Tonsure – A Religious Practice
Tonsure, which was a fundamental part of rituals in Christianity, was banned in the year 1972. But do you know the history behind the religious tonsure? Was it just a ritual or was there a religious idea behind this custom? Read on through to the end to know-
- Origin of tonsure
- Why was it abandoned
- Theosophical view on tonsuring.
- Practice of tonsure in various cultures.
Tonsuring is the act of clipping off hair from the center of the head leaving some portion of it surrounding the head.
Tonsure was a religious practice that was widely followed in the seventh and eighth centuries. In this practice, Christian religious monks would shave the top of their head to show their purity.
A tonsure marked the entrance into a new stage of their religious development.
How did tonsure originate?
According to Encyclopedia of Hair: Cultural History, partial shaving may have its roots in ancient Egypt and Greece who worshipped the sun god. The men shaved a circular portion on top of their heads bald to honor the sun god. Similarly, higher monks of the ancient period left a narrow crown of hair around their heads. They believed it signified the crown of thorns placed on Jesus Christ’s head at the time of crucifixion.
The unique style called tonsure gets its name from the Latin word tondere, meaning – “to shear” or shave. The Roman Catholic Churches made it mandatory for all monks to adopt this hairstyle.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, “A tonsure is a sacred rite by which a baptized and confirmed Christian is received into the clerical order by a shearing of his hair.”
Members of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church wore the tonsure, claiming that its origins go back to the time of Jesus Christ. Began in the early sixteenth century, the ritual was in trend until the Roman Catholic Church abolished the practice of tonsure in 1972.
The New York Times in the year 1972 states that tonsure was discontinued as a part of various reforms that took place in the same year by the higher orders of the Roman Church.
Here’s a theosophical reason behind the tonsure…
The importance of having the top pat of the head shaved has something to do with our Etheric centre. There are various Etheric centres present in our etheric body called the etheric chakras. These chakras absorb Prana (Vitality) present in the atmosphere and provide this Life Energy to our bodies. One such etheric chakra is located at the top of the head known as the crown chakra. It is one of the major entry points of Prana.
What does the crown chakra do?
- It is a spiritual cord which connects the individual from the divine energy.
- When it develops, it enables the person to reach the full potential of his/her astral life. All of this, while having full consciousness in his physical body.
According to The Nature of the Energy Body, authored by Grand Master Choa Kok Sui, Founder of Modern Pranic Healing and Archaic Yoga, the crown chakra performs the following functions:
- Energizing the crown chakra has the effect of energizing the whole body
- Facilitates harmonizing and normalizing of other chakras.
- Therefore, healing is usually proceeded from the crown chakra even if the affected part is somewhere else.
Theosophy believes that the real reason for tonsure, as practiced by the Roman Catholic Church, was to uncover the Brahmarandra chakra or the crown chakra (also referred to as the Sahasrara Chakra). The belief being that a tonsure cleared the way of divine force entering the etheric body.
During meditation, the psychic forces of the individual tend to awaken. Hence, to ensure no hindrance in this divine intervention, a tonsure was worn by the Catholic monks of the olden times.
Interested to know more about the crown chakra and ways to develop it? Check out our latest Module on the Etheric Chakras and learn ways to explore your Astral life to the fullest!
We however believe that the tuft of hair may not be a significant barrier to the downpour of spiritual energy into the crown chakra.
Practice of tonsure in various cultures
There are different shapes of tonsures based on the pattern such as clerical, baptismal, and monastic.
- The Roman tonsure involved shaving the whole head, except a fringe of hair symbolizing the crown of thorns; or a small round area at the crown of the head.
- In the Eastern tonsure, the whole head was shaved. They later considered the tonsure where the hair is even close to a clean shave.
- In the Celtic tonsure, all the hair in front of a line drawn over the top of the head from ear to ear was shaved.
It is also frequently used for Buddhist novices and monks. It exists as a traditional practice in Islam after completion of the Hajj and is also practiced by several Hindu religious orders.
