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A Stinky Sewer

Shyly I walked into Radhanath Swami’s room and occupied a corner. Radhanath Swami, sitting relaxed on a rocking chair at the other end, beckoned me to come closer.  And I sat closer.

He broke into a beautiful smile. “How are you? How are your services going?”

I had joined the monastery a few weeks ago. Being insisted upon by a senior monk, I was here, in Radhanath Swami’s room. The monk had intended to make me feel at home. Yes, now experiencing the gentle smile of the Swami, I felt at home.

“I serve guests who visit our monastery.” I replied. I went on to explain how I liked the service, and the challenges I faced while serving. As I rambled on, at one point Radhanath Swami’s expression grew yucky, as if a stinky sewer had just burst open.  I paused. Did I speak something which I wasn’t supposed to speak? In a flash I realized. Inadvertently, I had criticized a guest.

Diverging to another topic, I saved my skin. I had heard from many that Radhanath Swami hates to speak or hear the criticism of anybody. Today I had gained a first hand experience.

—Manish Rajan

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136 replies on “A Stinky Sewer”

Thank you very much for sharing this experience with us. Swamiji says – “serve others and don’t criticize”. Thank you for reminding this again.

teaching by personal example !!! thank u maharaj and thank u prabhu for sharing this with us..not to criticize anyone…

There is a famous quote by HH Radhanath Swami. “Don’t criticise devotess or even non devotees, because a devotee now was also not devotee once”. Thank you for sharing HH Radhanath Swami’s heart.

as per i heard ,in scripture it is mentioned that sign of uttam adhikari is that he is free from tendency to criticize, but here swamiji hates even hearing the criticism, thank u for sharing .

thank u prji for sharing such learning incident,thank u mahj, a devotee means free from tendancy to criticize,

Thank you sooooo much for sharing this. I will always remember this and will try to improve

Most important lesson for spiritual advancement and very difficult to follow. Thanks for reminding through this experience.

radhanath swami is like a honey bee who can find good even in most degraded people, and by catching that good uplifts them and makes them wonderful devotees

Yes, absolutely true! If there’s one thing Radhanath Swami hates, it is fault finding.

Haribooool.Its very dissicult in this Kalyug not to criticize any1 as it comes out so esily.All glories to Radhanath Swami Maharaj for teaching practically.Totally exemplified

wow wonderful article. Really inspiring. That means criticizing devotee is like opening stinky sewer.

its a masterpiece show of criticism and praise both together……..hats off to u

Radhanath Maharaj sees every living entity as a child of Krishna and so has limitless compassion for everyone.

This article clearly explains the true nature of a saintly person like Radhanath swami.

Just as it is so natural for us to criticize others, it is just very natural for Maharaj not to even want to hear criticism, what to speak of himself criticisizing.

rare are souls to hate criticism unto others. We normally like to criticize others ans hate those who criticize us. Radhanath swami is opposite

Radhanath Swami always teaches us by his example how we should behave. Thanks for sharing.

Acharya means one who preaches by example. We see people only speaking about not to criticize others but we also need examples like Radhanath swami who are not only preaching but also practicing this wonderful quality. Also thanks to Mr. Manish Rajan for sharing his experience openly.

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