Stories from Radhagopinath Community of Love

For Radhanath Swami, spirituality isn’t about dry philosophizing; for him spirituality is an affair of the heart; it is about sharing love with God and sharing God’s love with others. And as Radhanath Swami himself puts it, he has learnt this principle from Srila Prabhupad.

In 1986, the temple began to attract a stream of regular visitors, numbering around sixty. Knowing my newly acquired cake making skills, Radhanath Swami put forth before me an astonishing request; he wanted cakes on the birthdays of all his regulars. He perceived birthdays as occasions to share God’s love. So I prepared a chart with all details: the name of the visitor, birthday date, address and phone number.

On any birthday, I woke up early, and the cake would be baked before dawn. Then, at about six in the morning, Radhanath Swami, my husband and I would set out for the surprise birthday celebration. We would visit the person’s home, however far off. Upon reaching there, we invariably incited ‘early morning birthday shocks’: so much love and affection is unusual, especially in cities.

But slowly, with such touching experiences, those initial visitors learnt the language of spiritual love. And then, when they went out to share the same love with the world—the community grew.

Mother Palika, (Neighbour)