Seminar on Diksha traditions & analysis of 2 part initiations in ISKCON Diksha system | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Japan | October 31, 2025 |
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
jaya śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
So I have many presentations on Diksha, Siksha and Guru, etc., and they kind of cover a lot of the same material. This is a relatively simple one, which takes Diksha from the point of view of tradition itself, how it was operating within our Gaudiya Sampradaya. So, in a very general sense, not in the particular sense that we know, but in a very general sense, Diksha means dedication and surrender. And there may be a very simple ceremony to indicate this dedication itself.
So there are many types of Diksha. One of them is Vedic Diksha. At this ceremony, one receives the Brahma Gayatri Mantra, usually from the father. And the ceremony is called the Upanayanam Samskara. By getting that Vedic Mantra, the person is called second born, or Dvija. And this is given to Vaishyas, Kshatriyas, and Brahmanas. And by this mantra, one becomes qualified to study the Vedas, and then consequently to do Yajnas, etc.
Of course, that ceremony has many steps to it. I just listed the steps here, but I don’t think we have to go over that [Laughs]. It’s quite a complicated ceremony, that takes a few hours. So all of these different steps are accompanied by Vedic Mantras, chanted by usually a Brahmana. And of course, this child is usually initiated, or they get this Diksha when they’re 5 or 7 years old.
And at a certain point, they get a kusa grass belt. Then they get a sacred thread. They will get deerskin cloth. And then the father gives the Gayatri Mantra to the ear of the boy. Then the father gives the boy a danda – stick. And then the boy is supposed to go out and beg [Laughs].
At this time, he’s also supposed to learn what is called Sandhya Vandana. So this is the method by which you chant the Brahma Gayatri Mantra. So it involves all sorts of preliminary steps of purification. So of course, I won’t go over all those steps, but again, it’s a little bit complicated. It all involves uttering Vedic Mantras. After doing the various steps, then finally you’re qualified to chant the Gayatri Mantra. After that, then you worship the sun, you worship the directions, etc.
So that boy, after that for the rest of his life, is supposed to do the Sandhya Vandana and chant the Gayatri Mantra three times a day. He’s also supposed to do a daily sacrifice, or Yajna. So after the ceremony, then he learns the Sandhya Vandana, and he chants this Gayatri Mantra, and he’s supposed to go to the Gurukul and learn the Vedas.
So the father gives the mantra to the son, so therefore he is technically the Diksha Guru for the Vedas. However, usually the father sends the boy to the Gurukul, and then the teachers in the Gurukul teach the boy Vedas, so he has Shiksha Gurus in the Gurukul. So in this Vedic system, both Gurus are necessary. If you don’t have the Diksha Guru, you can’t study the Vedas. But if you get the Diksha Guru, your father gives you the mantra, but you don’t study the Vedas, what’s the use [Laughs]?
So of course, there are many teachings in the Vedas. It includes Karma Kanda, and it also includes Jnana Kanda. So in the Jnana Kanda we have Upanishads, and of course the Upanishads glorify Guru. But when they’re glorifying Guru, they’re glorifying the Guru because he is giving Shiksha, he’s a Shiksha Guru. So for instance, we have this from Mundaka Upanishad – ‘tadvijñānārthaṃ sa Gurum evābhigacchet’ Prabhupad often repeats this, you have to accept Guru. So in order to get knowledge, one has to take a Guru. It’s not talking about getting a Diksha mantra, it’s talking about getting knowledge, so it’s a Shiksha Guru [Laughs].
However, most ISKCON devotees, when they read this verse and when Prabhupad said , they have to accept Guru, then they assume you have to get Diksha Guru in order to get knowledge. Otherwise you don’t have knowledge, no connection to Sampradaya. Here’s another famous verse – ‘yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau’. So the greatest soul with greatest bhakthi for the Lord and the Guru can understand the meaning of upanishads is revealed, so this is stated in Svetasavatra Upanishad. What this means is, if you worship the Guru like God, you can understand the meaning of the Upanishads [Laughs]. So therefore, ISKCON devotees assume, my Diksha Guru is like God, and I worship him like God. But in both these cases, actually, they’re speaking of a Shiksha Guru.
There are other types of Diksha also, beside the Vedic Diksha, one is called Yajna Diksha, which is like a third birth after you take your regular Upanayam Samskara and become a Brahmachari. So when we go through this Yajna Diksha, you become qualified to do a Soma Yajna, it’s a special Yajna. So the Vedic Diksha is not particularly Vaishnavic. All Brahmanas, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas can take it and they maybe worshipping worship Ganesh, Shiva, Durga, impersonal Brahman or maybe Mayavadhis and ofcourse Vaishnavas also take it, so it’s not particularly for Vaishanavas.
So the Vaishnava Diksha is called Pancharatrik Diksha. So Pancharatrik scriptures are a group of scriptures, all dedicated to glorifying and worshipping Vishnu. But to worship Vishnu, you have to have a Vaishnava mantra. So that mantra is not public, it is a secret mantra. So you have to go to a Vaishnava Guru in a Sampradaya, and then you take Diksha, he will give you this Vaishnava mantra, and with that mantra you worship the deity. So the Guru who has the mantra decides whom to give it to, not based on Varna. So he could give it to a Sudra or a Mleccha if he thinks that the Mleccha or Sudra is also qualified. So it’s not restricted by Varna like the Vedic mantras.
And different Vaishnava Sampradayas will have different mantras that they give to their disciples. And even within one Sampradaya, like our Gaudiya Sampradaya, different Gurus or different Gurus may also have different mantras. But you’ll never know, because they won’t tell you the mantra, unless you take initiation [Laughs]. So we don’t know which mantra Vishwanatha Chakravarti got [Laughs]. We know that Lord Caitanya had a 10 syllable mantra, and Nityananda had a 10 syllable mantra. We have 18 syllable mantras. Ours is different from Lord Caitanya and Nityananda. Of course, in the Gaudiya Sampradaya we’ll have Gauranga mantras and Krishna mantras. Of course, you may have other mantras like Nityananda mantras or Radha mantras or whatever, we don’t know. Other groups may have other mantras.
In the Brihad Bhagavatamrta there is a story of a brahmana in Assam, and then he was a worshipper of Durgadevi, and then Durgadevi gave him a Krishna mantra in a dream. And, of course, actually, something goes off. So he doesn’t say what the mantra is, he just says it’s a 10 syllable Krishna mantra [Laughs]. But in his commentary, then he actually quotes a verse which describes the mantra, but it’s not addressed directly, it’s mentioned with different language. So it doesn’t make any sense, actually [Laughs]. And thus, you don’t know what those words mean. But this is the actual mantra he got.
Later on, in the same story, Gopakumar was a young boy in Vraja, and then he met a Guru, and the Guru gave him the same 10 syllable mantra [Laughs]. And so this is how they got Diksha, they just give a mantra and that was their Diksha.
I think it’s in Bhakti Ratnakar, it’s described that Nityananda got Diksha mantra from Lakshmipati. So it’s the same mantra, I think, 10 syllable mantra.
And we see that Lord Caitanya got from Ishwara Puri, 10 syllable mantra. So that’s described there in Caitanya Bhagavata, it says Dasakshara Mantra.
So we see from these examples, that Diksha was done, Pancharatrik Diksha, but it was very simple, they just got mantra, that was it. In other Sampradayas, like Ramanuja Sampradaya, they have a Diksha, but there’s also a ceremony to go with it. That’s called Panchasamskara, Five Ceremonies of Purification.
And we more or less reflect that in our ISKCON process of Diksha. But we kind of divide it into two parts. So in that Panchasamskara we have five elements. One is Tilak, which we know, we have Tilak also. However, technically you shouldn’t wear Tilak until you take initiation [Laughs]. We don’t follow that rule, we put Tilak on before initiation [Laughs]. A second element is called Tapa, which means branding or burning. So they take a metal shanka and chakra, and they heat it up in the fire, and then they put it on your shoulders and burn your shoulders, so you get marks on your shoulders, burn marks on your shoulders [Laughs]. This is still done in Ramanuja Sampradaya, they still do that ceremony.
Of course, Gaudiya Vaishnavas have Tilak, but they don’t do the branding. I think in North India, generally they don’t do the branding, but they put on Tilak marks of shanka or chakra or whatever. The third element is getting a spiritual name like Gaura Das or Krishna Das or whatever [Laughs], Gopal Das [Laughs]. The fourth element is the most important, this is the mantra, the secret mantra. We get Krishna Mantra, Ramanuja people get Vishnu Mantra, Madhvas get Vishnu Mantra [Laughs]. And the last element ofcourse is Archana or deity worship. So using the Krishna Mantra, you learn how to do deity worship. So these are the five elements of Pancharatrika Diksha.
So not too much mentioned, we see that in Bhakti Sandarba, when Jiva Goswami discusses Diksha, he mentions it once I think [Laughs], but he doesn’t elaborate too much on it. However, later on Bhaktivinod Thakur wrote several essays on Panchasamskara and Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati also mentioned it.
So in Gaudiya Matt established by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur and in ISKCON established by Srila Prabhupad, we kind of have a two-step process. And in the first part, we get a spiritual name. We don’t do the Tapa. We already have Tilaka [Laughs]. So basically, in the first part, the only new thing is we get a spiritual name. And then we call second initiation, there you get your Diksha Mantras, and then you’re qualified for deity worship. In Gaudiya Matt, they don’t call this first one initiation at all, only the second one is called Diksha, because that’s where you get your Diksha Mantra and it qualifies you for deity worship.
Now, in the second initiation, then we have a little bit more complication. So along or after getting your Krishna Mantra and you are a bonafide Vaishnava, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati then did Upanayanam Samskara with Vedic sacrifice, and he gave Vedic Gayatri Mantra with the thread to the man, not the woman. So in the second initiation, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati gave the Vedic Gayatri Mantra to the man, and then the Vaishnava Mantra was completed.
Now we know that a Vaishnava is superior to a Brahmana. However, many other people who are not Vaishnavas, don’t think so. They say Brahmana is the highest, Vaishnava is down below [Laughs]. So some of the Brahmanas, even in Bhaktivinod’s time, were criticizing the Gaudiyas and saying, well, you’re very low class, because you have people who are Vaishnavas, they’re worshiping the deity, they’re not even Brahmanas, so you shouldn’t do that. However, as I said previously, the Vaishnava Guru decides who to give the Pancharatric Mantra and give Diksha to. Then he’s qualified for deity worship, and he could be a Sudra, he could be a Chandala, whatever, it doesn’t matter, and he’s qualified. So to stop that criticism from Brahmanas, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati said, because they’re initiated Vaishnavas, they can do anything a Brahmin can do. So therefore, he put the ceremony there and gave the thread and the mantra, not to make that we are brahmanas, because, we are above brahmanas, that’s the whole idea.
Now, whenever Bhaktisiddhanta introduced a two-part ceremony, more or less, the second was called initiation, the first one is called Naam dhan, giving the name. However, in ISKCON, we call this first ceremony first initiation, the other one, second initiation. And this first ceremony becomes much more important than it was in Gaudiya matt. You have to chant 16 rounds. You have to follow 4 regulative principles [Laughs]. You have to be committed to Bhakthi, you have to have loyalty to Guru, loyalty to ISKCON [Laughs]. And we do have, of course, the Guru gives beads, usually. And usually, the disciple takes this as their main Guru. In the Gaudiya Matt, it’s not called initiation, so you may get your beads from somebody else, he may give you a name, later on you get your Diksha Guru [Laughs]. In ISKCON, we also have a fire sacrifice, which they don’t do in Gaudiya Matt.
So here is just a diagram of everything this is the gaudiya Matt version of course they didn’t call it ask first initiation or second initiation. Ofcourse we have different things like we have vows, fire sacrifice etc giving the beads. And the second initiation Krishna Mantra first we have the Gayatri Mantra which they also do in Gaudiya Matt. But then we also give this to women. In Gaudiya Matt they don’t give it to women.
So, now we have two initiations. Why? Which is more important ? So in one letter Prabhupad says that second initiation is the real initiation. First initiation is preliminary, we make a preparation like primary secondary education.
In another letter, he says the opposite, first initiation is more important. So, he says, first initiation is more important, you can go without second initiation.
So, which is correct [Laughs] ? So it’s a little confusing [Laughs]. Of course we also have statements like this, unless one is initiated, take diksha from a bonafide spiritual master, ‘all his devotional activities are useless, a person not properly initiated, can be sent again to animal species’. So we think I have to take a Diksha Guru, otherwise I will become an animal [Laughs].
I think someone may be somebody is emphasizing this in disciplic course in Japan here that ‘Otherwise, everything is useless’ [Laughs].
Devotee: Yeah [Laughs]
HH BHanu Swami Maharaj: So, of course, we have to see the context of these quotations. They’re coming from Pancaratra. It glorifies diksha, because it’s necessary for deity worship.
So, depending on which scripture we go to, we’re going to find different things very necessary [Laughs]. So depending on the scripture, then the scripture says – ‘ you have to do this, if you don’t do this, everything is wasted’.
Caitanya caritamrita doesn’t discuss diksha too much, because it’s emphasizing Nama Sankirtan. But even there, it says, at the time of initiation, when a devotee fully surrenders to the service of the Lord, Krishna accepts him as good as himself. So, therefore when devotees read these statements, then they think, ‘I must take diksha’.
However, if we look at the teachings of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, his prominent emphasis is on Nama Sankirtan.
So, Nama Sankirtan is the process which gives us Krishna Prema. And it’s superior to any mantra, even a diksha mantra.
And in Caitanya caritamrta, it also says that chanting the name, that is Nama sankitan does not require diksha.
So this of course is contradictory to the statements of Pancharatrika where we have statements like if you don’t take diksha you are an animal [Laughs]. In other words, like Caitanya caritamrita it is saying, even if you take diksha, but you don’t chant the holy name, you can’t get Prema [Laughs].
So, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur also emphasized Hari naam. He didn’t give diksha to everyone. So, he says, success of diksha is inclination to Hari naam. Chanting is more important than diksha. If you can chant with no offense, you surpass diksha.
Another place he says, a person who is initiated has diksha is inferior to one who has taken shelter of the holy name. He says, diksha is for people who don’t understand that the name and Krishna are non-different.
So in Caitanya Caritamrta it says, the conclusion is a disciple or an offspring who is a very strong devotee can carry with him to Vaikunta all the father, mother, diksha or siksha Guru. A son can take the father, a disciple can take the Guru to Vaikuntha. It depends on devotion. And devotion depends on chanting Hare Krishna.
So, in Caitanya Caritamrta, then Prabhupad says the word Guru can be applied to Vartma Pradarshika Guru, Shiksha Guru, Diksha Guru. So, when we say, you need Guru’s mercy to go to the spiritual world, then it could be either – any of these Gurus.
In one lecture, Prabhupad says, you get Bhakti Lata Bija from spiritual master, that is initiation. In other words, that devotee who inspires you to take up the process of bhakti and chant, he is your Guru.
Another lecture, Prabhupad says, chanting Hare Krishna is our main business, that is real initiation. So, in other words, our main process is Harinama, chanting the holy name.
In the Bhakti Sandarba, Jiva Goswami says, this process of initiation, getting mantra, is for Archana, and that’s for wealthy householders. In other words it is good for Archana and Archana itself is nice for wealthy householders, so they can spend their money on the Lord, instead of wasting it on something else, or giving up the money altogether [Laughs]. And also, Padma Purana says, for ordinary people who don’t have money, can’t spend money on the deity, they can do Manasa Puja, they don’t have to go through that whole process of deity worship, then Archana, and Diksha, etc.
So, in the definition of Diksha, it says, through Diksha, you get Divya Jnana, transcendental knowledge, and destroy your sins. The Diksha mantra given by the Diksha Guru gives you this transcendental knowledge. But, Siksha Gurus also give transcendental knowledge. Chanting the holy name also is transcendental knowledge. Prabhupad’s instructions in all his books are transcendental knowledge. So, it’s not only the Diksha Guru gives transcendental knowledge, and destroys sins, and connects you with Sampradaya, we have so many means of doing that. And of course, as I said, chanting the holy name is the main way which we use to get to Krishna.
So, we have our present system for Diksha, and there are some problems with it. So, one of course is the worship of the Diksha Guru. So, disciples assume, because I have a Diksha Guru, scripture says you worship the Diksha Guru as God, therefore my Guru is on the highest level next to Krishna, and everybody else is inferior.
So scriptures tells us to worship Guru like God that applies to all Guru’s, but nevertheless, we give more worship to the superior Guru. So, we give respect to all Gurus, and treat them like God. But still, according to their spiritual level, we treat superior Gurus more like God. So, the son respects the father. He gives equal respect to the father’s brothers. But he gives double respect to the grandfather. So, everybody gets respect, but nevertheless we give the highest respect to Prabhupad.
It’s also unhealthy for a disciple to artificially assume a higher position for their Guru. It’s also dangerous for the Guru to accept that idea. In other words, the disciple will put him on a very exalted level when he’s not. So, the Dikshu Guru gets respect, but often there are other devotees who are doing more shiksha than the Dikshu Guru is giving shiksha, but they’re not respected so much, so this is improper.
Often, the loyalty of a disciple to the Diksha Guru overshadows or overpowers loyalty to ISKCON and loyalty to Srila Prabhupad. And because of the exalted position given to the Diksha Guru in ISKCON, it also makes that post, material. So, if you want power and influence in ISKCON, you don’t become a manager or a GBC or a Sannyasi, you become a Guru.
So, this conception of the Diksha Guru in ISKCON gives many problems. Diksha Gurus if they are not on the highest levels, they fall down, and then the disciples get very disappointed. Shiksha Gurus get neglected. We get different Guru groups in ISKCON. One Guru has a group, another Guru has another group, so in one country or one city you may have six different Gurus, six different groups of devotees, six different temples. And a disciple, when he takes Diksha, then he thinks, I’ve attained my level of success [Laughs]. So, it becomes like a material standard. And then ultimately Prabhupad gets neglected as the main source of mercy [Laughs].
So, should we change anything? Some people say no change, don’t change anything, but maybe we should change something [Laughs]. One maybe is to reduce the great ceremony attached with initiation. We see Lord Caitanya just got a mantra, Nityananda just got a mantra, no ceremony at all [Laughs]. We can make First Initiation more into a Shiksha ceremony, accepting Prabhupad as your main Guru [Laughs]. There could be a Shiksha ceremony for people becoming Shiksha Gurus and for accepting Shiksha disciples. We could make that Second Initiation the Diksha and with the understanding it’s for Deity worship. And, of course, educate devotees on the real meaning of Diksha and Shiksha, whatever [Laughs].
Okay, Hare Krishna !
Got a bit late [Laughs].
Q & A:
1.) I can see that, devotees got impressed that Diksha is more important because of ceremony, public commitment, chanting 16 rounds, name giving etc. And before that, lots of time was spent learning the Diksha course, the disciple course, like that. And by the disciple course, the main meaning is based on the Diksha, not the Shiksha. Not so emphasized, still, I can see that. But not emphasized so much on Shiksha, like you.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: What about the course? What do you think of that course, the disciple course? Should they change the contents [Laughs]?
Devotee: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. One time I did, but after I gave up, because I don’t like the content.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Laughs Laughs
Another devotee: It’s only talking about Diksha.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Oh, it was supposed to mention Shiksha and how Prabhupad’s center, etc., but what happened?
Another devotee: It’s there, but not so much.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Oh !
Devotee: But, you know, they say, you know, we should equally respect Shiksha Guru also.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Oh ! [Laughs]
Devotee: The main thing, you know, everything is based on the Diksha. Then also should not neglect the Shiksha Guru like that, you know. Already, you know, then they say, you know, should respect both equally. But, you know, before that, you know, based on, Diksha, that totally, I think, they are giving the wrong impression.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Okay [Laughs]
Devotee: I don’t want to say so for, you know, maybe if I say like this, you know, new devotees get discouraged.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Who is teaching the course here?
Devotee: Lakshmi Mataji.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: I’ve told the people that made the course that maybe they have to revise it, you know, but I don’t know if they’re going to do anything.
Devotee: She showed your class. She understands. Then that’s why she showed your last leadership Sanga, your morning class.
Devotee: Class in Mayapur. Okay. That’s very, very, so much shaking [Laughs], you know. That’s very, that’s very impressive. Yeah.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Maybe she should teach that in the course.
Devotee: That’s nice. That’s nice. Yes. She also understood this program.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Okay [Laughs] Hare Krishna. I think it’s a little bit late. Hare Krishna.
2.) Thank you for your wonderful session. Krishna has another name, Hari. Hari means he takes away all dirty things immediately. But when I chant his holy name, I don’t feel I’m cleansed immediately. So do you have any advice?
So, of course, Hari means one who takes away sins and it also indicates one who attracts the heart to Krishna and to Radha. So, the most effective way of doing that is chanting the name of Krishna. However, because we do have anarthas, the power of the name will be limited. So, we can remove the anarthas, of course, by more chanting.
The other way of removing anarthas is by knowledge. So, if we have the proper conception of Krishna, name is not different from Krishna, idea about pure bhakti versus mixed bhakti, etc., then this will also reduce the anarthas. So, we have to understand what the name is, what Krishna is, and what pure bhakti and mixed bhakti are. By chanting with that knowledge, we can reduce the anarthas. So, this will give more power to the name for purification and destroying sin, and attraction to Krishna.
Devotee: Thank you very much.
Devotees: HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! Srila Prabhupad ki jai!!!