Sikhism And Tattoos

Some of us do have ik ong kar or the khanda tattooed on our hands... What do you think about this?
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i think its porbably rong because its altering the body that god had given u and also i think getting a tatoo done removes some of ur hair so that wud be a kurahit and also if u got ik oankaar on ur hand wat about wen ur eating, going to the toilet and touching something that might be dirty it wud be disrespect.

Singhsta, that is the lamest reply ever. If you want to get a tattoo, what is the big deal ? Will Babaji come down and strike you down ? An expression of love like a Khanda tattoo does not a disbeliever make. When you said "if you go to the toilet" ... what about when one wears a Khadda , is there a difference ? Get a grip on reality and concentrate on making our Religion better not more hard to follow.

This reply is not lame. I think it would be insulting to Sikhism to get a tattoo of any form, this is because Sikhism teaches acceptance of God's will which is why Sikhs are not supposed to remove hait from any part of the body because hair grows, that is the way it is meant to be. To permanently ink one's skin would be to edit God's original form of the person.
Sikhism is about growing inner faith for God, so wearing necklaces with the khanda or getting a tattoo is just showy which is what Guru Nanak teaches against. This is the same reason why Sikhs do not have malas and tilaks.
If you love Waheguruji and Shri Guru Granth Sahib that much then construct a Gurdwara without mention of your own name, serve God and his devotees or do seva at the Gurdwara. Pray when no-one else is around. Sikhism is more complex, deeper and stronger than staining ink on one's body.

Hello All,


When it comes to tats and Sikhi, well I say that Guru Granth Sahib does not say we should not have them. So I guess it is up to the individual.

I would say though that those of us that have tats, or get more have to accept that we do it for our own benifit, as body decoration. In that regard then accept it as one of the 5 thieves, and strive to be a better Sikh.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/hard-talk/2015-sikhism-and-tattoos.html
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=2015

Cheers,
Lee

In the process of getting a tattoo, one of the first steps is for the tattoo'erto shave all of the body hair off the area that is being tattooed. Tatooing is also modifying the body, instead of keeping it intact.

Hello Lee and hira,

Sikhi teaches Sikhs to respect human body, which contains His light (Jot Saroop). Any act of modification in form of tattoo or shaving, though not written in Guru Granth Sahib, but is a part of Sikh Rehit.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=2015

Regards, Arvind.

Look what I just found: http://prabs.nomadlife.org/hello/185...3-00.31.42.jpg
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=2015
And I am actually kinda disgusted as a non-sikh... apart from the fact that hair was removed to have this Gurubani on his body, many people will see this while their hair is uncovered, and what about when this man is married, he will have intercourse with Gurubani on his body!!! This raises so much issues. If someone gets a tattoo then I personally think that they are wrong and immoral altogether, but for Sikhs, if they are a hair cutter then they should at least only get ones of khanda or a lion, no Gurubani as the body can get into the most unclean situations!

Just because you can, does it mean it's right? It seems to be deeply imbedded in the human spirit: "if we can get away with it, it's ok" One reason why the planet is so f---ed up and pouuted. And we are trying to make our religion better when following what the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji and our guru's have said, is suddenly going against it ok?

Well....my take on this issue is as follows:

Rules of religion and society are two different things and should be treated separately.

Let us first take religion. Each religion has its own way of referring to the ultimate power (aka God). Islamists refer to it as Allah, Hindus refer to it as Bhagwaan, we call it Waheguru. Each religion also tells us how to reach the God.

Then comes that social aspect of a religion. The social aspects of a religion drive our appearances. For example, the Rahetnama drived the Sikhs' special appearance. In Islam, Shariat tells that all men must have beard long enough to be grabbed by hand (It is a different issue that not all Muslims follow it).

Then comes the rules of the society we live in. These rules are separate from rules of religion and religion driven social rules. For example, we all wear clothes..No religion tells us that we have to wear clothes....It is "obvious". These social rules have evolved from time to time with the mankind. Some things which were forbiddeen earlier are now acceptable in society. Some ideas are still forbidden and some ideas came and then disappeared as they could not survive the litmus test of time.

Ear piercing was originally used by Moghul invaders to identify women slaves they took from India....And today, it is a fashion. You may even see ear rings/studs with Khanda on it, or a necklace with a Khanda on it. No one objects to them anymore.

Recently, in France, one shoe company came with a shoe design with the pictures of Hindu Lord Rama on them. Now, that was a stupid idea and was killed almost instantly.

Another company came up with a line of underwear with Hindu Gods printed on them....Another stupid idea.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=2015

The direction in which some of today's (so called) Sikh youth are moving, I won't be surprised if we will see some girl (or boy) wearing a Khanda shaped stud on her/his belly button and then claim that God will still love her/him. Come on...God will love you whatever stupid thing you do....It's like parents....they love their kids whatever you do...you may scream, you may have arguments, you may do things against their wishes, but parents do not stop loving their kids.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=2015

Tattoos are relatively new idea. If it passes the test of time and society, maybe in few years or decades it will be common and everyone will accept it as naturally as we have accepted ear piercing.

We should respect symbols of any religion as you respect your parents.

Regards,