his "upanayana" (a sacred thread ceremony) was done on the nirjala ekadashi day of june 24, 1961. on this day, he got the gayatri mantra, and he was given diksha into the mantra of rāma by pandit ishvardas maharaj of ayodhya. after learning gita and ramcharitmanas to high level of skills at a very young age, giridhara started visiting the katha programmes held one time in 3 years (in the purushottama month) near his village. when he went to the third event, he showed a katha on ramcharitmanas which was highly respected by many famous representers of the katha art.