Removing the Child’s First Hair

Even today, this is generally observed as a very important ceremony. However, the practice of shaving one’s head in adulthood as an offering to a deity is considered a foolish custom. Followers of Basava Dharma should never make vows to any deity and offer their hair in fulfillment of such vows.

Removing a child’s first hair, however, is considered scientifically beneficial. Elders often say that unless the hair grown in the mother’s womb is removed, new hair will not grow properly. The initially thin hair is later replaced by thicker growth. Therefore, this practice may be followed. But is the excessive spending seen nowadays justified? Poor families often struggle financially to arrange such ceremonies. Hence, it is better to conduct this ceremony within one’s own home.

A Guru (Kriya Murti) should be invited on an appointed day to perform Ishtalinga worship. Afterwards, Basaveshwara worship and observance should be conducted. The child’s parents should chant the Basava mantra 108 times, perform floral worship (Pushparchane), and conduct Mahamangalarati . As usual, the Guru should keep the Ishtalinga holy water (Theertha) ready.

Sacred water ( Manthrodaka ) should then be prepared. Karuna Prasadashould be distributed to everyone. After this, the mother sits holding the child. Sacred ash (Bhasma) should be applied to the child, and holy water sprinkled on the head. Then, applying sacred ash to a betel leaf, while chanting: “Om Shri Gurubasava Lingaya Namah” the leaf should be held against the hair and a small portion of the hair should first be cut with scissors.

After this, a barber may be called to completely shave the child’s head. It is considered good to remove all the hair that was present from birth at one time. Afterwards, the mother and child should bathe, return, receive sacred ash from the Guru, and accept Karuna Prasada .

People often throw the removed hair into rivers. Others bury it in the ground out of fear that if someone gets hold of the hair, they may perform magic or sorcery and harm the child’s future. Such fears are unnecessary. Throwing hair into rivers pollutes the water. Burying it in the earth is preferable. In fact, not only this hair, but any hair should ideally be disposed of in the ground.

People in our country have the bad habit of rolling hair into clumps and throwing it anywhere. Cattle may accidentally eat it along with grass, and since hair does not digest, it can wrap around the intestines or form lumps in the stomach. Since children’s hair is very fine and can easily scatter into grass, such precautions are necessary.

There is also a belief that the hair-removal ceremony ( Javala ) should be performed at the family deity’s shrine or at a major pilgrimage center. Some people make vows that if they are blessed with children after delay, if childbirth difficulties are overcome, or if the child recovers from illness, they will visit a sacred place and shave the child’s hair there. Such vows may appear fulfilled because of the strength of their faith or the Guru’s grace.

People bring relatives and bear all the expenses themselves to conduct the hair-removal ceremony at pilgrimage sites. But those who truly wish to understand and follow Basava Dharma should avoid wasting time and money solely for this purpose and instead perform the ceremony wherever they live. The same money could be used to distribute small Vachana books in the child’s name.

When one sees people—who otherwise have no literary or intellectual cultural refinement—visiting pilgrimage centers for the Javala ceremony, certain positive aspects can still be inferred. Leave aside rural people; even many educated individuals lack contact with history, religion, literature, or culture.

Kudala Sangama is a place of great importance. At the sacred confluence of two mighty rivers stand the Sangameshwara Temple and the Basaveshwara Aikya Mantapa. People should feel a mature sense of duty that “we must regularly visit the place of our Dharma Guru.” But such awareness is often absent.

Likewise, Ulavi is the place where Channabasavanna attained union ( Aikya ). It is a beautiful natural location. Yet people rarely feel the urge to visit and enjoy its natural beauty and peaceful atmosphere.

Instead, many think only in terms of:
“This is the shrine of our family deity—Basavanna, Channabasavanna, Sangappa (Sangameshwara), or an ancient temple. We should come here, perform the hair-removal ceremony, and throw the hair into the stream.”

It seems possible that if people had not continued visiting Sharana sacred places even for such reasons, these places might have become completely forgotten.

In earlier times, people had very few opportunities to travel outside their villages. The condition of women was even more restrictive. Women from middle- and upper-class families often had no opportunity even to step beyond the doorway of their homes. Therefore, this tradition of visiting pilgrimage places for hair-removal ceremonies or vow fulfillment brought them great joy.

Many such customs exist in society like skeletons without flesh and blood. If people were to gain appreciation for natural beauty, historical awareness, and understanding of the greatness of these sacred places, such practices could regain true vitality.

At least through this excuse, fathers and grandfathers spend money, bring relatives together, and enable people to visit sacred places. To that extent, such journeys are praiseworthy.

Receiving Food Prasada

From the very day a child is born, it receives nourishment, but that nourishment is in liquid form. When the time comes to begin solid food, which will sustain life thereafter, a ceremony called Anna Prashana is performed.

In Lingayat Dharma, the words “anna” (food), “oota” (meal), or “bhojana” (feast) are not considered appropriate. Instead, it should be referred to as Prasada or receiving Prasada.

When the child has grown enough to eat rice, chapati, and similar foods, this ceremony may be conducted on an appropriate day.

A Guru Murti may be invited, or the family may perform the ceremony themselves. The child should be bathed and seated for worship, and taught to worship its Ishtalinga. Holy water (Theertha) should be sprinkled three times upon the Ishtalinga, and as done daily, the child should be given Theertha to drink.

After this, the mother should worship the portrait of Guru Basavanna and help the child participate in the worship as well. The food prepared for feeding that day—mainly hot rice with ghee and some sweet dish—should be placed before the portrait as an offering (Naivedya).

One should pray:

“O Guru Basavesha, with Your grace and the blessings of the Creator and Supreme Soul upon this child, may the child attain health, long life, wisdom, education, prosperity, and true devotion—the sixfold wealth.”

Then the mother, or elders of the household such as grandparents, should apply sacred ash ( Bhasma ) to the child, place their hand upon the child’s head, and bless the child saying:

“May it be auspicious; may all be well.”

ನೀನೊಲಿದರೆ ಕೊರಡು ಕೊನರುವುದಯ್ಯ
ನೀನೊಲಿದರೆ ಬರಡು ಹಯನಹುದಯ್ಯ
ನೀನೊಲಿದರೆ ವಿಷವು ಅಮೃತವಹುದಯ್ಯ
ನೀನೊಲಿದರೆ ಸಕಲ ಪಡಿಪದಾರ್ಥಗಳು
ಇದಿರಲ್ಲಿಪ್ಪವು, ಕೂಡಲ ಸಂಗಮದೇವಾ

ಆಯಿತ್ತು ಬಸವಾ ನಿನ್ನಿಂದ ಗುರುಸ್ವಾಯತವೆಮಗೆ
ಆಯಿತ್ತು ಬಸವಾ ನಿನ್ನಿಂದ ಲಿಂಗಸ್ವಾಯತವೆಮಗೆ
ಆಯಿತ್ತು ಬಸವಾ ನಿನ್ನಿಂದ ಜಂಗಮ ಸ್ವಾಯತವೆಮಗೆ
ಆಯಿತ್ತು ಬಸವಾ ನಿನ್ನಿಂದ ಪ್ರಸಾದ ಸ್ವಾಯತವೆಮಗೆ,
ಇಂತೀ ಚತುರ್ವಿಧ ಸ್ವಾಯತವನು ನೀನೆ ಮಾಡಿದೆಯಾಗಿ
ನಮ್ಮ ಗುಹೇಶ್ವರ ಲಿಂಗಕ್ಕೆ ವಿಳಾಸವಾದೆಯಲ್ಲೈ ಸಂಗನ ಬಸವಣ್ಣಾ
ನಿನ್ನ ಪಾದಕ್ಕೆ ನಮೋ ನಮೋ ಎಂಬೆನು.

If You bless, even dry wood shall sprout,
If You bless, even barren land shall flourish,
If You bless, poison itself becomes nectar,
If You bless, all necessary things
Stand present before us, O Kudala Sangamadeva.

It is through You, Basava, that we gained Guru-consciousness,
It is through You, Basava, that we gained Linga-consciousness,
It is through You, Basava, that we gained Jangama-consciousness,
It is through You, Basava, that we gained Prasada-consciousness.
Thus You granted us these fourfold realizations,
O Basavanna of Sangama,
Who became the very abode of our Guheshwara Linga,
I bow again and again at Your feet.

Remembering the names of God and Guru Basavanna, the first morsel of Prasada should then be placed into the child’s mouth.

Generally, there is much ignorance and superstition among people regarding child nutrition. Many raise children for an excessively long time only on mother’s milk. However, rapidly growing body cells cannot develop properly on breast milk alone. Once the child reaches four months of age, other foods should gradually be introduced.

People often avoid giving water or fruit juice to babies out of fear that it may cause colds. When I visited America, a lady doctor who hosted me gave fruit juice in a bottle to her four-month-old baby. I was surprised to see this. She explained that all kinds of nutritious foods help develop remarkable immunity in the body.

Raw vegetables, cooked vegetables, greens, and similar foods may be given according to the child’s age and digestive capacity, thereby easily supplying all essential nutrients and vitamins. In this country, however, people habitually classify foods as “heating,” “cooling,” or “causing bile disorders.”

There is also a practice here of bathing small children with extremely hot water, even when they scream and cry from the heat. Westerners, by contrast, use only warm or mildly hot water. In our society, bathing the baby and mother with excessively hot water has become an exaggerated ritual.

Therefore, in this age of advanced scientific research, it is good to adopt proper and rational practices.

Beginning of Education – Vachana Learning

Another important stage in a child’s life is the beginning of education. Whether the child begins learning at home or is sent to preschool for the first time, education should be commenced with an appropriate spiritual observance.

The child should be bathed, dressed in clean clothes, and brought into the prayer room. First, as done daily, Ishtalinga worship should be performed and the child should be guided to receive Theertha and Prasada . Even parents who have not made their children regularly wear the Linga after Lingadharana should at least encourage worship on such special occasions.

After this, worship should be offered to the portrait of Guru Basavanna. The child should be guided and taught to participate in the worship. Mangala should then be performed. As offerings ( Naivedya ), sugar candy, raisins, and similar items should be placed before the portrait.

A new black writing slate ( kari halage ), chalk, and an alphabet-learning book should be brought and placed before Basava Guru. After the Mangala , sacred water ( Theertha / Manthrodaka) should be prepared.

The child who is about to begin education should stand with folded hands and repeat the following:

೧. ತಂದೆ ನೀನು, ತಾಯಿ ನೀನು,
ಬಂಧು ನೀನು, ಬಳಗ ನೀನು
ನೀನಲ್ಲದೆ ಮತ್ತಾರೂ ಇಲ್ಲವಯ್ಯ
ಕೂಡಲ ಸಂಗಮ ದೇವಾ, ಹಾಲಲ್ಲದ್ದು, ನೀರಲ್ಲದ್ದು.

೨. ಬಸವಣ್ಣನೇ ತಾಯಿ, ಬಸವಣ್ಣನೇ ತಂದೆ
ಬಸವಣ್ಣನೇ ಪರಮ ಬಂಧುವೆನಗೆ
ವಸುಧೀಶ ಕಪಿಲಸಿದ್ಧ ಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನಾ
ನಿಮ್ಮ ಹೆಸರಿಟ್ಟ ಗುರು ಬಸವಣ್ಣನಯ್ಯ, ||

1. You are the father, You are the mother,
You are the relative, You are the companion.
Other than You, there is none for me,
O Kudala Sangama Deva,
Neither milk nor water exists apart from You.

2.Basavanna is my mother, Basavanna is my father,
Basavanna is my supreme companion.
O Vasudheesha Kapilasiddha Mallikarjuna,
It is Guru Basavanna who gave Your name to me.

Sacred ash (Bhasma) should be applied to the forehead, holy water sprinkled on the head and given to drink. Then, using the middle finger of the right hand, the words:“Om Shri Guru Basava” should be written upon the child’s tongue. Afterwards, the Naivedya–Prasada placed before Basava Guru’s portrait should be given to the child to eat.

One should then pray:

“O Guru Basavesha, with Your grace and the blessings of the Creator and Supreme Soul upon this child, may the child attain health, long life, wisdom, education, prosperity, and true devotion—the sixfold wealth.”

Now the black slate should be taken. Sacred ash should be applied to the middle finger of the right hand, and the Basava–Linga symbol should be drawn upon the slate using the sacred ash.

Then, in the center, “Om” should be written, and around it the words: “Shri Guru Basava” should be written.

A piece of chalk should be placed in the child’s hand, and while reciting: “Om Shri Gu Ru Ba Sa Va”

the child’s hand should be gently guided to write the letters. Sacred ash should also be applied to the alphabet-learning book, and the child should be made to read something from it.

Small Vachanas should be taught daily and memorized by the child.

ಜಗದಗಲ ಮುಗಿಲಗಲ ಮಿಗೆಯಗಲ ನಿಮ್ಮಗಲ
ಪಾತಾಳದಿಂದತ್ತತ್ತ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಶ್ರೀ ಚರಣ
ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಾಂಡದಿಂದತ್ತತ್ತ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಶ್ರೀ ಮುಕುಟ
ಅಪ್ರಮಾಣ ಅಗೋಚರ ಅಪ್ರತಿಮ ಲಿಂಗವೇ
ಕೂಡಲ ಸಂಗಮ ದೇವಯ್ಯಾ
ಎನ್ನ ಕರಸ್ಥಲಕ್ಕೆ ಬಂದು ಚುಳುಕಾದಿರಯ್ಯಾ -ಬಸವಣ್ಣನವರು.

Vast as the world, vast as the sky, greater than all measure,
Your sacred feet extend beyond the netherworld,
Your sacred crown extends beyond the universe,
O immeasurable, invisible, incomparable Linga,
O Kudala Sangama Deva,
Come into the palm of my hand and reveal Yourself. — Basavanna

Sample Invitation Letter for the Javala (First Tonsure) Ceremony