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

0:03 Don't try to see God, but act in such a way that He wants to see you. A quote by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami, a prominent religious scholar and the founder of 64 Gaudiya Mathas or Vedic Institutes in India. He is the guru of Srila Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Hello, my name is Malati and I'm your host on the Impressive Empress podcast, the podcast that explores the inner journey of women in leadership.

0:44 We focus on personal growth, creating meaningful impact and empowering others to realize their full potential. Each episode, we dive into the values that shape extraordinary women leaders who lead from within, guided by purpose and a deep desire to serve while gracefully navigating both triumphs and challenges along the way. Today's episode is a journey with our guest, Damodara Priyadasi, who embodies calling, connection and challenge, not just as a seeker, but as a leader and guide for others on a spiritual path.

1:25 Growing up in a small Swiss mountain village, she felt an early pull towards something greater. She had this longing to know the absolute truth. She joined the University of Bern to study law, but soon realized her true calling lay beyond textbooks. At 25, she took a bold leap, leaving behind her studies to travel to India, where she encountered Buddhism. Hinduism, and ultimately the path of Sanatana Dharma, Bhakti, and Iskama. Returning to Europe, she didn't just follow devotion, she became a pillar of it.

2:07 For 24 years, she served in a temple leadership, including 18 years as a head pujari, overseeing sacred rituals, training others in deity worship and conducting many samskaras as for the Hindu tradition, such as the Simanta Samskara, the Vivaha Samskara and many others. Today, she continues to lead by teaching bhakti shastras and mentoring seekers worldwide, making ancient wisdom relevant in modern life. In this conversation, we'll explore what it means to trust your calling, grow through challenges and share wisdom in a way that uplifts others.

2:51 Do stay till the end as Damodhra Priya is going to share superpower and a leadership style. Please join me in welcoming Damodhra Priya Dasi to the Impressive Empress podcast. Namaskaram Damodhra Freyadasi. A very warm welcome to the Impressive Empires podcast, where we are talking to women leaders from across the globe, trying to understand their inner journey to lead the way that they are leading and impacting many lives. I would be very happy to have this conversation with you and understand your personal growth journey.

3:36 So welcome to the Thank you so much, Malati. I'm very, very happy and honored to be here to be your guest. I'm trying my best to answer all your questions. It's going to be a free-flowing conversation and it's all about you. It's all about you, the individual. But of course, we also like to touch upon the work that you are doing and have done. So can you please briefly introduce yourself? So yeah, there are two names. There is the civil name which has been given by my mother and father, this is Doris. And it's a spiritual name which has been given to me by my spiritual master already now 22 years ago.

4:25 So that means a long, long path of spiritual practice is already behind me. And an even longer path probably is ahead of me. But this is my heart's calling as you ask for the inner journey. It was with age 25 when I felt that calling inside to travel to the land of wisdom. I had no contact so far with India. But with around 18 years, I started to ask myself about the Absolute Truth. What is the Absolute Truth? And that time I was in contact with a person who, according to my understanding, was very learned, very learned.

5:10 We had many, many long talks. Together. And he told me, I considered him as an authority, as authoritative in answering my questions. So I asked him, what is the absolute truth? And he told me, the absolute truth is not existing. You have to have your own absolute truth. And I was thinking, how is it possible? Then the absolute truth is relative. It's not absolute. If everybody can have his own absolute truth. What's about absolute? No, then it's only relative. So this answer did not truly satisfy my inner calling. And it still went on for six, seven years until I took the decision.

5:52 That time with age 25, I was studying law. I was also working half time and half time studying. And I quit my studies on the day when my boss, actually, I was working with the Swiss government in a very well-paid secretary job, and he wanted me to have a very important post after my studies finished. And on that day, when he offered me that post, I told him, I'm very sorry, I just quitted my studies, and I'm now packing my stuff, and I'm going to India to look for the absolute truth. And he was thinking, oh my God, what happened to her? Not only he, my mother also. Can you imagine?

6:35 25-year-old girl, I grew up in the in the Swiss mountains in a 500-inhabitant, village, all of a sudden has the idea to go to India. You know better what that means than I had no idea. I'm a fully greenhorn. But I felt that call very strong, very, very strong. I could not, I could not overhear it. I could not ignore that calling. Although I was afraid. I was severely afraid. Can you imagine?

7:16 I had medicine in my backpack for 300 Swiss francs. 300 Swiss francs medicine for all eventualities. I bought medicine. I was thinking, oh my god, India, it's not only the land of wisdom. It's also the land of whatever comes across and it's full of dust. So I was highly afraid. I'm quite an anxious person. But instead of my anxieties, still I had that strong determination, that deep calling, I have to go there and I have to look for the absolute truth.

7:57 There, I will find an answer on it. I asked my friends all around. Nobody was able to take off from their jobs, from their studies, because I intended to go for four months. That's not nothing, no? That's, yeah. So, you said you had this very strong inner calling. Yeah. Can you talk to us a little bit more about that inner calling aspect? How did you actually hear the noise? Because in the Western paradigm, it's always ignore your inner voice. But in the Indian paradigm, we say, listen to your heart, listen to the voice that guides you.

8:37 So how were you able to distinguish between the two and embark on this very transformative journey? I guess there is where my determination comes in. I'm very strong-minded. When I have an idea, in my mind. My mother can confirm that. I just go for it. And many years later, an astrologer once told me that I'm very, very strongly following my goals, and especially the spiritual goal. It is like set for me in my chart. I cannot but follow it. So now I understand that time, I didn't know, but now I understand it was the Lord in my heart calling me to come.

9:25 That time, I didn't know anything about Krishna, about Krishna consciousness. I didn't know anything about all this Shastra, Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam. I had no idea. I didn't get in contact with Krishna consciousness yet in the West. Actually, it was also not my desire to get in contact with Hinduism. Because once I was in India, I understood, my God, so many gods, so many. Now even I know it's 33 million gods. Which one is then the absolute one? I was fully confused. And I went to Dharamsala at the bottom of the Himalayan mountains.

10:08 And I spent six weeks there with the Dalai Lama. This is like exiled Tibet, where the Dalai Lama took refuge when he left Nepal. Six weeks I spent there and I listened to his lectures and it was my intention to enter the Buddhism kind of path. But I didn't get access. No doors opened. And I felt that was probably in my last life. In this life, I have to find access to what I call now Krishna Consciousness. And it was during this four months travel where I got in touch with devotees who brought me to Brindavan Dham, to Krishna Balram Temple, to Banki Bihari.

10:56 And there my curiosity started to awaken on the fact that I wrote two books, Krishna Book and Bhagavad Gita. Krishna Book is like all the stories of the Lord. Is told in Srimabhagavatam 10th canto in a comprised version in one book only. I would like to ask you about your first entry into India. Did you have any Indian friends or Indian swamis who visited your village? You listened to them and therefore you decided to go to India. What made you decide that you have to go to India of all the places?

11:39 Have you been there before as a tourist or something? Or did anyone tell you about India? Nothing, nothing. Not in this life, I have to say, not in this life. But many on the path, on the past 22 years, told me that in my past life, I was there in India. And I can tell you, when I put my foot on the ground in India, I actually flew to Madras, Chennai. it felt like coming back. It felt like home. I felt so at ease in India. Life is so easy, you know, like just very simple life, very practically everything arranged and the thoughts of the saintly persons very deep, very deep.

12:29 But I had no clue how to get access to an answer on my question. Actually, it was my desire to meet with Mother Teresa's Sister of Misery Courts. It's, I don't know in English, in German. Not in Calcutta, that was a too big city for me. It was some travel agent who told me, you better go to Madras. Madras is quite Western oriented. You will feel easy. You can go around easy there. So it's an easy entry into India. So that's what I did. It was like that. Actually, these Mother Teresa's sisters, I wanted to meet them in Bangalore, not in Madras.

13:15 So first day already, I took a train, a five-hour trip to Bangalore. And I didn't eat in the train because I was so much afraid to get sick of what they serve. I didn't know, is it clean? Can we take it? Yeah, I mean, it's a long story. I can tell you about tourists in Bangalore at the railway station. When the electricity went off, I was so much afraid. I didn't know, is it a terrorist attack now going on? Or what's going on? Because I had no idea of India. I didn't know that electricity is going off and on. That's normal, no? So it was all dark when I reached 10 o'clock in the night, I reached Bangalore railway station and the electricity was off.

13:59 But I saw two Westerners on the platform and I approached them, asked them for help. And they told me, sorry, they can not, I asked them actually if I can follow them in their hotel. And they told me they are not staying in Bangalore, they are going further. But they met one very nice person in the train he can also help me that was mr krishnan immediately first day i got introduced to a per second day that was already got introduced to a person called mr krishnan he arranged in the middle of the night for a room in a hotel his son brought me there on the backpack of his bike the back seat of his bike and he arranged for two meals vegetarian meals because he didn't know what i like and he saw him very hungry and he told me next day i will come with Move my son to your room 10 o'clock and we will discuss your plans.

14:52 And he came the next day and I was a bit afraid, I have to admit, the Indian traffic. He put me in a hotel room on the seventh floor of a high hotel complex and I was looking down on the street and I saw like two lines, but the cars were driving four lines. And then the cows are there and the people and the bikes and the bicycles and the rickshaws. I think, well, how is it possible for me coming from the mountains to cross the street, yeah? So I told him, although I feel quite comfortable, but still I feel actually I will have difficulties to get along here.

15:32 So don't worry, I will better go back to Europe. And he said, no, no, you came from so far, you have to stay. I invite you to our house. It's in Kalikat in Kerala. You can come there and I will introduce you. And can you imagine, never so far, I did what I did that day. After two hours later, I sat with this, for me, completely unknown person in a nine hours bus ride to the jungle from Bangalore to Calicut. But I felt completely safe, completely safe. And I felt somehow this is what I should do. I felt like carried, like a child carried in the Lord's hands.

16:20 I had that strong faith that it's okay, it's good. If something would have been wrong, I would have recognized it. Very sensitive. I can feel if people mean well or if they are kind of trying to betray one, to have bad intentions. And I asked all my questions about the absolute truth to that person. He was a retired English professor and his hobby was arranging pilgrimage tours. And he got tears in his eyes on that bus ride. And I didn't know why. And I asked him, is it because the bus has no windows?

17:07 The air was coming in and maybe it hurts his eyes. He said, no, no, that's not the reason. It's because of your questions. You come from so far. You come from Europe. You know, everybody wants to go to Europe. There is a lot of richness that can earn so much money and life is so wonderful and comfortable there. And you take this discomfort to come to India and you want to even know about our gods, about our philosophy and religion. I couldn't believe. He was deeply touched, no? I'm sure, I'm sure anyone would be so deeply moved by such a question from a young woman coming all the way from Europe.

17:53 That was really very, very courageous on your part. But even though you were, like you said, you were scared and you had so many medicines, worth 300 francs of those days must have been quite a lot. A lot, a lot, yes. But I think your faith, your inner calling kind of kept you going. Yes, that was actually 26 years ago. And now, right now, I'm again in Kerala, near to Kalikat, sitting in Guru Vayur. And we went to Guru Vayur that time, 26 years ago. And kind of that path, which I walked on my first journey through India, and I can see things from a completely different perspective now, because now 25 years of spiritual practice are behind me.

18:44 That was the moment, this first four months traveling to India, that was when I set my roots into spirituality. And I made that commitment to walk that path. And I understood. I went back after four months with Bhagavad Gita in my backpack. And I understood this is here, I will find actually the answer on my question, on my search about the absolute truth. But your four months in India, you explored Buddhism, you explored a little bit of Hinduism. But in those four months itself, did you decide on taking the path of Iskand?

19:30 Or did you get drawn to the path of bhakti? Not yet. Not yet. Sorry. I had Bhagavad-kita in my backpack, which was translated by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. So an ISKCON influence was there already. I came back to Switzerland, and actually I started to study theology because I wanted to know about God. And after a short period, our professor told us, those who believe in God, these are sentimentalists. And that was the day when I left university. Because for me, God was never a question. It was never a question if God exists or not.

20:14 That was for me completely clear. Even as a child, I grew up being Christian. And I always prayed very deeply every evening. Even I prayed to Lord Jesus Christ to please use me as an instrument in your hand to spread God consciousness. And I see it very clearly as the logical consequence of these prayers that I connected with Krishna consciousness. And now I'm doing what I was asking for. I'm now spreading the Lord's message. So, what I did, I quitted university and I took Bhagavad Gita and I went to Iskon Temple in Zürich.

21:00 I knocked at the door and I asked them, the first person who opened, I was a little bit afraid because I was thinking, what's this for strange people? No, they're running around with colored bedsheets and singing the whole day. I was completely into studies. I couldn't believe that the path of singing the Holy Name could be a serious path of God-realization. I couldn't believe. I was too much into, we say, Gyaan, knowledge. So the first person who opened, I asked, please, can you explain me what is there written in Bhagavad Gita? Because the first chapter, you know, is all about setting the scene with all these different complicated names.

21:42 I had no idea. What is it? It's a philosophical book, but where to find an access to it? And he told me, if you want to know that, you have to go to Brindavan. There is an institute for educating people into bhakti-shastras, into the scriptures about devotion, about bhakti. So it was one year later when I sat again in the airplane, I flew back to India that time to Delhi, took a taxi to Brindavan. It was not my desire to become an Iskanderoti that time. I just wanted to know what is in this book.

22:29 Please someone help me, someone explains to me. And the management of the school was a little bit doubtful if they should accept me or not. And they told me, okay, you can join, but you have to come every day for Mongol Arctic. Pramal Arthak starts at 4.30 in the morning. My God, so early! Every day for four months. The course was for four months. And you need to recite Hare Krishna Maha Mantra on the prayer beats. A certain amount of rounds, 16 rounds. My God, so much! I will have all day, no time for studies. And you will have to put tilats on your nose. Where can't beets.

23:16 I was so much determined to find out about the absolute truth, then I did all that, which I actually didn't so much liked in the beginning. But can you imagine after four months, in the dust of Brindavan, that time 26-25 years ago, there was really still dust paths in Brindavan. Nowadays you can find only skyscrapers and cars blocking the streets and the sadhus disappeared from the scene, sadly. But that time.

23:57 You saw the sadhus all around. And I just have a strong attraction for a life of a monk. Strongly the call in me, this is what I want to do. And after four months, I was so much impregnated by the dust of Brindavan that I just wanted to stay in Brindavan and to continue to a chant. I chanted many more rounds than 16 at that time. It was just flowing and coming on its own. And then actually, that person who sent me to Brindavan called me, told me, now you can come back and you can, what we say, do a novice course in our temple in Zurich.

24:50 I told him, now I just studied Bhakti Shastras, now I should do a novice course. You know, this is usually the other way around. First you learn the basics, then you go to study the books. But I studied already the books. I have the basics. Now why I should now go and study the basics? But somehow he convinced me to come back. And that was the one step I actually a little bit, how to say, regret. My life would have become different had I chosen to remain, to stay in Brindalen. But I went back to Switzerland. I was staying three months in the temple in Zurich. I went through one more course. in this novice course.

25:31 And there actually I saw a picture of Shishi Radha Madan Mohan from Golokadam, Germany. I asked the devotees, who are they? Because in Brindavan, East Contemplary, I got attracted to Radha Shamsundra. Beautiful, beautiful Radha Shamsundra. Radha and Krishna. I just, I could stay in front of them the whole day and chant and chant and chant. I felt so much attraction to them. And in Zurich, they have Jagannath, Paladev, Subhadra and Shishigoni Dai on the altar. And I was missing Radha and Krishna.

26:13 I was missing Vrindavan. But then I saw this photo of Radha Madanmohan, Radha Krishna deities. And they told me these deities are in Germany, in Golokadar, near to Mainz. And it was clear to me I have to go there. Once this novice course ended, I packed my stuff and I traveled to Abenteuer. Abenteuer in English means adventure. That is the name of the village, where the temple is. I couldn't believe that the village has the name Adventure. But I felt I need to go there. And I came. What was the reaction from your parents for this adventure of yours?

26:55 My mother was scared, very scared, because she was thinking, now she's in a sect, she's going the wrong way. She even sent a priest to talk to me, and she got calls from her friends and relatives telling her, oh, this is not good, this is not good. And she was very afraid. My father, he was the opposite. He supported me fully. He understood this is the path. He was able to understand my inner calling. I very much inherited that calling from him. He also had that calling. But somehow, due to the circumstances in his life, he was never able to truly follow it. But he strongly believed in God.

27:45 So you still have this divine connection all the time. It was then. You're also feeling it very strongly. See, my father wanted to give me the name Dorothea. Doris is an abbreviation of Dorothea. And Dorothea is a Greek name, which means the one who is God-given. So from childhood on, I had the desire to become anon, to live in a monastery, to pray, to find the path to the Lord. And in my childlike way, I tried to be God conscious.

28:26 But I found the world, everything else than God conscious, and I felt misplaced. I was thinking, he's not a place for me. Yeah, I felt like somewhat, yeah, I landed in the wrong place, no? But in this material world, as you were going through your teenage and the early days, it's only natural but to have a partner in life. So I don't know if you had such thoughts, but if not, you would have been perceived to be kind of strange, lacking something. It must have been a real challenge at that age, right? See, I was happy with books. I was a book lover. I was reading books.

29:11 I was living in a shared apartment with two boys. There was just no thought of attracting between male and female. It was just not in my scope. See, I came from the Swiss mountains. I had never any relationship with with a man in that sense. That was just not my intention. From the beginning on, I was just looking for some deeper meaning in life. I remember once I told to my schoolmates, I was around. 16, 17 years old, I told them, I don't want to follow a job from morning till evening until age 64 and then die on a heart attack.

30:01 This is not what I expect from life. There must be something deeper. I was looking, I was searching, I was reading many philosophical books to find out deeper meaning of life. That was always my focus, not to find a partner and to go in discotheques. I hated to go in discotheques. Maybe in my life I was twice there, but it was full of smoke. I never smoked. I never drank. It was funny. Some time ago I was in education where I learned to care for elderly people and the teacher wanted to make an example about alcoholism. and he said, all of you, you remember the moment when you were drunk once.

30:43 And I told him, very sorry, I was never drunk. He just looked at me with big eyes and he smiled and he said, don't worry, remain as you are. It was just not part of my experience. Were you considered normal by your friends and peers? It didn't really get you. Were you kind of considered normal by your friends or were you considered a strange person who doesn't drink, who doesn't smoke, who doesn't have a boyfriend at that age? See, I chose my friends who had the same wavelengths as I had.

31:26 Lucky you. Yeah, there were always friends around. I remember once we had a group of four friends. We went hiking and we had a boat where we went in the nature. We slept in tents and yeah, adventurous life, no? But nothing with partnership. That was just not relevant to me. Even this coming together and walking through nature, that was always with a philosophical book in the backpack. And we were sitting together and reading and discussing philosophy always. It was always the center. Now that you have been in this movement for the last 20 plus years, have you found the absolute truth and the deeper meaning of your life that you have been seeking?

32:17 I have definitely found the deeper meaning of life. But if I said I would have found the Absolute Truth, that would mean that my spiritual journey would end here. Because as a spiritualist, one remains a searcher always. If we say, this is the Absolute Truth, then it becomes stagnant. It becomes a dogma. We form kind of walls which avoid our further growth. Very interesting. Yeah. So, okay, let's probably continue on this path that you took to go to Abenteuer in Lines.

33:04 And there I understand that you studied to become a pujari, a priestess. Yeah, actually, since I finished in Switzerland a commercial apprenticeship before I entered university. They wanted to take me there in Abenteuer, in the temple, as a secretary. And the first day when I arrived, I still remember I was sitting in the room where we serve Phrasthanam and the head priest approaches me and asks me, do you want to become a helper of the Pujaris? And that was, wow, I was allowed to help the priests. That was something unimaginable, no?

33:49 And I said, definitely, definitely, I want, because this is very close, so much close to Radha and Krishna, no? You get in touch with the paraphernalia, with their clothes, their dresses, their plates from where they eat. Yes, definitely, this is much more attractive than to sit in the office and to type in the computer, no? And I tell you, I never put even a toe into the office. Never. From day one, I was in the Pujari room and I learned everything from zero on all the different paraphernalia.

34:30 I know how to handle what is their meaning, what is how to apply them. I learned all the mantras, I learned everything. And that was actually in the year 2000. In the year 2008, I became the head priest. I was still very young, very young and unexperienced, but the situation was such that the head priest left the place and with the empowerment of my spiritual master, I took that challenging post and actually one year later, 2009. I went to Shridam Mayapur, this is at the banks of Madhurganga, near to Calcutta and I went there for four months in a Bujari training course.

35:22 And after that also, for three years we invited the head Bujari of Iskon Brindavan every year for two weeks to come to Goloka Dham to teach me how to perform sanskaras. Because in India it's not at all custom that ladies perform sanskaras. I learned how to conduct a Vivaha Sangskar. I learned how to conduct an Anaprasna ceremony or a Nam Karam Sangskar. All of that and I did not learn it just because I had to.

36:08 I learned it because I felt again this inner calling to do that. I felt that need, that this is what I want to do, this is what I want to go, this is where I can connect with the Lord. By becoming an instrument in His hands and helping others to also connect with the Lord through all these Vedic sacrifices. This is how I learned, how I got trained to become a priest and pujari. And I remained actually in the ashram as a nun, as a brahmacharini is not really existing, that word.

36:55 And in India also, it's not existing that ladies become nuns. They remain at home until they marry. But our founder, Acharya, Srila Prabhupada, he arranged for ladies in the West because he understood in the West the ladies are independent-minded. So he arranged that they also can stay in an ashram, separated of course from the Prabhus, from the Brahmacharis. And they remained there for 18 years as a nun. In this year, I learned a lot, I studied a lot of scriptures and I started to teach.

37:37 2010, I started to teach deity worship. 2015, I started to teach Shastra philosophy on place and online. And since last year, I'm mainly teaching. That's also, again, the inner calling. I cannot otherwise then share whatever jewels I got from the past 25 years to share that with others because to me it's extremely inspiring, extremely enlivening. And I feel that deep conviction, this is what I was looking for. And when I walk this path, surely I will reach the goal, the understanding of what the absolute truth really is.

38:25 Once a friend told me, if you go to the desert, and you are thirsty, you start digging for water. And you go to one place, and you dig only a little bit, and you say, no, there is no water, I go to another place, and I start digging there. After a while again, you say, no, there is no water, I go to another place. You will never find water. But once you feel this is the path, then you stay and you go deep and for sure, at one moment in time, you will find what you're looking for, you will find water or what I was looking for or what I'm looking for, the absolute truth.

39:09 And this is still my aim, this is my determination, this is my goal. And luckily, actually, Krishna gave me a wonderful husband who has the same aim. Seven years ago, I entered the Grihastha Ashram, I married, and also with a Vivaha-Sangskara. My Yagya teacher, my Sangskara teacher, made the Vivaha-Sangskara for us. That was necessary for me because I have a very critical mind. Since I know myself, how a Vivaha-Sangskara has to be performed, I had to have a priest. Who knows? Who does it the way I do it? And that's only my teacher.

39:49 So yes, and my husband, he is even more focused in his spiritual practice than I am. We are supporting each other. We are helping each other to move on on our eternal journey towards our ultimate destiny. you know. This is what we call Sanatan Dharma. We have nothing or not so much to do with Naimitik Dharma. We are fully focused only on our eternal Dharma, Sanatan Dharma, our eternal relationship with the Lord. And this is what is my deep aspiration to share that with others. Very, very nice, very divine journey that you have had with courage and faith, seeking to find the deeper meaning of life. And I'm very glad that you have found yours.

40:41 But as you mentioned, you took a path of a priestess, which is not very common. So how are you managing it along with the modern way of living? The modern way of living was never so much my way. We live very simple, very, very simple. We live in a temple in Singhajjalang. This is in Nyrtu Passau in Yandalsbrun, where we are worshipping what in Shingadev, in a little apartment, 36 square meters, very, very small.

41:24 Srila Prabhupada, he had a saying, simple living and high thinking. It's not about creating an opulent living space. It just takes time to keep it clean, to protect it that no one breaks in and steals something and keep it functioning. Things may break and always one is occupied in taking care of this material element which is It's meant to dissolve at one moment in time, so not to invest in a comfortable living. Necessary things need to be there, one has to have a certain comfort, but more important is the absorption. Where is our consciousness?

42:10 And with the living circumstances, I did not have so many difficulties. Since I was living for 18 years as a nun in a temple, I had just one little room and never desired more. I almost had no clothes. When I married, I first had to buy a few clothes like pants and skirts, pullovers like that, shirts, because I was just dressing for 18 years in sari. I had nothing else. Once a coach brother of mine invited me to go to Bulgaria in one hotel to make a holiday. And he said, this is at the beach, you need to bring your bathing suit. But as a devotee, we are used to bathe in sari. We are not dressing in bathing suits.

42:53 That's just not... You see the Indians, they bathe in... Now we are here in Kerala at the beach, Guru Vayur. The Indians, they don't have this bathing culture to dress in bathing suits. They go with their clothes. And this is all what I learned. And then my god brother told me, but you need to buy a bathing suit. You cannot come there, it's a touristic place, you have to come in a bathing dress. That was a bit strange to me. It was really a bit strange. But anyhow, I also survived that experience. More difficult for me was actually, or still is, when I called for a performance of a Sangskar and it's for an Indian congregation and they are making big eyes.

43:47 A lady priest? This is not possible. What she can do, no? The one, the couple who wants the sanskar, with them I always discuss, meet before and for them it's always no problem. Yes, yes, lady priest, no problem. But they're friends, they don't know. They're just invited for a Simantonain sanskar and they come. A lady is sitting on the fire. This is a little bit challenging. How do you explain your situation to them? I explain and when I start speaking and explain the situation and also start to perform the function, then their mood changes.

44:31 They understand, yes, she's knowledgeable, she knows what she's doing. But still, I personally feel that these functions are more for men, not for females. I'm tending more towards the teaching, the teaching of such sacrifices than to perform them myself. This is more my intention because the devotee amount in Germany is increasing. Many families are there, many children are there and they need these samskaras. Many Indians come to Germany, want to have these samskaras, but priests are very few. only. So it's my intention also to help increasing the amount of priests who are qualified to perform these samskaras.

45:19 So do you already have some people whom you are guiding on this journey? Sure, sure. Last year I had two courses and these courses, since it's quite of a complex subject, it takes three weeks fully to learn. There were altogether 15 students who are learning to perform, who went through the course. And I'm keeping them on track, follow up with them, what's going on. And one definitely of them, one of two of them, they picked it up and they are now into performing their own sanskaras one even surpassed me he's doing better than me.

46:03 That's that's the best he was my first student and very very proud of that one that he is going into the subject even deeper than what i'm able to share so this is actually what what is most pleasing to me when I see that it's enhancing their practice, it's helping them to advance then that is most satisfying to me, So what is the criteria for anyone to join these courses? Should they be following the Iskons of Pradaya? Or can anyone join? Can only girls join?

46:44 May boys join? What age? Can you share some details on that? Definitely, they must be vegetarian. Most important, they must be vegetarian because they come in contact with fire. They call the Lord and they ask the Lord for blessings. That needs the proper lifestyle. It needs a God-conscious lifestyle actually, to be able to perform such a function properly and not to make it just a child's play. Everybody can ignite the fire or for some ghee into the fire, no problem, but that it really has an impact.

47:25 It's actually the spiritual practice of the priest, what makes the function work, what gives the depth of the function, what gives the impact. That is required. Definitely 100% vegetarian lifestyle, not just for the duration of the function, but full lifestyle of purity, which involves no meat, no fish, no eggs, no alcohol, no intoxications, no illicit sex, no, how to say, Glücksspiel.

48:05 Lottery? Lottery, yes. These principles have to be followed nicely. This gives the purity of consciousness, plus a certain amount of prayers on the beats, on the Chapa beats, Hare Krishna Maha Mantra, needs to be there. So that priest becomes qualified to perform a function. And he needs to have, of course, a Brahminical background, Brahminical initiation. The Brahminical initiation qualifies a person to perform such functions. And that requires a spiritual master who is following or who is walking with that person and observing that person's lifestyle and purity and consciousness and can also decide on the person's qualification.

49:02 And if the spiritual master sees that person is ready, he is giving him the Brahminical initiation. So there is a certain requirement. It's not for everyone, but it also has, of course, a great importance in society. Therefore, also a certain high expectation qualification for such a service is required. It's not something cheap. But learning can be done by anyone who has the desire. And then, if that person feels attracted, he can work to come up to the level of receiving pramenical initiation.

49:44 And then he can go and perform his own sangskaras. It's definitely a journey. It's not just during those three weeks of the course, but it's a commitment for a lifetime. Sure, sure. What are the challenges? You seem to have a kind of a vision for what is to come in your life. Do you see any challenges in actually going through the daily motions of your life? Definitely there are challenges. See, I see my life as a journey of purification.

50:25 And the challenges are the impurities which pop up. How to perceive the impurities? I may give you an example. There was an incident some time ago happening, which I never was thinking possible. One of my best friends turned practically into an enemy and it hurt me so much that I cried and cried and cried. I couldn't understand what's going on. These are my challenges. There my feelings got hurt, my understanding got shaken and it took me a long time to understand that maybe you heard about Radhanath Maharaj, a very influencing spiritual teacher who is traveling all over the globe.

51:17 Once he mentioned, don't blame the instrument of your karma. This is my challenge to understand. That seemingly friend to me became an enemy. But this is on the, let's say, material platform. Friends and enemies are existing only on the material platform. But my aspiration is to develop a vision which is spiritual. On the spiritual platform there is no friend and enemy. There is only soul. The souls are all of the same constitution, Sat-Chit-Ananda.

52:04 Friend and enemy is a concept that exists only in our mind. But due to our impurities, we judge when we look outside. This is friend, this is enemy. This is because of some impurities which are still there. These are my challenges. to understand that that person who turned into an enemy is not my enemy. But actually she was used by the Lord's hands to give me some reactions on my past misdeeds. So it's not up to me to think bad of her or to be angry on her.

52:46 No, rather I have to be grateful to her that she became that instrument in the Lord's hands. See, these are my challenges to learn these lessons. The challenges of the mind are just so, so many, so infinite. And you explained it so beautifully, talking about moving beyond the material world into the spiritual realm, where we can actually enjoy the bliss. But go there, we need to clean ourselves of all these impurities. Very beautiful. But to close this, what is the kind of advice that you would give someone who feels a similar pull or a similar calling and would want to take up a spiritual path, but not sure how to begin, where to begin?

53:42 What would be your advice to such a person, to a seeker? It all starts with prayers. Sorry, I didn't say that. It all starts with prayers. A sincere heart is guided by the Lord. If a desire for a spiritual path is there, then such a person should start to pray to the Lord. It was when at one point in my life I was still studying law in Bern, capital of Switzerland, and I didn't know what to do. I was kind of stuck. I didn't know. I was looking for the Absolute Truth, but I didn't know how to find an answer on it.

54:26 And I just sent a prayer into the universe. Please, my Lord, show me the path. And some days later, I met devotees on the way who gave me prasana. This is sanctified food, which is a beginning, which is helping the person to become purified in the mind, to understand about God. This was for me a sign, God heard my prayers and He shows me the path. So prayers are a very, very powerful instrument, actually our most important instrument.

55:09 The strongest instrument to get in contact with the Lord. The Lord will reciprocate because He is sitting in our heart. He is sitting there and He's just waiting for that moment when we turn to Him. And then once He sees our awakening, He will arrange everything that we come in contact with Him. From that moment, it's kind of automatic, no? But it has to start from us. It has to start with our prayers. So this is so beautiful. I would just like to wrap it up with a rapid-fire round that I always ask. I'm just so filled with love and devotion.

55:50 Listening to you, I could be sitting here all day long, but with all good things do have to come to an end, and so should our interview. Are you ready? What's your favorite thing about your job? First of all, it's not a job. It's not a job. It's, in German we say, Perufo. A job is something you do from, you do like eight hours a day and then you go for your hobbies. I do that 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This is my life and soul. You used to work as a head priest and now you're working to teach more people, take up the role of performing different sanskaras.

56:38 What is the one word that would best describe your leadership style? It's probably, it's difficult to put it in one word, but it could be described with sharing the heart or opening the heart. Okay. What is your superpower? Superpowers? Superpowers. See, I myself, I'm nothing, I'm powerless. My superpower is like the connection. To the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it's like my spiritual master connects me with the whole line of spiritual teachers and it goes up to the Lord.

57:27 And this is where the power comes from. This is an eternal powerhouse. It's always available. I just need to plug in. And how do I plug in? It's by becoming conscious that I'm only an instrument in the Lord's hands. What can I do? If the instrument is not picked up and applied, I'm useless. This is my superpower. It comes from above. So what is the one core message that you would like to share with our listeners, the message that you received from your mentor or your spiritual master that has been your guiding light in your life. Become authentic.

58:09 Follow the call in your heart. Become a seeker. Become a seeker. Don't be satisfied with normalities, thinking this is the way it has to be. Have courage to walk a path which is maybe not so common, but it's your path. And you would regret something if you don't take it up. And if it's serious and sincere and authentic, then the Lord is there to guide everyone on that path. It's been a pleasure talking to you, understanding your life's journey from Switzerland to India and back to Europe. Thank you so much.

58:58 Thank you. Thank you, Manati, for taking time to invite me for this podcast. I'm very, very honored and very happy to have that talk with you. Thank you so much. Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna. Thank you so much for joining us on this inspiring episode of The Impressive Emperor's Podcast. We hope today's conversation sparked something within you, Whether it's the courage to follow your own calling, deepen your connection to your own self, or embrace the challenges that lead to growth, remember, your journey is unique and every step brings you closer to the power within.

59:42 Stay tuned for more such meaningful conversations by subscribing to the Impressive Empress podcast on your favorite podcast platform such as Spotify, Apple, Amazon, YouTube, or anywhere else. And do leave a rating and a review. Your feedback would be the inspiration that we need to bring more such inspiring stories to you. Got a question that you want me to ask our next guest? 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.

1:00:27 Until the next time, stay empowered and keep embracing your inner transformation. This is Malati and this is the Impressive Empress Podcast. Thank you. Music.