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Humility

Sincerity

Initiation/
Krishna receprocates
thru Guru & Vaishnavas

Transformation

om apavitraḥ

Yet
ILLUSIONED

We're
PURE

nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema...

jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa...

since time immemorial, we have forgotten our eternal identity. Covered by the cloud of the illusory energy, Maya, We have lived in darkness.

The darkness of ignorance, not knowing who we are or our relationship with God.

In that darkness, we have engaged in various materialistic activities due to this misconception that has bound us karmically to deeper and deeper regions of such ignorance.

In such a condition, we are helpless. We are actually helpless. We have misused our free will and put ourselves in such a predicament.

Therefore we chant this beautiful prayer - oṁ ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayācakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ. That we are in ignorance, we are in darkness.

Unless one is willing to accept that fact one is not receptive to the mercy of the Lord. Themercy of the Lord is always coming upon all living beings. How receptive are we? There must be humility, there must be a sense of submissiveness to receive. Bhagavad Gita teaches that principle.

Arjuna was far more learned than anyone today and he was exalted in every sense. whenhe thought he knew what was right for him. He was not receptive, therefore the Lord didnot even speak. Krishna just patiently, silently listened to Arjuna. Until Arjuna came to theconclusion that he was in the darkness of ignorance, that he needed help that was beyondhimself.

kārpaṇya-doṣopahata-svabhāvaḥ pṛcchāmi tvāṁ dharma-sammūḍha-cetāḥ yac chreyaḥ syānniścitaṁ brūhi tan me śiṣyas te ’haṁ śādhi māṁ tvāṁ prapannam - Bg. 2.7 "I am confused. I do not know what is to be done. I've lost all composure due to weakness. Now Iam your disciple, Krishna. Please instruct me."

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur explained

It's so easy to just not go through the botheration of vows and commitments in life.

Srila Prabhupada often said, initiation is not the goal. Initiation is the beginning of thepath. Previous to committing ourselves, we are preparing to begin.

The preparation is all important. Because if we are not properly prepared, we will not be inthe proper state of mind to actually begin.

To initiate means to begin. At the time of initiation we take vows. We make commitment.Why?

Because materially, just to survive we have so many commitments we have to take care of. Why take life long commitments?

Because that's what it really means to be serious about your spiritual life.

sacrifice in the sense that we're willing to put aside our own desires, our own aspirationsto pursue the will of God. To take that risk, to make that commitment, and to live in thatspirit of sacrifice is actually a joyful life. Because it's a life where we can feel, experiencein reality the Divine Grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

If there's anything that Prabhupada stressed so much, it's being sincere. He stressed thatwe should chant Hare Krishna, we should follow these four regulative principles with

Sincerity means we're not making a show. We're not doing it out of ritualistic superstition.We're not doing it simply because it's the tradition that we should follow for socialpurposes.

Sincerity means willingness to sacrifice, because nothing great comes without sacrifice inthis world.

sincerity.

Krishna-> Brahma -> Narada ->

Prahlad, Dhruva, Valmiki,Mrgari etc.

We want to be God in various ways. Some people they want to play God by having the power to make other people mentally and physically suffer. Many people have that tendency.

What was their character?

Valmiki Muni became so gentle. He was living in Chitrakoot. When Ram and Sita werebanished to the forest with Lakshman, that was the first thing they did is go to ValmikiMuni's ashram and worship him. He was so gentle, so humble, so learned. He simply livedfor the welfare of others.

And Mrgari, who was taking pleasure in seeing animals suffer, that's sense gratification inthe mode of ignorance. That to feel power and control over others. It's very demonic.

But receiving the holy name from Narada Muni, Mrgari became so gentle, so kind, so respectful that he would not even intentionally cause the slightest mental or physical harm to an ant. He was willing to go way out of his way just to respect the rights, the happiness, and the God-given freedom of an insect. That is transformation.

Yes, Srila Prabhupada considered this all important - This transformation of the life.

Srila Prabhupada emphasized. . We can talk about all high things, philosophy, spiritual subject matters of the highest realms of consciousness. But Prabhupada said, without good character, all this talk of philosophy has very little value.

When Prabhupada was asked by some newspaper reporters, how will we know who is your disciple? "They are perfect ladies and gentlemen", was Prabhupada's answer.

He meant not only in the material sense that these people could understand, but beyond. What kind of a perfect gentleman was Mrgari.

What this really means in essence is,
tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā amāninā mānadena kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ

Humility like grass. We should actually think about what this really means. We talk about it. We hear about it. But really contemplate how to apply this principle to our life.

We want to be humble like a blade of grass, but as soon as someone just steps anywhere near us, ah, we rebel. "Why? Who? Ah"
Humility like a blade of grass. Krishna will test you, and he's watching from within.

Tolerance like tree. Eager to offer all respect to others and expect none in return.
That is the state of consciousness in which we could actually chant the holy names with real feeling. That is how we can chant constantly.

Process of Transformation

So Narada Muni spoke to Veda Vyas. Veda Vyas, compiled the Vedic literatures. The Vedic literatures are the eternal word of God, not just time, place, and circumstance. Itis transcendental to all the limitations of material existence.

This Pramana, or the evidence of the Vedas, is considered by all acharyas to be the mostauthoritative and complete of all evidence to understand the truth.

So Veda Vyas, out of his causeless mercy, compiled the Vedas in writing. Previously, they werespoken. tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.12). But the Vedas themselves tell you that

tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā - Bg. 4.34. Bhagavad Gita tells that we should approach in a submissive state of mind.

he simply repeats the message as it is without changing. And his living is an example of that.

is to inquire in a submissive state. We don't demand. We don'texpect. We are Humble. And then what we hear, we execute that is seva. That is service.

So when this combination is there, the proper Guru and the proper disciple, then actual transformation begins to take place. So this is our Parampara.

you cannot understand what is written in Vedas without the guidance and training of a Guru, the spiritual master.

The quality of a guru:

And the quality of a disciple

Example from Parampara:

And therefore,

"Sincerity means without hypocrisy, without duplicity, with a genuine aspiration or at least the genuine desire for that aspiration."

"Sincerity means from our heart we want. We want to follow. We want to learn. We want Krishna. And we're willing to honestly and earnestly follow the directions of Krishna coming through Parampara."

"In reality, one cannot actually approach a spiritual master unless one is in a frame of mind that we give up our faith in material life. That we really want something else. Not something more, something else."

"When we commit ourselves, to the degree of the sincerity of our commitment, Krishna reciprocates through Guru and Vaishnava to bestow their causeless mercy and strength into our hearts. "

"Valmiki and Mrgari were killers, robbers, and hunters. In other words, their mentality was to exploit, to exploit others for their own personal interests. And because they heard the truth through Parampara, as Narada Muni spoke it, they were transformed."

"That is the purpose of initiation - Transformation! Transformation of our life, how we live. Transformation of our values, what we aspire for, what we hold sacred. Transformation of our heart - from material to spiritual, from a desire to enjoy to a desire to serve."

"Understanding God is not a matter of a person's speculations,
imaginations, or even realizations.They have to be supported by the Vedas."

Narada -> Vyasdev ->

Madhvacharya

was so serious. He walked from South India, Udupi, all the way to the Himalayas,
Badrikashram. And there he performed fasting, praying to the deity of Badrinath for days
before he got the blessings to go to Adibhadri. ..It's way, way in the peaks of the Himalayas. Even jet planes can't find that place.
And he walked there for days and days just through the snow. No life existed in those Himalayan peaks. That was how serious he was about sitting at the feet of his guru, VedaVyaas, and he heard from him.

....Madhavendra Puri & Isvara Puri

Generations later, Lord Chaitanya, who was Krishna himself, was to appear not only as the Yugaavatar, but as Krishna who wanted to taste the sweetness of Radharani's love and to distributethat sweetness of Radharani's love through Naam Sankirtan, the chanting of the holy names.

Before he descended he sent his intimate eternal associates from the spiritual world. One wasMadhavendra Puri. He took initiation in the discipleship of Sri Brahma Madhava Sampradaya andhe exhibited the highest ecstasies of the love of Brindavan in this world. He had many greatdisciples. Nityananda Prabhu, Advaita Acharya, Pundarik Vidyanidhi, brahmananda bharati.

One of his disciples was Ishwarapuri. His special quality was his humility in hiswillingness to serve.

Even when his Gurudeva was in his last days, on what we call a deathbed, he was carefully cleaning his body. With his own hands, with love and devotion, "you're always speaking the glories of Krishna." Because of this menial, sincere service, Madhavendra Puri blessed him with the benediction that he would experience the love of Krishna.

" Thus, the Supreme Lord, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, accepted initiation from Ishwarapuri in such a way to teach us that whoever we are, however great we are, Krishna will actually be pleased with us when we become the humble servant of the servant of one of his servants in discipleship."

Lord Chaitanya humbly served his guru. And it wasn't until his guru ordered him to spread the Krishna consciousness movement did he begin.

Six Goswamis

LCM had many wonderful disciples headed byRupa Goswami, Sanatana Goswami, Raghunath Das Goswami, Raghunath Bhat Goswami,Gopal Bhat Goswami, Jiva Goswami.

These six Goswamis of Vrindavan, not only did they live the perfect example of LordChaitanya's teachings, but they revealed it to the world through the literatures they wrote.

In the line of Baladeva Vidyabhushan, later on

The mercy is there but how we receive it is how we will benefit. That is our free will.

" When we accept initiation, we are not just accepting something from one person. We are accepting the mercy of Radha Krishna coming through the disciplic succession of all these great Acharyas. We are receiving the collective mercy of all these great Acharyas toprotect us, to guide us, and to lift us back to the spiritual world."

Srila Prabhupada

His Divine Grace, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, sacrificed so much. All of us know the stories of his preaching in his old age, the hardships he endured, and the incredible, unbelievable, unfathomable compassion that he offered to this world.

He brought this Krishna consciousness movement outside the boundaries of India and spread it to all continents of the world. Simply incredible!

He is the founder Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. And we are all united in reading his books and assisting with his mission.

" All Diksha Gurus, all Shiksha Gurus, all vartma-pradarshaka gurus, all Vaishnavas within ISKCON are meant to work together to fulfill Prabhupada's mission. Therefore, the prominence of Srila Prabhupada in all of our lives must be very carefully understood."

It is the very sincere wish of all of Srila Prabhupada's disciples who on his behalf are taking theservice of initiating others into our sampradaya.

Lord Chaitanya

Humility

Sincerity

Initiation/
Krishna receprocates
thru Guru & Vaishnavas

Transformation

Applications/Instructions for disciples

Gauridas Pandit

Hridaya Chaitanya Prabhu

Shyamananda Prabhu

Rasikananda Goswami

Nayanananda Goswami

Radha Damodar Goswami

Baladeva Vidyabhushana

Humbly begged Govindaji to speak the commentary on the Vedanta Sutra
His life was a living example of humility....

Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj, Bhakti VinodThakur, Gaurakishore Das Babaji Maharaj, Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, and then ourbeloved Srila Prabhupada.

9A.

In this age of Kali, it is explained that the only means of attaining ultimate perfection is through the chanting of the holy names.

Lord Chaitanya told Prakashananda Saraswati Thakur that his Gurudeva gave him an instruction that he holds very sacred in his heart - harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaivakevalam kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā - CC Madhya 6.242 That in the age of Kali it is only the holy name that can help us to attain the ultimate perfection of life.

Krishna has descended within the sound of His name. We should put no priority above and beyond chanting the holy names.

9B.

Everything we do in life, we should do in such a way that Krishna will be pleased with us when we chant his holy name. And that is why we must always guard against the ten offenses.

We note that the ten offenses to the Holy Name are not just at the time we sit down to chant or dance. We can commit the offenses to the Holy Name anytime and every time of the day.

So if we understand in relationship the ten offenses to our chanting of Kirtan, Bhajan, and Japa, we understand that our whole life is meant to facilitate proper chanting.

9C.

Holy Name

If we live according to tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā amāninā mānadenakīrtanīyaḥsadā hariḥ, you will naturally commit no offenses. So strive for that.

blaspheming, criticizing, or demeaning Vaishnavas is the mad elephant offense, Verypowerful. It can create havoc in our spiritual lives. So we must be very, very careful to guard against these offenses.

Even very great, powerful souls we have seen. Rupa Kaviraj, living at Radha kund, is the chief Vaishnava of Radha kund, preaching eloquently from the Shastras due to his offense to Krishna Priya Devi, a lady Vaishnavi, the daughter of Ganga Narayan Chakravarti. Not only did he fall down, but he got a miserable disease and became a ghost. Hare Krishna!

So even if you're learned, even if you're renounced, even if you're very advanced, if you offend Vaishnavas, there will be a reaction. So you must be very, very careful. No one is exempt.

9D.

The mind will always give us justifications, but our intelligence must protect us. So please follow these teachings very, very carefully and really sincerely take shelter of Krishna's holy names.

When you can chant Krishna's name purely without offense, your life will be perfect.

9E.

character

To understand Prabhupada's spirit, you should honor your Shiksha gurus, you should honor the noble temple authorities who are presenting Prabhupada and engaging you in service in a very similar way to the way you respect your own guru, because it is in serving them that you are serving your Guru.

You should understand that the Shiksha gurus who are training you and teaching you are gurus in your life. Never underestimate them. Give them all honor and respect, and please them through your services.

Do not be sectarian, understand that all devotees in ISKCON, we are all brothers and sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, whatever, in a family system there's respect, there's affection, and there's love, and we try to show our love and service to every Vaishnav. Why?

Because that will please Prabhupada, and whatever pleases Prabhupada is what will please your Gurus. It is very important.

Everything in our life should lead us to that goal of calling out Krishna's name with love. Prabhupada told, like a baby crying for its mother, in such a humble and helpless state, we should learn to chant Krishna's names.

And we also take a vow to follow four regulative principles - no illicit sex, no intoxication, no gambling, no meat eating. Very important!

Lord Chaitanya explains even if we're chanting the holy name if we commit these most fundamental sinful activities it's like an elephant taking bath and throwing dirt all over him or herself. It counteracts whatever progress we make.

The Shastras tell us you cannot transcend the modes of nature until you come to the mode of goodness. Therefore, we must be honest, we must be simple, and we must avoid these passionate and ignorant sinful activities.

From the mode of goodness, when we chant the holy name, we can transcend the modes of nature. Therefore, following these principles is very important.

Just today I was listening to Srila Prabhupada, and he gave such a simple instruction. He said, "If you devotees just commit yourselves to chant at least 16 rounds every day and just follow these four regulative principles, wherever you go in the world, you will be able to change people's hearts and you will be respected as Vaishnavas." And factually, we see it's true.

And what havoc it causes when we become lethargic in our chanting or inattentive infollowing the regulative principles. Maya is going to try in every possible way to deviate you from these simple commitments. Because she knows once she deviates from you, she has you.

Regulative Principles

9F.

How we chant the holy names is how we express our willingness, our desire, to please Krishna and to love Krishna.

And if we see it that way, we will chant with enthusiasm, even if it is the very last thing in the entire universal creation we want to do. We will do it. And actually, when it's like that, then you can show the most desire to love, the most sincerity.

So whenever there is this block on your mind that prohibits you from wanting to chant the holy names attentively. You should actually see it in a positive way. This is an opportunity.

Ultimately, Maya is serving Krishna. Ultimately, Advaita Acharya Prabhu said that all obstacles on the path of bhakti are servants of Krishna; the harder it is, the more I can express my love for Krishna.

9H.

There are so many reasons to chant sincerely and attentively, " I don't have time. I have family, I have business, I have studies, I have various athletic things that I should do to keep fit. And I don't want to be a fanatic. I have to enjoy life on some level or another." So yes, we put other priorities above chanting, and we're cheating ourselves.

Sometimes we love to chant. Sometimes it's the last thing in the world we want to do. Have any of you ever had that experience? You'd rather read the newspaper than chat the holy names. Because news means something that's new, this chanting I've been doing for so long, every day, just Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna. So many reasons, justifications.

But why do we chant? Because it's the way we show our love for Krishna. It's the way we show our sincerity to Krishna that "I want to be purified. I want to be your devotee. I want to please you."

Now, being what do they call it in America, a fair-weather servant? It's not a very good servant at all. When you like it, it's favorable, and everything's nice, that is not an expression of much love.

When you have a responsibility as a mother to a child, it's not that she takes care of the child only when she likes. The test of love, the test of our sincerity to want love, is how we will do what pleases Krishna when Maya attacks in so many ways that there's every reason, every logical argument, every justification that the mind can create to not do it. I will do it anyway. That is SINCERITY!

ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham - Bg. 4.11 If you make Krishna and His name a priority, Krishna will reciprocate and make purifying your heart a priority. If you put Krishna off, then Krishna will say, "Yes, alright. You want Maya? Here she is.”

9G.

So please, take this chanting very, very seriously. That is what this initiation is about.

To commit yourself to the chanting of the holy names.

To commit yourself to Srila Prabhupada's mission and what it represents. and be an example,

Be an example to glorify Srila Prabhupada through your life, and Sri Sri RadhaBrindavan Chandra, glorify all of our Acharyas who are bestowing such unlimited mercy upon us.

That commitment is what is taking place today. And to the degree you take it seriously, you will benefit.

And to the degree we do not take it seriously, it's meaningless.

There were devotees who came before Prabhupada and took vows to observe regulative principles and to chant holy names. And after some time, a very short time, they just went back intotheir worldly lives. And Prabhupada said about some of those devotees, "they were never initiated."

Initiation is not just sitting at a fire and throwing some seeds. Initiation is not simply about coming up and speaking some words of vows.

Initiation is the intent, the actual sincere intent of the heart to follow with dedication and commitment.

And to the degree we have that, to that degree the unlimited shower of Krishna's blessings will flow through Guru Parampara into our lives. That is the greatest fortune.

9I.

vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana bahu-śākhā hy anantāś ca buddhayo’vyavasāyinām - Bg. 2.41. If we really want to make proper advancement in this life, which is only a few years, Krishna tells, "we must be resolute in purpose. Our aim must be one; the intelligence of those who are irresolute is many-branched."

When Prabhupada read the commentary of Srila Visvanatha Chakravarti Thakura, he was greatly inspired and shared it with us. This means we should make the order of Guru, which comes in Parampara, our life and soul.

And what is the order? To chant the holy names of Krishna, to live a very pious and clean life of servitude, following the regulative principles, and actually aspiring, making our goal not to be great, but to be the servant of the servant of the servant.

Practically, the greatest problems that disturb our society are the false ego, lack of sincerity in chanting God's names, and immorality.

So we must follow these principles.

We must aspire to be humble servants of the servant of the servant.

And we must very, very sincerely chant Krishna's names.

If we just do that, Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur and our beloved Srila Prabhupada promised us that we will go back home, back to Godhead, in this very life

Let us aspire for what is sacred and not take all of the distractions very seriously that will come upon us in this world, all of the temptations and the aversions that the mind creates.

9J.

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