Photo by Marc Lebryk
As a Sikh growing up in San Antonio, Simran Jeet Singh felt the sting of racism and religious intolerance, but he also learned the power of kindness and generosity. Singh is the Aspen Institute’s executive director of the Religion and Society Program and author of the bestseller “The Light we Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life.”
He recently took part in a wide-ranging conversation on religious diversity sponsored by Lake Institute on Faith and Giving, (which is part of the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy) and the Center for Interfaith Cooperation. The Dec. 6th event at the Indiana Historical Society in Indianapolis was part of the Distinguished Visitor speaker series. It explored ways religious diversity and generosity can build and promote a healthy, civic society.
David P. King, the Karen Lake Buttrey director of Lake Institute, described Singh’s work at the Aspen Institute as “a great model for our own work… addressing religious pluralism and the vital role it must play in our increasingly diverse society.”
The Rev. Libby Manning, director of the Wabash Pastoral Leadership Program at Wabash College, one of four panelists, started the discussion by asking Singh, 39, how faith shaped his journey. He said it began in South Texas where he and his two brothers were the only ones with turbans.
Singh said while they didn’t think much about religion as kids, they had a visible religious identity. “We knew we were different because people would tell us that,” Singh said. “You want to be accepted, but you have to deal with assumptions, stereotypes and judgments.”
He recalled being in fourth grade and joining his older brother for a class party at a roller rink. As they walked in with their mother, Singh says the rink manager began yelling, “GET out of here with those damn rags on your heads!”
Singh’s mother left her sons to talk to the manager. When Singh went to find her, she was crying, so he began to cry, too. When she asked why, he replied for the same reason she was upset. It wasn’t fair. They should be allowed to skate. But his mother told him she wasn’t crying out of hurt or anger, but because she felt so lucky. After Singh’s mother told the teachers and parents what happened, they all decided to leave the rink together in a show of solidarity.
“Imagine this nightmare scenario…your kids are being discriminated against, and she walks away feeling fortunate,” Singh said. “That’s how I began to understand the power of faith. You can engage in a different way, take a different path, and for me, that’s where openness, generosity and trust really started to build up.”
Singh emphasized that love and service are at the core of the Sikh faith, which is one of the world’s youngest religions (founded roughly 550 years ago) and now the fifth largest in the world. He said the first thing he learned growing up was the term Ik Onkar, which means “universal force.” He said, “The idea is that everything in the world is inter-connected…that divinity is in every single creature…To us love is the goal and the process…it’s to be engaged with world and to ensure you’re reducing suffering.”
Asked how Sikh teachings relate to daily living, Singh said generosity, justice and activism aren’t just things you do for others out of a moral responsibility. “It also benefits us. Something changes inside,” he said. “It makes us closer to who we want to become, a humble, selfless, empathetic, compassionate people.”
Still, Singh said significant hurdles remain, especially when moving from religious tolerance to embracing religious pluralism. “It’s particularly hard in the American context where we don’t know how to talk about religion in public settings,” he said. “We’re so polarized and politicized, we’re scared to have conversations with people about what makes them who they are. I feel these fears, too. How do you listen to someone? How do you open yourself up and share your story? These are skills we need to start learning.”
Manning asked Singh for ways to nurture interconnectedness amid such division.
He said the best place to start is at the local level where people are rooted in the community and have shared experiences apart from their religious identity. Singh said it begins by listening, being curious and learning about them. He described it as an opportunity for influence and change in the people you’re engaging while also experiencing a transformation within yourself.
Singh noted, “It’s not just about changing the world around you. It’s about the internal work that happens as you start engaging with people and seeing their humanity in ways that may feel really difficult.”
Singh stressed that the practice of gratitude can also spark inter-connectedness within local communities.
He described it as “one of these themes that cuts across tradition…If you can feel connected at all times, then you are able to feel love.”
He shared how he and his wife gave their two daughters gratitude journals for Thanksgiving. Each day the girls had to list three things for which they’re grateful. Initially, they struggled. But Singh said within a week or so, “they’re thinking ‘Oh, this amazing thing happened today and I’m going to add it my journal.’ They’re feeling gratitude in the moment… and that’s the transformation.”
Others who shared the stage with Singh included Melissa Borja, assistant professor of American Culture/Pacific Islander American Studies at the University of Michigan and Joseph Tucker Edmonds, an associate professor of religious studies and Africana studies at Indiana University Indianapolis, where he’s also the associate director of Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture.
Despite the politics of division, the panelists agreed there are opportunities to connect on a deeper level. Difficult conversations should not be avoided but seen as an opportunity to learn about and appreciate different faith traditions.
As King noted afterward, “It left us with many questions we can pick up and explore,” a sentiment shared by several of those who attended.
The Rev. Shonda Nicole Gladden said, “I really appreciate when we’re able to have civil discourse around things that are so value-laden for us and don’t always get discussed.”
Ellen Munds was also grateful for the candid conversation. Munds said she arrived knowing nothing about the Sikh faith, “so it opened a window for me. And I just loved how (Singh) talked about the practice of generosity and being humble.”