Below we have a few statements by our spiritual master who is telling us all that to keep long hairs and beard means we are no longer his disciple. This physical presentation by someone comes from being lazy/casual in his spiritual life and not thinking these “small things” to be important any more. Well they are important, otherwise Srila Prabhupada would not have mentioned them and proves them also by the statements of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. To become casual means we will become a casualty. Gone.…..where did so and so ever… go??
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Jan 15 1974 HAWAII
So simply full of faults. Social life, political life, religious life—everything has been described there. And one thing I can see very practical, that in this age, lāvaṇyaṁ keśa-dhāraṇam. It is stated there that people will think that by keeping long hairs they will become very beautiful. That is stated there. Dāmpatye ratim eva hi. Husband and wife’s relation will depend on the strength of sex. These are described there. Svīkāra eva codvāhe. Marriage will be performed simply by agreement.
April 27 1972
But as soon as I came to your country I saw the hippies-big, big hair. Keśa-dhāraṇam. Keśa means hair. It is predicted. Just see. This is śāstra: “In the Kali-yuga people will think very, think themselves of very beautiful feature by keeping long hairs.” That is stated. This is called śāstra. Five thousand years ago Bhāgavata was written, and there the symptoms of Kali-yuga are mentioned, and this is one of the symptoms, lāvaṇyaṁ keśa-dhāraṇam.
Nov 15 1974 bombay
Let us live together.” Svīkāra eva codvāhe. Dāmpatye ratim eva hi. Husband and wife relationship means sex. There is no other purpose. As soon as there is some difficulty in sex enjoyment, they will be separated. These are all mentioned. Lāvaṇyaṁ keśa-dhāraṇam. Now, in the Western countries, here also, they’re keeping long hair. So that will be beauty. Lāvaṇyaṁ keśa-dhāraṇam. Lāvaṇyam means luster of the body. The people will think, “If I keep long hair, then I have become very beautiful.” The hippies, you see, long beard, long hairs. They are thinking, “We have become very beautiful.” So these are all stated. Sūtram eva hi vipratve. A brāhmaṇa means having a two-paisa worth of thread. That’s all. Thread. Simply to possess one thread, one becomes brāhmaṇa. Simply by changing the dress from white to saffron color, one becomes sannyāsī. No
Oct 17 1967 letter Pradyumna
Regarding the hippy religion; we must distinguish ourselves from the hippies. The hippies generally maintain long hair & beard & in order to distinguish ourselves from them we should be clean shaved. When our devotees go outside I have no objection if he dresses as nice American or Canadian gentleman. Up to date gentlemen are all clean shaved so if we do not keep long hair & dress ourselves nicely with tilaka, flag & beads on the neck, apart from our devotional service, then certainly we shall be distinct from the Hippies. I think we should follow this principle rigidly & there is no question of giving up robes in the temple.
june 26 1975 LA
Prabhupāda: No. This is, that you can, that anyone who is keeping hairs and not following the rules and regulations, they are rejected from second initiation.
Devotee (2): What if they are keeping hair but they are following the rules and regulations.
Prabhupāda: Then let them follow. That’s a good life. But from external features he must be a Vaiṣṇava.
Devotee (2): To get second initiation.
Devotee (1): Does that mean shaved head?
Prabhupāda: Caitanya Mahāprabhu, when His students used to come without tilaka, so He refused to see his face. He refused to see his face. He said it is a crematory ground.
Devotee (2): Why is that?
Prabhupāda: There is no “why.” If you accept it, accept. If you don’t accept, leave us, leave us. There is no “why.”
Devotee (2): Then that is…
Prabhupāda: You are not following strictly. You cannot ask why.
Devotee (2): We could not ask why when we were following strictly either, Prabhupāda. So I’m sorry that it has to be this way.
Prabhupāda: No, our thing is that we have got some principles. If anyone cannot follow, then we don’t accept him.
Devotee (1): Then what do you do with the rest of the world, except for the few people who…
Prabhupāda: So what I can do I am doing. Therefore you have no right to ask me. What is possible by me I am doing. And those who are able to follow, they are following. That’s all.
Devotee (2): But they cannot engage anyone else. How can you reach the intelligent class?
Prabhupāda: So that is their business. That is not your business.
Devotee (2): We are trying to be disciples, so we considered it our business because we are sincerely trying.
Prabhupāda: So why you are bothering me? You do your business.
Devotee (2): Because from you only…
Prabhupāda: I do not accept you because you are keeping hairs.
Devotee (2): I did not know that.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Devotee (2): You never told me that in Hawaii.
Prabhupāda: Now I say, I’ll repeat that anyone who is keeping long hairs, he is no more my disciple.
Devotee (2): All right.
Prabhupāda: This is the first condition.
Devotee (1): Does that apply also for householder dharma, or is that simply for brahmacārī dharma? Even you… I have pictures of you on the Bhāgavatam when you did not have shaved head, with a mustache when you were doing your business as a householder. So does that apply to householders, or only to brahmacārīs, that a householder must also keep a shaved head or is that…?
Prabhupāda: At that time I was not initiated. You were seeing my picture, mustaches, at that time I was not initiated. Since I became initiated, I have shaven.
Devotee (1): Well, in India where one can do business…
Prabhupāda: I can… Why you are bringing this question? You ask, “Why you had mustaches?” I say when I had mustaches, at that time, I was not initiated. That answer is given. That’s all.
Some conclusions–
So from the above statements by Srila Prabhupada we can see how he felt about his disciples keeping long hairs and beard. He flatly says, they are not his disciples anymore, but
one can keep himself looking like an up to date gentleman by being clean shaven on his face and short hair cut on the head.
damaghosa das
