Ultimate Self Realization

For those who are serious about attaining perfection on the self-realization path there is no greater teaching than the Srimad Bhagavad-gita. In this greatest of all guidebooks Lord Sri Krishna gives all the information necessary for one to quickly and easily attain the topmost platform of expanded consciousness, pure love of God. One of the Gita's most important principles is described in Chapter Four: tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya upadeksyanti te jnanam jnaninas tattva-darsinah "Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth." Bhagavad-gita 4.34 Because of the importance of being able to inquire from the spiritual master and receive answers, the spiritual master works very hard to answer thoroughly and lovingly all sincere inquiries that are put forward to him. If the disciples take full advan

A devotee of the Lord is never afraid. He is always free from fear because he is always protected by the Lord. Even if he is living in the blazing inferno of this material existence, he is never scorched by its flames as he is always under the protection of the cooling mercy of Lord Sri Krishna. He takes full advantage of the association of the spiritual master, who is the mercy manifestation of the Lord. Any person who is burning in the flames of material existence can be blessed with the rain of mercy of the Lord through the transparent medium of the self-realized spiritual master. Simply by his words, the spiritual master enters into the heart of the suffering person and injects transcendental knowledge, which alone saves him from the all-devouring fire of material existence. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: How Do We Know God Exists?... I have a question for you. How do we know God exists? How can you prove it? Thanks, Aratidia Answer: How Could God Not

On Tuesday 26 June 2007 here in British Columbia, Canada I spoke on the science of self-realization at Simon Fraser University. I explained to the students how of all the sciences the self-realization science is the most important, that there should be a self-realization department in every university throughout the world. After all, how can a student meaningfully map out his career plans when he does not even know who he is? This is one most asinine aspects of our modern so-called educational system. We expect the students to get all excited about a career, but we do not give them even the foggiest idea about who they are. And then we wonder why they bring a gun to campus and start shooting everyone in sight. It's time we start putting the horse before cart. Therefore I took the invitation I received to speak at Simon Fraser University as the greatest opportunity to help bring about a brighter future for the human society. I pray that my explanation of the self-realization w

Here in Burnaby, British Columbia, a suburb of Vancouver, is a most sublime community of highly advanced transcendentalists, devotees of Lord Krishna. To be here living in their association for several days is a most enlivening experience. At 4:30am we all gather in the temple (pictured above) to celebrate the most auspicious mangal arati ceremony, worship Tulasi devi, chant our daily quota of 16 rounds on japa beads, offer guru puja, and study the Srimad Bhagavatam. Then everyone takes breakfast together and proceeds on to their daily duties either doing service at the temple or working at outside jobs to cover their maintenance and give financial support to the temple. This is self-realization in practice by an entire spiritual family of devotees. Self-realization is not mere theorizing. It is practical, just like these devotees here are doing. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Vegetarian Diet Clarification... First let me introduce my self I am a Musli

You've come too far in the evolutionary process, the transmigration of the soul through 8,000,000 different species, to waste this rarest of all opportunities, the human form of life. Don't allow yourself to become sidetracked by the fulfillment of material desires. Your material desires are going to get fulfilled anyway by the arrangement of nature. Does the elephant in the African jungle have to make any big arrangement for fulfilling his desires? No, he does not have to. Whatever he needs is already there by God's arrangement. So do you think God is more partial to the elephant than He is the human being? So instead of putting all of your energy into fulfilling your material desires, put the bare minimum into this instead. The balance energy should then be invested in the activity of awakening your dormant enlightened consciousness, your Krishna consciousness, Christ consciousness, Allah consciousness, or Buddha consciousness. In this way your human life will n

Due to having my computer inoperable for a couple of days last week and to being on the road on another lecture series, I am extremely backlogged on answering my emails. I cannot rush through them answering them simply with a quick comment. I must deeply consider the needs of the inquirer and reply in the most thoughtful, complete, and compassionate way possible. So it will take some time for me to catch up. This is an opportunity for all those who are waiting for answers to develop the quality of patience, one of the greatest virtues on the pathway of spiritual perfection. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Mind and Intellect... As always, am very grateful for helping us get close to Krishna with your wonderful thought for the day. Could you please explain the difference between intellect and intelligence...and also the difference between mind and intellect? I sincerely appreciate your response and thank you for your time. Your humble student, Uma Answer: Dr

On Friday evening 23 June here in Vail, Colorado I was the opening speaker at a spiritual unity conference. The noble goal of the conference, expertly organized by Andrew Waters (one of our readers), was to promote unity in an age of increasing fragmentization and conflict. Although I addressed the issue of global conflict resolution explaining how the respiritualization of the entire human society was the only practical means for achieving this end, the other speakers (a Buddhist, a Christian, and a Muslim) did not tie in their presentations with the goal of the conference. We were told such things as the purpose of life is unknowable (by the Buddhist), we have to wait 50,000 years to enter into Paradise (by the Muslim), and that killing animals is not prohibited by God (by the Christian). But if we don't know our purpose as the Buddhist explained, how can we function at all, how can we do anything? We would be like a ship without a rudder. The Vedic wisdom clearly and intelli

In the Vedic social system there are four classes of men. The brahmanas (priestly, intellectual class) are considered first class. The ksatriyas (warrior, administrator class) are considered second class. The vaishyas (entrepreneurial, productive class) third class, and the sudras (worker class) fourth class. It does not matter where one is situated according to one's occupation, if one is transcendentally situated on the platform of devotional service to the Supreme Person, one is automatically considered to be a brahmana, a first-class human being, because anyone situated in devotional service automatically realizes what is Brahman, the Absolute Truth. In this connection the Srimad Bhagavatam describes as follows: yah svakat parato veha jata-nirveda atmavan hrdi krtva harim gehat pravrajet sa narottamah "He is certainly a first-class man who awakens and understands, either by himself or from others, the falsity and misery of this material world and thus leaves home and

There are two classes of transcendentalists: those whose only desire is to renounce the world and those whose endeavor is to save the world. Those who are simply trying to renounce the world undergo great penances and austerities in their attempt to do so, but in spite of this, they often fall from the rigid path because of deep-seated difficult-to-overcome material desires. On the other hand, those who are trying to save others from illusion by spreading the science of devotion all over the world, even though often undergoing difficulties, taste an inconceivably sweet nectar, which completely dwarfs all forms of worldly pleasure. Therefore such spiritual revolutionaries are already liberated from all material desires. So by comparative analysis we can easily see it is better to dedicate our lives fully to global respiritualization because by doing so one attains the platform which includes and goes beyond mere renunciation of this world. Answers According to the Vedic Version Q

We should never allow ourselves to be so caught up in the nitty-gritty of every day existence that we forget what is the purpose of all of this. There is far more to existence than what most people comprehend. A passionate life of material progress, no matter how successfully executed, will ultimately prove to be a source of frustration for us because everything material that we have accumulated will eventually be taken away. We cannot keep anything. So why should we work so hard for something that we cannot keep? It does not make sense. We should instead focus our energies on attaining that which lies far, far beyond this temporary material existence. We should instead focus our energies on awakening our original eternal divine consciousness, our Krishna consciousness. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Free Will or Krishna's Plan?... All glories unto you! Thank you once again for reminding me of matters most important, every day, tirelessly, and mercil

No matter how hard we try to enjoy this material world we can never be fully satisfied because we are in prison. How happy can you be when you are in prison? The only real happiness you can have while you are in prison is to be in process of getting out of prison. That's why if you want actual happiness, factual happiness, you must take seriously to the self-realization path. You do not really have any other choice. Anything besides that is simply a continuation of your prison existence. And that is not a very hopeful option. The good news is that is you are at all serious about the self-realization path, the Lord within your heart will bring you into direct contact with a bona fide spiritual master who will then enlighten you with transcendental knowledge and show you the way out of this quagmire. You will be led by the spiritual master into higher and higher dimensions of transcendental bliss for all of eternity. What could be better than this? Answers According to the

Out of his unlimited compassion upon the illusioned souls of this world the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna comes here again and again to deliver them from delusion. He enlightens them in the science of how they can regain their original identities as eternal inhabitants of the spiritual world. And even when the Lord does not personally come He mercifully sends his representatives, the bona fide spiritual masters, who carry His divine potency (Krishna-sakti), and teach the bhakti science for the deliverance of the entire human society. Although throughout the ages there are many such divinely empowered spiritual masters, from time to time a very special acharya will appear. Such an acharya is addressed by the title "Prabhupada", the master at whose feet all masters sit. Such a pre-eminent acharya is my spiritual master, His Divine Grace Om Vishnupada Parivrajakacharya A.C. Bhaktivedanta Tridandi Goswami Maharaja Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada accomplished what no other acharya

Self-realization means not only to realize who you are. It means to also realize Who is the Supreme Self. Since the individual self only exists in relationship with the Supreme Self, there is no way to become self-realized which does not include realizing the Supreme Self. Some seekers of spiritual enlightenment mistakenly theorize that the Supreme is devoid of personality that it does not have selfness or selfhood. But nothing could be further from the truth. Since we see that so many personalities exist throughout the creation, we can understand that just as a gold-yielding goldmine must necessarily possess gold, similarly the ultimate fountainhead of all energies, from which all of these selves emanate, must also necessarily possess selfness. Therefore genuine self-realization means to reconnect with that original Self, the Supreme Self. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Tools for Improved Chanting?.... Sometimes while repeating Maha-Mantra I make a lot of a

On the morning of Saturday 16 June 2007 here in Columbus, Ohio at ISKCON's Krishna House center another most fortunate soul was initiated into our Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya-Prabhupada Sampradaya. I accepted Bhakta Josh, a college student who is preparing to become a teacher, as my duly initiated disciple. Henceforward he is to be known as Jagannath Das. There is nothing more auspicious than that moment when we fully surrender to Lord Krishna by taking complete shelter of his authorized representative, the bona fide spiritual master. Srila Prabhupada explains that if we firmly stick to our initiation vows, from the very moment of our initiation our deathlessness begins. I am now serving as an initiating guru for thirty-four devotees and that number is gradually growing. Today after initiating Jagannath Das I remembered that simply wonderful time back in 1971 when I fully surrendered myself at the lotus feet of my beloved spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

The perfection of consciousness is to see everything in relationship with the Supreme Lord. Such a vision is not artificial because everything, being the Lord's emanated energy, is naturally related with Him. In this regard Srila Prabhupada explains in his purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 10.13.53 as follows: "...everything is part and parcel of Krishna and is acting and moving by the supreme desire of Krishna. This understanding, this consciousness, is Krishna consciousness." What a wonderful vision this is! This means that nothing is happening by chance. Everything is happening under the divine direction of the all merciful Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore if we constantly take shelter of Him, we have nothing to fear under any circumstances. This same point is made in the Bible: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me." As soon as start to see everything in relationship with the Su

The ether is fill of thousands of subtle waves. Just consider all of the TV shows, radio shows, and mobile phone conversations that are being transmitted through the atmosphere at every minute. It's inconceivable, but yet with the suitable reception equipment you can watch so many TV shows, hear so many radio programs, or participate in so many telephone calls. Similarly with the proper equipment properly utilized you can tune into the supreme live broadcast from the spiritual world and even enter into it and become a part of it. You already have the proper equipment, your consciousness. Now all you have to do is learn how to properly utilize your consciousness. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Krishna is In and Not In Everything?... In the 14 June 2007 "Thought for the Day" you quoted this verse: yo mam pasyati sarvatra sarvam ca mayi pasyati tasyaham na pranasyami sa ca me na pranasyati "For one who sees Me everywhere and sees everything i

The entire material world is working under the principle of material sense gratification, subtle and gross. This is the motivating factor for everything, inspiring everyone to work hard. But someone who is fixed in Krishna consciousness is inspired to work even harder for the ultimate happiness of pleasing the Supreme Lord. Such transcendental happiness is not imaginary. It is more tangible than any amount of material happiness. It is described 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 concentrates on the Supreme." --Bhagavad-gita 5.21 Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Support for Vegetarian Diet... This query is to one of your replies to the question wherein asked what is

This material world is a place of calamities. There's nothing we can do to change that. It will always be a place of calamities. But there's one thing we can do. We can change the way that we perceive and how we deal with the inevitable calamities. For example, there is a young devotee named Caitanyananda Das in Helsinki, Finland who is dying of cancer. Instead of becoming morose, he is becoming enlivened that now the time will come soon when he can personally serve Lord Sri Krishna in His eternal abode, Goloka Vrindavan. So what can we do when calamities come to us? If we see everything in relationship with the Lord and always remember that His loving hand is behind everything that happens, that there is a divine purpose for everything, then we will be in the proper position to remain cool-headed even the face of the most devastating calamities. By careful study and practical application of the Vedic wisdom under the able guidance of a qualified teacher, we will learn

There are so many kinds of welfare activities going on throughout the world. But in most cases, the welfare being dispensed is only temporary. The greatest difficulties of birth, death, old age, and disease are not being solved by the welfare organizations. No how much help people are given, if they are still caught up in the cycle of birth and death, the welfare they received remains incomplete. This is why the greatest welfare activity is to reconnect the illusioned soul with his actual eternal identity as a servant of God. There is no greater altruism or humanitarianism than this. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Significance of 108 Beads?... What is the significance of 108 beads in a single round of japa? For so long I have not come across the answer to this question. I am eager to know. Hare Krishna! Your Servant, Akshay Answer: 108 Gopis... The 108 beads represent Krishna's 108 chief gopis. Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Are you sick and tired of the miseries of material existence? Has birth, death, old age, and disease gotten you down? If so, I've got the ultimate good news for you. There's a way out of here. My spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, showed me the way out, and told me to turn the entire world onto this topmost of all secrets. You can enter into the spiritual world right now, even while you maintain your material body in this world. You simply have to see everything in relationship with the Lord and engage everything in His service. If you do so, as you enter deeper and deeper into this mood of devotion you will see the entire world become transformed right before your very eyes. It's as simple as that. Take it or leave it. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Sectarian or Non-Sectarian?... I am confused. Sometimes in your Thoughts for the Day and lectures you are very non-sectarian. You tell people that it is for their benefit to turn away from mate

Lord Krishna is already seated within our hearts, but because our hearts have been conquered by six different enemies we cannot perceive Him. The intelligent person therefore adopts a process of killing off these six enemies so that he can fully re-establish his lost loving relationship with the Lord. The six different enemies are as follows: Kama (lust), Krodha (anger), Lobha (greed), Moha (illusion), Mada (madness), and Matsarya (envy). When a devotee of the Lord becomes disinterested in and aloof from material association, his real position of bhakti is manifested, and he naturally becomes uninterested in material enjoyment. When the six enemies are killed by such aloofness one is freed from material contamination, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears within the heart. In other words, when one awakens his natural Krishna consciousness, Lord Krishna appears. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: How to Get Free From Anarthas?... What are the types of ana

In this material world people are interested to do whatever is considered the most cool, whatever is the most fashionable, the most hip. They are after the coolest music, the coolest fashions, and everything else that is the most hip. But who can compete with Krishna or God in this department? There is nothing more fashionable, more trendy than the pastimes of God. In fact Krishna openly declares in the Bhagavad-gita, "I am the Supreme Enjoyer." But yet in spite of this, Krishna is amazed when He sees that Srimati Radharani is enjoying more than Him. nija-premasvade mora haya ye ahlada taha ha'te koti-guna radha-premasvada "Whatever pleasure I get from tasting My love for Srimati Radharani, She tastes ten million times more than Me by Her love."--Caitanya Caritamrita Adi Lila, 4.127 Not to be outdone, Krishna assumes the golden complexion and the devotional mood of Srimati Radharani so that He can expand His enjoyment ten million times. He takes th

Although we face so much horror and ugliness in this material world, if we go deep into the spiritual energy, we will experience that on the ultimate level reality is simply wonderful. There is nothing which is outside of the Lord's all-merciful arrangements. Everything is going on under the energy of the all-merciful Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Sri Krishna. When we fully connect with Him through loving devotion, we will never be devastated by the suffering conditions of this material existence ever again. Of course, this is easier said than done. But it is doable if we take help from authorized books of Vedic wisdom such as the Bhagavad-gita. It's up to us whether we want to prioritize this or not. If we like, we can prioritize making money and spending it for sense gratification. Or we can make developing pure love for God the number one goal of our lives. The insider's secret in this connection is that if you prioritize spiritual advancement, your materia

Back in 1971 I was blessed with the opportunity to surrender myself as a disciple at the lotus feet of that greatest of all spiritual masters, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. After careful study and due consideration I realized that this was the greatest opportunity I had ever been blessed with in millions of lifetimes and I happily agreed to become his disciple. In those days I learned from his disciples how to sing a beautiful song early every morning in his honor. That song is known as the Gurvastakam (eight prayers glorifying the spiritual master). The seventh prayer is as follows: saksad-dharitvena samasta-sastrair uktas tatha bhavyata eva sadbhih kintu prabhor yah priya eva tasya vande guroh sri-caranaravindam "The spiritual master is to be honored as much as the Supreme Lord because he is the most confidential servitor of the Lord. This is acknowledged in all revealed scriptures and followed by all authorities. Therefore I offer my respectful obeis

You are very special to us. You are one of Lord Krishna's most dear children. Somehow or other you have wandered far away from home having become totally lost in the cycle of birth and death so much so that you no longer even remember your actual eternal identity. We were similarly lost as are you, but were rescued from the deep, dense, dungeon of delusion by the mercy of Krishna and his pure devotee, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Now on his order we have accepted the duty of trying to convince you to return with us to your and our original home in the spiritual world. Are you willing to come? We certainly hope so. In this connection Lord Sri Krishna states in the Bhagavad-gita: a-brahma-bhuvanal lokah punar avartino 'rjuna mam upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate "From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son

Buried deep within your heart is everything that you've been looking for since time immemorial through millions and millions of births. You don't have to go anywhere. You've already got everything you need for an eternal, blissful, fully cognizant existence. Simply you must learn how to awaken your actual self by reconnecting with the Supreme Self. Lord Sri Krishna very nicely describes in the Bhagavad-gita: yo 'ntah-sukho 'ntar-aramas tathantar-jyotir eva yah sa yogi brahma-nirvanam brahma-bhuto 'dhigacchati "One whose happiness is within, who is active and rejoices within, and whose aim is inward is actually the perfect mystic. He is liberated in the Supreme, and ultimately he attains the Supreme." ---Bhagavad-gita 5.24 By carefully applying the bhakti-yoga system you can internalize or spiritualize your every thought, word, and deed. If you will fully thus absorb yourself on the transcendental plane, even while engaged in normal every day activ