Radhanath Swami on the Mood of Contemplation

If we contemplate on objects, people and situations in the spirit of being an instrument in their service to the Lord, then that is the ultimate contemplation in life. It will bring us perfection, peace and spiritual love. But, if we contemplate upon them for enjoying selfishly and for our own egoistic purposes, then that ends in havoc in our life.

Radhanath Swami on The Rising Sun of Knowledge

Education (derived from the Latin word “educare”) means to draw out what is within. It doesn’t mean accumulating all kinds of mundane knowledge from without; even the insentient computers can do that. All knowledge - not of the various phenomena of this world, but of the supreme eternal Absolute Truth - is inherent within our hearts. Just like the sun reveals everything during daytime, once we get situated in this knowledge, it reveals everything to us. Thus, self-realization is the rising of the sun of knowledge within our heart.

Radhanath Swami on Equality of God

God is equal to everyone. He gives everyone an equal opportunity to use one's free will. And He ubiquitously reciprocates according to how one approaches Him. If a devotee misbehaves, the devotee will have to suffer. If a materialistic person misbehaves, he also has to suffer. However, there is a difference in the devotee’s suffering because of his aspiration to ultimately love God although he may have misbehaved due to conditioning or habits. That suffering, if taken with proper consciousness, will purify him. On the other hand, a materialistic person simply doesn’t want God. He only wants material life with all its facilities for sense enjoyment. Therefore, the suffering will simply foil his spiritual life. There is no benefit. The only gain will be that his sins are being cleared but no spiritual progress is made. Therefore, when one surrenders his life and when God becomes his dear most object, he becomes the dear most object of God. That is how God is equal to all.

Radhanath Swami on Synthetic Religion

This is an age of synthetics. Automobiles now have more plastic than metal, furniture now has more plastic than wood. Imitation synthetic jewelry is definitely here to stay. As long as it looks good, we don’t mind even if it’s not the real thing. This attitude is especially prominent in the field of religion. We are more concerned with performing some external rituals to impress others. We are biased towards the particular form of religion we follow. But unfortunately, we don’t seek the true spirit, the essence, and the purpose behind religion.

Radhanath Swami on The Greatest Miracle

What is it that God cannot do? Sometimes we find it difficult to comprehend how God can be blue in color. That is because we have seen people of different colors - white, yellow, black, brown - but never blue. We tend to confine God to our limited conception. Just one look at the sky on a starry night can make us understand the futility of trying to understand God in terms of our capacity. "Can any one of us create such beautiful stars?" For someone who can create the entire universe effortlessly, would it be difficult for Him to appear in a blue form? It is this inconceivable power of God that is the only hope of His devotees. If He can do anything, can He not transform our lives and help us love Him if we surrender unto Him?

Radhanath Swami on The Pious but Sinful

The Lord must always be first in our lives. Those who are negligent to this spiritual principle act very selfishly. They simply try to feed their false egos and engage in many sinful activities. From the absolute point of view, even if we do pious activities, if we do them just for our own pleasure, it is sinful. Because everything is ultimately meant only for the Lord’s enjoyment, not ours.

Radhanath Swami on Accepting the Inconceivable

Sometimes, atheists accuse that our idea of God is anthropomorphic, which means we are projecting our form upon God. They joke that if we had been cows, we would have fancied that God has a form that is like a cow. But, the reality is just the opposite. When the atheists hear about the super excellent inconceivable activities of the Lord, they declare that it is impossible; that means they are trying to make God like us. They are trying to superimpose their own limitations on God.

It is easy to see within this creation miracles of the Lord, everywhere. Everything we see is inconceivable but we fail to appreciate it. For example, we were little seeds, and somehow we entered into a woman’s womb and now we have such a huge and complexly organized body. This is actually inconceivable - scientists can never do it. We can understand this only if we break free from our mundane limiting ideas of reality.