Please don’t douse me physically with oil and water which is the form of worship for idols! The body is made up of the Panchabhuta or the five elements. This is the subtle form in which we all exist. So worship the Guru in this very subtle form mentally. Visualize the entire process of worship with water, milk or curd, flowers or grass, and sip that Thirtha or holy water. If your mental worship is pure and total, you will experience the sense of taste also. The entire body is a composite unit of the five elements and is represented in the Guru Padukas.

I will now relate the story of a British collector years ago, who used to question the worship rituals of the Tirupathi shrine. The collector used to deride the custom of offering the Naivedya or food offering to the Gods he would sarcastically ask if the stone god inside ate the food.

So the priest thought to himself that this man has to be convinced. Much against the custom where offerings to the god are not to be tasted prior to worship, the priest advised the collector to taste the offering of food before and after the worship ritual of Naivedya. The collector did so and was surprised with the difference in taste. Chastened he left convinced.

Can a stone eat you may ask? Once the consecration or Praana Pratistha is done in a temple the idol breathes and lives. It is a living idol. Naivedya (food offered) is not eaten. It is called “Drishti Bhojana” i.e. with just a glance the deity blesses the food. Vigraha is the idol and it is always in Nigraha, that is, still. We go to a temple and close our eyes and take a mental image of the Lord and freeze it in our heart.

You say Swamiji looks like Shiva in Shivaratri. How come after that he becomes something else. Once you have darshan of Him, you must perceive Him that way. You should freeze that image in your heart. Next day you should not treat Him like a human being. You must not move Swamiji from that position in your heart. Then He will always protect you, because of your total surrender. Once you defy Swamiji it is over.

You cannot shift Him from your heart. Just surrender and say drown me or lift me. You have no right to ask why He drowns you or does not. If He says jump into the well, just jump. You cannot ask the Guru about the depth of the well! It cannot be lip service. Just as how consecration is done in your heart, you cannot change. If you do so, you’re harming the soul and killing it. (Atma Droha or Atma Hathya).

(Q&A session 27/09/2015)