# Initiation into the Holy Name *The spiritual master initiates the disciple into the chanting of the mahā-mantra.* ← Back to [[wiki/compile/spiritual-master-disciple|The Spiritual Master and the Disciple]] --- ## Receiving the Holy Name from the Spiritual Master ### For the holy name to have effect, it must be received from the spiritual master > One has to learn about the beauty and transcendental position of the holy name of the Lord by hearing the revealed scriptures from the mouths of devotees. Nowhere else can we hear of the sweetness of the Lord's holy name. > > PURPORT: It is said in the *Padma Purāṇa, ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ* [*Cc Madhya* 17.136]. Chanting and hearing of the transcendental name of the Lord cannot be performed by the ordinary senses. The transcendental vibration of the Lord's holy name is completely spiritual. Thus it must be received from the spiritual sources and must be chanted after having been heard from a spiritual master. One who hears the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa *mantra* must receive it from the spiritual master by aural reception. Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī has forbidden us to hear the holy name of Kṛṣṇa chanted by non-Vaiṣṇavas, such as professional actors and singers, for it will have no effect. It is like milk touched by the lips of serpents. —Cc. [[cc/antya/1/101|Antya 1.101]] Purport --- ### Upon initiation, the disciple receives the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra from his spiritual master, whose chanting of the mantra renders it more powerful ![[sb/4/24/31#purport|Lord Śiva voluntarily came to benedict the sons of the king as well as do something beneficial for them. He personally chanted the mantra so that the mantra would be more powerful...Although the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is powerful in itself, a disciple upon initiation receives the mantra from his spiritual master, for when the mantra is chanted by the spiritual master, it becomes more powerful]] —SB [[sb/4/24/31|4.24.31-32]] Purport --- ### A bona fide spiritual master initiates the disciple in the chanting of the holy name > A bona fide spiritual master chants the holy names—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare—and the transcendental sound vibration enters into the ear of the disciple, and if a disciple follows in the footsteps of his spiritual master and chants the holy name with similar respect, he actually comes to worship the transcendental name. When the transcendental name is worshiped by the devotee, the name Himself spreads His glories within the heart of a devotee... The chanting of the holy name is so powerful that it gradually establishes its supremacy above everything in the world. The devotee who chants it becomes transcendentally situated in ecstasy and sometimes laughs, cries and dances in his ecstasy. —Teachings of Lord Caitanya --- ## Brahminical Initiation and the Gāyatrī Mantra ### Why Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Ṭhākura introduced the sacred thread initiation for Vaiṣṇavas > There are many instances in which a born *brāhmaṇa* took initiation from a person who was not born in a *brāhmaṇa* family. The brahminical symptoms are explained in *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam* (7.11.35), wherein it is stated: > > *yasya yal lakṣaṇaṁ proktaṁ* > *puṁso varṇābhivyañjakam* > *yad anyatrāpi dṛśyeta* > *tat tenaiva vinirdiśet* > > If a person is born in a *śūdra* family but has all the qualities of a spiritual master, he should be accepted not only as a *brāhmaṇa* but as a qualified spiritual master also. This is also the instruction of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Ṭhākura therefore introduced the sacred thread ceremony for all Vaiṣṇavas according to the rules and regulations. —Cc. [[cc/madhya/8/128|Madhya 8.128]] Purport --- ### The spiritual master offers the sacred thread to a disciple who has become competent and purified > Usually, initiation depends on the bona fide spiritual master, who directs the disciple. If he sees that a disciple has become competent and purified by the process of chanting, then he offers the sacred thread to the disciple just so that he will be recognized as one hundred percent equal with a *brāhmaṇa.* This is also confirmed in the *Hari-bhakti-vilāsa* by Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī: "As a base metal like bell metal can be changed into gold by a chemical process, similarly any person can be changed into a *brāhmaṇa* by *dīkṣā-vidhāna,* the initiation process." > > ... Whether one has acquired the qualification of a *brāhmaṇa* depends on the judgment of the bona fide spiritual master. He bestows upon the disciple the position of a *brāhmaṇa* by his own judgment. —SB [[sb/3/33/6|3.33.6]] Purport --- ### When the spiritual master sees that his disciple is advanced, he offers him the Kāma-gāyatrī mantra > Lord Kṛṣṇa is worshiped by the Gāyatrī *mantra,* and the specific *mantra* by which He is worshiped is called Kāma-gāyatrī. Vedic literatures explain that that sound vibration which can elevate one from mental concoction is called *gāyatrī.* The Kāma-gāyatrī *mantra* is composed of 24 1/2 syllables thus: > > *klīṁ kāma-devāya vidmahe* > *uṣpa-bāṇāya dhīmahi* > *an no 'naṅgaḥ pracodayāt* > > This Kāma-gāyatrī is received from the spiritual master when the disciple is advanced in chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. In other words, this Kāma-gāyatrī *mantra* and *saṁskāra,* or reformation of a perfect *brāhmaṇa,* are offered by the spiritual master when he sees that his disciple is advanced in spiritual knowledge. —Teachings of Lord Caitanya --- ### The purpose of the Gāyatrī mantra > [In the *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam*] Vyāsadeva purposefully invokes the Gāyatrī *mantra: dhīmahi.* This Gāyatrī *mantra* is especially meant for spiritually advanced people. When one attains success in chanting Gāyatrī *mantra,* he can enter into the transcendental position of the Lord. First, however, one must acquire the brahminical qualities and become perfectly situated in the mode of goodness in order to chant the Gāyatrī *mantra* successfully. From that point one can begin to transcendentally realize the Lord, His name, His fame, His qualities, etc. —Teachings of Lord Caitanya --- ### The origin of the Gāyatrī mantra > Lord Kṛṣṇa is worshiped by the Gāyatrī *mantra,* and the specific *mantra* by which He is worshiped is called Kāma-gāyatrī. Vedic literatures explain that that sound vibration which can elevate one from mental concoction is called *gāyatrī...* In *Brahma-saṁhitā* a nice description of the flute of Kṛṣṇa is given: "When Kṛṣṇa began to play on His flute, the sound vibration entered into the ear of Brahmā as the Vedic *mantra oṁ*." This *oṁ* is composed of three letters—A, U, and M—and it describes our relationship with the Supreme Lord, our activities by which we can achieve the highest perfection of love, and the actual position of love on the spiritual platform. When the sound vibration of Kṛṣṇa's flute is expressed through the mouth of Brahmā, it becomes Gāyatrī. Thus by being influenced by the sound vibration of Kṛṣṇa's flute, Brahmā, the supreme creature and first living entity of this material world, was initiated as a *brāhmaṇa.* That Brahmā was initiated as a *brāhmaṇa* by the flute of Kṛṣṇa is confirmed by Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī. When Brahmā was enlightened by the Gāyatrī *mantra* through Kṛṣṇa's flute, he attained all Vedic knowledge. —Teachings of Lord Caitanya --- ## Elevation to Brahminical Status Through Initiation ### When a person is properly initiated, he can acquire the qualities of a brāhmaṇa > The *Bhakti-sandarbha* (298) gives the following quotation from the *Tattva-sāgara:* > > *yathā kāñcanatāṁ yati* > *kāṁsyaṁ rasa-vidhānataḥ* > *tathā dīkṣā-vidhānena* > *dvijatvaṁ jāyate nṛṇām* > > "By chemical manipulation, bell metal is turned into gold when touched by mercury; similarly, when a person is properly initiated, he can acquire the qualities of a *brāhmaṇa*." —Cc. [[cc/madhya/15/108|Madhya 15.108]] Purport --- ### By proper initiation by a bona fide spiritual master, one can immediately become a brāhmaṇa > In *Hari-bhakti-vilāsa* Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī gives definite instructions that by proper initiation by a bona fide spiritual master one can immediately become a *brāhmaṇa.* In this connection he says: > > *yathā kāñcanatāṁ yati* > *kāṁsyaṁ rasa-vidhānataḥ* > *tathā dīkṣā-vidhānena* > *dvijatvaṁ jāyate nṛṇām* > > "As bell metal is turned to gold when mixed with mercury in an alchemical process, so one who is properly trained and initiated by a bona fide spiritual master immediately becomes a *brāhmaṇa*." —Cc. [[cc/adi/7/47|Ādi 7.47]] Purport --- ### Initiation itself does not elevate one to the brahminical stage; one has to follow the regulative principles > A Vaiṣṇava automatically becomes a *brāhmaṇa.* This idea is also supported by Sanātana Gosvāmī in his book *Hari-bhakti-vilāsa,* which is the Vaiṣṇava guide... Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī warns, however, that if a person is properly initiated by a bona fide spiritual master, he should not think that simply by the acceptance of such initiation his business is then finished. One still has to follow the rules and regulations very carefully. If after accepting the spiritual master and being initiated one does not follow the rules and regulations of devotional service, then he is again fallen... In other words, simply becoming initiated does not elevate one to the position of a high-class *brāhmaṇa.* One also has to discharge the duties and follow the regulative principles very rigidly. —The Nectar of Devotion