Heaven and Hell

Krishna consciousness is so wonderful that no matter whether one is in an heavenly place like Fiji or in a hellish place like Los Angeles one derives unlimited pleasure by tasting the happiness within. One who is fixed in Krishna consciousness is neither attached to heavenly places nor averse to hellish places. He simply wants to go wherever he can most effective for awakening the sleeping souls to their eternal blissful natures as devotees of Lord Sri Krishna. Because of his fixity in this mission He is always living in the spiritual world with Lord Sri Krishna at every minute, and he experiences the heavens and hells of this world as just so many passing images on the movie screen of the material energy.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Heavenly Fiji

Hellish Los Angeles

Answers According to the Vedic Version:

Question: How to Recognize Bona Fide Guru?

I hope that by sharing with you where I stand and what I see, that you can help me overcome the impasse at self-realization. The Bhagavad-gita teaches that to become self-realized one must find a bona fide guru who comes from an unbroken disciplic lineage originating from Krishna. The Bhagavad-gita also teaches that only the guru who is self-realized can teach self-realization, otherwise the "guru" is merely a charlatan. I understand that you fit into this lineage. You write on the welcome letter of your website that your master showed you the secrets of self-realization, and that you wish to freely share this science. Since to teach self-realization a guru must be self-realized, I take it that you are self-realized.

My question is this: How can a not self-realized being recognize a self-realized being?

There are thousands of "gurus" in world to choose from. Since to follow a guru is to devote one's life to guru's teachings, I'm hesitant and unwilling to hand my life and well-being to a possible charlatan. The Bhagavad-gita teaches that a bona fide guru comes from a disciplic lineage, that like a copper wire that conducts electricity, the bona fide gurus are conduits for Krishna. While I believe that the disciplic lineage is like a conduit, I do not know that the origin of the lineage is Krishna. The Bhagavad-gita also teaches about the attributes of a real guru, however, one can imitate the attributes of a self-realized being without being self-realized.

Even more so, although I believe the Bhagavad-gita is filled with wisdom, I do not know whether the Bhagavad-gita is God's words. Like Arjuna, I'm in a battlefield of the material world, but unlike Arjuna, Krishna is not in my chariot. I do not have the benefit of Krishna revealing himself to me as the Supreme Being. I have no one.

Well, I have you ... Dear Sankarshan Das Adhikari, show me the Supreme Being. Show me that you are self-realized.

You might instead suggest to give the Hare Krishna practice a simple try, and that then I'll see. It can't hurt, right? However, in order to practice I must practice genuinely. To genuinely practice I must genuinely believe in the truth of the practice. But I don't believe in the truth of the practice, therefore, how can I even try? Even if I do make an attempt to practice, I'm afraid that my time and effort will be a failed struggle. I'm afraid that upon having practiced and failed, that I will be told that the failure is not the result of a flawed practice but the result of my failure at practicing right.

I need more than reason. I need more than promises. I need the revelation of a self-realized being. I need Krishna.

Please help,

Alexander Shenkar

Answer: The Socket Works

Krishna appears in the form of the spiritual master for that soul who is sincerely seeking Him. Although the spiritual master is not Krishna, he is as good as Krishna because by coming into contact with him, you are coming into direct contact with Krishna. There is a simple example in this connection. To illuminate your lamp it needs to be connected with the powerhouse. But in your room you are at a great distance from the powerhouse. So how will you illuminate your lamp? You will take advantage of the wall socket, which is as good as the powerhouse because it is solidly connected with the powerhouse. How will you know that the powerhouse is bona fide and the wall socket is bona fide? The answer is very simple. Your lamp will become illuminated.

So when you actually become connected with the Supreme Lord through the medium of the bona fide spiritual master, you will personally experience how you have become enlightened with transcendental knowledge and realization. You will personally experience, just as Arjuna did, that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the source of all existence and that the self-realized spiritual master is your perfect connection with Krishna.

So how do you make the test? You simply must plug your lamp into the wall socket. If it does not work, you can then plug it in somewhere else. All you have to do is keep plugging it into this socket or that socket until you finally find the socket that works. That is the bona fide spiritual master.

Whether you believe in the authenticity of the wall socket or you do not, if you plug your lamp into a bona fide wall socket, it will become illuminated.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari