Ultimate Self Realization

Instead of acknowledging that all-merciful Lord who is constantly showering us with his unlimited kindness at every minute, our tendency is to forget Him considering ourselves to be in every way independent. Such forgetfulness is the root cause of all our anxieties in this material existence. So if we can simply wake up and realize that everything we have is provided by God, that we are fully dependent upon Him for everything at every moment, all of our problems will solved. We will be living in paradise. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Author Teaches Total Dependence on God Kuala Lumpur Malaysia--12 June 2010 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Only One Way to Connect with God? Guru Maharaja, Please accept my humble obeisances. On the one hand you say that there is only one way to connect with God, and that is the teachings of Krishna. And in the 20 July 2010 "Thought for the Day" you have told us that there are four sampradayas through which we can conn

By the grace of my beloved spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, I've got a message which can deliver the entire world from all varieties of suffering conditions. Therefore on his order my life is fully dedicated to broadcasting this message as far and as wide as possible so that everybody can become free from misery and relish the highest level of transcendental bliss at every minute. People may accept this message or they may reject it. But in either case it is our duty to try our level best to spread it to everyone in every part of the world so that everyone can become truly happy forever. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Material Desires While Doing Bhakti If we have desires to enjoy in the material world and also as we are aware of our real goal of life we are performing service for the satisfaction of the Lord--like chanting 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily, following the four regulative

Since we prefer whatever we purchase to free from defects, why shouldn't we demand the same standard for existence itself? If we purchase a product that turns out to be defective, we will want a refund or an exchange for a product which is in perfect condition. Since we demand such perfection when we shop, why shouldn't we demand a similar perfection from the most important product we own, our very existence. The perfection of existence can be obtained from someone who has it already. That person is the bona fide spiritual master. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Is Serving Others Selflessly Perfection? What if we serve others without expecting anything in return? How is this called? Is this still some sort of selfishness? Or is this only another material activity in the mode of goodness? Thanks, J. Raúl Cárdenas Answer: Only When We Serve All Others Serving others without expecting something in return is service in the mode of g

An unenlightened mind is the worst enemy of someone who aspires for spiritual perfection. Therefore the first step on the pathway of spiritual perfection is to bring the mind under control. Instead of allowing our minds to dictate to us what we should or not do, we must dictate to our minds what sort of thoughts they should be absorbed in. This is the real meaning of being a yogi. A yogi is someone whose mind is completely under his control 24 hours daily. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How to Offer Your Job to Krishna? Arjuna did not give up his job. He simply offered it in the service of Krishna. What is the practical of application of this for someone like me who is a university student? Sukhleen Answer: Engage Your Income in Krishna's Service As a student you can absorb your consciousness as much as possible in Krishna consciousness by chanting Hare Krishna, studying the Bhagavad-gita, and eating only Krishna prasadam. And

There is no doubt that it is quite a struggle to remain fully absorbed in Krishna consciousness 24 hours a day in a world that is completely materialistic. So how to accomplish this? The key is to rise early in the morning before sunrise and deeply absorb your consciousness in the ultimate transcendental meditation of the holy names of God. In this way if you will fully charge your spiritual batteries each day early in the morning, you will have no difficulty always remembering Krishna in all circumstances and you will thus be qualified for the attaining the ultimate abode, Krishnaloka, at the time of death. Therefore do not let the sunrise catch you sleeping. Rise early every day before dawn and cash in on the unlimited mercy of the Supreme Lord fully manifested in the form of His most sublime holy names. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: The Supreme Personality and Durga Namaste, Blessings to you on your mission. This is probably a quest

Even though we prefer to always be victorious, in this world we are forced by the stringent laws of material nature to experience both victory and defeat. But for those who are enlightened with transcendental knowledge there is no such thing as defeat. Such illuminated souls experience the loving mercy of the Lord in all times, places, and circumstances as He to brings them closer and closer to His lotus feet. Such fortunate beings who realize that they are the eternal servants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead constantly celebrate the victory of being liberated from the clutches of the material existence by the all-powerful mercy of the Lord. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Writing Thought for the Day--July 25, 2010 Mt. Seymour, British Columbia, Canada Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Can the Creator Do All Things Possible? Who is the creator of the whole universe? Is He able to do all things possible? Muzzmudd Ibrahim Answer: He Can Even Do the Impossible The

Since everybody is motivated to act for something, why not opt for the supreme motivation of perfecting one's spiritual life and attempting to deliver all living beings from their suffering condition in the cycle of birth and death? Even if one is not successful in doing so, what attempt could be more pleasing to the Lord? And the more we please the Lord, the more we become pleased. So at the bare minimum one will live the most ecstatic, enlivening existence, and whoever such a person is able to deliver will also be blessed with the most ecstatic, enlivening existence. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Teaching Bhakti Yoga at the Unity Yoga Studio July 24, 2010---Vancouver, Canada Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Does a Devotee Care for His Health? Please accept my loving and humble obeisances. May your mercy and blessings always be on me. According to the philosophy of Krishna consciousness should one be careful about his physical health? Or is it that when one follo

It's time we put the brakes on this material civilization because it is presently on a one way disintegration-destruction course. Since it is based on the false bodily conception of the self, it is not harmony with laws of nature and the laws of God and is consequently doomed. It cannot remain. We must therefore now, out of compassion upon the suffering souls of this sage, revolutionize this planet by the reintroduction of Vedic culture all over the world. This is the only hope for the suffering humanity. So how do we do that? How can we possibly spiritualize a completely materialistic world? To do it we must begin with ourselves. In other words we must become and remain men and women of the highest standard of ideal character. We must be non-violent, peaceful, friendly, truthful, and above all, fully devoted to the serving the Supreme Lord with love 24 hours a day. And we must boldly present the message of Krishna to everyone that we meet. In this way, by cultural conquest, the en

All we really have to do to be totally happy is connect with Krishna. But instead of taking it this easiest of all ways, because of our lording-it-over nature, which has been in our hearts for millions of lifetimes, we try to to become happy by manipulating our material situation. This approach does not work because it goes against our very nature, which is to be the humble servant of God. We must learn to give up this manipulative tendency because it is the very cause of our misery since time immemorial. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Manipulative Tendency Creates Hell on Earth Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Why Swastikas on the Boat? Hare Krishna, Thanking you for your daily devotional emails. I notice in your picture of chanting on the Yamuna river in 2009 that there are symbols on the flags similar to the Nazi symbol. Could you enlighten the significance if any please? Thanking you. Howard Answer: The Swastika is a Most Auspicious Symbol. The swastika you see

In order to receive the correct understanding of the self-realization science we must approach the current link, or spiritual master, in the chain of disciplic succession from Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If we proudly think that we can figure out the self-realization science on our own without taking the guidance and blessings of the present spiritual master, we will not be successful in awakening the dormant love of God within our hearts. So instead of deriding or minimizing the spiritual master, we should humbly submit ourselves at his lotus feet as his disciples. In this way we will become fully qualified to realize the Supreme Truth and enjoy the full blessings of immortality. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Narada Muni Enlightens Vedavyasa With Transcendental Knowledge Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Do You Consider Yourself to Be a Guru? Do you consider yourself to be a a guru or acharya, or simply to be a devotee sharing his knowledge?

Don't let the material modes of nature get you down. Transcend the material modes of nature by taking complete shelter of the Lord's holy names. It's not difficult. Simply you have to put your faith in the names and do it. That's all. Completely surrender yourself to Krishna in the form of His holy names, and you are guaranteed to have a super ecstatic day. And if you will do this every day, you will have a super ecstatic eternity. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Devotees Blissfully Singing and Dancing in Leipzig, Germany Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Mind Wanders While Chanting I do the chanting with closed eyes, but still mind wonders here and there. But is it okay if I close my eyes and do the practice? What do I need to do to make you as my guru? Deepak Kalia Answer: Beg Krishna to Help You Be careful about chanting with fully closed eyes. Because this can cause one to fall asleep the sastras (scriptures) recommend to meditate with half closed e

Tune in to the source of existence, the Supreme Person, who is the fountainhead of all energies. In this way you will pierce the veil of the material energy, attain the supreme nirvana, and experience what is there on the other side of reality. Believe me, it's much better than we get on this side. If you are skeptical, give it try anyway. You will be absolutely amazed by what you experience. What do you have to lose? Sankarshan Das Adhikari The Amazing Other Side of Existence Sri Goloka Vrindavan--the Abode of Lord Sri Krishna Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: What is Your Disciplic Lineage? I live in Quebec, Canada. I am 54. I am a believer in Krishna. I also believe in the Bhagavad-gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam and all other Vedic Scriptures. I have not been initiated in any sampradaya (disciplic lineage) yet, but I strongly believe it will happen in a few years. Could you tell me who is your spiritual master and from which sampradaya he comes? I love s

I am astonished to see how much I have been blessed with unlimited good fortune while all around me I see a world population that is completely engrossed in ignorance and being dragged down by the laws of nature to the animal kingdom in the next lifetime. Somehow by the combined mercy of guru and Krishna I have received this unlimited good fortune of Krishna consciousness. So now I must carefully guard and nurture my good fortune and share it as much as possible with an unfortunate world so that these lost souls who are the beloved children of Lord Sri Krishna can also become fortunate. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Sharing the Unlimited Good Fortune Kaliningrad, Russia--April 9, 2010 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How to Speed Up the Revolution? I would like to honestly ask you, "What do you think the situation of world is right now?" The situation seems very desperate sometimes and progress seems very slow. What can be done to speed up the revolution? I

Saturday 17 July 2010--Today devotees all the world are lamenting the disappearance of one of ISKCON's dearest devotees, Sriman Aindra Prabhu, who left his body this morning in his room at ISKCON's Krishna Balarama temple in the sacred town of Vrindavan, India apparently due to an accidental gas leak. This great soul was the heart and soul of ISKCON Vrindavan's 24 hour Hare Krishna kirtan, having re-established it in the 1980's. To chant with him in Vrindavan was an exhilarating experience of blissful absorption in the unlimitedly sweet names of the Lord. He will be remembered with gratitude by all the devotees, especially those who had the good fortune to join with him in kirtan. He one time told the story of how he was leading a kirtan in a temple in America when Srila Prabhupada was present. Srila Prabhupada expressed his great satisfaction with Aindra's kirtan by saying, "Jaya." This one word of encouragement from Srila Prabhupada greatly enthused Aind

We have received the order from Srila Prabhupada to deliver the entire world from illusion, but some say that this is impossible. They argue, "How could the entire human society, which is so deeply engrossed in sense gratification, ever take to Krishna consciousness?" They are convinced that it simply is not possible. But by the grace of guru and Krishna even that which is impossible becomes possible and can indeed take place. So why not try for it with all sincerity. And then--who knows?--by the Lord's inconceivable mercy it could indeed happen. So if we try for it, at worst we will relish the most exciting lives possible representing the Lord in this world and then regain our eternal positions in that wondrous spiritual sky. And at best we will be successful in sparking off the greatest paradigm shift in the history of the universe. What have we got to lose? Sankarshan Das Adhikari Estonian Devotees Chanting Hare Krishna For the Deliverance of the World from Illusion

We plug in our electric lamp so that it can get electricity and illuminate our room. Even though the electricity is coming from the powerhouse, we do not directly plug our lamp into the powerhouse because the powerhouse is situated at a great distance from our home. Instead we plug our lamp into the power outlet on the wall. In a similar way since Krishna is far, far away in His transcendental abode he has established the system of disciplic succession so that anyone who desires to be fully connected with Him can do so. He describes this in the Bhagavad-gita, Chapter 4, Text 2 that we connect with Him through the system known as disciplic succession. This means that we become the disciple of a bona fide spiritual maser who is coming in an unbroken line of disciple succession from Him. The process of connecting with Krishna through the spiritual master is by following the spiritual master's instructions. And when we make a permanent commitment to always follow his instructions we ac

Lord Caitanya appeared 500 years ago in India to inaugurate the Krishna consciousness movement for the deliverance of all the fallen, conditioned souls back to their original home in the spiritual sky. These poor souls are presently entrapped in the cycle of birth repeatedly suffering birth, death, old age, and disease. If they can somehow or other come in contact with Lord Caitanya's movement and His divine mercy, they will be liberated from their suffering condition. Therefore those of us who have been so fortunate to receive the blessings of Lord Caitanya should dedicate our lives to sharing His inconceivably sublime nectarean mercy with everyone so that they can also become happy. This the topmost welfare work because it liberates everyone from all types of suffering. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Lord Caitanya and His Associates Flood the Universe with Inconceivable Mercy Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How to Use Toys for Krishna? Dear Gurudeva, Kids, like

All you really have to do to be completely happy is be yourself. But the problem is that in our modern day society practically nobody has even the slightest clue as to who they really are. Almost everyone misidentifies their body as being their self. But nothing could be further from the truth. Therefore they spend their entire lives serving a false conception of the self, never finding any genuine satisfaction. It's no wonder then that so many people commit suicide every day and that the mass population spend their lives pointlessly trying to kill their misery by absorbing themselves in this ism or that ism and by indulging in sense gratification. One needs to simply understand his non-material eternal nature and connect with the Supreme Person, the source of all existence, through loving service. This will turn his life into a non-stop blissful celebration. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Is the Mahabharata a Myth? Many a time there

We have a choice of being thoroughly honest with ourselves and realizing the highest truth or we can cheat ourselves by running after the cheap thrills of material sense gratification. The choice is ours. An intelligent person will carefully analyze both options to see what the results of each are. And then he will naturally go with the choice which is most beneficial for his long run happiness. So now we have our choice whether we would rather be foolish or intelligent. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Can I Chant a Different Mantra? I have a query about the Hare Krishna mantra. I chant the mantra daily, but I get more bliss when I chant the mantra "Sri Krishna Govinda Hare Murari hai Nath Narayana Vasudeva". Can only the Hare Krishna mantra give us liberation or can I chant the mantra I have specified above? This mantra helps me concentrate on the Lord better. Parul Answer: Take the Most Effective Medicine If we are sick is it

There is one thing we all have in common in this age, and that is tons of anxiety. We have one anxiety stacked on top another anxiety, stacked on top of another anxiety, stacked on top of another anxiety, reaching all the way up into the sky. What if we could transform this mega load of anxiety into the sweetest happiness? Wouldn't that be great? Well, here's how to do it. Simply stop trying to be the center of enjoyment. Instead of trying to get pleasure for yourself, try to always give the greatest amount of pleasure to all living beings. This is the key. How to do this? Channel your loving-serving propensity to the supreme source of all existence, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When you serve and please Him you automatically render the highest degree of loving service to all living beings, and you will attain the state of pure bliss. Live like this and you'll be loving every minute of your eternal existence. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Ve

The age of Kali is dangerous time indeed because it is a time when demoniac qualities become increasingly predominant in all spheres of the human society. Since our consciousness is developed according to our association, and since our association in this age so poisonous, we need an antidote to counteract this poison. That antidote is the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. This is confirmed as follows in the Srimad Bhagavatam: kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet "My dear King, although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom." --Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.51 So take advantage of this most sublime Hare Krishna maha-mantra and become delivered from the vicious qualities of this age. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version:

When weeding a garden if we chop off the top half of the weed but leave the weed's root in the ground, the weed will soon come back just as it was before. In a similar way the modern day environmentalists have completely missed the boat regarding how to solve the world's environmental problems. Instead of the seeing the root cause of pollution and treating it on that level they waste their time trying to eliminate the symptoms. Such an incomplete approach will never be successful. What needs to now be understood is that the underlying cause of pollution and indeed of all the problems which are plaguing the human society is polluted consciousness. Polluted consciousness is the false conception that I am the proprietor and enjoyer of all I survey. Such a mentality fails to take note of the fact that since we did not create this world, we are not the owners of it. There is someone else who is the creator and proprietor of this world. If we can utilize it in such a way that He is p

Wednesday 7 July--As we were taking off in an airplane from Sydney, Australia on our flight to Los Angeles I marveled at the natural beauty of the clouds and clear blue sky and was painfully reminded of how much we are spoiling the natural beauty of God's amazingly magnificent creation by our uncontrolled lust and greed. If we could just get back to living in harmony with God instead of trying to play God, this world would be such a splendorous, happy, and healthy place. But unfortunately the leadership of the world is now in the hands of unenlightened fools who have not a clue how to utilize everything in the service of the Lord. Therefore the people in general are suffering like anything. We must now do whatever we can to bring about a change in the bleak current situation and restore the natural happy condition of the human race. Sankarshan Das Adhikari God's Beautiful Creation Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How To Get Guru? What should I do in orde

The disciple's secret of success in spiritual life is to always meditate on the instructions that he has received from his spiritual master. This is the perfection of meditation because the order of the spiritual master is the life substance of the disciple. This is so important that the disciple does not even care whether or not he goes back to Godhead. His only desire is to always meditate on the instructions received from his spiritual master and try his best to successfully execute them. Our spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, ordered us, "Become guru and deliver the whole world." Therefore our perfection in life is to always remember this instruction and to always try our best to successful carry it out. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Srila Prabhupada Instructs His Disciples Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Is Krishna the Speaker of the Gita? I have spoken to many Hindus about the Gita. They all tell me that the M

There is no person in all of existence who is more important than Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is the most important, the supreme VIP, because He is the source of all existence, the supreme controller and enjoyer, and the best friend of all living beings. Therefore it is absolutely impossible for anyone to compete with Him in any way. Those who try to do so are not successful and consequently become entangled in the cycle of birth and death. However, the most amazing thing about this most important of all persons is that He gives more importance to His devotees than He does to Himself. This is why He acts as the charioteer of Arjuna or the chastised son of Mother Yasoda. So even though His devotee accepts Him as the topmost VIP, He accepts His devotee as topmost of all VIP's. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Krishna - The Supreme VIP Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How Can I Resist Temptation? How can I resist temptation in this materiali

Desperation. People normally consider desperation to be a depressing, undesirable, negative state of mind. But a properly channeled sense of desperation is the greatest asset of a person who wants to achieve permanent relief from all material miseries by being fully engaged in pure devotional service. This is because when a devotee thus begs the Lord in the mood of a small child desperately crying for his mother the Lord immediately reciprocates by delivering the devotee from his material consciousness. In this way the misery of desperation becomes transcendentally transformed into the sweetest happiness. Therefore it is for our greatest benefit if we can call out to the Lord in a mood of helpless desperation. The Vedic scriptures recommend that we should do this by chanting the Hare Krishna mahamantra on a regular daily basis. Krishna Responds to Those Who Cry for His Mercy Answers According to the Vedic Version Question: Finding A Spiritual Master for Initiation I read that

On July 3-4 2010 I was blessed with the immensely wonderful opportunity of being the spiritual leader of an ecstatic "Know Who You Are" retreat in a beautiful forest in Glengarry, Australia. It was a superb treat to dive deeply into the transcendental ocean of Krishna bhakti relishing the sweetest nectar hour after hour in the association of transcendentalists. There was no distraction from the ordinary worldly duties. We had our living facilities on the retreat grounds and the devotees fed us delicious Krishna prasadam (vegetarian food offered to Lord Sri Krishna with love). It was a total bliss adventure of being uninterruptedly absorbed in Krishna consciousness for 31 hours straight. The most wonderful feature of this retreat is that we can now carry forever in our hearts the enlivening memories of this transcendentally surcharged event. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Ecstatic "Know Who You Are" Retreat Glengarry, Australia--3-4 July 2010 Answers According to the Ved

Nowadays internet connection is becoming more and more ubiquitous. Internet connections are cropping everywhere. From cyber cafes in remote Indian villages to smart phones that keep you online 24 hours daily wherever you may roam, the world is becoming more and more online. People want to be connected with what's happening. They don't want to be left out. But what they fail to realize is that the internet only connects us with a tiny infinitesimal fraction of what's out there in existence. If we want to be fully connected, truly online with everything that is going on everywhere, we need to connect with the source of all existence, the ultimate fountainhead of all energies. When we connect with this source we become truly connected with everything. The supreme internet provider has provided us with a password for logging in. And the only hardware we need is our consciousness. There are no monthly fees. The only price we have to pay to get connected is faith in the password.

Melbourne has been a most wonderful stop on our lecture tour. Whether speaking at the temple or in home programs I found the audiences to be extremely receptive. They joined in kirtan with great enthusiasm, attentively listened to the lectures, and asked many thought provoking questions. Krishna blessed us with enough of the dualities of material nature to help us remain sober about our current situation in the cycle of birth and death. The difficulty we experienced was with the electricity. At various intervals this meant no heat in our room in the midst of a cold winter and also no light. One evening I had a meeting with one of my students in my pitch black living quarters when the utility company turned off all the power to the temple to repair the temple fuse box. We got a little bit of illumination from my flashlight. But of course, we got unlimited illumination from Krishna. It was an ecstatic evening. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Teaching Bhakti Science in a Home Melbourne, Austral

One of our readers wrote me recently suggesting that we regularly change the above picture of Krishna for the sake of variety. Of course we understand that variety is the mother of enjoyment, and thus we regularly change the picture which comes below this column. But in another vein we should not think that the seeing the same picture of Krishna every day is monotonous. Krishna is ever-fresh. And when He appears in the form of painting He still remains ever-fresh. This means that a devotee can see the same painting of Krishna thousands and millions of times and derive ever-increasingly new transcendental ecstasies from seeing the amazingly beautiful form of the Lord. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Unlimitedly Amazingly Beautiful Krishna The Perfection of Georgeousness Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Sun-god and Moon-god Are Superstitions? In so many ways the Bhagavad-gita is so far above anything else I have ever read, as far as spiritual understanding goes. But then

Just as chess experts find great satisfaction exercising their brains coming up with strategies for being victorious in chess, those who are expert in the transcendental science of Krishna consciousness find great satisfaction in the ultimate chess game of trying to the wrest the leadership of this planet away from the hands of those who are in darkness and place it solidly in the hands of those who are enlightened with transcendental knowledge. Why play a chess game whose outcome is confined to a chess board when you can play a chess game which will impact the future of the entire human civilization? The planetary chess board is the playground of the enlightened transcendentalists. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Playing Chess on a Chess Board Vaisesika Prabhu Playing Planetary Chess Distributing Krishna Conscious Books Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How to Convince An Unwilling Person? How do I convince someone to believe and follow Krishna Consciousness if he