If you have gradually made progress in chanting a fixed number of rounds each day, studied Srila Prabhupada’s books and given up your unwanted habits, there’s a good chance that you managed to do it with help from other devotees. Perhaps you have some good friends who have always encouraged you; maybe you belong to a group that meets regularly for kirtana and discussion, or perhaps you have the help of a senior devotee who guides you. Whoever helped you this far in your spiritual life is going to be even more important to you after you become initiated. At the time of initiation you will be making lifetime vows that you will be expected to keep. You’ll also be promising to continue to make spiritual advancement just as seriously as you’ve been doing up until now. In order to be successful, you will need various types of help. Firstly, you will need solid, supportive friendships with other devotees who can offer you moral and sometimes practical help. They should be sympathetic to your efforts in spiritual life, and ready to discuss the philosophy and how it applies to their own life. Preferably they should be open and honest and ready to offer you constructive criticism if they feel you need to hear it. Read more › If you have gradually made progress in chanting a fixed number of rounds each day, studied Srila Prabhupada’s books and given up your unwanted habits, there’s a good chance that you managed to do it with help from other devotees. Perhaps you have some good friends who have always encouraged you; maybe you belong to a group that meets regularly for kirtana and discussion, or perhaps you have the help of a senior devotee who guides you. Whoever helped you this far in your spiritual life is going to be even more important to you after you become initiated. At the time of initiation you will be making lifetime vows that you will be expected to keep. You’ll also be promising to continue to make spiritual advancement just as seriously as you’ve been doing up until now. In order to be successful, you will need various types of help. Firstly, you will need solid, supportive friendships with other devotees who can offer you moral and sometimes practical help. They should be sympathetic to your efforts in spiritual life, and ready to discuss the philosophy and how it applies to their own life. Preferably they should be open and honest and ready to offer you constructive criticism if they feel you need to hear it. Read more ›