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Srila Prabhupada Names Her

Bhavatarini Dasi : When I was going to be initiated, I was in anxiety and overwhelmed with many different feelings. Like many people I felt that I was transparent in Srila Prabhupada's presence and that he could see everything about me. He could not only see that I was a pure spirit soul, but he could also see all my maya. I sat at the foot of the vyasasana on Srila Prabhupada's right. Bhagavan was doing the fire sacrifice and I couldn't stop crying. Tears were pouring down, but I pulled my sari over my face. I'd seen a lot of initiations and I wanted to be careful to do everything right, to say the four principles, to say, "at least sixteen rounds," not just "sixteen rounds," to speak loudly so that Prabhupada could hear me. I did all of that right.

Prabhupada said, "So, your name is . . ." and it sounded like he said "Barbara." I thought, "That's already my name, and maybe Barbara means something in Sanskrit, I'm not sure." Prabhupada handed me my beads, but since I'd had surgery on my right hand it hurt, so I reached with my left hand. Prabhupada said, "Right hand," but I couldn't understand what he was saying, and he wouldn't give me my beads.

I thought he had changed his mind and wasn't going to initiate me because he saw I wasn't qualified. I was ready to burst out into loud sobs. Then Nanda Kumar elbowed me and loudly whispered, "Your right hand." I reached with my right hand, and Srila Prabhupada handed me my beads. After the initiation, Nanda Kumar said, "So your name is . . ." and I thought he said, "Brahmacharini." I thought, "I've got two children, and I'm six months pregnant, but at least it's Sanskrit."

Then Nanda Kumar handed me a paper with my name written on it, and it said, "Bhavatarini." Nanda Kumar said, "You're very lucky. Pradyumna picks all the names, but because they didn't know that you were getting initiated, Srila Prabhupada named you on the spot. Bhavatarini is Srila Prabhupada's sister's name." Later on I got to meet Prabhupada's sister, and she used to call me "Bhavatarini dasi dasi." It was my good fortune that the other devotees forgot to give me a name.



Reference: Memories Anecdotes of a Modern Day Saint - Volume 2 by Siddhanta Dasa