Meditation from the Journey Home Book – Autobiography of Radhanath Swami
At the convent of Mother Theresa Richard saw her personally scrubbing a large charred cooking pot with her own devoted hands. Although her aging form was shrunken and frail, her eyes twinkled with childlike innocence. She revealed to Richard that the greatest problem in the world was not the hunger of the stomach but the hunger of the heart. She said all over the world both the rich and the poor are suffering, starving for love. She considered poverty as being caused by a lack of respect for one another. She considered real wealth to be in the hearts of those with faith in the love of God. She was asked by a lady why she was washing pots. She replied that serving God and humanity was not a chore. Any type of service is a blessing. Another person asked her where she gets her strength from, to which she said, “All my strength comes from the Lord’s Holy Names.”
The world is increasingly witnessing selfish exploitation and greedy pursuits, and therefore it’s not surprising to see the rich getting richer while the poor get poorer; stinking opulence coexist in this world with squalor and deprivation. In a recent talk Radhanath Swami quoted his guru’s analogy, “If a bag of rice is placed in a public place, birds will come to eat a few grains and go away. A human being, however, will take away the whole bag. He will eat all his stomach can hold and then try to keep the rest in storage. Now the entire world is suffering because of man’s greed and selfishness.” Radhanath Swami also quotes his guru who once on a morning walk in Bombay saw a lean, poor man shivering on the pavement. On the same footpath an obese man jogged. And Radhanath Swami’s guru was quick to point that one man is suffering because he has nothing to eat and the other is running to lose calories caused by over eating.
When the world over people are suffering due to selfishness, I am inspired by the second richest man in the world Warren Buffet who has revealed himself to be simple man at heart. His refusal to pursue ‘I get what I want’ lifestyle- the hallmark of modern society- comes as a breath of fresh air in these troubled times. At a time when crass greed goes in the name of ambition, and frugal habits are frowned upon, Mr. Buffet’s reticence has few parallels. Mr. Buffet’s recently donated $37 billion in charity. The CEO and Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway also hasn’t taken a salary hike for the last quarter of a century, and pays back his company expenses such as phone charges. Mr Buffet also drives his own car to work, and apparently says ‘no’ to all things hedonistic.
If more such fortunate few take responsibility of the underprivileged, and share their love, they will themselves discover God’s love in their own hearts. Radhanath Swami appeals, “When we recognize the proprietorship of the Supreme Lord, and contribute our little worth in ensuring that the needs of all are taken care of, we lead a life of responsibility.” Besides the social responsibility, another reason why we need to keep our lives simple is the personal satisfaction it guarantees. The more we fulfill our desires, the mind continues to remain dissatisfied “There’s enough in this world to meet everyone’s need”, said Gandhi, “but not enough to meet even one person’s greed”. Radhanath Swami shares Mother Theresa’s concern that both the rich and the poor are suffering for want of love. He says this is due to our life centered on selfish acquisitions. A life centered on acquisitions- gross and even subtle aspirations for name and fame- only increases our bodily misidentifications. For such a person, a deep sense of insecurity crops up with changing market conditions, twisting political fortunes, and crashing stock markets.
Therefore the solution for humanity is to share love and compassion. Radhanath Swami humbly confesses, “As soon as we think we are compassionate, we are in illusion. We can only be instruments of God’s compassion.” He also insists that we serve not because we can help anyone, but our service is only for our own purification, and the needy are simply giving us a chance to serve them.
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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........
“As soon as we think we are compassionate, we are in illusion. We can only be instruments of God’s compassion”
HH Radhanath Swami is always spot on when it come to such truely profound realization. He is a chosen one of Lord. Otherwirse it is not possible for anyone on the material plane to be so pure and clear in understanding Supreme Lord. He never ever gets carried away whatever may be the situation, because he never fails to be conscious of Supreme Lord.
View CommentThank you Maharaj for this wonderful preaching and guidance on “Curing the hunger of the heart”.
View CommentLeaders like HH Radhanath Swami are compassionate in holistic way. They not only inspire devotees to run one of the most successful food distribution for underprivileged children, but also show the way to permanent happiness to millions who are starving for love of God.
View Commentthe statement of Mother Teresa “All my strength comes from the Lord’s Holy Names.” is so much important and also not very well known. Radhanath Swami Maharaja always focuses on this theme of chanting the Holy Names of Lord.
View CommentRadhanath Swami shows us that the scriptures can not only help us in our spiritual path but also aid us in living in this world.
View CommentThe article exposes the harsh reality. Maharaj has been a beacon in this respect exposing the harsh reality in a way that people can follow practically.
View CommentNice Article!!! Thanks for sharing this
View CommentWe need leader like Radhanath Maharaj who can us teach God has given sufficient to satisfy our need but not greed,
View Commentvery good!!
View CommentRadhanath Swami’s guru was quick to point that one man is suffering because he has nothing to eat and the other is running to lose calories caused by over eating………
View Commentthis is really a amazing example for this today’s material world
an inspiring anecdote
View Commentdefinitely is a definitely well thought out post. I certainly enjoyed reading it. Thanks
View CommentGreat stuff from you, man. Ive read your stuff before and youre just too awesome. I love what youve got here, love what youre saying and the way you say it. You make it entertaining and you still manage to keep it smart. I cant wait to read more from you. This is really a great blog.
View CommentI’m glad I chose to read this one. Nice work!
View Commentjay!!
View CommentVery powerful meaning of ‘Responsibility from Maharajah. “When we recognize the proprietorship of the Supreme Lord, and contribute our little worth in ensuring that the needs of all are taken care of, we lead a life of responsibility.” Jay- if we all could live by this principle, the world would be definitely a better place for everyone to live
View CommentThe article convinced me, how much, this world is in need of compassion of Lord. However, we try to show how WE are compassionate.
View CommentI agree with Meera Mataji we have to recognize the proprietorship of the lord than there would be a better place for us…thanks very nice
View Commentheart will be always hungry , we have to provide it a proper food.
View Commenti agree to each and every word.this word is hungry for love.HHRNSM’s each and every word is based upon profound realisation…….all glories to him
View CommentIt’s wonderful to discover great posts like this 1. Thank you!
View CommentVery good Post!
View Commentbeautiful article, haribol, bhakti
View Commentvery rightly said that the greatest hunger is not of the stomach it is of the heart, rajesh karia
View CommentThank you for a wonderful post. I enjoyed it.
View Comment“Needy are giving us chance to serve them”. What a conclusion Radhanath Swami has derived from this article. This is very deep.
View CommentActually, if we sit somewhere in a quiet place and think deeply about a person who loves us, really loves us, we will find very few. But the heart longs for love; in its absence it looks for things to get busy with. Who can be better at fulfilling our need for love than God himself?
View CommentWonderful.
View CommentThis is an excellent teaching by Radhanath Swami on what is service, why should we serve and how should we serve.
View CommentThank you.
“All my strength comes from the Lord’s Holy Names.” these comments from Mother Theresa are very inspiring. Chanting is not just Hindu ritual but all religions have this process.
View CommentThank U Maharaj for Sharing
View Commentthank you radhanath swami for revealing the real hunger to be the hunger of the soul
View CommentWith Radhanath Swami’s association , the real hunger is of the soul , is fully satisfied
View CommentA human being, will take away the whole bag. Only humans are such endangered species. Even i have noticed my that i do sometimes. 🙁
View Comment