How important is the turban?

[Big_Tera]

Is a person not a true Sikh unless he wears a turban?  What about those who wear one but do bad deeds. But you may have a mona who does good deeds. 

Which one is better?

[jkvlondon]

it must be important , because it is mentioned so much by dasmesh pita ji , our whole culture centres on the honour of a person being related to their head covering whether chunni or dastar. It is the signifier of sovereignty which also doubles as a political sign of rebellion (mughals were the only ones allowed to wear turbans) and flag of allegiance.

question: if one doesn't study  the lesson or follow the teacher's instruction is one  really a student?

question 2: if one isn't a student then can one realistically claim the title?

[Big_Tera]

1 hour ago, jkvlondon said:

it must be important , because it is mentioned so much by dasmesh pita ji , our whole culture centres on the honour of a person being related to their head covering whether chunni or dastar. It is the signifier of sovereignty which also doubles as a political sign of rebellion (mughals were the only ones allowed to wear turbans) and flag of allegiance.

question: if one doesn't study  the lesson or follow the teacher's instruction is one  really a student?

question 2: if one isn't a student then can one realistically claim the title?

Yes but whats is better to have a Sikh who does good deeds or someone who just wears a turban for the sake of it. 

I think there is a big misconception in our culture. ie we immediatley assume a turban wearing Sikh is somehow better. But are there actions not more important. I have come across many turban wearing Sikhs who smoke drink ect. Yet I know many mona who do not and are the complete opposite. So why respect someone just because he has a pagh on. It does not make them a better person inside. 

[Akalifauj]

3 hours ago, Big_Tera said:

Is a person not a true Sikh unless he wears a turban?  What about those who wear one but do bad deeds. But you may have a mona who does good deeds. 

Which one is better?

You always have these questions.  But when will you start teaching your mind from Gurbani and then present what you learned here?

The Mona will say don't need dastar and others will say you need it.  What did this question accomplish other than rift more Sikhs apart because they couldn't realize Gurmat.  Stop wasting your time and others.

 

[Not2Cool2Argue]

5 hours ago, Big_Tera said:

Is a person not a true Sikh unless he wears a turban?  What about those who wear one but do bad deeds. But you may have a mona who does good deeds. 

Which one is better?

I think a turban does not have much to.do.with spirituality or morality. It has to do.with khalsa and the Sikh panth. If u want to join the army or nation of the khalsa, you will need to follow the rules  and wear the uniform. Remember SGGS ji is the universal guru, and will teach and protect anyone in their sharan.

You can be a sikh, whos only aim is to better himself or you can be a sikh who wants to help all of humanity and the sikh panth in which case you will join the khalsa.

Another note, i am not sure how far a sikh can go spiritually if he has not formally accepted the guru ie taken amrit. Which would mean wearing a dastaar.

Also one should respect a turban wearing sikh, because he is proclaiming to the world that he is proud of his guru and is saying that i belong to the guru and is telling the world, he is committed to following the guru. One has to respect that commitment while a mona person gets all benefits from his guru, asks for things, gets paath done, but is not ready to accept the guru. And if a person wearing a turban is doing bad things, then i think we all have the right to tell them off because they are lying. On one hand they r saying i am committed to the guru while they purposely do the opposite

[Big_Tera]

On 10/06/2017 at 11:43 PM, Akalifauj said:

You always have these questions.  But when will you start teaching your mind from Gurbani and then present what you learned here?

The Mona will say don't need dastar and others will say you need it.  What did this question accomplish other than rift more Sikhs apart because they couldn't realize Gurmat.  Stop wasting your time and others.

 

How is this wasting time? Should Sikhs just follow anything without questioning it. That is similar to the muslim ideology.

 

[Kira]

So is the crux of your question just "does having Kesh make you a better person" ?

[Big_Tera]

8 minutes ago, Kira said:

So is the crux of your question just "does having Kesh make you a better person" ?

My question is in the first post. 

[Kira]

15 minutes ago, Big_Tera said:

My question is in the first post. 

you mention Monas. meaning those who don't keep kesh. Some Mona wear turbans too so that's why im actually confused.

[MisterrSingh]

When I was growing up, moneh were magnanimous enough to put up their hands and say, "Y'know, I just can't deal with growing kesh and the daily responsibility of tying a dastaar. It's my fault, nobody else. The problem lies within me." At least they were honest back then.

Nowadays, as with most things, the desire to subvert perfectly valid norms and practices in the pursuit of discovering the so-called truth that's been kept from society thanks to some vague overarching conspiracy of suppression and deception, means shifting responsibility and blame for the individual's defects onto those very norms and values that were given to us solely for our benefit. Now, these people wish to chip away at the integrity of scripture to find a loophole or flimsily worded justification that will enable, or, best of all, approve of their personal life choices. 

I've long suspected future generations of Sikhs will graduate to openly disparaging certain Sikh teachings because they struggle to adhere to those values. The Dasam Granth issue was a precursor of what's yet to come. The final issue that will tear apart Sikhs will be the 5Ks / Baisakhi issue, i.e. huge numbers of followers will openly turn their back on the requirement of kesh and the need to take amrit. That's going to be the final nail in the coffin. It will be relegated to a small devout minority of fundamentalists who'll eventually be sidelined as an extreme or orthodox sect. Mainstream Sikhi will be redrawn as a soft, pacifist, Jain-esque faith requiring the minimum of dedication and adherence. That's the plan, believe me.

Questioning narratives and beliefs is incredibly important. Sikhs wouldn't exist if one particular individual who emerged in 1469 hadn't questioned the fundamentals of their existence and society in general. Yet, that spirit of discovery is being used to denigrate and undermine the very fabric of our beliefs. It's happening all over the world with all manner of philosophies and systems. "This is too difficult, therefore it must be wrong, because I can't possibly be expected to chisel away at improving myself thereby arriving at a place where I meet these conditions." It's this same attitude that has gradually destroyed the integrity of those things that are conducive to a successful and healthy society.

Saying that, the other side of the argument also holds water. It's controversial and not many will want to hear it: it's too easy to appear as a devout Sikh. There's no threshold of quality, or measurement of discerning the content of character behind the external appearance. Literally anyone, even the vilest of humans, can dress up as a Sikh.