Radhanath Swami's Blog, page 34

Sadhu Sanga Retreat

Title: Sadhu Sanga Retreat

Location: Boone, North Carolina

Description: Radhanath Swami will participate in the Sadhu Sanga Retreat 2015 – please find more details at http://www.sadhusangaretreat.com/

Start Date: 2015-05-23

End Date: 2015-05-25

Gita Nagari Retreat

Title: Gita Nagari Retreat

Location: Port Royal, PA

Description: Radhanath Swami will participate in a devotional retreat at Gita Nagari, Port Royal, PA – more details will be shared soon.

Start Date: 2015-05-29

End Date: 2015-05-31

Speaking With India’s Leading Industrialists

On December 13th, 2014,  Radhanath Swami spoke at a program for over fifty of India’s leading industrialists on the terrace of the South Mumbai residence of Mr N.D. Desai the chairman of APAR group of industries.

The event was attended by chairman of Vedanta Group Mr. Anil Agarwal who, having recently pledged to give away 75% of his wealth in charity, is poised to be corporate India’s biggest donor. Also in attendance were Director of Bain Capital Shri Amit Chandra, who was awarded “Next Gen Leader in Philanthropy Award” by Forbes India in 2013, and filmmaker and writer Mr. Ram Subramanian, who is considered as one of the finest minds in Indian advertising. The list of guests also included Hital R. Meswani the Executive Director of Reliance Industries Limited, and Pratibha Pai the co-founder and director of Chirag Rural Development Foundation, a non-profit organization engaged in providing solar electrification and rural development.

Speaking on the topic ‘Purifying Our Desires & Ego’, Radhanath Swami said, “Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu taught us that the best purification is to awaken the dormant, eternal love for God that is within each of our hearts. And the most sublime method for reviving this love is by connecting to God through chanting of the holy names and by associating with spiritually minded people.”

He recalled an incident he witnessed on the shores of the ocean at Jagannath Puri where he saw a boatman struggle to take his small boat to the middle of the sea as relentless waves threw him back on the shore. The boatman’s persistence eventually paid off as he finally reached the deep sea where he sailed smoothly. Drawing parallels to this incident, Radhanath Swami explained how we are like that boatman. Initially in our spiritual pursuits, various temptations and distractions, motivated by greed, envy and lust threaten to throw us away from our goals, but if we persist with faith and determination, then eventually, like the boatman, we too would reach the deep sea of spiritual contentment, spiritual wisdom and love of God.

 

Thoughts for the New Year

 

“A new year is a land mark in our lives and a time for reflection on where we have been, where we are and where we want to go. It’s also time to ponder on our failures and mistakes in our spiritual lives. In the path of Bhakti every occasion and every thing is for the purpose of transformation. If the previous year bought sufferings in our lives we can take solace in the fact that all sufferings and punishments in this world are for our healthy rectification. Today we need to meditate on what I really want in life.”

“It’s very important for us, practicing spiritualists, to take regular inventory of our lives. To transform our consciousness and connect to the Lord of our hearts we need guidance and shelter. On this day let’s resolve to go, with determination, to where we really want to go in life.”

“To achieve meaning filled success in our lives, we need strength beyond ourselves and association of sincere souls. We also need to resolve to take shelter of the holy names of God and soberly remember that today we are one year closer to death. At the same time we need to meditate on our purpose in life and that will guarantee an eternal life, beyond the temporary existence of this world.”

Cambridge union slide

Radhanath Swami Speaks on Influence Without Affluence at the Cambridge Union Society

HH RNS Cambridge 28 Nov 2014 from FilmworkStudios on Vimeo.

TO VIEW THE ABOVE VIDEO USE THE FOLLOWING PASSWORD: ps

Radhanath Swami was invited to speak at the Cambridge Union Society for the second time on November 28, 2014. The Cambridge Union Society is the oldest continually operating debating society in the world and has hosted many world leaders since it was founded in 1815.

Radhanath Swami addressed the gathering in the prestigious chamber on the subject “Influence Without Affluence.” Several students commented after that they were inspired to become a change agent within their communities for positive growth.

Through questions and answers he spoke on the topics of the environment, economy and the ecology of our hearts.

Radhanath Swami Speaks at the London School of Economics

Radhanath Swami was invited to speak by the London School of Economics (LSE) Student’s Union on the 2nd of December 2014. LSE is a global leading social sciences dedicated institution, considered one of the most prestigious universities in the world. The university attracts some of the worlds most influential figures to lecture.

This event was hosted by Citibank and the largest collaboration of societies in the history of LSE including the Economics Society, Investment Society and Entrepreneurs Society.

The talk was ttended by over 300 students in the Hong Kong Theatre in London. Radhanath Swami spoke on the topic “Investing in a Better Future.”

Special guests included LSE’s Faith representative Reverend James Walters; Student’s Union General Scretary Nona Buckley-Irvine; activities Officer Alastair Duncan; and Welfare Officer Sebastian Bruhn.

The students were very impressed by the stories and wisdom Radhanath Swami shared and have invited him to address them again. Some of the students were so inspired by the talk that they want to go and visit the Govardhan Eco Village in India and have begun arranging their trips.

Below is and article about the event from BeaverOnline, the newspaper of the LSE Student Union, written by Sebastian Bruhn, Community and Welfare Officer.

LSESU WELCOMES RADHANATH SWAMI

The LSESU welcomed Radhanath Swami to the Hong Kong Theatre to present at the ‘Investing in a Better Future’ event on Tuesday. The evening was busy and historic, being a result of one of the largest collaborations of LSESU societies, at least in recent times. Over 250 people attended and the Krishna Consciousness, Hindu, Economics, Investment, Entrepreneurs, Russian, Trading, and Finance society all collaborated in putting the event together.

Radhanath Swami is a prominent Gaudiya Vaishnava guru who, although originally from the United States, travelled through Europe and Asia extensively. Throughout his travels he encountered numerous beliefs and cultures, until finally settling in India and embracing its rich faith tradition. Drawing upon many of his own ventures and meetings with leaders and intellectuals, he dealt with various weighty and thought-provoking topics in his talk, related to improving one’s happiness and fulfilment in life. He touched on several ideas, such as morality, compassion, spirituality, and common humanity, linking them all to the everyday hustle and bustle of modern life.

Attendants, who represented numerous different faiths, nationalities, societies, and disciplines, were generally positive about Radhanath Swami’s presentation. Some felt that, at times, it was challenging to fully relate to some of the more mystical themes that he brought up, but many also expressed great enthusiasm with his universal message and with hearing ideas that aren’t always regularly presented on at the LSE. Lina Lives, a third year undergraduate, described the event as being, “irie” and “a great reminder.” Yaajan Govinia, one of the chief organisers of the event, said, “the key to success is normally one which is hidden and inaccessible to the majority of us. And as students we’re all extremely ambitious! Tonight Radhanath Swami uncovered some of those secrets to success and shared them with us all to cherish and implement in our lives.”

The talk had a visible impact on a large portion of the audience, many of which stayed behind after for book signing or a quick conversation. Moreover, with the amount of effort and people involved, it would seem that it was a sign of more initiatives to come here at the LSE, especially from students and students’ union societies. A quote from the night that was continually repeated by attendants afterwards acts as an ideal summary of the event; “’you can count how rich you are by the number of things you have that money can’t buy.”

Radhanath Swami Addresses the Confederation of Indian Industries

“One must earn with integrity and spend with compassion”, urged Radhanath Swami to 150 businessmen at an interactive session titled ‘Spirituality: Leadership and Management’ organized by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), India’s premier business association with a membership of over 100,000 enterprises.

The event was held on the morning of December 12th, 2014 at Hotel Trident, Mumbai. Govinda Ethiraj moderated the discussion that included prominent business chiefs of India Mr. Ajay Piramal and Mr. Kishor Biyani who agreed that spiritual principles are universal and can be used as beacons for illuminating the complex and intriguing world of business.

Mr Ajay Piramal is the chairman of the Piramal group, a diversified conglomerate that has a wide global presence. He is currently on the nominee list for the ‘Outstanding Philanthropist Award for 2014’, to be given by Forbes India. Kishor Biyani is the CEO of the Future Group that has a significant standing in Indian retail and fashion sectors that include popular supermarket chains like Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar.

Mr Ajay Piramal said that by practising spiritual principles in one’s business, it can actually create long term economic values. It was momentous when Mr Piramal, who according to Forbes Magazine is ‘one of India’s shrewdest dealmakers’, cited examples from his personal life demonstrating how the spiritual teachings of Radhanath Swami helped him remain cool and composed during important business negotiations.

Sharing his own experiences, Kishor Biyani revealed how after a chance meeting with Radhanath Swami three years ago in London, he transformed from a sceptic to an all-embracing spiritual person. “As business leaders we influence many lives and spirituality plays a big role in the successful management of business” he said.

Radhanath Swami shared ways of incorporating spirituality in day-to-day business activities. “Leadership in business is about understanding that one is not the proprietor of wealth, but merely the caretaker. Leadership entails a position of responsibility, and the most fundamental question that leaders could ask themselves is ‘how can I serve?’”

Leading Business dailies including Business Standard and Daily News & Analysis covered the event.

OU SLIDE

Radhanath Swami Speaks at Oxford Union with Dr. Cornel West

On December 3rd Radhanath Swami was invited to participate in a historic discussion by the Oxford Union, one of the world’s most prestigious debating societies. Founded in 1823 with the aim to promote debate and discussion, and steeped in history and prestige, the Union has an unparalleled reputation for bringing international speakers to Oxford University, boasting such noteworthy guests as William Gladstone, Winston Churchill and Richard Nixon.

Radhanath Swami attended the much anticipated discussion along with such celebrated guests as Dr. Cornel West, a provocative American academic, activist and author and Angela Davis a prominent political activist, author, and educator. The discussion was attended by 400 students and held in honor of the revolutionary campaigner of black rights Malcolm X who himself had come to the Union 50 years ago. The topic was wether extremism in the defense of liberty is a vice, a revisitation of the topic debated by Malcom X a half century ago. 

The topic ignited an evening of passionate exposition and engaging discussion. Radhanath Swami offered a soul searching presentation, challenging and encouraging the audience to expand the horizons of their vision on life’s journey. He focused on the underlying spiritual principle that can unite all people and elicited a vigorous and heart warming recognition from his friend Dr. West who could not restrain himself from leaping out of his seat and embracing Radhanath Swami with deep gratitude for his contribution. Not only was Dr. West so affected, but so too were Angela Davis and much of the audience, with some students submitting to tears in their own expressions of gratitude. The Oxford Union are especially grateful to Radhanath Swami for sharing his time to offer such a stirring and enlivening presentation, and have expressed their desire to hear from him again in the near future.