From the Airplane to the Initiation Ceremony

After four flights and two days and nights of travelling, we finally completed our journey from Pune, India to North Sydney, Australia. There was not much time to spare because as soon as we arrived it was time to initiate some new disciples. Even though there was hardly enough time to take a meal, a nap, and a shower and then change clothes, I did not mind the inconvenience a bit because there is nothing more auspicious than a conditioned soul becoming transformed into a liberated soul by initiation, i.e. solidly committing himself to an eternal life of bhakti under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master.

I initiated Bhakta Steve as Satrughna Das (servant of Satrughna) and Madhav Rao as Madhvacharya Das (servant of Madhvacharya). Satrughna is one of the brothers of Lord Rama, and Madhvacharya is one of the greatest Vaisnava acharyas in history. Also participating as a new initiate in the ceremony was Hari Caitanya das, a new disciple of Gopal Krishna Maharaja.

I gave the initiation lecture and presented my new disciples with their new names and chanting beads after accepting their vows of lifetime commitment to chanting at least 16 rounds of Hare Krishna japa mala daily while strictly avoiding illicit sex, meat eating, intoxication, and gambling.

My heartfelt thanks to Vijay Gopikesh Prabhu for blessing the initiation with a Vedic fire sacrifice ceremony along with the chanting of auspicious mantras. And my genuine appreciation also to Varanayak Prabhu, the temple president, for preparing these sincere souls for initiation and for his ongoing guidance of them in their daily spiritual lives.

It's wonderful to be a part of the ISKCON family. This is the one place in the world where we can truly make a difference to save the human society from utter chaos.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Answers According to the Vedic Version:

Question: Why is My Devotional Bliss Unsteady?

Our dear Guru Maharaja,

Please accept our humble obeisances.
All glories to Prabhupada.
All glories to our Guru and Guru Mataji.

Please, kindly help me with this doubt. Why do I remain ecstatic sometimes and not always. Like for instance there are times when I do relish whatever I do for Krishna, like cooking prasadam, bathing the deities and trying to dress them nicely, chanting to the best of my ability and so forth. But sometimes things go exactly reverse, like I seem to ask, "Do I need to cook? Do I really need to bathe the deities?" etc. These feelings somehow make me sad. Why do I get like this and what should I do? Like a river never stops flowing, how can love towards Krishna be always flowing and not overcome by laziness? Please, Maharaja, show me the way.

Humbly yours,

Akhila
Minneapolis

Answer: You're Being Self-Centered Instead of Krishna-Centered

Even as we try to serve Lord Krishna, as long as we are looking for our own personal ecstasy, we will sometimes get it and sometimes not. The reason for this unsteadiness is that we are looking for our own ecstasy instead of thinking how to give ecstasy to Krishna.

But if we can reverse our thinking by always trying to give ecstasy to Krishna instead of] getting it for ourselves, we will be completely ecstatic in all times, places, and circumstances. Even in miserable situations, if we think of pleasing Krishna, our misery will go away.

In short, we must always act for Krishna's pleasure instead of our own. This is how we experience the real pleasure of Krishna consciousness.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari