How Do You Explain What A Kirpan Is To A Non-Sikh?

[truthseeker]

Waheguru ji ka khalsa Waheguru ji ki fateh!

Thank you everyone for the responses.. they have really helped me to explain everything to my friends.
To answer arvind veerji's question... i think that putting a little kachera to your neck would not be acceptable. I say this because the kachhera is to remind us of chastity and doing certain things that one should not do before marriage. So, correct me if im wrong, but if one were in the situation to make sucha mistake... y not have the kachhera on the around their waste... this will make you think about what u have chosen to do and hopefully stop you from this. Now if u were in this same situation and had the kachhera on your neck would u look at your neck and then say " no this is wrong"
Im not trying to say that anyone would ever do anything like this, im just speaking hypothetically but think about it... u are more likely to think about sumthing that u have right in from of u than sumthing that i around your neck and not as visible. We as humans, no matter how much we try, are not perfect and we all need reminders and i think that even tho we would have the kachhera around our neck, it would be much more effective wearing it... plus its not like it is causing any trouble to wear it anyway right!

Waheguru ji ka khalsa Waheguru ji ki fateh!

 

[Amarpal]

Dear Aman Ji,

My post clearly spells out my frame of mind. For me any size of Kirpan is OK.

Dear Arvind Ji,

I use this opportunity to share with you my views on Kachhera.

At the time of Guru Sahib, commoners used to wear long Kurtas and some type of Kachhera. The purpose of Kachhera was to cover the genitals. Probably each individual had his own type of of Kachhera. Some designs of Kachheras served the purpose while some did not in some specific postures. In addition there was a need to ride the horse over long distances as the Khalsa forces were all the time targeted. The Kachhera had to be such that it does not make the horse ride for long durations uneasy. It is for this reason that it was baggy towards the top rear side and narrow (loosely gripping the thighs) towards the lower end; Kachhera was relatively long.

This was the right design to cover the the genitals in all positions and yet do not bother the horse riders who is wearing it.

Naturally, Kachhera has a physical purpose, it is not a symbol as Kirpan is (empowerment) it cannot be minaturised.

With love and respect for all.

Amarpal Singh

 

[Arvind]

Amarpal ji, Thanks for sharing the thoughts. Were the Khalsa forces wearing something on top of the kachera too? Kachera gets concealed by Kurta anyway.

 

[Amarpal]

Dear Arvind Ji,

To my knowledge commoneres did not wear any thing on Kachhera. As you have said, the long Kurta covered it. Yet in some postures (seating on feet), depending on the design of the Kachhera, the genitals can get exposed. This will not happen with the traditional Kachhera which Khalsa use.

With love and respect for all.

Amarpal Singh

 

[Arvind]

Thank you. just wanted to make sure, I understood it correctly.

Regards.

 

[Sher Singh]

Kirpan is not a weapon.

I have a 40 piece knife set at home, including six steak knives and knives with blades that range from 2 to 12 inches. Not weapons.

I have a hammer in my tool kit. Not a weapon.

I keep the hammer near the box cutter. That's not a weapon either.

I have set of wickedly sharp pruning shears for my agronomic pursuits. Not a weapon.

I have a baseball bat in my closet. Not a weapon.

My dad has a 2 gallon can of gasoline in his garage. Not a weapon.

I flew on a Boeing 757 last month, the same kind of plane that was flown in to the WTC. Not a weapon.

I have a tire iron in the back of my SUV. Not a weapon.

I have an SUV. Not a weapon.

I went to visit friends in a neigboring state on the 4th of July. We bought a large variety pack of fireworks and set them off in her back yard. They are DOT Class C explosives. They would have gotten me arrested if I brought them back to my home state. But, they are not weapons.

I have a sharp letter opener on my desk at work. Not a weapon.

I just bought a colleague of mine the REALLY cool Swiss Army Knife for a special company event. It's a Swiss Army Knife, with a flashlight and a USB drive. It is SOOOO cool!! Also, not a weapon. Even though it is called a Swiss Army KNIFE and has a BLADE and my colleague carries it ON his person...it is NOT a weapon!

http://www.swissarmy.com/webstore/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=4230&category=35

I have a Sikh kirpan, too. Not a weapon.

Good job in pointing out what's a weapon and what isn't. But there's one thing you left out. If you look at all the points you have put on the table they all make sense except for the fact that they are weapons. All those knives you have, when not used are not weapons, BUT when used are weapons. The baseball bat, when not used is not a weapon, when used it is. The SUV, when used for normal purposes is not an SUV, but when used intentionally for killing it is a weapon, if accidental accident occurs and it wans't your fault, this cant be called a weapon. The letter opener, when used for its initial purpose, it is not a weapon, when used for deliberatly hurting someone, it is a weapon!

In brief, what i'm trying to say is that, what you have stated aren't weapons when used for inital purposes, but when u inflict some sort of pain on someone deliberately it becomes a weapon.

 

[truthseeker]

Waheguru ji ka Khalsa Waheguru ji ki Fateh!

when u inflict some sort of pain on someone deliberately it becomes a weapon.

This is a good point Sher Singh ji but then everyday items that one would use can also become a weapon. I mean yes i carry a kirpan but i mean, mine personally isnt sharp and its not like i just woke up one morning and decide to wear a "knife" to skool so that i could show it off to my friends. I wear it as a symbol and as a symbol only, im not goin to pull it out a inflict any pain on anyone and so on the line i dont understand how ppl become soo afraid of it.
The other day i was reading a posting in the local gurdwara stating that in England, to my understanding, a 3 inch kirpan is allowed, If England has recognized it<kirpan> as a symbol then y cant others. We are one of the largest religions in the world and yet not many have attempts to understand Guru ji's teachings and why we wear our kakaars. If they dont understand our beliefs then how can they tell us that sumthing is wrong.

Waheguru ji ka Khalsa Waheguru ji ki Fateh!

 

[Sher Singh]

Thats what i was trying to say/prove to Amerikaur. That her examples were good in stating what was a weapon and what wasnt. Uve said exaclty what i was trying to prove Truthseeker Ji.

 

[tamara]

Now that is an explanation!

 

[truthseeker]

Waheguru ji ka khalsa Waheguru ji ki fateh!

Thx for the compliments guys:2:

anyways... just yesterday i was walking through the hallway after religion class and this guy( in the same grade as i am) and a few of his friends were screaming and i quote" KILL THE TURBANATORS!!!" ( btw i was sooo urged to turn around and act out or scream or sumthing but i just kept walking) anyways soo ya my point is that if everyday people, like the kids at my school, can not understand why we wear a turban.... how can they understand why we wear a kirpan, WHICH IS A WEAPON, WHICH TECHNICALLY COULD KILLS SOMEONE.
Like i said before its not like we just wake up one morning, decide to wear a kirpan to school, work etc... and intend to do anything with it. But they just dont seem to understand, or let me rephrase that.... they DONT WANT to understand why we r the way we are and that makes me upset. Im mean go a catholic school, and learn about the catholic religion and many other religions too... so y is it that they cant take the effort to leasrn about us. I mean thats cool if they kne who we were, what our beliefs were and then didnt agree with us thats fine everyone is entitled to their own opinion but untill they dont have a clue about whas going i think that they should be less quick to judge.
(srry that was a bit off topic buit i just couldnt stop typing once i started)

Waheguru ji ka khalsa Waheguru ji ki fateh!

 

[Rubicon]

Truthseeker, as you know kids make fun of nearly anything the least bit different. My brother was made fun of because he was fat. It happened to me because I was very thin and wore glasses (glasses were not so common back then). Boys made fun of girls and vice versa. If you were not wearing a turban, but were different in another way, they would make fun of that. For many young people with nothing better to do it is a way for them to entertain themselves since there is perhaps not so muich in their head. High school can be both fun and miserable! College will be better.

 

[truthseeker]

Lets just hope that people will be openminded there Rubicon ji

Waheguru ji ka khalsa wahguru ji ki fateh!

 

[BaljeetSingh]

Size of kirpan - I have been struggling a lot with this question for a long time..

Originally, there was a 3 feet kirpan which was brought down to 6 inches by the British rules....Now, we are talking about 3 inches kirpan or a miniature kirpan as a necklace item...

I saw a note saying the rehat maryada does not talk about the size of kirpan....but then does it say about the length of hair either? or Kangha or Kachehra, or kara? Doe sit mean then we can miniaturize all of these and put them in a neckalce? Maybe in future, we will carry a ID card with pictures of all 5 Ks printed on it

I am struggling to find the right answer to the kirpan size and also a no nonsense answer to explain why I am wearing it.

Please help

 

[manbir]

We Sikhs are a confused lot.
Why do not we try to understand why Kirpan was given to us by Guru Gobind Singh Ji ? It was given as a Shastar. It is to fight opression. At that time it was most important item of self defense.
We Sikhs have made it a symbol. And to say that Kirpan is a reminder of such and such things .. wont stand any test of reason. And 'reason' is one thing we cannot affort to loose sight of. We are not worshippers of symbols !!!
Founder of Sikhism Guru Nanak refused to take a symbol in the form of 'janeu', we sikhs are wearing a janeu in the form of Kirpan - no difference !!!
If Sikhs need to have a Kirpan it has to be a proper size Kirpan which can be used when needed. Anything else is not a Kirpan.

I would like Thinkers to ponder on a simple question... Did Guru Gobind Singh Ji want every Sikh to be wearing Kirpan for all the time to come ... !!! Think it with with open mind, with logic and with Guru beside you.

 

[devinesanative]

Some times there are question to which the answers are very lengthy , and leads to endless discussion ....

Whenever anyone asks about Kirpan ........

Just say a single line , he/she won't query Further .........

Do NAAM JAAP and CHAAK AMRIT ,

and the rest becomes history .... No further explaination required ...

 

[rosethorne]

WJJK
WJKF
Dear Gursikhs, In Guruji's View the only meaning of Kirpan is = Kirpa + Aan. Kirpa of AKALPURAKH and for serving poor people's Aan. Aan means Dignity. And poorness means of ill fated, less mentally, less physicaly, less litrate, and all other means of poorness of a person.There is no other meaning of Kirpan for Khalsa. Anyone can debate for too many hours but the conclusion is always this. And size of Kirpan for what the people are struggling in todays world, Can anyone suggest me, That how much the size of a Kirpan to do the same I said earlier, It must be of reasonable size because it is not just a Weapon, it is to serve others also. Wake up. And the sizes of Hairs, Kara, Or Kachehra are of no relevance to the Kirpan's size. Because for Kirpan we must know and do serve others, But in no means Of Hairs, Kara or Kachehra, are for others, They are for one's own rejuvenation.

 

[muneet]

Dear Truthseeker(or whatever!)
A kirpan represents a choice you have made to stand up and be counted for the rights of the weak and downtrodden- to say the least, and to be prepared to protect what U might cherish as a Gursikh.
While as a weapon it is insignificant, it represents something holy and it was worshipped by the Xth Guru.
It can be dissected to "kripaa+ aan" which means something which is a favour for the self repect and pride of the defenceless( which you are not !!) compare with "talwar" which it is not and which means something to kill and maim with. Bye

 

[muneet]

We Sikhs are a confused lot.
Why do not we try to understand why Kirpan was given to us by Guru Gobind Singh Ji ? It was given as a Shastar. It is to fight opression. At that time it was most important item of self defense.
We Sikhs have made it a symbol. And to say that Kirpan is a reminder of such and such things .. wont stand any test of reason. And 'reason' is one thing we cannot affort to loose sight of. We are not worshippers of symbols !!!
Founder of Sikhism Guru Nanak refused to take a symbol in the form of 'janeu', we sikhs are wearing a janeu in the form of Kirpan - no difference !!!
If Sikhs need to have a Kirpan it has to be a proper size Kirpan which can be used when needed. Anything else is not a Kirpan.

I would like Thinkers to ponder on a simple question... Did Guru Gobind Singh Ji want every Sikh to be wearing Kirpan for all the time to come ... !!! Think it with with open mind, with logic and with Guru beside you.

I dont agree entirely with you- why not carry an Uzi?-While janeu Guru spoke of would have been worn had it represented the qualities that Guruji wished it to signify, sadly the Hindu priests were indulging in the very malprctices which made wearing the janeu a ritual. Today we have no love for the Gurus' teachings or for the Guru for that matter, hence everything from such an unloved one seems pointless. Symbols gain significance in proportion to the love and attention attached to what they represent. Malvinder

 

[Arvind]

Some times there are question to which the answers are very lengthy , and leads to endless discussion ....

Whenever anyone asks about Kirpan ........

Just say a single line , he/she won't query Further .........

Do NAAM JAAP and CHAAK AMRIT ,

and the rest becomes history .... No further explaination required ...

Waheguru Simple answer: Kirpan is worn, bcos my Guru said so when Amrit was chakked. And I have all bharosa (Faith) in my Guru.

A few things are understood by personal experience and involvement only. Rest all becomes discussions or rituals only.

Sincerely, Arvind.

 

[J.Singh]

waheguru ji ka khalsa waheguru ji ki fateh!

I was just wondering what you tell someone when they ask you why you wear a kirpan? I have tried many times to explain to my non-sikh friends why it is that i have started started wearing a kirpan, but they just don't understand. For me being a girl and just taking amrit was a big step but if i can not explain to my friends what our religion is and why i wear me 5 k's they may interpret our religion.

Fateh

The only answer it seems to me is that one wear 5K´s because Guru said to wear them. I do not need to thinks any + - of wearing them. You are just in a stage of bearing the order of GURU