Ultimate Self Realization

No matter what situation we may face in this often turbulent material existence, we should not despair. The Supreme All-Merciful Lord is always there behind the scenes bestowing His causeless grace upon us. Sometimes things appear to be going great, sometimes not so great, and sometimes completely devastating. But these are appearances only. The real fact is that beyond the dream of this material existence Lord Krishna is bestowing upon us an unlimited flood of loving kindness at every minute. The problem is that because of our false pride we have become blind to see such things. But now if we will agree to be humble devotees of the Lord, we will be able to see the Lord constantly and be overwhelmingly amazed at every minute by His inconceivable kindness. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: How to Observe Ekadasi?... I have read a little recently about fasting and holy days, especially in regards to Ekadasi. How long should I fast, sundown to sundown? Is it bet

We are presently deeply embroiled in the Kali Yuga, the age of quarrel and hypocrisy. On the slightest provocation bitter quarrel can erupt between husband and wife, between brothers, between neighbors, and between nations. Even there is the extreme example that two nations went to war against each other as an escalation of a brawl that broke out at a soccer game between their respective national soccer teams. Just see how bad things have become People are edgy and are itching for the opportunity to fight because of an extreme sense of misery and frustration. What can be done? How can we achieve peace and happiness in this material world? Krishna has answered this in the Bhagavad-gita: bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka-mahesvaram suhrdam sarva-bhutanam jnatva mam santim rcchati "If one can understand Me as the supreme enjoyer, the supreme proprietor of everything, and the supreme friend of everyone, one is established in peace and is free from material agitation." ---B

The path of Krishna consciousness is pure nectar, but sometimes because of our previous mental conditioning we experience difficulties. However, the more we advance along this sublime pathway, the less we will experience these difficulties. Therefore it is in our best self interest to advance as quickly as possible. The faster we advance, the better off we will be. So what is the secret of rapid advancement? This all-important question has been answered by my spiritual master, His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada. He told us that for rapid advancement, "...one should be very active and should persevere in the duties specified in the revealed scriptures and confirmed by the spiritual master." If we will stick to Srila Prabhupada's simple formula of always remaining busy in Krishna conscious activities according to the directions of guru and Krishna, we will find that all difficulties will disappear from our pathway back to home, back to Godhead. It will be smooth saili

Why be impoverished when there is a transcendental treasure trove of inconceivable opulence awaiting you right now? It's yours for the taking. We are giving you the treasure map and all the tools necessary for tapping into an unfathomable mine of divine nectar. We are teaching you how to be fully absorbed in the topmost perfectional stage of spiritual enlightenment 24 hours a day in all times, places, and circumstances. This state of consciousness is known by many different names, but it is most appropriately designated as "Krishna consciousness". This highest state of spiritual awakening is described as follows by Lord Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita: "In the stage of perfection called trance, or samadhi, one's mind is completely restrained from material mental activities by practice of yoga. This perfection is characterized by one's ability to see the self by the pure mind and to relish and rejoice in the self. In that joyous state, one is situated i

What good is a lamp if it is not plugged in? What good is a hand if it is not connected with the body? What good is this modern highly advanced civilization if it is not connected with its source? What value does our life have if it is not dovetailed with the Supreme Consciousness? The lamp will produce no illumination. The hand will not function; indeed it will rot. The so-called advanced civilization will simply be burden to the earth. And we will in state of illusion and anxiety hopelessly trying to bring meaning to a meaningless existence. Therefore the obvious conclusion is that both individually and collectively we have to be plugged into the Supreme Consciousness, the original source of existence. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Is Solitude Better?... It was a clear and logical explanation about our relationship with God from you in your last lesson. In this regard I want to know why it is very difficult to keep these feelings always intact. External

The practice of bhakti yoga, Krishna consciousness, boils down to one simple formula: Always remember Krishna and never forget Him. The devotee does not want to forget Krishna even for a second because even the briefest amount of time outside of Krishna consciousness is like an unbearably agonizing millennium. Therefore he does everything possible to keep himself in Krishna consciousness 24 hours a day. He arranges his home, his office, and his car in such a way to always be reminded of Krishna. He listens to Krishna conscious music. He reads Krishna conscious books. He gives a portion of his income to support the Krishna consciousness movement. He only eats foods that have been offered to Lord Sri Krishna with love and devotion. He makes deep and lasting friendships with Krishna conscious persons. When he takes a vacation, he travels to holy place of pilgrimage like Mayapur or Vrindavan to supercharge his Krishna consciousness. In this way he keeps himself completely 24 hours

Time and tide indeed wait for no man. The relentless wheel of time goes rolling on pulverizing everything in its path. Great civilizations come and go. Mighty hero's names are vibrated on every street corner and then they vanish into oblivion never to be heard of again. But yet we desire eternality. Why is that? Because we are eternal. Because we are part and parcel of the eternal Supreme Person, we share His same quality of eternality. This is confirmed in the Katha Upanisad as follows: nityo nityanam --"There is a singular eternal amongst the plural eternals." While our material identity is being eroded at every second by the influence of time, our spiritual identity can never be destroyed. Therefore instead of trying to find the eternality we desire in this material existence (a foolish waste of time), we should realize our eternal nature on the spiritual platform, the plane of our actual existence, by engaging ourselves in our natural constitutional activity

It is 12:48pm on 20 February 2007. I am here at our home base in Austin, Texas writing today's "Thought for the Day". I am very happy that thousands of people all over the world in over 100 countries have chosen to join this e-course because they are receiving the highest level guidance available anywhere in the universe. If I were presenting my own guidance, this would certainly not be the case. But because I am presenting without any adulteration, without any addition or subtraction the sublime guidance of Lord Sri Krishna, as He clearly reveals it in the Bhagavad-gita, it can rightfully be said that there is no higher knowledge than this. Krishna directly confirms this in the 9th chapter of the Gita in which He states that this is raja-vidya, the king of all knowledge, the ultimate truth. It is truly wonderful to see how many people all over the world are being uplifted and enlightened by the teachings of Lord Sri Krishna. It is natural that His teachings would

I do not cheat you by telling you that you are God. Of course, qualitatively you are one with God because God is eternal, full of knowledge and bliss and you are also eternal, full of knowledge, and full of bliss. This does not mean, however, that you are quantitatively one with God, that you are one with Him in all respects. In other words, you are one with and different from God, but you are not one with and the same as God. If you were one and same with God you would have complete total power over the entire universe at this very second. If this were true, why would you have to work a job in order to pay your bills? God has unlimited wealth at His disposal. Why would you have to waste time and risk your life driving every day on the highway? God can appear anywhere He likes instantly at will. Be leery of the guru who tells you that you are God. The bona fide guru teaches that you are the servant of God, not that you are God. Answers According to the Vedic Version Questi

Sometimes the neophyte devotee may feel a slackening in his or her enthusiasm and faith regarding the process of Krishna consciousness. But one should never lose faith. This process will definitely deliver those who practice it seriously to the highest perfection of going back to home, back to Godhead. The fact is that we are currently suffering in the cycle of birth, death, old age, and disease. Unless we seriously adopt the path of bhakti, there is no question of ever being delivered from this hellish cycle. Therefore, even if we sometimes feel a slackening of our faith and enthusiasm, we still should remain steadfastly absorbed in our devotional practices for achieving the ultimate perfection of existence. If we do so, we shall in due course of time reap the highest benefit. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Mundane Thoughts an Impediment?... Often when I chant various mundane thoughts come up and distract me. Are these thoughts an offence or an impediment

This material existence is a dangerous ocean. But if we take shelter of guru and Krishna, we can easily cross over this ocean. There is no reason for us to ever be in distress. Distress is the result of foolishly misidentifying ourselves with this material body and those things that are there in relationship with the material body. The enlightened sages are situated far, far beyond this dangerous ocean of distress because they refuse to identify themselves with their material bodies. The positively affirm--aham brahmasmi--I am pure spirit-soul; I am not this material body. After all why should we identity with that which is a mere covering of the self and is not the actual self? These enlightened sages practically realize the spiritual platform by always engaging their thoughts, words, and deeds on the platform of the spirit-soul by full time absorption in the devotional service of Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this connection Lord Sri Krishna states: d

Just as a child who is separated from his parents is in a great state of difficulty, anyone who is disconnected from his or her source is in a very problematic condition. The lost child may be pampered in so many ways, but unless he is reunited with his parents he will never be satisfied. In the same manner, no matter what material adjustments we may try to make to relieve our anxieties, they will all ultimately prove to be a complete failure. The only thing that will bring us real and lasting happiness is to be reunited with our eternal lord and master, Sri Krishna, the very source of our eternal existence. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Can Bill Gates Become Krishna Conscious?... Can Bill Gates and the likes of him ever become or aspire to become Krishna conscious? Is too much wealth an impediment? I also want to know who really is an infidel? The Muslims call everybody else an infidel. Is that right? Your kind response please, Hare Krishna, Jayraz Answer

Because of our deeply rooted material conditioning it is not always smooth sailing on the path of bhakti. Of course, it is always smooth sailing, but our rascal minds sometimes distort our view of reality to the point to where we foolishly feel intense distress and anxiety. What should we done when we start to experience this kind of illusory consciousness? The key is that when this happens we should staunchly ignore the foolish dictates of the mind. Krishna states in the Bhagavad-gita that one should tolerate the dualities of heat and cold, happiness and distress without being disturbed. As it is said, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." We must becomes masters at the art of unwavering perseverance through thick and thin. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: How to Get Inspiration?... What do you think, is it possible, to understand Prabhupada's devotional mood. Should one try to understand it. If yes, then how to do that? What to d

The biggest enemy of our spiritual progress is to waste our time in unnecessary non-devotional activities. There are already enough not-directly-devotional activities that sap our time and energy, such as being stuck in traffic jams, spending long hours in the mundane work place, etc. We should not make matters worse by wasting our free moments in non-devotional activities. In fact, in this connection I'd like to let you in on another one of those special insider's secrets: If you will utilize every possible free moment you have in a Krishna conscious way, Lord Krishna will give you more and more free time to engage directly in His service. For example, when you get on an airplane instead of reaching for the in flight magazine you can opt for some Krishna conscious literature that you brought on the plane with you as a transcendental alternative. Instead of eating the meal provided by the airline you can bring aboard your own home cooked meal of Krishna prasadam (vegetari

One of the most difficult qualities to consistently manifest is tolerance. In spite of it being very difficult to always be tolerant, it is well worth it for us to expend a tremendous amount of endeavor to develop this quality. Why is that? Lord Caitanya taught us that we should be more tolerant than a tree, that we should offer all respect to others without expecting any respect for ourselves. He said that the advantage of doing this is that in such a state of mind we can chant the holy names of the Lord constantly. As soon as we become intolerant our minds become disturbed and we are not able to peacefully absorb ourselves in the Lord's holy names. Even though they are unlimitedly sweet, as soon as we become disturbed by intolerance, the names lose their sweetness and become bitter. Of course, this does not mean that we should tolerate blasphemy against the Lord and His devotees. What this does mean is that we should be tolerant of any and all things that may be a distu

Right now the entire material society is disconnected from its original source, the ultimate fountainhead of all energies, Lord Sri Krishna. What is the good of owning the latest state-of-the-art high tech appliance, if it is not plugged in to a source of electrical energy? It has no value. Such is the condition of the modern day civilization. It is a very wonderfully constructed civilization with all of the latest high tech embellishments. But it is lacking in one thing. It is not plugged in. Therefore in spite of its dazzling, attractive qualities, it has no practical functional value. The human form of life is meant for self-realization. It is meant for awakening the dormant Krishna consciousness within the heart. Until the leaders of the world wake up and realize the pathway they should be taking and guiding others to take, the entire disconnected world will will remain in an ever more chaotic condition. However, once the leaderss wake up and realize the real purpose of

It's wonderful to be on the transcendental road again--traveling and preaching Krishna consciousness. There is truly no nectar sweeter than this. It is now 7:31pm on Sunday 11 February 2007. I am in the back seat of a van en route from Orlando, Florida to Tampa, Florida for an overnight stop before we fly back to Austin, Texas tomorrow morning to make arrangements for the up coming Gaura Purnima festival and to get ready for two and half months of traveling and preaching throughout Europe. This mini lecture tour in Florida has been very sublime. Short, but very sweet. Wednesday, the day we arrived, I gave a lecture at Tampa's Hare Krishna temple. Thursday I gave a well received lecture at the University of South Florida. Friday night was an ecstatic program in the home of Suresh Marakhi. Saturday was a kirtan and lecture at ISKCON's Vedic Culture Center in Tallahassee with a follow up lecture on the Srimad Bhagavatam this Sunday morning. Now this Sunday afterno

There are thousands. if not millions, of sincere souls throughout the world who realize that becoming purely Krishna conscious is their highest self interest, and hence it is their stated ultimate goal of life. But many of them find it very difficult on the practical day to day level to keep Krishna in the forefront of their consciousness at every minute. They find themselves bombarded by family pressures, job pressures, and social pressures and have a hard time balancing their material duties with their ultimate duty, their spiritual duty, to become perfect in Krishna consciousness. So what is the solution for their dilemma? Krishna makes it very clear. He says that one should give up all other duties and simply fully surrender unto Him. Does this mean one should quit his job, abandon his family, and become a monk? It could in some cases, but it does not generally mean that. So what does Krishna mean? He clearly explains in the Bhagavad-gita that whatever you do, you should d

There are sometimes bumps and chug holes on the road back to Godhead. These come because we are still getting the resultant reactions from our previous sinful activities. One should not be discouraged when these are encountered. Rather one should hold tightly to the wheel and carefully steer around them. If one becomes discouraged by them and opts to give up the journey, it is the greatest loss. These periodic impediments are not insurmountable. If we will simply take shelter of Lord Sri Krishna, of our spiritual master, and of the Lord's devotees, we will easily be able to cross beyond all difficulties. This is confirmed in the Srimad Bhagavatam as follows: samasrita ye pada-pallava-plavam mahat-padam punya-yaso murareh bhavambudhir vatsa-padam param padam padam padam yad vipadam na tesam "For those who have accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is famous as Murari, the enemy of the Mura demon, the ocean

Sometimes we hear it said that anyone who believes in God will attain His kingdom at the time of death. Although this is certainly a very comforting thought, it ignores some basic facts about the Lord and His kindness upon us. The actual fact is that the Lord is our most loving father. Therefore He very kindly fulfills all of our desires. If at the time of death we have any unfulfilled material desires, the Lord kindly allows us to enter another material body in our next lifetime for the satisfaction of those desires. Therefore, if we are actually serious about achieving the kingdom of God, we must become very serious about becoming completely free from all material desires. If we have any desires that can be fulfilled only in this material world, we must give them up in order to enter into God's kingdom. For example, meat eating is an activity that goes on in this material world, not in the spiritual world. This is confirmed in the Bible where it is stated: "The wolf w

Sometimes we are faced with the great sadness of seeing someone who was gradually advancing in Krishna consciousness fall away and again become entangled in the material nature. It is rare indeed that someone will seriously adopt the pathway of spiritual enlightenment, and rarer still for someone to steadily remain on that pathway for life. The temptations of this material world are very alluring. In fact they are so powerfully alluring that it is more surprising that someone remains in Krishna consciousness that when someone leaves Krishna consciousness. But in spite of the fact the someone may leave this most auspicious path, the good news is that Krishna consciousness, once tasted, will never actually leave them. This is confirmed in the Srimad Bhagavatam as follows: na vai jano jatu kathancanavrajen mukunda-sevy anyavad anga samsrtim smaran mukundanghry-upaguhanam punar vihatum icchen na rasa-graho janah "My dear Vyasa, even though a devotee of Lord Krishna sometimes fa

Today, after a few days at our home base in Austin, Texas, we are heading back out on the road to Florida where we have an exhilarating series of lectures lined up. Yesterday I received a comment from someone who dropped out of our course because he felt it was boring. Some people may find this pathway boring, but I don't find it at all boring. This is truly the ultimate adventure, to be reconnecting with the summum bonum, the ultimate source of all energies. This is truly the greatest thrill of all times. You don't have to be traveling with me to experience it. You can fully connect yourself with Krishna in your own home. All you have to do is rise early in the morning and chant: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare If someone wants to sit on the bank without jumping into the soothing crystal-clear waters of Krishna Consciousness, they may find it boring. Krishna Consciousness, after all, is not a spectator

Only a Krishna conscious leader can fulfill all the desires of the people in general. He is compassionate because he bestows the highest benefit upon the human society. He is known as patita-pavan, the deliverer of all fallen souls, because under his guidance all the social orders become properly situated for peace and prosperity, and the people in general become fully enlightened with spiritual wisdom for escaping the cycle of birth and death. Such exalted Vaisnavas, devotees of the Lord, can fulfill the desires of everyone. Therefore we bow down at their feet and pray as follows: vancha-kalpatarubhyas ca krpa-sindhubhya eva ca patitanam pavanebhyo vaisnavebhyo namo namah "I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaisnava devotees of the Lord. They can fulfill the desires of everyone, just like desire trees, and they are full of compassion for the fallen souls." If all the government leaders will follow such Vaisnavas, all members of the society will naturally follo

Sometimes someone will take up the spiritual path with great enthusiasm but after some time give it up. He or she will lose faith in the self-realization process and decide to go back to world of material enjoyment. Why is this? This is generally due to a lack of patience. We are so much accustomed to getting instant results in fulfilling our sense gratificatory desires that do not have sufficient patience to endure the beginning stages of the Krishna Consciousness path. In the beginning it is quite natural that from time to time one will experience difficulties and confusion. One simply has to have faith in one's teacher and in the words of Lord Sri Krishna and stick tightly to the pathway. If one does so, it is guaranteed that he will come out of the fog and will realize all the imports of the Vedic wisdom. This is promised in the Svetasvatara Upanisad: yasya deve para bhaktir yatha deve tatha gurau tasyaite kathita hy arthah prakasante mahatmanah "Only unto those g

How are we to properly understand the relationship between the spiritual master and the Supreme Lord? How are we to properly honor and respect the spiritual master? Should he be seen as an ordinary man, or should he be given special respect? Instead of speculating with our conditioned consciousness, these questions are best answered by the supreme authority, Lord Sri Krishna Himself, as He describes to Sri Uddhava in the 11th Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam: acaryam mam vijaniyan navamanyeta karhicit na martya-buddhyasuyeta sarva-deva-mayo guruh "One should know the acarya as Myself and never disrespect him in any way. One should not envy him, thinking him an ordinary man, for he is the representative of all the demigods." ---Srimad Bhagavatam 11.17.27 Of course is not that the guru, the acharya, is Krishna, the lifter of Govardhan Hill. He is instead the most confidential servitor of the Supreme Lord. Therefore he is empowered by the Lord with His shakti, His divine ener

Most people do not want to wake up to reality because they do not know how beautiful reality actually is. They see the ugly world around them and they want to drown themselves in forgetfulness by indulging in multi-varieties of sense gratification. The difficulty with sense gratification is that it gives one some temporary sense of relief but then leaves one feeling even more miserable than he was before. So the bottom line is that sense gratification is not worth it. It takes too much endeavor and does not yield any lasting result. Why then settle for a half-baked solution when you can get the real thing? This is intelligence. We are offering you the actual solution for all the miseries of material existence. Kindly take our solution and be happy. Awaken now and become fully enlightened in pure Krishna consciousness. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: What Should Be Done First?... Kindly guide me. What one should be done first to make progress on the path

This material world is a place of constant uncertainty. We never know what is going to happen next. It could be fortune; it could be misfortune. Or it could be a mixture of both. If we try to base our happiness on our material situation, we are bound to be disappointed sooner or later. After all this material world, in the final analysis, is a place of misery culminating in old age, sickness, and death. So, if we want true lasting happiness, we have to look somewhere else to find. It simply does not exist here. That realm of true happiness does in fact exist. It is situated on the spiritual platform on which one realizes that he is not his body, that he is instead a pure spirit-soul qualitatively one with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One can enter that sublime realm by adopting a life of devotion to that Supreme Lord. How to live in this way is learned from the Lord's devotees and the bona fide spiritual master. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question

The key to rapid spiritual advancement is to be always remain fully submerged in Krishna Consciousness. Just like when one is submerged in water one is surrounded on all sides by water, the expert transcendentalist keeps himself completely absorbed in Krishna Consciousness 24 hours a day. The first thing he does is rise early before the sunrise and immediately chant, "Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. " Then he takes his morning his bath and engages himself in a morning program of worship, chanting, and study. Following this he takes his breakfast of Krishna prasadam (vegetarian foodstuffs offered with love and devotion to Lord Sri Krishna) and begins his daily work activities, which are offered 100% the service of Krishna. Then in the evening, he attends a spiritual program or has his own spiritual program at home. He takes rest as early as possible so that he can rise as early as possible the next morn