Ultimate Self Realization

By the grace of that most merciful Supreme Lord Sri Krishna, we are back to home, back to Vrindavan. If we have any home in this material world, it is here in Vrindavan. Although Vrindavan appears to be an eighty-four-square-miles tract of land ninety miles southeast of Delhi, it is actually a replica of the supreme Goloka Vrindavan that exists eternally in the spiritual sky. Just an embassy of a foreign land is a manifestation of the country within another nation, Sri Vrindavan Dham is the Lord's transcendental abode descended into this material existence to provide a launching pad for our easily attaining the supreme destination, the original Sri Vrindavan Dham in the spiritual sky. We will visiting a few of the unlimited holy places here in this abode of unlimited nectar. Stay tuned in for further updates. Answers According to the Vedic Version Request: Kindly Guide Me... I am regularly chanting 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra daily and following other princ

By the time you receive this edition of "Thought for the Day" we expect to be back in Sri Vrindavan Dham, the home of Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whenever He visits this material world. Actually Sri Krishna is eternally present in Sri Vrindavan Dham for those who have the eyes to see Him. In this connection it is stated: vrndavanam parityajya padam ekam na gacchati "Krishna never goes even a step outside of Vrindavan." By entering into the sweet transcendental atmosphere of Vrindavan we feel the wonderful mercy of Krishna all around us, uplifting us, blessing us, and protecting us. There is nothing so sublime as that sweet mercy of the Lord as manifested in Sri Vrindavan Dham. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Why Waste Time Chanting?... Our life cycle is divided into four stages of 25 years each i.e. Brahmachari Ashram (student life), Grihastha Ashram (married life), Vanprastha Ashram (retired life), and Sannyas A

It is now 3:49 am on 27 November 2006. In three hours we are departing from the Kingdom of Bahrain for an evening lecture and overnight stop on the nearby peninsula of Qatar before heading onward for the holy land of India. It has been a very joyful experience for us to be here in the midst of so many wonderful devotees of the Lord who are so joyfully practicing Krishna consciousness together as a loving spiritual family. The most unusual rain which accompanied our visit here was joyfully received by the locals on this parched desert island, although it caused a flood in front of the temple. This created an interesting experience for us when we arrived and departed from the temple last night. How were we to get in and out of the car without getting our shoes and socks wet? The devotees came up with a solution for our dilemma. In this material world the lack of rainfall is becoming more and more of a problem in an ever-increasing number of locations throughout the globe. H

It is now 6:25 am on 26 November 2006. We arrived yesterday in the Kingdom of Bahrain, a small oil rich Islamic country on a desert island in the Persian Gulf. Our arrival was accompanied by unusual rainfall for this time of year and a beautiful rainbow, a very auspicious omen. Even though this is an Islamic country, there is a large of community of Krishna devotees here consisting of resident workers from India. Last night I spoke to a gathering of over 100 devotees at one of their two temples. It was a very relishable experience to describe the glorious process of Krishna consciousness to an audience which was so eager to hear it. Why is Krishna consciousness so relishable? Because it connects us with who we really are. It brings us back to our original, eternal identities as the servants of Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Consciousness of the Soul... When a person who is not a devotee dies, wha

This material existence is an anxiety-ridden condition. Anxieties cannot be avoided here because anxiety is the very nature of this place. The fact that we want nothing to do with anxiety is proof of our spiritual, anti-material nature. The simple method for completely conquering over all anxieties is to revive our original, though now dormant, enlightened consciousness. This consciousness is currently buried deep within our hearts. But it can fully be revived through the powerful system of bhakti yoga. If we are willing to chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra and adopt some simple disciplines associated with the chanting, we can quickly and easily awaken our eternal spiritual identity and thus easily conquer over all the anxieties of material existence. If we will simply chant these names with love each and every day we will witness a miraculous gradual change in our consciousness: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare We

In this material world no one knows who they are. They think that they are their bodies. No wonder that frustration and misery and so widespread throughout the human society. How can someone be satisfied when they do not understand who they are? People temporarily derive artificial happiness by a false sense of being the lord of all they survey. But such illusory happiness is temporary at best. How long can someone successfully consider themselves to be the lord of all they survey when all of their plans for material happiness and being eroded by sickness, old age, and a gradual withering away of the material body to the point of death? In the light of the miserable nature of the material energy, it is simply amazing how stubbornly people cling to the false notion of being its enjoyers. To derive actual happiness one must come to factual platform of existence, the spiritual platform. But being misled by so many unqualified leaders, people are lacking scientific understanding

On our flight from Amsterdam to Doha a stewardess inquired from us about our travels. She was amazed to hear how Mataji and I are constantly traveling around the world, how we are currently flying on our second back to back around-the-world ticket, how on the very day that our first around-the-world ticket was used up, we started another one. She asked us how long we are going to live this like. When we told her that our plan is to do this for the rest of our lives she was even more amazed. It has been predicted that the day will come when everyone throughout the entire world becomes Krishna consciousness. Our lives are fully dedicated at every second to bringing that about as soon as possible. I pray that I can live long enough to see it happen. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Proof of God's Existence?... Hi, I stumbled on you website and been reading some of the thoughts. Can you prove to me that God exists? I know I can't prove that He does not

It is now 10:35am on Wednesday, November 22, 2006. We are at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport waiting to board our flight to Doha, Qatar in the Middle East. It was a very short, less than 24 hour, stop in Amsterdam. But in the association of the devotee it was very, very sweet. Last night I lectured on Bhagavad-gita 3.21 in which Lord Krishna describes that an exemplary devotee uplifts the entire world by his example. This is what the world needs now more than ever. We need souls who are perfect in spiritual life, who can thus by their actions and words deliver this planet from chaos. And then this morning I spoke on Srimad Bhagavatam 4.14.12. In its purport Srila Prabhupada describes how without indulging in politics if the devotees will simply absorb themselves in chanting the Hare Krishna mantra the general population will derive all benefits. I am the recipient of the greatest good fortune to be engaged in the topmost welfare activity of presenting the ultimate self-realiz

It is 8:37pm on Monday the 21st of November. As I write this we are flying from Austin to Minneapolis. Our plane departed from Austin way behind schedule. We are supposed to have already landed in Minneapolis, but we are still half an hour away. This is a major problem because we have a very tight connection for our ongoing flight to Amsterdam. Normally a flight is closed 15 minutes before its departure time. This is just the time that we are supposed to land. This means that we will miss our connection. And it could mean that we will also miss our ongoing flight from Amsterdam to Doha, Qatar. This will create so many problems. What can we do in such circumstances? All we can do is peacefully chant Hare Krishna and put ourselves fully in the Lord's care. Whatever Krishna does is all right. ====== It now 2:55 am Minneapolis time on Tuesday the 22nd of November time. We are crossing over the tip of Greenland in the midst of our trans-Atlantic f

In this material we must often face very stressful situations. How do we deal with it? Krishna instructs us in the Bhagavad-gita that this world is full of dualities. Just as seasonal changes are unavoidable, we must experience so many varieties of pleasant and unpleasant situations. The key is to not allow ourselves to be affected either way. If we don't get excited when things are going well, we are setting ourselves up not to be disturbed when things are going wrong. The advanced transcendentalist understands that from the higher perspective everything is always going on perfectly according to the Lord's plan. Therefore he is always able to be happy by taking complete shelter of the Lord in all varieties of circumstances: both the so-called good and the so-called bad. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Regarding Chanting On Beads... Regarding counting the Maha mantra on Japa beads: Is there a certain significance counting the Maha mantra on Japa be

It is sometimes said that traveling reduces ones duration of life, so sometimes well-wishers advise me that I should not travel so much. But it is not that by staying in one place that I can become immortal. Rather, it is by following the instructions of my spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, that I enter into the realm of immortality. What is his instruction in this regard? That is stated as follows: "Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted His followers to move all over the world to preach in every town and village. In the Caitanya-sampradaya those who strictly follow the principles of Lord Caitanya must travel all over the world to preach the message of Lord Caitanya, which is the same as preaching the words of Krishna -- Bhagavad-gita -- and Srimad-Bhagavatam. The more the devotees preach the principles of Krishna-katha, the more people throughout the world will benefit." Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Remebering Krishna 24/7... How will I always remember K

It's not easy to become Krishna conscious in an atmosphere that is completely surcharged with bodily consciousness. The material energy has kept us as a prisoner for millions of lifetimes and will not easily release us from her grip. We are firmly rooted in the conception that I am a man or a woman or that I am a member of this nation or that nation. These are false conceptions based on mistaken misidentification of the self with matter. Everywhere we turn this illusion is reinforced, in every billboard, every magazine, every web page, etc. Therefore to escape from this prison of illusion is not an easy task. It requires an all-out effort. We must make our attempt to become Krishna conscious the primary focus of our existence. We must intensely desire and endeavor to become spiritually illuminated beings, if we are to be successful in winning the war against illusion. The good news is that Krishna is within our hearts. He has been watching and waiting through our millions

An ocean of unlimited mercy has taken the form of a tidal wave and is now sweeping the planet earth. Those who are the most fortunate will recognize it and take full advantage of it by diving in as soon as possible. Because the shelter of this ocean is what everyone is actually hankering for in the innermost core of their being, even those who now deny it will gradually come to recognize it and take complete shelter of it. What is that ocean of unlimited mercy? It is the extraordinary, unbounded loving kindness of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He is the Supreme Person Himself appearing in the form of His own devotee to teach us by His personal example how we can easily achieve the topmost spiritual perfection. There is nothing like sporting in the waves of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's mercy. Come on in. The water is oh so fine! Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Must We Chant on Beads?... Why it is so important to chant 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra on

Today's human society is totally caught up in that which is temporary, namely this material body. The entire human energy is being diverted to make the best possible arrangement for this skin, blood, and bones. Of course, the body is not to be neglected. It must be kept in a strong, healthy condition. But simply taking care of the body and neglecting the soul within is like putting gasoline in your car without feeding yourself. If the driver dies of starvation, what is the use of a tank full of gasoline? It has no value. First feed yourself, and then think about gassing up your car. First seriously absorb yourself in self-realization; then think about maintaining your body. This is the difference between genuine human life and animal life. The human being's primary focus is how to awaken the dormant Krishna consciousness, which is sleeping within the heart. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Why Give Up Marijuana?... I would like to ask your for h

Today we are heading out to Houston where I will be giving an evening lecture as posted above. The thought of Houston conjures up many memories for me. One set of memories consists of the many years of associating with so many great transcendentalists, devotees of the Lord, in Houston. I am very much blessed by this wonderful ever-increasing stock of divine memories, which goes from 1971 up to the present. The other set of memories goes from 1958 up until 1965. Those are the years I spent growing up in Houston from the ages of 10 through 17. Those were very dark years of illusion and confusion. The memories of those years are painful for me, as I recollect how much I was suffering. Although bitter, there is a sweetness (a bitter sweetness) also in those memories, because those memories reconfirm the absolute necessity of my being solidly situated on the transcendental path. I vividly remember how much I was suffering in this material world without Krishna consciousness. And I

You have a choice. Do you want to taste the sweet flavor of existence at every minute by fully entering into your eternal identity beyond your temporary material body? Or would you rather continue focusing your energies on trying to squeeze out some temporary flickering pleasure from a lump of flesh, blood, muscle, mucus, urine, and stool, which is destined to get sick, get old, and die? The choice yours. I do not want to pressure you into choosing spiritual life over material life. This is a decision you will have to make on your own. I simply want to give you sufficient information so that you can make a fully educated decision. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Does God Exist?... How one can believe in the existence of God ? Sudam Answer: A Scientific Proof... We have no interest in believing in God. Belief can be changed just as easily as the wind changes directions. We want to KNOW whether God exists or not. Once we know this, our position will be ve

Krishna is unparalleled in His beauty and wonderfulness. Indeed all beautiful and wonderful things possess these qualities only because of the empowerment of Lord Sri Krishna. In other words Sri Krishna is the very source, the very reservoir of all beauty and wonderfulness. Consequently if we allow ourselves to be attracted to anything other than Sri Krishna, we are simply cheating ourselves out of the supreme enjoyment. Why should we settle for that which is second class, third class, or even tenth or hundredth class when we can have that which is first class? Human life is meant to be intelligently executed, not foolishly squandered. We have our choice. Now what will you do? Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Not Allotted As Our Quota... In your e-mal of 11 November, there is a phrase I did not understand. You stated, "We cannot take meat, fish, and eggs because these have not been allotted to us as our quota." Please explain to me how the maxim &

Although more and more sincere souls are joining our course every day from all over the world, it is very sad for me to see that sometimes people who do not realize the absolute necessity of self-realization are dropping out of this course. Unfortunately most people do not understand that they have achieved this rare human birth after transmigrating through millions and millions of births, and that this human form is a very, very rare opportunity to escape once and for all the sufferings of this material existence. If we simply continue to do what we've always done, namely pursue a life of temporary sense pleasure, we will continue to get what we've always gotten, namely birth, death, old age, and disease. Is this what we really want? We must very seriously ask ourselves this question. If we don't mind remaining within the cycle of birth and death, sometimes as a human being, sometimes as an animal, sometimes as a plant, then we can do that. But in this condition we m

In this material world there are many apparently enjoyable things. But that what good is this enjoyment? It is only superficial, mirage enjoyment. It is not substantial because it does not actually connect with the living being. It merely connects with his illusory conception of who he is, namely the temporary material body. It ones want factual, lasting satisfaction, he must come to the platform of the actual self, the eternal spiritual being, who is only temporarily residing as the driver in a particular material body. On this platform he can experience unlimited happiness that goes on increasing exponentially forever. In this connection it is stated as follows in the Bhagavad-gita: bahya-sparsesv asaktatma vindaty atmani yat sukham sa brahma-yoga-yuktatma sukham aksayam asnute "Such a liberated person is not attracted to material sense pleasure but is always in trance, enjoying the pleasure within. In this way the self-realized person enjoys unlimited happiness, for he co

5pm-Friday 10 November-With a little over a week left before we resume the final two months of our 2006-2007 Around-the-World Lecture Tour, there are so many things that have to be done here at our headquarters. This is a real challenge. I have to produce four TV programs for our local weekly TV show. I have my regular daily email correspondence to answer and the weekly lesson to write. I have to begin putting together a course on pure devotional service that I will be teaching in September 2007 at Bhaktivedanta College in Belgium at Radhadesh. I spent a hour this morning simply putting together a list of all the things that have to be done before we resume traveling on 20 November. Several hours were spent this morning on accounting work. There is our regular morning devotional program and lecture, plus a preaching engagement in Houston next week. There is one thing after another after another. But the beauty of this whole thing is that it is all for the service of Lord Krishna

To try to become God conscious or Krishna consciousness in today's materialistic world is tantamount to declaring war against the illusory energy. It requires great courage to exert one's energies in defiance of the present day bodily conscious mass psychosis. Why should one adopt such a socially unacceptable posture? Most people feel, "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread," that it is much better to merge in with everyone else and not make waves. But my experience is different. I personally cannot stomach a life of irrelevancy, of merging into the herd and like them trying to squeeze some happiness out a temporary existence of birth, death, old age, and disease. Although highly unpopular, it is much more enlivening and exciting to live for the Absolute Truth and take a strong stand against illusion. If one sincerely seeks the Absolute Truth, the Lord within will bring him into contact with a bona fide spiritual master, who will enlighten him with transcend

It is not possible to enjoy this material world because it is a place of suffering. No matter what we may do to try to counteract the suffering conditions, we will continue to be hounded by so many varieties of suffering conditions. The solution for one problem creates another problem. The solution for that problem then creates another problem. In this way we can never come to an end of the sufferings of this material existence. However there is a way to become completely free from all varieties of suffering conditions. What is that method? We simply have to wake up. We have to come out of the dreamlike state of material existence. This material body is really not me after all. It is simply a covering of the eternal all-blissful, all-knowing self. So what is the method of waking up? We need to come into contact with a person who is already awakened. This is described in the Caitanya Caritamrita as follows: brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakt

Monday brought with it another opportunity to spread Krishna consciousness on the radio. This time we were on a one hour afternoon talk show hosted by Tony Chávez. Like Hector on the Sunday's show, Tony was interested to know the purpose of our visit. But he also wanted to know where to go to learn more about Krishna consciousness. Tony so much appreciated our Krishna consciousness movement that he told me that I was the most important and special guest who had ever appeared on their radio station. Of course I am personally unworthy of such glorification, but I humbly accepted it on behalf my spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, and the predecessor acharyas, who are more than worthy of such praise.  Monday evening brought another enlivening speaking engagement. This time it was at Bhakti Priya devi's gym. She and her husband earn a livelihood through teaching various classes at their gym. The crowd of almost 100 people enthusiastically joined me in chanting Hare Krish

A Krishna conscious person does not run after the beautiful things of this world because he understands that they are nothing in comparison to unlimited beauty of the transcendental world. But at the same time as he engages himself fully in Krishna's service he appreciates the beauty of God's handiwork here in this material existence taking it as an indication of how wondrously beautiful the spiritual sky must be.  Just like I am currently here in the Sierra Madre Mountains in Monterrey, Mexico engaged in a very busy three days of sharing the deathless nectar of Krishna bhakti with the wonderful people of Mexico. Overlooking a picturesque court yard half way up a beautiful mountain I was happy to get a wireless connection for uploading and downloading emails to and from my dear students throughout the world. After giving a class on Krishna consciousness to a small gathering it was then down the mountain into the heart of Monterrey to appear on the "Café Politico"

What is the meaning of that marking on your forehead?", the curious, friendly woman at the Continental Airplanes counter asked us at the boarding gate for our flight from Houston, Texas to Monterrey, Mexico. When I explained that it is the sign of someone who has conquered over death, she was amazed. She asked if I had conquered over death and I told her I had. Then I told her that I could teach her how to conquer over death also. She then wanted to know if this was Hinduism. and I explained to her that this is religion in its original, pure form. I told her, "Just as we human beings have artificially divided the planet earth into so many nations and then we fight over the so-called boundaries, we have in the same way taken the original pure form of Religion and divided it into so many so-called religions over which we fight and sometimes even kill one another. We are teaching the original pure form of knowing and living the truth which enables one to become completely

It's 5:24am on 4 November 2006. We arrived safely last night from Amsterdam. Since our goal is to bring about the re-spiritualization of the entire human society, it was very enlivening for us that many people we met along the way wanted to know about our lifestyle and philosophy. We explained to them as much as possible as far as time permitted and then encouraged them to sign up for the Ultimate Self-Realization Course. We encourage all of our students to be enthusiastic to share this ultimate knowledge with everyone that they meet. One of my disciples, Bhaktivinode Das, has especially taken this instruction to heart. Although working a full time job as an industrial engineer, he uses his free time to distribute Srila Prabhupada's books. Here is a recent report I received from him: My dear Srila Gurudeva, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to you! All glories to Srila Prabhupada! Srila Gurudeva, I have started including a flyer for your e-course in every

We are somewhere over the Atlantic ocean heading from Amsterdam to Minneapolis where we will catch an onward flight to Austin, Texas for an overnight stop before we proceed on the Monterrey, Mexico for several days of spreading the ultimate self-realization science there. In spite of the annoying jet engine noise, with the help of earplugs and a headset I am able to relish hearing the sweet sound of the Siksastakam sung by my spiritual master, His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada. While absorbing myself in this ultimate nectar I ponder the incredible mercy that I have undeservedly received. I cannot even begin to properly estimate my unlimited good fortune. This transcendental existence bestowed upon me by Srila Prabhupada is the greatest treasure that could ever be gained anywhere throughout the vast totality of existence. He is lovingly giving me back my long lost svarupa, my original eternal identity that I have in the Spiritual Sky but have forgotten. And he is engaging me in r