Radhanath Swami

Richard (now Radhanath Swami) observed that everyone in Vrindavan loves Radha very much. He humbly asked Krishnadas Babaji about her. Babaji described that God is one and yet the Lord has both a male and female nature. Krishna is the male principle and Radha is the feminine potency. In the spiritual world, the one Lord presides in these two forms. The love between Krishna, who is the beloved, and Radha, the lover, is the divine origin of all love. Radhanath Swami echoes Babaji’s words, “Krishna longs to be conquered by the love of His devotee and by the supreme grace of Radha we can realize that love. She is the compassionate nature of the Absolute and the fountainhead of all spiritual love.” Radhanath Swami learnt in his travels that Bhakti is the hidden mystery of the path of yoga and Radha is the keeper of this mystery. Radhanath Swami realized that his heart was now being charmed by the rich theology known as bhakti.

Later Richard (now Radhanath Swami) walked along the river bank and contemplated on the secret of feminine divinity and felt that in all world religions feminine divinity is accepted as truth.

Reading Radhanath Swami’s autobiography set me thinking about Mother Mary, the most prominent female figure in Christianity and considered by millions to be the most meritorious saint of the church. She is said to have miraculously appeared to believers many times over the centuries. Mary also has a revered position in Islam, where a whole chapter in Koran is devoted to her. As Radhanath Swami writes, “Her adoration has inspired both divine love and embittered factions in the Church.” The factions and controversy deals with Mother Mary’s conception where Roman Catholic Church accepts her as conceived and born free of original sin whereas Easter Orthodox Christians and most Protestants reject this idea. Many devout Christians venerate Mary in the form of prayer for intercession with her Son, Jesus Christ. Additionally in the Christian world it’s common to see many poems and songs composed by devotees in Mary’s honour. Innumerable paintings, and statues of her have been carved representing her; many titles have been conferred on Mary that reflect her position among the saints. She is perhaps the most highly venerated saint in both the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Church; several major feast days are devoted to her each year. On the other hand Protestants have generally paid a relatively small amount of reverence to Mary com pared to their Anglican, Catholic, and Orthodox counterparts, often arguing that if too much attention is focused on her, there is a danger of detracting from the worship due to God alone. Some even accuse those who venerate Mary of idolatry.

Another mystery amongst Christians is the position of Mary Magdalene. She is considered to be a devoted disciple of Jesus and a saint by Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran Church and Anglican churches with a commemoration of a feast day of July 22. Radhanath Swami writes that her mystery has given rise to secret orders, veiled symbolism and intrigue. In college I learnt that her life is a subject of endless debate. Her supposed identity as a prostitute intrigued many although there is no direct biblical evidence to this. Her devotion to Jesus has led to a tradition that she may have been Jesus’ wife, lover, or intended bride.

Radhanath Swami also notes that many Hebrews saw Shekinah as the female aspect of God or the bride of the Sabbath, as did certain students of the Kabballah. I recently learnt that among the Hebrews one of the traditional names of God is the Shekinah, and, interestingly, it is a feminine gender noun. Many Hebrews saw her as the mother or feminine aspect of God.

I was also fascinated to read Radhanath Swami mention that many followers within the Sufi sect of Islam honour the divine feminine in their reverence to Fatima. I had been impressed by the Sufis, a mystical tradition of Islam dedicated to experiencing Allah/God as the epitome of divine Love. Sufis believe that excessive rationalism blocks human understanding of God’s loving nature. Consequently, they focus on directly experiencing God through ecstatic practice in order to efface the obstructing self. Sufis have endured persecution over the years due to their unconventional and controversial approach to Allah, which has been perceived by some to be blasphemous.

In recent times, the teachings of Sufism have spread to the West and Sufi writings have become best-selling works. The Sufis believe that the highest form of human love is the pure love for the Divine. Humans can achieve this love if they give themselves entirely to the God’s will. I was particularly struck to know that Sufis consider love for family, friends, material goods, or even Paradise all to be distractions from the love of God. Radhanath Swami also practises and teaches that we should focus exclusively on loving God with no other distractions. “Love is an expression of our free will to please God above and beyond everything else”, observes Radhanath Swami.

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