2.1: The Appearance of a Vaisnava
Srila Prabhupada wanted devotees, particulalry those that live in temples, to adopt a certain style of dress so that they would be recognisable as devotees of Krishna.
This appearance is both simple and aesthetically pleasing. It reminds the devotee of his position as an eternal servant of Krsna and helps others recognise him as a spiritual person. The dress, hairstyle, neckbeads, and tilaka are all signs of a Vaisnava and devotees like to identify themselves as servants of Krsna.
- Dress: Dhoti for men and saris for women.
- Sikha: The sikha is a tuft of hair worn by the male devotees who otherwise have shaved heads. For thousands of years, devotees of Krishna have worn their hair in this way as a sign of surrender to the spiritual master, who is pleased to see his disciples entering into Krishna conscious life. To the public, such signs as the sikha are constant reminders that the devotes of God are present, and therefore the sikha indirectly reminds everyone of Krishna.
- Beads: Each devotee carries a string of 108 japa beads, which are usually carried in a bean bag worn around the neck, and he chants the Hare Krishna mantra on these beads. Devotees also wear small beads made of Tulasi, a sacred plant, around their necks. These are called kunti-mala and further identify one as a Vaisnava. When devotees wear the kunti-mala, they declare that their body belongs to Krishna, will be used to serve Krisna, and in return will be protected by Him.
Initiated devotees chant a minimum of 16 rounds daily on their Japa beads; taking care not to commit any offences whilst chanting the Holy Name. - Tilaka: Tilaka is sometimes called the ornamentation of the spirit soul. When devotees place the marks known as tilaka on their foreheads, they are displaying their intention to become Krishna's servants; the upward lines of the tilaka markings represent the footprint of the Lord, and the nose marking represents Tulasi, the sacred leaf always placed on the Lord's feet in the temple. The decoration, made by applying wet clay mixture, further marks the body as a temple of Vishnu, the Supreme Lord.
The Vaisnava devotee marks his body in twelve places for sanctification and protection, and one who is wearing tilaka can at once be identified as a devotee of the Lord. Just as one can recognise that the strength of the government is behind a uniformed policeman, one can understand that the strength of God is behind a devotee marked with tilaka.
In the Padma Purana, Lord Siva says to Parvati that in the middle of the tilaka marking there is a space and in that space reside Laksmi and Narayana. Therefore, the body that is decorated with tilaka should be considered a temple of Lord Vishnu.
When making tilaka the following mantra from the Uttara Khanda of the Padma Purana should be chanted:
lalate kesavam dhyayen
narayanam athodare
vaksah-sthale madhavam tu
govindam kantha-kupake
visnum ca daksine kuksau
bahau ca madhusudanam
trivikramam kandhare tu
vamanam vama-parsvake
stridharam vama-bahau tu
hrsikesam ca kandhare
prsthe tu padma-nabham ca
katyam damodaram nyaset
tat praksalana-toyam tu
vasudeveti mrdhani
In accordance with the above mentioned mantra one should apply tilaka with the ball of the finger tip, to make the tilaka markings on the twelve parts of the body.
When tilaka is applied the following mantras should be chanted:
- The forehead: om kesavaya namah
- The belly: om narayanaya namah
- The chest: om madhavaya namah
- The throat: om govindaya namah
- The right side: om visnave namah
- The right arm: om madhusudanaya namah
- The right shoulder: om trivikramaya namah
- The left side: om vamanaya namah
- The left arm: om sridharaya namah
- The left shoulder: om hrsikesaya namah
- The upper back: om padmanabhaya namah
- The lower back: om damodaraya namah
Finally, after washing one's hand, whatever water is left should be wiped on the top of the head the mantra: om vasudevaya namah.
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