Devotees are those who have just come to attend. Sometimes there may a hundred thousand people. Will they all become devotees? No. There are many who enjoy Swamiji’s music program and then go on their own way.

Those who come with a serious determination and faith, and who receive spiritual initiation and follow with a family lineage are considered to be disciples. They are disciple-devotees. They do not demand anything from Swamiji. They merely seek blessings from Swamiji. They simply inform that they are going to be operated upon or that they are going to some other event. They simply inform me before they go.

Devotees make instant demands. Right away they need an interview. At once they want their problems to be solved. They believe that their arrival itself is to favour me. Is this fair? They come to me time and again only for fulfilling their materialistic goals.

When sometimes people come to me in a critical situation, I tell them, “Go to the doctor” or to get a second opinion. I tell them to have firm faith in God. It is not a question of having faith in me. I don’t tell them to ‘Leave everything. Don’t go to the doctor. Just chant my name and you will be cured’. I tell them to have faith in God and take the required medication and that they will heal. Yet they do not have such faith. They are not disciples.

Those who are disciples will not ask. They will just inform Swamiji that they are going for a surgery that day, or that they are applying for a job, and they pray for blessing. When their efforts don’t succeed, they only express their gratitude that Swamiji has given them the strength to endure the situation. They express confidence that they will somehow overcome the situation. This is about disciples. I have already spoken about devotees.

Devotees are like people you meet and say ‘hello’ at the bus stand or on a plane. They come and they go. They hear that some Swamiji has come. So they come to pay a visit.

(Q&A, USA, 29 Jul 2011)