The book launch was attended by renowned people from industry, media, education, governance and the social sector in Pune. Popular cultural figure Shivshahir Babasaheb Purandare, the author of “Raja Shivchatrapati“, a biography of the legendary King Shivaji, unveiled “Trishart Pathik“. Other prominent guests included Mr.Vithal Maniar (Director, Firodia group of companies), Mr.Hrishikesh Kanetkar (former Indian Cricketer), Mr.Bharat Sasane (District Collector, Beed), Mr.D.S.Kulkarni (Director, DSK group), Mr.Ramesh Talwalkar (Premier Industries ltd), Mr.Prahlad Rathi (Ramsukh resort, Mahabaleshwar), Mr.Darode (Darode and Joe associates), Mrs. Gita Goyal (Goyal group), Mr.Ranjit Singh More (Director, Universal constructions), Mr.Jagdish Prasad Agarwal (Director, Alcon builders and promoters) and Mr.Milind Borkar (Chief Editor of Loksatta and Editor for “Trishart Pathik” as well).

Radhanath Swami briefly spoke about the book. “The Journey Home is about a home within all of us. Our home is not this world as everything here is changing and will be destroyed by the power of time. In our hearts, there is a soul which is the part of God. Our real home is the place where we will reunite with the, ultimate object of love – God in our heart.”

The author also recollected telling the President of India Mrs. Pratibha Patil, during their recent meeting, “The greatest wealth of my life, that I have gained in India, is the riches of dharma - a spiritual ideal that I could live for and die for with great happiness”

Shivshahir Babasaheb Purandare acknowledged the book saying, “I too travel a lot, but my travel is just an ordinary travel whereas Radhanath Swami’s travel is a journey towards enlightenment.” He expressed that it was overwhelming for him to be invited as the chief guest of the event. “This is the result of some good deed done by me in my past life. I consider it as a great fortune to be able to write the foreword for this book, at the same time I pray to get such opportunities again and again.” He said while expressing his gratitude.

The official unveiling of the book was followed by a unique concert by Mumbai based kirtan band The Enchanterz, who performed kirtans mixed with the devotional poetry of Tukaram, a legendary saint of Maharashtra and important figure in the history of the Bhakti movement. The kirtan, performed in Sanskrit, English and Marathi raised the spirit the event.

On Sunday, April 22, Radhanath Swami was asked to speak at the inauguration of Stanton Street Yoga, a new yoga studio and Ayurvedic health retreat on New York’s Lower East Side. Stanton Street Yoga is a cooperative effort,  owned and run by followers of Srila Prabhupada, headed by Badaryana and Rukmini Wienberg. Around one hundred guests squeezed into the beautiful new studio to attend the opening yajna ceremony, kirtan, talk and vegetarian meal. Below are some excepts from Swami’s talk.

“In the sixth chapter of the Bhagavada-Gita, which is one of the primary yoga scriptures, Krishna explains the process of meditation, asanas, and pranayama in a very essential form. He concludes by saying yoginam api sarvesam mad-gatenantar-atmana / sraddhavan bhajate yo mam sa me yuktatamo matah. That of all different yogis, the one who abides in me with deep realized faith, who is constantly immersed in remembering me within, and whose every thought, word and deed is an offering of transcendental loving service to me – that person is most intimately united with me in yoga and is the highest of all.”

“Yoga is meant for transformation of our consciousness – transformation of our values and our aspirations in life. In the school of yoga every different type of practice is meant to bring us to subtler, finer and higher states to achieve that. So when we connect to that spiritual essence, then we become an instrument – a conduit of that grace, that energy. Spiritual practice, whether it be puja, worship, ritual, studying scriptures, chanting the beautiful mantras of God, is actually a very very deep process to tune into the spiritual energy that is within us and all around us. Just like if you have one of these satellite televisions in your home and you just press one button and in your in New York City, in Times Square for some news report.Then you can press another button and you are in Bagdad for another news report. Another button takes you to Brazil to see a soccer game and another button brings you to Yankee Stadium. Press another button and you are in New Delhi where thousands of people doing a hunger strike. You can keep on going pressing buttons. We are accessing a certain frequency and when we access that frequency it is revealed to us because we are tuning in. So within this creation everyone is like a little antennae emitting frequencies – greed, envy, arrogance, selfish passions, anger, vengeance, hate – every time a person speaks and thinks like that or acts like that we are putting that energy into the atmosphere and it is all accumulating. If we tune into greed we are getting that greed and its going to fill our hearts, and it will affect how we speak, think and act.”

“Yoga, especially this mantra meditation, is meant to tune into the divine grace of God, Krishna, that is within us – within everyone and all around us. Its there now. It always has been. Why are we not in ecstasy and happy? Why are we not loving everyone as our brothers and sisters? Its because we are not tuned into that energy – we are tuned into so many other energies. Everywhere we go people are trying to tune us into something else and we are being affected by their energies. So it is very important that we take some time everyday to tune in and that means making priorities in our life. When something is important we make a priority and the natural tendency then is that we don’t have time – “After all, I have family, I have studies, business, so many pressure, when can I have time”. Somehow or other we find time to eat food and sleep. We have to do that in order to function in a proper way. If we actually want to live from this ananda place, this spiritual place within our hearts, we also have to give time to tune in to that transcendental energy. And that is the essence of yoga, tuning in to be transformed and then to speak, act, and think as conduits of God’s grace.”

“I see they have opened this center to harmonize their occupations, careers and families with sharing the fruits of love they have received from their guru Srila Prabhupada with the world and I’m very thankful to them for that. Such a beautiful center. And to open it by having yagna, kirtan, prasada, and talks – the idea is that they are beginning the center in the spirit of seva, unselfish pure service to the world. I pray for all success in every way. Thank you very much.”

Popular film actor and producer, Juhi Chawla unveiled ‘The Journey Home – Autobiography of an American Swami’ amongst a star-studded gathering hosted by Dr. Swati Piramal, Director, Piramal Group & Chairman, Mr. Ajay Piramal and attended by movers and shakers of the city from industry, media, education, governance and social sector. Noted French journalist Nadine Kreisberger took the guests through the proceedings at the event. Yash Birla, Rajashree Birla, Shobha De, Pritish Nandy, Dr. N D Desai, Venugopal Dhoot, Hrishikesh Mafatlal, Chetan Bhagat and Anil Agarwal amongst others gathered at the spiritually uplifting event with the author Radhanath Swami.

Glimpses from his epic quest depicting the transformation of an adventurous young American seeker into a global spiritual teacher, filled with inconceivable trials, threats and temptations, on his way through Europe, Turkey, Afghanistan and the Pakistan-India border were enacted at the ceremony by a group of children through song, mime and dance performance in the classic eurhythmy style of Rudolf Steiner.

The evening included a question and answer sessions with Radhanath Swami. “I wrote this book as a promise to my very close friend Bhakti Tirtha Swami. He believed that this is not my story but it is a story of a young boy searching for treasure in heart of all human beings. It is the story of my gratitude for my parents and the values they imparted me. It is an offering to my Guru A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami who gave me a way through which I can strive to be an instrument of compassion in my life and get opportunities to serve others.”

Actor Juhi Chawla acknowledged that the calling which was driving Swami’s spiritual quest is a rare phenomenon which most of the people don’t hear. Then the book was brought to the stage for the release. It was a specially made large size copy of the book which was then released by Radhanath Swami while many other dignitaries unveiled a copy of the book simultaneously on the stage.

Popular American kirtan band ‘As the Kindred Spirits’ performed for the first time in India and created a positive aura and enlightened the spirits. With this musical backdrop the Swami read from his book about the American civil rights movement and Martin Luther King, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, Mother Theresa, the Dalai Lama, George Harrison of the Beatles and the Ganges.

Dr. Swati Piramal, Director of Piramal Group said, “Today, everyone needs a powerful tool that they can refer on daily basis for peace of mind. The book states many facts, which we see around us in day-to-day life. The book is something you will not be able to put down, its lessons to deal with trials and tribulations of modern world bringing harmony and peace”.