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Compassion

Radhanath Swami’s Warning

I was rummaging through the car’s interior for Prasad, sanctified food, frantically. Meanwhile the street urchin who stood outside in the blazing sun grew in desperation and began to gesticulate wildly: he wanted Prasad. He was convinced we Hare Krishna’s carried it wherever we travelled. If not for the car’s glass window that separated us, he would have surely shoved me to accentuate his demand. I waited for the traffic lights to turn green, to zoom off; he hoped it remained red till he got his Prasad.

After a while he darted to the car’s window on the opposite side, where Radhanath Swami sat. As he thumped on the glass, Radhanath Swami glowered at me. “Garud, where is the Prasad?” I fretted. “No Prasad today,” I mumbled. I had seriously erred in not carrying any today. Radhanath Swami’s standing instruction was that the temple chauffeurs always carry Prasad, usually cookies, for the beggars at the stoplights. He knew the beggars loved it.

Radhanath Swami turned to the rear seat where the monks sat, “Does anyone have any Prasad?” Bags were searched in the silence that followed, until horns blared from the vehicles behind; the signal was green and we had to move.

As we lost sight of the boy’s disappointed face amidst the Mumbai traffic, Radhanath Swami turned to me. The compassion he felt for that boy was now a fury; he spelled out, “The next time when we travel, if you don’t carry any Prasad, I shall take off your shirt and trousers and give it away to the poor beggars.” I was mortified, and seeing that he quickly laughed to make me feel better. I laughed along, not knowing what else to do. A voice whispered from behind, “Did you follow what he told just now?” It was monk from the rear seat. He was shocked I was laughing after such a serious warning. Of course, he didn’t know I was sweating inside, and that the sweat glued my shirt and trousers tightly to my body.

After we reached the destination, I apologized to Radhanath Swami. With a loving smile that endeared him to me, he affectionately knocked on my forehead, indicating that he had forgiven me.

–Garud

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141 replies on “Radhanath Swami’s Warning”

Thank you for sharing your experience i was giving money to beggar last night and my wife asked how come you are doing this? I told her this will please Radhanath Swami from now i will carry prasad with me while driving instead of giving money prasad is better

Swmijis acts are not only for that particular person involved ,but also for the rest of us as an example.

What a deep compassion HH Radhanath Swami has for everyone! Thank you for sharing. Also its instructive to carry prasad always to distribute.

Maharajah heart is full of divine love, which he want to give to everyone freely through personal correction, Prasad, Lecture, or through Kirtan.

HHRNSM’s compassion is beyond ones imagination and understanding and HHRM is very particular about such issues, thank you Maharaj, haribol, rajesh karia

HHRNSM’s loving gesture knock on the forehead is just so merciful and selfless, haribol, bhakti

radhanath swami is the true messenger of the supreme lord, from this event one can understand how compassionate he is to each and every living entity,

so encouraging, HHRNSM is very concerned about all people in the society, even the beggar of the street is a special being for HHRNSM and Maharaj is always willing to serve them, haribol, rajesh karia

All Glories To H.H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

Thank you Prabhu for sharing this wonderful experience.

Hare Krishna

HHRNSM is so compassionate and is an inspiration for us at all times, haribol, rajesh karia

very touching incident and it goes to show how HHRNSM is so particular about the smallest of individuals in life and the importance of how we can find happiness in our lives with the smallest of things, thank you Maharaj for always guiding us, haribol, bhakti

Thank you so much for sharing your experience… I’ll try and follow Maharaj’s instructions next time…

Thank you so much for reminding me of this valuable lesson which i need to seriously implement in my life.

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