Question: How can we recognise genuine devotion?

Sri Chinmoy: If you have real devotion, you immediately feel that something is going out of you and entering into your Master and that something is coming out of your Master and entering into you. When there is real devotion, there is always a link between Master and disciple; the disciple’s highest divinity and the Master’s highest divinity remain all the time together.

Inside devotion there will always be surrender — not the surrender of a slave to his master, but rather the surrender of the lower part in you to your own highest self, which is what your spiritual Master represents. Also, inside devotion there will always be gratitude — first surrender and then gratitude.

Genuine devotion the Master will definitely see inside your eyes. When you have real devotion, your eyes will look like beautiful flowers. They will be filled with beautiful light; absolutely divine beauty the Master will see in them. Human beauty we can describe with words, but divine beauty can never be described. Anything divine we cannot describe adequately with human language.