Spiritual Questions and Answers with Radhanath Swami
Radhanath Swami: If you have a rash that is intolerably itching, the tendency is to scratch it, scratch it, scratch it, and keep scratching it. Did you ever have this experience? But as you scratch it, it makes the condition worse.
Question to Radhanath Swami: It is recommended that we fast on the birthdays (usually called the appearance days) of great acharyas or spiritual preceptors. Similarly, it is recommended that we fast on the anniversaries of their departure from this world (disappearance day.) What is the importance of this fasting?
Radhanath Swami: Ultimately, it’s to show our love and appreciation for what that great acharya or spiritual preceptor has done for the world. Performing tapasya or austerity is a way of showing love on the path of bhakti.
Question to Radhanath Swami: How to control and purify our senses?
Answer: That is a very important question. It’s the essence of life. That question and its answer is the path of perfection. Krishna tells in the Bhagavad Gita that by engaging our senses and our mind, which is our sixth sense, in the service of the Lord, we become purified of all illusory designations.
