Proof That Indian Hair Itself is a Sacrifice
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By Aravinth Murugan answered on November 23, 2014:
“Many legends and myths. Here is a few to list: 1) Hair is considered as a pride for men. Tonsure your head for lord, means you are giving up your PRIDE for him. 2) During one of lord Vishnu's penance, a cow would give him milk regularly. Not knowing the fact that it was feeding lord Vishnu, the owner hits it with an axe. The god was humble by protecting the cow's head and took the blow to his head, thus losing out some hair. On seeing this, goddess Lakshmi cut few of her hair and pasted it on the injured head. Again, symbolizing the sacrifice of the thing that a women considered as beauty, Devotees tonsure their head.”
Source #10
An Article Written about the Hindu Religious Laws: “Hindu Tonsure”
“…If for any cause whatever, the boy's mother has made a vow to a certain god, it is the rule for this cutting of the hair to be made at the shrine of the god invoked. A pilgrimage is arranged to the place and there the ceremony is performed. If, for financial or other reasons, it is not convenient to make such a pilgrimage at the time when it is imperative to perform the ceremony, then the shaving takes place at home; but a small tuft is left near the sikha, to be removed at the shrine when opportunity for a pilgrimage occurs. Sometimes the hair that has been clipped off is preserved, and tied up in a cloth to the rafters of the house until a pilgrimage can be arranged. This is the only occasion upon which the hair is allowed to remain in the house, for cut hair is always considered impure. When opportunity offers, the hair is then taken to the shrine and thrown into the sacred tank of the temple, or delivered to the officiating priest for disposal. The god Venkateshvara at Tirupati is a favorite one in South India for such vows. This god also has a shrine at Dvaraka Tirumala, near Ellore in the Kistna District, which is for all practical purposes held to be as holy as Tirupati.”
Found at <http://www.oldandsold.com/books/hindu/hindu-6.shtml>
Source #11
Article Titled “Tirupati Balaji Temple” By Parikshit Bisen, on November 15, 2012:
“The Tirupati Balaji temple which lies on the Tirumala hill town of Tirupati lying in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India is one of the richest and biggest gold reserve centers of the world. The temple is so popular that thousands of people visit it just for a little glance of the god 'Venkatesh' who is also known as 'Balaji' who is an incarnation of lord Vishnu. Almost each and every devotee who visits this temple donates something to the temple in the form of cash, gold, diamonds, ornaments, jewelry, precious and valuable items in the temple 'hundi'.
Thus there is a particular department of temple handling this and big machines are installed in the temple to collect and track donations from the devotees. Donating hair in Tirupati is considered as a goodwill and thus the place is one of the biggest suppliers of hair for cosmetic and other purposes…”
Found at < http://tirupatibalajistory.blogspot.com>
Source #12
Yahoo Question and Answer Forum, answered by Indian people.
Question: Why do people shave their heads in Tirupati?
Awarded “Best Answer” on the Yahoo Answer post: By Sudhakar Kuruvada:
Here is my opinion on why tradition of tonsuring may have come into being. Hair is a matter of Pride (ego) for men and women alike. It is not easy to strut around with a tonsured head and through the days when the hair is re-growing without a form or shape. In offering your hair to God, you are in the spiritual sense offering your pride and ego to God…”
Found at <https://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120928114704AAhMdC3>
Source #13
Article from IndiaToday: By Amarnath K. Menon
“The sacred strands are given away with untold stories of sacrifice and thanksgiving: the birth of a baby, a good harvest after a drought, long life, good health and happiness. Believers say that the hair offerings are supposed to pay back the legendary loan that lord Venkateshwara took for his marriage expenses, which will be repaid by the end of Kalyug.”
Please note: immodest pictures appear on the webpage, which is why a link was not given.
Source #14
Article from IndiaParenting.com, titled, “Hair Care: My Head Shave Experience at Tirumala” Submitted on January 14, 2008:
During my school days and college days, I taken a vow to offer my hair to lord venkateswara, if I scoring good marks and placements, after those dreams come true, I was very happy and decided to offer my hair to lord balaji with pleasure. So to fulfill my vow I had decided to take a trip to tirumala on Saturday night. After finishing my office work I started to tirumala from Bangalore, my thoughts are filled with lord venkateswara and the hair offering ceremony, after a long time I am going to hair offering (Complete head shave, I remembered, I had cried a lot during my hair offering at childhood) but this time totally with joyful heart…
Source #15
Article titled, “Read This Before You Plan Your Trip to Tirupati” Did You Know?
The Tirupati temple is amongst the richest temples in the world. You will see people giving away bags of gold and other valuables at the Sri Vari Hundi here. It is believed that up to a whopping Rs. 650 crores are collected in donations every year. Story behind the donations: It is believed that lord Srinivasa had to make arrangements for his wedding. Lord Kubera credited money to lord Venkateswara (a form of the god Vishnu) for his marriage with Padmavathi. Together, Srinivasa and Padmavathi lived for all eternity while goddess Lakshmi, understanding the commitments of lord Vishnu, chose to live in his heart forever. In remembrance of this, devotees go to Tirupati to donate money in Venkateswara's hundi (donation pot) so that he can pay it back to Kubera. The hundi collections go as high as 22.5 million INR a day. Devotees offer gold as a token of their love for god.
Source #16
Article from The Wall Street Journal, titled ‘“Religion Today: The Great Indian Hair Auction.” This article shows that the hair is all gathered together based on length, once it is shaved. Published on May 31, 2012, by Joanna Sugden
“…Once a team of around 60 men has collected it, the hair is sorted each day into five categories based on length. The tresses are then dried because pilgrims’ hair is made wet during tonsuring and stored in chambers in stacks up to 2.5 meters high ready for buyers to inspect before the e-auction. The main buyers are companies… Sri Venkateswara Temple is planning another e-auction this fall after the Brahmotsava annual festival, when large quantities of hair will be offered…”
Please note: An immodest picture appears on the webpage. That is why a link is not present.
