self appearance

people say that gursikhs should not wear makeup because it gives u ego and ur changing gods gift, but what if ur really insecure about how u look and only makeup can make you feel happy, wouldn't god want u to be happy and like in that example shouldn't sikhs not look in the mirror when tying their dastaar or getting ready because if we tie our dastaar nice we would have ego and we shouldn't cuz we should be humble so shouldn't we not use mirrors?

Who are we really trying to appease painting our faces? A person who can't think beyond this materialistic world will obviously pay all attention to how they look, in order to look beautiful to other people. But, a person (Sikh), whose goal is to meet Akal Purakh, will pay all attention to their internal Jeevan.

A person walking on this path is more concerned about their Surtee than about how they look. Yes Gursikhs do wear make up, but they wear the make up of Naam. By applying worldly make up, we may think that we look beautiful. But the reality is that without the make up of Naam, our faces look horrifying. There are several Panktis in Gurbani stressing the importance of Naam, while explaining the uselessness of outward beauty.

ਫਰੀਦਾਤਿਨਾਮੁਖਡਰਾਵਣੇਜਿਨਾਵਿਸਾਰਿਓਨੁਨਾਉ॥
ਐਥੈਦੁਖਘਣੇਰਿਆਅਗੈਠਉਰਨਠਾਉ॥106॥

ਨਾਮਹੀਣਫਿਰਹਿਸੇਨਕਟੇਤਿਨਘਸਿਘਸਿਨਕਵਢਾਇਆ॥

ਜੋਜਾਨੈਮੈਜੋਬਨਵੰਤੁ॥ਸੋਹੋਵਤਬਿਸਟਾਕਾਜੰਤੁ॥

If we don't have love for Waheguru, Guru Sahib considers us dead! What to talk about outwardly appearance then?

ਅਤਿਸੁੰਦਰਕੁਲੀਨਚਤੁਰਮੁਖਿਙਿਆਨੀਧਨਵੰਤ॥
ਮਿਰਤਕਕਹੀਅਹਿਨਾਨਕਾਜਿਹਪ੍ਰੀਤਿਨਹੀਭਗਵੰਤ॥

For a Gursikh, the five Kakaars are jewellery. What would be more beautiful than a Gursikh japping Naam, wearing Neela Baana, Neela Dumalla adorned with Sarbloh Shastars?

Do we wan't to look like sons and daughters of Guru Gobind Singh or like rest of the world?

Well Mohkam Singh ji eloquently put it above it quite right.

But in my humble opinion most religions, people dress up properly to live in a society as we are all MAYA jeevs. Even Sikhs spends hours in front of mirror to tie their turban. Maya does not leave you even at later stages of Bhagti or at very high level.

So as far a makeup is done to make yourself presentable & not for any other ulterior motive it should be ok. We will do surgery to repair our face, if God forbid some accident happens. One cannot wear religious clothes at work. I could be wrong.

As mentioned in Gurbani, one can live a grashti life, making a living and still achieve God.

To be very honest, please forgive me as its not to offend anyone, when LOVE OF GOD arrives, you don't have any care, how you look, what you wear, where you are & even if your head is covered, if your walking, sleeping, or have you eaten anything but with power of Simran AMRIT will trickles your throat will nourish you all day. You are like a lost, dewaana person with minimal care of your surroundings.

Most respectfully, please forgive me as I am still learning & my knowledge is miniscule.

Please read this article as well Jee.

[gurmatbibek.com]

I would like to start off by saying that I can't pretend to completely understand what it is like to be insecure about my looks. I haven't had to face this in my life but I know that this can be a tough challenge for others. I know that your reasons for wanting to use makeup aren't really that bad, but please consider some things before making a decision.
You have said that in order to overcome the insecurity, makeup seems like the only option and that if you don't use makeup you always be insecure. I would like to disagree with this. Makeup is not the perfect solution that you might think it is. It is only a temporary way to cover up a self-confidence problem, instead of fixing the problem itself. (This may not be everyone's reason to wear makeup but from your question I think that is the case).
Please try to realize that makeup is a temporary way to put off having to fixing the self-confidence problem, which is the root. Makeup will not make you happy. Gaining self confidence will. That is the only solution.
So we should think about how to gain self confidence to bring you true satisfaction instead of a temporary solution through makeup.
Guru Jee has created each and every one of us himself. Therefore, we are perfect. People that cannot see this are the problem. You need to simply convince yourself of this fact.
To do this you need to jap Naam and read Bani. Through this, Guru jee teaches us. Society's false expectations and values are removed and Gurmat values are put in.
You also need to stay in Gursikh sangat. Being around people that think that you are imperfect and need makeup will not help you. Spend time with Gursikh sisters. They will help you and support you.
God wants us to be happy and all of the instructions given to us in rehat will give us true happiness. Disobeying rehat cannot lead to happiness, even if it seems appealing.
Our Dastar is a blessing from Guru jee, unlike makeup. I know some Singhs that don't use a mirror to tie their dastars, but I don't see anything wrong with it because I am tying a blessing from the Guru on my head. It's quite different from something like makeup.
Also, I am sure that there are many Singhnis on this site as well. Please answer these questions, because you can do a better job than a random Singh like me.

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But in my humble opinion most religions, people dress up properly to live in a society as we are all MAYA jeevs. Even Sikhs spends hours in front of mirror to tie their turban. Maya does not leave you even at later stages of Bhagti or at very high level.

sevak Jeeo, there is a line beyond which dressing up becomes " ਜਿਤੁਪੈਧੈਤਨੁਪੀੜੀਐਮਨਮਹਿਚਲਹਿਵਿਕਾਰ ".
As regards to we all being Maya Jeevs, there are two types of people. One, a little dirt falls on a person and he brushes it off. Second, a little dirt falls on a person, he cries that he is now dirty, and he jumps into a pile of dirt, giving the excuse that it does not matter if he gets more dirty since he was already dirty.

If you believe Sikhs follow the second mindset, kindly reconsider your thoughts. I am yet to see a Naam Abhiyaasi Gurmukh who spends more than ten minutes tying their Dastar, and I am being quite liberal with time here.

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So as far a makeup is done to make yourself presentable & not for any other ulterior motive it should be ok. We will do surgery to repair our face, if God forbid some accident happens. One cannot wear religious clothes at work. I could be wrong.

I'll say it clear.



This is not permitted in Gurmat at all.

If some accident happens, we would have a surgery done to repair our faces. How does this justify painting our natural God given faces? So are our natural faces made accidentally this way by Waheguru? Such a blasphemous thought!

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As mentioned in Gurbani, one can live a grashti life, making a living and still achieve God.

I think you are confusing Grishti Jeevan with Mayadhaari Jeevan.
Grishti Jeevan is Bhai Lalo's Jeevan. Naam Japna, Vand Chhakna and Kirat Karna.

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To be very honest, please forgive me as its not to offend anyone, when LOVE OF GOD arrives, you don't have any care, how you look, what you wear, where you are & even if your head is covered, if your walking, sleeping, or have you eaten anything but with power of Simran AMRIT will trickles your throat will nourish you all day. You are like a lost, dewaana person with minimal care of your surroundings.

What kind of love of God is it when we don't even want accept Waheguru's Daat as given to us?

A Sikh cannot do Waheguru Bhagti without Guru Bhagti. We clearly know what Guru Sahib wants us to wear. Don't try to mislead others by writing such things. Only a true Gurmukh can experience the state when ਦਰਸਨ ਦੇਖਤ ਹੀ ਸੁਧਿ ਕੀ ਨ ਸੁਧਿ ਰਹੀ ਬੁਧਿ ਕੀ ਨ ਬੁਧਿ ਰਹੀ ਮਤਿ ਮੈ ਨ ਮਤਿ ਹੈ, not someone who does not even have slightest Sharam and Bhaau of Guru Sahib.

According to what you said, lots of people can feel happy doing anything in maya like drinking alcohol, drugs, eating meat etc but that does not mean Vaheguru would want us to continue being happy in false pleasures that take us away from truth.

I think the problem is that you are not accepting what you have. If you feel you look unattractive when you look in the mirror, then accept that. There is nothing wrong with feeling ugly because looking beautiful does not make you perfect (at least to Vaheguru and Guru Sahib). In my opinion what makes someone beautiful are their inward qualities like compassion and innocence- that radiates on the outside. Focus on your character by practicing good qualities, and always be watchful of your bad qualities, so that you can remove them. If you try to mask your insecurity, you are going to want more. Its bit like people who undergo plastic surgery, they don't stop.

Anything we do can give us ego, but from what I've noticed when one becomes too engrossed in makeup/outward looks, they lose a quality of appearing humble and can subconsciously/consciously judge other people’s looks. The example you gave that using a mirror to tie our dastar incites ego does not make sense because Guru Sahib gave us this to help our sikhi and to remain simple. If someone is developing ego from what Guru Sahib has given to us, then that it is the individuals fault and they need to correct that.

If you are using makeup to hide skin problems like severe acne, it is understandable but ideally you should try to move away, be strong and content. Also, knowing there are much bigger problems in the world should stop us from looking at the small problems we may think we have.