Meaning of Initiation

INITIATION MEANS BEGINNING

So our Krsna consciousness movement... Of course, we daily discuss these things, that I am not this body, and what are the problems. The sum and substance of our Krsna consciousness movement is that we want to go back to Krsna. There is another nature. Just like you are seeing this material nature, so many stars and planets. We are very much busy studying, but we have no knowledge practically about this material world even. But we get information from Vedic literature that this material world, cosmic manifestation, is only one-fourth part of the whole Gods creation. So there is another nature, which is called spiritual nature, and there is spiritual planets, Vaikunthas, and Krsnaloka, the highest planet.
So this Krsna consciousness movement is to transfer oneself to that Krsna planet, and the process is given very easy in this age. In this age of quarrel and dissension and disagreement, there are so many symptoms of this fallen age. So there is no other alternative. You cannot execute the process of meditation or sacrifice or temple worship. They cannot be executed very nicely because the circumstances are different Therefore in this age, there is no other alternative process for getting out of these material clutches. Simply, the simple process, I mean to say, offered by Lord Caitanya. It is not Caitanyas manufacture; it is authorized from Vedic sastras, that we have to realize ourself, our destination of life, our mission of this human form of life simply by this process, chanting Hare Krsna. And we initiate persons for this mantra. Initiation means beginning. Not that immediately after initiation one becomes perfect. (Lecture 6/4/69 New Vrndavana)

INITIATION IS FOR ONE WHO IS CULTIVATING KNOWLEDGE AND ACCEPTING A SPIRITUAL MASTER

Wherever you go. You may have a long duration of life, but you have to meet death. That is compulsory. And as soon as you meet death, you have to enter into the womb of a certain type of mother and develop another body and come out again and begin another life. This is going on. So Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita Even if you go to the highest planetary system, Brahmaloka, within this material world, that process will go on, repetition of birth, death, old age, and disease. Because this material body, wherever you get it, either you are American or Englishman or Indian or moon planet or sun planet or Brahma planet, Brahmaloka planet, anywhere you go, youll get a certain type of body, but that material body is subjected to these four principles: birth, death, disease, and old age.
That is stated in the Bhagavad-gita This prescription is given for the man who is cultivating knowledge. For fools, everything is all right. That is a different thing. For a child, if you give the child a little poison, oh, it will eat, because it does not know... But those who are in knowledge, cultivating knowledge, for them there are twenty items in the Bhagavad-gita accepting spiritual master, this is also one of the items, twenty items, for advancing in knowledge. So this initiation process is acaryopasanam, beginning of worshiping the spiritual master

NO MATTER WHO WE ARE, WE ALL MUST MEET DEATH

One should always put in his front that However expert I may be, Ill have to meet death, Ill have to take birth, Ill have to become old man, and Ill have to suffer the pangs of diseases. Then what is advancement? Either you become very rich man or become a Brahma or become a small ant, you have to die...We want immortality. Now we are sitting here. If there is some siren, then immediately on the roof of this house, atom bomb will be dropped. Then immediately we shall flee away from this place. Why? Because we are not prepared to meet death. We do not wish to die. Thats a fact. But death is forced. This is knowledge, that I do not wish to die. Why death is forced upon me? Or if there is any means to avoid death? The sastra says, Yes, there is. Bhagavad-gita says, Krsna says that... If you come to my planet, dhama, dhama means planet, place, then youll never come back to take birth again in this material world.

ETERNAL, FULL OF KNOWLEDGE AND BLISS

So any intelligent man, if hes actually has got sense, he should try for this. And especially in this human form of life, it is possible to achieve this benediction, that I can become immortal, I can become blissful, I can become full of knowledge.. and if you become Krsna conscious, then ultimately you also become exactly like Him, sac-cid-ananda-vigraha. Vigraha means form, body, and sat means eternal, and cit means knowledge. Sat, cit, ananda. Ananda means blissfulness (Lecture 8/22/71 London)