Hare Krishna dear Devotees, please accept my humble obeisances! All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
What might be the reason that many of us shy to wear Vaishnava cloth every where? to the job, at home?
What might be the reason? Mental, physical, spiritual, cultural???
If it was uncomfortable that what to speak of Arjuna? He went to the battle field in dhoti. He ride on horse in dhoti so what is the difficulty?
It is not to criticize any of You just it would be very interesting to know the reasons.
Can please each Devotee explain their problems why they do not do that!
Thank You so much!
Your servant, bhaktin maral
Replies
Hare Krsna Maralji, Good question and thoughts. I do not want to criticise anyone but only sharing my observations and opinions so pls, I beg your pardon ahead of time if I offend anyone.
I was in fiji some years ago and I was very delighted to see so many devotees going to work even in government offices with vaisnava dress including tilak. I was very impressed. There devotees are respected. And as some devotees wear devotional clothes others new comers also join in. So it becomes a lifestyle. A vaisnava has to be proud of the dress. SP also said "first dress then address'
Another point is just as a policemen is recognized by his dress, similarly a devotee will be recognized by his dress and will be known as servant of god so will naturally command respect. From this respect, the person benefits and starts making progress in his or her spiritual life by simply seeing a devotee.
Wearing a vaisnava dress makes one feel like a devotee because whatever you wear, effects one's consciousness. E.g. if you wear army cloths immediately one will feel macho like. Just like a small kid immitating a fireman even if he wears a fireman's helmet or a doctor's attire then the child will start play acting as such. So even in adults, it is the same, the spirit will prevail of what one is wearing. Therefore devotional cloths are very condusive to spiritual advancement both for the wearer and the onlooker.
In the early days some matajis had regular work but they would attend morning programs in pants and then go to work from the temple. Srila Prabhupada told them that out of respect for Krsna they should wear devotional cloths to the temple and they surrendered by making arrangements of changing after the temple programs.
There is a statement in sastra that says, that if we don't give KC, then we are committing violence. So in that sense devotees are obliged to give KC in anyway we can. So simply dressing as vaisnavas we can remind people of Krsna.
Moreover in India, it should be very easy to wear devotional cloths where devotees are already accepted by the whole country not like the west, there is a lot of strange reactions etc. So it is upto the devotees to spread the holy names one way or the other. By wearing vaisnava dress, one preaches simply by remaining silence and commands respect.
Another instance, in the early days some actresses joined and after they dressed up in Sari and devotee attire, Srila Prabhupada said that they looked very beautiful. We know from experience when we see those russian devotees dressed up in saris, they look very attractive in a faminine way.
Oh yes, wearing saris makes one feel faminine thus we can act in that way instead of musculine as it affects the consciousness.
Just some thoughts. hope it helps.
YS
Gitadidi
Hare Krishna
I somewhat agree with reply from "particle of dust"
Why is women depicted as sex symbol in ancient sculptures and carvings on stones (even on stones of old temples) with tight saree , tight blouse showing all mid-riff area.
Whatever one wears , you should wear it with proper consciousness.
Even a saree can be worn with polluted consciousness to show your figure. How does that help with advancement in KC.
No doubt , saree makes you feel more feminine and is an ideal dress for women but ultimately what matters is how you wear it and with what consciousness?
Jai shree Krishna
Hare Krishna to All !!
In my opinion we must wear clothes which cover our body and are comfortable.
We can't compare what Arjuna wore ,time,place and circumstances are relative.
It's about heart and devotion not about clothes, because i guess Kamsa and Arjuna both wore dhoti always !
We must act according our intelligence and not be fanatic about cloth, else we will be in cloth consciousness instead of being in Krishna Consciousness .
Perfect answer Mudit Prabhu.
Don't understand why people create so much of issue about it loosing their real focus on KC.
Hari Bola.
Pratap
Hare Krishna
We wear jeans all the time and all kinds of outfits depending upon the situation, we wear sarees, suits, jeans, slacks... We always felt, these are just types of dresses, nothing more than that. It does not say anything about the person except his/her choice. and i guess everyone has right to choose... and you can wear jeans and slacks to temples and holy places. i know a few temples where any type of pant wearing is not allowed, whether its men or women.
Whats important is what is inside, in your heart and how you perceive it from your eyes.
Whats important is we make everyone feel comfortable with their choice. That is a major problem today. Men judging women by the outfits they wear, as they do not have respect in their eyes. They do not want to respect the fact that women should have any kind of freedom.
In old times, i'm talking about the times of mahabharat and ramayan, from what i have seen in the serials, women are depicted wearing a top and a dhoti and a Dupatta on their head. There is no effort to even hide mid-riffs in many cases. They are also shown wearing sarees, another outfit that shows mid-riff area.. I'm not saying that those outfits were bad. Those outfits were beautiful and that was the tradition in those times.
But in those times, Men knew how to respect women and had an amount of humility and chivalry in them. So when they saw women wearing an outfit, they only saw the beauty and thought of honoring the women by giving them respects.
The problem is not in an outfit, the problem is in the mindset and thinking of people.
If you ask me If i'm in India, and i'm travelling, I would feel much safer wearing jeans rather than Saree or even a suit.
"Gramya katha na shunibe, gramya varta na kahibe, bhalo na khaibe ar bhalo na poribe." ~Chaitanya Charitramrta. Bhalo na poribe means do not wear gorgeous dresses and it is Chaitanya Mahprabhu's instruction. If a casual trouser can do the work why there is need to wear jeans?
Hare Krishna to all,
Dandavat Pranam,
Very rightly said Sudipta Prabhu,
genes is really uncomfortable,I have never worn it in my life till date,only once or twice I tried and that too due to persuasion from material friends,but I removed it,its really tight and it seems as if you are trying to show your body,I personally feel quite embarrassed .
As far as preaching is concerned to attract people,we should not violate our values,otherwise in India already 'chalta hai' attitude is there and then even devotion will get diluted.Some things should never be compromised.
Its true that in kaliyuga even some saffron people are not genuine,but that doesn't mean that all rules and regulations don't have any value.
YS
Hare Krishna,
AGTSP. With dues respect....its so funny. We are living in Kaliyuga and comparing what Arjuna was wearing. Arjuna was the direct companion of Krishna.
Its cool to wear Jeans. Its easy. Make your feeling Krishnized...not ur out fits....we have seen enough god conscious people who wear saffron clothes to breach all rules.
Dear Sudipta Prabhu, I dont think every one wears jeans to remain at the center of attraction. No. In other ways if u can bring success to KC movements wearing jeans it will inspire billions of youths.
Hari Bola
Dear Pratap Prabhu.
There is nothing cool in wearing jeans , rather it is uncomfortable in Indian weather. Modern trousers itself is being made in mode of passion and to do passionate work like running and catching buses let alone jeans. See we are concern about our dress due to being too much conscious of how we are looking and thus its indicates of having the desire to attracts others attention.
Once youth get attracted to KC, if he sincere he no longer will like to wear jeans. sincerely practicing KC and still have attachment for gorgeous passionate dresses goes ill together.
Everything around us has its origin in three modes, so what we wear, what we eat, what we see effects our consciousness. To experiment it just go to temple , where brahmacharis are in dhoti and u r in jeans and see ur consciousness.
your aspiring servant
Hari Bol
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