Ultimate Self Realization

Sooner or later we all have to face the prospect of leaving our present material body behind. This experience is commonly known as death. For most people death is something which is very much feared. For the self-realized souls, however, it is the most exciting moment when one is granted the opportunity for promotion into the spiritual world, that place where birth, death, old age, and disease are conspicuous by their absence. What determines whether we get promoted or whether we have to repeat the course by remaining within the cycle of birth and death? That depends on our consciousness at our final exam, the moment of death. If our thoughts are purely absorbed in thoughts of the Lord and His service, this is our way of solidly expressing our desire to be with Him in His eternal abode. In this state of consciousness upon leaving our present body we will definitely find ourselves waking up with the Lord and His eternal associates in the spiritual sky. If, however, our mind

It's 5:35 p.m. on Saturday 28 April 2007. Today I went with a group of devotees from our Riga temple to a recording studio here in Riga to record some kirtans and bhajans. It is was a very uplifting and purifying experience to be intensely absorbed for three hours with a group of devotees in chanting and hearing the glories of Lord Sri Krishna and the process of devotional service. Krishna describes in the Bhagavad-gita how enlightening and enlivening this is: mac-citta mad-gata-prana bodhayantah parasparam kathayantas ca mam nityam tusyanti ca ramanti ca "The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are fully devoted to My service, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss from always enlightening one another and conversing about Me." ---Bhagavad-gita 10.9 The above verse is certainly corroborated by our personal experience. This is nothing more sweet and wonderful than being absorbed in hearing and chanting the Lord's glories in the associatio

We are living in the Kali Yuga, the age of quarrel and hypocrisy. It's an age of cheating and exploitation. Everywhere people are simply trying to take advantage of each other. Lord Jesus Christ was crucified for his sincere attempt to do the highest good for the suffering humanity and Hari Das Thakur was severely beaten in 22 market places for the same reason. Even though we claim to be a highly advanced civilization with our ever-more sophisticated technology, the sad reality is that the world is becoming more and more chaotic. It's becoming more and more of an uncivilized jungle. In this connection poet Yeats has written: Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world Because people's hearts are becoming more and more polluted with lust, anger and greed, the entire atmosphere is becoming more and more polluted. The air is polluted, the water is polluted, the atmosphere is full of disturbing sounds. It is becoming more and mor

It's 6:39 a.m. on Thursday 26 April 2007. I just had a wonderful realization while I was attending the morning program at our nectarean temple in Riga, Latvia. I realized that by the mercy of my spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, I am living in paradise at every minute, and this will continue getting ever-increasingly sweeter and sweeter for all of eternity. And this in spite of an aging body that is gradually deteriorating and will sooner or later drop dead! I had always hoped for such a life, but never knew how to attain it. It was only after taking shelter of the lotus feet of the bona fide spiritual master that it became a practical reality. In this connection it is stated in the Srimad Bhagavatam as follows: tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh sreya uttamam sabde pare ca nisnatam brahmany upasamasrayam "Any person who seriously desires real happiness must seek a bona fide spiritual master and take shelter of him by initiation. The q

It's 9:55 a.m. on Wednesday 25 April 2007. This is our last day in Tartu on this preaching tour. It's always a wonderful treat to stay with the Krishna conscious college students at their center here (pictured below). I joined this movement 36 years ago when I was their age, and I don't feel like I have aged a day since then. By the grace of my spiritual master I have the same idealism, enthusiasm, and optimism that I had when I was a 22 years old youth. The only difference is that now I am even more optimistic, idealistic, and enthusiastic than I was then. Because Krishna is eternally young, His devotees also experience eternal youthfulness. The famous Spanish explorer, Ponce de Leon, was searching for the fountain of youth, but he never found it. By the grace of my spiritual master I have discovered the true fountain of youth: Krishna consciousness. Who wants to get old and die? Not me. I'd rather live in eternal youthfulness. Krishna consciousness is the

Through the process of transmigrating lifetime after lifetime we have gradually come to the human form. This is the actual process of evolution. Now that we have achieved the human form we are meant to evolve to the next step in evolution. We are meant to become spiritually perfected beings and escape the cycle of birth and death once for all. The bhakti yoga system, Krishna consciousness, when practiced properly under the guidance of the bona fide spiritual master will allow us to do just that. On Tuesday 24 April 2007 I got the opportunity to lecture to a hall full of students at Estonia's University of Tartu on what is the next step in evolution and how to achieve it. My followers in Tartu arranged for the hall and advertised my lecture. I lectured and then answered the many questions that the students had. Some of the students were so enlivened by our presentation that after the program they followed us back to our preaching center for further instructions. Sriman Sa

23 April 2007--This morning I appeared live on a talk show on Estonian National Television. The timing was perfect. We did the puja for Sri Sri Radha Damodar, went to the TV station for my live appearance, and returned to the temple just in time for to attend Srila Prabhupada's Guru Puja and for me to give the morning Srimad Bhagavatam Class. The show's host Kaileen Mägi asked very nice questions that gave me the perfect opportunity to explain the process of Krishna consciousness in a nutshell. She also asked me about the e-course, which enabled me to announce to the huge viewing audience how to sign up for our course. Immediately new subscribers joined my course from all over Estonia and they continued joining all day. It is a very wonderful and satisfying feeling to be able to touch so many peoples' hearts with the sublime mercy of Lord Sri Krishna, If you would like to see and hear the live talk show, you may do so by going to the following: http://www.backtohome.co

Nestled peacefully away from the city streets on the interior of a city block in central Tallinn, Estonia is the Sri Sri Harinama Mandir, the Temple of the Holy Names. The temple building was originally constructed as a prayer house in 1922 and has now been returned to its original purpose by the Hare Krishna movement. People of all persuasions are invited to come and take advantage of the sublime spiritual atmosphere of the temple to pray for peace and upliftment. It has been my residence for three days and also the site for a series of lectures I have been giving on the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam. Such temples serve as an oasis fort those who are dying of thirst in the vast desert of material existence. Wherever the holy names of the Lord are being regularly chanted that place becomes transformed into the spiritual world. And whoever takes advantage of such an elevated spiritual atmosphere becomes transported into immortality. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krish

In this material world everyone wants to be successful. But the difficulty is that they do not actually know what is success. They measure success in terms of money, power, and prestige. But such things do not solve the four-fold miseries of birth, death, old age, and disease. Actual success is that which delivers one from the cycle of birth and death. This success is achieved by those who master the self-realization science. So how can we easily master the self-realization science? The answer is that we have to associate with those who are already highly advanced on the self-realization path. Those persons are the devotees of the Lord. In the company of such exalted transcendental personalities our dormant Krishna consciousness is easily awakened. We will find ourselves blissfully and naturally engaged in the activities of liberated souls, such as diving deeply into hearing and chanting the transcendental glories of Lord Sri Krishna. On our recent visit to Sillamae, Estonia

My spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, blessed me with the torchlight of ultimate knowledge and instructed me that I should travel all over this dark world to bring that torchlight of knowledge to all those who are blinded by ignorance. Public libraries are supposed to be places of knowledge. Unfortunately they are mostly filled up with books which glorify the flickering tidings of the material existence and thus keep the readers entangled in the cycle of birth and death. It is very rare to find a true book of transcendental knowledge in a public library. Therefore when the Sillamae devotees informed me that I was schedule to give some publicly advertised lectures at the Sillamae public library I was delighted. What more appropriate place to reveal the truth that will set the hearers free? Sankarshan Prabhu Leads Kirtan and Lectures at the Sillamae Public Library Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Why Did We Leave Krishna?..

My quarters here in Sillamae overlook the Gulf of Finland. This morning while I was doing my writing the sunrise gradually manifested. I was immediately reminded of that sun which is even more brilliant than the sun which rises every morning. That sun is the Srimad Bhagavatam. When Lord Sri Krishna departed from this planet 5,000 years He remained in this world in the form of the Srimad Bhagavatam to dissipate the dark ignorance and illusion of this age of Kali so that people could become truly happy. This is nicely describe in the following verse of the Srimad Bhagavatam: krsne sva-dhamopagate dharma-jnanadibhih saha kalau nasta-drsam esa puranarko 'dhunoditah "This Bhagavat Purana is as brilliant as the sun, and it has arisen just after the departure of Lord Krishna to His own abode, accompanied by religion, knowledge, etc. Persons who have lost their vision due to the dense darkness of ignorance in the age of Kali shall get light from this Purana."--Srimad Bhaga

We are now in Sillamae, Estonia relishing the sweet nectar of Krishna katha which is flowing like the Ganges River on its way to the sea. Krishna katha means the hearing and chanting of the transcendental name, fame, form, entourage, and paraphernalia of Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this material world people take sense gratification as the ultimate goal of existence, but yet they can only enjoy their senses for a brief few minutes. Consequently they are often frustrated and bewildered by their lack of permanent happiness. This is because they are trying to enjoy on the false platform of bodily consciousness. Because we are not the body there is no actual pleasure on the bodily platform. There is only the illusion of pleasure. If we want actual pleasure we must come to the transcendental platform. That platform is attained and maintained by complete, total absorption in Krishna consciousness. Sankarshan Prabhu Distributes the Sweet Nectar of Krishna Consci

As I write this it is 8:14 am on Tuesday the 17th of April 2007. We are sailing across the Gulf of Finland from Helsinki, Finland to Tallinn, Estonia on the cruise ship Nordlandia. It is a three-and-half hour cruise in a private cabin which affords me a good opportunity for focusing well on reading and writing. While sailing the ocean I am reminded of the following most wonderful verse from the Srimad Bhagavatam: 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 of the material world is like the water contained in a calf's hoof-print. Their goal is param padam, Vaikuntha, the place where there are no material miseries, not the place where there is danger at every step." --- Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.58

Today we are heading out for a new chapter in our ever-increasingly ecstatic traveling and preaching all over the world program. Since last Thursday we have been diving into a ocean of unending bliss here at the ISKCON center in Helsinki, Finland. This place is a real oasis in this desert of material existence. There is a wonderful crew of devotees here under the guidance of Sriman Tattvavada Prabhu, a former Finnish military officer. There is such a warm family feeling here that whenever I return here I feel like I have come home. Even when I am not physically here, I am connecting myself with this transcendental abode by remembrance. Their most merciful Lordships Sri Sri Gaura Nitai preside here over Finland bestowing unlimited mercy upon the Finns. vande sri-krsna-caitanya- nityanandau sahoditau gaudodaye puspavantau citrau san-dau tamo-nudau "I offer my respectful obeisances unto Sri Krishna Caitanya and Lord Nityananda, who are like the sun and moon. They have arisen si

There is a common misconception that spiritual enlightenment comes like a flash of lightening out the sky. This is not the case. The way spiritual enlightenment happens is just like the gradual rising of the sun within the sky of one's heart. If ones seriously sticks to the ultimate self-realization path, the bhakti yoga path, by remaining steadily engaged in Krishna consciousness, he will experience the factual gradual reawakening of his original enlightened consciousness. He will revive his original identity that he once had before he fell into material existence. This is the special mercy of Lord Sri Krishna upon that person who is sincerely trying to surrender to Him. Lord Krishna confirms this as follows in the Bhagavad-gita: tesam evanukampartham aham ajnana-jam tamah nasayamy atma-bhava-stho jnana-dipena bhasvata "To show them special mercy, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance." Bhagavad-gi

Nobody wants to suffer, but nobody knows how to achieve permanent relief from the their suffering. The good news is that permanent relief is available for those who are desirous of having it. Therefore there is no reason to continue suffering. One should simply has to take advantage of the mercy of the Lord and become delivered once and for all from all the sufferings of material existence. That mercy is available in the form of His holy names: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare If one regularly chants these holy names with love and devotion one will gradually experience the complete total reawakening of his or her eternal enlightened consciousness and become forever free from suffering. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Worship only Krishna?... I have been praying to Lord Ganesh, Lord Hanuman, Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu, Lord Rama and the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krishna since childhood. Should

There is no reason to cheat yourself any longer out of the unlimited bliss and knowledge that is your constitutional birth right. All you have to do is reawaken the dormant enlightened consciousness that has been sleeping within you for countless eons. This process of divine awakening is not an artificial imposition on the mind. Rather it is the cleansing away of the artificialities that have been imposed and accumulating within the mind for millions and billions of lifetimes. Even though the process of becoming more and more illusioned is extremely complicated, the process of becoming liberated is extremely simple. All one has to do is regularly, solidly connect himself with the source of all existence. Through this connecting therapy gradually one is restored to one's original completely pure nature. This connecting process is known as the yoga system. Some types of yoga are more suitable for previous ages when the earth was very peaceful and the human lifespan was thous

A devotee of the Lord has no interest in enjoying this material world. He fully realizes that it is simply a place of suffering. Because his only interest is serving Krishna, the most suitable abode for his residence is the spiritual world. Since he is fully absorbed 24 hours a day in Krishna's service he is guaranteed to enter into the spiritual world at the time of death and resume his eternal relationship with the Lord. But as long as the devotee remains in this world, because of his compassionate nature, he is very eager to bless all the souls of this world with the sublime process of Krishna consciousness. He cannot tolerate the pain and suffering being undergone by the living beings here. Therefore he fully dedicates himself to enlightening as many people as possible with the transcendental self-realization science. Thus his every minute is dedicated to bringing about the deliverance of all living beings. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Caste Sys

There's a lot of nescience out there in the material world. Those who are fortunate are released from it. Those who are not so fortunate are knowingly or unknowingly simply awaiting that opportune moment when they will become fortunate enough to also become released from it. Those who are fortunate are constantly immersed in the compassionate mood of how to make the unfortunate fortunate. Up until their last dying breath when they most fortunately make their departure from this unfortunate abode they do everything possible to flood this world with unlimited good fortune. Sharing Unlimited Good Fortune in Hannover, Germany Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Why Dhotis and Saris?... Today I read "Thought for the Day" and the answer to the person who asked the reason for the Indian clothes and Indian names. Personally I love seeing people dressed like that and with names which all have a meaning connected with Krishna. Can you please explain how it h

World's burdened by confusion, People drowning in delusion. Blessed with light, Must give my might To set them right. Got to drive away illusion, Bring about the fusion of the living being with his true self. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Who Makes More Progress?... There are devotees who stay in the temple and attend all aratis of the day. They also chant the prescribed number of rounds on their japa mala beads every day regularly study the Srimad Bhagavatam. There are also devotees who do not stay in temples who do the prescribed chanting every day and study the Srimad Bhagavatam. These devotees also follow the regulative principles like the devotees in the temple. Is there any difference in the spiritual progress between these two types of devotees? Warm regards, Sunil Vaswani from Mumbai, India Answer: Whoever is the Most Devoted... Although the temple atmosphere is the most favorable atmosphere for spiritual advancement, even more favorable is one

Modern day atheistic scientists claim that life has no meaning, other than the meaning we give to it. But if life is ultimately meaningless, why would we feel a need to give it meaning? If existence were meaningless, we would not hanker for meaning. Just as our thirst for water indicates the existence of water, similarly the desire for meaning indicates the existence of meaning. Before we go jumping on a philosophical bandwagon we should carefully and intelligently consider whether or not sound reasoning is being applied. Our PhD-titled friends proudly proclaim that they are scientists, but so far as I have seen they are blindly accepting Charles Darwin as their savior and propounding another version of dogmatic religion of which are they are the self-proclaimed high priests. In this connection there is a Bengali saying: Pagale ki na bole chagale ki na khaya "What a madman will not speak, and what a goat will not eat?" These fellows laugh at the idea of a Supreme Being wh

7 April 2007-2:00PM It is no doubt delightful to be on the road once again for Krishna here in Germany. There are so many centers, pockets of Krishna consciousness, here that we are never able to cover all of them in any one tour. Indeed, this is our third or fourth tour and we still have not covered all of them. Bhakta Eddy is our blissful driver, taking us wherever we need to go in his camper van. Today after two ecstatic days of diving into the ocean of unlimited nectar at ISKCON's Heidlberg center we are en route to Hohenstein where I will be addressing a large gathering of devotees to share with them this supreme nectar. There is truly nothing more ecstatic than spreading the ultimate science of Krishna consciousness all over the world. Someday the entire world will be completely inundated in the ocean of Krishna bhakti. These are the early pioneering days of that inundation, a most exciting time to live on this planet. Our Blissful Driver, Eddy Answers According to

Everyone is desiring that there shall be worldwide peace and prosperity, but the difficulty is that everyone is also ignorant of the means of achieving it. They strive for peace through politics and diplomacy, and they endeavor for prosperity through economic development. But these methods will always ultimately prove to be in ineffective because unless we address the root cause of turmoil and poverty all of our attempts for establishing peace and prosperity will always remain superficial at best. The root cause of the anomalies that afflict the human civilization is that we are not in a loving, harmonious relationship with the source of our existence. Rather we have an antagonist relationship with the origin of our being. The bhakti yoga science is perfect system given by God Himself to bring us back into a perfect state of harmony with Him, the source of our being. The time has come for all intelligent, thoughtful, and sensitive persons to engage themselves in the bhakti yoga s

The more we give Krishna to others, the more we get Krishna. Therefore I am always looking for opportunities to share this ultimate nectar with as many people as possible. This is why I am practically always traveling and preaching all over the world. There is truly nothing more sublime and wonderful than awakening the dormant Krishna consciousness which is currently sleeping within the heart and helping others to do the same. On our first full day in Heidlberg one of the devotees asked me if I wanted to attend a home program that evening. I immediately without any hesitation accepted the invitation. We drove from Heidlberg to a nearby town named Ostringen to the home of a pious Indian lady named Kanti. There was a wonderful gathering of persons there eager to hear about Krishna, chant His holy names, and relish Krishna prasadam (foodstuffs offered to Lord Krishna with love and devotion). We spent the entire evening diving deeper and deeper into the ocean of transcendental bl