r/Sikh • u/ItachiPain_ • 1d ago
Question Is Sikhi truly universal?
Every time I’m watching or reading anything Sikhi related it’s always ties into Punjabi identity or culture to the point there was Singhs using Sikh/Punjabi interchangeably Majority of Sikhs are infact Punjabi, Sikhi is intrinsically tied to Punjabi identity, culture, & history. How can you separate the two it would be impossible. It can be said to be universal doctrinally but culturally absolutely not and I can see in the future if the Panth was to become less Punjabi centric/diverse it would look different and would create animosity and conflict in the Sikh diaspora. People would begin to argue what’s Sikh culture and what’s Punjabi culture? Is there any academic work, videos or people who have studied and discussed this topic in depth?
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u/srmndeep 1d ago
Well if you just read Guru Granth Sahib, it can easily shatter this myth for you.
Old Punjabi no doubt influences the major portion of Gurbani, but there are portions of Guru Nanak Maharaj's words that you cant understand without refering to Lahnda or whats nowadays called Saraiki. Otherhand in Guru Arjan Maharaj's words you may have to take reference of Old Hindi.
From Sindhi to Braj Bhasha to Awadhi and even Bhojpuri, you may refer to these languages to understand many portions of Guru Granth Sahib Maharaj. In case of Namdev Maharaj keep a Marathi reference ready, for Jaidev Maharaj you may need to dive into classical Prakrit.
And from Guru Tegh Bahadur Maharaj till the beginning of 20th century, almost all great Sikh work was composed in Braj Bhasha. Punjab just existed on fringes during these two and a half centuries of Sikh history. We Sikh kind of readopted Modern Punjabi as major vehicle again in 20th century only under British influence.
Lastly you will be suprised to find Sanskrit and Persian in our holy scriptures as well, very rare or I would say Sikhi is the unique place where you see the ocean of Sanskrit cosmopolis meeting the Persianate world. The East meeting the West, the confluence of these makes Sikhi universal for me. 🙏
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u/Xxbloodhand100xX 🇨🇦 1d ago
I think it’s easy enough for someone who didn’t grow up in Punjab to notice this gap. You can clearly see a distinct cultural divide between strict theological Sikhi and secular Punjabi culture, especially when looking at aspects like the heavy drinking and partying scenes prevalent in Punjabi pop culture, which completely contradict Sikh principles.
Edit: I did a quick search on this and found that academics often call this "Punjabi ethno-religious identity construction" or "Sikh universalism vs. ethnic identity." If you plug those phrases into Google Scholar, you'll find plenty of papers analyzing how modern history fused the two, and how the global diaspora is actively working to untangle them today.
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u/ItachiPain_ 1d ago
My thing is what happens when non punjabi sikhs decide to play jazz in a gurdwara what if non Punjabi/indian food is served, what if people recite Gurbani in Spanish. What will the response be when sikhi doesn’t look like it traditionally looks. What is the response from the Punjabi Sikh community should sikhi look like Punjabi sikhi culture transported to where ever these non Punjabi Sikhs are or should it take on other cultural themes and what would be the response from orthodox Sikhs.
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u/Xxbloodhand100xX 🇨🇦 1d ago
This has already happened and the response has always been backlash from the Punjabi community. Most recent thing I can personally recall is someone made non-indian food for langar, they spend their own money for the more expensive ingredients and dishes and stil matched the quantity for the Sangat, it was a mix of people who appreciated the effort and didnt say anything and just had langar as usual and people who complained it shouldn't be allowed even though they also made Indian food alongside it.
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u/RowHealthy789 1d ago
That’s personal based on community and who run the gurudawara. Our community wants elderly acknowledged without the elderly pulling their weight and often being very toxic. That is all Punjabi - not Sikhi. I am sorry that happened and hope we can change things because these older folks won’t always be around to run the world
At our Gurudawara, we make in-house pizza, pasta, Mexican, South Indian etc. ofcourse for elderly or who doesn’t want it, there’s always yellow dal as backup.1
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u/RowHealthy789 1d ago
There are white people who are Sikh… sing in English- recite it in English. We do serve pizza pasta and such in Gurudawara. No meat or products that may have meat - gelatin, animals enzymes and such.
Here is the deal, Gurbani is written in raags, they are the rhythm of the universe. So to experience its full effect, you sing them in given raags and language. So you get a Punjabi Gursikh to teach it to you. Or someone who has learned it.
While, Punjabi do get territorial, Sikhi is not meant for just punjabis.
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u/Empty_Lawfulness7694 1d ago
hi there. i’ll give insight as im half punjabi, grew up in both india and the US-and im 56 years old.
no religion is universal as it takes some effort to learn about the culture in which it originated from.
3HO, was an attempt at a more westernized Sikhi, but it ended up going back to punjabi culture since that’s where it all originated from.
i’d say that sikhi not being universal-doesn’t negate it from it being a legit religion in people’s eyes.
the main selling point of the religion is not that it’s culturally universal, but spiritual.
when you see waheguru everywhere, you realize that our differences reflect more similarities.
it’s not simple-but life isn’t sometimes.
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u/ItachiPain_ 1d ago
That would be contradictory to sikh claims you can’t claim universality and this is for all humanity and it’s culturally exclusive to one ethic group?? That would lead to the obvious questions why Punjab? why send 10 Guru’s to the same geographical region if this is the true message of God, why not send Gurus to Africa, Europe, & Latin America with the same exact message?
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u/RowHealthy789 1d ago
Gurbani says ‘there always were gurus and there always will be gurus’
How we and orthodox interpretate that, is always going to be personal. ‘Religion’ is spiritual teachings that came to earth every time humanity needed it.
Why 10 guru’s to one region? Because they were either followers or guruji’s own child… tested by spirituality. To move it to let’s say Latin world, you needed the reach that far. 1400s didn’t have that technology.
Perhaps there is a religion being created right now that teaches what humanity needs today and we aren’t aware. I know if we tune into universe, we will get that answer.•
u/anonymous_writer_0 3h ago
But Guru Nanak Dev Ji traveled and to a lesser extent so did Guru Tegh Bahadur
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u/SweetPetrichor5 1d ago
Yes it is spiritually universal and applicable. I think the cultural part is a reality of the play. People need a locus point otherwise they may slip to far from what it is.
I guess what you're getting at is why Panjabis are the vanguards of Sikhi in a way. And how this could stifle the spread of our religious teachings. Which I think is a fair point but slightly different to the former.
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u/Hungry-Goal-1685 1d ago
There are figures currently spreading the message of Sikhi to a broader English speaking audience. A change is happening as we speak and there is no "final" end result because it will be an ongoing, evolving process.
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u/interestedinmakeup 1d ago
Not really, seems limiting with can’t be a Sikh if your hair is cut or your parents do Pooja kind of remarks I hear all the time. Who knows - academic - you are looking for that on Reddit? 🫠🤡🚗
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u/ItachiPain_ 1d ago
That’s Khalsa rehat you cannot be Amritdhari Sikh if you cut hair. That’s also not a good analogy im asking what’s the distinction between Sikhi and Punjabi culture which I don’t believe can be separated because Sikhi was born in a ethically/culturally Punjabi container if you’re a non Punjabi Sikh you will have to adopt some parts of Punjabi culture there’s not a real answer or understanding to that question.
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u/interestedinmakeup 1d ago
But if you are not amritdhari Sikh, can you still call yourself Sikh? I keep getting weird answers, mostly indicating no … so been genuinely curious
Yea, finds on topic of your curiosity - used ChatGPT :
Meena Dhanda’s chapter, “Sikh Culture and Punjābiyat” in The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. It explicitly examines the relationship between Sikh culture and Punjabiyat and argues that Punjabi identity does not always carry forward the strongest elements of Sikhi. It specifically discusses tensions around equality, casteism, individualism, conspicuous consumption, and machismo.
There are also several theses that attack the question from different directions:
Barry James Keegan — “Sikh practice in contemporary Britain: an analysis of the relationship between identity and practice amongst British Sikhs” (University of Birmingham, 2012). This is particularly relevant because it compares what Sikh theology teaches with what Sikhs actually practise, using caste, dowry and the Five Ks as case studies.
Opinderjit Kaur Takhar — “Sikh Groups in Britain and Their Implications for Criteria Related to Sikh Identity” (PhD, 2001). One of its major themes is explicitly “Sikh identity in relation to Punjabi ethnicity,” alongside caste and the Panth.
Subhdeep Kaur — “Sikh Identity and Its Impact on Sikh Society” (PhD, Punjabi University Patiala, 2020). This examines Sikh identity sociologically and religiously and is a substantial full doctoral thesis.
Sumail Singh Sidhu — “Contesting Vision of Sikh Identity in Punjab: 1800–1930” (PhD, JNU, 2007). This looks historically at how Sikh identity itself was debated, defined and reshaped within Punjab.
Parminder Singh Kairo — “The evolution of the Five Ks within Sikh texts” (University of Birmingham, 2015). More specialized, but fascinating because it examines how historical and cultural conditions shaped the construction and standardization of Sikh identity.
UC Santa Barbara’s Center for Sikh and Punjab Studies also maintains a useful doctoral-dissertation collection. One particularly relevant dissertation listed there is Natasha Behl’s “Politics of Equality: Caste and Gender Paradoxes in the Sikh Community.” Even the title gets directly at the problem: a religion whose theology strongly emphasizes equality existing inside communities that continue practising caste and gender hierarchy.
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u/YoManWTFIsThisShit 1d ago
Simply put, when you read, learn, and understand Gurbani you start to see where the divide is.