If we look to the most influential scholars of Sikhism in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in Punjab – their focus, though looking at varied aspects of the tradition, has been primarily historical.1 The most recent publications from contemporary scholars of Sikhism in the Diaspora have also, by and large, followed their lead.

History is not enough: While the historical approach, in its myriad forms and methods, has rightly taken a place of honour within Sikh Studies, it has also meant that the vast range of methods and approaches found within the study of religion has been largely overlooked. If we look to the academic study of Hindu, Islamic, Judaic, Christian or Buddhist traditions, there is little comparison to Sikh Studies in the Diaspora. Systematic theology, ethics, ecological theology, ritual studies, comparative religious concerns, semantics, the psychology and sociology of religion, to name but a few non-historical approaches, these have not found a major and comprehensive foothold in the study of Sikhism. The area of scriptural studies has, on the other hand, started to evolve, but the controversies surrounding these studies are well documented and well known.2 While I am not saying these other approaches have never been utilized, I would suggest that they have remained marginal to the more prominent thrust of the historical framework.3 Perhaps because of the centrality of history within the Sikh tradition, the vast majority of research in the past and the present has focused on the historical, which has meant that other disciplines have largely been ignored.

Diversification Needed: I would, before moving into the actual question, ‘where do we as scholars of Sikhism go from here?’, suggest that unless the area of Sikh Studies becomes more diversified, Sikhism will remain what Mark Juergensmeyer delineates it as "the forgotten tradition" within the panorama of Religious Studies within the academy.4  The issue is, however, complex. Given the viciousness of attacks facing scholars of Sikhism whenever their research findings contradict - or even modify - existing modes of thought or practice, it is not unreasonable to suggest that the fear of reprisal has affected not only current work conducted within this area of study, but it has also dampened prospects for attracting bright and inquiring minds into Sikh Studies.

Of central importance in addressing these concerns is the question of where one turns to in addressing these concerns? The most obvious answer would be to direct students to their local gurdwara and its respective leadership. But this only spawns new questions concerning the specific training necessary for granthis, many lacking basic English language skills, to address young people’s concerns. This is not to belittle the position of granthis within the Diaspora. They are highly effective as the primary caretakers of gurdwara as well as being responsible for the recitation and singing of hymns from the Adi Granth. However, training and skills necessary for counselling youth and young adults are simply not part of the preparation deemed necessary to carry out the duties of a granthi.5 Perhaps the answer lies in the appointment of specially trained Sikh chaplains within the university setting within the Diaspora.

Wide-ranging Debate: It is my belief that these questions are most honestly and thoroughly posed and answered on the WWW.6  It is here that people from all over the world can meet and can shrink the vastness of physical distances between them simply by the click of a button.7 And it is here that questions of caste, gender, abortion, Sikh identity, premarital sex, homosexuality, to name only a few, can be found almost on a daily basis. The anonymity of the Web is particularly conducive for stances taken on these often controversial issues. I can recall a dialogue taking place on one particular Sikh-based website, specifically between Sikhs, where a practicing kes-dhari Sikh openly admitted his sexual orientation as a gay man. Upon his disclosure, he was subjected to an inordinate amount of cruel and malicious response from others who were taking addressed to him upon his disclosure. But the conversation also opened doors to others who were truly interested in discussing the issue of homosexuality within Sikhism. For without a doubt, sexual orientation is one issue that is always fraught with huge discomfort for those who are outside the bounds of homosexuality. Moreover, homosexuality is often unequivocally condemned by religious tradition, regardless of one’s religious persuasion. Needless to say, it is difficult to image the same dialogue between ‘gays’ and ‘straights’ taking place in gurdwaras.

"Ocean of Truth": The breadth of that conduit of information came to be extended through travel, radio and television. This led to what Walter Truett Anderson characterizes as a series of culture shocks, as humans discovered that there was more than one worldview or perspective on life.8 The WWW has simply pushed the ability to hear, experience, and understand different perspectives to a virtually limitless degree. This bombardment of voices, opinions, perspectives is the foremost characteristic of the postmodern condition. The Web, more than any other tool of communications, opens up the possibility of experiencing and living in an ‘ocean of truths’. Thus, while each individual is without doubt still rooted in a localized and particular worldview, one with its own sets of ‘authorities’, individuals with access to the Web can discover, across neighbourhoods, cities and even continents, beyond their own‘truth’, the ‘truths’ of others, each with a myriad of manifestations. The postmodern is utterly aware that different people have different concepts of what the world is like.9  Moreover, the postmodern is often actively engaged with worldviews other than her or his own.

Post-Modernism: Of central importance when discussing the postmodern condition is a deep- seated suspicion of any universal claims. Jean Francois Lyotard labels any claims to universality and authority as a "meta-narrative;" it is also any construct that represents a final ‘truth’.10  Meta-narratives have long decided who and what constitutes legitimacy. Postmoderns however, no longer simply legitimate a statement by referring exclusively to an authoritative source. They are instead eclectic ‘gatherers’, who collect their beliefs from a variety of sources. But they are at the same time rooted within the narratives of their own communities. This is, according to Anderson, the "central part of a new global culture which is, in a sense, a culture about cultures…The world around us has become a more human world."11 Thus, instead of turning immediately to the authority figure or text to determine what one’s view should entail, the postmodern instead actively engages others, those who are not authority figures, to come to her or his own understanding of right and wrong.

Conclusion: This paper is not of the scope to decide, or even begin, to discuss the merits or detrimental out-workings of the postmodern condition. But suffice it to say, in an effort to return to the active process of dialogue and discussion that is taking part within the "age of virtual sangats,"12  it is a useful framework for understanding how and why it is that many issues that have hitherto remained censured and even off-limits within the religio-cultural meta-narrative that is the Sikh tradition, have within the virtual and postmodern milieu instead become important exchanges. It is perhaps this aspect of the diasporic Sikh experience that brings with it the most profound challenges and, most importantly, a profound need to bridge the postmodern individual, and what can be construed as ‘Sikh tradition’ the latter intricately intertwined and legitimated by the meta-narrative. This bridging is essential to ensure that the tradition itself remains relevant and applicable to young Sikhs who are themselves involved in the project of post-modernity. And, to return also to the academic study of Sikhism, this radical theoretical shift must also be taken into account in any scholarly endeavour that has as its focus the religion, culture and identity of the Sikhs.