“Just By Reading My Books They Are Initiated”

receiving_book

Told by Vaikunthanatha das (a disciple of Srila Prabhupada).

In 1972, when Prabhupada gave a series of lectures on The Nectar of Devotion for one month in Vrindavan, a thought was plaguing me. When I first joined, I’d been taught that the parampara system is like a chain, and if you’re not initiated, if you’re not linked up to this chain, then you can’t go back to Godhead. I thought, “We’re distributing so many books, but if the people who read them are not initiated, then they can’t go back to Godhead.” So, one day I followed Prabhupada from Rupa Goswami’s samadhi, where he lectured, and just before Prabhupada stepped onto his courtyard, I said, “We’re distributing so many books but if people aren’t initiated, then they can’t go back to Godhead.” Prabhupada turned, looked at me right in the eyes and said, “Just by reading my books they are initiated.” I thought, “That is an incredible example of compassion.

7 comments

  • Gaurasundara Dasa

    Dear Srila Prabhupada, chanting 64 rounds a day is too difficult! Can you change the Vedic tradition? OK, chant 32, but Prabhupada! OK, make it 16 but no less!
    Dear Srila Prabhupada, Women want initiation! OK, I will change the Vedic tradition.
    Dear Srila Prabhupada, Women want to go on the Altar! OK, I will change the Vedic tradition.
    Dear Srila Prabhupada, We want to be Guru’s! NO, none of you are remotely qualified. I spent a life time in preparation and I was born into a Vaisnava family. I took Sannyasa at age 63 and did not initiate until age 70. I will change Vedic tradition and setup a RITVIK initiation system.
    Disciples, HOW DARE YOU CHANGE VEDIC TRADITION! We know better than you. We may be of very low birth, spent years drinking and doing LSD but we have been chanting for 8 to 10 years. Time for us to be Guru’s!

    • That’s the causeless mercy of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu– He would rewrite the rules of existence itself for his disciple’s benefit. You’re just mad because you’ve probably invested a lot of your life and energy into being a, “proper” disciple. Good on you.

    • Mukunda Das

      The Rittvik system is part of Vaishnava tradition , and was used several times throughout the 5000 ° years of the Gaudiya Math Sampradaya’s history , when they were gaps between Maha Bhagavata Diksha Gurus !!!

  • tornd

    Kírtan-manjusā Invocat p.6
    Nama om visnu-pādāya
    Krsna-presthāya bhūtale
    svāmī śrī bhaktivedānta prabhupādāya te namah #1
    Gurvajnam śīrasi dhāryam
    śaktyāveśa sva-rūpine
    Hare krsneti mantrena
    Pāścatya-pracya-tarine #2
    Viśvācarya prabaryāya
    Divya kārunya mūrtaye
    Srī bhāgavata mādhurya
    Gītā jnāna pradāyine #3
    Gaura srī rūpa siddhānta
    Sarasvatī nisevine
    Rādhā-krsna padāmbhoja
    Bhrngāya gurave namah #4

  • Thomas B Beek

    Simple for the simple; complicated for the crooked.

  • Tamohara dasa acbssp rit.(spi), BH. S., MS.

    Srila Prabhupada said “You must take diksha!” He travelled the world doing dikshas. He appointed ritivks to do dikshas. He said dont change anything. All our acaryas did dikshas, but you have no process yourself being unqualified, so you say not necessary to take diksha. You are making this nonsense up. (VADIRAJ) .

    The bhakti train runs on two rails; bhagavata dharma and pancaratriki vaidhi, ie pure spirit life, and formal rules etc. for us in this world and culture. You are wrecking our train with this nonsense! Brahmanas are to guide, and they are all duly initiated, not just “read some books.”

    FIRST INITIATION IS DIKSHA – SRILA PRABHUPADA OUR DIKSHA GURU
    My dear Satsvarupa Maharaja,
    Please accept my humble obeisances at your feet. I have been instructed by His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada to reply your letter dated July 25th, 1977.

    Srila Prabhupada explained the difference between first and second initiation as follows: “Why do you believe in rumors, that first initiation is not so important as second? I have already said that it is equally important, but you say rumor. Actually first initiation is more important. You can go without second initiation; if the first initiation is executed very thoroughly that is sufficient. First initiation stands strong. The spiritual master accepts the disciple’s sinful reactions upon giving first initiation. The Vedic system was to give the sacred thread at the first initiation. We are following Pancaratriki. Vedic initiation was given to a person born to a brahmana. That is not possible in this age. Therefore he has to be prepared by Hari Nam initiation and then second initiation. He is given a chance. Therefore others protest that I am giving initiation: He is not born of a brahmana, how can he be initiated?”

    YOU MUST TAKE DIKSHA, OR YOUR SERVICE IS USELESS !

    “Unless one takes shelter of a bonafide, fully Krsna conscious spiritual master, there is no chance of understanding Krsna… ….Only one who has surrendered to a pure devotee of Krsna can understand Krsna.” [SB 7-5-32]

    “Unless one is initiated by a bonafide spiritual master, ALL his devotional activities are USELESS.
    A person who is not properly initiated can again descend into the animal specie.” [Madhya Lila 15 .

    “One should take initiation from a bonafide spiritual master coming in the disciplic succession, who is AUTHORIZED by his predecessor spiritual master. This is called dikshan-vidhana. [SB 4.8.54]

    “Unless one takes shelter of a bonafide, fully Krsna conscious spiritual master, there is no chance of understanding Krsna…. Only one who has surrendered to a pure devotee of Krsna , and has taken the dust of his lotus feet can understand Krsna….. One must take shelter of a self-realized spiritual master, that is the way to return home, back to Godhead.” [SB 7.5.32 purport]

    According to the Vaiṣṇava regulative principles, one must be initiated as a brāhmaṇa. The Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (2.6) quotes the following injunction from the Viṣṇu-yāmala:
    adīkṣitasya vāmorukṛtaṁ sarvaṁ nirarthakam
    paśu-yonim avāpnotidīkṣā-virahito janaḥ
    “‘Unless one is initiated by a bona fide spiritual master, all his devotional activities are useless. A person who is not properly initiated can descend again into the animal species.’”

    Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (2.10) further quotes:
    ato guruṁ praṇamyaivaṁsarva-svaṁ vinivedya ca
    gṛhṇīyād vaiṣṇavaṁ mantraṁdīkṣā-pūrvaṁ vidhānataḥ
    “‘It is the duty of every human being to surrender to a bona fide spiritual master. Giving him everything — body, mind and intelligence — one must take Vaiṣṇava initiation from him.’”

    “One should not proudly think that one can understand the transcendental loving service of the Lord simply by reading books… One must accept a Vaisnava guru (adau gurv-asrayam), and then by questions and answers one should gradually learn what pure devotional service to Krsna is. That is called the parampara system.” (Cc. Antya-lila 7.53, purp.) — AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

    Bhakti Sastri Comment by Tamohara dasa, Bh.S., MS. on August 27, 2019 at 0:29
    Delete Comment
    It is not Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is for the lazy fellow. No. It is meant for the strong man. Strong in body, strong in mind, strong in determination – everything strong, strong in brain. It is meant for them.

    Sʀɪᴍᴀᴅ Bʜᴀɢᴀᴠᴀᴛᴀᴍ 7.6.5 Lᴇᴄᴛᴜʀᴇ Tᴏʀᴏɴᴛᴏ, Jᴜɴᴇ 21, 1976

    • Matangi Devi Dasi

      Yup … That’s what Rittviks are for … so that one may get Diksha from the only worthwhile source … Prabhupad !!!

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