Ultimate Self Realization

This has been a very short but sweet visit to Melbourne, Australia, a mere two-and-a-half days of preaching. But Krishna has kept me pretty busy with five lectures and a fair amount of one-on-one preaching for my aspiring disciples. Plus there is my normal routine of morning sadhana, writing Thought for the Day, and trying to keep up with my voluminous correspondence. There is nothing within the entire existence which is sweeter and more enlivening than to be fully engaged 24/7 in practicing and teaching the science of Krishna consciousness. Bowing down at the lotus feet of my beloved spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, and constantly begging for his mercy I, his lowly servant Sankarshan Das, am thanking him again and again for this wonderful life that he has given me. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Ecstatic Melbourne Home Program 29 December 2008 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Will the Animals Eat Us? Prabhu I have been cons

It's wonderful to be staying here again at ISKCON Melbourne. It is especially sweet because Melbourne is one of the places of Srila Prabhupada's transcendental pastimes. When he came here 1974 he declared on Tuesday 25 June: "So you can be in the material world or the spiritual world as you desire. If you want to remain in the spiritual world, this temple is the spiritual world. We are not living in Melbourne. This temple is not Melbourne. It is Vaikuntha. It is Vrindavana." It is simply up to us which world we want to live in. If we choose to try to be an independent enjoyer, then we must live in the material world, which is so full of stress and anxiety. And if we choose to live as Krishna's servants to let Him enjoy us, we will then live in the spiritual world free from all anxieties tasting ever-increasing happiness. The choice is ours. What do you choose? Sankarshan Das Adhikari Srila Prabhupada in Melbourne, Australia Answers According to the Vedic Versi

We are at the Auckland Airport awaiting our flight to Melbourne. The program last night in Hamilton, New Zealand was simply wonderful. It was a great pleasure for me to meet our ISKCON temple president in Hamilton, Sriman Abhay Charan Prabhu, and so many wonderful devotees. Not knowing on what verse I should speak, I simply randomly opened the Bhagavad-gita to see which verse would appear. The verse was Chapter 4, Text 34: tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ "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 This divine instruction given by Lord Sri Krishna serves as a potent reminder how important it is that each of us has a spiritual master. Without a guru we are nowhere just like a homeless street dog. When we do have a spir

The time is now for those who are Krishna conscious to take the positions of leadership on all levels throughout the world. That leadership taking will not be by force. Rather it will be by ideal character and exemplary behavior. The misguidance of those persons who are addicted to sense gratification is creating an ever more unbearably calamitous situation for the planet earth. It is only when those who are purely Krishna conscious take the positions of leadership throughout the world that the dangerous ocean of Kali will subside and there will be a revival of the happy, peaceful, and prosperous Vedic age, the Caitanya Era, which has been predicted to last for 10,000 years in the early days of the Kali Yuga. That era began in 1486 with the advent of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and has been expanded all over the world by the empowered preaching of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, our beloved spiritual master. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Sri Sri Radha Giridhari the Deitie

There is no point in relocating to a better neighborhood in order to become happy because this entire material world is a bad neighborhood. All one has to do to become truly happy is learn how to dive deeply into the ocean of bhakti, which is readily available everywhere for those who are learned and expert in the bhakti science. And one achieves that learning and expertise by studying the Bhagavad-gita as it is, by associating with the saintly devotees of the Lord and by submissively inquiring from and serving the bona fide spiritual master. Here at ISKCON's Auckland, New Zealand there is a wonderful opportunity to learn this above mentioned art of how to dive deeply into the nectarean all blissful ocean of bhakti. This is one of wonderful oases in the vast desert of this material existence. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Sri Sri Radha Giridhari the Deities of Auckland, New Zeland Ecstatic Kirtan at ISKCON Auckland Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Self-Realizatio

Australia is progressing nicely in Krishna consciousness. Today when we entered the security area for our departure to New Zealand one of the officials said "Hare Krishna." Then we turned a corner and proceeded further to the carryon luggage screening machine where two minutes later another official said "Hare Krishna." I happily informed him that Australia is the best country in the world because the people here are so Krishna conscious. That place where the holy name is constantly being uttered is non-different from the spiritual world. Of course, Australia is far from that. But from experience this morning at the Sydney airport I can see that it is off to a very good start. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Self-Realization in One Hour? Since we want to help everyone attain self-realization, why don't we do it immediately. Purush Dada Bhagavan can give self-realization to people in one hour. How can we go about giv

The most important ingredient in the self-realization recipe is the association of sādhus, the saintly devotees of the Lord. By their association we can see that the process of Krishna consciousness works, that it is real, not imaginary. The sādhus are very merciful. In fact they are veritable oceans of mercy. By their auspicious blessings we can achieve the perfection of human life, going back to home, back to Godhead. We can regain our original identities in the amazing pastimes of Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The wonderful qualities of the sādhus are described as follows in the Srimad Bhagavatam: titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām ajāta-śatravaḥ śāntāḥ sādhavaḥ sādhu-bhūṣaṇāḥ "The symptoms of a sādhu are that he is tolerant, merciful and friendly to all living entities. He has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the scriptures, and all his characteristics are sublime." --Srimad Bhagavatam 3.25.21 We should mould our daily

The early morning before sunrise is the best time of the time for chanting Hare Krishna because at that time the mode of goodness is very prominent. Once the sun comes up and the material society is once again stirred into action the mode of passion becomes predominant. And then after sunset when people flock to various establishments for enjoying so-called night life the mode of ignorance becomes predominant. Devotees are not interested in staying awake late into the night. They prefer to take rest as soon as possible so that they can rise as early as possible to take the greatest advantage of the early morning hours. In this connection Lord Sri Krishna explains as follows in the Bhagavad-gita: yā niśā sarva-bhūtānāṁ tasyāṁ jāgarti saṁyamī yasyāṁ jāgrati bhūtāni sā niśā paśyato muneḥ "What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage." Bhagavad-gita 2:69 Devotees i

Since I have started this e-course at the end of 2002 I have sent out 36,000 individual emails. It is not always easy to keep up with my correspondence. At the present time I am running about five days behind on answering my emails. I am constantly receiving emails from all over the world. Mostly sincere souls are inquiring how to understand properly the science of Krishna and/or how to successfully practice it. Sometimes I get emails from envious people who scold and chastise me telling me that I am wrong. They think they have better knowledge than what has been spoken by God Himself and carefully handed down by the great sages from time immemorial. What I am teaching is not wrong because it is not my opinion. It is the opinion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, as He clearly reveals it in the Bhagavad-gita. And because it is the knowledge coming directly from God it is all auspicious. It bestows the ultimate benefit upon the suffering humanity. I am praying for

21 December 2008--We had the last session of our ecstatic Govinda Valley retreat at the nearby beach by the bottom of a cliff with the prominent roar of the pounding surf in the background. Everyone was in jovial spirits to be inquiring and hearing on the transcendental topic of Krishna consciousness. The devotees asked many, many questions. It was ecstatic to satisfy them with the wonderful answers I have learned from my spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. After the question and answer session I sang for them in English two Krishna conscious songs with the accompaniment of a guitar. The first song was "Turn On Your Soul", a song of my own composition, and the second song was Uselessy, an English version of the song Hari Hari Viphale by Narottam Das Thakur. We all had the greatest time celebrating the sublime nectar of Krishna consciousness, and we are now eagerly awaiting our next Govinda Valley retreat in 2009. Sankarshan Das Adhikari W

20 December 2008--Krishna has blessed me with the most auspicious opportunity.I am here in sublime, serene Govinda Valley, Australia with 37 sincere souls who have signed up to get away from the rat race spending the weekend in a spiritual revitalization retreat with me for discovering the world that exists beyond their material senses. My spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, has opened a window for me to that spiritual world and now on his order and by his mercy I am to open that same window for those who have come to attend this retreat. Two days of exciting seminars, kirtans, spiritual association, and delicious prasadam await us as we embark on a transcendental journey to the spiritual world. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Window to the Spiritual World Retreat Govinda Valley, Australia--19 December 2008 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How to Surrender to Krishna? I know you are busy but if you find the time to answer some questions about the Gita it would be much

The time is now for us to fully dedicate ourselves for the deliverance of the entire planet earth from ever-increasing degradation. If we want to be potent deliverers of the suffering humanity, we must first of all deliver ourselves by fully surrendering ourselves unto Lord Krishna under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master. This is what I did in 1971. And then my spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, ordered me and that I should also become a spiritual master and initiate thousands of disciples all over the world. So if you are looking for shelter and guidance for how you can attain spiritual perfection and for how you can play an instrumental role of the deliverance of the suffering humanity, by the mercy of my spiritual master I can help you. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Srimad Bhagavatam Class in Pune, India 17 December 2008 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: You Have Nothing to Say Against Terrorism? Namaste, Jai Shree Kr

Our dearmost Lord Sri Krishna, at the present moment the entire human population is deeply engrossed in ignorance and passion and suffering greatly because of it. By the unlimited kindness of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the entire world has been blessed with the pathway of deliverance back to the original home of all living beings in the spiritual sky. Unfortunately only a very small fraction of the world population is aware of this. Those of us who have been blessed with the knowledge of this pathway of pure Krishna bhakti understand that even though we are most undeserving we still have received this greatest of all good fortunes. And all around us we see this world full of lost souls who are most pitiably completely entangled in the cycle of birth and death. Therefore, our most beloved Lord Krishna, we are begging you to use us as your instruments for as soon as possible delivering them by bringing them to their original, natural, fully enlightened state o

On Tuesday 16 December I gave a seminar entitled "No Stress Success" to the owner and employees of Emptoris Technologies, a high tech company in Pune, India. I explained to them that the secret of no stress success is to harmonize ourselves with the underlying reality upon which everything exists. In other words we have to go with the flow of that underlying reality. What confuses us and has gotten our entire world civilization into a state of disharmony is that we have taken the eddy or counter flow of material sense gratification to be the actual flow and have foolishly aligned ourselves with that eddy instead of the actual flow of existence, which is to harmonize ourselves through loving service with the Supreme Source of all existence, the Supreme Person. Sankarshan Das Adhikari "No Stress Success" Seminar at Emptoris Technologies, Pune, India Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Who to Follow? I am still a student all religions and am having

The modern day world civilization is crying and dying. Having lost its soul it is gradually withering away into oblivion. But all is not hopeless. A new world order, a new enlightened culture is arising to bring peace and prosperity to everyone in all corners of the globe. It is the revival of the original Vedic culture, which thrived for millions and millions of years on this planet before the advent of the age of Kali 5,000 years ago. Those who are well-informed are now resituating themselves in the resurgence of that most sublime Vedic culture, which is now being manifested all over the world in the form of the Krishna consciousness movement. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Bhagavad-gita Lecture in Pune, India Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Why Chocolate is Avoided? I have one question in my mind: Why are the initiated disciples and the neophytes who trying to qualify themselves for initiation prohibited from eating chocolate and ice cream? Your servant, Kalyan A

If we want to relieved from all anxieties and free to love all living beings with a pure heart, we need to dive deep within the ocean of bhakti, the ocean of pure love of Krishna or God. This is where we will all find the real nectar of existence. All programs for achieving happiness in this material world will ultimately prove to be a failure because we have nothing to do with these material coverings known as our material bodies. They are simply garments that we wear from some time and then discard when they become worn out. If we hear submissively from the bona fide spiritual master, by his mercy we will be carried deep, deep, deep within the ocean of bhakti where life is inconceivably sublime. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Hare Krishna Land Oasis in the Mumbai Desert Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Self-Will versus God's Will I have several friends who talk a lot about "self-will versus God's will". What, in fact, is the will? How can we know wh

Krishna consciousness is not something foreign or external. It is not imaginative ecstasy or cultism. The most sublime Krishna consciousness is lying there dormant within the hearts of all living beings. Therefore we do not require to impose it on anyone. Simply we must provide that suitable situation in which their natural original consciousness can be revived. Our mission is to turn the entire world onto Krishna consciousness. So we want to create that sublime atmosphere on this planet in which everyone can awaken and fully realize their eternal full-of-knowledge and full-of-bliss Krishna consciousness. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Hare Krishna Land Oasis in the Mumbai Desert Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: I Used to Be More Attracted to Krishna All glories to Srila Prabhupada Today I woke up a little late and I did not chant my rounds. But I will chant them during the day. I have a question. I had a period some time ago when I was more attracted to Krishna than n

We are here for the weekend in Mumbai, India, the site of the recent terrorist attacks. Security is extra tight here in an attempt to prevent another attack. We feel safe knowing that we have the ultimate security of Krishna. It is shameful that people have become so degraded in this age that in the name of religion they engage in all sorts of demoniac activities. They are so covered over by the material energy that they consider their sinful activities to be acts of righteousness. Whether it is the mass murder of turkeys in the name of giving thanks to God, as is done for Thanksgiving Day in the USA, or the mass murder of human beings in the name of religion, the disease is the same. They are acting against the laws of God. Whatever goes around, comes around. If we do not like being the victims of terrorism, we should be careful not to inflict terrorism upon others. That day when we stop terrorizing the unborn babies and the innocent animals, especially the cows, will be that day whe

Hong Kong is a dazzling neon city which especially comes to life at night. Allured by its glitter, hordes of people come here from all over the world to enjoy their senses. It is a marketing Mecca where you can get anything you want except for genuine happiness. You can purchase an authentic Rolex watch or just outside on the street you can a Rolex copy watch that looks just like the real thing. Everywhere the city screams out, "Money, money, money." But the whole city and the whole material world, which it so graphically represents, are empty and hollow. There is no substance to them. They are all show and no go. Luckily there is some relief. There is an oasis in this vast desert. There is an ISKCON center in Hong Kong where you can connect with the Supreme Person, the source of all existence and realize your true identity as His eternal servant. As soon as you enter into Hong Kong's ISKCON center, you feel that you have entered into another world, a safe transcendental

In India spiritual life is still very much appreciated. This can often lead to very interesting conversations when we interact with the Indian people. On Thursday 11 December 2008 when we were preparing to board a flight from Delhi to Hong Kong at the security checkpoint I was being frisked by a security guard. The guard asked me, "Where are you from?" I responded, "From the USA. But actually only my body is American. My actual self is the atma, and it is not American." He said, "That is true of everybody," and I replied, "Yes, everyone is an atma, an eternal spiritual being." Seeing my tilaka and shaved head with sikha he could understand that I was practicing Krishna bhakti. With great joy he asked me, "How long have you been doing this?" I said, "Since 1971." He said, "That means you have been practicing this for thirty-seven years." "Yes," I replied. Then in expectation of a very positive answer he ask

I am praying that I can have a revolutionary uplifting impact on the modern day society. Abandoning the God-centered principle and embracing the greed-centered principle, the society has run very far amuck, and is running further and further off the track with each passing day. I know that I can inspire others to give up greed and absorb themselves in love of God only to the extent that I have done so and not beyond that. Therefore in complete humility I am bowing down at the lotus feet of the all-merciful Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, and begging Him to bless me with 100% pure devotional service so that I can have the greatest possible revolutionary impact on the human society. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Sri Sri Radha Krishna--the Lords of Vrindavana Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Is It Possible to Change the Guru? Dear Gurudeva, I am already initiated by a bona fide spiritual master. But due to my bad luck I am not able to communicate with h

Today is our last day in Vrindavana. These days in Vrindavana have afforded us the greatest opportunity to directly connect with Krishna here in His most sacred abode, which is non-different from Him. Coming into contact with Vrindavana means coming into contact directly with Krishna. And there is not much more to be stated in this connection. Every particle of dust here is more valuable than the wealth of Kuvera, the treasurer of the demigods. Simply by breathing the air of Vrindavan one becomes relieved of the resultant reactions from millions of lifetimes of sinful activities. Simply by gazing upon the trees, bushes, cows, and the river Yamuna one becomes reconnected with one's original identity as the eternal servant of Krishna. One then has to then beg Krishna to become fully absorbed for all of eternity in pure devotional service to His lotus feet. It is most important to note in connection with entering into Sri Vrindavana Dhama that according to the sastras one can only en

This material world is a hellish place. It is the land of birth, death, old age, and disease. And since we are currently serving Krishna here in this material world it is natural that we will be exposed to these fourfold miseries. This is why Krishna explains in the Bhagavad-gita that we have to be tolerant of the dualities of pain and pleasure experienced within this material world. For example, in my own experience, I have suffered for the last forty-five years from an injury to my ears which occurred when I was over-exposed to the sound of loud rifle fire when I was a teenager taking military training in high school. Because of this my hearing is impaired and my ears are easily hurt by any loud sounds. Even though I often wear ear plugs as a protection, it is still not always sufficient to protect my ears, and I sometimes suffer from earaches and increased deafness. So what to do? I could stay in one place in a quiet atmosphere and be freed from so many material miseries stemming f

It's 6:45am on 7 December 2008. We are traveling in a motor vehicle from Vrindavana to Karoli, Rajasthan for the most auspicious darshan of Madana Mohana. I have just completed chanting 16 rounds of Hare Krishna japa mala, and the dawn is beginning to manifest on the eastern horizon. This is a nice peaceful time of the today for writing "Thought for the Day." Feeling very much blessed by the presence of Krishna in His holy dhama, this morning as we were leaving the Vrindavana area my mind flew back to that most wonderful time in Denver, Colorado, USA back in 1968 when Krishna so wonderfully entered my life in the form of a beautiful poster. That poster of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna was so inspiring that I immediately knew that I must worship this all-attractive Lord Krishna and offer all of my food to Him before eating. And in due course of time that all-merciful Lord sent me a bona fide spiritual master to teach me the innermost secrets of how to become perfect in love w

Today we are heading out from Vrindavana to Karoli and Jaipur for having the darshan of the three principle deities of Vrindavana: Govinda, Gopinatha, and Madana Mohana. In the 17th century due to the demoniac atrocities of the Muslim tyrant, Aurangzeb, these deities had to transferred out of Vrindavan for the safe keeping before he could destroy them. It is a grueling journey of several hours by automobile, but is well worth the trouble because this journey gives us the most sublime opportunity to get the mercy of these three principle deities who Srila Prabhupada describes as being the life and soul of the Gaudiya Vaisnavas. Worship of Madana Mohana frees us from material desires and re-establishes our forgotten relationship with the Personality of Godhead. Worship of Govinda strongly establishes us in transcendental service to the Lord. And worship of Gopinatha, the Lord of the gopis, is for achieving the perfectional stage of devotional service. So today taking their darshan we wi

It is indeed wonderful to be here in Vrindavana, the holy land of Krishna, manifested here on the material plane, perceivable by our blunt material senses. Even though physically one may be in Vrindavan, unless he is blessed by the dust from the feet of a bona fide spiritual master he cannot actually enter into Vrindavana, the spiritual abode of Lord Sri Krishna. Without bhakti he can only approach the shadow of Vrindavana. Taking shelter of a bona fide spiritual master is the ticket that allows us to enter into this wonderful land which contains the doorway to that unlimitedly sweet dimension of pure selflessness in the wondrous spiritual sky where the inhabitants live eternally in blissful youthfulness in the direct association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Sacred Yamuna River in Vrindavana ISKCON's Beautiful Krishna Balarama Temple in Sri Vrindavana Dhama, India Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Is Guru a Seer of the Truth