The Journey Home Quotes

“A dog will recognize his master in whatever way he dresses. The master may dress in robes, suit and tie, or stand naked, but the dog will always recognize his master. If we cannot recognize God, our beloved master, when he comes in a different dress from another religion, then we are less than that dog.”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home

“Man cannot be enlightened through any organization, creed, dogma, priest or ritual, nor through any philosophical knowledge or psychological technique. He has to find it through understanding the contents of his own mind, through observation, not through intellectual analysis or introspective dissection.”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home

“Where there is no inner freedom, there is no life.”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home

“God, who is absolute, reveals himself to different people in different ways [..] I realized it would be very narrow to think there was only one way to God.”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home

“We were fine originally and lost that fine-ness. That's when we became defined.”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home

“You have too many gurus in this country. They have told you what to do, what to think, what to practice. They are the dictators.”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home

“Sex could be a gift of God, but when it becomes an obsession, it plunders all intelligence and people are driven to abominable acts to satisfy their lust. When passion is frustrated, people lose all good sense.”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home

“Where there is faith, fear cannot exist.”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home

“Suffering is sent to remind us to turn our thoughts towards God, who will give us solace.”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home

“If we become overly attached to externals, we may forget their very purpose: to purify the heart”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home

“His eyes twinkled as he smiled. “Love everyone, serve everyone, and feed everyone. Serve like Hanuman without selfishness and greed. This is the key to realizing God.”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“My dear Lord Krishna, you are so kind upon this useless soul, but I do not know why you have brought me here. Now you can do whatever you like with me. But I guess you have some business here, otherwise why would you bring me to this place? Somehow or other, O Lord, You have brought me here to speak about you. Now, my Lord, it is up to you to make me a success or failure as you like. O spiritual master of all the worlds. I can simply repeat your message; so if you like you can make my power of speaking suitable for their understanding. Only by Your causeless mercy will my words become pure. I am sure that when this transcendental message penetrates their hearts they will certainly feel engladdened and thus become liberated from all unhappy conditions of life. O Lord, I am just like a puppet in your hands. So if you have brought me here to dance, then make me dance, make me dance, O Lord, make me dance as you like. I have no devotion, nor do I have any knowledge, but I have strong faith in the holy name of Krishna. I have been designated as Bhaktivedanta, one who possesses devotion and knowledge, and now, if you like, you can fulfill the real purport of Bhaktivedanta. Signed, the most unfortunate, insignificant beggar, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, On board the ship Jaladuta, Commonwealth Pier, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. 18th of September, 1965”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“Whenever you possibly can, sustain the flow of the Holy Name. To repeat His Name is to be in His presence. If you associate with the Supreme Friend, He will reveal His true beauty to you.”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“Mother Ganges teaches us that if we want to attain the sea of our aspiration, we must persevere in our goal and never be discouraged by the inevitable obstacles that come on our path.”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home

“Just serve every creature in God’s creation with humility, respect, and love.” Or, “Just sing the names of Rama and everything else will be attained.”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“...our free will could convert a curse into a blessing or a blessing into a curse...To transform a crisis into an opportunity was true wisdom”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home

“Perhaps, I thought, the miracle of being an instrument of kindness is the most powerful of all.”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home

“One path may appear in different forms, but the Kingdom of God is the goal we all share. It is the men of small minds who create confusion.”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home

“To grow may require that we be shaken right to our core.”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home

“One path may appear in different forms, but the Kingdom of God is the goal we all share. It is the men of small minds who create confusion.” He released my hand and affectionately patted my head. “Do not be troubled my son. You are sincere. God will guide you.” His words touched my heart.”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“If we understand the underlying cause of what we think of as bad in someone, instead of being hateful, we will be compassionate. For is not every soul inherently good? A saintly person will hate the disease but love the diseased.”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“Suddenly, the bus stopped in the midst of a vast desert. In a moment everyone got off. Was this an emergency? No, not at all. The passengers carefully unrolled their prayer rugs on the sand and faced the direction of the Holy City of Mecca, performing their Namaz, or offering of prostrations and salutations to Allah and his Prophet Mohammed. Every few hours this ritual was repeated with no consideration of where we were. The religion of these tribal people was their life. They were not mullahs, priests, yogis, or monks, but ordinary family people. Yet in all situations and places it impressed me how their devotion to Allah took priority.”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“I have discovered that God’s love manifests in different ways to different people. There are saints in the various spiritual traditions who sacrifice their lives for the love of God and goodwill toward man.”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“The world oscillates endlessly between pleasure and pain,” she continued. “There can be no security, no stability here. These are to be found in God alone.”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“I will reject the teachings of the teacher who teaches us to reject teachers and teachings,”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“There is only one cause of all worries and anxiety and that is selfishness.”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home

“our free will could convert a curse into a blessing or a blessing into a curse.”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“In this, she taught me that happiness comes not from the material thing, but from the love with which it is given.”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“when our hearts embraced hope, we attracted a power beyond ourselves to guide us, purify us and, ultimately, liberate us.”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“Why should I waste my life trying to fit in with the social fashions of my peers? Why not try to live on my own terms? And hopefully, someday, on God’s terms?”
― Radhanath Swami, The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami