Science of Breath (S.K.Y): Effective stress relief through the breath.

Daily Do's

Guruji said five Yagyas we all have to do every day:

1. Ask yourself Who am I? Be with yourself for sometime, Meditate.
2. Feed some birds or animals.
3. Respect any guest, the people around you.
4. Nurture trees and plants. Grow some plant or tree.
5. Discuss some Knowledge for some time with a few people around you. Find the time to read at least 2 shlokas of Geeta.

HERITAGE OF THE TURBAN

To Sikhs, their turban is sacred. Their Gurus instructed them to wear it, and they have sacrificed their lives to protect its honor. The following collection of how the turban has been regarded throughout history has been put together for your information.

"Once they enter the gates of the court, they are to wear linen vestments, They shall wear linen turban, and linen drawers on their loins." (Old Testament: Ezekiel 44:18-19)
The name "turban" is found in this form in European languages only: English-turban, turbaned; French-turban, tulband; German-turban; Italian, Spanish and Portugese-turbante; Dutch-tulbans; Romanian-tulipan; and it is generally traced to the Persian sarband. In Turkish sarik is the usual name for turban. In ancient Egyptian civilization the turban was considered an ornamental head dress. They called it pjr from which perhaps is derived the word pugree, so commonly used in Punjab and India. The Egyptians removed the turban at the time of mourning, a custom which prevailed in the Punjab up to the end of the last century. The Sikh apostle, Bhai Gurdas Ji humorously narrates an incident in his Vars, that when an elderly Punjabi came to his home with his turban accidentally off, the women folk took it to be a sign of mourning and started weeping and wailing although no one was dead. The old man's turban, off his head, gave a false alarm.

Turban in Old Testament
Put on the turban as the Lord has commanded Moses: One of the commands of God to Moses was to wear turban as the symbol of prophet hood, holiness and divine power. This was a command obeyed by the Jews and the Muslims for centuries and ignored or forgotten by the Christians.

"They made the tunic of fine lines, woven work for Aaron and his sons, the turban of fine linen, the tall head dress and their bands all of fine linen, the drawers of finely woven linen, the sash of woven linen, as the Lord had commanded Moses." (Exodus 39,27)

The Turban, the Tunic, and the Drawer as the Priestly Vestment: All these three costumes, the turban, the robe and the drawer continued to be essential parts of the priestly dress among the Hebrews after the exile. They all have an old independent history, and it is not easy to explain how they came to be combined into an independent priestly uniform:

"These are the vestments they must make: breast plate, ephod, robe, embroidered tunic, turban and girdle." (Exodus: 28-4)

The Turban as symbol of Dedication, Consecration and Essential for Anointment: The anointing of men with missionary zeal and prophetic missions required some ceremonial activities like pouring oil and fixing some mark on the turban, which was actually the crown of the priests. In a more refined form these ceremonies have symbolically survived in the Punjab till today.

They made a rosette of pure gold as the symbol of their holy dedication and inscribed on it as the engraving on a seal, "Holy to the Lord"; and they fastened it on a violet brand to fix it on the turban at the top as the Lord had commanded Moses. (Exodus 39-31)

He put the turban upon his head and set the gold rosette as symbol of holy dedication on the front of the turban as the Lord had commanded him. Moses then took the anointing oil, anointed the Tabernacle, and all that was within it and consecrated it. (Leviticus 8,9)

Set the turban on his head and the symbol of holy dedication on the turban. Take the anointing oil, pour it on his head and anoint him. (Exodus 29-6)

You are to make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, "Consecrated to Yahweh as a man engraves a seal." You will secure this to the turban with a ribbon of violet purple, it is to be placed on the front of the turban. The tunic you must weave of fine linen and a girdle, the work of a skilled embroiderer. (Exodus 28-36)

Kingly Turban: The turban was the symbol of royalty and was used in place of the crown. It was an article of kingly regalia. Throughout the Islamic world, it still continues to be used in place of the crown where monarchy exists.

For Jerusalem's sake I will speak out. Until her light shines forth like the sunrise, her deliverance like a blazing torch, until the nation see the triumph of your right, and all king see the glory. Then you shall be called by a new name, which the Lord will pronounce with his own lips, You shall be a glorious crown in the Lord's hand, a kingly turban in the hand of your God. (Isaiah 62:2-10)

Turban as the symbol of Stoic Courage in the Face of Grief: During mourning the people usually took off their turban, but the brave and the holy are neither supposed to weep, nor lament, nor take off their turban. They are to wear turban as the symbol of stoic courage.

You are not to lament, not to weep, not to let your tears run down. Groan in silence, do not go into mourning for the dead, knot your turban round your head, put your sandals on your feet, do not cover your beard. (Ezekiel 24:17-19)

And you are to do as I have done, you must not cover your beards, or eat common bread; you must keep your turban on your head, put your sandals on your feet, do not cover your beard. (Ezekiel 24:17-19, 23-24)

The Turban as Symbol of Dignity and Self-Respect: The turban, during the biblical world, as it is among the Indians and Arabs who wear it, was a symbol of Dignity, self respect and authority. A blemish on the turban meant a blot on one's character. So it was during the time of Old Testament Prophets, and so it is now among the Sikhs and Arabs. An insult to the turban meant unbearable insult to one's personality. To take away the turban meant subjugating a person and humiliating him. During freedom movement Sikh prisoners were forced to wear caps which they refused. "When God takes away the turban," says Prophet Isaiah, "he takes away the dignity of man."

That day the Lord will take away the ankle ornaments, tiares, pendants and bracelets and veils, the expensive dresses, mantles, cloaks and purses, the mirror, linen garments, turban and mantles. (Isaiah 3:22,23)

For Babylonians Turban was Symbol of Youth and Strength: The turban and beard gave them such attractive personality that women who had not seen them were infatuated by their personality. No sooner had she seen wall engravings of men, painting of Chaldeans, colored vermilion, men with sashes round their waists and elaborate turbans on their heads, all so imperious of bearing portraits of Babylonians from Chaldea, then she fell in love with them at first sight and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.

Belts were round their waists and on the heads turbans with dangling ends; all seemed to be high officers and looked like Babylonians natives of Chaldea. (Ezekiel 23: 14-17)
Turban as Symbol of Justice and Charity: When Job surveys his life and protests his innocence, he recounts the good he did during his days of prosperity. He identifies the turban with righteousness and uses it as a metaphor for justice, charity and kingly dignity.

I had dressed myself in righteousness like a garment. Justice for me was a cloak and turban. I was eyes for the blind and feet for the lame. (Job 29:14)

Turban as Symbol of Purity: Now Joshua was dressed in dirty clothes as he stood before the angel of God. The angel said these words to those who stood before him: "Take off his dirty clothes, cloth him in splendid robes of state and put a clean turban on his head." They clothed him in splendid robes of State and put a clean turban on his head. The angel said, "I have taken away your inequity from you." (Zechariah 3:4-9)
He shall wear a sacred linen tunic and a linen drawer to cover himself and he shall put on a linen sash around his waist and wind a linen turban round his head and these are sacred vestments and he shall bathe before putting them on.

Thus a clean body, a clean white turban were pre-requisites for spiritual development of clean mind and pure soul. (Leviticus 8:9)
The turban has long been considered the crown of spirituality; it is essential to Sikh Dharm and has a special significance too in religions like Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It is interesting to note that in Islam, the angels and all the prophet are represented as wearing turbans.

Prophet Muhammad himself spoke strongly in favor of the turban, as can be seen from the following hadiths (i.e. saying of Prophet Muhammad):

"The turban is a frontier between faith and unbelief."

"My community shall not fall away so long as they wear turban."

"At the day of the judgement, a man shall receive a light for each turn of the turban round his head."

"Wear turbans, for thus you will gain in generosity."

"Wear turbans and thus distinguish yourselves from the peoples who came before you."
It is unfortunate that the typing of turbans has become a rarity in other religions - lets hope we can fare better !

Consequences of Eating Meat

It is very true that plants do have life but the karmic energy and consequences of eating plants do not compare to those of an animal which has nervous systems; feeling, possible thoughts, parental instincts towards is offspring. Also plants/vegetables that we eat are not harmful on a mental, spiritual level but are in fact good for digestion.

Guru ji hunted for war preparation, and endangered animals, not chickens or goats.

Lets see the world hunger issues.


World Hunger & Resources
The Natural Resources Argument against meat-eating
60 million people will starve to death this year- 60 million people could be adequately fed by the grain saved if Americans reduced their intake of meat by 10 percent.
More than half of all water used for all purposes in the U.S. is consumed in livestock production. The amount of water used in production of the average cow is sufficient to float a destroyer (a large naval ship).


World Hunger & Resources 2
If every human ate a meat-centered diet, the world's known oil reserves would last a mere 13 years. They would last 260 years if humans stopped eating meat altogether. That is 20 times longer, giving humanity ample time to develop alternative energy sources.
Thirty-three percent of all raw materials (base products of farming, forestry and mining, including fossil fuels) consumed by the U.S. are devoted to the production of livestock, as compared with 2% to produce a complete vegetarian diet.


Environmental Costs
From 1960-1985 over 40% of the central American rainforests were destroyed to create grazing land for cattle.
More than a third of all raw materials consumed in the U.S. are used in animal production. Beef production alone uses more water than is consumed in growing the nation’s entire fruit and vegetable crop. Producing a single hamburger patty uses enough fuel to drive 20 miles and causes the loss of five times its weight in topsoil. In his book The Food Revolution, author John Robbins estimates that “you’d save more water by not eating a pound of California beef than you would by not showering for an entire year.” Because of deforestation to create grazing land, each vegetarian saves an acre of trees per year.




The Human Health Toll
There is some evidence to suggest that the human digestive system was not designed for meat consumption and processing, which could help explain why there is such high incidence of heart disease, hypertension, and colon and other cancers. Add to this the plethora of drugs and antibiotics applied as a salve to unnatural factory farming conditions and growing occurrences of meat-based diseases like E. coli and Salmonella, and there’s a compelling health-based case for vegetarianism.
The factory-farmed chicken, cow or pig of today is among the most medicated creatures on Earth. According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, the use of antimicrobial drugs for nontherapeutic purposes—mainly to increase factory farm growth rates—has risen 50 percent since 1985.


The Human Health Toll 2
Ninety percent of commercially available eggs come from chickens raised on factory farms, and six billion “broiler” chickens emerge from the same conditions. Ninety percent of U.S.-raised pigs are closely confined at some point during their lives. According to the book Animal Factories by Jim Mason and Peter Singer, pork producers lose $187 million annually to chronic diseases such as dysentery, cholera, trichinosis and other ailments fostered by factory farming. Drugs are used to reduce stress levels in animals crowded together unnaturally, although 20 percent of the chickens die of stress or disease anyway.
One result of these conditions is a high rate of meat contamination. Up to 60 percent of chickens sold in supermarkets are infected with Salmonella entenidis, which can pass to humans if the meat is not heated to a high enough temperature. Another pathogen, Campylobacter, can also spread from chickens to human beings with deadly results.
In 1997, more than 25 million pounds of hamburger were found to be contaminated with E. coli 0157:H7, which is spread by fecal matter. The bacteria are a particular problem in hamburger, because the grinding process spreads it throughout the meat. E. coli, the leading cause of kidney failure in young children, was the culprit when three children died of food poisoning after eating at a Seattle Jack in the Box restaurant in 1993.


Health Hazards
Every year in the United States, more than 9 billion animals are killed for food; millions more die of stress, suffocation, injuries, or disease in the food industry.
In his or her lifetime, the average American meat-eater is responsible for the abuse and deaths of some 2,400 animals, including approximately 2,287 chickens, 92 turkeys, 31 pigs, and 12 steers and calves
We’re going to be talking to you about the health hazards of meat eating, and the common viruses, diseases, and cancers associated with the consumption of meat.

Cancer
A study conducted over 13 years by Oxford University concluded that vegetarians were 40 per cent less likely to suffer from certain cancers. Vegetarians are also 50 per cent less likely to suffer from gall stones and less likely to suffer from diet-related diabetes.

Those who eat flesh are far more likely to contract cancer than those following a vegetarian diet.


Cholestrol
Here are facts showing that: 1) U.S. physicians are not sufficiently trained in the importance of the relation of diet to health; 2) meat-eaters ingest excessive amounts of cholesterol, making them dangerously susceptible to heart attacks. It is strange, but true that U.S. physicians are as a rule ill-educated in the single most important factor of health, namely diet and nutrition. Of the 125 medical schools in the U.S., only 30 require their students to take a course in nutrition. The average nutrition training received by the average U.S. physician during four years in school is only 2.5 hours. Thus doctors in the U.S. are ill-equipped to advise their patients in minimizing foods, such as meat, that contain excessive amounts of cholesterol and are known causes of heart attack.
The average cholesterol consumption of a meat-centered diet is 210 milligrams per day. The chance of dying from heart disease if you are male and your blood cholesterol is 210 milligrams daily is greater than 50%.


Antibiotics
The Antibiotic Argument against meat-eating
Here are facts showing the dangers of eating meat because of the large amounts of antibiotics fed to livestock to control staphylococci (commonly called staph infections), which are becoming immune to these drugs at an alarming rate. The animals that are being raised for meat in the United States are diseased. The livestock industry attempts to control this disease by feeding the animals antibiotics. Huge quantities of drugs go for this purpose. Of all antibiotics used in the U.S., 55% are fed to livestock.
But this is only partially effective because the bacteria that cause disease are becoming immune to the antibiotics. The percentage of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin, for example, has grown from 13% in 1960 to 91% in 1988. These antibiotics and-or the bacteria they are intended to destroy reside in the meat that goes to market.
It is not healthy for humans to consume this meat. The response of the European Economic Community to the routine feeding of antibiotics to U.S. livestock was to ban the importation of U.S. meat. European buyers do not want to expose consumers to this serious health hazard. By comparison, U.S. meat and pharmaceutical industries gave their full and complete support to the routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock, turning a blind eye to the threat of disease to the consumer.



A Healthy Lifestyle
Exercise: 3-4 times per week for 30 minutes each time (REQUIRED), more is optional.

Four Basic Nutrients
What is a healthy diet?
It is a balance of nutrients that your body needs-the four basic nutrients are: water, carbohydrates, protein and fats. You also need vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients.
Water
Water is an essential nutrient needed for every function of the body. You should drink at least 8, eight ounce glasses of water a day.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates supply the body with the energy it needs to function. There are two groups of carbohydrates: Simple & Complex.
Simple Carbohydrates include: fruit sugar, milk sugar and table sugar.
Complex Carbohydrates include: fiber & starches. Examples are vegetables and whole grains.
Protein
Protein is needed for your body's growth and development. Your muscles particularly need protein. Grains, legumes, leafy green vegetables.You can get enough proteins from these proteins. Soy beans are good for you! Tofu and soymilk are complete proteins that are also low in fat. Don't be scared of tofu, many people think it is a weird vegetarian food but it is tasty when cooked with the right ingredients. If you have never tired tofu, try it first at a Vietnamese restaurant, where it is cooked full of flavor. You'll see that it is not bad at all!YOGURT!! Is very healthy for you! It contains friendly bacteria needed for the digestion of foods. Beware of sweetened, flavored yogurts-they are not a healthy choice because they have too much added sugar. If buying yogurt in the grocery store-look for low-fat, unsweetened yogurt or better yet, buy Plain yogurt and add your own fruit or fruit juice.
Fats
The body needs a small amount of fat for energy and growth. People often eat more fat than they need to.
Too much fat
Causes obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, colon cancer, puts you at risk to diabetes, the list goes on and on, of the types of health problems that can occur. Fats are broken into three categories of fatty acids: Saturated, Polyunsaturated, Monounsaturated.
Saturated
This is primarily found in animal products: cheese, milk, pork, beef, etc. It is also found in vegetable oil and coconut oil.
Too many saturated fats can raise your blood cholesterol level. It is recommended that you take in only 10% of saturated fats of your total calories you take during a day.
Polyunsaturated
These are found in: corn, soy beans, sunflower oil. These can lower your blood cholesterol level. You should still not eat a lot of this fatty acid, because they are also high in calories.
Monounsaturated
These are found in certain vegetables and oils such as, peanut, olive and canola oil.
Vitamins & Minerals
Are called micronutrients because they're needed significantly less than other nutrients but they are also very important.

Bhai Fauja Singh
A 93 year old man who is running a marathon, being a pure vegetarian he was also with PETA to help stop the slaughter of animals. A truly living example.


5 Reasons to be a Vegetarian
1) Gurbani clearly states not to consume meat of any sort, in any way. Whether it be categorized as mahaparshad, or anything. Its still the flesh of another being! Why kill another one of God’s beloved creatures?

1) All of our actions including our choice of food have karmic consequences. By involving oneself in the cycle of inflicting injury, pain and death, even indirectly by eating other creatures, one must in the future experience in equal measure the suffering caused.

1) Food is the source of the body's chemistry, and what we ingest affects our consciousness, emotions and experiential patterns. If one wants to live in higher consciousness, in peace and happiness and love for all creatures, then he cannot eat meat, fish, shellfish, fowl or eggs. By ingesting the grosser chemistries of animal foods, one introduces into the body and mind anger, jealousy, fear, anxiety, suspicion and a terrible fear of death, all of which are locked into the flesh of butchered creatures.

1) Medical studies prove that a vegetarian diet is easier to digest, provides a wider range of nutrients and imposes fewer burdens and impurities on the body. Vegetarians are less susceptible to all the major diseases that afflict contemporary humanity, and thus live longer, healthier, more productive lives. They have fewer physical complaints, less frequent visits to the doctor, fewer dental problems and smaller medical bills. Their immune system is stronger, their bodies are purer, more refined and skin more beautiful.

1) Planet earth is suffering. In large measure, the escalating loss of species, destruction of ancient rainforests to create pasture lands for livestock, loss of topsoils and the consequent increase of water impurities and air pollution have all been traced to the single fact of meat in the human diet.

1) Vegetarians have lower rates of obesity, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, large bowel disorders, cancers and gallstones. (BMA)
2) 90% of all food borne pesticides are found in meat and dairy products.





Famous Vegetarians
Jesus’s Message: Jesus' message is one of love and compassion, yet there is nothing loving or compassionate about factory farms and slaughterhouses, where billions of animals live miserable lives and die violent, bloody deaths. Jesus mandates kindness, mercy, compassion, and love for all God's creation. He would be appalled by the degree of suffering we inflict on animals to indulge our acquired taste for their flesh.

Buddha’s Message: Nowhere in the scriptures does Buddha give express permission to his followers to eat animals, and there are many instances where animal food is forbidden. Here is one instance from the Scripture of Brahma's Net: "Disciples of the Buddha, should you willingly and knowingly eat flesh, you defile yourself… Pray, let us not eat any flesh or meat whatsoever coming from living beings. Anyone who eats flesh is cutting himself off from the great seed of his own merciful and compassionate nature…"


Albert Einstein: This man was the most smartest and the most knowledgeable person known to mankind, and he himself was a strict vegetarian. This is proof itself, of how important a vegetarian diet is for humans.


Pig Pile
Beef cattle are luckier than factory pigs in that they have an average of 14 square feet in the overcrowded feedlots where they live out their lives. Common procedures for beef calves include branding, castration and dehorning. Veal calves, taken away from their mothers shortly after birth, live their entire lives in near darkness, chained by their necks and unable to move in any direction. They commonly suffer from anemia, diarrhea, pneumonia and lameness.
Virtually all chickens today are factory raised, with as many as six egg-laying hens living in a wire-floored “battery” cage the size of an album cover. As many as 100,000 birds can live in each “henhouse.” Conditions are so psychologically taxing on the birds that they must be debeaked to prevent pecking injuries. Male chicks born on factory farms—as many as 280 million per year—are simply thrown into garbage bags to die because they’re of no economic value as meat or eggs.
Some 95 percent of factory-raised animals are moved by truck, where they are typically subjected to overcrowding, severe weather, hunger and thirst. Many animals die of heat exhaustion or freezing during transport.


Pig Blood
God created every animal with the capacity for pain and suffering. But on today's factory farms, animals are dehorned, debeaked, and castrated without anesthesia. To maximize profits, they are crowded together in the least space possible, and are genetically bred, so that most suffer lameness, crippling leg deformities, or bone breaks, because their legs can't keep up with their scientifically enhanced bodies. Finally, they are trucked without food or water, through all weather extremes, to a frightening and hellish death.


The Slaughterhouse
Old MacDonald’s old-fashioned, peaceful farm is ancient history. On today’s farms, little chicks’ beaks are sliced off with a hot blade (sometimes the blade takes parts of their faces or tongues, too, or the chick just dies of fright), piglets’ tails are chopped off, and their teeth are yanked out with pliers. The animals are given drugs to make them grow quickly, but often they grow so quickly that their hearts and legs cannot keep up—they have heart attacks or their legs become painfully deformed. At the slaughterhouse, animals are hung upside-down, cut, and bled to death—often while wide awake. How many animals does this happen to every year? Some factory farms house thousands upon thousands of animals. In the United States alone, billions and billions (around 9 to be more precise) of animals are killed for food. To give you an idea of just how many that is, the world’s human population is only 6 billion.


Chickens-Hooks
People who are raised on farms have a good deal of exposure to farm animals. Having the opportunity to experience an emotional bond with an animal, only to see it later sent to slaughter, can result in a strong predisposition to vegetarianism later in life.


Two dead pigs
I was visiting my grandparents on the farm. I remember being real upset by it. I saw the whole process from the animal being alive and petting it [to] then seeing it butchered. I have vague memories of it now, but I remember it happening and refusing to have anything to do with eating animals after that. ____________________ "The smell of blood and fear made me so ill I had to cut my visit short. I went out to the car and threw up, and cried for ages."


Calf-Fire

Perhaps this is because they, unlike adults, have not yet been strongly conditioned into believing that slaughtering and eating animals is normal and appropriate. Over time, the ability of most children to empathize with animals becomes blunted by a culture that treats animals largely as objects to be used.
For many adults, however, the sight of animals being slaughtered can be just as upsetting as it is for children. A visit to a slaughterhouse, in particular, is a grim experience that can make a vegetarian out of the hardiest meat-eater.



FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS
Workers in the fast food industry are paid low wages. McDonald's do not pay overtime rates even when employees work very long hours. Pressure to keep profits high and wage costs low results in understaffing, so staff have to work harder and faster. As a consequence, accidents (particularly burns) are common. The majority of employees are people who have few job options and so are forced to accept this exploitation, and they're compelled to 'smile' too! Not surprisingly staff turnover at McDonald's is high, making it virtually impossible to unionise and fight for a better deal, which suits McDonald's who have always been opposed to Unions.


KFC

WENDY’S
A woman said she bit into a partial finger served in a bowl of chili at a Wendy's restaurant, leading authorities to a fingerprint database thursday to determine who lost the digit.


The incident Tuesday night at a San Jose, Calif., Wendy's restaurant left the unidentified customer ill and distraught, said Joy Alexiou, a spokeswoman for the Santa Clara County Health Department.
Employees at the Wendy's were checked and the fingertip didn't come from any of them, officials said, adding that the well-cooked finger may have come from a food processing plant that supplies the company.
Denny Lynch, a spokesman for Wendy's International Inc., based in Dublin, Ohio, said there have been no reports to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (news - web sites) of injuries at any supplier of chili ingredients to Wendy's.
"All of our chili suppliers report no accidents," he said.
Health officials said the fingertip was approximately 1 1/2 inches long. They believe it belongs to a woman because of the long, manicured nail.
Investigators seized the remaining chili and closed the restaurant for a few hours.
Alexiou said the woman, who asked officials not to identify her, is at minimal risk of contracting illnesses from the finger because the chili was cooked.



Religious Perspectives
Sikhi, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and many other religions forbid their followers to eat meat.

HAIR

What is Hair?

Generic term describing strong thread-like outgrowths of the epidermis of mammals.Only mammals (most evolved) have true hair, and all mammals have hair (including elephants, whales, sheep (wool), bears (fur) and hedgehogs (spines).composed chiefly of the horny, usually pigmented scleroprotein keratinncontain neither blood vessels nor nerves.The hair grows from the bottom of the follicle where it is nourished by the blood vessels. A minute muscle, is attached to each hair follicle; under the control of the autonomic nervous system the muscle contracts to make the hair “stand on end”. Most mammals possess tactile hairs, the roots of which have a richly supply of sensory nerves.
Humans have the longest hair and the largest head.
Changes in hair reflect biological ageing process

What is the Function of Hair?

Guard Hairs (whiskers, spines) protection (cage or sensory)
Insulate - retain body heat and fluid
Camouflage e.g. Zebra
Signal - e.g white tailed deer -warning others of predators
Navigation in darkness
Defence and offence - locate prey and predator
Absorb harmful radiations from the sun.
Keep out coarse dust particles, as in eyelashes, hair in the nasal chambers and ear canals.
Eyebrows prevent water or perspiration from falling into eyes, due to their particular direction.
Axillary and pubic hair lessen friction between limbs and body, and between limbs during locomotion.
Beautify the body (otherwise why people do not shave off their hair from the head completely; bald men are desperate and would pay any price to get back on their heads).
Beard and moustaches are for differentiation of sex. Mostly males are decorated in nature, e.g. lion, peacock and other birds, deer, etc.
Defend the body in danger, by standing on their ends, thereby making the body look bigger.

Sociological/Psychological Perspectives

Hair care’ - consumption i.e. big business
Group Identity/Affiliation e.g ‘Skin Heads’, Hippies, ‘David Beckham’, Dreadlocks, Hair sculpting.
Symbolising masculinity/femininity.
Cultural norms – peer group pressure
Symbolises ageing - cosmetic surgery!

Theological Perspectives
Jewish/Christian/Greek Tradition
Long uncut hair symbol of vitality, strength, morality and wisdom (eg Samson)
Cutting/tearing of hair symbolic of mourning and death – hair sacrificed to the dead
Symbol of great beauty – For this reason married Jewish women were required to cover their heads
Jesus and all his disciples kept their hair in tact.
In ancient Greece long hair symbolised godliness, youthfulness and wisdom
Later custom of shaving introduced by Alexander the Great. Why? Control over his armies perhaps!

Indian Tradition
Prior to the Mogul invasions, Brahmins were required to keep matted hair and rishi knots
Early Buddhist period – shaving sign of ugliness and contempt
Later shaving became a requirement for renunciation
Evidence that adulteress were punished by having their head shaven
Yogic/Sadhu tradition - Shaving symbolised renunciation i.e escape from social, political and cultural spheres
Thus to be an ascetic one needed to defy the principle of procreation and multiplication –
To the present day at ceremonies long haired Sadhus and Jains ritually tear out their hair as an act of renunciation.

Sikh Tradition

DnwsrI mhlw 1 Gru 3 Dhanaasaree, First Mehl, Third House:
<> siqgur pRswid ] One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
kwlu nwhI jogu nwhI nwhI sq kw Fbu ] No, no, this is not the time, when people know the way to Yoga and Truth.
Qwnst jg Birst hoey fUbqw iev jgu ]1] The holy places of worship in the world are polluted, and so the world is drowning. ||1||
kl mih rwm nwmu swru ]In this Dark Age of Kali Yuga, the Lord's Name is the most sublime.
AKI q mItih nwk pkVih Tgx kau sMswru ]1] rhwau ] Some people try to deceive the world by closing their eyes and holding their nostrils closed. ||1||Pause||
AWt syqI nwku pkVih sUJqy iqin loA ]
They close off their nostrils with their fingers, and claim to see the three worlds.
mgr pwCY kCu n sUJY eyhu pdmu AloA ]2]
But they cannot even see what is behind them. What a strange lotus pose this is! ||2||
KqRIAw q Drmu CoifAw mlyC BwiKAw ghI ]
The K'shatriyas have abandoned their religion, and have adopted a foreign language.
isRsit sB iek vrn hoeI Drm kI giq rhI ]3]
The whole world has been reduced to the same social status; the state of righteousness and Dharma has been lost. ||3||
Ast swj swij purwx soDih krih byd AiBAwsu ]
They analyze eight chapters of (Panini's) grammar and the Puraanas. They study the Vedas,
ibnu nwm hir ky mukiq nwhI khY nwnku dwsu ]4]1]6]8]
but without the Lord's Name, no one is liberated; so says Nanak, the Lord's slave. ||4||1||6||8||

Sikh (Gurmat Principles)

Sikh scriptures tell us that the gurus rejected the following practices (Karm Kaand – Ritual practices) Such rituals designed to wash off sins and achieve salvation (jeeevan mikhti)Self-mortification tormenting the body;
Enduring hunger, poverty, pain of hot and cold water / denying sleep;
Bathing at places of pilgrimage, river banks, etc.;
Celibacy and renouncing the world
Dwelling in wilderness,
Giving any spiritual significance to dress or nudity
Body painting, marking or rubbing the body with ash
Circumcision/splitting ears/shaving head/artificially growing long hair or nails.

sUhI mhlw 1 Gru
Soohee, First Mehl, Seventh House:
<> siqgur pRswid ]
One Creator.
By The Grace Of The True Guru:
jogu n iKMQw jogu n fMfY jogu n Bsm cVweIAY ]Yoga is not the patched coat,
Yoga is not the walking stick.
Yoga is not smearing the body with ashes.
jogu n muMdI mUMif mufwieAY jogu n isM|I vweIAY ]Yoga is not the ear-rings,
and not the shaven head.
Yoga is not the blowing of the horn.
AMjn mwih inrMjin rhIAY jog jugiq iev pweIAY ]1]Remaining unblemished in the
midst of the filth of the world –
this is the way to attain Yoga. ||1||
glI jogu n hoeI ]By mere words, Yoga is not attained. eyk idRsit kir smsir jwxY jogI khIAY soeI ]1] rhwau ]One who looks upon all with a single eye,
and knows them to be one and the same –
he alone is known as a Yogi. ||1||Pause|| jogu n bwhir mVI mswxI jogu n qwVI lweIAY ]Yoga is not wandering to the tombs of the dead;
Yoga is not sitting in trances. jogu n dyis idsMqir BivAY jogu n qIriQ nweIAY ]Yoga is not wandering through foreign lands;
Yoga is not bathing at sacred shrines of pilgrimage.
AMjn mwih inrMjin rhIAY jog jugiq iev pweIAY ]2]Remaining unblemished in the midst of the filth of the world –
this is the way to attain Yoga. ||2||
siqguru BytY qw shsw qUtY Dwvqu vrij rhweIAY ]Meeting with the True Guru, doubt is dispelled,
and the wandering mind is restrained. inJru JrY shj Duin lwgY Gr hI prcw pweIAY ]Nectar rains down, celestial music resounds,
and deep within, wisdom is obtained. AMjn mwih inrMjin rhIAY jog jugiq iev pweIAY ]3]Remaining unblemished in the midst of the filth of the world
- this is the way to attain Yoga. ||3|| nwnk jIviqAw mir rhIAY AYsw jogu kmweIAY ]O Nanak, remain dead while yet alive
- practice such a Yoga. vwjy bwJhu isM|I vwjY qau inrBau pdu pweIAY ]When the horn is blown without being blown,
then you shall attain the state of fearless dignity. AMjn mwih inrMjin rhIAY jog jugiq qau pweIAY ]4]1]8]Remaining unblemished in the midst of the filth of the world –
this is the way to attain Yoga. ||4||1||8||


Guru Gobind Singh’s views on ritualism-
Akal Ustat, pp. 71-72

“Could the Lord be realised:
by eating filth, then the swine would;by smearing the body with dust, then the ass and the elephant would;by haunting the cremation grounds, then the vulture would;by living in a domed monastery, then the owl would;by wandering listlessly, then the deer would;by standing still and silently, then the tree would;by abstinence from sex, then the eunuch would;by walking barefoot, then the monkey would."

Conclusions

Hair has serves a very important biological function.
Historically most religious traditions were build upon a respect of the human form.
In the Indian Tradition there have been two ideal paths :
Sadhu Maarg - one of becoming a recluse and renouncing all material possessions including the body!
Grist Maarg - living ones life in and through the material world of social, community and family life.
Sikhi states that the human form, in body, mind and spirit is the most advanced and perfect machinery for attaining salvation
Salvation is to be obtained by letting the body naturally mature and eventually die.
By doing nothing, to keep and look after ones hair (i.e. to preserve that natural form) is to demonstrate ones inner spiritual strength and to gain acceptance from god.
Thus to cut ones hair, one is performing a ritual or cosmetic surgery aimed at gaining acceptance from others, to fit in, and to pander to ones ego.