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Radhanath Swami implores that let us not make this mistake of denying the reality that we have negativities in our heart and we need to change. Rather let us happily accept the changes we have to make. They are for our good. These transformations bring us closer to God and give us real and lasting happiness.

Seated in an auto-rickshaw that had found the red light at a busy city intersection, what else could I expect but black smoke? Destiny, however, surprised me with a little sweet encounter. I spotted a street urchin who darted from vehicle to vehicle, begging. Moments later she reached me, her expression pleading for charity. I deftly reached my handbag's front pocket to pull out the box in which I always carry cookies for such occasions. The little angel was quick to translate my body language and expectation twinkled in her innocent eyes. Suddenly I realized the box wasn't to be found. Not wanting to disappoint her I reached my pockets for coins. All I found was a five hundred rupee note; if I gave that to her, we had to exchange positions! Mortified at the thought of breaking her heart, I settled the matter with a sorry smile, but made sure to add extra affection into that. She left. I felt good about what I had done and fixed my vision on the traffic light. It turned green and all vehicles honked in unison, impatient to race ahead. As my driver waited for the line of vehicles in front to start moving, suddenly the urchin reappeared. This time she didn't hold out her open palms; our eyes met and through her eyes I could hear a faint voice of gratitude that rose above the noise of traffic all around. I found in her expression an element of surprise; perhaps she had received many things from many, but hadn't received affection from any. Our exchange happened in a flash, before my vehicle sped ahead, and I never saw her again. Soon, I knew, I would forget about this brief incident, but I prayed never to forget the lesson I had learnt: affection touches the heart, and if we see closely within, we are all desperate for that touch. Years later, while learning the mysteries of Bhakti yoga from Radhanath Swami, I came to know how Bhakti is all about affection-affection exchanged between the Supreme Lord and we spirit souls. If two tiny spiritual beings can exper

"Some years ago, I met Mother Teresa at Kolkata. She told me that the greatest problem in the world is hunger; not hunger of the belly, but hunger of the heart." - Radhanath Swami

Radhanath Swami writes his realization that a guru or a spiritual master with the stick of knowledge cleans the dirty wax of egotism accumulated in the heart of the disciple. This wax of ego prevents us from clearly hearing God's voice within. But the guru lovingly cleans us.

The Hare Krishna meditation works on filling the heart with this sublime desire and hence contributing to the experience of more meaningful happiness in life

An excellent way to overcome selfishness is by offering prayers for others. Sincere prayers for the well being of others enriches our own hearts with the Lord's loving presence, and brings deep, lasting fulfilment; it also empowers us with the spiritual strength to serve others happily.