The Greatest Day of My Life
The greatest day of my life was 12 August 1971 when Srila Prabhupada accepted me as his disciple giving me the new spiritual name "Sankarshan Das." I live forever in that pristine moment when he picked me up out of this material world and resituated me in my original identity as the eternal servant of Krishna.
At the time of initiation the spiritual master gives the disciple a new name such as Krishna dasa or Govinda dasa. This is the greatest blessing upon the disciple to help him always remember that he is not a member of a particular family here in the material world, that he is instead the eternal servant of his spiritual master, Krishna, and Vaisnavas, and indeed of all living beings. In his purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 6.2.32 Srila Prabhupada describes the importance of the disciple's getting a new name at the time of initiation:
"The Lord, who is situated in everyone's heart, is so kind that if one has ever rendered service to Him, the Lord never forgets him. Thus the Lord, from within, gave Ajamila the opportunity to name his youngest son Narayana so that in affection he would constantly call 'Narayana! Narayana!' and thus be saved from the most fearful and dangerous condition at the time of his death. Such is the mercy of Krishna. Guru-krishna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija: [Cc. Madhya 19.151] by the mercy of the guru and Krishna, one receives the seed of bhakti. This association saves a devotee from the greatest fear. In our Krishna consciousness movement we therefore change a devotee's name to a form that reminds him of Vishnu. If at the time of death the devotee can remember his own name, such as Krishna dasa or Govinda dasa, he can be saved from the greatest danger. Therefore the change of names at the time of initiation is essential. The Krishna consciousness movement is so meticulous that it gives one a good opportunity to remember Krishna somehow or other."
All those persons who are serious about going back to home, back to Godhead can be initiated immediately as soon as they meet a bona fide spiritual master. In this connection Srila Prabhupada (CC Madhya 24.331) quotes as follows from the book called Tattva-sāgara:
durlabhe sad-gurūṇāṁ ca sakṛt-saṅga upasthite
tad-anujñā yadā labdhā sa dīkṣāvasaro mahān
grāme vā yadi vāraṇye kṣetre vā divase niśi
āgacchati gurur daivād yathā dīkṣā tad-ājñayā
yadaivecchā tadā dīkṣā guror ājñānurūpataḥ
na tīrthaṁ na vrataṁ hemo na snānaṁ na japa-kriyā
dīkṣāyāḥ karaṇaṁ kintu svecchā-prāpte tu sad-gurau
“If by chance one gets a sad-guru, it doesn’t matter whether one is in the temple or the forest. If the sad-guru, the bona fide spiritual master, agrees, one can be initiated immediately, without waiting for a suitable time or place.”
So when one receives the topmost good fortune of coming into contact with a sad-guru, a bona fide spiritual master, one can take full advantage of his mercy by taking shelter of him, being initiated by him, and by accepting his instructions as one's very life and soul. This will immediately liberate him from this material existence.
D.P.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
At the time of initiation the spiritual master gives the disciple a new name such as Krishna dasa or Govinda dasa. This is the greatest blessing upon the disciple to help him always remember that he is not a member of a particular family here in the material world, that he is instead the eternal servant of his spiritual master, Krishna, and Vaisnavas, and indeed of all living beings. In his purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 6.2.32 Srila Prabhupada describes the importance of the disciple's getting a new name at the time of initiation:
"The Lord, who is situated in everyone's heart, is so kind that if one has ever rendered service to Him, the Lord never forgets him. Thus the Lord, from within, gave Ajamila the opportunity to name his youngest son Narayana so that in affection he would constantly call 'Narayana! Narayana!' and thus be saved from the most fearful and dangerous condition at the time of his death. Such is the mercy of Krishna. Guru-krishna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija: [Cc. Madhya 19.151] by the mercy of the guru and Krishna, one receives the seed of bhakti. This association saves a devotee from the greatest fear. In our Krishna consciousness movement we therefore change a devotee's name to a form that reminds him of Vishnu. If at the time of death the devotee can remember his own name, such as Krishna dasa or Govinda dasa, he can be saved from the greatest danger. Therefore the change of names at the time of initiation is essential. The Krishna consciousness movement is so meticulous that it gives one a good opportunity to remember Krishna somehow or other."
All those persons who are serious about going back to home, back to Godhead can be initiated immediately as soon as they meet a bona fide spiritual master. In this connection Srila Prabhupada (CC Madhya 24.331) quotes as follows from the book called Tattva-sāgara:
durlabhe sad-gurūṇāṁ ca sakṛt-saṅga upasthite
tad-anujñā yadā labdhā sa dīkṣāvasaro mahān
grāme vā yadi vāraṇye kṣetre vā divase niśi
āgacchati gurur daivād yathā dīkṣā tad-ājñayā
yadaivecchā tadā dīkṣā guror ājñānurūpataḥ
na tīrthaṁ na vrataṁ hemo na snānaṁ na japa-kriyā
dīkṣāyāḥ karaṇaṁ kintu svecchā-prāpte tu sad-gurau
“If by chance one gets a sad-guru, it doesn’t matter whether one is in the temple or the forest. If the sad-guru, the bona fide spiritual master, agrees, one can be initiated immediately, without waiting for a suitable time or place.”
So when one receives the topmost good fortune of coming into contact with a sad-guru, a bona fide spiritual master, one can take full advantage of his mercy by taking shelter of him, being initiated by him, and by accepting his instructions as one's very life and soul. This will immediately liberate him from this material existence.
Srila Prabhupada Initiates a New Disciple
Answers by Citing the Vedic Version:
Question: Read Krishna Book or Bhagavatam 10th Canto?
Right now I am reading the entire Srimad Bhagavatam. I am on the Seventh Canto and maybe in a few weeks I will be on the Tenth Canto where Krishna's pastimes are thoroughly described. My question is: Should I read both the Krishna Book and the Tenth Canto, or is one of them good enough?D.P.
Answer: Read Both to Get More Nectar
When you feast your eyes on something beautiful, do you look with one eye or two eyes? Therefore to more deeply relish the unlimited sweetness of Krishna’s most sublime Vrindavan pastimes you should read them both.Sankarshan Das Adhikari
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