our global quom.

I have attended, taken part in and also helped in Sikh Youth forums, samelans, camps, leadership retreats, etc. for the last three decades, and I must say that Harinder's presentation of this particular topic has great merit and holds some ideas which even I have not heard about before. Sikhi truly has some amazing concepts of leadership which would give our younger generations the edge in life and also help our international community meet its leadership needs.

Leadership as we see it today -- both in our community and in the general community worldwide -- is certainly not what it should be. The very terms 'leader', 'jathedar', 'pardhan,' ’politician’, etc. these days carry adverse connotations or, at best, arouse mixed sentiments.

He cited simple pointers like the fact that it is not about personality, it’s the actions and both private and public behaviour that matters. Learning from the leadership styles of all our Gurus, for example should be the goal for all Sikhs. The fact that our Gurus exhibited 'aapey gur chela' traits is but the starting point.

Bhai Lehna, the servant, became the Guru.

Guru Gobind became the disciple, and then became a ’Singh’ after partaking amrit from the Punj Pyarey.

Three great lessons which emerged for me were:

1  A good leader is genuinely full of humility. (Harinder cites Guru Nanak as the first example).

2  A good leader ensures participation by all - a little like King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table - for us, the Sarbat Khalsa model.

3  A good leader is one who works him-/herself out of a job! He/she creates other leaders. 

The above constitute just the tip of the ice-berg of a two hour presentation by Harinder, laced with citations from gurbani and also Bhai Gurdas and Bhai Nand Lal. It was mind-boggling. All the ideas/attributes he talked about were basic gurmat and gursikhi.

Harinder's analysis of the strengths and weaknesses between the Khalsa Raj with its Sarbat Khalsa model, and the Miri model of the Sikh Raj (Maharajah Ranjit Singh) was an eye-opener. He talked of 'transvaluation' where a Sikh leader transfers 'value' to the community - empowers the community. A Sikh leader ensures 'continuity'. Harinder cites the fall of the Sikh Empire as an example where Ranjit Singh kept Hari Singh Nalwa as far away from Lahore as he could, fearing the latter‘s power and influence!

Interestingly, he talked of accessibility to leaders. These days not only our 'leaders', but even our Guru, have been made inaccessible!! Leaders are only seen at elections and our so-called ‘custodians of Sikhi’ have built so many brahminical rituals around our Guru, hiding Him, as if, from sight. 

For example, our Guru at The Darbar Sahib in Amritsar is in 'parkash' at the same ground-level as the sangat, suggesting that our Guru sits amongst his Sikhs. Today, He is raised high on a pedestal, aloof from his sangat and totally in the custody of a few 'granthis' without the common disciple being able to get near Him!

We have created a new crop of masands, and we know what Guru Gobind Singh  did with them, don’t we?

Two hours of very absorbing observations from a very competent presenter. Harinder treated every attendee as a potential leader through a question/answer session and a thought-provoking questionaire as to what each attendee is going to do in the next six months to 'make a difference' as a potential leader of and for the Sikh quom.

It is a pity that I am unable to attend all the three presentations by Harinder, but if this middle discourse is anything to go by, I will suggest that Harinder has an amazing series on leadership, the Sikh model.

Mind you, this is just one of a series of other subjects - all researched and moduled by SikhRI.

I recommend Harinder and SikhRI to any Sikh group or organisation anywhere. He delivers in both Punjabi and English and the younger generation loves him because he speaks simple Punjabi with a good lacing of English. Let me assure you - not a dull moment!

I wish Harinder (and SikhRI) Guru-given power to carry on the great seva he has undertaken. The Melbourne series of discourses/dialogues was organised by the Sikh Supreme Council of Australia.

What's in a name? They appear to be a group of Sikh young men and women in Melbourne who appear to have their hearts in the right place!


December 14, 2014
 

Conversation about this article

1: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), December 14, 2014, 3:09 PM.

Dya ji, you yourself are not too far behind with your facile pen and have the right mix. Dya, Harinder and Sher Singh -- a deadly admixture to impart lessons in leadership. And, most importantly - a la Sikhi lesson in leadership. Well done and all that now remains is for the lambs to follow.

2: Dr Birinder Singh Ahluwalia (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), December 15, 2014, 7:31 AM.

I have deep respect for all who are engaged in performing sincere service in the name of and for Sikhi ... Could I kindly make one request though to such all? - if they would refrain from calling Gurus as 'leaders.' Gurus were, are and will always remain divine. The term 'leader' is too small a role and doesn't even begin to cover the ambit of their reach.

3: Ajit Singh Batra (Pennsville, New Jersey, USA), December 15, 2014, 9:06 PM.

According to Sikhi, our Gurus were true gurus and were like God -- something we are all to aspire for. They possessed divine attributes. The true Guru is born rarely and only when God ordains to meet special situations. The true Guru is the one who has realized the True One. Sukhmani Sahib, Ashtpadi 18: "sat purakh jin jaaniyaa satgur tis kaa naao(n)." I wholeheartedly concur with Dr. Birinder Singh ji that we should be sparing in our use of the term 'leader' for the Gurus. Our Gurus were "True Gurus".

4: Aryeh Leib Lerner (Israel), December 16, 2014, 4:40 AM.

@Sangat Singh ji: Surely we're talking about lions - not lambs - who are much less docile and harder to convince. That said, once you DO manage to convince them, you've got a force equal to none! @Birinder Singh ji: Well said, but the problem is that, due to the arrival and presence in North America of several individuals during the 1960's-70's, the term, "Guru" got really bad publicity, and is now employed to describe any expert mentor in any field of endeavor. What would you propose instead of "leader" that would better capture the divine nature of the Guru, while skirting the all-too-real pitfall of misinterpretation by the public at large?

5: T. Sher Singh (Mount Forest, Ontario, Canada), December 16, 2014, 7:02 AM.

I would suggest that 'Guru' in its Sikh connotation is not translatable into another language in a single word or phrase. It carries a bundle of ideas and concepts, and a load of history and tradition, all of which gets lost in translation. Hence, we should stick to 'Guru' even if the word is used in other contexts. When used in the Sikh context, it instantly expands, acquires and conveys its full meaning. Same goes with, for example, 'gurdwara' which cannot be reduced to 'temple', 'church', or even 'Sikh place of worship'. It has to remain 'gurdwara' in any and every language. Other examples from Sikhdom that come to mind are 'kirpan', 'Sardar', 'Waheguru' ... even the word 'Sikh' itself.

6: Ajit Singh Batra (Pennsville, New Jersey, USA), December 16, 2014, 1:26 PM.

The personality and character of the Guru has no material sense. The lofty institution of Guruship has been reduced to a mockery by 'cheats' in the present age. Gurudoms have been created to exploit people by individuals, promoting the idea that it is the belief in Guru that saves them from 'pain and pleasure'. Well, referring to reference #5 by T. Sher Singh ji, that if the word 'Guru' is not translatable into another language, then the Ten human Sikh Gurus should be addressed as 'Sat Gurus' in day to day language. The doctrine of Guruship is a cardinal principle of Sikhism.

7: Gurmukh Singh (London, United Kingdom), December 16, 2014, 3:51 PM.

I find the above diversion from the main thrust of Dya Singh's article a bit distracting. The Guru lived as an exemplary human being (stress) in all human roles as a householder during this period of tuition 1469 to 1699, the high point of Sikh tradition, when the disciple emerged in the Guru's image! Therefore, in all walks of life and in every role we should look to The Guru as a role model. To quote Dya, "These days not only our 'leaders', but even our Guru, have been made inaccessible!!" How true !

8: Baldev Singh Dhaliwal (South Australia), December 18, 2014, 1:37 AM.

Along with highlighting the excellent work done by S Harinder Singh of SikhRI, Dya Singh has made some very interesting and highly relevant points, worthy of note. Personally I am glad that the traditional Gurmat camps are giving way to such community development / leadership seminars and workshops based on the Sikh Way, in step with the times; as much for the up and coming generations as for the more mature ones in our communities. Full marks go to the organizers for planning these seminars and for sourcing the right talent to lead and facilitate such seminars. By all accounts S Harinder Singh (and there are many others) is an excellent example of such talent. As important, however, is to allow the outcomes from such seminars to be put into practice and that leads us to the present leadership. Our traditional leadership, even outside India and even at the gurdwara level, I feel, is modeled on the conventional teacher / student relationship. The teacher makes his position indispensable and the students are forever subservient and waiting for his shoes! A good leader, however, ought to be more subtle in demonstrating his/her leadership (the first amongst equals!), empowers the others, encourages teamwork, and as Dya Singh writes, tries to work himself out of a job. Something for our present leaders (and the community) to chew over!

9: Gurdarshan Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), December 20, 2014, 9:58 AM.

On word usage I am with with T. Sher Singh ji's suggestion that certain words need to be retained in their oroginal Punjabi/Gurmukhi form. As Sikhs, we must preserve their full Sikh connotations. Thus, the word "Waheguru", to take but one example, is not translatable. When we translate it to 'God' or 'Lord', etc., it merely takes us into the realm of a Christian perspective, which does not reflect our own.

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a la Sikhi"









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