Singh And Kaur As Surename

[JSinghnz]

The title Singh or Kaur is earned when a person takes Amrit, the required sacrifice is that you have offered your head at the feet of the Akal Purakh I.e: complete submission to the path of Sikhi. Guru Gobind Singh Ji did not Become Gobind Singh until he took Amrit prior to this he was known as Gobind Rai.

Therefore you cannot use the title Singh or Kaur until you take Amrit. The Guru himself did not take the title Singh without taking amrit. Using Singh or Kaue without taking Amrit is Beadbi as you hAve not made the required sacrifice hence have not earned the title. Just as you cannot become a doctor or Lord without earning the neccesary credentials

You should use your fairy tale making skills elsewhere. Please dont spin such stories here.

[JSinghnz]

Q: Why do Sikh men have the last name Singh and all women, have the last name Kaur?

A: Singh means a lion and Kaur means a princess. In Sikhism these titles eliminate discrimination based on “family name” (which denotes a specific caste) and reinforces that all humans are sovereigns and equal under God.

This tradition started because through the last name one could distinguish what caste one belongs to. Just by knowing the last name they would say, “Oh, you are the lowest” or “You are the middle” or “You are from high class”. Thus SikhGurus eliminated the last name from all the Sikhs so that no one could distinguish the caste and achieved equality for all Sikhs. Guru Gobind Singh Ji gave Singh as a last name to all the Sikh men and Kaur to all the Sikh women.

Women were not treated equally before the time of the Sikh Gurus, and so to ensure equality, a movement for women’s liberation was started five hundred years ago with the Sikh faith. The Guru said, “You are my beloved princesses, my daughters. You must be respected. How can this world be without you?” He cautioned men for being rude and bad to women. He said, “Without women this world cannot be. So, give them the rights, and give them equal respect they deserve.” Women are humans and all humans deserve equal rights.

Normally, when a woman would get married, she would take the last name of the family she gets married into. Since Guru eliminated the last name, he said, “You don’t have to take anybody else's name. You are an individual, you are a princess, and you can keep Kaur as your last name.” It gave women a lot of self-respect.

realsikhism.com

[BobbyMann75]

I agree somewhat with CiscoSingh. Become a Singh or Kaur, or delete your surname in place of middle name, as many have it as middle name when you take amrit or at least aren't involved in acts of beadbi.

That way we don't have meat eating and alcohol drinkers using these surnames, but proper Sikhs.

[Mehtab Singh]

I agree somewhat with CiscoSingh. Become a Singh or Kaur, or delete your surname in place of middle name, as many have it as middle name when you take amrit or at least aren't involved in acts of beadbi.

That way we don't have meat eating and alcohol drinkers using these surnames, but proper Sikhs.

What is actually stopping the others from taking Amrit?

[Cisco_Singh]

You should use your fairy tale making skills elsewhere. Please dont spin such stories here.

Fairy tales ?? Go and read some history and tell me prior to the creation of Khalsa and the initiation of the Panj Pyarey, where was the Singh or Kaur surname designation assigned to Sikhs ? It's a specific title earned when you have submitted your head to the Guru the prerequisite is taking Amrit and joining the Khalsa.

If you cant make the required sacrifice you havent gained the title. Go and read any historical books you want, and tell me when Guru Gobind Singh Ji actually became Gobind Singh...it was ONLY after taking amrit from the Panj Pyarey that he took this title.

Now if the Guru himself did not use the title Singh before taking amrit, what gives anyone else the right to use the title without fulfilling the criteria , which is taking Amrit ??

Hence why none of the other 9 Gurus are given the title Singh. Why ? is it because they are lesser Sikhs ? Certainly not...It's because at the time the prequisite of Amrit wasnt in existance.

[Mehtab Singh]

It's a specific title earned when you have submitted your head to the Guru the prerequisite is taking Amrit and joining the Khalsa.

If you cant make the required sacrifice you havent gained the title.

What is actually stopping such people from taking Amrit?

[Cisco_Singh]

What is actually stopping the others from taking Amrit?

Nothing...it's a simple concept if you want to be Singh or Kaur walk the path make Amrit your goal when your ready and meet the condition then by all means use the titles.

[Malwai]

Absolutely nothing wrong with using your family name.

Separately, excellent factual statements by Cisco_Singh.

[Mehtab Singh]

if you want to be Singh or Kaur

Want? Who are these people to have a choice when Guru Sahib Himself had to kneel down and ask for Amrit? Are they better than Him that they have a choice to "want" or "not want"?

walk the path make Amrit your goal when your ready and meet the condition then by all means use the titles.

And until then I can do whatever I want in my life, still appear as a Sikh, call myself a Singh and no one can question me?

[Mehtab Singh]

The importance of Kaur

Jayati Chakraborty

Have you ever thought why Guru Ji, Guru Gobind Singh, gave the Kaur surname to Sikh women? Why did he not accept the status quo and keep the tradition of the woman's surname being determined by her family's name? WHAT WAS Guru Ji trying to achieve by calling the Sikh woman a princess (literal meaning of Kaur)?

To try to understand the possible reasons behind Guru Jis decision, we need to look at the situation at the time in different cultures. In Indian society, the brides first and last name was often changed after her marriage. This still happens today. However, this tradition of name changing does not occur just in India. It is a phenomenon, which occurs across the whole world today. Why are womens surnames changed? The reason is family linkage. Surnames allow others to identify you and your family. In some cases the surname can tell others much more about you, such as your caste.

For women the linkage to family is different in comparison to men. Their identity changes with marriage. They are no longer associated with their parents, but with their husbands family. Unsurprisingly, the mans name never changes. Some cultures go as far as considering the woman to be the property of others. This was so for the Hindu Law giver, Manu, who claimed that no woman should ever be independent. Christianity considered woman to be a product of man as Eve had come from the rib of Adam.

Psychologically, women have accepted these unjust rules. They are resigned to male dominance and allowed themselves to become second-class citizens. Guru ji changed all this with the revelation of the Khalsa. He gave women the opportunity to live life free of the chains of a dogmatic society. It was Gods Hukam (will).

Once initiated into the Khalsa, Sikh women obtain the surname Kaur. The surname Singh (Lion) is given to men, but Kaur (princess) is reserved solely for women. This difference in names is not about inequality. Rather, Guru ji recognises the difference between men and women. As individuals we are all different from each other, but this difference does not imply inequality.

Women and men are different but remain equals. Guru ji considered women and men to be unique. He respected the sexes and, therefore, made the distinction in surnames.

When you take amrit you are told to consider Guru Gobind Singh as your father and Mata Sahib Kaur as your mother. By joining the Khalsa you abandon all previous chains of linkage. You become the direct descendants of Guru Gobind Singh and Mata Sahib Kaur. You become their sons and daughters. The Khalsa becomes your family. Thus, from the day you are born to the day you die your name remains the same. You do not have to change it due to marriage.

Unfortunately, the tradition of using the Kaur surname has all but disappeared amongst Sikh women. It is either dropped, in favour of caste surnames, or misused as a middle name. Guru Ji never designed it as such. Have we not belittled his concepts? Have we lost so much self-esteem that we must copy the bigoted traditions of others?

Sikh women are today demanding equal rights. Rightly so. However, they fail to realise that they themselves create inequality by not considering themselves princesses. They no longer consider themselves as daughters of the Khalsa. Why should Sikh women feel that they must change their names after marriage?

By keeping your unique and beautiful Sikh identity you are maintaining the freedom given to you by Guru ji. Ultimately, only those who keep the Kaur surname can truly understand its importance. Others will make excuses about the difficulty of having such a common surname It makes paper work and identification difficult! Why make such excuses? We do not hear Patels or Smiths complaining. Mere excuses.

The importance of Kaur is truly inexpressible. It is something very unique in the history of the world. Of late more and more Sikhs are dropping Singh and Kaur from their names. They probably are not aware of the Blessings of Guru Gobind Singh Ji who gifted these decorations to them.

Removing or abbreviating the decorations with S and K is to ape the western culture. In India surnames were initially introduced by the Brahmins to distinguish people of four varna as per their belief. Subsequently the British introduced the system for all those enrolled in government services.

Today, abbreviating the middle name or totally eliminating it has become a fashion. People who are settled abroad have degraded their self-respect to such levels that they feel elated to be called Garry for Gurpreet, Harry for Harpreet, Harmeet, Harbhajan, etc.

Common reason given for such an attitude is that the Westerners cannot understand, pronounce or remember the difficult Indian names. My suggestion to all such Sikhs is to introduce themselves merely as Singh and Kaur, which are very simple and short names. Even in India Sikhs are generally called by a single name of Sardar Ji. Why cant a similar procedure be adopted universally?

http://www.merinews.com/article/the-importance-of-kaur/130679.shtml

By the way, this Bibi who wrote this is a Bengali Hindu.

Prathham Rehith Yehi Jan Khanddae Kee Pahul Shhakae ||

The first and foremost Rehit for a Sikh (male or female) is to take Amrit (Khanddae Kee Pahul).

- Bhai Gurdas Jee