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Is it mandatory to trim/shave hair on Head or tie a hair Knot ?

Posted by rami reddy k on May 19, 2012 at 10:24pm in Krishna

Hare Krishna Dear devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances.All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Is it mandatory to shave/trim his  hair on head  or tie a hair knot for a devotee to be qualified  go back to Godhead?

I have seen most of the senior devotees have trimmed their hair to little or shave their head  completely.Please forgive me if i offended anyone?

Your Servant,

Rami

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Replies

  • Gaura Das February 4, 2018 at 8:12am
    There are dozens of quotes throughout Srila Prabhupada's books where he expresses his displeasure towards long hair. I have just sited a couple below. Krsna and Balarama jumped off a mountain, danced Rasa Lila, killed giant demons, etc...so how can we compare ourselves to Krsna and Balarama wearing long hair ?
     
    Srila Prabhupada made this statement abut Lord Caitanya being like a long-haried hippy to create a connection for those hippies attached to their hair. This is a symptom of Kali yuga described in the 12th Canto. Srila Prabhupada also said he came to turn the hippies into happies.
     
    " Lāvaṇyaṁ keśa-dhāraṇam: "If one keeps long hair, then he thinks that 'I have become very beautiful.' " So these things have been ensured, as practically these are being, European and American countries, the boys are keeping long hair. They have (indistinct) hair. Lāvaṇyaṁ keśa-dhāraṇam. So there are so many symptoms" ~ Madras, February 14, 1972
     
    Lord Caitanya shaved up after he took sannyasa at 24 yrs of age, and remained shaved for the rest of his manifest pastimes. Our spiritual master , Srila Prabhupada never became a hairy Krishna , but remained shaved for the rest of his life after taking sannyasa.
     
    Lecture – Tokyo, April 27, 1972
    But as soon as I came to your country I saw the hippies – big, big hair. Kesa-dharanam. Kesa means hair. It is predicted. Just see. This is sastra: "In the Kali-yuga people will think very, think themselves of very beautiful feature by keeping long hairs." That is stated. This is called sastra. Five thousand years ago Bhagavata was written, and there the symptoms of Kali-yuga are mentioned, and this is one of the symptoms, lavanyam kesa-dharanam.
     
    Lecture – Bombay, November 15, 1974
    "Let us live together." Svikara eva codvahe. Dampatye ratim eva hi. Husband and wife relationship means sex. There is no other purpose. As soon as there is some difficulty in sex enjoyment, they will be separated. These are all mentioned. Lavanyam kesa-dharanam. Now, in the Western countries, here also, they're keeping long hair. So that will be beauty. Lavanyam kesa-dharanam. Lavanyam means luster of the body. The people will think, "If I keep long hair, then I have become very beautiful." The hippies, you see, long beard, long hairs. They are thinking, "We have become very beautiful." So these are all stated
     
    Letter to: Pradyumna, 17 October, 1967
    Regarding the hippy religion; we must distinguish ourselves from the hippies. The hippies generally maintain long hair & beard & in order to distinguish ourselves from them we should be clean shaved. When our devotees go outside I have no objection if he dresses as nice American or Canadian gentleman. Up to date gentlemen are all clean shaved so if we do not keep long hair & dress ourselves nicely with tilaka, flag & beads on the neck, apart from our devotional service, then certainly we shall be distinct from the Hippies. I think we should follow this principle rigidly"

    It is stated that the followers of Lord Siva who are ghostly haunted wear long hair, in addition to taking intoxicants

    Regarding the tieing of the sikha, this information is given in the Deity Worship book known as the Arcana - Paddhati :

    "Tying the Sikha  :  After bath one should wet his sikhii and while untangling it and gathering it together should chant in his mind the savitr-giiyatrimantra (oriz bhiir bhiiva!:z sva!:z tat savitur varet:zyariz bhargo devasya dhimahi dhiyo yo nal:z pracodayiit) . Then while chanting the kiimadeva-giiyatri-mantra (kliriz kiimadeviiya vidmahe PU$pa-biit:ziiya dhimahi tan no 'nailga/:1 pracodayiit) ' one should tie his sikhii in some type of slip knot so that it may easily be straightened out at the time of bathing. The sikhii should not be braided or kept long and dishelved. "


  • Volunteer
    Gourab Saha September 1, 2012 at 12:35pm

    Thankx Bhaktin Maral Mataji and Sudheendra Prabhu for putting such nice answers. 

    And it's economical too because by staying bald, you reduce your expenses on shampoos.

  • Volunteer
    anand patel August 31, 2012 at 4:21pm

    THE SHAVING OF THE HEAD.‏

    http://www.iskcondesiretree.net/group/krishnaconsciousness/forum/to...

  • Volunteer
    Sudheendra S May 23, 2012 at 9:17pm

    I was hearing one of the lectures of HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj in which he was sharing his experience in Varanasi before he joined the movement. Maharaj would sit in front of the burning dead bodies and meditate upon them. The realization Maharaj got from it was that we humans spend soo much to take care of our body throughout our life. Especially the hair. We are so accustomed that when ever we are going to meet a new person or some one superior to us, the first thing we do is to correct our hair style!!! This shows how bodily consciousness we are. After taking care of our body so well for soo many years, when the soul leaves the body, we just put the body into fire to burn it away. And Maharaj says, the very first thing that burns is our hairs. Within no time, all the hairs burn away. Bottom line is that there is no use to maintain this material body for our own enjoyment as some day, we have to give this up and move on to accept other body. That is why a serious devotee shaves up his head so that he does not develop any attraction towards them, wears simple dress so that he/she does not look beautiful and develop attraction.

  • Volunteer
    Mohini Madhavi May 23, 2012 at 2:39pm

    we have to be honest.

    If we have still attachment then no need artificially try to detach from it. Again, we have try to associate with Devotees.

    And for this time if it is comfortable for us with hair then let it be so. Preach about the glories of Krishna with Your beauty. If You are handsome with hair then good. Be enthusiastic and make others enthusiastic to sing and to chant the Holy Names.

    If it is beneficial to have hair for preaching then we will have hair if not then we will remove it. What is the question?

    Because of that do not get upset  Rami Prabhuji, but try to be with Devotees :)

    Your servant, 

  • Volunteer
    Mohini Madhavi May 21, 2012 at 10:26am

    it is not the basic reason why Krishna takes us to Spiritual world. But if we are attached to our hair it means we are not yet qualified to go to Spiritual world.

    Because we are still attached to this body and beauty after which comes prestige, respect...

    But when we progress little further then our attachments decrease and we will be able to give up our so called prestige and shave our hair. It is recommended for them who are not married and who are brahmacharis.

    It is helpful for keeping cleanliness and also with shaved heads we are less attractive and it is good for our spiritual life.

    But if we can not follow this rule yet, then no need to think bad of others who do follow this, but try to be sincere and chant the Holy Names very attentively and associate with Devotees.

    And detachment will come automatically.

    Your servant, 

    • Darian Blues > Mohini Madhavi May 21, 2012 at 8:26pm

      Disgust for the body is no different than attachment to the body, they r the same. The body is a temple, and one whom views it in such a way never feels disgust for the body nor attachment. One can only be attached to or feel disgust for that which one claims as ones own "I & Mine" mentality. So if one feels disgust for it, that too is born of ownership because how can u be attached or detached from something unless there is notion of ownership? Even thoe there r excellent points in shaving head and so forth and there is nothing wrong in doing and very serious practitioners and brahmacharis do this, and I am not speaking in there case but just to general public.

  • Volunteer
    Mohini Madhavi May 21, 2012 at 10:20am

    2539086713?profile=original anyways if we do not shave it for Guru and Krishna's pleasure than Durga Mata will do Her work. No need to worry much. 

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