Guided learning paths

A gentle beginner's introduction to the Gurmukhi script, the writing system in which the Guru Granth Sahib Ji and much Punjabi literature are recorded. This course traces the script's history and its association with Guru Angad Dev Ji, walks through the Painti (the thirty-five base letters) grouped by how they are…

This course teaches how the Gurmukhi script and the grammar of Gurbani work together to unlock the correct meaning of the sacred word. Students learn the thirty-five letters, the vowel signs (ਲਗਾਂ ਮਾਤ੍ਰਾਂ), and the additional marks, and then study how a final vowel sign on a noun or verb changes meaning. The…

An academic study of Japji Sahib, the foundational composition of Guru Nanak Dev Ji that opens Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji at Ang 1. This course examines the structure and themes of the bani rather than reproducing or paraphrasing its lines: the Mool Mantar and its naming of the Divine; the critique of empty ritual;…

A college-level introduction to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the eternal living Guru of the Sikhs. The course examines how the scripture was compiled by Guru Arjan Dev Ji and completed under Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the community of voices it gathers (Gurus, Bhagats, and Bhatts), its arrangement by Raag, its script and…

An intermediate course that builds Punjabi vocabulary and reading comprehension through the language of Gurbani. You will learn high-frequency devotional words and their meanings, see how the older Sant Bhasha register differs from everyday modern Punjabi, grasp core grammar concepts at a conceptual level, and…

This overview course introduces the tradition of the teeka (commentary or exegesis) and shows how commentaries have helped Sikhs read and understand Gurbani for more than a century. It explains what a teeka is and why a learner often needs help with older vocabulary, grammar, and context. It surveys the main…

An author-as-professor course about Prof. Sahib Singh (1892-1977), among the most influential interpreters of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. The course studies who he was, the grammar-based method he built for reading Gurbani, his ten-volume Sri Guru Granth Sahib Darpan, his companion Gurbani Viakaran, his study of the…

A rigorous yet accessible introduction to Gurmat, the theology of the Guru's teachings, covering the nature of the Divine, the Shabad Guru, the path of devotion, grace and effort, ethics and equality, and the meaning of liberation.

A college-level introduction to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the eternal living Guru of the Sikhs. The course examines how the scripture was compiled by Guru Arjan Dev Ji and completed under Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the community of voices it gathers (Gurus, Bhagats, and Bhatts), its arrangement by Raag, its script and…

This course surveys the lives, teachings, and contributions of the ten human Gurus, from Guru Nanak Dev Ji to Guru Gobind Singh Ji, and the conferral of eternal Guruship upon ਸ੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਜੀ. It pays special attention to how the devotional chronicles of Kavi (Bhai) Santokh Singh, above all his Sri Gur…

An academic introduction to the Panj Kakaar (the Five Ks) and the formed Sikh identity of the Khalsa, taught in the voice of the Rehat tradition associated with Bhai Chaupa Singh Chhibber, author of one of the earliest Rehatnamas (codes of conduct). The course studies each of the five articles of faith…

An academic, term-by-term study of the Mool Mantar, the foundational statement that opens Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji at Ang 1. The course explains each phrase in plain English, situates it within classical and modern Sikh scholarship, and shows how these few words frame the whole of Gurbani and shape Sikh life.…

This course studies the life and message of Guru Nanak Dev Ji (1469-1539), the founder of the Sikh faith, in an academic but accessible way. It traces his birth at Nankana Sahib, the spiritual awakening at Sultanpur Lodhi, the four Udasis or great journeys, his central teachings on the One Creator, honest work,…

This course studies the life and contributions of Guru Angad Dev Ji (1504-1552), the Second Master of the Sikhs. Born Bhai Lehna, he met Guru Nanak Dev Ji at Kartarpur and was chosen as successor in 1539, over Guru Nanak's own sons, because of his humility and devoted service. As Guru he settled at Khadur Sahib,…

Guru Amar Das Ji (1479-1574), the Third Guru of the Sikhs, led the community from 1552 to 1574. This course studies his life and his lasting reforms. He built the town of Goindwal and its famous Baoli Sahib, and he made the rule that every visitor, of any rank, must first sit together and eat in the langar before…

Guru Ram Das Ji (1534-1581) was the fourth of the ten Sikh Gurus and led the community from 1574 to 1581. Born in Lahore as Bhai Jetha, he is remembered for founding the settlement of Ramdaspur, which later grew into the city of Amritsar, and for beginning the excavation of its great sarovar (sacred pool). He…

Guru Arjan Dev Ji (1563-1606), the fifth Sikh Guru, guided the community from 1581 to 1606. His era shaped Sikhi in lasting ways. He completed the Harmandir Sahib (the Golden Temple) at Amritsar and gave it doors on all four sides as a sign of openness to all people. He compiled the Adi Granth in 1604, gathering…

Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji (1595-1644), the Sixth Nanak, became Guru in 1606 following the martyrdom of his father, Guru Arjan Dev Ji. This course studies how he gave the Sikh community a balanced direction by joining spiritual life with worldly responsibility. He wore two swords, one for Miri (temporal authority) and…

Guru Har Rai Ji (1630-1661) was the seventh Sikh Guru, serving the community from 1644 to 1661. A grandson of Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji, he is remembered above all for his deep compassion and gentleness toward every living creature. This course studies his life and leadership: how he kept the Sikh community strong…

Guru Har Krishan Ji (1656-1664) was the Eighth Guru of the Sikhs and became Guru as a young child, around the age of five, in 1661. This course studies his short but luminous life: his early succession after Guru Har Rai Ji, his journey to Delhi at the call of the Mughal court, and his remembered service to the…

This course studies the life, travels, teaching, and martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji (1621-1675), the Ninth Guru of the Sikhs. He became Guru in 1665, journeyed across northern and eastern India, and founded the town that grew into Anandpur. In 1675 he was executed in Delhi under the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb…

This course studies the life of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the tenth Guru, and the founding of the Khalsa. It follows his birth in 1666, the martyrdom of his father, the founding of the Khalsa on Vaisakhi 1699, the first Amrit Sanchar and the Panj Pyare, the sacrifice of the Sahibzade, and the 1708 conferral of eternal…

This course studies the most formative century of Sikh history. It begins with the founding of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699 and ends as the Sikhs approached sovereign statehood. In these decades the community took on a clear identity with its own ideals and institutions. It survived years of persecution…

A university-level survey of the Sikh Empire under Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839), framed through the historical writing of the dhadi and historian Bhai Sohan Singh Sital, author of works such as Sikh Mislan and Sikh Raj Kivein Gaya. The course traces the rise of Ranjit Singh from a Sukerchakia misl chief to…

This upper-level course traces the Sikh experience from the British annexation of Punjab in 1849 through the colonial period and the Singh Sabha renaissance to the Sikh Gurdwaras Act of 1925. Students study key reformers, institutions, the Tat Khalsa and Sanatan debates, and the Gurdwara Reform movement, with…

An academic survey of Sikh migration and settlement across the world, from the late nineteenth century to the present. The course follows the movement of Sikhs within the British Empire to East Africa and Southeast Asia, the early twentieth-century pioneers who reached the Pacific coast of North America, the…

A gentle beginner's introduction to the Gurmukhi script, the writing system in which the Guru Granth Sahib Ji and much Punjabi literature are recorded. This course traces the script's history and its association with Guru Angad Dev Ji, walks through the Painti (the thirty-five base letters) grouped by how they are…

This course teaches how the Gurmukhi script and the grammar of Gurbani work together to unlock the correct meaning of the sacred word. Students learn the thirty-five letters, the vowel signs (ਲਗਾਂ ਮਾਤ੍ਰਾਂ), and the additional marks, and then study how a final vowel sign on a noun or verb changes meaning. The…

A beginner-friendly introduction to spoken Punjabi for everyday life. You will learn warm greetings and courtesies, build simple sentences with pronouns and present-tense verbs, count and tell time, talk about family and common objects, ask questions, and handle practical situations like ordering food, finding…

An intermediate course that builds Punjabi vocabulary and reading comprehension through the language of Gurbani. You will learn high-frequency devotional words and their meanings, see how the older Sant Bhasha register differs from everyday modern Punjabi, grasp core grammar concepts at a conceptual level, and…

An academic study of Japji Sahib, the foundational composition of Guru Nanak Dev Ji that opens Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji at Ang 1. This course examines the structure and themes of the bani rather than reproducing or paraphrasing its lines: the Mool Mantar and its naming of the Divine; the critique of empty ritual;…

An introduction to the lived spiritual practice of Sikhi. This course moves beyond history and doctrine to explore how a Sikh actually walks the spiritual path day by day: remembering the Divine through Naam, keeping the daily discipline of Nitnem, rising in the ambrosial hours of Amrit Vela, finding nourishment in…

Nitnem is the daily discipline of reciting and contemplating Gurbani that anchors a Sikh's spiritual life. This course explains what Nitnem is, the rhythm of the Sikh day and the Banis traditionally associated with morning, evening, and night, the meaning and benefits of steady practice, and how recitation…

An academic study of Naam Simran as a disciplined daily practice, examining the role of Shabad and Surat, the place of concentration and breath, the necessity of divine grace (Kirpa), and the example of sustained Naam-abhyaas in the life and writings of Bhai Randhir Singh (1878-1961).

An expanded academic study of ਨਾਮ (the Divine Name), one of the most central ideas in Sikh theology. The course moves from definition to lived practice: it examines what Naam means beyond an ordinary label, how the disciplines of ਸਿਮਰਨ (loving remembrance) and Naam Japna operate, and how Naam relates to ਸ਼ਬਦ (the…

An in-depth study of seva (selfless service) as a foundational practice of the Sikh way of life and of sarbat da bhala (the welfare of all) as its guiding ethical horizon. The course examines what seva means, its three classical forms of tan, man, and dhan, the institution of langar as service made permanent, the…

A rigorous yet accessible academic survey of the central ideas of the Sikh worldview, moving from the One Reality of ੴ (One Reality) through the lived ethics of remembrance, equality, selfless service, and liberation. The course reads each idea both as a teaching of the Gurus and as it is treated in modern…

An upper-division study of one of the central problems in Sikh philosophy: Haumai, the deep-rooted sense of a separate, self-asserting 'I' that the Gurus identify as the root of human bondage. Drawing on the reverent expository tradition of katha exemplified by Giani Sant Singh Maskeen (1934-2005), a renowned…

A close study of the Sikh teaching that the spiritual and the worldly belong together: the two swords of Guru Hargobind Ji, the Akal Takht, the saint-soldier ideal, and what just power (Halimi Raj, Deg Teg) means in Sikh life.

An academic study of the moral vision of Sikhi, organized around the ideal of the householder, the engaged grihast who pursues spiritual life within family, work, and society rather than through withdrawal from the world. The course examines the three pillars of Sikh living, the ethics of honest labor, the inner…

An undergraduate survey that situates Sikhi within the academic study of religion, examining its distinctive theology of one formless Reality (Ik Onkar) alongside the wider family of human religious traditions. Following the comparative and religious-studies approach associated with W. H. McLeod, the course…

A beginner-friendly survey of Gurmat Sangeet, the classical tradition of Sikh sacred music. This course explores the practice of Kirtan and its central place in Sikh worship, the system of Raags that organizes Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, an overview of the thirty-one main Raags, the traditional instruments and the…

An introduction to the role of Raag, the classical melodic framework of South Asian music, within Gurbani and the worship tradition of the Sikhs. This course explains what a Raag is, how Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji is organized by Raag, the emotional character associated with the principal Raags, and how melody is…

An exploration of Sikh sacred architecture, from the meaning and function of the Gurdwara to the celebrated Harmandir Sahib at Amritsar. This course examines the core spaces of a Gurdwara, the symbolism woven into its design, the rise of a recognizable Sikh architectural style, and how built form expresses the…

A respectful survey of the visual art traditions of the Sikh world, from illuminated manuscripts and decorated copies of scripture to the painting workshops that flourished under Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The course traces how Sikh painting drew on, and departed from, the Pahari and Mughal schools; examines the gilded…

This course offers a guided academic survey of the Sikh literary tradition from its origins to the present day. Students learn to read, situate, and analyze the major works as literature and as cultural record rather than reproducing the sacred and classical texts themselves. The sweep runs from the poetic…

An academic introduction to the classical poetic forms used in Sikh literature, studied through the great narrative works of Kavi (Bhai) Santokh Singh. The course examines metre, figures of speech, mood, and the heroic ballad, and asks how poetic form helps shape religious and historical meaning.

A plain-language introduction to artificial intelligence for everyone. This course explains what AI really is and is not, traces its journey from early rule-based systems to today's large language models, and unpacks the core ideas of data, training, models, and neural networks without any math. You will learn how…

A practical, vendor-agnostic guide to getting reliable, useful work out of large language models. You will build an intuition for how these systems generate text, learn to write prompts that clearly communicate task, context, constraints, and format, and pick up core techniques such as role framing, worked…

A college-level introduction to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the eternal living Guru of the Sikhs. The course examines how the scripture was compiled by Guru Arjan Dev Ji and completed under Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the community of voices it gathers (Gurus, Bhagats, and Bhatts), its arrangement by Raag, its script and…

An academic study of Japji Sahib, the foundational composition of Guru Nanak Dev Ji that opens Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji at Ang 1. This course examines the structure and themes of the bani rather than reproducing or paraphrasing its lines: the Mool Mantar and its naming of the Divine; the critique of empty ritual;…

This overview course introduces the tradition of the teeka (commentary or exegesis) and shows how commentaries have helped Sikhs read and understand Gurbani for more than a century. It explains what a teeka is and why a learner often needs help with older vocabulary, grammar, and context. It surveys the main…

This course studies the Garab Ganjani Teeka, a prose commentary on Japji Sahib written by Kavi (Bhai) Santokh Singh in the Nirmala tradition of Sikh exegesis. Students learn what a teeka is, who Santokh Singh was, why this particular commentary was written, and the interpretive debate it addressed. The course…

This course studies the Faridkot Wala Teeka, widely regarded as the first complete traditional commentary on the whole of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. Written by Sant Giani Badan Singh of Dera Sekhwan at the encouragement of Maharaja Bikram Singh of Faridkot, it took about six and a half years and was completed in…