Bana during Kirtan seva

Please ponder upon these few points;

- Gurmukhi attire. Dastara/ Bana
- Hazuriya
- Suchai Bastar
- Humble/ respectful dress

In order to obtain Guru sahib's khushia, we must fulfill requirements set by Guru sahib and Panth. Its a humble benti that we all make sure that the rehit of bana is kept during seva and whilst joining sangat. Bana is a must for every gursikh and wearing anything other than bana to gurdwara sahib is not acceptable.

Meharbani Bhenji for saying it so straight forward. Actually it must be followed by by all Gursikhs/Bibian to make sure that the above standards of Sangat are met during any Sewa if not always. Actually it should be tried to be in BANA wherever possible. I know if even the people on this site starts with that it would reach out quickly to many more.

Bhul Chuk Maaf !!

Hanji Gursewak bheinji. You are right. Bana is a given rehit and every gursikh should always remain in bana. Sadly, many don't keep this rehit as a daily rehit. The worse case is that some gursikhs do not abide by the rehit of bana at local kirtans whilst they do at smagams and rainsbhais. It is a humble benti to all gursikhs that this rehit be adopted so that they can obtain Guru sahib's khushia.

The humble servants of Guru Sahib, the true seekers of Vaheguru always live in the love and fear of Guru Sahib. Whenever they go to Gurdwara Sahib or in Sangat, they make an extra effort to make themselves pleasing to Guru Sahib. Like a Pati-barta Istree (wife devoted to her husband), they dress and present themselves in such way that is Gurmukhi in nature because Gurmat is dearest to Guru Sahib.

What would you think of a woman who dresses untidy in front of her husband but when meeting other men does all kinds of Shingaars and wears best clothes? Same is the condition of a person who wears the attire that his boss likes when going to work and wears the attire that people in general find acceptable, when going to stores and for shopping but when going to the Darbar of King of Kings - Siri Guru Granth Sahib jee - wears such attire that is totally unsuitable for the place.

A few years ago, it was unheard to see Sikh women wearing anything other than Punjabi suits or Baana to Gurdwara Sahib but in the last few years, it has become common to see Sikh women wearing tight pants and small tops when going to Gurdwara Sahib. How do they Matha-tek to Guru Sahib like this? When they matha tek, the clothes they wear hardly covers their body. What has happened to the Sharmo-Haya (Shame) of our people. Upset at this, a few years ago, the Delhi Gurdwara Committee had asked all Sikh women to stop wearing pants and skirts to Gurdwara Sahibaan. At that time, many were accusing them of following Taliban. Worse thing is that if you say such thing, the first thing they would say to you is, "do you go to Gurdwara Sahib to see what women wear?" Fearing this, most Gursikhs who want to save their respect, keep quiet and swallow this Be-sharmi (shamlessness). But keeping quiet is not an option. All Gurdwara Committees should take steps to educate the Sikh sangat about appropriate attire for Gurdwara Sahib. Most of the Sangat is ignorant about what they should wear and what not and what better place to get educated but Gurdwara Sahib?

There is an interesting tale in Aanmat (other religion) literature. Once Hanuman noticed Sita jee placing Sindhoor (red powder that married Hindu women place on top of their forehead) in her forehead. Hanuman asked her, "Mata jee, why do you wear Sindhoor on your forehead?" Sita jee knew that Hanuman had a simple mind and being in rush for something else, she did not have the time to explain in detail why she wore Sindhoor; so she tersely answered, "Your Pita jee (Raam Chandra) likes it very much, so I wear it." Hanuman was thrilled to hear this. He went out and got hold of whole bunch of sindhoor and covered his whole body with Sindhoor. He thought that Sita jee is able to please Raam Chandra with a small amount of Sindhoor, then he can surely please Raam jee by applying Sindhoor on whole of his body. When Raam jee saw him in this state he laughed a lot and this convinced Hanuman that Raam jee was pleased with him. To this day, Sinchoor is applied to the idol of Hanuman.

The point that this Daas wants to make is not about Raam jee, Sita jee or Hanuman but about love we should have for our Master - Guru Sahib. A Gursikh's life revolves around only one thing - pleasing Guru Sahib - because he knows that if Guru Sahib gets pleased then alone he can meet Vaheguru. The Aashiqs of Guru Sahib are willing to sacrifice their whole life for the single Hukam of Guru Sahib. Bhai Sahib Randhir Singh jee reached the state of Brahmgiaan but he still kept Rehit to the utmost level. We hear of some so called Sants who even remove Kakaars when they attain some spiritual state. Bhai Sahib has written that doing so amounts to expressing ungratefulness to Guru Sahib.

Many Gursikhs have worldly restraints due to which they have to wear worldly clothing as some places or ocasions but even when wearing worldly clothing, care should be taken to ensure that the attire is befitting a son or daughter of Siri Guru Gobind Singh jee. When doing any Sewa related to Gurmat Samagams e.g. Kirtan Samagam, Siri Akhand Paath Sahib, Langar Sewa etc. acceptable Khalsa Baana should be worn. Sometimes we see that so called Grishthee Premis who want to distinguish themselves from Gurdwara Raagis, perform Kirtan on Gurdwara stage wearing pant-shirt and tying their beard. This is so wrong and these people are setting such a bad example for others and destroying Khalsa traditions and Maryada. May Guru Sahib bless them with some Bibek-Budh.

Bhul Chuk dee Maafi jee.

Daas,
Kulbir Singh

kulbir singh veerjee, the DSGMC decision was controversial for one main reason. while it's true that women need to retain modesty in gurdwara sahib, saying that they can't wear western attire while all of the men there are in western dress seems a bit biased.

of course i prefer suits/bana at gurdwara. but we can't set one standard for women and a different one for men. make the men wear kurta/pajama or bana and everything would be fair.

i agree, we should keep to the standard of (modest!) punjabi suit/kurta pajama or bana at gurdwara, as well as in our daily life (if possible).

also, we need to make sure our suits are modest as well... tight suits, churridar, sleeveless suits are clearly not acceptable.

I agree with your thoughts Bhain jeeo but I would like to point out that modesty standards are clearly different for men and women because of the differences in their bodies.

Having said that, you are correct in saying that both men and women should dress in attires that are acceptable in Gurughar. My original post was geared towards both males and females. Gurmukhi baana is for all. Daas does not believe that men are allowed to wear anything they want and women should be suppressed. One of the most ugly sight for me is when I see a Muslim sister very respectfully dressed and has her head covered respectfully with a Hijaab but her husband is wearing Western clothes. It's as if in their religion/culture the modesty only applies on women. Just want to clarify, that the this scene is ugly not because of the respectful Hijaab-wearing Muslim sister but because of the joker who is accompanying her.

Kulbir Singh

Good points to think about made by Amritvela Penji

Just wanted to say one thing.

Baana is not only there to please Guru Sahib.
When you wear Baana it makes you feel good as well, how can it not, its Guru Sahibs personal Roop given to the Khalsa.

When you wear Baana as your out and about, you carry a big responsibility, because you represent the Khalsa Panth. people look at you with either a lot of respect
personally when i go out to help out my dad where he works, a lot of asian people are about, and they all are so respectful to me, not because i'm so great,only because of Guru Sahib's Baana. when they talk to my father or other people they will talk so much nonsense.
When someone wearing Baana does some stupid act, like going to restaurants, it makes us feel so bad.

A little of topic.
I was just thinking, you know like people say Gursikh should be dharni of Baani and Baana. which Baani should the Gursikh be dharni of? obviously Guru ki Baani, which is Gurbaani. and which Baana should the Gursikh be dharni of, obviously, Guru Ka Baana, so would that be Gurbaana. just a new word i was thinking of.