20221001 Initiation Address

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
hariḥ oṁ tat sat

Jayapatākā Swami: So today we are having various initiations and pre-initiation ceremonies. And these are part of the process of bhakti-yoga. That one by taking these practices, one practices bhakti-yoga. And aspiring and shelter are preliminary practice steps. For the first initiation one takes vows. On the stage of shelter, they practice similar standard without vows. So one can be sure that they can perform these things. Normally, what is the difference between gṛhamedhīs and gṛhasthas? Śrīla Prabhupāda was giving a lecture in Chakdaha about an hour and a half by railway from Calcutta. So he gave detail of the activities they did. You ride an hour and a half by train, and you go by tram or bus or walk, for one hour to your workplace. Then you work, after a couple of hours you have a tea break. You take a biscuit and some tea. Then you work again for two hours. Then half hour lunch break. Then you work again two hours. Tea break. Biscuit. Two hours work again. Then go back to the train station by walking, by tram or by bus. Then you ride one and a half hours to your city. Then you take your dinner. See your children and talk for a while. Then they go to sleep. Sometimes you have sex and go to sleep. Next day it is the same thing. Ha! Is this human life?! Add Kṛṣṇa! At least on the way to Calcutta on the train, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa! And since then the train from Chakdaha, every day they chant Hare Kṛṣṇa!

So, the whole secret of bhakti-yoga is to add Kṛṣṇa. I mean, everybody has different situation. But how Kṛṣṇa can be added, that is the secret. Husband and wife, they read Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam together. The whole family, they chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and do the ārati at night. Take some prasāda. And like this adding Kṛṣṇa to your thoughts, to your activities. Some are going to temple and doing some sevā. Some do some Nāmahaṭṭa or Bhakti-vṛkṣa sevā or book distribution, or some Kṛṣṇa conscious activity. This makes a big difference! A little bit of sevā, when we read the Purāṇas, a small bit of sevā, completely changes one’s karma. One man, he was a brāhmaṇa, he had no money and no children. He told his wife I am thinking I will go and work in some foreign country and send you some money. She said, I don’t have money, I don’t have children, at least I have a husband. If you go overseas, then I will not even have a husband. So I heard that the great sage Vasiṣṭha Muni is in the nearby village. Why don’t you go and ask him about your situation? See the Vaiṣṇavas and the sages, the brahmanas, they want to help others. So this poor brāhmaṇa he went to see Vasiṣṭha Muni. And he asked Vasiṣṭha Muni, why am I poor? Why don’t I have any children? He said, in your previous life you were a rich śūdra. You were a miser. You did not spend money on your wife or children, and you buried your money, you died suddenly and your wife and children, they did not know where your money was. They lived in great poverty for the rest of their lives. And therefore, you don’t have children, you don’t have money. I understand now, but how was I born a brāhmaṇa, and how do I have such a good wife? In the month of Vaiśākha, for three or four days you had a Vaiṣṇava in your house. Kārtika month, Vaiśākha months are holy months. And because of that you were born as a brāhmaṇa and you have a good wife. What can I do now? Vasiṣṭha Muni said, it is now the month of Vaiśākha. There are seven days left. You better use this opportunity to do some devotional service. If you have any disease, poverty, any problems, it is all due to previous karma. And a little devotional service pleases Kṛṣṇa and solves all the problems.

So, those who are taking initiation are promising to take this as a part of their life. Those who are taking aspiring or shelter are practicing this process. So, I heard a lecture and I told this previously, Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted all his gṛhastha followers to be paramahaṁsas. So, we want all the devotees, vairāgīs, mostly our gṛhasthas to be paramahaṁsas. The husband and wife, they should serve Kṛṣṇa together. Sometimes, one person is not Kṛṣṇa conscious. So we should be very positive and hopefully the person will take up Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But even if they don’t the person who takes up Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they advance. Hare Kṛṣṇa! Have they taken their vows? I will say the mantra, please keep your right ear open.

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare!