Regarding sikh women

[Questioner]

Dear lord I hope people are not still questioning whether women should be allowed to do certain things while on their period.

Guru Nanak Dev ji directly challenged the particularly Vaishnava belief in pollution and impurtiy being attached to the menstrual cycle.

Hence in Asa di Vaar they quite clearly refer to the period, before exclaiming that in reality impurity lies in the mind and one cannot simply become pure by washing the body.

Ours is the only faith that does not place taboos around the topic of menstruation. On the contrary, Guru Sahib openly and fiercely contradicted these beliefs.

If people still don't get this fundamental aspect of Guru Sahibs ideology, then I'm ashamed.

[Guest Anjali Singh]

yesterday i partook amrit...n one of the panj pyaras said that menstriationg women can do nitnem but cannot touch Guru Granth Sahib ji....i was disheartened bcoz Guru Nanak Dev ji has condemend all this .....So kyu maada aakhiye jin jamme raja....Superstitions have crept in this religion too...despite clear instructions from the gurus regarding this...

[Guest Asha Kaur]

Waheguru Ji ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji ki Fateh

I think that it isn't wrong for a woman on her periods to go to the Gurdwara. Guru Ji created everyone and created this natural process in women. I believe that menstruating is not a sin and should not come in the way of going to God's house and praying or doing Seva. Guru Ji created a woman and from her kings are born and if guru ji created this small natural process then he would be forgiving if a bibi was to come and sit in his presence on her periods or if she was to start while sitting nearby guru ji. Things like this put girls down nowadays, I was one of the girls who wouldn't go to gurdwareh because of menstruating but later learnt that guru ji had put this process inside my body to happen naturally and if it does occur it's not my fault, so why should I stop my prayers and Seva because of it?

[baDS8]

Good to clarify.Guru Grantha sahib has many references clarifying this.There is no such superstition to be followed.

[Guest Friend]

Waheguru ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji Ki Fateh,

Piare Bhen te Veer jeo,

Why are we so confused ?

Muslims, Jews and Hindus have the segregation of females who are menstruating from the general populace due to 'uncleaness' 'pollution' they are not to go to synagogue masjid or mandir ... This is oppression of women's spiritual needs....

Muslims say well because you are woman and you do not do your namaz during the monthly courses you are deficient in your love for Allah so are less than man

Jewish say well you get pollution from meat .... in the form of blood (which they wash from meat to make kosher) and when the women have menses there is pollution ....you are therefore not as desirable as us men to God....

Hindus believe in lots of different pollution issues including Sutak (pollution of the home by bleeding after childbirth) ... they say you are our Dasi so do what we say since we are your parmeshwar.

Sikhi is simple ..... All of us are equally desirable/undesirable to God , all of us Love Waheguru equally by remembering Him with every moment, we make mistakes and are fallible however let us not enter into 'bipran ki Reet' and start believing in Sutak and other non issues ...

We are here to cleanse our karmas from our mastak so Bol Satnam Shri Waheguru Sahib Jeo and be truly grateful that Waheguru ji has created us as Women with the blessing of the most supreme sewa of bringing new Gursikhs into this world and bringing them up. Being a woman is not a curse so don't any body convince you otherwise .... carry on with the Nitnem, Nam Japna, Sewa, Kirtan in the good faith that Waheguru's there for you

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji Ki Fateh

Hello Jasbir Kaur, I doubt that you will get to read this as this subject was discussed so long ago - I've only come across SikhSanghat recently...

So you will have had ten years in which to learn more about other people's faiths, and I hope you have been enlightened.

If not, may I take this opportunity to educate you on the Islamic, not Muslim, but Islamic attitude towards menstruation?

Muslim women are not allowed to participate in prescribed worship during menstruation. Going to the mosque is not an act of worship, per se; a woman might go these for an Arabic lesson, for a social gathering...etc. The idea of segregation is not an Islamic one, but an approach that reflects Hindu influences - you will not see the same attitude shared by Muslim women from the Middle East, North Africa or Europe.

Let's get back to prescribed worship which is praying 5 times a day and fasting during Ramadan. When a Sikh prostrates at a gurudwara, it is a single action and not repeated several times. When Muslims pray, we prostrate and claim the glory of God several times. Our prayer is a very physical act in which our concentration and focus should be on God, not on the woman in front whose sanpro has let her down. There is an unfortunate reality to menstruation which means that at times, however fastidious a woman is, whatever her faith or non-faith is, menstrual blood emits an odour that is weak in some women and strong in others. It is an off-putting smell especially in a congregation.

Prayer for us can begin as early as 3 in the morning, it is difficult to pray on time every single day of every single year - very devout Muslim woman might disagree and good luck to them. I find it a godsend that our Creator allows me a break every month from the obligation that men have no excuse to avoid. That doesn't mean that we don't receive or reflect on God's blessings when we have period or that we cannot read the Qur'an (you will find that Muslim women don't all agree on this point). It simply means that we have nice lie-in... Oh, and a well-needed break during Ramadan!

I don't feel cursed, segregated or in any way oppressed by my religion's attitude to menstruation. I feel blessed that the Almighty who created me knows what is best for me and allows me leniency during a week that might involve cramps, weakness and snappiness.

A woman is not considered to be polluted during her menstruation, (I believe Muslim scholars use Arabic which is not translated well into English), but the blood itself is not clean. That's just basic science. And a Muslim woman's spiritual closeness to God is in no way diminished during a period; if anything it's enhanced through gratitude for the time-off.

Thank you for taking time to read my reply. Happy New Year!!!

[sikhni777]

 

[Guest Jagsaw_Singh]

Generally, I don't interfere in women's discussions. I learn't that harsh rule from my wife the hard way. Suits...cooking....gossip...menstruation: It's all none of my business and I don't interfere. But.....just reading the discussion taking place on this thread, I just feel it's important to put you all back on the right path of discussion because I feel you've al veered too far of the track.

To understand the Islamic view on menstruation one needs to forget Islamic thought  and focus on the original Jewish thought, from whence the Islamic thought came. One needs to focus on the Laws of Leviticus and Niddah and understand that none of that archaic thinking from the Old Testament has any bearing on us as people of an enlightened faith: Sikhism.  The first thing one needs to understand is that their Abrahamic concept comes from the belief not of 'purity' or 'impurity' but one where blood is seen through ritual eyes as a source and vessel of other souls and life.  Whilst modern scholars of the original texts like to pin it down to purity and impurity and the fact that the Old Testament tries to justify it's stance by saying women themselves said "please shun us even more than 4 days or a week"..."we should be shunned from society even more" they can't hide from the fact that the Leviticus and Niddah equate the woman in menstruation in the same bracket as a murderer and worse than a rapist. To understand this kind of thinking about blood one has to understand the ritualistic use of blood in the Abrahamic religions. None of this has any bearing on the enlightened faith of the Sikhs.

Secondly, as an enlightened and scientific people (Sikhs), the Abrahamic teaching that menstruation is a sign of a woman's 'failure' of fertility holds no value to us.

Thirdly, we have to understand the we Sikhs hold no value to the teachings in the Old Testament that say a woman's menstruation is a reminder to man of woman's responsibility for all suffering and mortality in this world , i.e spilling the blood in perpetuity of some fella named Adam.

So you see there is nothing stupider and more ignorant than to see a Sikh prescribing to Old Testament ideas about menstruation without knowing the meaning of what he is prescribing to and whilst simultaneously ignoring the fact that he has been born into an enlightened faith that left such backwardness behind centuries ago.

Bring me a sister who is on her period. I will sit with her. I will eat food made and served by her hands. I will honour her. I will sit with her in front of our Guru and pray with her. I have no time nor care for Abrahamic principles. I am a Sikh.

[Guest Amandeep]

I’ve got one question if I’m on my period and I’m scared that when I sit the blood flows and it goes everywhere what Can I do if I’m wrong please tell me and tell me what I can do .

[Guest Make sure it doesnt]

Prepare yourself and make sure it doesn't. Go to the bathroom regularly and make sure. 

 

But for the love of God don't stay away from the Gurdwara just because u are on your period. 

 

God's everywhere. And if today is your dying day and you choose to stay away for a silly reason how would u feel. 

[jkvlondon]

On 11/11/2017 at 9:00 PM, Guest Amandeep said:

I’ve got one question if I’m on my period and I’m scared that when I sit the blood flows and it goes everywhere what Can I do if I’m wrong please tell me and tell me what I can do .

nothing to say you cannot wear closer fitting undies underneath your kacchera with longer nighttime style pads for extra assurance and control. I think every female is highly conscious of this problem so checks and double checks to avoid issues . Nowadays even cups are available for total control  look it up online .

For those people who say don't touch Guru Granth Sahib ji , do you not think Pothian are also Gurbani and deserving of same suchumta and if so are you saying bibian need to avoid handling them too ... so are we back to deficiency mentality because of pollution ? Would a bibi's sehaj paath be maximum 21 days so basically harder to fit around kids, family and work ? Would she have to not attend santhiya class during the cycle?