Whoa whoa whoa.. easy there man. I'm Sikh and it's not a blade or a huge knife.. in fact that's an insult and rather than assuming what the purpose of it is, I'll be glad to clarify.. there's nothing worse than assumptions based on a religion.
A baptized Sikh carries 5 articles of faith on him at all times, they are never removed. This is the Sikh uniform, it is the way of life for a Sikh much like a Shaolin Monk or Samurai. The 5 articles of faith all start with the letter 'K' so they are referred to as the 5 K's.
- Kesh Kesh means hair. A Sikh should treat his hair as a gift from God himself. It is His trust. To keep this God-given form intact is the first and foremost duty of a Sikh. The hair is a symbol of faith, and keeping long hair confirms a Sikh's belief in the acceptance of God's Will, and teaches him Humility and Acceptance.
- Khanga Khanga means comb. Sikhs use a small wodden comb because it can be worn easily in the hair all the time. Apart from its practical utility, a comb is clearly a symbol of cleanliness. Just as a comb helps to remove the tangles and cleans the hair, similarly a Sikh is reminded to get rid of any impurities of thought by repeating 'NAAM' (God's name) in his mind.
- Karra Karra literally means a link or bondage. It is a steel bracelet which is worn on the right hand wrist like a wedding ring which signifies a bond between the two people. The Karra is the Guru's own symbolic ring to all his Sikhs signifying their unbreakable link or bond with the Guru as well as among themselves, belonging to the brotherhood of Khalsa. Also the circle is a symbol of restraint and in practice a constant reminder to the Sikh of ideal behavior in the event of weakness.
- Kachha Kaccha is a pair of shorts. This is special, slightly longer type of underwear and is symbolic of continence and a high moral character. Like breeches, Kaccha can be worn on their own without causing embarrassment. Thus it is quite useful in hot weather, swimming and sports activities.
- Kirpan Kirpan comes from the word 'KIRPA' and 'AAN'. Kirpa means an act of kindness, a favour; and 'aan' means honour, respect, self-respect. It is an instrument which adds to self-respect and self-defense. Thus for Sikhs, Kirpan is the symbol of power and freedom of spirit. All baptised Sikhs should wear a short form of Kirpan (approx. 6" to 9" long) on their body. To call it a dagger or knife is rather insulting to this article of faith, which functions quite differently from the other two.
From the millions of Sikh's world wide, there has never been any sort of news regarding using a Kirpan as a weapon (to my knowlege).. it's it NOT a weapon. Can't say the same thing about guns can we? The only times we used Kirpan's as weapons were back in the day, when civil wars were prominent.
Please don't insult something you don't understand.. I've read a lot of your posts and you seem like a very knowledgeable person. Hopefully this clarifies it's use.
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