Submitted by: Dhira Govinda Dasa

March 30, 2016

Dear Damaghosa Prabhu,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Hare Krsna. Below is an article about the initiation ceremony that happened on March 20, 2016.

Here are photos taken by Bhakta Devon-

 

https://goo.gl/photos/Ff7iVMGEeFRyc3Mx6

Bhakta Devon also filmed the event, though I don’t yet have a link to that video.

Here is an audio recording of the event- www.satvatove.com/MP3/MISC/Helenainitiation-32016.WMA

(I’m aware that you already have that link to the audio recording.)

Here is a link to 28 photos taken by Bhaktin Dominique-

 Hladini Shakti Initiation Ceremony.zip

Your servant, Dhira Govinda dasa

 

Blissful Initiation Ceremony Celebrating Srila Prabhupada as Current Link to Parampara

Bhaktin Helena Pokorova participated in a Vaisnava initiation ceremony on March 20, 2016, in Alachua, Florida, and received the spiritual name Hladini-sakti devi dasi. The event was conducted by Yasodanandana prabhu at the home / asrama of Nalinikanta prabhu and Mother Ratnesvari, with about forty people attending.

For more than a year Hladini-sakti has rigorously and enthusiastically followed Srila Prabhupada, showing inspiring dedication to his instructions and to serve his mission. The initiation ceremony was a confirmation that Hladini-sakti has sincerely accepted Srila Prabhupada as her current and direct link to the parampara.

Hladini-sakti is in her late 20s, and is a veterinarian. She is the only trained and practicing veterinary chiropractor in the Czech Republic. Like most educated people in Czech, Helena was atheistic in her views, and her transformation to Krsna consciousness has been quite remarkable.

During a visit to Valhalla Farm in Florida, Helena’s friends Erin and Iris, who both attended the initiation event, encouraged her to participate in the Satvatove seminars, and Erin introduced her to the chanting of the Hare Krsna Maha Mantra. Shortly after the Foundational and Advanced Seminar, Helena attended a program that provided experience and understanding of the spiritual and philosophical roots of the transformative communication seminars offered by Satvatove. Just after that, Helena, accompanied by her newfound friend, Bhaktin Sarah, began daily attending our morning bhakti-yoga sadhana program, beginning at 5 am, travelling more than an hour each way. She continued this for about two weeks, till she returned to the Czech Republic.

Infused with Srila Prabhupada’s sankirtana spirit, Hladini-sakti began going on her own to the towns and cities of Czech, with karatalas, and doing harinama sankirtana in the street. Her fiancé (now husband), Jindra, didn’t quite know what to make of all this, but he supported Helena, and sometimes joined her, sometimes encouraging her to continue on harinama for longer than she had planned. Jindra is now also rigorously practicing the sadhana and regulative principles of freedom given to the world by Srila Prabhupada.

Hladini-sakti has demonstrated impressive determination to distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books, and regularly goes out on book distribution, whether in Czech or visiting the USA.

Helena was already quite known in her field of veterinary medicine and horse training, and had already published a book. Within weeks after she embraced the process of bhakti-yoga, she wrote and published her second book, which, essentially, contains the principles of Bhagavad-gita applied to horse riding and training. Many persons, upon reading Hladini-sakti’s book, have become vegetarian and are now chanting the Maha Mantra.

The ceremony on March 20^th was a beautiful program. Nalinikanta gave class on Srimad-Bhagavatam in the morning, and deep and rousing kirtans were led by several devotees, including Rsi Kumar prabhu and Bhaktin Rebecca Mangum. Yasodanandana prabhu, strictly following Srila Prabhupada’s guidelines, conducted a captivatingly awesome fire yajna. This included playfully engaging Jonah, the two-year old son of Bhakta Patrick and Bhaktin Rebecca, in the ceremony. Starting the day before the ceremony, Bhakta Devon devotedly assisted Yasodanandana. During the ceremony Mother Malini put neckbeads on Hladini-sakti, and Yasodanandana gave Hladini-sakti her initiation japa beads. Nalinikanta and Ratnesvari prepared a wonderful prasadam feast that was savored by all, including the many friends of Hladini-sakti who came to support her in this blissful celebration of dedication to spiritual life. Hare Krsna.