Siri Chand, the eldest son of Guru Nanak Dev, lived his life as a celibate recluse. Siri Chand once met with Guru Raam Daas and they entered a dialogue debating the virtues of an aesthetic way of life verses the spiritual opportunities of the householder.

Siri Chand insisted that one had to stay away from society in order to advance spiritually. Guru Raam Daas maintained that for the common person, the path to spirituality lay in personal commitment, service, and humility, remaining all the while focused on the name of God.

Siri Chand taking note of the great length of the Guru's flowing beard, remarked on its attributes, comparing its length to the Guru’s wisdom, and his exalted position in life. Guru Raam Daas replied that the length of his beard mattered not so much as its purpose, and that he had let his beard grow to such a length so as to be able to wipe the dust from the feet of holy men like Siri Chand.

Guru Raam Daas wrote:
"Je ho(n)dai guroo beh tikiaa tis jan kee vaddiaaee vaddee hoee"||
"Whomever the Guru Himself has anointed with humility, exalted is the magnificence of that one". (SGGS||309)

Similarly it is the humility, in which an Amritdhari lives, rather than the rank of Khalsa, which exalts that one spiritually.

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Amritsanchar baptism or initiation.