Radhanath Swami on Sacrifice

When it comes to making money to provide for oneself and one's family, one is willing to accept tremendous sacrifice. Just to earn some money, how much inconvenience people are going through. But because they have to feed their family, they are willing to do it. A mother will sacrifice so much for the child, she will stay up all hours of the night, she will accept so much inconvenience. Screaming all hours of the day, running around breaking everything in the house, making a completely embarrasment out of everything, the job of a mother is incredibly difficult. What if the mother thinks, "Well I won’t do, it is too difficult, forget it." The most petty things in life people are willing to endure pain and tribulation. What is the greatest attainment in life? What is the most precious treasure in life? It is the realization of one’s eternal soul. It is the fulfillment of all one’s heart desire to real awaken our eternal love of God. When we come to the greatest thing, we take it so cheaply. Can we say it is difficult, therefore I won’t do it, I don’t have the time?

Radhanath Swami on A Meaningful Life

The urgent need of every human being is to hear and chant the glories of the Lord and awaken one’s love for the Supreme Person. And in this life if one does not accomplish the feat of attaining the Lord’s mercy which reveals the pure devotional service within our heart, then our entire life is a waste. Whether you are a scholar or a king or a very very big businessman or whether you have provided to your family all the necessities, if your have not attained love of God, you have simply lived a life of a very very sophisticated animal. The difference between human life and animal life is the facility to love God, to surrender everything for the pleasure of God and thus attain that state of true ecstatic bliss.

Radhanath Swami on The Deadliest Weapon

Devotional service is based exclusively on one principle, and that is humility. To the degree there is humility in our heart, to that degree what we do is pleasing to God. To the degree we think that we are great, we are intelligent, we are beautiful, we are spiritually advanced, we are coming from a high family, to that degree whatever we do is useless in the eyes of God. The most deadly weapon against a spiritual seeker is false pride. Even if a person becomes utterly celibate, even if a person gives up his family, his home, his wealth to live in the jungles to perform severe austerities, who memorizes every verse of every scripture in the world, he is waging a great attack against the illusory nature of the world. But how does illusion defeat him? It creeps into his heart and convinces him that you are very advanced, you are very great, you are a saint. Therefore a true devotee never considers himself advanced. In comparison to the Supreme Lord, a devotee understands that he is utterly insignificant.

Radhanath Swami on Managing Spirituality

A spiritual movement is based not on management. It is not based on the principle of getting things done. No doubt utility is a principle. But ultimately the greatest utilitarian principle is when our relationships are based on love and trust. As a management technique we say one thing which isn’t what we really mean, to try to get somebody to do something that they don’t want to do, or you say various things which are not exactly the way it is so that you can get what you want form someone one way or the other. Immediately it may have a good effect but in the long run it has a disastrous effect because if we cannot be very honest, straight forward and trustworthy in the most basic ordinary activities of our relationships, then people simply cannot trust us. Especially within our spiritual circles, it is very important that we are very truthful and honest even in our ordinary activities.