Quotes from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“A dog will recognize his master in whatever way he dresses. The master may dress in robes, suit and tie, or stand naked, but the dog will always recognize his master. If we cannot recognize God, our beloved master, when he comes in a different dress from another religion, then we are less than that dog.”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“Man cannot be enlightened through any organization, creed, dogma, priest or ritual, nor through any philosophical knowledge or psychological technique. He has to find it through understanding the contents of his own mind, through observation, not through intellectual analysis or introspective dissection.”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“Where there is no inner freedom, there is no life.”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“God, who is absolute, reveals himself to different people in different ways [..] I realized it would be very narrow to think there was only one way to God.”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“You have too many gurus in this country. They have told you what to do, what to think, what to practice. They are the dictators.”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“We were fine originally and lost that fine-ness. That's when we became defined.”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“Where there is faith, fear cannot exist.”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“My dear Lord Krishna, you are so kind upon this useless soul, but I do not know why you have brought me here. Now you can do whatever you like with me. But I guess you have some business here, otherwise why would you bring me to this place? Somehow or other, O Lord, You have brought me here to speak about you. Now, my Lord, it is up to you to make me a success or failure as you like. O spiritual master of all the worlds. I can simply repeat your message; so if you like you can make my power of speaking suitable for their understanding. Only by Your causeless mercy will my words become pure. I am sure that when this transcendental message penetrates their hearts they will certainly feel engladdened and thus become liberated from all unhappy conditions of life. O Lord, I am just like a puppet in your hands. So if you have brought me here to dance, then make me dance, make me dance, O Lord, make me dance as you like. I have no devotion, nor do I have any knowledge, but I have strong faith in the holy name of Krishna. I have been designated as Bhaktivedanta, one who possesses devotion and knowledge, and now, if you like, you can fulfill the real purport of Bhaktivedanta. Signed, the most unfortunate, insignificant beggar, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, On board the ship Jaladuta, Commonwealth Pier, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. 18th of September, 1965”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“His eyes twinkled as he smiled. “Love everyone, serve everyone, and feed everyone. Serve like Hanuman without selfishness and greed. This is the key to realizing God.”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“Sex could be a gift of God, but when it becomes an obsession, it plunders all intelligence and people are driven to abominable acts to satisfy their lust. When passion is frustrated, people lose all good sense.”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“Suffering is sent to remind us to turn our thoughts towards God, who will give us solace.”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“If we become overly attached to externals, we may forget their very purpose: to purify the heart”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“Mother Ganges teaches us that if we want to attain the sea of our aspiration, we must persevere in our goal and never be discouraged by the inevitable obstacles that come on our path.”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“Whenever you possibly can, sustain the flow of the Holy Name. To repeat His Name is to be in His presence. If you associate with the Supreme Friend, He will reveal His true beauty to you.”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“...our free will could convert a curse into a blessing or a blessing into a curse...To transform a crisis into an opportunity was true wisdom”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“Just serve every creature in God’s creation with humility, respect, and love.” Or, “Just sing the names of Rama and everything else will be attained.”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“One path may appear in different forms, but the Kingdom of God is the goal we all share. It is the men of small minds who create confusion.”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“Perhaps, I thought, the miracle of being an instrument of kindness is the most powerful of all.”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“I will reject the teachings of the teacher who teaches us to reject teachers and teachings,”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“I have discovered that God’s love manifests in different ways to different people. There are saints in the various spiritual traditions who sacrifice their lives for the love of God and goodwill toward man.”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“One path may appear in different forms, but the Kingdom of God is the goal we all share. It is the men of small minds who create confusion.” He released my hand and affectionately patted my head. “Do not be troubled my son. You are sincere. God will guide you.” His words touched my heart.”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“We asked an old monk sitting beside us to explain. “Here, we contemplate the impermanence of the body and its attachments. This helps us to overcome the temptations of the flesh and seek refuge in the Kingdom of God.” We listened carefully. Deeper in the catacombs, a group of skeletons wearing monk robes pointed to a sign that read: “As you are now, we used to be. As we are now, you will be.”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“He also told me of the five obligations Muslims have to fulfill in their lives: to believe in Allah as the one true God, to offer namaz or prayer five times every day, to fast during the month of Ramadan, to give in charity to the deprived, and to perform Hajji—the pilgrimage to Mecca—at least once in life.”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“As I proceeded to my cave for the night, my stomach rumbled. Compared to the treasure of spiritual experience, worldly acquisition is like those peanuts, I thought to myself. People lie, cry, and die for a few of these peanuts. They fight and struggle for a handful. Wars are raged over them. But at any moment, a monkey, another’s greed, or even the inevitable march of time may plunder from us our cherished peanuts.”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“found myself lost in thought. What could we learn from the tragedy of Pompeii? At any moment disaster can come upon anyone. In our complacency, we fail to grasp the impermanence of all that is material. I thought of the bubonic plague that had ravaged Europe, the atomic bomb that leveled Hiroshima, the earthquakes and fires that had destroyed cities in America. Through the history of mankind, the powers of nature take everything away from us. Why put off seeking the eternal jewel of enlightenment? Now is the time. As Mount Vesuvius had erupted, leaving a civilization in ashes, there had erupted from my heart an exclusive commitment to the path of spirituality, to leave all else in the ashes of my past.”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“If we understand the underlying cause of what we think of as bad in someone, instead of being hateful, we will be compassionate. For is not every soul inherently good? A saintly person will hate the disease but love the diseased.”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“Suddenly, the bus stopped in the midst of a vast desert. In a moment everyone got off. Was this an emergency? No, not at all. The passengers carefully unrolled their prayer rugs on the sand and faced the direction of the Holy City of Mecca, performing their Namaz, or offering of prostrations and salutations to Allah and his Prophet Mohammed. Every few hours this ritual was repeated with no consideration of where we were. The religion of these tribal people was their life. They were not mullahs, priests, yogis, or monks, but ordinary family people. Yet in all situations and places it impressed me how their devotion to Allah took priority.”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“Mother Ganges teaches us that if we want to attain the sea of our aspiration, we must persevere in our goal and never be discouraged by the inevitable obstacles that come on our path. All impediments are like rocks in the river of life. We should flow around them and never give up. With the Lord’s help, there is always a way. As”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“The world oscillates endlessly between pleasure and pain,” she continued. “There can be no security, no stability here. These are to be found in God alone.”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

“Pure love must be selfless, without selfish motives.”
― Radhanath Swami, quote from The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami

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