Don't say White Sikhs. Sikhs are Sikhs.

Everyone knows about Sikhnet and Mr Sikhnet, recently I found one articles on russia today newspaper. I would like to share it with you.

Today there was a debate on “sikh channel” about awareness of Sikhism in our young sikh community (Sikh youths, kids). I think if we let them meet these great white sikhs, they will understand the importance of Sikhism.

These are the people who inspired me more than any other living Sikh on this planet. Another thing they are all doing a very good job in their fields and they all do Sikh Prachar. We should all learn from these great Sikhs, especially me, a sahezdhari sikh. 

Most of them attend the Miri Piri Academy (MPA), an International boarding school in Amritsar where foreigners who converted to Sikhism leave their children to immerse themselves in the religion. And don’t let the teacher’s name, Mahan Atma Kaur, mislead you. She is Svetlana, a Russian-American national who has been teaching there for two years.

The 34-year-old white Sikh converted in 2004 and changed her name to Mahan Atma, which means “greatest soul” in the Indian language.

Why? “It feels to me that I did not ‘choose’ to be a Sikh. We all are Sikhs, as ’seekers of the truth’. As soon as I felt my heart’s yearning for the guru’s word, I knew it was my path. It is my life,” Mahan told RTV during an interview.

Why Sikhism?

After the September 11 attacks, some people associated Sikhs with terrorists or members of the Taliban. Research suggests there has been an increase in hate-crimes against Sikh men in America and England. Still, there has been an increase in the number of foreigners who convert to Sikhism. Why?

Gurusewak Singh Khalsa, who was born to parents of American/European descent, told RTV via email, “Some might say Sikhism is a strict religion. At first glance this makes sense – physically, men have beards, wear turbans and kirpans (knives), and women don’t cut their hair.”

“But once one sees past the physical I have found that there is a lot more openness, freedom, and acceptance in the Sikh teachings compared to other religions,” he added.

Amrit Kaur does not look like a Punjabi in any way, but practices Sikhism. Born in Toronto, Canada, her mother was an atheist and her father was Catholic.

“I researched many religions and practiced different ones… but nothing ‘belonged’ to me. It wasn’t until the summer of 2004, when I first met a Sikh, that I learned about the existence of Sikhism,” she writes in her blog ( amritkaur.blogspot.com).

Famous  Sikhs In History from other religions

Historically, the phenomenon of conversion of whites to Sikhism is centuries old. Max Arthur Macauliffe (1841-1913), a senior British administrator who was posted to India during the British rule of Punjab, converted to Sikhism in the 1860s. As a prolific scholar and author, Macauliffe is held in high esteem among the Sikh community, in particular the intelligentsia, for his monumental translation into English of the Sikh Scriptures, the Guru Granth Sahib.

In more recent times, earlier examples of conversion includes Vic Briggs, a 64-year-old London resident and former blues musician (The Animals). He converted and took the name Vikram Singh Khalsa. Later, he became the first non-subcontinental to perform religious chants at the Golden Temple.

Dr. Lonnie Smith, a 67-year-old New York resident, is a jazz musician, recognized as an exceptional player of both the Hammond B3 organ and piano, also converted to Sikhism but did not change his name. I have sent him a hello message. I will read about him and might ask him about his name! Why there is no “Singh” in his name? Is it important?

Read bit more on his website. Click here.