Thursday, November 10, 2011

Radhanath Swami on Pessimism and Realism

Suppose a doctor tells a patient: “My dear Sir, you have cancer. And if you take the treatment right way, you can be saved from this disease. Otherwise you are going to suffer and die”. And after hearing this, suppose the patient says: “Why are you so pessimistic? Why are you criticizing me?” But this is not pessimistic. It’s realistic. The patient may be very happy and healthy now, but the cancer is there. The compassionate doctor is not concerned about the current state of health. His concern is for the future of the patient. After all, people smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol. It feels good, so they do it. But what does the doctor tell them? “You may get lung cancer or you may get heart disease. Stop doing it.” Similarly, people are so intoxicated by the so called pleasures of life that they do not understand that birth, old age, disease, and death are imminent and are surely going to come upon them. That’s not pessimistic, it’s realistic.
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27 comments:

  1. SamirNovember 10, 2011 at 3:57 AM

    realistic quote. thank u very much for presenting it so convincingly.

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  2. ChandrikaNovember 10, 2011 at 4:50 AM

    Very nicely explained.

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  3. PankajNovember 10, 2011 at 5:32 AM

    Amazing answer!

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  4. AishwaryaNovember 10, 2011 at 5:37 AM

    As it is rightly said,'Facts of life are bitter truths'

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  5. Vidya PathamNovember 10, 2011 at 7:27 AM

    Yes it is very true. We must take up spiritual life not because the transcendentalists are pessimistic but because they want our future to be optimistic and secure.

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  6. AnonymousNovember 10, 2011 at 6:37 PM

    Very nice analogy.

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  7. sureshNovember 10, 2011 at 8:16 PM

    thanks maharaj, what was expressed above is the current state of the world in general, very much appropriate to today's situation, thanks for throwing in this issue,

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  8. Milind M ChuriNovember 10, 2011 at 11:11 PM

    It is true.In due course of time those who have taken birth in this world has to go and come back to suffer/enjoy in this world,which is the result of accumated reactions of the karma,according to the natures subtle law.Therefore following instructions of the saintly persons is very important.

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  9. Jagannath Dham DasNovember 11, 2011 at 1:18 AM

    Thank you Radhanath Swami for explaining it so perfectly !

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  10. vskNovember 11, 2011 at 6:47 AM

    Nice way of explaining the real diff between pessimism and realism

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  11. Sumit SharmaNovember 11, 2011 at 7:24 AM

    Wonderful article.

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  12. Tallam Sita RamaiahNovember 11, 2011 at 8:32 AM

    H.H Radhanath Swami Maharaj has clearly explained what is pessimism and realism. Unfortunately people are not ready to accept reality. Thank you Maharaj for this.

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  13. surekhaNovember 11, 2011 at 2:48 PM

    Thank you HH Radhanath swami maharaj for explaining us the miseries of the world by comparing with a nice example.

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  14. anandNovember 11, 2011 at 2:49 PM

    true...but how many people want to hear the "realistic" truth and not see it through the lens of pessimism. Many times I have heard people say..."i dont want to talk or think about these things"...essentially they are implying I rather enjoy now and not worry about what is in store for me in the future. In other words, they like to be in ignorance.

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  15. RoshanNovember 11, 2011 at 10:36 PM

    A blatant fact said in an interesting way.

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  16. Kushal Bihari DasNovember 12, 2011 at 10:25 AM

    Hare Krishna . Very nice article specially for the people who think that devotees are pessimistic.

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  17. madhaviNovember 12, 2011 at 5:28 PM

    thanks Maharaj!

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  18. Piyush SinghNovember 13, 2011 at 4:24 AM

    "That’s not pessimistic, it’s realistic." Very well said by HH Radhanath Swami. Thank you for sharing.

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  19. kuldeep soniNovember 14, 2011 at 9:50 AM

    Very well said !!

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  20. sooreshNovember 14, 2011 at 9:44 PM

    great but the truth,

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  21. ShephaliNovember 14, 2011 at 11:10 PM

    Amazing analogy.

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  22. Ravi GargNovember 15, 2011 at 11:23 PM

    Very convincing article by Swamiji......thx

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  23. Citra Gopi DDNovember 16, 2011 at 3:36 AM

    Thank you for this blog.

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  24. Kalpana KulkarniNovember 16, 2011 at 4:35 AM

    Wonderful comment!

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  25. Shyam MahtaniNovember 16, 2011 at 5:57 PM

    Very Realistic, yet so hard to accept, unless you are a devotee.

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  26. Tallam Sita RamaiahNovember 18, 2011 at 11:14 AM

    Many a time, it is difficult to accept truth. But reality can not be changed. Thank you Maharaj.

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  27. BipinNovember 27, 2011 at 7:08 AM

    All Glories To H.H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

    A beautiful narrative. It actually brings us face to face with reality and is like a pinch that we should be giving ourselves regularly to keep our selves on the right path.


    Hare Krishna.

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