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Summary of Question:	Helmets
Category:	Other
Date Posted:	Friday, 5/10/2002 3:44 PM MDT

Waheguru ji ka khalsa Waheguru ji ki fateh

I am a 15 yrs old sikh girl but i do not wear a turban. Just a few days ago as a part of our gym course we had wall climbing as an activity, in wall climbing they require u to wear a helmet. My family is quite religious and my dad knows a lot about the teachings. He has always told us that guru gobind singh ji told the sikhs not to wear a hat. I respect that and so when we had our wall climbing unit i told the lady that because of religious reasons, I'm not allowed to wear a helmet. She owned the company and so luckily she allowed me to climb without a helmet aslong as she belayed for me. On the last day another man came in for her and i had to tell him this also. He respected this but was curious about why. At that time I had no clue, all i knew was that it is one of out teachings, so i felt kind of awkward. I came home and asked my dad and he said that it was in the rayhat namays from guru gobing singh and he told me about the quote...but i am still confused...cuz the man asked me about wearing a hat during the winter...and i started thinking about that too. So I was wondering could you please give me an explanation of what kind of answer i should give to a question like that because i feel really bad if someone asks me about my religion and i don't know the answer. thank you.

Wajeguru ji ka Khalsa Waheguru ji ki Fateh
(REPLY) Sat Nam. I think there's a little mix-up here. When we wear a turban -- and this was given us by Guru Gobind Singh as part of our bana so that we cannot hide our identity! -- then we do not cover it by wearing hats or helmets on top of it. If you're not wearing a turban, then I don't think you can justify not covering your head with something else. It's not logical. The point is that the turban is a Sikh's protection, his (or her!) royal crown, and therefore would never be covered up with something else. Think about the brave Sikh soldiers (soldier/saints, remember?) who fought in battle with turbans on their heads! In the west, we American women Sikhs insisted that as Khalsa, which knows no gender, we should wear turbans -- not just the men, and we do so proudly. (I never have a bad hair day --perhaps a bad turban day now and then!) As for winter time (I don't know how cold it is where you live?) A woolen turban could be wrapped if necessary. I hope this clears this up for you. Blessings, SP