As a doctor, day in day out I see people in pain. Some, I see, can tolerate only a little of it, and some a lot. But I am yet to meet another person as tolerant to pain as Radhanath Swami.
Radhanath Swami once had a frozen shoulder. I called our Dr. Chako to be his physiotherapist. Sitting on pins and needles I watched every session of the exercises, in burning anticipation of Chako over-stretching the frozen shoulder, which he often did. And whenever he did, my heart quaked to see Radhanath Swami grimace with pain. I would then jump to rein in the situation. “Chako! This is enough. Don’t stretch the shoulder so much.” But only occasionally did Radhanath Swami himself utter, and every time that he did, it was in favor of Chako’s treatment. Once he said, “No pain. No gain.” Another time he even made a quip. “I am undergoing systematic torture.”
After eight long months of treatment the shoulder recuperated.
A few weeks rolled by and I asked Radhanath Swami, “How’s your shoulder? How’re you feeling now?” He wrinkled his brow. “Which shoulder was it?” I simply smiled. There was no need to answer that question. It looked like the whole eight month experience wasn’t for him—painful enough. If it where, how could the arm that caused it, fade off in his memory? Perhaps this pain was trivial in comparison to the pains, both physical and mental, which he underwent while he was on his spiritual quest, and which he underwent now for helping others in their quest.
— Dr. Girish Rathod
151 replies on “Systematic Torture on Radhanath Swami”
Maharaj underwent so many difficult situations in his journy to spiritual quest but in those situations he always prayed and surrenderd to Lord and prayed for guidance. He is continually teaching that without enduring pain there is not substantial gain.
THis is a such a wonderful and sweet narration which shows that maharaj underwent so much pain but yet was so gentle with the doctor. We feel secured just to know a person like Maharaj.
Thank you so much for sharing this.
Really touching experience…. Thank you for sharing!!
Thanks for sharing this experience
Radhanath Swami transcends all situations so beautifully,its a lesson for a lifetime. Thank you so much for sharing…..
Hopefully i learn the lessons Radhanath Maharaj wants to teach us. As an acarya he is undergoing so much pain & trouble, just so that we can benefit & improve. What kind of love does he have for us? Very difficult to understand!
Maharaj ki jai…..
Radhanath Swami never ever care’s for his personal convenience but when it comes to help others he goes out of way & helps others ! He is simply a selfless,humble,tolerant,caring & loving personality !
He is an ideal example to learn how to react in this material world when there is severe pain. He is always at soul level. I will feel fortunate even if I get a small fraction of such a reaction.
Most amazing thing about Radhanath Swami Maharaj is his indifference to bodily pleasures and pains. This can be only exhibited by a person who is in transcendental platform
very inspiring article, thanks for sharing, regards, bhakti
radhanath swami maharaj ki jai, very inspirational experience, rajesh karia
Radhanath Swami is like a sponge who absorbs blow after blow on his health and bouces back again to carry on his mission.
So touching! Radhanath Swami seems to be not of this world!!!
Great patience and tolderance by Radhanath swami
Radhanath Swami Maharaj embodies the wonderful quality of tolerance
Yes, Radhanath Swami can tolerate high levels of pain. I was also told about how in Vrindavan he had slipped in a gutter and had fractured his leg, but went on to give a lecture before he agreed to treatment. Radhanath Swami is showing all by example how it is possible to live a spiritual life in this material world with equanimity even in physically painful situations.
Very tolerant person.
maharaj is a personification of tolerance which is often seen in his dealings with other devotees..
All Glories To H.H.Radhanath Swami Maharaj
Only spiritual determination can dwarf all other material pain that one may have to undergo
Hare Krishna
Radhanth Swami is continously undergoing all the pain himself to give the best he can to humanity at large. This article just gives a glimse of his tolerance.
such forgetfulness of pain can bring so much joy in our lives. Such an inspiring anecdote!Thanks for sharing it!
This incident shows how Radhanath Swami is beyond bodily platform. He goes through so many inconveniences and pain, so we can be benefited
Thankyou for this wonderful article. Radhanath Swami is amazing, simply amazing.
Looks like Radhanath Maharaj took all the pains of the spiritual quest, so that others can gain much from it. Thank you.
My God. This is height of positive attitude and tolerance. Thanks for sharing.
What has Radhanath Swami not undergone for his spiritual quest? What he is not undergoing to help others benefit from it?
A life simply dedicated for welfare of humanity…
Thank you for sharing. It is beyond our understanding how much pain maharaj is tolerating physicall and mentally.
Radhaanth Swami is indeed used to undergoing so much austerity that this pain must have been a flash in the pan.
Radhanath Swami has tremendous patience…….As Dr Rathod rightly said, his spiritual quest has made him strong enough to face all difficulties with a smile on his face…
Radhanath Swami is so patient. Thank you for sharing..
Difficult to comprehend but Radhanath Swami will go through anything if that is for the right purpose … This was needed so that he could serve better, hence he went through it
Radhanath Swami is above bodily platform of pain and plesure
Quite an exemplary personality to meditate upon.
Thank you for sharing this. At every moment he sets an perfect example to follow
Little bit pain – I feel that all the pain in the world is upon me. But maharaj has gone through innumerable times, the deadliest pain and suffering and yet He is here with a beautiful smile on His face. If only I could learn a fragment of what He is teaching, my life would be successful. I pray to Krishna and guru maharaj, to shower their mercy on all of us. Hari bol!!
Unless person is above bodily conception of life, he cannot answer like this…simply amazing
Maharaji teaches us that without undergoing pain, we cannot gain anything. He enlightens us by showing how to tolerate pain and suffering of the material world and have the patience to handle it calmly.
Thank-you for sharing this wonderful article.
There are yogis who want to perfect their lives and get liberation. However, there are also those who are not concerned about their own liberation, they simply want to help others to become perfect. Finding somebody with such a super-elevated frame of mind is super rare. Even lord Shiva talks about this special quality of great Vaishnavas in Srimad Bhagvatam 6.17.28. Blessed are those who get that association and greater blessed are those who understand this fact.
Maharaj has Good self control both physical and mental.
maharaj has been preaching his followers not only by his lectures but also by his actions in day to days life.
Radhanath Swami is ‘sthir pragya’ – able to tolerate happiness and distress.
A krishna conscious person is always above bodily consciousness. what to speak of a person like HH Radhanath swami maharaj whose very life is RadhaGopinath.
amazing tolerance of Radhanath swami maharaj
Radhanath Maharaj is very much tolerant and its live example is in his book ‘The Journey Home’ http://www.thejourneyhomebook.com/ of how much difficulty and NDE he was having in his spiritual quest.
Radhanath Swami is tolerance personified!
Radhanath Swami is so gracious. He never complained when he was in pain and forgot all about it so soon. He is truely amazing.
Radhanath Swami can crack a joke about the most painful situations in life and take it all in good humor.
Radhanath Swami Maharaj is very indifferent to his bodily pains, we can see the austerities he went through out his book. But we have seen many examples where Maharaj would do all he could so that others wouldn;t go though any bit of pain. He would stretch him selves to the extremes.
Thanks for sharing this incident.