700720 - Lecture Initiation Sannyasa - Los Angeles

Lectures by Date, 1970

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Listen to a 'Nectar Drop' created from this lecture

700720IN-LOS ANGELES - July 20, 1970 - 41:59 Minutes

(Prabhupāda sings along with Govindam recording at greeting of the deities)

Prabhupāda: Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi. (Brahma-saṁhitā 5.29)

Hare Kṛṣṇa. Everything all right?

Devotees: Jaya.

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. So? Chant Īśopaniṣad mantra.

Devotees:

oṁ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ

pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate

pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya

pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate

(ISO Invocation)

īśāvāsyam idam sarvaṁ

yat kiñca jagatyāṁ jagat

tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā

mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam

(ISO 1)

kurvann eveha karmāṇi

jijīviṣec chataṁ samāḥ

evaṁ tvayi nānyatheto 'sti

na karma lipyate nare

(ISO 2)

asuryā nāma te lokā

andhena tamasāvṛtāḥ

tāṁs te pretyābhigacchanti

ye ke cātma-hano janāḥ

(ISO 3)

anejad ekaṁ manaso javīyo

nainad devā āpnuvan pūrvam arṣat

tad dhāvato 'nyān atyeti tiṣṭhat

tasminn apo mātariśvā dadhāti

(ISO 4)

tad ejati tan naijati

tad dūre tad v antike

tad antar asya sarvasya

tad u sarvasyāsya bāhyataḥ

(ISO 5)

yas tu sarvāṇi bhūtāny

ātmany evānupaśyati

sarva-bhūteṣu cātmānaṁ

tato na vijugupsate

(ISO 6)

yasmin sarvāṇi bhūtāny

ātmaivābhūd vijānataḥ

tatra ko mohaḥ kaḥ śoka

ekatvam anupaśyataḥ

(ISO 7)

sa paryagāc chukram akāyam avraṇam

asnāviram śuddham apāpa-viddham

kavir manīṣī paribhūḥ svayambhūr

yāthātathyato 'rthān vyadadhāc chāśvatībhyaḥ samābhyaḥ

(ISO 8)

andhaṁ tamaḥ praviśanti

ye 'vidyām upāsate

tato bhūya iva te tamo

ya u vidyāyām ratāḥ

(ISO 9)

anyad evāhur vidyayā-

nyad āhur avidyayā

iti śuśruma dhīrāṇāṁ

ye nas tad vicacakṣire

(ISO 10)

Prabhupāda: Anyad āhur . . . the next one?

vidyāṁ cāvidyāṁ ca yas

tad vedobhayaṁ saha

avidyayā mṛtyuṁ tīrtvā

vidyayāmṛtam aśnute

(ISO 11)

andhaṁ tamaḥ praviśanti

ye 'sambhūtim upāsate

tato bhūya iva te tamo

ya u sambhūtyāṁ ratāḥ

(ISO 12)

anyad evāhuḥ sambhavād

anyad āhur asambhavāt

iti śuśruma dhīrāṇāṁ

ye nas tad vicacakṣire

(ISO 10)

Prabhupāda: So, today is a special function day. Some of our advanced students, they're accepting the renounced order of life. First of all, one of our students, Kīrtanānanda Brahmacārī, he was offered when I was in India, Vṛṇdāvana, in Janmāṣṭamī day he was offered this sannyāsa order in the Rādhā-Dāmodara temple. Similarly, here we have got also Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa temple.

There is no difference between Rādhā-Dāmodara temple and Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa temple. So we postponed this to be held on the Janmāṣṭamī day at New Vrindaban, but by some reason we are now postponing to go there, and we have decided to perform this function here. And I am very glad that you are all present.

Now, this sannyāsa mantra should be studied very seriously, and we shall chant this mantra after the regular function. Especially those who are accepting the sannyāsa order, they should try to understand the import of this important mantra. The import of this important mantra especially is that, as we prohibit several things during ordinary initiation, just like no illicit sex, no meat-eating, no intoxication, no gambling.

Similarly, there are many no's in accepting the sannyāsa order. Especially meat . . . not meat-eating; mating. And politics. If we remain in the materialistic order of life, then this sannyāsa order will be a facility for cheating. That responsibility you must have. That is the meaning of the sannyāsa order. San, sat-nyās. Renounced order means one has to renounce everything for Kṛṣṇa's sake.

So this mantra will be chanted after these formal mantras, apavitraḥ pavitro vā, and then you'll change your dress, and then yajña will take place, then saṅkirtana movement, your business. So you have got all these? Now chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. You all chant. (devotees chant japa)

Namo apavitraḥ pavitro vā sarvāvasthāṁ gato 'pi vā. You know all this, or I shall have to repeat? Or you say.

namo apavitraḥ pavitro vā

sarvāvasthāṁ gato 'pi vā

yaḥ smaret puṇḍarīkākṣaṁ

sa bahyābhyantaraḥ śuciḥ

śrī viṣṇu śrī viṣṇu śrī viṣṇu

(Garuḍa Purāṇa)

Again take.

namo apavitraḥ pavitro vā

sarvāvasthāṁ gato 'pi vā

yaḥ smaret puṇḍarīkākṣaṁ

sa bahyābhyantaraḥ śuciḥ

śrī viṣṇu śrī viṣṇu śrī viṣṇu

(Garuḍa Purāṇa)

Again. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

namo apavitraḥ pavitro vā

sarvāvasthāṁ gato 'pi vā

yaḥ smaret puṇḍarīkākṣaṁ

sa bahyābhyantaraḥ śuciḥ

śrī viṣṇu śrī viṣṇu śrī viṣṇu

(Garuḍa Purāṇa)

(recites maṅgalācarana prayers one word at a time, devotees repeating)

vande 'haṁ śrī-guroḥ śrī-yuta-pada-kamalaṁ śrī-gurūn vaiṣṇavāṁś ca

śrī-rūpaṁ sāgrajātaṁ saha-gaṇa-raghunāthānvitaṁ taṁ sa-jīvam

sādvaitaṁ sāvadhūtaṁ parijana-sahitaṁ kṛṣṇa-caitanya-devaṁ

śrī-rādhā-kṛṣṇa-pādān saha-gaṇa-lalitā-śrī-viśākhānvitāṁś ca

nama om viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya

bhūtale śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine.

nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale

śrīmate bhaktisiddhānta-sarasvatīti nāmine

śrī-vārṣabhānavī-devī-dayitāya kṛpābdhaye

kṛṣṇa-sambandha-vijñāna-dāyine prabhave namaḥ

I offer my respectful obeisances to Śrī Vārṣabhānavī-devī-dayita dāsa (another name of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī), who is favored by Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and who is the ocean of transcendental mercy and the deliverer of the science of Kṛṣṇa.

mādhuryojjvala-premāḍhya-śrī-rūpānuga-bhaktida

śrī-gaura-karuṇā-śakti-vigrahāya namo 'stu te

I offer my respectful obeisances unto you, the personified energy of Śrī Caitanya's mercy, who deliver devotional service which is enriched with conjugal love of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, coming exactly in the line of revelation of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.

namas te gaura-vāṇī-śrī-mūrtaye dīna-tāriṇe

rūpānuga-viruddhāpasiddhānta-dhvānta-hāriṇe

I offer my respectful obeisances unto you, who are the personified teachings of Lord Caitanya. You are the deliverer of the fallen souls. You do not tolerate any statement which is against the teachings of devotional service enunciated by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.

namo gaura-kiśorāya sākṣād-vairāgya-mūrtaye

vipralambha-rasāmbhode pādāmbujāya te namaḥ

I offer my respectful obeisances unto Gaura-kiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja (the spiritual master of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī), who is renunciation personified. He is always merged in a feeling of separation and intense love of Kṛṣṇa.

namo bhaktivinodāya sac-cid-ānanda-nāmine

gaura-śakti-svarūpāya rūpānuga-varāya te

I offer my respectful obeisances unto Saccidānanda Bhaktivinoda, who is transcendental energy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He is a strict follower of the Gosvāmīs, headed by Śrīla Rūpa.

gaurāvirbhāva-bhūmes tvaṁ nirdeṣṭā saj-jana-priyaḥ

vaiṣṇava-sārvabhaumaḥ ṣrī-jagannāthāya te namaḥ

I offer my respectful obeisances to Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī, who is respected by the entire Vaiṣṇava community and who discovered the place where Lord Caitanya appeared.

vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca

patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ

I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiṣṇava devotees of the Lord. They are just like desire trees who can fulfill the desires of everyone, and they are full of compassion for the fallen conditioned souls.

namo mahā-vadānyāya kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te

kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ

O most munificent incarnation! You are Kṛṣṇa Himself appearing as Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. You have assumed the golden color of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, and You are widely distributing pure love of Kṛṣṇa. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You.

pañca-tattvātmakaṁ kṛṣṇaṁ bhakta-rūpa-svarūpakam

bhaktāvatāraṁ bhaktākhyaṁ namāmi bhakta-śaktikam

I offer my obeisances unto the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, who is nondifferent from His features as a devotee, devotional incarnation, devotional manifestation, pure devotee, and devotional energy.

he kṛṣṇa karuṇā-sindho

dīna-bandho jagat-pate

gopeśa gopikā-kānta

rādhā-kānta namo 'stu te

O my dear Kṛṣṇa, ocean of mercy, You are the friend of the distressed and the source of creation. You are the master of the cowherd men and the lover of the gopīs, especially Rādhārāṇī. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.

jayatāṁ suratau paṅgor mama manda-mater gatī

mat-sarvasva-padāmbhojau rādhā-madana-mohanau

Glory to the all-merciful Rādhā and Madana-mohana! I am lame and ill advised, yet They are my directors, and Their lotus feet are everything to me.

dīvyad-vṛndāraṇya-kalpa-drumādhaḥ

śrīmad-ratnāgāra-siṁhāsana-sthau

śrīmad-rādhā-śrīla-govinda-devau

preṣṭhālībhiḥ sevyamānau smarāmi

In a temple of jewels in Vṛndāvana, underneath a desire tree, Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Govinda, served by Their most confidential associates, sit upon an effulgent throne. I offer my most humble obeisances unto Them.

śrīmān rāsa-rasārambhī vaṁśī-vaṭa-taṭa-sthitaḥ

karṣan veṇu-svanair gopīr gopīnāthaḥ śriye 'stu naḥ

Śrī Śrīla Gopīnātha, who originated the transcendental mellow of the rāsa dance, stands on the shore in Vaṁśīvaṭa and attracts the attention of the cowherd damsels with the sound of His celebrated flute. May they all confer upon us their benediction.

tapta-kāñcana-gaurāṅgi rādhe vṛndāvaneśvari

vṛṣabhānu-sute devī praṇamāmi hari-priye

I offer my respects to Rādhārāṇī, whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and who is the Queen of Vṛndāvana. You are the daughter of King Vṛṣabhānu, and You are very dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa.

hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare

hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare

Now take your . . . yes. Hare Kṛṣṇa. You chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Open your dress. Later on when you come.

Viṣṇujana: The mantra's here on this sheet?

Prabhupāda: No. That's all right. You first of all dress. Why? . . . for others there is no garland?

Karandhara: Yes. Ārati. Should we have ārati?

Prabhupāda: Oh, all right. Finish ārati. In the meantime, you dress. Take that garland. So I shall give you. Give me that cloth.

Viṣṇujana: Cloth, Prabhupāda?

Prabhupāda: No, no. That . . . first of all cloth give me. This cloth I'll deliver you.

Viṣṇujana: Yes.

Prabhupāda: No, no. This cloth. Yes. This is your cloth?

Viṣṇujana: Shall we put the garlands on now, Prabhupāda?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Bring it and . . . no. Garland I shall give later on when you will dress, come out. And I will give you. Take this. Yes. Dress yourself and come. Vivānanda You come. There shall be no shirt. Open . . . (indistinct) . . . come on, come on, come on. Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare, Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare. Now you can perform your daily program. Yes. (break)

Dayānanda: Prabhupada, should we offer the garlands? The garlands . . .

(Karandhara leads maṅgalācarana prayers) Upāsitām.

Prabhupāda: You can read the translation.

Dayānanda: Translation: "I shall cross over the insurmountable ocean of darkness of ignorance simply by taking shelter of the lotus feet of Lord Mukunda, who gives all kinds of liberations and who is worshiped by many great previous ācāryas."

Purport: "There are sixty-four kinds of rendering service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, out of which to accept the uniform dress of a tridaṇḍi sannyāsī is also an important item. One who accepts this order of life, surely by rendering service unto the Supreme Lord becomes eligible to cross over the insurmountable ocean of ignorance. All previous sages used to accept such order of life, and later ācārya, Viṣṇu Svāmī, adopted this order of life and specifically stressed on this procedure in order to achieve firm conviction in the matter of devotional service.

"Those who are unalloyed devotees, they add one more staff along with the original three. This extra one is representation of the living entities. There is another sect, who are known as ekaṇḍa sect. They misunderstand the purpose of tridaṇḍa and, by such deviation, Śiva Svāmī sannyāsīs, who claim to belong to the Viṣṇu Svāmī sect, turn to be impersonalists and follow the footsteps of Śaṅkarācārya, accepting only the ekaṇḍa. Instead of naming themselves out of the 108 names of Vaiṣṇava sannyāsīs, this Śiva Svāmī sect accepts ten names of the sannyāsī, following Śaṅkarācārya. Lord Caitanya, (audio dropout) although in terms of the then practice accepted ekaṇḍi sannyāsa order, but His acceptance of tridaṇḍi sannyāsa is understood.

"This mantra was first chanted by a learned brāhmin of Avantīpura, after being very much disgusted in this materialistic way of life. This happened long, long years ago, because it is mentioned in the Bhāgavatam, which was composed by Vyāsadeva at least five thousand years ago. So it is to be concluded therefore that this tridaṇḍi sannyāsī order is coming down since a long time . . . since a time long, long years ago, and within five hundred years of time, Lord Caitanya adopted this order of life. In the latest years, His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda adopted it personally and made many of his disciples tridaṇḍi sannyāsīs. We are also following his footsteps.

"In the purport of this mantra is that the ekaṇḍi sannyāsī is devoid of parātma niṣṭha, which is explained above. In other words, impersonalists . . ." On the first page it says an explanation of parātma is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is given in the English synonyms. So it says: "We are also following his footsteps. And the purport of this mantra is that the ekaṇḍi sannyāsī is devoid of parātma niṣṭha, which is explained above." So that is right, Prabhupāda, that the impersonalist is devoid of the Supreme Personality of Godhead?

Prabhupāda: They have no idea. They say that we can imagine an idea. According to impersonalist, they say sādhakānām hitārthaya brahmaṇo rūpa kalpanaḥ. Because we cannot concentrate our mind in impersonal, therefore they say: "Imagine some form." They think that Kṛṣṇa is imagination. Yes. (chuckles) (laughter) That is their Māyāvāda. Kṛṣṇa was personally present, and He killed all the demons. Still, these demons says "Imagination." You see that is demonic. Therefore we do not agree with them.

Dayānanda: "In other words, impersonalists cannot have any faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and they prefer to merge into the impersonal Brahman effulgence. In the Śrīmad-Bhagavatam we do not find any mention of ekaṇḍa sannyāsa. This tridaṇḍa sannyāsa is accepted therefore as standard. Lord Caitanya accepts Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as the supreme authority. Under these circumstances, persons who accept Lord Caitanya as ekaṇḍi sannyāsī are mistaken.

"So following the footsteps of Lord Caitanya, still the tridaṇḍi sannyāsīs are in existence, keeping the sacred thread and śikhā intact, distinct from the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs . . . Māyāvādī ekaṇḍi sannyāsīs, who give up the sacred thread and śikhā. They have no inclination to render service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Being very much disgusted by the materialistic way of life, they do not understand the purpose of the sannyāsa order. But those who are strictly followers of the Vaiṣṇava principles, they do not accept the Māyāvādī way of sannyāsa.

"In the sect of Lord Caitanya, the most venerable learned scholar, known as Gadādhara Paṇḍita Gosvāmī, accepted this tridaṇḍi sannyāsa order, and he offered this facility to his disciple known as Śrī Madhva-upādhyāya. This Madhvācārya is the origin of the Vallabhācārya sect. One of the six Gosvāmīs, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, who is the authority of Vaiṣṇava regulations, was initiated by another tridaṇḍi sannyāsī, known as Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī. Therefore this sannyāsī order is completely in pursuance of Vaiṣṇava authority."

Prabhupāda: So that daṇḍa you can take. Your daṇḍa take. You can take. Come on. His name is there? No.

Devotee: No.

Viṣṇujana: You know which one is which?

Prabhupāda: No. According to the size we have made. So which size he is I do not know. That's your?

Viṣṇujana: Yes.

Prabhupāda: That's your. Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa . . . Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa. Now chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and dance. Hey? kīrtana. (break)

(kīrtana) (prema-dhvani)

Prabhupāda: So, this is now formal accepting of sannyāsa, but real sannyāsa purpose will be fulfilled when you'll be able to induce the people of the world dancing like . . . that is real sannyāsa. This formal dress is not sannyāsa. Real sannyāsa is when you can induce other people to become Kṛṣṇa conscious and they dance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Devotees: Jaya!

Prabhupāda: If you can turn one man to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, then your going back to Godhead, back to home, guaranteed. That is real purpose of sannyāsa.

Thank you very much.

(devotees offer obeisances) (end)