Balpreet Kaur, Sikh Woman, Proudly Sports Facial Hair In Accordance With Her Faith A picture snapped surreptitiously andposted to Reddit's r/funny thread has drawn attention to a little known tenet of the Sikh faith. "Yes, I’m a baptized Sikh woman with facial hair," Balpreet Kaur, a college student, wrote in response to her picture. Kaur, an Ohio State University sophomore studying neuroscience and psychology, is a baptized Sikh, and as such follows the so-called "5 Ks," or five physical symbols that date back to the creation of the faith by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699, according to BBC. One of the tenets is kesh, or uncut hair. "Yes, I realize that my gender is often confused and I look different than most women. However, baptized Sikhs believe in the sacredness of this body - it is a gift that has been given to us by the Divine Being [which is genderless, actually] and, must keep it intact as a submission to the divine will," she added to her response on Reddit. The photo was also picked up by Cracked.com, which lauded the student for her "graceful and fresh" response. The poised student, who is also president of the Sikh Student Association and plans to be a neurosurgeon, also said that she believes that by not worrying on her outward appearance, she is able to better focus on actions that matter. "When I die, no one is going to remember what I looked like, heck, my kids will forget my voice, and slowly, all physical memory will fade away," she writes. "However, my impact and legacy will remain: and, by not focusing on the physical beauty, I have time to cultivate those inner virtues and hopefully, focus my life on creating change and progress for this world in any way I can." While not alone in her adherence, Western culture's standards of beauty -- which involve all sorts of waxing and shaving -- have made many Sikh women disregard the rule. According to Gurinder Singh Mann, a professor of Sikh studies at UC Santa Barbara, more and more women have begun to treat the religious requirement as flexible. "The winds of all this modernity and secularism are growing," Singh Mann said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. For Kaur, however, there's nothing to be ashamed of. "I’m not embarrased or even humiliated by the attention [negative and positive] that this picture is getting because, it’s who I am," Kaur wrote. And, she added, if you're out and about on the OSU campus, by all means come by and say hello. To read Kaur's full response, visit Reddit. Source : Balpreet Kaur, Sikh Woman, Proudly Sports Facial Hair In Accordance With Her Faith (PHOTO)
Every one is entitled to their opinion religious or otherwise .. nd the person here is actually putting it to good use. Sent from my MB525 using Tapatalk 2
It's amazing when you read the whole thread on reddit and how it materialises. Thanks for posting this Raja, props to the girl for being so strong.
Please read the source of the article .. she didn't ask for this .. Some guy took a random pic of her and posted it online as a joke and instead of being offended she came up, identified herself and clarified to a lot of people of why she does this. This is something that should be applauded as she presented herself and her views in a very positive way.
Excuse me .. Who brought that up .. What is it that you find untrue about the article , please explain ?
Maybe DBG hasn't had much association with sikhs as you have, but I'm a Sikh, so let's start of with what you meant by "such people" and what exactly is their inner working that you know so well off? Being Punjabi is not the same as being a Sikh. Punjab is a region that spanned across majority of modern day North India, Pakistan and parts of Afghanistan, people who live or lived in such area are called as Punjabis. Just the same was being Hindustani doesn't mean that you're a Hindu. If you ask me, your remarks make absolutely no sense at all. If you don't care to explain your opinion or back your claims with any fact, I'd urge you to refrain yourself from making outrageous claims.
^ exactly what i felt.. just by running into an argument and then saying that u dont have the URGE OR INCLINATION.. that too on such a sensitive topic as religion is outrageous. Religious beliefs can vary by religion/caste/sect etc. And by causing a flamewar you are doing nothing positive on the forum.. rather generating SENSATIONALISM AND PUBLICITY for your own self..
Yes, I am in a bad mental state so I have deleted the comments of mine. I won't comment further here. but what you said was something that did not read mycomment fully, as I have Sikhs as relatives.
Everyone relax and review what is being discussed. This is not about religion but a person whose appearance was made fun of. The appearance is due to one's religious beliefs which everyone has a right to. I think her reply was fitting and absolutely correct. Deep respect for sticking to one's faith in such modern times. Sent from my XT910 using Tapatalk 2