Ultimate Self Realization

In the material world everyone is trying to always be a winner, but this is not possible because for every winner there must a loser. However, in Krishna consciousness it is possible to always the winner. In fact when one is in full Krishna consciousness he IS always the winner. How is this so? The devotee of Krishna accomplishes this by utilizing every circumstance he finds himself in to increase his absorption in Krishna consciousness. In this way he is never defeated, and he is always the winner. No matter what happens to him he is always increasing his spiritual assets more and more every day. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Does Strong Bhakti Depend on Anxiety? Please accept my humble obeisances Sir, is the intensity of bhakti strongest in time of anxiety? If yes, does this mean that one cannot reach strong intensity of bhakti when there is no anxiety? Regards, Sunil Answer: Bhakti is a Fully Independent Gift. Bhakti means to

Krishna consciousness is based on loving relations with devotees. Indeed, Krishna says that if we are not the devotees of His devotees, He will not accept our devotion. Therefore we have always be very careful that we deal with devotees in a devotional way, not in a materialistic way. The devotees have sacrificed their lives to help us gain relief from cycle of birth and death. Therefore we should never be ungrateful and see them as ordinary people of this world. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Complaint: Do Not be Judgmental I enjoy your insights and intentions. However, today I have not enjoyed your use of the word "fools"! I doubt very much that Krishna would ever have chosen a sarcastic and derogatory description for anyone, even those He knew were not on the correct path. You are being judgmental in the extreme here, which all sacred texts advise against, as none of we humans are perfect nor do we know the "whole story",

Krishna consciousness is the perfection of selflessness. As soon as we abandon making Krishna or God the center of our existence we tread into the dangerous selfish waters of considering ourselves to be the center of existence. Just as the hand in its healthy state serves the whole body, the living being in his healthy state naturally serves the Complete Whole Supreme Personality of Godhead. If the hand tries to enjoy the food separately from the body, it will find that it has no power to ingest the food and utilize its nutritional value. But when the hand agrees to serve the whole body by supplying the foodstuffs through the mouth to the belly, the belly becomes satisfied and the nutritional value of the eatables is then distributed throughout the body for the satisfaction of each and every part of the body including the hand. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Jesus is God. Why Present Krishna? I am a fully committed Catholic and believe

If we engage in the activities of devotional service in a mechanical, routine way, we will not taste the desired results. We will not feel that we are swimming in a nectarean ocean of bhakti bliss. But if we try to do everything in a loving mood for the pleasure of our spiritual master and Lord Sri Krishna, magic will happen. We will feel how we entering into another dimension of consciousness which is eternal, full of bliss, and full of knowledge, and our hearts will become full of compassion for the billions of people who are now suffering in the ignorance of not knowing who they really are and what is the purpose of their existence. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Why Not Say "Rama Consciousness"? Please accept my humble obeisances. Sir, I am confused about a thing. Why is Krishna Consciousness not called "Rama Consciousness"? Does the word "Rama" have the same amount of potency as the word "Krishna&

Just like the battlefield principle that it is very difficult to shoot a moving target, if we keep ourselves always busy in devotional service 24 hours a day, the material energy will never be able to capture us. We have ample activities to keep ourselves constantly fully busy for the rest of our lives: hearing about Krishna, chanting His names, remembering Him, cooking for Him, and taking over the world for Him. What could be more exciting than to be fully absorbed in Krishna consciousness for all of eternity? Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How to Be Fearless of Death? Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Is it really true that a devotee doesn't fear death? I understand that death is the most painful process so how can a devotee be fearless of death? Do devotees also experience pain just like any other people while leaving the body? How does a devotee transcend the misery of pain at the the time of de

The theme song of material existence is "I, me, mine." In other words in spite of the polished covering of being Mr. Nice Guy everyone is caught up in thinking themselves the center of the universe and the owner of everything. Beneath the facade of benevolence runs the undercurrent of selfishness which often rears its ugly head when least expected. This mentality is described in the Bhagavad-gita, and George Harrison, being inspired by Srila Prabhupada, has written about it in his song, "I, Me, Mine" as follows: All I can hear I me mine, I me mine, I me mine. Even those tears I me mine, I me mine, I me mine. No-one's frightened of playing it Ev'ryone's saying it, Flowing more freely than wine, All thru' the day I me mine. So how do we escape this selfish "I, me, mine" syndrome? It's very simple. All we have to do is chant Hare Krishna as much as possible, the more the better. Then by the influence of the Mahamantra, the king of all ma

On Friday 23 October 2009 we were flying from Austin to Atlanta. During a stopover at the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport I finished writing and formatting "Thought for the Day", but I did not have time sufficient time to upload it before we had to board our flight. Once on board I saw a notice that the plane was equipped with wi-fi. Taking advantage of a free introductory promotion I was able to go online at 30,000 feet and upload "Thought for the Day". Previously it was considered that saintly persons must remain detached from the material world by not using any of its modern amenities. But Srila Rupa Goswami has taught the principle that the highest form of renunciation is to utilize everything in the service of Krishna. Since everything both material and spiritual is the energy of God it makes sense that everything should be used in His service. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Why Doesn't ISKCON Plant Trees? I offer

The entire human society is sound asleep in the clutches of maya. How to save them? How was Rome built? One brick at a time. So if we want to save the world we must do it one person at a time beginning with ourselves. After all, if I don't save myself how I can expect to save others? It is not possible. So our first priority is to save ourselves and then to try to give Krishna consciousness to each person that we meet. In this way gradually the entire world can be saved. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: No Taste from Bhakti. What to Do? Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. I read your emails daily and they are very inspiring. You are doing really wonderful service. My question is this: When I was a new devotee, Lord Krishna gave me so much taste and thus I was inspired from within to surrender more and more and thus I got initiated. But recently, I don't much taste at all. I do all my service with an

The material energy or maya is always trying to pull us away from Krishna offering quick, cheap thrills which lead to nothing but misery. Therefore the expert transcendentalists have trained themselves not to be swayed by these allurements keeping themselves always fixed in applying the understanding of what is in their highest self interest, namely to be fully absorbed 24/7 in the transcendental name, fame, form, pastimes, entourage, paraphernalia, etc. of the all-attractive Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna. So, forget the the quick, cheap thrills. Only fools like to be cheated. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Difference Between Mind and Intelligence I offer you my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Gurudeva, I am reading the Bhagavad-gita and a lot of places I am coming through phrases like "Fix your mind and intelligence on Lord Krishna." Mind and intelligence sound quite synonymous. What is t

It is often thought by those who not self-realized that since we cannot see the form of God He must not have a form and that because we have a form we have imagined that He also has a form. This is like our friend Dr. Frog who had never experienced a body of water bigger than his well and therefore concluded that his well was the biggest body of water in the entire world. When our knowledge is limited we should take help from those who have greater knowledge. The great acaryas such as Lord Brahma have personally seen God and have very nicely shared with us what they have experienced. If we take advantage of their knowledge, we will easily become knowledgable. A little boy may not understand mathematics. But when his father tells him that two plus two equals four and he repeats it, he is speaking perfect knowledge. Similarly, if we hear from the great acaryas what the form of God looks like and we repeat that description, we are speaking with perfect knowledge. Sankarshan Das Adhikari

This is the day in 1977 when His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada departed from this world. It is a day of mourning our separation from his physical presence and also of celebrating how he remains always within our hearts in the form of his transcendental instructions. If he were physically present, he could certainly wonderfully resolve the conflicts which sometimes spring up amongst us, his followers, since his departure. But somehow or other it was Krishna's plan that he should be taken away from us at that time so that we would be forced to grow up spiritually and master the art of ourselves resolving the conflicts. After all, if the parent always carries the child, how will the child learn to walk? So now the best way for us, his followers, to observe his disappearance from this world is to carefully serve his desire that we cooperate together very nicely as a world wide family of his disciples and grand-disciples. In this way by humble obedience to him he wil

The easiest way to always stay enlivened in Krishna consciousness is to remain focused on the ultimate goal of all our activities, namely to attain the supreme spiritual perfection of pure love of Godhead and thus qualify for going back home, back to Godhead. In this way if we always remember why are engaged in the daily activities of Krishna consciousness, these activities will always make sense to us, and we will be enlivened to render our daily service with love in a first class way. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Fall in Love with Krishna Before Meeting Him? I offer my humble obeisances to you. All glories to Srila Prabhupada If you describe to me about a girl verbally or in writing about her beauty, her talks, her behavior I won't fall in love in her until I see her. Similarly I won't fall in love with Lord Krishna if you tell me about Him or just make me read about Him. So why doesn't Lord Krishna appear and show his be

Don't despair if you run up against an obstacle which seems hopelessly insurmountable. Krishna's infinite kindness is always there for His devotee. Therefore all you have to do is humbly take complete shelter of the Lord. Then you will be amazed at how wonderfully the obstacle melts away and you are escorted by the Lord into a new dimension of higher level Krishna consciousness. In other words, if you will simply fix your mind in Krishna consciousness, all apparent stumbling blocks will be experienced as stepping stones taking you to higher and higher planes of enlightened consciousness. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Can the Soul Lose Its Individuality? Please accept this most fallen soul's respectful obeisances unto you, Gurudeva. Can the soul, if he wishes, become void, not even entering into brahman effulgence, completely null with total loss of individuality? I know its a foolish thing to think about it. But I just want

In today's world we find many so called gurus who claim that everyone is God or that they are God. But in this connection we should understand what are some of the benchmarks by which we can determine who is actually God. For example, when Krishna was personally present on this planet 5,000 years ago He lifted the huge mountain named Govardhan Hill and held it aloft effortlessly for seven days on the little finger of His left hand. Anybody who is God will have to power to also lift a mountain and hold it effortlessly for seven days. So if anybody comes to us claiming that they are God or that their guru is God, we will ask that they or their guru will have to prove it to us by holding a mountain aloft for seven days. Sankarshan Das Adhikari P.S. Today is called Govardhan Puja. This is the day over 5,000 years ago when Krishna lifted Govardhan Hill in Vrindavan, India. We encourage you to attend the joyous festivities at your nearest Hare Krishna center. Lord Krishna Lifting Govar

If we want true peace of mind, we must rise beyond the mind. As long as we remain on the platform of the mind we must remain entangled in the dualities of happiness and distress, heat and cold, honor and dishonor, etc. It is only when we become solidly situated on the transcendental platform beyond the flickering mind that we can find lasting peace and satisfaction. The easiest way to attain the transcendental platform is to chant the Hare Krishna mantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare Sankarshan Das Adhikari George Harrison Chanting Hare Krishna Japa Answers According to the Vedic Version: Differing Opinion: Formless God Can Be Depicted As An Old Man  You wrote: "God must be all-powerful. Otherwise there is no meaning to the concept of God. And since God is all-powerful does it make sense that He would allow time, which is one of His energies, to deteriorate Him in any way? Since God controls everything,

Before departing from Europe on 14 October I gave some final instructions to a number of my disciples who were seeing us off at the Riga, Latvia airport. I explained to them the two essential principles for devotees of Krishna. The first principle is to dive deeply 24 hours a day into the unlimited ocean of nectar that is found in the pure chanting of Lord Krishna's name. And the second principle is to fully absorb one's consciousness 24 hours a day in pushing forward the Krishna consciousness movement for the deliverance of all the conditioned souls from the repetition of birth and death. One may wonder how both things could be done simultaneously. The answer is that the more purely one chants Krishna's holy names, the more he will naturally have a consciousness-uplifting impact on the entire universe, and that the more that one absorbs himself in pushing forward this Krishna consciousness movement, naturally the more purely he will absorb himself in Krishna's holy na

God must be all-powerful. Otherwise there is no meaning to the concept of God. And since God is all-powerful does it make sense that He would allow time, which is one of His energies, to deteriorate Him in any way? Since God controls everything, there is no question that time could have any kind of deteriorating effect on the Supreme Person. So why should we foolishly depict God as an old man with beard, as he is painted in the Sistine Chapel in Rome? This does make any sense. It is merely the speculation of a person who does not realize who and what is God. Sankarshan Das Adhikari An Old Man with a Beard--Is this God? Or is this Beautiful, Eternal Youth God? What is Your Opinion? Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How Does Krishna Reciprocate with Us? If I love a girl and I give her flowers, chocolates and she accepts or rejects, reciprocating positively or negatively. So, if I love Lord Krishna and express my love and devotion to Him, how does He reciprocate?

In this material world things do not always go well. Therefore if we want to always be happy we must master the art of how to always be transcendental to all adversities. There is no greater opulence, no greater achievement than becoming thus solidly fixed in Krishna consciousness. Unfortunately the present world civilization because of going on under the guidance of misguided self-interested fools is not facilitating the people to come to the proper consciousness in harmony with the Supreme Reality. Therefore we are trying to spread this Krishna consciousness movement all over the world to save the suffering humanity from the quagmire of illusion in which they are so deeply sunk. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Can Houses in Vaikunthaloka Talk? I have read that in Vaikunthaloka even the houses and trees are conscious unlike in the material world. I wanted to know that when it is said that the houses and even trees are conscious does

Vyasa Puja means that on the appearance day (birthday) of the spiritual master we worship him as the representative of Vedavyasa, the literary incarnation of God. Sometimes people become confused or even bewildered to see a human being worshipped as good as God. Vyasa Puja does not mean that we consider the spiritual master to be God. It simply means that since he is God's pure representative we give him the all honor and respect that we would give to God if the Lord were personally visibly present. Although the spiritual master does not consider that he is worthy of such honor and worship as a matter of duty on the order of his spiritual master he humbly accepts the honor and worship being offered to him and within his heart offers it to his spiritual master and through him to all the previous acaryas and to Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Can a Muslim Become a Brahmana? One of my

A very kind devotee stated that he considers me to be empowered to take over the world. Of course, I know that I can do nothing. What can I accomplish? I am simply praying to be a fully surrendered instrument in the hands of my beloved spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, whose movement is in fact empowered to take over the entire world in fulfillment of the prediction given in the Sri Caitanya Caritamrita by Srila Krishnadas Kaviraja as follows: saj-jana, durjana, paṅgu, jaḍa, andha-gaṇa prema-vanyāya ḍubāila jagatera jana "The Krishna consciousness movement will inundate the entire world and drown everyone, whether one be a gentleman, a rogue or even lame, invalid or blind." --Caitanya Caritamrita Adi 7.26 So my desire is to see that the Krishna consciousness movement shall indeed culturally conquer the entire world before I leave my body. (This is of course not by bombs and bullets, but by attracting everyone to the wonderful lifesty

Every living entity throughout all of existence is a pure of Lord Sri Krishna. Those who never forget this live eternally in the spiritual sky and are known as nitya-siddhas, eternally liberated souls. Those who forget this fall down from the spiritual world into the material where they futilely try to enjoy a life apart from devotion to Krishna. When they become frustrated with their suffering condition and take advantage of the mercy of guru and Krishna, they resume their former life of devotion and return to their original position in the spiritual sky. That everyone is constitutionally a devotee of Krishna is confirmed as follows in the Sri Caitanya Caritamrita: nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema 'sādhya' kabhu naya śravaṇādi-śuddha-citte karaye udaya "Pure love for Krishna is eternally established in the hearts of the living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, this love naturally awakens."

I am often asked for help by aspiring devotees who are having difficulty bringing their minds under control. One of the key points to remember when it comes to subduing the wild mind is that by our own strength it is not possible to conquer it. This is confirmed as follows by Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita: cañcalaṁ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa pramāthi balavad dṛḍham tasyāhaṁ nigrahaṁ manye vāyor iva su-duṣkaram "For the mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Krishna, and to subdue it, I think, is more difficult than controlling the wind."--Bhagavad-gita 6.34 If we cannot control the wind, how can we expect the control the mind, which is even more difficult to control than the wind? The reality is that we cannot by own strength conquer over the mind and senses. But if we will take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master, by his grace we become empowered to conquer over the otherwise unconquerable mind and senses. This is confirmed in the Vedic wisdom as follows:

It's the nature of the mind to play diversionary tricks when one is trying to realize Krishna. Just when the aspiring devotee thinks that he is becoming free from all material desires he becomes shocked to discover that his mind is feverish with material desire. Such experiences are very humbling, but if taken in the proper mood they pave the way to rapid advancement on the road to pure devotional service. In this situation one must honestly admit to himself the unpleasant reality that he is still materially attached and pray to his spiritual master and Lord Sri Krishna to save him from this hellish mental fever. The devotee must detach himself from all forms of material sense gratification and absorb himself 100% in the mood of pure devotional service. If he seriously endeavors in this way depending fully on the mercy of guru and Krishna, he will soon pass out the mental storm and enter the clear sky of pure devotional service. Then and only then will he be fully satisfied. Sanka

Srila Prabhupada explains, "Even if one wanders for many millions of years, from the time of creation until the time of annihilation, one cannot get free from the path of material existence unless one receives shelter at the lotus feet of a pure devotee." So we cannot become self-realized on our own strength. It is not possible. To become liberated from birth and death we are fully dependent on the mercy of Lord Sri Krishna's pure representative, the bona fide spiritual master. If we are fortunate enough to come into contact with such a pure devotee, we should take full advantage of his association by taking complete shelter of his lotus feet and thus make our lives perfect. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How to Follow Dharma in this Age? Dear Guru Maharaja, Please accept my humble obeisances. Kindly clarify the following questions: 1) What is dharma? 2) How to follow dharma as per shastras (scriptures)? 3) Is it possible

Difficult tasks are accomplished by breaking them down into a series of small steps. If one then proceeds carefully step by step, he eventually reaches the goal of accomplishing the task. So how will we save the world population from its present entanglement within the wheel of birth and death? By the same step by step method by educating one person at a time in the amazing science of Krishna consciousness beginning with ourselves. In the case of this task the odds of success are stacked 100% in our favor because the whole world has already been delivered by the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Only time is separating us from the full blow manifestation of this most astounding miracle. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Remembering Krishna in Work and Study I offer you my humble obeisances. Krishna consciousness is about remembering Krishna all the time and not forgetting Him even for a moment. If I am working in my office or I am studying

We were invited to appear at Kaliningrad's International Non-Violence Festival on Sunday 4 October. It was a wonderful opportunity for us to offer the non-violence formula of Krishna consciousness. Krishna describes in the Bhagavad-gita that one of the symptoms of a devotee is that he is friendly to every living being. Therefore Krishna consciousness is the epitome of non-violence. While Krishna consciousness allows the use of violence to defend oneself against the violent attack of aggressors, it does not allow one to commit violence against the innocent, including unborn babies, cows, and other creatures even down to ant. Even plants should not be unnecessarily killed. Because the devotee of the Lord sees all living beings as his brothers and sisters, he is naturally non-violent. We were only allowed twenty minutes for our presentation so we first did a short kirtan and then I gave a short explanation of non-violence according the Bhagavad-gita. It was a wonderful and very enli

The greatest austerity of visiting the devotees in Kaliningrad, Russia is leaving their association. Why is it so difficult to leave? Because we taste so much sweetness in the ever expanding ocean of their loving association. Whatever austerities we have to sometimes undergo for crossing the Russian border are compensated many times over by the enlivening, merciful association of these simply wonderful devotees. We find so much happiness in their association that as soon as we leave we are immediately planning for our next visit. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Career Enhancement is Wrong? Hare Krishna, Srila Gurudeva, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Lord Krishna has shown mercy on me by giving me a chance to associate with ISKCON one year back. Initially I was not experiencing much taste but after joining this e-course and reading the archives I started realizing and getting the taste of sweet nectar.

2 October 2009--6:00PM--Sovetsk, Russia. Our journey from Kaunas, Lithuania to Kaliningrad, Russia has hit a real snag. My evening lecture in Kaliningrad had to be cancelled. We are now at the Russian border at Sovesk. There is a long queue of vehicles waiting to enter Russia. Each vehicle can take up to 1/2 hour. We arrived in the early afternoon and dutifully took our place at the end of the queue. Then it became late afternoon, which turned into evening and now has transformed into pitch black night. After answering all my emails and getting a head start on the next installment of "Thought for the Day" I was wondering what to do next that would keep me absorbed in Krishna consciousness. Then Mataji reminded me that my harmonium was in the van. So within a moment what looked like it would be long excruciating ordeal was transformed into a festival of transcendental bliss by the sweet mercy of Lord Krishna's holy names. Sankarshan Das Adhikari P.S. We finally cleared i

In material life the more we distribute something, the less we have of it. But in Krishna consciousness it is just the opposite. The more we give something away, the more we get it. In other words, the more we share the nectar of Krishna consciousness, the more we taste it. Therefore those who are greedy to taste unlimited nectar fully absorb their lives in distributing this supreme nectar to others. Our spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, has blessed us with an ocean of the sweetest nectar. Now if we will fully absorb ourselves in sharing this nectar with the nectar-parched victims of the age of Kali that ocean of nectar will continue expanding more and more ad infinitum inundating the entire universe. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Research in Spirituality I want to do research in spirituality. What steps should I follow? Dr. Tiwary Answer: The Ultimate Scientific Experiment Carefully read th

Being on the road somehow or other always seems to open up my consciousness. It never fails. This is one of reasons that I love traveling and preaching so much. Right now it is 6pm on 30 September 2009. We are on the road from Kaunas, Lithuania to Vilnius, Lithuania where I will be giving a lecture tonight on the most amazing transcendental science of Krishna consciousness. One of the nicest perks of being a traveling lecturer is that the more one gives Krishna consciousness to others, the more he gets Krishna consciousness. In fact, sharing the science of Krishna is so powerful that it guarantees one entrance into the spiritual world. Krishna confirms this as follows in the Bhagavad-gita: ya idaṁ paramaṁ guhyaṁ mad-bhakteṣv abhidhāsyati bhaktiṁ mayi parāṁ kṛtvā mām evaiṣyaty asaṁśayaḥ "For one who explains this supreme secret to the devotees, pure devotional service is guaranteed, and at the end he will come back to Me."--Bhagavad-gita 18.68 One might wonder if th

Krishna explains in the Bhagavad-gita that if we become ideal Vaisnavas who engage their senses 100% in the service of the Lord that we can induce the entire world to accept the guidance of the Krishna consciousness movement. So what could be a better, more fulfilling life style than to seriously cultivate pure devotional service both for our own personal benefit and for the benefit of the entire world population? The easiest way to do that is to dive deeply into Hare Krishna kirtan. Such kirtan purifies our own hearts and purifies the entire world. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Why Do I Suffer Karmic Reactions? Dear Gurudeva, My pranams at your lotus feet. Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gita 13:32: anāditvān nirguṇatvāt paramātmāyam avyayaḥ śarīra-stho 'pi kaunteya na karoti na lipyate "Those with the vision of eternity can see that the imperishable soul is transcendental, eternal, and beyond the modes of nature. Despite cont