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The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri
Krishna, and His eternal consort, Srimati
Radharani are enjoying transcendental pastimes
in the topmost planet of the spiritual world,
Sri Goloka Vrindavan. They are beckoning us to
rejoin them. (Click on photo to see a larger
image.) |
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Our Mission: To help everyone awaken
their original Krishna consciousness, which is
eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss.
Such a global awakening will, in one stroke,
solve all the problems of the world society
bringing in a new era of unprecedented peace and
prosperity for all. May that day, which the
world so desperately needs, come very soon. We
request you to participate in this mission by
reviving your dormant Krishna consciousness and
assisting us in spreading this science all over
the world. |
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Dedicated with love to ISKCON Founder-Acharya:
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada, our beloved spiritual
master, and to you, our dear readers. |
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Other Members of this Course. Join this Conference:
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Today's Thought: |
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Steve Jobs and the Moment of Death
uploaded
from Sri Vrindavan Dhama, India |
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Steve
Job's sister, Mona Simpson, reports that Steve's last
words as he was dying were, "Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow." Of
course, we don't know what he was thinking when he left
his body. But we most certainly hope that he was
remembering Krishna or the prasadam he used to relish at
the Sunday Love Feast every week at ISKCON's Seattle
temple. His connection with things related to Krishna is
undeniable. The standard screen images that came from
the Apple factory on the IPHONE 4 were a lotus flower
and a peacock feather. So we hopefully wish the very
best for Steve.
Now we have to be concerned about what we will thinking
at the time of death. If we want to conquer death, we
will have to remember Krishna at life's culmination. But
the time of death is a very heavy moment when our minds
will naturally gravitate to whatever we have considered
to be most dear throughout our lives. So if we want to
be privileged to remember Krishna at that most critical
moment, we must always hold Krishna in our hearts as our
dearmost love by offering all of our thoughts, words,
and deeds for His pleasure. If we can do so, when we
leave our material bodies we will wake up as the eternal
associates of Lord Sri Krishna in His most wondrous
transcendental abode, Goloka Vrindavan.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Srimad
Bhagavatam Lecture
1 November
2011--Sri Vrindavan Dhama, India:
http://www.backtohome.com/images/2011-Fall/Vrindavan_Lect2a.JPG
http://www.backtohome.com/images/2011-Fall/Vriindavan_Lect2b.JPG |
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Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: |
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Question: Is there a Vedic Rule Against Beards? |
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Accept my humble obeisances.
I want to know sages why like Narada, His Divine Grace
Srila Prabhupada, and the devotees of ISKCON always keep
their face fully shaved while sages like Srila Vyasadeva
had a good beard.
Are
there any rules in Vedic scriptures on keeping a beard?
Are people including devotees who do not shave regularly
criticized in the Vedic scriptures?
Thanks and regards,
Ravi C.
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Answer: Caitanya's Followers
Remain Clean-Shaved |
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Remaining
clean-shaven without a beard is a trademark of the
sampradaya coming from Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna Himself and is thus the
very source of all the Vedas. Therefore His instructions
are the most authoritative Vedic injunctions.
In this connection Srila Prabhupada explains in his
purport to Sri Caitanya Caritamrita, Madhya 20.70 that
Lord Caitanya did not like the long hair and beard of
Santana Goswami and thus asked Candrasekhara to get him
shaved clean. Srila Prabhupada then further explains:
"If anyone with long hair or a beard wants to join this
Krishna consciousness movement and live with us, he must
similarly shave himself clean. The followers of Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu consider long hair objectionable."
So this is a principle for all initiated members of Lord
Caitanya Mahaprabhu's sampradaya, that they must keep
themselves clean shaven. Srila Prabhupada further
elaborates on this in a lecture he gave on the Caitanya
Caritamrita:
"According
to the Caitanya Mahaprabhu's sampradaya, they keep
themselves clean-shaven. And only single instance is
there, Advaita Prabhu. He had his beard. And Caitanya
Mahaprabhu never asked Him to cleanse. Because one
reason is that Advaita Prabhu was just contemporary to
His father, so He did not like to dictate. But
otherwise, all His disciples, they were clean-shaved."
That Srila Prabhupada wanted all ISKCON devotees to
follow this principle is confirmed by a letter that
Srila Prabhupada wrote to
Brahmananda
dated 11 October 1967 from Calcutta:
"Every Krishna conscious person must be clean shaved."
That Srila Prabhupada wanted his followers to remain
clean-shaven is further confirmed by what Srila
Prabhupada stated in a conversation in Vrindavan on 29
May 1977:
"Our trademark is clean-shaven."
At a recent Srimad Bhagavatam class here at ISKCON
Vrindavan I noticed that about twenty of our ISKCON men
present in that assembly were keeping beards. We never
did like this when Srila Prabhupada was present. This
reminds me of the saying, "When the cat is away, the
mice will play." So let us not become now mice in Srila
Prabhupada's absence. Let us remain Prabhupada's men by
always following Srila Prabhupada's instruction that we
should remain clean-shaven.
Everyone is welcome to be members of ISKCON with beard
or without beard. But those who want to become initiated
devotees should always keep their faces clean shaven as
per the instruction of Lord Caitanya and Srila
Prabhupada.
So we are not at all critical of those who are not
initiated into the Caitanya sampradaya who are keeping
beards. As devotees we offer all respect to others. But
those who have taken their initiation within Lord
Caitanya's disciplic succession should note His
displeasure with long hairs and always keep themselves
clean-shaven.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
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