Where can I get mantra diksha?
Transcript
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So, where can we get Patra Diksha? Basically, there are, in the tradition, there is a system of gaining spiritual knowledge which is called as Sampradaya or Parampara. Sampradaya, the word Sanskrit means Samyag Rupena Pradaya Teti Sampradaya. Samyag Rupena, that which gives us incompleteness, improper understanding.
So, in the bhakti tradition, there are, broadly speaking, four Sampradayas. So, the Padma Purana talks about these four Sampradayas also as means by which we can gain spiritual knowledge. Especially, Kalav Bhavay Kalepurushottam, it is said.
Especially in this Kali Yuga, these are the four channels for spiritual knowledge, primarily. So, Brahma, Sri Rudra and Kumar Sampradayas. So, those could be so, there are many, even living spiritual teachers in these Sampradayas and traditionally the understanding is that knowledge comes down through the channel, just like if there is a fruit which is on top of a tree, I can hit a stone and try to catch the fruit.
Even if I break the fruit, it may fall down anywhere, it may get damaged. But if there is somebody on top of, if it is a very precious fruit, a delicate fruit, and somebody climbs up, that person passes down to somebody who is lower and that person passes to somebody who is lower. And like that the fruit can be brought down to us.
The parampara is like that. So, knowledge about God and the process for going towards God, that is mantra primarily, that is passed down in parampara. So, Sampradaya is like an institute or is more like a university and parampara is a lineage within a university.
So, normally if we take initiation from a spiritual teacher who is in parampara, then we can get mantra diksha there and that would be a safe way of, safe authorized way of getting the mantra diksha. And of course, the mantras generally speaking are very powerful and we can benefit from their chanting, from chanting them even without initiation. But initiation acts like a formal commitment and it formalizes the process of spirituality that we are practicing.
So, ISKCON comes in one of the four Sampradayas, the Brahma, Madhva, Gaudiya, Vaisnava Sampradaya we call it. So, basically going to a proper tradition where the mantras have been chanted in the past and then taking initiation, that is a safe way of getting mantra diksha.