Home/ Questions/Q 14514
Next
Answered

Sikh Wisdom Latest Questions

Asked: 2021-09-15T12:27:08+00:00 In:

One of my colleagues asked me why i cut my fingernails and not my hair? I wasn’t able to give a confident answer as i didn’t know the correct answer. What is the reason?

harvsingh
One of my colleagues asked me why i cut my fingernails and not my hair? I wasn’t able to give a confident answer as i didn’t know the correct answer. What is the reason?
Share

    Leave an answer

    You must login to add an answer.

    Need An Account,

    14 Answers

    1. Simranjit Singh
      Best Answer
      This answer was edited.

      cleanliness –
      nails can catch dirt and aids germ growth so we keep them tidy and clip to the trim line…
      The hair cleanliness is same but different way a) hair wash and b) combing.. The dead hair are gathered in the comb..
      So bottom line its all about cleanliness but different means.. Though spiritually there are other aspects of long hair but believe your question is targeted to nail vs hair..

    2. sarbjitsingh
      Scholar

      Hair are live when they are attached to the body. When they are dead, they start coming out. Hence every Sikh is supposed to comb his hair to keep them neat and clean.
      Similarly nails are also live and dead. Pink nails are live and no one can dare to cut them, because they have sense organs. The dead nails are black/brown/white, which do not have sense organs. Hence we can cut them to keep our body clean.
      Only difference is that hair do not have sense organs, hence people can cut them without any pain.
      But definitely we are disturbing the equilibrium of the body, for which one will have to pay in the long run. Many unwanted elements come out of the body with the help of hair.
      Please go through the following article for the details

      http://www.geocities.ws/sarbjitsingh/Bani9010GurMagPart23D20140724.pdf

    3. ਇਕ ਪੰਥ ਇਕ ਸੋਚ
      Scholar

      dead hair automatically come out with comb but dead nails will hurt us when they enlarge and one have to cut them.

    4. hkandola
      Scholar

      The answer is that I cut my nails for hygiene purpose and I do not cut my hair because it is the order of my GURU, SIMPLE.

    5. Kelly Skallkrossare

      I just so happened to have found this on a trail of links and I’m sure I have a non dogmatic answer for you as I have pondered and researched this myself.

      1) If I remember correctly, (and please correct me if i am wrong), although Guru Nanak wrote in Jaap ji that Waheguruji doesn’t think anything about such primal things as to if you have long, short or no hair, he kept his unshorn as a way of being as true to what Wahegurji created as possible, instead of shaving his head like some of the ascetics and false yogis did thinking that it would bring them enlightenment. I have read some outside SGGSJ anecdotes stating that he didn’t beleive in styling his hair (besides just being as true to Wahegurujis creation) as a means of standing out against the oppressive elite that wasted stored riches on trying to maintain a false visage of themselves, and enacting these heirarchal beauty standards that would segregate people.

      2) We can look to nature as well, all creatures and even plants only let off what is needed to be discarded when that plant is healthy. Animals and insects preen and pick off sections of fur or keratin or exoskeleton that are bothersome or causing an issue. Nails however, most animals keep ground down naturally by walking on their paws or hooves, humans are pretty unique in that our hands don’t touch the ground, but I imagine if we did walk on all fours our nails would naturally stay ground down. In the case of animals whose nails don’t grind down, I dont know if you’ve ever seen it but dogs bite their nails, and primates of all kinds have been recorded to also keep nails maintained with tools and biting. Feline nails shed as a whole sheath, and grow in a particular way due to their retractable nature, but their nails also grind down a little from clawing at everything.

      I hope this helps!
      WJKK, WJKF

    6. Simranjit Singh

      keen to read further on this.. awaiting

    7. Mauricio
      This answer was edited.

      Hair has a cycle to accomplish: once the hair grows to a length determined by the hair follicle, it will stop growing and after a while it detaches from the body to let a new hair grow.
      With nails it’s different: nails never stop growing regardless of their length, making impossible for you to do anything at all if you don’t cut them or they don’t break. If they’re too long they may become an obstacle for one of Sikhism pillars: to work hard and earn your living honestly. Although, I don’t think Sikhism consider sinful to let nails grow long to a certain extent, as long as it doesn’t interfere with your job.