Salvation is state of mind, where people wants to get over their sin. People who wanted to attain salvation generally seen to leave all the materialistic things in life and head over to isolated place to penance. I have seen many sages / aghoris with twisted hair on head and applying ashes on the body, they belive that this is way to attain salavation and get near to the god.
Our Sanskrit scholars have a different take to achieve salvation, which seems to be much easier.
यस्य चित्तं द्रवीभूतं कृपया सर्वजन्तुषु|
तस्य ज्ञानेन मोक्षेण किं जटाभस्मलेपनैः||
Yasya chittam draveebhootam krupayaa sarvajantushu.
Tasya gyaanena Mokshena kim jataabhasmalepanam.
Yasya = whose.
Chittam = Heart.
Draveebhootam = moved.
Krupayaa = compassionately.
Sarva + jantushu.
Sarva = all.
Jantushu = creatures on the Earth. Tasya = his.
Gyaanena = by the avareness.
Mokshena = release from rebirth, emancipation.
Kim = what.
jataa + bhasma + lepanam.
Jataa = twisted and unkept long hairs,
Bhasma = ash,
Lepanam = smearing.
The scholars like to highlight that If a person's heart is moved by compassion towards all living beings on this Earth, and with this knowledge (awareness)
he can achieve 'salvation', then where is the need for keeping unkempt and twisted hair locks on the forehead and smearing
ash on the body?
Reference of mendicants doing penance to
achieve salvation. The scholars suggest the easier way. As per the teaching the path of serving the humanity with compassion as a better way of achieving salvation.