Taking Amrit are you REALLY ready?

Are You Ready To Take Amrit?????

Saturday, March 7, 2009 at 10:48am
Q: At what age does a person “take Amrit” (become baptized into Sikhism)?A: Amrit or Khande Ki Pohul is the Sikh baptism. It is carried out by drinking of holy water (prepared while reciting hymns) given by five baptized Sikhs to the person being baptized. There is no formal age for becoming a baptized Sikh. Amrit is a very beautiful practice. It can be carried on any time when a Sikh thinks he or she is ready.Q: What worship and life one has to follow after he or she takes Amrit?A: A Sikhs life consists of three basic rules, life honestly, remember God, and share with your fellow man.A Sikh must earn an honest living and always interact with honesty and good ethical standards. Sikhs must also remember God. This is done through the recitation of seven daily prayers. Five prayers are recited in the morning as a reminder of God’s role in life and are meant to be the first thoughts of the day dedicated to God. One prayer is recited in the evening and one is subsequently recited at night to be the last thoughts in ones mind before sleep. In this way God is constantly a conscious part of a Sikh’s day.One may ask, why should one recite the same hymn everyday? The basic reason is that the hymns provide guidance to worship God and tells one to live truly and honestly. Reciting the hymns does not let one dwindle and always keeps one focused on his/her goals. Every morning the hymns ring the bell in mind and reminds one of his duties.Along with these scriptures Sikhs are told to meditate on God while doing any work and whenever they are free. Some Sikhs get up at 3 in the morning and start worshiping God while everyone is asleep, so that there would be no distractions.Amritdhari (or baptized Sikhs) are not to cut their hair, consume any alcohol or drugs. This is to always be conscious about one's self and keep God in the heart and mind. Sikhs are to meditate on One God only and never to do idol worship. The Amrit bearer has five symbols or articles of faith, which he or she is always to keep with them. These five symbols are Hair (covered), Comb, Steel bracelet, under shorts and a small sword. The sword is emblem of courage and self-defense. It symbolizes dignity and self-reliance, the capacity and readiness to always defend the weak and the oppressed. It helps sustain one’s martial spirit and the determination to sacrifice oneself in order to defend the truth. A Sikh is a devotee first and to protect his devotion, a Sikh is a warrior too. A real Sikh will never let weapons take the precedence over his spiritual values and devotion. A real Sikh will always help the one in need and fight for him regardless of the person's caste, color or religion. When all other means of self-protection fail, the Sikh can use his sword to protect himself and others. A Sikh will never use his sword to attack anyone.Finally, a Sikh is to always share with others. In the spirit of defending the truth, a Sikh is also to help those in any other type of need and share his or her own bounty with those who may be less fortunate.Five Sikh SymbolsSikhs have five symbols of faith natively known as Kakaars. These are Kesh (uncut hair), Kanga (comb), Kara (Bracelet), Kirpan (sword) and Kachehra (a special type of shorts). A baptised Sikh is to keep all five symbols of faith. These symbols are not merely symbols, they not only represent or identify a Sikh but also have deep meanings. Guru Gobind Singh Ji created a lifestyle within which one does not dwindles and remains focused on the path to attain salvation.Kesh: Hair is not just a symbol, it is the gift from God. Guru Nanak started the practice of keeping the hair unshorn. The keeping of hair in its natural state is regarded as living in harmony with the will of God, and is a symbol of the Khalsa brotherhood and the Sikh faith. Hair is an integral part of the human body created by God and Sikhism call for its preservation. Sikhs live the way God made humans and never cut their hair. Guru Gobind Singh Ji instructed Sikh to wear Turban in order to protect their hair. Turban has many purposes and one is to keep a Sikh focused in his beliefs.Kanga: The comb is necessary to keep the hair clean and tidy. A Sikh must comb his hair twice a day and tie his turban neatly. The Gurus wore turbans and commanded the Sikhs to wear turbans for the protection of the hair, and promotion of social identity and cohesion. It has thus become an essential part of the Sikh dress.Kara: The bracelet symbolizes restrain from evil deeds. It is worn on the right wrist and reminds the Sikh of the vows taken by him, that is, he is a servant of the Guru and should not do anything which may bring shame or disgrace. When he looks at the Kara, he is made to think twice before doing anything evil with his hands.Kirpan: The sword is the emblem of courage and self-defense. It symbolizes dignity and self-reliance, the capacity and readiness to always defend the weak and the oppressed. It helps sustain one's martial spirit and the determination to sacrifice oneself in order to defend truth, oppression and Sikh moral values.The rule is never to do injustice and never let anyone do injustice.Kachehra: Kachehra symbolizes to live a faithful life. It reminds the Sikh of the need for self-restrain over passions, lust and desires. Apart from its moral significance, it ensures briskness during action and freedom of movement at all times. In todays dark world, filled with lust, if ever a Sikh gets carried away in the moment of lust, the Kachehra refrains one from making wrong moves and reminds him of his duties.The Five K's are not supposed to foster exclusiveness or superiority. They are meant to keep the Sikhs united in the pursuit of the aims and ideals of the Gurus. They enable them to keep their vows made at the time of baptism. Keeping the symbols of faith keeps one close to being a Sikh and being a Sikh brings one closer to God. Whatever Gurus narrated has a purpose and meaning because it was told to them by God Himself. God has created a religion, a path, a faith which brings one closer to God and helps one to Unite with Him.In order to meet God, one has life an honest life and meditate on God. Sikh Gurus themselves lived an honest life and showed everyone how it can be done while living a family life. If one is not a Sikh, it is harder to live truly. One Sikh writes his experience about his turban as follows:"My turban has saved me so many times that I cannot even begin to explain. Like most, I am also filled with greed and lust. I even thought about looting or robbery in order to accumulate wealth. But everytime I think about it I think about my turban. A thought comes in my mind that how will my Guru feel if I do such a thing. I am a Sikh and a Sikh must walk on the path of humility and respect and live happily in whatever God has given me. If I have not had a turban on my head, I probably would have become a thief, a rogue, and probably a murderer. My turban saves me." [More ...]The Sikh symbols keeps a Sikh focused. It saves a Sikh from bad company and keeps a Sikh close to God. Guru created a livestyle which helps one to be close to God and less likely to detour. Now a days, rare are Sikhs that walk in the path shown by the Guru. Rare are the ones that do not cut their hair and live an honest life like a Sikh suppose to. And to the ones there are Guru Nanak says he is willing to sacrifice himself for them.Q: What is the purpose of turban? Why do Sikhs wear turban?A: The covering of hair with turban was made official by Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the tenth Guru of Sikhs. The main reason is to preserve the Sikh identity. Sikhs are only 2% of India’s population, if Sikhs do not wear turban, they would be lost in the crowd of Hindus and Muslims. No one will be able to identify a Sikh. Upon establishing turban as a Sikh identity Guru Gobind Singh Ji said, “My Sikh will be recognized among millions”.In addition, the people from high class wear turban and were called sardars (leaders). This segregated people from high and low classes. So in order to eliminate the class system associated with turban, Guru Gobind Singh Ji made each and every Sikh a sardar. He also rejected class system by giving all Sikh the last name Singh and Kaur.Furthermore, Sikhs do not cut their hair and the turban protects the hair from dust. Some people might ask the question that if Sikhs cover their hair on head, why don’t they cover their beard? The only reason one would cover his beard is to protect it from dirt. But dirt is not a big problem for beard. The beard can be cleaned very easily while washing the face.