Ultimate Self Realization

The reality that we are experiencing here in this material existence is not the complete reality. This time and space dimension where life is temporary, full of ignorance and misery is only one side of reality. Beyond this realm on the other side of reality is an inconceivably wonderful realm, known as Vaikuntha, where life is eternal, full of bliss and knowledge. The topmost planet in Vaikuntha is Goloka Vrindavana. While it is not possible to cross to the other side of reality simply by one's own endeavor, one can easily cross if one is guided by someone who knows the way. That qualified person who can take us across is the bona fide spiritual master. If we are so fortunate to have come into contact with a bona fide spiritual master, we should take full advantage of his association by inquiring submissively and rendering service unto him. In this way we become qualified to be transported by him back to that most wondrous transcendental existence. Sankarshan Das Adhikari The Most

Sometimes a devotee experiences what could be seen as an inauspicious reverse situation. But instead of losing faith in the Lord or becoming discouraged, the devotee sees how the Lord is giving him some special mercy to help him increase his feelings of dependence on the Lord. Thus he continues enthusiastically engaging Himself in devotional service without interruption. A notable example of the devotee's amazing transcendental consciousness can be seen in the example of Jesus Christ. Even though he was nailed to a cross for being put to death, he did not waver even slightly in his Krishna consciousness. He was so transcendentally situated that he prayed to God asking his beloved Lord to forgive those who were trying to kill him. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Jesus Christ is Perfect in Krishna Consciousness Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Are Vegetarians Killers? Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada I have two questions: 1) If we e

If we eat foods that are the products of slaughterhouses, we are eating violence and we are in violation of the laws of God. One may argue that eating meat is natural. But it is only natural for the carnivores, who are allowed that quota by God. The human is being is meant by God's arrangement to sustain himself on fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and grains, not on rotting flesh. And that vegetarian eating is also meant to be sacramental, i.e. before eating we should offer our vegetarian foods to God with love and devotion. This is actual human life. This sort of transcendental eating will help us develop enlightened consciousness for understanding the Absolute Truth and is thus recommended for all those who are serious to get out of this material world and regain their original positions in the kingdom of God. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Nothing More Relishable than Krishna Prasadam (Foodstuffs Offered to Lord Krishna With Love) Answers According to the Vedic Version: Questi

We have been on the road now for so many years traveling extensively all over the world for bringing about the enlightenment of the world society that even when we return to our home base in Austin, Texas I still feel like I am on the road. In fact on this 2 1/2 weeks stopover I am not even going to unpack my luggage. I will continue living out of it just as I do when I am on the road. It is unlimitedly rewarding to live like this for the deliverance of all living beings. My spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada has written in his purport to the Srimad Bhagavatam 1.6.26 as follows: "The life of a sincere devotee of the Lord is thus explained in a nutshell by Narada Muni by his personal example. Such a devotee, after his initiation by the Lord or His bona fide representative, takes very seriously chanting of the glories of the Lord and traveling all over the world so that others may also hear the glories of the Lord. Such devotees have no desire for material gain. They are conducted b

There is a big misconception going around that Hare Krishna is a religion. Nothing could be further from the truth. To be Krishna conscious is simply to be what you are. In fact, everyone is already a devotee of Lord Krishna because He is God, the original source of all existence. Since everything is part the total existence, everyone is naturally coming from Krishna or God and are therefore by their very nature His devotees. But most people are simply not aware yet of the reality. Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) said, "Krishna consciousness is not an artificial imposition on the mind. This consciousness is the original natural energy of the living entity." And according to the great spiritual master Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, it is our material existence that is the artificial imposition. So one does not have to convert from one religion to another or join a religion to become Krishna conscious.

I was a little surprised the other day when I had to book a hotel for our forced stopover in Amsterdam on our way from Latvia to the USA. What surprised me was that we qualified to get a big discount on our hotel bill because of being senior citizens. This is amazing to me because I still feel like that 22 year old youth who joined the Hare Krishna movement in 1971 with a burning desire to save the world. How is it that I have been able to retain that youthful optimism and idealism all the way into my sixties? All I can say is that all credit goes to my spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who clearly reveals the highest level of understanding of the Absolute Truth in his extensive writings. Even though the counter-cultural youth of my generation had a saying, "Don't trust anyone over thirty", thousands of us put our full faith and trust in Srila Prabhupada. We could see that even though he was in his seventies, he was more youthful than

All this turmoil of being stuck in Europe due to the volcanic ash, having to rebook our flights, rebook our ferry boat, drive across two countries, turn around and drive back again across the same two countries, cancel our ferry boat, again rebook our airline tickets, etc., etc, etc. has been a poignant reminder of the uncertain nature of this material world where nothing is really certain except for death. The easiest way to deal with this unending river of turmoil is to be detached, depend on Krishna, and enjoy the ride. I'm lovin' it. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Are You Burned Out With This Material World? Fly Hare Krishna. It Will Get You There On Time. Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How Can I Help All Living Beings? Ever since I joined The Ultimate Self Realization Course, I feel extremely nice. It has become a kind of a ritual to read your thought every day. The day I do not read I feel something missing. I make notes of the various thoughts, and try

22 April 2010--We drove for many hours across Latvia and Estonia yesterday to catch a boat in Tallinn, Estonia that would take us across the Gulf of Finland to Helsinki. From Helsinki we were scheduled to fly this morning to Amsterdam from where we were to catch a flight to the USA. After reaching Tallinn, before getting on the boat, I called Delta Airlines, the airline which had issued our tickets, to make sure that our flight would operate as scheduled. I wanted to make sure that we were not taking a two hour cruise across the Gulf of Finland in vain. I was told by the Delta representative that our flights would operate as scheduled. But to make doubly sure I decided to check with KLM, the operator of our first flight. The difficulty was that I could not, no matter which KLM office I called, talk to a live person. I tried their home office in Amsterdam five times. There was no answer and I was disconnected. I tried their office in the UK. Again, no answer and I was disconnected after

We must always be ready for the Lord's arrangement whatever it may be. As I write these words we preparing to drive 5 1/2 hours from Riga, Latvia to Tallinn, Estonia from where we will take a boat across the Gulf of Finland to Helsinki, Finland because this is where our ticket to the USA is routed from. This is not very promising because the Helsinki airport is closed, but we have no choice. I asked the airline to reroute us from another airport, but this is not an option for us. We simply have to go to Helsinki and see what is the Lord's arrangement for when we can get a flight to Amsterdam. Hopefully when that happens we will then be able to fly on to the USA. In any case of success or failure we must simply depend on the Lord's arrangement. When we become fully surrendered to the Lord's will we will always be perfectly successful in all circumstances. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Why We Were Not Taught About Moksha?

There is nothing like the loving exchanges shared between devotees. Such loving exchanges are not of this material world. The more we give our love to the devotees and accept the love that they give us, the more we revive our dormant love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore the Lord's devotees are always most eager to get the association of other devotees. Krishna says that anyone who is His devotee is not His devotee, that only those who are the devotees of His devotees are His actual devotees. So if we want to revive our dormant Krishna consciousness, we should always be most eager to associate with the Lord's devotees in multi-varieties of loving exchanges. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Ecstatic Farewell from Kaunas, Lithuania 19 April 2010 Devotees Give Last Farewell Running After the Van As It Is Leaving Kaunas Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Gradual Krishna Consciousness Dear Gurudeva, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to S

Although we have airline tickets to fly from Helsinki, Finland to Austin, Texas USA this coming Thursday 22 April, 2010, it is looking like we may be stranded here for sometime in Europe in the biggest closure of European airspace since World War II. The apparent cause? The volcanic ash cloud spewing out from Iceland's erupting Eyjafjallajokull volcano. The ultimate cause? A transcendental plan of Lord Sri Krishna without whose sanction a volcano cannot erupt. The beauty of Krishna consciousness philosophy is that it teaches us how to be equipoised in all circumstances, even in the most disturbing situations. An example of this is the great devotee Jada Bharata, who had been kidnapped by some dacoits who wanted to offer him as a human sacrifice to Goddess Kali. Even as they were about to decapitate him he still remained completely undisturbed taking complete shelter of the Lord for his protection. At the last minute before the sword separated his head from his body an angry Goddes

Sometimes neophyte devotees think that the way to make spiritual advancement is to move up within the ranks of a spiritual organization. Nothing could be further from truth, because the desire for position and power even in a spiritual organization is still a material desire. The actual measure of one's spiritual advancement is how much one has developed a taste for hearing, chanting, and remembering the glories of the unlimited names, forms, pastimes, entourage, and paraphernalia of that unlimitedly astonishing Supreme Personality of Godhead who is referred to and addresses as Krishna by the topmost yogis. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Expounding the Highest Truth Through Speaking Visaginas, Lithuania--17 April 2010 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Why Do People See Devotee as Aliens? My family is into the Krishna Consciousness movement for the past three years now. However, initially friends and relatives liked us being a part of this movement. Of late I notice

It's time to open up the flood gates and let the mercy flow. Yes, it's time to flood the entire universe with a tidal wave of Krishna bhakti. We are not speaking here about some kind of sectarian religion. If we were, I would have nothing to do with this. We are talking about reconnecting every single living being throughout the entire universe and indeed the entire material existence with their original, natural, all-blissful, all-knowing, all-loving identity, which exists far, far beyond the prison house of this time-and-space-bound material existence. Of course, one has to be pretty daring to enter into this enlightened state of consciousness. One has to be willing to jettison his most cherished concepts seeing them only as so much useless garbage. But this small austerity is definitely worth it considering the amazingly wonderful profound vision of reality that one gains along with the unlimited benefits which automatically accompany such awakened consciousness. Sankarshan

On Thursday 15 April 2010 we headed west from Kaunas for 200 kilometers to Klaipeda, Lithuania, a port city situated on the Baltic Sea. There we were enthusiastically received by a joyous hall full of people, most of whom were getting their first introduction to Krishna consciousness. I knew immediately that they were mostly first-timers when practically no one joined the kirtan I usually do before I begin my lecture. So I stopped the kirtan and taught everyone how to say the mantra. The mantra lesson was captured on video and can be seen here: http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com/Videos/Klaipeda_2010.wmv Then after resuming the kirtan they joined in with great delight. Once I began the lecture I asked for a show of hands of who would like to enjoy unlimited bliss and everyone raised their hands. So I proceeded to explain in detail how through the science of Krishna bhakti one can indeed achieve unlimited bliss. After my talk I asked if there were any questions and many people asked

It is folly to be wise in that place where ignorance is bliss. Therefore if one wants to become spiritually successful in a world where only material success is valued, he has no choice but to dare to be different. When someone becomes serious about becoming spiritually awakened it often happens that his friends and family members think he has gone crazy and try to do everything possible to save him from what they consider to be his madness. In such circumstances a devotee must be very strong and determined to seriously adopt Krishna consciousness in spite of so much resistance. The austerity of daring to different is greatly rewarded by Krishna in the form of transcendental bliss. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Transcendental Bliss of the Devotees Tallinn, Estonia--30 March 2010 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How to Live In Harmony with Nature? Can you please explain how one truly lives in harmony with nature? Thank you for your time. Richard P. Answer: Awaken t

Due to my intense travelling/lecturing schedule I have fallen very far behind on answering my emails. To give you some idea how far behind I am, as I am writing this I still have unanswered emails from March sitting in my inbox. And we are now half way through April. This means that I am now half a month behind. My desire is to respond to every email within 24 hours. But I have so much work to do answering all of these emails I do not know when I will be able to get back to my desired standard of 24 hours turnaround. Meanwhile my lecturing and traveling continues and I still have to find some time to sleep. Of course, it is not that I hate my work. I love my work because there is nothing sweeter than connecting people with Krishna. But if you are feeling inconvenienced or neglected because of not receiving a prompt response to your email, kindly understand that I am trying to give first class service to everyone who inquires and that this does indeed take time. Sankarshan Das Adhikari

There is a popular self-realization philosophy expressed by the phrase, "Be here now." According to this philosophy self realization can be achieved by entering fully into the here and now. One is advised that instead of fixing his consciousness in a different time or a different place, he should just focus fully on what is happening to him right here, right now. It is said that in this way one will become spiritually awakened. The major deficiency in this technique is that unless one understands what or who is the actual self, the "I" who is experiencing the here and now, he will not be getting a genuine here and now experience. He will instead only be tasting a shadow of it. As long as one identifies with the body, the mind, the intelligence, or any sense of the self which is not the actual self, it will not possible to taste anything more than an illusory version of the here and now. So the first step for genuinely entering into the here and now is to connect on

Srila Prabhupada, you saved me From hopelessness and disgrace. Blessed me with divine vision Of what lies beyond this place. So adeptly you uprooted my confusion By distinguishing reality from illusion. So now there's nothing for this feeble soul to do But to give my eternal existence to you. Srila Prabhupada you blessed me With ecstasy unsurpassed. Released me from the hell of birth and death And quagmire karma I amassed. You astound me amazingly to this very day By your words of unprecedented sway. So now there's nothing else for this ragged soul to do But to offer my eternal existence unto you. Srila Prabhupada, I beg for the mercy That I can please you unlimitedly. For I've got to try to repay the debt For the unlimited bliss you're giving me. In spite of my hopeless disqualifications I beg to serve in your movement's global inundation. Yes, the history books will solidly declare That you saved the world from devastating despair. So now there's nothing else

There is nothing like the ecstasy of a joyful kirtan. When you dive deeply into the Hare Krishna kirtan you can feel how you are being elevated to the spiritual stratum beyond the sufferings of this material existence. The kirtans here in Kaliningrad have been exceptionally sweet because of the great enthusiasm of the devotees here. We invite the entire world to the taste the nectar on this video clip: http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com/Videos/Kaliningrad_Farewell__Kirtan.wmv Sankarshan Das Adhikari Flying High in the Spiritual Sky Kaliningrad, Russia--April 2010 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Defeating "I am God" Philosophy If someone says "I am God", how does a devotee disprove this statement. This is my presentation topic. Can you please assist me by pointing me towards shastra, mainly from Bhagavad-gita? Hiten Answer: Ask "God" to Reveal His Universal Form If someone is God, they can reveal to you their universal form j

At the present moment we are seeing through our material eyes a world in which everyone is entrapped in birth, death, old age, and disease. It's not a pretty sight. Everyone is being dragged helplessly by the time factor to inevitable death. But beyond our limited vision is an amazingly beautiful transcendental reality being orchestrated by the all-beautiful, all-merciful Supreme Personality of Godhead. We simply need now to purify our vision so we can see things as they are and no longer be blinded by the Lord's inferior energy. And then by acting in full accordance with such enlightened vision we will easily cross over the ocean of birth and death and enter that transcendental dimension where time is conspicuous by its absence. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers Kaliningrad, Russia--9 April 2010 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Challenge: Belief in God is Not Scientific Dear Gurudeva, Please accept my most humble obeisances. All glories t

We're out to save the world. This is the mission that we have inherited from our spiritual master, ISKCON Founder-Acarya: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, and that great line of fully enlightened spiritual masters who preceded him known as the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya sampradaya. Of course, we fully understand that we are totally unqualified to execute such an exalted mission. But can we do? Our spiritual master has ordered us, "Become guru and deliver the whole world." Therefore as a matter of duty we must sincerely endeavor to the best of our ability to spread the unlimited mercy rays of Lord Caitanya's benediction moon all over the world to every town and village so that someday as soon as possible the entire world population will be swimming constantly in the nectarean ocean of transcendental bliss of Lord Sri Krishna's mercy. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Lecture in Vilnius, Lithuania--8 April 2010 Ecstatic Farewell from Vilnius, Lithuania --8

It's great to be back here in Kaunas where the devotees are so eager to hear about and serve Lord Krishna. Wherever Krishna is the center that place is not in this material world. Such a place is the Vaikuntha realm, that dimension which is completely free from the sufferings of material existence. In such an atmosphere one feels that he is swimming in an ocean of nectar at every minute. It is absolutely foolish for the world population to continue suffering as they are doing now. All they have to do to become completely free from all suffering is stop trying to be something that they are not, the material body. If they will simply start being their natural selves, the pure eternal spirit-soul devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the source of all existence, they will experience inconceivable joy at every minute. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Arrival in Kaunas, Lithuania--7 April 2010 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: He Only Believes in Money I have a

Our just completed visit to Riga, Latvia was the sweetest we have ever had. And we have been visiting there regularly for many years. The extraordinary flavor of this visit was due the quality of loving reciprocation that we experienced with the devotees there. It is indeed loving reciprocation which is the foundation of genuine happiness. When we establish a genuine loving relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the source of all existence, we are then empowered to cultivate deep, loving relationships with all of His parts and parcels, the living beings. This is especially facilitated in the association of pure devotees of the Lord. Therefore we should always seek out such transcendental association as much as possible. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Departure from Riga 4 April 2010 to Siauliai, Lithuania from left to right: Vita, Guru Das, and Ineta Departure from Riga 7 April 2010 to Kaunas, Lithuania Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Under the Mo

Today we are heading out from Riga for a couple of days of spreading the rays of Lord Caitanya's benediction moon in Kaunas and Vilnius, Lithuania before heading on to Kaliningrad, Russia. No matter how sweet Krishna consciousness gets, it just keeps getting sweeter and sweeter and sweeter. This is the amazing nature of Krishna consciousness. It's an ever-increasing ocean of transcendental bliss, which can easily fill up the entire universe drowning everyone in unlimited happiness. There is no reason for even one person in the entire world to suffer even for another minute. Everyone can taste the highest happiness by embracing the process of Krishna consciousness today. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Flower Petal Tossing Farewell Siauliai, Lithuania--4 April 2010 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: If You Can't Find a Guru... Do you have to be a member of ISKCON to follow Krishna? If you can't find a guru, can you still chant the 16 rounds, follow the fo

If there is even one first class devotee of the Lord on this planet, he can deliver the entire world turning everyone to Krishna consciousness. This is confirmed as follows in the Sri Caitanya Caritamrita, Madhya Lila 22.65: śāstra-yuktye sunipuṇa, dṛḍha-śraddhā yāṅra 'uttama-adhikārī' sei tāraye saṁsāra "One who is expert in logic, argument and the revealed scriptures and who has firm faith in Krishna is an uttama-adhikārī, a first-class Vaiṣṇava. He can deliver the whole world turning everyone to Krishna consciousness." We saw one such pure devotee in the form of our beloved spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. He set into motion a movement which is predicted to go down in history for inundating this entire globe with Krishna consciousness. How will it be successful in doing this? This will only be possible if we, his followers, will also become first-class devotees. Therefore let us now do our duty by being pure in all of

Those who are learned and expert in the transcendental science have mastered the art of living constantly in that all-effulgent, all-blissful, full-of-knowledge, full-of-love dimension beyond time and space. There is no place in this material existence which can even slightly compare with that magical, wondrous abode, the home of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His eternal associates. The secret of how to gain residence in that most amazing of all places is given as follows in the Nārada-pañcarātra: dik-kālādy-anavacchinne kṛṣṇe ceto vidhāya ca tan-mayo bhavati kṣipraṁ jīvo brahmaṇi yojayet "By concentrating one's attention on the transcendental form of Krishna, who is all-pervading and beyond time and space, one becomes absorbed in thinking of Krishna and then attains the happy state of transcendental association with Him." So it is not difficult to constantly reside in that transcendental territory. Simply one has to always remember Krishna in all times, pl