Question about hair and birth control

[Planets and the Sun]

Hello,
I've been fascinated by Sikhism for a long time now... I probably won't convert, I'm too indecisive for that and I don't think I'd be good at following all the rules, but it's a religion I have a lot of respect for and admire.

When reading about this, one thing I've always wondered is, are there any Sikhs who don't interpret the prohibition of cutting hair literally? From what I understand, this prohibition stems from a sentence about the divine being in every part and every hair of a person, but when reading that sentence, it's always sounded like a poetic phrase to me and not a literal prohibition.

In other religions I've had an experience with, I've noticed that some people follow the "official" rules closely, while others interpret the rules less literally or believe they need to updated as we understand things like what hair is made of better now than we did thousands of years ago. I was curious to know if this is the case with Sikhism, and how Sikhs, especially those of younger generations, react to things like cutting hair.

Please note I'm not trying to say it's a bad prohibition... I don't even disagree with it, I've always just been confused by it and would like to learn more and understand it better.

Another question I have that isn't as important is about birth control. While reading Sikh websites, I've seen some people say it's similar to abortion and have very misguided beliefs such as that it "kills" your cells, or saying it's ok for married people to have sex to show their love for each other and not just to have children... so why is birth control such a bad thing? Is this something that depends on the person? For instance, within Catholicism, birth control is technically a no-no but most Catholics I know think that rule should be updated and use it anyway. Once again I'm not trying to be passive-aggressive, just wondering how people feel about these subjects from an inside perspective.

Thanks!

 

[GURSIKH]

hi Planets and the Sun ,
Its nice to know that you have respect and admiration for Sikhism .

Sikhs who joined "Khalsa" are prohibited from cutting Kesh/hair .Tenth Guru gave a fierce ,saintly identity to his Army ,Khalsa and Gave them name "Singh" meaning a Lion .So ,I personally don't think its due to "the divine being in every part and every hair of a person,"

Not more than 15% Sikhs are Khalsa .

Sat Sri Akaal

 

[Breathe]

When reading about this, one thing I've always wondered is, are there any Sikhs who don't interpret the prohibition of cutting hair literally?

Most Sikhs are sehajdhari ("Slow-Adopter") Sikhs, meaning they are not bound by the requirement to keep one's hair uncut.

From what I understand, this prohibition stems from a sentence about the divine being in every part and every hair of a person, but when reading that sentence, it's always sounded like a poetic phrase to me and not a literal prohibition.

I think that is used for justification. The general idea is 'we are perfect, why change what is perfect?'.

Another answer is, Guru Gobind Singh said that those who are his students will remain unshaven. It gives a strong identity. A Sikh is known by this identity. A Sikh who does not shave hair cannot slink away. S/he states "I am a Sikh".

I was curious to know if this is the case with Sikhism, and how Sikhs, especially those of younger generations, react to things like cutting hair.

Well, Sikhism is less than a thousand years old so not quite. There's no real 'hocus pocus'. There's no magical reason to not cut hair. Cutting your hair does not make God hate you.

Simply, if you take the Baptism into the Khalsa (The Lord's Army), which is considered one's spiritual ideal, if they feel that they are able to do it (many are not ready, and many will never be ready), then you agree to abide by the 'uniform', as such, which includes not removing hair from your body and submitting to the Will of the Lord.

A large chunk of the younger Sikh generation have cut their hair at least once. If you live in the West, it's even more frequent. Many wait until they're older to adopt the practise of not cutting their hair.

so why is birth control such a bad thing?

It isn't. Sikhism is silent on the topic of birth control, homosexuality, and other topics. People, however, are less silent and will give their opinions as to why.

Is this something that depends on the person?

Yes; it sounds like you've been reading some very sexually conservative people's opinions on birth control.

Most Sikhs I've met consider birth control to be the choice of the couple.

Hope this helps.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Though all Sikhs may not be Amritdharis (strictly following the regulations), the majority in India does keep hair uncut, even the young ones. The elders and the society would not like it otherwise. Also, the younger ones are proud of their identity and feel no need to cut hair.

 

[Planets and the Sun]

I think that is used for justification. The general idea is 'we are perfect, why change what is perfect?'.

This is an interesting idea. Is it only about perfection of body or of spirit/mind as well? Because I'm not sure that we're all perfect personality-wise and don't need changing in that regard. But I like that idea applied to the body, it sounds very positive in a way.

It isn't. Sikhism is silent on the topic of birth control, homosexuality, and other topics. People, however, are less silent and will give their opinions as to why.


Yes; it sounds like you've been reading some very sexually conservative people's opinions on birth control.

Most Sikhs I've met consider birth control to be the choice of the couple.

Hope this helps.

This certainly helps and that's a great perspective to have. I was starting to be disappointed in the people I read who were being judgemental, so it's good to know most Sikhs you've met consider it to be mainly a personal thing.

 

[ratikala]

namaskaram

there is also a yogic principle behind the not cutting of the hair , you will see this also in some hindu rishis , and also a particular reason why the hair is worn in a knot at the top of the head in men , it is said that the wearing of ones hair covering the crown chakra protects ones vital energies , the wearing of a turban said also to help contain these vital energies and that by covering the temples one activates preasure points which aid meditation and prompte calmness . there are 26 bones in the skull which are subject to subtle movement , the act of tieing a turban binds the head and holds these bones in perfect alignment .

we will all understand this as we instinctively cradle our head in our hands at times of stress and will massage the presure points at the temples as this releives stress and aids wellbeing , everyone naturaly discovers this .

the practice of wearing a turban is very common amongst those practicing kundalini yoga and is behind the reason that more sikh women are wearing the turban instead of loosely covering the head with the chuni (scarf).

 

[Breathe]

This is an interesting idea. Is it only about perfection of body or of spirit/mind as well? Because I'm not sure that we're all perfect personality-wise and don't need changing in that regard. But I like that idea applied to the body, it sounds very positive in a way.

Kind of both. Within Sikhism, we're all part of God, anyway.
However, humans are plagued with five thieves (thieves of virtue), also known as the 'five evils', which affect a person's truer, spiritual nature.

These five thieves are:

Kaam: lust
Krodh: anger; from being a silent moody-pants, to throwing hysterical temper-tantrums, to violence
Lobh: greed; focusing on, and chasing, material things, especially to the point where it affects others or one's own spirituality
Moh: attachment; the love of worldly things
Ahankar: ego; pride due to one's money, etc
​

These five thieves can be overcome with five virtues:

Sat: truth; living truthfully and honestly
Santokh: contentment; one cannot know internal peace if they are jealous of other things
Daya: compassion; be nice, help others, try to alleviate other's suffering and problems when you can, forgive people's mistakes
Nimrata: humility; humbleness, not making a big scene of being flashy in what you have, being happy but not 'in-your-face' about one's wealth, health, etc
Pyaar: love; to be filled with the love of God, and love of humanity
​

This certainly helps and that's a great perspective to have. I was starting to be disappointed in the people I read who were being judgemental, so it's good to know most Sikhs you've met consider it to be mainly a personal thing.

Not to worry; the most judgemental and loudest of people tend to be the fewest in number, anyway.