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Humility

Radhanath Swami’s Extempore Humility

It was IIT Mumbai. Radhanath Swami had just delivered a spell bounding lecture to a group of young IITians. They now looked at him in indecision: were they really at the zenith of knowledge-acquisition, or were they merely like that infamous frog who thought of his puny well as the ‘be all & end all’ of existence? Radhanath Swami, through his stellar presentation, had very dexterously challenged their ‘froggish’ mentality with something so arcane, the awe-inspiring knowledge of the Bhagavad Gita.  As some of these brainy IITians swarmed around him admiring his angelic demeanor, my chest swelled in pride. Standing next to him, I watched him hoisting within the hearts of these chaps the flag of the Supreme Lord’s mercy –fluttering its compassionate ripples.

Slowly, the just now formed fan club of Radhanath Swami dispersed for the free dinner arranged by the organizers. But a student in his late teens waited behind to have Radhanath Swami’s autograph on his recently purchased ‘Bhagavad Gita As it is.’ As he inched forward, I quickly pulled out my pen and handed it to Radhanath Swami.

As Radhanath Swami opened that divine scripture, his eyes searched for a suitable page to pen down his autograph. There it was; the first page of the book! As with all books, the first page was relatively empty with the title of the book written on top in bold, & way at the bottom were the credentials of the author. Obviously, anybody would have signed in the middle of that page.

But for Radhanath Swami, signing there meant a breach of etiquette: it would mean signing his autograph above the name of his Guru Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada who was the author of that book. Hence he spontaneously chose to sign his autograph way below Srila Prabhupada’s name, where there was hardly any space to scribble a word. I was so moved, touched & impressed upon seeing Radhanath Swami’s extempore humility. Someone who was just a while ago so victorious over these astute & brainy IITians was not at all deterred from his vows of humility, even after such an alluring accomplishment. I guess this is the secret of his success: Determined to remain humble.

Sikshashtakam Das. Temple President, ISKCON Nasik.

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145 replies on “Radhanath Swami’s Extempore Humility”

Inspite of having a fan following Radhanath swami does not forget his etiquete and respect for his teacher something all us should learn

HHRM is a very humble person and his humility shakes one to a large extent, very precise, regards, rajesh karia

True ! Radhanath Swami thru his exemplary behaviour has exhibted what few can not even dream of achieving. Determination to stay in a simple humble position in spite so many material lures.NO wonder he attracts people wherever he goes as bees to a fragrant flower

Radhanath Swami is really very humble. He is our Guru and he not only teaches us but practises humility first.

Its as difficult to be humble as easy to become proud, in all my experiences with Radhanath Swami i have always found Radhanath Swami leading us through his own life which is nothing but a perfect example An Ideal personality whom one may look up to if he is sincere spiritual seeker

Radhanath Swami Maharaj is always in the mood of the servant of the servant of the servant.

This passage brings out the depth of humility which Radhanath Swami has.

Thank you for sharing.

Thanks for sharing this experience…..Radhanath Swami thru his example wants to teach however great or famous a person may become, he should always himself lower than his Guru or spitiual master….

small small details is a sign of love. Swami ji teaches by his own example how to honor love and respect

This is a such a nice lesson for us all. Being determined to remain humble! Thank you Radhanath Swami!

My chest “swells in pride” just because of causelessly having the opportunity of knowing Radhanath Swami as well as the worthy author of this article.

Thank you very much for sharing this wonderful experience. H.H.Radhanath Swami’s love and respect for his Guru

Radhanath swami always streses so much about humility in his discourses and these statements about humility touch our heart beacuase he himself practices humility as shpwn here in this experience from Mr.Sikshashtakam Das.

Maharaj always preaches that one should be more humble than a blade of grass, and Maharaj lives by these words. Jai Maharaj.

Hari bol. Radhanath maharaj ki jai. This is so inspiring. Teaching by example. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you for sharing this wonderful article. Yes, personally for me the one quality which inspires me the most in Radhanath Swami is his determination to remain humble for which we have to become humble first!

HH Radhanath Swami is ‘Humility’ personified , What HG Sikshashtakam Prabhuji has shared is so heart warming, it is not only this but uncountable moments of HH Radhanath Swami which make us realize what it means to be Humble in a true sense. Haribol! For sharing this.

Wonderful experience thank you very much for sharing this, Radhanath Swami Maharaj shows by example humility in acts/words and thoughts.

I had only dreamt of such qualities. But Radhanath Swami is the personification; he is real, not a dream.

Thank you for sharing a very beautiful lesson on natural humility from Radhanath Swami Maharaj’s life

Radhanath Swami always depicts through all his dealings his humility which genuinely comes from his heart & wins the heart of others.

This incident is indeed an example of extempore humility springing from the heart of Radhanath Swami.

amazing incident and i am greatful for sharing such a nice incident which reminds me of maharaj every time i open BG now on wards

Maharaj is truly humility personified and we are all so blessed to have him as our guru