Is Formal Initiation Required? Or Can You Just Watch Various Gurus on YouTube?

Some spiritual organizations, like ISKCON and TM, require their followers to undergo certain rituals of initiation. Many others do not. So, is it OK just to follow gurus on YouTube without being initiated? Q&A Series #15

In some religious and spiritual traditions, sacred mantras are imparted only through a process of formal initiation (diksha). Young Hindus receive the Gayatri mantra in an ancient ritual of initiation (samskara) called upanayanam. Such rituals are said to endow mantras with a special power - mantra shakti. Many believe that, without formal initiation, mantras are deprived of that power, so their recitation will be useless.

ISKCON, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, founded by Swami Prabhupada, and TM, Transcendental Meditation, founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, both require their followers to undergo formal initiation. But many others do not.

So, can you take instruction from various teachers on YouTube without formal initiation? Scriptures don't forbid receiving instruction (shiksha) from more than one guru, but if you chose teachers who contradict each other (as is often the case) you might get confused.

Also, finding suitable teachers on YouTube can be a huge problem. Among the millions of channels on YouTube, many can lead you down a bogus spiritual path and fill you with misinformation that harms your practice (sadhana). So, the following considerations are important:

1 - Is the teacher associated with a trusted and respected spiritual organization or teaching tradition (sampradaya)?

2 - Is the teacher properly trained?

3 - If a Sanskrit scripture is being taught, does the teacher know the language?

4 - Does the teacher explain everything clearly and thoroughly?

5 - What is the teacher's motivation for teaching?

Swami Tadatmananda is a traditionally-trained teacher of Advaita Vedanta, meditation, and Sanskrit. For more information, please see: https://www.arshabodha.org/