Initiation Ceremony & Lecture | 19 July 2022 | Baltimore | Srila Gopal Krishna Goswami

Hare Rāmānanda Mūrtirēḥ. Jai Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. Hare Kṛṣṇa. In the, in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Madhya-Āndhra chapter 31, Nārada Muni stated as follows: Kim ye mame tu viveha, In a usual, a simple human being has three kinds of births. First birth is by a pure father and mother. This birth is called birth by semen. Next birth takes place when he is initiated by a spiritual master. This birth is called with the third birth called yajñikā takes place. One is given the opportunity to worship Lord Viṣṇu. Despite the opportunity for attaining spiritual birth, even if one gets lifespan, whatever you want, if one does not actually engage in service of the Lord, everything is useless. So now the muni is instructing the prajñita. The prajñita is the son of King Prajñāvarīśād, and now the muni is very pleased by their austerities. But now the muni is stating that a civilized human being has 3 births.

Hare Rāma.

Hare Rāma. A civilized human being has three births. The first birth is from the womb of the mother. This birth is called śokra-janma. Śokra in Sanskrit ḥoḥra means semen, and śoḥra-jñāma means birth as a result of seminical discharge. And this is what is common both to human beings and to animals. Can you all hear in the four corners?

Yes.

Yes.

Clear.

So the birth was birth as a result of seminical discharge. This is called śrīkṛṣṇa-jīva. To achieve this birth, in one's body, is no big credit. The second birth is realized when one gets initiated into the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Just like in today's program, over 25 candidates are accepting initiation, the chanting of the Holy Name. This is your second birth. And because it is your second birth, you also get a spiritual name. And next to the spiritual name is the word dāsa, dāsī, which means servant of the Lord. And the third birth is realized when one gets initiated into the chanting of the Gayatri Mantra. This is called yajñikā-jñāna. And as a result of this third birth, one becomes eligible to dress the Deities, offer Ārati to the Deities, etc. It's been the program today. Several candidates are taking initiation in the chanting of the Holy Name, and several are taking initiation in the chanting of the yajña-mantra. The Vedas say human form of life should be used for self-realization. In our ISKCON society, harināma-dikṣā, can be awarded when one has chanted the Holy Name for at least 2 years in most places. And one agrees to follow 4 principles: no meat, fish, and eggs, no intoxication, no illicit sex life. These 4, when executed, become the pillar of spiritual life. And when they're not executed, they become the pillar of sinful life. So, is a standard given to us by Prabhupāda. So to chant the Holy Name is the prime process for making spiritual advancement. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatā-mānūma it is said that when we go on chanting Holy Name, purāṣa-bhāgavatā, we will go on nothing but the offensive, we will not develop love of God. Pau janma-karī-yarīśravaṇa-kṛtana, abhutana-pāya-kṛṣṇa-paraye, yemaḍhā. Kṛṣṇa's cobra says, One may go on chanting Holy Name, word after word, but unless one comes to avoid the offenses, he will not get full benefit. He may chant around, but what is recommended in scriptures, you chant without offenses. Broadly speaking, The Ten Offenses, that is what he is talking about. In every ISKCON temple, after the morning program, we recite the Ten Offenses.

Why?

Well, the Ten Offenses are very important to everyone if you want to make spiritual advancement. If you commit offenses, you can't make spiritual advancement. The participants is— who knows the participants?

What are the participants? Huh?

They didn't worry, they already get it. It is— it's presenting the opinion. So envy, jealousy, sometimes inspired to criticize. We should not indulge in fault-finding or criticizing. We should not indulge in fault-finding. That's because of, that's because of envy. If we have something constructive to offer, that can be presented. But our actions should not be motivated by And we— Lord Caitanya is the Supreme Lord and He was very compassionate to everyone. Lord Caitanya, being the Supreme Lord, was very compassionate. Devotees would say, "You are merciful to everyone, but not to Your mother." And the Lord was there. "My mother has offended." What was her offense? She had a certain anger against Advaita Acharya. She thought that he was responsible for influencing her two sons to be evil. So Lord Chaitanya said, unless my mother atones, she will not get love of God. And once when The Lord was revealing His transcendental mīrā. Mother of Sācī was offering obeisances. Advaita Ācārya was offering obeisances. And Sācī came from behind and took the dust from the feet of Advaita Ācārya. And then the Lord said, "Now my mother will know God." So the Lord showed by His example. And even his mother, if she commits an offense, it is not, it is not advisable. Second offense is to— What is the second offense? Because the name of the demigod has to be equal to or independent of the holy name of the Lord Vishnu. The holy names of the Lord are non-different from the Lord. Before we came to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, most of us believed all gods are one, take any path, the result will be the same. All right. Now when you come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you get the training. Īśvārāparma-kṛṣṇa sa cīrṇandavekā. Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme, all others are subordinate. So to think that all gods are one, take any path, the result is the same, is wrong. The Vedas say Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme. Eka Īśvākṛṣṇa arsabhūtāya. Kṛṣṇa is the only proprietor. All others are subordinate. So we should understand that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord. Just like by watering the root of the tree you water all the branches, similarly by worshiping the Supreme Lord, all the demigods and goddesses are also taken care. We should not be in any doubt Regarding who Kṛṣṇa and who the demigod are. Next offense is to what? What is the third offense? This is the way, he said, another spiritual master, another name to be known in Nepal. The Vedas say, "You obtain spiritual knowledge," One should take shelter of a bona fide guru. What is the qualification of the guru? Vāśya-vegamanasa-krodhā-vegah. Iva-vegā-mudāra-paśya-vegah. One must have full control over his mind and senses. What is the desire of the guru? Desire of the guru is that the disciple may and it has to Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord. And the guru presents the teaching of the Parampara as it is. That's like Śrīla Prabhupāda. Śrīla Prabhupāda gave us the pure teaching without any distortion at all. So the guru is, as Prabhupāda used to say, a spiritual postman. Really, what is the message of the Lord? As it says, "And the desire of the guru is that the disciple make spiritual advancement." The instructions are for our benefit. So we should respect all these instructions. We should not think that spiritualized duty is to flatter me or praise me. The duty of the spiritual master is to preach by example. Once there was a boy suffering from diabetes. So his mother would tell him all the time, "Stop taking sugar. It's not good for your health." But the boy would not stop. Finally, the mother took her son to the guru and said, "Guruji, this son of mine has very high diabetes, and he won't stop eating sugar. Please tell him to stop." Guru said, "Come back after 2 weeks." After 2 weeks, they went back, and the guru said, "Son," 'No more sweets. It's bad for your health.' And the son said, 'Okay, Guruji, I won't do it.' So the mother was surprised, and Guruji just said one word and the son agreed. She said, 'Guru, if this is all you had to do, why didn't you do it two weeks ago?' And the guru said, "Two weeks ago I was eating sugar myself, so how could I do that? Now I stopped it." So the guru preaches by example, and the desire is the disciple makes spiritual advancement. Getting initiated has value only if we are serious about spiritual advancement. Prabhupāda used to say, "Don't get initiated just because you think it's a fashion. You should get initiated only if you're ready to follow spiritual principles and you're serious about spiritual advancement." To think that the Vedas are not relevant In today's environment, it's also in abundance. Vedas contain eternal wisdom and properly established Krishna consciousness all over the world and show that the Vedic message is not eternal. So to think that Vedas are not relevant today It depends. We should not think that the glories of the Holy Name are an exaggeration. The scriptures say, "Āina mā āina mā āina eva kevala, kadāvāna sevāna sevāna sevā, bhagavānita." Chant the Holy Name, chant the Holy Name, chant the Holy Name. This is the way of the scriptures. So, saying that the glories of the Holy Name is an exaggeration, I agree with that point. To commit sins on the strength of chanting, Prabhupāda used to say, this is the most serious of all offenses. He can initiate. Now I'm initiated. I got initiated into another deity, so I can commit offenses. I'll be forgiven. It's a big offense. We should not commit sins on the Shreem Brzee chanting. One should be careful that he doesn't sin anymore. Baba often used to say, "No more sinning." So we should not commit sins. Understand the chanting of the Holy Name. This chanting of the Holy Name is not some karma-karma activity. Karma-karma is a type of business engagement with the Lord, like the devotee wants to develop pure love of God. If you don't preach the message, faithless. To maintain material attachment in spite of chanting the Holy Name is all benefit, and one should not be inattentive while chanting. In the scriptures we read about the attachments we need to give up. Śrīla Nirmala Prabhupāda said, "Accept what is favorable, reject what is unfavorable." So, We have taken initiation and we still keep all our attachments. So that is an offence. We read the books, hear the lectures, and we realize what is God's wishes, what is in God's wishes. Accept what is acceptable, favourable, and reject what is unfavourable. So to maintain the material attachment is a great alternate planet. One should be attentive while chanting the Holy Name. The Holy Name is not different from the Lord. Nama jnana-kṛṣṇa-cetanā-sa-virāḥ-pūruṣuddha-nitya-mukta-vena-dvām-nāma-nāma. Holy Name is not different from the Lord. So when we chant the Holy Name, especially when we're chanting our 16 rounds, our effort should be to chant attentively. Attentively doesn't mean that your mind won't wander. Let the mind wander, but you concentrate on one activity: chanting the Holy Name. Not that I'm chanting with one hand, and with the other hand doing something else. The more attentively you are in chanting, the better will be your spiritual advancement. So we should be very attentive in chanting, especially when you're doing your 16 rounds every day. That should be done very attentively. On Ekāda-sīna, there are special days, our goal should be to chant 25 rounds. So those who accept initiation must agree to follow by these guidelines. And to make spiritual advancement, we should realize the importance of Shravana-manana-kṛṭṇa. Shravana-kṛṭṇa, a very important proportion. Śrīla Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he's important. In the Kīṇa-Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, as you know, Prabhupāda gave us a real message, and we should be anxious to do seva. We get initiated because we want to make spiritual advancement. Spiritual advancement means getting attached to the Holy Name. Getting attached to the scriptures, developing the mood of humility. Humility on the spiritual path is an asset, and a goal should be to develop humility and consider oneself to be a servant of the Lord, all the way forward. So we hope that all those candidates accepting any, accepting my naam-jikṣāntara, they'll take it very seriously. They will follow these standards and be determined to make spiritual advancement. Prabhupāda gave us very valuable knowledge in his books. We should regularly study these books. And if we regularly study these books, you will be able to make special advancement. The main devotees today are also accepting initiation into the chanting of the japa mantra. It is a big initiation in the chanting of the Gayatri Mantra. The Brahmanical initiation is awarded after one has chanted the Holy Name for a period of time and one has passed a Bhakti-shāstra exam. And one is examined, good behavior and character. According to Vedic philosophy, catur varṇam āyaṣṣṭhaṁ guna-karma-vibhāgasaḥ. One becomes a brāhmin on the basis of guna. So a brāhmin must have brahmānical qualities. And these are mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā, Chapter 18, Text 42. śamo damo svāso ca antirājivaneva ca jānami jānamaśrekhya brahma-krama-svabhāgasya. So Brahman must cultivate these qualities and exhibit them in his behavior. Now that I've become a Brahman, it means I can act in any way that I want. Once somebody asked Prabhupāda, "Swāmi, you can do some magic." Prabhupāda said, "No, I can't do any magic." But then he paused and said, "But one magic I have done." The man was very curious. What magic has Prabhupāda done? I have good motive. Thousands of nakshatras in the Brahmana. So those who are addicted to nonsense activities, he could bring them to the standard of being dead in Brahmana. So those who are serving initiation into the chanting of the Gayatri Mantra, which is called Yagya Gajanma, You must exhibit these qualities. You must be idle in behavior. And you must also have spiritual knowledge. Of course, over here many devotees get recommended to Brahmanical initiation so that they can do Deity worship and they can do dasa-deities, equality, etc. Many of the devotees of the Nāma Brahman are given this as the reason for their effort in Brahman. So we should be ready to serve. Deity means worshiping the Lord. The Lord manifested Himself in His Ārjuna-graha, Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Gave 5 items priority. One was sadhu-sanga. The second one was chanting the Holy Name. Next was studying the scriptures. And the next one was worshiping the Deity with faith and love. So the Lord manifested Himself. Hindi: Ācha vagrahpo. This is not just a mūrti. Our understanding should be: Here is God, and He has a golden opportunity for us to engage in seva. Those who are accepting Brahman must worship the Deity, do service to the Deity, and by doing so, make spiritual advancement. A Brahmin must have good character. He must have transcendental knowledge. He should be peaceful. He must believe in austerity. Austerity in spiritual life means sacrificing what is, what is detrimental and accepting what is conducive. So we hope that all those who are taking Brahminical initiation will regularly come and serve the deities in the temples and cook for the deities, etc. We should be exemplary Brahmins. Should we hope that all the candidates accepting initiation today. They should realize they're taking their vows in front of the Lordship, Shri Guruji Sai, in front of Radha Madam, and in front of Jagannatha Swami Madam. They're all witness to every commitment that you make, and we should honor our commitment. What I, I commitments. I will chant 16 rounds every day. Is that right? All of you agree? You're going to acknowledge that? And there'll be several witnesses: Prabhupāda, the Deity, the Vaiṣṇavān, and all the video cameras that are around. They all will certify. Yes, on this day you took this vow. If you break the vow, you become a criminal. Nānikāda-sīnā-dhara-svīrīrī. Do 25 rounds. And then we should also actually support the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We, we chant the Holy Name. When we chant the Holy Name, what are we praying to the Lord? We are praying, "Please give me devotional service. Please give me devotional service." And when we get devotional service, we back out. So we should be anxious to serve, to spread this mission. And according to our means, we should also financially suppose a temple. And we should be determined to make spiritual advancement. We should regularly read Prabhupāda books. Prabhupāda books are available in virtually every language. It doesn't matter what your mother tongue is. Prabhupāda books are available. And we should read it. Those who have the ability to read, must regularly read our past books, and especially read a small book called Nectar of Instruction. So we hope that all of you will take your responsibility seriously and be an asset to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and be determined to make spiritual advancement. Is that okay?

Okay.

Hare Krishna.

Hare Krishna.

So it's a little late, so we have a fast-track process of initiation. Vinayana Maharaj, he said, Here, where you sit. Oh no, maybe over there is better. Jnanadhamaraj is going to sit in the corner there, and we'll call the names out. Suppose you go to Jnanadhamaraj, and he asks you the Guru Mantra and the Four Regulated Principles, and if you answer correctly, then you come to me. And I will give you your bead and your name. Is that okay? So we'll call 5 names at a time. You go and offer dana-māsā to Prabhupāda, and then you go to Nārada Mahārāja, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Rāmānsa, and explain the 4 principles. And then you come to me. This way we save time.

Okay.

We have a better name. Bring it on that side. Where the bee be? You want to call the name? All 5 names at a time. Give me the name.

Give me the name. Okay, first one is Ashish Palival, then Chad Ingold, Jaitender Kumar Lutra, Jigar Shah, Pankaj Singh. Again, Ashish Palival is first.

Give me the name. Give me the name. Name that I have to give. We want the slips. You want the paper or the slip? We need the paper. Paper. Put them in the order. Yeah, in the same order. Put 1 to 5. Now we all have to move forward. All these names are equally powerful. So please don't think you got a better name than me. Spiritual advancement is not going to be based on your name. It's going to be based on your effort. You went to Malai?

Yes.

Someone has a mridanga, kartals. Loudly, you have to— Who has a mridanga? Okay, kartals, the warmers.

We play the kartal and mridanga in honor for the new candidate. So give me beads. Give me the beads on that side. Give me the beads on the— give me the beads on the left side.

The left side.

I give prayer along with your name. We are giving you a slip. In that slip, your spiritual name is mentioned, plus the meaning of the name. So, Ashish, your spiritual name is Achintya Manohar Das. They move forward and offer obeisances.

Achintya Manohara Dāski.

They move ahead and offer obeisances. Make sure, make sure you take a slip with you.

You can just look with your pinky.

Shut in the hole. Spiritual name is Chaitanya Srinivas Das. And this is a slip.

Chetanya Shrivastava.

I'll call the next 5.

Punit Sethi, Ravindra Bendesh, Santil Kumar, Umesh Kucheria, and Yogeshwaran Subramanian.

Okay, Banga Singh. It's not a common Lutheran. My spiritual name is Jagatpran Sham Das.

Jagatpran Sham Das.

You go ahead and open this. I'm in a traffic jam.

Where is he?

Where are you from? Which center? Is— your spiritual name is? Muralidas.

Partha Priya Muralidas.

Okay. The doctor. Sometimes husbands take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and the wife joins later. Sometimes the wife takes and the husbands join later. So yours is a good example. Yogi Śāila, doctor. His precious name is Jagadīś Mahāprabhu Dāsa.

Jagadīś Mahāprabhu Dāsa.

Give me a name.

Oh, give me the name. Yes, you give me.

Yes, this one, who is your name?

You're the one who came from Toronto?

Yes, yes, Guru Maharaj.

Yogeshwar Supramanyam. His spiritual name is Yogeshwar Madhusudandāsa.

Yogeshwar Madhusudandāsa.

You go ahead and open the window. We say the spiritual name, the spiritual name is Paramānanda Caitanya Dāsa.

Paramānanda Caitanya Dāsa ki.

Central Command.

Central Command. Next.

Central Command.

Call the next by name.

Yes, Central Command.

Human beings.

Santil Kumar Maharaj.

Santil Kumar, where are you from?

I'm from Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh.

Your spiritual name is very special. Only name that's special. Spiritual name is Srinivas Pundarik Das.

Srinivas Pundarik Das, ki.

Okay, Arati Mahajan, Arishna Babuta, Bhoomati Bhimoh, Gayatri Pallival, and Gunavanti Shukla.

And please come in the order that he announces.

Arati Mahajan, Arishna Mataji, Bhoomati Mataji, Gayatri Mataji, then Gunavanti Mataji.

What's your name? Your special name is Jagannath Gauranga Das.

Jagannath Gauranga Das, ekī.

Come, operate your bases, quick, quick.

The priests can start getting ready. Another 10 minutes. Mahārāja, you have several initiated devotees in your family. Say his spiritual name. Arādhya Rādhikā Devī-dāsī.

Arādhya Rādhikā Devī-dāsī ki.

Your name and the meaning of the name is there. What is the name? Ajanāma Buddha. Ajanāma Buddha. Yes, but your name is Aruna Purnamasi Devadasi.

Aruna Purnamasi Devadasi.

Ki?

Gunvanti Yashoda Devi Dasiki.

Okay, okay. Uh, Jyoti Sonik Mataji, Nidhi Goswami, Shivangi Yogeshwaran, Supriya Rai, and Varsha Bem Patel.

What's your name?

Mumati. Mumati. Your spiritual name is Brajavilāsī-nī Gaurāṅgī-devī-dāsī.

Thank you, Mahājānā. Give me a new name Be a good devotee.

Rajavelasini Gaurangi Devi Dasi.

What's your name?

His spiritual name is, his spiritual name is Gayatri Brajeshwari Davidasi. And both your parents named you Gayatri, so you kept that and added Gayatri Rajeshwari Devi Das. There were 25 candidates for Brahmanical initiation. After the yajña, they can come to my room. Jyoti Sonek. Jyoti Sonek. His special name is Janaki Vishnupriya. Devi Das.

Janaki Vishnu Priya. Devi Das.

That's it. And how many candidates for Brahman?

We have 27. We'll announce them. Okay, Vimala Raval, Viren Kucheria, and Yogita Bindesh. They all can come in that order.

Yes, that's the one. Shivagiri Yogeshwar, your spiritual name is Snehamayi Madhvi Devi Dasī.

Snehamayi Madhvi Devi Dasī ki.

Where's Anambertail? Good.

Vaishnavī Devīdāsī. Can you take it? We just give you a step.

Yes.

Super. Super.

Super.

Super.

I'm going to name it Subhangi Gaurangi Devi Das.

Subhangi Gaurangi Devi Das.

Kiss!

Name, Mūrun Kacheriya. Mūrun Kacheriya, that's what his real name is. Vishākha Kalāvati Davidavi.

Vishaka Kalavati Devi Das.

Devi dasi.

Vishuddha Kripamayi Devi dasi ki.

Okay, this is the last one, so get going. This is the fast-track process. The slow track would have taken half an hour more. Vemana Raval, his spiritual name is. Braja Priya Gaurangi Devīdāsi ki. So all those who took reṇa should not, should always remember the vows they have taken in front of the Deities. Okay.

Nama Nama Hari Nama. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna. Krishna Krishna Hare Hare. Hare Rama Hare Rama. Rama Rama.