Why don’t Sikhs get a haircut and trim their beards?

There was a case in Canada where a Sikh showed up at home clean shaven and with a haircut, and when asked why, said that a bunch of Canadians beat him up and cut his beard and hair from various places. In order to fix that he was left with no option but to get a haircut and shave. The parents went to the police, and after investigation it was found that the guy was lying, to which he later admitted.

This is the height of desperation that can be found among modern Sikhs. I’m sure hair in a turban does not feel comfortable, so the question is, why do Sikhs not get a haircut and shave or at least shape their beards properly. Is it because Guru Nanak said so. Even if he did, he was only a Guru and not a Prophet, so why does what he says have so much importance. Another question is that why are Sikhs allowed to remove hair on the body if they are not allowed to do so elsewhere. One version I have heard is that Guru Nanak said, “Take care of your ‘bal’ as in ‘bal-bachche’ (kids) and not hair. What do Sikhs have to say about this?

Is there some kind of punishment in Sikhism for getting a haircut and trimming the beard. Will Sikhs burn in hell for doing so?


58 thoughts on “Why don’t Sikhs get a haircut and trim their beards?”

  1. @Harjit: Muslims girls these days are doing more than just a fashionable haircut, and stories of Sikhs killing their daughters are circulated in India and around the world all the time. You come across as really naive and don’t seem to know what’s happening in the world.

    @Singh: I never said that Sikhs are the only ones known to be violent. Please read my last post on honour killings and crimes of passion. The point is not to highlight Sikhs, but to ask that if a girl is killed simply for choosing her marriage partner, which is her birthright, will she not be afraid to get a haircut or shave her body. Have you ever asked yourself where family and social pressure in the Sikh community stems from? In a religious Sikh family, can you even think of a Sikh guy getting a haircut regularly and a Sikh girl often visiting a beauty parlour? On the point of infection due to pubic hair, please ask any doctor, and he/she will tell you about numerous infections and problems that develop due to pubic hair.

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  2. @Lt. General Ayub Khan: No, unfortunately I’ve not been to Pakistan. I certainly would like to though.

    Unfortunately, though, it seems that Sikhs have been demanding justice for Operation Bluestar and the Dehli riots for years with no success. I am amazed that, as far as I’ve read and heard, that the events did not attract very much attention from worldwide organizations like the UN or the Human Rights Council. But people still actively protest it, though in smaller ways.

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  3. @Mohammad Yusha: Is there any proof that Mohammad was enlightened (note that I do not believe he was illiterate)? Is there any proof that Jesus truly spoke the words of God? No. Religion is based on faith, so your calls for proof are absurd.

    I googled and found nothing of your claims. Certainly removing pubic hair can cause infection if its done improperly, but I’ve seen nothing to support your claim that keeping pubic hair causes infection. Please provide me with a source?

    You also continue to ignore my 2 main points on hair.
    1. Your claim of hair being gross is your OPINION. You cannot in any legitimacy say that keeping pubic or underarm hair is factually gross.
    2. Sikhs are taught to keep their bodies and hair CLEAN through bathing and washing. Thus it is NOT gross and dirty.

    If you do not keep yourself clean, you will logically be dirty. This does not apply, however, in the Sikh philosophy. Let that be the end of discussion of uncleanliness of hair.

    I say it is a choice because it is not absolutely mandated by the religion. What you describe is family and social pressure, which is completely different. Certainly a religious family will not support a child’s decision to cut their hair, but since when does that make it religions oppression?

    Finally, again you make a completely two unsubstantiated and generalized claims that are false and insulting.

    1. “Sikhs are known to be violent.” So are the Christians, Jews, and Muslims. I don’t know if I even want to delve into how stupid that comment is. Sikhism is by nature a pacifist religion. Sikhs have a martial history because of oppression from the Mughals, and our insistence to ensure religious and personal freedoms. But as Guru Gobind Singh said, only as a last resort is it justifiable to draw the sword.

    But if you’re speaking more recently, are you willing to brand Sikhs as being violent when a handful of us ~25 million showed any intent on terrorism or violence?

    2. “A lot of them kill their daughters simply when their daughters want to marry someone of their own choice.” Seriously? A LOT of us ~25 million Sikhs go and kill our daughters? I agree with Harjit in that if there are Sikhs who have done so, it is most certainly not exclusive to Sikhs. It is a result of cultural expectations and tendencies. And yes, while that is terrible, it is NOT religious oppression.

    And as Harjit said, please THINK before you post.

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  4. Mohammed Yusha: As far as i’m concerned there is no need for proof in religion. If you think a girl with pubic hair is gross then keep YOUR OPINIONS to yourself.
    And well i don’t see a muslim girl anytime soon walking along with a fashionable haircut and a skirt on either.
    And lastly DON’T EVER get culture confused with religion, there might be daighters killed in India, but it doesn’t mean the killers are Sikhs, and a true Sikh would never kill his/her daughter, as daughter’s are considered to be very precious (also stated in the SGGSJ).

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  5. For your information mohammed yusha, AVTAR SINGH is NOT HARJIT KAUR – i don’t know yet again where you gathered such a so called fact from. Next time REALLYYYYY do THINK before you comment. 😀

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  6. @Singh: There is no proof that Guru Nanak was enlightened by God. It is something he said. Anyone can say that he is enlightened by God to preach his own ideology, and name it religion.

    People end up with infections after sex due to pubic hair. This can be googled. Pubic hair is dirty and gross. And so is underarm hair. I didn’t know that it is normal for French women to keep underarm hair. Are you sure? And even if you are correct, it still won’t change the fact that what French women do is gross.

    I am with you on the point of social norms, and a lot of my posts challenge them. However, my point was that of oppression in the name of religion, and not to write against Sikhs. I have written against Muslims too, because some of them oppress in the name of Islam.

    You can say that not shaving hair is a choice, but is it really a choice? Sikhs are known to be violent. A lot of them kill their daughters simply when their daughters want to marry someone of their own choice. Considering this, do you really think that a girl can show up one day in a fashionable haircut, or walk around in a skirt or sleeveless shirt, having shaved her body? The story is the same for guys, which is proven from the first paragraph of my post.

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  7. @Lt. General Ayub Khan: I personally do not believe that justice has been served at all – as far as I am aware, very little has been done in terms of investigation into those few behind the genocide and massacre of innocent people. Specifically regarding Operation Bluestar, I have read and heard so many conflicting discussions on the issue that its difficult to say. However, it is clear that even if the Indian government needed to apprehend Bhindrawale, the way they went about it was utterly wrong, full of human rights violations, and the timing was completely absurd. Unfortunately at this point, it seems unlikely that any significant strides will be made, but I still feel that it is outrageous that such little progress has been made in 25 years.

    However, I do not think that violent retaliation or revenge is justified – even the murder of Indira Gandhi. I do not believe that a sovereign Khalistan is a realistic endeavor, and even if it were established I do not believe it would survive. Primarily because of the unfortunate apparent inability of our community to work together and compromise. But this is my personal opinion, looking in from outside India. I would be interested in hearing your views.

    @Mohammad Yusha: Firstly, you said previously that Guru Nanak was “only a Guru” and not a prophet, when in Sikhi those words are essentially identical, as far as the conversation is concerned. To be more precise, a prophet is one who has had contact with God and acts as an intermediary for the rest of humanity. A Guru, in Sikhi, one who is enlightened by God and is a spiritual guide. Guru Nanak introduced a more “practical” and logical way to reach God in a way that could be done individually. So for all intents and purpose, the Sikh Gurus were prophets. People follow him for the same reason that they followed the words of Jesus and Mohammad.

    Again, you’re really going on about hair in a way that IS insulting. The way you see people is your OPINION, not a fact. And keeping hair is itself NATURAL, by definition, and by the same definition, removing hair is UNNATURAL. Please try and understand this.

    I absolutely have addressed your claim of long hair being gross – when have I avoided it? Sikhs are NOT supposed to let their hair grow wild. We are to keep are hair clean and tidy – completely the opposite of what you claim. As for Sikh girls keeping hair, I would absolutely love to see what kind of infections people get by simply keeping their pubic hair. If you don’t properly take care of and clean your body, absolutely you will have issues. This is EXACTLY why Sikhism mandates that you bathe regularly and you comb your hair twice a day. You keep bringing up the uncleanliness of hair, but you constantly ignore the fact that it is our responsibility to maintain it as well.

    Sikhs are not FORCED to do anything. Nowhere is it written that if I cut my hair, I will be punished, go to hell, or never reach God. Thus, it is my decision and it is NOT oppression.

    If all you’re concerned about is vanity, then we should leave this conversation alone right now. Shaving body hair, specifically leg and underarm hair for women, is a social norm. Consider regions such as France where women keeping underarm hair is considered normal. That does not make it unnatural or gross. If you feel that underarm or other body hair is unattractive, find someone who agrees with you. Don’t judge or criticize others for doing what you don’t necessarily agree with. If you can’t see beauty past some hair, then I’m sorry to say you are very shallow.

    Sikhism (and most other religions) preaches that excessive ego is a “sin.” Conforming to social norms is done simply to make life easier for ourselves and to feed our own ego. It also teaches that is it ideal to live in harmony with nature and the will of God. Since we naturally grow hair, it only makes sense, then, that we keep our hair. There is certainly a more symbolic significance which I’m sure I have discussed before. But seeing that there is such a significance that many Sikhs understand and agree with, it makes no sense to criticize the practice as you are doing.

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  8. @Singh: My comments on Guru Nanak being a guru only implied that he was not God’, so I was curious as to why people follow what he said. That is not criticism or even remotely offensive. But I still stick to the fact that hair looks gross when it is let to grow wild. I think it is an issue that Sikhs don’t want to address. Even hair on the body, especially on girls, looks gross if let to grow, especially Sikh girls forced to live with hairy bodies, especially hairy armpits and hairy private organs. Is that not oppression in the name of religion? A lot of people, even non-Sikhs, develop infections in their private organs because they don’t shave that area. But that is different to Sikhism because non-Sikhs have a choice whereas Sikhs are forced not to shave, not even those areas. And the worst is hairy armpits. A lot of Sikh models don’t seem to care though, and that is a good sign, a step towards what is natural.

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