Even so it ' s $ 10 for a fuck Ton <| sep |> That was a new low , even for him . <| sep |> That ' s a pretty cool factoid . <| sep |> Water is good for you <| sep |> It was a blast ! Already retired to the hotel room to prepare for a FEAST this afternoon . Happy Thanksgiving ! <| sep |> So you still think the reasoning for kesh , etc . , wouldn ' t be that out of line with that of walking around naked in appreciation of the natural form , and the only thing barring us from actually doing so is social concerns ? See my edit . Like most things in Sikhi , there are nuances involved that prevent Sikh premises from leading to such absurdities . Sikhi advocates a path of natural asceticism within a grihast framework . The vast majority of the adherents of either camp i . e . total renunciates vs average peoplehouseholders would rightly point out that something has to give during the syncretization of two utterly contradictory paths , otherwise you end up with an incoherent way of life . So instead of solely meditating in a state of detachment or solely partaking in society with its numerous distractions , we take a middlepath . We can serve man and God simultaneously we can sing His Praises and fight simultaneously we can turn the other cheek and forgive while pushing and killing tyrants simultaneously we can remain lowest of the low and highest of the high simultaneously we can welcome and embrace pain dukh daaroo sukh rog bhaiya without adopting the extreme selfmortifying ways of unnatural asceticism . We can alleviate the suffering of others while accepting His Will as supreme . Likewise , we can appreciate kesh as a gift of GodGuru , the natural I prefer the term beautiful since similar sentiments about kesh are expressed throughout Sikh scipture and literature form , and accept our functioning bodies without being dogmatic about it i . e . refusing to cut nails , wash ourselves , refuse medical treatment , etc . We can look after our bodies , improve our health for the purposes of practising Sikhi while remaining content with the purely aesthetic aspect , which does not hinder our Sikhi . Appreciation of the naked form is just one extreme end of the spectrum , with fullon cosmetic surgery other modifications being the other end . Once again , we have to reconcile social concerns with contentment as a virtue . Sikhi is pragmatic the necessity of the situation and context determines how one ought to act . Clothing is essential not only for the social aspect , but also health and wellbeing , and hence the practice of Sikhi . Let ' s not downplay these important differences in an attempt to construct a reductio ad absurdum . My point is this . If it ' s just about ego , there are plenty of other things Sikhs do kundiya muchhan , fancy pagh stylesbana that equally bolster the ego . I don ' t think there is an expectation that Sikhs completely forgo all individuality in the name of dissolving the ego . If those things bolster one ' s ego , why do them ? Unknowingly , Sikhs indulge in maya hiding it behind a tint of religiosity is simply going to be detrimental to their own spirituality . The Path of the Saints is narrow according to our Gurus we get attached to our style of paghs , the size of our karas , the upvotes we get through eloquent posts about gurbani I ' m guilty of this all the time . So let ' s not conflate the actionsattitudes of Sikhs with what Sikhi asks us to do . RE individuality and the expression thereof we have to be honest and ask ourselves what it is we ' re doing when we talk about expressing our individuality . Sure , the Khalsa itself is a distinct institution that ' s designed to standout for noble purposes . But what exactly does it mean to stand out among your own brethren ? How does that help you or anyone else ? Shouldn ' t we first become Guruorientated Sikhs and seek to eliminate our bases instincts of lust , anger , pride , greed and attachment lest they manifest themselves in subtle ways amidst our attempts to express our individuality ? I can ' t even say it ' s up to the individual to decide whether or not xyz is detrimental to their spirituality , for that would be manmat . Therefore , when it comes to tattoos , piercings , etc . , there should be a specific reason as to why these expressions of individuality are actually antithetical to Sikhi . The argument from natural form makes no sense to me . Is there actually a taboo on modifyingaltering the natural state of things and particularly the body within Sikhi in the first place ? People point to kesh , but there is a bevy of other reasons underlying that principle . The argument from naturalbeautiful form for kesh specifically is related to the other reasons I mentioned in my edit . Kesh is arguably the most prominent kakkar it was kept by all the Gurus , and all the bhagats AFAIK . It ' s just for identity purposes isn ' t a full answer IMO . I ' ve outlined the general attitude to active change vs acceptance of some state of affairs in Sikhi , and yes , Sikhi as understood by pretty much every sect absolutely rejects mutilation analogous to defiling the temple and activities like fasting that are thought to bring spiritual benefits , but are ultimately counterproductive or even sacrilegious within Sikh ethics . It ' s easy to derive other guidelines from the virtues of contentment and simple living , piety and detachment . I think the real reason most people are against tattoospiercings for SIkhs is because they look unsightly , and like I said , that ' s a reasonable answer in the name of maintaining a clear and dignified appearance . But this is disguised by wonton natural form answers , which are inherently unsatisfying and to my knowledge not rigorously supported by Sikh scripture . If the unsightliness of tattoospiercings was the primary motive , why would they be against dying and tying of beards ? Bhai Daya Singh ' s rehatnama for example is a general edict against adornments and beautification . Gurbani also rejects material adornments shingaar and tells us what kind of ornaments we should wear .