How might we cultivate a personal relationship with Sabad-Guru that transforms us individually and Panthically? In this course, we will examine the challenges of translation and interpretation in the age of generative AI and reflect on the importance of effort, vulnerability, and openness in our engagement with Bani.
Through Guru Nanak Sahib’s Kucaji and Sucaji, and Guru Arjan Sahib’s Gunvanti, we will consider the evolving journey of the seeker—from ungracefulness toward adeptness, grace, and virtue. Together, we will practice interpreting and translating Bani while exploring how sangat nurtures our relationship with Sabad-Guru and supports ongoing, transformative engagement.
Week 1: Encountering Sabad-Guru: Foundational Principles
In our first session, we’ll explore Sabad (Word-Sound) and its Indic and Semitic contexts, tracing its significance across traditions. Turning to the Guru Granth Sahib, we will explore the foundational principles that make up the Sikh worldview in addition to Sabad—Guru, IkOankar, and Nam. We will also engage with 20th century thinkers to consider these terms in both the abstract and the practical sense. Together, we’ll reflect on how cultivating a personal relationship with Sabad-Guru might shape and transform us individually and Panthically.
Week 2: Exploring Sabad-Guru: Challenges in Translation and Interpretation
This session dwells on the many challenges translation and interpretation pose, especially in the age of generative artificial intelligence and the desire for quick answers. What is the role of friction and effort in one’s Sikhi journey? How might we approach exploring Sabad as an ongoing conversation rather than an extractive exercise?
Together, we will examine and challenge translation and interpretation norms. Using Guru Nanak Sahib’s Kucaji (the ungraceful seeker) we will reflect on the role of vulnerability and bravery in cultivating a relationship with IkOankar.
Week 3: Imbibing Sabad-Guru: Lessons from Kucaji, Sucaji, and Gunvanti
In our third session, we will explore Guru Nanak Sahib’s Sucaji and Guru Arjan Sahib’s Gunvanti to further practice our translation and interpretation skills. We will reflect on the shift that occurs between the seeker who is Kucaji (ungraceful and inadept) and the seeker who is Sucaji (graceful and adept) in relation to our personal journeys.
Turning to ‘Gunvanti,’ which describes the seeker who is full of virtues, we will discuss practical application—reflecting on the role of sangat in connecting us with Sabad-Guru and empowering us to effortfully engage with Bani.
- Week 1: Encountering Sabad-Guru: Foundational Principles
- Week 2: Exploring Sabad-Guru: Challenges in Translation and Interpretation
- Week 3: Imbibing Sabad-Guru: Lessons from Kucaji, Sucaji, and Gunvanti
Santbir Singh has served as an educator and activist in the Sikh community for over two decades. He continues to cultivate a deeper relationship with Sabad Guru while focusing on Sikh inspirations for social activism, feminism, and decolonization through a multifaceted critical analysis using different schools of thought and tradition.
Santbir Singh is a facilitator at Sidak and an alumnus of Sidak 2012. He lives on Wendat, Anishinabek, Haudenosaunee, Mississauga, Hiawatha, Alderville & Métis Territory on Williams Treaties land (colonially known as Toronto), Canada, with his wonderful wife, incredible children, and wild dog.
Previously, she worked as a research associate for J-PAL South Asia in Panjab, India, collaborating with the Government of Panjab’s Department of School Education on a project aimed at preventing opioid addiction.
Currently, Manvinder is pursuing a joint PhD in Social Work and Anthropology at the University of Michigan. Her research centers on addiction and gender dynamics within Panjabi communities.
