A Few Thoughts on Diksha
By Bhakti Ananda Goswami

Hare Krishna !  Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga ki jaya !

Dear Devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances. 

I have been following this discussion of the meanings of 'diksha' and would like to offer some food for thought. 

Linguistically the Sanskrit word DIKSHA and the Latin root of the word DISCERE are related or 'cognate'. Here are some significant words from this same root.  These may be found by tracing back from DISCIPLINE or DISCIPLE in an English etymological dictionary, or traced the other direction from Sanskrit forward into the 'Indo-European' cognates and their various uses.  

DIKSHA ...SEE SRILA PRABHUPADA'S DEFINITION

IN VEDIC SOCIETY ONE COULD HAVE MANY FORMAL AND INFORMAL 'INITIATIONS' OR LEARNING RELATIONSHIPS IN A LIFETIME.

HERE ARE SOME WORDS TO CONSIDER FROM THE SAME ROOT...

DISCIPLE, LEARNER, FOLLOWER ... ENGLISH THROUGH FRENCH FROM LATIN DISCERE, TO LEARN and / or DOCERE, TO TEACH

DISCIPLINE, THE SENSE OF BOTH THE PRACTICE / METHODOLOGY OF THE TEACHER, AND THE SUBMISSION OF THE DISCIPLE, WHICH IS REQUIRED TO LEARN

DOCILE, TEACHABLE, DISCIPLINED

DOCTOR, SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN DISCIPLINED / TAUGHT AND HAS BECOME A TEACHER

DOCUMENT, WHAT IS USED FOR TEACHING , WRITTEN PROOF

DOCTRINE,  A TEACHING

SO A DISCIPLE LEARNS DOCTRINE, FROM A DOCUMENT, UNDER THE DISCIPLINE OF A DOCTOR (MASTER).

With or without any formal DIKSHA initiation, or DOCUMENT (Shastra) for that matter, the essence of this word is the transmission of knowledge between a DOCILE TEACHABLE DISCIPLE and a QUALIFIED TEACHER / DOCTOR MASTER.

May we all become teachable and qualified to teach!

Your aspiring servant,

Bhakti Ananda Goswami

P.S.   Note that for the non-linguist the words discern and discriminate, meaning to distinguish, separate or judge may have their roots confounded with the root of disciple, due to their similarility.  However their Latin roots are properly discern = discerner, and disciple = discere.