Radhanath Swami's Blog, page 9

Radhanath Swami Live at New York Stock Exchange

 

On Monday, October 2nd, 2017, in the hours following the mass shooting tragedy in Las Vegas, Radhanath Swami was interviewed by the live streaming financial news network Cheddar on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The NYSE, often referred to as “The Big Board,” is the largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world.

Cheddar broadcasts daily, live from the floor of the NYSE, NASDAQ, the Flatiron Building in New York City, and the White House lawn and briefing room in Washington, D.C. covering new products, technologies, and services. Founded by Jon Steinberg, former president of Buzzfeed and former CEO of Daily Mail, Cheddar has been described as “quasi-CNBC for millennials”, with nearly 150 million views per month, and growing, across all of its platforms.



As he commonly does in these types of settings, Radhanath Swami shared his message of “earning with integrity and spending with compassion” as a formula for those in the fields of industry and finance.

An excerpt for the interview is transcribed below. The entire interview can be seen on Cheddar’s website here.

Question: I want to bring it back to finance for a minute. You haven’t had a bank account since 1969. Is the irony lost on you that right now you are in the financial hub of the world sitting in the New York Stock Exchange and that not just business leaders but international finances come to you for advice?

Radhanath Swami: I guess they see me as harmless, and neutral (laughs).

But real wealth for anyone, whether we are penniless monks or billionaires – real wealth is in our inner peace and happiness, and how we can extend peace and happiness through what we have, and through who we are, and what are influence is for the well-being of others.

Krishna tells in the Bhagavad-gita (5.23),

Bhoktaram yajna tapasam

Sarva loka maheshvaram

Suhrdam sarva bhutanam

Jnatva mam santim rcchati

That real peace, joy and love comes when we understand, as we said before, we are not the proprietors, we are the caretakers of all the sacred gifts we have. We have intelligence, we have wealth, we have power, we have ability, we have influence. Ghandhi once said, “there goes my people, and I must follow them because I am their leader”. Real leadership is by our example to actually establish these principles of respect and compassion.

Question: We have Neil deGrasse Tyson on the show from time to time and he says this stuff which I always find so inspiring of us being stardust and things like that. In your culture and beliefs is there one energy that basically ties everything together? You have used the term how we are all caretakers, we all should be egoless, we are all just custodians of a sort. So is it one energy that ties everything together?

Radhanath Swami: In our tradition the energy is grace, and that grace is coming from the Supreme Being or God, who as many names. In India the sun is called Suriya, in Mexico Sol, and in America sun. Its the same sun. So that same supreme source, that cause of all causes, the Bhagavad-gita calls Krishna. Jesus says in the Bible, “What shall it profit a person if they gain the whole world but they lose their soul. And the Bhagavad-gita tells that whatever we may have, the only true value and purpose of it is how we are connected to that source, that one energy as you are saying, the energy of God’s grace. And to be an instrument of that grace in our life.

Question: Well, thank you so much for being here on a tragic day, and offering some thoughts and some  guidance. It was very meaningful to have you here. Thank you for joining us.

Radhanath Swami: These tragedies – we can pray, we can try as communities to create relief for those who are suffering, and most of all try to be an example in whatever we do, and actually people who have much have the greatest power to change the world by their example.

 

Govardhan Ecovillage Wins Spirit of Humanity Award

On September 14, 2017 the Govardhan Ecovillage Won a Spirit of Humanity Award for their contribution in the field of Livelihood. The Spirit of Humanity awards recognize and reward exemplary contributions made towards the society in the fields of Child Care, Education, Health, Disability, Livelihood and Women’s Empowerment. Following a stringent 3-step evaluation process, spread over 6 months, the best-in-class NGOs were identified from each zone. As the winner from the west zone, Govardhan Ecovillage made it to the final round along with Harsha Trust(east), Don Bosco Tech Society(north), Sevalaya(south). The final round involved each institute making a presentation to an esteemed jury who have evaluated the projects based on criterion like replicability, scalability, innovation, future expansion plans, sustainability etc.

After the rigorous day long delibrations the winners were announced during the grand event in the evening. The rural development program of Govardhan Ecovillage, supported by Sri Chaitanya Seva Trust, has been focusing on creating a transformative change in the lives of the villagers by enabling them to develop in a holistic manner with economic, environmental and social development. Starting with 5 tribal families today more than 400 farmer below the poverty line in over 10 villages are benefiiting from this program.

Working in the fields of organic faming, water resource development, drinking water, women empowerment, skill enhancement, rural education, and health care, this program has enhanced the livelihoods of all the participants and improved the social wellbeing of the farmers. Dubbed as From Suicide to Sweet-side, the rural development project received full honors from the jury and was declared the national winner under the Livelihood category. Receving the award on behalf of Govardhan Ecovillage and Sri Chaitanya Seva Trust were Shri Nimai Lila Das, Mr Venkataramanan and Mr G Venkataraman.

Reasons to Continue our Spiritual Practice

There is a beautiful story in the Srimad Bhagavatam about Mahadev, Lord Shiva. Once upon a time when the devas and the asuras were churning the ocean of milk for nectar, massive quantities of poison came out. They were seeking nectar, but sometimes when we want nectar, first we have to remove all the poison.

That’s kind of the way our sadhana is, our spiritual practice. The real nectar of prema, or love – love for God and love for all beings – is within us. Our spiritual practice is just to remove all those things that obscure our connection to that love. So sometimes when we are doing our meditation or our chanting, a lot of poison starts coming out of us – lust, envy, anger, greed, illusion and arrogance – and we actually see all this stuff that is already there. That should not discourage us. We should not give in to those things; rather if we just tolerate them and continue with our spiritual practice, gradually it will all be removed, and then the real nectar which we are all seeking will be forever ours.

So this poison from the churning of the Milk Ocean spread everywhere and the great rishis and devas approached Lord Vishnu, who took them to Shiva. When Shiva saw the plight of all living beings on the verge of extermination, by his mystical power he took massive oceans of this poison and concentrated it so that it could fit in the palm of his hand. We can’t even imagine the power of that concentrate. And because this poison had to go somewhere, he drank it. His throat became very black in colour. This black throat is one of the features of Shiva that is most honoured, and is considered to be the ornament of his compassion. He is known as Neelkantha or Kalkantha. There in the Bhagavatam there is a beautiful verse in relationship to this story:  the service that is most pleasing to Bhagavan is when we make sacrifices without selfishness, out of compassion, for others within this world. – Radhanath Swami

tapyante loka-tāpena

sādhavaḥ prāyaśo janāḥ

paramārādhanaṁ tad dhi

puruṣasyākhilātmanaḥ


 


It is said that great personalities almost always accept voluntary suffering because of the suffering of people in general. This is considered the highest method of worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is present in everyone’s heart. Srimad Bhagavatam 8.7.44

On Gossip

People like to hear about other people’s problems. It’s fun for some. That’s the reason why some of the most popular magazines in the world just focus on scandals. Recently, a champion golfer got into some scandal. It’s like a rule in this world—that such news must be known to everyone, that such news must be the event on every television and news channel. That scandal was all that the people were talking about, for weeks and weeks and weeks and weeks. Ironically, nobody cared that much when he won a golf game. But when he did something really scandalous, all of a sudden everybody becomes really ‘concerned.’ Now, is it necessary to bother about all these things? But we have this inclination to gossip, which the scriptures call Prajalpa.

Prajalpa is one of the six most dangerous things that are detrimental to Bhakti Yoga. Rupa Goswami, a prominent saint of the 16th century wrote, “One’s devotional service is spoiled when he becomes too entangled in the following six activities: (1) eating more than necessary or collecting more funds than required; (2) over-endeavoring for mundane things that are very difficult to obtain; (3) talking unnecessarily about mundane subject matters(or prajalpa); (4) practicing the scriptural rules and regulations only for the sake of following them and not for the sake of spiritual advancement, or rejecting the rules and regulations of the scriptures and working independently or whimsically; (5) associating with worldly-minded persons who are not interested in Krishna consciousness; and (6) being greedy for mundane achievements.

Why is it that people tend to gossip? It’s because there is a vacancy in the heart, a lack of spiritual fulfillment. So they look for fulfillment in sensual quests, in hearing and speaking of the faults of others, in accumulating more and more and more. To fill that vacancy, they need power, they need fame, they need money, and they need sex. They are never satisfied because nothing material can satisfy the needs of the soul. The soul needs to love God. The soul needs to love everyone connected to God, and that includes every living being. That’s the nature of the soul. But without that love, people do so many things, just to try and forget that emptiness within. – Radhanath Swami

Radhanath Swami Speaks at Climate Change Workshop, Govardhan Eco-Village

A Nexus International Workshop entitled “Climate Change Adaptations for Sustainable Development- A Vedic Perspective” was held on August 27 and 28th, 2017. The workshop was jointly organised by Govardhan Ecovillage (GEV) & Shree Halari Visa Oswal College of Commerce (SHVOCC), and sponsored by The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI).

The conference was inaugurated by Radhanath Swami, the Visionary behind Govardhan Ecovillage, who highlighted the Vedic perspective that the restoration of the ecology has to be done in conjunction with the restoration of the ecology of the heart. He explained,  “The Vedic perspective teaches us that the solutions of climate change lie in the understanding that we are entrusted the sacred care Mother Earth, and that through this care we can become the followers of true dharma.”

Guest of Honor Shri Rajendra Singh ji spoke of how the Vedic approach toward environmental crises were involved traditional localized adaptation techniques which were not only decentralized but also cost-effective, unlike the modern techniques which are complicated and cost prohibitive. He also emphasied the urgent need for climate change literacy and water literacy to the present generation.

The impact of climate change is continuing to grow as are the challenges we are face in adapting. The workshop provided a platform to share experience and knowledge, of opportunities, tools, resources, local initiatives, and expertise.

Among the themes featured in the technical sessions were: Ground water resources, Governance: a role to be played for sustainability, Inca Civilization and its sustainability, Jal Vayu parivarthan at Rajasthan, Water Conservation and River rejuvenation with special reference to Karnataka, Bioremediation :A tool to combat Aquatic Pollution, Exploration in search of Incessant Ganga River Rejuvenation at Harmu River, Steps to save Mahanadi the lifeline of Orissa, Eco-tourism a Vedic perspective, Agro ecological systems for future economical growth. Most sessions were followed by lively interactions.

The conference was conceptualized by Jalapurush Dr Rajendra Singh, Gauranga Das and Sanat Kumar Das from Govardhan Ecovillage, and Dr Sneha Dhonde from SHVOCC, and was attended by more than 120 global participants.

Consolidating the input of all the speakers and participants, which included academicians, researchers, NGOs, community developers, government official’s and students, a four-page declaration was released at the workshop which was signed by key panalsits.

You can read the declaration below.

 

CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT – A VEDIC PERSPECTIVE

Declaration

We, Govardhan Eco Village, NEERI, SHVOCC (Shree Halari Visa Oswal College of Commerce), Tarun Bharat Sangh and Rashtriya Jal Biradari, Botanical Survey of

India, Zoological Survey of India, Central Agricultural University, Geological Society of India, SOCLEEN (Society for Clean Environment), National Society of Friends of Trees, WTERT –India (Waste to Energy Research and Technology Council), Heerval Prathisthan Kokan, Karnataka Jal Biradari, Consulate General of Ecuador, Mahanadhi Bachao Andolan, Symbiosis University, Mahindra &Mahindra ltd. and Gram Pramchayats of Galtare, Hamrapur, Guhir, Ghore, and Researchers, academicians, policy makers, scientists, social workers, NGOs, farmers make the following declaration at a national workshop on CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT to the govt of India and people of India, in light of indigenous knowledge and modern science, make a bridge and start a peoples movement for climate change adaptation literacy.

Our first priority is to clean the rivers of India and to maintain the quality of crops and increase the productivity.

As rivers are life of India they are to be protected first and no kind of intervention in the name of development should obstruct, pollute, erode, resulting in effecting the ecology and biodiversity. Desilting of rivers and river dams, its prevention should be handled regularly with efficient technology.

There should be stress on development of virtual water system through crops, vegetables, fruits in abundance to prevent loss of excess water and the program should be developed for building cold storages. This can be done on rain fed water needing to minimization of uplifting of water by mechanical systems which consumes electricity and minimize the pollution and conserve river and ground water.

Special dams should be constructed by State Industrial development corporations for industries.

No industries or establishments like hotels, tourism, housing be allowed within one km on either side of the river.

No effluent of however nature or town sewage of solid waste be allowed to be dumped or discharged into the rivers.

Hazardous fishing activities should be banned.

Closed season should be declared during the monsoon being the breeding season for most of the fishes.

No sewage of any village should be discharged on the river side which may percolate unless it is bioremediated.

Sewage / effluents generated by industry needs to be treated in a more natural manner utilizing bioremediation technology.

The river systems should be identified demarcated notified and protected for ecological and hydrological sustainability.

SGWD (Submarine Ground water discharge) should be studied and excess water going to ocean instead should be diverted to drought prone areas.

Water literacy programs should be implemented rigorously through community participation.

Water literacy programs should be included in university and academic programs to educate the students.

Looking into the water stress situation, ecological droughts and imbalances and depleting ground water level, the adaptations for cropping pattern in immediately affected zones should be implemented.

Ground water should be considered as a national mineral resource.

Every year govt should declare and develop through community participation, 1000 eco villages as a parallel to smart cities.

Research in institutes of higher learnings should focus more on surface and ground water conservation and desalination.

All municipal corporations in cities where water is taken from the rivers and other natural resources must implement water conservation plan, prevent leakages and recycle, reuse for hotels, STP for societies for housing complexes and STP for corporations.

Impact of Mine Tailing on agriculture and ground water should be prevented.

Maximum use of Solar energy should be encouraged to reduce pollution and the research in this area for better installations should be encouraged and also the wind energy.

There should be dedicated river parliament to be addressed by the President, Prime Minister, the concerned ministries, NGOs and stakeholders for accountability of National and State rivers.

Radharani – the Supreme Abode of Love

Krishna is the vishaya vigraha, that means he is the supreme object of love. Sri Radha is asraya vigraha, the supreme abode of love – the supreme lover. Every living being is the part and parcel of Krishna and similarly the inherit potential, the essence of every soul is prema – to love Krishna. All love for Krishna, within everyone, is part and parcel of Sri Radha’s love.

Krishna tells that he is conquered by the love of his devotee. Why is he conquered by each and every devotee who loves him with pure love? Because that love is a particle of Sri Radha’s love. She is the complete whole, the absolute abode of all love. Compassion is the manifestation of that love within this creation. Sri Radha is karuna mayi, she is the complete fullness, the source, the reservoir of all compassion. Sri Radha is the absolute truth.

Krishna expands himself in these two forms for the sake of pastimes of pure love. Just as Krishna is the source of all incarnations, Narayana, Dwarkadish, etc. Similarly Sri Radha is the original sources of all the queens of Dwarka, the goddesses of fortune of Vaikuntha. She is the original spiritual energy that gives pleasure to Krishna and the source of all shaktis of all the divine energies of the Lord that manifest everything that exists in all material and spiritual worlds.

What is the nature of that love? The love of the gopis is absolutlely free of any tinge of selfishness, ignorance of ego. Everything is exclusively for the pleasure of Krishna. – Radhanath Swami

Radhanath Swami Speaks on Compassion at the Artha Forum, Silicon Valley

On Saturday, June 17, 2017, Radhanath Swami spoke at the home of Damodar Reddy, an entrepreneur and Founder of Sutisoft Inc., on the topic “Conscious Entrepreneurship – Deepening the Human Connection” as part of an event organized by Artha Forum. Artha Forum is a platform dedicated to connecting entrepreneurs, professionals and business leaders and bringing to them the relevance of ” Earn with Integrity, Spend With Compassion”. The event was attended by approximately 80 guests, including executives from Apple, Google and other important Silicon Valley companies, including Sushant Patnaik and his wife, Namrata, and the CFO from Pulse Secure. Dr. James R. Doty (Stanford Neurosurgeon and Direction of Stanford CCARE) attending as a Special Guest of Honor.

Dr. Doty gave the introduction, expressing that his happiness and his adoration for Radhanath Swami who began his talk by sharing his experiences of joining the counter culture movement as a youth as a way of searching for meaning and purpose in life. He was witnessing so much hatred and discrimination in the name of God and religion, and was inspired by the words of Mahatma Gandhi to “Be the change you want to see in the world”. His experiences lead him to realize that although externally there may be different methods and approaches to different religions, the underlying essence of all true religion is compassion. “In Sanskrit, its called Karuna. This is the foundation for a happy and meaningful life.”

Speaking to the group of leaders Radhanath Swami shared the idea that, “People don’t love you for what you have, your material attachments or position. People really love you for what you are. People love you because of how you have loved them and others. What really is meaningful in life? When you live a life of value and compassion, then your life is meaningful. It’s the greatest need today.”


 

“The quality of a truly enlightened person is that he sees everyone with an equal vision irrespective of their color, creed, nationality, complexion etc. Actual knowledge is to see the sacredness of every living being. When we recognize the sacredness of our own life, who we really are, the divine child of God, then we can appreciate the sacredness of every other living being. When we harmonize of our mind and body with our own self, then we can see that everything is sacred. We understand that we are not proprietors, but simply caretakers. We are caretakers of each other and the environment. Environmentalism is an eternal sacred principle. Everything we have is nature’s gift and we are simply caretakers.”

“The body is always changing. Who are we really? The living force within our body known as atma, is our real self. When we connect to our true self, we realize that we all have the potential to love. When we water the root, it naturally extends to the branches etc. Similarly connecting to our inner self, naturally extends to all beings. The real key to inner fulfillment is to connect to our real self and to live with integrity. We need to put quality time aside to cultivate our own internal awareness and inspire transformation of heart. The universal principle of all religion – to love God with all your heart and soul.”

Radhanath Swami then shared his appreciation of the entrepreuner, Rajeev Srivatsava and the example of his life, business and the spirit of service and compassion. He concluded with the message, “Every living entity has a certain beautiful quality, and as we grow through our experiences we can appreciate the divinity within every living being. Every part of the body is assisting all other organs of the body. Similarly, for the body of humanity to be happy, we have to appreciate the value that we all have. Compassion is to bring the best out of people to whatever capacity we have, by our example. Compassion doesn’t make us lazy. Real compassion makes us truly active.”

“Srila Prabhupada Lived With the Spirit of the Lord’s Compassion Shining Through His Heart”

“Srila Prabhupada lived with the spirit of the Lord’s compassion shining through his heart. Through his example he showed how to live as a true well wisher and friend of every living being. The genuine essence of all spiritual teachings can be understood by observing his qualities, hearing his words and reading his books.” – Radhanath Swami

Read about Srila Prabhupada’s life here.

Sri Krishna Janmastami

When Krishna comes to this world, even if this world is so full of dualities, selfishness, arrogance and exploitation… when Krishna comes it is completely pure. Just by remembering Him, by chanting his names and connecting with Krishna, in every way we become purified.

There is beautiful analogy; when the full moon shines, and it’s beams touch the blue lotus flower, the lotus opens. And according to Sanskrit poetry there is nothing more beautiful in creation than a fully blossomed blue lotus flower. It only opens when it is touched by the moon beam of a full moon at night. Otherwise it is tightly shut – you can’t open it and it gives no fragrance. But when it is touched by the moon beams it unfolds and blossoms and emits a beautiful fragrance.

Similarly, the lotus of prema or love is actually within our hearts – everyone of us. When the moon beams of grace touch the lotus of our hearts it blossoms. And when it blossoms it is the most beautiful thing in all creation, that love. And that fragrance and sweetness of that love naturally spreads everywhere. That is the effect, by the grace of Krishna.

Krishna descends into this world simply to attract our hearts to receive that grace. – Radhanath Swami

RUSSELL SIMONS SLIDE