H.H.Radhanath Swami on True Love

Some people think love is some pleasure sexual pleasure or some family security or an emotion or sentiment that comes and goes but real love is a feeling of complete sacrifice and surrender to the beloved and factually there is only one personality that can completely reciprocate and fulfill all our desires in total sacrifice and surrender and that is Bhagavan that is Krishna.

H.H.Radhanath Swami

Radhanath Swami on Real Faith leads to Discipline

There are two thumb-rules for rapid advancement in any direction, including the spiritual – to embrace the favorable, and to reject the unfavorable. The different major religions of the world follow different spiritual practices. The followers are expected to do certain things, and to abstain from certain others. Not whimsically, but according to the instructions of their preceptors and the holy books. This is discipline - in fact, the basic principle of every original religion in this world
is discipline.

Many are convinced about the need for discipline – sportsmen, singers, students, business tycoons, and so on. But most don’t recognize the importance of discipline in spiritual life. One who does not control the mind and senses to follow the instructions of God can never make any spiritual advancement. For example, the Old Testament, which is the basis for all Christians, teaches the ten commandments to discipline life accordingly. And who is a Christian? Not one who merely visits the church, but one who follows the teachings of Jesus. Discipline.

Unfortunately, today’s mantra is “just do it”, whatever you like. Spirituality today just means to go to temples of worship, give some donations, pray, and “just have faith”. Follow no spiritual discipline, but still expect to “be saved”. But, to have faith in God means to faithfully do what God wants us to do. Real faith necessitates a disciplined life in accordance with the instructions of God. The Lord says, “I accept not those who merely cry out ‘Lord! Lord!’, but those who do My will”. This is discipline.

Radhanath Swami on the Attitude of a Devotee

A person who loves the Lord does not see anyone as his enemy. One who surrenders to the Lord is a friend of all the living entities. It is possible to see every living being with equal vision only when we understand who we are, and that we are part of the Lord and every living being is a part of the Lord. Every living being is His child, His part and is very dear to Him. We cannot love God without loving every living being.

We are suffering due to the consequences of our own karmas. The Lord descends in this world again and again in so many ways because He loves us and cares about us. He is inviting us to comeback. If we offer our heart with affection to the Lord, all our karma will be gone. This world becomes the spiritual world. We see every leaf, every tree, every human being, every animal, every insect, every star in the sky and every breath as God’s energy. We see every situation and everything as an opportunity to reciprocate with His love.

Radhanath Swami on Realizing Spiritual Knowledge

Spiritual literatures, if heard attentively, reveal the ultimate knowledge. If we understand them, we will know God. If we are comfortable with our material situation or distracted by our material complications, how much attention can we really give to these scriptures? We should not hear it as a form of spiritual entertainment – just because it feels good to hear some discourses. Unless we have hunger, we cannot digest properly, no matter how palatable the food is. It will not really benefit us. Similarly, there should be a great desperation that I need God, I need His mercy, and then we can digest this topmost knowledge properly.

To hear this wisdom means to follow its teachings, and through this comes realization – understanding what the spirit is and imbibing that. To hear with rapt attention, we must be pure in mind and action. We must live our lives around the teachings of the spiritual literatures; otherwise there will be no realization. With this serious mood of need, we must study these instructions on how to live our lives and perfect them.

Radhanath Swami on Yearning for God

We must understand that there is danger at every step. Terrorism is growing. It is said that two out of five people will die of cancer. Ecology is breaking down. There are floods, droughts, cities being washed away by the ocean. It is a very harsh society we live in today, a society with no tolerance or mercy.

People are competing so much for sense gratification, wealth, power, adoration, but a sincere seeker has nothing to do with this competition anymore. The most serious thing is to have a sincere yearning for God. This is our responsibility as human beings – to get to know Him and love Him. But we are always getting distracted by something – our needs, our health, or how we have been mistreated. Even if our excuses are accurate, the reality is that our soul is longing for God. He will reveal Himself in our hearts according to how we surrender to Him, how we make Him a priority in our life.

Radhanath Swami on Arrogance vs. Respect

We should see every living being with veneration. But when selfishness becomes prominent, we start thinking only in terms of ‘I’ and ‘mine’. There is no service attitude left in us. We always want to be the master and enjoyer of all we see. When the desire for our own prestige and enjoyment becomes foremost in our minds, our fellow beings appear insignificant. Due to egoism, we think, “I can judge others. I never make mistakes. If you stand between me and my aspiration of success and appreciation, you are my enemy.”

This arrogance destroys everything sacred within us. We need to show our love for the Lord by how we cooperate with each other. But we cannot do that unless we follow the Lord’s teachings of being tolerant, patient and respecting everyone. We must be on guard at all times, to not be judgmental or offend anyone, to be eager to serve, uplift, encourage, and sacrifice for the benefit of all.

Radhanath Swami on Protecting our Dependents

Every one of us is a leader in some capacity. We could be parents, teachers, managers, community leaders or big influential people with lots of followers. What is our duty to our dependents? Not just dynamic speeches, but giving them something that will really affect them. What pleases the Lord is the sacrifices you make in your life for the welfare of others.

Emotional care is especially important for everyone - make them feel valuable and appreciated for whatever little they may be doing. It could be just by a glance, a smile or a few kind words. Even when chastised, they should feel, "He is correcting me because he cares for me, he is helping me, he is protecting me." If this is achieved, they are inspired and will strive to accomplish whatever goals we set for them. If we chastise someone and it breaks their hearts, we are not doing it right. If they do not feel protected, whatever else we do is like building a house without a foundation. Everything will fall apart. If we are sincere, the Lord will empower us.