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Sidak Leadership Program Completes
Sixth Year
 Sidak – Faith.
Courage. Discipline. In this unique program that instils great
values, participants from across the
United States,
Canada and the United Kingdom participated in the sixth annual,
2-week summer edition run by the Sikh Research Institute (SikhRI),
which concluded on 26 July 2008.
This year’s
program was the largest to date, with 30 participants, including
school students, college students, and young professionals. “SikhRI
offers three separate programs: Sikhi 101, Sikhi 201, and Gurmukhi
101. Participants in all three tracks partake in lectures,
presentations, workshops, and group discussions to explore Sikhi
thru the confluence of Bani (scripture), tvarikh (history), and
rahit (lifestyle),” explained Lakhpreet Kaur, this year’s Sidak
Coordinator, “We try to diversify the instructors, modes of
learning, and content to keep Sidak engaging and interactive.”
Sikhi 101
participants studied an overview of Sikh history and theology, while
Sikhi 201 students delved deeper into the same subjects through
rigorous reading and discussion. Gurmukhi 101 focused on
composition, structure, and language of Guru Granth Sahib.
 Sikhi 101
focused on the bani of Asa Ki Var, along with investigating a range
of Sikh topics. The explication and interpretation of Asa Ki Var was
taught daily by Inderpreet Singh (Director of Emerging Technologies,
Siemens). Santhia classes were taught by Gurmeet Singh and
Sukhwinder Kaur, in which students practiced the proper
pronunciation of the Bani. History classes were taught by Darshpreet
Singh, a graduate of the Sidak program.
Comparable to
college seminars, Sikhi 201 participants were assigned extensive
readings on topics such as Gurus and Revolution, Guru Granth Sahib,
Guru Khalsa Panth, Conduct of Life, Operation Bluestar, November
1984 Pogroms, and Post 1984
Punjab.
Students thoroughly read notable Sikh writers including Puran Singh,
Teja Singh, Kapur Singh, and Jagjit Singh. Harinder Singh (Executive
Director, SikhRI), and Gunisha Kaur (Medical Student and a former
Sidak participant) moderated group discussions and activities.
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“…. cuts
through the rhetoric and helps you get to the Truth.”
- Sundeep Singh, Brooklyn, NY. Gurmukhī 101
“….wonderful/educational/professional program with emphasis on
intellectual and spiritual Sikhī development in a non-biased/
critical thinking approach with concurrent leadership/personal
development.”
- Jasmeet Kaur,
Austin, TX.
Sikhī 101
“I will take
with me a lot of new gained knowledge about Sikhī, a wonderful
experience overall and a lot of love.”
- Anoop Kaur,
Abbotsford,
BC Sikhī 201 |
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Students in the
Gurmukhi 101 track concentrated exclusively on developing skills
necessary for the self-study of Guru Granth Sahib. This involved
learning Gurmukhi, building vocabulary, and observing linguistic and
grammatical patterns.
All three tracks
attended workshops on leadership development and community building.
Successful and ethical corporate leaders from the
San Antonio
area, including Larry Mills (Senior Executive, Spurs Organization),
and Dr. GP Singh (former CEO of Karta Technologies, Inc) lent a
hand. Jasmine Kaur, SikhRI’s Director of Education, thanked sangat
for the success of the program. Harinder Singh, SikhRI’s Executive
Director, expressed “gratitude to all the facilitators who
volunteered their time." For more info, contact info@sikhri.org |
210.757.4555
6 August, 2008
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