It seems that to develop Krishna consciousness, among other things, means to shave ones head and wear saffron robes. Is it true?
Men have shaven head in a traditional way, with sikha (tuft of hair on the top of one’s head). It is pure and practical and it expresses a submission to the Lord and detachment from material world. Women usually wear long hair in braids. This shows their chastity because in the Vedic culture women untie their hair only in privacy in front of their husbands. Dot between eyebrows (bindi) means that the woman is engaged. Married women aside from bindi also color their parting by red kumkum powder. Devotees in ISKCON dress in various ways, sometimes traditionally and sometimes in a modern way. Because ISKCON is also a cultural movement, devotees usually dress according to the traditional Vaisnava culture which is the main spiritual stream of Vedic culture in India. Sometimes people think that it is not practical in the West, but devotees feel that in time this traditional position will be appreciated. When you see for example a policeman in uniform, you immediately know that he is the pers
