Spiritual Questions and Answers with Radhanath Swami
Question to Radhanath Swami: I am planning to go on a pilgrimage to Chitrakoot. So, I’d like to know how attending these pilgrimages will enhance our spirituality.
Radhanath Swami: One of the most sacred traditions of all religions is pilgrimage. In our Vedic religion we go to Vrndavana, Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri, Gangotri, Tirupati, Ramesvaram, Chitrakoot, Ayodhya, Dwarka, Pandharpur, Kolhapur, Udupi, Varanasi, Kashi, Mayapur, Jagannatha Puri, and so many other places.
Question to Radhanath Swami: Once I asked some of my close friends to stop criticizing others and stop swearing. “Instead you can be calm and chant the holy names of God,” I requested them. But the fired back, “You’re trying to show off. You’re not a devotee, you’re just trying to show off, you’re not what you look like.” And that kind of negativity was coming out of them. So what should I do?
Answer by Radhanath Swami: We should cultivate humility, we should cultivate a service attitude, and the more we become genuine, the more people will actually recognize that genuineness in us.
Question to Radhanath Swami: It is said that we should always associate with selfless people, and that’s very critical. Then, how should we interact with the people who are selfish? As you say, we should also love them as they are also part of God. So, if we are surrounded by such people, how should we act?
Radhanath Swami: By being a good example. Of course, if those people open their minds and hearts for us to speak to them about higher virtues and higher truths in life….
Question to Radhanath Swami: Ultimately, we die alone. I have also read that our relationship with God is individual, which is unique to every soul. So, being the member of a spiritual society, how does that enable one to reach that potential individual relationship with God?
Radhanath Swami: Yes, ultimately at the time of death we have to turn to God ourselves.
Question to Radhanath Swami: Why is it that people love to gossip?
Radhanath Swami: People like to hear about other people’s problems. It’s fun for some. That’s the reason why some of the most popular magazines in the world just focus on scandals.
Question to Radhanath Swami: Is this beautiful world really anxiety ridden as the saints say?!!!!
Radhanath Swami: Srila Prabhupad, our Guru, often expressed in his writings how material life is actually full of anxieties. And the less selfish we are, the more we understand that reality. Sometimes we maybe so happy and it may seem that there is no anxiety in the world, “I am happy.
