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Summary of Question:	If One Doesnt Believe Is It Dishonest To Be Of A Sikh
Category:	General Sikhism
Date Posted:	Thursday, 8/22/2002 12:15 PM MDT

i am 22 and have a turban and beard. i find many inconsistencies in all religions including my own-sikhism. i do not see any particular use in keeping long hair. aren't all people equal? why then would sikhs want to identified and recognized so easily? why not let earned merits do the shining when if ever achieved? also if all people need to keep their hair to attain salvation that means that everyones else is going to hell. that seems impossible to me. that means that sikhism is the only valid religion on earth. if the answer is taht everyone must follow their own religion that they were born to it makes even less sense. after all religions do not have a monopoly on God. they are mere messengers. many totally seperate reasons have been given for keeping long hair. the most common are taht it is God's will for us to have long hair. it is also His will by that logic for us to have long nails. one is deemed waste by Sikhs and not the other, while the rest of the world, including the scientific community deems both to be waste.

on a related note, i have heard that sikhs keep a natural and simple life. they dont cut hair because it is a waste of time. in reality it takes me a minimum of two hours a day to wash and maintain my hair and beard. if i spend less time than this i feel stinky. it takes much less time with short hair no doubt. time that can be spent on spirtual matters.

my question is that if i feel this way does it make any sense for me to keep a beard and long hair?
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REPLY
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Sat Siri Akaal Ji.
You are right. If you were never taught Sikh history and practices, and why we keep our hair and beards, and why we mark ourselves by dressing differently, then it's not going to mean anything to you (no offense intended!). If you want to know these things, this and other Sikh websites are full of information on who we are, why we are and what we are. Lots of Sikh people out there too would be happy to help, but you have to decide you want to learn. Just because someone is born Sikh does not make them Sikh. One has to internalize the teachings, the practice, the concepts. You haven't done this, for whatever reason. That's OK. (By the way, we don't keep our hair because we think it will liberate us, and we don't keep our hair because it's easier than cutting and styling it.)

I think that if you don't identify as Sikh in spirit, there is little point in keeping hair and beard, kara, kirpan, etc. I'm in no position to truly tell if it's dishonest to you, although it APPEARS so. Only you can decide that for yourself. My only other advice to you is to take care of your Spirit. Find a spiritual practice or path that you can relate to and practice it. God bless you!
-DKK