In many of the families of Southern India a peculiar custom is being observed. As soon as a child is born, its hair is offered or rather promised to the deity in one or other of the temples where such offerings are commonly given. Even grown-up men and women among the Hindus, excepting those in the Brahmin community, have their heads close shaven if at all they happen to pay a visit to one or other of such places. Thousands and thousands of children and grown-up men and women visit places like Vaithisvarankoil in the district of Tanjore, Palni near Madura, Tiruvallur near Madras, the famous Tirupati and so on. At those places they offer their hair as a sacrifice to the deity.
This time worn custom has intense merit not because of the object sacrificed, but because of the spirit and religious fervor with which the offering is made. After all God, who is all-powerful and who has created the whole universe, and everything contained in it, does not care so much for the objects offered. But the spirit with which the sacrifice is made makes all the difference. At first sight it might appear to a critic that an offering to the deity of such a worthless overgrowth of hair, is an insult and not an object of merit. But mature consideration would surely change his angle of vision as well.
A maiden, whose beauty perhaps, lies in her wealth of hair cheerfully and gladly, lays it at the altar of the Almighty. This spirit has the germ of a mightier sacrifice she will be ready and willing to make at a future time, when called upon to do so. She puts up with the feeling of shame she naturally feels in appearing before other people. She can be looked ugly with a close shaven head, in the belief that she has done the act to please God. No one could say that this feeling of divine service is not a noble feeling. Moreover the standard of offering to the God should be the same for the rich and the poor. Other kinds of offerings can be made only by the fortunate few, but this offering of the hair might be made by one and all, both high and low, rich and poor, male and female. If the offering comes from the depths of the heart, no other offering, however costly it might be, would be considered equal to this by the deity.
This custom has, perhaps, been originated by the wise men of bygone days and so it deserves examination. By selecting such an offering to the God, they, perhaps, intended to teach the people the lesson that the nature of the offering to the God does not count. Rather the spirit with which the offering was made, certainly made it noble or ignoble.
It is an acknowledged fact in the tenets of Hindu religion that the service of humanity is the service of God. This simple offering has the deepest meaning and possibility in it. The name can be mentioned as `Love of Humanity and Service to it, if one but rightly understands it and follows it in the right spirit.
In this connection it may be mentioned that a large number of people are usually fed after the performance of any Parthana i.e. vow of religious offering which clearly supports the statement made, e.g., `Service of Humanity is Service of God.`
