Overview
‘Sannyāsa Re-initiation’ was first published on VNN on January 13th, 1999. In this open letter, Swami B.G. Narasingha explains the circumstances of his change of name, answering the question whether or not he was ‘re-initiated’ by Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja.
(Narasiṅgha Mahārāja replies to a letter from Kṛṣṇa Dāsa)
Kṛṣṇa Dāsa’s Letter
Dear Mahārāja, PAMHO! AGTSP!
Please can you inform me where it is authorized in śāstra that sannyāsa once received from a pure devotee can be annulled and then remade by another sannyāsa initiation from another pure devotee? I am referring to your annulment of the sannyāsa initiation as Jagat-Guru Swami from Śrīla Prabhupāda and then taking sannyāsa initiation again from Śrīdhara Mahārāja as B.G. Narasiṅgha Swami.
Is there any example from the previous ācāryas that one can have two different sannyāsa gurus. I have discussed this point with Loka Sāraṅga Mahārāja also hopefully your knowledge of śāstra will clear my doubts.
Your servant,
Kṛṣṇa Dāsa
*******
Narasiṅgha Maharaja’s Response
Dear Kṛṣṇa Dāsa Prabhu,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda.
You ask whether “sannyāsa once received from a pure devotee can be annulled and then remade by another sannyāsa initiation from another pure devotee.” The answer is ‘No,’ and never has such a thing ever happened in the history of our sampradāya.
It is not a game we are playing (simply jumping from one pure devotee to another), nor is it wise of us to attempt to judge other Vaiṣṇavas. Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Knower, and He knows ‘what is what and who is who.’ On the other hand, we the conditioned living entities are in a perpetual state of illusion, so how will we judge the activities of senior Vaiṣṇavas? I am not saying that I am a Vaiṣṇava, but as you have indicated above, Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja was indeed a ‘pure devotee.’ Therefore, we should consider that Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja (a pure devotee) would not do anything against the śāstra, such as giving me and others sannyāsa titles (or so-called re-initiation).
You assume that my sannyāsa status was nullified when I received the sannyāsa title ‘Bhakti Gaurava Narasiṅgha,’ replacing my brahmacārī name ‘Jagat-Guru.’ I am happy to inform you that you are mistaken. I was not re-initiated. Formerly, my brahmacārī name was ‘Jagat-Guru,’ and when I received sannyāsa in 1976, my sannyāsa name was given by Śrīla Prabhupāda as ‘Swami.’ This is also Śrīla Prabhupāda’s sannyāsa name, ‘Swami.’ Our system in ISKCON at the time was that all sannyāsīs retained their brahmacārī names, and ‘Swami’ was added. This was even true of gṛhasthas, who also retained their gṛhastha names and ‘Gosvāmī’ was added. (There are 108 authorised names for tridaṇḍi sannyāsīs given in Gauḍīya Kaṇṭhahāra, compiled by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, and the names Swami and Gosvāmī are included).
You might be interested to know that in 1953, Śrīla Prabhupāda’s name changed from ‘Abhaya Caraṇarāvinda Dāsa’ to ‘Bhaktivedānta.’ This ‘name change’ was made by Śrīla Śrīdhara Deva Gosvāmī Mahārāja, and thus Śrīla Prabhupāda became know as Bhaktivedānta Prabhu. Śrīla Prabhupāda held his new name very dear to his heart throughout his life, especially with regard to his ‘Bhaktivedānta Purports.’ Yet please take note that the name ‘Bhaktivedānta’ was not given to Śrīla Prabhupāda by his guru (dīkṣā-guru, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura). Of course, someone might try to find fault with Śrīla Prabhupāda for accepting this ‘name change,’ but that is simply Māyā’s trick to keep the living entity in eternal bondage.
It is also a fact that Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja was the śikṣā-guru of Śrīla Prabhupāda, and the two were intimately connected before you or I were even born. Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja later also became the param-sannyāsa-guru of Śrīla Prabhupāda, when Śrīla Prabhupāda took sannyāsa from Śrīla Keśava Mahārāja. Śrīdhara Mahārāja had given sannyāsa-mantra to Keśava Mahārāja, and he (Keśava Maharaja) in turn gave sannyāsa-mantra to Śrīla Prabhupāda. That makes Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja the param-sannyāsa-guru of Śrīla Prabhupāda. Śrīla Sridhara Mahārāja directly heard sannyāsa-mantra from Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. That is our sannyāsa-paramparā.
It is also a fact that the sannyāsa-mantra is the rāga-mantra of our sampradāya, and its importance and line of disciplic succession cannot be minimised. Neglect of this transcendental understanding has indeed been the cause of fall down for many ISKCON sannyāsīs, for one can not maintain his Kṛṣṇa consciousness in sannyāsa-āśrama if he is offensive to his sannyāsa-guru-paramparā.
Had I again received the sannyāsa-mantra from Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja, you could say that I had been re-initiated, but I did not. However, Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja being the śikṣā-guru and param-sannyāsa-guru of Śrīla Prabhupāda, I feel especially fortunate that His Divine Grace would show even a single drop of mercy upon my fallen soul by bestowing upon me a sannyāsa title.
I also accepted Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja as my śikṣā-guru, and our dealings and relationship are exactly in accordance with our Vaiṣṇava tradition. Please note my signature – I am ‘Swami’ first and ‘B.G. Narasiṅgha’ second. It is quite inaccurate to suggest that I was ‘re-initiated.’
However, ‘A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.’ So, if you have already decided in your mind that I was ‘re-initiated’ because I was given a sannyāsa title byŚrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja , then no amount of explanation on my part will convince you otherwise.
In any event, I am happy to have replied to your question, because it has given me an opportunity to again remember the lotus feet of my Divine Masters.
I hope this meets you well.
Your servant,
Swami B.G. Narasiṅgha
Related Articles & Books
- 📖 The Meaning of the Sannyāsa Āśrama (Book)
- Markaṭa Vairāgī (Monkey Renunciates) by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
- Tridaṇḍi by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura
- The Colour for Sannyāsīs by Śrīla Bhakti Gaurava Narasiṅgha Mahārāja
- Bābājī Sannyāsa by Śrīla Bhakti Gaurava Narasiṅgha Mahārāja
- Sannyāsa Re-initiation by Śrīla Bhakti Gaurava Narasiṅgha Mahārāja
- Is Sannyāsa Forbidden in Kali-yuga? Swami B.V. Giri
- Parātma-niṣṭhā by Swami B.V. Giri
- Vairāgya (Renunciation) by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
- Bhek Dhāraṇa (Accepting the Dress of a Bābājī) by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
- Brahmacārī Āśrama by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
Further Reading
Pilgrimage With Swami Narasiṅgha – Part 1: Imlitalā
This is the first part in a series of articles for Krishna Talk where Śrīla B.G. Narasiṅgha Mahārāja talks about various holy places. Our first article begins with the pastimes and philosophical significance of Imlitalā. This article was adapted from a number of talks that Mahārāja gave in the 1990s.
The Disappearance of a Śaktyāveśa-avatāra
The following article is based upon a talk by Śrīla B.G. Narasiṅgha Mahārāja given in 1998. Mahārāja discusses Śrīla Prabhupāda’s position as a śaktyāveśa-avatāra (empowered incarnation) of Nityānanda Prabhu and connects this to his withdrawal from this mortal world in 1977.
A Devotee is the Epitome of Truth (Sajjana – Satya-sāra)
Sajjana – Satya-sāra (A Devotee is the Epitome of Truth) was written by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda and published in Sajjana Toṣaṇī, Vol. 20, Issue 4 in 1917. Continuing with his elaboration on the twenty-six qualities of a devotee, Sarasvatī Ṭhākura discusses what is relative and absolute truth.
‘The Avatāra’ Biṣakiṣen
This article was first published in 1897 in Sajjana Toṣaṇī Vol.8, Issues 6, 7, 8 and 11 and was written by Śrī Nitya Sakha Mukhopadhyāya, an associate of Bhaktivinoda Thakura who lived in Balasore, Orissa. In his autobiographical letter, ‘Svalikhita Jīvanī, ’Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura wrote about this famous event wherein he brought a bogus avatāra to justice in 1871. However this account by Nitya Sakha Mukhopadhyāya is undoubtedly the most detailed version of the incident. It is not known whether the author was personally present or if Bhaktivinoda himself had narrated it to him in detail. Throughout the article, the author refers to Bhaktivinoda as ‘Deputy Babu’ denoting his government position as the Deputy Magistrate of Jagannātha Purī. It is possible that, out of humility, the Ṭhākura had requested the author not to mention his name.
Pilgrimage With Swami Narasiṅgha – Part 1: Imlitalā
This is the first part in a series of articles for Krishna Talk where Śrīla B.G. Narasiṅgha Mahārāja talks about various holy places. Our first article begins with the pastimes and philosophical significance of Imlitalā. This article was adapted from a number of talks that Mahārāja gave in the 1990s.
The Disappearance of a Śaktyāveśa-avatāra
The following article is based upon a talk by Śrīla B.G. Narasiṅgha Mahārāja given in 1998. Mahārāja discusses Śrīla Prabhupāda’s position as a śaktyāveśa-avatāra (empowered incarnation) of Nityānanda Prabhu and connects this to his withdrawal from this mortal world in 1977.
A Devotee is the Epitome of Truth (Sajjana – Satya-sāra)
Sajjana – Satya-sāra (A Devotee is the Epitome of Truth) was written by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda and published in Sajjana Toṣaṇī, Vol. 20, Issue 4 in 1917. Continuing with his elaboration on the twenty-six qualities of a devotee, Sarasvatī Ṭhākura discusses what is relative and absolute truth.
A Rūpānuga’s Constant Meditation Concerning Śrī Ratha Yātrā
This article, ‘Śrī Ratha Yātrāya Śrī Rūpānugānucintana,’ by Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja, was first published in Śrī Gauḍīya Darśana magazine, Vol. 13, issue 1 in August 1969 the name of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Govinda Dāsa Adhikārī Bhakti-kovinda, and was written in response to certain maṭhas performing Ratha Yātrā in the dhāma.