ABSTRACT
This chapter examines divinizing in the devotional tradition of Radhasoami. It explores several instances of mythologizing the divine, as represented by the notion of guru-bhakti and by elements of Radhasoami religiosity which invite the devotee to long for a darsana of the guru and encourage followers to mediate on him. The chapter also explores the ways in which Radhasoami has mythologized the divine "other". It argues that the divinized human guru seems to make the nirguna form of the divine more reachable and approachable for the devotees, thus making amends for the absolute nirgunavad of the tradition. In the wake of the theories of myth proposed by Malinowski and Roland. Barth, scholars of South Asia have also explored the importance of myth and mythologizing for the religions and politics of contemporary India. The Radhasoamis see their movement as the perfect manifestation of Sant mat and consider themselves a part of the Sant parampara.
