What Religious Reasons Are There for Growing Hair?
The religious meaning of hair dates back before the Bible as a symbol of faith, truth and higher mind. The world's leading saints, including Jesus, the Sikh gurus and Hindu prophets, never cut their hair because they believed it further connected them to God. Numerous stories are told of religious leaders with long hair and super-natural powers that become weak when their heads were shaved. Conversely, the shaving of the head can be an act of grieving, and women who lost their lovers at sea would often shave their heads. The Buddhist monastic tradition is to shave the head completely; Zen Buddhist's call hair "ignorance grass" and maintain their connection to the divine with a bald head as a symbol of commitment to their faith. The symbolic nature of hair depends on the religious tradition of each culture.
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Long-Haired Leaders
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The Bible refers to Sampson who had formidable spiritual power through the virtue of his long hair. When his hair was cut, he lost his power. The Sikh religion, founded in the fifteenth century in Punjab, India, is the fifth largest religion in the world. The Sikhs believe that hair is a symbol of God's perfection and uncut hair is submission to the will of God. They regard hair as a gift from God, and that hair has five basic functions: hair distinguishes men with beards and mustaches from women; hair, like skin, synthesizes vitamin D from sunlight; hair supplies the pituitary gland, located in the brain, with phosphorous, aiding meditation through this gland; hair on the body regulates body temperature; and eyelashes, nostril hair and ear hair forms a barrier that keeps out dust particles. However, to the Sikhs, hair's greatest impact is psychological. They maintain that people usually cut their hair to conform to others' standards. They believe that leaving hair uncut is less vain and more focused on God's will. Uncut hair also preserves Sikh identity--they would sacrifice their lives before their hair. Sikhs ultimately believes that hair enhances a person's ability to know God.
Electromagnetic Coils of Hair
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Many religions agree that long hair is like coils of wire that conduct spiritual energy. The more hair, the greater the concentration of power. Long hair serves as an antennae that connects us to the divine and aids us in living a life centered around God.
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Spirit of Hair
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Native Americans have long believed that hair is power connecting us to the Great Spirit. Hair was generally kept long by both men and women alike as a symbol of their growing spiritual awareness and personal power. The taking of the scalp in battle was a symbol of castrating the enemy. Some tribes would adorn themselves or their horses with a string of scalps as a symbol of absconded power.
Natural Truth
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The Nazarites represented celestial man with long hair. They believed this was the Lord's divine good in natural form. A head of hair signified natural truth and was written about in the prophecies of the Word, as expressed in the biblical Book of Ezekiel. The Nazarite who cut his (or her) hair was rendered weak and defenseless.
Natural Principle
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Angels are depicted with long, flowing, illuminated hair, which represents the relationship between their natural life and their spiritual purpose. Angel hair symbolizes love and wisdom. In scripture, men who shaved had no regard for truth, while bearded men were considered angelic.
Jewish Tradition
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Jewish men are often seen with long, flowing beards that they never cut. The older they get, the longer the beard and the greater the wisdom. This symbolizes their connection to the divine element. Ancient Israelites considered baldness a sign of calamity and grief.
Hair Equals Honor
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Scandinavians equated long hair with honor and considered it a disgrace to cut it. Historically, Russian, Greek and the Armenian clergy all had long hair. In Asian cultures, the Samurai, sacred warrior and protector of the emperor, wore his hair in a long ponytail symbolizing his prowess as a warrior. When one Samurai overtook another in battle, the scalp of the former was taken by the victor.
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- Photo Credit Tracy Renee Stefan, Jon Thomas Rasmussen
