Cool breezes swept across the open terrace of the two- storied house as hundred-odd people sat there cross-legged, listening to a spiritual discourse. The three of us, medical students, had to settle in the rear, close to the exit that led to the floors below; we had joined late. The speaker was supposed to be Radhanath Swami, but his student was on stage instead. Wanting to know the reason for the change, I whispered an inquiry to a neighbor. “Radhanath Swami is sick,” he whispered back, pointing to a person who sat a few rows ahead. There sat Radhanath Swami, with his back facing us, and his head and ears covered with a muffler. My neighbor added that Radhanath Swami had come despite his sickness, for he didn’t want to disappoint his host. Nonetheless, his bad health wouldn’t permit him to discourse.
After the program ended, on our way down, something interesting happened on the staircase. We were closely behind Radhanath Swami as he descended. People had left behind their shoes on the stairway, leaving no gaps on the steps to even place a foot. But Radhanath Swami would neither step on the shoes nor use his foot to shove them aside. On every step he would bend down. Then with his hands he would carefully keep aside one pair of shoes that was on the next step, creating sufficient space to place his foot on. In this way he descended, step by step, handling as many pairs of shoes as there were steps.
Materially he was sick, but his humility disclosed his perfect spiritual health.
— Dr. Praveen Bairagi
114 replies on “Descending Closely Behind Radhanath Swami”
I have no words to say. Radhanath Swami is so humble, he says what he follows. This is really awesome.
Radhanath Swami is man who always walks his talk
Very nice incident.We can learn so many lessons from Radhanath Swami – How To respect other’s belongings , even if it may be foowear.
being a true spiritual master he cleared all the obstacles on the path of his followers, simply this move of radhanath swami moved me,
Radhanath Swami’s this pastime has really touched my heart. I feel so ashamed that even after receiving so many instructions, i am being selfish and so called spiritual externally. Radhanath Swami has now taught me, by His own example, how a true spiritualist should be.
I cannot prevent tears flowing down my eyes, by reading this incident which depicts the genuine humility of Radhanath Swami Maharaj. I consider myself immensely fortunate to be connected to him. Thanks.
In every lecture Radhanath Swami Maharaj stresses on humility. The above incident proves that Radhanath Swami Maharaj practices what he preaches
The more I read about Radhanath Swami, the more I realize how fortunate I am to know him. His greatness is in his unassuming nature and true humility and constant loving service to God and His children.
very few people we see in this world who walk their talk. Thank you swami ji for teaching by your own example
We address ourselves as das,your servant,but when it comes to practice it is the other way round,Maharaj’s exemplery behaviour in this incidence shows that if we are actually das ,how can we trample over the footwear of our masters.
Radhanath Swami always walks the talk, irrespective of his material health.
Wow it reminds me of Caitanya lila and Govinda who didn’t want to cross over Caitanya Mahaprabhu. But in this case it’s shoes of devotees. Amazing.
Radhanath Swami’s behaviour is simply extra-ordinary…..what an example he is setting for us to follow
No words can explain Radhanath Swami.
The genuine humilty is out of imagination.
Radhanath Swami’s humility is heart touching always. Thank you so much prabhu for posting this.
Thank you for sharing. Maharaj teaches us with his example!
Radhanath Swami’s humility is heart touching. His qualities are always increasing.
Hari Bol! HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj ki Jai.
I have no words to describe this pass time of Radhanath Swami……
Radhanath Swami ki JAY!!!
This is maharaj, you cannot ignore his humility, even if you don’t know him personally .
Depth of Maharaj’s humility is so difficult to fathom. Even if we can inculcate a little of his humility, we will be able to perfect our lives. Hari Bol!
Really, no wards to describe the Radhanath swami’s amazing humility……
Maharaj is so Humble. We need to learn lots from Maharaj!
People climb the ladder of success and generally tend to not do such menial acts. But from what we see here, Radhanath Swamis success and not made him proud! Thats because he has spiritual success!
Then with his hands he would carefully keep aside one pair of shoes that was on the next step, creating sufficient space to place his foot on.In this way he descended, step by step, handling as many pairs of shoes as there were steps.
I cant but stop reading this again and again.
Radhanath Swami is so Humble !!!
Only great souls like Radhanth Swami can do this…!! I am really very happy to know such a great soul as him…
This shows the genuine humble nature of a great vsishnav & spiritualist like HH Radhanath Swami
Really touched the heart- The great personality like Radhhanath swami maharaj live & show by there own example.
He can truly win your heart even before he says a word- a Genuinenely true monk.
Amazing!! Need to imbibe this quality which i lack.
Thank you very much for sharing this. Radhanath Swami indeed has genuine social and spiritual qualities.
“People don’t follow what you say, they follow what you do”
Radhanath Swami’s actions speak louder than words.
Simply Amazing!!!
This shows Radhanath Swami’s heart – how he values other spiritualists – though many of them in this program we possibly his own students!
He was sick and could have simply requested someone, however he followed his heart – which is so simple and genuine…
His full life is full of so many exemplary behaviors that even if we imbibe one drop of this vast ocean, our life will become meaningful.
He values others emotions so much. People usually give this sick excuse to avoid public functions. But he genuinely attended without actively participating and he attracted everybody’s attention by his simple humble behaviour.
Radhanath Swami is humility personified. I feel ashamed of my show bottle humility, when I read such articles.
The humility that Radhanath Swami has displayed in the incident you describe is heart wrenching. Really I would love to meet Radhanath Swami.
This is most wonderful….the world is blessed to have a person like Radhanath swami walking on it surface…
Well I can assure all, that this is not just a one of incident, time and again it is seen and heard about the humility of Radhanath Swami,let it be the most provoking or a simplest of situations his humility just STAND’S OUT
Radhanath Swami genuinely does not know his value at all. He thinks of himself as just a servant of his spiritual master—H.D.G. Srila Prabhupada.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful experience of yours with HH Radhanath Swami. It is a blessing to know him and his followers.
Thank u for sharing this wonderful story.
thank u for this wonderful story.
maharaj is such a humble soul…sumday we may receive a fragment of his immense humility.
Is there a limit to Radhanath Swami Maharaj’s humility!
This shows the incredible humility of Radhanath Swami, indeed a result of his spiritual advancement.
Thank you for sharing your experience. I don’t have any words to express my feelings after reading this
We can learn from this incident that what it means to be a true humble devotee. Thank u very much for sharing such a heart touching experience.
thanks for sharing.