The sixteen initiations

[Guest guest]

Namaste friends,

 

I am new and excited to have found such a place!

 

I was wondering if one could explain the 16 initiations, more specifically just

the first 2, guru mantra and japa mantra and what are the steps in doing these?

Where might a little more information be found on the others?

 

thank you to my new community.

 

Jai Ma Guru! Jai Shiva!

 

Lance

[Guest guest]

namaste lance, here are some wonderful gems that swamij said about initiations. some great wisdom to contemplate.

 

What is the purpose of initiation? Why is it necessary?

Swamiji: You take initiation to solidify your inspiration, clarify your path, define your

curriculum, and define and acknowledge your example that you want to follow. And then, in that relationship between a disciple and a Guru, when we have taken initiation and we have determined, acknowledged, clarified, ratified, and proclaimed loudly before God in Guru, “that’s the example I want to follow.†Then there is no more hesitation, no more questioning should I go this way or should I go that way. There is no more doubt. There is no more “Maybe I should go see this Guru or maybe I should see that.†There is no tourism. All the wandering stops and we start making the journey.

 

There is a difference between a wanderer and a traveler. A wanderer goes sightseeing according to the convenience of the journey but the traveler knows the destination and traveler knows the path. The traveler doesn’t waste time. She merely proceeds along the path until She reaches destination and that is what initiation means to our lives. If we find that relationship and we really truly decide to be initiated, we take the initiation. Initiation is not given; Gurus do not make disciples. Disciples make Gurus. A disciple will come and say, “That’s the example I want to follow. This is what I want to be like. Those are the qualities I want to inculcate and implement into my way of being. Now where do I start? Can you suggest to me how I become more like your example?

 

That is called diksha. Disciples take diksha; Gurus do not give it and they certainly can’t give diksha for money. We don’t want your money, we want your entire life. What good is a $100 fee or whatever it is these days. What good is the fee when I want your entire life? If you want to be a disciple, you will want to reflect the values of the Guru, the bhava, the attitude, the ways of prosecuting the functions of life.

 

Many people write to me asking if they can come and take diskha. Hello! What do you mean you are going to come and take diksha? How are you going to do that? You do not even know me! Come and make yourself into a disciple and then you will have had diksha.

 

 

 

it’s not necessarily a formal initiation?

Swamiji: It’s both. It’s on every level. On every level of initiation that you can get you are

getting a very, very intensive level of initiation right now, if you understand. And if you’re not understanding it I can whisper it in your ear and maybe you’ll understand a little more. And maybe if Maa blows in your ear, you’ll hear it a little better. And maybe if we do the entire 16 articles offering and the whole puja and give you the mantra, maybe you’ll understand it a little better. But if you understand, you’ve taken the initiation.

 

There are many many levels of initiation – diksha. And the idea is not that I have to have the mantra presented to me in a certain way. What kind of surrender is that on the part of a disciple? How can the disciple tell the Guru “I want diksha this way, just like the other Gurus give it?†You’ll sit on a throne and you’ll shout it into a microphone and everybody comes and bows down. They often give mass initiations in India that way to thousands of people at a time. You can get initiation that way from the Ramakrishna Mission. You can get initiation from Bharat Seva Ashram. In this way, many organizations give mass initiations through microphone and then people line up single file and they have been initiated by an organization. For us, initiation is a personal relationship between a Guru and a disciple where the Guru speaks to my heart. And I know if I’ve been initiated or not. I don’t need a certificate. I know if I heard that in my heart or if I’m just listening to another speech. I know! And everyone else will know when they see the change in my behavior as a consequence of my taking this new knowledge. They’ll know. There’s no other need for formal recognition. Now, for those who have a need for formal recognition, there are so many ways to get formally recognized. You are the most humblest of all the devotees but you want a certificate? I’ve got a certificate maker on my computer, we can make you any certificate you like. So yes, on every level, there is an initiation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

lanceroehrig <lanceroehrig

 

Thu, Mar 11, 2010 10:50 pm

[www.ShreeMaa.org] The sixteen initiations

 

 

 

Namaste friends,

 

I am new and excited to have found such a place!

 

I was wondering if one could explain the 16 initiations, more specifically just the first 2, guru mantra and japa mantra and what are the steps in doing these? Where might a little more information be found on the others?

 

thank you to my new community.

 

Jai Ma Guru! Jai Shiva!

 

Lance

[Guest guest]

Namaste

 

Thank you so much this helped clarify what sort of steps and expectations I

should have of my self in order to make that next step from wandering tourist to

an experienced traveller.

 

 

 

, bmarley343 wrote:

>

>

> namaste lance, here are some wonderful gems that swamij said about

initiations. some great wisdom to contemplate.

>

> What is the purpose of initiation? Why is it necessary?

> Swamiji: You take initiation to solidify your inspiration, clarify your path,

define your

> curriculum, and define and acknowledge your example that you want to follow.

And then, in that relationship between a disciple and a Guru, when we have taken

initiation and we have determined, acknowledged, clarified, ratified, and

proclaimed loudly before God in Guru, “that’s the example I want to

follow.†Then there is no more hesitation, no more questioning should I go

this way or should I go that way. There is no more doubt. There is no more

“Maybe I should go see this Guru or maybe I should see that.†There is no

tourism. All the wandering stops and we start making the journey.

>

> There is a difference between a wanderer and a traveler. A wanderer goes

sightseeing according to the convenience of the journey but the traveler knows

the destination and traveler knows the path. The traveler doesn’t waste time.

She merely proceeds along the path until She reaches destination and that is

what initiation means to our lives. If we find that relationship and we really

truly decide to be initiated, we take the initiation. Initiation is not given;

Gurus do not make disciples. Disciples make Gurus. A disciple will come and say,

“That’s the example I want to follow. This is what I want to be like. Those

are the qualities I want to inculcate and implement into my way of being. Now

where do I start? Can you suggest to me how I become more like your example?

>

> That is called diksha. Disciples take diksha; Gurus do not give it and they

certainly can’t give diksha for money. We don’t want your money, we want

your entire life. What good is a $100 fee or whatever it is these days. What

good is the fee when I want your entire life? If you want to be a disciple, you

will want to reflect the values of the Guru, the bhava, the attitude, the ways

of prosecuting the functions of life.

>

> Many people write to me asking if they can come and take diskha. Hello! What

do you mean you are going to come and take diksha? How are you going to do that?

You do not even know me! Come and make yourself into a disciple and then you

will have had diksha.

>

>

>

> it’s not necessarily a formal initiation?

> Swamiji: It’s both. It’s on every level. On every level of initiation that

you can get you are

> getting a very, very intensive level of initiation right now, if you

understand. And if you’re not understanding it I can whisper it in your ear

and maybe you’ll understand a little more. And maybe if Maa blows in your ear,

you’ll hear it a little better. And maybe if we do the entire 16 articles

offering and the whole puja and give you the mantra, maybe you’ll understand

it a little better. But if you understand, you’ve taken the initiation.

>

> There are many many levels of initiation †" diksha. And the idea is not that

I have to have the mantra presented to me in a certain way. What kind of

surrender is that on the part of a disciple? How can the disciple tell the Guru

“I want diksha this way, just like the other Gurus give it?†You’ll sit on

a throne and you’ll shout it into a microphone and everybody comes and bows

down. They often give mass initiations in India that way to thousands of people

at a time. You can get initiation that way from the Ramakrishna Mission. You can

get initiation from Bharat Seva Ashram. In this way, many organizations give

mass initiations through microphone and then people line up single file and they

have been initiated by an organization. For us, initiation is a personal

relationship between a Guru and a disciple where the Guru speaks to my heart.

And I know if I’ve been initiated or not. I don’t need a certificate. I know

if I heard that in my heart or if I’m just listening to another speech. I

know! And everyone else will know when they see the change in my behavior as a

consequence of my taking this new knowledge. They’ll know. There’s no other

need for formal recognition. Now, for those who have a need for formal

recognition, there are so many ways to get formally recognized. You are the most

humblest of all the devotees but you want a certificate? I’ve got a

certificate maker on my computer, we can make you any certificate you like. So

yes, on every level, there is an initiation.

>

>

>

>

>

>

> lanceroehrig <lanceroehrig

>

> Thu, Mar 11, 2010 10:50 pm

> [www.ShreeMaa.org] The sixteen initiations

>

>

>

>

> Namaste friends,

>

> I am new and excited to have found such a place!

>

> I was wondering if one could explain the 16 initiations, more specifically

just the first 2, guru mantra and japa mantra and what are the steps in doing

these? Where might a little more information be found on the others?

>

> thank you to my new community.

>

> Jai Ma Guru! Jai Shiva!

>

> Lance

>

[Guest guest]

superb!

 

From: bmarley343Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 18:05:53 -0500Re: [www.ShreeMaa.org] The sixteen initiations

 

 

 

namaste lance, here are some wonderful gems that swamij said about initiations. some great wisdom to contemplate.

 

What is the purpose of initiation? Why is it necessary?Swamiji: You take initiation to solidify your inspiration, clarify your path, define yourcurriculum, and define and acknowledge your example that you want to follow. And then, in that relationship between a disciple and a Guru, when we have taken initiation and we have determined, acknowledged, clarified, ratified, and proclaimed loudly before God in Guru, “that’s the example I want to follow.” Then there is no more hesitation, no more questioning should I go this way or should I go that way. There is no more doubt. There is no more “Maybe I should go see this Guru or maybe I should see that.” There is no tourism. All the wandering stops and we start making the journey.

There is a difference between a wanderer and a traveler. A wanderer goes sightseeing according to the convenience of the journey but the traveler knows the destination and traveler knows the path. The traveler doesn’t waste time. She merely proceeds along the path until She reaches destination and that is what initiation means to our lives. If we find that relationship and we really truly decide to be initiated, we take the initiation. Initiation is not given; Gurus do not make disciples. Disciples make Gurus. A disciple will come and say, “That’s the example I want to follow. This is what I want to be like. Those are the qualities I want to inculcate and implement into my way of being. Now where do I start? Can you suggest to me how I become more like your example?

That is called diksha. Disciples take diksha; Gurus do not give it and they certainly can’t give diksha for money. We don’t want your money, we want your entire life. What good is a $100 fee or whatever it is these days. What good is the fee when I want your entire life? If you want to be a disciple, you will want to reflect the values of the Guru, the bhava, the attitude, the ways of prosecuting the functions of life.

Many people write to me asking if they can come and take diskha. Hello! What do you mean you are going to come and take diksha? How are you going to do that? You do not even know me! Come and make yourself into a disciple and then you will have had diksha.

 

it’s not necessarily a formal initiation?Swamiji: It’s both. It’s on every level. On every level of initiation that you can get you aregetting a very, very intensive level of initiation right now, if you understand. And if you’re not understanding it I can whisper it in your ear and maybe you’ll understand a little more. And maybe if Maa blows in your ear, you’ll hear it a little better. And maybe if we do the entire 16 articles offering and the whole puja and give you the mantra, maybe you’ll understand it a little better. But if you understand, you’ve taken the initiation.

There are many many levels of initiation – diksha. And the idea is not that I have to have the mantra presented to me in a certain way. What kind of surrender is that on the part of a disciple? How can the disciple tell the Guru “I want diksha this way, just like the other Gurus give it?” You’ll sit on a throne and you’ll shout it into a microphone and everybody comes and bows down. They often give mass initiations in India that way to thousands of people at a time. You can get initiation that way from the Ramakrishna Mission. You can get initiation from Bharat Seva Ashram. In this way, many organizations give mass initiations through microphone and then people line up single file and they have been initiated by an organization. For us, initiation is a personal relationship between a Guru and a disciple where the Guru speaks to my heart. And I know if I’ve been initiated or not. I don’t need a certificate. I know if I heard that in my heart or if I’m just listening to another speech. I know! And everyone else will know when they see the change in my behavior as a consequence of my taking this new knowledge. They’ll know. There’s no other need for formal recognition. Now, for those who have a need for formal recognition, there are so many ways to get formally recognized. You are the most humblest of all the devotees but you want a certificate? I’ve got a certificate maker on my computer, we can make you any certificate you like. So yes, on every level, there is an initiation.

 

 

 

lanceroehrig <lanceroehrig > Sent: Thu, Mar 11, 2010 10:50 pm[www.ShreeMaa.org] The sixteen initiations

 

 

Namaste friends,I am new and excited to have found such a place!I was wondering if one could explain the 16 initiations, more specifically just the first 2, guru mantra and japa mantra and what are the steps in doing these? Where might a little more information be found on the others?thank you to my new community.Jai Ma Guru! Jai Shiva!Lance

 

 

 

Stay in touch. Get Messenger on your phone now.

[Guest guest]

Thanks so much for sharing Swamiji's wisdom.Where did you find these Q&As? ~Lalita

 

On Sun, 14 Mar 2010 07:06:41 +0530 wrote

>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

namaste lance, here are some wonderful gems that swamij said about initiations. some great wisdom to contemplate.

 

 

 

 

 

What is the purpose of initiation? Why is it necessary?

 

Swamiji: You take initiation to solidify your inspiration, clarify your path, define your

 

curriculum, and define and acknowledge your example that you want to follow. And then, in that relationship between a disciple and a Guru, when we have taken initiation and we have determined, acknowledged, clarified, ratified, and proclaimed loudly before God in Guru, “that’s the example I want to follow.†Then there is no more hesitation, no more questioning should I go this way or should I go that way. There is no more doubt. There is no more “Maybe I should go see this Guru or maybe I should see that.†There is no tourism. All the wandering stops and we start making the journey.

 

 

 

 

There is a difference between a wanderer and a traveler. A wanderer goes sightseeing according to the convenience of the journey but the traveler knows the destination and traveler knows the path. The traveler doesn’t waste time. She merely proceeds along the path until She reaches destination and that is what initiation means to our lives. If we find that relationship and we really truly decide to be initiated, we take the initiation. Initiation is not given; Gurus do not make disciples. Disciples make Gurus. A disciple will come and say, “That’s the example I want to follow. This is what I want to be like. Those are the qualities I want to inculcate and implement into my way of being. Now where do I start? Can you suggest to me how I become more like your example?

 

 

 

 

That is called diksha. Disciples take diksha; Gurus do not give it and they certainly can’t give diksha for money. We don’t want your money, we want your entire life. What good is a $100 fee or whatever it is these days. What good is the fee when I want your entire life? If you want to be a disciple, you will want to reflect the values of the Guru, the bhava, the attitude, the ways of prosecuting the functions of life.

 

 

 

 

Many people write to me asking if they can come and take diskha. Hello! What do you mean you are going to come and take diksha? How are you going to do that? You do not even know me! Come and make yourself into a disciple and then you will have had diksha.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

it’s not necessarily a formal initiation?

 

Swamiji: It’s both. It’s on every level. On every level of initiation that you can get you are

 

getting a very, very intensive level of initiation right now, if you understand. And if you’re not understanding it I can whisper it in your ear and maybe you’ll understand a little more. And maybe if Maa blows in your ear, you’ll hear it a little better. And maybe if we do the entire 16 articles offering and the whole puja and give you the mantra, maybe you’ll understand it a little better. But if you understand, you’ve taken the initiation.

 

 

 

 

There are many many levels of initiation – diksha. And the idea is not that I have to have the mantra presented to me in a certain way. What kind of surrender is that on the part of a disciple? How can the disciple tell the Guru “I want diksha this way, just like the other Gurus give it?†You’ll sit on a throne and you’ll shout it into a microphone and everybody comes and bows down. They often give mass initiations in India that way to thousands of people at a time. You can get initiation that way from the Ramakrishna Mission. You can get initiation from Bharat Seva Ashram. In this way, many organizations give mass initiations through microphone and then people line up single file and they have been initiated by an organization. For us, initiation is a personal relationship between a Guru and a disciple where the Guru speaks to my heart. And I know if I’ve been initiated or not. I don’t need a certificate. I know if I heard that in my heart or if I’m just listening to another speech. I know! And everyone else will know when they see the change in my behavior as a consequence of my taking this new knowledge. They’ll know. There’s no other need for formal recognition. Now, for those who have a need for formal recognition, there are so many ways to get formally recognized. You are the most humblest of all the devotees but you want a certificate? I’ve got a certificate maker on my computer, we can make you any certificate you like. So yes, on every level, there is an initiation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

lanceroehrig

 

 

 

Thu, Mar 11, 2010 10:50 pm

 

[www.ShreeMaa.org] The sixteen initiations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Namaste friends,

 

 

 

I am new and excited to have found such a place!

 

 

 

I was wondering if one could explain the 16 initiations, more specifically just the first 2, guru mantra and japa mantra and what are the steps in doing these? Where might a little more information be found on the others?

 

 

 

thank you to my new community.

 

 

 

Jai Ma Guru! Jai Shiva!

 

 

 

Lance

[Guest guest]

Thanks for that explanation. It was just excellent. For myself, I guess I am missing that step of initiation. I have never considered it essential, but I do know that there are times in my life that I lack that confidence to proclaim my faith affirmatively to others. I hope to correct the same.

 

Swamiji please pray for me. And more so that I do not slack and take a more determined step so that I am no longer a wanderer but a traveler who can experience diksha by being a true and sincere disciple.

 

OM Shanti,

Alphanso.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Alphanso108

 

 

 

From: bmarley343Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 18:05:53 -0500Re: [www.ShreeMaa.org] The sixteen initiations

 

 

 

namaste lance, here are some wonderful gems that swamij said about initiations. some great wisdom to contemplate.

 

What is the purpose of initiation? Why is it necessary?Swamiji: You take initiation to solidify your inspiration, clarify your path, define yourcurriculum, and define and acknowledge your example that you want to follow. And then, in that relationship between a disciple and a Guru, when we have taken initiation and we have determined, acknowledged, clarified, ratified, and proclaimed loudly before God in Guru, “that’s the example I want to follow.” Then there is no more hesitation, no more questioning should I go this way or should I go that way. There is no more doubt. There is no more “Maybe I should go see this Guru or maybe I should see that.” There is no tourism. All the wandering stops and we start making the journey.

There is a difference between a wanderer and a traveler. A wanderer goes sightseeing according to the convenience of the journey but the traveler knows the destination and traveler knows the path. The traveler doesn’t waste time. She merely proceeds along the path until She reaches destination and that is what initiation means to our lives. If we find that relationship and we really truly decide to be initiated, we take the initiation. Initiation is not given; Gurus do not make disciples. Disciples make Gurus. A disciple will come and say, “That’s the example I want to follow. This is what I want to be like. Those are the qualities I want to inculcate and implement into my way of being. Now where do I start? Can you suggest to me how I become more like your example?

That is called diksha. Disciples take diksha; Gurus do not give it and they certainly can’t give diksha for money. We don’t want your money, we want your entire life. What good is a $100 fee or whatever it is these days. What good is the fee when I want your entire life? If you want to be a disciple, you will want to reflect the values of the Guru, the bhava, the attitude, the ways of prosecuting the functions of life.

Many people write to me asking if they can come and take diskha. Hello! What do you mean you are going to come and take diksha? How are you going to do that? You do not even know me! Come and make yourself into a disciple and then you will have had diksha.

 

it’s not necessarily a formal initiation?Swamiji: It’s both. It’s on every level. On every level of initiation that you can get you aregetting a very, very intensive level of initiation right now, if you understand. And if you’re not understanding it I can whisper it in your ear and maybe you’ll understand a little more. And maybe if Maa blows in your ear, you’ll hear it a little better. And maybe if we do the entire 16 articles offering and the whole puja and give you the mantra, maybe you’ll understand it a little better. But if you understand, you’ve taken the initiation.

There are many many levels of initiation – diksha. And the idea is not that I have to have the mantra presented to me in a certain way. What kind of surrender is that on the part of a disciple? How can the disciple tell the Guru “I want diksha this way, just like the other Gurus give it?” You’ll sit on a throne and you’ll shout it into a microphone and everybody comes and bows down. They often give mass initiations in India that way to thousands of people at a time. You can get initiation that way from the Ramakrishna Mission. You can get initiation from Bharat Seva Ashram. In this way, many organizations give mass initiations through microphone and then people line up single file and they have been initiated by an organization. For us, initiation is a personal relationship between a Guru and a disciple where the Guru speaks to my heart. And I know if I’ve been initiated or not. I don’t need a certificate. I know if I heard that in my heart or if I’m just listening to another speech. I know! And everyone else will know when they see the change in my behavior as a consequence of my taking this new knowledge. They’ll know. There’s no other need for formal recognition. Now, for those who have a need for formal recognition, there are so many ways to get formally recognized. You are the most humblest of all the devotees but you want a certificate? I’ve got a certificate maker on my computer, we can make you any certificate you like. So yes, on every level, there is an initiation.

 

 

 

lanceroehrig <lanceroehrig > Sent: Thu, Mar 11, 2010 10:50 pm[www.ShreeMaa.org] The sixteen initiations

 

 

Namaste friends,I am new and excited to have found such a place!I was wondering if one could explain the 16 initiations, more specifically just the first 2, guru mantra and japa mantra and what are the steps in doing these? Where might a little more information be found on the others?thank you to my new community.Jai Ma Guru! Jai Shiva!Lance

 

 

 

Take your contacts everywhere. Try Messenger for mobile

[Guest guest]

sit down and do the puja. buy a beginners book, get your self a mala, and pray for more devotion, then you will find yourself sitting longer, repeating more mantras, which purify you, and initiate you, and ready you for the next step, which is that you ask for more devotion, then you will find yourself sitting longer, repeating more mantras, which purify you and initiate you, then you are ready for the next step, which is that you find yourself sitting longer, repeating more mantras. which p.. well you get the point =)

 

Jai ma!

 

the videos and audios are our process of initiation, its about learning to use them right. the initiation is waiting for us, more than we are waiting for the initiation. we just have to make our minds ready, and then the seeds can go in. the seeds are already here we just need to give it alot of good watering.

 

jai swamiji!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lance <lanceroehrig

 

Sat, Mar 13, 2010 11:17 pm

Re: [www.ShreeMaa.org] The sixteen initiations

 

 

 

Namaste

 

Thank you so much this helped clarify what sort of steps and expectations I should have of my self in order to make that next step from wandering tourist to an experienced traveller.

 

, bmarley343 wrote:

>

>

> namaste lance, here are some wonderful gems that swamij said about initiations. some great wisdom to contemplate.

>

> What is the purpose of initiation? Why is it necessary?

> Swamiji: You take initiation to solidify your inspiration, clarify your path, define your

> curriculum, and define and acknowledge your example that you want to follow. And then, in that relationship between a disciple and a Guru, when we have taken initiation and we have determined, acknowledged, clarified, ratified, and proclaimed loudly before God in Guru, “that’s the example I want to follow.†Then there is no more hesitation, no more questioning should I go this way or should I go that way. There is no more doubt. There is no more “Maybe I should go see this Guru or maybe I should see that.†There is no tourism. All the wandering stops and we start making the journey.

>

> There is a difference between a wanderer and a traveler. A wanderer goes sightseeing according to the convenience of the journey but the traveler knows the destination and traveler knows the path. The traveler doesn’t waste time. She merely proceeds along the path until She reaches destination and that is what initiation means to our lives. If we find that relationship and we really truly decide to be initiated, we take the initiation. Initiation is not given; Gurus do not make disciples. Disciples make Gurus. A disciple will come and say, “That’s the example I want to follow. This is what I want to be like. Those are the qualities I want to inculcate and implement into my way of being. Now where do I start? Can you suggest to me how I become more like your example?

>

> That is called diksha. Disciples take diksha; Gurus do not give it and they certainly can’t give diksha for money. We don’t want your money, we want your entire life. What good is a $100 fee or whatever it is these days. What good is the fee when I want your entire life? If you want to be a disciple, you will want to reflect the values of the Guru, the bhava, the attitude, the ways of prosecuting the functions of life.

>

> Many people write to me asking if they can come and take diskha. Hello! What do you mean you are going to come and take diksha? How are you going to do that? You do not even know me! Come and make yourself into a disciple and then you will have had diksha.

>

>

>

> it’s not necessarily a formal initiation?

> Swamiji: It’s both. It’s on every level. On every level of initiation that you can get you are

> getting a very, very intensive level of initiation right now, if you understand. And if you’re not understanding it I can whisper it in your ear and maybe you’ll understand a little more. And maybe if Maa blows in your ear, you’ll hear it a little better. And maybe if we do the entire 16 articles offering and the whole puja and give you the mantra, maybe you’ll understand it a little better. But if you understand, you’ve taken the initiation.

>

> There are many many levels of initiation â€" diksha. And the idea is not that I have to have the mantra presented to me in a certain way. What kind of surrender is that on the part of a disciple? How can the disciple tell the Guru “I want diksha this way, just like the other Gurus give it?†You’ll sit on a throne and you’ll shout it into a microphone and everybody comes and bows down. They often give mass initiations in India that way to thousands of people at a time. You can get initiation that way from the Ramakrishna Mission. You can get initiation from Bharat Seva Ashram. In this way, many organizations give mass initiations through microphone and then people line up single file and they have been initiated by an organization. For us, initiation is a personal relationship between a Guru and a disciple where the Guru speaks to my heart. And I know if I’ve been initiated or not. I don’t need a certificate. I know if I heard that in my heart or if I’m just listening to another speech. I know! And everyone else will know when they see the change in my behavior as a consequence of my taking this new knowledge. They’ll know. There’s no other need for formal recognition. Now, for those who have a need for formal recognition, there are so many ways to get formally recognized. You are the most humblest of all the devotees but you want a certificate? I’ve got a certificate maker on my computer, we can make you any certificate you like. So yes, on every level, there is an initiation.

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> lanceroehrig <lanceroehrig

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> Thu, Mar 11, 2010 10:50 pm

> [www.ShreeMaa.org] The sixteen initiations

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> Namaste friends,

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> I am new and excited to have found such a place!

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> I was wondering if one could explain the 16 initiations, more specifically just the first 2, guru mantra and japa mantra and what are the steps in doing these? Where might a little more information be found on the others?

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> thank you to my new community.

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> Jai Ma Guru! Jai Shiva!

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> Lance

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