Radhanath Swami

While in Patna Richard (now Radhanath Swami)’s friend Narayan Prasad took him to meet his Muslim friend Mohammed. Mohammed was born a Hindu but had later converted to Islam. Richard had lengthy discussions with him about the parallels of the Bhagavad Gita, Bible and the Koran. In his dialogue with Mohammed, Richard could begin to feel that mercy of God flows through each of the great scriptures, saints, and religions in a special way. Richard was becoming more and more aware that no matter what one’s path and no matter how narrow it became, in broadest terms, sincere devotion to God was the only way to overcome the strife and division of the world.

Richard (now Radhanath Swami) was also surprised that Narayan Prasad had so much affection for someone from another religion in a country where there is so much conflict between the two. Richard (now Radhanath Swami) was amazed by Narayan Prasad’s answer, and hasn’t forgotten it till date. “

“A dog will recognize his master in whatever way he dresses. The master may dress in robes, suit and tie, or stand naked, but the dog will always recognize his master. If we cannot recognize God, our beloved master, when he comes in a different dress from another religion, then we are less than that dog.”

Radhanath Swami’s fans include Christians, Muslims and people from many other faiths as well. I once attended a programme where Radhanath Swami spoke about two aspects of all religions. He said all religions have an exoteric, external aspect and an esoteric or internal aspect. Radhanath Swami revealed that most religious practitioners focus fanatically on the exoteric aspects such as rituals, institutions and mindsets, which often differ according to time, place and culture. These superficial religionists are often unaware of the essence of the religion they follow. Due to this ignorance they tend to become sentimental or fundamentalist and have internecine conflicts, riots and crusades. When we dig through the misconceptions, misinterpretations and mistakes that have over the centuries obscured the essential truths of all religions, we will find that these core principles are consistently identical. Radhanath Swami has time and again presented this essence in his talks and meetings.  In many of his talks Radhanath Swami focuses on the following points, and I doubt if a person from any other religion would disagree with these:

1.      God is the Supreme Father of all living beings and He is the Supreme Owner and Controller of everything.

2.      We are accountable for all our actions to God. If we encroach upon the property of God or the rights of the other children of God, we will in time get an appropriate reaction as per the laws of God.

3.      We are spirit souls, eternal children of God and our real happiness is not in material acquisition, but in spiritual realization, in lovingly harmonizing ourselves with nature and God.

4.      We can easily and effectively achieve this harmony and the resulting highest happiness by chanting the holy names of God-Krishna, Rama, Allah, Christ, Jehovah or any other name as stated in the authorized religious scriptures.

Radhanath Swami’s stand has been that when people harmonize themselves with these essential principles of their respective religions, then they will be able to celebrate spiritual unity amidst religious diversity.

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