General Questions

[HannahBanana]

Hi! I have a few questions and I hope someone can help me.

1. What does Gurfateh mean? (I noticed it at the top of the page, I assume it is a Panjabi word for greeting)

2. What does Ji mean? It was after my username at the top of the page.

3. Are all Sikh women supposed to cover their heads (What do you call the head converings?). If not all women, are all converted women supposed to do this?

4. Is dying of the hair not allowed as well as the cutting of it?


Thank you! Again, I hope I posted this in the right spot.

Hannah

 

[Arvind]

Dear HannahBanana ji,

GurFateh is used as a greeting... the full form is "Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh" ... meaning "Khalsa belongs to The One, also Khalsa's victory belongs to The One"

"Ji" stands for respect. By adding Ji to member's name, we extend our respects to all.

Head covering is to protect long uncut hair, and as a means to express our respect to "The One". Guru Gobind Singh ji asked every Sikh to stand distinctively in crowd, by having the 5Ks attributes.
so I understand that Sikh women are supposed to cover head. Men wear turban. Some women also wear turban, but their percentage is very less.

Hair are respected to keep the nature's flow. hence no cutting or any kind of mutiliation.

Hope that helps.

 

[HannahBanana]

Thank you for clearing that all up for me, Arvind Ji! (Yay I did it!)

 

[Arvind]

Would you like to share what aspect of Sikhi brought you here please.

 

[HannahBanana]

Oh well, this might sound kind of strange, but I saw a movie "Bend It Like Beckham". This wasn't the first time I had heard of Sikhism but I was interested and decided to find out more. I read some things about it. I like the fact that there are Gurus (Not claiming any as the son of God, please don't take offense, any Christians here, I just don't believe it). Also that Guru Nanak, who was born in 1469 (Yes I read all about him and took notes as well), and he believed women should be treated equally. Women weren't allowed to vote for hundreds of years after that, and were treated as inferior. Yet this is not the only reason. Basically, what attracted me was everything I read about Guru Nanak. He was very wise.

Also, the 5 Ks intrigued me! I like the idea of the kind of th bangle to remind you not to sin. But I have a couple more questions, what is the purpose of the shorts? And the comb, do women keep this in their hair as well? Finally, the kirpan, how would one go about carrying this around? I don't think that would go well at a school or an airport.
I think I posted that question elsewhere, but I will ask it here as well.

Thank you!
Hannah

 

[Arvind]

Thanks for Sharing

There are discussions in SPN about 5Ks in detail and about your apprehensions. Pls take time to go thru those. If you dont get the threads, let us know, so that after your home work, you get to the desired information.

Regards HannahBanana ji.

 

[HannahBanana]

I'll go find them now. Thank you again Arvind Ji

 

[Dimitri]

Hannah
Just a quick one regarding shorts and the comb.
From what little I know, shorts is self control and comb is a symbol for cleanliness.

 

[HannahBanana]

Thank you, Dimitri.