20110401 Talk to Initiation Candidates

20110401 H.H.Jayapatākā Swāmi gave a talk to initiation candidates in Vrindavan. [720p]

Guru Mahārāja: So, there is initiation today. Who got initiation today? [Some devotees raise their hands.]

Who was initiated earlier this year? [Some devotees raise their hands.]

So, those who were recently initiated, you are all part of … also those who were initiated before.

Hari bol………………………….. (repeated by everyone)

You are all part of the brahma-gaudia-vaisnava… is from guru paramparā…

Hari bol………………………….. (repeated by everyone)

Hari bol………………………….. (repeated by everyone)

Hari bol………………………….. (repeated by everyone)

Here in the holy Dham of Vṛndāvan you are surrendered to Prabhupāda, Guru Paramparā, and Nitāi-Gaura, Krsna-Balaram, Rādhe-Shyam.

So, this is a very auspicious day, and some were initiated in Delhi or other or Māyāpur. Māyāpur also non-different from Delhi. Well, we need to also mention that in the Mahabharat… Hastinapur… to one side of Delhi. So, this was the capital of the world at that time – that area of Delhi. So, of course it was the capital of the Mughal empire. And later it became the capital of the British empire; in India. So… But, a sacred place, maybe to some extent, because Kṛṣṇa came here many times, and then Jāmuna flows here. So, its also considered a sacred place. I don’t know how much sacred… something. So, here in Vṛndāvan, we have the Krsna-Balaram Mandir. It was nice to see, many devotees took the shelter, and took the initiation. So, in this holy Dham, as I said, you got a thousand times benefit. So, by surrendering yourselves here, its what a thousand times. Of course, you should be very careful because now that you are initiated Māyā will test to see if you are sincere or not. She is known to give all kinds of tests. It could be possible, she will give you offers of sense gratification, or could be negative, could be something. So, whatever Māyā has you have to be prepared to take the shelter of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says, this Māyā is very difficult to cross over, because it is My divine energy. It His divine energy; daivī hy eṣā guṇa mayi, mama māyā durattaya – it is very difficult. But you can cross over. Mām eva hy prapadyante – by surrendering to Kṛṣṇa – māyā etāṁ taranti tena; he crosses over. So, our process is not a process of mystic yogis or the yogis. Our process is to depend on Kṛṣṇa. By depending on Kṛṣṇa we are able to cross over all the obstacles, all the illusions, all the tricks of māyā. So, we should always take shelter of Kṛṣṇa.

When we first got this land, that time, it was very… like outskirts of Vṛndāvana. There was not much …13.44-47… now it is like… so many buildings, so packed that you can’t recognize it. So, we saw also that it is a nice place… Kṛṣṇa would goad Balarāma, He take his calves. So, this place is known as Ramanreti. It is a place where Lord Balarām would… He would come with the calves, and with Kṛṣṇa He would herd the cows. So, this is a very peaceful place of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes, and for that reason the Deities are here – Kṛṣṇa and Balarām. But Prabhupāda, he liked this Deities also. Radhagovinda Maharaj – he is in Dehradun. He also soon after me, he suffered a stroke. His left side became paralyzed. So, he took some oil. This oil was made by some yogi from some trees, fruits and leaves. Tree was used by the Kurus, by the Pāṇḍavas, which rishi, sādhu told him, and so, Golokeshwar Govinda Dās, he was asking this one gentleman. He was a retired lawyer. He came down to apply the oil. He said that how Radhagovinda, he was paralyzed, now he can walk. So, two times he applied the oil. So, I don’t know, but I think I feel something improving, in just two applications. At least I can feel my arm better. So, he said, in two, three days I should have made some noticeable improvement. So, it’s a small world. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, in the medicines I am the healing herb. So, we take the blessing of this healing herb, from some tree, almost buy so many things …10.25-30… which the Kuru’s used to use. So, this person who makes oil, he said that … you can’t sell. If you sell, it will be bad for you. You should only use it as a sevā. So, he came… he is a retired lawyer. He doesn’t have to do what… he came just to do this service. He was sent by Radhagovinda Swāmi Maharāj. So, I was taking this treatment after the 9.45. So, that’s … 9.35-39… So, if you have any questions, I will try to answer your questions, on initiation or something philosophical, practical.

Question: As is said, the devotees who are taking initiation, they have the challenge now, that Māyā will sometimes put obstacles or tests, so that they can cross over. So, how can we take care of the devotees who have taken initiation, and they are practicing devotional service. And sometimes the obstacles are so strong that the devotees… the grihastha devotees, they are very busy, they don’t have any time. So, they may do their responsibilities like chanting sixteen sounds, and slowly they can’t do and they stop chanting. We have a few examples that after twenty years of initiation they have stopped chanting or they do chant. So, how we can take care of the devotees so that they should they have the enthusiasm? 

Guru Mahārāja:  Everyone has a free will. If we want to, we can also give up, we try to encourage them, we try to tell them how we other, how devotees are successful by following… we try to encourage them. Like that sometimes people, they just get angry. They think why Kṛṣṇa is putting me such difficulties where Krishna wants to help us. We have to also take shelter of Kṛṣṇa, and instead Māyā is testing us. So, we take shelter of Kṛṣṇa. He will help us, but instead of taking help of Kṛṣṇa, we get angry or we get illusioned. So, we give up. So, instead of listening to them, trying to encouraging them, preaching to them… this will go a long way. And we can show them examples of how people, like you are not the only ones. Jayānanda had to give me and others had problems.

His Holiness Bhakti Tīrtha Mahārāja, he also had a type of cancer in the foot. Like this so…. But they kept very good consciousness, and they went forward. So, we try to encourage the devotees, please be patient, be enthusiastic, be convinced. You will get back to Krishna in this life time. In fact, if you suffer something, then also it burning up our Karma so that we can get back to Kṛṣṇa. So, we take the mercy of Kṛṣṇa as it comes. If Māyā gives a test, that means that we can cross over. We need the help of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Haribol………………………………… (repeated by devotees)

Last question.

Ladies.

Question:  Sometimes we commit an offence but we didn’t know about it. Later on, we know that it is an offence. In such situation do we get… is it that… we have committed some mistake but we didn’t know about it. Later on we know that it has happened. Unknowingly we have committed a mistake. So, are we liable for severe punishment from Kṛṣṇa, especially now that we have taken the brahminical initiation?

Guru Mahārāja: If we make some mistake we should repent. We should approach Kṛṣṇa and tell our…. beg his forgiveness.  We are going to take whatever He thinks appropriate, but we like to present ourselves very humbly that we didn’t know. Now we know. So, please forgive us. So, the guru, he also forgives. Also, like in some places in Nabadwipa Parikrama, one place is called aparādha vyanajana kuliapaka. That’s in the island of Koladwipa, and there we get forgiven for all the offences. So, we are trying to… when we go there, we pray to Kṛṣṇa to please forgive us for all the offences, praying to all the Vaiṣṇavas, forgive us. If we don’t know it is called ajyata karma, that somehow, we are unknowingly committing offence. So, there is ajñāta or anajnata. So, there is knowingly or unknowingly. We pray to Guru and Kṛṣṇa. We pray to the Vaiṣṇavas to forgive us.

Haribol…………………… (repeated by devotees)

So, everybody you like your names……………… [Yes]

Those who have received new names, you like… do you like your names?

No problem with your names? …………………………[No problem]

Question: My name is Rasa Sekhar Gopal das or Rāsa Sekhar Gopal Das?

Guru Maharaj: How would you like it to be? Which would you like? [laughter]

I think rasa.

So, those who want prasad, please come up.