Radhanath Swami Quotations

In religion, there's a certain type of fear that if somebody believes differently from me, that it's a threat. Because I'm right, and there cannot be two ways that are right, so if I'm right, anything different than this must be wrong; and we attack those things and it's really due to insecurity, ego and fear.

Mother Nature is always speaking. She speaks in a language understood within the peaceful mind of the sincere observer. Leopards, cobras, monkeys, rivers and trees; they all served as my teachers when I lived as a wanderer in the Himalayan foothills.

One who loves God sees everything in relation to God. Therefore, their love flows spontaneously toward everyone, at all times, everywhere. They even love those who wish them harm. If you love God, you can't hate anything or anyone. If the love one offers is met with hate, it doesn't die; rather, it manifests in the form.

What I found particularly fascinating and satisfying about the Hindu tradition was its spirit of inclusiveness. In Sanatan Dharma, or what is commonly called Hinduism, I discovered the basic truths of all religions in a way that the oneness of God and religion is comprehensively understood.

We can't really digest food unless there's hunger. So we can't really assimilate spiritual wisdom unless we feel the need for it.

Whereas religious prayers sing of peace and harmony, religion has divided human beings through an atrocious history of enmity and bloodshed. Yet, behind the veil of superficiality and hypocrisy, I always believed in the inherent beauty of God that lies at the essence of all true spiritual paths.

The true treasure lies within. It is the underlying theme of the songs we sing, the shows we watch and the books we read. It is woven into the Psalms of the Bible, the ballads of the Beatles and practically every Bollywood film ever made. What is that treasure? Love. Love is the nature of the Divine.

The essence of Hinduism is the same essence of all true religions: Bhakti or pure love for God and genuine compassion for all beings.

My parents' selfless affection and dedication nourished and prepared me to receive the love of my guru or spiritual father, Swami Prabhupada. My parents prepared the soil in which my guru sowed the seeds of his compassion.

I took an interest in the Civil Rights Movement. I listened to Martin Luther King. The Vietnam War was raging. When I was 18, I was eligible for the draft, but when I went to be tested, I didn't qualify.

In my own spiritual journey, I became a swami on the Hindu path of Bhakti. In the Hindu tradition, a swami is a monk who forgoes regular family life for the purpose of making the whole world his family and channels his full energy into spiritual practice, devotion to God and service to humanity.

Reducing carbon emissions is important, but it is shortsighted if not coupled with reducing the toxic emissions from our heart; and that is something spiritual leaders are supposed to teach and something all thinking people, regardless of their beliefs, should practice.

When love is pure, it has the power to conquer. Lover and beloved conquer each other by their affection. The source, the essence, the fullest manifestation of love's conquering power is the love of the soul for the supreme soul, or God.

We should honor Mother Earth with gratitude; otherwise our spirituality may become hypocritical.

Religion is meant to teach us true spiritual human character. It is meant for self-transformation. It is meant to transform anxiety into peace, arrogance into humility, envy into compassion, to awaken the pure soul in man and his love for the Source, which is God.

If you love God, you can't hate anything or anyone. If the love one offers is met with hate, it doesn't die, rather it manifests in the form of compassion. That is universal love. It is not just a sentiment. It cannot be manifested merely by a shift in mental disposition. It can only come from inner cleaning, an inner awakening.

Religious and spiritual leaders should be held accountable for environmental activism, not only because they have access to large communities and can influence votes, but because service is integral to religious and spiritual life.

When people unfortunately use religion to facilitate their envy, arrogance and hate, communalism surfaces.

When spirituality is the basis of your life, it gives you the strength, wisdom and courage to surmount the many storms of life that could destroy a weaker person who doesn't have this foundation.

Sadly, in the name of progress, we have polluted the air, water, soil and the food we eat.

The tension between the essence of spiritual teachings and the harmful fundamentalism that often arises in the name of religion is an issue that has engaged my mind practically as far back as I can remember.

I just didn't know where I fit in - I didn't seem to fit in my parent's generation. I didn't seem to fit in my own generation. Little by little, this took me into a spiritual search for understanding; a search for meaning and fulfillment.

How can our hearts not break? How can we hold our tears? How can we bear the pain of losing those loving children and their guardians, who were slain in Newtown, Conn.? Why can't we face the reality of our times and restrict deranged people from having these destructive powers?

Whether we fear pain and suffering or not, pain and suffering will come to everyone. Why not keep our minds focused on where we want to go?

In 1958, my father invested everything he had in a business venture and became the largest automobile dealership in Chicago for Ford's new Edsel line. But Edsel sales plummeted and my father fell into bankruptcy. I watched him struggle; working long hours to protect us from poverty.

Humanity evolves when we realise that animals have the same rights to the Earth as we do.

Parallel to our vast strides in technology, there is a dangerous rise in unemployment, foreclosures, and degrading education. Millions of people are stricken with hopelessness and strife. Sadly, in the name of progress we have polluted the air, water, soil and the food we eat.

The only way we can make this world a better place is to transcend it.

In our conditioned nature we do not understand value of something until we lose it.

The art of loving creates the unity which has unlimited spiritual strength, and that is the greatest need in the world today. Each one of us can make such a difference if we become humble, if we develop a service attitude, and if we develop the broad mind to see the oneness of all living beings.

Humble people dont get Offended easily.

Man cannot be enlightened through any organization, creed, dogma, priest or ritual, nor through any philosophical knowledge or psychological technique. He has to find it through understanding the contents of his own mind, through observation, not through intellectual analysis or introspective dissection.

Tolerance means to fix our mind, to fix our words, & our actions on a higher principle.

The word surrender sounds horrible to one who wants to enjoy his senses but very sweet to one who has a humble heart.

Krishna is present fully in His holy name and this is realized by the humility and sincerity in our chanting.

Sometimes the Lord gives us a free sample of religious experience, but for more, we must pay a price with the currency of sincere dedication to the process of cleansing.

The essence of spiritual life is simply to use our free will properly.

When there is love in our heart, only love will come out.

When the mind is turbulent, uncontrolled and restless, it is like a pond of water that is filled with mud. Therefore when we look within ourselves, all we perceive is the mud of our material conceptions of life. But when the mind is still through discipline, and through yoga, it is like a pond that has no waves and no turbulence. Then we can perceive through that crystal clear water the eternal nature of our soul.

When you have an ego, you are limited to your own strengths and weaknesses. But if you are totally surrendered to God, nothing is impossible for you.

Wherever there is power, there is very great responsibility to utilize it properly.

When you take a position, you have to accept responsibilities.

Actual Gratitude is the Symptom of Humility.

Real problem is not population explosion, but what the population is doing.

All beautiful forms of this world are in the process of transformation. Nothing is stable. With every moment, our reality is changing. Mother Ganges, like nature, is constant, but no manifestation of hers remains. Likewise, all that we hold dear in this world is imperceptibly vanishing. We cannot cling to anything. But if we can appreciate the beauty of the underlying current of truth, we can enjoy a reality deeper than the fickle waves of joy and sorrow.

Compassion is an essential element of love.

Service is life. No service means, spiritually no life.

Real humility does not depress you, but allows you to call intensely and brings us closer to Krishna.

The more one makes spiritual advancement, one feels humble and as one's devotion is superficial that much he feels that he is a great devotee.

If we feel unqualified and feel grateful for an opportunity to serve, then Krishna will bestow in our hearts.

Compassion brings fulfillment to the heart. Selfish desires simply agitate the heart.

A sincere soul is not trying to make a show. His enthusiasm is an act of service.

Trying to be happy in this world is greatest illusion.

Genuine spiritual movement should forgive and encourage.

Kali yuga is so much saturated with vicious habits that there is a great fight at the slightest of misunderstanding.

In Kali yuga, whole atmosphere is surcharged with faithlessness, Material sense gratification is standard of civilization.

Bhakti cannot be attained, it is a gift.

Remembrance is a necessary expression of love, internally.

Death is not big thing, what is important is God's service.

Bhakti is expressed through our service attitude.

To purify the heart is the one and only purpose that God has created this human life.

Pure love of God is our nature, but we are so much diverted, so much distracted by the externals that we've forgotten that it's our essence.

If you do some wonderful service and if you tell people what you did in a boastful way, it nullifies the credit of your service, may not be in the eternal platform, but in your conscious condition you will not be able to reap the benefits of that service.

In Kali yuga, duration of life is shortened not so much because insufficient food but because of irregular habits.

Familiarity leads to lack of Gratitude.

The diverse religions and races bring beauty to the world if we truly understand in our hearts the essence of who we are and what we stand for. And that really is the essence of spirituality.

We have to seek the essence of all religions; then we can see how spirituality actually unites us and empowers us instead of breaking us down.

What appears to be a curse can be a blessing if we simply appreciate the inner essence of the possibility of how to connect to God in that situation.

Speak the essence and live by it.

A great soul is called Saragrahi that means one who is always looking for the essence of every situation that comes before us.

If someone takes responsibility without force, that is love.

When one's eyes are anointed with the salve of prema, spiritual love then we could see Vrindavan.

Real religion is not about being a Christian or a Jew or a Muslim. Real religion is about loving God, & dedicating ones life to be an instrument of Gods compassion, kindness towards other living beings.

Devotees are not impressed by the poverty or wealth in material sense in any way; what impresses is devotion.

Real religion is about, developing real character; character of compassion, character of humility, the character of determination to grow in all circumstances.

Opportunities are always there for us to grow, opportunities are always there for us to come closer to each other & come closer to God; if we just look for them.

If we do the right thing with right intent that is actually our success.

Simply performing devotional activities will not impart devotion to others but our consciousness should be absorbed.

If we seek the essence of every situation, if we seek to connect to God within our hearts, then we will find an opportunity there, to grow internally in wisdom in every trial we face.

Sincerity in sadhna and eagerness to serve is the basis of one's relationship with the spiritual master.

Pure devotional service fries the seeds of material inclinations in our heart.

"What a joke: Tiny living entities crawling on a little planet and are thinking, "I am Great". "

The most transformative and gentle humility and pride. But they transform in opposite ways.

To be in the association of those aspiring to love God is the ultimate gift of God.

The Absolute Truth can be perceived by a repentant heart.

Even if you want one drop of respect you have to take birth in this material world again.

Love is not enjoyment. Love is being enjoyed.

Any propensity other than love cannot exist in the spiritual world. There is unlimited variegatedness, but they are all extraordinarily wonderful ways of expressing love.

Faith is the act of seeing beyond the religion of possibility of the senses, the mind and the intelligence.

Faith in God goes beyond intellectual presentation and logic.

Greatness is in not what you do but how you are an instrument in the hands of God.

According to our purpose, motivation and sincerity, which compose our devotion, Krishna reveals Himself to us.

COOPERATION means to be willing to sacrifice for the sake of others

If you are not being attacked by materialist, you must be doing something wrong

Real responsibility means to live and speak in such a way as to help peoples faith and not to disturb it.

We can not imitate great souls. However to study, analyse and imbibe the principles they teach and embody, is the path of progress.

Taking responsibility of others means to be selfless. We have to put aside our own well being and desires as secondary and to think primarily of what is best for the persons who are looking up to us.

Materialism is the consciousness of wanting to exploit and enjoy.

Preaching means to awaken the real inclination to serve God.

The more you feel you are fallen; the more you fall in love with God.