20221015 Initiation Address

The following is an initiation address given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on October 15th, 2022 in Tirupati, India.

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānandaṁ mādhavaṁ śrī caitanya iśvaram

Hariḥ oṁ tat sat!

Jayapatākā Swami: So today we are gathered together for a dīkṣā ceremony.

We offered various things to the Deities, flowers, etc.

But today we are offering our supreme nivedanam – ātma-nivedanam.

We are offering ourselves to serve Kṛṣṇa.

That means mind, word, activities, will be offered to Kṛṣṇa.

And as far as possible.

So, people in this material world they think they are the body.

But those who are practicing bhakti-yoga, they are the spirit soul, part of Kṛṣṇa.

Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā (14.4), that we are His parts and parcels.

He says He is the bīja-pradaḥ pitā – He is the seed giving father.

So, we are eternally part of Kṛṣṇa.

And as part of Kṛṣṇa, we should serve Kṛṣṇa. 

Sanātana Gosvāmī, he was a prime minister.

But he approached Lord Caitanya, he said “People call me a paṇḍita, but actually I am a fool.

I don’t know who I am.

Please tell me who I am.” Lord Caitanya said, “You are jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya-kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’  (Cc. Madhya 20.108)

So Lord Caitanya taught we are the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa.

This morning I was hearing a lecture by Śrīla Prabhupāda.

If we have any material desire Kṛṣṇa is very kind, He will give us that, and we can realize the material desire.

Śrīla Prabhupāda said he wanted his devotees to be pure devotees.

And not desire material things anymore.

But desire the spiritual things.

If we desire material things then we will have to take birth again and again to get them.

There is no guarantee however that we will get a human body.

If someone has desires that I want to be born in India again, Śrīla Prabhupāda said, alright, you may be a tree in India!

No guarantee you will be a human in India.

We should desire to serve Kṛṣṇa.

Whether you are a brahmacārī or gṛhastha, the desire should be to serve Kṛṣṇa.

This material world there will be some happiness and there will be some distress.

We have to tolerate.

And ultimately get Kṛṣṇa’s service.

Like Hanumān – what does he want? He wants to serve Lord Rāma.

Nothing else he wants.

He asked, “Why does Sītā wear the red kuṅkuma?” Lakṣmaṇa said, “This is for Lord Rāma.” “Oh really! Is Lord Rāma pleased with this?” So Hanumān he covered his whole body with kuṅkuma!

He is very simple, he is a monkey, but he heard this pleases Rāma, he would do anything to please Him!

So if we could be like that, pure devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, that is most pleasing to Śrīla Prabhupāda. 

Like Bharata Mahārāja, this country and this planet is named after him.

But when he was dying, he thought who will take care of my little deer!

Instead of thinking of Kṛṣṇa at death, he was thinking of the deer.

Next birth he took birth as a deer.

But because he was a devotee, he remembered he was the emperor of the world, and now he is a deer.

So don’t take any risk and desire material things.

Some gṛhasthas told me I have been married eight years and do not have any child, please give me a child.

Don’t ask for a child.

Ask for a Kṛṣṇa conscious, healthy, long lived suputra.

If you have a sick child then you have problems.

If you desire for a Kṛṣṇa conscious child, that is a Kṛṣṇa conscious desire.

Be very careful what you desire, Kṛṣṇa is very kind, He will give you that!

Then you will think, oh, why did I desire this!

So please you are accepting initiations and blessings.

You are in a holy place, India, Tirupati.

You see Padmāvatī, She was Vedavatī in previous life.

She wanted to marry Viṣṇu.

So now She is married to Viṣṇu and that is a spiritual desire.

To be bona fide, to think how to desire spiritual things.

Some people, one businessman told me he wanted to retire.

I told him, Arjuna told Kṛṣṇa he wanted to retire, but Kṛṣṇa told him fight for Me!

So you can make money and make it for Kṛṣṇa.

He is doing some million dollars service for Kṛṣṇa.

Like that purify your desires.

You have a nice temple, nice deities and also do nice sevā, some can help in making nice prasāda.

Kṛṣṇa sees your heart, sees your every desire, your desire to serve Kṛṣṇa.

Whatever you do, as far as possible do it for Kṛṣṇa!

Hare Kṛṣṇa!