Voices of Shabad: A Reflection by GAAVANI
In honor of the 350th commemorative year of Guru Tegh Bahadur, GAAVANI continues its special essay series on SikhNet, sharing reflections from Sikh women on their personal journeys with Sikh spirituality and the living presence of the Guru’s Shabad.
In this reflection, the author explores how the journey of a Gursikh is not confined to physical spaces or quiet retreats, but unfolds through everyday acts of seva, connection, and shared humanity. Drawing from her experiences mentoring women across the world, she reflects on how Gurbani comes alive through principles like Vand Chhakna, Sarbat da Bhala, Nirbhau, and Nirvair.
Launched on International Women’s Day, this series concludes with this final reflection, inviting the Sangat to reconnect with the wisdom and presence of the Guru’s Shabad in everyday life.
When She Leads, She Builds: Finding the Divine in a Global Sisterhood
The Journey & Destination
Seekers often ask: What is the journey and the ultimate ‘destination' of a spiritual life of a Gursikh guided by Gurbani? Is it a physical pilgrimage? A quiet retreat from the world? A state of mind?
For me, the answer didn’t arrive in a quiet place of worship. It arrived on a chaotic Friday afternoon, twelve years ago, through an unexpected phone call from the director of my organization. An Egyptian woman working in solar energy had just arrived in San Francisco, she told me, and was stranded without a mentor but she needed to start her work on Monday itself. She asked if I could step in at the last minute. I gave a somewhat skeptical "yes" to that request, thinking simply that because I worked in energy technologies, I might be able to help her navigate her field.
But looking back, that "yes" was rooted in something much deeper. It was an echo of a Shabad I recited everyday as a child, the motto of my elementary school in Delhi: Vidya Veechari Taan Parupkari. In simple terms: True knowledge isn't what you hold. It's what you share. If I had been blessed with education and experience, it was my spiritual duty to share it. That single, naive "yes" launched a transformational journey with TechWomen, a U.S. Department of State women’s leadership program. Over the past dozen years, I’ve had the profound honor to provide professional mentoring to over 50 emerging women leaders from 16 different countries. My job was to help them craft roadmaps and develop technical and leadership skills for their futures.
Through them, I saw the teachings of the Gurus come alive in modern, high-stakes contexts. Rund from Jordan has run for national elections on a platform of clean energy in a region still being besieged by energy wars. Norah from Kenya has become a household name after inventing a portable fridge to deliver life-saving vaccines to isolated rural communities. Rasha from Palestine has become the youngest-ever department head at her university, relentlessly educating students amidst an incredibly unsafe environment. Each of these women is driving something far larger than herself. These 50 women embody a core Sikh principle: Ghall Khaaey Kicch Hathon Deye, to work honestly for what you eat, and to give some of what you have to others.
These women aren't just building careers. They are building nations.
Just last month, this journey took me to Central Asia. We teamed up with twelve Kyrgyz women to launch a massive tech initiative, and it could have been a disaster. Funding was yanked at the last minute. The logistics were a nightmare. And let’s be honest: we’ve all seen environments where women, forced to fight for scraps of opportunity, end up competing and deflating one another. Here, everything was built on stolen time, squeezed between full-time jobs and families, with zero budget and absolutely zero obligation to stay. They could have walked away.
But these women did the exact opposite.They dropped their armor. They let go of their egos. They didn’t show up because they had to; they showed up because they cared. In just four days, this unstoppable sisterhood ran six massive events across Bishkek. Thanks to them, we brought robotics to schoolchildren, enabled social impact startup ideas for local communities, and launched an unprecedented AI Summit, delivering life-changing impact to over 2,000 people who'd never had such opportunities. They were the living, breathing embodiment of Sarbat da bhala.
And they fueled this impossible feat with the indomitable spirit of Chardi Kala. Because true optimism isn’t naive. It is relentless.
Watching them, I was reminded of how our Gurus elevated women. Gurbani says, Bhandon hee Bhand Upjai Bhandey Baajh naa koey. "From woman, woman is born; without woman, there is none." Gurbani elevates the woman to a place of sovereignty. She is the creator, the nurturer, the ultimate force of divine generation.
When she leads, she builds.
The world today feels viciously fragmented, divided by seemingly impenetrable walls of hate, fear, and war. Yet, engaging in countries from Kenya to Morocco to Kyrgyzstan, connecting deeply with people across entirely different cultures, languages, and religions, I have tried to reflect on this. Each conversation, each shared story, each moment of connection reminds me why this mission matters so deeply. We're not networking, we're building bridges that span continents and create lasting change. And true connection requires two key ingredients: Nirbhau and Nirvair. To be Nirbhau is to embrace the world without fear. To be Nirvair is to exist without hate, without enmity, recognizing that there is no "other."
So, what is the journey and destination of a spiritual life? The journey is the daily, active practice of taking wisdom, optimism, and fearless love in action, and applying it to whatever world you inhabit. It doesn't matter if that’s a clinic, a classroom, or a global mentorship program. It's the wonder of sonder, when you realize that every being is living a life as vivid, complex, and enriched as your own. And the destination? It isn't a place on a map at all. The destination is a heart so open and fearless that you can look across a fragmented globe and see only family, reflections of the same divine light.
by Reshma Singh