[Posted 1 October, 2006]

Initiation Neither Rite Nor Wrong

Vaikunthanath das

Connected to the disciplic succession

In Srila Prabhupada's Own Words, reported by Vaikunthanatha das, disciple of Srila Prabhupada

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Initiation

Initiation into Spiritual Life Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur
Initiation puts a person on the true track and also imparts an initial impulse to go ahead. It cannot, however, keep one going for good unless one chooses to put forth his own voluntary effort. more

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."

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His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada