Without Surrender, the Initiation Rituals Are Useless!

February 24, 2000

WITHOUT SURRENDER, THE INITIATION RITUALS ARE USELESS!

Welcome to the KrishnaSoft's Electronic Newsletter.

This is the February 2000 issue entitled: "Without Surrender, the Initiation

Rituals Are Useless!"

WEB: http://www.krishnasoft.com; EMAIL: krishna (AT) krishnasoft (DOT) com or

vdayal (AT) castle (DOT) net

This newsletter goes to over 1100 people who either have an interest in Vedic

science and/or spiritually entertaining multimedia technology.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

(1) Without Surrender, the Initiation Rituals Are Useless!

(2) Srimad-Bhagavatam is the Answer to All Questions!

(3) Feedback: Miscellaneous

(4) Editorial Policy and Product List

1. WITHOUT SURRENDER, THE INITIATION RITUALS ARE USELESS!

[The following is the fifteenth of a series of articles to present to the

benefits of the Srimad-Bhagavatam. The Krsna CDROM and the Srimad-Bhagavatam

CDROM from Krishnasoft present this great spiritual masterpiece in multimedia

format.]

In the January 2000 newsletter, we mentioned how the Vedic scriptures are

realized by taking shelter of devotional service as received by the mercy of

guru and Krsna. It should be noted that a devotee is not necessarily a person

who went through some rituals and name change in a fire yajna. The surrender

to the instructions of the spiritual master is the essential feature of

initiation and performance of devotional service:

"Only one who executes his spiritual life under the direction of the spiritual

master can achieve the mercy of Krsna. Yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasadah. If

one desires to advance in spiritual life but he acts whimsically, not

following the orders of the spiritual master, HE HAS NO SHELTER." (Bhag.

7.12.11)

"It is stated in Bhagavad-gita that no one is barred from rendering service to

the Lord . Whether one is a woman or a laborer or a merchant, if he engages

himself in the devotional service of the Lord he is promoted to the highest

perfectional state and goes back home, back to Godhead . The devotional

service most suitable for different types of devotees is determined and FIXED

BY THE *MERCY* OF THE SPIRITUAL MASTER." (Bhag. 3.25.28)

The conditioned souls are struggling in the material world with their senses

including the mind, but if they take shelter of Krsna through the bona-fide

spiritual master, they can become free from service to the mind:

"S'rii Caitanya Mahaaprabhu has instructed S'riila Ruupa Gosvaamii:

Brahmaanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva /guru-krsna-prasade paya

bhakti-lata-bija. When one receives the seed of devotional service by the

MERCY OF THE GURU AND KR.S.N.A, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one's real

life begins . If one abides by the orders of the spiritual master, by the

grace of Kr.s.n.a he is freed from service to the mind ." (Bhag. 5.11.17)

"For such a man to get out is extremely difficult unless he is helped by a

strong person, the spiritual master, who helps the fallen person with the

strong rope of spiritual instructions. A fallen person should take advantage

of this rope, and then the spiritual master, or the Supreme Personality of

Godhead, Krsna, will take him out of the dark well." (Bhag. 7.6.13)

The ceremonies of initiation are purifying and are meant for the

re-enforcement of the commitment to the spiritual master, but they are

superficial and useless if one does not take up devotional service.

"In summary, the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies and injunctions are not to be

discounted; they are means of being promoted to the spiritual platform. But

if one does not come to the spiritual platform, the Vedic ceremonies are

simply a WASTE OF TIME.... 'Duties [dharma] executed by men, regardless of

occupation, are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction

for the message of the Supreme Lord.' If one very strictly performs the

various duties of religion but does not ultimately come to the platform of

surrendering to the Supreme Lord, his methods of attaining salvation or

elevation are simply a waste of time and energy." (Bhag. 7.6.26)

Surrendering to the Supreme Lord means surrendering to the order of the

spiritual master which is coming down from the Supreme Lord through the

disciplic succession:

"The Lord's order descends in disciplic succession through the bona fide

spiritual master, and thus execution of the order of the bona fide spiritual

master is factual control of the senses . Such execution of penance in full

faith and sincerity made Brahmaajii so powerful that he became the creator of

the universe. And because he was able to attain such power, he is called the

best amongst all the tapasviis ." (Bhag. 2.9.8)

Lord Brahma did not even physically meet his spiritual master but took up the

instruction of his spiritual master. The instruction he received was just one

word: "tapa". He followed this and became empowered and became successful in

creation of the universe. Similarly, Narada became initiated by the

bhaktivedantas and surrendered to their instructions and gradually realized

Lord Krsna. This is the essence of the initiation principle:

"Following the order of the bona fide spiritual master is the ONLY duty of the

disciple, and this completely faithful execution of the order of the bona fide

spiritual master is the secret of success." (Bhag. 2.9.8)

So if one is really against surrender to the order of the spiritual master

which is the same as surrendering to Krsna, one can perform rituals for ten

million years, change his dress, change his name, etc. and still remain in the

material world.

Note, as we proved in the August 1999 newsletter, there is no such thing as

resurrender. Since the order of the spiritual master descends from Lord Krsna

Himself through the disciplic succession, one who has surrendered to this

order is rightly situated in devotional service and thus initiated. One who

may have performed the rituals of initiation but never surrendered to the

order of the spiritual master is technically NOT yet initiated in his

devotional service. Brahma, Narada, Dhruva, etc. were initiated (inspired

into devotional service) without the rituals since they were very determined

to take up the order of their spiritual master.

As we showed in the January 2000 newsletter, once one is initiated, one can

enter into the depths of the Srimad-Bhagavatam otherwise it will just be jnana

and not realized knowledge:

"The physicist can deal only with the prakrta sound, or sound vibrated in the

material sky, and therefore we must know that the Vedic sounds recorded in

symbolic expressions cannot be understood by anyone within the universe unless

and until one is INSPIRED by the vibration of supernatural (aprakrta) sound,

which descends in the chain of disciplic succession from the Lord to Brahma,

from Brahma to Narada, from Narada to Vyasa and so on. No mundane scholar can

translate or reveal the true import of the Vedic mantras (hymns). They CANNOT

BE UNDERSTOOD unless one is *INSPIRED OR INITIATED* by the authorized

spiritual master." (Bhag. 2.4.22)

Note the phrase "Vedic sounds recorded in symbolic expressions" applies to

recordings in magentic fields (tapes/discs), black and white markings on paper

(books), transistor/LED/CRT devices (computer screens), etc. These

transcendental sounds have to be received from a transcendental source-- one

who is engaged (fixed) in devotional service:

"One has to receive the transcendental sound from the right source, accept it

as reality and prosecute the direction without hesitation. The secret of

success is to receive the sound from the right source of a bona fide spiritual

master. Mundane manufactured sound has no potency, and as such, seemingly

transcendental sound received from an unauthorized person also has no

potency." (Bhag. 2.9.8)

As we see throughout history so many mental speculators, mayavadis, fruitive

workers, etc. caused havoc by misinterpreting scriptures to suit their own

needs rather than understand them through the process of devotional service.

Although, they had access to the recorded transcendental sound, they were

unable to understand it. Krsna reserves the right not to expose Himself to

materialists until they take up devotional service as ordered by the spiritual

master. [This is obviously true, since their material desires are the reason

they are in the material world in the first place.] So either one understands

this knowledge from one who is fixed in devotional service and/or one first

becomes fixed in devotional service by surrendering to the order of the bona

fide spiritual master:

"God can be seen by the light of God and not by man-made speculations. Here

this light is specifically mentioned as vidyat, which is an ORDER by the Lord

to Brahma. This DIRECT ORDER of the Lord is a manifestation of His internal

energy, and this particular energy is the means of seeing the Lord face to

face. Not only Brahma but anyone who may be graced by the Lord to see such

merciful direct internal energy can also realize the Personality of Godhead

without any mental speculation." (Bhag. 2.9.34)

This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gita:

"One should, however, note that after doing something whimsically he should

not offer the result to the Supreme Lord. That sort of duty is not in the

devotional service of Krsna consciousness. One should act according to the

order of Krsna. This is a very important point. That order of Krsna comes

through disciplic succession from the bona fide spiritual master. Therefore

the spiritual master's order should be taken as the prime duty of life. If one

gets a bona fide spiritual master and acts according to his direction, then

one's perfection of life in Krsna consciousness is guaranteed." (BG 18.57)

2. SRIMAD-BHAGAVATAM IS THE ANSWER TO ALL QUESTIONS!

[The following article is also based on the Srimad-Bhagavatam which is

available in book or CDROM from Krishnasoft.]

"The Srimad-Bhagavatam is the literary incarnation of God, and it is compiled

by Srila Vyasadeva, the incarnation of God. It is meant for the ultimate good

of all people, and it is all-successful, all-blissful and all-perfect." (Bhag.

1.3.40)

We discussed how the Srimad-Bhagavatam is all-perfect in the November 1999

newsletter. The Srimad-Bhagavatam is the literary incarnation of God, who is

the Absolute Truth and the Personality of Godhead. This means there cannot be

any new principles of religion or contradictory principles of religion outside

what is contained in the Srimad-Bhagavatam:

"As stated in the beginning of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, this great

transcendental literature is the ripened fruit of the tree of Vedic knowledge,

and therefore ALL QUESTIONS that can be humanly possible regarding the

universal affairs, beginning from its creation, ARE ALL ANSWERED in the

Srimad-Bhagavatam. The answers depend only on the qualification of the person

who explains them." (Bhag. 2.9.46)

Actually, all transcendental literatures are in-line with the

Srimad-Bhagavatam but mental speculators misinterpret various transcendental

literatures and derive various theories and confuse the innocent people.

These mental speculators are just following their own ideas while IMAGINING

that they are following spiritual instructions. As soon as a principle

contradicts the principle of the Bhagavatam, it is a representation of the

illusory energy:

"O Brahma, whatever appears to be of any value, if it is without relation to

Me, has no reality. Know it as My illusory energy, that reflection which

appears to be in darkness." (Bhag. 2.9.34)

"And as such, whenever there is forgetfulness of this prime relation with the

Lord, and whenever things are accepted as real without being related to the

Lord, that conception is called a product of the illusory energy of the Lord."

(Bhag. 2.9.34)

For example, the re-initiation theory is not supported by the principles of

the Bhagavatam. For one thing, it clashes with the principle of

ahaituky-apratihata; therefore, it can be rejected immediately. The theory is

based on the misinterpretation of some transcendental literature or is just a

completely new concoction. Devotional service cannot be checked by any

external material event. Therefore, a person who is engaged in devotional

service cannot be told to stop and go look for another guru. This RESTARTING

of devotional service is not valid just because his guru is no longer engaged

in devotional service. If the instructions received from the guru came down

through the disciplic succession, they remain transcendental even if the guru

is no longer engaged in devotional service. This theory is deriding the Vedic

literature because to add a new principle would mean the Absolute Truth

(Srimad-Bhagavatam) is incomplete (imperfect) and not giving ALL THE ANSWERS.

This is absurd.

3. FEEDBACK: MISCELLANEOUS

[Here is some of the feedback since the last issue:]

> I agree complitely. But how to recognize the autenticity of a spiritual

> master one may ask?

Anyone who is surrendered 100% to carry out the order of his spiritual master

is qualified to be a spiritual master himself.

"This Kr.s.n.a consciousness movement directly receives instructions from the

Supreme personality of Godhead via persons who are strictly following His

instructions . Although a follower may not be a liberated person, if he

follows the supreme, liberated Personality of Godhead, his actions are

naturally liberated from the contamination of the material nature. Lord

Caitanya therefore says: "By My order you may become a spiritual master ." One

can immediately become a spiritual master by having full faith in the

transcendental words of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and by following

His instructions . Materialistic men are not interested in taking directions

from a liberated person, but they are very much interested in their own

concocted ideas, which make them repeatedly fail in their attempts . Because

the entire world is now following the imperfect directions of conditioned

souls, humanity is completely bewildered ." (Bhag. 4.18.5)

>By which method or qualifications is he to be

> recognized? The guru is one, but it seems he can be on different levels of

> spiritual advancement. How do I know that my spiritul master will remain the

> whole life a active spiritual master?

You don't need to know that. Once you know he is fully engaged in devotional

service, you can take shelter of him and take up devotional service.

Ultimately, it's Krsna guiding the living entity to the spiritual master. Our

shelter is devotional service as given by the guru and not the body of the

spiritual master. Once engaged in devotional service, your life is set.

>Can a spiritual master also retire

> from his activity as spiritual master and still be considered spiritualy

> competent?

Once he stops engaging in devotional service (following his guru's order), you

have to live by his instructions while he was engaged in devotional service.

See http://www.krishnasoft.com/ksiaug99.htm for more information about this

subject.

>How do I know on what level of spiritual advancement the

> spiritual master is? Can a disciple surpass his spiritual master in regard

> to spiritual understanding and purity, or can one only make so much

> advancement as the spiritual master has?

The only qualification of the spiritual master is that he's 100% engaged in

devotional service which is the order of his spiritual master. The

devotional service is a process for gradually attaining God realization so it

does not matter what level the guru is on. You can follow the process he

gives you and carry on. Of course, the more advanced the spiritual master is,

the better your personal guidance but otherwise the process is complete in

itself. And you can always check with sastra to confirm that the guru's

orders are in-line with Krsna's instructions.

You can deliver your guru actually as proved via sastra->

http://www.krishnasoft.com/ksiaug99.htm.

"This incident proves that the siksa- or diksa-guru who has a disciple who

strongly executes devotional service like Dhruva Maharaja can be carried by

the disciple even though the instructor is not as advanced. Although Suniiti

was an instructor to Dhruva Mahaaraaja, she could not go to the forest because

she was a woman, nor could she execute austerities and penances as Dhruva

Maharaja did. Still, Dhruva Maharaja was able to take his mother with him.

Similarly, Prahlaada Maharaja also delivered his atheistic father,

Hiranyakasipu. The conclusion is that a disciple or an offspring who is a very

strong devotee can carry with him to Vaikunthaloka either his father, mother

or siksa- or diksa-guru." (Bhag. 4.12.33)

In the case of Narada, he was initiated into devotional service by

bhaktivedantas but he did not set up a surveillance system to see how those

people were doing when he was executing their instructions. He did NOT say,

"Oh, no he's deviating; there goes my spiritual life!" That's the foolishness

of the reinitiation theory which is not found anywhere in the sastras.

> I agree to this of course, still I ask myself if the way this teachings

> where aplyid in the ISKCON organization are the way they are meant to be?

> I mean this exagerated fixation, of the disciple upon the autorithy

> especially the spiritual master in all aspects of his life, is this the way

> how it should be in order to grow spiritually?

In the beginning it may be like that, but we have our individuality to apply

in the service received from the spiritual master. Srila Prabhupada's service

to preach in English with book publishing was [his] mission throughout his

life and he was never separated from his spiritual master via this vani:

"...the disciple and spiritual master are never separated because the

spiritual master always keeps the company with the disciple AS LONG AS THE

DISCIPLE FOLLOWS STRICTLY THE INSTRUCTIONS OF THE SPIRITUAL MASTER." (Bhag.

4.28.47)

Once you forget the divine instructions of your spiritual master, you have no

shelter:

"Only one who executes his spiritual life under the direction of the spiritual

master can achieve the mercy of Krsna. Yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasadah. If

one desires to advance in spiritual life but he acts whimsically, not

following the orders of the spiritual master, HE HAS NO SHELTER." (Bhag.

7.12.11)

> 1. Can Srila Prabhupada be a spiritual master for people he didn't initiate?

Yes, through his vani (and should be as the Sastra for our time and

circumstances is from Prabhupada).

[Krishna Software is engaged in the service of Srila Prabhupada yet our

beginning initiation/inspiration to take up this service was not directly from

Srila Prabhupada. The important thing is IN WHOSE SERVICE YOU ARE ENGAGED not

who gave the siksa or diksa. We have to engage in the service of jagad-guru

who is Krsna but this can only be done through the medium of service to guru

who is giving us the service as coming down through the disciplic succession

from Krsna:

"Actually, Vaasudeva is jagad-guru, as clearly stated here (vaasudevam^

jagad-gurum). One who teaches the instructions of Vaasudeva, Bhagavad-giitaa,

is as good as vaasudevam^ jagad-gurum. But when one who does not teach this

instruction-- as it is-- declares himself jagad-guru, he simply cheats the

public. Kr.s.n.a is jagad-guru, and one who teaches the instruction of

Kr.s.n.a as it is, ON BEHALF OF Kr.s.n.a, may be accepted as jagad-guru. One

who manufactures his own theories cannot be accepted; he becomes jagad-guru

falsely." (SB 8.16.20)

So all the bona fide gurus initiate their disciples ON BEHALF of their guru

and this assures the devotional service is bona fide and not concocted (thus

no need for re-initiation). If each 'guru' concocted his own service, the

result would just be a bunch of materialistic factions full of hypocrisy,

competition, and politics. The devotional service as received through the

disciplic succession is potent enough to deliver the disciple (and if need-be

the guru as well): "The Krsna consciousness movement is spreading now all over

the world, and sometimes I think that even though I am crippled in many ways,

if one of my disciples becomes as strong as Dhruva Maharaja, then he will be

able to carry me with him to Vaikunthaloka." (SB 4.12.33)]

4. EDITORIAL POLICY AND PRODUCT LIST

Krishna Software Inc. is dedicated to help people become peaceful and happy

via spiritual science presented using modern multimedia technology. Our

editorial policy as well as our mission is stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam

(10.2.37 Purport):

"One should engage in practical service to the Lord. In our Krsna

consciousness movement, *ALL* our activities are concentrated upon

distributing Krsna literature. This is very important. One may approach any

person and induce him to read Krsna literature so that in the future he also

may become a devotee.... By fully concentrating on distributing books for

Krsna, one is fully absorbed in Krsna."

Our newsletters are geared to show you the benefits of the instructions

contained in the transcendental books of Srila Prabhupada so you can judge for

yourself the value of these books and obtain them in book or CDROM format. We

also have video demos of the Gita CDROM and Bhagavatam CDROM available for

those without computers or those who want to get a glimpse into what is on the

CDROM.

Krishna Software Inc. has produced some multimedia CDROMs and all the details

and reviews of these CDROMs can be found at our website

http://www.krishnasoft.com. Here is our current list of products:

(a) Multimedia Bhagavad-gita As It Is CD: Lord Krsna's eternal instructions to

Arjuna and the rest of the world about Isvara (Supreme Lord), jiva (the soul),

karma (activities), kala (time), and prakrti (nature). This is a 30-hour

audio-visual CDROM. Also available on CD-R in Hindi version.

(b) Multimedia Srimad-Bhagavatam CD: An encyclopedia on the science of Krsna

consciousness. This CDROM deals in detail with bhakti-yoga and covers various

subjects-- the creation of the universe, Vedic astronomy, transmigration,

birth-death, etc. This is about 35 hours of audio-visual presentations.

presentation of the Krsna book and a Vedic Astronomy game based on the

Srimad-Bhagavatam. All on a single CDROM. Free sample demo downloadable.

(d) Multilingual Word Processor CD [version 4.00]: Type in diacritics, Hindi,

Sanskrit, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, and Assamese without knowing the

alphabet. This is for those who want to write articles using multiple

languages. Free demo downloadable.

All of the above software was tested on various Intel 486 and Pentium

processors running Windows 3.1, Windows '95, Windows '98, and Windows NT

(client and server).

Latest information and secure ordering is available at our web site:

http://www.krishnasoft.com.

------

Software Inc.

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All glories to Lord Sri Krsna and His transcendental potencies! All glories

to the Srimad-Bhagavatam, the literary incarnation of Lord Sri Krsna!

February 25, 2000

> [Text 3040436 from COM]

>

> > The ceremonies of initiation are purifying and are meant for the

> > re-enforcement of the commitment to the spiritual master, but they are

> > superficial and useless if one does not take up devotional service.

>

> Of course why should one accept hari nama initiation if one is not

willing

> to chant the holy name of the Lord, thus performing devotional service.

Sadly there are many people that accept Harinam or even Brahminical

initiation, but they don't follow their vows. Why? who knows...

February 26, 2000

Hare Krishna.

·>Sadly there are many people that accept Harinam or even Brahminical

·>initiation, but they don't follow their vows. Why? who knows...

I think I have a pretty good idea. The reason is that in ISKCON there is a

huge amount of pressure to become initiated. One is not accepted as a

sincere member of this society until he becomes intitiated. This is a factor

which is completely non-spiritual in nature. Prabhupada warned against this,

yet we persist in pressuring our new devotees to become initiated even if

they are not really qualified. We need to realize that most people are not

brahmins and will never be happy upholding a brahminical lifestyle; we have

to stop forcing them into positions which they are ill-suited for.

Hare Krishna --

your servant, Balarama Dasa

February 26, 2000

does that mean one has to become a brahmin if he wants to go back to

godhead?

Balarama.LOK (AT) bbt (DOT) se [balarama.LOK (AT) bbt (DOT) se]

Saturday, February 26, 2000 10:53 AM

(Krsna) Katha; Varnasrama development; Mukhya (dd) (Askerod - S)

RE: Without Surrender, the Initiation Rituals Are Useless!