I am a single devotee from my family , my parents are non devotee and they dont support me in eating food which is made without onion and garlic also i am a neet aspirant i had to study for like 12-15 hours in daily basis so due to that i consume coffee in all this circumstances i continue with my 2-4 rounds of chanting and I have a urge to wear tulsi kanthi mala in order to progress in the krishna conscious path . there is no iskcon temple in my city thats why I have lack of guidance
please guide that i can wear kanthi mala or not if not what i should do in this case
secondly i want to ask you that i should keep shikha or not ???
Replies
Hare Krsna Prabhu,
PAMHO.
Please wait until you can give up coffee. We tell students to wear tulsi kanthi mala - 1 or 2 strands until they are able to follow all 4 regulative principles, generally.
Haribol,
Your servant,
Radha Rasamayi DD
You can wear the Tulsi kanthi slope runmala even if you're not fully adhering to a strict vegetarian diet. The mala is a sacred item, and wearing it can help you connect more deeply with your practice. However, it's often recommended to avoid using it if you are consuming food that is not in line with the principles of Krishna consciousness, as it symbolizes purity.