Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.16.35
—
Hawaii, January 28, 1974
So this initiation means by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa though His agent, the spiritual master, you are getting the seed of bhakti-latā. So you have to take care of yourself by the instruction. Not that, "Now I have got a spiritual master and I have got the initiation, my business is finished. Let me do all nonsense." No. This initiation process, we take promise from you that no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling, no intoxication-before the fire. The fire ceremony means, fire is also representation of yajña-puruṣa, and through fire, the yajña-puruṣa eats, puruṣottama. So there is fire, there is spiritual master, there is śāstra, there is Kṛṣṇa, before—they are all witness. Just like before the high-court judge you promise, "Yes I'll speak... Whatever I'll speak in this court, it is all truth." So this promise the judge knows, and he gives his judgment on that. Similarly, these promises must be kept; otherwise it will be useless. That is your business, the same thing, guru-kṛṣṇa..., that by the mercy of guru, by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa, you get the thing. Now to use the thing properly, that will depend on you. Guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpāya bhakti-latā-bīja [Cc. Madhya 19.151].
I can give you very nice thing, but you keep it locked up in your treasury and never use it, then what will you do? Mālī haya sei bīja kare āropaṇa. You have to sow it and pour water and see that it is nicely growing. This..., that is very nicely described in rupa-śikṣā, mālī hay sei bīja kare āropaṇa. So don't think that after the official ceremony of initiation your business and my business is finished. No. The business begins. It is not the finishing; it is the beginning. So if you don't go farther, ādau guru-āśrayaḥ... The beginning is to take shelter of guru. That is the beginning. And, adau guru-āśrayaḥ, then the student must be very inquisitive, sad-dharma-pṛcchā. Sādhu-mārga-anugamanam. You'll find all these things, instruction, in The Nectar of Devotion. They are there.