20160617 Initiation Lecture

20160617 Initiation Lecture at Birmingham

 

Mukam karoti vacalam

Pangum langhyate girim

Yat kripa tamaham vande sri gurum dina tarinam

Paramananda madhavan

Sri Chaitanya ishvaram

Hari Om Tatsat

Today we are here to observe an initiation ceremony. Also shelter and aspiriing ceremony. Pradyumna Das gave a lecture on ten offences and the significance of initiation. We are very happy that devotees from various parts of England and UK and Europe are here today.

Lord Caitanya had predicted that his holy name would spread all over the world, that he would be chanting, his name would be chanted all over the world. To do that we need devotees who take up the mission of Lord Caitanya, in this way help Prabhupada to establish Prabhupada’s mission all over the world. It was very significant that on the fiftieth anniversary of ISKCON, the head of the governemt, the Prime Minister of UK, he came to inaugurate or lay a foundation stone for Bhakti Vedanta Manor.

Prabhupada was asked, “What if the Prime Minister of the U.K, the King of England and the President of the U.S.A came to opening of the TOVP”, His eyes opened wide, he said, “Bhakti Vinod Thakur will come down and take you hand in hand.” (applause), very tall order but, big fruit. Anyway to get people to be devotees is not a small thing.

Prabhupada said it takes buckets of blood to make one person a devotee. So the material illusion is so well designed by Krishna that generally people are completely illusified, illusion- buy it.

He describes how by surrending to him he will cross his devotee over the material illusion.

Daivi hy esa guna mayi

Mama maya durataya

Mam eva ye prapadyate

Mayam etam tarinti te

Actually everyone wants to be happy. In the American constitution they say, “The essence is the pursuit of happiness.”, and basically everywhere in the world that’s all people want but actually in this material world, it’s Dukhalayam, it’s a place of suffering.

In New Delhi, one of our Bhakti Vriksha members, her husband was a scientiest. So he came to one of the program and I happened to be there and everyone introduced, “Oh! He is a scientist.”, that’s a big thing, “Scientist, O scientist, Scientist, Wow!”

So I just asked, “What do you research?”

The scientists reserch right?

So he said, “I research pain.”

“Pain?”

“Yes. Unhappiness”

Quite an unusual thing.

“So what have you discovered?”

“I have dscovered that everyone is suffering in pain all the time (laughter), physical pain, muscular pain, back pain, emotional pain, mental pain, pshcological pain, he kept naming all kinds of pain. Then all the grihasta men raised their hands.

“What do you have to say?”

“Financial pain” (laughter)

So this material world is Dukhalayam Asaswatam. Even if you get some place where you are happy, Prabhupada once was visiting Hawai, he said, “Well this material world is a place of suffering, but you could be happy anwhere, it could be Hawai (laughter)

Nice beaches, nice climate, even if you get some place you like, anyway it’s temporary, you will be taken out either by death, one way or another. The person you love may die or you may die or for some reason the person leaves.

So in the Adhivas kirtan the preparatory kirtan before the festival, there are two lines that I remember, “anander sima nai, anander sima nai, sima means limit ananda means happiness, anander sima nai, no limit to the happiness, no limit to the happiness…

Haribol

Haribol Haribol

Every country they have their border. In England they had a sign, UK border. If you want to pass they take your fingerprints, then Welcome to UK       (laughter), of course you all are Europeans, you all get through. (laughter). You just see the sign UK border, but there is border, from France to Uk, from Delhi to UK, Italy to UK. (laughter).

But in this happiness of chanting Hare Krishna there is no border (applause), and second line, “nirananda dure jai, nirananda means absence of happiness, dure jai means the unhappiness goes far away.

Everyone is looking for happiness by practicing Krishna consciousness, by  chanting Hare Krishna you can experience unlimited happiness, and unhappiness goes bar away.

So even wifi has some limit but chanting Hare Krishna no limit. And how merciful Nitai and Gaurachandra are that they come down from the spiritual world but usually every avatar, they are carrying some weapons, chakra or bow or arrow, some weapons of violence to defeat the demons but Nitai and Gaura Chandra, they don’t have any weapons of violence but they promise not to use them. They have weapons of kirtan, mridanga, kartals, dancing, singing, feating and their personal beuty, their mercy, they didn’t consider that you are qualified and you are not qualified.

Just like Krishna would rob the butter and give out butter to all monkeys, Nitai Guaranchandra robbed the treasure house of Krishna and gave it out to everyone. They didn’t consider anyone qualified or unqualified, they said you want it you take it.

In the song by Bhakti Vinod Thakur, jiv jago jiv jago, in the last two lines, last two verses, Lord  Caitanya, He paraphrases, je ausadi maya nasibara lagi hare krishna mahamantra lao tumi magi, I brought the medicine for this age of kali, take it, you want it just ask for it, I will give it. This mahamantra hare krishna. Those who want initiation tonight they have to ask for it, they have to beg, who wants?

Hari bol (by everyone) (laughter)

So bhakti Vinod thakur in the last verse, bhaktivinoda parbhu charane pariya, sei hari nama nama mantra loila magiya. Bhaktivinod fell at the lotus feet of the Lord and he begged for that mantra, that mahamantra, “I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, haribol”

That’s how we should while getting the mahamantra. He fell at the feet of the Lord, he begged, “please give me the mahamantra”, and he was giving it, he got it.

Some devotees tell me, I am so worried, I am unqualified, whether the Lord will accept my service, you see, if we think that we are qualifed and that we have rendered very good service then we should doubt, but if we approach the Lord, I am unqualifed, you are patit pavan, the deliverer of the fallen, there is no more fallen than me, like Narottom Das Thakur said, then you get delivred, you don’t need any qualification, just sincerely try to serve.

Prabhupada in Montreol was giving a class, he said, “you should surrender cent percent, 100%, they got very depressed.” 100% is Zero tolerance, but Prabhupada said even 90% he will take you back.

“Still 90%”

There was high asana like a Christian pulpit. So it had stairs going down, he turned to go down the stairs and almost reaching the bottom. He turned to the listeners, even 80% you will get delivered. That gave them some moral relief.

“Still 80%!”

Then he was along carrying his chaddar behind him, he turned to the devotees, even 70%.

Srila Prabhupada ki.

Jay.

Anyway we should try our best. Ajamil, he accidentally called his son Narayana and he thought of the Lord, he was delivered. In the Padma Purana, there is a story of a young widow who was not following the fourth principle and she bought a parrot and that parrot only knew two words, “Rama Rama Rama Rama Rama Rama Rama Rama Rama Rama Rama”

The whole day would go on and she would be chanting Rama. She actually gradually by chanting Rama Rama Rama so many times, became attached and she was a little bit more attached than Ajamil but in any case a storm came and…  making a long story short a lighting hit the house, killed her and the parrot. The yamdutas came because in their vision she was a sinner and they came to take her away but the Visnudutas stopped them, “No, No, she belong to us, she was chanting the names of the Lord, she belongs to us, go back to your Yamaraja.” So they took her back to Godhead. (Hari Bol to everyone)

She was chanting Rama with the parrot. She wasn’t thinking that this was the Lord’s name but she wasn’t guilty of any offence. So this chanting is the supreme benediction. How rare and how wonderul is this chanting. There is no difference between Krishna’s name and Krishna himself.

Parikshit Maharj was cursed to die in seven days and he wanted to know what to do at that time of death that he could achieve perfection.  None of the rishis janana yogis, hatha yogis could guarante him success in seven days. But Sukhadev Goswami came. “Seven days no problem, one minute no problem.”

If you remember Krishna at the time of death you will go back, so he spoke the whole Srimad Bhagavatam. At this time Parikshit Maharaj was fasting, no water, no food.

Yesterday was the nirjal ekadasi. Of course it is voluntary fast that you do but ekadasi is not voluntary but the nirjal part is. Many were doing Nirjala Ekadasi. After one day how did you feel, but did you want something to drink? The next day?

Think of Parikshit Maharaj, must have been in the 10^th canto. It must have been five or six days or so. After five days of no water, no food, what would you be thinking, water?, food?, what was he thinking of? It’s said that after hearing one pastime from Sukhdev Goswami, “What else did my wonderful Lord do, tell me more, tell me more, that’s what he was thinking about, he wanted to hear more and more.

So Prabhupada gave us this greatest gift, he gave us the harinam, gave us the Srimad Bhagavat  Gita,  Caitanya Caritamrita. Stay fixed on this path of Krisha consciousness. “visaya chariya se rase majiya muke bolo hari hari.”

Give up this… Locana Das says, “bhajo bhajo bhai chaitanya Nitai sudrira Viswasa kori. Give me very strong, very fixed faith, take shelter of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda, give up the sinful activities and chant always, “Hare Krishna, Hare Krishan, Krishna, Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. Absorb your consciousness in the transcendetal mellows of serving Krishna. Here in the perfect stage we can be absorbed in the pastimes of Krishna, pastimes of Lord Caitanya but even in the begnning stage you can take up service- book distribution, bhakti Vriksha, temple renovation, cooking, deity worship, pandav sena. So many different activities, take up something in service.

Even the ordinary things that you do like having children. Raising the children to be nice devotees, dovertail your activities in Krishna consciousness.

Caitanya went house to house in South India. He stayed for six years in different house every night exept for the rainy seasons. Usually the wife would put the water, the man would bathe his feet, then they gave him prasadam, place to stay, go around and listen to his lecture. It’s said that regularly he would tell them, “jare dekho tare kaho Krishan upadesh.”

In the Bhagavatam, it tells how Krsihna went to see the King Bahulaswa and the poor brahmana Suta Dev and it was very blissful. They think Lord Caitanya went for just six years just visiting homes. How many of you would like to have Lord Caitanya at your house, how many matajis her would like to cook for him?

Even Sutadev who was so poor, his wife only could cook only rice, dal and sabzi but with that Krishna was very happy. Sutadev was giving out prasad to Krishna and all the rishis that had come but he was so happy, he started dancing, “Ah…Krishna came to our house, Krishna came to our house,” dancing, dancing,

How great a good fortune! If Krishna can accept the simple food of Sutadev, don’t worry Lord Caitanya he is playing a sanyasi, renounced. He will be happy to take any of your food if you offer it with devotion. So Bhalaswa Sutadev, we get that one story in the Bhagavatam. May be Krishna visited some houses I don’t know but certainly Lord Caitanya visiting for six years, every night a different house, how much mercy he was giving out. It’s beyond calculation. So anyway.

You are taking iniation tonight in the line of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda, in the line of Prabhupada. So please try to do something to help Prabhupada and this will give you unlimited spiritual bessings.

In fact Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswait Thakur, he wrote to Prabhupada how he wanted to preach him in the West and how he wanted to give him more seva for Lord Caitanya and he also said that for those who help you they will also get blessings.

Who would like to help Srila Prabhupada:

Hari bol (everyone)

By helping Prabhupada you get unlimited mercy.

The book distibutors, when they were in the Airport in United States, and in the whole day no one stopped, everybody rushing by, here she was praying to Krishna, “please send me someone who wants to get bhagavat Gita.”

Then he flat landed, a person came by, he said, “I won’t talk to you. Today is the worst day of my life, worst, worst, ekdam kharab day.” (laughter) and he didn’t speak in Indian language.

So that book distributor said, “We are here for people who are having the worst day in their life.” (laughter)

“Tell me what is the problem, why is today the worst day in your life?”

He said, “Why did I go to high school? Why did I go to college? Why did I get married? Why did I work at a job? I did everything to please my mother and today I got the news she passed away, what’s my life for now, today is the worst day of my life.”

“Sir, in the Bhagavat Gita here, it says that your mother is still alive.”

“What?”

“yes, she is still alive.”

“It says it there.”

“See the body dies but the soul, the living force in the body never dies.”

“Wow, my mother is sill alive.”

“Yea sure”

 “Can I have the book?”

“Oh, yes”

“if you give a donation”

“Is $20 enough”

“Whatever you like Sir”

So people don’t even know that they are the sould, that they are the living force. People need Krishna Consciousness. Why did Prabhupada leave holy Vrindavan? The holy dham?

People go there to see the holy places, even the rikshaw drivers bow down to Srila Prabhupada, why did he go to the West, suffering strokes, heart attacks, crazy drug addicts, beating him up, stealing his things, why? To help us, to give us Krishna consciousness, to give us spiritual life, to give us spiritual knowledge.

So just remember how much we own Prabhupada and try to help others. We asked Prabhupada, “How can we repay you?”

He said, “Just give this to others.”

Srila Prabhupada ki.

Jay (by all devotees)

Who is the master of the ceremonies?

Nitai Kirtan

(initiation discussion among by the leader of devotees)

 

JPS: That will be the name that Krishna call you

Jay

They won’t call you Melody (laughter)

They will call you as Yasoda Dasi or Krishna Dasi or something. (laugther

Those taking first initiation, if emergency comes and they don’t finish their 16 riounds, they keep track and in the subsequent days they finish it. But say that they do 12 because their son or daughter got sick then in the subsequent days they do 16 + the four that they were short, but those taking second initiation they cannot carry their mantras over, they have to chant 210 extra mantras every day, are you ready?

Raise your hands if you are ready?

Those taking second you reconfirm your vows from the first initiation.

When you confirm you say, “Yes,I do!”

You will get your mantra after the yajna and secret.

(applause)

Transcribed by: Sadananda Krishnaprem Das

Mayapur

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transcribed by: Sadananda Krishnaprem Das

Mayapur.