Ultimate Self Realization

We can achieve unlimited energy, freedom, and bliss if we will stick tightly to this path of awakening our original divine nature. It is only due to our conditioned existence of misidentifying the body with the self that we are presently in a suffering condition. In other words, we do not have to suffer at all. Suffering is simply an artificial situation experienced by the soul when he dreams that he is the center of existence. Therefore all we have to do to get out of suffering condition is to master the art of being Krishna-centered instead of self-centered. Because we have been completely self-centered for millions of lifetimes it takes some time to overcome our self-centered natures. But if we will take shelter of a purely Krishna-centered spiritual master, by his grace we will gradually transition from gross self-centeredness to pure Krishna-centeredness and thus achieve the perfectional stage of spiritual enlightenment, 100% pure love of Krishna. Sankarshan Das Adhikari No One ...

The time has come for the world's leaders to realize and honestly admit that they do not know how to solve the world's problems. But the difficulty is that for their own selfish purposes they are attached to the power, prestige, and perks that go along with their posts. Hence they are not willing to give up their precious posts and hang up on to them as long as possible even up to the point of death. Because the voters are ignorant they repeatedly and foolishly elect such unqualified persons to be their leaders, and then they are forced to suffer further mismanagement. If we want actual peace and happiness on this planet we must accept the guidance of those who are fully enlightened in atma-tattva, the science of the self. We must elect as our leaders those persons who have realized and are dedicated to Lord Sri Krishna or to those persons who are willing to be guided by Krishna conscious men. Then and only then will we experience a revival of the happy days of Bhagavat-dharma...

Because the modern day civilization is based on the principles of exploitation and greed and is thus not in harmony with the underlying principles of existence it is doomed to failure. Our present social system is inauspiciously based on the artificial platform of material sense gratification. Therefore it is gradually disintegrating. If we want true cohesion, peace, and happiness in our global society, we must re-introduce the principles of the spiritual nature of self and a God-centered society. Therefore the greatest necessity of the modern day is that there arise throughout the world a class of spiritually enlightened teachers who can guide the people in general how to realize their eternal identities as spirit-soul servitors of the Supreme Person. This is the mission of ISKCON, the International Society for Krishna consciousness. We are calling upon all sincere souls who want to realize the highest truth and engage in the highest welfare for human society to join with ISKCON in f...

Srila Prabhupada describes this material world as a dreamland because under the guidance of the material scientists people here are dreaming that there is no God in control, that everything is going on here by a random combination of material elements. They think that if matter combines in a certain way consciousness manifests. But where is the proof for this theory? Has any scientist ever created a conscious being out of dead matter? They have not done so,4.0 and they will not able be to do so because the conscious beings are the creations of God, the supreme conscious being. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Waking Up the Public From Dreamland at a University in Lithuania, 2008 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Christianity and Krishna Consciousness Can you explain how a practicing Christian can embrace the teachings of the Gita, i.e. Krishna consciousness, while remaining a Christian at heart? I would appreciate your reply. JB Answer: No McDonald's Hamburgers As K...

There is a great celebration going on right now all over the world. Lord Krishna's devotees are singing and dancing in the ecstasy of Lord Caitanya's sankirtana movement, and they are inviting you to join them in this ocean of jubilation. Lord Krishna has appeared in His most merciful form of Lord Caitanya to show by His example how we can easily become His pure devotees through the sublime process of singing, dancing, and feasting. What could be more enlivening? Simply by immersing ourselves in Lord Caitanya's blissful celebration we can quickly and easily achieve the topmost spiritual perfection. Take advantage of this special opportunity. Join today in the ecstatic singing and dancing going on at your nearest Hare Krishna center. If there is not one near you why not invite the devotees to your town to open a Hare Krishna center there? Lord Caitanya predicted that this ecstatic Hare Krishna singing and dancing would spread to every town and village all over the world, an...

There is a great power in purely chanting the Hare Krishna mahamantra. In this regard Srila Prabhupada describes as follows in his purport to Caitanya Caritamrita, Adi Lila 7.83: "A sincere student aurally receives the holy name from the spiritual master, and after being initiated he follows the regulative principles given by the spiritual master. When the holy name is properly served in this way, automatically the spiritual nature of the holy name spreads; in other words, the devotee becomes qualified in offenselessly chanting the holy name. When one is completely fit to chant the holy name in this way, he is eligible to make disciples all over the world, and he actually becomes jagad-guru. Then the entire world, under his influence, begins to chant the holy names of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra." In other words when one becomes pure in his chanting he becomes empowered to make the entire world Krishna conscious. This is truly wonderful! What could be more sublime? This mea...

Lord Caitanya says that in order to be able to constantly relish the Lord's holy names we have to be more tolerant than a tree. So let us consider just how tolerant a tree is. No matter what people may do to a tree the tree will not protest. Someone may carve their initials in its bark. Someone may cut off some of its branches. Someone may even come to kill the tree by cutting it down. But in all conditions the tree will simply stand there and take it. And through all of this the tree goes on rendering service without any discrimination regarding who is worthy of being served and who is not worthy of being served. In the summer the tree tolerates the intense heat of the sun to be able to provide cooling shade to persons who take shelter under his branches. And in the winter his wood is used to keep people warm. If we can develop qualities like the tree, we will be able dive unlimitedly into the sweet nectarean ocean of Lord Sri Krishna's transcendental names. Sankarshan Das Ad...

There are four different yugas or ages, which rotate like the seasons of the year in a cyclical fashion: Satya yuga, Treta yuga, Dvapara yuga, and Kali yuga, the present age. Satya yuga is like the spring. Treta yuga is like the summer. Dvapara yuga is like the fall. And Kali yuga is like the winter. So out of the four yugas the Kali yuga is the worst. It is in this Kali yuga that we experience the nastiest karmic weather. The religious qualities such as austerity, cleanliness, and mercy are conspicuous by their absence and whatever slight tinge of honesty is left is precariously tottering on the brink of extinction being put to death by the unabashed lies of cheating politicians. So how are we to experience peace and happiness in the midst of such a nasty karmic storm? Just as an airline pilot whose plane enters into a dangerous storm will take his airplane to a higher altitude to escape it, we simply have to take the airplane of our consciousness to a higher altitude by taking shelt...

Since unlimited bliss is the constitutional position of the living beings it is only those who are ignorant of their actual identity who suffer. Therefore it behooves everyone who is desiring a life of the greatest possible happiness to revive their dormant Krishna consciousness. Of course, if someone prefers suffering over happiness, there is no need to revive their Krishna consciousness. If one chooses to do so, he can remain perpetually in the miserable cycle of repeated birth, death, old age, and disease. Everyone has a free choice. If one would like to revive his eternal unlimitedly blissful nature, he can do so. Or if he prefers perpetual suffering, that option is also fully available for him. Which option do you choose? Sankarshan Das Adhikari Sri Sri Radha Krishna in the Spiritual Sky Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Are the Vedas Bona Fide? Hare Krishna, I would like a ask few very simple questions. Why should we believe the Hindu Vedic scriptures? How ...

As long as we have material bodies we will have so many duties to fulfill in order to maintain them nicely in a healthy state. But if we take bodily maintenance as the only purpose of our existence, we will remain stuck on the animal platform and will not be able to attain liberation from the cycle of birth and death. So if we are actually serious about liberation, we have to always remember that we are not these bodies and fully engage them very nicely in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this way by always prioritizing Krishna consciousness while in the midst of our material duties we will make steady progress on the path of self-realization, and we will become fully qualified someday to enter into that wondrous spiritual sky where life is eternal, full of bliss, and full of knowledge. Won't you come along? Sankarshan Das Adhikari Sri Sri Radha Krishna in the Spiritual Sky Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Is this World the Greatest Obsta...

What this planet needs is Krishna conscious leadership. When the people of the world will live their lives in accordance with the instructions of Krishna's pure devotees the entire world will become peaceful and happy. Therefore in 1966 in New York City at 26 2nd Avenue His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness to provide the world with such Krishna conscious leaders. Those persons who would like to take leadership roles for the deliverance of the suffering humanity from an ever-increasingly deteriorating and chaotic world order should join the Krishna consciousness society as soon as possible and become trained in the principles and practice of pure devotional service. Then they should fully dedicate their lives for introducing the entire world to the sublime process of Krishna consciousness. The result will be a new highly enlightened world order. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Original ISKCON Temple 26 2nd Avenue,...

In this world everyone is looking for the sweetest pleasure that they can find. But no matter how hard they look they never find complete total satisfaction. Therefore we recommend that everyone throughout the entire world should try diving into the sweet ocean of Hare Krishna kirtan because there is truly nothing more sweet and enlivening than this. When we chant Hare Krishna and dance in ecstasy we can feel how we are riding the waves of transcendental bliss out of this world of unlimited suffering into the Lord's most amazing abode known as Krishnaloka. All the pleasures of this material world become reduced to insignificance for one who dives into the ocean of unlimited nectar: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Hare Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare Sankarshan Das Adhikari Srila Prabhupada Leads the Devotees Chanting and Dancing in Ecstasy Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Can I Hear from This Guru? Hare Krishna, I have taken mant...

Nowadays there is a popular so-called guru who is teaching that Guru, God, and the Self are synonymous. That he has a huge following all over the world is not at all surprising because we have all come to this material world due to our polluted desire to be God. If someone comes along and tells everyone that they are God, this will naturally be attractive to those who are less intelligent. People will think, "Wow! Guruji will make me God. What a great guru he is!" But a thoughtful person will not accept such a philosophy understanding full well, "If I were God how could the all-powerful Supreme Person be dragged down into the world of birth, death, old age, and disease to get stuck in a daily struggle for his existence? That would not be possible." Such an intelligent person will understand that he is not God, and he will seek out a bona fide spiritual master who can teach him how to become a perfect servant of God and thus genuinely become liberated from material ...

A Krishna conscious day begins early in the morning. The devotee rises by 4 am, takes bath, puts on devotional clothing ( a sari or a dhoti) applies tilaka to the body, and then celebrates at the temple or at home the mangala arati ceremony while singing the Gurvastakam prayers, the eight prayers glorifying the spiritual master. These beautiful prayers composed by the great Vaisnava acharya Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur are so full of spiritual powerful that anyone who chants them aloud with great care and attention, during the period before sunrise known as the brahma-muhurta obtains direct service to Krishna, the Lord of Vrindavana, at the time of his death. Because they are eager to attain Krishna's association the devotees make sure to celebrate mangala arati every day. Sankarshan Das Adhikari P.S. The Gurvastakam Prayers are as follows: Text One saṁsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka- trāṇāya kāruṇya-ghanāghanatvam prāptasya kalyāṇa-guṇārṇavasya vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam Th...

In the introduction to the Teachings of Lord Caitanya Srila Prabhupada explains, "Our real love is continuous and unending, but because that love is reflected pervertedly in this material world, it lacks continuity and is inebriating. If we want real transcendental love, we have to transfer our love to the supreme lovable object -- the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is the basic principle of Krishna consciousness." Why is Krishna described as the supreme lovable object? There are many reasons. One reason is that no one else can reciprocate love with us so perfectly and completely as Krishna. Even though He knows absolutely everything about us including all of our selfish, sinful activities over millions of lifetimes, still He agrees to overlook and forgive all of that if we will simply surrender ourselves to Him. He provides us with our existence itself as well as with all of our necessities. He is ready, willing, and very eager to fully give Himself to us. All we have...

Absolute truth does exist, and it can be fully realized. But unfortunately those who realize it are very few. The vast majority of people remain illusioned and unfulfilled because they stubbornly hold onto the misconception that they are the center of the universe. And thus sadly their lives are thrown down the drain completely wasted in the maddened pursuit of material sense gratification. They never realize the full potential that human life offers to them. Those who would like to throw off the shackles of illusion and realize the Absolute Truth should seek it with a completely open mind. If they hold on to a preconception of what is the Absolute Truth, that preconception will distort their vision and prevent them from realizing the Absolute Truth. Their vision of reality will be twisted around their prejudice. So pure objectivity is required. If one is daring enough to throw all prejudices and be prepared to accept whatever he may discover, the Absolute Truth will be revealed to hi...

This message is for you. Krishna is calling us to come back to our eternal home in the spiritual sky. The spiritual master is His messenger. We should never misunderstand the message which is being delivered to us by the spiritual master, that it is something of this material world and is thus tinged with lust, anger, and greed. No, the message delivered to us by the spiritual master is a message of pure love. Because we are still covered by lust, anger, and greed we sometimes think that the spiritual master's message is tinged by lust, anger, and greed. But this is not a fact. The spiritual master's words are actually not his words. They are Krishna's words. Therefore we should put our full faith in the words delivered to us by the spiritual master and come back to our original identity in the spiritual sky. Accept the mercy of Krishna delivered by the spiritual master and reconnect with your eternal Lord, Sri Krishna, today. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Krishna Invites Us to...

Today's world is flooded with an ocean of problems: terrorism, crime, economic collapse, epidemics, starvation, global warming, pollution, etc, etc. The underlying cause of all the world's problems is spiritual. We, as a global society, are not living in harmony with the Supreme Person. We are out of sync with the Supreme, and therefore everything has been thrown out of balance. The good news is that because there is this one root cause for all difficulties the solution is very simple. All we have to do is reconnect with our source, the Supreme Person, through the easy, sublime process of bhakti or devotional service. We must get back once again into a state of perfect co-operation with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna. Therefore the most burning, pressing need of the day is that we must flood the entire world with Krishna consciousness. We are calling upon everyone to join us in this most urgent and important task. If you are not a part of the solution, yo...

Because we chose to be selfish we were given a place where we could indulge in selfishness. But while such indulgence can give a quick short term sense of happiness, it cannot give any deep, long term sense of happiness. Therefore in the ultimate issue no one is satisfied by selfishness. For true lasting happiness one must master the art of selflessness. The difficulty in mastering this art is that we too often mistake extended selfishness to be selflessness and thus do not attain true selflessness. We think that by serving our nation we are being selfless, but we serve our nation merely as an extension of our false ego. Because I am a member of this nation, therefore this nation is great, and I want to serve it. This a round about way of again merely serving myself. It is only when we reach the point of serving the root cause of all existence, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that we become truly selfless by truly serving everyone. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to t...

We are back now at Bhaktivedanta Ashram preparing for our next world tour which will begin in late March after Gaura Purnima. We still have not planned our first stop in Europe. Due the routing rules of our around-the-world tickets we are restricted to certain cities. If you are in one of the following cities and would like me to come there for lecturing, kindly inform us as soon as possible so we can consider the feasibility of our coming there. The possible cities are: London Manchester Paris Frankfurt Brussels Milan Zurich Madrid Email to: requestlecture@earthlink.net Sankarshan Das Adhikari Highlights from Our Last World Tour Airport Arrival Kirtan in Sofia, Bulgaria Bhaktilata devi dasi Initiation in Russia Vyas Puja Celebration in Lithuania "No Stress Success" Seminar Emptoris Technologies-Pune, India Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Liberated by Sankirtan? My dear Srila Gurudeva! Please accept my humble obeisances! You said in one less...

10 January 2009--This is the last day of our fall 2008 around-the-world preaching tour. Fraught with adventure, sometimes exhilarating sometimes harrowing, as usual it has been a truly enlightening, edifying, and uplifting experience. The more we give Krishna, the more we get Krishna. Therefore there is truly nothing sweeter than being fully absorbed in serving the mission of Lord Caitanya to bring about a complete total respiritualization of the entire human society. Our tour encompassed 5 continents and 17 countries (USA, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, China, India, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, and Peru). We deepened many existing loving relationships with so many wonderful souls and began many new relationships in our humble attempt do whatever we can to bring about a revival of the original Vedic culture which thrived for 3,772,000 years on this planet up until the advent of the Kali Yuga 5,000 years ago. Sankarsh...

Yesterday during the morning program in our Los Angeles temple Bhakta Richard asked me which place I was going to next to bestow benediction upon the people. I replied to him that I am praying to be able to do this. I have to pray for it because even though I have been ordered by my spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, to spread the supreme benediction of Krishna consciousness, I feel myself quite unfit to do so. Therefore my only hope is to beg Srila Prabhupada that in spite of my innumerable disqualifications that he kindly empower me for this most important task. mukhaṁ karoti vācālaṁ panguṁ laṅghayate girim yat kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam "I offer respectful obeisances unto my beloved spiritual master, the deliverer of the most fallen, by whose mercy a lame man can cross over a mountain and a dumb man can deliver eloquent speeches." By his blessings anything is possible. So now may he fully utilize me as his instrument for spreading the Krishna con...

It was very heart warming to experience the loving feelings of the Peruvian devotees. In so many ways they gave us their love during the few days that we were in Peru. Even though materially very poor, they are spiritually very rich. It amazed me how on such short notice with no formal advertising how simply by mere word of mouth they could pack a hall two nights in a row to hear my seminars on pure devotional service. Such sincere souls who are endeavoring to awaken their dormant love of God are very, very dear to Lord Krishna. They are also very, very dear to me. I look forward to my return visit to Lima, Peru in January of 2010. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Sweet Airport Farewell from Peruvian Devotees Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Identification with the Supreme My dearest Srila Gurudeva, Please accept my humble obeisances! All glories to Srila Prabhupada! It is said in the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad: nava-dvāre pure dehī haṁso lelāyate bahiḥ vaśī sarvasya lokas...