Ultimate Self Realization

Tomorrow after a month of sharing the ultimate nectar in the Baltic States we are continuing on with our world lecture series tour with a brief lecture stint in the USA and Mexico before we move on to the Middle East, India, Australia, and the Fiji Islands. It's amazing how the unlimited nectarean ocean of Krishna consciousness continues to expand more and more. Some people argue that it is not possible for the unlimited to become even more unlimited. Such people are bewildered in their understanding because they are trying to understand the unlimited by mental speculation. They have not personally tasted or experienced the unlimited. If you would like to experience a sweet sample taste of the unlimited ever-expanding nectarean of ocean of Krishna consciousness, check out this loving farewell we received here in the Baltic states: http://www.backtohome.com/video/farewell.wmv Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: If Chanting Were Meaningless... I would just wo

Now throughout the world as more and more violence is erupting everywhere, there is a great cry for peace. Everyone wants world peace, but nobody knows how to achieve it. The League of Nations was formed to bring about world peace, and it failed. The United Nations was formed to bring about world peace, and it has also failed. So what to do? In this connection it is encouraging to note the comment of an astrologer in India who saw a photograph of our beloved Founder-Acharya, His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada. When he saw a photograph of Srila Prabhupada's face he said that this person can build built a house in which the entire world can live peacefully. When a disciple informed Srila Prabhupada of this comment he said, "Yes. That is my mission, to build a house in which the entire world can live peacefully." So can Srila Prabhupada can do this? Yes, he has already done so by founding ISKCON, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. It is a house in w

It's 6:23am on Saturday the 28th of October 2006. This morning after I give the Srimad Bhagavatam class and we take breakfast, we are being driven north to Riga, Latvia where I will spend several days giving lectures before proceeding on to Amsterdam, the USA, and Mexico for more speaking engagements. For the last week-a-half we have been traveling and preaching in Lithuania and in Russia. It has really been super sweet and exciting. There is no greater adventure than this. The quality and quantity of loving appreciation we have received from the Russian and Lithuanian devotees is enough to make even the most stone like heart melt in transcendental bliss. Srila Prabhupada told us that the whole world could become Krishna conscious within five days. So with great hope I carry on traveling and preaching trying to serve as a catalyst to help bring about the direly needed global respiritualization. May that day come soon. May that day come soon. Answers According to the Vedic

Beyond the veil of illusion lies the all-perfect, all-beautiful, and all-wonderful eternal reality, the Eternal Truth. The Eternal Truth can never be covered by ignorance because it is millions of times more powerful than ignorance. Just as a small amount of light can dissipate a large quantity of darkness, while even a large quantity of darkness can do nothing but be absorbed by the light---Eternal Truth is many, many times more powerful than ignorance. Therefore it is actually not a difficult thing to break through the veil of illusion, to break out of the realm of illusion into the realm of Eternal Truth. We simply must take advantage of the light of transcendental knowledge emanating from the lotus mouths of the great acharyas, spiritual masters who teach perfectly by their example, such as my Guru Maharaja, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.  Here is Srila Prabhupada sitting in his full transcendental splendor in his deity form on the Vyasasana at ISKCON&

Life on the road has its austerities. For example, one can get sick and with constant moving with no fixed habitat, it is very difficult to recover. There are so many varieties of unforeseen circumstances that are sometimes difficult to deal with. Such things as travel arrangements, accomodations, meals, internet connections, and laundry can easily become a problem. We simply have to tolerate whatever difficulties that arise without being disturbed. But the pay off is having enhanced facility for spreading the science of Krishna. Wherever I go I am given honor and respect as a preacher of the science of Krishna consciousness. My lectures are advertised in advance by the local devotees and are well attended sometimes to over-capacity audiences. Out of the many sincere souls who hear me speak, some become so inspired by my humble attempt to serve the mission of my spiritual master, His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, that they request if they can become my disciples. If they are

The root cause of all suffering is a lack of Krishna consciousness. Every single living throughout the vast totality of existence is part and parcel of the supreme person, Lord Sri Krishna. In this material world 99.999% of the living beings are in complete ignorance of their factual identities and are thus unnecessarily suffering in the cycle of ever-repeating birth, death, old age, and disease. If they can simply come to their senses by remembering who they actually are and thinking, speaking, and acting always in harmony with their actual true nature, they will be unlimitedly happy in all times, places, and circumstances. Therefore there is no greater service that one can render to the suffering human than to dedicate one's life to reawakening the dormant Krishna consciousness that is sleeping in the hearts of all. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: What Did God Look Like?... What did God look like the very first time he incarnated himself on earth? Was

One of our all-time favorite places to visit on our around-the-world and European preaching tours is the ISKCON center in Kaunas, Lithuania. Why is that? It is because of the famous Kaunas send-off. When we depart from the temple the devotees assemble on the drive way and crank up a super-enlivened kirtan. Then as our car heads down the drive way to the street, they serenade us singing and dancing with unbridled enthusiasm until our car disappears in the distance down the street. In the clip below you can see yesterday's super send off: http://www.backtohome.com/video/Kaunas-sendoff.wmv In yesterday's send-off one of the lady devotees, Nareshwari devi dasi, and a little devotee boy expressed their affectionate desire that we not leave by grabbing hold of the car making a show of trying to prevent us from leaving by holding the car back. Of course, it was an affectionate show only. They did not succeed in stopping the car. But their expression of loving attachment to

If we are at all serious about attaining spiritual perfection and returning to our original home in the spiritual world, we need to become masters in the science of bhakti. Our formal entrance to the path of bhakti is the moment we take initiation from a bona fide spiritual master. Just as someone who wants to earn a college degree solidly dedicates himself to the process when he formally registers in the university, the person who is fully committed to achieving spiritual perfection takes initiation from a bona fide spiritual master and under his expert guidance makes solid spiritual process through the various stages leading up to full spiritual perfection. On Sunday October 22, 2006 in Kaunas, Lithuania it was my great pleasure to accept as my new disciple, Andriejus Radčenkowe, a Lithuanian college student, who is working on a masters degree. At the time of initiation, it is the system that the initiate is awarded with a new name, a spiritual name, to remind him of his eterna

22 October 2006, 5 am Kaliningrad, Russia-- In one hour we are departing from Russia, heading back to Kaunas, Lithuania. We will carry with us the sweetest memories of being here with the Russian devotees. It is so wonderful that Krishna Consciousness can now be freely practiced in Russia. Just a few years ago it was a crime which could cost you your life, or get you into prison, a concentration camp, or a psychiatric hospital. Yesterday we had the sweetest, most blissful celebration of Govardhan Puja where I lectured for one and half hours, we offered arati to Sri Sri Gaur Nitai, we danced around a replica of Govardhan Hill made out of halava and a variety of sweets, and we then relished Krishna prasadam. As we left this joyous celebration many of the devotees followed us to our car serenading us the entire way with Hare Krishna kirtan. Then as we pulled away they begged us to come back again soon. We will fulfill their desire. Answers According to the Vedic Version Que

For a long time I have had the desire to spread the science of Krishna consciousness in Russia. Even without my actively pursuing the fulfillment of this desire, it came to me automatically by the arrangement of the Lord. Last spring when I was in Lithuania I was invited to preach in Russia by Vishvavasu Prabhu, a devotee who often teaches the bhakti yoga science in Russia. I immediately accepted his invitation. This nice devotee made all arrangements of transportation, meals, accommodations, laundry service, internet connection, and preaching engagements for me. All I have to do is chant Hare Krishna and talk about Krishna. What could be more enlivening? The people here in Kaliningrad, Russia are in desperate need of Krishna consciousness. Without knowledge of the soul they are lost, completely drowned in the whirlpool of repeated birth and death. I am noticing on the streets the very common sight of people, even young girls, walking down the street with bottles of beer in t

20 October 2006--11:30 am.  My premonitions of trouble at the Russian border turned out to be well warranted. Even though we had bona fide double entry visas issued by the Russian embassy in Washington, DC USA, the border officials did not want to let us enter Russia. They took our passports away from us and kept Mataji and I standing for over an hour on the sidewalk in the cold without even a place to sit down. I knew we were in a battle with the material energy, and I started chanting prayers to Lord Nrisimhadeva, the protector of the devotees from the harassment of the non-devotees. (The scene of our border detention) Finally they called us into an office to interrogate us. The uniformed official wanted to know why we wanted to enter Russia. He wanted to know where we were staying and how long we would stay. I gave him all the information he requested. I did not know what was the problem, why they were hesitating to allow us in. There was a language barrier also. I sp

19 October 2006--4 am. Srila Prabhupada stated that preaching in the snows of Russia is sweeter than mangos. Having tasted the nectar of preaching Krishna consciousness all over the world, I've always wanted to preach in Russia. Today we are getting the chance. Today we going to Russia. My host, a Russian citizen, a devotee named Vishvavasu, has warned me about possible difficulties while crossing the border as we are leaving Russia. The border guards are known to apply the rules and regulations inconsistently utilizing their position to harass people and even extort bribes. Out of precaution against harassment we are leaving Sri Sri Radha Damodar behind to be worshipped for several days at our Kaunas temple where they will share the altar with Sri Sri Nitai Gauracandra and be fed very nicely. I do not know what kind of difficulties I will face leaving Russia with my laptop computer, camera, and MP3 recorder. I am simply taking what I need for preaching and depending on K

There is no one more dear to the Lord than His devotees who have dedicated their lives for spreading His glories all over the world. Nor will there even be anyone more dear. Therefore there is no sweeter taste than the association of Lord Krishna's devotees. This is the benefit of traveling to meet with the saintly people at holy places of pilgrimage scattered across the globe. At each stop we get to plug into the sweet, sweet ocean of sadhu sanga (devotee association) and become unlimitedly surcharged with transcendental bliss. Especially here in Kaunas, Lithuania we are relishing the greatest happiness in the association of the Lithuanian devotees.  (ISKCON Kaunas Ecstatic Send off Kirtan) In this enlivening association we feel that now we have returned to our eternal home. This is the nature of devotee association. It takes us back to home, back to Godhead. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Why Only Krishna and Rama in the Mahamantra?.. Why does th

Loving service to the Supreme Person is an ocean of bliss. Can you taste the nectar? If you can, consider yourself most blessed and fortunate. And if you not, you need to find out how, because you are missing out. The formula for tasting the nectar is given in the Srimad Bhagavatam as follows: susrusoh sraddadhanasya vasudeva-katha-rucih syan mahat-sevaya viprah punya-tirtha-nisevanat "O twice-born sages, by serving those devotees who are completely freed from all vice, great service is done. By such service, one gains affinity for hearing the messages of Vasudeva." --Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.16 The more we develop the inclination to hear about Krishna from those who are completely pure, the more we will taste the sweet nectar of Krishna consciousness at every moment. Seek out the company of those who are pure in their spiritual life and take shelter of them. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Which Gita Verse?... I exchange a few email with my busines

After an ecstatic nectar-surcharged week of Krishna katha (hearing and chanting the glories of Krishna) in Riga, Latvia, Mataji and I are now heading out on the road of adventure once more. This time our destination is Kaunas, Lithuania. Wherever we go our business is the same, to dive deeply into that sublime, soothing, enlivening ocean of absorption in the name, fame, forms, pastimes, entourage, abode, teachings, and paraphernalia of that inconceivably sweet and wonderful Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna. The entire world is suffering because of one scarcity only. What is that scarcity? They are unnecessarily suffering in so many, many varieties of ways simply because they are lacking in Krishna consciousness. This does not have to be a problem because we have an ample supply of Krishna consciousness to completely fulfill the Krishna conscious needs of all living beings throughout the entire universe. Simply they must lend us their ears. Then we shall be able

The real and natural position of complete happiness is pure love. That pure love means pure absorption in the loving service of the Supreme Person. When we exclusively channel all of our love to that Supreme Person, it is automatically and perfectly distributed to all living entities throughout the vast span of the total existence. The difficulty we have, which keeps us bound up in the cycle of repeated birth and death, is that we pursue loving relationships which are tainted with selfishness. We enter into what we call loving relationships for the sake of getting something for ourselves. Such greedy consciousness leaves us tinged with a miserable feeling of dirtiness. Even though widely touted in this world as love, such a mentality is nothing more than covered lust. Through the bona fide bhakti yoga system one can gradually purify one's consciousness transforming it from a self-centered consciousness to a God-centered consciousness. The perfection of such consciousness is t

Our most dangerous enemy is envy. Envy is when we cannot tolerate someone else being ahead of us. Our original envy is to be envious of God. It that envy of God that originally brought us into this rotten material existence, and it is that envy, which if not conquered, will can keep us here suffering forever. So if we are at all intelligent, we will do whatever it takes to completely free ourselves from the influence of envy. We really do not have any choice if we want to ever taste genuine happiness. Envy is based on foolishness, the foolishness that the way to be happy is to be in a superior position. We do not realize that our greatest happiness is to be a subordinate position. This fact is demonstrated practically by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is situated in the topmost position in all of existence, the position of supreme enjoyment. But He is amazed to see that His devotee, Srimati Radharani, His subordinate, is relishing more

The most popular subject matter in this world is the love between a man and woman. Everyone is attracted by a good love song or love story. The Beatles became rich and famous by expertly catering to this attraction. From where do we get this tendency?  Since God is the origin of everything, we can reason that this male/female attraction must also be there in God. And by studying the authoritative Vedic literatures we discover that this is indeed a fact. The original boy/girl relationship is between Lord Sri Krishna and Srimati Radharani. In this connection the great Vaisnava acharya, Srila Visvanath Cakravarti Thakur, describes that adi-rasa, the original taste, is the love between a man and a woman and that this adi-rasa originates in Krishna. Back in 1968 I was a 21-year-old college student living in Denver, Colorado seriously seeking spiritual enlightenment. I had been misguided and frustrated by so many bogus so-called teachers, thinkers, and gurus. But when Bob Dylan wrote

At the present moment our world society is suffering from a devastating vacuum in global leadership. Today's typical leader is more interested in what he can take than in what he can give. This creates a very unbalanced situation which then filters down through all the levels of our global village creating unnecessary misery and anxiety for everyone. Even those who have managed to manipulate themselves to the top, and who are exploiting the system for their own aggrandizement, are not satisfied. So what can be done to rectify a situation that has gotten so far out of hand? We need ideal men and women of character who can provide global leadership by their mere example, whether or not they hold a big title or a big position. Such leaders are described as follows in the Bhagavad-gita: yad yad acarati sresthas tat tad evetaro janah sa yat pramanam kurute lokas tad anuvartate "Whatever action a great man performs, common men follow. And whatever standards he sets by exempl

At the present moment we are very much entangled in the external energy. The nature of the external energy is that it is temporary, full of ignorance, and full of misery. There is another energy of an entirely different nature. That energy is known as the internal energy. By proper training from a bona fide spiritual master anyone can master the science of how to situate themselves in the internal energy, which is eternal, full of knowledge, and full of bliss. Such withdrawing from the external energy to the internal energy is described by Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita as follows: yada samharate cayam kurmo 'nganiva sarvasah indriyanindriyarthebhyas tasya prajna pratisthita "One who is able to withdraw his senses from sense objects, as the tortoise draws its limbs within the shell, is firmly fixed in perfect consciousness." Bhagavad-gita 2.58 The human life is meant for such perfection of consciousness because no matter how expertly we may situated ourselves in t

What a mess this world is! It's a jungle which is becoming more and more dangerous with every passing year. Insanity is becoming more and more of an everyday affair. We see leaders who are not even qualified as human beings, what to speak of being qualified to lead us. And we are expected to work hard to maintain the crazy status quo. What could be more ridiculous? Therefore we are now calling for a worldwide spiritual revolution to completely reform the entire human society. Kindly join with us now to uplift the global consciousness. If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. We are not speaking of revolution of guns and bullets. We are speaking of a revolution of enlightened consciousness which now must sweep the earth. We really don't have any other choice. We must now establish the common spiritual center for all living beings or witness the complete gradual disintegration of the human civilization. Sankarshan Das Adhikari writing &

Last Sunday, the 8th of October 2006, I was requested in Tallinn, Estonia to speak on a verse of the Srimad Bhagavatam, which contains the most important point of instruction, the essential formula for achieving success. In this world 99.99% of the population end their lives in failure instead of success. Why is that? No one would opt for failure. So why is it that practically everyone is a failure? This is due to ignorance only. Therefore there is no greater welfare work than the dissemination of transcendental knowledge to the unknowing souls of this age. By the grace of my beloved spiritual master I have been blessed with this sublime transcendental knowledge and with the order to spread it all over the world. It is because of his order that I am making it available to you through our weekly lessons and "Thought for the Day." Here is an mp3 recording of the lecture: http://www.backtohome.com/audio/success.mp3 Hear it carefully and implement the instructions

Today we hit the preaching trail for Riga, Latvia. It's so amazing how the activity of hearing and chanting about Krishna elevates our consciousness beyond this bleak material existence. I remember how much I was suffering before I was blessed with Krishna consciousness. It was a horrible, intolerable existence. Now by the grace of my spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, I have uninterrupted access to a reservoir of unlimited bliss and knowledge forever. How much I am indebted to him for saving me from this rotten material existence? I don't think it is possible that I can ever possibly pay him back. But still I must try by dedicating my entire existence to sharing this mercy I have received from him with all of the fallen, suffering souls of this age. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Can You Detail the Serene Scenery?... I was wondering if you could go into detail about the things you see while you are on the roa

There is no need for you to rot any longer in the cycle of birth and death. You are an eternal spiritual being, full of knowledge, and full of bliss. Currently you are misidentifying yourself with your material body, which is temporary, full of ignorance, and full of misery. For you to remain in this deluded condition is an unnecessary waste of your time and energy taking you nowhere. We would like to get you out of this material existence. If you will agree to come with us, we will take you back to home, back to Godhead, back to your original home in the eternal spiritual sky. You will regain your original identity and relationship with the Supreme Person. And you will taste unlimited happiness for all of eternity in unlimited varieties of loving pastimes with God and His eternal devotees. Does this sound too good to be true? You may find it unbelievable because you have been so much conditioned by this material existence for so many millions of lifetimes. But I can assure

We are not meant to live a drab, fearful existence. We are meant to live the ultimate adventure at every minute. This does not have to remain a mere dream. This can be an ongoing practical reality. All we have to do is tap into the unlimited reservoir of Krishna bhakti (devotion to Lord Krishna.) The thoughtful observer may ask, "Why devotion to Lord Krishna? Why not devotion to Lord Jesus or Lord Shiva?" The answer is that according to the authoritative Vedic wisdom Lord Sri Krishna is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, the source of all that exists. Just as by watering the root of the tree all the leaves and branches are nourished, by giving our love to Krishna it is perfectly distributed to everyone and everything throughout the vastness of existence. Simply by fully dedicating our lives to the pure chanting of Krishna's holy names, we will taste the sweetest nectar at every minute and will thus with one simple stroke transcend all the miseries of ma

I am currently riding from Tartu to Sillamae, Estonia in the back seat of a devotee's car with my laptop computer on my lap composing "Thought for the Day." Looking out at the Estonian countryside rolling along through the window, I am wondering how much of an impact we can have on this country, the most atheistic nation in the European Union. Somehow we must convince these innocent souls that they are not their bodies, that they are instead eternal spirit-souls, the eternal servants of the Supreme All-Attractive Personality. I then pray, " Krishna, please help us to be successful. Only You are powerful enough to free the people from their gross ignorance. Only by your grace can we awaken the sleeping souls of Estonia and this entire planet to the remembrance of who they actually are. Please help us!" Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: How Can Christmindness and Krishna Consciousness Be the Same?... I understand your explanation on Christm

On October 3rd in Tartu I gave a lecture at the University of Tartu. The lecture was entitled, "Breakthrough in Science--Anti-Matter and the Expansion of Consciousness." One never knows what size and sort of audience to expect when a hall is reserved and advertising is done. But this lecture must have been at the right place at the right time with the right topic. The hall was packed. People were bringing in chairs from the outside to sit in the aisle. I spoke and answered questions for an hour and and a half and the questions kept on coming without end. Finally I brought it to a close so we could introduce our books and distribute Krishna prasadam to the students. Both were very well received. Instead of describing the lecture to you I'll let you hear it yourself through the following: http://backtohome.com/audio/antimatter.wav Audience members heard with rapt attention To see a short video of the lecture go the following: http://www.backtohome.com/video

My spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, has given me the greatest and most inconceivable gift. He has given me the pathway of how to quickly and easily achieve spiritual perfection. He has asked me not to hoard this most valuable gift. He has ordered that I must freely share it with everyone. Therefore, on his order, my life is 100% dedicated to helping you revive the dormant enlightened consciousness that is there within you at every second. You are not meant to suffer in the repetition of birth and death. Your human life is meant for reviving your original pure consciousness and regaining your original identity in the spiritual world. Your original identity is nicely described as follows in the Srimad Bhagavatam: yat-sevayagner iva rudra-rodanam puman vijahyan malam atmanas tamah bhajeta varnam nijam esa so 'vyayo bhuyat sa isah paramo guror guruh "One who wants to be free of material entanglement should take to the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and gi