Amritdhari living

[Guest Guest]

hi. i am new to sikhi and i going over the rehat maryada, i still have few questions about amritdhari living, hoping i could ask.

1) i've read it is mandatory to do cold bath in the mornings? is that true or do warm showers work?

2) during bathing, ive also read that you need to keep your head covered with a cloth until you wash your hair and then tie it again as soon as the soap is out. i'm confused on this, is it mandatory? what does it mean? how does the hair dry?

3) do you have to wash with soap everyday, or soap in main parts, and water on rest work?

4) as someone who has heavy and curly hair, it takes a long time to manage and dry. do i have to wash my hair everyday before doing paat because i need to go to work after as well?

5) i tried to keep my head covered at night with a patka, but it slips off during the night. is there any way to keep it on or is it ok?

 

the focus question is 5, and id really like that to be answer if none other can be

[Guest Guesti]

Vaheguru

1)No . It's not written that you must bathe every single day in the morning.It's written in gurbani that you must remember Vaheguru first,do Simran first, bath you soul first in Amritvela.Warm showers are ok too. It's just that cold showers have more health benefits.

 

2) yeah it's better to keep the head covered while showering the body. And after you do kesi ishnaan you can put on a small light cloth above your head. Hair will dry though.  But it doesn't make sense to put the cloth directly on your head when the soap is washed out..like the cloth would get wet??.. you can dry your hair first with a towel .

3) soap in main parts and rest water is ok. 

4) no you don't have to wash your keys every single day. Maryada is to wash them at least twice a week.

5) you can maybe try to wear a small dastar. 

 

 

Vaheguru many many things you read are "own made maryade" there's nothing spiritual in them. 

look at Gurbani. Vaheguru won't kick you off the panth if you don't follow every single rule from maryada.

sikhi is NOT about following every rule of maryada. Its about to meet Vaheguru,to get back to Vaheguru. But if we only focus on material things, only on rules then we don't come closer to Vaheguru. I've seen enough examples for this in my life. 

there are enough Sikhs who practice high maryada but don't know anything about what's sikhi really about. 

Wishing you health, Simran Di daat and Satsangat.

Vaheguru Ji ka Khalsa

Vaheguru Ji ki fateh 

[Guest G singh]

Yes having a shower is a must.. 

 

ਕਰਿ ਇਸਨਾਨੁ ਸਿਮਰਿ ਪ੍ਰਭੁ ਅਪਨਾ ਮਨ ਤਨ ਭਏ ਅਰੋਗਾ ॥
(ਹੇ ਭਾਈ! ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ ਵੇਲੇ) ਇਸ਼ਨਾਨ ਕਰ ਕੇ, ਆਪਣੇ ਪ੍ਰਭੂ ਦਾ ਨਾਮ ਸਿਮਰ ਕੇ ਮਨ ਅਤੇ ਸਰੀਰ ਨਰੋਏ ਹੋ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਹਨ,
After taking your cleansing bath, remember your God in meditation, and your mind and body shall be free of disease.
 

[BhForce]

On 8/5/2023 at 7:20 AM, Guest Guest said:

hi. i am new to sikhi and i going over the rehat maryada, i still have few questions about amritdhari living, hoping i could ask.

Hi. Welcome. The first thing you should know is that you're required to do anything. But if you're asking what maryada is, sure someone will tell you.

Normally, there really isn't a need to ask all these questions because maryada is learned naturally, by becoming part of a community. It's not just. there's an Amrit ceremony one fine day at the Gurdwara and then you go off to live, separated from every other Sikh on the path.

You're supposed to be part of a community. Like the community that Guru Nanak Dev ji created at Kartarpur.

When you're part of a community, you absorb things naturally. Westerners naturally pick up things like "shake hands when you meet someone" or "wear black at funerals" or "wear white at weddings".

No one asks "Where is this written in the Bible?".

[BhForce]

On 8/5/2023 at 7:20 AM, Guest Guest said:

1) i've read it is mandatory to do cold bath in the mornings? is that true or do warm showers work?

I would advise you to not take the perspective of "Oh, no, yet another rule to follow??" Rather, you should take the perspective of "Hmm, this entire community of Sikhs, from the earliest time, have been doing this thing, there must be something to it."

The answer to your question is: Yes, you're advised to bathe in cold water. Or shower. There's no need for these things to be written down; they are passed down orally. 

But in case you're wondering, someone did bother to write it down someplace. E.g., Bhai Nand Lal ji's Rehitnama states "He who doesn't bathe in cold water ... will be punished"

The biggest punishment is simply you not availing of the advice of Guru ji and Gursikhs and remaining bereft of tools to keep you focused and your body in top shape.

One of the problems of us Punjabis is we have an inferiority complex. If Guru ji says to do something, we won't do it. But if Joe Rogan promotes ice baths, then we do it!

And that's an ice bath. We're just told to do ishnan (bath/shower) in cold (not ice) water.

Here are some of the benefits of cold water:

 

[BhForce]

On 8/5/2023 at 7:20 AM, Guest Guest said:

2) during bathing, ive also read that you need to keep your head covered with a cloth until you wash your hair and then tie it again as soon as the soap is out. i'm confused on this, is it mandatory? what does it mean? how does the hair dry?

Again, do whatever you want. But if you're asking about the maryada passed down seena-baseena (orally) in the Sikh community, then it is this: You always keep your hair covered, not just during bathing but 24/7. The reason for keeping dastar 24x7 is the same as the general reason for dastar. Except if you're doing something with your hair, like washing, airing, combing, etc. That's the reason for keeping it covered.

If you're washing your body, there's no reason for your hair to be uncovered. You already stated you find it difficult to do kesi ishnaan everyday. So if you're not washing your hair, why uncover your hair?

You pick these things up naturally if you spend time in dal panth and do ishnaan collectively. Here is what Singhs do: Keep kachhera on and small dastar on. Water your body. Soap your body. Water again to remove soap. If you were going to wash your hair, then tie or have your kirpan on your body, tie up your kangha and dastar on your waist, then wash your hair. After your hair is clean and washed, twirl up your hair in your small turban and tie it up to cover your hair.

Either before or after, looosen your kachhera just a bit, put water, soap, then water on anything hidden by your kachhera. Put a towel around your waist and change your kachhera one leg at a time. If it's just you in your bathroom, it could be more relaxed, but I've described how Singhs change kachhera while in a group environment.

By the time you're done with that and washing your removed kachhera, etc, your small dastar has soaked up a lot of water from your wet hair. Now you can remove it and let it air out.

Sikhs don't say "dry" in relation to hair. They don't say ਕੇਸ ਸੁਕਾਉਣੇ. Things that dry out (like trees) are dead. This may surprise you because probably your family and other Punjabis around you say that. In the Nihang bola, you say ਕੇਸ ਹਰੇ ਕਰਨੇ.

[BhForce]

On 8/5/2023 at 7:20 AM, Guest Guest said:

3) do you have to wash with soap everyday, or soap in main parts, and water on rest work?

Bro, why would you even ask this? How lazy do you have to be to not want to bother to use soap? You do Jap Ji everyday. Even there, Guru Nanak Dev ji wrote about the cleaning power of soap:

ਮੂਤ ਪਲੀਤੀ ਕਪੜੁ ਹੋਇ ॥
When (kaparr-u) a garment (hoey) becomes soiled with (moot) urine 

ਦੇ ਸਾਬੂਣੁ ਲਈਐ ਓਹੁ ਧੋਇ ॥
it is (laeeai dhoey) washed (dey) with water and (saaboon-u) soap.

The point of the verse is not to give a rule about using soap, but the verse does recognize that soap cleans. Why would you even not want to bother applying soap? Water yourself. Apply soap, then water again.

This is not medieval Europe where people didn't bathe!

[BhForce]

On 8/5/2023 at 7:20 AM, Guest Guest said:

4) as someone who has heavy and curly hair, it takes a long time to manage and dry. do i have to wash my hair everyday before doing paat because i need to go to work after as well?

Bro, everyone needs to go to work. Every Sikh ever had to go to work for the past five hundred years. They managed it, so can you.

You don't "have" to wash your hair. But it's considered advisable.

The main reason we don't have "time" is because we're waking up far too late.

We're supposed to wake approximately one pehar (3 hours) prior to sunrise. (Check rehitnamas, Sikh history, oral history, and maryada from saints and dals.) Guru Ram Das ji says:

ਗੁਰ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਜੋ ਸਿਖੁ ਅਖਾਏ ਸੁ ਭਲਕੇ ਉਠਿ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਧਿਆਵੈ ॥
He, who calls himself a Sikh of the Great True Guru, should rise early and meditate on God's Name.

ਉਦਮੁ ਕਰੇ ਭਲਕੇ ਪਰਭਾਤੀ ਇਸਨਾਨੁ ਕਰੇ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ ਸਰਿ ਨਾਵੈ ॥
He should make efforts early in the morning take bath and have ablution in the tank of Nectar.

ਉਪਦੇਸਿ ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਜਪੁ ਜਾਪੈ ਸਭਿ ਕਿਲਵਿਖ ਪਾਪ ਦੋਖ ਲਹਿ ਜਾਵੈ ॥
By repeating Lords God's Name under Guru's instruction all his sins misdeeds and accusations are wiped off.

ਫਿਰਿ ਚੜੈ ਦਿਵਸੁ ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ ਗਾਵੈ ਬਹਦਿਆ ਉਠਦਿਆ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਧਿਆਵੈ ॥
Afterwards at sun rise he sings Gurbani and whilst sitting or standing he meditates in God's Name. p305

If we wake early, bathe, then do naam simran for a few hours, our hair would naturally be aired out by the time to go to work. It's because we don't follow one maryada that it seems difficult to follow another.

[BhForce]

On 8/5/2023 at 7:20 AM, Guest Guest said:

5) i tried to keep my head covered at night with a patka, but it slips off during the night. is there any way to keep it on or is it ok?

Are you talking about the "kids' patka" that people like crickter Harbhan Singh wear? You're not 5 anymore. Wear a proper small dastar, bro. You're a man.

[BhForce]

On 8/15/2023 at 11:36 AM, Guest Guesti said:

1)No . It's not written that you must bathe every single day in the morning

It literally is written to bathe every single day in the morning. First of all, who wouldn't bathe every day? Second, it isn't necessary that it be written down someplace. Oral history passed down in the Sikh community is enough. But third, just for good measure, it is written and please don't deny it.

See the post above by another poster:

And mine, quoting Guru Ram Dass ji: 

Further, the same thing is written in numerous rehitnamas.

If someone doesn't want to follow that, that's his choice. But please don't gaslight people into thinking "it's not written anywhere."