Initiation Ceremony

Giriraj Swami: But he loved to chant. My attention was immediately caught because he loved to chant, just amazing. And he has maintained that enthusiasm to chant in spite of all difficulties and obstacles. His mother and sister tried to deprogram him. They lured him into a vehicle, and they were taking him to a deprogrammer, but Krishna gave him the intelligence, and he bit one of their arms.

Bhakta Shawn: My sister got thirteen stitches in her hand.

Giriraj Swami: And then he just jumped out of the car.

Bhakta Shawn: And I had to head butt the guy, I had to spit in his face. [laughter] And then I had to grab my mom’s hair and pull her back, and they all thought they were going to die because we were swerving all over the road. So they said, “This guy is crazy, get him out of here.” [laughter] And they are screaming at me, “You got your mother’s hair!" “I know that, but I got to get out of this car.” Because Dravida Prabhu told me what was going to happen. He told me about deprogramming. They said they were going to take me somewhere to talk. I said, “Oh, I don’t want to go to that place.” But I went right back to the temple, they all surrounded me and protected me, took me to a secret place. [laughter]

Giriraj Swami: Yes, so that is very indicative of your determination, and the fact that being surrounded by the devotees and being protected by the devotees is your main safeguard against the attacks of maya. And he also has distributed books from early on.

Once, I stopped over at the Denver Airport, and it was arranged that we would meet. I wanted to meet him at the airport because he was in Denver then. And I kept asking around the airport, and they knew him, they knew him and the usual places where he was. I went to all the places but he wasn’t there, and the clock was ticking because I had to catch my connection. Then finally, I reached him by phone, he hadn’t come, but then he came and we eventually met. So, it was really quite an effort to meet him at the airport, but I felt like that was when I had a glimpse of how deep and strong the relationship was because I was just frantically looking for him. And then eventually we did meet, we rode the escalator together.

Bhakta Shawn: You got me through without an ID. I didn’t even say anything and you and I both walked through the gate up to where you were taking off, and I couldn’t believe it, they didn’t say anything to me, you just said to walk through, and we did.

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Bhakta Shawn: They didn’t say anything to me.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, well maybe if you stay with me, and then I stay with Prabhupada, then he will get us all through.

Bhakta Shawn: I will always stay with you, guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: I know. So, now we have come to this stage, which has taken a long time, in a way. Many trials and tribulations along the way, and many lessons have been learned. And sometimes the lesson that is learned with great difficulty is more permanent. So, whatever it is, you have learned, that there is no real happiness in the material world, and that the only shelter is Krishna, Krishna’s name and Krishna’s devotees. And that realization or conclusion or conviction is the prerequisite for really progressing in spiritual life. As long as we are thinking, This material thing will make my happy, or, This material situation will make me happy, it is like the tenth offense: not having complete faith in the chanting of the holy name and maintaining material attachments. But when you come to the conclusion that, “Nothing in the material world can really make me happy, and even if something makes me a little happy for a little while, it will not last, and it won’t fully satisfy me.” So, you have come to that conclusion. And that conviction will create the proper consciousness for further advancement.

And yes, you have your spiritual family, your biological family or your material family has not fully embraced your decision to become Krishna conscious. But that is pretty much true. Well, not of everyone but it is true of many devotees that their experiences with their families are mixed. But you have your spiritual family, which is bigger and better, stronger, more consistent, and more selfless. They are really concerned about you. Often in the material relationships the person is thinking of himself. He may say that, “I love you,” but underneath it all they are really thinking of what they will get out of the relationship. But in Krishna consciousness the devotees just want to see that you are happy in devotional service. They don’t want to exploit you for any material gain. So, it is a better family, and if you just stay in that family and chant your rounds avoiding the offenses and follow the principles and do your best to serve the devotees and Srila Prabhupada’s mission, then you will really progress. As Maharaja said, you can finish up your business in the material world in this lifetime and go back to Krishna. Or as Srila Prabhupada said, there will be another ISKCON in the spiritual world. So, do you feel you are ready?

Bhakta Shawn: I am very nervous, and yes, I want to be ready. You told me that you are ready to initiate me, so I am following your orders.

Giriraj Swami: [laughter] All right.

Bhakta Shawn: I asked you many years ago, and you said, “I usually make my disciples wait a long time.” I didn’t know what a long time meant until now.

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Bhakta Shawn: But now it seems like it was yesterday.

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Bhakta Shawn: It was just yesterday I sat in your room and asked you to be my guru Maharaja, to accept me as your disciple, and you said, “Yes, and I am going to make you wait.” And I said, “I will wait.” [laughter]

Giriraj Swami: You did. You said it, and you did it. So now, we will ask you to come forward and take your vows and receive your beads and your new name. I am going to simplify it, because ordinarily, I would ask the candidate to offer obeisances to the deities first, but given that there are so many in so many directions. [laughter] But I would like you to offer obeisances there to Giri Govardhana, and then to your śikṣā-guru Brighupati Prabhu and one of your other śikṣā-guru is Ṛtadhvaja Swami, and then, Prabhupada’s pictures there, but we will do that again in the temple.

Bhakta Shawn: That is a perfect spot.

Giriraj Swami: It is. We didn’t think of that before. [chanting], it is a perfect spot.

Bhakta Shawn: Yes.

Giriraj Swami: [chanting] It is very hard to do this one to us.

Bhakta Shawn: Brighupati Prabhu, will you please accept my humble obeisances?

Giriraj Swami: [chanting]

Bhakta Shawn: Ṛtadhvaja Maharaja, will you please accept my humble obeisances?

Giriraj Swami: [chanting]

Bhakta Shawn: Hare Krishna Maharaja, please accept my humble obeisances to your lotus feet and your divine grace.

Giriraj Swami: [chanting]. Did you say Srila Prabhupada praṇāma mantra at any stage?

Bhakta Shawn: I did when I offered it for the deities.

Giriraj Swami: Okay, good.

Bhakta Shawn: But to you, I just wanted to offer you. . .

Giriraj Swami: Oh, that is alright as long as you do this.

Bhakta Shawn: I did, yes.

Giriraj Swami: Okay, all right. So, what are the four principles that you vow to follow?

Bhakta Shawn: I promise, I vow to not eat meat, fish, or eggs. I vow no intoxication, no gambling, and no illicit sex.

Giriraj Swami: And how many rounds?

Bhakta Shawn: Minimum, minimum. Mother Chandravali says minimum. My Vrindavan Ma, a minimum of sixteen rounds a day.

Giriraj Swami: Okay.

Bhakta Shawn: Minimum. [laughter]

Giriraj Swami: Usually, when a disciple takes his vows, I ask if he wants to say anything else before the deities and assembled devotees.

Bhakta Shawn: Over the years you have become my best friend and my hero. We have been talking and spending so much time together over the years, and it seems like the perfect time. I asked you a long time ago when I was going to be initiated, you said, “Krishna would tell you,”And I said, “Okay.” And then, one time, you told me that you had accepted me, and you said that I was in your heart. And that filled my heart. I didn’t need any, and you said that initiation was just a formality, and that you knew that I had accepted you.

Giriraj Swami: That is true.

Bhakta Shawn: And I would always be there for you, and now I think I just want to represent you nicely. And I try my best to do that because wherever I go, I mean, I am your disciple and I have to represent you nicely. So I promise to do that too, and to be humble; I try to think about you. There is something that Tamal Krishna Maharaja wrote that you sent me, that his godbrother Vishnujana Swami Maharaja used to chant to a blown-up picture of Prabhupada’s ear. And so, when I chant in the morning, I think about your ears. [laughter] And I am hoping that you hear my rounds. And now that we are making this a formality in front of two hundred and sixty-seven deities and śilās. And to Brighupati Prabhu and Mother Chandravali, they always been there for me, and Ṛtadhvaja Maharaja and you, guru Maharaja. Gopal Prabhu, he has been sweet to me, he calls me his brother and I feel very honored that he says that, makes me happy. And this is my family. I call Mother Chandravali ‘mom’ and I don’t call Bhrigupati Dad, but he instructs me and he gives me the “sauce” if I need it, and that is good.

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Bhakta Shawn: So, I know he cares very much for me, and he told me that I wasn’t going to get initiated until I got really serious. And then he would tell you when I was ready. And I have always felt close to you. Maybe now, I guess we are even closer because Ṛtadhvaja Maharaja says that you are going to cleanse my heart. And so, I am very excited about that.

Giriraj Swami: [laughter] Okay.

Bhakta Shawn: And I love you very much, guru Maharaja, more than all the gopīs and the spiritual world together. I won’t make you come back for me. [laughter] I promise. I will be loyal to you.

Giriraj Swami: It is very nice. So yes, you can come forward. Your new name is Shyama Chandra dasa. [applause] Shyama means blackish, and Chandra means moon.

Shyama Chandra dasa: Blackish moon.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, like Kalachandji, black moon. Yes, it is a name for Krishna.

Shyama Chandra dasa: I am Shyama Chandra dasa now?

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Shyama Chandra dasa: Wow. [laughter]