Current Events
Sikh-American To Join Pope Francis For 9/11 Service
HARVINDER KAUR
Sikh-American Satpal Singh will be among the dozen faith leaders of the US who will share the stage with Pope Francis for a special inter-faith memorial service at the 9/11 memorial site in New York City.
Satpal Singh, along with his daughter Gunisha Kaur, will represent the Sikh community in the interfaith memorial service labelled ‘Multi-religious Meeting for Peace’ on September 25, 2015 inside the 9/11 Memorial Museum.
“The reason he was selected is that he has been active in various local, national and international Sikh community events for long,” said Simranjit Singh, his son-in-law. The latter is a professor of religion at Trinity University.
In the ceremony, Satpal Singh and Gunisha Kaur will offer a Sikh ardaas before the multi-faith congregation.
Last month, they received an invitation from Cardinal of New York James Donald for the event. Satpal Singh is currently the chairman of Sikh Council for Interfaith Relations, an organisation that conducts religious retreats and meets annually in various parts of the US.
At the event, representatives of different religions will be making similar presentations on behalf of their respective faith traditions.
Satpal Singh was earlier the chairman of World Sikh Council, American region, a representative body of Sikh institution of America.
“The whole motive of the annual ceremony is to identify various aspects of each other’s religion, finding peace and making this nation a better place to live in for the people of all backgrounds,” he said.
Satpal Singh is an Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology and has been working at the University of Buffalo since 1989. A victim of India’s anti-Sikh pogroms of 1984, he fled India with his family 30 years ago and settled in Amherst, New York.
Gunisha Kaur is an anaesthesiologist by profession and works at New York Presbyterian Hospital. She is associated with various community works related to global health and medical service.
The ceremony will be part of the first ever tour in the United States for Pope Francis.
[Courtesy: Hindustan Times. Edited for sikhchic.com]
September 22, 2015
Conversation about this article
1: Kanwal Prakash Singh (Indianapolis, Indiana, USA), September 22, 2015, 8:45 AM.
This is an honor for us that Prof. Satpal Singh ji and his daughter Gunisha Kaur will be among the interfaith leaders to meet Pope Francis and join him for a special interfaith memorial service at the 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York City on Friday, September 25. In recent decades, enlightened contemporary spiritual teachers and leaders have recognized and advanced the precepts of a unifying interfaith spirit as a divinely-mandated and unmistakable vision; our common humanity and shared spiritual knowledge and divine wisdom intersecting at myriad thresholds across our journeys in wonderful, imagined and unimagined ways. The Sacred Sikh Scriptures reverberate with commandments of respect for other faiths and spiritual traditions, and the blessing of working with others in faith for the common good. This spirit is our new frontier of amazing possibilities, a key to peace and peaceful coexistence: To serve and give a living testimony of faiths-at-work and in-service, elevating human existence and conditions, assuring survival and human advancement, searching for uncommon common ground amidst our many formidable divisions and unconscionable challenges. The late Pope John Paul II, the Dalai Lama, Bhai Mohinder Singh ji (UK), and many other faith leaders have placed this interfaith ideal and urgency before us. We celebrate this moment; welcome the changing attitudes and spirit of inclusion at such momentous events as reflective of the larger vision of an affirmation that we are all One God's children. Our thoughts and prayers are with all faith leaders and special guests gathering on Friday to prayers at the 9/11 Memorial. Sat Sri Akal to every one and Waheguru ji ki Fateh.
2: Arjan Singh (USA), September 22, 2015, 3:03 PM.
Sardar Satpal Singh ji must know that this is a unique responsibility bestowed on his worthy shoulders to present the Sikh prayer (ardaas) that wishes nothing less but 'sarbat da bhalla'. This is also an opportunity to somehow convey that Sikhs have a unique identity so that the ignorance levels about us can be reduced in this country (USA). The fact that he himself was a victim of India's anti-Sikh pogrom of 1984 and created a new life for himself in USA without sacrificing his unique identity speaks volumes about this country’s strength towards those who look different ... as compared to India. My family and I wish him and his daughter the very best.
3: Ajit Singh Batra (Pennsville, New Jersey, USA), September 23, 2015, 7:16 AM.
"Naa ko bairee nahee bigaanaa sagal sangh hum ko bun aayee" [GGS:1299] -- "Beither is there foe nor stranger, we are only in the company of friends". Waheguru pervades all religions, which are therefore, in essence, one. Our ardaas prays for the welfare of all humanity.