Spiritual Questions and Answers with Radhanath Swami
Question to Radhanath Swami: Sometimes we start chanting God’s names praying for some self interest. And it so happens that it is not fulfilled. Then we either stop chanting or we loose the mood of chanting. How can we cope up with this kind of situation?
Radhanath Swami: We must learn how to pray from the scriptures and from the great personalities. Jesus was happily praying on the cross. Have you ever been through such a situation as he had to go through?
Question to Radhanath Swami: When only in distress one is able to pray from the heart, otherwise those prayers spring from the mind, and are mechanical offered. Why is it so? Why only in distress does the mind shut down and allow us to pray from the heart?
Radhanath Swami: What you are talking about is sometimes human nature. But we should cultivate a higher standard.
Question to Radhanath Swami: It is said that a prayer should be a cry from the heart. But many times it is mechanical. In that case, should we artificially try to cry or should we wait till the cry naturally comes from the heart?
Radhanath Swami: We shouldn’t be artificial, but we should be sincere. If we do not have sincerity, we can honestly pray for that. Our Guru used to say that everything is based on our desire. Our whole life is built up on the foundation of our desires;
Question to Radhanath Swami: What exactly is this humility?
Radhanath Swami: Humility really means honesty. Humility is about simply being truthful. What do we have to brag about? If God does not make the sun rise, what will you do? Did you create your brain? Did you create your eyes to see?
Question to Radhanath Swami: How exactly does this chanting of God’s holy names work?
Radhanath Swami: It begins by regular chanting, like treatment begins with regular intake of medicines. And then we try to go deeper into the holy name by living according to the qualities of a true devotee.
Question to Radhanath Swami: Why people don’t believe in God? How can we make people believe in God?
Radhanath Swami: The nature of everyone is to believe in God. But because of conditioning in this material world people want to be the enjoyer rather than the servant, and when that enjoying spirit becomes like a fever, they consider God as an impediment;
