Sikh Leadership: Established Ideals and Diasporic Reality

Abstract

Abstract. As established in the Sikh scriptural canon, ideal leaders internalize qualities of self‐sovereignty, intentional servitude, integrative creativity, authentic compassion, and perhaps most significant of all, Divine inspiration. Models of communal decision‐making can also be derived from the lives of the Gurū‐Prophets (1469–1708 C.E.) and the institutions they established. Though the faith recognizes no clergy class, graduates of historical seminaries often emerge as significant leaders for the Sikh nation. The community outside of the homeland, however, has experienced a lesser effort in the cultivation of leadership. With a primary focus on education, religious centers, youth camps, and retreats have played a critical role in imparting Sikh culture to the masses. While ideals are clearly articulated within the Sikh tradition, it is the application of the ideals that is necessary – Sikh leadership continually works towards these ends, and will ever seek to progress as individuals as well as a community.