Practicing Yoga in the Age of Quarrel
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we are presenting the  Bhagavad-gītā  as it is, without any personal interpretation. This is standard.
Mr. Faill:  Yes, if you begin dressing things up, you inevitably change them.
Śrīla Prabhupāda:  Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not a new process. It is very, very old—and standard. It cannot be changed. As soon as you try to change it, then the potency is lost. This potency is just like electricity. If you want to generate electricity, you must follow the standard regulations, arranging all the negative and positive poles properly. You cannot construct the generator whimsically and still produce electricity. Similarly, there is a standard method of understanding Kṛṣṇa conscious philosophy from proper authorities. If we follow their instructions, then the process will act. Unfortunately, one of the dangerous diseases of modern man is that everyone wants to do things according to his own whims. No one wants to follow the standard way. Therefore everyone is failing, both spiritually and materially.
Mr. Faill:  Is the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement growing?
Śrīla Prabhupāda:  Oh, yes, very much. You may be surprised to know that we are selling books in the tens of thousands. We have about fifty books, and many librarians and college professors are very appreciative of them because until their publication there was no such literature in existence. It is a new contribution to the world.
Mr. Faill:  Kṛṣṇa consciousness seems to involve shaving the head and wearing saffron robes. How can an ordinary man caught up in family life practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness?
Śrīla Prabhupāda:  The saffron robes and the shaven head are not essential, although they create a good mental situation, just as when a military man is dressed properly he gets energy—he feels like a military man. Does that mean that unless he is in uniform he cannot fight? No. In the same way, God consciousness cannot be checked—it can be revived in any circumstances—but certain conditions are helpful. Therefore we prescribe that you live in a certain way, dress in a certain way, eat in a certain way, and so on. These things are helpful for practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but they are not essential.
Mr. Faill:  Then one can be a student of Kṛṣṇa consciousness while going about normal daily life?
Śrīla Prabhupāda:  Yes.
Mr. Faill:  How about drugs? Can they help in the process of God realization?