Prabhupada pointed out that the brahminical initiation is not given because someone is a brahmana, or someone is qualified - but rather that it is given as an opportunity. That is the way it works in a Vaisnava community. In the world, one is first qualifying and then the glorious day comes and: “Here is your diploma." You get the funny hats and so on, and then a big ceremony and you get it. You are so happy, for five minutes, especially that your study days are over.
All right, that’s good. But in Krishna consciousness it’s totally different, we are getting the initiation before we are qualified. ”All right, here is a brahminical thread, take it! - and now become a brahmana.” We saw a slight inclination towards brahminical behaviour. We saw a little spark. We saw that there was some tendency to follow the scriptures, to dedicate to the scriptures - now, really do it! Now live up to it!" That’s the idea.
So the challenge is there for us, and maybe throughout our life. These initiations are not a one time event, but rather they are a lifetime mission, to make it through, to live up to it. It’s not so easy to live up to it, and even if there are moments of weakness - there can be - but the vow doesn’t go away. It just stays. That’s the thing. It’s like, one might temporarily fall away from the standards but the vow is just still there, and it will just stay.
Sometimes I point out, that therefore if you don’t follow the vow, then it’s there to beat your heart, then it just beats our heart, it just reminds you, of what you are supposed to be. But if you take the vow, then it’s something like Krishna planting pearls. In that story where Krishna plants the pearls and they produce many pearl bushes, which everyone thought was impossible. Nanda Maharaja said: “Krishna, pearls, you know, you can’t plant pearls!” Krishna said: “No, you can, you can!” “Krishna, no Krishna."”
But every day, Krishna took care of his pearls and watered them with milk, and they did produce very nice bushes with pearls – so many! Krishna said: “See, see!” So in the same way, we can plant these vows of initiation and they will produce so many pearls. So that we should understand.
(HH Kadamba Kanana Swami, Durban, South Africa, February 2011)
