Ultimate Self Realization

According to the Vedanta-sutra it is the duty of everyone who has attained a human birth to inquire about the absolute truth. And if we are intelligent enough to rise beyond the animal platform by such inquiry, we are further advised that we should not speculate that we must instead approach a guru. We are advised thus because the absolute truth can only be revealed to us by someone who has already realized it himself. But who to accept as our guru? This can be really confusing because nowadays there are so many persons being touted as gurus. So how do we know which one to accept? Obviously we have to approach that person who has genuinely realized the absolute truth, not someone who is pretending that he has realized the absolute truth. But since we are not yet realized in the absolute truth how will we be able to discriminate because he who has actually realized the absolute truth and someone who is dishonestly claiming he has realized the absolute truth? To be able to make thi

After a hiatus of several weeks here at our headquarters at Bhaktivedanta Ashram we are back on the road today this time to Pennsylvania and New Jersey. I will speaking at a university, some temples, and some home programs. After these few days for the most part we will remain in Austin up until our next around-the-world tour, which begins on 31 March with a lecture tour in Germany and then on to many other countries around the world. It's a wonderful, enlivened, surcharged, happy feeling to be out on the road spreading Krishna bhakti around the globe. The breaks are good for our health and also are a choice time to ruminate on how we can make our preaching tours more spiritually powerful and effective. I hope to meet you all somewhere out there as I am traveling here and there. Please check out my lecture schedule below and try to rendezvous with me. I would love to meet you! Let me know that you are subscriber to my e-course. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the

Now that our April-June world preaching tour is confirmed and ticketed we are looking to finalize our September-January world preaching tour. After many days of work and making so many arrangements we were informed by the airline that the booking that THEY made was not according to THEIR rules and they cancelled it. Now after being misguided by an inattentive airline booking agent we are starting all over again practically from scratch to devise our itinerary. In Krishna's service there are many ups and downs. We have learned from Lord Krishna and from the previous acharyas that one has to tolerate these dualities without being disturbed. Today's upheaval was a great opportunity to apply the Lord's teachings. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Proof that No One Devolves? Namaste. I don't know chapter and verse, but somewhere in the Gita, Lord Krishna says, "I preserve what they have and I carry what they lack.&quo

We can either be the controller of our senses or we can be controlled by our senses. The controller of the senses is known as a goswami, a master of the senses. A godasa, servant of the senses, is that person who is being manipulated by his senses. The senses have no intelligence of their own. Simply they are always itching for gratification. If our life is spent only in catering to our senses we will never find lasting peace and satisfaction. In the Bhagavad-gita Lord Krishna explains how the senses burn like fire and are never satisfied. No matter how much fuel we may feed to a fire it keeps on demanding more and more fuel. It never becomes satiated no matter how much fuel we feed to it. So the best program is to give our senses only as much as they require to keep body and soul together. The remaining portion of our energy should be absorbed in hearing, chanting, and remembering the glorious name, fame, pastimes, entourage, and paraphernalia of Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme

The Srimad Bhagavatam instructs that no one should become a leader unless they can deliver their dependents from the cycle of birth and death. In other words a leader is responsible not only for the current situation of his dependents; he is also karmically responsible for the destination they will achieve in their next birth as a result of following him. If a leader is not Krishna conscious, he is doing to greatest disservice to his followers because by his influence they are being driven down to the lower species in their next birth. He is also hurting himself because he will have to go there with them. Therefore we are appealing herewith to all the world's leaders to take up the path of spiritual emancipation for their own benefit and the benefit of their followers. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How to Balance Spiritual and Material Duties? Dear Guru Maharaja, All Glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to your Grace and all

The entire world is suffering due to a lack of Krishna consciousness. Does that mean that you have to suffer with them? No. It does not. If you are willing to be daring and step out from the crowd to realize your eternal, spiritually enlightened nature, all you have to do is follow our simple guidelines. The results are guaranteed. If you will simply always put Krishna in the center of everything you do, you'll be amazed at how your consciousness will be transformed. We will train you how to do it. Are you ready? Sankarshan Das Adhikari Revealing the Bhakti Secrets Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How to Get Free from Attachment? What is the meaning of attachment? What are the types of attachment? How can I get free from attachment? Why was the material nature created by Lord Krishna? What was the purpose, since He knows that the material world is so miserable? Your servant, Aditya Answer: Attach Yourself to Krishna Attachment means ac

Why would you want to be anything other than what you actually are? Does this make sense? It would be crazy to try to be something that you are not. It would be a useless waste of time. So why spin your wheels going nowhere? Find out who you really are and how to become fully situated in that real identity. This is the real goal of human life. This is known as the science of self-realization, and it is taught by the perfectly self-realized spiritual master. Seek out such a spiritual master and learn from him the science of how to be who are actually are. He will reconnect you with your actual self. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Taste the Greatest Satisfaction Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Which Guru Should I Choose? I would like to get your answer to this question. I have been thinking about my initiation, but I have some doubts as to how to pick my guru. The devotees who are guiding me have helped me to stay in association with the devotees, showing m

We see all over the world that people are very eager to expand whatever good fortune they have to a greater and greater extent. Unfortunately their understanding of good fortune is incorrect. They are thinking in terms of temporary material things. Why not accumulate one's good fortune in eternal spiritual things? This is called real intelligence. Any material fortune I may accumulate is here today and gone tomorrow. But whatever spiritual fortune I may be blessed with will stay with me for all of eternity. If you will chant Hare Krishna every day, you will expand your good fortune more and more and more without limit, and you will never lose it. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How Krishna Can Have a Personal Form? I am somehow able to understand the universal form of lord Krishna that the whole universe, all the living beings, demigods and everything rests upon Him just as the pearls are strung on a thread. But I am not able to

Nowadays many persons are taking different types of dangerous illegal drugs to try to uplift their consciousness so that they feel better. But this is a big mistake. They are turning to something material to try to free themselves from the pain of material existence. By doing so they simply prolong their difficulties in the cycle of birth by becoming even more entangled within the material nature. If they want relief from the miseries of material existence, they must realize that by its very nature material existence is miserable, and that therefore there is no material adjustment for making it blissful. The easy solution for this quagmire is to elevate one's consciousness beyond this material existence into the spiritual stratum. The easy system for doing this is to chant the Hare Krishna mantra. This should be done on a regular daily basis. By doing so one will gradually become completely transcendental to all the miseries of material existence and will taste the sweetest

The nectar of devotion is an ocean of bliss. Can you taste the nectar? All you have to do is dive in. Don't sit passively on the shore as a spectator. Take up the practices of bhakti. Chant the Hare Krishna mantra on a daily basis. Offer all of your food to Krishna before eating (no meat, fish, or eggs allowed). Give up consciousness-lowering activities such as illicit sex, meat eating, intoxication, and gambling. For transcendental synergy associate as much as possible with those persons who are on the pathway of Krishna consciousness. Adopt these guidelines and be amazed as you experience your bhakti (devotion) growing by leaps and bounds. You'll be tasting the sweetest nectar every day. And it will just keep getting sweeter and sweeter. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Nectar or Poison in the Beginning? Some people say that Krishna consciousness is poison in the beginning and unlimited nectar at the end; while some say

There's no way I can measure how much I am indebted to my eternal spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. He has saved me from a hellish, nightmarish existence in the cycle of unlimited births and deaths. How much my heart was burning in agony before I was blessed with his sublime shelter. I was so distraught. It was horrible. I remember wandering the streets of Austin, Texas in a state of total bewilderment simply crying in grief with no one I could communicate with to explain the depth of my despair. Was it anything in particular that was disturbing me? No. It was the pain of meaningless existence itself that was piercing my heart like burning arrows. Now for the last thirty-seven years of my life, since Srila Prabhupada so mercifully blessed me with the supreme gift of Krishna bhakti, I have been tasting the sweetest bliss. And this bliss just keeps on increasing more and more. There's so much bliss in Krishna consciousness that ther

You've got to be free to taste the bliss. You've got to be free or nectar you'll miss. You've got to be free to break through the sky And enter that land where nobody dies. You've got to be free. Yes, you've got to be free. You've got to free, no longer enmeshed In crazy identity with rotting flesh. Throw away the madness And embrace the gladness It's time to be free. It's time to be free. Revive your true nature as eternal spirit soul. Make pure love of God your one and only goal. Call in today and book your ticket On the next flight to Goloka. Make sure not to miss it. You've got to be free. You've got to free. Yes, you've got to be free. You've got to be free. Sankarshan Das Adhikari P.S. The spiritual master is your friendly travel agent. Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How to Attain Peace of Mind? I have never had peace of mind I have a feeling that I can never have till I die whether or not I pray to Go

With no solution for snowballing pollution, world civilization spirals towards dissolution. The leaders are cheaters. Who wants to follow upstarts? It's time we take guidance from those with pure hearts. Things have gotten so bad I just can't stand it. It's time we band together to revolutionize this planet. Sankarshan Das Adhikari P.S. There's a bright new dawn for everyone who embraces the mood of personal and global respiritualization. Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Does Krishna Take Care of Atheists? Could you please explain to me what benefits an atheist gets from Sri Krishna? When a pure devotee prays to Krishna for help, He is able to hear it. But when a non-devotee suffers misery, will Krishna help him without expecting a prayer from him? Imagine a situation where we are unable to make the atheist Krishna conscious. Will Krishna help him still? Yours humbly, A little Student Answer: Krishna Cares for Everyone Just as the theists receiv

No matter happens to you in this material world, always be transcendental. In this world there will always be dualities: good and bad, beautiful and ugly, honor and dishonor, etc. Not allowing ourselves to be carried away by these dualities, we should simply remain always absorbed in the mood of serving the Lord with love. If we base our happiness on this, we will always be happy. Nothing will ever be able to bring us down. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Seemingly Inauspicious During this winter holiday, I am reading Nectar of Devotion. When I read that in Krishna's pastimes 5,000 years ago, some pure devotees even displayed some seemingly inauspicious qualities -- namely envy, fear, anger, presumption, proud, etc, etc. E. g. Satyabhama displays her envy over Rukmini, other gopis sometimes displayed their envy over Radharani. Etc. But these qualities are supposed to be inauspicious. Why did they display these sentiments? Your humb

Today, 14 February 2008, there was another mass shooting in the USA. A frustrated person shot 18 people in a lecture hall during a class on a university campus and then shot himself dead. As I am writing this, five deaths have so far been reported. Why are people so frustrated that they do such things? What has gone wrong with the human society that such events are becoming quite common? The reality is that we have lost our sense of identity. We do not know who we are. This is why people are so frustrated. We are thinking that we are these bodies. It is this false sense of identification that is the very source of our frustration. We want to live forever, but we are foolishly misidentifying ourselves with a perishable lump of matter. All we have to do is realize who we really are and then act fully in terms of that realization. This will bring an immediate end to all frustration and bring a new era of peace, happiness, prosperity to the entire world. So what is the world wait

For years the rapidly vanishing supply of fossil fuel has been a matter of grave concern for a world society which is becoming more and more dependent on it for its daily functioning. But now a new shortage is becoming more and more of a problem: the shortage of water. It wasn't that long ago that the entire world functioned quite well without fossil fuel depending on ox power and horse power. But when in history has the world functioned well without water? A recent study has revealed that one-third of the world population now faces some form of water shortage. And along with water shortage comes desertification. More and more once fertile land is now becoming transformed into desert. So what is the solution? That easy solution is given by Lord Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita: annād bhavanti bhūtāni parjanyād anna - sambhavaḥ yajñād bhavati parjanyo yajñaḥ karma - samudbhavaḥ "All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced from rains. Rains are prod

By the grace of Lord Sri Krishna I have been blessed with the shelter of the most compassionate spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Even though I am highly unqualified and unfit to approach such an exalted saintly person, Srila Prabhupada has so kindly granted me shelter at his lotus feet. And he has also blessed me and his other disciples with the mission of re-spiritualizing the entire human society. Thus the purpose of my existence on this planet is to continue expanding my own Krishna consciousness more and more while simultaneously absorbing myself fully in pushing forward the Krishna consciousness movement more and more and more for the deliverance of the suffering humanity from the all-devouring jaws of birth, death, old age, and disease. Sankarshan Das Adhikari My Most Beloved Spiritual Master: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How to Be Krishna Conscious at Work?

The current day generation of leaders are completely incompetent and unfit to lead the world. Because they are ignorant of the self and its relationship with the Supreme Self they are not even qualified to properly live their own lives, what to speak of guiding the lives of others. In the Vedic times the leaders were not only politically powerful but were also great saints. Such enlightened leadership is desperately needed all over the world at the present time. It is our goal to train up such a class of enlightened leaders based on the principles of the Bhagavad-gita. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Did Arjuna Surrender to Krishna? When Arjuna, the great friend and disciple of Lord Krishna sees the big Kaurava army in the Kurukshetra battle field, suddenly feels faint at the thought of fighting and killing his kith and kin, acharyas and gurus. In that confused state of mind he seeks the advice and guidance of his mentor, Lord Krishna,

Why be anything less than what we can actually be? Why limit ourselves or hold ourselves back from realizing our full potential? In this human life we have a special facility for realizing the highest truth and escaping the cycle of birth and death. Why should we accept anything else as our life's goal? That would not be very intelligent. We can easily attain this goal if we simply follow the Vedic pathway, which has been blazed by the previous acharyas, the great spiritual masters. There will be no limit to what we can experience or attain. This is the pathway that we are guiding you along in the ultimate self realization course. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Why Chant Hare? In the Hare Krishna mahamantra what is the meaning of "Hare"? Is it not more productive if we just repeat the name of Godhead Himself: Krishna, Krishna, Krishna? Brigadier N S S Krishna, VSM ( Retired ) Answer: For an Inside Connection with

Becoming Krishna consciousness means that we have to do battle on a daily basis with the material energy. In order to be successful in this struggle we must fight with great determination. We have the six material senses including the mind that must be conquered. If we can subdue our senses by keeping them always engaged in Krishna's service, we will emerge victorious as conquerors over the material energy and will able to enter into the sublime atmosphere of the spiritual world. How do we keep them engaged in Krishna's service? This process begins with the tongue. If we can utilize our tongues as far as possible only for glorifying the Lord and partaking of vegetarian foodstuffs that are offered to Him with love and devotion (prasadam), we gradually will become highly advanced in Krishna consciousness and always taste the sweetest pleasure. This principle is confirmed by Srila Rupa Goswami: ataḥ śrī - kṛṣṇa -nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ sevonmukhe hi jihv

Becoming Krishna consciousness means that we have to do battle on a daily basis with the material energy. In order to be successful in this struggle we must fight with great determination. We have the six material senses including the mind that must be conquered. If we can subdue our senses by keeping them always engaged in Krishna's service, we will emerge victorious as conquerors over the material energy and will able to enter into the sublime atmosphere of the spiritual world. How do we keep them engaged in Krishna's service? This process begins with the tongue. If we can utilize our tongues as far as possible only for glorifying the Lord and partaking of vegetarian foodstuffs that are offered to Him with love and devotion (prasadam), we gradually will become highly advanced in Krishna consciousness and always taste the sweetest pleasure. This principle is confirmed by Srila Rupa Goswami: ataḥ śrī - kṛṣṇa -nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ sevonmukhe hi jihv

Some people want to save the world, but they never take the time and trouble to learn the proper method for saving themselves first. Therefore their efforts to save the world are useless. How can they save the world when they cannot even save themselves? And there is another class of persons who are very eager to save themselves but do not care about saving others. This is also an imperfect position because compassion is one of the symptoms of a spiritually awakened person. If he is not compassionate, he must necessarily not be awakened. Such persons argue that the thirsty come the well, it is not that the well goes to the thirsty. But the proper understanding is that during times of extreme drought those who are merciful dig irrigation ditches to supply water to those who are desperately in need of it. So the proper position is that we should first save ourselves by fully surrendering at the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krishna and then dedicate our lives fully for giving Krishna consci

The more we can engage ourselves in talking about and hearing about Krishna, the more we will become ecstatic, the more we will taste the bliss of Krishna consciousness. Therefore those who are intelligent arrange their lives in such a way that they can 24 hours daily engaged in hearing and chanting the glories. They attend classes on Krishna consciousness as much as possible. After initiation they also try to give classes whenever possible. Even when having ordinary conversations they try to as much as possible introduce the topic of Krishna. mac- cittā mad- gata - prāṇā bodhayantaḥ parasparam kathayantaś ca māḿ nityaḿ tuṣyanti 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 Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How to Get Free from Suff

If you want to taste the sweetest nectar, rise early in the morning and chant sixteen rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra on japa beads before the sunrise. You will directly communing with God Himself in His most holy name incarnation. And if you will carefully lay aside all over thoughts simply putting your full concentration on pronouncing and hearing the Hare Krishna mantra in a loving mood, you will have one of the most amazing experiences of your entire life. In this connection Srila Rupa Goswami has stated, "I do not know how much nectar the two syllables 'Krish-na' have produced. When the holy name of Krishna is chanted, it appears to dance within the mouth. We then desire many, many mouths. When that name enters the holes of the ears, we desire many millions of ears. And when the holy name dances in the courtyard of the heart, it conquers the activities of the mind, and therefore all the senses become inert." So give japa chanting a serious try. You'll be

There is a saying: It is folly to be wise in that place where ignorance is bliss. We can see practically how true this is. In this world 99.99% of the population is deeply engrossed in the ignorance of misidentification with their material bodies. Everywhere we see propaganda promoting the illusory concept that one can be happy by material sense gratification. And what do people think about those who take to the path of self realization? They consider them to be foolish. So it is a fact that real wisdom is taken to be folly in that place where ignorance is bliss. We then have a choice. We can go along with flow of the material society and be a fool and a rascal like everyone else, or we can dare to be different even at the risk of being considered weird or crazy. One has to consider what is ultimately beneficial for one's eternal well being and then do the needful. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: What Does Your Name Mean? What do

The more we learn to connect with Krishna in all that we think, speak, and do, the more and more we will become inspired. There is no limit to how strongly we can become connected with Krishna, and thus there is no limit to how much inspiration we can derive from His association. One simply has to practice the process of Krishna consciousness with patience, determination, and enthusiasm. In this way one is guaranteed to be successful. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Is Everything Pre-Determined? Is all that is happening in this world as per a pre-determined plan? If everything is pre-planned then role do we play? Do human beings have free will, i.e. the freedom to act according to their own will? Regards, Shaji Isaac Answer: Choose Your Program There are two channels, material and spiritual. Every living being has the choice which channel he wants to tune into. Both channels have preset programs. But everyone is free to flip b

In every day life we experience so many ups and downs. Some things excite us and some things depress us. If we want to escape this emotional roller coaster we have to come to the transcendental platform beyond the dualities, not allowing ourselves to be carried away by either mood. The English word "mood" is related to the word "mode". From the Bhagavad-gita we learn that there are three different modes: goodness, passion, and ignorance. We are advised to elevate our consciousness to the transcendental position beyond these modes of nature by absorbing ourselves fully and completely in the devotional service of Lord Sri Krishna. The key is to remain equipoised, always seeing everything in relationship with Krishna. This may not be an easy thing to do in the beginning. But with practice it gradually becomes easier and easier until it becomes a natural habit. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How to Best Serve? O

There are so many difficulties that we must face practically on a daily basis. Because of so much stress and anxiety it is hard to keep ourselves always fixed on the transcendental platform. From all sides we are being bombarded relentlessly by the Lord's illusory energy, Maya. So how to get out of this trap? There's got to be some kind way of here. Krishna or God is not so cruel as to leave us stranded in the cycle of birth and death. He has given us Himself as our personal rescuer. It we will simply take shelter of Him our difficulties will gradually evaporate away into oblivion. This is confirmed as follows in the Srimad Bhagavad-gita: daivī hy eṣā guṇa - mayī mama māyā duratyayā mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāḿ taranti te "This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it." --Bhagavad-gita 7.14 So why prolong your misery fo

Krishna wonderfully explains in the Bhagavad-gita (6:30) that those who see Him in everything and see everything in Him are never lost. So this a wonderful vision that we can cultivate: how to see everything in Krishna and Krishna in everything. In this connection we should understand that nothing exists outside of Krishna because all of existence is nothing more than His expanded energy. Nothing can exist without it being emanated from Krishna. Nothing and no one can exist independently of Him. In other words we are totally dependent upon Him for everything, even for our very existence. Therefore out of gratitude we should voluntarily engage ourselves in His service. This is known as Krishna consciousness, and it automatically revives one's original all blissful, all knowing eternal identity. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Only 64 Qualities of God? I am finding it very nice and interesting to read all of your articles with diffe