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EDITORIAL January 13, 1999 VNN2835 Sannyasa Re-Initiation BY SWAMI B.G. NARASINGHA EDITORIAL, Jan 13 (VNN) — Letter from Krishna dasa - Narasingha Maharaja Replies Dear Maharaj, PAMHO! AGTSP! Please can you inform me where it is authorized in sastra that sannyasa once received from a pure devotee can be annulled and then remade by another sannyasa initiation from another pure devotee? I am referring to your annulment of the sannyasa initiation as Jagad Guru Swami from Srila Prabhupada and then taking sannyasa initiation again from Sridhar Maharaj as B.G. Narasingha Swami. Is there any example from the previous acaryas that one can have two different sannyasa gurus. I have discussed this point with Lokasaranga Maharaj also hopefully your knowledge of sastra will clear my doubts. Your servant, Krishna dasa Dear Vaishnava dasa Prabhu, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. You ask whether "sannyasa once received from a pure devotee can be annulled and then remade by another sannyasa initiation from another pure devotee." The answer is 'No,' and never has such a thing ever happened in the history of our sampradaya. It is not a game we are playing (simply jumping from one pure devotee to another), nor is it wise of us to attempt to judge other Vaishnavas. Krishna is the Supreme Knower, and He knows 'what is what and who is who.' On the other hand, we the conditioned living entities are in a perpetual state of illusion, so how will we judge the activities of senior Vaishnavas? I am not saying that I am a Vaishnava, but as you have indicated above, Srila Sridhar Maharaja was indeed a 'pure devotee.' Therefore, we should consider that Srila Sridhar Maharaja (a pure devotee) would not do anything against the sastra, such as giving me and others sannyasa titles (or so-called re-initiation). You assume that my sannyasa status was nullified when I received the sannyasa title 'Bhakti Gaurava Narasingha,' replacing my brahmachari name 'Jagatguru.' I am happy to inform you that you are mistaken. I was not re-initiated. Formerly, my brahmachari name was 'Jagatguru,' and when I received sannyasa in 1976, my sannyasa name was given by Srila Prabhupada as 'Swami.' This is also Srila Prabhupada's sannyasa name, 'Swami.' Our system in ISKCON at the time was that all sannyasis retained their brahmachari names, and 'Swami' was added. This was even true of grhasthas, who also retained their grhastha names and 'Goswami' was added. (There are 108 authorized names for tridandi sannyasis given in Gaudiya Kanthahara, compiled by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, and the names Swami and Goswami are included. ) You might be interested to know that in 1953, Srila Prabhupada's name changed from 'Abhay Charanaravinda das' to 'Bhaktivedanta.' This 'name change' was made by Srila Sridhar Deva Goswami Maharaja, and thus Srila Prabhupada became know as Bhaktivedanta Prabhu. Srila Prabhupada held his new name very dear to his heart throughout his life, especially with regard to his 'Bhaktivedanta Purports.' Yet please take note that the name 'Bhaktivedanta' was not given to Srila Prabhupada by his guru (diksa-guru, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura). Of course, someone might try to find fault with Srila Prabhupada for accepting this 'name change,' but that is simply Maya's trick to keep the living entity in eternal bondage. It is also a fact that Srila Sridhar Maharaja was the siksa-guru of Srila Prabhupada, and the two were intimately connected before you or I were even born. Srila Sridhar Maharaja later also became the param-sannyasa-guru of Srila Prabhupada, when Srila Prabhupada took sannyasa from Srila Keshava Maharaja. Sridhar Maharaja had given sannyasa-mantra to Keshava Maharaja, and he (Keshava Maharaja) in turn gave sannyasa-mantra to Srila Prabhupada. That makes Srila Sridhar Maharaja the param-sannyasa-guru of Srila Prabhupada. Srila Sridhar Maharaja directly heard sannyasa-mantra from Srila Saraswati Thakura. That is our sannyasa-parampara. It is also a fact that the sannyasa-mantra is the raga-mantra of our sampradaya, and its importance and line of disciplic succession cannot be minimized. Neglect of this transcendental understanding has indeed been the cause of fall down for many ISKCON sannyasis, for one can not maintain his Krishna consciousness in sannyasa-ashram if he is offensive to his sannyasa-guru-parampara. Had I again received the sannyasa-mantra from Srila Sridhar Maharaja, you could say that I had been re-initiated, but I did not. However, Srila Sridhar Maharaja being the siksa-guru and param-sannyasa-guru of Srila Prabhupada, I feel especially fortunate that His Divine Grace would show even a single drop of mercy upon my fallen soul by bestowing upon me a sannyasa title. I also accepted Srila Sridhar Maharaja as my siksa-guru, and our dealings and relationship are exactly in accordance with our Vaishnava tradition. Please note my signature: I am 'Swami' first and "BG Narasingha' second. It is quite inaccurate to suggest that I was 're-initiated.' However, 'A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.' So, if you have already decided in your mind that I was 're-initiated' because I was given a sannyasa title by Srila Sridhar Maharaja, then no amount of explanation on my part will convince you otherwise. In any event, I am happy to have replied to your question, because it has given me an opportunity to again remember the lotus feet of my Divine Masters. I hope this meets you well. Your servant, Swami B.G. Narasingha About the Author | Other VNN Stories by this Author Comment on this Story This story URL: http://www.vnn.org/editorials/ET9901/ET13-2835.html
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