Radhagopinath.com

A Bigger Family Than We Thought

// August 9th, 2010 // 74 Comments » // Stories

Stories from Radhagopinath Community of Love

Radhanath Swami was abroad when the news of Srinivas’s passing away reached him. Srinivas belonged to a different Sampraday, spiritual tradition, than ours. Our community’s only interaction with him would be once in a year when he helped us in the organization of Nagar Sankirtan, a spiritual event, in Poona, a city close to Mumbai.

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Something happened in 1994

// August 6th, 2010 // 79 Comments » // Stories

Stories from Radhagopinath Community of Love

Wow! That sounds good. I went closer…. closer….closer……closer….. too close. Initially I stood near the entrance of Mafatlal Bungalow…now I stood close to the tent where devotees gracefully danced with raised arms in tune to the song of God’s holy names. Suddenly…..

I am Mr. Hrishikesh Mafatlal’s driver for more than 30 years now. Somewhere in the early 80’s, when he was amongst the richest men in the country, he got associated with what I thought then as some kind of spiritual group. Continue Reading

Two Mothers, Eternally

// August 5th, 2010 // 75 Comments » // Stories

Stories from Radhagopinath Community of Love

My daughter passed away afflicted by a disease when she was only in her teens. Trauma gnawed at me relentlessly. At this hour of need, Shyamala Gopi provided solace simply by her presence: being of the same age as my departed daughter, she felt like a daughter to my heart.  Seeing my resiliency in her association, her parents, members of our congregation, encouraged her to stay at our house in Poona. During that time Radhanath Swami visited us and spoke words that my subconscious self perhaps yearned to hear. “Shymala Gopi is your daughter now, so don’t feel lonely”.

Circumstantially I had to shift to Mumbai. Shyamala came along; she risked her comfort for mine. “Rita and her husband Bimal have been very kind to me. They have encouraged their daughter to stay with me so that I don’t feel lonely,” I worded the gratitude I felt before Radhanath Swami. A quick wave of satisfaction swept across his face before an intense expression took over. It looked like he had a serious point to put across. “This is what I want in the congregation.  Each one should feel so much in the heart for the other,” he spoke in a hushed tone. Then with a radiant smile expanding across his face, he turned to Shyamala. “Remember. Eternally you have two mothers.”

- Mrs. Jyotsna Arora