Vineet Chander

Vineet Chander

It was a typical Saturday night, and my parents had left for the evening. Like many sixteen-year-olds left home alone in America, I planned to do something forbidden. But unlike many sixteen-year-olds, my plans didn't include alcohol, cigarettes, girlfriends, or late-night parties. Instead, I chose to do something I couldn't do when my parents were home: put on tilaka.
As I mixed in my left palm the creamy clay paste and applied it with my right ring finger in two parallel lines on my forehead, I tried to concentrate on the holy names of Lord Visnu. But my mind kept drifting back to how odd it was that something as basic as putting on tilaka something millions of devotees of Lord Krsna do every day was, for me, forbidden…

I WAS BORN and raised in the U.S. by Indian immigrant parents from prominent Hindu families. About six years ago my parents took me to an ISKCON temple, where I met some devotees. Soon I started reading Srila Prabhupada's books, and I found what I had been searching for, for what seemed like lifetimes something that made sense in this crazy world. Gradually, my dormant Krsna consciousness began to reawaken.

At first my parents were happy I was embracing my Vedic roots. But as they realized that this was more than just a passing fling or hobby, and as they saw that I wanted to make Krsna the center of my life, their pride turned to nervousness. My chanting made them nervous. My insistence on prasadam made them nervous. And, of course, my desire to wear Vaisnava tilaka made them nervous.

Why? I wish I knew, but I really don't. Perhaps they felt that my striving to be a devotee would be a slap in the face of the American dream of material success. Perhaps they felt they were losing their "little boy" to God and didn't want to let go.

In any event, I grew to accept my situation. The pain of separation from the Vaisnava practices, however, was hard to bear.

The Significance of Tilaka

Why should I make such a big deal out of wearing tilaka? Because marking the body with tilaka is much more than just a simple Vedic ritual. Srila Prabhupada's books and the writings of other Vaisnava acaryas abound with explanations of the significance of tilaka.

The main function of tilaka is to mark the body as a temple of Visnu. A devotee offers his life in the Lord's service and uses his body not to gratify his senses but to glorify the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna. So the body of the sincere devotee is as much a temple as any stone or mortar building, and it ought to be ornamented with the bona fide Vaisnava insignia tilaka.

Tilaka purifies and protects the devotee. When the devotee applies the markings and chants the appropriate mantras as taught by Srila Prabhupada, he prays that he may remember Krsna and that Krsna may protect him. The present age, Kali-yuga, is full of demonic forces, but tilaka and the mantras for applying it protect devotees and help them remember and serve the lotus-eyed Lord. Even devotees unable to wear tilaka publicly often apply water instead of tilaka and chant the mantras to obtain the benefits.

Possibly the most important reason for the aspiring devotee to wear tilaka is to remind himself and others that we all are the Lord's servants. Just as the policeman's uniform reminds him of his duty, tilaka reminds the aspiring devotee that he must act properly as a Vaisnava. Tilaka also helps remind him that he is a representative of his spiritual master and the entire society of Vaisnavas and that he should glorify, not disgrace, them by his actions.

War Paint

In bygone days certain Native American tribal warriors wore special marks meant to protect themselves in battle, identify themselves as sacred, and boost their fighting spirit. Similarly, we aspiring devotees must declare war on maya. The Hare Krsna maha-mantra is our best weapon, the tilaka our mark as warriors. By wearing tilaka, the devotee proclaims his allegiance to Lord Krsna and His devotees and gains the strength to fight harder against the temptations of maya and serve even more. The devotees I know testify that when they wear fresh tilaka they feel more inspired and enthusiastic in their devotional service. Indeed, wearing tilaka helps transform a neophyte into a strengthened veteran in Lord Caitanya's transcendental army. Devotees also gain inspiration from knowing that Srila Prabhupada was pleased to see his followers wearing tilaka. He has written, "When [the devotees in the Krsna consciousness movement] are dressed with saffron-colored cloth, with tilaka on their foreheads and beads in their hands and on their necks, they look exactly as if they have come directly from Vaikuntha."

Some devotees, because of shyness or fear of ridicule, do not mark themselves as Vaisnavas. But I've seen that although startling to some, the mark of tilaka evokes interest, and even respect, from others, and so we should not feel shy or fearful to weartilaka.

On this topic, Srila Prabhupada told the story of a Hindu man who wore tilaka to work even after his Muslim employer had forbidden all workers to do so. Since the man was the only employee with the strength of conviction to defy the order, the Muslim employer decided to grant him alone the privilege of freely wearing tilaka in the workplace.

Those restricted from wearing tilaka must simply "hang in there." Remembering Lord Caitanya's instruction to be more tolerant than a tree, they should trust in Krsna and guru with faith and devotion. Gradually my parents have come to appreciate my desire to become a devotee. It has been more than a year since the day described in the beginning of the article, and now my parents allow me to wear tilaka and Vaisnava dress. They even accompany me to the temple. I attribute this to the mercy of Lord Caitanya.

War against maya is never easy, especially when she attacks in the form of nervous parents. But with or without tilaka to enliven me, I must fight with all my strength, calling out to Lord Krsna for help.

Even though I'm unworthy, I have a request of all Vaisnavas, young and old alike: Please stay in your positions as servants of Srimati Radharani. Please go on extolling the glories of the sankirtana movement of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. And please, whenever and wherever you can, wear your tilaka in confidence. Besides the reasons I've given here, and besides the reasons given in Vaisnava scriptures, please wear tilaka if for no other reason simply for the sake of those who cannot.

Vineet Chander, age 17, lives near New York City, where he frequently visits the ISKCON temple. He is the editor of Lotus Voices, the monthly newsletter of the ISKCON New York Youth Forum. He invites correspondence at 76-42 266th St., New Hyde Park, NY 11040. Phone: (718) 347-5665.