Richard had chosen the life of a beggar, sleeping on riverbanks or under trees, searching for God by exploring holy places, and learning spiritual lessons on the way. He believed God was pushing him to seek more truths. From Varanasi, Richard travelled to Pashupatinath at Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. Being a foreigner he was rejected entry into the temple of Lord Shiva by the guards. Richard was crestfallen as he had travelled long distances in train and rear of trucks, with much hope to discover a spiritual meaning to life. At much risk, he covered himself with sacrificial ashes and attempted to enter the temple again. This time not only the guards didn’t recognize him, they dragged him to the central altar of God and honored him with an exclusive opportunity to see and worship God in the temple. Richard was overwhelmed by this turnaround and felt deeply humbled.
“Did he not recognize me in my disguise or was he aware who I was and simply honoring my determination? This I will never know. Whatever the reason, I was deeply humbled. I had defied human law and deserved to be beaten, but God is merciful. Standing before the altar, my limbs covered with ashes, my drab ascetic robes, and tangled, matted hair awkwardly covered with silks and flowers, I squeezed my tearing eyes shut, joined my palms and prayed that I would be shown my true path as I continued my journey.”
Reflecting on this incident, I felt it’s easy to be humble when we fail, but to be humble, prayerful and grateful during success reveals the substance of a person’s character. Before an important event in my life, like exams, a lecture programme or a critical meeting, I have been nervous and intensely prayerful. However if the event turns out to be successful, I am not as prayerful as before the event. I offer a customary ‘thank you’ to God and riding the wave of success, forget about the desperation I had before the event. There is pride in the heart and a feeling that my hard work and preparation merited the success. Reading Radhanath Swami’s mood of gratitude and humility after he made it to the altar of the temple has taught me a lesson on humility and prayer; it’s equally important to be humble and prayerful during success.
Radhanath Swami celebrates the success of his students but as a loving father guards them from the dangers of pride creeping into the heart. He says, “I become extremely happy when I hear all of you doing well, but I also fear that pride may enter the heart and spoil everything.” Once one of his students gave a series of excellent talks in Mumbai on spiritual science, and thousands attended daily. News of the glory of his student reached Radhanath Swami, who was at the time in America. He promptly wrote a letter to his student, thanking him for the service and congratulating him for the success. He also cautioned at the end of the letter, “Please be humble. Souls greater than both you and me have fallen away from spiritual life, due to arrogance and pride. Carefully guard against pride by cultivating humility, and never think yourself to be better than the most menial servant who washes pots in the temple.”
Radhanath Swami’s tireless efforts have created an excellent community of spiritual seekers in Mumbai. People from all over the world come to Mumbai to learn from him. When he was recently honored for this successful project, he humbly revealed his state of consciousness, “I am not responsible for all this success. I am simply a cheer leader, standing on the side, and watching it all happen. I simply keep cheering as all of you are doing wonderful things”. Despite engineering many successful projects, his consciousness is immersed in giving credit to his guru. “This is my guru’s sense of humor that he is allowing me to be used as an instrument despite my unlimited disqualifications.” Radhanath Swami is a shining example of one striving for excellence in pleasing guru and God, and simultaneously meditating on one’s own disqualifications.
Whether success or failure, Radhanath Swami says we should be humble and make this honest confession to God, “My dear Lord, I was nothing, I am nothing, I will be nothing and You are everything”.
Source: http://www.radhanath-swami.net/cultivating-humility/radhanathswami
