Ultimate Self Realization

Whatever sort of atmosphere we cultivate within our hearts will be manifest externally in the form of the world we see all around us. The more we cultivate inner purity, the more the external world will become pure in every way. And conversely, the more we are polluted with lust, anger, greed, and envy without our hearts, the more this world will be manifested as a nightmarish, polluted hell. So the point is that if we want to live in a clean, happy, pollution-free world, this will only be possible when we clear out the pollution from our hearts. The easiest and most effective way of doing this is to reawaken the original, natural pristine state of consciousness now lying dormant within our hearts. In other words, we must become fully self-realized. For this age of Kali, the Kali Santarana Upanisad especially recommends that the most effective way of awakening our enlightened consciousness is to chant the Hare Krishna mahamantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, H

The choice is ours. We can remain in illusion or we can come out of illusion. Due to a poor fund of knowledge most people fear the stark reality of material existence and prefer the false security of remaining in illusion holding onto so many false crutches, like the proverbial ostrich who buried his head in the sand when he was being chased by a predator. They don't realize that if they would just go deeper into reality, they would break through the clouds of illusion and enter into an unbelievably beautiful transcendental existence where life is eternal, full of knowledge, and ever-increasing blissful. Simply we need a tour guide who can escort us beyond the clouds of the material existence into that most sublime region which is known as the paravyoma, the spiritual sky. That tour guide is known as the bona fide spiritual master. This is not the spiritual master who claims to Krishna, as is the fashion nowadays even though according to the authoritative Vedic scriptures Krishna i

Many people nowadays claim that God does not exist, that there is no such thing as God. Before we proceed further with this discussion we should understand what we mean by the word "God." God means the origin of existence. So the question is this: Does existence have an origin or is it simply existing on its own? To answer this question we can use the modern day scientific method known as empirical observation. Do we have any experience of something that exists on its own without being caused by something else? The answer is no. We have never observed such a phenomena. Therefore we can rightfully conclude that since everything we have ever observed has a cause for its existence, existence itself must have a cause and therefore God must exist Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Can I Ask for Some Grace? This is with reference to recent bomb blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad. Though I am not seated there, yet I feel a great amount

The material senses are manifestations of Maya, the Lord's illusory energy, to keep us entangled in the cycle of birth and death. Therefore the intelligent person avoids gratifying his senses any more than is required for keeping body and soul together. As soon as we over-indulge the senses we immediately come under the influence of Maya. We become enslaved by Maya. The devotee of the Lord does not want to become the slave of anyone. He wants to become free to engage himself 24 hours in the service of Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Unexpected Results When Talking of Krishna I humbly put my doubts in front of you. One thing which I observe in me is that whatever be the subject of my conversation with others I always end up speaking of the glories of Lord Krishna. Now this has become a regular habit, and when I do not get the expected response I feel hurt. Now I have decided to

This material world is not always a calm and peaceful place. Sometimes we experience devastating disasters. These are the times when one who has seriously practiced Krishna consciousness can really shine forth and be an ideal example of someone who sees everything in relationship with the Supreme Lord. While the ordinary person becomes bewildered and confused, the Krishna consciousness person remains equipoised seeing everything in relationship with the ultimate plan of the Lord. Therefore he never has anything to be afraid of. Since Krishna is both all good and all powerful, the devotee is fully confident that Krishna will never in any situation act against the highest self interest of each and every one of His beloved children. Therefore the devotee always remains confident and enthused in all varieties of so-called pleasant and unpleasant situations having full faith that everyone is safely situated in the loving hands of Krishna at every minute. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers Ac

Sometimes devotees of Krishna are accused of being fanatics. Is such an accusation valid or invalid? To answer this question we must first understand what is the meaning of the word "fanatic." A fanatic is defined as follows in the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary: "a person exhibiting excessive enthusiasm and intense uncritical devotion" The first point is excessive enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is okay, but not excessive enthusiasm. To be excessively enthusiastic means to be more enthusiastic than is warranted. In Krishna consciousness there is no such thing as excessive enthusiasm because no matter how enthusiastic you are about Krishna consciousness, it is not enough. It is proper for a devotee to continue increasing his enthusiasm for Krishna consciousness unlimitedly for all of eternity. Therefore he can never be excessively enthusiastic. The second point is intense uncritical devotion. Intense devotion is not ruled out as long as it falls with the realm o

The key to unlimited happiness is not at all complicated. We simply have to see everything as the property of Krishna and engage everything in His service. It's as simple as that. Nothing else is required. If we will fully absorb our consciousness in this vision, every aspect of our existence will become perfect. Of course, if we deny Krishna's personal existence and His proprietorship over everything, we will never be able to taste this sweet, unlimited happiness. So the choice is ours. Will we agree to take the necessary training to factually experience everything as being the property of Krishna, or will we not? No one can force us how we choose to see reality. We can opt to take the training to experience the source of all existence, or we can simply go on blindly trying to gratify our temporary senses. The choice is ours, and whichever choice we make we will then live with its results. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How to Re

This material world is always unstable, a place of calamities. Here there is only thing we can be sure of, and that is uncertainty. Therefore we can never find solid shelter here. As soon as we think our material situation is stable and secure something comes along to disrupt it. Therefore those who are thoughtful do not look to material arrangements as their basis for happiness and security. They look instead to the Supreme Person, the source of all existence. When we take direct shelter of Him by total surrender at His lotus feet or the lotus feet of His representative, our position becomes sure and solid, and we become completely peaceful and free from all anxieties. Thus all calamities disappear when you have Sri Krishna's shelter Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Why Surrender to Krishna? All my respects to you. I humbly with folded hands put forward my doubts. Is the Bhagavad-gita the base of all the Vedas? Since Lord Brahma, Lord

The greatest defect of the modern civilization is the abandonment of duty. As soon as we abandon the principle of duty we descend to a level lower than the animals. We see how dutiful the mother dog is take good care of her puppies, while as human beings we slaughter our children in the womb through abortion. How many people promise in their wedding vows to never separate from their spouse and then turn right around and have an affair with someone else? How many people promise to their spiritual master to strictly follow their initiation vows and then turn right around and fragrantly violate them? These things are the symptoms of the Age of Kali. As long as stick to Kali's principles we can never have peace and prosperity. Our minds will always be agitated and we will be in great anxiety how to meet our material needs. But if we become dutiful to obey the instructions of Lord Krishna and His pure representatives, we will have peaceful happy lives in which we can easily meet our ma

Why do strict followers of the bhakti yoga system chant the Hare Krishna mantra for at least 16 rounds every day on their japa mala beads? They do so because this is the order of the world's leading exponent of the bhakti yoga system, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Why did he order that at least 16 rounds should be chanted every day without fail? He did so because this is the minimum amount of chanting which will give the devotee sufficient spiritual energy to remain connected with Krishna 24 hours day. What is the advantage of remaining always connected with Krishna? Why does a fish like to remain in the water? He does so because this is how he is able to sustain his life. If he remains outside of the water too long, he will die. In a similar way, devotees want to remain always connected with Krishna because this gives them life. If they become disconnected from Krishna, they can immediately feel how they are dying. And if they are connected with Krishna,

The Vedanta sutra enjoins that in the human form of life our duty is to inquire regarding the nature of the Absolute Truth. If we simply utilize our human life for engaging in the animalistic activities of eating, sleeping, mating, and defending, we are still, in spite of gotten a human body, on the animal platform. We see at the present moment that there are over 6.68 billion human beings on this planet, but that the vast majority of them have no interest in the self-realization process. This means that even though they have evolved through 8,400,000 species to attain this human birth, instead of continuing their upward evolution to the self-realization platform so they can be delivered from the cycle of birth and death, they are wasting this extremely rare opportunity and will thus devolve back down to the animal kingdom or even lower in their next birth. The intelligent person, therefore, carefully utilizes this rare human birth for realizing the Absolute Truth, and thus re-establis

If we want to become enlightened with that knowledge by which nescience is destroyed, we must carefully hear what is the distinction between reality and illusion from a bona fide spiritual master. If we hear from someone who does not know what he is talking about, we will be misled and thus not be successful in realizing the truth and escaping the cycle of birth and death. How do we recognize who is the bona fide spiritual master? He must be repeating the Vedic conclusion which has been taught by all the great acharyas throughout history, and he must be fully absorbed in Krishna consciousness 24 hours a day. This method of discerning the bona fide spiritual master is confirmed as follows in the Mundaka Upanishad: tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet samit-panih srotriyam brahma-nistham "In order to learn the transcendental science, one must approach the bona fide spiritual master in disciplic succession, who is fixed in Krishna consciousness." Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answ

Sometimes people wonder why we offer so much respect to the devotees. They inquire, "Isn't simply offering respect to God sufficient?" Of course, the perfection of our existence to become completely absorbed in glorifying Krishna or God 24 hours daily by our every thought, word, and deed in all times, places, and circumstances. So why do we also glorify, respect, and even worship the Lord's devotees? The answer is quite simple. Krishna has instructed us to do this. Being a devotee of Krishna or God is on His terms, not our terms. When we surrender ourselves unto the Lord we become completely submissive to doing whatever he tells us to do. And He has very clearly instructed us in the Adi Purana in the following instruction that He gave to Arjuna: ye me bhakta-janah partha na me bhaktas ca te janah mad-bhaktanam ca ye bhaktas te me bhakta-tama matah "Those who are My direct devotees are actually not My devotees, but those who are the devotees of My devotee are f

As a college student I studied so many different philosophers: the Greek and Roman philosophers, the medieval and renaissance philosophers, and the modern ones as well. But after wading through all of that philosophical verbiage I found that I was still not even one step closer to understanding the truth. These were supposed to be great authorities for understanding what is reality. But yet they were themselves so much in the dark. How could they possibly lead us out of the ignorance? But then by the grace of Lord Sri Krishna I came into contact with a bona fide spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who clearly revealed to me in no uncertain terms what is reality and what is illusion. Simply by hearing from this great teacher everything became crystal clear. Now by his grace I am no longer confused. There are no more shades of gray. By seeing clearly the black and white distinction between reality and illusion now I can experience the unlimited bea

At the present moment our situation in this material existence is more or less of a dream state. Each of us has forgotten our factual eternal identity as the eternal all-blissful, all-knowing servant of Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We are dreaming that we are these bodies, thinking, "I am male; I am female; I am white; I am black" etc. Nothing could be further from the truth. We have nothing to do with these gross and subtle material bodies. They are simply coverings or garments that are covering our actual spiritual nature. It's time we wake up from our dream and come out of the cocoon of this material world in which we are suffering lifetime and lifetime in repeated births and deaths. Why suffer when you can enjoy unlimited bliss? Does this make sense to you? I hope it does, because if it does, you are ready to become liberated once and for all from all forms of material suffering. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Dif

The real goal of our existence is to reestablish our forgotten relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead and engage in devotional service so that we may regain our association with Him after giving up our present material body. It does matter what is our occupation. We may be a brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra or whatever. In any position, while discharging our prescribed duties, we can reawaken our dormant Krishna consciousness simply by associating with devotees who are representatives of Krishna and who can teach us this amazing transcendental science. There is nothing more wonderful, more exciting, or more exhilarating than this. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Resting and Not Resting in Krishna I have a question concerning Bhagavad-gita chapter 9 text 5 and 6. In text 5 Lord Krishna states, "And yet everything that is created does not rest in Me." And in text 6 He says "all created beings rest in Me."

We have stated that through Krishna consciousness one can eventually reach a state of spiritual perfection where he tastes unlimited nectar at every minute. One of our readers in response to this statement expressed his view that this sounds like "pie in the sky". So is this "pie in the sky", or is it a practical reality that by becoming purely Krishna consciousness one can taste unlimited nectar at every minute? For this answer we will not speculate. We will turn instead to the authoritative Vedic wisdom where we will get the topmost enlightened guidance. There are many verses to support In the following verse the Supreme Personality of Godhead appearing in His incarnation as the great king Rishabhadeva instructs His one hundred sons: nayam deho deha-bhajam nr-loke kastan kaman arhate vid-bhujam ye tapo divyam putraka yena sattvam suddhyed yasmad brahma-saukhyam tv anantam "My dear sons, there is no reason to labor very hard for sense pleasure while in this hu

Our critics are hard at work trying to undermine our sincere attempt to serve the order of our spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. He ordered us, his disciples, in Los Angeles, California, USA on December 17, 1973: "Just become perfect in the understanding of this science and become guru and deliver the whole world." Our misguided critics claim that by our trying follow the above instruction we are usurping the position of our spiritual master. Nothing could be further away from the truth because the disciple is always meant to obey the order of his spiritual master. This is his duty. By his becoming a spiritual master on the order of his spiritual master, he is not taking over the position of his spiritual master. Rather, he is solidly situating himself as the eternal servant of his spiritual master by surrendering himself fully to serving his guru's order. This point is reconfirmed by Srila Prabhupada as follows in a lecture he gave

There are four kinds of happiness: happiness in the mode of ignorance, happiness in the mode of passion, happiness in the mode of goodness, and transcendental bliss (happiness in pure goodness). Happiness in the mode of ignorance is poison in the beginning and poison in the end. Happiness in the mode of passion is nectar in the beginning and poison at the end. Happiness in goodness is poison in the beginning and nectar in the end. And transcendental bliss, happiness in pure goodness, is nectar in the beginning and nectar in the end. The neophyte devotee who has not yet come to the platform of pure goodness must sometimes undergo austerities in his practice of Krishna consciousness because his practice is still being conducted in the mode of goodness. If he perseveres in his practice without giving it up, gradually the goodness will become pure goodness and he will taste unlimited nectar at every minute on the transcendental platform of pure goodness. The key for advancement is to not

I am often asked by my students and disciples what they can do to assist me in spreading Krishna consciousness all over the world. This eagerness is the most wonderful thing because when someone desires to push forward this Krishna consciousness movement they give the greatest pleasure to Lord Sri Krishna, to Srila Prabhupada, and all the acharyas--the great spiritual masters who teach by their words and by their examples. One of my students, named Peggy Caldwell, has been uploading my videos onto www.youtube.com . You can see them at: http://youtube.com/results?search_query=Sankarshan&search_type=&aq=f Another of my students, named Milind Joshi, has accepted the service to be my publicist. He has recently published a story about our preaching on CNN's www.ireport.com . You will find it at: http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-42900 The more we can engage the media in broadcasting the activities of the Krishna consciousness movement, the more the world will become benefited.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur used to say that this material world is not a fit place for a gentleman's residence. This is certainly a fact. Everywhere we see that the world population is knowingly or unknowingly engaged in cruel acts against the will of the Supreme. And to justify their barbaric activities they have concocted so many varieties of bogus philosophies. Those who are saintly do not wish to live in such a place. They would rather live in the association of devotees. Therefore they dedicate their lives fully for getting out this material world and returning to their original home in the spiritual sky. But if the Lord so desires, they are willing to remain in this world for the sake of delivering those who are lost in delusion. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How Can I Meet Krishna? How can I meet with Lord Sri Krishna? I do believe in Him, and I think myself lucky as I have been born to such parents who believe in

In Los Angeles, California, USA on December 17, 1973 my spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, instructed us, his disciples: "Just become perfect in the understanding of this science and become guru and deliver the whole world." Since he accepted me as his disciple it is my duty to obey his instructions. But amazingly enough, because of the materialistic nature of this age, there are many envious persons who label me a demon and criticize me for my humble attempt to serve the orders of my spiritual master. They say that I am not qualified to do what my spiritual master has ordered me to do and that my attempt to do so is sinful. Of course, I agree with them that I am not qualified. The disciple must always feel himself to be unqualified. But still it is my duty to faithfully try to execute the orders given to me by my spiritual master and depend on his mercy that the seemingly impossible task of delivering the whole world can be accomplished b

The bona fide spiritual master never considers himself great. He simply considers himself to be the humble servant of his spiritual master, and thus he dedicates his entire life to carrying out the orders of his spiritual master. Sometimes envious persons who do not possess the spiritual potency to preach like the spiritual master preaches try to minimize and/or find fault with him. They even go so far as to make aggressive false, propaganda against him that he is not bona fide, that he lacks the authority to be master. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How Can I Be Initiated? How can I be initiated? James Answer: First Become Solid in Krishna Consciousness Initiation requires that you become solidly fixed in the practice of Krishna consciousness. The way to do this is to become well read in the books of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and to also follow the guidelines mentioned below: 1. No illicit sex (sex other th

My dear leaders of the world, Please accept my greetings. You have been blessed with the most important service of leading the human society. According to the ancient Vedic scripture known as the Srimad Bhagavatam, no one should be a leader unless they can deliver their dependents from the cycle of birth and death. So, that you are currently positioned as the world's leaders is the greatest opportunity for you to make your lives successful by becoming perfect in self-realization and then rendering the ultimate welfare of seeing that all of your followers are properly educated in the self-realization science. If you will kindly heed this humble plea, you will be able to bring a new enlightened era of peace, prosperity, and eternal happiness to all the inhabitants of this increasingly troubled planet. Hoping this meets you in good health and in a cheerful mood, Always your well-wisher, Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Why Worship Krishna

After fourteen weeks and fourteen different countries on our around-the-world lecture tour, we are today heading back to Bhaktivedanta Ashram, our home base in Austin, Texas to prepare for our next around-the-world lecture tour, which begins on 15 September of this year. It has been a truly wonderful opportunity to spread the rays of Lord Caitanya's benediction moon all over the world. We have been blessed with so many wonderful Krishna conscious experiences that it is hard to remember them all. The great benefit of sacrificing everything for spreading Krishna glories all over the world is that this makes it easy to remember Krishna. And remembering Krishna is the ultimate perfection of existence. We especially want to thank all those of you who helped in so many ways to make this preaching tour a wonderful success. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Why Do I Feel Close to You? Please accept my humble obeisances. I quickly glance your

Krishna is the center of all existence because everything emanates from Him. Since we come from Him, we are of the same quality as Him. He is eternal; we are eternal. He is full of bliss; we are full of bliss. He is full of knowledge, and are we are full of knowledge. But at the present moment due to bodily consciousness we are misidentifying ourselves with material bodies that are temporary, full of ignorance, and full of misery. What a pity! How much are selling ourselves short! It's time to wise up and come to the transcendental platform where we can fully connect with our actual identities and enjoy life like anything in eternal service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna. There is no person in all of existence who is more powerful, more beautiful, more renounced, more knowledgeable, more wealthy, or more famous than Krishna. Therefore we can understand that He must be God. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Disconnecte

The world is becoming more and more stricken with poverty and turmoil. The politicians do not have a clue how to solve these problems. They do not even know how to make their own lives peaceful and happy, what to speak of properly guiding anyone else. If those who recognize the supremacy of the Personality of Lord Sri Krishna will seriously try to understand the Bhagavad-gita and and the Srimad Bhagavatam, become fully realized in this supreme science, and spread it all over the world, there will come the dawning of a beautiful new age of spiritual enlightenment on this planet. Everyone throughout the entire world will become peaceful and prosperous. Social turmoil and poverty will be relegated to the history books as symptoms of the times when the world was not Krishna conscious. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Why is Krishna Beyond Hinduism? Revered Gurudeva, Please accept my humble pranam. In one of your recent replies to a question you

Here in the USA today is Independence Day, a celebration of that day in 1776 when the US declared independence from Great Britain. It is a national holiday, and everything shuts down so that everyone is free to celebrate their independence. But are they really independent? As long as we are under the influence of three modes of material nature, we are not independent. We remain entangledly bound in the clutches of illusion. So instead of becoming all excited to celebrate the independence of one nation from another nature, we should cultivate pure devotional service to the Supreme Person so that at every minute we can celebrate our independence from birth, death, old age, and disease order to become factually independent from the binding influence of the material nature. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How to Rise Above Job Stresses? For this entire week I have been "acting-president" of the hat company I work for. Taking on so m

Life on the road for Krishna is a never-ending exciting challenge. You never know what is going to happen next, and you thus have to always take shelter of Krishna at every minute. Even though one encounters sometimes very difficult and traumatic circumstances, it is this taking shelter of Krishna that always makes it very sweet and wonderful. The happiness experienced by a traveling preacher is not that of the mundane tourist, who wants to see all the famous sites of the world. For example, I have never seen the Taj Mahal, although I went very near to it one time for giving a lecture on the Bhagavad-gita. The happiness is accepting Krishna as one's only shelter in all varieties of pleasant and unpleasant situations, and especially it is the happiness of being able to share this supreme nectar of Krishna consciousness with so many sincere souls who are very eager for it all over the world. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Taking Advantage of a Delayed Flight to Write "Thought for th

Amazingly enough the other day when I described in "Thought for the Day" that our religion is to develop pure love for the Supreme Person, one of our subscribers dropped out of course complaining that my statement was Mayavadi philosophy. Mayavadi philosophy states the Supreme is not a person, that the Supreme is instead the impersonal, formless oneness. This is the just the opposite of what I stated. So it is truly uncanny that our subscriber would take my statement of the personal nature of the Supreme to be a statement that the Supreme is impersonal. In our e-course, we have always repeatedly reaffirmed from many different angles of vision that the Supreme is a person. We have given His name (Sri Krishna) , His address (Goloka Vrindavan), and we teach the means by which one can re-establish one's lost loving relationship with Him as His eternal associate. We are so obviously and consistently presenting a personal conception of the Supreme that it is truly amazing that

Today after over three months on the road spreading the rays of the Krishna consciousness moon in 14 different countries around the globe, we are heading back for the USA. In spite of its numerous disqualifications, the USA has one saving grace: Of all the nations in the world, it is that one nation which more than any other nation facilitated Srila Prabhupada in getting his movement started. For many years Srila Prabhupada attempted to launch the Krishna consciousness movement in India, but to no avail. He tried to all to go for preaching to Japan, but was not able do so. It was not until he landed in America in 1965, and after struggling to preach there for one year with no facility, that he was able to establish in 1966 the International Society for Krishna consciousness, which has now spread to over 300 centers all over the world. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Srila Prabhupada Launches the Hare Krishna Movement In Tompkins Square Park, New York 1966 Answers According to the Vedic Ver