Five Ks: Encyclopedia II - Five Ks - Kesh uncut hair
Five Ks - Kesh uncut hair
A Sikh never cuts or trims any hair, to indicate the perfection of God's creation. The comb keeps the hair tidy, a symbol of not just accepting what God has given, but also an injunction to maintain it with grace.
There are many theories regarding why Sikhs keep the Kesh. Some believe that Kesh have a practical function for accessing spiritual energy. Others believe that the reasons to keep hair come from socio-political reasons at the time of founding of Khalsa Panth. Still others believe that Sikhs keep hair in reverence and as an expression of love for their Guru much like a married person would wear a wedding ring.
The basis of practical function theory is rooted in the belief that the body has energy centers. The one that is required to experience God is known as the Dasam Dawar (The Tenth Gate). This is located at the crown of the head and when the kesh is tied at the top of the head in a knot, the person's chance of experiencing God increases.
The hair is believed to increase the spiritual energy that one projects whilst meditating. It is notable that many holy men from various faiths, Jesus, Ram and Krishna, have their images with long hair.
At the time of founding of the Khalsa Panth, it is believed that Guru Gobind Singh made keeping unshorn hair, Kesh, mandatory for his followers to give them a unique and binding identity, something like a uniform in school. The fact that a Sikh could be recognized from among thousands meant that Guru's followers could no longer escape from trying circumstances calling on their duty.
Sikhs have suffered many persecutions, but have always fought to keep their hair. There have been stories of men having offered to have their skullcaps removed, rather than have their hair shaved at the hands of persecutors.
It has been asserted by some that the length of one's hair is linked to intelligence, health, spirituality and many other things.
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Kesh uncut hair", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki | 
