Initiation ceremony – Remembering Srila Prabhupada

The day after Keith’s release, September 23, Is the appearance day of Radharani, Lord Krishna’s eternal consort, and Swamiji announces the second initiation ceremony.
"Today, we will fast until noon," he says. "Srimati Radharani is so kind that She does not want us to go hungry."

In the morning, he shows Keith how to make rasagullas, sweetballs consisting only of milk curds cooked and soaked in syrup. They are very sweet and succulent. A large pot sits in the corner of Swamiji’s little altar room, and sometimes, when I get the urge, I ask Swamiji if I can have one.

"Yes, take," he says invariably.

To be initiated with Keith are Bruce, Charles, and Steve. Bruce looks like a football tackle; in contrast, Steve and Charles are ascetically thin. Keith becomes Kirtanananda, Bruce becomes Brahmananda, Charles becomes Acyutananda, and Steve becomes Satsvarupa.

"Today, September 23, is Radha’s birthday," Swamiji says. "She is fifteen days younger than Krishna. When Krishna was a boy, He played with the children of the countryside, and because He was so beautiful, all the girls prayed that someday He would be their husband. Since Radha loved Krishna the most, She is the symbol of greatest worship. Krishna and the gopis, the cowherd girls, were the same age, but because girls are married earlier than boys, they were all married before Krishna. Yet, despite their marriages, they all loved Krishna so much that whenever He would play His flute, they would leave their homes and go to Him. This continued until Krishna was sixteen; then He left His friends and went to live with His real father in Mathura, and all His friends spent the rest of their lives weeping and longing for Him. Radha and Krishna met again during a solar eclipse at Kurukshetra, and it was a meeting of love, but then They were again separated. Radha is Krishna’s beloved, and by Her blessings Krishna will accept us. ‘Hare’ means Radha, so when we chant Hare Krishna, we are chanting Radha Krishna. We say Radha’s name first because Krishna loves Her."

The fire sacrifice in Swamiji’s back apartment is joyful. There are none of the blunders of the first initiation; we manage to pour the water in the proper hand and say svaha at the right time.

It is the first of the Mother Scenes. Brahmananda had written an enthusiastic letter to his brother Greg about Swamiji, and Greg, who had just started college in Colorado, sold his typewriter and bought a plane ticket to New York to attend the initiation. Surprisingly, Brahmananda’s mother also shows up, but she is so furious at Greg for quitting college that she doesn’t speak to him. Sitting on a folding chair in Swamiji’s room, she endures the initiation with stonefaced silence. When it is over, she tells Swamiji, "You could have left me at least one of my sons."

"Go bow down to your mother," Swamiji tells Brahmananda, and Brahmananda immediately complies, touching his forehead to the floor.

"I still don’t see what’s wrong with Judaism," she pouts, less than flattered by this strange gesture of humility from her son.

"Jewish Christian, Moslem — it is not a question of that," Swamiji says. "It’s a matter of developing your love for God. That is the test for first-class religion.

—

Swamiji treats mothers respectfully, compliments them for having such fine, intelligent sons, and comforts them with sweetballs. Although a number of mothers come accusing him of stealing and corrupting their children, they always leave pacified. Some even attend kirtans and sit on folding chairs in the rear of Matchless Gifts. During one Sunday feast, one mother even runs outside for a marijuana break.

"Why don’t you just let prasadam satisfy your tongue?" her son chastises her.

My mother writes Swamiji a letter thanking him for "the great and remarkable change" in me.

"We just want you to know how much we appreciate the work you are doing in this country, especially among the younger generation. They need you, a spiritual advisor and leader, to lead them out of their confused, frustrated, materialistic and rebellious state — back to Godhead."

Swamiji is so pleased with the letter that he has it xeroxed for distribution.

From the "The Hare Krishna Explosion" by HG Hayagriva dasa

Disclaimer: The article is posted in the Yahoo Groups – Govindadwipa. All credits goes to the group and their services. Hare Krishna.