Waxing

[Guest Guest]

WJKK WJKF

i know this topic has been raised a lot of times in this forum. but i really want to ask why is waxing actually not allowed for us as sikhs.

i am a sikh. all my life i have alwayz abided with everything that a sikh is supposed to do. but since school because of waxing i have been denied so many things. i was very good at badminton but could not participate in the competitions because my legs were not waxed. i used to wear skirt as it was the uniform, but then was alwayz made fun of because of this all through my school life. when i enetred college boys around me started teasing me because of my upper lips and body hair. they did not even feel like talking to me. but after a few dayz i started bleaching my face to hide my facial hair. and avoided wearing half sleeves. alwayz wore full sleeves because i never wanted ppl to look down upon me and make fun of me and my religion as i lawayz respected it.

after an year of college i was supposed to do internship which i could not succeeed in getting on my own behalf because i had bodu hair. later at my office i was not given a nice treatment coz of body hair. after facing all this trauma i was forced to get my arms waxed. i know it is a sin. a sin which is not forgiven. but i did not ever do undrearms or my legs. it was only my arms. well after that it gave me self confidence but i was not able to afce myself in the mirror and my family. everytym i got it done i felt a part of me was gng away with it. but then the whole world ard me changed. i started getting d respect in off and sum vry gud projects.

but i want to give up waxing. plzz tell me what to do. today i am at a position where i wanted to be but.....i knw all boyz wont even understand this. if i leave dis job and go sumwhere else it will b very difficult o get one as i wil have body hair. ppl dnt gv jobs to dem. i dnt knw wht to do... but i dnt wax anywhere else. only my arms. whereit is required. i want to ask ppl out there y is it a sin for a girl to not do waxing. y is it a compulsion for her to do it world over???? y does nt a guy luk at her if she has body hair???? if she is forced to do it den she is out of her religion......i am do everythng else with full respect. i do apth daily regularly....but dng wzxing is wrong????y???

ppl say dat sikhism has logic for evrything...plzz tell me how am i harmed if i do waxing....do i get less of vitamin D by jst clearing my hands.....sikhism has reason for evrything...in fact it is d only religion i hv known so far which has scientific support for everything.....plzzz help me out....really confused what to do.....

[Guest Guest]

dear bhenji i am hoping someone can provide you with scientific reasons as to why hair is important but i am just going to tell you about my experience with hair

i too started to shave/wax but now I have stopped, and i too have hairy arms but so what? its cool! hairy armz zindabaad!! i know this will probably sound weird but i love the hair on my arms! its longer than before ( i hardly used to have any) and its just beautiful!! and trust me i dont think ur arms are hairier than mine!! anyhow why should hair effect your job? i know its hard and if you can prove you are discrimintated against in the work place because of your hair then take legal action!

why should you have to change to fit in with others? so what if you feel different - you are different!! you belong to Guru ji!! not your boss, work colleague, society and so on

be strong!!

learn more about Sikhi and how people have sacrificed their lives but not their sikhi!! there is more to our precious human birth than worrying about hair, its a gift, accept it, love it, live with it.

just the other day i was thinking how blessed i am as a Singhni, my husband will accept me for me in the most natural form which includes hair yet there are other women who feel the need to wax and pluck and shave and tweeze and plaster their faces with tons of make up and have the latest hair cut BEFORE they think they will be accepted or even considered by future husbands, colleagues, friends, family - society!! we are so blessed to be free from all that, as Singhnis we got better things to be getting on with like simran, seva, sangat!

i reccommend you should take more sangat of gursikhs, that way your confidence will grow. i remember going to rhensbais as a monee (hair cut) and there i used to feel the odd one out in the sangat of khoob singhnia, and trust me, i would rather fit in there in Guru jis house than in some office in a city some place!!

[Guest Guest]

If you think that the hair are dispensable, disposable and unnecessary appendages of the human body, then you are sadly mistaken. The human hair determines vitality, virility, strength and immunity of the person concerned. The loss of hair denotes aging, decreased strength and impoverished immune system. The persons undergoing chemotherapy, radiotherapy and other immunosuppressant therapy always have loss of hair. These drugs impair fast growing cells of reproduction, vascular and bone marrow.

The Sikhs are the only one in the world, who are required to keep uncut body hair. It is a form of commitment and allegiance to the faith. The moment you lose this essential requirement, you cease to be a Sikh. The Sikhs had sacrificed their lives, when asked to lose the hair or the life; they preferred the hair than living without hair. This is inseparable part of a Sikh’s body. In case of some urgent life saving emergency situations where hair are required to be cut, mostly accidents or surgery then these are cut and the Sikh has to present himself before the board of 5 beloved Sikhs and explain why he has allowed this thing to happen to him. The Sikh is always forgiven and asked to undergo some kind of penance. I think this should be counted as a blessing by all the true Sikhs, if it was not forbidden then no body would have been there on this earth with hair as Sikhs do.

Why hair at all? The defenders!

The human body is perfect, designed and preplanned for the functions, the parts had to undertake later on. The woman’s body has less hair and she is designed to rear the baby and at least for 9 months and during that time she cannot perform so many outdoor functions which a man has to do all the days in the year. And, of course, this is the woman who has to deliver the milk as an essential ingredient which a man though equally related cannot help. And the woman must remain with the child in growing tender years. This explains the less hair on the body. So the woman by virtue of her duty is less exposed to outside hostile environment and so less protection is needed by lesser growth of hair.

See the beauty of nature, the palmer and plantar side of the hands and feet have no hair; the sensory receptors for heat are less sensitive or are less in number on these surfaces. The skin is thick on these places as one has to work with hard, rough surfaces and uncomfortable temperatures.

Why hair on the eyebrows, eyelashes, nose and ear don’t keep growing and longer and longer? Of course, the hair keep growing in all these places but rate of growth is very slow.

If one has to shave hair of eyebrows for surgery, you can always find the slow growth. If there were no eyelashes then eyes would have been more vulnerable to injury by the suspended particles in the air which are harmful. The eyes keep blinking after every few seconds and eye lashes provide vision and protection from foreign bodies during partial closure of the eyes. The new born child blinks his eyes less often, so eye blinking is related to the brain development. Can you do without eyelashes! This small bunch of hair performs vital functions for your vision. Why don’t we shave these eyelashes also?

The science has not understood the total human physiology as yet. Have we promoted or made stem cells? These cells were there from the very inception of first human being on earth, it is only now we could find the already existing potential of these cells

.On the other hand, one has to shave the face daily and get their hair cut of the head at least once a week. It does imply that there is more requirement of hair in these areas. So God has very kindly helped the hair to keep growing in these places in spite of the fact that the man does not understand the importance of the hair which are of immense value in keeping him healthy. God is our father that is why He does it as frequently as the man indulges in unnatural practices.

Similarly, the longer hair in armpits and groins have some important functions. The upper layers of the skin are being constantly replaced by the new skin from underneath. The armpits and the groins are not exposed to the clothes or the environment. The shed off skin gets collected in these areas. These areas are not well ventilated, so skin moisture is added along with the proteins of shed off skin. And this combination along with more heat in these areas form the best play ground for the fungi and bacteria to grow and multiply. The hair work as cleansing agents or natural scavengers. The collections of dead skin and secretions are removed by the hair and are carried on the shaft of the hair away from the skin. This way, the hair help in keeping the skin well protected. As a physician, I know we get many cases of fungus infection and repeated boils in these areas especially in hot and humid weather. If hair are removed, then certainly we are killing our friends for the sake of so called beauty.

The hair on our entire body are sensitive to cold, heat and emotions. In case of fear, the hair stand erect and may be helping the body to cope with the threatening situations. In cold weather the peripheral circulation supplying blood to skin is reduced and it helps in conserving body heat. And the hair on the surface of the skin get erected to perform some unknown functions and closing skin pores to reduce loss of heat. Similarly, in hot weather the erector muscle of the hair in skin are relaxed and help the body in producing less heat and there by promote the heat loss through open skin pores by perspiration.

The hair around external genitalia perform very vital function in cooling or heating the heat sensitive genitalia. If testes don’t descend to the scrotum then excessive heat of inside the body destroys the germinal cells.

So, please don’t kill your defenders and be wise. God has not done anything in vain. Let us respect the nature and should not do anything against it.

Some other benefits of long hair

The brain is required by all of us; so far the science did not find any alternative to take up its functions if needed. Unfortunately, the brain cannot be transplanted from any body else. The brain of our immediate ancestor, the monkey could be made available for experiments that should make us to jump all the inhibitions.

The wise people had made arrangements to protect the head, in case of car accidents by giving us air bags in the steering wheel, or using helmets for driving two wheelers. It is really praiseworthy.

The pedestrians do need some protection also against accidents, no body has thought of any measure. You have to protect your brain in extremes of weather conditions in Siberia, Polar Regions and hot places like Dubai.

The most devastating effects of harmful radiations from the sun also need some urgent protection. It has become all the more important and relevant, owing to increasingly decreasing cover of ozone layer in the atmosphere. As we know there is big hole in the ozone layer and harmful ultraviolet radiations come un obstructed to the earth.

The hair on the head caters to all the above mentioned needs for us. God had given us the final and beautiful protection to the brain by giving us long hair on our heads and faces also. The hair on the face does protect some important receptors in the neck also. It makes the man the most handsome creature on the earth. The hair is God’s gift for us. It protects us against weather conditions by keeping warm in winter and cool in summer. The harmful radiations are taken care of and in addition it protects us against any accidents.

Do we need to cut, the useful part of our body and which is found so essential for our lives? The modern man had ignored this vital aspect. In India, all our forefathers used to have the long hair on their heads and those people who had attained perfection had long hair on their heads, like Christ, Mohammed, Ram, Bhudha and Krishan. The hair are connected with salvation and perfection in some unknown ways.

Sikhism is the most modern religion; Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth master of Sikhs in 1699 AD had very kindly made it mandatory to have long hair on our heads and not to murder the hair on our body in any way. It is a sin to cut hair, if a Sikh cuts hair he is forsaken from the faith. It is not important that there are many so called Sikhs who do not keep hair. It is their sweet will and no body should mind that. But surely, they are not Sikhs. We remember our heroes who lived the life of the perfect Sikhs and sacrificed everything. The Sikhs had kept long hair in spite of severe punishment, like removing the scalp from head along with long hair. The Sikhs were given the option to remove the Sikh symbols and the hair, these heroes preferred death than giving up the hair and Sikh identity. The true Sikhs would prefer death than giving up the hair.

How to care for the hair?

If you agree with me that the hair are important gift given to the entire mankind without any distinction of the area, religion or group by our God father, then we should decide as how to respect our defenders and friends.

Guru Gobind Singh had thought of this need, and delineated the procedure for his followers or for that reason any body who wants to support long hair on the head and the body. The hair need to be kept tidy and should be combed daily and keep the hair rolled up as a knot on the head. And to keep the hair clean and healthy, Sikhs had been advised to tie a head gear or a turban over the head daily.

The head gear is required by all the people in extremes of weather. But if you wear turban all the time on the head, then there is great protection to the brain in case of accidents or by direct hit by any flying object or a stick or a sharp cutting object. The momentum gets decreased when the 6 to 7 layers of cloth of the turban bears the brunt of the impact and the turban gets dismantled and the direction of the hitting object gets changed. And certainly, it does give a great protection not only to the most vital brain but saves the life also.

Now days there is noise pollution by the heavy vehicles on the roads and sound of DJ’s in social gatherings and dance parties, the turban protects the brain and the ears against very loud sounds which go much higher than the safe limit of 60 decibels.

The turban gives added protection to the brain against harmful radiations from the sun.

The extreme cold weather and chilly winds cannot do anything to the wearer of the turban. Luckily, I had lived three winters in south east of Canada and had faced the minimum temperature of - 25 degree C and strong chilly winds. I used to walk for one hour daily under these weather conditions. No time, I felt insecure and I used to enjoy the weather. The only problem was the black ice for which I learnt the trick of walking on this sort of surface. I had devised to walk on toes and not to put the heel first on the ice. By putting the toe first, the centre of gravity shifts to the middle of the body and the person is more secure. If some body is walking with heels first then the centre of gravity is behind the person and the heel slips. If you happen to view the foot prints of those who had slipped, you would find the heels had dragged for some distance before the person fell on the ground.

How does the turban protects us from chilly winds and snow storms? One can observe snow storms and chilly winds would hit from the front, sides or from the back depending upon direction of your walk in relation to the wind. The snow coat had head part or hood also but in comparison to the turban it stands no where. The turban has 6 to 7 layers of cloth all around your head; the way it insulates is superb. No need of putting the hood on the turban, one is very comfortable. Once you come back to your home, you would find the snow had got deposited on the moustaches and the beard.

If you are exposed to this type of weather, then the sensitive parts of the body are tip of the nose, pinna and lobule of the ear. These parts get blue and are frozen. The turban protects the ear and the hair on face blocks the chilly winds to enter the nose straightway and certainly the hair may be helping in warming the outside air entering the nose through hot exhaled air.

The burning hot temperatures can cause sun burns on exposed skin and heat stroke and heat exhaustion. The brain regulates the temperature of the body. The turban acts as a screen to the direct effect of sun rays. It keeps the brain cool, by absorbing the sweat on the head on one hand and insulates the head from external temperature. The head is kept cool in spite of the fact that the outside temperature is nearly scolding hot. How many people can walk bare headed in extreme hot weather? Not many and all have to cover their heads by some sort of cap or hat. The cap or hat can fall down in case you wish to work outside in hot weather. Everybody cannot sit in air conditioned room and so many had to work outside. So turban is the answer for them.

The turban has some aesthetic value. The person looks taller and handsome. The choice of colours is vast and that can match your casual wear of shirts or tie. One looks a like a king. Perhaps all the dignitaries in the past used to wear different head gears. Believe me, once you tie a turban on the head you feel energized and more active, than sitting without it during holidays.

The other persons who are not Sikhs would find I am promoting Sikhism, but I have tried to put the facts before everyone, if it helps Sikhism I feel happy and proud. I think the Sikhs who have lost their identity for the sake of some gains it is high time they should feel sorry for that. A Sikh is an ideal human being. The Sikhs don’t smoke, don’t keep extra marital contacts and are well armed to keep the oppressed, protected and are confident of their inheritance. The Sikh has to respect all religions and would keep on following his faith strictly. The Sikh has malice for none and love for all. The Sikhs pray for the betterment of the total humanity including their opponents.

Dr Balwant Singh

[Guest Guest]

Sikh Sangat is going round in circles. How hard is it to understand you can't do Kes-h dee beadbi. That means any sort of way or removing the hair. Most of you girls probably ask over and over thinking at one point someone might say 'oh yeah that's ok, you carry on waxing'. You know what Guru Mahraaj wants and thats the end.

[Guest Guest]

penji dont worry, we've all probably been looked by many idiots looking and commenting on hair, ive been there, and the only way out is to think to urself that waheguru is with me, so y shud u care what others have to say? now, the best thing would have been is not to wax ur arms, because now probably the hair will grow even more, sorry if i sound a bit harsh.

waxing means removing hair from the body, and this is not acceptable in sikhi, im sure some1 else will give more detail on this, but think, its waheguru's Hukham, and just think that guruji is near at hand and is watching, so next time u feel upset about ur hair, just do simran.

plus there are alternatives for hair, i too have faced problems during p.e, but the alternative is jogging bottoms, and im sure the school ppl will underdand.

hope this kinda helped sorry :lol::

so just remember that hair is a giving from GOD, and we should understand to live in his paana.

[Guest _gupt kaur_]

fateh ji

penji dont worry

ive had many idiots laughing and making silly comments, but u must remember that waheguru is with u all the time. u should not have waxed cuz now the hair mite be double.. sorry but its true.

sikhi doesnt allow any hair to be removed becuase its a giving from waheguru. we should learn to live in guruji's paana, plus having hair or too much hair is all in wahegurus hukham, so ive overcome this problem by gurus grace, just never forget that guruji loves u for who u r, and he is always with u, always jap naam wen u feel a bit down.

there are alternatives such as jogging bottoms instead of skirts, schools do understand.

hope this kindaa helped.

plz 4give me, pull chuk marf.

[Tarrandeep Kaur]

Penji i think deep down you know that waxing is wrong. Sorry if you think im being offensive, but i think your just looking for an excuse to support the sin you are commiting.

Removing hair ANYWHERE on the body is a bujjar kurehit. So yes it is very wrong. There is no way around this.

You have posted your probelms about school and college, and your 'hariy' arms, nearly EVERY singhni i know has been through the same situation, and they managed to get through it with mahrajs kirpaa. At the end of the day who do you want to please, your guru or your work mates?

You cant simply say that because you have body hair that you dont get jobs. Some times things dont work out the way we would like them to be, but we have to accept this as the sweet will of mahraj. We have to have faith that mahraj will do the best for us, and accept that he will only do the best for us.

You seem to be asking for a scientific reason as to why we should keep hair. You said yourself that you consider yourself to be a sikh of the guru. Then surely you must have enough piaar to try and follow hukam to the best of your ability without questioning it. see i think we should turn this around, what are your reasons for removing your kesh? Are you reasons within gurmat? No, they are just because you care what others think, when clearly mahraj says;

kabeer ddoobehigo rae baapurae bahu logan kee kaan ||

Kabeer, you shall drown, you wretched being, from worrying about what other people think.

Penji, forget all these other people! Japp naam, keep rehit and please your GURU! You think you have it tough? Think about all the people who have made such massive sacrifices for sikhi, bibia had their children cut into peices and hung as garlands around their necks, singhs were boiled alive, cut in half and endured so many other tortures! Yet you find it hard to keep your precious kesh. Our kesh isnt a burden, see it as a gift.

Its great that you do paath, and i hope you continue to do so, but sikhi isnt just summit, where we can say yes i follow sikhi, full stop, its not just about doing paath. You have to try and find that piaar for mahraj, and try and do every action out of piaar for him; such as doing seva, helping the needy, protecting the weak. Try and keep more singhni sangat, it will help. Dont give up penji, do ardas and have full faith.

No one ever said that life was going to be easy, this is one of many obstacles you will come across, you have to turn to mahraj and he will do everything for you.

I am sorry if i have offended you, or said anything out of line.

Stay strong penji :TH:

vahiguroo vahiguroo vahiguroo vahiguroo vahiguroo vahiguroo vahiguroooooo vahiguroo vahiguroo vahigurooooo!!

VAHIGURUJEEKAAKHALSA VAHIGURUJEEKEEFATEH!

[۹βkaur۹β]

fateh ji

penji dont worry

ive had many idiots laughing and making silly comments, but u must remember that waheguru is with u all the time. u should not have waxed cuz now the hair mite be double.. sorry but its true.

sikhi doesnt allow any hair to be removed becuase its a giving from waheguru. we should live in wahegurs paana, and remember hair is a gift from god, and at the end of the day its all in wahegurus hukham.

whenever u feel down bout ur hair, dont be ashamed, jus jap naam in ur mind, and never 4get that waheguru is with u all the time. there are always alternatives- such as wearing jogging bottoms instead of skirts, and schools dont mind as long as u explain.

hope this kinda helped

pull chuk marf, plz 4give me.

[Guest Hardeep_S_Khalsa]

When your naam goes rom rom, with every strand of hair, then you will see the spirtual essence of keeping kesh uncut.

[fortunate]

bhen ji, you shudnt be ashamed...you're beautiful...the hair is one of the main reasons why we are all so distinct from the rest of the world...

guru sahib puts us in all types of situations, just to see if we are ready to accept him and have full faith in him...he has made you think like this for a reason...to see if you are ready to accept guru sahib or not...and by the looks of it..you seem like you are ready to accept him...since you feel guilt...and want to do the right thing...but the final decision is yours right...

bhen ji i wish you all the best..and stay in chardi kalaa.