Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Radhanath Swami on Real Fulfillment

In this world, we are like strangers in a foreign land. We always think ourselves to be someone who we are not. We think that we are this body. We think that we are this mind. The body and mind are subjected to unlimited reversals, and ultimately the body gets old and it dies, but the soul is eternal, the soul in its own nature is sat-cit-ananda i.e. eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss. So going back home to our real origin and uncovering the secrets of our true selves is the only way to overcome the miseries and needless worries of this world. When we go back to our original home then we find real fulfillment.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Radhanath Swami on The Purpose of a Temple

God is one, no doubt. There is only one God. An enlightened person will see God in a mosque or a church or a synagogue or in a gurdwara or in a temple. But how to actually come to that state of consciousness? It is not just a feeling; it’s reality. For that purpose, temples are not just places where you give donations, see the deities and say a prayer. Temples have always been established by saintly persons as spiritual, educational institutions. It is pious to go to a temple and give a donation and walk away. This is nice, but you will not get enlightened by that. Great souls built those places so that people could come and actually learn the science, the philosophy and the culture of purifying their lives, living with morality, integrity and learn how to love God. That’s all-important. When we go to the temple, we shouldn’t go to just see. We should go to be seen, that I may live my intentions, my humility, my begging for forgiveness, my begging for mercy, my sincerity, in such a way that God will be pleased to see me. That should be the proper attitude, and for that there has to be education, there has to be training.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Radhanath Swami on Karma-free Living

Our motivation should always be to be the best we could be. For example, in business we may have to try to defeat competition, but it should not be done in a malicious way. If we are actually trying to destroy other peoples’ lives, we are going to get all the karma for that -100%. But if we are trying to do better than others, and if we try to do it in an honest way with integrity, there would be some karma. And if we give some of the profits for spiritual and charitable purposes, then that karma can also be removed. But if we are doing things in a malicious way, then even if we give it for spiritual or charitable purposes, the karma will be on us. However if we are trying to do things with proper integrity, proper honor, and if we give the results in a charitable spirit for a spiritual cause, and at the same time, we are purifying our own hearts by chanting God’s name for spiritual purification, then we can rise above those minimal karmic reactions. And they will not seriously affect our lives.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Radhanath Swami on God or Humanity?

When people hear about serving God, sometimes they ask that if we serve God, what about serving humanity? Actually, by serving God, we will serve humanity utmost. Because we will see God in everyone’s heart. We will not envy anyone. We will love everyone. We will feel for every living being, whatever their caste, whatever their nationality, whatever their religion, whatever their species of life. We will see a beloved brother in the heart of every living being. That is compassion. We find in this world that the people who reach out on all levels, even at the most physical levels, to help others, are generally the people who have faith on love for God.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Radhanath Swami on Truth for the Truth Seekers

The culture of India is most famous throughout the world for the saintly persons who have been born in India. This is the glory of India - the saints. People do not come to India for economic purposes. Millions of Indians go to the west because they want money, but westerners come to India because they want to meet the sadhus (saintly persons). They want spiritual knowledge. Our spiritual knowledge depends on how much we are willing to humble ourselves and hear from saintly persons, because with our own senses we never understand the truth. We must read the scriptures regularly, and we must read them under the guidance of self-realized souls. This process is an austerity and sacrifice. By regularly hearing the message of God from the scriptures and by regularly serving those persons who are living those teachings and by regularly hearing from them, all the impurities in our heart are eradicated. And then, truth shines like the sun and the moon within our own heart.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Radhanath Swami on The Peace Formula

What is peace formula? It is simply to understand that the Absolute Truth is the proprietor of everything, the Absolute Truth is the enjoyer of everything, and the Absolute truth is the best well-wishing friend of all living beings. If we simply understand and accept this, we will have peace. The greatest problem in this world is lack of peace. We can’t artificially have peace treaties. Real peace has to be based on truth. A person who is connected to the soul, and connected to God, always finds peace, fulfillment and love.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Radhanath Swami on Selfless Service

True love is always selfless. If we have selfish motivations then it is not really love on the spiritual platform. It is simply self-centered love. What goes in the name of love in this world is mutual – if you give me pleasure, I’ll give you pleasure. If we do not give each other the proper pleasure then divorce results. In America, 70% of marriages end in divorces. And India is catching up, because that spirit of selfless service, that tradition, is being replaced. Tradition, in any culture based on spirituality, is responsibility for selfless service for those whom one is responsible for.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Radhanath Swami on Creating Real Harmony

We can understand that ultimately everything is coming from consciousness. It is the basis of everything that exists. God is the ultimate source of consciousness, and for us living entities, our basis is our consciousness. Consciousness is the symptom of the presence of the soul. If we forget our own soul and we think that we are just matter, then ultimately nothing matters. It only matters according to our particular preference. There is no absolute standard of what’s right, what’s wrong and what’s meaningful then. But if we are actually conscious of who we are, what is our relationship with God, what is our relationship with the environment, what is our relationship with every living being, only then we can actually start to create real harmony, because it is based on the truth.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Radhanath Swami on The Temple of Our Hearts

We should make our heart a temple. God already resides there. We should just realize and accept it. If we make our heart a temple, we will actually experience God. The difference is really the association. A temple is just a building. But what is happening in the building? The place where people are actually in selfless spirit of compassion and love and are truly worshipping the Lord and surrendering their hearts to the Lord, that is the place where we will actually have the most enlightening experience.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Radhanath Swami on A Moment's Association

We can really serve the society best if we understand the truth. Through countless ages, the same process of understanding the truth has been given: to hear from those who know the truth. Sri Krishna says in the Bhagavad-Gita that if you want to know the truth you have to approach a guru (spiritual master), enquire from him submissively, and render service to him. The self realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth. This principle is not something restricted to the Hindu tradition. The Vedas say that if you study the scriptures without understanding it through the guidance of one who knows the truth, a guru, you can never understand the essence of your own religion. In the Bible Jesus Christ said: those who have ears to hear, you hear from me. The only reason the Christians could understand the truth was because they heard from Lord Jesus, who is the guru. Mohammad spoke the truth as well. So in every religion, the only means of understanding what is truth is by a person speaking it to other persons. Therefore it is said that there is no more precious gift that God gives than the association of a saintly person. Because a moment’s association of the saintly person can open the door to liberation.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Radhanath Swami on Material Treasures and Spiritual Wealth

To the degree a devotee understands that spirituality is significant and of value in his life, he is willing to give up his attachments to the material world. He becomes an instrument of the Lord's desire to show the world the value and the priority of spiritual life. This is the universal principle of every religion. In the Jewish scripture, the dearest thing to Abraham in his life was his son Isaac. When God told him to sacrifice Isaac, there was nothing worse for him, but he was willing to do it if that was the will of God. When he was about to commit the act, God said, “You passed the test". Similarly, Lord Jesus said that if you love anyone more than you love God, you are not really a devotee of God. The treasures of this world, he said, will be eaten by moths, corroded by rust and stolen by thieves. Make your treasure in the Kingdom of God because there it will be permanent. There are no moths, rust or thieves in the spiritual world.