Sharanagati

“Seeing Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, both Sanatan Goswami and Haridas Thakur immediately fell flat like rods to offer obeisances.” This is the way to offer respects, full dandavats; “danda” means “stick” and “vat” means “like”. So you fall like a stick. This IS a symbol of humility.

Here in our tradition people usually shake hands when they meet, right? You know what is the origin of this habit? “I have no arms.” Now we consider this a polite approach, although this is a show of “no, I don’t want to hurt you.” But what was the offering of respect in India? Paying full dandavats. It’s not a show that “I have no weapons with me”, but it’s a show that “I’m your humble servant.” Even you can understand that: “use me as a bridge that you can cross over.”

“The Lord then lifted Haridas Thakur and embraced him.” This is another way to show respect. When you accept somebody, then you embrace him.