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Mumbai, Maharahtra, February 2, 2012 /India PRwire/ -- His Holiness Radhanath Swami Maharaj - ISKCON Spiritual leader addressed 45000 youths in Mumbai in the event "Inspiro - 2012" held recently. With 15 ceos signed up for breakfast sessions, 9 NGOS participation. His Holiness Radhanath Swami Maharaj is one of the world's most prominent exponents of Bhakti Yoga and also the author of the best-selling book, "The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami", which traces H.H Radhanath Swami's path from his middle-class Jewish upbringing in a Chicago suburb as Richard Slavin; to his participation in the civil rights movement in the '60s in USA. It captivates the reader with experiences of his apprenticeships with Himalayan yogis, the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa and several other known spiritual masters that he experienced and and finally how he developed real spiritual understanding.
 

He has been a regular speaker at the Harvard Business School, Stanford, Princeton University, Cambridge University IIT Mumbai, HSBC Global Head Quarters London, Ford Motor Company, Intel, and Hewlett Packard etc. He is held in the highest esteem by many of India's leading industrialists. Swamiji;s lectures are mesmerizing and have really brought in great clarity to his students. H.H.Radhanath Swami is one of the inspirations behind the Mid-day Meal Project, which provides more than 3,00,000 free school lunches a school working day in Maharashtra as a way to persuade impoverished parents to educate their children. He was instrumental in founding Mumbai's charitable "Bhaktivedanta Hospital", which offers free treatment to the underprivileged and runs free medical camps, including the Barsana Eye Camp that performs about 800 free cataract operations each year.
 

In the last few months, he has had the honour of meeting on a one-to-one basis with President of India, Smt. Pratibha Patil as well as the US President, Barrack Obama. He was recently invited to address the Member of Parliament's at the House of Commons in London.
 

His Holiness Radhanath Swami Maharaj's teachings draw from the sacred texts of India such as the Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavata Purana, and Ramayana, and aim to reveal the practical application of the sacred traditions, while focusing on the shared essence which unites apparently disparate religious or spiritual paths.
 

The Chief Guest of the recently conducted "INSPIRO YOUTH FIESTA" along with H.H. Swamiji was youth Icon and Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor. Besides many CEO's from corporate world i.e. Mr. Hrishikesh Mafat Lal , Dr N.D. Desai etc were also present.
 

When asked Sonam Kapoor what is her message to the youth, she said that H.H Radhanath Swamiji is the right person to answer since she is also part of the youth and keen to hear from Swamiji. H.H Radhanath Swamiji's response was: "When a deer smells fragrance she runs helter-skelter to find out where the fragrance is coming from. She doesn't realize that the fragrant smell is coming from within her; from the own musk that she is carrying in her. Similarly the bright youth of today have a strong spiritual base, which they have to recognize. Being aware and feeling from within will help them shoulder their responsibility more better and grow more fast when their basic foundation is on strong spiritual pillar".
 

His Holiness Radhanath Swami Maharaj said " While we are trying to clean the environment externally, there is also a need for cleaning the ecology of the heart. If our actions are driven by arrogance, hatred, greed, egoism, there is no question of global peace. Thus the purpose of all religions is to teach how to clean the ecology of the heart by transforming arrogance to humility, hatred to love, and greed to compassion. My Guru Srila A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada taught how chanting the names of God are a very effective way to cleanse the dirt from the mirror of our heart. This way men and women can be empowered to bring harmony and peace. The youth festival Inspiro is a humble attempt to create this awareness of the need to cleanse our hearts and create a dynamic, positive change in the world".
 

He further said inorder to help solve the problem of terrorism on an individual level it is important to understand the cause. Terrorism is born of ego. Strife and friction are caused when we understand only the letter of the religious law but ignore the spirit behind it. Unity and brotherhood of mankind can happen when we transcend the external differences and focus on the spiritual essence of all great traditions.
 

In the Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna reveals the consciousness of an enlightened being; such a soul sees every living being with equal vision. Whether one is black, white, yellow, red or brown, male or female, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Jain, Parsi, Sikh or Jew, agnostic or atheist, rich or poor or even a cat, dog or a cow, all these are external designations. The enlightened being sees the atma, the soul, in everyone, and also cultivates the vision that each soul is potentially divine and is a blessed child of God. Due to lack of spiritual education people fight over the superficialities of religion.
 

The essence of every religion is sincerity in cleansing our own hearts, and honoring every living entity as a child of God. We must educate the youth about these universal principles, which teach us to love God and love every living being as a child of God. God is one and is known by many different names. If we try to understand and internalize this reality we develop respect for every religious path.
 

HH Radhanath Maharaj concluded that both the politicians and common man could cooperate to create a harmonious society He refered to the thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi ,"Be the change that you want to see in this world." To bring a change, whether we are a leader or a layman in society, we have to take responsibility to live by the ideals that we are meant to follow in our particular roles.
 

A political leader should be like a wick lamp, which draws oil from beneath but gives light to everyone. Similarly an administrator or a political leader has the right to extract resources from the population, but they should give them light in the form of material well being at the first tier and ultimately spiritual enlightenment as the final goal.
 

The common man on the other hand needs to internalize the four principles of civilized human society; compassion, truthfulness, internal cleanliness, and austerity. While personally cultivating these principles, we should cast our ballot in favour of those leaders who exemplify these qualities. Whoever we are, we need to also seek a deep inner meaning to life; to lead a life centered on selfless service.