Op/Ed: Karva Chauth by Kaurista
Posted: 27 Oct 2018 10:43 AM PDT

This morning I woke up and ate two aloo wale paranthe, had a glass of fresh orange juice and started thinking about what I should make for lunch. In other parts of the world there were other Sikh girls, like myself, who woke up earlier than I did, hours before the sun rose, and ate so that they could endure a whole day of fasting for the long lives of their husbands or future husbands. They are probably acting miserable right now and counting down the hours until the moon rises. Hope you’re having fun! 
I have always lived my life with my head held high and I do not bow in front of anyone except Sri Guru Granth Sahib; so why do our women follow these silly traditions and rituals? What can a man offer to a woman when she herself is more than enough capable of doing anything that he could ever do for her?  Not only are these silly rituals prohibited in Sikhism, but they are also a waste of time and effort.  Adi Granth (verse 1136) says,
I do not keep the fast (vrat) nor Ramadan.
I serve only the One who will save me in the end.
Why waste our times pleasing others in this world when the only one we should be pleasing is God? Everyone in this world will ask things of you, they will want actions and results; God only asks for us to live a pure and simple life in which we remember him constantly during times of happiness, sadness and weakness; he neither benefits nor detriments from our actions.
So I ask you — How will staying hungry benefit the life of another? All the time wasted fasting and then complaining about how hungry you are can be spent doing sewa at the Gurdwara, meditating and doing countless other good deeds that would actually serve a greater good.
Lastly, it may be that I am more against the fact that women fast for men than I am against the concept of fasting. In Sikhism, men and women are of equal status and neither one nor the other should believe otherwise.
From woman, man is born;
within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married.
Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come.
When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound.
So why call her bad? From her, kings are born.
From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all.
— Guru Nanak, Raag Aasaa Mehal 1, Page 473
Stay fresh, stay fearless.
Simrat Kaur
P.S. If you truly want your partner to have a long life, then I suggest exercise and a healthy diet!