I consider myself fortunate that I am writing an offering to HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj, my spiritual master, on the occasion of his 71st Vyasa Puja. HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj is one of the most prominent spiritual leaders of the world today. He is inspiring thousands of people all over the world to become devotees of Krishna.
Devotees across the world are giving heartfelt offerings to HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj on his 71st Vyasa Puja. In my little way I am also trying to give my offering by sharing Maharaj’s qualities. Although Maharaj has unlimited qualities but below I am sharing 7 wonderful qualities of Maharaj which inspires me a lot.
Below I discuss 7 wonderful qualities of HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj which makes him today one of the most influential spiritual leaders of the world.
1) Perfect disciple of Srila Prabhupada
A perfect disciple assimilates the instructions of his guru in his heart and in spite of challenging circumstances continues carrying forward that instruction of his guru without any selfish desire. HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj is one of the best examples of an ideal disciple.
As a 19 year old teenager Maharaj left his home in USA in search for truth. Like rest of the youngsters of his age, he did not just want to have good career, make money, get married, produce children and finish his life. He desperately wanted to understand the meaning and purpose of his life. So, he came to India.
India is a land of sadhus and yogis. It is the land where the holy rivers like the Ganges and the Yamuna flows and where the sages and saints renounce their material attachments and spend every moment of their life in remembering the Supreme Lord. And most importantly Lord Krishna and Lord Rama appeared in this glorious country to perform many beautiful pastimes.
In spiritual India, Maharaj performed penance in Himalayas. He went to the places of pilgrimage, meditated on the Supreme Lord. And earnestly prayed to the Lord to show him the right path. Seeing the sincerity of an American boy many spiritual leaders of that time residing in India got impressed. Many of them wanted him to join their monastery. Maharaja was so grateful to them. But still within his heart he found there was something which he was looking for which he was not able to get.
He continued with his spiritual quest. He continued praying to the Lord for that spiritual path which is the summum bonum of all the spiritual paths. Pleased by his sincere devotion, Lord Krishna, the Supreme Lord, directed him to Srila Prabhupada, a great devotee of Lord Krishna.
HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj meets Srila Prabhupada
The very first time Maharaj met Srila Prabhupada he felt deep inner connection with him. Like a son meeting his father after a long period of time. He experienced satisfaction, great inner joy and felt protected. He got convinced that his search for truth is now over because he has found that great personality who knows “who is that Supreme Truth.”
Srila Prabhupada is the ambassador from the spiritual world. He had come to distribute love of Krishna to the people of this world. Maharaj begged Srila Prabhupada to accept him as his disciple. And Srila Prabhupada, the world acharya, happily accepted him and embraced him in his heart just like a father embraces his child.
Maharaj decided to dedicate his life to his spiritual father, Srila Prabhupada. And from the day he met him and accepted him as his guru, he has been following each and every instruction of Srila Prabhupada as it is without any compromise.
2) Dedicated Devotee of Krishna
As per the wish of Srila Prabhupada, HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj dedicated his life to serve Krishna. And he is always ready to serve Krishna in all circumstances. As a young brahmachari, celibate monk, when he was staying in Iskcon New Vrindavan, West Virginia, he was given the responsibility of doing deity worship. At that time New Vrindavan was a secluded place with almost no facility. He was taking care of the deities almost all alone.
To worship the deity, he had to take bath several times in a day. It was too cold there. There was no facility for hot water. In fact, the temperature would be so low that water would turn into ice. And he would break the ice and take ice water bath. He did it without any complain and without any grudge. His purpose was to just serve Krishna in all situations. He did not ever think about his physical comforts.
Later when he was given the responsibility of sharing Krishna Conscious messages to the world, he took that service with great sense of responsibility. For last several decades, he has been speaking Krishna Conscious philosophy all over the world. His lectures have inspired thousands of people to become sincere devotees of Krishna.
3) Visionary
A visionary has the intelligence to understand the future and with determination and careful planning he shapes the future. Understanding the need of the society Maharaj inspired a group of doctors who were devotees of Krishna to open Bhaktivedanta Hospital in Mumbai. No one would have imagined that a hospital whose primary purpose is to cure the disease of a person will also become a place to make devotees of Krishna.
Today, Bhaktivedanta Hospital not just relieves the physical pain of a sick person, but it also unites all the spiritually sick souls to the Supreme Soul, Krishna. The spiritual care wing of the hospital is playing a great role in helping the distraught patients and their well-wishing care takers to take shelter of Krishna and get relief from all the present and future sufferings.
Under his leadership students of many prestigious colleges and universities study Bhagavad Gita and other Vedic literatures. It helps them to understand the importance of leading a Krishna Conscious life. After hearing Bhagavad Gita from Krishna, Arjuna did not give up his duty of fighting, similarly after studying Bhagavad Gita the students do not give up their studies. Like Arjuna they do take care of their material responsibilities but while doing so they always keep Krishna in the centre. They become a selfless servant of Krishna and contribute constructively to the society.
Not just the students but many working professionals, housewives have also got inspired from Maharaj. And they have become devotees of Krishna. Maharaj has special love for children. Children have specific needs and those must be addressed. So, Maharaj has trained devotees so that they properly take care of children so that the kids spontaneously get attracted to Krishna Conscious lifestyle and become devotees of Krishna.
4) Great communicator
HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj is gifted with the ability of sharing the pristine message of Vedic literatures like Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, Chaitanya Charitamrita in a way that the audience can understand it, appreciate it and apply it in their life. He communicates with his audience who are from diverse background in their language.
He is an expert in cross cultural communication. Whether he is speaking to the top bankers at HSBC, London or to the top technocrats of the world at Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Intel, Oracle or to the university students at Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Stanford, he is able to make everyone understand the need and importance of inculcating spiritual values of love, selflessness, gratitude, compassion in their life.
And when he is speaking to the devotees in the temple or in his famous Kartik yatra then through his mellifluous words he shows the glimpse of the spiritual world to us. His Krishna Conscious lectures are so engaging and so inspiring that it quickly connects our heart to Krishna. While hearing him, we just feel that let his class never end. Let his transcendental message penetrate our hearts and let the glories of Krishna permeate the whole world.
5) Full of compassion
It is because of his compassion that he wants every soul of this world to get connected to Krishna. Because once we become devotees of Krishna then all the miseries of our life will come to an end. To give Krishna to others, Maharaj applies different strategies.
For example, through the Midday Meal program today thousands of kids from humble background can eat Krishna prasadam. The spiritual food is nourishing their body and also their soul. Maharaj organizes free eye camp in Barsana where thousands of villagers who are residents of Vrindavan and Barsana get free eye treatment. It is a great way of serving the residents of dhams.
6) Team building and promoting teamwork
Under his able guidance devotees from different backgrounds come together and engage in the service of Krishna. Devotees forego all their material designations, they forget their caste, creed, colour, nationality, gender because everyone understand that they have only one identity – that they are eternal servants of Krishna. And the purpose of their life is to live for the pleasure of Krishna.
Today Iskcon Chowpatty, Mumbai has become a model temple which inspires devotees from all over the world. Because at Iskcon Chowpatty everyone feels the camaraderie among all the devotees; grihasthas and brahmacharis come together to serve together and have great love and respect for each other. Maharaj has inspired scores of devotees to lead various projects which is helping in the growth of Iskcon.
7) Creating spiritual leaders
Srila Prabhupada, one of the most prominent spiritual leaders of modern times, trained his disciples so that they too become great leaders. Following the mood of Srila Prabhupada, Maharaj has created so many leaders in Iskcon today. Under his guidance they are playing a pivotal role in spreading Krishna Consciousness all over the world. This was also the desire of Srila Prabhupada. There are so many of them.
HH Bhakti Rasamrita Swami Maharaj, HG Radha Gopinath Prabhu, HG Krishnananda Prabhu, HG Radheshyam Prabhu, HG Gauranga Prabhu, HG Gaur Gopal Prabhu and there are many such great devotees. HG Radheshyam Prabhu is playing an extraordinary role in spreading Krishna Consciousness especially amongst the youth. HG Gaur Gopal Prabhu is today one of the most famous motivational speakers of the world. His talks are based on spiritual literatures like Bhagavad Gita.
I do not have sufficient qualification to give Vyasa Puja offering to HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj. As an offering to him, I have just underlined his 7 extraordinary qualities. With my limited intelligence I have tried to describe those qualities. But his qualities are unlimited and cannot be quantified. Also, I do not have wisdom to know and understand all the qualities of Maharaj who is a pure devotee of Krishna.
Seeking shelter of HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj on his 71st Vyasa Puja
On the auspicious occasion of HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj’s 71st Vyasa Puja, I beg Maharaj to give me shelter at his lotus feet and bless me so that I can become serious and sincere in my Krishna Conscious life. I beg Maharaj to give me knowledge, intelligence and determination so that I give up all types of sense gratification, give up all the anarthas and develop great attachment to chant the holy names of Krishna, read Srila Prabhupada books and serve the devotees.
