Holy Locks

“The long-haired one endures fire, the long-haired one endures poison, the long-haired one endures both worlds. The long-haired one is said to gaze full on heaven, the long-haired one is said to be that light … Of us, you mortals, only our bodies do you behold. …For him has the Lord of life churned and pounded the unbendable, when the long-haired one, in Rudra’s company, drank from the poison cup.”

-(The Keshin Hymn, Rig-veda 10.136)

(Dreading is not essential, and many people with fine hair don’t bother dreading it. Long hair is a living part of you, whether knotted or not.)

the long hair wears the flag of freedom, of Ajah…

as they say let your freak flag fly…

 Dreadlocks are usually intentionally formed; because of the variety of different hair textures, various methods are used to encourage the formation of locks. Also leaving long hair to its own devices by not brushing or cutting the hair will encourage it to tangle together as it grows, leading to twisted, matted ropes of hair known as dreadlocks. Dreadlocks are associated most closely with the Rastafari movement, but people from many ethnic groups in history before them have worn dreadlocks, including many ancient Semitic and Indo-Aryan peoples of the Near East and Asia Minor, Sadhus of Nepal, India and the Sufi Rafaees, the Māori people of New Zealand, the Maasai and the Oromo of East Africa, and the Sufi malangs and fakirs of Pakistan, and medieval Irish Warriors. The dreadlock is a symbol of pride in who you are, which is the self. In African religions the dreadlock to a man, as a mane is for a lion, we should all live as lions, Kings of the jungle, teachers of truth to the one people.Long Dreads express a spiritual significance which implies the wearer has special relations with spirits, is an immortal traveler between two worlds and the master over fire.

trimming the hair not only declines this gift of God but, in a sense, disfigures the shape of man. And the Ajah perspective, long hair helps raise the Kundalini energy that increases tranquility, vitality and intuition.

Cutting the hair impedes transmitting light from the bones in the forehead to the third eye, which affects brain activity, the thyroid, and sexual hormones. By cutting hair not only lose energy and nourishment, but that the body must then manufacture a great deal of vital energy in regrowing the missing hair.

Hair also directs sun energy to the frontal lobes where meditation takes place. These “receptors” act as conduits that allow greater amounts of cosmic energy.

dreaded Rasta

Locks are an expression of deep religious or spiritual conviction ,in fact several ascetic groups within various major religions have at times worn their hair in locks, including the monks of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the Nazirites of Judaism, Qalandari Sufi’s the Sadhus of Hinduism, and the Dervishes of Islam among others. The very earliest Christians also may have worn this hairstyle. Particularly noteworthy are descriptions of James the Just, first Bishop of Jerusalem, who wore them to his ankles

an elder sadhu with long dreads

Shiva and his followers were described in the scriptures as wearing “jaTaa”, meaning “twisted locks of hair”, among the Sadhus and Sadhvis, Indian holy men and women, locks are sacred, considered to be a religious practice and an expression of their disregard for vanity, as well as a symbol of their spiritual understanding that physical appearances are unimportant. The public symbol of matted hair is re-created each time an individual goes through these unique experiences.In almost all myths about Shiva and his flowing locks, there is a continual interplay of extreme asceticism and virile potency, which link the elements of destruction and creation, whereas the full head of matted hair symbolizes the control of power. Gangadhara Shiva captures and controls the river Ganges with his locks, whose descent from the heavens would have deluged the world. The river is released through the locks of his hair, which prevents the river from destroying earth. As the Lord of Dance, Nataraja, Shiva performs the tandava, which is the dance in which the universe is created, maintained, and resolved. Shiva’s long, matted tresses, usually piled up in a kind of pyramid, loosen during the dance and crash into the heavenly bodies, knocking them off course or destroying them utterly.
Locks in India are reserved nearly exclusively for holy people. According to the ‘Hymn of the longhaired sage’ in the ancient Vedas. (Hymn at the top of the page)

Putting hair up during the day helps absorb solar energy; keeping it down at night absorbs lunar energy. Braiding the hair down at night also helps balance out the electromagnetic field from the day’s activities. The best way to energize your aura and brain cells, and stimulate the pineal gland in the center of the brain, is by putting up the hair in a “Rishi knot”. (In India, a Rishi is a wise one who coils his or her hair on the crown of the head.) According to Yogi Bhajan, “The activation of your pineal results in a secretion that is central to the development of higher intellectual functioning, as well as higher spiritual perception.”

Natural Hair Care
There are many natural ways to care for hair:

Apply a mix of almond oil with a few drops of sandalwood oil to the hair
Jojoba and rose oil is great for healing curly hair
To prevent hair loss massage the scalp with coconut oil, then sit in sunlight until dry
Maintain good hair and scalp health with vitamin A, C, E and lecithin
Consuming onions and olives helps balance hormones and rejuvenates hair
Treat split ends not with trimming but a small amount of almond oil (leave in overnight but be sure to rinse!); it takes approximately 3 years for new hair receptors to form at the tips
Dry clean, wet hair naturally by sitting in the sun, which also allows the absorption of Vitamin D
Yogis recommend shampooing about every 72 hours
Washing the hair after an upset is emotionally beneficial
For better brain health keep hair natural and healthy; silver or white hair color increases the vitamins and energy flow that compensate for aging