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Shaving / Haircut / Nailcut - what days are allowed / prohibited?

This post got 10,000 plus views. this shows that posters/visitors here are not average hindus - since as far as I know these restrictions are no longer followed by the overwhelming majority of hindus today.

questions like "can karna defeat arjuna armed with sword and shield against spear and net" are infantile but do no harm. but anything that might impact real people living today must be informed by how hindus are actually living today. Questions about discarded hindu practices must be marked somwhow - ("don't try it at home"?).

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    What you know may not be the correct picture of things.. why do u think that u are the one who's correct and all others are wrong? u should not be worried if others are following scriptural injunctions.. ur desire that "none should follow because the people I know do not" -does not seem to be a healthy one.. and why should we let everyone know how hindus are living today? rather people should know how they should be living.. if scriptures say drinking alcohol is a bad karma we should let it know or preach that since everyone drinks u should too? what kind of advice will be that?
    – Rickross
    Commented Feb 27, 2018 at 14:39
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    rather people should know how they should be living. --- but even that is not one of the goals of this site.. this is just a Q&A site on Hinduism..
    – Rickross
    Commented Feb 27, 2018 at 14:45
  • we have already established Hinduism changes with time - this post is like a post on the practicalities of ashwamedha yagna in 2018 - it is just hypocritical posturing - trying to keep alive things that are dead or are dying..
    – S K
    Commented Feb 27, 2018 at 14:51
  • aswamedha yajna itself isn't allowed in kali yuga.. so why would u even discuss something like that?
    – Rickross
    Commented Feb 27, 2018 at 14:53
  • to me "kali yuga" is fiction. There isn't any way shape or form modern hindus are going to worry about which day of week to get a haircut on. The Chinese have gone whole hog for western style marriage - I am more worried about preserving traditional Hindu wedding rites.
    – S K
    Commented Feb 27, 2018 at 14:55
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    There isn't any way shape or form modern hindus are going to worry about which day of week to get a haircut on-- why are u even thinking on behalf of others?..why not let them decide for themselves? u carry on doing what u think as right but why ur intent is to make everyone follow ur footsteps forcibly?
    – Rickross
    Commented Feb 27, 2018 at 14:59
  • What is sad is there is so much that is non-obscurantist in Hinduism but a core group of posturers belonging to a small minority sect is holding everybody else in thrall to pretend to be anti-modern.
    – S K
    Commented Feb 27, 2018 at 15:09
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    would you like to prserve these customs? indiatimes.com/culture/who-we-are/…
    – S K
    Commented Feb 27, 2018 at 15:16
  • i am not acquainted with any of them actually.. :D
    – Rickross
    Commented Feb 27, 2018 at 15:21
  • Maybe you should know more about how Hinduism is actually practiced. youtube.com/watch?v=j5V9eEXffXQ people get hurt doing this.
    – S K
    Commented Feb 27, 2018 at 15:31
  • Ok maybe.. but it's actually not practiced in that way in my region.. so my lack of knowledge in that regard is not exactly my fault.. but why on devotees? hitting on the floor is a far better option if u are actually looking to break it (the coconut and not the devotee) :D will watch the utube vid later..now got to go..
    – Rickross
    Commented Feb 27, 2018 at 15:38
  • now you are mocking these people
    – S K
    Commented Feb 27, 2018 at 15:39
  • No i am the last person to do so.. i was just trying to lighten up things.. sorry if u were offended..
    – Rickross
    Commented Feb 27, 2018 at 15:40
  • Better you discuss on proposal of a tag named obsolete practices on such questions. I don't know whether it is applicable or not but you can try.
    – ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ
    Commented Feb 27, 2018 at 16:08
  • since I can do that now for my posts, I suppose I can edit others posts to put that tag on if needed. but then the reactionary clique can always step in and remove it. @rohith
    – S K
    Commented Feb 27, 2018 at 16:16

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Posters should be only concerned about "be nice" policy. Everything else can be easily managed.

Various cultures, customs, rituals -- new or old -- are acceptable in Hinduism & hence in this Q&A site.

Your concern or worry about "old way vs modern way" of Hindus is misplaced.
E.g. In today's time most people use mobile or PC calculator to solve any equation. Now if someone wants to learn the traditional mathematics to calculate in manual way, then it won't hurt anyone. It also won't bring the person backward. That's the root in fact. Apply this analogy to Hinduism.

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    all I am asking is for obsolete practices to be clearly identified. I want posts to be in good faith - not "do as I say and not as I do". Its hard to believe this simple bit of common sense evokes such violent reactions.
    – S K
    Commented Feb 27, 2018 at 15:58
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    @SK, they may not be "obsolete" for all. Something becomes obsolete when we have a clear superset of it. Now if these practices are obsolete or not, is opinion based. I personally don't follow them, but it's perfectly fine for me if someone does that without imposing on others.
    – iammilind
    Commented Feb 27, 2018 at 16:22
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    @SK For every custom, there is reason, If a person has strong Mangala (Mars) in Jyotish (Kundali), it is said not to start any new action on tuesday as something bad might happen. But since this reason is not known, many Hindus don't even start new things on Tuesday. For 21st century Hindu, this might look weird but doesn't mean we should stop posting these things here. By these questions, we can even know proper reasons and some reasons might be religious and some might be historic or cultural.
    – The Destroyer Mod
    Commented Feb 27, 2018 at 16:53
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http://www.hinduwebsite.com/rituals.asp

Many ancient rituals and practices, which were once obligatory are now discarded for various reasons. Some cannot be performed today since people live in cities and the conditions do not permit them to stick to the discipline prescribed in the scriptures to perform them. Besides the rituals also require detailed knowledge, beside money and time, which many people lack. Hence, many rituals have been either discontinued or replaced by short and simple practices, reflecting the changing nature of Hindu society.

.....................................

Many modern Hindus do not wear any religious marks at all on their bodies, or are shy of wearing them, though the women still sport a tilak on their foreheads. It is however not entirely incorrect to say that many of them do so out of habit and as a part of make up rather than out of any specific religious consideration. The trend is catching up in the west also and many wear tilak as a matter of fashion not knowing its true spiritual significance !

...........................................

It is a fact that the incidence of performing the yajnas and other forms of sacrifices is slowly coming down in modern Hinduism, primarily because of the influence of western education, the complexity involved in performing them and the decreasing number of qualified priests who can perform yajnas effectively according to the full Vedic injunctions.

I am asking posters to wake up and smell the coffee as to where Hinduism is and where it seems to be headed. Sati and ashwamedha yagna and oppressing so called "Sudras" are not coming back - EVER (it might take a few more years for Dalits to get their full rights). Flexing scripture-knowledge muscles cannot turn the clock back.

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    many rituals and customs are discarded because they are not follow-able now... and that they will be discarded during Kali is also something mentioned in scriptures.. but people who want to practice the religion in whatever possible ways, can still do so if they have the intent.. Sudras and Chandals --these things do not matter much in today's time.. anyone can get oneself initiated from the Guru and start practicing the religion..
    – Rickross
    Commented Feb 28, 2018 at 4:42
  • If we follow the definitions from scriptures of what these castes are, then most people of present time are Sudras.. for the few people who wear the sacred thread- it can not be guaranteed that none of their ancestors never ever did loose their castes by doing some offence or the other.. and what's the guarantee that they atoned for those wrong-doings as prescribed? What's the guarantee that some of the ancestors did not become Vratyas by not performing Samskaras etc? So in today's time it's practically useless to talk about the caste system of the Smritis..
    – Rickross
    Commented Feb 28, 2018 at 4:48
  • So, take Diksha from any of the Gurus and practice the religion..this option is available for all--irrespective of caste, creed gender etc.. most of the other things that we may discuss are irrelevant now IMO.
    – Rickross
    Commented Feb 28, 2018 at 4:50
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    Sati and ashwamedha yagna and oppressing so called "Sudras" are not coming back - EVER --- and who is saying that they are coming back? your worry does not make any sense to me actually.
    – Rickross
    Commented Feb 28, 2018 at 5:55
  • the most prolific poster has said if he could change the laws he would bring Sati back (words to that effect).
    – S K
    Commented Feb 28, 2018 at 11:55
  • why are u so much obsessed with the prolific poster or posters? u can be too one among them within two years from now..
    – Rickross
    Commented Feb 28, 2018 at 11:59
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    You are practicing the magician's art of misdirection. The intellectual atmosphere here is oppressive - all the rest of you have accepted it. But I'll try to bring about real democracy here.
    – S K
    Commented Feb 28, 2018 at 12:08
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    I am not practicing anything.. and you are free to post anything here as much as u like .. i don't have problems.. just make sure the posts are not violating any policies that's all.. btw i am far more open minded than what u think u are..
    – Rickross
    Commented Feb 28, 2018 at 12:12
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What one considers "waking up and smelling the coffee" is laziness, disrespect and shirking off of religion. This has no place in a Q & A site about religion. Such "vigilantism" is entirely misguided , arrogant and is fooling themselves if they believe their laziness should be the measuring rod for religious practices.

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