Proper Kara Use

[ShivaFan]

Namaste

Tomorrow I will be visiting the Sikh temple I often go to, it is very large. The reason I am going is, this July 2nd I will start a long drive from California to Canada (BC, Burnaby) to visit family, I always go to Sikh temple before such a journey, it makes me brave for the drive.

Anyway, I was given a Kara which I sometime wear on my right wrist. It is sarb loh, I wear it because the iron gives me bravery and the iron absorbs from God power - honestly I am afraid of long drives. BUT - I am not an initiated Sikh. I put it on again today to ready myself for the journey - and I will still be wearing it tomorrow, but is this proper being that I am NOT an initiated Sikh but rather a Hindu?

 

[Treks]

Most Sikhs are not initiated and still wear a kara. It is the most 'popular' kakkar. So there is no problem with you wearing it.

Personally, I find it a bit strange for you to wear it, because it is an item intended to identify you to others as a Sikh, which you are not. People may perceive your actions and attribute them to the Sikh panth. But then, plenty of kara-wearing Sikhs do plenty of un-Sikh things with their kara on, so it really doesn't matter.

For a Sikh, a kara is meant to be their 'handcuff to Guru'. Previously an item of wrist protection for battle, it is now worn on the dominant arm of Sikhs to remind them about their Sikh values in everything they do.

If you obtain some other kind of value from wearing it, then it becomes a bracelet, rather than a kara, imho.

 

[ShivaFan]

Since you are a knowledgeable Sikh, I take your words seriously. I have found, on a personal level, that wearing the iron bracelet and visiting the Sikh Gurdwara had the power to inspire bravery in me clothed in a dharmic shield of God.

But now I can see this inspiration is actually an insult to such dharma, if not borderline superstition, and I don't want to insult Sikhs by wearing the Kara for seeking bravery so inspired, nor perceive my actions and attribute something that I am intruding or something, nor do I want to be rude at the Gurdwara. So I have taken off the Kara this morning, and I won't be going this morning because I am worried to upset others.

Instead I will find another way this morning to seek this sense of bravery, though I am sort of sad since I love that Gurdwara and I apologize for these ideas of mine about inspiration by visiting. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Treks]

No no, there is a middle ground here.

You are most welcome at the Gurdwara, and no one will think twice about you wearing the kara. It is not an insult. Please, go!

Personally I think it's great that you will look for bravery in other places, but if you need it for your long drive by wearing the kara and visiting Gurdwara, then by all means do it. You shouldn't be uncomfortable!!

And I can totally understand how visiting the Gurdwara has that effect on you, but I am biased

Best wishes for your travels.

 

[ShivaFan]

(happy) Thanks! Then I WILL.

My wife will be going with a relative and my daughter to Grouse Mountain when in Canada, but she already said me and Maa (Mother In Law) will be going to Hindu Temples and Sikh Temples instead. I will be "hanging out " with Maa (I'm the driver).

So I just love Gurdwara because I find the Sikh men very brave and holy. I also love to hear about heroes and saints, to sit in the Gurdwara and .... THE LUNCHES!

I plan on visiting 3 Sikh Temples and 3 Hindu Temples in Canada! SIX DAYS!

 

[Aupmanyav]

Most North Indian Hindus are also Sikhs because they rever the Sikh Gurus no less than any Sikh. I am a Hindu, a Sikh, a Buddhist and a Jain. I have learnt from all four religions. For many Hindus, there is no scripture other than Sri Guru Granth Sahib and no marriage procedure other than 'Anand Karaj'. I do not know where should I divide Sikhs and Hindus. My son has sung Shabads at Darbar Sahib, Amritsar, and Bangla Sahib, Delhi. Gurudwara Nanak Talao was the first temple visited by my younger grandson on his way from hospital to home after his birth (my wife had taken a vow that she would take him there if every thing went OK and my daughter-in-law goes to a Gurudwara for 40 days every year). My daughter-in-law's grandmother was Sikh. My son has worn a kara for years. So wear a 'kara' without any reservation. It is improper only on the hands of people who engage in evil deeds otherwise it is a blessing from the Gurus.

The young one is now 3-1/2, begins school tomorrow, van comes at 6.30 a.m. Poor thing.
For the whole of yesterday and night, he was wearing the 'spider-man' costume which his father brought from the US.