Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains dīkṣā in his Bhakti-sandarbha (283):
- divyaṁ jñānaṁ yato dadyāt kuryāt pāpasya saṅkṣayam
- tasmāt dīkṣeti sā proktā deśikais tattva-kovidaiḥ
“Dīkṣā is the process by which one can awaken his transcendental knowledge and vanquish all reactions caused by sinful activity. A person expert in the study of the revealed scriptures knows this process as dīkṣā.” The regulative principles of dīkṣā are explained in the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (2.3-4) and the Bhakti-sandarbha (283). As stated:
- dvijānām anupetānāṁ svakarmādhyayanādiṣu
- yathādhikāro nāstīha syāc copanayanād anu
- tathātrādīkṣitānāṁ tu mantra-devārcanādiṣu
- nādhikāro ‘sty ataḥ kuryād ātmānaṁ śiva-saṁstutam
“Even though born in a brāhmaṇa family, one cannot engage in Vedic rituals without being initiated and having a sacred thread. Although born in a brāhmaṇa family, one becomes a brāhmaṇa only after initiation and the sacred thread ceremony. Unless one is initiated as a brāhmaṇa, one cannot worship the holy name properly.”According to the Vaiṣṇava regulative principles, one must be initiated as a brāhmaṇa. The Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (2.6) quotes the following injunction from the Viṣṇu-yāmala:
- adīkṣitasya vāmoru kṛtaṁ sarvaṁ nirarthakam
- paśu-yonim avāpnoti dīkṣā-virahito janaḥ
“‘Unless one is initiated by a bona fide spiritual master, all his devotional activities are useless. A person who is not properly initiated can descend again into the animal species.’”Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (2.10) further quotes:
- ato guruṁ praṇamyaivaṁ sarva-svaṁ vinivedya ca
- gṛhṇīyād vaiṣṇavaṁ mantraṁ dīkṣā-pūrvaṁ vidhānataḥ
“‘It is the duty of every human being to surrender to a bona fide spiritual master. Giving him everything—body, mind and intelligence—one must take Vaiṣṇava initiation from him.’”The Bhakti-sandarbha (298) gives the following quotation from the Tattva-sāgara:
- yathā kāñcanatāṁ yāti kāṁsyaṁ rasa-vidhānataḥ
- tathā dīkṣā-vidhānena dvijatvaṁ jāyate nṛṇām
“‘By chemical manipulation, bell metal is turned into gold when touched by mercury; similarly, when a person is properly initiated, he can acquire the qualities of a brāhmaṇa.’”