Sikhism is one of the youngest of the major world religions, yet, until very recently, has largely been neglected in curriculums of higher education. This paper seeks to come to an understanding of the central message of the Sikhs, beginning with the truly universal worldview of its founder, Guru Nanak, and continuing through to contemporary perspectives. How can Sikhism contribute to this process of educating to globalize the human mind?
Doris R. Jakobsh is Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Waterloo. She has degrees from the University of Waterloo, Harvard University and the University of British Columbia. She is the author of Relocating Gender in Sikh History: Transformation, Meaning and Identity, Oxford University Press (2003, 2005), Sikhism. Dimensions of Asian Spirituality Series, University of Hawaii Press (2011) and has edited Sikhism and Women. History, Texts and Experience, Oxford University Press (2010) and the two volume World Religions - Canadian Perspectives: Eastern and Western Traditions, Nelson Publishers (2013) as well as numerous journal articles and chapters. Professor Jakobsh is the director of ‘The Living Traditions of India’, a three-month India-study trip for University of Waterloo students in which students are immersed in the religions and cultures of India, as well as being a founding member of the Steering Committee Member of the Sikh Consultation of the American Academy of Religion. She was the Director of Women's Studies at the University of Waterloo from 2011-2012. Dr. Jakobsh also serves on a number of local and international editorial boards and advisory committees associated with the study of religion, spirituality and Sikh studies, including SHEN.