in 1976, giridhara miśra said aloud a kathā on rāmcaritamānasa to svāmī karapātrī. svāmī karapātrī advised him not to marry, to live a lifelong brahmacārin, and to take start in a vaiṣṇava sampradāya. giridhara miśra took vairagi start (virakta dīkṣā) in the rāmānanda sampradāya (monastic order) on the kārtika full-moon day of november 19, 1983 from śrī śrī 1008 śrī rāmacaraṇadāsa mahārāja phālāhārī. he now came to be known as rāmabhadradāsa.