This exchange with Radhanath Swami—though momentary—for me was momentous.
One afternoon after lunch, Radhanath Swami and I rambled along the edges of the lecture hall at Radhagopinath Temple. The sight of each painting that hung on the side walls stopped us in our tracks briefly, before we proceeded ahead.
For pure devotees, to see such depictions of Lord Krishna’s pastimes is to see through a window—into the spiritual world. Will Radhanath Swami be kind enough to share some of his feelings after looking through these ‘windows’?
My desire found its fulfillment when we reached one corner of the hall. There, a painting displayed Lord Krishna lifting the Govardhan hill effortlessly, balancing it on the little finger of his left hand. His devotees—cowherd men and women, parrots, peacocks and cows—encircled him and looked on at this incredible feat admiringly.
“I like this personality, this cowherd lady,” Radhanatha Swami pointed to a lady in the painting. From behind the crowd that encircled Krishna, her face barely emerged out; she easily skipped one’s attention if the painting wasn’t examined with scrutiny.
“She is in the background and she is happy to be in the background,” Radhanath Swami said—and then said nothing. But the two lines that he spoke opened up a window into his heart. Seeing through that window I saw an ocean of humility.
–Srila Haridas Thakur.
123 replies on “A Window into Radhanath Swami’s Heart”
thank you Radhanath swami
Unless these saintly people reveal their hearts there is no way for us to understand their divine qualities or even how to do devotional service to Lord. Thanks for sharing.
Radhanath Swami truly embodies his teachings of “trnad api sunicena…” How one should remain humble and happy in rendering any menial and insignificant service.
a very interesting remark by Radhanath Swami – tells us basically to do our service without expecting any honor or respect for the same.
Very nice. Thank you very much for sharing the same.
Thank you very much for sharing this. “She is in the background and she is happy to be in the background,” Radhanath Swami said. This explains what Krishna sees. He do not see who is in the front. He is bhava grahi. Probably, Maharaj is explaining this through his comment. Thank you Maharaj.
Radhanath Swami for over two decades remained in the background and He was happy ,his humility brought him in the limelight and now with all humility he accept that too with humility
That teaches a lesson for lifetime – to be in the background and be happy to do so not aspiring for worldly distinction, honor and prestige.
thank u for sharing
Very nice incident.Thanks for sharing
Maharajah being pure devotee of the Lord although empowered by his Gurudev and Krishna, likes to stay in the background then what is our position, if we are his disciples.
Thank you very much for sharing this great experience with Radhanath Swami. He is really an emblem of humility and simplicity.
Maharaj stress humility so much, hence he is able to see it evrey where.
Very nice experiance.
Thank you so much prabhu for sharing wonderful nectar.
Only pure devotees like Radhanath Swami can reveal to us the spiritual emotions of pure love.
Radhanath Swami always likes to be in the background
Thank you for sharing these rare gems…
Thank you so much for sharing your experience.
Thankyou for sharing!
Radhanath Swami Maharaj always looks for humility because he is himself so full of humility!
Thank for your showing us the glimpse of heart of Swamiji
This pastime reveals a little more of Radhanath Swami’s infinitely humble and compassionate heart.
H.H Radhnath Swami is really Humility personified. Thank you for sharing this wonderfull lesson for us.
wow.. Radhanath Swami is not only humble but also like those who are humble.
HHRNSM is very humble and pure at heart and is very inspirational to all which can be realized from this article as Maharaj illustrates the importance of being simple and humble, haribol, rajesh karia
thank you for sharing this wonderful nectar with all of us, very beautiful, haribol, bhakti
Radhanath Swami himself is like that cowherd lady.He always gives credit of all the wonderful services he is doing to others and likes to be in the background as a servant of the servants of the Lord.
Really amazing experience.
Really a very inspiring incident. Thanks for sharing!
Simply explains the imporatance of humility.
Nice incident. Thanks for sharing
Maharaj is a minute observer.. thanks for sharing..
Only a person in humble mood can make such statement
Thank You Maharaj
Radhanath Swami Maharaj even in his day to day life always appreciates people working in the background!
we can learn very inspiring lesson from this incident
thank you radhanath mahraj ,that how krishna is pleased ,He is pleased by humility.thank you very much prabhu for sharing this about radhanath mahraj
The Lord notices everyone who is serving Him with sincerity and enthusiasm, even if it is a very small service. Such a devotee may be in the background in the eyes of the general masses, but is in the foreground in the eyes of the Lord. This is what Radhanath Swami wanted to emphasize on.
Amazingly beautiful pastime
Radhanath Swami Maharaj really sees the spiritual world…..
this is purely Radhanath Swami’s life, always in the background and always happy!
The observation of Radhanath swami is very precise and thoughtful
Only one in the mood of service, and without any anxiety to be noticed can notice something or someone so obscure yet important – as is any background. Such is the nature of Radhanath Swami
Thanks Maharaj for revealing what kind of humility is required for devotional life.Thanks for sharing.
A real devotee is like a salt. Just as salt has quality of making food tasty with exhibiting it’s presence, a real devotee of Lord never want’s to exhibit one’s presence or get noticed rather serve the Lord in all his / her capacity. HH Radhanath Swami in always glorifying this mood.
thank you prabhu , very inspiring ,hari bol
This momentary experience with HH Radhanath Swami has a lot to teach us.
Hare Krishna!!!!
Radhanath Swami Maharaj absolutely appreciates humility which he emphasizes through lectures.
We like to hear background music; we admire backgrounds of pictures and images, but when we are but in the background of things Ah ah! Do we really like it? Well no need to answer that we know exactly what goes on up there in our mind. Even the smallest interaction with Radhanath Swami can teach a lot it is like going through a purifying process
Thank you very much for sharing this. Unless pure devotees like H.H Radhanath Swami Maharaj reveal their hearts, one can not understand any thing. This is required even to render devotional service to the Lord.