Back to Russia

Today we are heading back to Russia where I will be giving a series of lectures, celebrating Srila Prabhupada's disappearance day, and also initiating a new disciple. It is always a great joy for us to return to Russia because of the wonderful loving exchanges we have with the devotees there. Even though where we go there is no temple and no material facilities, because of the loving relationships between the devotees it is very pleasing. As I have many times stated before, ISKCON is not the buildings or the properties; it's not the vehicles or the bank accounts or even the deities. ISKCON is the loving exchanges between the devotees. So even if we lose everything else and we have only the loving relationships between the devotees, ISKCON will not be dead. Just like recently in Kazachstan the demoniac Muslim government has taken away the land, the temple, and the homes of the devotees and left them with nothing. The devotees have been robbed of all material facilities by the rascal so-called leaders. But because of the strong loving relationships between all of the devotees, our movement cannot die there. It will continue to grow and flourish.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Blissful Russian Devotees

Answers According to the Vedic Version:

Question: Why Do We Have to Suffer?

The Lord is all powerful, but why does He make us suffer, even if we don't want to suffer? It is said that since we are independent and so since we had some material desires we came to this world. But the Lord is our father, so He can take that freedom or independence from us so that we don't suffer.

Another question is: What is the difference between Vaikuntha and Goloka Vrindavan?

And, is it true that even if we worship different incarnations of Krishna we come back to this material world?

If we go back to Godhead, do we come back again?

Diksha

Answer: We Do Not Have to Suffer

When a small child disobeys his parents and sticks his hand in the fire, did his parents make him suffer? No, of course not. The parents do not want him to suffer, and they train him in such a way that he will not suffer. But if he is so foolish as to disobey his parents, then he must suffer. It would be wrong to think that his parents made him suffer. He suffered because he disobeyed his parents.

One could argue that if the parents bound the child's hands and legs with ropes and tied him to his bed, that he would not have burned his hand. But this is a type of suffering even worse than burning his hand. If he burns his hand, it will eventually heal. But if he remains a prisoner in his own home, this will never heal.

So try to understand this example in relationship to the Lord and the living entities. If the Lord were to take away their independence and force them to remain in the spiritual world, this would be a worse suffering than the temporary pains endured in the cycle of birth and death. By misusing their independence and coming to the material world they no doubt suffer a lot due to their own foolishness. But that suffering will soon be over, and they will return to an eternal life of bliss and knowledge in the spiritual world as soon as they surrender themselves fully to the Lord.

The entire spiritual world is known as the Vaikuntha realm. "Vai" means "without," and "kuntha" means "anxiety." So that place where anxiety is conspicuous by its absence is known as the Vaikuntha realm. Within that Vaikuntha realm there are millions and billions of planets presided over by different incarnations of Lord Vishnu. And out of all these millions and billions of planets there is one special planet known as Krishnaloka or Goloka Vrindavan where the Supreme Lord manifests His original and most intimate form as Krishna.

If you purely worship Krishna or any of His incarnations, you will enter into the spiritual world at the time of death.

Once having tasted the miseries of this material world and then having regained your original position in the spiritual world you will not make the same mistake twice. Once burned, twice shy. You will not come here again. So now take your human form of life seriously and finish up your business once and for all.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari