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Simplicity

Management vs. Human Relationships

This happened in the month of April 2005 on the day that Radhanath Swami was about to leave for his western preaching tour. Since he was  scheduled to be away for at least 6 months , I put together a list of eight points concerning temple management that I needed Radhanath Swami to decide upon before he left. I then called up his secretary and told that I needed to meet Radhanath Swami, any time that was convenient for him, for half an hour. I did this in the morning, feeling pretty sure that at least some time during the entire day Radhanath Swami would give me some time.

The day dragged on. Radhanath Swami throughout the day was meeting devotees who wanted to say good bye to him and was happily spending time with all of them. I called up Radhanath Swami’s secretary in the evening, about an hour before Radhanath Swami’s scheduled departure to the airport, and inquired from him anxiously whether Radhanath Swami was finally free. The secretary told me that there were half a dozen devotees in his room and if I wanted I could come and wait outside the room.

This is what I did…I rushed to Radhanath Swami’s room and from the corner of his eye Radhanath Swami saw me and nodded, indicating I should wait. Finally, all the devotees left and there was just me and Radhanath Swami; and twenty minutes were left for Radhanath Swami to leave to the airport.

After prostrating myself I was about to begin, when Braj Bihari Prabhu from Vrindavan, who heads ISKCON Resolve, entered the room. Radhanath Swami immediately got up, welcomed him with a bear hug like a long lost friend, and both of them sat down and went on chatting—completely oblivious of me. I was frantically looking at the watch with every minute passing by, and was gently sweating. Radhanath Swami continued to talk to Braj Bihari Prabhu as if he had all the time in the world, inquiring about everything concerning Braj Bihari Prabhu’s family, services, etc., until finally Braj Bihari Prabhu seeing my restlessness, remarked, “You both must be having a lot of things to discuss about…sorry for barging in like this.” And then he was gone…Now, just ten minutes to go and eight points to discuss…I started blurting out and Radhanath Swami nonchalantly answered all my points.
Anyways, having got my answers, I paid my obeisance once again and prepared to leave. Just then Radhanath Swami said, “I am seeing Braj Bihari Prabhu after a very long time and he specifically came to say me goodbye. My spending time with him was more important then your managerial questions, which are important but not as important as spending time with him. Anyways, if you get stuck on any issue, send me a mail or call me up.”

I came out from the room thoroughly crushed and humbled. Radhanath Swami gave more time and importance to a devotee who had come from far to meet him than to a ‘big’ manager. I understood that human relationships were far more important for him than management was.

Krishnan Iyer, Finance Officer, Radha Gopinath Temple.

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185 replies on “Management vs. Human Relationships”

It is very clear from this Article that devotees relationships are more important to Maharajah than any management concern. It is his this genuine quality that has transformed so many hearts.

Radhanath Swami is so sensitive and selective not to hurt anybody and at the same time give us so many lessons through his one act.

As Radhanath Swami gives so much importance to human relationships hence there are so many devotees today in Radha Gopinath Temple.

This attitude / views of Radhanath Swami may seem strange to a hard core manager like myself. But Radhagopinath temple has flourished to this extent only because of the love and care given to devotees – new and old.

RADHANATH SWAMI values relationship with devotees much more than management issues. So relationship management is the foundation of the rest of the management.I pray at RADHANATH SWAMI’s lotus feet to get a fraction of a drop of his qualities.

A very nice example of His Holiness Radhanath Swami’s importance towards Spiritual activities compared to material.

Devotees are very dear to Maharaj and he didn’t mince words in expressing it.That is the greatness of Maharaj.Thanks for sharing.

Radhanath Swami manages human relationships more than managing the temple.That is why relationships in the temple congregation are sweet.The result is the temple is managed well.

The more we hear the experiences shared by different devotees with Radhanath Swami the more we get amazed about his extraordinary qualities.

Maharaj always puts people above projects. That’s one of the reasons for his phenomenal success in building a spiritual community. Thanks you very much for sharing.

Maharaj always puts people above projects. That’s one of the reasons for his phenomenal success in building a spiritual community. Thanks you very much for sharing.

Thank you for sharing this wonderful incident. Maharaj has always taught through His own example- here teaching us to give People more priority to Projects.

Thank you for sharing this article . It teaches us that we should know our priorities in life and try to manage it accordingly.

I realized this is the foundation of success of Radhagopinath temple.
Thank you for sharing this experience.

Radhanath Maharaj always emphasizes on investing in relationships. Here, he is teaching by example.

this shows how Krishna Consciousness is based on Relationships,relationships are more important than Management.If relationship are maintained properly than management becomes very easy.Thank you very much for sharing such a wonderful experience.Radhanath Swami Maharaj Ki JAI!!!!!!!

Radhanath Swami being in the position he is mainly as a spiritual guide to thousands and holds the responsibility of each and every single persons progress, all this involves a gamut of activities and at all levels there is management involved, yet whenever one comes across him the first thing that hits you his loving care and genuine concern. Frankly his approach would put the greatest CEO to shame. Yet his humility is simply striking

This shows that Radhanath Swami is very personal in dealing with everybody. He understands the importance of every individual around him. This very principle of Radhanath Swami inspires everyone who comes in touch with him.

Radhanath Maharaj every interaction with devotees teaches a lot of things to us. How to give importance to Human relationships is what we can learn from this. Radhanath Maharaj ki JAY!!!

The Supreme Lord is The Supreme Manager He manages every thing for everybody who we are? His devotees are important than managerial affairs that is the lesson that we learn from this.Thank you for sharing with us.

The Supreme Lord is The Supreme Manager He manages every thing for everybody who we are? His devotees are important than managerial affairs that is the lesson that we learn from this.Thank you for sharing with us.

This is the situation where most of the management world fails, but Radhanath Swami knows exactly how to manage without ever getting a formal teaching on it.

Radhanath Swami is a great leader – always putting human relationships above everything else.

excellent post. the writer is very humble to have presented this article. and the lesson as well. Human relationships are more important.

Thank you very much for sharing this. By this I understand how much important are relationships. Relationship with Krishna is the greatest of all and I hope that one day, I will treat that relationship to be the supreme and live accordingly with the mercy of devotees.

This incident of Radhanath Swami essentially proves relationships to be the key to managements and not the other way round. After all, we need managers ultimately to manage people by developing better relationships amongst them… Thanks for sharing this article