One night a huge scorpion fell from the ceiling of the cave, inches away from Richard. He also noticed deadly cobras occasionally, and remembered the fatherly Kailash Baba in developing the proper consciousness. He prayed to God to help him overcome judgment, fear and hatred. Once a reclusive mystic from Egypt offered to read Richard’s destiny. Through elaborate occult rituals, he prophesized that a divine power will direct Richard. Like a leaf in the wind, he will be led to the path he must follow. He advised Richard to persevere with patience and then by a power beyond his own, his master will come to him.
Earlier at Goa, Richard began to realize the limitations of his travelling from place to place and from teacher to teacher. Although a popular idea in the 1960’s was to learn as much as possible from various paths, Richard now began to see the superficiality of it; he began to see many spiritualists with this idea, but the depth of their realizations seemed vague. Those who impressed Richard as advanced had committed themselves to a particular path. The fear and uncertainty of choosing a path was becoming painful for him.
Vedas, the ancient spiritual guide, encourages a seeker to commit to a particular path. Self study and arm chair commentary maybe permissible for subjects such as history, and politics but Vedic wisdom is transformational in its potency, and requires careful tutelage and practice of spiritual practices. Just as an untrained surgeon causes more harm than good, an untrained spiritualist confuses people and takes them further away from enlightenment. Imagine a young man claiming to be an ophthalmologist, and he seeks to surgically operate your eyes. As you wonder about his qualifications, he beams, “I have studied the books on my own and am confident of performing an operation.” Or worse, he claims the knowledge of surgery was revealed to him in a dream. Will you volunteer to be operated by such a ‘knowledgeable’ eye surgeon? A surgeon has to study and practice under a bonafide surgeon before qualifying himself. Similarly the Vedic scriptures encourage a seeker to approach a guru, and commit to a path for deeper revelations of the Absolute Truth.
At the same time, the Indian philosophical thought also encourages a seeker to see good and learn from everyone. The Rig Veda, one of the oldest of Indian books of wisdom, encourages assimilation of spiritual knowledge from all sources, “let noble thoughts come to us from all sides.” Under the tutelage of a guru, a spiritualist respects all forms of life and learns from every aspect of God’s creation.
The ancient Indian classic, Srimad Bhagavatam reveals the story of one saint who learnt from twenty four teachers. By his careful observation of the nature, he received various instructions from the earth, the wind, the sky, the water, fire, and so on. Because of the knowledge he had gained from them, he was able to travel about the earth in a liberated state. For example from the earth he had learned how to be sober, and from the two manifestations of earth, namely the mountain and the tree, he had learned, respectively, how to serve others and how to dedicate one’s whole life for the benefit of others. From the water he had learned how to be naturally clear and purifying. From the moon he had learned how the material body undergoes growth and dwindling. From the sun he had learned how to avoid entanglement even while coming into contact with sense objects, and from the pigeon he had learned how too much affection and excessive attachment are not good for one seeking spiritual enlightenment.
Radhanath Swami’s commitment to one path for over four decades has filled his heart with rich realizations. At the same time, the deep internal connection to God through a systematic path has helped him see the universality of all other paths, and has led him to appreciate the various spiritual teachers that have graced the world.
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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........
thanx for sharing
View CommentAssociation with pure devotees of God such as Radhanath Swami dispels all our misgivings about the contradictions within & between various religions. This subsequently lays down the foundation for a firm faith & commitment to devotional life in the service of God.
View Commentvery nice, the analogy of spiritual practitioner without a guru and a knowledge able doctor without practice is nice. Thank you very much Maharaj.
View CommentGreat learning on Commitment
View CommentThis subsequently lays down the foundation for a firm faith & commitment to devotional life in the service of God.
View CommentThanks for the wonderful post and the story of saint learning from 24 teachers.
View CommentGetting determined on a single fixed path in spiritual life is very important. Thank you Maharaj for enlightening us about this.
View CommentFear of commitment is very common to find; the intelligence to overcome it is not.
View CommentAll said and done, at some point of time, one DOES have to take a plunge.
As a famous Indian poet, Kabir, says,
Jin doondha tin payiyan, gahre paani paithi,
Main bapura boodan dara, raha kinare baithe.
“One who seeks, finds his cherished object even within the deep waters; however, I am an old man, fearful of taking the plunge. As a result, I just sat at the banks, forever.”
Radhanath Swami understood the utmost importance of surrendering to one path, one master, a Guru. Thus, he did chose a path and dedicated his life to it. At the same time, he was extremely broad-minded to appreciate all other paths. Appreciation, even though one may disagree, for all is an amazing quality exhibited by Radhanath Swami.
That is so true, we can not travel stepping on two boats, this material existence is like a ocean of miseries, in order to go to the destination, we should get into one solid boat. Radhanath Swami maharaj realization on this is so deep that’s why he is so committed to his Guru, His Divine Grace A.C. BhakthiVedantha Swami Prabhupada.
View Commentunless we set priorities of our life , we will not move as per that, so we must set
View CommentThe tale of Radhanath Swami is in itself a tale of commitment, to the highest cause, the service to the Lord. In his autobiography, THE JOURNEY HOME, Radhanath Swami Maharaj explains what an ordinary person will consider impossible for the common man. That makes Radhanath Swami extra ordinary.
View CommentNice Article!!! Thank you very much for sharing
View CommentYes we have. Go to myspace.com and search for radhanath swami. You will get it
View CommentAmazing!!
View CommentTrue spirituality widens the horizons and make us see things in the right perspective.Thanks to Radhanath Maharaj for sharing this wonderful experience.
View CommentFor everything else in the material world we want great qualification, authorisation and good credentials but for spiritual life we are ready to follow any so called ‘Tom, Dick and Harry’ who turns up strutting his wares. Thank you Radhanath Swami for opening our eyes to the real picture.
View CommentVery nice article.
View CommentRadhanath Swami explains the beautiful creation of this material world by the Lord so that each instance one can learn the truth just by keenly observing the surroundings. His realizations helping others to realize the truth. I am learning many things from his realization. I am very much thankful to him. All glories to Radhanath Swami.
View CommentWonderful article – The analogy of eye surgeon explains the point very nicely. “A surgeon has to study and practice under a bonafide surgeon before qualifying himself. Similarly the Vedic scriptures encourage a seeker to approach a guru, and commit to a path for deeper revelations of the Absolute Truth”
View Commentbeautiful!!! thanks for providing a good insight to His Holiness Radhanath Swami’s life. always waiting to read more and more about him
View CommentRadhanath swami gives spiritual insight through this article.
View CommentLot of things to learn from this article. Tolerant/humble like a tree is very touchy.
View CommentCommitment to the process is very important in spiritual life. H.H Radhanath Swami’s life is an example for this.
View Commentnice to know you guys… nice website… nice thots… will be back for sure!!!
View Commenta v beautiful article so much to understand.We should be 100% committed.Thank You maharaj
View CommentNice thought on commitment to a spiritual path…
View CommentNice!!
View CommentArmchair philosopher achieves nothing but a swollen head
Studying paths diverse, time will go till we drop dead.
Commitment to a chosen path and to remain loyally wed
Is the sure way to tread, to our true home, hearth and bed.
View CommentThat is very true, we do have fear to committing one spiritual path, but in our case Radhanath Swami has cleared the way. All we have to do is follow his instructions sincerely, we will definitely make lot of spiritual advancement.
View CommentAll Glories To.H.H.Radhanath Swami Maharaj
What an wonderful experience and the realisations thereafter have been shared.
Thank you Maharaj.
Hare Krishna.
View Commentvery beautfully explained by HHRM about ones commitment towards spiritual path and eventually how one achieves spirituality, haribol, bhakti
View Commentnice article, thank you HHRM for enlightneing us on the importance of commitment towards aspects of life, regards, rajesh
View CommentSuch enlightened realization of Radhanath Swami should help this world today
View CommentHari Hari
View CommentBecause of Radhanath Swami’s sincerity, he was pained when he had not yet found his path to commit to. One must search with the intention of committing, not just for fun.
View CommentMaharaj throughout his life has learned from so many sages and is now kindly sharing with us his realizations. Thank you Maharaj.
View CommentThank you Radhanath Swami for showing us by your own example what real commitment means.
View Commentreally we fear for commiting to one path . but if it is geneuine ,so one should commit , such wonderful point has been brought to us here by mahraj
View CommentGreat commitment
View CommentWhat a fantastic article! A person who only keeps hopping from one guru to another without committing to a particular path simply follows his mind whom he has accepted as his guru!
View CommentYou’ve raelly impressed me with that answer!
View CommentThank you for this wonderful post.
View CommentCommitment is very essential to progress in spiritual life
View CommentBeing committed to a particular spiritual path yet being able to appreciate other paths and religious leaders is a hallmark of a great devotee.
View Comment