Richard (now Radhanath Swami) met Asim Krishna’s guru, Swami Bon Maharaj. He showered warmth and affection upon Richard and revealed to him that his coming to Vrindavan was not a chance occurrence; the Supreme Lord had personally directed him to his eternal home, Vrindavan. Bon Maharaj also offered Richard to be his special guest who could come and go as he pleased. Bon Maharaj was a highly educated devotee and distinguished in character. At the age of twenty he had met his guru Bhatisiddhanta Saraswati, and upon hearing his powerful message and seeing his spotless character, Bon Maharaj offered his life to the path of devotional service.
Asim Krishna explained to Richard that Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati was a very special guru who boldly declared that no one should be categorized on the basis of race, nationality, or caste, that we are all eternal souls, not the temporary body. He taught that people must be respected according to their personal qualities, not their birth. Boldly exposing the modern perversion of the caste system, he faced plots to end his life. Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati emphasized the spirit of genuine devotion, or bhakti, and dismissed mundane superficialities and pseudo spirituality. At the young age of twenty-three, Bon Maharaja took the vows of a sannyasi, lifelong celibacy, and began to preach throughout India. He was among the first of Bhaktisiddhanta’s disciples to be sent to England and Germany in the 1920s.
Radhanath Swami lovingly refers to Bhatisiddhanta Saraswati as his ‘grandfather guru’, the spiritual master of his own guru, Srila Prabhupada. Bhatisiddhanta Saraswati was a prolific scholar of Vedic scriptures and spoke English fluently. In the early twentieth century, Bhatisiddhanta Saraswati spread the message of the urgent need for all human beings to seek out God and render the highest good to humanity by educating people about the eternal soul and the soul’s eternal relationship with God.
Bhatisiddhanta Saraswati displayed symptoms of divinity even as a child, and as a young boy mastered Sanskrit, Mathematics and Astronomy. He received the epithet ‘Siddhanta Saraswati’ as recognition for his erudition. I heard from Radhanath Swami an interesting aspect of Bhatisiddhanta Saraswati’s character. I would assume such a scholar to be drowning with books and scriptures. However in 1905, Bhatisiddhanta Saraswati undertook a vow to chant the Hare Krishna mantra a billion times. Radhanath Swami is prayerful and grave in his demeanour when glorifying great acharyas, teachers of the past like Bhatisiddhanta Saraswati. Without their blessings, Radhanath Swami says, it’s impossible to make advancement in our spiritual life. “To the degree we consider ourselves as instruments in the hands of the previous acharyas, to that extent, we facilitate the flow of grace”, expresses Radhanath Swami, “and to the degree we feel we are the doers, we restrict the flow of the blessings of the previous masters.”
Bhatisiddhanta Saraswati was also revolutionary in the sense he knew the austere living under trees and mountains may not be possible for modern people. Therefore he introduced the idea that devotee householders could live in palatial homes and the devotee monks could live in big temples.”. While previously Bhakti-yogis would not have had anything to do with the mechanized contrivances introduced by the British, Bhatisiddhanta Saraswati, on the authority of scripture, was demonstrating a higher understanding. That one is perfectly detached from all materialistic worldly entanglement not when one gives up everything but when one employs everything for the service of God. This is understood to be perfect renunciation in yoga.
Radhanath Swami, humbly following the footsteps of Bhatisiddhanta Saraswati echoes the same mood, “If God is good, then His energy is also good; material things should not be used for one’s own personal enjoyment, but they could be and should be used for the service of God.”
I once heard Radhanath Swami give a detailed description of the disciplic succession of spiritual masters, coming down systematically for generations. He mentioned that Bhatisiddhanta Saraswati also comes in one such unbroken lineage of gurus.
Table of Contents
Founder-acharya of the International Society For Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)
“Go to India” a sweet but commanding voice; spoke up in the heart of young Richard (later Radhanath Swami) who was immersed in meditation, his search for meaning in life has brought him to the Isle of Crete. Today he was ordered to go to India. Born and raised in the middle class suburbs of Chicago, Radhanath swami grew up in the 1950’s and 60’s era when popular musicians protested war, prejudice and social injustice. Radhanath swami would listen to these songs again and again, but their lyrics referring to God stirred his soul. Peter, Paul and Mary- the folk trio from Greenswich village sang in their debut album
“Early in the morning, about the break of day
I ask the Lord, to help me find my way”
This simple prayer was to guide Radhanath swami in the coming years of his life........
wonderful narration from life of Radhanath Swami
View CommentRadhanath swami’s mood of being the servant of the previous acharyas is what everyone of us must try and adapt.
View CommentThrough this article Radhanath Swami’s love and veneration for the previous acharyas can be experienced.
View CommentIts tough to spread the truth boldly, not everyone likes to hear it. But still, despite all odds, the great saints go about their task fearlessly, with full faith in God.
View CommentThank you for bringing out the point that without mercy of great acharyas one cannot make spiritual progress.
View CommentThe point about facilitating the flow of grace attracted my attention the most.
View CommentH.H.Radhanth Swami is a perfect grand diciple of Srila Bahkti Siddanta Saraswati Goswami Maharaj. He has taken each one of those instructions to his heart. It is all there in the results to see.
View CommentThanks to Radhanath Swami
View CommentBhaktisiddhanta Saraswati is called as Simha Guru by Srila Prabhupad. He is really a revolutionary acharya who spread devotion to Lord Krsna throughout India
View Comment“If God is good, then His energy is also good; material things should not be used for one’s own personal enjoyment, but they could be and should be used for the service of God.” — such complete understanding.
View CommentSrila Bhakti Siddhant Saraswati was really revolutionary in bringing the Krsna conscious movement in the right spirit, that people of all classes can accept it.
View CommentThanks to Radhanath Swami Maharaj for sharing the experiences.
View CommentWhat a great realization
“If God is good, then His energy is also good; material things should not be used for one’s own personal enjoyment, but they could be and should be used for the service of God.”
Just this practice changes the whole mood of Bhakti-devotion to God, at the same time we loose taste for selfish sense enjoyment propensities.
View CommentAll Glories to our prampara for passing dowm this message.
All Glories to Radhanath Maharajah.
Thanks to H.H Radhnath Swami Maharaj to explain how great H.H. Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur is.
View Commentthank you
View CommentWe are merely an instrument in the hands of our Guru.Only in such consciousness can we make real progress in spiritual life.Thanks Maharaj for this significant realization.
View CommentThanks for sharing this.
View CommentAs Radhanath Swami meditates, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thahur is very bold and elevated many souls without any material differences. We are very much grateful to the entire parampara (disciplic succession) which have great souls like Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, Srila Prabhupada and HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj.
View Commentradhanath swami is really the choicest spiritual master to the humankind,
View CommentNice article !
View CommentSrila BhaktiSiddhanta Saraswati Thakur was also known as the ‘Narsimaha guru’ because he was fearless like a lion while preaching Krishna Consciousness without any dilution or compromises & single-handedly challenged the envious smartha brahmanas & mayavadis of his time, sometimes even at the risk of his own life. Radhanath Swami also fearlessly embarked on his spiritual quest to attain complete knowledge about God even though he had to put his life in peril many times during the course of his spiritual journey.
View CommentRadhanath Swami teaches us that the essence of bhakti is to always be seeking blessings.
View CommentThanks for sharing such an inspiring post
View CommentRadhanath swami in his journey towards God is amazing.
View CommentThanks to Radhanath Swami Maharaj for sharing the experiences.
View CommentVery nice article……..
View CommentVow to chant the Maha Mantra billion times now that is one serious vow. Thanks for sharing thie encouraging article.
View Commentgreat and nice article it is inspiring for all of us
View CommentThank you sharing this narration….
HH Radhanath swami maharaj ki jai
View Commentnice one.
View Commentthank you maharaj
View CommentIt is very inspiring to hear the glories of Srila Bhakti Siddhantha Saraswathi Maharaj.
View CommentSpiritual practice is very scientific; there are governing laws, cause and effect and so on. It is not something to be practiced when one has reached old age. Radhanath Swamis experiences are brought out so well in “The Journey Home” book and we can understand that if we use are intellectual capabilities rightly then we can seek bonafide guidance for our spiritual life, not merely doing some gymnastic exercises or yoga to keep our bodies fit so that we can enjoy better or getting our greed satisfied.
View CommentThank you very much for sharing such a nice article.
View CommentRadhanath Swami Maharaj is explaining the perfection of renunciation by using everything in God’s service.
View CommentThe false notion of caste system based on birth had kept me away from Indian spirituality for a long time. Once that misunderstanding was cleared, it opened the gates for my spiritual life.
View CommentI once heard from Radhanath Swami Maharaj that real renunciation is accepting every thing truly in connection to Krsna.
View CommentThis is really inspiring to read the glorification of Bhakti siddhanta saraswati Maharaj. Thanks for sharing.
View Commentvery nice article, haribol, bhakti
View CommentSri BhaktiSiddhanta Saraswati Swami is truly a revolutionary Guru and a messenger of the Lord. SBSS through disciplic succession has empowered us with the vedic and spiritual knowledge of the Lord, Haribol, rajesh karia
View CommentThank you Radhanath Swami for sharing the life and teaching of Simha Guru.. Srila Bhakti Sidhhanta Saraswati.
View CommentHari Bol
View CommentRadhanath Swami is the best example for everyone to lead a life where Lord Krishna is the centre. This atomatically makes one lead a disciplined life.
View CommentThank you Radhanath Swami for enlightening us by making us understand that we can get a bigger ‘high’ by practicing spirituality rather than using cheap material substitutes
View CommentThank you Radhanath Swami for sharing this
View CommentVery nice, thank you maharaj
View CommentThank you maharaj
View CommentRadhnath Swami is always looking to serve the Lord and devotees of the Lord. There is no place for personal enjoyment in his life. He is just following the footsteps of great acaryas
View CommentSri Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati was undoubtedly the most exalted acharya. Radhanath swami naturally has the highest regard and dependence exibited for him. It takes one to know one.
View CommentThank you so much for sharing this wonderful extract from Radhanath Swami’s life…
View Comment