KESADHARI refers to a Sikh as one who carries on his head the full growth of his kes (hair), which he never trims or cuts for any reason. Anyone, Sikh or non-Sikh, may keep their hair unshorn, but for a Sikh, kes (unshorn hair) is an article of faith and an inviolable vow.
The Sikh Rahit Maryada, published by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, a statutory body for the control and management of Sikh shrines and, by extension, for laying down rules about Sikh belief and practice, was issued in 1945 after long and minute deliberations among Sikh scholars and theologians. It defines a Sikh thus: Every Sikh who has been admitted to the rites of amrit, i.e., who has been initiated as a Sikh, must allow his hair to grow to its full length. This also applies to those born into Sikh families but who have not yet received the rites of amrit of the tenth master, Guru Gobind Singh.
All codes and manuals defining Sikh conduct are unanimous in saying that uncut hair is obligatory for every Sikh. One of them, Bhai Chaupa Singh’s, records: The Guru’s Sikh must protect the hair, comb it morning and evening, and wash it with curd. And he must not touch it with unclean hands. Bhai Nand Lal quotes Guru Gobind Singh: My Sikh shall not use the razor. For him, the use of a razor or shaving the chin shall be as sinful as incest…
For the Khalsa, such a symbol is prescribed so that a Sikh cannot remain indistinguishable from among a hundred thousand Hindus or Muslims; because how can he hide himself with hair and a turban on his head and with a flowing beard? Bhai Desa Singh, in his Rahitnama, imparts a theological edge to his statement: God created the whole universe and then He fashioned the human body. He gave men a beard, mustaches, and hair on the head. He who submits to His Will steadfastly adheres to them. They who deny His Will—how will they find God in this world?
Trimming or shaving is forbidden for Sikhs and constitutes, for them, the direst apostasy.
The truest wish of a true Sikh is to be able “to preserve the hair on his head to his last breath.” This was the earnest prayer arising out of Sikh hearts in the days of cruel persecution in the eighteenth century, when to be a Sikh meant to live under the penalty of death.
An example is cited from those dark days of Bhai Taru Singh, the martyr, who disdainfully spurned all tempting offers of the Mughal persecutor if only he would convert to Islam:
“How do I fear for my life? Why must I become a Musalman? Don’t Musalmans die? Why should I abandon my faith? May my faith endure until my last hair, until my last breath,” said Taru Singh. The Nawab tried to tempt him with offers of land and wealth.
When he found Taru Singh inflexible, he decided to have his scalp scraped from his head. The barbers came with sharp lancets and slowly ripped Bhai Taru Singh’s skull. He rejoiced that the hair of his head was still intact.
The importance of kes (Sikhs’ unshorn hair) has been repeatedly demonstrated to them throughout their history. The hair has been their guarantee for self-preservation.
Even more importantly, the prescription has a meaning for them far transcending the mundane frame of history. A term that has had parallel usage in the Sikh system is Sahajdhari.
A sahajdhari is not a full Sikh but one on his way to becoming one. He is in the Guru’s path but has not yet adopted the full regalia of the faith. He fully subscribes to the philosophy of the Gurus; he does not own or believe in any other Guru or deity. His worship is the Sikh worship; only he has not yet adopted the full style of a Singh.
Since he subscribes to no other form of worship or belief than the one prescribed for Sikhs, a concession was extended to him to call himself a Sikh—a sahajdhari Sikh, a gradualist who would tread the path and eventually become a full-grown Khalsa.
One venerable instance from among the contemporaries of Guru Gobind Singh, who introduced the order of the Khalsa, was Bhai Nand Lal. He composed beautiful poetry in honor of Guru Gobind Singh and had the privilege of even laying down a code for the Sikhs.
The more recent Gurdwara enactment, passed by the Indian Parliament in 1977 at the instance of Sikhs, provided for the control and management of Sikh places of worship in the territory of Delhi, apart from Punjab. It further tightened the definition of a Sikh and made it more explicit, laying down “untrimmed hair” as an essential condition for him to be treated as a Sikh under the Act.
References :
1. Jogendra Singh, Sikh Ceremony. Chandigarh, 1968
2. Sikh Rahit Maryada. Amritsar, 1961
3. Padam, Piara Singh, Rahitname. Amritsar, 1989
