How to Become Sincere—Rtadhvaja Swami’s Vyasa Puja

Giriraj Swami: I am so happy; I cannot even explain why but I am extremely happy. I think it is because I am in a happy room. Yes, on the way to and from White Rock Lake I passed some signs that say “Happy Hour.” I still haven’t learned what that is but I am sure that this hour is a lot. . . I can’t think of a happier hour, or few hours.

So yes, I will begin at the end and then work backwards, but about a month ago I met Brahma Tirtha Prabhu in Los Angeles and we were discussing the question of sincerity because so often Srila Prabhupada would say that the main factor in Krishna consciousness is sincerity. So then the question arises, how to become sincere? So I told Brahma Tirtha Prabhu three answers that I had heard from Srila Prabhupada. The first was Srila Prabhupada said, “The way to become sincere is to follow all of my instructions, however big or small.” I heard that very early in my association with devotees and I tried to follow that. Then I heard another answer, that the way to become sincere is to desire to become sincere. And then the third answer I heard was, to become sincere you associate with devotees who are sincere. So when I said that, Brahma Tirtha Prabhu said, “Yes, I like that one, and that is why I like to associate with Ṛtadhvaja Swami.”

And when Brahma Tirtha Prabhu said that, it resonated all the more so because just weeks earlier when Bhurijana Prabhu was staying with me in Carpenteria he had also mentioned how sincere His Holiness Ṛtadhvaja Swami was. And in my own recent experience with him was privileged to experience at close quarters how sincere Maharaja is in Krishna consciousness. His whole morning from whenever he got up, which was usually quite early, until noon was spent pretty much exclusively chanting and hearing about Krishna. He would chant thirty-two rounds and read, at the time Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And pretty much whatever time he had available he would use first for his chanting and then for his reading. And even in his rounds he is so sincere because devotees, they chant and then there is also a question of how long it takes them to chant and sometimes we chant faster. As time goes on we might chant faster than we used to, and then we wonder, “Am I pronouncing every word to the mantra, or am I skipping beads?” And His Holiness Ṛtadhvaja Swami is so sincere that he holds his beads in both hands to make sure that he doesn’t skip any beads.

And when he was staying with me I had the best dreams. Every night I had such blissful dreams, mainly preaching with really good godbrothers, Devamrita Swami, Radhanath Swami, Niranjana Swami, every night at least one or two or three of them and mainly preaching or going on pilgrimage together. And literally, the day he left I had a dream about my past which was not the most glorious past. And I realized how much my consciousness had been elevated just by Maharaja’s presence even if we weren’t together in the same room, but just his presence. Just thinking of him up in his quarters chanting, reading, or speaking to someone on skype, or on the phone to encourage them in Krishna consciousness, give his association, or get their association, it really elevated my consciousness. And because of his elevating one’s consciousness one gets answers to questions very easily. You might confide in him about a particular question or problem and he may or may not give a direct answer, but my experience is just in the process of expressing myself to him I get so many answers because he listens very sympathetically, he accepts you as you are, and he gives you confidence in your own ability to get answers and to go forward in Krishna consciousness.

So, we all are very blessed to have Maharaja’s presence in our lives, and we can’t even really fathom the depth of Maharaja’s sincerity in Krishna consciousness or his positive influence on us and the movement and the planet, but we are extraordinarily fortunate. And yes, I pray that we will have that good fortune of his association in our lives for many years to come, as long as we are in these bodies, and thereafter in our next life in service to Srila Prabhupada and Krishna.

Hare Krishna.