Sarbat da Bhala: The Sikh Foundations of Interfaith Dialogue

Sikhi opens with a simple but far-reaching claim: there is one Creator behind all that exists. This is captured in the phrase ਇੱਕ ਓਅੰਕਾਰ (Ik Onkar), the first words of Sikh scripture. If one source gives life to everyone, then every human being shares the same origin. Guru Nanak Sahib expresses this by describing the Divine as one Father whose children are all of humanity; in our own words, the teaching is that we are all the children of a single parent, so no group stands outside the family (Singh and Fenech 2014).

This matters for how Sikhs see people of other faiths. If all people are kin, then a Hindu, a Muslim, a Christian, or a person of no formal religion is not a stranger or a rival but a relative. The tradition also speaks of ਮਾਨਸ ਕੀ ਜਾਤਿ (manas ki jaat), the idea that humankind is really one single kind, which the Gurus used to push back against caste and communal division (Grewal 1998).

Note the order of ideas here. Respect for other faiths is not added on later as good manners. It follows directly from the most basic Sikh belief about God. Dialogue, then, is theological before it is diplomatic.

Throughout this course we will keep returning to this root. When we ask why Sikhs run a kitchen open to all, or why a Guru died for someone else's religion, the answer traces back to oneness.

Every formal Sikh prayer, the ਅਰਦਾਸ (Ardas), ends with the same aspiration: ਸਰਬੱਤ ਦਾ ਭਲਾ (Sarbat da Bhala), the welfare of all. The Sikh does not ask only for the good of Sikhs, or of their own family, or of their own nation. The final word of the prayer reaches out to every being everywhere (Nesbitt 2016).

This is a striking habit to build into daily worship. It means that the standard Sikh way of closing a conversation with the Divine is to wish well to people of every faith, including those who may disagree with Sikhi entirely. Over time, repeating this phrase trains the heart toward a wide and generous concern.

Sarbat da Bhala is not only a feeling. It points toward action. To genuinely want the welfare of all is to work for fairness, to feed the hungry, and to defend the freedoms of others. The next lesson shows the most dramatic example of that defence. But even in ordinary life, the phrase asks the Sikh to treat the good of a neighbour of another religion as part of their own prayer (Singh and Fenech 2014).

It helps to compare the scope of common requests in prayer.

The clearest historical proof of Sikh commitment to others' freedom of conscience is the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji in 1675. This event is well documented and widely accepted by historians (Grewal 1998).

According to the tradition, a group of Kashmiri Pandits, who were Hindus facing pressure to convert under Mughal policy, came to the ninth Guru for help. Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji chose to stand for their right to keep their own faith. He was arrested and, refusing to abandon this stand, was executed in Delhi in 1675 (Singh and Fenech 2014).

Two points deserve emphasis. First, the Guru was not defending Sikhi in this case. He died to protect the freedom of a community whose beliefs differed from his own. This is why he is sometimes remembered with the title meaning protector of the faith of others, ਸ਼ਹੀਦ (shaheed) in the cause of conscience itself. Second, the sacrifice flows naturally from the ideas we have already met: if all are one family and we pray for the welfare of all, then the right of others to worship as they choose is worth protecting, even at the cost of one's life (McLeod 1997).

This martyrdom became a defining memory for the Sikh community. It set a standard that defending the oppressed, regardless of their religion, is a sacred duty rather than an optional kindness.

Beliefs become real when they shape how people gather and eat. Two Sikh institutions do exactly this: ਲੰਗਰ (langar), the free community kitchen, and ਸੰਗਤ (sangat), the gathered congregation.

In langar, anyone may eat, and everyone sits together on the same level on the floor. There is no separate seating for the wealthy, no exclusion by caste, and no requirement to be a Sikh. A visitor of any religion is welcomed and fed (Nesbitt 2016). Guru Nanak Sahib and the Gurus who followed used this shared meal to break down the social walls that kept people apart in their time, especially the caste barriers around who could eat with whom (Grewal 1998).

Sangat works in a similar way. The congregation is open. People of different backgrounds sit, sing, and listen together. The very design of these spaces says that oneness is not just a teaching to be discussed but a practice to be experienced.

For interfaith dialogue this is powerful. Many dialogues happen only in words at conferences. Langar offers something more ordinary and more disarming: a shared meal where difference is set aside without anyone being asked to give up their faith (Singh and Fenech 2014).

Scholars often sort attitudes toward other religions into rough types. Some traditions are exclusive, holding that only their own path is valid. Some are inclusive, holding that their path is best but others contain truth. Some are pluralist, treating many paths as genuinely valid. The Sikh stance does not fit neatly into any single box, and it is worth seeing why (McLeod 1997).

Sikhi holds firmly to its own understanding of the One and to the teachings of the Gurus. At the same time, it does not claim a monopoly on the Divine, and it insists on protecting the freedom of others to follow their own way, as Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji's sacrifice shows. The emphasis falls less on ranking religions and more on honest living, devotion to the One, and service to all (Singh and Fenech 2014).

This gives the Sikh approach a practical flavour. The question is less Whose doctrine is correct? and more Are you living truthfully and serving others? Dialogue, in this light, is about shared moral action as much as shared belief. That is why a Sikh can sit comfortably with people of other faiths in common service without feeling the need to convert them or to dissolve real differences (Nesbitt 2016).

The principles in this course are not museum pieces. Sikh communities around the world apply them in everyday ways. Gurdwaras open their langar to neighbours of every faith, and during emergencies Sikh volunteers often serve meals to whole communities without asking anyone's religion (Nesbitt 2016).

Sikhs also take part in formal interfaith bodies, sharing the platform with leaders of other religions to work on common concerns such as poverty, the environment, and standing against hatred. The Sikh contribution often centres on service and on the protection of religious freedom for all, which fits the legacy of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji and the daily prayer of ਸਰਬੱਤ ਦਾ ਭਲਾ (Sarbat da Bhala) (Singh and Fenech 2014).

There is also a vision behind this engagement. The tradition speaks of ਹਲੇਮੀ ਰਾਜ (Halemi Raj), a gentle and just order where no one is oppressed and the vulnerable are safe. Working with other faiths to build a fairer society is one way Sikhs reach toward that vision (Grewal 1998).

To close the course, it helps to hold the whole picture together. The oneness of the Creator makes all people kin. Sarbat da Bhala turns that kinship into a daily wish for everyone's good. Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji showed that the wish can cost one's life. Langar and sangat make it something you can sit down inside. And today's interfaith work carries it forward. Simple at the root, demanding in practice, and open to all.