The Best Atmosphere

21 December 2006--I am writing this in the back seat of a van that is being driven by Caitanya Das from New Govardhan to the Goldcoast airport, from where we will be catching a flight to Sydney. It has been so wonderful to be in New Govardhan in the peaceful, serene mountains with the fresh air, wide open spaces, breath taking views, and a beautiful flowing river. It is certainly very enlivening to spend some days in God's country. But there is nothing less auspicious about our next stop, a Krishna temple in Sydney, even though it is in a crowded, congested city.

How can that be?

An enlivening peaceful country setting is in the mode of goodness. A city scene where people are running here and there for making and spending money is in a lower mode of nature, the mode of passion. And a derelict skid row type atmosphere where everyone is trying to dull themselves out with alcohol and/or drugs is in the lowest mode, the mode of ignorance. But a temple of the Lord where the devotees are engaged 24 hours in His service is the absolute best of all atmospheres. Such an atmosphere is completely beyond the modes of material nature. It is transcendentally situated in pure goodness. The material mode of goodness is always mixed with some traces of passion and ignorance. But pure goodness is 100% free of even the slightest tinges of passion and ignorance.

So we are headed now, to the sublime ISKCON center in North Sydney. Just as we tasted the incomparable sweetest nectar at New Govardhan, now we will also taste similar ultimate nectar at the ISKCON center in Sydney.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers Emails While Relishing the Sublime Atmosphere of New Govardhan, Australia

Answers According to the Vedic Version

Question: How to Experience the Soul?..

Sir, I am Chetan Krishna Chaudhari. I attended your speech in Nerul about Lord Krishna. I have many questions will you please answer them?

I know man has a soul, but I want to know how to experience the soul as we can never experience the soul in day to day life.

Thank you for reading and everything.

Regards

Answer: By Proper Understanding and Practice...

I am very happy to hear that you attended my lecture and will also be happy to answer your questions. Even though you mentioned many questions, you only asked one. Please do not hesitate to let me know what other questions you may have.

Your question regarding how to experience your spiritual existence is very nice. If at the present time you do not experience your eternal, full of bliss and knowledge, spiritual existence, it is because you are still misidentified with your temporary material body. So the first step is that you have to understand that you are not your body. Your body is just like a garment that you are wearing or an automobile that you are driving around in. It is not you. The next step is that you must engage yourself in activities that are on the spiritual platform. In the age the most potent activity that we can engage in for this purpose of the chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

If you will rise early every morning before the sunrise, take your bath, and chant at least 16 rounds of this mantra on japa mala beads before you begin your work day, your consciousness will quickly and easily become situated on the spiritual platform. And gradually over time if you steadily continue this process every day, you will reach the point that you can keep your consciousness solidly fixed on the transcendental platform 24 hours a day.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari