What does “Rehat Pyaaree Mujh Ko, Sikh Pyaara Naahe” mean?

The contemporaries and beloved Sikhs of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, recorded the Tenth Master’s oral instructions and given discipline in Rehatnamas (Codes of Conduct). Bhai Desa Singh Ji’s Rehatnama states:

ਰਹਿਤ ਪਿਆਰੀ ਮੁਝ ਕਉ ਸਿੱਖ ਪਿਆਰਾ ਨਾਹਿ ॥
“More than a Sikh, dear to me is to follow the rules of the Sikh conduct.”
(Bhai Desa Singh Rehatnama)

The statement stresses the need of living like a Sikh and following the Sikh code of conduct sincerely, and not just appearing as a Sikh outwardly.

In English, they say: “Handsome is what handsome do”. One is valued for what one does and how one behaves. If one appears good but does not do good, that person is not to be considered good.

The Guru says that one is loved by him not because one looks like a Sikh but because one lives a good moral life as desired by the Sikh Rehat (Code of Conduct). We use this statement to motivate Sikhs to practice Rehat to love God, to recite Gurbani, to live honestly, to share one’s earnings and to wish well for all humanity. Doing all this, one also feels self-esteem in maintaining the 5K uniform of a Sikh. If any Sikh is found ignoring this kind of life, he is reminded of duties and requirements of a Sikh by repeating the above statement. A Sikh is made to feel that it is the character and virtues of a Sikh which makes him acceptable to the Guru and also acceptable to God.