Material nature is also another energy of Krishna
Kurma Dasa: Since the temple could not afford a separate car, Prabhupada travelled to Centennial Park for his morning walk in the front passenger seat of the Volkswagen van. Those devotees fortunate enough to have been selected to accompany Srila Prabhupada, squeezed in the back. Sitting on the floor, they felt privileged and ecstatic to be so close to their spiritual master.
Amogha: When Srila Prabhupada got aboard the blue Kombi van to go for his morning walk, I sat in the back on the floor behind the gear shift and two front seats,to be close to him. He put his cane between the seats and moved it around, trying to find a resting place. I put my hand out and held the cane. Then he let go. This became my daily little service. I would jump in the back of the Kombi van and sit down to hold Prabhupada's cane. Late in the afternoon Srila Prabhupada and his party drove to the temple for the initiation ceremony. Although the weather was unseasonably warm and humid, Prabhupada wore a light, orange sweater under his shiny saffron top piece.The devotees had set up a small, low stage in a corner of the yard. There, infront of a backdrop of palm fronds, they had placed Srila Prabhupada's vyasasana under a simple yellow cloth canopy, adorned with garlands of marigolds. Over 100 guests were already assembled in the backyard when Prabhupada arrived. Devotees waiting for initiation sat expectantly near the small fire pit in front of the stage. Most of the 15 boys and girls sitting before him had been devotees for only two months, some less. Once again Prabhupada had shown his mercy, deciding to initiate most of the new devotees in the temple.The sky was overcast. As the sun sank low and the sound of crickets became prominent, soft breezes carried the sweet scent of a nearby fully laden frangipani tree. Prabhupada propped his walking stick against the palm fronds,and quickly mounted the raised seat. He began the proceedings by chanting softly, strand by strand, on the new initiated beads that hung over the right side of the asana. As he finished each round, he called the devotee forward. Arthur was first to come up. Ever since his initial eye contact with Prabhupada on his arrival day in Paddington one year before, Arthur had found himself drawn to Krishna consciousness. Now a full-time brahmacari, he was eager to be accepted as Prabhupada's disciple. Prabhupada handed Arthur his beads. "Your name is Ajamila dasa," he said, and proceeded to tell the story of the original Ajamila.
"Ajamila was a great sinner," Some devotees glanced nervously at each other, wide-eyed with astonishment. Why was Prabhupada naming Arthur after a great sinner, they thought, But as they continued to listen, their ignorance was dispelled. "In his youth," Prabhupada explained, "Ajamila had been a dutiful brahmana, but later he had given up his strict life and become involved in debauchery. He had, however, named his son Narayana (a name of God), and at the time of his death, as he helplessly called out for his son, the original Narayana, Krishna, took notice and saved him from the hellish destination that awaited him." Prabhupada pointed out the modern-day relevance of the story. "So those who are always chanting the holy name of God, they are in a safety position. Safety position means next life, he's going back to home, back to Godhead. So, this is an example, that such a sinful man, if simply by chanting once, at the time of his death he could get so much benefit, then what to speak of those who are chanting always the holy name of God? They should be always in the safe condition. Maya, or the material contamination, cannot touch them." Prabhupada added a note of caution. "But one thing, those who are being initiated, they are being freed from the resultant action of past sinful life, but they should be careful not to again commit sinful activities."
Next, Prabhupada called Simon to the dais, and gave him the name Syamananda dasa.
"So, Syamananda, Syama means Krishna. Syamasundaram. So one who takes pleasure in serving Krishna, his name is Syamananda. Ananda means pleasure. We take pleasure in serving so many nonsense things. Sometimes we take pleasure in serving a dog, but the same service attitude, when transferred to Krishna, makes our life successful. Everyone is giving service: Somebody is giving service to a country, to his society, to his wife, to the children. And if he has nothing to serve, then he keeps a pet dog and gives it service. So service we must give. That is our constitutional position. But that service is meant for rendering to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So long as we remain forgetful, where our service should be given, that is called material life. When we come to that consciousness, that I have to serve Krishna, that is spiritual life. That is the difference between material life and spiritual life. We are serving. There is no doubt. We cannot be master. And any one of you who are present in this meeting, none of you can say that I am the master. Every one of you is servant to somebody. That is our position. But that service is being rendered to mistaken places. Therefore we are not happy, neither is the person whom we are serving. This is the position. But as soon as you serve Krishna, Syamasundara, then you become happy, the whole world becomes happy. This is a great science. Try to understand."
Harry was next. After he promised to chant 16 rounds a day and follow the four regulative principles, Prabhupada gave him his beads and new name.
"So your name is Hari-sauri. Sauri means learned scholar, and Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who is a learned scholar in the science of Krishna. It is a great science, Krishna consciousness; we don't take it very insignificantly. And Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu says: Anyone who knows this science, he becomes spiritual master. It doesn't matter what he is. He has actually said: "Kiba sudra kiba vipra nyasi kene naya, yei krishna-tattva-vetta, sei guru haya. Kiba sudra." Sudra is considered to be the lowest in the civilised society, sudra Lower class, worker class, no intelligence and vipra means brahmana, the most intelligent class of the human society. So either one is a sudra or vipra, similarly born in a vipra family, kiba sudra kiba vipra nyasi kene. Nyasi means sannyasi. Sannyasa order is the topmost order in the social division. So whatever he may be, the only qualification, if he knows the science of Krishna, he becomes a spiritual master. So sauri, one who is learned, Hari-sauri, one who is learned in the science of Krishna. So try to be a learned scholar in Krishna science and deliver the whole world. Thank you. Hare Krishna."
Next man, come on, the initiations continued. There were two Rays. One became Rajgana, one who is classified amongst the kings, the other became Rajendra, a name of Maharaja Parikshit. Prabhupada told him, "Try to become like Maharaja Parikshit". Dave received the name Dvaipayana and Des became Durvasa Muni. Wally was called to the dais. Although generally Prabhupada insisted that all his disciples be clean shaven, in this case he had made an exception. Wally's hair reached his shoulders. As Wally came up to take his beads, Prabhupada smiled: Vyasadeva had long hairs and beard also. As the devotees laughed, he said, good humouredly, But he is without beard. Syamasundara added, He is a professor also. "Oh, and Vyasadeva is the greatest professor, he is the authority of Vedic literature. Alright, very good name, Vyasadeva dasa. To become the servant of the greatest authority of Vedic literature. Thank you."
Now it was time for the ladies. Wally's wife, Kerry, stood and self-consciously approached Srila Prabhupada. She had been having difficulties in accepting all the tenets of Krishna consciousness and had not felt comfortable in devotional attire. That afternoon, however, the girls had helped her put on a new sari and had tied her hair back in the proper Vedic manner. Prabhupada was encouraging. "Now, with this dress you look so beautiful. This Vedic dress is also nice, very beautiful. It increases the beauty 100 times. So you know the rules and regulations?" Kerry replied, 'Yes'. "So chant with your husband. That's all, thank you. Your name is Kalki devi dasi. Kalki is the last incarnation of Krishna, so Kalki is incarnation of Krishna, and that means you are servant of, maidservant of Krishna." Anne received the name Ambika. So Ambika is another name of Goddess Durga, the material nature, Prabhupada told her. "Material nature is also another energy of Krishna, God. So to become her maidservant means she will help you to approach Krishna. Thank you." Prabhupada concluded the name-giving ceremony. Phil became Partha, Stanley became Sahadeva, and Jeff became Nakula.
"Our names are so many, but the real name is dasa, servant. Our position is servant of the servant. We don't want to become master of the master; our position is servant of the servant. Gopi-bhartur pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanu dasah. The more we become servant of the servant, the more we become advanced. It is very difficult to understand from a material standpoint. Here everyone wants to become master of the master. In the spiritual world, they want to become servant of the servant. That is a bigger position; so as we make advancement in spiritual life, we understand this."
Three marriages were to be solemnised that day. Prabhupada told the couples sitting before him that the purpose of Krishna conscious marriage was to produce God conscious children. He explained that, "at present, because people did not know the science how to do this, then there was no peace in the world. But if there are Krishna conscious children, they will grow up and they will possess all good qualities. So peace automatically will come if people become Krishna conscious because they become highly qualified, without committing any sinful activities. If such population is there in the world, there is no question of disturbance. Everyone will be peaceful and happy. So our Krishna consciousness institution encourages marriage on this ground: not to produce cats and dogs, but to produce highly qualified devotees." Prabhupada once again stressed, as he almost always did at marriage ceremonies, that Krishna conscious marriage also meant no divorce, under any circumstances. Prabhupada reiterated the same examples from Canakya Panditaas he had explained to Jagat tarini a week or so before his arrival. "You have got experience at rumbling early in the morning never there is heavy shower of rain. There may be very great rumbling, but the result is very small, may be some drizzling. Similarly a husband and a wife may fight, but if you don't give them any seriousness, they'll mitigate. That is the process. But in the Western countries, in the name of liberty, so many family lives are dismantled simply by this divorce case. So according to Vedic civilisation, there is no divorce. Once united, it cannot be disunited. In any condition of life, that you should follow." Mohanananda lit the sacrificial fire. After some time, the ceremony completed, Prabhupada returned to his flat while the devotees and guests shared a sumptuous feast of Krishna prasadam.
Reference: The Great Transcendental Adventure by Kurma Dasa
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