BG 4.34 – Initiation Ceremony

Giriraj Swami: Thank you for that beautiful talk. In his talk he mentioned how we need our godbrothers and godsisters to help us understand our spiritual master, we need to help each other.

Devotee: I cannot hear anything. There is an amplification system here.

[Unintelligible 00:00:23].

Giriraj Swami: So, as Maharaja said, this is a very significant event in the life of the living entity when he or she becomes officially connected to the paramparā. Paramparā means literally one after the other. So, God or Krishna is the original guru and He imparted knowledge to His first disciple, direct disciple, He imparted knowledge to His disciple, He imparted knowledge to His disciple, and in this way, the knowledge has been passed on from master to student in an unbroken chain. And so, we repeat the message that we received, the knowledge that we received from Krishna, and in the same way, service is offered back to Krishna through that same line. We serve our guru, he serves his guru, he serves his guru, and all the way back to the original guru, Krishna. And today in particular these devotees are being initiated into the chanting of the holy names, especially the Hare Krishna maha-mantra because by this method one can end one’s material existence and ultimately achieve love of Godhead which is the qualification for going back home, back to Godhead.

As Maharaja quoted indirectly: brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja—that the living entities are wandering in so many different universes and so many different species of life, but when one is fortunate by the mercy of guru and Krishna, one gets the seed of devotional service. And the seed is the process, and then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says that when one receives the seed, he should become a gardener. Maharaja was a gardener, we should all become gardeners and water that seed by śravaṇam kīrtanam jal—by hearing and chanting about Krishna or God. And one should also fence that seed, or that creeper when it begins to grow, and the fencing is the circle of pure devotions, we should always stay in the circle of pure devotees and that will protect us. And then if we continue watering that seed, that plant will ultimately grow and pierce through the coverings of the universe and take shelter in the spiritual kingdom of God at the lotus feet of Krishna.

So, the chanting is very easy as Srila Prabhupada said, but the determination to chant is not so easy. And therefore, the association of other chanters is very important. Now, to get the full effect of the chanting one must avoid offenses while chanting, and therefore, at every initiation ceremony Srila Prabhupada would discuss the ten offenses. I shall also do so, reading from one of Srila Prabhupada’s books, Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Before we begin reading, we will recite a little mantra.

CC Ādi 1.18

jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda
jayādvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda 

So, we will read from Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, Chapter Eight, “The Author Receives the Orders of Kṛṣṇa and Guru,”

 TEXT 24

‘kṛṣṇa-nāma’ kare aparādhera vicāra

kṛṣṇa balile aparādhīra nā haya vikāra

TRANSLATION

There are offenses to be considered while chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Therefore simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa one does not become ecstatic.

COMMENT

So, our motto in the Hare Krishna movement is to chant Hare Krishna and be happy; we have a whole book called Chant and be Happy. And we can chant and be happy if we chant without offense, and therefore, it is important to know what these offenses are so we can avoid them. And in fact, by hearing what the offenses are we can learn how to do the opposite, not just to avoid the negative but to engage in the positive.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

It is very beneficial to chant the names śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda before chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra because by chanting these two holy names — śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda — one immediately becomes ecstatic, and then if he chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra he becomes free of offenses.

COMMENT

So, this is our process, to always chant the names of: śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda, and that helps us to chant Hare Krishna. These Lords are so merciful that they don’t consider offenses, and by chanting their name we can feel transcendental bliss, and then in that state, you can chant Hare Krishna without offenses.

PURPORT (continued)

There are ten offenses to avoid in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. The first offense is to blaspheme great personalities who are engaged in distributing the holy name of the Lord. It is said in the śāstra (Cc. Antya 7.11), kṛṣṇa-śakti vinā nahe tāra pravartana: one cannot distribute the holy names of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra unless he is empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore one should not criticize or blaspheme a devotee who is thus engaged.

COMMENT

So, the holy name of Krishna is Krishna Himself, and the preacher of the holy name is Krishna’s servant, a dear servant. So naturally, if we criticize or oppose Krishna’s dear servant, Krishna will not be pleased. He will. . . it is said that He recedes, the holy name recedes, draws back, from one who criticizes the holy name’s servant. So, this is a very important principle, in fact, we will read in a minute that blaspheming the devotees who have dedicated their lives to propagate the holy name is the worst offense. And living in a society of devotees we can, even without thinking, criticize them, and that is very damaging. We will also come to the point that if we chant inattentively, that will open scope for all the other offenses to flourish, and if we chant with attention, then that will remove all the other offenses, of course, beginning with the offensive inattentive chanting.

So, our godbrother Bhurijana Prabhu has given many nice seminars on chanting the holy name. And at one such seminar, he gave the students an exercise that had two parts: one part was to see if they could chant attentively because that is the crucial point. In fact, Srila Prabhupada said that the effort to chant with attention is what defines the clearing stage; the consistent effort to chant with attention is what defines the clearing stage of chanting, and without that we are in the offensive stage. So Bhurijana Prabhu gave them the exercise to chant with attention. And the other was not to criticize devotees, because criticizing devotees is most harmful, and it is unfortunately common, face to face, on the internet, it is everywhere.

So, then the next morning at the seminar, he asked the devotees how they did on their exercise. So, one of the devotees said that she had tried not to indulge in criticizing any devotee, but that she was not successful because the criticism was in the environment; that is what she said. And Bhurijana Prabhu replied, “Well, you have two choices: one is to change the environment, and the other is not to go along with the environment.” And he said, “If you want to change the environment, good luck, because the environment doesn’t want to change, the environment wants to criticize.” So, you must decide, of course, within a limited field we can try, that is what we are talking about right here, but in a broader sense, it is beyond us. But we can decide that we are not going to participate in that criticism of devotees, and that is very important. In fact, by nature, pure devotees do not want to hear criticism of other devotees.

I heard recently about my godbrother Jayananda Prabhu who just did not hear criticism of devotees; he would even change the subject and if he could not, then he would just leave the place. He just did not hear. I heard also of Gauri dasi, a book distributor in Los Angeles, she would try to change the subject. If someone would come up to her and say, ”Did you hear what such and such and so and so did?” “Well, I think I know that that person really did a good offering the other day, that that person. . .” She would glorify the person. So that is the other side, that on the negative side we do not want to blaspheme devotees, on the positive side we want to glorify them.

PURPORT (continued)

Therefore one should not criticize or blaspheme a devotee who engaged in distributing the holy name of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.

Śrī Padma Purāṇa states:

satāṁ nindā nāmnaḥ paramam aparādhaṁ vitanute

yataḥ khyātiṁ yātaṁ katham u sahate tad-vigarhām

To blaspheme the great saintly persons who are engaged in preaching the glories of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is the worst offense at the lotus feet of the holy name.

COMMENT

And yes, just to repeat because sometimes we must. . . Sometimes we do it without even thinking, it is like casually, casual conversation and then we criticize.

PURPORT (continued)

One should not criticize a preacher of the glories of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. If one does so, he is an offender. The nāma-prabhu, who is identical with Kṛṣṇa, will never tolerate such blasphemous activities, even from one who passes as a great devotee.

The second nāmāparādha.

COMMENT

Nāma is the holy name and aparādha means offense, so the second offense against the holy name.

PURPORT (continued)

Is described as follows:

śivasya śrī-viṣṇor ya iha guṇa-nāmādi-sakalaṁ

dhiyā bhinnaṁ paśyet sa khalu hari-nāmāhita-karaḥ

COMMENT

This is very significant on two levels.

PURPORT (continued)

In this material world, the holy name of Viṣṇu is all-auspicious. Viṣṇu’s name, form, qualities, and pastimes are all transcendental, absolute knowledge. Therefore, if one tries to separate the Absolute Personality of Godhead from His holy name or His transcendental form, qualities, and pastimes, thinking them to be material, that is offensive.

COMMENT

So, ignorant people often have that idea, that we, for example when Srila Prabhupada spoke at the Harvard Divinity School. So, one of the students, and they were bright, or they considered themselves very bright, so one of them said, “You say that we should repeat Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, but shouldn’t you get the same result just by counting one two three, one two three, one two three?” And Prabhupada smiled, he said, “Of course, that is not possible, but if you like you can try counting, and when you get tired of counting you can try chanting.” So, the holy name is Krishna, so we should not think of it as anything other than Krishna. And if we have faith in Krishna, then we will understand that His name and qualities and form and pastimes—They are all Krishna, even the deity of Krishna is Krishna; if we think it is just a piece of stone or metal then that is also an offense.

Now, there is another level to this offense.

PURPORT (continued)

Similarly, to think that the names of demigods such as Lord Śiva are as good as the name of Lord Viṣṇu — or, in other words, to think that Lord Śiva and the other demigods are other forms of God and are therefore equal to Viṣṇu — is also blasphemous.

COMMENT

So, right, we understand, but this is a problem like in different kirtan venues; they do not really distinguish things, Krsna, Krsna, Shiva, Shiva, Durga. So that is a tricky area that we must negotiate and navigate when we preach in those circles; to help them understand the difference between the Supreme God and the demigods without them thinking that we are being sectarian. And there is another level to this, and that is that God is known by different names in different traditions; in Christian tradition, Muslim tradition, and it is also an offense to think that the name of Krishna is different from the names of God in the other traditions, and if we do then we are committing an offense. Srila Prabhupada had a disciple named Atreya Rishi, he was very proud of this disciple, he was from Iran, and his previous name was Karol Aktar. Prabhupada gave him the name Atreya Rishi. So, when Prabhupada visited Atreya Rishi in Iran, Atreya Rishi gave this very eloquent proclamation that he is just waiting until all the people in Iran were chanting Hare Krishna.

THERE SEEMS TO BE A CUT IN THE RECORDING HERE

PURPORT (continued)

The seventh offense is described as follows:

nāmno balād yasya hi pāpa-buddhir

na vidyate tasya yamair hi śuddhiḥ

To think that since the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra can counteract all sinful reactions one may therefore go on with his sinful activities and at the same time chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra to neutralize them is the greatest offense at the lotus feet of hari-nāma.

COMMENT

So, this is also very important, you cannot have subtle manifestation, but it is a fact that if one has engaged in sinful activities and surrenders to the Lord and chants the holy name, then by the chanting of the holy name he is freed from the reactions to all of his sinful activities. But if one is cunningly calculating and thinks, Oh, I can engage in sinful activities and I will just chant and be freed from the reaction—that is the greatest offense against the holy name, and it does not work. Even, what to speak of chanting the holy name, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says that even in ordinary ritualistic activities, if you deliberately engage in some sinful activity and think that you can neutralize the effects by engaging in some ritualistic activity, and there are such types of atonement, prāyaścitta, that also doesn’t work. It only works if you commit the sin sort of accidentally, by force of bad habit, or bad association, but not calculating that, “Oh, I will do it, it doesn’t matter, I can always chant to neutralize the reaction.”

Welcome Nrsimananda Prabhu, we have brought an asana for you.

PURPORT (continued)

The eighth offense is stated thus:

dharma-vrata-tyāga-hutādi-sarva-

śubha-kriyā-sāmyam api pramādaḥ

It is offensive to consider the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra to be a religious ritualistic ceremony. Performing religious ceremonies, following vows, and practicing renunciation and sacrifice are all materialistic auspicious activities. The chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra must not be compared to such materialistic religiosity. This is an offense against the lotus feet of the holy name of the Lord.

COMMENT

So, sometimes people perform ritualistic activities to get some material benefit, and if we think that the holy name is in the same category, or want to use the holy name in the same way, that is an offense.

There was a man, it was very interested but anyway, there was a meeting at the Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan in Bombay, and how the Bhagavad-gītā could solve all the problems of India and the world. And before the conference began, the organizer and head of Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, Mrs. Lilavati Munshi, she invited the participants to her library to meet first. And so, one of the sadhus there told Srila Prabhupada that he was having big gatherings and he was getting people to chant, but he was telling them if they chant then they will get cured of their material diseases. So, he said, “You are gathering people, I am gathering people, you are getting them to chant, I am getting them to chant. So, we should cooperate.” And Srila Prabhupada said, “No, because what you are proposing is against our principles; we do not try to employ the holy name in our service, materials, but we engage ourselves in the service of the holy name.” The holy name is Krishna, we’re Krishna’s servants, we’re not meant to use the holy name for some material purpose.

Now, within that Sanskrit, the last word is pramādaḥ which means well, literally it means “madness,” “craziness,” but sometimes, depending on how the Sanskrit is analyzed, that is taken as an offense, to be inattentive, pramādaḥ. Sometimes we recite the ten offenses and then we add it is also an offense. That comes from that pramādaḥ. But as we have heard, that is really the root of the other offenses, so that is most important to avoid, they all are.

PURPORT (continued)

The ninth offense is described as follows:

aśraddadhāne vimukhe ‘py aśṛṇvati

yaś copadeśaḥ śiva-nāmāparādhaḥ

It is an offense to preach the glories of the holy name among persons who have no intelligence or no faith in the subject matter. Such people should be given the chance to hear the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, but in the beginning, they should not be instructed about the glories or the spiritual significance of the holy name. By constant hearing of the holy name, their hearts will be purified, and then they will be able to understand the transcendental position of the holy name.

COMMENT

So, this is a subtle offense, because if we preach the glories of the holy name to someone who is not receptive, then they will commit offenses. They say something like, “These devotees are sentimentalists, they are deluded.” I had an experience of this in a slightly different context. But my parents had come to visit me in India and so we were on a flight to Srinagar, Kashmir, and so I thought okay, well, my father considers himself to be a very rational person, so I will speak based on Easy Journey to Other Planets because that book is couched in scientific language. And when I started telling him how by yoga you could go to other planets and how by bhakti-yoga you could go beyond the material universe to the spiritual sky, he looked at me in such a way it was like, “Son, I was afraid that you were crazy but hearing this any doubt has been removed.” And I realized that yes, this was an offense, I was preaching to the faithless, he did not have faith.

And Srila Prabhupada has explained it—you can bring people to develop faith, by speaking based on logic and argument and reason. But if you preach to them on a level that requires faith in the first place, which they do not have, it’s an offense because they will become more offensive to you and the philosophy that you are trying to impart. So, important points. But they can hear, they can take prasāda, Prabhupada said, “Prasāda is our secret weapon.” So that is always a good approach, safe and effective.

PURPORT (continued)

The tenth offense is as follows:

śrute ‘pi nāma-māhātmye yaḥ prīti-rahito naraḥ

ahaṁ-mamādi-paramo nāmni so ‘py aparādha-kṛt

If one has heard the glories of the transcendental holy name of the Lord but nevertheless continues in a materialistic concept of life, thinking “I am this body and everything belonging to this body is mine [ahaṁ mameti],” and does not show respect and love for the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, that is an offense.

COMMENT

Sometimes we say to not have complete faith in the chanting of the holy name and to maintain material attachments even after understanding so many instructions in the matter. So, it is not an offense to have material attachments, it is an anartha, but it is not an offense. Offenses are more stubborn and difficult to deal with than anarthas. But it is an offense to maintain material attachments; it is a sort of duplicity because when we chant, we should be praying to the Lord to engage us in His service to clear, to purify our heart ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam. But if we are chanting and at the same time maintaining our material attachment, you do not want to become free from them, then that is an offense.

And once Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was asked a question by one of his disciples that, “Master, all of your disciples are following the same process, but some seem to be making rapid advancement and others are hardly making any advancement, so why?” So, in reply, he told the story of the wedding party which some of you might have heard, that there was a. . . this is the traditional system in India. I think it goes on in other places, in different cultural trappings. The family from the bridegroom’s side goes to the place of the wedding, the family of the bride’s side, something like that is happening here too. But anyway, coming back to our point. So the wedding party was taking a boat down the river to the site of the wedding, and they boarded the boat at night and they went to sleep expecting that in the morning they would wake up at the site, but in the morning, when they woke up they found that they were in exactly the same place, and they were very upset. They accused the boatman that, “You weren’t working, you weren’t rowing, you were sleeping.” He said, “No, I was rowing all night while you were sleeping, I was working very hard.” So, then there was a mystery, what happened? Then someone found that he had forgotten to pull out the anchor, so he was working very hard but because he left the anchor he did not get anywhere. So that anchor is our material attachments; we can work very hard on our practices but if we hold on to our material attachments, then we will not progress.

Now, that does not mean that we necessarily must give up so-called material things, but we should not be attached to them in a material way for sense gratification, but we should engage them in devotional service. Everything is Krishna’s energy so it is meant to be engaged in devotional service. But we should not accept them in the mood of utilizing them for our sense gratification. So, if we chant in that mood and serve Krishna and purify our hearts to show us how to engage everything in His service, then we can interact with so-called material things without becoming entangled. Like Indradyumna Swami, he is very expert in mobilizing the so-called material energy to Krishna’s service and organizes festivals that are pleasing to Krishna and uplifting to the devotees.

So, and just one, a little point, I mean the demigods are servants of Krishna, and so we can pray to them to help us in our service to Krishna, not because we think that they are equal to Krishna, they can do something that Krishna cannot do. But just because sometimes the Vaishnavas are more merciful than Vishnu. So, one of our deities on the altar here is Gopisvara Mahadeva, given by His Holiness Indradyumna Swami—Lord Shiva. And so, he governs false egos, and this last offense, ahaṁ-mamādi, I and mine, is false ego. And so, we can pray to him as we are so full of false ego, and establish our actual constitutional position as Krishna’s servants.

So now, we will call forward the new initiates. We can I guess offer obeisances to the altar, offer obeisances to Maharaja and then come here and offer obeisances. And we will start with Bhaktin Andrea which is one year older than Jahnava. So, as Maharaja mentioned on this occasion the new initiates take certain vows to chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, and to follow certain regulative principles.

So, what are the four regulative principles that you promise to follow every day for the rest of your life?

Devotee: No eating of meat, fish, or eggs, no intoxication, no illicit sex, and no gambling.

Giriraj Swami: Good. Would you care to elaborate on what no intoxicants mean?

Devotee: No. . .

Giriraj Swami: It is so far from your consciousness that you cannot even think of it.

Devotee: Not to take drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, yes, that is good. Yes, Prabhupada would say no coffee, tea, or cigarettes. Okay, good. And how many rounds do you promise to chant every day?

Devotee: A minimum of sixteen.

Giriraj Swami: Good. And is there anything else you would like to say on this auspicious occasion in this august assembly?

Devotee: The first time I met you, you gave me my first instruction, and you told me to give this life to Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: You are doing that, trying.

Devotee: Thank you for that first instruction.

Giriraj Swami: So, as we discussed, you should read also, of course, and yes, give this life to Krishna, give it to Srila Prabhupada and his mission. Yes, can you hand me the orange bead bag? At the first, I think practically the first initiation ceremony that Srila Prabhupada performed when he came to America, the mother of Brahmananda Prabhu and Gargamuni Prabhu was present, and he had Brahmananda offering his obeisances and take the dust of his mother’s feet.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:48:12].

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:48:18].

Giriraj Swami: Different cultures.

Devotee: Yes.

Giriraj Swami: So, on behalf of Srila Prabhupada and the guru-paramparā, we are accepting you as our duly initiated disciple. And from my side, I will do everything in my power to bring you to the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada at whose feet all other masters sit, and by his mercy, we will all go back home, back to Godhead. And from this day forth, you will be known as Ānanda Gopika dasi. Gopika is a name for Srimati Radharani. She is the. . . God has His male aspect and His female aspect, so Krishna is the name for the male aspect and Radha is the name for the female aspect. When we chant Hare Krishna, the Hare refers to Radha and the Krishna refers to Krishna. So, her name, Gopika is a name for Radha, and Ānanda means specifically Radha who gives bliss to Krishna and to all devotees, and then dasi means maidservant; we all have that name, dasa or dasi, servant. So, Ananda Gopika dasi means she is the main servant of Ananda Gopika or Radharani who gives bliss, ānanda.

Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Nice name.

Giriraj Swami: And next Jahnava, same thing, offer obeisances. So, Jahnava, her parents are devotees, her father has first initiation from Srila Prabhupada – Param Dhama, second from me and her mother, Ganga dasi, also has. So, they could not be here in person like Ananda Gopika’s mother, but they are probably watching it on the live streaming.

Devotee: There is several thousand people watching.

Giriraj Swami: Well, I am glad you told me now because it is too late to feel nervous, too much to go on into it.

Devotee: At least a few hundred.

Giriraj Swami: But yes, she is a very sweet young devotee and been following Krishna consciousness from the beginning of her life. As Maharaja mentioned, or to paraphrase what Maharaja said, Ṛtadhvaja Swami said, these children are born into the Hare Krishna movement but they still must decide whether they want to join the Hare Krishna movement or not. So, she has made the conscious decision to dedicate her life in Krishna consciousness.

So, what are the four principles that you vow to follow?

Devotee: No eating meat, fish, or eggs, no intoxication, no gambling, and no illicit sex.

Giriraj Swami: And how many rounds do you promise to chant?

Devotee: At least sixteen rounds every day.

Giriraj Swami: Good. And what about Ekādaśī?

Devotee: Twenty-five.

Giriraj Swami: Do you think you can do twenty-five on Ekādaśī?

Devotee: I will try.

Giriraj Swami: She will try, you should try, you should try. Good. And is there anything else you would like to say on this occasion?

Devotee: I would like to thank you. I always had since I was small, my parents would always have you as a spiritual master; I always saw you as my spiritual master, but I am extremely grateful that you gave me the opportunity to be able to come here and be in your association. And thank you for accepting being my father.

Giriraj Swami: We are very happy to have you come here, very happy, and it has thickened the spiritual relationship. So, on behalf of Srila Prabhupada and the paramparā, Srila Prabhupada is our founder acharya, at whose feet all of us sadhus sit and he will take us home back to Godhead if we follow him. So, on behalf of Srila Prabhupada and the guru-paramparā, I am pleased to accept you as my duly initiated disciple, and henceforth your name will be Jahnava devi dasi. There was some discussion about the name but Maharaja concluded because I gave her the name when she was born, so that was also coming from me, but we have added the devi dasi, so that makes it different, more complete.

So, thank you all for coming and staying with us so far, it has been a memorable occasion.