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Summary of Question:	Reasons For Wearing Turban
Category:	Turban
Date Posted:	Tuesday, 3/04/2003 1:33 PM MST

Ok it appears I phrased my question wrong. What I should have said is where in Sikhism does it talk about the benefits of a turban or hair like the ones you suggested in some topics particularly KESH...KESKI, and the paragraph below:

"Our beautiful Kesh gives us full strength and sensitivity. Tying the hairs in a knot improves concentration and stimulates the energy of the crown chakra (dasam duar.) Our dastar not only protects the hairs, but it protects the head itself and it places gentle pressure on the blood vessels and meridian points in the head to increase blood to the brain and help us focus our attention."

As far as I'm aware the only reason given by Guru Gobind Singh to wear a turban is to make a sikh stand out in a crowd of 100,000 and the reasons for keeping hair are because it is one of the 5 k's and is also given to us by God. All these other reasons are not part of Sikh belief and are man-made.

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REPLY
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Sat Siri Akaal. Both of you are right. It should be enough for any Gursikh that 10th Guru gave us kesh and dastaar. But the other advantages of keeping kesh and wearing a turban are not manmade. They are also real. I have the personal experience of them because I remember how it felt the first time I put my hair up and wrapped a turban (I converted to Sikhi), so I can relate to these other aspects. You are right, these other advantages that have been cited elsewhere on Sikhnet are NOT written down in Sikhi. So what. That doesn't make them false. If you have always had your kesh since being born and tied a turban, you would not necessarily have the experience as I and other converts like me have had.

But it doesn't matter, does it? Turbans are helments for battle and crowns for victory. Keeping hair in 10th Master's time was a direct rebuttal of the slave mentality fostered on Hindus and Sikhs by Mughal rulers, who reinforced slave mentality by shaving the heads of non-Muslims. Wearing a turban was a crown in 10th Master's time, as the only other folks who wore them were (caste-defined or Mughal) royalty. Accept that some folks wear turbans because of how it makes them feel and others because Guru gave it to us. There are far more important things in Sikh panth that need addressing; this isn't one of them.
Guru ang sang,
-DKK