I am curious to understand the reason for keeping a shikha when we
shave our head. I recently shaved my head as part of my grand fathers
barsi and kept shikha on my head.
From a humorous stand point I have heard that it is kept so that if we
deviate from the path of devotional service then Krishna can pull us
back to right path by grabbing our shikha, but I think there must be
some reason behind it.
Please clarify above, as there is no point in following rituals unless we know the philosophy behind it.
Yours in service
Rajeev
You need to be a member of ISKCON Desire Tree | IDT to add comments!
Replies
Hare Krishna,
My humble obeisances,
Answer by Swami Gaurangapada:
Shikha is a tuft of hair at the back of head specifically kept by Vaishnavas and brahmanas. It shows the following two things:
(1) The Vaishnavas following a descending spiritual path that is they depend on the mercy of the Supreme Lord at every step to pull them out of Maya. So when we are drowning in Maya and only our head is out of the water, Guru and Gauranga can still pull us out comfortably by holding our head by this tuft of head called the shikha. So the shikha shows the subordination and dependence of the devotee on the causelessmercy of Lord Gauranga-Krishna at all times. The Mayavadis follow the ascending path since they egotistically confident of achieve God and coming out of illusion by the dint of their insignificant efforts or sadhan. So they do not keep a shikha because they do not need the mercy of the Lord.
(2) Shikha is also like a spiritual antenna on the top of head meant to show to the Lord and that we are aspiring recepients of His causeless mercy.
Tuft of Hair (sikha)
from Pancharatra Pradipa
According to the Vedic culture, when a person undergoes the
cuda-karana-samskara (hair-cutting ceremony) and upanayana (Vedic
initiation), he must shave his head, leaving a tuft of hair called a sikha
. One must have a sikha to perform any kind of yajna. Therefore in Indian
tradition all the brahmanas, Vaisnava or otherwise, keep a sikha.
Although there seem to be no sastric injunctions regarding the size of the
sikha, Gaudiya Vaisnavas traditionally keep the sikha about the size of a
calf's hoofprint, approximately 1.5 inches (5 - 6 cm.) in diameter. Srila
Prabhupada mentioned this in a conversation with some of his disciples in
Hawaii: "Gaudiya Vaisnava sikha is an inch and a half across -- no bigger.
Bigger sikha means another sampradaya.... And they have to be knotted."
(May 6, 1972, Hawaii; Srila Prabhupada Lilamrta V, page 93)
The sikha may be any length, but it should be kept tightly knotted and only
untied when you are washing,The Hari-bhakti-vilasa observes that members
of the upper classes even tie the sikha before taking the final ablutions
of a bath. This particularly applies when bathing in a body of water such
as a river or a lake, in which case to not tie the sikha prior to bathing
is considered low class and disrespectful to the sacred rite of bathing.
You may tie it in a simple manner for bathing, retying it more carefully
after the bath.* cleaning, or oiling it. Also, when going to sleep,
attending funeral rites, or observing a period of mourning, you should
keep the sikha untied. Since an untied sikha is a sign of a death in the
family, it is inauspicious to go about one's daily duties with an untied
sikha. It is also said that if one keeps the sikha untied, the body may
become weak.
While tying your sikha after bathing, chant the Hare Krsna mantra, or, if
initiated with Gayatri mantras, silently chant the Brahma-gayatri (first
line of Gayatri). The sikha should not be braided (traditionally only
women braid their hair), nor should it be kept long and disheveled.
Naturally, if the sikha is too short to be tied, it is all right to leave
it open, but it should not be disheveled.*
Hare Krishna!!!
So, i am a born Brahmin and practicing Krishna Consciousness from last almost 2 years. Naturally, a born Brahmin should have kept Shikha but in my region they don't follow it for different reasons.
What I did is- since I'm practcing Krishna Consciousness, in my new hair cut I kept Shikha but couldn't tie it because its too small to be tied.
I'm waiting to let it grow.
Is it okay?
Scientfically also a person who keeps SHIKHA will not suffer from hair loss and Shikha also attract cosmic energy which imparts enlightment.
HARE KRISHNA
Your humble servant
What I heard is that Sikha is from Sanskrit word Shiksha ………when we keep shikha it is a sign that we are following some instructions/life style/ philosophy
Also being dead part of body cutting hairs detaching from bodily conecpt and spending less time on them
Ideally it is kept at 1 1/2 finger size . Should always tie it as open is a sign of mourning
This is what I have heard from devotees
Dandvat! Thanks you very much for the answer.
Hare Krishna
Yours in service
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next