My dear Maharaja,
Dandavat pranams. Ram Ram.
Thank you very much for forwarding this verse. Please allow me to explain this verse further. I hope you can read this whole email.
http://vedabase.net/cc/antya/4/193/en
This verse mentions 2 important words
1) cid-ananda-maya which means self is full of knowledge and happiness.
2) aprakrata-dehe which means self is beyond body and inert matter. It also refers to self as "SAT" which mean eternal. Inert matter is perishable whereas self is SAT or imperishable.
Due to maya, we accept self as product of inert matter and perishable. We also experience incompleteness or lack of knowledge and also, miseries in this world due to assumed identity of self with matter and body.
According to this verse, initiation means to accept the TRUTH which already exists. The truth is that self is sat chid ananda and beyond body and matter (aprakrata-deha). Devotee does bhajan of Krishna with acceptance of this truth. This is real initiation.
I hope you agree with my understanding. We cannot deviate from truth. The shastra just expains the truth.
Your servant,
Gaurav Mittal
HpS - Sri Sri Guru gauranga Ki Jai! Your explanation seems very lucid to me, but then when we are becoing free from bodily identification by surrendering more and more of our prestige, things, by surrenderinng them to Krsna, we see that Krsna is manifest in five features, just at the same substance is manifest in three features as ice, water and steam.
http://vedabase.net/cc/adi/7/5/en
Then we can appreciate the position of Sita and Laksmana, that the best way to serve Rama is through them. Just as everyone can see the moon but with a telescope we can see better.
So, everyone knows God, but by Parampara we can know Him in more, practical, detail. Thus Rupa Goswami's first principle of Sadhana Bhakti is to take shelter of an Acharya, hear from him, become free from suffering, caused by fonication, intoxication, gambling, gluttony etc. Then we see the world as tool to practically serve Rama, like realizinng the oportunity to live in Ayodhya. This relation is eternal. Of course,there may be others, but they are in livinng harmony as they develop. Kunti devi knows Krsna by direct perception, through Devaki and through Arjuna. As I would understand she feels that the best connection is through Arjuna, who has NO envia of her love for Krsna, only wants to help her!