Name-Giving Ceremony—Initiation of Her Grace Danakeli Dasi

Giriraj Swami: So, you can offer your obeisances to Srila Prabhupada, and then to the three of us.

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

Devotee: Will you do all of us separately?

Giriraj Swami: One for all.

Devotee: And all for one [Laughter].

Devotee: One for all.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, we’ll do one for all of us, and all for you. She’ll accept them standing up.

Devotee: 

nama oḿ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine

namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare
hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare

[01:01–02:13 unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: I guess you’ve waited a long time for this moment, now it has arrived. What are the four regulative principles that you promise to follow every day for the rest of your life?

Devotee: No intoxicants, no meat eating, no gambling, and no illicit sex.

Giriraj Swami: And how many rounds of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra are you allowed to chant every day?

Devotee: A minimum of sixteen rounds every day.

Giriraj Swami: A minimum of sixteen rounds. And in this August assembly, and on this auspicious occasion, would you like to say anything more?

Devotee: Thank you.

Giriraj Swami: Thank you. [Laughter]. A lot in those two syllables. All right, on behalf of Srila Prabhupada and the guru-paramparā. . . Oh, actually, you should come here. On behalf of Srila Prabhupada and the guru-paramparā, I am pleased to accept you as a duly initiated disciple, and henceforth, you will be known as Danakeli dasi [Applause].

In Sanskrit, dana means wealth, it could mean gift, and it can mean tax, and keli means pastime. So, in a broad sense, we could refer to any pastime that involves wealth, donations, or tax. In the pastimes of Krishna, there is a pastime called dānakeli, and if you want to know what that pastime is, you can see me privately [Laughter]. Of course, there is a lot of laughter and joking in Krishna’s pastimes, and in this particular pastime, Srimati Radharani and the gopīs were carrying ghee and other dairy products to a sacrificial fire. We are having a little one here.

There was a big sacrificial fire performed at Govardhana Hill, and the tradition was that the young ladies could carry ghee, yogurt, milk, and other ingredients that would be useful for the sacrifice. The head priest would accept those gifts and give them ornaments in exchange, and blessings. Blessings but also ornaments.

Srimati Radharani and Her gopī friends had their pots of ghee and other dairy products on their heads, and they were going to the sacrifice. Lord Krishna, demonstrating His playful nature, quickly erected a toll booth, a taxation booth. He had His boyfriends with Him, and Srimati Radharani had Her girlfriends with Her. Krishna said, “I’m sorry, you cannot pass here unless you pay the tax.” And this gave rise to a lot of joking exchanges. It was a lot of back and forth. In the end, Krishna let Her pass, after much ado, He let Her pass, and She was able to deliver the things. That is called the dānakeli.

There is so much emotion, so much feeling in Krishna consciousness, but just to give a very little idea, Rupa Gosvami wrote a drama called Lalita-mādhava, and in that drama, there is a lot of feelings of separation, which is part of life. Anyway, he is one of the Six Gosvamis, and another one is Raghunatha dasa Gosvami. When Raghunatha dasa Gosvami read that drama, he went into such a deep state of separation. He was hardly eating, he was hardly sleeping, he was in such a deep state of separation. And when Rupa Gosvami heard this, he thought, Oh my Gosh, I have to do something.

So, he wrote another drama called Dāna-keli-kaumudī, in which he narrates this pastime, where Radha and Krishna are meeting. There is no separation, They are meeting, They are joking, They are enjoying spiritually, obviously. He delivered that book to Raghunatha dasa Gosvami and took back Lalita-mādhava. Then, when Raghunatha dasa Gosvami read Dāna-keli-kaumudī, he felt happy, he felt pacified that Radha and Krishna are together again, They are not separated and They are happy. He was happy. Then, he wrote his own little book about the same pastime called Dāna-keli-cintāmaṇi. So, this name conveys a lot of laughing, joking, and good humor, spiritual good humor. Hare Krishna. [Applause].