Jatta Dharini! As I walked out of a store in India, someone called these words out to me. I didn't know what it meant. In India, a woman who wears jattas (dreadlocks) is a rare sight. Jatta Dharini simply means a woman who wears Jattas. Today is the four year anniversary of my hair transformation into Jattas or dreadlocks. For four years I have been wearing the traditional hairstyle of a Shiva devotee, following the guidance in the Shiva Agamas that covers all aspects of living one's life. My guru, HDH Bhagawan Nithyananda Paramashivam, in reviving Sanatana Hindu Dharma (Hinduism), has introduced us to ways of living that lead directly or indirectly to enlightenment. In the Shiva Agamas, there are specifications on the wearing of Jattas. I have 36 jattas waist length jattas. So what is it like? It is complicated like any relationship. I love them. I love them more than I hate them. I love having them but I find the care challenging. I want them to look neat and tidy but much of the time I think they look messy. I fight with them at night and when trying to get shirts over my head that have neck holes that are too small. I am worried about them not drying out completely when I wash them. When I want to dress up, I find it challenging to find a hairstyle that fits the look I want. But when it works, it is beautiful and powerful. In the last few years there has been a hairstyle of keeping a small bun on the top of the head. In addition to my own bun, it looked like there were a lot of young shiva's running around the high school. When we practice manifesting powers we are encouraged to keep he jattas up, coiled on the top of the head in a bun - to concentrate the energy and center it on sahasrara. But most of the time my bun falls out because they are not long enough yet. They are inspiring to me and to others. The fact that I have them has broken down many barriers with high school kids I teach. I have had many conversations with other people from senior citizens to tough looking men to children - people I would not have approached to talk. My jattas have given other people permission to approach me and then they ask about them. People have asked me how to get jattas, how to get their mom's to let them have dreads. How long the maintenance takes. Tough boys in high school melted and asked if they could touch my jattas. They have taught me a lot more about acceptance and a little more about patience. I started with tiny little locks - ten to twelve inches long and artificial hair extensions woven in that reached to my hips. Today, four years later, the artificial extensions are gone and my jattas are almost to my waist. Sri Nithya Brahmagarbhananda (Robert), a fellow devotee from Slovakia, put the jattas in. Swamiji Himself was wearing jattas and extensions and had spoken on the benefits of jattas. As a yogini, I embraced as many aspects of the Hindu lifestyle as I was able. But really I just wanted jattas. After waiting almost three monthsI was able to get an appointment with Robert. For blessings, I attended an Akashic Reading and asked Kalabhairava if jattas would benefit me, how many should I have and and what length. I received blessings and instruction to wear 36 hip length jattas. With that information, Sri Nithya Brahmagarbhananda and I started a process that took over ten hours to transform my wavy shoulder length hair into 36 jattas with extensions. First, my hair was teased or back-combed into individual jattas. Then Sri Nithya Brahmagarbhananda made 36 artificial hair extensions matching my hair color. The final step was weaving the extensions into my hair. (Sri Nithya Brahmagarbhananda will be in Ecuador for anyone who would like to have jattas) It was glorious! I love instant transformations. When he asked if I wanted to weave all of my hair, including the front, I had not understood the question. I had assumed that if I was getting jattas, I would get all of my hair done.
It turned out that when I went to breakfast the next morning, many of the female devotees at the ashram reacted to my jattas in surprise. I didn't understand their reaction until someone pointed out that many of the women were leaving the hair in the front of the head in its natural form, unwoven. I wanted all my hair in jattas. It didn't make sense any other way. Jattas, like dreadlocks, have a long history among many people. Shiva, perhaps the earliest wearer of dreadlocks or jattas is from India. Mummies from Egypt have been recovered wearing dreadlocks. There are descriptions of Celtic people with hair like snakes. Vikings also had their hair locked into plaits. In Christianity, Sampson wore seven locks of hair which gave him his strength. Rastafarians from Jamaica are the most recent group of people that popularized dreadlocks. When we wear our hair locked, any energy generated from spiritual practices can be contained within us instead of being released. The constant tug of the jattas on the scalp also contributes to blood flow, balancing hormones and keeping awareness towards the higher energy center at the top of the head (sahasrara). But really, I just wanted them. My Guru had them. He said they would be good to have. It was the lifestyle of Shiva. That resonated in me. A friend in Kalamazoo, Michigan that has helped maintained them since I first got them. She has driven here with her dog Junior and I have driven there with Kala. It is always a lovely visit with a dog walk. www.facebook.com/NattyDreadsMI/ I have deep gratitude for the process the jattas have given me and for those who have helped me along my path. I am proud to be jatta dharini. I am proud to be a disciple of Swamiji. I will continue making conscious choices to align my life towards the highest possibility. www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcVvV5Oh1eU&t=6s I am Jatta Dharini: a woman who wears jattas or dreads!...a final video from my beloved ashram
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