Devotee (1): Can one develop determination gradually?
Prabhupāda: Why gradually? When you promise before your spiritual master that no illicit sex, no gambling, no meat-eating, why should you fall down? If you have no determination, why should you promise in presence of the Deity, fire, spiritual master, Vaiṣṇava? Why do you make this farce, if you have no determination? If you want to make it a farce, that depends on you. But you should not.
Devotee (1): When we make that promise...
Prabhupāda: Yes, you should not fall down, that is determination. That is gentleman's determination, that "I have given my promise. Why shall I fall down?" That is determination. "I must respect promise." That is called dṛḍha-vrata. So he'll success. Where is the difficulty? There is no difficulty. But if we want to cheat, that is another thing. If we have no determination, we should not take up this life. Therefore, chance is given that "Stay with us for six months or one year, be determined. Then be initiated." If you are not determined, what is the use of false initiation?
Devotee (1): Sometimes this weakness seems to be...
Prabhupāda: Weakness there, you should rectify weakness. Why you should give any importance to weakness? Weakness is weakness. Rectify it.
Kulādri: This promise is the minimum determination.
Prabhupāda: Hmm?
Kulādri: This promise of following four regulative principles, chanting sixteen rounds daily, that is the minimum determination. Then, from there, he must increase.
Prabhupāda: Initiation means minimum, just beginning. That is the dictionary meaning, initiation. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta there is a verse, śraddhā-śabde-viśvāsa kahe sudṛḍha niścaya, kṛṣṇe bhakti kaile sarva-karma kṛta haya (Cc. Madhya 22.62). Explain. You understand? Śraddhā, śabde, viśvāsa, sudṛḍha, niścaya. Kṛṣṇe, bhakti, kaile, sarva-karma, kṛta, haya.
Pradyumna: The word śraddhā means faith. So by the word faith, we need firm determination or conviction, śraddhā-śabde viśvāsa sudṛḍha niścaya. Viśvāsa means faith which is sudṛḍha, very..., sudṛḍha, dṛḍha means firm, and sudṛḍha means very firmly. Niścaya. Niścaya is used here also, sa niścayena yoktavyaḥ. Yoga is to be engaged in, applied with firm...
Prabhupāda: Faith, niścaya means conviction.
Pradyumna: Conviction. Kṛṣṇe...
Prabhupāda: Bhakti kaile.
Pradyumna: Kṛṣṇe bhakti kaile sarva kṛta-karma.
Prabhupāda: Sarva-karma kṛta haya.
Pradyumna: Sarva-karma kṛta haya. And if one engages, if one performs service to Kṛṣṇa, then everything else becomes accomplished. Everything else becomes accomplished. If one renders service to Kṛṣṇa, then automatically everything else, one has no obligations to the material world.
Prabhupāda: Otherwise, why Kṛṣṇa will say sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66)? Because by that action everything will be done. Kṛṣṇa says sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam, that means He is cheating? There are so many other occupations, say veda-dharma, samāja-dharma, brāhmaṇa-dharma, kṣatriya-dharma, medical dharma, lawyer dharma. You can manufacture so many occupations. Dharma means occupational duty. But if you take only one occupational duty, to serve Kṛṣṇa, all things will be included. Mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja. This is instruction. So to accept this principle means firm determination, firm conviction: "Yes, if I serve Kṛṣṇa, then all my other duties will be automatically done." This is firm conviction. "By one stroke, I'll kill so many bugs."