Q: Why do Sikhs keep hair?

hpluthera · #31 (**permalink**) 22-11-2005, 04:56 PM

Dear Friend
I always fail to understand as to why a Khalsa has to explain reason for keeping hair by getting quotes from other religions when the answer is very Simple It was Our Guru's Hukum that who so ever join this order by accepting Amrit keep these five K's Did Guru gave that long a Reason as you are trying to when He asked for Five's head or they just accepted as Hukum. Guru could have refer the Sikhs to read bible chapter to appreciate his action but he chose not to. He even chose not to dctate every one to take Amrit but appealed to take Amrit and as a Great Leader Himself followed the Five to Take Amrit from the Fives.

Dear friend do not feel complexed to tell people that Guru's Khalsa is complete in uniform with Kesh and other Kakaars and Sikhs when take Amrit to Join Akal Purukh Ki Fauj become Khalsa and adopt five K. It is the best thing a man can do.
HP Luthera

Quote:

Originally Posted by panja

A: This question is asked a lot “Why do you keep hair?” Hair is a gift from God, therefore why should anyone throw it away by cutting it? Sikhs live the way God made humans and never cut their hair. For Sikhs hair is the symbol of love for God and the respect for everything He has given us. The way God made us is the most beautiful of all. To Christians, even the Bible says, “God loves us and cares so much about us that even all the hairs of our head has well counted” (Matt.10:30).

One argument heard often is that if you do not cut your hair, it keeps growing and will eventually reach the ground. Sikhs never cut their hair and it does not touch the ground, their eyebrows grow to a specific length, their moustaches grow to a specific length, and their beard stops at a specific length. Our body has a natural way of shedding and regenerating hair, thus after a period of time hair seems to stay at a consistent length.

Millions of Sikhs do not cut their hair and their hair grows to a specific length depending on their individual characteristics. Even if you still believe that hair do not stop growing and will eventually reach the ground, you should first consider whether to believe the one who has never seen hair growing or the millions of people who have never cut their hair? The answer is obvious.

Another important point is that Sikhs are not to use razors or any other such devices on their bodies, from the time of birth, for they do not cut their hair from any part of their bodies. In order to keep hair neat and clean Sikhs roll the hair on the top of their head. The hair is then covered by different types of turbans.

From the scientific view, keeping hair is practical because hair has many functions. It traps an insulating layer of still air just outside the skin, and thereby reduces loss of heat by radiation, hair absorbs harmful radiations from the sun, hair follicles can make androgenic hormones and Axillary hair provides larger surface area for evaporation of sweat. Although Sikhs do not need scientific explanations to keep hair, it is important to note that scientific explanations do indeed exist.

http://www.realsikhism.com/faq/whyhair.html

Amarpal · #32 (**permalink**) 22-11-2005, 07:14 PM

Dear Members,

On this net there is a post titled ' That is why I have Kesh', if you have time you may read it.

With love and respect for all.

Amarpal Singh

Vikramkhalsa · #33 (**permalink**) 18-01-2007, 12:07 PM

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru JI Ki Fateh

Quote:

Originally Posted by jodhbir

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mehtab Singh
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh

>>>>I was listening to a katha by Gyani Sant Singh Jee Maskeen on the 5 kakaars. Its at ProudToBeSikh.com: Guru sikh Shabad Kirtan Network .

In my humble opinion, it would be better if you read the sikh philosophy and not listen to the kathakars who usually tend to misinterpret the sacred verses. This misinterpretations is the reason why many rituals, quite opposite to what has been preached by Guru Nanak Dev Ji, have crept into our religion.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mehtab Singh
>>>Gyani jee says that when one recites bani, or does naam simran, there comes a point when rom rom (each pore of hair) starts to do the same. So now, why disregard and take off those hairs, and lose the power of bani and naam that you have?

Maybe you can't always believe kathakaars, but Gurbani cannot be denied:

rom rom raviaa har naam ||
The Lord's Name permeates each and every hair of mine.

rom rom har oucharai khin khin har soee ||
With each and every hair, they chant the Lord's Name, each and every instant, the Lord.

rom rom mehi basehi muraar ||
and on each and every hair, the Lord abides.

romae rom rom romae mai guramukh raam dhhiaaeae raam ||
With each and every hair, with each and every hair, as Gurmukh, I meditate on the Lord.

Now it seems to me at least, that Gyani Ji might have been correct in his interpretation after all?

Here's another great article I found about Kes:

Quote:

For the benefit of the Sikh youth present here today, I will present my views in English about what the turban and the hair mean to the Sikhs and to the world as a whole.
The turban and uncut hair were officially made a mandatory article of the Sikh faith by Guru Gobind Singh Sahib Ji. Before the assembly of Bisakhi 1699, he sent word to his Sikhs to come to the Bisakhi assembly with hair uncut. After having tested each of the five Panj Pyare, he then dressed them each in his own image. He gave them each the Panj Kakkars, namely the Kesh, Kachhera, Kirpan, Kara, and Kanga. Guru Gobind Singh Sahib Ji also stated that Sikhs should comb their hair twice a day and then tie a turban. These were his instructions to the Sikhs of then, now and those of the future.
To this day, Sikhs can be easily be identified by their turban and uncut hair. But uncut hair and the turban were not articles that Sikhs alone kept. Before the arrival of the so-called Modern Age and the Divine Creation of Sikhism, many references point to other religions and cultures that kept their hair. References in ancient Indian texts and paintings state that many Indians maintained long uncut hair. To an Indian of that time, having their hair cut was worse than death itself. But keeping uncut hair was not restricted to Indians only. The Old Testament, the sacred text of the Jews, also instructs the Jews never to cut their hair. The result of cutting one’s hair is told in the Old Testament by the story of Sampson, whose strength was connected to his long uncut hair. When his hair was cut, he lost all of his famed strength and only regained it after his hair grew back. Christianity also has a forgotten tradition of maintaining uncut hair. Jesus of Nazareth (who is commonly referred to as Jesus Christ) also never cut his hair in the tradition of the people of his city. The city of Nazareth where Jesus was from was also home to the Nazarenes, who, after committing themselves to Almighty God, would never again cut their hair. Also, the priests and clergy of the Christian faith, up until World War I, would keep their hair uncut to maintain their likeness to Jesus. From these examples, it becomes clear that uncut hair has been connected to a spiritual life for some time before Sikhism.
Similarly, the turban is not a brand new invention of the Sikhs. Rather, it has been present for thousands of years before Sikhism. It has already been stated that the Jews were told to keep long and uncut hair. In addition to this, any person who was ordained a priest of the Jewish faith was to also wear a turban as part of his regular dress. Also, the Kings of that time period wore turbans as a crown, a sign of their royal authority. Even the so-called common man of that time wore a turban, which represented the person’s dignity, self-respect and authority. To take the turban off another person was considered a very high insult, almost an unforgivable offense. The Babylonians and the Egyptians, two of the oldest civilizations in the world, are also described in ancient texts as wearing a turban as part of their dress.
The Prophet Muhammad of Islam told of the importance of the turban to the Muslims. In the Hadiths, which are the sayings of the Prophet, the Prophet Muhammad states that the turban is the dress of a religious person and that Muslims would never be unsuccessful as long as they wore a turban. In India, the turban was part of the everyday dress of Indians until recent times. Similar to the Jews, it symbolized dignity, self-respect and authority. The Rajputs were commonly seen wearing turbans as a symbol of their royal authority.
From the facts above, it becomes clear that the turban and uncut hair is not only a characteristic of Sikhism, but rather it is a universal sign of spiritual and temporal authority, what is referred to as Miri-Piri in Sikhism. The Guru Granth Sahib clearly states that the Almighty God is present within each and every hair (Bhagat Kabeer Ji, Raag Gauree, 344). Guru Gobind Singh Sahib makes it clear in his Commandments that a Sikh should not remain without a turban and made uncut hair a requirement to become a Sikh during Baisakhi 1699.
Knowledge of the turban’s representation of authority, dignity and self-respect was the reason behind why the Mughals banned the wearing of the turban in India. The Mughals passed a law forbidding the wearing of the turban, riding of horses and keeping of weapons to suppress the Indian population and dissolve any signs of authority and dignity. They knew full well that a people wearing a turban would sooner or later attempt to regain the self-respect, dignity and authority that the turban represented and therefore made a law to neutraize that threat. However, the Gurus fought against such tyranny. The Gurus’ Sikhs wore large turbans, carried weaponry and rode horses, not only to protest against the Mughals and their oppressive laws, but also to proclaim their fundamental right to freedom, dignity, religion and self-respect. All in India except the Sikhs abandoned their heritage to the turban and uncut hair and became subjugated by the Mughals. However, the Sikh community, which maintained the turban and uncut hair, also maintained its self-respect.
Fighting against what the world called impossible odds, the Sikhs maintained the dignity of not only themselves, but of the entire Indian populous so all could freely practice their religion and maintain their self-respect. Hundreds of thousands of Sikhs died in defense of the turban and the uncut hair. Tales of people like Bhai Taru Singh and many other Sikhs fill the pages of history about Sikhs who gave their lives, but not their uncut hair or their turban. Sikh mothers would rather have seen their infant children killed than to give up their belief in Sikhism. Sikhs repeatedly fought and died to save the honor of the oppressed, all while maintaining their God-given uncut hair and their royal turbans. So brave were their acts that even their enemies could do nothing but sing praises of their bravery and their high spiritual and ethical state of mind.
However, it seems that the Mughals are not dead, at least not in spirit anyways. Some countries, in their ignorance of an individual’s right for dignity and self-respect, have passed oppressive laws banning the turban within their borders. Forgetting the very sacrifices that the Sikhs gave less than a hundred years ago for France, the French government has passed laws to ban the turban within their nation. France, considered a developed country, is passing laws that are very similar to the tyrannical Mughal rulers. And again, the Sikhs have been called upon to defend the religious freedoms of not only themselves, but also of the other communities affected by this cruel law. Again, the Sikhs must combat oppression and subjugation, this time not with swords or guns, but with protests, petitions, education and awareness. And it has been the turban and uncut hair that have been the visible signs of protest. In each demonstration and protest, even more present and impressive than the posters and the slogans, the turban and the uncut hair have been the biggest symbol of resistance against tyranny and oppression of the backward French laws. It is this identity that has been the strength of the Sikhs in the past and the present. It is this identity that has bound the Sikh community together against injustice to this day, and this identity that gave strength to the Sikhs then, now and forever.
Of course, some of those present today might be thinking, "Why go through all of this pain? Why not just take off my turban and cut my hair? That way, I could avoid all the taunting, the humiliation of being made fun of and the possibility that I might be beat up or worse. It is my turban and my uncut hair that is the root of all these problems – why not just get rid of them?" To those who have these doubts, allow me to present you this true incident.
After 9/11, one of the first cases of hate crimes that occurred in Britain was to a Christian who had converted from Sikhism. Even after converting, after removing his turban and cutting his hair, he was still badly beaten up and called bad names. In the U.S., the news was filled with any person with brown skin, not just Sikhs, being taunted, harassed and beaten up. Even members of the Hispanic community, who have brown skin, were not spared from hate crimes. It must be understood that the people who taunt, harass and beat up others are just looking for an excuse. They care little if you are wearing a turban or have uncut hair. Any excuse will do: if you talk differently, if you dress differently, even if you if you look at them wrong. Anyone who thinks that taking their turban off and cutting their hair will completely stop hate crimes from happening is completely wrong.
So the decision is in front of you: You can take off your turban, cut your hair and turn your back on a history full of bravery, heroes, respect and dignity; or you can proudly maintain your uncut hair, tie a beautiful turban and face the world with dignity, respect and authority. The choice is yours.

BhagatSingh · #34 (**permalink**) 24-03-2008, 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desistrous

guru nanak dev rejected the jnehu (thread worn by hindus ) because he merited no logic to it . the same way keeping kesh merits no logic as well . its just a symbol.

Explain. Why keeping kesh is illogical?

amarsanghera · #35 (**permalink**) 24-03-2008, 02:49 AM

desistrous ji

maybe keeping hair is illogical to you and it might be completely logical to Bhagat ji

i think this is a never ending debate as both are diametrically opposite views.

aswin · #36 (**permalink**) 05-05-2008, 10:41 PM

Wow... seriously you guys have these great answers, Mr. or Ms. Panja, gave a great speech right there about why do we have to keep our hair. I really don't know why, people ask that why should we throw away something that god gave us? Panja gave a great explanation with a scientific explanation, I have another scientific "question" right here hair is a dead cell, as far as i know everyone who believe in Sikhism including me also cut their nails. Nails are also dead cells. Now tell me how come we can't cut our hair, but we can cut our nails. As far as the scientific explanation goes on how hair benefits your body, we should be in the guiness (dunno the spelling) world record book already, we should be the ones with the longest life span on this planet already. Why don't we have the longest life span on this planet? Is there any "scientific" explanation to that. I would say there's no scientific explanation to why we can't cut our hair, we don't cut our hair so that we can stay in the society; I mean if you observe the society when someone cut his hair then they would start the gossip about how this person is bad. So what I would say is that this not cutting hair thing is completely irrational and I have no idea why can't we cut our hair.