Come on, take your beads

Sureshvar : I was initiated in Detroit in 1971. Being initiated by Srila Prabhupada was such an awesome experience that I was completely stunned at the initiation. The system was that strands of beads were draped on the microphone. Prabhupada chanted one round on each of those beads, and then the initiate would be called to come forward. So, Prabhupada chanted on the beads that were to become mine, and my name was called, "Richard Hall." I staggered up and knelt in front of him. Now, when you looked at Srila Prabhupada you were looking at a person who was unfathomable. It was like looking at the ocean, the ocean of truth. At the same time he was looking right through you. It was an incredible experience. He asked me the four rules. I answered. He said, "Your name is Sureshvar das. It is a name for Lord Brahma. It means controller of the demigods. You are a servant of the controller." As he said this, I got more and more stupefied, and he saw that I was stunned. He had the beads in his hand, so he just held out the beads and said, "Come on, take your beads," and started rattling them in front of my nose.