A swami is an honorific title given to a male or female ascetic who has chosen the path of renunciation or has been initiated into a religious monastic order of Vaishnavas in Hinduism. The word "swami" means "one who is the master of his own self". A swami is a monk who has set aside all limited, worldly pursuits to devote full-time effort to the direct experience of the highest spiritual realization and to the service of others along those lines. They are spiritual teachers, gurus, or masters whose objective is to master the self through renunciation, which includes setting aside temporal and secular ambitions to pursue a life of spiritual realization. A swamis life is a constant persecution, and they vow to lead a life in spiritual pursuits. Swamis can place this honorific title before or after their spiritual name, and it is often attributed to someone who has achieved mastery of a particular yogic system or demonstrated profound devotion (bhakti) to one or more Hindu gods.