Radhanath Swami tells how he once was challenged by the minister of the federal government of India for the environment and forestry. The minister asked the Swami:

“The rivers are polluted, the oceans are polluted, the air is polluted, the earth is polluted, the whole civilization is poisoned by toxins, some animal species are becoming extinct due to the way we exploit mother nature. And you yogis and swamis are sitting in your ashrams and in your holy places, chanting your mantras, meditating and doing your yoga asanas, so what are you doing for the environment?”

Watch in this video, how Radhanath Maharaja explains, what the root cause of pollution in this world is: The pollution in the ecology of the human heart. People’s hearts are polluted by toxic greed and egotism. This greed can never be satisfied, and it justifies cruelty, induces envy, divides families, provokes wars, and it blinds us of our real self-interest.

Yoga is the science of cleansing the heart, and tasting the joy of living in harmony with God, with all other living beings, and with nature. Even if you clean each particle in every corner of this world, if that is not paralleled with cleaning the values in the human heart, all the toxins will surely come back.

When the minister heard the swami’s words, she became very happy and exclaimed; “Yes, we should work together!”

Related articles:

Bhakti-yoga – the power of love

How do we practice bhakti-yoga?

Have you enjoyed this article? Share it with your friends!

Be informed about new articles and follow our blog!