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With Radhanath Swami on Rasa Purnima

It was Rasa Purnima, the full moon night of October. According to the Srimad Bhagavatam this was the night when Lord Krishna performed the Rasa dance, a dance that represents the most perfect intimacy between the soul and God.

At Radhagopinath Temple, Mumbai, devotees had worked all day to transfigure the holy altar of their Lordships Sri Sri Radha and Krishna into a replica of the flower forest of Vrindavan. Now, in the darkness of the night, a veil of dim blue light (of course from concealed electric bulbs ;)) draped that forest; and amidst trees, creepers and fountains were deities of Radha, Krishna and the Gopis dressed in bright attires.

Radhanath Swami sat in front, singing kirtan in deep emotion, while devotees who numbered in thousands chanted in response. He chanted a slow melody that surfaced that yearning for devotion in every sincere heart; I played the mradanga drum in a soft beat while the hand cymbals chimed in the backdrop.

After hours of chanting, Radhanath Swami requested one of the monks to lead the Kirtan, now that he was exhausted. As the new singer took the microphone, upon a friend’s instigation I kept the mradanga drum aside and placed the dholak drum on my lap. BHOOM! It’s very first beat was foreboding, for my conscience whispered that dholak didn’t fit the occasion. Dholak is meant for roaring kirtans, not soft one’s. But that whisper soon drowned in the booms, and before long, my beats–and not the lead singer–controlled the kirtan; the kirtan roared, the crowd rose to their feet and danced in wild abandon.

Radhanath Swami looked appalled. The reason was obvious to me: the music didn’t reflect the mellow mood of the festival. Guilt rushed through me upon seeing Radhanath Swami’s displeasure, and my hands froze. Meanwhile, Radhanath Swami leaned over to his dear student Gaur Gopal Prabhu and told something in his ear. In response, Gaur Gopal Prabhu directed the kirtan party to swerve back to the soft melody. The music then fell to gel with the occasion.

I was mortified: I had ruined one of the best festivals of the year; I had desecrated the devotional sentiments of the devotees; and I had spoiled the Kirtan. I decided to beg forgiveness from Radhanath Swami the next day. But that night my mind reeled with apprehensions about Radhanath Swami’s response.  Will he glower at me in disgust? Will he jab his finger into my chest and banish me from his sight? Or, in his natural self, will he forgive me with a sweet smile?

The next morning I caught Radhanath Swami alone in the staircase. Pressing my hands together I apologized, “I am sorry for spoiling the kirtan yesterday.” Radhanath Swami surprised me with an amused smile. “Gaurang, you don’t have the potency to spoil the kirtan of the Supreme Lord.” Softly touching my forehead in blessings, he walked away.

He had not only forgiven me, but had also deeply humbled me. How could any mortal like me spoil the glorification of the almighty Supreme Lord? We might imagine doing that, but no activity of the mundane realm can hinder the enjoyment of the Supreme autocrat Lord Krishna. And what to speak of disturbing the Supreme Lord, the consciousness of even the Lord’s exalted devotee floats above the undulations of worldly mishaps.

–Gaurang Chitphule

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108 replies on “With Radhanath Swami on Rasa Purnima”

Contrast to what we can imagine, Radhanath Swami’ response to any situation portrays his deep-rooted absorption in the loving remembrance of his beloved Lord. Thus we find a very principle manifesting in his life- to act, and not react.

Maharaj teaches a very important lesson here.. he teaches us to be humble and understand our position in front of LORD.. thanks for sharing.. JAI !!!

All GLories To H.H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

An difficult experience, but an learning that it allows all of us to reflect upon this experience. Thanks for sharing this experience Prabhuji.

Hare Krishna

I just couldn’t wait to know about Radhanath Swami’s response – the tension gripped me as well. And the response was amazing – it is one thing to know that we are not the doers but quite another to realize it. Thank you for sharing.

amazing revelation of the consiousness of great soul and a spiritual masters training a disciple in that consiousness

Radhanath swami is a wonderful teacher…His students like Gauranga pr fear not from him but to dispease him by any of their actions…and this desire makes them also glorious

Only a person with a very elated consciousness of God as HH Radhanath Swami can make such a conclusive and penetrating statement regarding the infallible status of the Kirtan of Lord. Thank you dear friend for sharing this incident.

Very Nice, Thank you very much for sharing this with us, wonderful experience with HH Radhanath Swami.

I am always very much inspired by Radhanath Swami’s clarity and depth. Be it it the Holy Names or dealings with others, he is very clear. My response as I was reading the story was “Hey ! why he is spoiling the kirtan.” Not only was Gaurang humbled, I was humbled by my superficial understanding of the Holy Name. “The Kirtan of the Lord can never be spoiled.”

This is a true example to prove that as Krsna is inconceivable and incomprehensible, so his devotees are like Radhanath Swami Maharaj!
Jai!

amazing higher understanding of holy Name taught by Radhanath Swami Maharaj. He just in time perfectly corrected the situation and also forgave the mistake of the author.

Fantastic! Wow! Fabulous! Radhanath Swami, Gauranga Pr and the whole experience is amazing. In one statement, Maharaj made so many things easy. Awesome!

Thank you very much for kindly sharing this, Radhanath Swami is an expert teacher, his instructions are always powerful but filled with love

Seeing Gaurang prabhu’s humble nature I have learnt that how careful I should be while playing the instruments for Lord’s pleasure.
Thank u prabhu for sharing such a wonderful experience with Radhanath Swami.

All Glories To H.H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

Our Maharaj will always reveal us with knowledge that lies out of common perception but deeply soaked in spiritual wisdom.

Hare Krishna

Radhanath Swami has very sweetly explained that we are not the doer and therefore we need not take the credit for any service.

Radhanath Maharaj ki jai..This incident clearly shows us that we are tiny particles and so insignificant and top of that we think we are the doers.
Thanks Prabhu for sharing such an wounderful incident,,,which is good lesson for me

Radhanath Swami corrected the fault but at the same time he was not disturbed with the person.

Many thanks for sharing. It is amazing to see the forgiving nature of a saint like Radhanath swami.

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