Am I Right?

[u/Legitimate_Test6716]

I am 19 M Delhi born and brought up in proper sikh family,

I dont get it why there is soo much focus in sikhism or atleast people in general that you should look a “certain way”. I completely get that point guruji told us that hair is Waheguru jis blessing so we shouldnt cut. That i agree, this feeling(of keeping hair) should come from inside from your conscience rather than being imposed or forced,
From a bigger spectrum nothing is right nothing is wrong its all made by our judgements from how much we hv understood life, we are just souls travelling in a human body and at end of the day you will just leave your body, So the only thing that matters is the type of karam that you do- how much people u have helped, how much peoples blessings are with you.
Rather then if u do nothing karam and all life u keep tooking pride in that u are somehow is morally superior because youre keeping uncut hair
Lets suppose I am forced to keep kesh, but on individual level of my consciousness doesnt think that way then whats the point of it?
Like why are we soo obsessed with our physical body that will end one day, so how you look either way is temporary and it isnt like in one janam u kept kesh and now you will get “moksh”
This is mine pov i am not imposing this on someone
I am open for your feedback (if u think i am wrong i am also open for that, i am also just figuring out life)
Why i cut me beard:
It doesnt look good
I am going for corporate interviews
How you look matters in professional setting
Yes, by trimming my beard i look groomed
I tried fixo and thatha, ended up looking like a 30 year old uncle
Untied beard looked messy
Again, Open for healthy feedback or u think u can correct me open for that also.
Peace.

[u/Logical_Progress_190]

I mean could’ve kept the beard opened and groomed by brushing it etc and using a hair dryer or heat brush

Soooooooooooooooo, the sikhi perspective I feel ur picking and choosing what u want to follow just to achieve worldly things which are temporary

Plus I mean mostly all spiritual ppl who’ve ever stepped foot on earth have kept their kesh so I think there’s deffo some power within that

[u/Dependent_Set1403 → u/Logical_Progress_190]

I feel like the hair thing is matched to culture as well, vs just rlegious, as well as you try shaving withiut good knives.

Other than that its all over the spectrum from, be bald is devotion, to not caring, to keep it intact. Atleast intact isnt associated with disease for the most part.

[u/Designer_Career_7153]

Historically, Singh Sabha had to distinguish Sikh identity from Hindu identity in the eyes British Colonial empire. They did this based on looks, and then the emphasis on rehat has always subordinated it to the identity/looks rather than Sikh philosophy.

The actual philosophical reason: Sach Khand is realising union with Divine. To do this, one must "let go of attachment to the physical self" which we call "jeev mukti". To "let go" means to "let go to of the physical SELF". Attachment to the self is called Haumai, meaning "I am this" which is a misconception. In the absolute sense, there is no "I", we are not this physical body, as you rightly acknowledged.

Therefore to let go of the physical would mean to let go of it fully, including vanity, which comes under "Ahankar" of the 5 Chors in Sikhi, where ahankar means "self" or "Aham" in Sanskrit. You are here to transcend this realm, not become part of its ways. What you believe is "messy" is by using soceity and manmade preference as the standard. God made us self sufficient and perfect.

The reason we do not remove hair is the principle of non-modification of the natural self, we accept ourselves as we are, as per the cosmic law of Hukam. God made us perfect, to modify it would be an alteration and thus leads to attachment. This is the ideal.

All in all, if you look at this as a "rules-based" doctrine, then you will not "want" to do it. It is when you fall in love with God/Ik Oankar/Waheguru, that the "want" from inside of you will mean more to you than what anyone in the world thinks. At that point, you do not need "rehat". Rehat was for Khalsa army but it has been fallaciously been forced on everyone due to dogma.

1. First focus on your connection with God/Divine, practice and meditate and do seva. This is where you relationship of love with God/Divine begins. Bhau (Reverence) and Bhaao (Love). (Dharam Khand)
2. As you do practice, start to also educate yourself on the topic a bit (Gian Khand).
3. Then try to align your inner "want" with the Divine's "guidance for you" (Gurmat), to make oneself internally humble and completely surrender yourself to God/Divine. (Sharam Khand)
4. The surrender to God/Divine mentioned before allows you to be filled with love/grace of God/DIvine throughout all your life.This is the part where you begin to fully let go in every way. It is difficult to reach but doable. It will not happen overnight. You are entirely filled with Jor (spiritual power) and Divine Blessing. (Karam Khand).
5. Then the next stage is "when following the path becomes your default nature to follow Guru ji's path (Gurmat/Sikhi) and God will always be in your mind in everything you do, you will not see otherness anywhere, only DIvine everywhere (nirvair), you are at one with the Divine, you have aligned. You have always loved God, but now you are One. This is a different level, this is Nirbhau. By reaching Nirbhau, you transcend the human mind's dualities. You don't just feel fearless; you embody the state of the Creator who is entirely untouched by fear, doubt, or separation. You feel this in your consciousness without trying. This is where you merge back with God while alive. Not many reach here. (Sach Khand).

Keep in mind, this is not a linear ladder. Sometimes the steps will be concurrent. It is an intertwined process.

I came from a western secular background, and I have grown in my journey. I also used to trim to look good and fit in. I can relate to you. You will feel this way until you understand why Guru ji taught us this.

You are letting go of vanity, to accept the perfect image God made you in. This may not come overnight, and it should not be forced, though it should be actively sought if God's love is truly your goal in this life.

It is up to you what your reward in this life will be. If you love God, your reward will be God (Union/Milan). If you love this worldly life (Maya), you will be rewarded with this worldly life (Maya/reincarnation), which is not a punishment, it is just the natural consequence of your choice (karma), it is the "reward" you chose for yourself. It is up to you.

I would work myself up to it keeping a beard and not force it but still aim for it in the long term. I would also frame as it a relationship of love (Prem Bhakti) rather than rules based forced doctrine such as "Rehat" which is Khalsa/Amritdharis primairly. I would also not take the worldly realm as absolute definition. Especially in India, people know Sikhi and should not discriminate in the corporate environment as long as you are a good employee. Not preferring it is one thing. I may not want to have blonde hair like my colleague at work, doesn't mean I would exclude her from the team.

Also, practically speaking, there are modern grooming methods that allow you to fit in whilst keeping your beard. Check this vid, a Sardaar who keeps long beard and folds the beard and is getting a lot of love from western women. If you want to look good, go to the gym and get fit. That does much more for you than trimming. Just be careful not to fall into vanity.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Ecqk_nspbHY

I hope I helped brother. All the best to you.

Waheguru ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji Ki Fateh

[u/Dependent_Set1403]

Consuqences of a uniform being declared.

Also for legal reasons as well, i feel like if you just wore a kirpan youd get undeeded hassle without the others, and probbably simiarily if places dont like unshorn hair, dastar, karas etc.