About Radhanath Swami – Radhanath Swami

ABOUT

Radhanath Swami has been a monk in the Bhakti tradition for over 50 years. His life is dedicated to helping people find meaning through serving others.

AN EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY

TEACHER.
AUTHOR.
ACTIVIST.

Radhanath Swami is one of the world’s most beloved and respected spiritual teachers. He spent his youth travelling the world, experiencing its rich cultures and diversity. As he wandered, he was yearning to find meaning and purpose in his life. Since meeting his spiritual teacher in India 50 years ago, Radhanath Swami has been on a mission to share the beauty of Bhakti with the world. He is not only a guide but a community builder, activist, and a New York Times Bestselling author.

Radhanath Swami’s message is as profound as it is simple: by cultivating a rich inner life of self-awareness and serving others with humility, we can become instruments of compassion and agents of sustainable change in the world.

AN EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY

TEACHER.
AUTHOR.
ACTIVIST.

DISCOVER

From being a teenager in America’s counterculture to becoming one of India’s trusted spiritual leaders, discover Radhanath Swami’s journey timeline.

1950

Radhanath Swami (born Richard Slavin) was born into a working-class family in Chicago.

LATE 60s

He became an active participant in the civil rights movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

1970

He soon discovered, however, that social transformation begins with personal change, and at the age of 19 he embarked on a remarkable quest for meaning in life.

” My dear family,
Today I am leaving Delhi to go into the mountains to study. I do not know if I will be able to write often where I am going. Please do not worry if I do not write for a while. With God on my side what can harm me? with love & thought Richard “

This adventure, detailed in his memoir The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami, took him hitch-hiking across Europe and the Middle East — through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and finally to India.

There he lived as a wandering ascetic, first amongst the forest dwelling Himalayan yogis and later amongst a wide variety of gurus and spiritual practitioners throughout India and Nepal.

1971

Ultimately, after many months, he reached the inner sanctum of India’s mystic devotional tradition in the holy town of Vrindavan.

MEETING HIS TEACHER

After encountering hundreds of spiritual and religious leaders, he found the teacher he was looking for in A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada brought the ancient wisdom and practice of Bhakti Yoga to the Western world in 1965. He comes from a long linage of teachers and a philosophy found in the oldest scriptures on the planet, the Vedas.

BHAKTI YOGA

The word bhakti refers to divine love; bhakti is the love that is dormant within the heart of every living being, it is the pleasure that everyone is seeking, and it is the highest potential in all beings.

The true self, the atma, or soul, is seeing through the eyes, tasting through the tongue, touching through the body and so, things of this world can give some amount of satisfaction to the mind and senses, but they cannot reach the true self, it is only love that gives fulfillment to the heart.

Bhakti is the purest form of that love which connects our true self to its source, and as a result connects us to every other living being in the most meaningful way.

BECOMING A MONK

In choosing Bhaktivedanta Swami as his guru, Radhanath Swami felt compelled to shave his matted locks and re-enter Western society with a mission to share the sacred wisdom he had received.

This return exemplifies the form of devotional yoga which is at the heart of Radhanath Swami’s teachings, a spiritual practice expressed as tangible action meant to bring about personal fulfillment and benefit the world.

DISCOVER

From a young American boy to one of India’s largest spiritual leaders, discover Radhanath Swami’s journey timeline.

Skip ahead >

1950

Radhanath Swami (born Richard Slavin) was born into a working-class family in Chicago.

LATE 60s

He became an active participant in the civil rights movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

1970

He soon discovered, however, that social transformation begins with personal change, and at the age of 19 he embarked on a remarkable quest for meaning in life.

with love & thought
Richard “

There he lived as a wandering ascetic, first amongst the forest dwelling Himalayan yogis and later amongst a wide variety of gurus and spiritual practitioners throughout India and Nepal.

Below is the cave that Radhanath Swami lived in for a time.

1971

Ultimately, after many months, he reached the inner sanctum of India’s mystic devotional tradition in the holy town of Vrindavan.

MEETING HIS TEACHER

After encountering hundreds of spiritual and religious leaders, he found the teacher he was looking for in A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

BHAKTI YOGA

Bhakti is the purest form of that love which connects our true self to its source, and as a result connects us to every other living being in the most meaningful way.

BECOMING A MONK

In choosing Bhaktivedanta Swami as his guru, Radhanath Swami felt compelled to shave his matted locks and re-enter Western society with a mission to share the sacred wisdom he had received.

A VOICE OF INTEGRITY

GUIDE FOR THE MODERN AGE

AN INNOVATIVE TEACHER

Today, Radhanath Swami travels the world and has been invited to share timeless wisdom in many forums. These include some of the world’s leading academic institutions and corporations, helping millions of people find meaning, purpose and fulfilment.

A GLOBAL ACTIVIST

As an emerging thought-leader of his generation, Radhanath Swami’s work as a social activist has led him to meet and discuss the message of compassion with leaders of the world.

FEATURED:

H.H. the Dalai Lama, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, Mother Teresa, Environmental Activist Vandana Shive, Philosopher & Activist Dr Cornel West, Barack Obama.

A GLOBAL ACTIVIST

As an emerging thought-leader of his generation, Radhanath Swami’s work as a social activist has led him to meet and discuss the message of compassion with leaders of the world.

FEATURED:

H.H. the Dalai Lama, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, Mother Teresa, Environmental Activist Vandana Shive, Philosopher & Activist Dr Cornel West, Barack Obama.

To be a leader means to have humility, to have respect and to serve the people that we are leading.

RADHANATH SWAMI

A SPIRITUAL PHILANTHROPIST

Under his inspiration and guidance, Radhanath Swami has spearheaded a number of projects that address fundamental human needs and uplift global consciousness. Each project provides profound solutions to the challenges our planet faces today.

VANI SCHOOL

Online courses by Radhanath Swami, disciples and well-wishers accessible worldwide.

GOVARDHAN ECO VILLAGE

Leading the way in simple, conscious living in the future of Eco Sustainability.

BHAKTIVEDANTA HOSPITAL

A revolutionary, holistic approach to healthcare & wellbeing based in Mumbai.

MIDDAY MEALS

No child should go hungry. Addressing hunger in the support of higher education & literacy

BHAKTI CENTER

Developing a conscious community in the heart of New York City.

GOPAL'S GARDEN SCHOOL

A school to help our children become the happy, successful adults of tomorrow.

AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR

Radhanath Swami has captured his journey hitch-hiking across Europe & Asia to spiritual India in his best-selling autobiography, “The Journey Home.” Many of his key teachings, based within the Bhakti tradition, are found within his New York Times best-selling sequel, “The Journey Within.”

WOULD YOU LIKE TO GET INVOLVED?

Discover ways that you can contribute and help make a difference in H.H. Radhanath Swami’s various philanthropic projects