Beard

Expressions researched:
"beard" |"beards"

SB Canto 2

SB 2.7.10, Purport:

At the last stage of his life, Emperor Ṛṣabhadeva wandered like a dumb madman, unaffected by all kinds of bodily mistreatment. Seeing him like a madman, wandering naked with long hair and a long beard, less intelligent children and men in the street used to spit on him and urinate on his body. He used to lie in his own stool and never move. But the stool of his body was fragrant like the smell of fragrant flowers, and a saintly person would recognize him as a paramahaṁsa, one in the highest state of human perfection. One who is not able to make his stool fragrant should not, however, imitate Emperor Ṛṣabhadeva. The practice of jaḍa-yoga was possible for Ṛṣabhadeva and others on the same level of perfection, but such an uncommon practice is impossible for an ordinary man.

SB Canto 3

SB 3.25.20, Purport:

Here it is recommended that attachment should be transferred to the self-realized devotees, the sādhus. And who is a sādhu? A sādhu is not just an ordinary man with a saffron robe or long beard. A sādhu is described in Bhagavad-gītā as one who unflinchingly engages in devotional service.

SB 3.26.56, Translation:

Then the universal form of the Lord, the virāṭ-puruṣa, manifested His skin, and thereupon the hair, mustache and beard appeared. After this all the herbs and drugs became manifested, and then His genitals also appeared.

SB Canto 4

SB 4.7.5, Translation:

Those who have had their arms cut off will have to work with the arms of Aśvinī-kumāra, and those whose hands were cut off will have to do their work with the hands of Pūṣā. The priests will also have to act in that manner. As for Bhṛgu, he will have the beard from the goat's head.

SB 4.7.5, Purport:

Bhṛgu Muni, a great supporter of Dakṣa, was awarded the beard of the goat's head which was substituted for the head of Dakṣa. It appears from the exchange of Dakṣa's head that the modern scientific theory that the brain substance is the cause of all intelligent work is not valid. The brain substance of Dakṣa and that of a goat are different, but Dakṣa still acted like himself, even though his head was replaced by that of a goat.

SB Canto 6

SB 6.5.14, Purport:

In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, fashionable persons are taught to adopt one fashion—the dress of a Vaiṣṇava with a shaved head and tilaka. They are taught to be always clean in mind, dress and eating in order to be fixed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. What is the use of changing one's dress, sometimes wearing long hair and a long beard and sometimes dressing otherwise? This is not good. One should not waste his time in such frivolous activities.

SB 6.9.13-17, Translation:

Like arrows released in the four directions, the demon's body grew, day after day. Tall and blackish, he appeared like a burnt hill and was as lustrous as a bright array of clouds in the evening. The hair on the demon's body and his beard and moustache were the color of melted copper, and his eyes were piercing like the midday sun. He appeared unconquerable, as if holding the three worlds on the points of his blazing trident. Dancing and shouting with a loud voice, he made the entire surface of the earth tremble as if from an earthquake. As he yawned again and again, he seemed to be trying to swallow the whole sky with his mouth, which was as deep as a cave. He seemed to be licking up all the stars in the sky with his tongue and eating the entire universe with his long, sharp teeth. Seeing this gigantic demon, everyone, in great fear, ran here and there in all directions.

SB Canto 7

SB 7.5.39-40, Translation:

The demons (Rākṣasas), the servants of Hiraṇyakaśipu, thus began striking the tender parts of Prahlāda Mahārāja's body with their tridents. The demons all had fearful faces, sharp teeth and reddish, coppery beards and hair, and they appeared extremely threatening. Making a tumultuous sound, shouting, "Chop him up! Pierce him!" they began striking Prahlāda Mahārāja, who sat silently, meditating upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

SB Canto 9

SB 9.19.5-6, Translation:

When the she-goat, who had very nice hips, got out of the well and saw the very handsome he-goat, she desired to accept him as her husband. When she did so, many other she-goats also desired him as their husband because he had a very beautiful bodily structure and a nice mustache and beard and was expert in discharging semen and in the art of sexual intercourse. Therefore, just as a person haunted by a ghost exhibits madness, the best of the he-goats, attracted by the many she-goats, engaged in erotic activities and naturally forgot his real business of self-realization.

SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)

SB 10.66.32-33, Translation:

Thereupon the fire rose up out of the altar pit, assuming the form of an extremely fearsome, naked person. The fiery creature's beard and tuft of hair were like molten copper, and his eyes emitted blazing hot cinders. His face looked most frightful with its fangs and terrible arched and furrowed brows. As he licked the corners of his mouth with his tongue, the demon shook his flaming trident.

SB 10.79.3-4, Translation:

The immense demon resembled a mass of black carbon. His topknot and beard were like molten copper, and his face had horrible fangs and furrowed eyebrows. Upon seeing him, Lord Balarāma thought of His club, which tears to pieces His enemies' armies, and His plow weapon, which punishes the demons. Thus summoned, His two weapons appeared before Him at once.

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 17.190, Translation:

“"My beard was burned, and there were blisters on my cheeks." Every orderly who went gave the same description.'"

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 20.70, Purport:

The words bhadra karāñā are significant in this verse. Due to his long hair, mustache and beard, Sanātana Gosvāmī looked like a daraveśa, or hippie. Since Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not like Sanātana Gosvāmī’s hippie features, he immediately asked Candraśekhara to get him shaved clean. If anyone with long hair or a beard wants to join this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and live with us, he must similarly shave himself clean. The followers of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu consider long hair objectionable.

CC Antya-lila

CC Antya 6.29, Translation:

When the Muslim heard Raghunātha dāsa's appealing voice, his heart softened. He began to cry, and tears glided down his beard.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 2:

Lord Caitanya then introduced Candraśekhara and Tapana Miśra to Sanātana, and Tapana Miśra pleasantly invited Sanātana to dine with him. The Lord requested Candraśekhara to take Sanātana to a barber and make him "gentle," for Sanātana had grown a long beard which Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not like. He not only asked Candraśekhara to provide Sanātana with a bath and clean shave but with a change of clothes as well.

Nectar of Devotion

Nectar of Devotion 50:

In the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Sixtieth Chapter, verse 45, Rukmiṇī-devī said, "My dear husband, a woman who has no taste for the transcendental pleasure available from Your personal contact must be inclined to accept as her husband somebody who is externally a combination of mustache, beard, body hairs, fingernails and some head hair. And within him there are muscles, bones, blood, intestinal worms, stools, mucus, bile and similar things. Actually, such a husband is only a dead body, but due to not being attracted to Your transcendental form, a woman will have to accept this combination of stools and urine for her husband." This statement, which lists the ingredients of a material body, is not a perverted mellow in transcendental realization, because it shows correct discrimination between matter and spirit.

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

Krsna Book 54:

While Rukmiṇī was praying to Kṛṣṇa for the life of her brother, her whole body trembled, and because of her anxiety, her face appeared to dry up and her throat became choked, and due to her trembling, the ornaments on her body loosened and fell scattered on the ground. In this manner, when Rukmiṇī was very much perturbed, she fell down on the ground, and Lord Kṛṣṇa immediately became compassionate and agreed not to kill the foolish Rukmī. But, at the same time, He wanted to give him some light punishment, so He tied him up with a piece of cloth and snipped at his mustache, beard and hair, keeping some spots here and there.

Krsna Book 54:

To please Rukmiṇī, Balarāma personally untied Rukmī, and to further please her, Balarāma, as the elder brother of Kṛṣṇa, spoke some words of chastisement. "Kṛṣṇa, Your action is not at all satisfactory," He said. “This is an abomination very much contrary to Our family tradition! To cut someone's hair and shave his mustache and beard is almost comparable to killing him. Whatever Rukmī might have been, he is now Our brother-in-law, a relative of Our family, and You should not have put him in such a condition.”

Krsna Book 60:

A man within this material world is just a dead body. In fact, superficially, the living entity is covered by this body, which is nothing but a bag of skin decorated with a beard and mustache, hairs on the body, nails on the fingers, and hairs on the head. Within this decorated bag are bunches of muscles, bundles of bones, and pools of blood, always mixed with stool, urine, mucus, bile and polluted air and enjoyed by different kinds of insects and germs. A foolish woman accepts such a dead body as her husband and, in sheer misunderstanding, loves him as her dear companion. This is possible only because such a woman has never relished the ever-blissful fragrance of Your lotus feet.

Krsna Book 66:

When Sudakṣiṇa was encouraged by Lord Śiva in that way, he was sure that he would be able to kill Kṛṣṇa. With a determined vow of austerity, he began to execute the black art of chanting mantras, assisted by the priests. After this, out of the fire came a great demoniac form, whose hair, beard and mustache were exactly the color of hot copper. This form was very big and fierce. As the demon arose from the fire, cinders of fire emanated from the sockets of his eyes. The giant fiery demon appeared still more fierce due to the movements of his eyebrows.

Krsna Book 79:

Lord Balarāma prepared Himself to meet the demon Balvala. At the time when the demon usually attacked the sacred place, there appeared a great hailstorm, the whole sky became covered with dust, and the atmosphere became surcharged with a filthy smell. Just after this, the mischievous demon Balvala began to shower torrents of stool and urine and other impure substances on the arena of sacrifice. After this onslaught, the demon himself appeared with a great trident in his hand. He was a gigantic person, and his black body was like a huge mass of carbon. His hair, his beard and his mustache appeared reddish like copper, and because of his great beard and mustache, his mouth appeared dangerous and fierce.

Light of the Bhagavata

Light of the Bhagavata 31, Purport:

The vānaprasthas, who voluntarily avoid cleaning themselves and who allow their beards and nails to grow, no longer feel the discomforts of these burdens when they engage in the service of the Lord. And above all, the mendicants who take a vow to refrain from sex life no longer feel sexual urges when fixed in the transcendental service of the Lord.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 2.1 -- Ahmedabad, December 7, 1972:

He expanded Himself into sixteen thousand forms. And with each wife He was living comfortably. Each wife had ten children. And those children also had each ten children, grandsons. In this way, Kṛṣṇa's family was more than one crore, Yadu-vaṁśa. So if you study from material point of view, when Kṛṣṇa was present, He proved that He's Bhagavān. And Bhagavān means not a big beard and meditation. Kṛṣṇa never became Bhagavān by meditation. He was not a manufactured God. He's God always. He's not manufactured. When He was on the lap of His mother Yaśodā, He was God. The Pūtanā came to kill Him, but Kṛṣṇa killed him. In this way, if we read the life of Kṛṣṇa, He's proved—Bhagavān. And not only He proved Himself, but all others, great authorities, accepted Him Bhagavān.

Lecture on BG 2.13 -- London, August 19, 1973:

So dhīras tatra na muhyati. It is very simple thing. Suppose a young man, a boy, changes his body, bodily symptoms. Just like a boy has no mustaches or beard, but all of a sudden the hairs grow. Does he cry, "Oh, why I am growing hair? Why I am growing?" Because that is the necessary change of body. Why he should be perplexed, "Why my body is changing?" Similarly, my body is changing, this body to another body, I am dying. Why shall I be perplexed? The intelligence is that "What kind of body I am going to get?" That is intelligence. Otherwise why one should be perplexed? Dehāntara-prāptiḥ.

Lecture on BG 4.8 -- Bombay, March 28, 1974:

This is the description of sādhu. Sādhu does not mean for livelihood change the color of the garment or having big beard and become sādhu. No. Sādhu means devotee. Sādhu means first-class devotee. That is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ samyag vyavasito hi saḥ (BG 9.30). Who is that man? Api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ. One who is fully engaged. Bhajate mām ananya-bhāk. He has no other engagement. Not partial, some percentage for this purpose, some percentage for that purpose. No. Samyak, wholeheartedly, twenty-four hours engaged in the service of the Lord. He is sādhu. He is sādhu.

Lecture on BG 4.24-34 -- New York, August 12, 1966:

My Guru Mahārāja, my spiritual master, used to say that you have to select a spiritual master not by seeing but by your ear, but by hearing. And you don't select a spiritual master who has got a very good hair or beard or some very beautiful feature, "Oh, he is a very good, nice looking." No. You must hear. Tad viddhi praṇipātena (BG 4.34). Śruti. The whole process is śruti. The Vedas are called śruti. The ear has to aural reception.

Lecture on BG 4.39-5.3 -- New York, August 24, 1966:

For example, I cited the other day, just like we go to a barber shop, and we spread our neck, and the barber has got a sharp razor in his hand. If he likes, he can at once cut my throat. He has got the weapon ready. But because I have got faith he'll not do it—he'll simply shave my beard or mustaches... So this faith is required in every activity. Without faith we cannot step forward even in our daily life. So if we have got so, so faith in ordinary dealings, don't you think that we must have very good faith when we are making progress in spiritual line?

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Bombay, January 13, 1973:

This sādhu means kṛṣṇa-bhakta. Without becoming kṛṣṇa-bhakta, according to Bhagavad-gītā, nobody can become a sādhu. That is also explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. Sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ (BG 9.30). Who? Bhajate mām ananya-bhāk. Api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk, sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ (BG 9.30). He's sādhu. Not that sādhu, simply like me, change the dress or having a long beard or... No. The sādhu means one who's purely devotee of the Lord. He's sādhu. Bhajate mām ananya-bhāk. Without any deviation. One who has taken Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, as the only worshipable, he's sādhu.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Sydney, February 16, 1973:

One who has unflinching faith in Kṛṣṇa, one who is cent percent engaged to render service to Kṛṣṇa, he is called sādhu. Sādhu does not mean a kind of dress or kind of beard. No. Sādhu means a devotee, perfect devotee of Kṛṣṇa. That is a sādhu. Therefore it is recommended, sādhu-saṅga. We have to associate with sādhu, means who have completely dedicated life for Kṛṣṇa's service. That is the injunction in the Bhagavad-gītā.

Lecture on BG 10.3 -- New York, January 2, 1967:

The Vedic injunction therefore asks you, tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet: (MU 1.2.12) "If you are actually seriously an inquirer, then you must go to a spiritual master." And what is that? What is that spiritual master? Simply a red dress like this or having a big beard? No. Samit-pāṇiḥ. Samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham. You have to go to a person who is conversant with the science of Kṛṣṇa. You have to go. So this is the formula.

Lecture on BG 10.8 -- New York, January 7, 1967:

Please try to come here and try to understand us. Why you should try to understand us? Because we are speaking here about God, nothing else. No business, no politics, no nonsense. Therefore you should come here. Sādhu-saṅga. This is called association with sādhu. Who is a sādhu? If somebody says "A man with red dress or a great beard or something..." There are so many conceptions of sādhu. But sādhu is described in the Bhagavad-gītā by the Lord Himself, who is sādhu. He said api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk, sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ (BG 9.30). Sādhu is one who is unflinchingly engaged in loving service of the Lord. He is a sādhu. That is the test, who is a sādhu.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.2.7 -- Delhi, November 13, 1973:

Those who are advanced in spiritual knowledge they are called mahātmā. And the symptom of mahātmā is: mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ bhajanty ananya-manasaḥ (BG 9.13). Mahātmā is not changing a dress or having a big beard. (break) Mahātmā is described, who is mahātmā. Mahātmā. Mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ (BG 9.13). Mahātmā is not under the control of this material energy. He is under the shelter of spiritual energy, daivī-prakṛti. And the symptom is bhajanty ananya-manasaḥ: he has no other business than to serve the Supreme Personality. Bhajanti. Bhaja sevāyām.

Lecture on SB 1.2.9-10 -- Delhi, November 14, 1973:

Sādhu means Kṛṣṇa conscious person. Sādhu does not mean having a big beard and nice dress or saffron-colored dress. That is not sādhu. Sādhu is described in the Bhagavad-gītā, api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk, sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ (BG 9.30). That is sādhu, who has no other business than to serve Kṛṣṇa. He is sādhu. He is sādhu because he has accepted the principle, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam (BG 18.66).

Lecture on SB 1.2.12 -- Vrndavana, October 23, 1972:

Sādhu means devotee. Kṛṣṇa says, api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk, sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ (BG 9.30). He's sādhu. Not a sādhu having big beard or mustaches and having red cloth without any sense of Kṛṣṇa. He's not sādhu. Sādhu means one who is fully engaged in the service of the Lord. He's sādhu. Api cet su-durācāraḥ. Even if he's not very well-behaved, su-durācāra, still he's sādhu. Why? Bhajate mām ananya-bhāk. He has no other business than to love Kṛṣṇa. This is the symptom of sādhu.

Lecture on SB 1.2.18 -- Calcutta, September 26, 1974:

Kṛṣṇe bhakti kaile sarva-karma... They fixed up their faith. That is their fortune. They had no hodge-podge idea. Therefore they are making progress. Ādau śraddhā. Then sādhu-saṅga (CC Madhya 22.83). That śraddhā, that firm faith in Kṛṣṇa, can be more and more firm by sādhu-saṅga. Sādhu-saṅga means... Who is sādhu? A sādhu means a devotee. Sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ (BG 9.30). Who is sādhu? Sādhu means..., does not mean that having a long beard and saffron-color dress. Sādhu means, mahātmā means, who is pure devotee.

Lecture on SB 1.2.20 -- Vrndavana, October 31, 1972:

So the Absolute Truth is scientific knowledge. It is not sentiment—"I accept somebody as God by votes." That is not bhagavat-tattva-vijñānam. One must know what is the definition of God. It is not that somebody comes forward with a long beard and says, "I am God," and we rascals accept him as God. No, not like that. It is vijñānam. Vijñāna means science. Without scientific knowledge, one cannot understand what is God. Bhagavat-tattva-vijñānam. And who can understand this vijñāna, this scientific knowledge? Mukta-saṅgasya. One who is liberated from the contamination of the three modes of material nature, he can understand.

Lecture on SB 1.3.22 -- Los Angeles, September 27, 1972:

So Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8). To kill the miscreants and to protect the devotees, He descends. That is avatāra. They have two business. Not that avatāra means keeping some long beard or having an artificial helmet. Rascals may be allured by them, but those who are sensible, who have got sense, they will see with reference to the śāstra, the avatāra, every avatāra...

Lecture on SB 1.3.23 -- Los Angeles, September 28, 1972:

Kṛṣṇa says, unless one is fully wise, after many, many birth, after many, many birth... Because everyone is trying to place a competitor of Kṛṣṇa. Just like I have said it... "Oh, why that Rāma-Kṛṣṇa? Here is another with big beard, Ramakrishna." So... But he is not wise? That kind of Ramakrishna is for the foolish man, and those who are presenting, he is also foolish. But bahūnām... In this way, foolishly accepting something as God... When one actually becomes wise, after many... If he is actually searching after God... Catur-vidhā bhajante māṁ sukṛtino 'rjuna, ārto arthārthī jñānī, anisandes(?) tu..., jñānī ca bharatarṣabha. Jijñāsur jñānī ca bharatarṣabha. Jijñāsuḥ (BG 7.16).

Lecture on SB 1.5.13 -- New Vrindaban, June 13, 1969:

We are accepting anyone as God, but we do not test what, what proof he has given to become God? Here is God: Urukrama. Here is God. We accept Kṛṣṇa as God. He has done from the very childhood uncommon, wonderful activities. We are not fool that we accept somebody, a nonsense having a great beard, and we accept God. No. We must see that he has wonderful activities. What is that wonderful activities? First of all test.

Lecture on SB 1.5.28 -- Vrndavana, August 9, 1974:

Every kṛṣṇa-bhakta, Kṛṣṇa conscious person, is mahātmā, real mahātmā. How it is? Kṛṣṇa says, mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ, bhajanty ananya-manasaḥ (BG 9.13). That is mahātmā. Mahātmā does not mean that if you dress yourself with a certain colored cloth and have some big hairs and beards, then you become mahātmā, no. The mahātmā is he... Who? Daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ: "He is not under the influence of this external energy." Daivī-prakṛti means... There are two prakṛtis, two natures: internal and external. Internal energy is spiritual energy, and external energy is material energy. So mahātmās, they are not under material energy.

Lecture on SB 1.7.25 -- Vrndavana, September 22, 1976:

Kṛṣṇa comes to convince us. There is no question of imagination. "See Me. Here I am." That is Kṛṣṇa. Why you are imagining? Kṛṣṇa therefore comes. Here it is said, tathāyaṁ ca avatāras te bhuvo bhāra-jihīrṣayā. Avatāra does not mean a big beard or big hair. We do not like to see such ugly avatāra. We kick on their face, this avatāra. This is not avatāra. Avatāra must be mentioned in the śāstra. Caitanya Mahāprabhu, when He was talking with Sanātana Gosvāmī, so Caitanya Mahāprabhu described about avatāra.

Lecture on SB 1.16.8 -- Los Angeles, January 5, 1974:

Kirāta means the black, the Africans. They are called kirāta. Kirāta-hūṇa āndhra. Hūṇa, the nation or the community on the North Pole, above Russian, German, they are called hūṇa. There are so many we do not know. Khasādayaḥ, the Mongolians. Khasādayaḥ means who does not grow sufficiently mustaches and beard, this Mongolian group. Kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ. Yavana, the mlecchas, yavanas, means those who are Muhammadans and others. So they are also included. Nṛ-loke. Because it is nṛ-loka. Every human being. Superficially, externally, there may be, this nation is better than that nation. That is fact.

Lecture on SB 2.3.20-21 -- Los Angeles, June 17, 1972:

Simply by meditation he becomes God? This is the foolishness. God must be acting very wonderfully. Otherwise, how he's God. If he is just like ordinary man, and because he has got a big beard, he becomes God? How foolishness it is. They do not know what is God because they have not heard about God, how powerful He is, how brave activities He does. Just like Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa, when He was seven years old, He lifted a great hill, Govardhana Hill. Giridhārī. And He kept it on His finger for seven days. That is God. Kṛṣṇa, when He was householder, He married sixteen thousand wives.

Lecture on SB 2.9.4-8 -- Tokyo, April 23, 1972:

Śruti-pramāṇam. That is evidence, śruti-pramāṇam. Śruti means Veda. In the Vedas it is stated... Just like Brahmā. He is receiving Vedic knowledge from, directly from God, Kṛṣṇa. Brahmaṇe darśayan rūpam. This is the process of understanding. Brahmā, how Brahmā is receiving knowledge? Directly he sees there is nobody there, but he is receiving knowledge. Directly he could not see. Upāśṛṇot, upāśṛṇot. Upāśṛṇot: "He simply heard." Upāśṛṇot. Ear, not the eyes. So therefore knowledge has to be gathered by aural reception, not by the eyes. My Guru Mahārāja used to say that, "Do not try to see a saintly person. You try to hear a saintly person." If you see a long beard and very strong man, he is a great sādhu. Oh. That's it." No. You have to hear. What does he speak? Then you understand. Upāśṛṇot. Divyaṁ sahasrābdam.

Lecture on SB 2.9.9 -- Tokyo, April 25, 1972, Informal Class in Room:

...transcendental vibration. So everything is there. If you do not practice, what can I do? The transliteration is there, the accent is there, and now our Pradyumna is there also. Utilize time; become attracted. As Kṛṣṇa is all-attractive, you become attracted at least to some. Kṛṣṇa is all-attractive. You cannot become all-attracted. At least you become attracted to some. They are becoming attracted by good apartment, by shaving the beard or..., like that. You told me they are trying to remain young?

Lecture on SB 2.9.11-15 -- Tokyo, April 28, 1972:

If He maintains sixteen millions of wives, still, it is insufficient. Because if we say "All potency, all-powerful, all-good," then to maintain sixteen thousand wives with sixteen thousand palaces and all the palaces made of first-class marble and gold and jewels, and the furnitures are made of ivory... These are description. That is God. Why we shall accept a nonsense God simply having a big beard or some...? You see? No. We don't accept. We accept real God.

Lecture on SB 3.25.11 -- Bombay, November 11, 1974:

The knowledge which you are expecting after many thousands of births, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is giving you immediately. If you are intelligent man, you should take it, take advantage of it. We are preaching that "Everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa. Everything should be utilized for Kṛṣṇa's purpose, Kṛṣṇa's benefit. He is the beneficiary. Then everything is all right." If one comes to this knowledge-vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti... (BG 7.19), īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1)—sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ, then immediately you become the greatest mahātmā. Mahātmā does not mean simply having a big beard and some dress, saffron dress. No.

Lecture on SB 3.25.15 -- Bombay, November 15, 1974:

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.

Lecture on SB 3.25.22 -- Bombay, November 22, 1974:

Sādhu means the devotee of the Lord. If one is not sādhu, then he cannot become guru. And sādhu means... This is the description given. What is that? Mayy ananyena bhāvena bhaktiṁ kurvanti ye dṛḍhām. He's sādhu. Not that anyone with a saffron cloth and having a long beard. That is not sādhu. Sādhu means the devotee of the Lord. That is his first qualification. Kṛṣṇa says, api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk. The same thing. As it is, Kapiladeva says, mayy ananyena bhāvena. Kapiladeva is also Kṛṣṇa, incarnation of Kṛṣṇa. The same thing.

Lecture on SB 5.5.3 -- Vrndavana, October 25, 1976:

In the śāstra we'll find not by one symptom, that one has got saffron cloth or big beard, then he is mahātmā. No. There are other symptoms. Just like brāhmaṇa. In the Kali-yuga brāhmaṇa means one two-paisa thread, that's all. But that is not brāhmaṇa. Brāhmaṇa means śamo damo titikṣva. These are the symptoms. Similarly, mahātmā does not mean a dress. But people have taken advantage of this dress, veśopajivibhiḥ (?). In India still, although poverty-stricken, if a person, simply by dressing in saffron cloth goes to a village, he has no problem.

Lecture on SB 5.5.4 -- Vrndavana, October 26, 1976:

Simply putting on a saffron dress and having a big beard, he's not mahātmā. Mahātmā is he who is cent percent engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service. Mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim (BG 9.13). He's not in the control of this material nature. He's completely under the direction of spiritual nature. Daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ. And what is the sign? What is the difference between a person under material nature and spiritual nature? The difference is that one who is under spiritual nature, he is cent percent engaged in the service of the Lord.

Lecture on SB 5.5.29 -- Vrndavana, November 16, 1976:

Because he has surrendered to Kṛṣṇa, he has accepted Kṛṣṇa, Vāsudeva—vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā suḍurlabhaḥ (BG 7.19)—he is mahātmā. Mahātmā does not mean that to dress like me or having a big beard and No. Vāsudevaḥ sarvam. One who has accepted Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme—paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān (BG 10.12)—he is mahātmā. Mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ, bhajanty ananya manaso (BG 9.13). He is mahātmā, not mahātmā by stamping or by changing the dress. No. Mahātmā means who is surrendered to the... Mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo-murāreḥ. Murāri, Kṛṣṇa's name is mahat-padam. He is mahātmā.

Lecture on SB 7.6.1 -- Montreal, June 12, 1968:

One who has renounced everything for the service of the Supreme, he is called a sannyāsa. Sannyāsa does not mean a particular type of dress or particular type of beard. Sannyāsa means you can become a sannyāsī even with your, this coat-pant. It doesn't matter, provided you have dedicated your life for the service of God. That is called sannyāsa. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is clearly said, anāśritaḥ karma-phalaṁ kāryaṁ karma karoti yaḥ, sa sannyāsī, sa sannyāsī sa yogi ca na cānya akriya (BG 6.1). The meaning of this verse is that anāśritaḥ karma-phalaṁ.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 1.16 -- Mayapur, April 9, 1975:

Purāṇa-puruṣam means the oldest person. Because Kṛṣṇa is the origin of everything... Sometimes they consider, "Because God is very old, therefore He must have big, big beard and..." That is imagination. Here you find the real description of God: advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam ādyam (Bs. 5.33), "Original," Purāṇa-puruṣam, "the oldest of all," nava-yauvanaṁ ca, "but His bodily feature is just like a fresh young man." That is Kṛṣṇa. You'll never find Kṛṣṇa... Kṛṣṇa, when He was in the battlefield of Kurukṣetra, He was a great-grandfather, but you'll find a young boy. That is Kṛṣṇa. So that is eternal.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.66-96 -- New York, November 21, 1966:

The Tapana Miśra invited him, that "Please accept your bhikṣā at my place." It is the system when a sannyāsī, or renounced order of life, is in the village or in the vicinity of a... So it is the Hindu system that somebody will invite. So Tapana Miśra invited him to take, accept prasādam at his place, and Lord Caitanya said that "First of all you get him to a barber and have him cleansed of, of his beard and hairs which has grown for so many days. Let him become a gentleman." The Lord said that "Let him become a gentleman."

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.66-96 -- New York, November 21, 1966:

"Just get him to a barber and clean, clean-shaven." According to the Caitanya Mahāprabhu's sampradāya, they keep themselves clean-shaven. And only single instance is there, Advaita Prabhu. He had his beard. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu 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.

Sri Brahma-samhita Lectures

Lecture on Brahma-samhita, Lecture -- New York, July 28, 1971:

One who has known perfectly well that Kṛṣṇa, Vasudeva, is the source of everything, sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ, such kind of mahātmā is very rare. You can find out so-called mahātmās with great beard, mustaches and... But that is different mahātmā. That is not mahātmā. They are sometimes durātmā, because they want to encroach on the rightful position of Kṛṣṇa. They want to become one with Kṛṣṇa. Suppose if there is servant in your office, and if he tries to occupy your seat, would you like him, if you understand that your, "This servant is trying to occupy my seat"? Similarly, any living entity who is trying to become God, he's not very much liked by God. He cannot become God, but this very endeavor, to become God, to become a competitor of God, is not very much liked.

Lecture on Brahma-samhita, Lecture -- Bombay, January 3, 1973:

Puruṣam means person. Nava-yauvanaṁ ca. But whenever you'll see Kṛṣṇa, He's just a perfect young boy, nava-yauvanaṁ ca. You'll never see Kṛṣṇa's picture as He has become old, He has grown some big, big beard and... No. Kṛṣṇa, you'll never see. Kṛṣṇa is just like a twenty-years-old young boy. Nava-yauvanaṁ ca. Vedeṣu durlabham adurlabham ātma-bhaktau (Bs. 5.33). He is not to be found in the Vedas. There is, but we miss. In the Ṛg Veda, in the Atharva Veda, Kṛṣṇa is there. Vedeṣu durla... But the ordinary man cannot find.

Initiation Lectures

Initiations -- Sydney, April 2, 1972:

Śyāmasundara: Wally. It's Vyāsadeva dāsa.

Devotees: Oooḥ!

Prabhupāda: Vyāsadeva had also long hairs and beard also. (laughter) But he is without beard.

Śyāmasundara: He is a professor also.

General Lectures

Brandeis University Lecture -- Boston, April 29, 1969:

You see this picture, five learned brāhmaṇas. In the center there is one picture who is Lord Caitanya. He started this movement when He was only seventeen years old, a boy. A boy only—a schoolboy. He was student, but He introduced this movement five hundred years ago, and some of the elderly men, as you see, one elderly man with beard, He also helped Him, and the others... Actually this movement was originally started by young boys. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Nityānanda Prabhu, and Advaita Prabhu, They started. And there was a great agitation against Them by the brāhmaṇas, priestly brāhmaṇas, at that time. So Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu picked up these sixteen words from Vedic literature. It is not that He manufactured something. No. In the Vedic way there is no question of manufacturing something, religious process. No.

1968 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk at Stow Lake -- March 27, 1968, San Francisco:

Prabhupāda: Seaweeds, yes. So they... All over the body there was some seaweeds. Not exactly... He was very unclean and odd-looking, and beard and ugly. So he thought that "He's a great yogi. If I refuse, 'No, I'm not going to hand over my daughter to you,' then he may be angry and create some catastrophe." So he said, just to avoid him, that "I have got eight daughters, and it is the desire of my daughters that they should be given over to one husband." No, that "they should be married all at once. So unless I find other husbands for my daughters you have to wait." So immediately, "Yes, I shall myself become eight then." And he expanded himself, eight expansions. So at that time what could he say? He said, "You know, my dear sir, that they are princesses after all. They may not like such ugly husband." Oh, he at once became very youthful and beautiful. Then he married. So in the history you can find that a perfect yogi can expand himself.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Malcolm -- July 18, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: "He's sādhu." Who? Ananya-bhāk: "Without any diversion of attention, he's completely engaged in My devotional service... Even if he has got some minor defects, still, because he is completely surrendered and engaged in My service, he's sādhu." Sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ (BG 9.30). So this is the test of sādhu. Sādhu means he must be a devotee. Sādhu does not mean having saffron color and long beard and doing all nonsense. No. Sādhu means... First test is that he is unflinching, without any deviation. Api cet sudurā..., bhajate mām ananya-bhāk. Ananya-bhāk means he does not know anything except the service of the Lord. That is the qualification of sādhu. So similarly, in other places also, the definition of sādhu is there. Sādhu means titikṣavaḥ: he's very tolerant because a sādhu has to face so many opposing elements and sometimes very offensive, but he has to tolerate. Titikṣavaḥ. At the same time, kāruṇikāḥ, very merciful.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- February 20, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: They... These hippies, they also say that by marijuana... They call marijuana... They call marijuana? Or what is called?

Devotees: Marijuana.

Prabhupāda: Marijuana. So they learned this gañjā smoking... They came here for spiritual enlightenment, but they do not know who can give them spiritual enlightenment. They went to these rascals, gañjā-smoker, having long beard...

Morning Walk -- February 20, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: They came here... I have got many students. They came here for spiritual enlightenment, but they learned gañjā smoking and keeping high, big beard. You know. There is a sannyāsa-āśrama in Delhi. And people contribute them gañjā. Not only they, I know... My father, he was also attached to so many sannyāsīs. So in Kālī-ghāṭa, there was a sannyāsī...

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- May 13, 1975, Perth:

Prabhupāda: And by simply one daṇḍa, one is sannyāsī. This is all over the world. Mussulman, having a long beard, he is Mussulman. Mussuleḥ iman.(?) Musseleḥ means complete, and iman means honest. That is the meaning of Mussulman. Completely honest, completely devoted. Mussuleḥ iman. (long pause) We are not saying just "No sex." We don't say that. We simply say, "No illicit sex," and they do not like it. We don't say "No sex," but simply by saying, "No illicit sex," they don't like. Why? There is a Bengali song, "cakṣe yadi lage bhala kena dadimali" (?) "If I want to see something beautiful, why shall I not see?" That is pravṛtti. "I want to do it. I like to do it. Why should you say, 'No'?" This is the position. "I like to do it. I must do it." This is called pravṛtti (long pause) "I like to interpret Bhagavad-gītā in this way. Why should you say no?" This is going on. (break) The school students, college students, "I like to copy. Why shall I repress(?) ?" This is education.

Morning Walk -- June 23, 1975, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: So long I have become devotee, since then, as soon as I think of sex, I spite on it." This is devotee. (break) ...whole world is going on simply by this perverted vision: the woman is very beautiful for the man and the man is very beautiful to the woman. This is the knot, hṛdaya-granthi. Otherwise how they will work? Reciprocally, they are seeing beautiful. Sometimes the women like big, big beard. Yes, they like. And they keep. The Mohammedans, they say, "We keep beard. Women like it." They don't want this shaven headed. Huh? What is your experience? (laughter)

Morning Walk -- July 25, 1975, Los Angeles:

Yadubara: He said he was trying to do away with it.

Prabhupāda: But your beard is growing more and more. (break) He said that "I say to my disciples that if you have to take instruction, that is Bhaktivedanta Prabhu." He said that.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- August 2, 1976, New Mayapur (French farm):

Prabhupāda: No, that was another boy. He was drunkard. (laughter)

Harikeśa: Yogeśvara has many pictures of those meetings at 26 Second Avenue, with Hayagrīva with the beard and the long hair hitting this... There's pictures of all those meetings, photographs. Of Hayagrīva with the beard and long hair hitting the gong next to you.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. Long hairs almost everyone. This Umāpati was also one of them.

Room Conversation with Indian Man -- December 22, 1976, Poona:

Prabhupāda: The question is one and the answer is one. There cannot be many questions or many answers. Answer is one. That answer is, Kṛṣṇa begins, that "As the body is changing, within our experience..." dehino'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). Very nice example. We are changing bodies. When you were born, there was no beard. Clean shaved or no hair. So that body has changed. It is not the same body. In which body you came out of the womb of your mother, that was a small body. That was a different body. This example given there. This body is changing during your experience of life. Similarly, after death the body will change, but you will continue. This is self-realization. It is not very difficult. The example is there. It doesn't take much time.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Evening Darsana -- May 13, 1977, Hrishikesh:

Prabhupāda: So our real trouble is that we have become conditioned by the material identification, "I am this body." Everyone is thinking, "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am brāhmaṇa," "I am sannyāsī," everything, identification with the body. That is the dirty thing. So one has to purify, that "I am neither American, neither Indian, nor brāhmaṇa, or so many designations." Then it is called cleansing the heart. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam (CC Madhya 19.170). That is mukti, when you don't identify with this material body. And so long you identify with this material body, either you become a sannyāsī with some beard or a gṛhastha without some beard, the same thing, identifying with the body. So ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12) means to become free from the bodily designation. And śāstra says, yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke (SB 10.84.13). This body is composition of three dhātu, kapha, pitta, vāyu, according to Āyur Veda; and according to medical science, it is skin and then muscle, blood, bone, and marrow, stool, urine, those, combination.

1967 Correspondence

Letter to Hayagriva -- Vrindaban 29 August, 1967:

I am so glad to learn that you have sacrificed your long beard and hair. I have forgotten your mother's address, or I would have informed her of your action, and I think she would have liked it very much. Anyway, you must have reduced your age considerably by sacrificing this "maya," and now you must look like a very nice young gentleman.

Letter to Brahmananda -- Calcutta 11 October, 1967:

Regarding change of dress, I beg to inform you that every Krishna conscious person must be clean shaved, must have Tilakas on the forehead and other eleven places and must have the Sikha on the top of the head besides beads on the neck as usual. Rarely one can continue to keep beard but it is better not to keep it to distinguish oneself from the Hippies.

Letter to Brahmananda -- Calcutta 11 October, 1967:

Kirtanananda is the first man in our society who cleanly shaved and kept the Sikha on the top of the head and now he has begun to keep beard again. This is not good. Whatever he is doing nowadays has no sanction from me. And he has deliberately disobeyed me by not going to London. Now he appears to be out of my control and therefore I advise you not to follow his principles unless he shows practically something wonderful. I gave him a chance to do this in the matter of opening a Branch in London but he has failed to do it. Now let him show first of all that by seeing his newly grown beard he has been successful to have many Americans following him and our financial condition has improved, then try to follow his instruction. Otherwise reject all idle talks. A Krishna conscious person must be seen by ears and not by the eyes or in other words one should try to know the depth of realization by Krishna conscious person and not see the beard which has become the practice of the Hippies.

Letter to Pradyumna -- Calcutta 17 October, 1967:

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.

1968 Correspondence

Letter to Hamsaduta, Himavati -- Los Angeles 3 March, 1968:

I am pleased to hear that you have begun practicing for the Kirtana party; please keep me informed how you are progressing. Yes, if you like, you can also arrange for costumes and wig; one boy may be dressed as Lord Caitanya, another as Nityananda, as well as Gadadhara, Advaita with white beard and Srivasa with shaven head. Responsive chanting is very nice; one good singer may lead, and the others may join in. That is the system in India. It is very good for two reasons especially: One, the chanter gets to rest, so he does not become tired, and two, you get to chant and hear, that is the process. You may also have melodious accompaniment instruments, and amplifiers. Blowing of the conch shell and horns is very nice.

Letter to Satsvarupa -- Montreal 3 July, 1968:

Bali Maharaja may be shown as not more than 40 years old, very nice looking king, well dressed like the royal order, and with mustache and no beard. Sukaracharya should be wearing a Saivite tilaka, and also Maharaja Bali can have a Saivite tilaka, until after he meets with Vamanadeva, and then you can change Bali Maharaja's tilaka into a Vaisnava one.

1969 Correspondence

Letter to Krsna dasa -- Los Angeles 4 July, 1969:

After 27th July, I can start on any day from San Francisco. You can shave once in a month on the full moon day with head & beard.

1970 Correspondence

Letter to Satsvarupa -- Tokyo 20 August, 1970:

There is a picture in Gita Press Bhagavata where Sukadeva Gosvami has been offered a nice raised throne and the king Pariksit along with the sages sitting on the floor on the bank of the Ganges and it is very nice. The king Pariksit has no beard. His face should be very nice looking, young king between 30-40 years age.

1971 Correspondence

Letter to Govinda -- Delhi 20 November, 1971:

The Panca-tattva can all be golden. The Deity of Lord Caitanya is very nicely done so there is no need to change the color. Yes, Srivas Pandit has sikha. Vaisnava must have sikha. Advaita Prabhu has a full white beard. He was an old man. He was practically older than the father of Lord Caitanya. He was an elder gentleman in the town of Navadvipa, elder of the brahmana community. All should wear Tulasi kunti beads, not less than two strands. Three, four strands or my Guru Maharaja had five strands. Only Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda wear crowns and nosepins. Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda can be decorated with all kinds of jewelry. For Krishna Tulasi and Rama Tulasi the the worship is the same. There is no difference between Rama and Krishna. Both are the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Simply they are expansions of the same Absolute Truth.

1973 Correspondence

Letter to Kurusrestha -- Melbourne 10 February, 1973:

Second initiations of Sudarsani dasi and Madhurya-lilananda dasi are duly approved by me. Enclosed you will find the Gayatri Mantra slips. You may have one fire ceremony and they may listen to the tape of me chanting the Gayatri Mantra in their right ear and repeat it. Regarding the first initiations, they are also approved by me and their names are as follows. Dan Swanson is now Dvijati Pujaka das, Christopher Beard is now Carucandra das, Phillip West is now Prabala das and Rebecca Strowger is now Rupa Ramesvari dasi. Will you please send one copy of this letter to Kirtanananda Swami along with their beads of the aspiring devotees for I have authorized him to chant on the beads on my behalf.

Letter to Jayapataka, Bhavananda -- Los Angeles 9 May, 1973:

The difficulty will be the Mohammadans will not agree to shave their heads and beards. Our principle is anyone can live with us provided he becomes clean shaved, dresses like us, follows the regulative principles and chants the beads regularly. So you can let me know what is the reaction on the Mohammedan side to these conditions. Most of my students are coming from the Christian and Jewish groups but because they agreed to follow our principles there was no difficulty to organize the society. Similarly Mohammedan or anyone else who has no objection to our principles is welcome.

1974 Correspondence

Letter to Muralidhara -- Mayapur 7 March, 1974:

I have received your letter sent to Mayapur with a list of questions regarding your painting pictures for my books. The answers are as follows.

1. Kardama Muni should look something like you have pictured Vyasadeva, with beard and top know of hair, not as you have pictured him in your drawing. Generally munis have beards.

2. a) The kinnaras and kimpurasas should look like demigods.

b) Ghosts and hobgoblins look all rights as you have them pictured.

c) There is nothing peculiar looking about Yaksas and Raksasas; they are meat eaters. Just as meat eaters in the ordinary world do not look different. You may show them eating meat, or something like that.

d) The Manus should look like kings, they should not have beards, but mustaches.

3. As far as wearing beards one class of men like Advaita Prabhu never wore clean shaven appearance but always had a beard. The other process is to be nicely clean shaven, by the barber. King PratapaRudra was a king so he should not wear a beard but mustaches.

4. Svarupa Damodara should look like a brahmacari. He should not have a beard.

5. In Panca-tattva everyone has an effulgence, but especially Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda

Letter to ISKCON Artists -- Bombay 2 May, 1974:

Pracetas should be not clean shaven, but with beards as mendicants.

Siva is different colors. Not always yellow. There are eleven kinds of Rudras.

1975 Correspondence

Letter to Uttamasloka -- Vrindaban 11 December, 1975:

It is called Dhira vrata—determination. These boys and girls are mahatmas, mahatmanas tu mam partha, daivim prakrtim asritah, bhajantyananya manaso, jnatva bhutadim avyayam (BG 9.13) "O son of Pritha, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible." This verse is applicable here, if these boys were under material nature they would not take so much risk, they are mahatma, they are real mahatma, not that long beard and saffron cloth mahatma. They are unswerving in their determination, dhira vrata. All glories to the American devotees!

1976 Correspondence

Letter to Dhrstaketu -- New York 17 July, 1976:

Unless absolutely necessary one should keep hair short, and if necessary one can dress like an American gentleman with short hair. It is not expected that everyone will join. For that reason we can't compromise. The tendency is there to be hippy. When the acaryas are seen with beard, that is during Caturmasya, July-September. If observed strictly there is not simply a beard. There are so many rules and regulations. One can't eat a variety of foods. Only kitri prepared and poured on the floor, and then licked up. There are so many other rules also. That is not always that they kept beard.

Letter to Radhavallabha -- Vrindaban 7 September, 1976:

All of the sketches which you have sent to me while I am in India are approved. The picture of the Mohini Murti capturing the demons should take place outside on grass, there is no floor or walls. Prahlada Maharaja does not have a beard. Always avoid beards. It is not true that there are no shoes in Krsna lila, rather there are shoes except for the Vrndavana pastimes. But the shoes are of another quality, they are beautiful with jewels etc. On the battlefield they must wear shoes. The severed head of Rahu should look like the head of a demon, not round like a planet.