Associate Editor Simran Jeet Singh offers an explanatory Twitter thread on what we might learn from the spiritual master, poet and philosopher. See the full letter here.
As we celebrate the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the US, Sikhs around the world are celebrating the birth anniversary of their tenth leader, Guru Gobind Singh.
— Simran Jeet Singh (@SikhProf) January 20, 2021
Here's a short reflection on what his life can teach us as we enter a new era together.
Too often, we take leadership and service separately, as two discrete ways of engaging with the world around us. We typically think of leadership as how someone with power influences those who follow them, and service as a way of supporting those without power.
— Simran Jeet Singh (@SikhProf) January 20, 2021
What Guru Gobind Singh teaches us, though, is that the two go hand-in-hand: We each have our own forms of power, and we can each deploy that power for the betterment of our world. This is servant-leadership.
— Simran Jeet Singh (@SikhProf) January 20, 2021
Leadership is at its best when it is rooted in compassion and humility.
— Simran Jeet Singh (@SikhProf) January 20, 2021
The poorest leaders are those who work for their own gain and seek to serve themselves. The greatest leaders are those who are connected to their people and work for the benefit of those they serve.
One approach is self-centered and leads to disconnection, while the other is inspired by love and produces justice. We have seen with our own eyes the difference between the two.
— Simran Jeet Singh (@SikhProf) January 20, 2021
In the Sikh tradition, we refer to this selfless, love-inspired service as seva. It is both the natural expression of our love and the practice for cultivating love. Service, we believe, is the goal and the practice. We believe this because service itself is love.
— Simran Jeet Singh (@SikhProf) January 20, 2021
One of the most commonly sung praises of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru, announces: “vaho vaho gobind singh aapay gurchela. Amazing, amazing is Gobind Singh, who is both the guru and the servant.”
— Simran Jeet Singh (@SikhProf) January 20, 2021
For Sikhs, this is not just empty praise. We aspire to each be like Guru Gobind Singh and to embody his qualities, including his unique approach to leadership – to lead and to serve in the same breath.
— Simran Jeet Singh (@SikhProf) January 20, 2021
His approach to leadership as a form of service is an approach from which we all can learn. As we move toward building a more just and more loving world, we would all do well to follow in these footsteps.
— Simran Jeet Singh (@SikhProf) January 20, 2021
