Richard From Kathmandu, Richard (now Radhanath Swami) arrived at Janakpur, known in the scriptures as Mithila, and its glories sung in the spiritual epic Ramayana. King Janak, in preparation for a religious rite, was ploughing the soil here when, out from the earth, the Goddess Sita appeared right under his plow. She became known as Janaki, the daughter of King Janak. Mithila was the first meeting place of Sita and Rama and the place where Rama broke the mighty bow of Shiva to win the hand of Sita in marriage.
One day in the courtyard of a temple, Richard (now Radhanath Swami) came upon a sadhu in his fifties sitting on a raised platform and graciously blessing hundreds of people who stood in line for his grace. Richard too approached him, and the sadhu was surprised to see him, and enquired from him as to who he was and why had he become a sadhu. Richard replied that he was from America and had come here in search of enlightenment. The elderly sadhu was furious and screamed that Richard (now Radhanath Swami) was a fool to have relinquished the wealth and comforts of America to become a beggar sadhu. Even as he was spewing anger tantrums at Richard, and declaring that there was no God, the elderly sadhu was simultaneously blessing the innocent people with an open palm. They didn’t understand English and Richard was shocked at the duplicity of this holy man. Richard wondered if this man wanted to enjoy material life, why didn’t he get a job and be honest rather than cheat the innocent by posing as a sadhu. Radhanath Swami writes in his memoir:
“There is always the real and the counterfeit. Hypocrisy in religion has crippled peoples’ faith throughout history. A holy person cannot always be recognized by external appearance. The Bhagavad Gita teaches that renunciation is not for a lazy man who does no work, but for one who works in a spirit of devotion. I thought of all the people I had been meeting who lived their lives working in the spirit of devotion and I prayed that I could be one of them. I remembered the words I had heard Srila Prabhupada speak in Bombay: “Better to be a sincere sweeper of the street than a charlatan meditator.”
Hypocrisy destroys our character. Radhanath Swami appeals to aspiring spiritualists that we may pose as a great person, but the substance of our character determines who we really are. We may fool the world with our external exploits, but God is seeing our motivations from within, and if these motivations are dubious we will ourselves feel emptiness in the heart. Radhanath Swami explains that a person of strong moral fibre will be happy within and will spread happiness wherever he goes and whomever he meets. He has no ulterior motive; his heart is transparent as a crystal clear lake.
Radhanath Swami warns that a sage can never be known by external appearance. One needn’t be wearing saffron garments and have a long beard or a shaven head. “A person’s quality of dependence on God, and his sincere service attitude determines his saintliness”, says Radhanath Swami.
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Founder-acharya of the International Society For Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)
“Go to India” a sweet but commanding voice; spoke up in the heart of young Richard (later Radhanath Swami) who was immersed in meditation, his search for meaning in life has brought him to the Isle of Crete. Today he was ordered to go to India. Born and raised in the middle class suburbs of Chicago, Radhanath swami grew up in the 1950’s and 60’s era when popular musicians protested war, prejudice and social injustice. Radhanath swami would listen to these songs again and again, but their lyrics referring to God stirred his soul. Peter, Paul and Mary- the folk trio from Greenswich village sang in their debut album
“Early in the morning, about the break of day
I ask the Lord, to help me find my way”
This simple prayer was to guide Radhanath swami in the coming years of his life........
This is an important lesson one can learn from H.H Radhanath Swami Maharaj. Hypocracy can not pay.
View CommentThanks for the same
View CommentNice definition of a saint:
View Comment“A person’s quality of dependence on God, and his sincere service attitude determines his saintliness”,
the substance of our character determines who we really are
View Comment– H.H Radhanath Swami
very rightly said that Nowadays you find many sadhus who are hypocrites & that really affects people’s faith in them & ultimately God…..Radhanath Swami has an exemplary behaviour of a perfect saint………
View CommentRadhanath Swami’s appeal to the aspiring spiritualists is very appropriate as neophytes can be carried away by the externals.As Radhanath Swami often mentions in his lectures, one must act as per three checks-instructions of spiritual master, as per previous great teachers and as per scriptures.
View CommentAll the religions of the world extol simplicity as a virtue that should be aspired for. Radhanath Swami once explained that simplicity means no duplicity – no hypocrisy.
View CommentOnce in a speech, Radhanath Swami told us that while hypocrisy is bad in any field, it is the worst to find in a “saint” because people then loose faith in all saints – which cuts off the only link they have of becoming spiritual.
View CommentThis answers why so many “so-called” religionists are actually instigating wars and spreading hatred.
View CommentSo true! Hypocrisy actually destroys our entire character. There are so many people around us who are cheated by so called hypocrates. I would always pray at the lotus feet to protect us from such hypocrates. Thanks Maharaj for guiding us through difficult path.
View CommentHypocrisy destroys our character. The substance in our character determines who we really are. Thanks Maharaj.
View CommentHypocrisy destroys our character. The man with strong moral fibre will be happy within and spread happiness everywhere and whoever he meets.Thanks Maharaj.
View Commentone of the reasons for people losing faith in GOD and religion is the hypocrisy shown by the so called religious leaders of today
View CommentWe may fool the world with our external exploits, but God is seeing our motivations from within- H H Radhanath Swami
View CommentThese days we hardly pause to understand a persons character and are in a haste to make some judgement.But HHRSM givs us the insight of finding who is a real saint.Thanks Maharaj !
View CommentParamatma situated in each of us perceives our intentions rather than our actions. Maharaj has very succintly described this with the example of the fake Sadhu. Hari Bol!
View CommentSincerity in our mission is very important to achieve ones goals
View CommentVery true, hypocrisy in religion destroys people’s faith.
View CommentA saintly person is not recognized by his outer appearance but his devotion to God through selfless service.
“A person’s quality of dependence on God, and his sincere service attitude determines his saintliness”, says Radhanath Swami.
View Commentthats the real definition of a sadhu, so very well explained by HH radhanath swami maharaj!
this is a very important message, in every aspect of life. I love how Radhanath Swami cuts to the very core of life’s issues to teach with solid examples that are hard to forget. thank you!
View CommentWonderful article.
View CommentLike Lord Ram who conqured the kigdom without any hypocrisy, Radhanath Swami with his simple but very deep teachings conquring the hearts of millions of people. The whole world is grateful to Radhanath Swami for his wonderful, selfless and straightforward preachings.
View Commentthank you very much
View CommentSO PERFECTLY MAHARJ HAS EXPLAINED THIS — Hypocrisy destroys our character. Radhanath Swami appeals to aspiring spiritualists that we may pose as a great person, but the substance of our character determines who we really are. We may fool the world with our external exploits, but God is seeing our motivations from within, and if these motivations are dubious we will ourselves feel emptiness in the heart. Radhanath Swami explains that a person of strong moral fibre will be happy within and will spread happiness wherever he goes and whomever he meets. He has no ulterior motive; his heart is transparent as a crystal clear lake.THANK u v MUCH MAHARAJ
View CommentVery nice article ..Radhanath swami explained Hypocrisy destroys our character.
View CommentIt’s a great lesson to learn – hypocrites can never be happy. They may externally look happy, wealthy etc. but they are most miserable because they feel so guilty.
View CommentTo find hypocrites in religious circles isn’t unusual. But a sincere seekers looks for the genuine rather than simply complain about the counterfeits.
View CommentWonderful story. Thanks for sharing this.
View CommentWonderful statement – “A person’s quality of dependence on God, and his sincere service attitude determines his saintliness”, litmus test for a person claiming as a saint. Thank you very much Radhanath Swami Maharaj.
View CommentRadhanath swami is making a good point here-“We may fool the world with our external exploits, but God is seeing our motivations from within, and if these motivations are dubious we will ourselves feel emptiness in the heart.”
View Commentverynice,thanks
View Commentvery nice,thanks
View CommentAny act of hypocrisy or duplicity on the part of fake religious gurus undermines the years of effort of genuine saints such as Radhanath Swami who is trying so hard to spread God-consciousness in a materialistic society.
View CommentTherefore we should be on guard & distance ourselves from such rogue self-styled gurus who enagage in such condemnable acts.
Any act of hypocrisy or duplicity on the part of fake religious gurus undermines the years of effort of genuine saints such as Radhanath Swami who is trying so hard to spread God-consciousness in a materialistic society.
View CommentTherefore we should be on guard & distance ourselves from such rogue self-styled gurus who enagage in condemnable acts.
Heavy responsibility on those who have taken to spiritual practices. Any wrong behaviour or wrong attitude can repel a newcomer and bring disrepute. Thank you Radhanath Swami Maharaj for an illustrating experience.
View CommentRadhanath Swami Maharaj has conveyed the essence of correct presentation of our philosophy through our behavior
View CommentWe need to be very careful of this hypocracy because in Kali yuga this is the most prominent symptom as explained in scriptures
View Commentmaharaj so cleverly tells us that only fools think that they can fool god
View CommentWonderful article thanks for sharing
View Commentvery true.
View CommentHypocracy can not pay. We can not cheat God. He is in everyone’s heart as Paramatma. H.H Radhanath Swami Maharaj ki jai.
View CommentRadhanath Swami Maharaj teaches us how a sage can never be known by external appearance.
View CommentVery nice and very true. Thank you for posting.
View CommentToday real sadhu is a rare site. But Srila Prabhupad left a whole army of them.Thank you maharaj.
View CommentA person’s quality of dependence on God, and his sincere service attitude determines his saintliness – This beautiful statement by Radhanath Swami Maharaj conveys it all a real spiritualist should aspire to.
View CommentDo I mean what I say or just want to put up an act? Hypocrisy is now the order of the day, at such times pure souls like Radhanath Swami come along to guide us ,only thing required is sincerity and things change.
View CommentNicely explained by Radhanath Swami Maharaj about how a transcendentalist should not be duplicit in his intentions. This is an eye opener for one who wants to walk a spiritual path and also to those who are cheating spiritual seekers with their duplicit intentions
View CommentHis presenting this topic in such a respectful manner.
View CommentHow important is that our external and internal are in harmony. If not it’s cheating of ourselves and others.
View CommentWe can practically see this that due to some hypocrates how so many people have turned their faces away from God and saintly people. To help people recongnize true saints Maharaj has clearly stated- A holy person cannot always be recognized by external appearance.
View Comment