Steve Jobs and the Moment of Death

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.

Srimad Bhagavatam Lecture
1 November 2011--Sri Vrindavan Dhama, India:

Answers by Citing the Vedic Version

Question: Is there a Vedic Rule Against Beards?

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.

Answer: Caitanya's Followers Remain Clean-Shaved

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