467.The Man in Blue – Khalsa Principles, Turban & the 5 Ks

The spiritual source of the Khalsa, the order of those who put themselves directly under God’s command, is the Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Gobind Singh’s Khalsa does not need any justification from other sources.

Guru Nanak received God’s light, and that light was passed on to the subsequent nine Gurus. That light is also present in the Guru Granth Sahib, both in the verses written by our Gurus and in those written by bhagats, bhatts and gursikhs.

Guru Gobind Singh had to rewrite the Ádí Granth compiled by Guru Arjan, in order to insert the verses of ninth Guru. Otherwise he did not change a word, nor did he add any of his own writings. He also did not make any changes to the ‘nitnem section’ on the first 13 pages of the Guru Granth Sahib.

In 1708 Guru declared the Guru Granth to be the eternal Guru of the Sikhs, and the Guruship passed to the Guru Panth (those on Guru’s path), acting on the teachings of the Guru Granth.

Guru Gobind Singh did not change the Sikhs into professional soldiers in an army based on blind obedience. The behaviour of Guru’s Saint-Soldiers must be based on high moral principles, not fighting in anger and not taking what was not theirs.

The Saint-Soldier follows the concept of Simran and Seva. Simran means meditation, thinking of God, and this thinking of God leads to service to all in this case standing up against injustice and defending the oppressed.

Guru Gobind Singh loved the Guru Granth Sahib and his life was guided by its teachings. The Guru Granth Sahib is a flexible Teacher. There are no detailed instructions on how to live your life, which easily get outdated by changes in society. The Guru Granth Sahib teaches the underlying principles, simple values that are of all times and of all ethical systems.

Many Sikhs look for a justification of wearing the turban and the 5 Ks in the Guru Granth Sahib. These Sikhs make two mistakes 1) we do not need to justify the turban and the 5 Ks, the Guru asked us, and if we love Guru we obey 2) the Guru Granth Sahib, as I explained above, is the book of principles, not of detail. The verse that mentions ‘sábat súrat dastár sirá’ addresses Muslims, not Sikhs (P.1083).

If you want to offer your head, if you want to totally commit yourself to the Sikh way of life, start adopting the turban and the 5 Ks as a sign of that commitment and work towards becoming an Amritdhari Sikh.

It is possible to be a good person without wearing the 5 Ks, and wearing the 5 Ks does not make you a better person. But the combination of the commitment to a Gursikh jivan and wearing Guru’s uniform does make a difference as long as you  see God’s presence in all, are the servant of all, and have humility.

The 5 Ks, pictorial

Kesh – Uncut hair
Kangha – Wooden Comb

Kara – Steel Bracelet

Kara – Steel Bracelet
Kirpan – Small Sword
Kachhera – Cotton ‘Boxershort’

Khalsa woman
Pag ~ Pagri ~ Dastar = Turban
Kirpan  - Small Sword

The Khalsa and the 5 Ks

Vaisakhi 1699

In 1699 Guru Gobind Rai the tenth Sikh Guru, called his Sikhs together in Anandpur Sahib in the north of Panjab. He stood before the meeting, holding a sword, and asked for people to come forward who were willing to give their head.

The first five who did so are called the Panj Piaré, the five beloved ones. They were the first members of the Khalsa, the order of initiated Sikhs, those who are totally committed to the Sikh way of life, to doing God’s work. They then in their turn initiated Guru Gobind Rai into the Khalsa, and many others followed. From then on all Khalsa men were known as Singh (=Lion) and Khalsa women as Kaur (=Prince). Thus Guru Gobind Rai became Guru Gobind Singh.

This took place under the rule of one of the more intolerant Mughal Emperors, who then ruled most of the north of India. Being a Khalsa involved physical fighting against the oppressors, to achieve freedom of worship for all.

Guru did stipulate that the sword was only to be used as a last resort, after all other means had failed. Guru wanted his Khalsa to be Sant-Sipahi (Saint-Soldier), who would not fight for material gain or out of anger, but who would defend the defenceless and fight against injustice.

As visible signs of their commitment the members of the Khalsa were to wear five outward signs, the so called Five Ks, and this practice is followed to this day.

Do realise that initiated Sikhs or Khalsas are only a relatively small group within the wider Sikh community or Panth. Many people of Sikh background wear a Kara, and more committed ones also keep uncut hair and wear a turban. It is unlikely that Sikhs who are not initiated wear a Kachhera, while only initiated Sikhs will wear the Kirpan.

The 5 Ks 

The 5 Ks are :

• Kesh (uncut hair, no cutting, trimming or shaving)
• Kara (a steel bracelet)
• Kangha (a wooden comb)
• Kacchera (cotton boxer short)
• Kirpan (small steel sword)
  The kirpan stands for this fight against injustice referred to above  

The Five Ks symbolise dedication to a life of devotion and submission to the Guru. For an initiated Sikh or Khalsa the fact that the Guru has asked the Sikhs to wear the Five Ks is sufficient reason and no more needs be said.

The Khalsa cannot be anonymous. Her/His religion is known to all. She/He stands out among people, and any unseemly behaviour on her/his part would be noted as unbecoming of a follower of the Gurus.

Anybody seeing somebody wearing the Khalsa uniform (the Five Ks) should know that they can go to her/him for help. Regardless whether they wear western or Panjabi style clothes, they are visible Sikhs. Unfortunately many Sikh ladies, even initiated ones, choose not to wear a turban, and are therefore not easily recognisable as Sikhs.