editorial articles reviews news & views - Institute of Sikh Studies
editorial articles reviews news & views - Institute of Sikh Studies
editorial articles reviews news & views - Institute of Sikh Studies
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THE CAT IS OUT OF THE BAG<br />
99<br />
code <strong>of</strong> a student in a school and they are not meant to help the<br />
student to be smarter in his studies. It was none else what Guru Gobind<br />
Singh, who institutionalized the concept <strong>of</strong> five ks, said that keeping<br />
long hair does not help to gain spiritually.<br />
Kes dhare na mile har pyare – Swaya no 10, Akaal Ustat<br />
If you use fuel meant for airplanes to drive a car, it won’t work.<br />
Would you conclude that that fuel is useless This is what S Hardev<br />
Singh is doing here. Unshorn hair are not meant to help you gather<br />
signals <strong>of</strong> spirituality. This is what Kabir is saying. He forgets that<br />
Kabir has also said that<br />
Kabir man mundia nahee kes mundaye kanye.<br />
Jo kichh kia so man kia munda mund ajanye.<br />
– Guru Granth Sahib, p 1369<br />
Kabir when you have not shaved the mind, why did you shave<br />
your head Mind commits all actions, but you shaved your head<br />
without any reason.<br />
And Kabir has also given his verdict that only those who are<br />
committed to a code, fight to win, all others run away from the battle<br />
field.<br />
Daghe hoe so ran meh jujhe bin daghe bhag jai<br />
– Guru Granth Sahib, p 970<br />
This has been true throughout the history <strong>of</strong> mankind. And it<br />
will remain true for all times to come.<br />
I agree with S Hardev Singh Shergill that it will be hard for the<br />
parents to make their kids keep unshorn hair. But it has always been<br />
hard to be a <strong>Sikh</strong>. And it will always be hard to be a <strong>Sikh</strong>. I take it that<br />
way. However, he is wrong when he is equating five ks with dress or<br />
bana. Five ks fits in dresses from all cultures. The first five persons<br />
(the five beloved ones) to adorn these ks were all from different cultures.<br />
They came from Sialkot, Dwarka, Bidar, Jagannath Puri, and Hastinapur.<br />
All these places are miles apart from each other and have their own<br />
unique culture. So the argument that five ks are only suitable for<br />
Punjabi dress and culture, is baseless.<br />
Another argument given by S Hardev Singh Shergill is that if a<br />
person is exposed to bani, the desire for bana or five ks will come by<br />
itself. This is totally wrong preposition, and he himself has contradicted<br />
it by giving an example <strong>of</strong> Macauliffe. It is interesting to note the way
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