DO WE REALLY NEED KESH?? Sikhi in heart jus counts

[sher_panjabi]

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa,

Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!!

I am sure many people have thought about this question.

Sikhs wear an external uniform to unify and bind them to the beliefs of the religion and to remind them of their commitment to the Sikh Gurus at all times. Unlike some other faiths where only the clergy are in uniform, all Sikhs are enjoined to wear the uniform of their beliefs. These five articles of faith, along with a turban, distinguish a Sikh and are essential for preserving the life of the community. Naturally, for Sikhs these religious articles have deep spiritual significance; and some practical as well. The five articles of faith start with the "k" alphabet in Panjabi, and are thereby referred to as the 5 K's.

Kesh (unshorn hair of all the body, which is kept covered and crowned with a Keskhi/Turban) is one the K's in the 5 K's Uniform bestowed upon us by Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Guru Nanak Ji, the founder of the Sikh faith, started the practice of keeping hair unshorn because keeping it in a natural state is regarded as living in harmony with the Will of Waheguru. So as a Sikh one recognises that Waheguru has given us hair for a reason. For example:

• The hair on our head protects the skull and brain

• The hair on our body acts an insulator

• Our eyebrows prevent water going into your eyes

• The hair under our armpits prevent friction and irritation when we move our arms

• When one meditates the hair on our body vibrates the energy/Naam.

Gurbaani says:

nwmu hmwrY AMqrjwmI ] nwmu hmwrY AwvY kwmI ]

naam hamaarai antarjaamee. naam hamaarai aavai kaamee.

The Naam, the Name of the Lord, is the Inner-knower of my heart. The Naam is so useful to me.

roim roim rivAw hir nwmu ] siqgur pUrY kIno dwnu ]1]

rom rom ravi-aa har naam. satgur poorai keeno daan.

The Lord's Name permeates each and every hair of mine. The Perfect True Guru has given me this gift. ||1||

(Ang 1144, SGGS)

The turban is part of the uniform because it has immense spiritual and temporal significance. Wearing a turban declares sovereignty, dedication, self-respect, courage and piety. All practicing Sikhs wear the turban out of love and as a mark of commitment to the faith.

Guru Gobind Singh Jee says:

Kwlsw myro rUp hYN Kws]Kwlsw mYN hO kro invws]

Khaalsa mero roop hai kaas. Khaalsa mai ho karo nivaas

The Khalsa is my image. Within the Khalsa I reside.

Hope that helps.

External or internal - what matters more? - If you have a cup. If it is dirty inside and clean outside... is the cup clean or dirty? Dirty!

If a cup is clean inside and dirty outside.. is the cup clean or dirty? Dirty and undrinkable!

If Sikhi is WITHIN YOU then Sikhi's fragrance should spread from within you outside. For example you don't make a depressing face and say to people "I am happy!" or smile at everyone and say "I am feeling depressed and sad"...

Another example, when your mum makes turkaa for daal sabji, you can smell it all over the house and in the kitchen. However, the turkaa is inside the pateela (pot) and it is also covered. However, because the smell is strong, so it spreads across the whole house. Similarly, if Sikhi is within you, then depending how strong your Sikhi is, the Sikhi should sooner or later spread its fragrance from inside to outside. For some people the fragrance of Sikhi flourishes outside immediately and for others it take little longer.

HOWEVER: KESH ALONE IS NOT GOING TO MAKE YOU EXPERIENCE VAHEGURU! KESH ALONE IS NOT GOING TO GET YOUR FAR (Maaf Karnaa)!

Ang 1365:

kbIr pRIiq iek isau kIey Awn duibDw jwie ]

kubeer preeth eik sio keeeae aan dhubidhaa jaae

Kabeer, when you are in love with the One Lord, duality and alienation depart.

BwvY lWby kys kru BwvY Grir mufwie ]25]

bha

avai laabae kaes kur bhaavai ghurar muddaae

You may have long hair, or you may shave your head bald. ||25||

Kesh is a TOOL, a MEANS to an END. The End = Waheguru. Our Rehat (discipline) of any sort should be underlied with Pyaar (love) for Waheguru and only then will work for us.

E.g. Giving a rose to someone in itself and by itself alone is not LOVE. However it is means to and end. It used to express love and appreciation. Hence, you need the love in order for the rose not to be an empty gift. However, that is not to say or imply that the tool or gift is unnecessary! Similarly Maharaaj talks about that being a vegetarian alone will not get you to God. Instead NAAM will get you to God - and our Rehat compliments and helps us in that journey.

Guru Ang Sang

If any of many vichaar or views are wrong, then bhul chuk maaf karne ji

[Akaal Purakh Di Fauj]

wow...great post bro...usually get loads of people using that excuse of sikhi in the heart which counts not the sikhi saroop!!! :wub:

[sanj singh]

My friends what is inside is indeed important but that doesn't mean we neglect the outside.

The Sikh Guru's in their eternal wisdom told us we must keep our Kesh unshorn and we musn't ever tear them of our bodies.

Keep our kesh long and beautiful, it is a gift from our lord from our creator, and giver.

Today we will cut off our Kesh, then tomorrow we will not visit the Gurudwara because we will say God is within so why go to the temple. Then we will stop praying, and before we know it we will not be Sikh's at all.

We will just be all what is bad in our society. There is no point of just pretending we are good inside, to be good we need to grow our hair, visit the Gurudwara and do seva. Help the poor and needy and worship our God and follow the rules he has set out for us.

[H4RPAL]

An excellent post, and excellently timed- the Sikhi Saroop is under threat from our own brothers and sisters who, in falling for the ideals of the west, disregard a gift bestowed upon us by Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji.

[V]

Amazing mindblowing article

keep up the good effort :wub:

[navdeep kaur]

Waheguroo Jee Ka Khalsa!

Waheguroo Jee Kee Fateh!!

Waheguroo Jee Ka Khalsa!

Waheguroo Jee Kee Fateh!!

guru ji has given us the concept of BANI AND BANA...follow it

[Gurjeet_Kaur]

vaheguroo jee... it's actually bahroh ta nirmal jeeaho nirmal satgur te karNee kamaaNee

bwhrhu q inrml jIAhu inrml siqgur qy krxI kmwxI ]

[sanj singh]

Kalyug is all around us in the sense that many Sikh's have forgotten about their great religion and the traditions set by our Guru's.

Many Sikh men choose not to grow their hair simply because it is difficult to manage, how pathetic is that!

Many foolish Sikh girls say they do not want to marry Singh's who grow their kesh, how sad is that!

Once upon a time we used to face great persecution from the like of the Mughals, we fought them and defeated them but now we have this simple enemy and we are losing the war against him. The enemy is the vanity we are surrounded by. Kesh is very important brothers and sisters let us not ever cut them away.

A child wants to play all day, he does not think of anything else. As far as the bactha is concerned there is nothing to life but his games. However he then grows older and wiser and realises he should've paid more attention in school. He realises as much as playing was fun he could've become a better and more successful person if he had studied harder rather than playing games in the park or truanting off school.

We need to see ourselves in that same perspective we need to realise that wearing a Turban may not make us more attractive to some people, but that in it self is not a major concern. It may seem important to us but believe me that as we grow older and wiser we will look back at our teenage years and laugh at the fact we paid that much attention to boys and girls. Not only will we laugh but we will cry in angusih if we give in to our fears and cut off our glorious hair. We will realise that the rule of Guruji is far important to us than any kind of silly dating game.

Ju

st as a child only wants to play all day, just as an addict only thinks of his next fix, that is just how some of us are trapped in the illusion that growing Kesh is not important to us.

Remember brothers and sisters if today we cut off our Kesh today we will only regret our foolish decision for years to come.

Even if we are lucky we will only live on this planet for seventy to a hundred years. But the life the Satguru wants to give us is eternal, let us not waste it all away in the pursuit of the silly illusion of Maya.

[H4RPAL]

An amazing post Sanj Singh

Thank you for sharing that with us- how come you only have 28 posts- someone like you should definately be writing more often

[navdeep kaur]

Waheguroo Jee Ka Khalsa!

Waheguroo Jee Kee Fateh!!

sorry abt the mistake...i should have been more careful. :wub:

Waheguroo Jee Ka Khalsa!

Waheguroo Jee Kee Fateh!!