I am no proponent of hair cutting, and I actually am totally against it done by any Sikh in any form.
I went on a journey into not so interiors of Punjab, just went to Jalandhar bus stand, and a realization dawned on me while waiting for my bus.
I was there for around more than 2 hours, and for some reason I felt – in absence of proper guidance, the poor population of Punjab is THE least worried about keeping their hair unshorn. I somehow believe, it’s the deadly mix of – poverty, lack of guidance, low motivation, and no enlightening factor which makes them do it, and not stay away from the way they are. It’s not improvement or a change in life’s way for them, it’s just a responsibility they would rather do away with!
Yes! When Guru Gobind Ji put in the seed of Khalsa, the Panj Pyaare were no rich zameendaars either, but they had the Guru Himself to guide them! But as I said, the population of Punjab is today at a loss of such a person!
They say, if people with the American gliving can start to follow the Sikh lifestyle, then what’s the problem with people living in the heartland of Khalsa.? They are rich people looking for solutions, and had a knowledgeable non-fake person help them. That’s what Punjab is lacking – a knowledgeable non-fake person!
I hope they get one very soon!
May the power be with Punjab & Punjabis!
Update: This video right below directly supports my fears!! 😐 Sometimes I hate to be right!
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I appreciate your views on sikhism. But i still dont understand why one has to have unshorn hair to live a life that Guru Ji thought a human being should.
I am not much of a religious person but i believe in the teachings of Gurbani. I dont do Nitnem ( may be i never did regularly) but i do listen to gurbani a lot, i started listening to shabad kirtan because of the music but now it has become part of my life. And maybe only 1-2 % percent of gurbani, that i have come across, says anything about how one should dress or keep long hair or for that matter whatever you have written.
We are giving more importance to Pahrawa than actually following what is written in Guru Granth Sahib. If a person cuts his/her hair short, what difference does it make at all. I never understood why we always relate Sikhism just to appearances.
When Guru Gobind Singh Ji said it Himself, does it need to be said again?
We believe in Guru Granth Sahib because He said it shall be the all prevailing Guru after Him. We believe Him for those words, are we not also responsible to believe He created the Panj Pyaraas with some rules in mind, and we need to follow them as blindly as we follow His decision to take Guru Granth Sahib as the sole Guru!
Gurfateh Ji,
I have to say I agree partly with what Baljinder is saying. Guru Ji also said, “Rehat pyaare mujh ko, Sikh pyaara nahin” indicating that it is the manner in which a person lives their life that enables them to be a good or bad person in the eyes of Waheguru.
However, to be a Gursikh is when I believe that you need to keep your hair unshorn. And this is not to do with appareances to the external world, but more internally, to yourself, so that when you look in the mirror and see yourself with Kesh, it is a reminder that you are representing the Gurus and the Khalsa and so you should act in a manner which is respectful to both and portrays the correct image. Along with this comes the idea that we should not look for role models, but we ARE role models. We should not wait for someone to come and teach us about Sikhi (as you have said, “a knowledgeable non-fake person) because we already have the ultimate source of knowledge, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji! This is where we should take our lessons from.
When Guru Ji establised the Khalsa, he said we are all leaders, not followers.
We learn from one another, but we do not follow a person. We should seek knowledge and be the role models, rather than wait for knowledge to come to us and look for others to guide.