Spiritual Questions and Answers with Radhanath Swami
Question to Radhanath Swami: Swami ji, I am a householder and I have so many responsibilities to perform. How can I perfectly spiritualize my life with so many other responsibilities?
Radhanath Swami: It is very simple to spiritualize the condition of a householder’s life as the sage Narada Muni explains in the holy text of Srimad Bhagvatam.
Question to Radhanath Swami: In the path of Bhakti we are told to refrain from certain activities like meat eating for developing our love for God. But can’t I love God and simultaneously do these things? Love is not to be bound by rules and regulations. Why then do we have rules and regulations on the path of Bhakti?
Radhanath Swami: Unconditional love is a very high and pure platform. To get there we have to honestly begin from where we are. The beginning of love is to do what the beloved wants. Similarly, the beginning of developing love of God is to understand what God wants us to do and to obey that.
Question to Radhanath Swami: It is said that on the path of bhakti there is no need to give up anything. Then why are there monks on the bhakti path?
Radhanath Swami: The real question is simply how we could best serve. Even monks, they are not lazy. Each monk in the monastery has so much work, so many responsibilities, and so many duties to perform. Similarly gåhastas, the householders, have so many duties and responsibilities to perform.
Question to Radhanath Swami: When we meet great souls the fire of bhakti is bright and clear in our hearts. But how can we keep that spark bright even when we are in the real world?
Radhanath Swami: We eat to gain strength. And it’s not that you just eat on Monday and comeback the next Sunday to eat again
Question to Radhanath Swami : Is it possible to achieve social equality through bhakti?
Radhanath Swami : Certainly. Krishna tells in Gita that a bhakti yogi sees everyone with an equal vision.
“The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and an outcaste.”
