The Intimacy of The Guru-devotee Relationship: Mutual ‘Self-offering’

Videoclip extracted from Live Satsang, Shree Giridhar Dham, Vrindavan, 29 March 2020

In this video, Paramahamsa Sri Swami Vishwananda reveals a deeper meaning behind the devotee’s initiation and how and why the Master also offers himself to the devotee during the initiation.

Paramahamsa Vishwananda says: To be a devotee – the word ‘devoted’ means, ‘I am devoted to you’, ‘I am giving myself to you’; that is very important to understand: ‘I am offering myself to you.'
So, when I’m offering myself to you, I don’t belong to myself, I belong to you. Like the guru, when you take initiation, the guru offers himself to the disciple, to the devotee. But the devotee shall also receive the guru. The same way the devotees are offering themselves at the Feet of the guru, it is both ways happening during initiation, but the guru knows when the guru is offering himself to the devotee.
Why is the guru offering himself to the devotee? For the salvation of that devotee. For that devotee to rise and attain the Feet of the Supreme Lord so that this devotee is pushed up. The guru pushes the devotee and says, ‘Go to the Feet of the Lord.’ But does the devotee have the same goal? Because the devotee has to become humble at that point, and allow the guru to push him up. For that it is very important to have a certain understanding of your path. It is very important to have knowledge about your path.
To be a devotee is not just to put a tilak on or to wear fancy clothes and go around and say, ‘Yes, I am a devotee.’ No! Inside, inwardly, what is happening to you? A devotee has this inner journey, that inner connection, with Bhagavan. This is what makes one a devotee.
That’s why one’s mind must be fully absorbed in the reverence of the Feet of the Master, and really understand what it means. It’s not just to offer a flower; what you are offering with that flower is you are offering your devotion, you are offering your love, you are offering part of yourself. And when you are offering part of yourself, you become humble, you become loving, and you reflect your guru.

Live Satsang, Shree Giridhar Dham, Vrindavan, 29 March 2020:
https://paramahamsavishwananda.com/ta...
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