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If you
think that the hair are dispensable, disposable and
unnecessary appendages of the human body, then you are
sadly mistaken. The human hair determines vitality,
virility, strength and immunity of the person concerned.
The loss of hair denotes aging, decreased strength and
impoverished immune system. The persons undergoing
chemotherapy, radiotherapy and other immunosuppressant
therapy always have loss of hair. These drugs impair fast
growing cells of reproduction, vascular and bone marrow.
The Sikhs are the
only one in the world, who are required to keep uncut body
hair. It is a form of commitment and allegiance to the
faith. The moment you lose this essential requirement, you
cease to be a Sikh. The Sikhs had sacrificed their lives,
when asked to lose the hair or the life; they preferred
the hair than living without hair. This is inseparable
part of a Sikh’s body. In case of some urgent life saving
emergency situations where hair are required to be cut,
mostly accidents or surgery then these are cut and the
Sikh has to present himself before the board of 5 beloved
Sikhs and explain why he has allowed this thing to happen
to him. The Sikh is always forgiven and asked to undergo
some kind of penance. I think this should be counted as a
blessing by all the true Sikhs, if it was not forbidden
then no body would have been there on this earth with hair
as Sikhs do.
Why hair at all? The defenders!
The human body is
perfect, designed and preplanned for the functions, the
parts had to undertake later on. The woman’s body has less
hair and she is designed to rear the baby and at least for
9 months and during that time she cannot perform so many
outdoor functions which a man has to do all the days in
the year. And, of course, this is the woman who has to
deliver the milk as an essential ingredient which a man
though equally related cannot help. And the woman must
remain with the child in growing tender years. This
explains the less hair on the body. So the woman by virtue
of her duty is less exposed to outside hostile environment
and so less protection is needed by lesser growth of hair.
See the beauty of
nature, the palmer and plantar side of the hands and feet
have no hair; the sensory receptors for heat are less
sensitive or are less in number on these surfaces. The
skin is thick on these places as one has to work with
hard, rough surfaces and uncomfortable temperatures.
Why hair on the
eyebrows, eyelashes, nose and ear don’t keep growing and
longer and longer? Of course, the hair keep growing in all
these places but rate of growth is very slow.
If one has to
shave hair of eyebrows for surgery, you can always find
the slow growth. If there were no eyelashes then eyes
would have been more vulnerable to injury by the suspended
particles in the air which are harmful. The eyes keep
blinking after every few seconds and eye lashes provide
vision and protection from foreign bodies during partial
closure of the eyes. The new born child blinks his eyes
less often, so eye blinking is related to the brain
development. Can you do without eyelashes! This small
bunch of hair performs vital functions for your vision.
Why don’t we shave these eyelashes also?
The science has
not understood the total human physiology as yet. Have we
promoted or made stem cells? These cells were there from
the very inception of first human being on earth, it is
only now we could find the already existing potential of
these cells
.On the other
hand, one has to shave the face daily and get their hair
cut of the head at least once a week. It does imply that
there is more requirement of hair in these areas. So God
has very kindly helped the hair to keep growing in these
places in spite of the fact that the man does not
understand the importance of the hair which are of immense
value in keeping him healthy. God is our father that is
why He does it as frequently as the man indulges in
unnatural practices.
Similarly, the
longer hair in armpits and groins have some important
functions. The upper layers of the skin are being
constantly replaced by the new skin from underneath. The
armpits and the groins are not exposed to the clothes or
the environment. The shed off skin gets collected in these
areas. These areas are not well ventilated, so skin
moisture is added along with the proteins of shed off
skin. And this combination along with more heat in these
areas form the best play ground for the fungi and bacteria
to grow and multiply. The hair work as cleansing agents or
natural scavengers. The collections of dead skin and
secretions are removed by the hair and are carried on the
shaft of the hair away from the skin. This way, the hair
help in keeping the skin well protected. As a physician, I
know we get many cases of fungus infection and repeated
boils in these areas especially in hot and humid weather.
If hair are removed, then certainly we are killing our
friends for the sake of so called beauty.
The hair on our
entire body are sensitive to cold, heat and emotions. In
case of fear, the hair stand erect and may be helping the
body to cope with the threatening situations. In cold
weather the peripheral circulation supplying blood to skin
is reduced and it helps in conserving body heat. And the
hair on the surface of the skin get erected to perform
some unknown functions and closing skin pores to reduce
loss of heat. Similarly, in hot weather the erector muscle
of the hair in skin are relaxed and help the body in
producing less heat and there by promote the heat loss
through open skin pores by perspiration.
The hair around
external genitalia perform very vital function in cooling
or heating the heat sensitive genitalia. If testes don’t
descend to the scrotum then excessive heat of inside the
body destroys the germinal cells.
So, please don’t
kill your defenders and be wise. God has not done anything
in vain. Let us respect the nature and should not do
anything against it.
Some other benefits of long hair
The brain is required
by all of us; so far the science did not find any
alternative to take up its functions if needed.
Unfortunately, the brain cannot be transplanted from any
body else. The brain of our immediate ancestor, the monkey
could be made available for experiments that should make
us to jump all the inhibitions.
The wise people
had made arrangements to protect the head, in case of car
accidents by giving us air bags in the steering wheel, or
using helmets for driving two wheelers. It is really
praiseworthy.
The pedestrians do
need some protection also against accidents, no body has
thought of any measure. You have to protect your brain in
extremes of weather conditions in Siberia, Polar Regions
and hot places like Dubai.
The most
devastating effects of harmful radiations from the sun
also need some urgent protection. It has become all the
more important and relevant, owing to increasingly
decreasing cover of ozone layer in the atmosphere. As we
know there is big hole in the ozone layer and harmful
ultraviolet radiations come un obstructed to the earth.
The hair on the
head caters to all the above mentioned needs for us. God
had given us the final and beautiful protection to the
brain by giving us long hair on our heads and faces also.
The hair on the face does protect some important receptors
in the neck also. It makes the man the most handsome
creature on the earth. The hair is God’s gift for us. It
protects us against weather conditions by keeping warm in
winter and cool in summer. The harmful radiations are
taken care of and in addition it protects us against any
accidents.
Do we need to cut,
the useful part of our body and which is found so
essential for our lives? The modern man had ignored this
vital aspect. In India, all our forefathers used to have
the long hair on their heads and those people who had
attained perfection had long hair on their heads, like
Christ, Mohammed, Ram, Bhudha and Krishan. The hair are
connected with salvation and perfection in some unknown
ways.
Sikhism is the
most modern religion; Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth master
of Sikhs in 1699 AD had very kindly made it mandatory to
have long hair on our heads and not to murder the hair on
our body in any way. It is a sin to cut hair, if a Sikh
cuts hair he is forsaken from the faith. It is not
important that there are many so called Sikhs who do not
keep hair. It is their sweet will and no body should mind
that. But surely, they are not Sikhs. We remember our
heroes who lived the life of the perfect Sikhs and
sacrificed everything. The Sikhs had kept long hair in
spite of severe punishment, like removing the scalp from
head along with long hair. The Sikhs were given the option
to remove the Sikh symbols and the hair, these heroes
preferred death than giving up the hair and Sikh identity.
The true Sikhs would prefer death than giving up the hair.
How to care for the hair?
If you agree with
me that the hair are important gift given to the entire
mankind without any distinction of the area, religion or
group by our God father, then we should decide as how to
respect our defenders and friends.
Guru Gobind Singh
had thought of this need, and delineated the procedure for
his followers or for that reason any body who wants to
support long hair on the head and the body. The hair need
to be kept tidy and should be combed daily and keep the
hair rolled up as a knot on the head. And to keep the hair
clean and healthy, Sikhs had been advised to tie a head
gear or a turban over the head daily.
The head gear is
required by all the people in extremes of weather. But if
you wear turban all the time on the head, then there is
great protection to the brain in case of accidents or by
direct hit by any flying object or a stick or a sharp
cutting object. The momentum gets decreased when the 6 to
7 layers of cloth of the turban bears the brunt of the
impact and the turban gets dismantled and the direction of
the hitting object gets changed. And certainly, it does
give a great protection not only to the most vital brain
but saves the life also.
Now days there is
noise pollution by the heavy vehicles on the roads and
sound of DJ’s in social gatherings and dance parties, the
turban protects the brain and the ears against very loud
sounds which go much higher than the safe limit of 60
decibels.
The turban gives
added protection to the brain against harmful radiations
from the sun.
The extreme cold
weather and chilly winds cannot do anything to the wearer
of the turban. Luckily, I had lived three winters in south
east of Canada and had faced the minimum temperature of -
25 degree C and strong chilly winds. I used to walk for
one hour daily under these weather conditions. No time, I
felt insecure and I used to enjoy the weather. The only
problem was the black ice for which I learnt the trick of
walking on this sort of surface. I had devised to walk on
toes and not to put the heel first on the ice. By putting
the toe first, the centre of gravity shifts to the middle
of the body and the person is more secure. If some body is
walking with heels first then the centre of gravity is
behind the person and the heel slips. If you happen to
view the foot prints of those who had slipped, you would
find the heels had dragged for some distance before the
person fell on the ground.
How does the turban protects us from
chilly winds and snow storms? One can observe snow storms
and chilly winds would hit from the front, sides or from
the back depending upon direction of your walk in relation
to the wind. The snow coat had head part or hood also but
in comparison to the turban it stands no where. The turban
has 6 to 7 layers of cloth all around your head; the way
it insulates is superb. No need of putting the hood on the
turban, one is very comfortable. Once you come back to
your home, you would find the snow had got deposited on
the moustaches and the beard.
If you are exposed
to this type of weather, then the sensitive parts of the
body are tip of the nose, pinna and lobule of the ear.
These parts get blue and are frozen. The turban protects
the ear and the hair on face blocks the chilly winds to
enter the nose straightway and certainly the hair may be
helping in warming the outside air entering the nose
through hot exhaled air.
The burning hot
temperatures can cause sun burns on exposed skin and heat
stroke and heat exhaustion. The brain regulates the
temperature of the body. The turban acts as a screen to
the direct effect of sun rays. It keeps the brain cool, by
absorbing the sweat on the head on one hand and insulates
the head from external temperature. The head is kept cool
in spite of the fact that the outside temperature is
nearly scolding hot. How many people can walk bare headed
in extreme hot weather? Not many and all have to cover
their heads by some sort of cap or hat. The cap or hat can
fall down in case you wish to work outside in hot weather.
Everybody cannot sit in air conditioned room and so many
had to work outside. So turban is the answer for them.
The turban has
some aesthetic value. The person looks taller and
handsome. The choice of colours is vast and that can match
your casual wear of shirts or tie. One looks a like a
king. Perhaps all the dignitaries in the past used to wear
different head gears. Believe me, once you tie a turban on
the head you feel energized and more active, than sitting
without it during holidays.
The other persons
who are not Sikhs would find I am promoting Sikhism, but I
have tried to put the facts before everyone, if it helps
Sikhism I feel happy and proud. I think the Sikhs who have
lost their identity for the sake of some gains it is high
time they should feel sorry for that. A Sikh is an ideal
human being. The Sikhs don’t smoke, don’t keep extra
marital contacts and are well armed to keep the oppressed,
protected and are confident of their inheritance. The Sikh
has to respect all religions and would keep on following
his faith strictly. The Sikh has malice for none and love
for all. The Sikhs pray for the betterment of the total
humanity including their opponents.
Dr Balwant Singh |
