Ep. 31 Listening to the Inner Call: A Seeker's Transformation

00:00:03.297 --> 00:00:10.197
Don't try to see God, but act in such a way that He wants to see you.

00:00:10.477 --> 00:00:16.437
A quote by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami, a prominent religious scholar

00:00:16.437 --> 00:00:21.417
and the founder of 64 Gaudiya Mathas or Vedic Institutes in India.

00:00:21.577 --> 00:00:27.057
He is the guru of Srila Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON, the International

00:00:27.057 --> 00:00:29.197
Society for Krishna Consciousness.

00:00:32.937 --> 00:00:39.197
Hello, my name is Malati and I'm your host on the Impressive Empress podcast,

00:00:39.657 --> 00:00:43.917
the podcast that explores the inner journey of women in leadership.

00:00:44.197 --> 00:00:49.717
We focus on personal growth, creating meaningful impact and empowering others

00:00:49.717 --> 00:00:51.817
to realize their full potential.

00:00:52.217 --> 00:00:59.077
Each episode, we dive into the values that shape extraordinary women leaders who lead from within,

00:00:59.397 --> 00:01:06.277
guided by purpose and a deep desire to serve while gracefully navigating both

00:01:06.277 --> 00:01:09.257
triumphs and challenges along the way.

00:01:10.076 --> 00:01:13.436
Today's episode is a journey with our guest,

00:01:14.076 --> 00:01:19.476
Damodara Priyadasi, who embodies calling, connection and challenge,

00:01:19.816 --> 00:01:25.556
not just as a seeker, but as a leader and guide for others on a spiritual path.

00:01:25.856 --> 00:01:31.556
Growing up in a small Swiss mountain village, she felt an early pull towards something greater.

00:01:31.936 --> 00:01:35.216
She had this longing to know the absolute truth.

00:01:35.496 --> 00:01:37.596
She joined the University of Bern

00:01:37.596 --> 00:01:43.496
to study law, but soon realized her true calling lay beyond textbooks.

00:01:43.916 --> 00:01:50.796
At 25, she took a bold leap, leaving behind her studies to travel to India,

00:01:51.436 --> 00:01:54.016
where she encountered Buddhism.

00:01:54.776 --> 00:02:01.336
Hinduism, and ultimately the path of Sanatana Dharma, Bhakti, and Iskama.

00:02:01.796 --> 00:02:07.796
Returning to Europe, she didn't just follow devotion, she became a pillar of it.

00:02:07.796 --> 00:02:16.016
For 24 years, she served in a temple leadership, including 18 years as a head pujari,

00:02:16.516 --> 00:02:21.956
overseeing sacred rituals, training others in deity worship and conducting many

00:02:21.956 --> 00:02:27.256
samskaras as for the Hindu tradition, such as the Simanta Samskara,

00:02:27.416 --> 00:02:29.656
the Vivaha Samskara and many others.

00:02:29.656 --> 00:02:36.156
Today, she continues to lead by teaching bhakti shastras and mentoring seekers

00:02:36.156 --> 00:02:41.076
worldwide, making ancient wisdom relevant in modern life.

00:02:41.296 --> 00:02:46.096
In this conversation, we'll explore what it means to trust your calling,

00:02:46.596 --> 00:02:51.056
grow through challenges and share wisdom in a way that uplifts others.

00:02:51.056 --> 00:03:01.376
Do stay till the end as Damodhra Priya is going to share superpower and a leadership style.

00:03:01.896 --> 00:03:07.916
Please join me in welcoming Damodhra Priya Dasi to the Impressive Empress podcast.

00:03:12.714 --> 00:03:18.394
Namaskaram Damodhra Freyadasi. A very warm welcome to the Impressive Empires podcast,

00:03:18.834 --> 00:03:23.034
where we are talking to women leaders from across the globe,

00:03:23.154 --> 00:03:28.014
trying to understand their inner journey to lead the way that they are leading

00:03:28.014 --> 00:03:29.794
and impacting many lives.

00:03:29.934 --> 00:03:34.614
I would be very happy to have this conversation with you and understand your

00:03:34.614 --> 00:03:35.934
personal growth journey.

00:03:36.134 --> 00:03:39.674
So welcome to the Thank you so much, Malati.

00:03:40.474 --> 00:03:44.234
I'm very, very happy and honored to be here to be your guest.

00:03:44.914 --> 00:03:50.374
I'm trying my best to answer all your questions. It's going to be a free-flowing

00:03:50.374 --> 00:03:52.714
conversation and it's all about you.

00:03:53.154 --> 00:03:55.894
It's all about you, the individual.

00:03:56.354 --> 00:04:01.634
But of course, we also like to touch upon the work that you are doing and have done.

00:04:01.934 --> 00:04:09.154
So can you please briefly introduce yourself? So yeah, there are two names.

00:04:09.574 --> 00:04:14.034
There is the civil name which has been given by my mother and father, this is Doris.

00:04:14.494 --> 00:04:19.474
And it's a spiritual name which has been given to me by my spiritual master

00:04:19.474 --> 00:04:23.934
already now 22 years ago.

00:04:25.034 --> 00:04:31.534
So that means a long, long path of spiritual practice is already behind me.

00:04:31.834 --> 00:04:35.234
And an even longer path probably is ahead of me.

00:04:35.494 --> 00:04:40.054
But this is my heart's calling as you ask for the inner journey.

00:04:40.314 --> 00:04:48.694
It was with age 25 when I felt that calling inside to travel to the land of wisdom.

00:04:49.134 --> 00:04:53.134
I had no contact so far with India.

00:04:53.654 --> 00:05:00.814
But with around 18 years, I started to ask myself about the Absolute Truth.

00:05:01.074 --> 00:05:05.794
What is the Absolute Truth? And that time I was in contact with a person who,

00:05:06.054 --> 00:05:10.114
according to my understanding, was very learned, very learned.

00:05:10.254 --> 00:05:11.754
We had many, many long talks.

00:05:12.561 --> 00:05:18.461
Together. And he told me, I considered him as an authority, as authoritative

00:05:18.461 --> 00:05:20.841
in answering my questions.

00:05:21.081 --> 00:05:26.701
So I asked him, what is the absolute truth? And he told me, the absolute truth is not existing.

00:05:26.921 --> 00:05:29.701
You have to have your own absolute truth.

00:05:30.221 --> 00:05:34.261
And I was thinking, how is it possible? Then the absolute truth is relative.

00:05:34.561 --> 00:05:38.121
It's not absolute. If everybody can have his own absolute truth.

00:05:38.321 --> 00:05:40.761
What's about absolute? No, then it's only relative.

00:05:41.101 --> 00:05:46.541
So this answer did not truly satisfy my inner calling.

00:05:46.821 --> 00:05:51.881
And it still went on for six, seven years until I took the decision.

00:05:52.061 --> 00:05:55.801
That time with age 25, I was studying law.

00:05:56.141 --> 00:05:59.541
I was also working half time and half time studying.

00:05:59.541 --> 00:06:03.521
And I quit my studies on the day when my boss,

00:06:03.661 --> 00:06:08.241
actually, I was working with the Swiss government in a very well-paid secretary

00:06:08.241 --> 00:06:14.801
job, and he wanted me to have a very important post after my studies finished.

00:06:15.161 --> 00:06:20.261
And on that day, when he offered me that post, I told him, I'm very sorry,

00:06:20.381 --> 00:06:26.181
I just quitted my studies, and I'm now packing my stuff, and I'm going to India

00:06:26.181 --> 00:06:27.781
to look for the absolute truth.

00:06:28.001 --> 00:06:30.341
And he was thinking, oh my God, what happened to her?

00:06:31.681 --> 00:06:35.461
Not only he, my mother also. Can you imagine?

00:06:35.701 --> 00:06:42.481
25-year-old girl, I grew up in the in the Swiss mountains in a 500-inhabitant,

00:06:43.541 --> 00:06:46.981
village, all of a sudden has the idea to go to India.

00:06:47.301 --> 00:06:50.221
You know better what that means than I had no idea.

00:06:52.861 --> 00:07:02.421
I'm a fully greenhorn. But I felt that call very strong, very, very strong. I could not,

00:07:03.892 --> 00:07:09.012
I could not overhear it. I could not ignore that calling.

00:07:10.512 --> 00:07:15.632
Although I was afraid. I was severely afraid. Can you imagine?

00:07:16.012 --> 00:07:22.472
I had medicine in my backpack for 300 Swiss francs.

00:07:22.612 --> 00:07:26.812
300 Swiss francs medicine for all eventualities.

00:07:27.132 --> 00:07:28.252
I bought medicine.

00:07:29.132 --> 00:07:33.172
I was thinking, oh my god, India, it's not only the land of wisdom.

00:07:33.432 --> 00:07:39.052
It's also the land of whatever comes across and it's full of dust.

00:07:39.472 --> 00:07:43.492
So I was highly afraid. I'm quite an anxious person.

00:07:43.852 --> 00:07:51.832
But instead of my anxieties, still I had that strong determination,

00:07:52.292 --> 00:07:57.132
that deep calling, I have to go there and I have to look for the absolute truth.

00:07:57.372 --> 00:08:01.732
There, I will find an answer on it. I asked my friends all around.

00:08:01.932 --> 00:08:05.412
Nobody was able to take off from their jobs, from their studies,

00:08:05.512 --> 00:08:07.972
because I intended to go for four months.

00:08:08.732 --> 00:08:16.032
That's not nothing, no? That's, yeah. So, you said you had this very strong inner calling.

00:08:16.772 --> 00:08:21.392
Yeah. Can you talk to us a little bit more about that inner calling aspect?

00:08:21.652 --> 00:08:24.832
How did you actually hear the noise?

00:08:25.112 --> 00:08:29.932
Because in the Western paradigm, it's always ignore your inner voice.

00:08:30.252 --> 00:08:37.552
But in the Indian paradigm, we say, listen to your heart, listen to the voice that guides you.

00:08:37.772 --> 00:08:43.252
So how were you able to distinguish between the two and embark on this very

00:08:43.252 --> 00:08:45.152
transformative journey?

00:08:45.672 --> 00:08:49.592
I guess there is where my determination comes in.

00:08:49.812 --> 00:08:55.732
I'm very strong-minded. When I have an idea, in my mind. My mother can confirm that.

00:08:57.212 --> 00:09:03.012
I just go for it. And many years later, an astrologer once told me that I'm

00:09:03.012 --> 00:09:09.332
very, very strongly following my goals, and especially the spiritual goal.

00:09:09.532 --> 00:09:13.052
It is like set for me in my chart.

00:09:13.312 --> 00:09:15.472
I cannot but follow it.

00:09:16.226 --> 00:09:22.346
So now I understand that time, I didn't know, but now I understand it was the

00:09:22.346 --> 00:09:25.386
Lord in my heart calling me to come.

00:09:25.526 --> 00:09:30.006
That time, I didn't know anything about Krishna, about Krishna consciousness.

00:09:30.186 --> 00:09:35.266
I didn't know anything about all this Shastra, Bhagavad Gita,

00:09:35.426 --> 00:09:37.006
Srimad Bhagavatam. I had no idea.

00:09:37.246 --> 00:09:41.206
I didn't get in contact with Krishna consciousness yet in the West.

00:09:41.346 --> 00:09:45.986
Actually, it was also not my desire to get in contact with Hinduism.

00:09:46.226 --> 00:09:51.766
Because once I was in India, I understood, my God, so many gods, so many.

00:09:52.306 --> 00:09:56.406
Now even I know it's 33 million gods.

00:09:56.966 --> 00:09:59.366
Which one is then the absolute one?

00:09:59.946 --> 00:10:07.666
I was fully confused. And I went to Dharamsala at the bottom of the Himalayan mountains.

00:10:08.086 --> 00:10:15.186
And I spent six weeks there with the Dalai Lama. This is like exiled Tibet,

00:10:15.446 --> 00:10:18.986
where the Dalai Lama took refuge when he left Nepal.

00:10:19.666 --> 00:10:24.366
Six weeks I spent there and I listened to his lectures and it was my intention

00:10:24.366 --> 00:10:26.846
to enter the Buddhism kind of path.

00:10:27.206 --> 00:10:31.066
But I didn't get access. No doors opened.

00:10:31.466 --> 00:10:39.046
And I felt that was probably in my last life. In this life, I have to find access

00:10:39.046 --> 00:10:42.626
to what I call now Krishna Consciousness.

00:10:43.306 --> 00:10:49.906
And it was during this four months travel where I got in touch with devotees

00:10:49.906 --> 00:10:56.246
who brought me to Brindavan Dham, to Krishna Balram Temple, to Banki Bihari.

00:10:56.546 --> 00:11:04.726
And there my curiosity started to awaken on the fact that I wrote two books,

00:11:04.906 --> 00:11:06.846
Krishna Book and Bhagavad Gita.

00:11:07.166 --> 00:11:10.026
Krishna Book is like all the stories of the Lord.

00:11:11.248 --> 00:11:18.008
Is told in Srimabhagavatam 10th canto in a comprised version in one book only.

00:11:18.688 --> 00:11:23.848
I would like to ask you about your first entry into India.

00:11:24.168 --> 00:11:30.928
Did you have any Indian friends or Indian swamis who visited your village?

00:11:30.928 --> 00:11:34.428
You listened to them and therefore you decided to go to India.

00:11:34.748 --> 00:11:39.008
What made you decide that you have to go to India of all the places?

00:11:39.228 --> 00:11:41.488
Have you been there before as a tourist or something?

00:11:41.768 --> 00:11:43.688
Or did anyone tell you about India?

00:11:44.248 --> 00:11:49.308
Nothing, nothing. Not in this life, I have to say, not in this life.

00:11:49.828 --> 00:11:57.108
But many on the path, on the past 22 years, told me that in my past life, I was there in India.

00:11:57.568 --> 00:12:03.588
And I can tell you, when I put my foot on the ground in India,

00:12:03.668 --> 00:12:09.048
I actually flew to Madras, Chennai. it felt like coming back.

00:12:09.448 --> 00:12:11.288
It felt like home.

00:12:12.528 --> 00:12:15.648
I felt so at ease in India.

00:12:15.888 --> 00:12:22.728
Life is so easy, you know, like just very simple life, very practically everything

00:12:22.728 --> 00:12:29.508
arranged and the thoughts of the saintly persons very deep, very deep.

00:12:29.648 --> 00:12:37.088
But I had no clue how to get access to an answer on my question.

00:12:37.668 --> 00:12:46.208
Actually, it was my desire to meet with Mother Teresa's Sister of Misery Courts.

00:12:46.348 --> 00:12:50.308
It's, I don't know in English, in German.

00:12:50.868 --> 00:12:53.968
Not in Calcutta, that was a too big city for me.

00:12:55.578 --> 00:12:58.798
It was some travel agent who told me, you better go to Madras.

00:12:59.018 --> 00:13:00.938
Madras is quite Western oriented.

00:13:01.358 --> 00:13:04.318
You will feel easy. You can go around easy there.

00:13:04.538 --> 00:13:08.918
So it's an easy entry into India. So that's what I did. It was like that.

00:13:09.138 --> 00:13:15.438
Actually, these Mother Teresa's sisters, I wanted to meet them in Bangalore, not in Madras.

00:13:15.998 --> 00:13:20.998
So first day already, I took a train, a five-hour trip to Bangalore.

00:13:21.878 --> 00:13:26.658
And I didn't eat in the train because I was so much afraid to get sick of what

00:13:26.658 --> 00:13:29.618
they serve. I didn't know, is it clean? Can we take it?

00:13:30.878 --> 00:13:37.478
Yeah, I mean, it's a long story. I can tell you about tourists in Bangalore at the railway station.

00:13:37.878 --> 00:13:41.198
When the electricity went off, I was so much afraid. I didn't know,

00:13:41.318 --> 00:13:46.078
is it a terrorist attack now going on? Or what's going on? Because I had no idea of India.

00:13:46.298 --> 00:13:50.238
I didn't know that electricity is going off and on. That's normal, no?

00:13:50.998 --> 00:13:55.438
So it was all dark when I reached 10 o'clock in the night, I reached Bangalore

00:13:55.438 --> 00:13:58.198
railway station and the electricity was off.

00:13:59.118 --> 00:14:06.078
But I saw two Westerners on the platform and I approached them, asked them for help.

00:14:06.578 --> 00:14:12.738
And they told me, sorry, they can not, I asked them actually if I can follow them in their hotel.

00:14:14.018 --> 00:14:17.058
And they told me they are not staying in Bangalore, they are going further.

00:14:17.218 --> 00:14:20.278
But they met one very nice person in the train he can also help

00:14:20.278 --> 00:14:23.338
me that was mr krishnan immediately first

00:14:23.338 --> 00:14:26.138
day i got introduced to a per second day that was already

00:14:26.138 --> 00:14:29.078
got introduced to a person called mr

00:14:29.078 --> 00:14:31.998
krishnan he arranged in the middle of the night for a

00:14:31.998 --> 00:14:38.018
room in a hotel his son brought me there on the backpack of his bike the back

00:14:38.018 --> 00:14:43.338
seat of his bike and he arranged for two meals vegetarian meals because he didn't

00:14:43.338 --> 00:14:47.218
know what i like and he saw him very hungry and he told me next day i will come

00:14:47.218 --> 00:14:50.478
with Move my son to your room 10 o'clock and we will discuss your plans.

00:14:52.748 --> 00:15:00.688
And he came the next day and I was a bit afraid, I have to admit, the Indian traffic.

00:15:00.928 --> 00:15:07.568
He put me in a hotel room on the seventh floor of a high hotel complex and I

00:15:07.568 --> 00:15:12.628
was looking down on the street and I saw like two lines, but the cars were driving four lines.

00:15:12.868 --> 00:15:19.088
And then the cows are there and the people and the bikes and the bicycles and

00:15:19.088 --> 00:15:22.828
the rickshaws. I think, well, how is it possible for me coming from the mountains

00:15:22.828 --> 00:15:24.148
to cross the street, yeah?

00:15:24.628 --> 00:15:29.908
So I told him, although I feel quite comfortable, but still I feel actually

00:15:29.908 --> 00:15:32.188
I will have difficulties to get along here.

00:15:32.868 --> 00:15:36.868
So don't worry, I will better go back to Europe.

00:15:37.688 --> 00:15:41.108
And he said, no, no, you came from so far, you have to stay.

00:15:41.248 --> 00:15:43.308
I invite you to our house.

00:15:43.488 --> 00:15:48.008
It's in Kalikat in Kerala. You can come there and I will introduce you.

00:15:48.008 --> 00:15:54.128
And can you imagine, never so far, I did what I did that day.

00:15:54.988 --> 00:16:00.308
After two hours later, I sat with this, for me, completely unknown person in

00:16:00.308 --> 00:16:05.168
a nine hours bus ride to the jungle from Bangalore to Calicut.

00:16:05.948 --> 00:16:10.568
But I felt completely safe, completely safe.

00:16:11.108 --> 00:16:17.048
And I felt somehow this is what I should do. I felt like carried,

00:16:17.348 --> 00:16:20.468
like a child carried in the Lord's hands.

00:16:20.728 --> 00:16:24.428
I had that strong faith that it's okay, it's good.

00:16:24.688 --> 00:16:30.428
If something would have been wrong, I would have recognized it. Very sensitive.

00:16:31.468 --> 00:16:38.168
I can feel if people mean well or if they are kind of trying to betray one, to have bad intentions.

00:16:38.808 --> 00:16:43.588
And I asked all my questions about the absolute truth to that person.

00:16:44.388 --> 00:16:51.928
He was a retired English professor and his hobby was arranging pilgrimage tours.

00:16:53.808 --> 00:16:58.808
And he got tears in his eyes on that bus ride.

00:16:59.248 --> 00:17:06.588
And I didn't know why. And I asked him, is it because the bus has no windows?

00:17:07.068 --> 00:17:10.968
The air was coming in and maybe it hurts his eyes.

00:17:11.688 --> 00:17:16.028
He said, no, no, that's not the reason. It's because of your questions.

00:17:16.028 --> 00:17:19.068
You come from so far. You come from Europe.

00:17:19.468 --> 00:17:25.088
You know, everybody wants to go to Europe. There is a lot of richness that can

00:17:25.088 --> 00:17:29.588
earn so much money and life is so wonderful and comfortable there.

00:17:29.728 --> 00:17:35.688
And you take this discomfort to come to India and you want to even know about

00:17:35.688 --> 00:17:40.908
our gods, about our philosophy and religion. I couldn't believe.

00:17:42.090 --> 00:17:48.970
He was deeply touched, no? I'm sure, I'm sure anyone would be so deeply moved

00:17:48.970 --> 00:17:52.970
by such a question from a young woman coming all the way from Europe.

00:17:53.230 --> 00:17:56.450
That was really very, very courageous on your part.

00:17:56.970 --> 00:18:01.950
But even though you were, like you said, you were scared and you had so many

00:18:01.950 --> 00:18:07.350
medicines, worth 300 francs of those days must have been quite a lot.

00:18:07.570 --> 00:18:14.410
A lot, a lot, yes. But I think your faith, your inner calling kind of kept you going.

00:18:14.710 --> 00:18:18.030
Yes, that was actually 26 years ago.

00:18:18.370 --> 00:18:25.250
And now, right now, I'm again in Kerala, near to Kalikat, sitting in Guru Vayur.

00:18:25.510 --> 00:18:30.030
And we went to Guru Vayur that time, 26 years ago.

00:18:30.270 --> 00:18:35.690
And kind of that path, which I walked on my first journey through India,

00:18:35.850 --> 00:18:39.570
and I can see things from a completely different perspective now,

00:18:39.730 --> 00:18:43.850
because now 25 years of spiritual practice are behind me.

00:18:44.470 --> 00:18:49.650
That was the moment, this first four months traveling to India,

00:18:49.850 --> 00:18:54.190
that was when I set my roots into spirituality.

00:18:54.190 --> 00:18:59.710
And I made that commitment to walk that path. And I understood.

00:19:00.110 --> 00:19:04.930
I went back after four months with Bhagavad Gita in my backpack.

00:19:06.030 --> 00:19:10.810
And I understood this is here, I will find actually the answer on my question,

00:19:10.970 --> 00:19:12.870
on my search about the absolute truth.

00:19:14.300 --> 00:19:22.620
But your four months in India, you explored Buddhism, you explored a little bit of Hinduism.

00:19:22.900 --> 00:19:29.580
But in those four months itself, did you decide on taking the path of Iskand?

00:19:30.020 --> 00:19:34.920
Or did you get drawn to the path of bhakti? Not yet. Not yet. Sorry.

00:19:35.080 --> 00:19:40.380
I had Bhagavad-kita in my backpack, which was translated by A.C.

00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:44.980
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. So an ISKCON influence was there already.

00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:52.700
I came back to Switzerland, and actually I started to study theology because

00:19:52.700 --> 00:19:54.200
I wanted to know about God.

00:19:54.460 --> 00:20:00.540
And after a short period, our professor told us, those who believe in God,

00:20:00.660 --> 00:20:02.720
these are sentimentalists.

00:20:03.120 --> 00:20:05.840
And that was the day when I left university.

00:20:07.180 --> 00:20:14.560
Because for me, God was never a question. It was never a question if God exists or not.

00:20:14.780 --> 00:20:17.100
That was for me completely clear.

00:20:17.460 --> 00:20:19.720
Even as a child, I grew up being Christian.

00:20:20.540 --> 00:20:25.800
And I always prayed very deeply every evening.

00:20:26.020 --> 00:20:30.980
Even I prayed to Lord Jesus Christ to please use me as an instrument in your

00:20:30.980 --> 00:20:34.240
hand to spread God consciousness.

00:20:34.240 --> 00:20:40.700
And I see it very clearly as the logical consequence of these prayers that I

00:20:40.700 --> 00:20:42.960
connected with Krishna consciousness.

00:20:43.740 --> 00:20:49.000
And now I'm doing what I was asking for. I'm now spreading the Lord's message.

00:20:49.958 --> 00:21:00.098
So, what I did, I quitted university and I took Bhagavad Gita and I went to Iskon Temple in Zürich.

00:21:00.558 --> 00:21:05.318
I knocked at the door and I asked them, the first person who opened,

00:21:05.498 --> 00:21:09.858
I was a little bit afraid because I was thinking, what's this for strange people?

00:21:09.978 --> 00:21:13.698
No, they're running around with colored bedsheets and singing the whole day.

00:21:13.858 --> 00:21:20.538
I was completely into studies. I couldn't believe that the path of singing the

00:21:20.538 --> 00:21:26.598
Holy Name could be a serious path of God-realization. I couldn't believe.

00:21:26.898 --> 00:21:30.598
I was too much into, we say, Gyaan, knowledge.

00:21:30.918 --> 00:21:35.778
So the first person who opened, I asked, please, can you explain me what is

00:21:35.778 --> 00:21:37.238
there written in Bhagavad Gita?

00:21:37.358 --> 00:21:40.838
Because the first chapter, you know, is all about setting the scene with all

00:21:40.838 --> 00:21:42.718
these different complicated names.

00:21:42.878 --> 00:21:48.058
I had no idea. What is it? It's a philosophical book, but where to find an access to it?

00:21:48.358 --> 00:21:53.638
And he told me, if you want to know that, you have to go to Brindavan.

00:21:54.618 --> 00:22:01.958
There is an institute for educating people into bhakti-shastras,

00:22:02.238 --> 00:22:07.418
into the scriptures about devotion, about bhakti.

00:22:07.598 --> 00:22:15.818
So it was one year later when I sat again in the airplane, I flew back to India

00:22:15.818 --> 00:22:21.058
that time to Delhi, took a taxi to Brindavan.

00:22:21.378 --> 00:22:29.158
It was not my desire to become an Iskanderoti that time. I just wanted to know what is in this book.

00:22:29.378 --> 00:22:32.758
Please someone help me, someone explains to me.

00:22:33.798 --> 00:22:39.378
And the management of the school was a little bit doubtful if they should accept

00:22:39.378 --> 00:22:45.678
me or not. And they told me, okay, you can join, but you have to come every day for Mongol Arctic.

00:22:46.565 --> 00:22:50.945
Pramal Arthak starts at 4.30 in the morning. My God, so early!

00:22:51.245 --> 00:22:54.845
Every day for four months. The course was for four months.

00:22:55.565 --> 00:23:02.265
And you need to recite Hare Krishna Maha Mantra on the prayer beats.

00:23:02.605 --> 00:23:06.045
A certain amount of rounds, 16 rounds.

00:23:06.445 --> 00:23:11.265
My God, so much! I will have all day, no time for studies. And you will have

00:23:11.265 --> 00:23:15.145
to put tilats on your nose. Where can't beets.

00:23:16.005 --> 00:23:21.705
I was so much determined to find out about the absolute truth,

00:23:22.025 --> 00:23:28.365
then I did all that, which I actually didn't so much liked in the beginning.

00:23:29.465 --> 00:23:34.685
But can you imagine after four months, in the dust of Brindavan,

00:23:34.945 --> 00:23:38.565
that time 26-25 years ago,

00:23:39.065 --> 00:23:45.065
there was really still dust paths in Brindavan.

00:23:45.425 --> 00:23:52.245
Nowadays you can find only skyscrapers and cars blocking the streets and the

00:23:52.245 --> 00:23:57.305
sadhus disappeared from the scene, sadly. But that time.

00:23:57.825 --> 00:24:00.045
You saw the sadhus all around.

00:24:00.985 --> 00:24:07.965
And I just have a strong attraction for a life of a monk.

00:24:08.705 --> 00:24:12.225
Strongly the call in me, this is what I want to do.

00:24:12.865 --> 00:24:21.245
And after four months, I was so much impregnated by the dust of Brindavan that

00:24:21.245 --> 00:24:25.745
I just wanted to stay in Brindavan and to continue to a chant.

00:24:26.045 --> 00:24:29.925
I chanted many more rounds than 16 at that time.

00:24:30.325 --> 00:24:33.165
It was just flowing and coming on its own.

00:24:34.637 --> 00:24:41.237
And then actually, that person who sent me to Brindavan called me, told me,

00:24:41.857 --> 00:24:49.737
now you can come back and you can, what we say, do a novice course in our temple in Zurich.

00:24:50.437 --> 00:24:54.757
I told him, now I just studied Bhakti Shastras, now I should do a novice course.

00:24:55.457 --> 00:24:59.217
You know, this is usually the other way around. First you learn the basics,

00:24:59.377 --> 00:25:00.757
then you go to study the books.

00:25:01.477 --> 00:25:05.277
But I studied already the books. I have the basics. Now why I should now go

00:25:05.277 --> 00:25:08.797
and study the basics? But somehow he convinced me to come back.

00:25:09.197 --> 00:25:13.597
And that was the one step I actually a little bit, how to say, regret.

00:25:14.297 --> 00:25:20.017
My life would have become different had I chosen to remain, to stay in Brindalen.

00:25:20.217 --> 00:25:22.177
But I went back to Switzerland.

00:25:22.997 --> 00:25:26.677
I was staying three months in the temple in Zurich.

00:25:26.897 --> 00:25:31.057
I went through one more course. in this novice course.

00:25:31.457 --> 00:25:38.877
And there actually I saw a picture of Shishi Radha Madan Mohan from Golokadam, Germany.

00:25:39.297 --> 00:25:42.137
I asked the devotees, who are they?

00:25:42.357 --> 00:25:47.777
Because in Brindavan, East Contemplary, I got attracted to Radha Shamsundra.

00:25:48.617 --> 00:25:52.957
Beautiful, beautiful Radha Shamsundra. Radha and Krishna.

00:25:54.226 --> 00:25:58.846
I just, I could stay in front of them the whole day and chant and chant and

00:25:58.846 --> 00:26:01.966
chant. I felt so much attraction to them.

00:26:03.226 --> 00:26:10.266
And in Zurich, they have Jagannath, Paladev, Subhadra and Shishigoni Dai on the altar.

00:26:10.686 --> 00:26:12.946
And I was missing Radha and Krishna.

00:26:13.526 --> 00:26:20.646
I was missing Vrindavan. But then I saw this photo of Radha Madanmohan, Radha Krishna deities.

00:26:20.906 --> 00:26:25.866
And they told me these deities are in Germany, in Golokadar, near to Mainz.

00:26:26.426 --> 00:26:29.166
And it was clear to me I have to go there.

00:26:29.826 --> 00:26:35.786
Once this novice course ended, I packed my stuff and I traveled to Abenteuer.

00:26:35.906 --> 00:26:38.066
Abenteuer in English means adventure.

00:26:38.406 --> 00:26:42.766
That is the name of the village, where the temple is. I couldn't believe that

00:26:42.766 --> 00:26:44.686
the village has the name Adventure.

00:26:45.446 --> 00:26:49.846
But I felt I need to go there. And I came.

00:26:50.726 --> 00:26:55.466
What was the reaction from your parents for this adventure of yours?

00:26:55.746 --> 00:27:01.446
My mother was scared, very scared, because she was thinking,

00:27:01.726 --> 00:27:04.426
now she's in a sect, she's going the wrong way.

00:27:04.966 --> 00:27:13.086
She even sent a priest to talk to me, and she got calls from her friends and

00:27:13.086 --> 00:27:18.306
relatives telling her, oh, this is not good, this is not good. And she was very afraid.

00:27:18.666 --> 00:27:22.346
My father, he was the opposite. He supported me fully.

00:27:23.006 --> 00:27:29.326
He understood this is the path. He was able to understand my inner calling.

00:27:30.186 --> 00:27:34.246
I very much inherited that calling from him.

00:27:34.586 --> 00:27:39.146
He also had that calling. But somehow, due to the circumstances in his life,

00:27:39.426 --> 00:27:44.186
he was never able to truly follow it. But he strongly believed in God.

00:27:45.881 --> 00:27:52.101
So you still have this divine connection all the time. It was then.

00:27:53.421 --> 00:28:00.101
You're also feeling it very strongly. See, my father wanted to give me the name Dorothea.

00:28:01.021 --> 00:28:04.321
Doris is an abbreviation of Dorothea.

00:28:04.541 --> 00:28:09.141
And Dorothea is a Greek name, which means the one who is God-given.

00:28:11.141 --> 00:28:17.361
So from childhood on, I had the desire to become anon, to live in a monastery,

00:28:17.701 --> 00:28:21.061
to pray, to find the path to the Lord.

00:28:21.641 --> 00:28:26.361
And in my childlike way, I tried to be God conscious.

00:28:26.821 --> 00:28:32.201
But I found the world, everything else than God conscious, and I felt misplaced.

00:28:32.341 --> 00:28:38.221
I was thinking, he's not a place for me. Yeah, I felt like somewhat,

00:28:38.221 --> 00:28:40.981
yeah, I landed in the wrong place, no?

00:28:41.401 --> 00:28:46.141
But in this material world, as you were going through your teenage and the early

00:28:46.141 --> 00:28:50.621
days, it's only natural but to have a partner in life.

00:28:52.081 --> 00:28:57.821
So I don't know if you had such thoughts, but if not, you would have been perceived

00:28:57.821 --> 00:29:01.041
to be kind of strange, lacking something.

00:29:01.581 --> 00:29:04.741
It must have been a real challenge at that age, right?

00:29:05.541 --> 00:29:11.221
See, I was happy with books. I was a book lover. I was reading books.

00:29:11.561 --> 00:29:16.241
I was living in a shared apartment with two boys.

00:29:16.461 --> 00:29:21.481
There was just no thought of attracting between male and female.

00:29:21.821 --> 00:29:25.801
It was just not in my scope. See, I came from the Swiss mountains.

00:29:25.801 --> 00:29:32.001
I had never any relationship with with a man in that sense.

00:29:32.341 --> 00:29:37.141
That was just not my intention. From the beginning on, I was just looking for

00:29:37.141 --> 00:29:41.101
some deeper meaning in life.

00:29:41.461 --> 00:29:45.661
I remember once I told to my schoolmates, I was around.

00:29:47.070 --> 00:29:55.750
16, 17 years old, I told them, I don't want to follow a job from morning till

00:29:55.750 --> 00:30:00.910
evening until age 64 and then die on a heart attack.

00:30:01.210 --> 00:30:05.450
This is not what I expect from life. There must be something deeper.

00:30:05.750 --> 00:30:11.370
I was looking, I was searching, I was reading many philosophical books to find

00:30:11.370 --> 00:30:13.430
out deeper meaning of life.

00:30:14.170 --> 00:30:19.890
That was always my focus, not to find a partner and to go in discotheques.

00:30:20.050 --> 00:30:21.790
I hated to go in discotheques.

00:30:21.970 --> 00:30:26.230
Maybe in my life I was twice there, but it was full of smoke. I never smoked.

00:30:26.410 --> 00:30:28.390
I never drank. It was funny.

00:30:28.830 --> 00:30:33.650
Some time ago I was in education where I learned to care for elderly people

00:30:33.650 --> 00:30:39.490
and the teacher wanted to make an example about alcoholism. and he said,

00:30:39.570 --> 00:30:43.710
all of you, you remember the moment when you were drunk once.

00:30:43.990 --> 00:30:46.930
And I told him, very sorry, I was never drunk.

00:30:47.090 --> 00:30:50.730
He just looked at me with big eyes and he smiled and he said,

00:30:51.030 --> 00:30:53.250
don't worry, remain as you are.

00:30:53.390 --> 00:30:57.190
It was just not part of my experience.

00:30:58.150 --> 00:31:02.170
Were you considered normal by your friends and peers?

00:31:03.247 --> 00:31:09.707
It didn't really get you. Were you kind of considered normal by your friends

00:31:09.707 --> 00:31:15.007
or were you considered a strange person who doesn't drink,

00:31:15.307 --> 00:31:18.867
who doesn't smoke, who doesn't have a boyfriend at that age?

00:31:19.387 --> 00:31:24.807
See, I chose my friends who had the same wavelengths as I had.

00:31:26.287 --> 00:31:30.707
Lucky you. Yeah, there were always friends around.

00:31:31.027 --> 00:31:36.707
I remember once we had a group of four friends. We went hiking and we had a

00:31:36.707 --> 00:31:38.447
boat where we went in the nature.

00:31:38.807 --> 00:31:43.207
We slept in tents and yeah, adventurous life, no?

00:31:43.667 --> 00:31:45.727
But nothing with partnership.

00:31:46.727 --> 00:31:50.167
That was just not relevant to me.

00:31:50.327 --> 00:31:56.267
Even this coming together and walking through nature, that was always with a

00:31:56.267 --> 00:31:58.227
philosophical book in the backpack.

00:31:58.447 --> 00:32:03.607
And we were sitting together and reading and discussing philosophy always.

00:32:03.887 --> 00:32:05.667
It was always the center.

00:32:06.087 --> 00:32:10.287
Now that you have been in this movement for the last 20 plus years,

00:32:10.507 --> 00:32:16.927
have you found the absolute truth and the deeper meaning of your life that you have been seeking?

00:32:17.367 --> 00:32:25.967
I have definitely found the deeper meaning of life. But if I said I would have

00:32:25.967 --> 00:32:31.787
found the Absolute Truth, that would mean that my spiritual journey would end here.

00:32:32.627 --> 00:32:37.607
Because as a spiritualist, one remains a searcher always.

00:32:37.907 --> 00:32:41.647
If we say, this is the Absolute Truth, then it becomes stagnant.

00:32:42.027 --> 00:32:50.447
It becomes a dogma. We form kind of walls which avoid our further growth.

00:32:51.409 --> 00:32:58.649
Very interesting. Yeah. So, okay, let's probably continue on this path that

00:32:58.649 --> 00:33:04.129
you took to go to Abenteuer in Lines.

00:33:04.409 --> 00:33:11.929
And there I understand that you studied to become a pujari, a priestess.

00:33:13.009 --> 00:33:18.209
Yeah, actually, since I finished in Switzerland a commercial apprenticeship

00:33:18.209 --> 00:33:24.529
before I entered university. They wanted to take me there in Abenteuer,

00:33:24.549 --> 00:33:26.549
in the temple, as a secretary.

00:33:26.989 --> 00:33:31.969
And the first day when I arrived, I still remember I was sitting in the room

00:33:31.969 --> 00:33:37.049
where we serve Phrasthanam and the head priest approaches me and asks me,

00:33:37.169 --> 00:33:40.689
do you want to become a helper of the Pujaris?

00:33:41.429 --> 00:33:48.909
And that was, wow, I was allowed to help the priests. That was something unimaginable, no?

00:33:49.549 --> 00:33:54.529
And I said, definitely, definitely, I want, because this is very close,

00:33:54.849 --> 00:33:57.449
so much close to Radha and Krishna, no?

00:33:57.749 --> 00:34:02.029
You get in touch with the paraphernalia, with their clothes,

00:34:02.229 --> 00:34:05.749
their dresses, their plates from where they eat.

00:34:05.869 --> 00:34:10.009
Yes, definitely, this is much more attractive than to sit in the office and

00:34:10.009 --> 00:34:11.769
to type in the computer, no?

00:34:12.489 --> 00:34:18.649
And I tell you, I never put even a toe into the office. Never.

00:34:19.089 --> 00:34:27.789
From day one, I was in the Pujari room and I learned everything from zero on

00:34:27.789 --> 00:34:29.949
all the different paraphernalia.

00:34:30.209 --> 00:34:34.449
I know how to handle what is their meaning, what is how to apply them.

00:34:34.729 --> 00:34:38.729
I learned all the mantras, I learned everything. And that was actually in the

00:34:38.729 --> 00:34:45.169
year 2000. In the year 2008, I became the head priest.

00:34:45.609 --> 00:34:50.449
I was still very young, very young and unexperienced,

00:34:50.749 --> 00:34:59.049
but the situation was such that the head priest left the place and with the

00:34:59.049 --> 00:35:02.249
empowerment of my spiritual master,

00:35:02.509 --> 00:35:08.709
I took that challenging post and actually one year later, 2009.

00:35:09.429 --> 00:35:14.349
I went to Shridam Mayapur, this is at the banks of Madhurganga,

00:35:14.689 --> 00:35:21.689
near to Calcutta and I went there for four months in a Bujari training course.

00:35:22.872 --> 00:35:31.712
And after that also, for three years we invited the head Bujari of Iskon Brindavan

00:35:31.712 --> 00:35:39.792
every year for two weeks to come to Goloka Dham to teach me how to perform sanskaras.

00:35:40.432 --> 00:35:48.012
Because in India it's not at all custom that ladies perform sanskaras.

00:35:48.012 --> 00:35:52.812
I learned how to conduct a Vivaha Sangskar.

00:35:53.372 --> 00:36:01.772
I learned how to conduct an Anaprasna ceremony or a Nam Karam Sangskar.

00:36:01.972 --> 00:36:08.392
All of that and I did not learn it just because I had to.

00:36:08.592 --> 00:36:15.852
I learned it because I felt again this inner calling to do that.

00:36:15.852 --> 00:36:22.312
I felt that need, that this is what I want to do, this is what I want to go,

00:36:22.512 --> 00:36:25.512
this is where I can connect with the Lord.

00:36:26.812 --> 00:36:33.532
By becoming an instrument in His hands and helping others to also connect with

00:36:33.532 --> 00:36:37.352
the Lord through all these Vedic sacrifices.

00:36:38.292 --> 00:36:46.192
This is how I learned, how I got trained to become a priest and pujari.

00:36:46.472 --> 00:36:54.692
And I remained actually in the ashram as a nun, as a brahmacharini is not really existing, that word.

00:36:55.052 --> 00:36:59.052
And in India also, it's not existing that ladies become nuns.

00:36:59.172 --> 00:37:04.832
They remain at home until they marry. But our founder, Acharya,

00:37:04.972 --> 00:37:10.712
Srila Prabhupada, he arranged for ladies in the West because he understood in

00:37:10.712 --> 00:37:13.132
the West the ladies are independent-minded.

00:37:13.532 --> 00:37:19.972
So he arranged that they also can stay in an ashram, separated of course from

00:37:19.972 --> 00:37:23.432
the Prabhus, from the Brahmacharis.

00:37:23.792 --> 00:37:27.992
And they remained there for 18 years as a nun.

00:37:30.957 --> 00:37:35.977
In this year, I learned a lot, I studied a lot of scriptures and I started to teach.

00:37:37.157 --> 00:37:46.497
2010, I started to teach deity worship. 2015, I started to teach Shastra philosophy on place and online.

00:37:47.857 --> 00:37:51.077
And since last year, I'm mainly teaching.

00:37:51.657 --> 00:37:59.117
That's also, again, the inner calling. I cannot otherwise then share whatever

00:37:59.117 --> 00:38:05.917
jewels I got from the past 25 years to share that with others because to me

00:38:05.917 --> 00:38:07.577
it's extremely inspiring,

00:38:07.937 --> 00:38:09.517
extremely enlivening.

00:38:10.277 --> 00:38:14.817
And I feel that deep conviction, this is what I was looking for.

00:38:15.037 --> 00:38:23.317
And when I walk this path, surely I will reach the goal, the understanding of

00:38:23.317 --> 00:38:25.137
what the absolute truth really is.

00:38:25.217 --> 00:38:31.897
Once a friend told me, if you go to the desert, and you are thirsty,

00:38:32.057 --> 00:38:33.537
you start digging for water.

00:38:34.297 --> 00:38:38.757
And you go to one place, and you dig only a little bit, and you say,

00:38:38.857 --> 00:38:43.217
no, there is no water, I go to another place, and I start digging there.

00:38:43.897 --> 00:38:48.137
After a while again, you say, no, there is no water, I go to another place.

00:38:48.857 --> 00:38:54.417
You will never find water. But once you feel this is the path,

00:38:54.577 --> 00:38:56.817
then you stay and you go deep and for sure,

00:38:57.077 --> 00:39:02.057
at one moment in time, you will find what you're looking for,

00:39:02.197 --> 00:39:08.137
you will find water or what I was looking for or what I'm looking for, the absolute truth.

00:39:09.333 --> 00:39:14.213
And this is still my aim, this is my determination, this is my goal.

00:39:14.393 --> 00:39:20.973
And luckily, actually, Krishna gave me a wonderful husband who has the same aim.

00:39:21.153 --> 00:39:28.113
Seven years ago, I entered the Grihastha Ashram, I married, and also with a Vivaha-Sangskara.

00:39:29.353 --> 00:39:36.313
My Yagya teacher, my Sangskara teacher, made the Vivaha-Sangskara for us.

00:39:36.313 --> 00:39:39.853
That was necessary for me because I have a very critical mind.

00:39:40.473 --> 00:39:45.873
Since I know myself, how a Vivaha-Sangskara has to be performed, I had to have a priest.

00:39:46.033 --> 00:39:49.493
Who knows? Who does it the way I do it? And that's only my teacher.

00:39:49.793 --> 00:39:55.813
So yes, and my husband, he is even more focused in his spiritual practice than I am.

00:39:56.213 --> 00:40:01.473
We are supporting each other. We are helping each other to move on on our eternal

00:40:01.473 --> 00:40:04.913
journey towards our ultimate destiny. you know.

00:40:05.073 --> 00:40:07.553
This is what we call Sanatan Dharma.

00:40:08.013 --> 00:40:12.053
We have nothing or not so much to do with Naimitik Dharma.

00:40:12.333 --> 00:40:18.573
We are fully focused only on our eternal Dharma, Sanatan Dharma,

00:40:18.913 --> 00:40:21.613
our eternal relationship with the Lord.

00:40:22.013 --> 00:40:29.653
And this is what is my deep aspiration to share that with others.

00:40:29.653 --> 00:40:36.213
Very, very nice, very divine journey that you have had with courage and faith,

00:40:36.213 --> 00:40:41.113
seeking to find the deeper meaning of life. And I'm very glad that you have found yours.

00:40:41.533 --> 00:40:48.453
But as you mentioned, you took a path of a priestess, which is not very common.

00:40:48.933 --> 00:40:54.973
So how are you managing it along with the modern way of living?

00:40:56.733 --> 00:41:00.553
The modern way of living was never so much my way.

00:41:02.825 --> 00:41:10.625
We live very simple, very, very simple. We live in a temple in Singhajjalang.

00:41:10.845 --> 00:41:17.905
This is in Nyrtu Passau in Yandalsbrun, where we are worshipping what in Shingadev,

00:41:18.465 --> 00:41:23.445
in a little apartment, 36 square meters, very, very small.

00:41:24.205 --> 00:41:28.905
Srila Prabhupada, he had a saying, simple living and high thinking.

00:41:29.445 --> 00:41:34.445
It's not about creating an opulent living space.

00:41:34.745 --> 00:41:40.345
It just takes time to keep it clean, to protect it that no one breaks in and

00:41:40.345 --> 00:41:43.665
steals something and keep it functioning.

00:41:44.145 --> 00:41:49.925
Things may break and always one is occupied in taking care of this material

00:41:49.925 --> 00:41:55.285
element which is It's meant to dissolve at one moment in time,

00:41:55.585 --> 00:41:59.545
so not to invest in a comfortable living.

00:41:59.925 --> 00:42:03.865
Necessary things need to be there, one has to have a certain comfort,

00:42:04.445 --> 00:42:09.285
but more important is the absorption. Where is our consciousness?

00:42:10.985 --> 00:42:15.745
And with the living circumstances, I did not have so many difficulties.

00:42:15.745 --> 00:42:21.005
Since I was living for 18 years as a nun in a temple, I had just one little

00:42:21.005 --> 00:42:22.925
room and never desired more.

00:42:23.827 --> 00:42:30.127
I almost had no clothes. When I married, I first had to buy a few clothes like

00:42:30.127 --> 00:42:37.307
pants and skirts, pullovers like that, shirts, because I was just dressing for 18 years in sari.

00:42:37.467 --> 00:42:41.987
I had nothing else. Once a coach brother of mine invited me to go to Bulgaria

00:42:41.987 --> 00:42:44.507
in one hotel to make a holiday.

00:42:44.887 --> 00:42:47.927
And he said, this is at the beach, you need to bring your bathing suit.

00:42:48.107 --> 00:42:53.527
But as a devotee, we are used to bathe in sari. We are not dressing in bathing suits.

00:42:53.767 --> 00:42:58.187
That's just not... You see the Indians, they bathe in... Now we are here in

00:42:58.187 --> 00:43:00.427
Kerala at the beach, Guru Vayur.

00:43:01.227 --> 00:43:05.767
The Indians, they don't have this bathing culture to dress in bathing suits.

00:43:05.907 --> 00:43:09.027
They go with their clothes. And this is all what I learned.

00:43:09.427 --> 00:43:13.747
And then my god brother told me, but you need to buy a bathing suit.

00:43:13.807 --> 00:43:18.267
You cannot come there, it's a touristic place, you have to come in a bathing dress.

00:43:19.427 --> 00:43:24.307
That was a bit strange to me. It was really a bit strange.

00:43:24.827 --> 00:43:28.427
But anyhow, I also survived that experience.

00:43:30.447 --> 00:43:35.287
More difficult for me was actually, or still is,

00:43:35.887 --> 00:43:45.307
when I called for a performance of a Sangskar and it's for an Indian congregation

00:43:45.307 --> 00:43:47.667
and they are making big eyes.

00:43:47.947 --> 00:43:50.507
A lady priest? This is not possible.

00:43:51.087 --> 00:43:52.687
What she can do, no?

00:43:53.347 --> 00:43:59.287
The one, the couple who wants the sanskar, with them I always discuss,

00:43:59.647 --> 00:44:03.227
meet before and for them it's always no problem.

00:44:03.507 --> 00:44:07.067
Yes, yes, lady priest, no problem. But they're friends, they don't know.

00:44:07.227 --> 00:44:11.107
They're just invited for a Simantonain sanskar and they come.

00:44:12.307 --> 00:44:16.247
A lady is sitting on the fire. This is a little bit challenging.

00:44:17.598 --> 00:44:20.478
How do you explain your situation to them?

00:44:20.958 --> 00:44:27.618
I explain and when I start speaking and explain the situation and also start

00:44:27.618 --> 00:44:31.098
to perform the function, then their mood changes.

00:44:31.298 --> 00:44:34.658
They understand, yes, she's knowledgeable, she knows what she's doing.

00:44:34.918 --> 00:44:40.278
But still, I personally feel that these functions are more for men,

00:44:40.438 --> 00:44:46.498
not for females. I'm tending more towards the teaching, the teaching of such

00:44:46.498 --> 00:44:49.518
sacrifices than to perform them myself.

00:44:49.818 --> 00:44:57.078
This is more my intention because the devotee amount in Germany is increasing.

00:44:57.338 --> 00:45:02.238
Many families are there, many children are there and they need these samskaras.

00:45:02.798 --> 00:45:09.138
Many Indians come to Germany, want to have these samskaras, but priests are very few. only.

00:45:09.258 --> 00:45:16.538
So it's my intention also to help increasing the amount of priests who are qualified

00:45:16.538 --> 00:45:18.418
to perform these samskaras.

00:45:19.018 --> 00:45:24.958
So do you already have some people whom you are guiding on this journey?

00:45:25.498 --> 00:45:32.438
Sure, sure. Last year I had two courses and these courses, since it's quite

00:45:32.438 --> 00:45:38.258
of a complex subject, it takes three weeks fully to learn.

00:45:38.478 --> 00:45:43.998
There were altogether 15 students who are learning to perform,

00:45:44.078 --> 00:45:45.798
who went through the course.

00:45:46.458 --> 00:45:51.358
And I'm keeping them on track, follow up with them, what's going on.

00:45:51.578 --> 00:45:56.378
And one definitely of them, one of two of them, they picked it up and they are

00:45:56.378 --> 00:46:02.278
now into performing their own sanskaras one even surpassed me he's doing better than me.

00:46:03.498 --> 00:46:06.698
That's that's the best he was my first student

00:46:06.698 --> 00:46:13.278
and very very proud of that one that he is going into the subject even deeper

00:46:13.278 --> 00:46:21.258
than what i'm able to share so this is actually what what is most pleasing to

00:46:21.258 --> 00:46:26.178
me when I see that it's enhancing their practice,

00:46:26.178 --> 00:46:32.238
it's helping them to advance then that is most satisfying to me,

00:46:32.758 --> 00:46:36.658
So what is the criteria for anyone to join these courses?

00:46:37.298 --> 00:46:44.238
Should they be following the Iskons of Pradaya? Or can anyone join? Can only girls join?

00:46:44.578 --> 00:46:48.758
May boys join? What age? Can you share some details on that?

00:46:49.583 --> 00:46:54.623
Definitely, they must be vegetarian. Most important, they must be vegetarian

00:46:54.623 --> 00:46:57.363
because they come in contact with fire.

00:46:57.763 --> 00:47:01.463
They call the Lord and they ask the Lord for blessings.

00:47:02.243 --> 00:47:05.803
That needs the proper lifestyle.

00:47:06.163 --> 00:47:13.003
It needs a God-conscious lifestyle actually, to be able to perform such a function

00:47:13.003 --> 00:47:16.603
properly and not to make it just a child's play.

00:47:17.003 --> 00:47:22.183
Everybody can ignite the fire or for some ghee into the fire,

00:47:22.283 --> 00:47:25.043
no problem, but that it really has an impact.

00:47:25.383 --> 00:47:30.403
It's actually the spiritual practice of the priest, what makes the function

00:47:30.403 --> 00:47:36.223
work, what gives the depth of the function, what gives the impact.

00:47:36.663 --> 00:47:38.223
That is required.

00:47:39.503 --> 00:47:45.403
Definitely 100% vegetarian lifestyle, not just for the duration of the function,

00:47:45.403 --> 00:47:54.483
but full lifestyle of purity, which involves no meat, no fish, no eggs,

00:47:55.083 --> 00:47:58.823
no alcohol, no intoxications,

00:47:59.543 --> 00:48:05.143
no illicit sex, no, how to say, Glücksspiel.

00:48:05.883 --> 00:48:08.763
Lottery? Lottery, yes.

00:48:09.643 --> 00:48:15.283
These principles have to be followed nicely. This gives the purity of consciousness,

00:48:15.743 --> 00:48:22.843
plus a certain amount of prayers on the beats, on the Chapa beats,

00:48:23.343 --> 00:48:26.603
Hare Krishna Maha Mantra, needs to be there.

00:48:27.343 --> 00:48:32.323
So that priest becomes qualified to perform a function.

00:48:32.763 --> 00:48:38.403
And he needs to have, of course, a Brahminical background, Brahminical initiation.

00:48:38.403 --> 00:48:44.183
The Brahminical initiation qualifies a person to perform such functions.

00:48:45.083 --> 00:48:53.083
And that requires a spiritual master who is following or who is walking with

00:48:53.083 --> 00:48:58.603
that person and observing that person's lifestyle and purity and consciousness

00:48:58.603 --> 00:49:02.863
and can also decide on the person's qualification.

00:49:02.863 --> 00:49:08.943
And if the spiritual master sees that person is ready, he is giving him the

00:49:08.943 --> 00:49:10.263
Brahminical initiation.

00:49:10.743 --> 00:49:16.323
So there is a certain requirement. It's not for everyone, but it also has,

00:49:16.443 --> 00:49:19.703
of course, a great importance in society.

00:49:19.703 --> 00:49:27.003
Therefore, also a certain high expectation qualification for such a service is required.

00:49:27.043 --> 00:49:33.283
It's not something cheap. But learning can be done by anyone who has the desire.

00:49:33.983 --> 00:49:42.163
And then, if that person feels attracted, he can work to come up to the level

00:49:42.163 --> 00:49:44.583
of receiving pramenical initiation.

00:49:44.943 --> 00:49:48.823
And then he can go and perform his own sangskaras.

00:49:50.547 --> 00:49:52.247
It's definitely a journey.

00:49:54.887 --> 00:50:01.847
It's not just during those three weeks of the course, but it's a commitment for a lifetime.

00:50:02.387 --> 00:50:08.227
Sure, sure. What are the challenges? You seem to have a kind of a vision for

00:50:08.227 --> 00:50:11.307
what is to come in your life.

00:50:11.727 --> 00:50:18.967
Do you see any challenges in actually going through the daily motions of your

00:50:18.967 --> 00:50:20.787
life? Definitely there are challenges.

00:50:21.247 --> 00:50:25.587
See, I see my life as a journey of purification.

00:50:25.607 --> 00:50:30.367
And the challenges are the impurities which pop up.

00:50:30.927 --> 00:50:35.687
How to perceive the impurities? I may give you an example.

00:50:36.047 --> 00:50:42.807
There was an incident some time ago happening, which I never was thinking possible.

00:50:42.807 --> 00:50:50.327
One of my best friends turned practically into an enemy and it hurt me so much

00:50:50.327 --> 00:50:52.787
that I cried and cried and cried.

00:50:53.127 --> 00:50:57.487
I couldn't understand what's going on. These are my challenges.

00:50:57.947 --> 00:51:01.307
There my feelings got hurt,

00:51:01.707 --> 00:51:09.427
my understanding got shaken and it took me a long time to understand that maybe

00:51:09.427 --> 00:51:12.487
you heard about Radhanath Maharaj,

00:51:12.787 --> 00:51:17.687
a very influencing spiritual teacher who is traveling all over the globe.

00:51:17.827 --> 00:51:23.507
Once he mentioned, don't blame the instrument of your karma.

00:51:23.947 --> 00:51:31.667
This is my challenge to understand. That seemingly friend to me became an enemy.

00:51:32.607 --> 00:51:38.147
But this is on the, let's say, material platform.

00:51:38.807 --> 00:51:44.087
Friends and enemies are existing only on the material platform.

00:51:44.627 --> 00:51:50.707
But my aspiration is to develop a vision which is spiritual.

00:51:51.267 --> 00:51:54.987
On the spiritual platform there is no friend and enemy.

00:51:55.427 --> 00:52:03.827
There is only soul. The souls are all of the same constitution, Sat-Chit-Ananda.

00:52:04.307 --> 00:52:08.607
Friend and enemy is a concept that exists only in our mind.

00:52:09.267 --> 00:52:16.987
But due to our impurities, we judge when we look outside. This is friend, this is enemy.

00:52:17.547 --> 00:52:21.687
This is because of some impurities which are still there.

00:52:21.927 --> 00:52:29.887
These are my challenges. to understand that that person who turned into an enemy is not my enemy.

00:52:30.207 --> 00:52:39.867
But actually she was used by the Lord's hands to give me some reactions on my past misdeeds.

00:52:40.870 --> 00:52:46.030
So it's not up to me to think bad of her or to be angry on her.

00:52:46.290 --> 00:52:53.250
No, rather I have to be grateful to her that she became that instrument in the Lord's hands.

00:52:53.850 --> 00:52:58.550
See, these are my challenges to learn these lessons.

00:52:59.170 --> 00:53:05.430
The challenges of the mind are just so, so many, so infinite.

00:53:05.430 --> 00:53:12.510
And you explained it so beautifully, talking about moving beyond the material

00:53:12.510 --> 00:53:18.950
world into the spiritual realm, where we can actually enjoy the bliss.

00:53:19.590 --> 00:53:23.330
But go there, we need to clean ourselves of all these impurities.

00:53:23.630 --> 00:53:29.150
Very beautiful. But to close this, what is the kind of advice that you would

00:53:29.150 --> 00:53:36.110
give someone who feels a similar pull or a similar calling and would want to

00:53:36.110 --> 00:53:38.390
take up a spiritual path,

00:53:38.530 --> 00:53:41.950
but not sure how to begin, where to begin?

00:53:42.490 --> 00:53:47.610
What would be your advice to such a person, to a seeker? It all starts with

00:53:47.610 --> 00:53:48.830
prayers. Sorry, I didn't say that.

00:53:48.990 --> 00:53:51.250
It all starts with prayers.

00:53:52.870 --> 00:53:56.810
A sincere heart is guided by the Lord.

00:53:57.150 --> 00:54:04.430
If a desire for a spiritual path is there, then such a person should start to pray to the Lord.

00:54:04.630 --> 00:54:14.630
It was when at one point in my life I was still studying law in Bern,

00:54:15.350 --> 00:54:16.650
capital of Switzerland,

00:54:17.630 --> 00:54:20.470
and I didn't know what to do. I was kind of stuck.

00:54:20.710 --> 00:54:26.250
I didn't know. I was looking for the Absolute Truth, but I didn't know how to find an answer on it.

00:54:26.490 --> 00:54:29.610
And I just sent a prayer into the universe.

00:54:30.490 --> 00:54:34.170
Please, my Lord, show me the path.

00:54:35.090 --> 00:54:40.270
And some days later, I met devotees on the way who gave me prasana.

00:54:40.270 --> 00:54:48.690
This is sanctified food, which is a beginning, which is helping the person to

00:54:48.690 --> 00:54:52.850
become purified in the mind, to understand about God.

00:54:53.930 --> 00:55:00.590
This was for me a sign, God heard my prayers and He shows me the path.

00:55:00.910 --> 00:55:08.550
So prayers are a very, very powerful instrument, actually our most important instrument.

00:55:09.668 --> 00:55:12.868
The strongest instrument to get in contact with the Lord.

00:55:13.048 --> 00:55:16.748
The Lord will reciprocate because He is sitting in our heart.

00:55:16.848 --> 00:55:22.888
He is sitting there and He's just waiting for that moment when we turn to Him.

00:55:23.108 --> 00:55:29.828
And then once He sees our awakening, He will arrange everything that we come in contact with Him.

00:55:30.348 --> 00:55:33.968
From that moment, it's kind of automatic, no?

00:55:34.448 --> 00:55:38.788
But it has to start from us. It has to start with our prayers.

00:55:39.848 --> 00:55:47.148
So this is so beautiful. I would just like to wrap it up with a rapid-fire round that I always ask.

00:55:47.328 --> 00:55:50.408
I'm just so filled with love and devotion.

00:55:50.928 --> 00:55:56.588
Listening to you, I could be sitting here all day long, but with all good things

00:55:56.588 --> 00:56:01.868
do have to come to an end, and so should our interview. Are you ready?

00:56:03.668 --> 00:56:07.068
What's your favorite thing about your job? First of all, it's not a job.

00:56:08.088 --> 00:56:13.208
It's not a job. It's, in German we say, Perufo.

00:56:14.268 --> 00:56:19.808
A job is something you do from, you do like eight hours a day and then you go for your hobbies.

00:56:19.968 --> 00:56:23.608
I do that 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

00:56:23.888 --> 00:56:26.788
This is my life and soul.

00:56:27.568 --> 00:56:34.168
You used to work as a head priest and now you're working to teach more people,

00:56:34.388 --> 00:56:38.668
take up the role of performing different sanskaras.

00:56:38.668 --> 00:56:43.968
What is the one word that would best describe your leadership style?

00:56:44.168 --> 00:56:50.828
It's probably, it's difficult to put it in one word, but it could be described

00:56:50.828 --> 00:56:54.248
with sharing the heart or opening the heart.

00:56:55.508 --> 00:57:00.808
Okay. What is your superpower? Superpowers?

00:57:03.668 --> 00:57:09.148
Superpowers. See, I myself, I'm nothing, I'm powerless.

00:57:10.348 --> 00:57:13.088
My superpower is like the connection.

00:57:14.530 --> 00:57:20.570
To the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it's like my spiritual master connects

00:57:20.570 --> 00:57:26.790
me with the whole line of spiritual teachers and it goes up to the Lord.

00:57:27.170 --> 00:57:33.190
And this is where the power comes from. This is an eternal powerhouse. It's always available.

00:57:33.450 --> 00:57:38.850
I just need to plug in. And how do I plug in? It's by becoming conscious that

00:57:38.850 --> 00:57:40.950
I'm only an instrument in the Lord's hands.

00:57:41.670 --> 00:57:46.710
What can I do? If the instrument is not picked up and applied, I'm useless.

00:57:47.470 --> 00:57:51.070
This is my superpower. It comes from above.

00:57:51.570 --> 00:57:57.990
So what is the one core message that you would like to share with our listeners,

00:57:58.010 --> 00:58:04.130
the message that you received from your mentor or your spiritual master that

00:58:04.130 --> 00:58:06.410
has been your guiding light in your life.

00:58:07.070 --> 00:58:08.750
Become authentic.

00:58:09.670 --> 00:58:14.170
Follow the call in your heart. Become a seeker.

00:58:14.690 --> 00:58:23.530
Become a seeker. Don't be satisfied with normalities, thinking this is the way it has to be.

00:58:23.930 --> 00:58:31.730
Have courage to walk a path which is maybe not so common, but it's your path.

00:58:32.250 --> 00:58:37.590
And you would regret something if you don't take it up.

00:58:38.090 --> 00:58:47.370
And if it's serious and sincere and authentic, then the Lord is there to guide everyone on that path.

00:58:47.770 --> 00:58:53.650
It's been a pleasure talking to you, understanding your life's journey from

00:58:53.650 --> 00:58:57.970
Switzerland to India and back to Europe. Thank you so much.

00:58:58.758 --> 00:59:04.318
Thank you. Thank you, Manati, for taking time to invite me for this podcast.

00:59:04.738 --> 00:59:10.718
I'm very, very honored and very happy to have that talk with you. Thank you so much.

00:59:11.618 --> 00:59:13.778
Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna.

00:59:15.138 --> 00:59:21.338
Thank you so much for joining us on this inspiring episode of The Impressive Emperor's Podcast.

00:59:21.878 --> 00:59:26.698
We hope today's conversation sparked something within you, Whether it's the

00:59:26.698 --> 00:59:31.358
courage to follow your own calling, deepen your connection to your own self,

00:59:31.518 --> 00:59:34.438
or embrace the challenges that lead to growth,

00:59:34.978 --> 00:59:42.698
remember, your journey is unique and every step brings you closer to the power within.

00:59:42.698 --> 00:59:48.158
Stay tuned for more such meaningful conversations by subscribing to the Impressive

00:59:48.158 --> 00:59:52.638
Empress podcast on your favorite podcast platform such as Spotify,

00:59:53.158 --> 00:59:56.878
Apple, Amazon, YouTube, or anywhere else.

00:59:57.258 --> 01:00:00.458
And do leave a rating and a review.

01:00:00.838 --> 01:00:08.158
Your feedback would be the inspiration that we need to bring more such inspiring stories to you.

01:00:08.638 --> 01:00:11.718
Got a question that you want me to ask our next guest?

01:00:11.718 --> 01:00:26.358
Do write to me at empress at bhogya.online. That's E-M-P-R-E-S-S at B-H-O-G-Y-A dot online.

01:00:27.058 --> 01:00:33.118
Until the next time, stay empowered and keep embracing your inner transformation.

01:00:33.638 --> 01:00:39.498
This is Malati and this is the Impressive Empress Podcast.

01:00:43.358 --> 01:00:45.038
Thank you.

01:00:45.200 --> 01:00:55.297
Music.