As the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak taught that we discover our oneness with humanity by exploring the differences that separate us. The Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize recognizes and supports the efforts of those individuals and organizations who work to advance that vision.
According to Guru Nanak, religions are paradoxical. They help us to discover and cultivate what is best and most hopeful about one another and the world that sustains us. And yet, they often spark conflict and violence. The Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize is based on the conviction that religious dialogue helps to minimize religious conflict by cultivating awareness that we each view the world from the limitations of our own traditions, and we have much to learn from the traditions of others.
Messages of Hope Offered in Honor of Guru Nanak’s Birthday
2026 Award Nominations
The 2026 Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize will open for nominations soon. Please review the award criteria and make your submission.
The Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize was established with a gift from the family of Sardar Ishar Singh Bindra and Sardarni Kuljit Kaur Bindra, prominent Sikh-Americans living in Brookville, New York. In September 2000, the Bindra family endowed the Sardarni Kuljit Kaur Bindra Chair in Sikh Studies at Hofstra University in honor of the family's matriarch.
The family's company, Paras Design, Inc., based in New York City, is a major distributor of apparel, and the family has substantial interests in real estate as well. The Bindras are deeply involved in philanthropic activities that benefit both the Sikh and non-Sikh communities. The Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize is an expression of Sardar Ishar Singh Bindra's longstanding dedication to interfaith harmony.
About Guru Nanak
Guru Nanak
Guru Nanak was born in 1469 in a village located near the contemporary Pakistani city of Lahore.
Guru Nanak Award
Previous Recipients
Hofstra University has awarded the Guru Nanak Prize biennially since 2008.
- 2024: Dr. Thea Gomelauri and the Oxford Interfaith Forum and the United Religions Initiative and its founder, Ret. Rv. William Swing
- 2022: Amardeep Singh
- 2020: Dr. Karen Armstrong and the Charter for Compassion, and the Interfaith Center of New York
- 2018: Tanenbaum Center for Interreligous Understanding
- 2016: Pluralism Project at Harvard University and Serve2Unite
- 2014: Bhai Sabib Mohinder Singh and the Rev. Dr. Katharine Rhodes
- 2012: Dr. Eboo Patel
- 2010: Rabbi Arthur Schneier and Religions for Peace
- 2008: His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso
