Translate Site In

Posted by paramdeep singh | Tuesday, September 1, 2009 | 1 comments

Question 18: Is it necessary for a Sikh to keep unshorn long hair and a turban on his head?

YES. It is disgraceful for a Singh to shear off his hair because by doing so he is disobeying the Guru's command. Not to obey the commander and yet to claim to be under his command is a contradiction in terms. Similarly to show lip-devotion to the Guru's instructions and continue to behave according to the dictates of one's own mind is manmat (egoism). It must be understood clearly that the most important symbol of the Sikh faith is the hair, Miss Jeane Cutler explains this as follows:-

"Eliminate symbols my Sikhlings and watch the Khalsa crumble. Take off the turban, cut the hair or throw aside the "Kara," I can tell you truthfully the result would be embarrassing as well as disastrous. These five symbols have held the Sikhs in united brotherhood. They serve to make a Sikh feel and act as a Sikh. They endow him with courage to accomplish feats which otherwise would be impossible for an average man. To make a long story short, the five symbols have psychological bearing on the man who wears them. They are a manifestation of the Guru eternal." Thus hair is necessary for a Sikh and a turban is an essential and complementary adjunct to unshorn hair. Let it not be forgotten that Guru Gobind Singh had aimed to change his followers into saint-soldiers modelled on himself and his predecessors. The ideal was expressed in the Holy scripture as follows:- "Saabat Surat Dastar Sira" "Keep your form complete and wear a turban." To remove hair and turban indicate the weakness of faith and disobedience of the Guru's commands. It is far easier to slip then to hold the balance. The visible propensity towards shaving the hair especially in the Western World is due to many factors.

(a) Some cut off their hair in order to look fashionable and submit to the worldly ways.

(b) Some find it difficult to get a job after having emigrated and in frustration adopt western ways to achieve easier interaction.

(c) A majority of the so-called shaven Sikhs unfortunately never have had he opportunity to be able to know the history, philosophy and the tenets of Sikhism fully before deciding to cut their hair. The hair signifies the inner dignity and the freedom of spirit of those who wear it, side by side with the integrity and firmness of faith.

One Response so far.

  1. Pranav Singh says:

    Sikhs who remove turban and shave only shed their hair, but when will you shed your ego? Considering oneself superior to others based on external attributes is worse than Bipran ki reet. Disobedience of Guru is not confined to mere removal of hair or else the whole Guru Granth Sahib ji would be full of importance of hair. You don't find even a single mention of hair in SGGS ji. Guru Gobind Singh ji gave Khalsa a separate identity becuase it was the need of the hour. World needed spiritual soldiers. He didn't shun away those who weren't sikhs. His beloved bhai Nand Singh ji was a hindu too.
    In present world, survival is tough. Maintaining sikhi roop is ideal but many cannot sustain it. Hateful spite agianst those who err futher alienates them from the religion. Sikhism is worlds youngest and greatest religion that lays stress on honest actions and values in life. Reducing it to a mere symbolic faith undermines its vast greatness. 50% of teenagers in punjab have cut their hair. The verdct is clear. The propagation of faith is in incompetent hands who write posts like above that repells the youngsters rather than atracting them to its fold.
    Remember, Guru Gobind Singh ji is not the property of amritdhari sikhs. Anyone who has reverence in his heart and follows his advice, to consider SGGS ji as his Guru is welsome to the Sikh(learner) fold.
    S Paramdeep could be a great sikh. I don't have any doubts about theat, but he hasn't given up "Ahankaar".
    If keeping hair was so important, Bhagat Ravidas ji's this shabad would never have gained entry into SGGS ji:- ਬੰਕੇ ਬਾਲ ਪਾਗ ਸਿਰਿ ਡੇਰੀ ॥ ਇਹੁ ਤਨੁ ਹੋਇਗੋ ਭਸਮ ਕੀ ਢੇਰੀ ॥੩॥ Time to introspect and be humble and treat everyone as equal regardless of their hairy status.

Leave a Reply