Giving hairs to God in temples and Shaving the head – Real Reasons!
Mehra Amit asked like this:
“Hare Krishna Prabhu ji, please tell me why at Tirupati Temple, women devotees shaves their head….why they do it… and is this shaving of head is only for women and not for men.. please advise.”
REPLY:
‘Giving hairs to God in temples and Shaving the head’ is a kind of sacrifice and thanks giving.
(1) Sacrifice: Shaving head is the mark of sacrifice of our beauty that destroys our ego. It is also a small level of renunciation. Now a days, both men and women do that. No such restrictions to donate hairs.
(2) Thanks Giving: Many devotees pray to the God that they will contribute their hairs if that god fulfills their particular prayer like marriage, job, cure from diseases, etc. Once they get the benefits, they give their hairs as a mark of thanks.
(Scientific and Spiritual reasons and Procedure of having a SIKHA (small lock of hairs) on the shaved head by the devotees! READ HERE!)
Though this practice appears like a DEAL with the god, in the starting level of devotion, even devotion with the expectation of benefits is also allowed. Krishna Himself has approved as a stage of devotees. So, they are also the devotees.
They have to grow further to attain Nishkam stage of devotion. It may take more time for them.
Let it be. Not wrong.
Compared to the Thamo/ Rajo guna devotion of killing and offering animals for devathas, this type of Giving hairs to God in temples with some expectation of benefits is better.
Every part of India has separate devotional practices. In south India, offering the hairs is a prominent custom.
It is true that our hairs give a smart outlook for the people. When the devotee shaves his head, he is foregoing his beauty.
This also reduces his ego and the pride of being beauty.
In other words, he is placing his ego on the feet of God.
Further, when the person has beautiful hairs, he/ she will be disturbed by the opposite sex who are attracted by the beautiful hairs.
(28 SCIENTIFIC AND SPIRITUAL REASONS FOR WEARING TILAK (MARK ON FOREHEAD) READ HERE!)
But, with the shaved head, he will be having less disturbance from the opposite sex since he himself will hesitate to initiate his interactions towards the opposite sex. So, he will have more devotional thinking.
This reduces his attachment to the material affairs.
This is the main reason for shaving the head.
However, now a days, this practice is performed just as the rituals. The people just shave their head in a temple and after that they continue their usual way of life without getting reformed even 10%.
They give their hairs thinking that the god needs it (!!!) and also the temple will get revenue by selling the hairs.
Many such practices are performed without knowing the real purpose behind them.
(SCIENTIFIC REASONS FOR WEARING STONES IN FINGER RINGS AND PENDANTS! READ HERE!)
By selling the hairs, the temples earn crores of income. This is the only positive thing now a days.
The hairs are used to make wicks and also to produce proteins. There is a company in Puduchery Union territory In India that manufactures protein from the human hairs. (Ha Ha… when I was trying for jobs, I applied to that company for job seeing their press advt in The Hindu Paper. But, the call letter for interview came to me after the date of the interview.)
Thus, the sacrifice of hairs favour the temples only, not the devotees because they give the hairs as a ritual only.
Similarly, there is a belief that the people who visits Kashi (Varanasi) should give up one of their favourite vegetable or fruit or grain.
But, the actual advice is that one should give up any of his bad habits and attachments to the material world. Even if we accept giving up a vegetable or fruit or grain as the mark of deserting attachments, he should give up his most favourite vegetable or fruit or grain.
Is it happening? No.
(Scientific reasons for honouring Gurus, Vaishnavas and Cows though they are humans and animals respectively! READ HERE!)
But, he resolves in Kashi that he will not eat a vegetable or fruit or grain that he hates the most, or, that is very costly.
They do not give up any of his bad practices.
Thus, we are following good practices without knowing their meaning.
This practice of removing hairs is followed in the Vaishnava community also. Every sampradhaya has a system of shaving or growing the hairs as a mark of following a devotional and detached way of life.
This will help them to be safe without attracting the materialistic people towards them. Only the like minded devotees will approach them and associate with them.
In some religious sects, they encourage keeping long hairs and beard as the mark of devotional way of life.
(Scientific reasons to wear Saffron Colour dress by the renounced sanyasis! READ HERE!)
When we shave the head and face completely, we have to watch the face daily and shave again and again to keep the face and head without hairs. This consumes significant part of our time that can be spent in the devotional practices.
Contrarily, if we grow long hairs, we will find it difficult to maintain it.
Thus, there are problems in both the practices.
That is why, I give importance for internal changes in my preaching service.
If a person gives up his material attachments, he will not care to show either shaved head or long hairs.
He just shaves whenever possible for him and concentrate in devotion from within his heart.
(Science behind avoiding devotional Practices sitting on the floor! READ HERE!)
However, for resident devotees of temples and sanyasis, such devotional appearance is compulsory since it shows that their prime activity is to serve the Lord. Nothing else.
Other working devotees and students can be given some relaxation in the outlook. Since devotional service is not their main activity while studying or working, such relaxations can be permitted evaluating every devotee.
Dress codes and appearance should not become a cause for the “complex” for the students and employees. Instead, they can be allowed to remain in the normal appearance.
After taking devotional service as their full time activity, they can change their appearance.
Thus, Giving hairs to God in temples and Shaving the head have this much of reasons behind them.
(Science behind the dissolution of Lord Ganapathi Clay statues in sea or river! READ HERE!)