As our regular temple-goers know, it was with great pomp and grandeur that a dear spiritual guide and friend of ours accepted a special monastic order. Bhakti Brhat Bhagavata Swami (formerly known as Brhat Mrdanga das) has been a spiritual guide, friend and teacher for devotees at ISKCON Toronto for well over a decade. He recently accepted the order of sannyasa initiation, or initiation into the renounced order of life.
This is considered a pretty big deal as most spiritualists who dedicate themselves to the Krishna faith take first initiation (sacred vows by fire) and even second initiation (when they are given the Gayatri mantra by the spiritual master) but only a few qualified devotees take sannyasa initiation.
So it was on December 24th, in Durban, South Africa that Brhat Mrdanga das was given sannyasa initiation and given the new name Bhakti Brhat Bhagavata Swami! The ceremony was broadcast live online (and simulcasted right here on our blog) and we have been watching out for any recordings. Well, we’ve come across some audio recordings and wanted to make them available to our blog followers.
(before name-giving ceremony)
26 mins, 54 seconds
(name-giving ceremony at approx 35 mins and 20 seconds)
41 mins, 01 second
More audio recordings available at Giriraja Swami’s blog.