At Herat Richard (now Radhanath Swami) was shaken by the culture shock. All at once, he found it impossible to connect with anything. The sights, smells, and sounds were foreign to his sense and he felt he was alone in a culture where nothing existed that he could relate to. He was bewildered as he grappled to answer the question, ‘Who am I?’ His prayers transported him into a state where a silent inner presence predominated over the phenomenal world. There he discovered a precious realization, ‘I am the soul, distinct from the world of externals, a child of God’. He felt liberated and flooded with gratitude. Richard knew that Herat would forever remain a sacred place on the map of his heart; this realization had given a new purpose and meaning to his life.
Radhanath Swami says on the basis of Vedic scriptures that the first and most fundamental knowledge that a disciple learns from his guru, spiritual master is, “You are not the body; you are a spirit soul.” This knowledge is the one of the first instructions that Lord Krishna gave Arjuna, when Arjuna surrendered to Him at the battlefield of Kurukshetra where the legendary Bhagavad Gita was spoken. Bhagavad Gita is the principal book of knowledge in the pan Hindu culture of the Indian sub-continent.
Radhanath Swami asks a simple question; doctors dissect and study a dead body. What makes a living body possess emotions and feelings like pain, pleasure, happiness, and distress? He answers that the soul is the spark of life that makes the body appear alive and when the soul leaves the body, we say the person is dead.
According to the Vedic knowledge, the body is always dead. For example, a microphone is made of metal. When electric energy passes through the microphone, the sound is broadcast over loudspeakers. But when there is no electricity in the system, nothing happens. Whether the microphone is working or not, it remains nothing more than an assembly of metal, plastic, etc. Similarly, the human body works because of the living force within. When this living force leaves the body, it is said that the body is dead. But actually it is always dead. The living force is the important element; its presence alone makes the body appear to be alive. But “alive” or “dead,” the physical body is nothing more than a collection of dead matter.
Radhanath Swami reasons that direct experience, inference, logic, empiric observation and religious faith all concur: some sort of conscious self-energy exists within the body. The body is an instrument; the conscious energy, soul is the user of that instrument. I once heard one student of Radhanath Swami give an interesting analogy; Say, I use a bicycle to travel from one place to another. If my cycle is destroyed, I will have to get another one. But I exist apart from the bicycle. Analogically, if my body is destroyed, I, the soul, am not destroyed with it. I continue to exist as much as the bicycle driver continues to exist after the destruction of the bicycle. One bicycle may breakdown, but I can get a new one. One body may grow from childhood to youth to old age and die one day; but I can get another body. If one has a desire to drive a motorbike, then one might change from a bicycle to a motorbike. If one can pay a higher price and wants to drive a car to save himself from the chasing dogs, then one may give up a motorbike and buy a car, etc. The vehicles may change, but the driver is the same. Similarly, the soul, in order to satisfy his unfulfilled desires, leaves the material body at death and acquires a new material body.
Radhanath Swami and his students explain subtle subject matters like ‘soul’ through lucid examples; after all even a spiritual novice like me finds the subject fascinating and easy to understand.
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........
The Herath experience narration shook me too!
View CommentAll glories to HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj.
View CommentRadhanath Swami Maharaj helps us to understand the complex truths of the soul through simple examples. Thank you Maharaj.
View Commentelectricity :microphone :: living force : body
View Commentwhat an expert analogy by HH Radhanath swami maharaj
Radhanath Swami is expert in explaining spiritual topics in very simple way. He is empowered by Lord to preach spiritual science
View CommentHariii bol. What an analogy of cycle.
View CommentMaharaj each & everything you say is so convincing & so practical. Thank you so muchhhh Maharaj.
The line that struck me most is that if we can afford a motorcycle we can buy that. So, it is not just the desire but also the buying capacity that decides our life both before and after death. One must, then, not be complacent about the choice of actions and words that one uses in day-to-day dealings.
View CommentVery nice analogy of Microphone and current
View CommentThis knowledge of what is body and what is soul is very important to avance in spiritual life.
View CommentThis knowledge of what is body and what is soul is very important to advance in spiritual life.
View Commentvery good explanation
View CommentNice explanation of how we are not body.
View Comment“I am not this body”; This is such a powerful statement but very difficult to accept and live by. Once we accept this and live by it we receive immediate liberation. Thank you Maharaj.
View CommentWhat a deep realization of Radhanath Swami.
View CommentA very touching part of the book
View CommentRadhanath Swami Maharaj’s realization at Herat simply shows how prayerful we should be.
View CommentH.H Radhanath Swami Maharaj helps us to understand the complex theory of the soul through simple examples and makes it easy to understand. Thank you Maharaj.
View CommentI am sure Radhanath Swami’s students are no spiritual novices. Especially the person writing these amazing realizations from Radhanath Swami’s talks!
View CommentInteresting!!!!
View CommentThe analogies of microphone & of bicycle, motorcycle,etc are really convincing about the existence of soul…….
View CommentRadhanath Swami Maharaj motivates us to move beyond the bodily consciousness.
View Commentfactually, we are so much conditioned by our surroundings that we never think beyond our bodily concepts of me and mine…but we can sure learn from the experience of Radhanath Swami.
View CommentSimple yet so sublime are these basic truths of life ” I am not the body but i am the soul!”
View CommentThis is the hallmark of the teachings of Radhanath Swami. By coming in touch with him or his students, even the most difficult subject matter becomes easy to understand.
View Commentvery nice picture.
View Commentvery beautiful article. Thanks to Radhanath swami and his students for the wonderful analogies!
View CommentGoing beyond the body – a very deep subject but elaborated so nicely. Thank you very much.
View CommentRadhanath Swami glorifies the greatness of spirit over matter.
View CommentWhen I read this story of Radhanath Swami in Journey Home book, I was simply amazed at his ability to go beyond the superfluous nature of things and go deep within to find answers to many questions in life.
View CommentA very nice analogy,Highly illutrative.Thank you very much.
View CommentHHRNSM is simply exemplary in all that he does, haribol, rajesh karia
View Commentwonderful analogy, thank you for sharing it with all of us, Maharaj Ki Jai! haribol, bhakti
View CommentI just love Radhanath Swami’s book! I absolutely love it! Every time I pick it up, I have the time of my life.
View CommentVery nice article.The body is an instrument; the conscious energy, soul is the user of that instrument.All glories to Radhanath Swami Maharaj.
View CommentAmazing analogy’s are given in this article.All glories to Radhanath Swami Maharaj.
View CommentAmazing analogy’s are given in this article.
View CommentRadhanath Swami is really expert teacher who can explain quite difficult subject matters in very lucid way.
View Commentamazing analogy of “i am not this body” thank you radhanath swami…
View CommentIt is simply amazing to read this story of H.H Radhanath Swami Maharaj in Journey Home book and his capacity to go beyond the superfluous nature of things and go deep within to find answers to many questions of life.
View CommentWonderful realizations – All glories to HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj for sharing these most wonderful instructions.
View Commentthank u for this…
View CommentKrsna says in Gita that i give the knowledge from within to my devotees and here is the proof for the same..Lord from within revealed to Radhanath Maharaj the true idendity as a soul..similarly the mahamantra was also revealed to Radhanath Swami by mother Ganges herself…Makes us think:’How dear this son must be to the Supreme Lord?’ Its in our favor to follow his instruction to make rapid progress on the path of devotion.
View CommentRadhanath Swami’s ways of telling most sublime things in a simple maaner is very impressive
View CommentRadhanath Swami, reading your thoughts again is always a great pleasure
View CommentRadhanath Swami’s teachings based on the Bhagavad Gita are very crucial for everyone. One who understands that he is not the body but a spirit soul, is the only person who can dare to tread on the spiritual journey.
View CommentThank you Radhanath Swami
View CommentWonderful article with strong points. Thank you
View Commentwonderful explanation
View Commentwonderful explanation and analogies
View CommentThank you Radhanath Swami for enlightening us about the importance of spiritual knowledge.
View Comment