Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, gave Sikhs the knowledge of kesh, of long, uncut hair. He told Sikhs to keep all hair intact.

There is a function that hair serves, sitting on the crown of the head. Sikhs believe that there is a reason in God’s scheme that hair grows and grows. In the Sikh view, each person’s hair grows to a particular length—which is the correct length for that person.

It takes approximately three years after the last time the hair has been cut to form antennae at the tips of the hair, and these antennae serve to draw in greater quantities of vitamin D from the sun and other more subtle forms of cosmic energy into the being. Sikhs believe that cutting the hair deprives the self of natural strength and vitality.

Guru Gobind Singh taught Sikhs to revere their kesh—their hair as sacred, to keep it clean and combed, and covered with a cotton cloth, wrapped in a turban.

Sikhs don’t cut their hair because when we go into the vastness of God, it comes into play.

When the hair of humans was cut for the first time, it was considered a punishment. In the tribal wars, when one tribe conquered the other tribe, those who were found healthy were made slaves. They would cut the women’s hair and shave the men’s heads as the sign of slavery. The full length of the hair on the head and the intactness of all the locks were considered to constitute dignity and freedom at that time.