Radhanath Swami's Blog, page 32

Flower Festival – A Festival of Unity in Diversity

On Januray 31st, 2015 the annual Flower Festival was celebrated at Radha Gopinath Temple in Mumbai. First an enthusiastic team of hundreds of volunteers plucked petals from 2000 pounds of flowers including white and yellow chamomile, orange and coppery marigold, yellow and white chrysanthemum, pink and red roses, jasminum molle and jasmine. The petals were then showered upon the deities of Radha and Krishna in the temple as everyone sang melodious kirtan. Finally when the same petals were showered upon the assembled devotees and guests, the ambience pulsated with colours, fragrances, and most of all – spiritual delirium.

For the 225 yoga practitioner guests, from five different countries – United States, Australia, Switzerland and Germany – who attended the festival, the event was an ecstatic treat of Bhakti Yoga. The Founder-Director of Bhakti Fest, Sridhar Silberfein also attended. Jivamukti Yoga COO Jules Febre, who came along with 90 teachers of Jivamukti Yoga, posted on Facebook, “Tonight the Jivamukti Teacher Training has the auspicious timing to begin with the Flower Festival.” After the festival Jules and the Jivamukti teachers proceeded to Govardhan Eco Village, the venue Jivamukti has chosen for their first ever Teacher Training Program in India.

Radhanath Swami called the Flower Festival a celebration of unity in diversity. “Just like all of us, the flowers are coming from different places, are of different shapes, fragrances and colours. But they’re all being offered together to Radha and Krishna with devotion. The more the variety, the more exciting and wonderful is the offering. Similarly, if we understand the oneness of our spiritual essence, our differences will inspire appreciation, rather than fear or arrogance. Diversity is really beautiful if we understand the unity. So it’s a festival of unity in diversity.”

Senior disciples of the Founder Acharya of ISKCON Srila Prabhupada – Giriraj Swami, Indradyumna Swami, Niranjana Swami and Bada Hari Prabhu – graced the festival and lead kirtans.

Supermodel Valentina Zelyaeva, who is counted among the top 10 models in the world, also attended the festival. She later posted on her blog, “Showered by flower petals in Mumbai – experience I will never forgot.” 

Modi Slide

Radhanath Swami Attends Reception for Barack Obama at the Invitation of the President of India

Last month President Barack Obama took in a regal display of Indian military hardware, marching bands and elaborately dressed camels, becoming the first American leader to be honored as chief guest at India’s 66th annual Republic Day festivities at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In honor of the visit by the U.S. President and First Lady, the President of India, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, hosted an “At Home” reception at his residence Rashtrapati Bhavan wherein many distinguished guest attended, among them Radhanath Swami. The event took place on the evening of January 26th. An image of Maharaja’s invitation is above.

BC SLIDE

On Suffering

Question: If all of life is suffering what is the purpose of existence?

Radhanath Swami: Actually all of life is happiness. It’s only due to the identification with the false ego that we get implicated in suffering. Enlightened people are para dukhi dukhi. That means the happiness of others is their happiness and the sufferings of another is their suffering. The greatest charity is not just to give someone food. We do have to do to take care of people’s bodies, and try to give people encouragement and emotional support is very important as well. While we are doing these things we need to help people connect to their eternal soul with the all beautiful love of God. That is the greatest compassion.

We see the sufferings of this world. They come and they go like the seasons. We know the both the winter snow storms and the summer heat is coming. These changes are always coming. Suffering comes when we try to find our happiness in the ever in the ever changing experience.

We all ultimately enter old age, and experience disease and death. And if you talk to old people it can really be a good lesson. I was just with my father and he is 91 years old. He is such a nice person, very positive. But there are so many aches and pains and he knows at his age that its not going to get better. When you are young and get sick you just have faith that you are going to get better and that you will get through it. But when you are 91 and you get sick you realize that there is only more to come. That is reality. The sufferings of this world can be seen as an impetus to open the doors to realize the real happiness we are looking for, and that is in spiritual truth. That is in loving devotional service.

The laws of karma are very intricate, inconceivable and difficult to understand the details of although the principles are pretty simple. What goes around comes around. If we are kind to someone that kindness will come back to us. If I cause pain to someone then that pain is going to come back to me sometime. Maybe in this life, maybe in a future life. We are responsible for our worlds and actions as human beings. But even if we are the most pious person, still we have to grow old and die. So Bhakti is to live with piety but also to live beyond piety. To live a pious life in the spirit of devotion is transcendental. In such a state of living in Bhakti we are beyond karma. We are actually investing into our true spiritual nature. So when we see the sufferings of this world and we experience them ourselves, if we are equipped with the perception of truth, instead of getting bewildered by it, we can make it a positive experience. We want to find that higher power, that grace that can liberate us from this situation so that we have the power to inspire that same liberation in others.

Speaking to New Students at New York’s Bhakti Center

The Bhakti Center is a non-profit cultural arts center on New York’s Lower East Side and a project that draws largely from the vision and inspiration of Radhanath Swami. On the evening of December 20th, 2014, The Bhakti Center hosted a special evening and dinner with Radhanath Swami exclusively for participants of some of the courses they offered during the Fall of 2014. The courses included…

BHAKTI 101, a 36 hour course spanning 12 weeks covering the fundamental teachings of Bhakti Yoga as practiced in Gaudiya Vaishnavism and presented by Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The course was taught by Kaustubha Das and had over 50 participants.
Yoga Teacher Training, an in-house training in teaching yoga taught by Shyama and Dhyana Masla, the directors of Yoga at The Bhakti Center.
Embodying Dharma, a weekend immersion in advanced asana training and life lesson storytelling from the Ramayana with Raghunath.
Kirtan Connection, an in-depth study and practice in the art of kirtan including the history and mood of kirtan as well as learning the instruments and singing. This popular course was taught by Bhakti Lata Devi Dasi.
Vegetarian Cooking, a series of cooking classes exploring how food not only sustains us physically, but also nourishes us spiritually, taught by Doyal Gauranga Das.

All together the classes had approximately 125 participants, many new to the center and the practice of Bhakti-yoga. 80 students and friends attended the event. The evening was a special opportunity to hear from the person who is such an inspiration to the Bhakti Center and all of the teachers of the courses. Radhanath Swami began with kirtan, spoke, and left time for questions from the students. The program was followed by a delicious meal prepared by Taste of Bhakti, The Bhakti Center’s buffet.

You can read excerpts from the questions and answers session below.

Question: I have truly been touched by the teachers at The Bhakti Center. I love all of them. They have truly changed me and I wanted to ask you about your relationship with your guru.

Radhanath Swami: I kind of wrote a book about it (laughter). Srila Prabhupada saw something in me that I never understood that was there. That is that I really have the power to love, to be an instrument of compassion, connected to a power infinitely greater than my own. And he lived that life. With his wisdom he could answer the most difficult questions with the simplist answers and teachings. His willingness to live for the higher good for other people with such conviction and compassion moved my heart totally, and I could not think of anything else I could want to do in my life that would be better than to just assist him in sharing this love with the world. And in my small ways I am trying to do that.

And whatever you have said about the teachers at The Bhakti Center, I feel the same way (laughter).

Question: How can one develop the commitment required for spiritual life? To me this is the most difficult thing?

Radhanath Swami: It’s not so difficult….. but it is so difficult also (laughter). To accomplish anything in this world commitment is required. Did you ever go to college? Did you graduate? Because doesn’t it require commitment to study and pass the tests? For a mother to have a baby, doesn’t it require commitment to go through pregnancy and labor. You can have a job in New York City and drive through traffic jams everyday – doesn’t it take some commitment to your job. Why do you do it? Why do you stay in college till you graduate? Why do you sit through traffic jams and deal with all kinds of difficulties in your occupation. To be a great musician takes a commitment. You mind may want to do so many things while your sitting there but you have to keep practicing. To be a great artist takes commitment. Do you think politicians run for office and win election without commitment? Maybe commitment for the wrong things but commitment non the less!

So we are committing ourselves for so many material things that are coming and going. If we have faith in the importance and value in our own spiritual nature then the gift the of love of Godhead is within us. If we understand its value then why can’t we commit ourselves to that too?

If you go to all these gyms you see how people are really committed to running on these machines. They are running and running and pushin and pushing. It takes a commitment, but they believe that if their body is strong and healthy they will be happy, so they are committed to it.

So why do we take our spiritual life cheaply, that it has to be easy? I will commit myself to so many temporary little accomplishments in this world. But yes, If we want to make spiritual progress it does take commitment and if we understand the value of it then it becomes a great joy to commit ourselves.

Sharing the Treasure of India Through “India Rising”

A 5-day festival entitled ‘India Rising 2015’ was held in Mumbai from 14th to 18th of January with over 100,000 people in attendence. Radhanath Swami commented on the festival: “Rising India! I am very hopeful the people of India will rediscover the supreme treasure that has been their heritage, and through our arts, through our lives, we share it with each other and share it with the world.”

With hundreds of stalls displaying traditional handicrafts from different parts of India throughout the festival grounds, dance and dramas were performed on stage. Artisans and performers, some of them national award winners, were honored.

The spirit of selfless service is an integral aspect of Indian culture and was highlighted in the festival. The soldiers and the police who sacrificed their lives for the protection of others during the ‘26/11’ terrorist attack on Mumbai were gratefully remembered. Member of Parliament Mrs. Poonam Mahajan in her address praised Radhanath Swami’s compassionate efforts – through the project Annamrita – towards a hunger-free Mumbai.

Jagannath Rathyatra was the highlight on one of the festival days. Thousands of devotees pulled the chariot of Lord Jagannath through the streets of Mumbai into the festival grounds where the Lord was welcomed with traditional dance and kirtan performances.

In his keynote address Radhanath Swami spoke of the ‘yoga of art’. “The yoga of art is, through our music, through our dance and through every aspect of our life we are tuning in to the frequency of divine grace. And through our art, we become transmitters to uplift humanity and uplift the world to that divine grace.”

Several celebrities from the entertainment industry attended the festival including film director Shubhash Ghai, film and television star Juhi Chawla, television star Mukesh Khanna and others.

Pushya Abhishek – Flower Festival

Title: Pushya Abhishek – Flower Festival
Location: Chowpatty, Mumbai
Description: Radhanath Swami will participate, speak and lead kirtan as part of the Flower Festival at the Radha Gopinath Temple, Chowpatty, Mumbai
Start Time: 19:00
Date: 2015-01-31
End Time: 22:00

Heaven on Earth Program

Title: Heaven on Earth Program
Location: Juhu, Mumbai
Date: 2015-01-26

Nityananda Trayodasi Festival

Title: Nityananda Trayodasi Festival
Location: Chowpatty, Mumbai
Description: Radhanath Swami will participate, speak and lead kirtan as part of the Nityananda Trayodasi Festival at the Radha Gopinath Temple, Chowpatty, Mumbai.
Date: 2015-02-01