While reading the book, “If You Want To Please Me,” a compilation of “Selected Letters on Book Distribution and Publication” put together by the BBT in 1987, with 1,000 copies printed, I noticed there were ten letters from Srila Prabhupada instructing senior disciples on how to perform initiations, both first and second in his absence.
The book was printed to celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of the formation of the BBT, and the BBT humbly presented the book in an effort to deepen enthusiasm and inspire all of us to continue in this most important mission of our spiritual master.
In the publishers Preface, it states, “The letters, presented in chronological order, outline an interesting history of our movement. We have produced each letter verbatim, without deletions feeling it best for the reader to understand Srila Prabhupada’s statements in as complete a context as possible.”
I wanted to dig into this “interesting history” especially as it had not been “edited, changed, revised or improved.” I started to read, and soon realized the book contained a goldmine of information on ritvik initiations, and how they were to be performed as ordered by Srila Prabhupada..
The letters concerning ritvik initiations are found on pages 75, 79, 83, 117, 142, 149, 161, 166, and 174.
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Between 1967 and 1977, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada initiated thousands of disciples, many of whom had never met him, receiving their spiritual name initiation through the mail, Srila Prabhupada at that time, being thousands of miles away.
Therefore, His Divine Grace introduced the ritvik method as the only way to initiate absent devotees, because it was physically impossible for Srila Prabhupada to personally initiate each and every devotee in the movement, with more requesting to be initiated daily.
After reading this book, I started researching the Srila Prabhupada letters Folio, and consequently found many, many more letters from Srila Prabhupada to his disciples describing how to perform ritvik initiations in his absence.
In fact, over a ten year period, from 1967 to 1977, there are about five hundred and fifty four such letters.
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