Ik Onkar with Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh

QUICK SUMMARY

What if paradise isn’t somewhere else but wherever you slow down enough to taste what’s in front of you?

In this episode, renowned Sikh studies scholar Dr. Nikky Singh gives us a warm, jargon-free introduction to Sikhism: its founder Guru Nanak, its radical vision of oneness, and why a free communal meal might be the most sacred thing you’ll ever eat. Whether you’ve never heard of Sikhism or you’re deep into interfaith study, you’ll walk away with practical wisdom on savoring, silencing the ego, and becoming a genuinely better listener. No prior knowledge needed. Nikky starts from the very beginning.

IN THIS EPISODE, WE EXPLORE

[02:00] – From a Punjab convent school to Sikh studies pioneer. Nikky shares her remarkable upbringing: a Sikh girl raised by Catholic nuns, a father who founded India’s first academic department of religion (housed in a building shaped like a ship, with a “sail” for each faith), and the Walt Whitman poem that sent her searching for her own roots.

[10:30] – Sikhism, starting from zero. Who was Guru Nanak? Born in 1469 in a religiously vibrant but divided India, Nanak emerged with one core message: Ik Onkar,  one all-inclusive reality. His first words after his mystical vision: “There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim.”

[16:00] – So how does a Sikh live a good life? Nikky unpacks the four pillars of everyday Sikh practice: Sangat (togetherness), Seva (selfless service), Kirtan (singing divine praise), and Langar (the free communal meal, the Golden Temple serves 80,000 of them daily).

[21:00] – The real enemy: ego. Why haumai (“me, me, me”) is “the most toxic stuff” in Sikh thought, and the concrete practices — service, music, poetry that dissolve it.

[24:30] – Inside the gurdwara. No priest, no icon, no altar — just a 1,430-page book of sacred poetry, the Guru Granth Sahib, which includes verses by Hindu and Muslim saints alongside the Sikh Gurus.

[30:00] – A platter with three dishes. Guru Arjan offered the scripture as a metaphor: truth, contentment, and reflection — dishes meant not merely to be eaten, but savored. Nikky connects this 1604 teaching to Laurie Santos’s wildly popular Yale happiness course.

[35:00] – “Can anyone come to langar?” Short answer: yes. Sit on the floor, cover your head, eat. No questions asked — as one Montreal taxi driver could confirm.

[40:30] – The turban and the Five Ks. What Sikh identity looks like, what each of the five articles of faith actually means, and Nikky’s feminist reading of these symbols as carriers of compassion and courage — not mere external signs.

[47:00] – Signs vs. symbols. Fr. John and Nikky find striking common ground between Sikh symbols and Catholic sacramental theology: a symbol doesn’t just point to a reality, it embodies one.

[48:30] – Listen. Embrace. Love. The Japji’s sequence of suniye (listening) and maniye (embracing), and the four loves Nikky says our anesthetized culture desperately needs: love of the divine, of the body, of humanity, and of this magical world.

[55:00] – Becoming a better listener, starting today. It begins with actually hearing the answer to “How are you?”

ABOUT DR. NIKKY-GUNINDER KAUR SINGH

Dr. Nikky Singh is the Crawford Professor and Chair of Religious Studies at Colby College and an internationally renowned scholar of Sikh studies. Born in Punjab, India, and educated at Wellesley College and Temple University, she is the author of numerous books, including The First Sikh: The Life and Legacy of Guru Nanak and translations of Sikh scripture published by Harvard University Press.

Explore her work: Wikipedia

MEMORABLE QUOTE

“Recognize yourself in everybody else. The other is a mirror for you.” — Dr. Nikky Singh

“The opposite of aesthetics is anesthetic. You take some anesthesia, you don’t feel a thing. And I think that’s what our culture has become.” — Dr. Nikky Singh

“What is in front of us is enough. We just have to slow down long enough to taste it.” — from a student reflection shared by Dr. Nikky Singh

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• The First Sikh: The Life and Legacy of Guru Nanak — Nikky Singh
• Poems from the Guru Granth Sahib (Harvard University Press) — Nikky Singh, trans.
• Janamsakhis: Paintings of Guru Nanak in Early Sikh Art — Nikky Singh
• Mindfulness for Beginners — Jon Kabat-Zinn (Dave recommends the audiobook, which includes guided meditations, including the famous raisin meditation)
• Laurie Santos’s “The Science of Well-Being” course at Yale
• Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents — Isabel Wilkerson
• The Mystery of Faith: An Introduction to Christianity — Fr. Michael Himes
• “Passage to India” — Walt Whitman
• The Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib), Amritsar