Radhanath Swami Teachings

A leader who focuses only on the external growth remains internally miserable; that person can't cope with failures nor can he or she accept success maturely. On the other hand a leader who works on internal development leaves a mark on the external world. Even if the world doesn't recognize, that person is contended to be connected to God.

A true leader takes all harsh comments, open criticism and cynicism as the crushing of the puss by the expert surgeon, God, who through his representatives purifies us of our diseased false ego. Thus a strong leader doesn't allow potentially distressful experiences and emotional setbacks to dissuade him or her from the goal; rather such a leader marches on against all obstacles.

Dealing with negativity in a positive way is called tolerance. - Radhanath Swami

The material aspect of married life can be a source of great suffering. But if we have a higher purpose for being together, the struggle becomes meaningful. The highest purpose is cooperating together to serve and glorify God. Radhanath Swami explains, "Even if we put God in the center, the material aspect of married life can still cause suffering. But, amazingly, if God is in the center of the relationship, the typical relationship struggles will bring the two spouses closer to God". When that happens, there will be real happiness, spiritual happiness.

"In today's age, where can we find proficient spiritual coaches who can save the character-game for us?" The answer is simple: Seek and you shall find. One who is sincere, the Bhagavad Gita explains, is helped by the Supreme Lord. Radhanath Swami's memoir, The Journey Home, is a brilliant read that boosts our faith in God's help. In it Radhanath Swami shares with us his teenage quest for a guru: how he persevered with patience, and how he was lead to the guru he sought, by a power beyond his own. The adventures that accompany this quest make the book spine-chilling.

Spirituality invigorates our enthusiasm through what I call the "lever effect." A little physical power wisely invested at an optimal point on the lever, a simple machine, could be used to move a massive rock. As a lever amplifies physical power, spirituality amplifies our enthusiasm to serve. A little enthusiasm wisely invested in meditation every morning, in time brings forth a resurgence of unlimited and sustained enthusiasm for selfless service-a long forgotten treasure of every soul, and the long sought-after ornament of every great leader.

"For a relationship like marriage to work in this world, it is very difficult! In fact, for anything great to work in this world, it is very difficult."-Radhanath Swami

The nature of the mind is that sometimes you like each other and sometimes you don't like each other; sometimes you are angry with each other and sometimes you are happy with each other. This is because the ego is very flickering, the mind is even more flickering, and the senses are all the more flickering - Radhanath Swami

Do we want to be mere spectators or is there some learning that we can draw from this shocking incident and apply in our own lives and thereby change the world a little bit, for the better? We can probably use this opportunity to introspect and clean our own houses!

By learning to appreciate people around us and being thankful to circumstances that come upon us, we slowly open the dimension of seeing things as they are! As Radhanath Swami says "Gratitude is to honour, recognize and appreciate everyone and everything for a higher purpose."

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