On Austerity

By: HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj

My revered spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, used to say that human life is meant for austerity. So what is austerity? Austerity is to accept what is favorable for Bhakti and to reject what is unfavorable for Bhakti. It’s not our austerity that attracts Krishna; it’s the love that we give through the austerity. If we are performing our austerities for awakening that love then it will be a positive aid to achieve that love – a means of deepening that love. Our austerities are to express to Krishna our sincere desire to love him.

We need some austerity in our lives to reduce the distractions of the material inclinations of the body and mind, so that we can fix our body and mind in the loving remembrance of Krishna, in our service for Him and meditation upon Him. That is austerity. We have to do that because we are so much distracted and diverted.

It’s the Bhakti, not the austerity that connects us to Krishna. Austerity is like a tool which is meant to be used by a person who is going to do something right with it. People can do austerities and become proud, and this is usually what happens if we do too many austerities. We become hard-hearted and proud: “Look what I can do, how I can fast, look at my celibacy, my not sleeping just like the Six Goswamis.” Yet the Goswamis were humble because they did their austerities out of love.

When austerity creates pride, then that austerity is a distraction itself. Hare krishna