"Waris Ahluwalia, Sikh actor and designer, barred from flight over turban dispute "
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/waris-ahluwalia-flight-mexico-1.3439017
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Why do Sikh men wear turbans? According to Sikhnet.com,
The turban is our Guru's gift to us. It is how we crown ourselves as the Singhs and Kaurs who sit on the throne of commitment to our own higher consciousness. For men and women alike, this projective identity conveys royalty, grace, and uniqueness. It is a signal to others that we live in the image of Infinity and are dedicated to serving all. The turban doesn't represent anything except complete commitment. When you choose to stand out by tying your turban, you stand fearlessly as one single person standing out from six billion people. It is a most outstanding act.
So many responded to this article by the CBC with thoughts similar to: "It's just a hat!" "When you're here, dress like us!" "What? Are you above the rules because you're a celebrity?" "Why do we people bend the rules for foolishness?" - These responses don't even concede the point that there are many reasons and very deep ones for wearing the turban, for Sikh men and women. Further in the Sikhnet.com article, you find it really isn't as simple as taking off a ball cap:
The 10th Sikh Master, Guru Gobind Singh, taught his Sikhs to take the next step: Put a turban on the head covering the coiled, uncut hair. The pressure of the multiple wraps keeps the 26 bones of the skull in place. There are pressure points on the forehead that keep you calm and relaxed. Turbans cover the temples, which protects you from mental or psychic negativity of other people. The pressure of the turban also changes the pattern of blood flow to the brain. (These are all reasons that women should also wear turbans.) When you tie up your hair and wrap the turban around it, all the parts of your skull are pulled together and supported. You feel clarity and readiness for the day and for what may come to you from the Unknown.God is the Unknown. He is mastery as well as mystery. Living with an awareness of your God within you and the God outside of you (God in all) is an attitude. Covering your head is an action with the attitude that there is something greater than you know. Your willingness to stand under that greatness of God is expressed by taking the highest, most visible part of you and declaring it as a place that belongs to the Creator. Covering your head is also a declaration of humility, of your surrender to God.Pressure points, mental and psychic negativity of others, blood flow to the brain, the hair tied up and the turban wrapped around it, clarity, awareness, humbleness, a declaration of devotion ... not as simple as a ball cap that proclaims you're on some team or other.
Sikhcoalition.org puts it this way:
The dastaar, as the Sikh turban is known, is an article of faith that has been made mandatory by the founders of Sikhism. It is not to be regarded as mere cultural paraphernalia. When a Sikh man or woman dons a turban, the turban ceases to be just a piece of cloth and becomes one and the same with the Sikh's head.Think about it.
The turban as well as the other articles of faith worn by Sikhs have an immense spiritual as well as temporal significance. The symbolisms of wearing a turban are many from it being regarded as a symbol of sovereignty, dedication, self-respect, courage and piety, but the reason all practicing Sikhs wear the turban is just one - out of love and obedience to the wishes of the founders of their faith.
