Radhanath Swami on Spiritual Depth

During the monsoon rains, a puddle of water gets bigger and bigger and bigger. During the dry season, the puddle of water dries to nothing. It is very much affected by the rains. But the ocean, whether it is the dry season or the monsoon rains, it remains the same. What is the difference? The puddle has no depth. Therefore it is completely affected by the environment, by the circumstances. But the ocean has depth. On the surface, the ocean is affected by the monsoons, but deep down, it’s not affected at all. It neither grows bigger nor smaller.

So on the surface, we have to deal with the things of this world, but if we don’t have much spiritual depth, it can either elate us or devastate us, with anxiety, misery, and worry. But a person who finds the spiritual depth, who uncovers the truth within, deals with the things only on its surface but deep down he is not affected at all. Nothing can change him because he has spiritual depth.

Radhanath Swami on The Greatest Act of Compassion

The greatest act of compassion a person can do in this world is to be a good example for others to follow. Be an example of humility, selfless dedication, self-control, devotion and integrity. Integrity means to be honest, to be truthful and to make great sacrifices whoever we are for the welfare of others. Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, teaches that everyone can do that and in doing that we can actually express our intent to love God. Simply by that intent, the Lord reciprocates and gradually awakens that love within our heart.

Radhanath Swami on Why We Worry

Why do people worry? There are numberless reasons within the world that we live. We may be worried about our health, about our wealth, about our loved ones, or our friends. We may be worried about our yesterday, today, or tomorrow. We may be worried about the environment, the situation in the world in politics. The nature of this world is birth, old age, disease, and death. The nature of this world is – everything is always changing, and essentially the biggest problem is – we want to control our environment.

And eternal reality is – you and me, we are not the controllers, things can go their own way. We can try our best; to some degree we have influence.

But ultimately things are out of our control. So, to the degree we are attached to anything or anyone on this worldly platform there would be worries. Attachment brings worry.

Radhanath Swami on Learning Gratitude

Why does God put obstacles in the devotees' lives even when they want to do the right things? If something great comes easily, we do not really appreciate its value. If the value of something is very high, how we have to struggle to get it. When we really work for something and it comes, we can never forget it’s value and we are grateful for it. When obstacles come and we turn to God, we cry for God's help, and then we can actually fulfill our mission, we learn gratitude. After this prayer we know for sure what is within us. We prayed for power, the power came and we did it. Therefore we do not take credit. If you take credit, you cannot be grateful. Because you think, look what I did, it’s mine, it is because of me. There is not much gratitude there.

If you are really in need and somebody gives you something unconditionally, you are grateful. If you sell something, you have a fare price, you are not very grateful for the person who buys it. But if you really need something and you do not have anything and a person gives it to you out of love, you are really grateful.

Radhanath Swami on Seeing Through the Eyes of Scriptures

What we may witness in the world, we must learn to process that information through the knowledge we have read in the holy scriptures and the knowledge we have heard from the great saintly people. Therefore, any national or international events that occur, anything that happens in the lives of those around us, and anything that happens in our own lives, we try to interpret them in such a way that it gives us real understanding and realizations. And that will help us in coming closer to God. This is how we should always be absorbed and this absorption brings real fulfillment and excitement to life.

So it is said that a learned person does not see through his/her eyes but sees with his/her ears.

Radhanath Swami on Food for the Spiritual Weaklings

Just like we need food for the body, we need food for the soul, so that we can be spiritually strong. And what is that food? Hearing and chanting God's names in the association of saintly people. It gives us food, it gives us strength in which we can maintain our spiritual, moral and ethical integrity under all circumstances and we are fixed in our goal. Otherwise we will just be big, powerful people externally, but empty inside. We will give in to greed, envy, lust and our selfish passion and motivations at the smallest instance. We will be spiritual weaklings. We will starve ourselves of the essence. And the saintly person will pity such an ignorant fool although the world is bowing at their feet as being great.

Radhanath Swami on Uniting for a Higher Principle

It is very important to unite for a higher principle. It’s a great challenge because it’s the age where the predominating influence is quarrel and hypocrisy. We see these two qualities so widespread everywhere and the tendency to quarrel over insignificant issues. The nature of the mind is to make insignificant things seems so important. Things that are practically meaningless we interpret it as very meaningful. Fights, arguments, divorce and wars are based over trifling things that are interpreted to be so important. As long as we don’t focus our consciousness on higher principles, they are important, at least they seems to be important. If there is a little hill in front of your house and that’s all you have ever seen, it seems gigantic. But if you look at the Himalayan mountains, then that little hill is insignificant because you have seen something greater. God is great, devotion is great and if we have some connection to that, some experience with that, then these little things lose their significance.

Radhanath Swami on The "I" Society

Today’s world is the ‘I’ society. Everyone is thinking about "me". But there’s a problem. We don’t know who we are. It’s alright if we’re really thinking about ‘I’, but who am I? If we are thinking this false ego is ‘I’ then it creates discontent ultimately. There’s so much potential conflict with almost anybody: brothers fighting, husbands and wives fighting, nations fighting. But I am the eternal soul, there’s nothing to fight about. If we are the eternal soul then there is love in our heart, and where there’s love, the greatest pleasure is selfless service. A selfish person eats and is happy. A selfless person finds more happiness in feeding others. A father has some love for the child, has some affection for the child. What brings the father more happiness – doing something for the child or doing something for himself? If there’s affection, obviously he would be more happy doing something for the child, even if he has to suffer doing it.

Radhanath Swami on Science: Good or Bad

The problem is not science, but ignorance. When we create great sciences on the foundation of ignorance then it causes lots of problems, lots of pollution and lots of disruptions. Science has created so many things, but what has it done to the environment? That’s one of the biggest conflicts in the world today. There are ecological conflicts. The oceans are becoming polluted.

Science should be built upon the foundation of knowledge and truth. Then all our science could have very wonderful effects. Science is a neutral thing; it is neither good nor bad. Science is as good as the scientists who are using it. It can be used to enlighten the world or can be used to degrade and pollute the world. Whether it is going to have a positive effect or negative effect depends on the consciousness of the person who is using it.

Radhanath Swami on Suffering for Self Realization

It is natural that we do not seek miseries and calamities but they come of their own accord. The nature of maya is that which is not. What you think you’re going to get is just the opposite of what you actually get. There are many examples. Man and woman fall in love and then how much they torture each other! Then they want children and how much misery the child gives them! India fought so hard for independence and what kind of mess has been created ever since! It’s like that. So what we’re hoping for, maya will not give us that. That is the law of nature. So this age of quarrel and hypocrisy is very favorable because sufferings are everywhere. We can really use our good intelligence and turn to God with our heart.