20120326 Initiation Address

20120326 His.Holiness.Jayapatākā Swāmi gave a morning initiation talk in Narasarāopet.

Gurumahārāja: 

We want His servitors either way, which is the secret of Bhakti Yoga. So, in the twelfth canto of twelfth chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, there Kṛṣṇa says, “Those who ...1.03 of the Avatars, they are the bests”  but He says, if you are not able to think of Me all the time, then practice Bhakti Yoga. 

So, the first stage of Bhakti Yoga is to follow the order śāstra and guru and practice serving the Lord. And then, at some stage you try to improve your service. Those who are priests, they try to do their priestly activities better. Those who are pūjārī’s, they try to dress the Deities better, those who are cooks, they try to cook better, those who are book distributors they try to distribute more books, those who are preachers they try to preach better to more people. So, just try to increase your service better on your own free will. That is called Rāgānugā, and these are the two steps of practicing Bhakti Yoga. If you follow these steps very sincerely, then you can wake in your ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. And then... you can awaken your pure love for Kṛṣṇa. So, this happens naturally. So, we would like to see all the devotees actually more and more happy in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. [applause] And if you can make others happy, others to practice Bhakti Yoga, that will be very pleasing to Lord Kṛṣṇa. 

So, different avatars come down over the age. Bālajī came and He had His pastimes. Not so many could participate. Some people were there, and the deva’s gave Bālajī a ...6.16, and Lord Varāha, He gave some land to lift the temple. So, we should see the Bhū-Varāha Deity. I didn’t see the Srinivasa-Govinda Deity. So, Lord Bālajī and all the Avatars ...6.50... came down for the coming of Lord Caitanya to give out mercy freely to all the conditioned souls. 

Some say that Śrīnivāsa Govinda is Kṛṣṇa Himself, and some say He is transcendental Kṛṣṇa, He is Ksirodakshayi Viṣṇu, but whoever... Lord Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa and Nitāi is Balarām, and Advaita is Mahavisnu and Sadāśiva combined, and Vir Chandra Prabhu is Ksirodakshayi Viṣṇu, and so many of the Shaktis – Rādhārāṇī, Naradamuni, Queens of Dwaraka, they all came down to give out Love of Kṛṣṇa. 

So, Kṛṣṇa used to steal butter and give to .... Lord Caitanya broke the Bhandar of love of Kṛṣṇa and gave to all the conditioned souls. 

Who want love of Kṛṣṇa?

That’s what this initiation is about. Its step for taking... getting mercy of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and you are taking some vows before the sacred fire. This is a very serious. 

In India today, if you sign a affidavit in the court that is considered to be very serious, but in the spiritual life thinking or making a promise before the sacred fire, that’s very serious. So, we should also appreciate that you are taking this service very seriously.

But if anyone has a doubt that I may not take such a vow right now, this is your last chance to retire. [laughter]

What do you want to do, shall we move it?

Alright. You want the mercy... [applause]

So, this is a 12.13.. Deities here. Lots of service. 

When there was no electricity you could see... reading glass, all are tree, like 12.40.

So, in a small temple you have to do many services, there is good chance to learn to do many things. In a very big temple one person does one thing, but in a small temple you have to do many things. You have to be a all-rounder’s, as the Indians call the cricket players. Who can pitch, who can hit, who can bowl, who can catch. So, you have to do all kinds of service here in Rādhā-Govinda temple [applause]

So, with these words, I wish you all the best in your bhakti yoga practice. [appalause]