diff --git a/elasticsearch/templates/statefulset.yaml b/elasticsearch/templates/statefulset.yaml
index 64fd423..e60b097 100644
--- a/elasticsearch/templates/statefulset.yaml
+++ b/elasticsearch/templates/statefulset.yaml
@@ -242,10 +242,10 @@ spec:
                 set -e
 
                 # Exit if ELASTIC_PASSWORD in unset
-                if [ -z "${ELASTIC_PASSWORD}" ]; then
-                  echo "ELASTIC_PASSWORD variable is missing, exiting"
-                  exit 1
-                fi
+                #if [ -z "${ELASTIC_PASSWORD}" ]; then
+                #  echo "ELASTIC_PASSWORD variable is missing, exiting"
+                #  exit 1
+                #fi
 
                 # If the node is starting up wait for the cluster to be ready (request params: "{{ .Values.clusterHealthCheckParams }}" )
                 # Once it has started only check that the node itself is responding