What to Do with The Un-Natural Growth of Hair on Female Faces?

An interesting query had come to me from a close female relative who happens to be an Amritdhari person. One of her female Sikh colleague had hair on her face like we Sikh have our beards. She had been facing a lot of comments from her friends and relatives and were constantly advised to get rid of this unwanted growth of hair on her face. This growth of beard and mustaches in some females is not a new phenomena and is due to certain blood cell defects in the body and is usually from birth itself.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/sikh-sikhi-sikhism/33532-what-do-un-natural-growth-hair.html

Question now arises, we males and females in Sikhism are supposed to keep the natural hairs as have come up on our bodies but what about the un-natural growths? Whether such Sikh ladies should get rid of these by some cosmetic methods? Pl advise.

 
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ive raised this issue in the past, but as far as i know, from an amritdhari—sikh perceptive, you cannot get rid of these hairs. Furthermore, i don't think there anytin "unnatural" about them, all females have a certain amount of facial hair, indeed the whole body is covered in hair that is just barely visible. Further more, it is not due to "blood defects" as far as i know. I think its a hormonal issue, some women have more testosterone then the average woman. (Some men have more estrogen then the average man, but both men and women have both testosterone and estrogen).
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=33532
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=33532

Another somewhat related issue: My sister works at a funeral home where the clients are mostly sikh. Often times family arguments will break out on whether or not to shave the corpse of a recently deceased female. Because of the way skin recedes, a stubble is sometimes noticable on a corpse after some period of time (regardless of gender). I've heard that in sikhism it doesnt really matter what you do with a body after death, whether u bury it, cremate it, or chop it up into pieces (although, sikhs prefer cremation)—would that policy extend to hair? Is it ok to shave the corpse for cosmetic reasons?

Thanks for the response. The medical reasons you are saying might be correct but here I am refering to some female having a nice growth of beard and moustaches. You see how much odd it looks on some female face and she had to feel the guilt of such happenings. My quest is to know what's wrong in removing this unwanted beard hair from some female face. What Sikhi has to say on this?

Personally I don't think there's anything rong with removing these hairs.

Sikhi, on the other hand, requires that all hair be kept—so when you say "My quest is to know what's wrong in removing this unwanted beard hair from some female face." The wrongdoing there is the act of removing the unwanted hair. It doesnt really get any more complicated then that. For example, the removal of said hair is purely for cosmetic reasons (as these hairs don't harm the individual physically), whats stopping the girl from then removing the hair between her eyebrows (some women may grow unibrows and these unibrows can also be seen as "unnatural"). Okay, so now, lets say she removes the beard and unibrow... whats stopping her from removing the armpit hair? the leg hair? etc.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=33532
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=33532

Again though, i dont think there anytin wrong with getting rid of these hairs. The more intriguing question is, if you dont think there is anytin wrong with removing these hairs—whats rong with removing any of the hairs? the leg hair, the arm pit hair etc.

It's not unnatural!

She should ignore peoples comments about it.

Nowadays women are expected to be hair free when this is not the case.
As a woman myself even I get hair on my chin and I know many other females who experience the same.

It's not unnatural when it's HAIR and it's GROWING.

I think the woman should be brave [I know it's difficult] and challenge the unbelievable expectations placed on women to be a certain way ie. beautiful/ hairless/ skinny. But this is easier said than done and one day I hope I can do the same and stop caring about what people think.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=33532
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=33532

We're beautiful regardless of how many hairs we have on our chin and we should be happy that the only problem with our bodies is excess hair growth when it could be a lot worse.

Sat Sri Akal, Sardip Singh ji,

Truthfully and humbly, none of us here can know what it is like to walk in this woman's shoes or the shoes of any other woman struggling with this problem. It may, for whatever reason, be incredibly embarrassing or even disabling to her to have a noticeable amount of unwanted hair on her face. It may prevent her from being hired for a job she might otherwise enjoy and be highly qualified for. It might prevent her from being in a relationship that might otherwise bring her and the other person great joy. It's easy to say, "Oh, well if the hiring manager / potential mate is so shallow as to not be able to see past some facial hair on a woman she doesn't want to pursue that anyway."

I do not think that is a fair, kind, or empathetic attitude to take. We all have to coexist with other people in the real world, not the ideal world, and in the real world, people make positive or negative judgments about us based in part on their first impression of our physical appearance.

Here are my thoughts -- and I want to start first with two questions that I realize you may not be able to answer b/c this is a friend of your relative and not someone you know well personally, but really these would be good questions to answer for *any* female (Sikh or otherwise) who is struggling with unwanted facial hair:

1) How long has she had this problem? Was it an issue for her even as a child or is it something that she has only started to experience later in life? If it was a problem as a child it may be more of a hereditary issue. If later in life it may be a symptom of PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome)

2) Has she seen a physician, specifically a *specialist* who understands hormonal and metabolic imbalances -- an endocrinologist -- who can thoroughly evaluate her situation and see if there may be some sort of imbalance that is causing this problem?

If not, she may want to look into making an appointment with such a specialist as there may be a hormonal therapy that could correct the imbalance naturally such that she would not need to remove the hair -- it would go away on its own with the proper treatment. There's an excellent article about this here:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/521355

This insistence that all hair must remain untouched, no matter what, "because it's natural" is a straw man argument. Our bodies do all manner of "natural" things that are unsightly, undesirable, unhealthy, or even deadly. Using that logic, hey, cancer is natural so we should allow it to run its course and not fight it with chemotherapy or surgery. And God forbid we should have to shave someone's head or body in preparation for that surgery, right?

Do you see how quickly that argument degenerates into absurdity?

As someone pointed out in another forum on this same topic:
Furthermore, I believe this is a moot point as kesh only refers to the long hair found on the head on both males and females and on the faces of males. It does not refer to body hair. The proper Punjabi word for that is valha. If the Guru had meant for us not to touch the valha specifically, I'm sure that would have been mentioned but it was not, to my knowledge. Please correct me if I am wrong on that count.

Personally, I think God cares far more about what's going on *inside* my head than what's going on *outside* it. I don't need to wear a uniform that identifies me as God's Own Forever. I don't need to be able to read or speak in a secret code that no one outside of 17th Century Punjab could really understand. God meets me where I am because I am God's child and I am too weak and small to fully meet God where God is. And so it is for all of us.

I am reminded here of a lovely song I learned back when I was a Christian by a lady named Nichole Nordemann. It's called "Small Enough" and I think there are parts of it that speak to anyone who loves and believes in The One God:

All praise and all the honor be
To the God of ancient mysteries
Whose every sign and wonder
Turn the pages of our history,
But tonight my heart is heavy
And I cannot keep from whispering this prayer:
"Are You there?"

And I know You could leave writing on the wall that's just for me
Or send wisdom while I'm sleeping, like in Solomon's sweet dreams
But I don't need the strength of Samson or a chariot in the end
Just want to know that You still know how many hairs are on my head
Oh great God, be small enough to hear me now...

If anyone is interested in hearing the song it's available here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r5u5-Wc-vo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r5u5-Wc-vo

It still gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it -- it's just that lovely.

So yes, God is in me, and God is small enough to know how many hairs are on my head. And God is also big enough to know that what I do with my hair says little or nothing of consequence about what is in my heart. I very much respect anyone who wishes to keep kesh and I will actively fight for their right to do so. But by that same token I do not believe it is necessary to keep kesh for God to know me, to feel the devotion that is in my heart,...or for me to connect with The Divine. My , humbly submitted.

Agreed.

For your information and consideration:

Why don't Sikhs cut their hair?


The unshorn hair (Kesh) is part of nature and God's system. Sikhs maintains long unshorn hair (‘Kesh’) as an act of acceptance of God's Will and living as nature intended, sustaining the individual in higher consciousness. The unshorn hair is regarded with the highest importance in the Sikh religion and is one of the basic requirements for a Sikh. Dishonouring one’s hair is one of the four Bajjar Kurehats (cardinal sins), which the Guru has told a Sikh never to commit. A Sikh doesn’t disfigure their hair from head to toe because of the Guru's order to maintain the sanctity of the Kesh. Nothing else matters. A Sikh does what their Guru tells them to do.

ਮਾਈ ਸਤਿ ਸਤਿ ਸਤਿ ਹਰਿ ਸਤਿ ਸਤਿ ਸਤਿ ਸਾਧਾ ॥
ਬਚਨੁ ਗੁਰੂ ਜੋ ਪੂਰੈ ਕਹਿਓ ਮੈ ਛੀਕਿ ਗਾਂਠਰੀ ਬਾਧਾ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
“O mother, True, True True is the Lord, and True, True, True is the Guru.
The Word, which the Perfect Guru has spoken, I have tied to my robe. ||1||Pause||”
(Ang 1204)

The Kesh act as the identity for a Sikh as well being a spiritual and practical tool that helps the body. Guru Nanak Sahib Ji, the founder of the Sikh Path, followed the ancient practice of the sages, prophets, and holy mystics of keeping the hair unshorn because keeping it in a natural state is regarded as living in harmony with the Will of Vaheguru.

The biological functions and benefits of human body hair are for example:

* The hair on our head protects the skull and brain
* The hair on our body acts an insulator and is linked to our nervous system
* Our eyebrows prevent water going into your eyes
* Facial hair absorb ether energy
* The hair under our armpits prevent friction and irritation when we move our arms

----- KESH REHAT - GURBANI UPDESH -----

There is a principle (vidhaan) of maintaining Kesh.
ਸੋਹਣੇ ਨਕ ਜਿਨ ਲੰਮੜੇ ਵਾਲਾ ॥
"Beautiful is Your nose and long hair."
(Ang 567)

Meaning, those who have beautiful nose and beautiful Kesh, they too are your nose and Kesh. Thus, a Sikh should keep full appearance (i.e. maintain unshorn hair and not pierce the nose), crowned with a turban on the head.

ਮਾਠਿ ਗੁੰਦਾਈਂ ਪਟੀਆ ਭਰੀਐ ਮਾਗ ਸੰਧੂਰੇ ॥ ਅਗੈ ਗਈ ਨ ਮੰਨੀਆ ਮਰਉ ਵਿਸੂਰਿ ਵਿਸੂਰੇ ॥
"I have woven my hair into lovely braids, plaits, and marked the centre parting with red colouring (Sandhoor); but in the presence of You, I am still not accepted, and (because of this) I am dying suffering in anguish."
(Ang 558)

Meaning, braids, plaits, making partings with the hair and adding colour to the hair etc is prohibited for the Sikh of the Guru. Such people do not get accepted the Court of the Lord.

Any form of intended disfigurement or mutilation of the body is prohibited in Gurmat, including shaving, plucking, tattooing, circumcision, piercing, colouring etc. Guru Ji says:

ਨਾਪਾਕ ਪਾਕੁ ਕਰਿ ਹਦੂਰਿ ਹਦੀਸਾ ਸਾਬਤ ਸੂਰਤਿ ਦਸਤਾਰ ਸਿਰਾ ॥ 12 ॥
"O person of God! Purify the mind what is impure (with bad thoughts) “this is the religious tradition through which you can experience the Lord's Presence. (Abandoning circumcision, mutilation and deferment of the body etc) preserve a complete appearance with a turban on your head" this becomes the way to maintain respect and honour. ||12||"
(Ang 1084)

There is one Salokh of Bhagat Kabeer Ji which is often misquoted by mischievous people trying to justify the un-Godly act of shaving or trimming their hair.

ਕਬੀਰ ਪ੍ਰੀਤਿ ਇਕ ਸਿਉ ਕੀਏ ਆਨ ਦੁਬਿਧਾ ਜਾਇ ॥ ਭਾਵੈ ਲਾਂਬੇ ਕੇਸ ਕਰੁ ਭਾਵੈ ਘਰਰਿ ਮੁਡਾਇ ॥੨੫॥
"O Kabeer! When you are in love with the One Lord, duality and alienation depart. You may have long matted hair, or you may shave your head bald. ||25||"
(Ang 1365)

These lines criticize both those who have long matted hair or shave their head completely in order to achieve union with God. In these lines, the question of keeping or not keeping Kesh is not the case. Similarly Guru Ji says:

ਕਬੀਰ ਮਨੁ ਮੂੰਡਿਆ ਨਹੀ ਕੇਸ ਮੁੰਡਾਏ ਕਾਂਇ ॥ ਜੋ ਕਿਛੁ ਕੀਆ ਸੋ ਮਨ ਕੀਆ ਮੂੰਡਾ ਮੂੰਡੁ ਅਜਾਂਇ ॥੧੦੧॥
"O Kabeer! You have not shaved your mind, so why do you shave your head? Whatever is done, is done by the mind; it is useless to shave your head. ||101||"
(Ang 1369)

This salok (couplet) clarifies the above salok.

As well as having biological functions and benefits, the hair is sacred due to the fact that spiritual energy abides within each and every pore of hair on the body. The hairs are like electrical wires, which preserve, carry and vibrate energy. When one chants & meditates the Divine- Name (Naam), each hair vibrates. Sikhs do not forcibly or intentionally remove any hair from the body but maintain clean hair with proper washing; tying and keeping them covered are requirements for a Sikh.

Gurbaani (the Divine Word) says:
ਰੋਮ ਰੋਮ ਮਹਿ ਬਸਹਿ ਮੁਰਾਰਿ ॥
“On each and every hair, the Lord abides.”
(Ang 344)

ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਰੋਮਿ ਰੋਮਿ ਹਰਿ ਧਿਆਵੈ ॥
“The Gurmukh meditates on the Lord with every hair of his body.”
(Ang 941)

----- KESH REHAT - REHATNAMAS & PURAATAN GRANTH -----

ਜਬ ਪਹਿਲੇ ਸਬ ਸਿ੍ਰਸਿਟ ਉਪਾਈ । ਤਬ ਹੀ ਮਾਨੁਖ ਦੇਹਿ ਬਨਾਈ ।
ਤਨ ਇਸ ਕੇ ਸਿਰ ਕੇਸ ਜੁ ਦੀਨੋ । ਸੋ ਇਹ ਤਨ ਸ਼ਿੰਗਾਰਿਹ ਕੀਨੋ ।
ਦਾੜ੍ਹਾ ਮੁੱਛ ਸਿਰ ਕੇਸ ਬਨਾਈ । ਹੈ ਇਹ ਦਿ੍ੜ ਜਿਹ ਪ੍ਰਭੂ ਰਜ਼ਾਈ ।
ਮੇਟ ਰਜ਼ਾਇ ਜੁ ਸੀਸ ਮੁੰਡਾਵੈ । ਕਹੁ ਤੇ ਜਗ ਕੈਸੇ ਹਰਿ ਪਾਵੈ ।
“God created the whole universe and then he fashioned the human body. He gave man a beard, moustaches and hair on the head. He who submits to His Will steadfastly adheres to them. They who deny His Will how will they find God in this world?”
(Bhai Desa Singh Rehatnama)

ਗੁਰ ਕੀ ਛਾਪ ਸਿਰ ਕੇਸ ਕੀ ਪਾਹੁਲ, ਦੇਇ ਉਤਾਰ ਸੋ ਬੇਮੁਖ ਜਾਨਹੁ।
ਬੇਟੇ ਕੋ ਬੰਧੁ ਕੋ ਛਾਪ ਮੁੰਡਾਵਤ, ਜਮ ਦੁਖ ਭੋਗ ਕੇ ਪ੍ਰੇਤ ਪਛਾਨਹੁ।
"The Guru's stamp is Kesh and (Khandi di) Pahul, one who removes (their Kesh) is known as an apostate (bemukh). One who shaves the stamp (of the Guru) of their child (i.e. cut their children's hair), realise that person will suffer a terrible death and known as a ghost."
(Bhai Sahib Singh Rehatnama)

ਸਾਬਤ ਸੂਰਤ ਰੱਬ ਦੀ, ਭੰਨੇ ਬੇਈਮਾਨ । ਦਰਗਹਿ ਢੋਈ ਨਾ ਮਿਲੇ, ਕਾਫ਼ਰ, ਕੁੱਤਾ, ਸ਼ੈਤਾਨ ।
"God has made the human perfect, but the dishonourable destroy it.
They will find no place in the Court of God, like the unbeliever, dog and Satanist."
(Guru Nanak Janam Sakhi)

ਨਾਈ ਦਾ ਹਥ ਸੀਸ ਚਿਹਰੇ ਨ ਲਗਣਾ ਪਾਵੈ । ਕੇਸਾਧਾਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਦਾ ਪੰਥ ਕਹਾਵੈ ।
"The head (of a Sikh) should never have to pass through the hands of a barber. The Guru's Panth (community) calls itself Keshdhari (those with unshorn hair)."
(Bansaavaleenama, Bhai Kesar Singh Chhibar)

ਇਹੈ ਮੋਰ ਆਗਯਾ ਸੁਨੋ ਲੈ ਪਿਆਰੇ ।
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=33532
ਬਿਨਾ ਤੇਗ, ਕੇਸੰ ਦਿਵੋ ਨ ਦਿਦਾਰੇ ।
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=33532
"Listen O beloved ones: It (the Kesh) is my stamp. Without (wearing) a weapon and keeping Kesh, I will not give my audience."
(Gurbilaas Paatshaahee 10 - Bhai Sukha Singh)

ਕੇਸਨ ਕੀ ਕੀਜਹੁ ਪ੍ਰਤਿਪਾਲ । ਨ ਉਸਤਰਨ ਸੇ ਕਟਯੋ ਬਾਲ ।੧੮।
"Maintain and look after your Kesh. Do not remove or cut any hair."
(Gur Panth Prakaash - Rattan Singh Bhangu)

----- NAILS & HAIR -----

Someone could argue why do Sikhs cut their nails when they don't cut their hair. Firstly, nails and the importance of hair cannot be compared. The hair is sacred that have a spiritual importance whereas the nails merely have biological function. Secondly, nails naturally remain short as they are brittle and rigid as a result of which they break off easily. A Sikh is required to do seva (selfless service) with his or her hands. When a individual uses their hands to do selfless service of washing up dirty dishes, cleaning shoes, sweeping the floor, cooking and serving food then there is no possibility for nails to remain long.

----- BHAI TARU SINGH JI - SCALPED ALIVE -----

A Sikh lives in the grace and glory of God. The Kesh are magnificent. Biologically, physically and spiritually they do so much for us. Looking at the Kesh of a Sikh one sees the Sikh principle of "Living in the Will (Bhaanaa) of the Almighty." The Kesh is a symbol of Sikhism and what the fundamental belief of Sikhs. Bhai Taru Singh jee is a Shaheed (martyr) who is a living reminder of what the Kesh means to the Khalsa. When asked to give up his faith and denounce Sikhi, he preferred to have his scalp removed than cut and disfigure his Sacred Kesh.

source: http://www.sikhism101.com/node/148

PERSONAL NOTE:

In the final analysis the Amritdhari Sikh should pose this question and concern to the "Five Beloved" ones at the nearest Gurdwara to get proper gurmat guidance & direction as per Sikh Reht Maryada!

Then why cut our fingernails? Why not leave them be as nature intended?

From what exactly? Physical trauma? I have a hard time picturing hair (no matter how long) protecting the skull from blunt force trauma. And I know of no sikh who is willing to test out that hypothesis.

Quote:

* The hair on our body acts an insulator and is linked to our nervous system

The hair that many men and women in the Indian sub contenant developed was likely a measure to better detect the presance of mosquitos on the body. As the sensation the mosquito would produce, brushing alongside ones arm hair for example, could alert the individual to the potential threat. I have difficulty accepting the fact that Indians needed the extra body hair for isulation in one of the hottest countries in the world.

As for the nervous system bit. Every part of our body is connected to the nervous system essentially. Even if you shave the hair, the nervous system is stil connected to the root of the hair within the skin.

Quote:

* Our eyebrows prevent water going into your eyes

At this point it seems like the author (i know you didnt write this as ive come across this text before) is grasping at straws.

Quote:

* Facial hair absorb ether energy

Not only is this sexist. As to imply that the majority of women are somehow inferior to men in a spiritual sense. But it is utterly scientifically bogus. What is ether energy? No such thing.

Quote:

* The hair under our armpits prevent friction and irritation when we move our arms

This point is almost moot. The friction produced is essentially negligble. The main use of this hair is to wick away moisture from the armpits so as not to allow bacteria to congregate in the dank moist region of the armpite. Having said that, modern cleansing habits have made armpit hair obsolete at even that job.



Simply not true. The above paragraph makes pseudo-science look legitimate. If hair is needed for any spiritual reasons, it doesnt explain why buddhists (who shave their heads and faces and generally have much less visible body hair then sikhs) are as spiritually enlightened as the most enlightened sikhs if not more.



:P sure it can, I just did it.

Quote:

The hair is sacred that have a spiritual importance whereas the nails merely have biological function. Secondly, nails naturally remain short as they are brittle and rigid as a result of which they break off easily. A Sikh is required to do seva (selfless service) with his or her hands. When a individual uses their hands to do selfless service of washing up dirty dishes, cleaning shoes, sweeping the floor, cooking and serving food then there is no possibility for nails to remain long.

Hairs dont have any verifiable spiritual importance (or else the dalai llama would be evil incarnate ). I can see where your going with the seva bit. But having been raised in a sikh home, and on more then one occasion, finding long strands of hair in my food (both at home, and at the gurdwara) you could make the same argument against hair as u did for nails.



This reminds me of Euthyphros Dillema. He states (and im paraphrasing here) "Are good things considered good because god has commanded it; or, are good things considered good because there is something intrinsically or undeniably good about them."

In this case, you are claiming that kesh is a good thing because our gurus have commanded it and for largely no other defensible reason. If that is the case, Euthophro goes on to say that good things like kesh (or the other 4 k's) are largely arbritray. And if the guru's wanted, they could make anything good for the sake of it (they could have made growing the nails good and you would be sitting here, instead, trying to justify why the nails are good while similarily saying "A Sikh does what their Guru tells them to do."

But you also attempted to suggest that kesh is good because there is something intrinsically good about it (etherrrrr energyyyyy bzzzz). If that was the case, then it is good with or without god commanding it. And even if god commanded against it, it would remain good—by default, because it is intrinsically good. Infact, its "good nature" would be above and beyond gods nature (or a gurus nature) to command things :P

Of course, in the real world, nothing is good either intrinsically or because someone says its good. They're only good on a relative basis. Wat seems good today might look bad tomorrow depending on changes within the community.