Ultimate Self Realization

What day could be more auspicious than today? This is the transcendental appearance day of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Lord Sri Krishna Himself, who so mercifully appeared a little over 500 years ago in Bengal, India in the form of His devotee to bestow what no incarnation had ever freely, unconditionally given away before, pure love of Godhead. He inaugurated the Hare Krishna movement by chanting and dancing Hare Krishna all other India inundating it with tidal waves of pure love of Godhead. He is so potent that by His influence even the wild animals in the forest of Jarikhanda took to singing and dancing the Hare Krishna mantra in ecstasy in His presence. Therefore there is great hope that by the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu the people in this unfortunate age can take to the process of Krishna consciousness and become truly happy and fortunate. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu--1486-1534 The Most Magnanimous Incarnation of God Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Love

It's time to move on. We've been suffering in the land of illusion for far too long. There is no need to go on being unnecessarily bewildered like this. It's time that we once and for all bid farewell to fantasyland. For millions of lifetimes we've been dreaming, "I am this body." And we have foolishly taken everything that is in relationship with our bodies to be ours. In spite of our foolish false claims both the "I" and "mine" are always ripped away from us at the time of death. And we have repeatedly renewed our slot in fantasyland taking birth again and again trying to squeeze out pleasure from that place where pleasure does not exist by pretending to be something that we are not. But all of this pretension is in vain. If we want true happiness, all we have to do is realize that we are not these bodies and that we are instead the eternal spirit-soul servants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the all-knowing, all-loving source of

A Vaisnava, a devotee of the Lord, always thinks of the welfare of others. He does not measure his happiness in terms of the accumulation of wealth, power, and prestige. He instead measures his happiness in terms of how much he can be of service to others. In other words, the more he can help others to become happy, the more he is happy. Just as by watering the root of a tree all the leaves and branches become nourished, by channeling his love to Krishna, the Lord's devotee perfectly gives his to love to all living beings throughout the entire universe at every minute. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Why are there Killer Earthquakes? Namaskaram! Is there any explanation for earth quakes, which kill thousands of people in a minute? Thank you for your blessings. Thank you, With Kind Regards, TS Answer: We Are Not Living in Harmony with the Laws of Nature Disruptions within the material nature are going on because we not living in harmony with the laws o

You are a bullet-proof soul. It's not that you have a bullet-proof soul. You are a bullet-proof soul, who presently has a material body. You can never cut to pieces by any weapon, burned by fire, moistened by water or withered by the wind. You are an eternal, indivisible, indestructible particle of anti-material energy. And when you become fully reawakened to your original state of Krishna consciousness from that seedlike particle you will manifest your original eternal spiritual form as an associate of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His eternal pastimes in His indestructible abode, the wondrous spiritual sky. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: How to Give Krishna Consciousness to Non-Devotees? Guru Maharaja, since discussing Krishna consciousness with non-devotees is a sin, how can we encourage/motivate/help people with no devotion to get onto the Krishna consciousness platform? Anu Answer: Intelligently with the Best Descriptive Language It is no

Although a fully dedicated transcendentalist may sometimes face apparent setbacks, everything works out perfectly in the end. So if we are truly interested in attaining the supreme perfection, we need to patiently stick to our prescribed duties, remaining unflinchingly on the path given to us by guru and Krishna no matter what happens. In this way, in due of course of time, by keeping our faith in the process we are sure and certain to attain the supreme destination in the wondrous spiritual sky and regain our original identities as servants of the Supreme Lord in His eternal pastimes. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Difference Between Philosophy and Religion What is the difference between philosophy and religion? Animesh Answer: Find and Connect with the Ultimate Cause Philosophy means to find the ultimate cause of existence, and religion means to connect with that ultimate cause. Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Srila Prabhupada gives a very nice example that in spreading the science of bhakti we should try to shoot for the rhinoceros. This means that we should always strive to achieve the greatest accomplishments from our missionary activities. He has given this example in a letter to his disciple, Balavanta das, dated 22 December 1971 that was written in Bombay, India: "We should always be enthusiastic to try for shooting the rhinoceros. That way, if we fail, everybody will say, 'Never mind. Nobody can shoot a rhinoceros anyway.' And if we succeed, then everyone will say, 'Just see, what a wonderful thing they have done.'" This is why when it comes to spreading Krishna consciousness I always like to meditate on completely revolutionizing the entire human society with this amazing science of Krishna consciousness as soon as possible. While from a material point of view it seems quite impossible and absurd that a small fledgling spiritual movement could take the lead

When one comes to the absolute platform he experiences an endless stream of transcendental realizations regarding the self, the one-fourth cosmos, the three-fourths cosmos, and the Supreme Self. Therefore his life is never hackneyed, dull, or uninteresting. Indeed, such an enlightened soul constantly rides the crest wave of scientific, divine awakening tasting ever-sweetening nectar at every minute. And he does not relish this bliss selfishly. Seeing the suffering world all around him his heart bleeds with compassion, and he thus dedicates himself fully to enlightening the entire human society with this perfection of consciousness known as Krishna consciousness. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Is There Proof of Life After Death? Is there life after death? And if so, is there any proof of that, or it is only belief? Venkattu Answer: The Self is Situated Beyond Time's Relativities In learned circles blind acceptance is condemned. Therefore the eternal ex

To whatever extent you are harmonized with the Supreme Person, to that extent you will experience genuine happiness and enlightenment. And to whatever extent you are out of sync with that Supreme Person, to that extent you will be miserable, bewildered, and sometimes even devastated. So the secret of a truly joyous life then is to master the art of always being in tune with the Supreme. Just as a musician gets his instrument as perfectly in tune as possible before he plays a song, you should get yourself as perfectly in tune as possible with Krishna or God so that you can play your life song in the most dazzling, awesome way. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: How to Test the Credibility of a Spiritual Master? I have gone through the answer you gave in reply to the question about Krishna and Jesus. You wrote there, "the spiritual master, i.e. that person who is purely teaching the science of God, is taken to be as good as God Himself because hearing from him h

What can we say about life in this material existence? It is inane because it is devoid of factual meaning. It is insane because everyone is serving the covering of the self, the material body, instead of serving the actual self, the pure spirit-soul who lives within the body. And it is profane because people are proudly defying the laws of God. Instead of engaging in the devotional service of the Lord they are foolishly absorbed in wholesale sense gratification. A person who is actually wise therefore avoids this inane, insane, profane material existence by awakening his dormant transcendental identity as a servant of the Absolute Truth Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Sri Krishna. In this way he lives an eternal life, full of bliss, and full of knowledge even though he externally appears to be a mortal being of this material world. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: When Will I Have Spiritual Visions? I have taken up chanting Hare Krishna on the japa mala beads

Those who are pursuing the pathway of sense gratification are behind the times. They don't realize that a new culture has manifested on this planet which makes their material sense gratification culture completely passé. Why be a part of a dying, outmoded culture entrenched in ignorance, when you can be a part of a vibrant, state-of-the-art culture which is completely revolutionizing the way we think, speak, and act and ushering in a new era of peace and prosperity for the entire human society? Many people object to this amazing Krishna consciousness culture, but once they realize the phenomenal benefits it is bestowing both on the individual and universal levels, thousands and millions of them will be embracing and adopting it with great enthusiasm and determination. Answers According to the Vedic Version Request: Kindly Save Me From Danger I'm not able to chant properly. To tell You openly I have lost interest in chanting. I do not know why this kind of sudden aversion

How would you like to wake up every morning in the spiritual world and feel your heart dancing in ecstasy at the prospect of another blissful enlightening day of Krishna consciousness? You don't have to wait to go back to Godhead, to the spiritual world, to dive into this ocean of unlimited nectar. You can do it right now by turning your home into an ashram, i.e. by making Krishna the center. This means that everything you do there should be done for the pleasure of Krishna. This does not that you are giving up your pleasure. Just as by when feeding your belly your entire body becomes nourished, when you do everything for the pleasure of Krishna you are engaged in the loving service of every living being throughout all of existence and consequently your happiness becomes multiplied millions and billions of times. Start off by making an altar for the Lord and offering all of your food there before eating. Remember that the Lord only accepts vegetarian foods. And then make your alta

"Wake up sleeping soul!" This is the plea of Lord Caitanya. This human form of life which you have achieved with great difficulty over millions of lifetimes of evolution through the lower your species is currently slipping through your fingers soon to be lost unless you seriously utilize it starting right now to awaken your eternal enlightened blissful consciousness as a servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the source of all existence. Do not be lulled into the sense of material sense gratification, either subtle or gross. Utilize this human life for what it is meant for, and experience the supreme benefit of an eternal life, full of knowledge, and full of bliss. Lord Caitanya Has Mercifully Come to Awaken Us Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Can One Become Realized through Silent Meditation? Dear Gurudeva, What is the Sanskrit term for silent meditation on the mantra? Also, it is possible to become realized in this manner? I ask because

Our current slate of leaders all over the world are highly incompetent and unqualified to guide the human society because they do not understand the basic principles of existence, how the human society can live in a state of perfect harmony with the source of its existence and thus enjoy universal peace and prosperity. There is one thing however that they very expert in. And that is the art of hype. So what we need now more than ever on this planet is leaders, not hypsters, because when the blind lead the lead there is only one place where they will all end up. And that is in the ditch. So this then is our mission. We want to train a class of leaders all over the world who are fully conversant with the ultimate self realization science and are thus fully competent to guide the human society how to live in perfect harmony with the source of all existence, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Why Do People Say that Their God is the Onl

Nowadays it is considered very egalitarian to think that no matter which pathway one takes it will lead to the same goal. Try to going to an airport to see if you can make this philosophy practical by taking any airplane and reaching the same destination. While such notions of doing anything and getting the same result may be the embodiment of political correctness, it should be noted in this connection that fools rush in where angels fear to tread. In other words our philosophy of life should not be based on herd mentality. An intelligent person can understand that if the herd were correct, the world would not be in such a disastrous condition as the present moment. Therefore instead of giving in to herd mentality he bravely embarks on his own personal journey of self-discovery to gain perfect realization of who he is and what is the meaning and purpose of his existence. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: How Do We Truly Know Krishna? Please accept my most humble o

One of our readers was so shocked by yesterday's "Thought for the Day", in which we reminded our readers of Krishna's instruction that we should hear submissively from the bona fide spiritual master, that he wrote in requesting that his subscription be cancelled. Of course we are very sorry to lose one of our readers. But what can be done if people are disturbed by the teachings that Lord Krishna presents in the Bhagavad-gita? Although we try to present them in such a way that we can attract the hearts of everyone, sometimes in spite of all of our best efforts a person just cannot accept the idea of becoming obedient to the orders of the Supreme Lord. But disobeying the Supreme Personality of Godhead really does not make any sense. In order to live peacefully in our country we agree to abide by its laws. Don't we? If the state law is to keep to right while driving, we agree to keep the right without letting this law disturb our minds. So what is the difficulty in

Sometimes people inquire from the bona fide spiritual master, and then when they are not given the answer they want to hear they criticize the spiritual master. Instead of approaching the spiritual master in a humble learning mood, they approach him with a desire to defeat him showing off their so-called superior knowledge. Approaching the spiritual master in this insulting, condescending way is detrimental for one's spiritual progress. Therefore if one is in this puffed up mood, it is better not to approach the spiritual master. Krishna explains in the Bhagavad-gita that we should approach the spiritual master in a humble submissive mood and render service unto him. If we abide by the instructions of Krishna and approach the spiritual master in this humble way, he will reveal the truth to us, we will be blessed with transcendental knowledge, and we will become solidly situated on the pathway back to home, back to Godhead. Srila Prabhupada Guides His Followers Back to Godhead

Nobody truly desires to be miserable. But yet most people are foolishly acting on a regular daily basis in ways that guarantee to keep them miserable. It doesn't have to be like this because there is a solution. There is a way that anybody and everybody no matter what situation they may be in can always be absolutely ecstatic. That way is called the science of self-realization. Just as there varying stages in the science of mathematics, there are also varying stages in the science of self-realization. In the lower stages one becomes partially liberated from all miseries. And when one reaches the perfectional stage, he becomes perfectly, absolutely ecstatic in all circumstances. That perfectional stage is known as Bhagavan realization or Krishna consciousness. It is not necessary to progress through the lower stages known as Brahman realization and Paramatma realization and then gradually come to the highest stage. Just as when one wants to go to an upper floor in a tall building

What a glorious day it will be when the Vedic culture again becomes predominant on this planet. It is not unthinkable that this could indeed transpire because before the onslaught of the Kali yuga 5,000 years the entire world had been under the influence of Vedic culture for 3,888,000 years. The capital of the entire planet earth was situated in India in Hastinapura, which is near the present city of Delhi. Under the guidance of learned, enlightened brahmanas the Vedic kings such as Yudhisthira Maharaja and Parikshit Maharaja ruled the entire planet earth according to the Vedic principles thus bestowing peace and prosperity on their citizens all over the world. So this is the mission of the Krishna consciousness movement, to bring about a world-wide revival of the original Vedic culture. May all those persons who are thoughtful and compassionate in all nations of the world lend their support for helping to make this Krishna consciousness movement successful. This is greatest service

Before coming to Krishna consciousness I was ardently searching for spiritual enlightenment and for a means of giving spiritual enlightenment to the entire human society. In this pursuit I encountered many different teachings and systems of self-realization. I was frustrated by one technique after another because in spite of so much flowery language promising me that I could become God they failed to deliver me to the transcendental platform. I needed a practical system that would tangibly elevate my consciousness completely beyond the miseries of material existence. Finally after five years of struggle I was blessed by Srila Prabhupada and his followers with the transcendental science of Krishna consciousness. Since then I have been living in an entirely different world, a world where life is eternal, full of knowledge, and full of bliss. Spreading Krishna Consciousness, the Ultimate Self Realization Science, in Riga, Latvia Answers According to the Vedic Version Question:

Why live miserably and ignorantly in temporality when you can live wisely and blissfully in immortality? In other words, why suffer in this material world, where ignorance is so-called bliss, when you can enjoy unlimitedly in the most sublime eternal realm of Krishna consciousness at every minute? The choice is yours. You can do what you want. But as you sow, so shall reap. You are going to get what you put your energy into. If you channel your energy only into your body, you are going to end up with a blank check at the time of death. But if you will instead wisely invest your energy in the revival of your immortal identity, you will victoriously conquer over the material nature and attain the intimate personal association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, in His eternal pastimes. So now do what you want. Become an Eternal Associate of Amazing Krishna the Supreme All-Attractive Personality of Godhead Answers According to the Vedic Version Question:

The pure devotee of the Lord is so advanced in his Krishna consciousness that he is completely undisturbed at the time of death. Because he is completely free from bodily identification, death for him is nothing more than going from one room into another room. In other words, it is not a traumatic, anxiety-ridden experience. It is simply another routine activity in the service of the Lord, that yesterday I was serving the Lord in that place, and now today I am serving the Lord in this place. While for the materialist death means the complete total destruction of all his plans, for the devotee death simply means that he continues with his service with the added benefit of better facilities. In this connection there is the example of Parikshit Maharaja. According to the description in the Srimad Bhagavatam because he fully realized that he was separate from his body he did not notice when the snake-bird Taksaka approached him to kill him nor did he even see his dying body. In this way b

In this world we never know what is going to happen at any particular moment. Although things normally go on in a more or less routine way, sometimes apparently out of the blue we are hit by a devastating experience which completely overrides our normal life style. But a Krishna conscious person maintains his equilibrium in all circumstances without being disturbed because he sees how everything is going on under the perfect arrangement of Krishna. Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Who is an Advanced Devotee? How do you recognize who is an advanced devotee or a senior devotee? Is he the one who joined ISKCON before others? Or is it or something else? Please explain. Your humble servant Isvara Puri Dasa Answer: The One Who is the Most Krishna Conscious There are a number of ways by which a devotee may be considered our senior: 1. He is physically older than us 2. He was initiated before we were initiated 3. He is in a higher spiritual position than u

These periodic stops throughout the year at our headquarters, Bhaktivedanta Ashram in Austin, Texas, are a very important component of our around-the-world lecture tours. Because we are currently doing our service while being situated within material bodies we have to take proper care of them to keep them in proper operating condition so that we can continue traveling and spreading this supreme knowledge all over the world for many, many years to come. We always come back here to celebrate Gaura Purnima (the appearance day of Lord Caitanya), Janmastami (the appearance day of Lord Krishna), and Srila Prabhupada's Vyas Puja day (appearance day.) These breaks are a welcome respite from the rigors of regularly traveling around the globe, but as soon as arrive here we are immediately preparing our next tour because what is even more enlivening than being comfortable is to spread the supreme comfort formula, Krishna consciousness, to all the living beings throughout the entire world.

Due to our materially conditioned natures the pathway back to home, Godhead is not always smooth. Therefore we sometimes face tests that are so severe that they can even be emotionally devastating. So how to deal with this? The key is to be always steady in one's devotional practices through thick and thin. Just like when we are sick and the doctor prescribes some medicine for us, even though we feel sometimes very bad, we faithfully take the medicine every day on the doctor's order. In this way we gradually recover from our diseased condition. In a similar way if we will faithfully execute the orders that we receive from the spiritual master in all circumstances, we will gradually emerge from the dark night of the cycle of birth and death into the beautiful fully illuminated existence of ecstatic divine consciousness, Krishna consciousness. Therefore we should be steady in our practice of Krishna consciousness in all circumstances never allowing anything, no matter what it

Since death can come at any moment we should always be prepared for it by being in a constant mood of pure devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This will assure our passage into the Lord's transcendental kingdom upon leaving our present bodies. By constant bhakti we will always be on the safe side in this world where there is danger at every step. In this connection it is very nicely stated in the Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.58 as follows: samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaṁ mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ bhavāmbudhir vatsa-padaṁ paraṁ padaṁ padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ na teṣām "For those who have accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is famous as Murari, the enemy of the Mura demon, the ocean of the material world is like the water contained in a calf's hoof-print. Their goal is param padam, Vaikuntha, the place where there are no material miseries, not the place where there is danger at

Throughout world history it has been repeatedly seen that those who realize the Supreme Truth manifest great kindness upon the suffering souls of this world and thus powerfully broadcast the message of the Supreme Truth as far and as wide as possible to as many people as possible. And sadly such great spiritual masters are too often criticized and persecuted. The notable examples in this connection are Lord Jesus Christ and Hari Das Thakur. In an attempt to put him to death Lord Jesus was crucified. And in a similar attempt Haridas Thakur was severely beaten in twenty-two different market places. But in both cases these great devotees were protected by the Lord and could not be killed. So we can similarly expect that sometimes in our efforts to share Krishna consciousness with those who are not so fortunate as to have it yet that we may sometimes be criticized, harassed, and persecuted. When this happens to us it is a real test of how serious we actually are to do whatever it takes

The key to conquering over the modes of material nature and being solidly situated on the transcendental platform of Bhagavan realization, pure Krishna consciousness, is to always be engaged 24 hours daily in all places and circumstances in devotional service. In other words, we can easily attain the topmost perfection simply by always being vigilant without deviation that we are thinking, speaking, and acting in a way that is pleasing to Krishna. In this way if we remain unfailingly dedicated in all circumstances, we will quickly be elevated to the topmost platform of spiritual perfection and thus be blessed with always relishing the sweetest transcendental bliss, which far exceeds the happiness of the demigods in the heavenly planets. The key for quickly attaining this is to not ever give in to the desire of the senses for the cheap, quick thrills of material sense gratification. We must keep always the senses under control by constantly absorbing them engaged in Krishna's serv

Our mental disease is that we are habituated to a stereotypical way of viewing reality. Instead of boldly embracing the ever-fresh, unlimitedly exciting present in a sweet loving relationship with the Supreme Person, the source of our existence, out of a false sense of security we hover in the so-called comfort zone of seeing everything through the colored lenses of our past experience refusing to cast off our foolishly cherished prejudices. In this conditioned state of consciousness we stubbornly hold on to past grudges never allowing ourselves the freedom of fully forgiving the past transgressions of others. We proudly feel that we were wronged, when in fact we were simply being justly punished for our own past transgressions. So what is the solution for this karmic quagmire? We must arise now from the ashes of our own foolishness putting our full faith in Krishna and the spiritual master. In this way we will experience within our hearts at every moment the wonderful dawning of the