Now for our practical life we are known all over the world as shaven-headed. Is it not? Now we are becoming hair-headed. We are forgetting shaving because there is little leniency. Immediately faulty things are creeping in. So we should be known as shaven-headed, not long-hair-headed. This is discrepancy. At least once in a month you must be clearly shaven-headed. In the bright fortnight on the day of purnima, four days after ekadasi, once in a month in the bright fortnight, you must be shaved. It is not desirable that in grown-up ages also you should be chastised. That is not desirable. That is also difficult, because when the disciple or the son is grown up, if he is chastised, then he breaks. So before being chastised, you..., we should be conscious that "This is our rules and regulation. We must observe." Therefore it is advised by Canakya Pandita, prapte tu sodase varse putram mitra-vad acaret: "After sixteenth year of the disciple or the son, he should be treated as friend." Because if you chastise when he's grown-up, then he'll break up. That is also another risk. So our request is that instead of chastising, with folded hands I request you, don't you become hippies again by growing hair. Keep your head cleansed at least once in a month. That is my request. Neither I can chastise you. I am also old man; you are young men.

So here the same thing, na kuryat karhicit sakhyam. To the subordinate never make compromise. We must keep always under control. Of course... Similarly, our mind... The mind is the cause of our material existence, mano-dharma. Why we are in this material world? On account of this change of mind. Our position is jivera svarupa haya nitya krsna dasa [Cc. Madhya 20.108-109]. We are eternal servant of Krsna, but sometimes the servant thinks, "Why shall I remain a servant? Let me become master." That is natural. A master is always in comfortable situation. Sometimes the servant becomes envious: "Oh, why this man should always remain in comfortable position and we shall serve? Why not we become also in comfortable position? Let me eat as he eats," or "Let me sleep now." These are so-called comforts. So they want to imitate. When the living being imitates the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then he falls down. Krsna bhuliya jiva bhoga vancha kare, pasate maya tare japatiya dhare. As soon as he forgets his positionhe wants to imitatethat is the beginning of maya, falldown. You should be very careful.

Therefore the brahmacari... We have to teach the brahmacari... Brahmacari gurukule vasan danto guror hitam. This is brahmacari, not for his personal benefit, but guror hitam. Then he is brahmacari. Not that a brahmacari has to become a very learned scholar in grammar and turiya... These are secondary things. First thing, he has to learn how to control the senses, danta, how to control the mind. Samo damah. This is the beginning of brahminical life. If you cannot control your mind, if you cannot control your senses, there is no question of becoming brahmacari. Brahmacari, brahme carati iti brahmacari. And brahmana means brahma janati iti brahmanah. So these are the beginning, brahmacari. Brahmacari means who is always in Brahman activities. That is brahmacari. Or brahmana means one who knows the Supreme, Supreme Brahman, Parambrahman. So if you understand Krsna, then immediately you are liberated. Param brahma param dhama pavitram paramam bhavan [Bg. 10.12]. So if we understand Krsna, then we are both brahmacari or brahmana, brahma-jnana, brahma-bhutah. These words are there in the sastra: athato brahma jijnasa. Therefore the real life is to inquire about Brahman. Inquiring, inquiring, when the conditioned soul... Now it is jiva-bhutah. So long we are conditioned by the material natureprakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah [Bg. 3.27], bhunkte prakrtijan gunanthen we are jiva-bhutah. Otherwise when we come to our real position, that is brahma-bhutah.

So that brahma-bhutah position can be attained. If we strictly follow the rules and regulation of brahmacari or brahmana, then it is possible. Otherwise it will be simply formality. Practical life, brahma-bhutah. And how do I know that he has become brahma-bhutah? Prasannatma [Bg. 18.54], no more moroseness, always jolly in any condition of life. Not that "For want of this, one is suffering." There is no want. That, that mentality, that attitude, should be increased. And when it is fully increased, then he's fully satisfied, atmarama. That is called atmarama. Just like Dhruva Maharaja. He said, svamin krtartho 'smi, "Oh, I am fully satisfied." Naivodvije para duratyaya-vaitaranyas tvad-virya-gayana-maha amrta-magna. As Prahlada Maharaja said, "Now I am in the ocean of nectarean. I have no suffering." That is brahma-bhutah. So this brahma-bhutah... [break]

Yoga indriya-samyamah. And the king, head of the indriyas is the mind. So manah-sasthani indriyani prakrti-sthani karsati. We are struggling in this material world, prakrti-sthani, bhunkte prakrtijan gunan. Because we are in this material worldthere are three modes of material natureeither of them controlling me. Prakrtijan gunan. Therefore you find three kinds of men. Practically we can see richer class, a middle class, and a poorer class. That is always existing. I thought before going to your country, USA, I thought that "The Americans, they are all rich." That's a fact. I don't say that you are poor. You are rich in comparison to India. But still, when I saw that on the Bowery Street so many drunkards are lying down on the footpath, then I thought, "Here is also third class." So either by drinking they are lying on footpath, or by becoming hippies they are lying in the park, and the police is kicking on their face. That means that three classes are always there, either you go to America, or hell or heavenanywherebecause there are three gunas: sattva-guna, rajo-guna, tamo-guna. Prakrtijan gunan. You cannot escape it. There is no question of becoming poor. In the Western countries the government arrangement is so nice. And still, voluntarily they will become poor. That is hippies. Because nature is working. Most of these hippies, they are coming from very respectable family, rich family. I have seen. In Beverly Hills when I was walking in the morning I saw nice boy, there is car, he is coming from a very nice house, but he's a hippie. I have seen it. Why he has become hippie? Prakrtijan gunan. He might have taken his birth in a very rich family, respectable family. Because the mode of nature is working, voluntarily he has become hippie. This is going on all over the world. Therefore we have to come to the platform of sattva-guna, brahmana platform. Brahmana platform.

So one endeavor is gradually to come to the brahmana platform. But if we take bhakti-yogam, immediately you become on the brahmana platform. This is the advantage. Kecit kevalaya bhaktya vasudeva-parayanah, agham dhunvanti kartsnyena... [SB 6.1.15]. What is that?

So it is duhkhalayam asasvatam [Bg. 8.15], and you have to practice tapasya if you want to get out of it. Tapo divyam putraka yena suddhyet sattva [SB 5.5.1]. We are now accustomed to this miserable condition of life. If you want actual happiness, then you have to undergo austerity, tapasya. Tapo divyam putraka yena suddhyet yasmad brahma-saukhyam anantam. You are hankering after happiness. That happiness, brahma-sukha, eternal happiness, you will get by practicing tapasya. So don't believe, don't make friendship with your restless mind. This is the instruction. Don't make friendship. Simply beat the mind with shoes and broomstick; otherwise cannot bring in control. And other alternative is kevalaya bhaktya. So if you can engage your mind at the lotus feet of Krsna, then it is possible. Sa vai manah krsna-padaravindayoh [SB 9.4.18]. Then Krsna will control. Krsna means light. Darkness, you are suffering in the darkness. So somehow or other, if you bring a light there is no darkness.

So in this Kali-yuga, to control the mind the yoga practice and this practice and..., this is all failure. It will never be possible. It was possible in the Satya-yuga. Krte yad dhyayato visnum [SB 12.3.52]. Now they have manufactured so many meditation. The real meditation is dhyayato visnu, the Visnu form, four-handed Visnu form, and always try to see Him. That is wanted. These rascals have manufactured something, some light, some this, some thatyoga practice, sleeping. This will not help. Dhyanavasthita-tad-gatena manasa pasyanti yam yoginah [SB 12.13.1]. Yogis' meditation means to see Visnu murti. That is wanted. But they are impersonalists: "Visnu is maya. Why shall I think of Visnu? Let me see some light." What is that nonsense light? That is also maya. So what is the wrong there, instead of seeing the light if you see the Visnu form? "No, the light is good. Om is good." But when there is question of personal meditation, they protest.

Therefore tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet [MU 1.2.12]. In order to learn everything very clearly, he must have the shelter of a bona fide guru. Adau gurvasrayam. If we want release from all this disturbance of the material world, then the first and foremost thing is adau gurvasrayam. Then,