Above: (from left to right): Actor Juhi Chawla, Dr. Swami Piramal, Radhanath Swami, Ajay Piramal, Hrishikesh Mafatlal, Shloka Birla, Yash Birla.
By Parijata devi dasi
At a spiritually uplifting event, ‘The Journey Home – Autobiography of an American Swami’ by Radhanath Swami was officially launched in Mumbai on 21 August 2009.
The Journey Home” which chronicles the metamorphosis of an adventurous young American seeker into a saintly global spiritual teacher, filled as it is with inconceivable trials, threats and temptations, illustrates how reality can be more adventurous – and infinitely far more fulfilling – than fiction.
At a star-studded ceremony in Mumbai, renowned film actor and producer Juhi Chawla unveiled the book and expressed her appreciation for the author Radhanath Swami and the book. The event was hosted by Dr. Swati Piramal, Director, Piramal Group & Chairman, Mr. Ajay Piramal. After a short question & answer session with Dr. Swati and Ajay Piramal, Radhanath Swami revealed how the inspiration to write the book came from the spiritual leader and his close friend the late HH Bhakti Tirtha Swami. He expressed his gratitude to his parents, his spiritual guides from his journey and most importantly to his spiritual master A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada who led him to the path of Bhakti-yoga.
The ceremony was well attended by prominent citizens of Mumbai including Yash & Avanti Birla, N. D. Desai & Maithali Desai, Hrishikesh & Rekha Mafatlal, Madhoo, Nawaz Modi Singhania, Chetan Bhagat, Roopkumar & Sonali Rathod, Dolly Thakor, Manhar Udhas and several others. Noted French journalist Nadine Kreisberger, took the guests through the proceedings at the event.
Glimpses from the author Radhanath Swami’s epic quest through Europe, Turkey, Afghanistan and the Pakistan-India border were enacted at the ceremony by a group of children through song, mime and dance performance in the classic eurhythmy style of Rudolf Steiner. Shloka Birla, daughter of Yash Birla, enacted as the young Radhanath Swami and was appreciated for the same. A unique concert by popular American kirtan band ‘As the Kindred spirits’ performed for the first time in India, kirtans mixed with jazz and blues accents to celebrate the special moments in the book. The kirtan which was performed in Sanskrit created a positive aura and enlightened the spirits.
With this musical backdrop, Radhanath Swami read from his book about the Afro-American civil rights movement and Martin Luther King, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, Mother Theresa, the Dalai Lama, George Harrison of the Beatles and the Ganges.
Radhanath Swami, the American teenager who left home nearly forty years back, has chronicled his adventurous memorials in the book, that internationally renowned yoga teacher, B.K.S. Iyengar has called, “A stunning story worth reading.” The book gives endearing glimpses into the kaleidoscope of Indian spirituality as the author journeys from one master to another till he ultimately finds his home in the forest of grace in Vrindavan. Then amazingly, to serve the mission of his spiritual master, he returns back to what most of us call ‘home’ to share with the whole world the treasures he has so painstakingly discovered.
Dr. Swati Piramal, Director of Piramal Group says, “Today, everyone needs a powerful tool that they can refer on daily basis for peace of mind. The book states many facts, which we see around us in day-to-day life. The book is something you will not be able to put down, its lessons to deal with trials and tribulations of modern world bringing harmony and peace”.
My dear Parijata dasi,
I appreciated the enthusiasm and devotion in your account of my Godbrother HH Shri Radhanath Swami’s book. This literary effort on his part has drawn rave reviews from other elder Society members, initiates of Shrila Prabhupada. I am looking forward to reading it myself. So the advice I herewith beg to offer you is in no way intended for Shri Radhanath Maharaja, it is meant for you and other junior members of the sangha.
In 1968 when Brahmananada das Brahmachary asked Shrila Prabhupada how he liked to be addressed– how his books should bear his name–Shrila Prabhupada took a pen in hand and wrote “His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishhna Consciousness”. In your article, the name of the pure devotee who sacrificed so much to create this worldwide family has appeared without even the title “Shrila.” This is a common thread in ISKCON today among junior members, and therefore it is the duty of elders like myself to raise the red flag.
If allowed to continue, the tendency to minimize the shaktyavesh avatara will lead to confusion about the exalted status of the founder-acharya who grew the great banyan of ISKCON from a single seed of kirtan in Thompkins Square Park, NYC. Of this point, no one will be in greater agreement than Shri Radhanath Swami. Other “masters” along the journey are mentioned in the article, but let us not forget who is the “home” in “The Journey Home.” Home means “back to home, back to Godhead”, something which only pure devotion to Krishna, and not mastery of yoga asanas (for which BKS Iyenger is famous), can provide. That way home was not indicated by any other master, yogi, swami, guru or mahatma in America. either before or after Shrila Prabhupada walked off the good ship Jaladutta.
If it were not for His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, we would all be opn a journey with no home in sight. By his blessings, the spiritual destination for all members of ISKCON is within sight and can be reached even in this very life.
Thanks for your time and patience.
Yours in Shrila Prabhupada’s service,
Patita Pavana das
It is nice to see how devotees, like HH Radhanath Swami, are enthusing people to pay attention to the Krishna Consciousness Movement!
We need thousands of such devotees, who according to their means and stages in life, are engaged in passing on what Srila Prabhupada so painstakingly gave us.
I also second Patita Pavana prabhu’s concern. Srila Prabhupada is the Founder-Acarya of the Krishna Consciousness Movement and we owe to pay respect to his name appropriately.
Yugala Kishor dasa
Respected Patita Pavan prabhu,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
I express my gratitude to you for drawing attention to my shortcoming of not extending an honorable title (like Srila) to His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in the above article. Though I cannot make amends in the above article (an article once uploaded on ‘Dandavats’ cannot be changed), I shall nevertheless keep your instructions in mind whenever I write about or address Srila Prabhupada and any senior Vaishanva in the future.
Thank you for your guidance. The following sentences in your message were especially touching : “If it were not for His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, we would all be on a journey with no home in sight. By his blessings, the spiritual destination for all members of ISKCON is within sight and can be reached even in this very life”.
Your servant,
Parijata devi dasi
Dear Parijata dasi and all the devotees.
Patita Pavana Prabhu’s comments are indeed valid and must be taken into account.
Srila Prabhupada’s position is sometimes put “into the shadow” or “background” unfortunatly quite often now adays.
When I joined the movement many many years ago, this wasn’t the case, but now unfortunatly is.
Its nice to see our Godbrothers wirtting such books, but I sometimes feel Srila Prabhupada is sometimes forgotten.
There is a great surge in devotees reading such new books, but are devotees guiding them to Srila Prabhupadas books 1st? And what better biograpghy than Srila Prabhuapdas can there be?
His Holiness Maharaja Sri Radhanath Swami mentioned in a message he sent out that he didn’t want anything in his books to be mentioned in classes in any of out Temples which is very admirable. At the same time, I feel we should first and foremost promote ONLY Srila Prabhupadas books – AS A STANDARD. Other such books can be sold and read (don’t get me wrong) but for new commers – they should be attracted to Srila Prabhupada 1st – as he IS the Acharya for our movement, and is the original siksha guru for young and old, new and long-term devotees.
Our own devotees should also know Srila Prabhupadas life story and how his movement was established by him – SINGLE handedly so they too can become benifitted by becoming stonger in their own Krishna Conciousness.
So let us connect back to Srila Prabhupaada and then once we have fully gloryfied him by reading HIS biography, move on to others.
Thats my 2 cents worth.
Haribolo!
Achyuta das
My dear Parijata devi,
Your kind reply was as fragrant as the flower Lord Dwarakadish brought from heaven for His Beloved Rani Satyabhama. Thank you.
Actually Shrila Prabhupada ordered us to write, but he described in the Nectar of Devotion how to go about it. As you point out, once a statement is published it remains for all time. The only measure of our validity is to hold our words to the yardstick of Shri Guru parampara. Krishna consciousness teaches that each soul is eternally individual, hence there is infinite room for personal expression among advanced devotees in Krishna consciousness. It is this formula that has led devotees to write a huge variety of books appealing an extremely wide audience, each preaching this timeless message in unique ways to new readers. This was Shrila Prabhupada”s vision and order.
The disciple’s respect towards the Shri Sat Guru Maharaja is not meant to merely satisfy the spiritual master; it is for our own benefit. There is a devotee CD wherein the singer relates how she had learned from this and than pandit as well as “A.C. Bhaktivedanta.” Now that CD has become responsible for introducing unauthorized chants loved by mayavadis into ISKCON sanghas, replete with imagined emotion and fantasized ecstasy. Another “disciple” wrote a book in which he exaggerated his own study of the Vedas, and thanked “A.C. Bhaktivedanta” for his guidance. In the book, he contradicted the conclusion of the Fifth canto Shrmad Bhagavatam in favor of ” Greek discoveries”. Another “disciple” printed a calendar with pictures of an entire army of swamis as well as that devotee’s own photo intermingled with “Shri A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami’s” holy likeness. His intention was obvious: to use the spiritual master to increase his own popularity and fame. But his result was predictably the opposite.
Newcomers like these do not realize that by remaining faithful to the pure devotee, all the benefits they seek come as afterthoughts. This accounts for the success of HH Radhanath Swami in a nutshell.
So you get my drift. It is a very fast, steep drop from the elevated platform of Krishna consciousness into the muck of hodge podge, no matter how well-intentioned our motives. Respecting the glorious Guru Maharaja is nothing less than our own salvation, something we must offer even if we have to push ourselves a little in the beginning. Again, thanks for your kind letter.
=Patita Pavana das Adhikary
Dear Patita Pavana Prabhu,
Thank you for the quick check on the drift. The deviations might not seem to be more than a small dot now, but in due course (say after 5000 years) that will be massive and Srila Prabhupada will be forgotten.
Dear Parijata Mataji,
Thank you for the quick correction. We got to learn a lot from this conversation. Thank you once again.
your servant
raj