Back To Prabhupada, Issue 84, 2025
In the previous article, HH Bhānu Swami argued that the dīkṣā guru is the person who gives you the dīkṣā mantra. ISKCON India, through its "scholars" board (IISB), makes the same argument in a video dated 12/6/25, excerpts from which are shown below in the shaded boxes. However, as we shall see, this does not help them avoid the conclusion that Śrīla Prabhupāda still remains the dīkṣā guru!
Does not follow tradition
"in Madhya 15.108 [...] in the purport, it says clearly initiation is the sacred thread and that's always been the guru whispering into the ear, the Gayatri mantra. And in Prabhupāda's physical absence during his lifetime he had a tape, a recording played."
1) IISB claims that the dīkṣā mantra or 2nd initiation has "always" been delivered by the guru whispering the Gayatri mantra personally into the initiate's ear. But it admits that Śrīla Prabhupāda did not always follow this system. Rather, IISB accepts that, instead, he used a system that allowed the initiation to be conducted in his physical absence by playing a recorded tape of him chanting the Gayatri mantra. This destroys IISB's argument, which it offers repeatedly, of the need to follow "tradition". Clearly, when it came to initiation, Śrīla Prabhupāda did not follow what was "always" the tradition.
Not only for physical presence
"but he never instructed clearly that this will go after I passed away."
2) It is claimed that Śrīla Prabhupāda did not instruct that the system of him giving 2nd initiation via his recording should continue after his physical departure. However, in the July 9th, 1977 directive issued by Śrīla Prabhupāda, it states that it was issued "for the purpose of performing initiations, both first initiation and second initiation" in ISKCON, rather than issued only for Śrīla Prabhupāda's "physical presence". Thus, this system was tied to all initiations in ISKCON, rather than tied to Śrīla Prabhupāda's physical presence. And for 2nd initiation, the process will be that "ṛtviks":
"may accept the devotee as an initiated disciple of Srila Prabhupad [...] in the case of second initiation, by chanting on the Gayatri thread, just as Srila Prabhupad has done [...] the Temple President [...] can perform the fire yajna in the temple as was being done before."
As part of the fire yajña ceremony, the tape would be played for 2nd initiates. Thus, it is "instructed clearly" that this system of 2nd initiation will continue in ISKCON.
No Change
"But it's just fanaticism at least to my mind that they insist that this letter of July 9th changes everything."
3) Śrīla Prabhupāda did not change anything. He followed the "No Change" principle:
a) During his physical presence, 2nd initiation was delivered by representatives chanting on the thread, followed by initiates listening to Śrīla Prabhupāda's tape.
b) As just noted, Śrīla Prabhupāda simply ordered that this continue unchanged.
Physical presence not required
4) Śrīla Prabhupāda's physical absence does not cause his transcendental sound vibration, as present in his Gayatri mantra tape, to suddenly lose its spiritual potency:
"The potency of transcendental sound is never minimized because the vibrator is apparently absent. Therefore Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or the Bhagavad-gita or any revealed scripture in the world is never to be accepted as an ordinary mundane sound without transcendental potency. [...] The secret of success is to receive the sound from the right source of a bona fide spiritual master."
(SB, 2.9.8, purport)
Thus, whether it is scripture or the words of the bona fide spiritual master, the absence of the originator does not change their transcendental potency. Thus, there is no spiritual or śāstric argument either, against Śrīla Prabhupāda's recorded tape continuing to be used in his physical absence.
Tape not even required
5) Even if one insists that Śrīla Prabhupāda's mantra tape cannot be played after his physical disappearance, Śrīla Prabhupāda states that for 2nd initiation from him, "the tape is not required" anyway, allowing the temple president to chant the Gayatri mantra instead:
"So far as Gayatri initiations are concerned, the tape is not required. You have the threads, chanted on by me [...] Chant Gayatri mantra to them individually and let them hear and repeat."
(Śrīla Prabhupāda, Letter, 13/4/71)
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Śrīla Prabhupāda: Potency to give initiations not affected by physical absence
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6) At the 2nd initiation for Vaikuṇṭhanātha Dāsa, Śrīla Prabhupāda asked him to hear the Gayatri mantra from his wife, with the fire ceremony only to be performed "if possible":
"Ask your wife to chant this mantra and you hear it and if possible hold a fire ceremony"
(Śrīla Prabhupāda, Letter, 4/4/71)
7) Therefore, the July 9th directive states above that for 2nd initiation the representative "may accept the devotee as an initiated disciple of Srila Prabhupad" just by chanting on the Gayatri thread, and thus the initiation is already complete after this.
Hence, this all proves that neither the mantra from Śrīla Prabhupāda, nor the ceremony, are necessary for 2nd initiation from him anyway. And thus all arguments regarding whether and how the mantra can still be heard from Śrīla Prabhupāda become irrelevant.
Dīkṣā continues today
"Prabhupāda is going to give you divya-jñāna dīkṣā. [...] destruction of sinful reactions. So this is a speculation that a posthumous guru can do it."
8) This doubts the ability of Śrīla Prabhupāda to continue giving dīkṣā even after his physical departure. But we know for a fact that Śrīla Prabhupāda is continuing to give divya-jñāna to, and destroying sinful reactions for, his disciples, even now, because it is a continuous process. It is not that on the day of the initiation ceremony itself, all transcendental knowledge was received and all sinful reactions destroyed, and every disciple was thus instantly fully purified. So it is already a fact that Śrīla Prabhupāda can still do this today.
Conclusion
Śrīla Prabhupāda ordered that he remain ISKCON's "dīkṣā mantra" guru, and this order is not terminated due to precedent, physical absence, or how the mantra is given – as established from every possible angle by the 8 numbered proofs above.
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