Munster Indiana man stays true to his Sikh religious values

February 19th, 2009 by Idelle Rosenbloom Kerzner - Post-Tribune correspondent Source: www.post-trib.com

When Mubarak Singh of Munster turned 18, he was in a dilemma.

Should he clip his cascading black hair, flowing down below his waist, or keep it tightly wrapped in his turban? He also had to decide if he would cut his beard.

Singh is a Sikh, and his family comes from India.

"My religion says that God made us perfect and this is why we should keep ourselves the way we are," Singh explains.

Singh's father told him that at 18, certain religious practices are his own choice. When the day finally arrived, a decision Singh thought would be easy -- cutting his hair -- turned out not to be so.

A Purdue student, he continues to be seen throughout campus wearing his turban and facial hair proudly.

"I thought about it, but could not do it," Singh says. "I had it my whole life and it would be weird not to have it. It says in our teachings to 'keep yourself the way you are' and to love and respect yourself and others."

Singh's parents, who are both named Jasbir, are very proud of their son's decision that he was true to the values of his religion.

By Sikh custom, followers are not allowed to eat meat. They speak Punjabi and pray to one God, Waheguru, which translates as "Wonderful Lord."

Contact Idelle Rosenbloom Kerzner at Bailah18@sbcglobal.net  

Comments

February 23, 2009 - 3:24pm — arshi (not verified)

Sikh by birth v Sikh by conviction

This is a very common dilemma not only amongst young Sikhs but Sikhs of all ages. Just being born a Sikh and living in a Sikh culture is not sufficient. One must be Sikh by belief, i.e. understand and practice the teachings of Guru Granth Sahib at the very minimum. The young Sikh in this instance appears to have given an account of himself as a Sikh more because of his background and less because of his training and ‘Sikhsha’; otherwise why would there be a problem on reaching 18. Obviously, he must be commended for holding onto values expected of a person born in a Sikh family, but he should have made his mind up much before becoming a major. We do not know enough about this case. It may be he and his parents had a mutual understanding that he should at least maintain his appearance until he joins the university when he may feel a greater pressure to uphold his values and beliefs. The fact that “he thought about it but could not do it" suggests that he has within him the ‘spiritual light’ to guide him in the right direction. I know of thousands whose beards have turned white but are still have no idea (nor do they care) of what ‘Sikhism’ is.
February 23, 2009 - 11:09am — SatyajitSingh

This is a dilemma in western

This is a dilemma in western world, partly because there is no practice at home. Practice with living Guru's life, Guru's life stories and soulful devotion. No practice means no reinforcement for living with a different way of life in Guru's appearance, with turban and everything; tayaar bar tayaar Singh. **(Guru Fateh Ji, As you know being Guru's Singh are proud in being a Singh, there's no need to put cast at the end of the name, which reinforces unnecessary Hindu cast system unconsciously))*.
February 20, 2009 - 10:03am — Baljit Singh

Kudos to Mubarak Singh

Self confidence is standing for your values. May God Give everybody the courage.
February 20, 2009 - 2:50am — Theodorus

Why the dilemma?

Very strange as I fail to understand why Singh would have been 'programmed' to cut his hair at 18? I understand that when you are not yet 18 and you live at home you are bound by the rules of your parents. As his family is Sikh he is raised as a Sikh so why the dilemma at 18? Do you at 18 suddenly need to be convinced of your own religion? I agree it is his choise to make but apperently even his father is programmed to the fact that an 18 year old Sikh living in the USA will cut his hair and shave his beard. [img]http://www.todorus.nl/UpOnSites/Sikhnet/handt.gif[/img]
February 21, 2009 - 7:40am — Jaspworld

Well...

As for myself, I used to wear a patka (small scarf) until I was about 16 or 17. Until now I never seriously thought about my religion- I took it for granted. I was not curious about finding the truth or any spiritual side of life. Then finally when I was about 18, wearing a patka didn't look good anymore. It was time to start wearing a full sized turban. If I started wearing a turban, it would mean I would be a Sikh for life. Then I finally asked myslef, "Do I need this religion? Why should I follow such a tough life?" My parents wouldn't mind me cutting my hair at all (and from here you can see that my parent weren't very spiritual either). However, something didn't feel right. It felt like I was giving up but at the same time I was very confused about why I am superior to others just because I'm a Sikh. I decided to do some research and was blown away with the Sikh history and the concept that Sikhs didn't consider themselves or their religion superior. This is when I decided to be a Sikh instead of just being a Sikh because it runs in the family. Waheguru.
February 21, 2009 - 11:09am — Theodorus

Culture verses Religion

ji, I'm fairly new to Sikism (I just got interested in it last week! So I might not have a right to speak about it). I was swept away by Sikhs basic religious concepts. I come myself from a Catholic background (I'm from the south of the Netherlands). I do understand the confusion between culture and religion. You used to be a Sikh by culture not by religion. Now you've chosen to be a Sikh by religion. Culturally you can adapt to what ever you want. To me Sikhism is religion not culture. Luckily in Holland we have (almost) complete seperation between state and religion which for me in my situation at the moment is almost the same as seperation between culture and religion. I'm not quite sure if that makes sense but I will try to find out.

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