03/14/98 - 1692

Goura Pournima Ritvik Initiations

L.A. - USA (VNN) - Gauridasa Pandita Dasa

Two devotees were initiated today on Sri Goura-Pournima. The ceremony was conducted by His Holiness Yasodanandan Prabhu on behalf of Srila Prabhupada. He also gave a potent lecture on the history of our sampradaya and important Vaisnava principles such as humility. He also explained the ritvik initiation system as Srila Prabhupada instructed.

The fire was fed a lot of ghee and grains by the blissful gathering of devotees. The fire leaped up in an awesome display and it appeared to some of us that Lord Visnu was indeed appearing in the sacrificial fire. The sacrifice was held outside and was well attended. A neighbor boy named Johnny, 7yrs, also came over and played kartalas and the mridanga for the first time. He had fun offering the grains into the sacrificial fire and asked if he could wash Srila Prabhupada's' plate after the offering. He must have been a devotee before by the way he was so attracted. The mercy of Sri Sri Guru and Gouranga were flowing like anything.

The new devotees that were initiated were Bhakta Bob and his wife from New Mexico and who are now situated in San Diego. The spiritual names given by the ritvik priest are Bir-Nasringa Dasa and Jahnava Devi Dasi, respectively. The feast was of course ecstatic. The Gouranga potatoes were running with ghee and spiced very nicely. The eggplant subji was loaded with nice hunks of curd and the halava melted in our mouths. Madhavananda Prabhu, (who got initiated on Sri Janmastami), came up with a group of new devotees from San Diego. He made an excellent nectar and helped with the cooking of the feast. Many mantras and bhajans were chanted. It was also nice to see all of the devotees cooperate to clean up after the great sacrifice and feast.

Srila Prabhupada always said that a little bit of a pure thing is much better than a whole bunch of adulteration. Only a minority of the devotees know, and follow Srila Prabhupada's teachings in regards to current initiations in ISKCON. The good thing is that more and more devotees are understanding. More information is available on the guru issue in ISKCON, especially on the internet. Let the debate continue on the internet, and hopefully in the near future with the whole GBC body, in a respectful Vaisnava fashion. Then the predictions of Lord Chaitanya and Bhaktivinoda Thakur will manifest more and more and the golden age will usher in just in time for us, and the generations ahead.

We hope that the GBC will enter into a serious dialogue with us, and fulfil their own resolution for a debate from the GBC meeting in San Diego in January of 1990. When that is finally figured out, by the honest devotees, the movement will go through a cleansing, healing and a reuniting. Then it will grow again like wildfire, just as when Srila Prabhupada was personally here our undisputed guru.

Today we also chanted the 108 Holy Names of Lord Chaitanya by Sarvabhouma Bhattacharya for Lord Chaitanya. The benedictions are that all of the devotees pure desires will be fulfilled and we would get relief from any reactions to past offenses. Love for Lord Hari would awaken and whoever chants the mantras in glorification of Lord Chaitanyadeva would remember Him at the time of death. There are more benedictions also. Lord Chaitanya is an ocean of mercy. It is His mercy, the mercy of Guru and Gouranga, that we need to cooperate and push on this great mission. Everything else is secondary.

Thank you Srila Prabhupada for giving us the 'matchless gift'! You gave us Krishna and Lord Chaitanya, and They have given us you. I pray that your mercy will continue to shower all of the devotees, knowing and not knowing, (but I hope more are knowing!); directly and indirectly, inside and outside of ISKCON. May your mercy come to the new people and the old ones. May the old devotees be inspired to come back. Let us restore the house where the whole world can live!

ALL GLORIES TO SRI SRI GURU AND GOURANGA!!!
Your servant,
Gauridasa Pandita Dasa