Ultimate Self Realization

Here in Vrindavan we are seeing something very extraordinary. Because of the flooding the River Yamuna has come back to its original bank at Kaliya ghat, the place where Lord Krishna jumped from the kadamba tree into the Yamuna to subdue the Kaliya serpent 5,000 years ago. When Krishna was here the Yamuna took the form of a great lake here in Vrindavana. I have been coming to Vrindavan regularly for the last 30 years, and I have only seen the Yamuna as a shallow stream that you can wade across. It is normally situated at least a half a mile from the site where Krishna jumped into it. But now for the first time in my experience it is indeed wonderful to see that Yamuna as again become a huge lake with its bank at Kaliya ghat. In the follow excerpt from the Krishna Book Srila Prabhupada describes the kadamba tree and how Yamuna took the form of a great lake: "Sukadeva Goswami narrated the story as follows. Within the river Yamuna there was a great lake, and in that lake the black s

Today, 28 September 2010, was an especially sweet and memorable day because today we did Govardhana Parikrama, the circumambulation of Govardhana Hill. This king of all mountains is an incarnation of Krishna and is thus very, very dear to Krishna's devotees. To do circumambulation of it is very spiritually rewarding because the devotee becomes empowered to absorb his consciousness more deeply in remembrance of the Lord. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Glorifying Sri Vrindavana Dhama At Govinda Kunda--28 September 2010 (Govardhana Hill is in the Background.) Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Am I Not that Strongly Devoted? Am I born to accomplish an important task? If yes then why do I (though very rarely) often lose my confidence? Why Krishna does not respond to my cries? Why does He give me so many tests? Is there something wrong with my devotion? Is my love of Krishna not as strong as of that of Mirabai or Radharani? Deeksha Answer: Our Neophyte Devotion i

Every day millions and billions of people pray to God to fulfill their material desires. What most of them don't realize is what they should pray for. They do not know that whatever material happiness and distress they will experience is due to their karma and that therefore there is only one thing worth praying for--pure bhakti. If, by God's grace, we can be granted pure bhakti, pure devotional service, then we are automatically liberated from the reactions of our previous karma and fully provided by the Lord with whatever will best facilitate our loving service to Him. This means that we will become fully enlivened in transcendental bliss and completely free from anxiety regarding our material situation. So instead of nickel and diming the Lord begging for the cheap trinkets of material sense we should beg Him only for the unlimited wealth of pure devotional service unto Him. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Explaining the Pure Bhakti Science in Vrindavana Madan Mohan Temple--27

This morning (26 September 2010), as is my usual practice, I rose before 3:00 am to bathe, dress in my early morning devotional attire (dhoti and chadar), and mark my body with tilaka (sacred clay). After completing part of my daily vow of chanting at least sixteen rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra on japa mala beads I walked to the Krishna Balarama temple to attend an ecstatic worship service at 4:10 am in the samadhi (tomb) of my most beloved spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Then at 4:30 am I returned to my quarters in the MVT-Bhaktivedanta Ashram to offer worship to our deities, Sri Sri Radha Damodar. It was a deeply ecstatic experience. As I offered them arati (worship) presenting before them various auspicious articles--incense, a ghee lamp, bathing water in a conch shell, a drying cloth, a flower, and a camara whisk--I sang a beautiful bhajan (devotional song) glorifying the Supreme Lord and His devotees as well as the many holy places of th

Even before arriving here in Vrindavana we had the most wonderful heart-warming experience. On our way out of Delhi we stopped at the Apollo Hospital for a doctor's appointment. The waiting room was crowded, and I needed a place where I could plug in my computer and write and then upload "Thought for the Day". To my amazement the gentleman in charge of the waiting room gave me his desk and his chair for doing my work. This desk was a necessary part of the service that he and his assistant had to do. But still he most graciously gave it to me, and he and his assistant just somehow squeezed around me to get their work done. I could never expect to receive such generous hospitality in a public place anywhere in the Western countries. This experience demonstrates the sweetness of Indian culture that even a total stranger would be treated with such kindness even to point of creating inconvenience for those who are providing the hospitality. I was never made to feel that I shou

24 September 2010--It was such a glorious feeling landing in India today. Even though gross materialism has ravaged India, still the vestiges of Vedic culture are still very strong here. At the airport when we went through customs, the customs official seeing that we are devotees of Lord Krishna happily said "Hare Krishna" to us and offered us his respectful namaskar with folded palms. Then we were greeted so sweetly by the devotees who offered us flower garlands and took over pushing our luggage carts. We were driven straight to the guest house at ISKCON's East of Kailash temple in Delhi where we were given a sumptuous breakfast and a guest room where we could shower, rest, and freshen up from the over night flight from London before being driving to Vrindavan by our driver the sweet, friendly Radharamana Das. Sankarshan Das Adhikari The Lord's Transcendental Home in this World Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How to Remember God All the Tim

What a glorious day! Today is the day is that we are return to Lord Sri Krishna's transcendental abode manifested here in this material world. Today is the day that we return to the holy land of Vrindavan. To think that a mere 5,000 years ago the Supreme Lord Himself touched His lotus feet on that sacred land greatly inspires the imagination. And that I will now get the opportunity to reside in that sacred land for three weeks is the greatest, most inconceivably wonderful blessing. Sankarshan Das Adhikari The Lord's Transcendental Home in this World Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How to Have Steady Sadhana? I have been initiated five years ago. But my sadhana (devotional practice) is not that steady. Sometimes I'm able to chant all my 16 rounds of mantra meditation in the morning before leaving for work, and I sometimes chant most of my rounds after work. I get really frustrated when my sadhana is bad, and that discourages me to perform my sadhana

This human life is the greatest opportunity to find permanent happiness. Although we have been rotating in the cycle of birth and death since time immemorial undergoing so many varieties of miseries, if we can awaken our dormant spiritual nature, our Krishna consciousness, we will automatically become transcendentally situated beyond all the otherwise unavoidable miserable conditions of material existence. The Ultimate Self Realization course is designed to take you to that enlightened state. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Lord Krishna and Jagannath I am from Orissa, India. So as in any household in Orissa, in my home also I was taught from the childhood that Jagannath is Lord of all Universe (Jagat-Nath). He is Purushottam or the supreme personality of the universe. If we pray to Him, we will attain liberation from this material world as he is Patita Pavana, the saviour of the fallen. Now after reading Bhagavad Gita As It Is, I am in do

In this world everybody wants to love somebody, and if they cannot find anyone to give their love to, they will keep a dog and give their love to him taking him on a walk every morning. But the difficulty in the modern world is that people lack the understanding of where to repose their love so that they and everyone else becomes fully satisfied. In the ultimate self realization system known as Krishna consciousness we teach everyone where to repose their love for bringing perfect and complete satisfaction to all living beings throughout the entire universe. Just as when we water the root of a tree the leaves and branches are nourished, when we give our love to Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, everyone becomes satisfied. Sankarshan Das Adhikari One Result is Derived from Walking a Dog Entirely Different Result Comes from Walking God Burgas, Bulgaria Ratha Yatra--19 September 2010 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Our Friend Says God Does Not Exist

On Sunday 19 September 2010 we experienced even more bliss in Burgas, Bulgaria. It was our second Ratha Yatra festival within three days. This time there was a nice hall program arranged after the end of the parade. The venue was a prominent art gallery. When we arrived at the gallery I was happy that there was an entire hall full of people sitting in their chairs waiting patiently for the program to begin. It was such a satisfying feeling to dive deeply into kirtan in the presence of so many people and to then explain in powerful and attractive way the science of Krishna consciousness. I was very pleased with the way my disciple, Nitai Candra Das, arranged for my preaching. In addition to the hall lecture he also arranged for me to be interviewed by two different television stations. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Ecstatic Ratha Yatra Festival Blesses Burgas, Bulgaria With Bliss 19 September 2010 Jagannatha, the Lord of the Universe Along with Balarama and Subhadra Blesses Burgas, Bul

Experiencing two Ratha Yatra festivals in three days here in Bulgaria: one on Friday in Sliven and one on Sunday in Burgas--reminds me that the real meaning of being Krishna conscious is to be celebrating a festival of the transcendental bliss of love of Godhead at every minute. There is no reason to ever be in anxiety or misery ever again. One simply has to always remember that He is the eternal servant of Krishna and always stay engaged in serving Him and remembering Him. This is real success. Any other sort of life is a pathetic failure. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Singing and Dancing in Ecstasy For Lord Jagannatha, the Lord of the Universe Sliven, Bulgaria--17 September 2010 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Why Submission to Guru is Necessary? Why should being submissive be so necessary? Why shouldn't the spiritual master accept his/her students as friends? Rajendra Answer: Without Submission There is No Question of Guru We certainly have no bette

After an ecstatic two hour Ratha Yatra parade through Sliven, Bulgaria we assembled in a park near the end of the parade route. I was requested by the festival organizer to speak on Krishna consciousness. Although the crowd was small, they heard my lecture very attentively and many of them joined in with us in chanting. At the end of my lecture a young man with a Mohawk haircut asked me how old I am. I replied that although my body is 62 years old I am an eternal youth with an infinitely old soul and that he is also an eternally young, infinitely old spiritual being. He liked my answer. And then a middle aged woman asked me who she could contact locally to find out more about Krishna consciousness. This question satisfied me greatly that here is a person who is seriously interested in the sublime process of Krishna consciousness. I referred her to our festival organizer, Vraja Krishna Das, who is from Sliven. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Sweet Nectar--Singing and Dancing For Lord Jagan

Friday 17 September 2010--Today we are heading out across Bulgaria for a Ratha Yatra festival being held this afternoon in Sliven, Bulgaria followed by one tomorrow in Burgas, Bulgaria. This is how the human society should be arranged to uplift the consciousness of the suffering human society. Every day there should be transcendental festivities going on all over the planet. Ratha Yatra is a joyous occasion of pulling the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Jagannatha, along with His brother, Balarama, and His sister, Subhadra devi, through the streets of the city to extend their mercy to whoever happens to see them as they pass along the road way. I am still remembering how sweet the Sliven Ratha Yatra festival was in 2008 (pictured below), and am eagerly anticipating my arrival at the festival site. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Ratha Yatra Bliss in Sliven, Bulgaria 20 September 2008 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Is This Krishna's Eye? I received th

There are many systems of elevating the consciousness that will bring the practitioner to varying degrees of spiritual advancement. But if one is desires to achieve the topmost platform, the zenith of spiritual perfection, he should heed the words of Lord Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita. The Lord reveals in Bhagavad-gita 6:47 that of all yogis or transcendentalists the one who serves Him in pure love is on the highest level of spiritual perfection. Krishna acknowledges and reciprocates with all varieties of transcendentalists, but His special mercy is exclusively for those transcendentalists who are fully devoted to Him. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Ecstatic Transcendental Greeting in Sofia, Bulgaria 13 September 2010 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Why We Fell from the Spiritual World? It leaves me to wonder that if Krishna is all attractive, how is it that we fall from the spiritual world? How can we get attracted to a world of suffering, old age, and disease

Our brief stop in London on the way to Bulgaria was ecstatic, a sublime opportunity to once again share the inner secrets of the amazing transcendental science of Krishna consciousness. I explained to the packed hall of eager listeners how even though a devotee may externally be living in London, the real fact is that is living in Krishna. In our everyday life someone may inquire from us where we live. As a matter of ordinary etiquette we politely tell them our place residence. But in the higher sense the devotee of the Lord does not live in this or that place in this material world. He factually resides in Krishna and Krishna resides in Him. To whatever extent we make Krishna our place of residence to that degree He will ten times more than be present within us. In conclusion, we all have a choice where we want to live. We can live in Krishna as His eternal servants or we can accept this material world as our place of residence and endlessly suffer the repetition of birth and death. T

Today is the most auspicious appearance day of Srimati Radharani, the most beloved of all of Krishna's devotees. I always relish the wonderful instruction that Srila Prabhupada gave us on how to pray to Radharani. "My dear mother, Radharani, please tell about me to your Krishna." Krishna is very difficult to approach. But Srimati Radharani has a wonderful softhearted easy-to-approach feminine nature, and Krishna is completely captivated by her. So if we beg her to put in a good word for us with Krishna, Srila Prabhupada explains that she will immediately recommend us to her beloved Lord, "Krishna, here is a devotee. He is better than Me." No one can please Krishna better than Radharani. So when He hears from her that there is a devotee better than her, He immediately wants to see who is this devotee who is better than Radharani. In this way by the mercy of Radharani we become qualified to receive the mercy of Krishna. This is the loving kindness of Srimati Radh

A devotee of the Lord has the indomitable determination to never be defeated by the material energy and thus he constantly takes shelter of Lord Sri Krishna to insure that is always protected. In this way by the sweet grace of Krishna he is always victorious in his struggle to remain free from the control of the material energy. Such liberated souls are the greatest heroes in this world because while other heroes are defeated by death the devotee heroes are deathless. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Scripture Prohibits Meat Eating? A friend of my friend argues that there is no reference in Hindu scriptures that meat eating is prohibited. Is this true? How can I convince him that meat eating is not permitted in Hinduism? Is there any reference in our Vedic scriptures about this? Ashish Answer: He Eats Me The law of karma is equally applicable to everyone. Whether one identifies with a particular "ism" or not, the law of ka

Last Saturday 11 September 2010 as we were flying from Austin to Dallas to catch our flight to London there was some doubt whether we would make it on time or not. We had a tight connection in Dallas to begin with. And then on top of that our flight from Austin was delayed by another 40 minutes. This left us with the very real possibility of missing our flight to London. What made it even more harrowing was that after landing in Dallas we had to transfer from terminal A to terminal D to get to our London flight. When such difficulties come there is only so much we can do to counteract them. We have to do everything possible from our side and then depend on Krishna for the rest. So I did everything I could. I called American Airlines and got their assurance that there was available space for us to rebooked on a later flight if we missed our flight. As we were landing in Dallas the realization flashed through my brain that there is only one thing that we can truly possess. And that is o

The world is in desperate need of Krishna consciousness. Lacking transcendental knowledge almost the entire human society is totally engrossed in material sense gratification. Thus most people will descend to the animal kingdom in their next birth. Those who are thoughtful and compassionate cannot tolerate such a pitiable situation. Therefore they fully dedicate their lives to trying to awaken the sleeping human civilization. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Who Understands God Better? I have been practicing Krishna consciousness for a few months, and I wanted to ask you a question about seeing Krishna: One of the most beautiful experiences for me is feeling God's presence in everything, but I have been told that when you advance in your spiritual journey you can literally see Krishna face to face. Does Krishna appear in the same form to everyone? Does a Hare Krishna have a better understanding than a Christian or a Muslim? Stefano

Today we depart on our next around-the-world lecture tour. It was a very nice break of almost two months here at our base camp, Bhaktivedanta Ashram in Austin, Texas. I was a wonderful opportunity to recharge our spiritual batteries. Today is most momentous as we embark on another transcendental expedition. It's always an exciting feeling to head out again on the road in the service of my beloved spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who wonderfully gives the following instruction in his Srimad Bhagavatam purports: 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 by one single desire: to go bac

Things don't always go right in this material world. Sometimes when everything seems to be going right all of sudden out of the blue we are struck by adversity. When this happens a Krishna conscious person does not cave in. He does not lose his equilibrium. Rather he remembers the sublime teachings of the Bhagavad-gita and accepts such reverse conditions as a golden opportunity to strengthen his Krishna consciousness, to increase his feelings of dependence on Krishna. In this way he is always able to remain equipoised even in the midst of the most devastating situations. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Why Do We Teach the Opposite? I read in Srila Prabhupada's books that Narayana is an expansion of Krishna. I can't agree with this because Narayana is eternal and Krishna is an incarnation of Narayana. I don't understand why our sampradaya teaches things the opposite way. Even there is an explanation in Sri Isopanishad tha

We are readying ourselves now for our next around-the-world lecture tour, which will commence this coming Saturday morning. That we are starting this auspicious journey on 9/11 reminds us that this material world is full of danger at every step and that we must therefore always take complete shelter of the Lord's lotus feet as our only refuge. Our movement's mission is to inundate the entire world with Krishna consciousness so everyone in all corners of the world can be peaceful and happy. We know that even though from the material point of view such a spiritual revolution is impossible, from the transcendental viewpoint anything is possible. So let's try for it and await Krishna's amazing grace to see what unfolds. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Why Krishna Puts Devotees in Trouble? It just came through the news that there was explosion On 3rd September at the ISKCON Hare Krishna temple on Thoresby Street, in Leicester,

There's nothing wrong with material success provided one spiritualizes it by offering in the service of the Lord. However, material success which is not offered in the Lord's service will keep one bound up in the repetition of birth and death and is thus an impediment for one's attainment of true, lasting peace and happiness. Therefore one should be very careful to follow in the footsteps of Arjuna, who demonstrated the perfect example of engaging his material success in the service of the Lord and thus became liberated. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Difference Between Guru and Spiritual Master? In a recent "Answers According to the Vedic Version" you stated that the spiritual master is not Lord Krishna Himself. This is also my understanding. However, I have been told that actually there is only one guru and that is Krishna. All the bona fide spiritual masters in this world are like mediums through which Krishna is

Let's face it. There's no doubt about it. This material world is hell. We are being dragged by the laws of nature repeatedly through the cycle of birth, death, old age, and disease. In spite of all claims from the scientists that they are going to free us from these miseries, we see that the miseries are continuing for every man, woman, and child in every part of the world. The good news is that in spite of being stuck in this hell the living being can be completely happy by realizing his true identity as the eternal servant of God and putting this realization into practice by engaging in the devotional service of the Lord. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Why is It Necessary to Maintain Silence? I would like to know why is it absolutely necessary to maintain silence in spirituality? Even if people need help, the so-called spiritual guide does not reply to her or his question. I guess we are all human, one needs help from the

There is nothing more delightful, more enlivening than engaging in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead because such service connects one with his actual self. It is not a temporary ephemeral pleasure of the senses that fades away very quickly after being tasted. Rather it is permanent, lasting happiness, which goes on increasing more and more the longer that one engages in it. In short, there is no pleasure that equals or exceeds the pleasure of devotional service. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Ultimate Goal of the Living Being What is the ultimate goal for the jivatma, the living being ? Is it to be one with the Paramatma? Is it to lose his identity? Ravi Answer: To Regain His Original Identity Before understanding the ultimate goal of the living being we first must understand that the ultimate source of existence is a person. He has to be a person, otherwise so many persons cannot not be coming out fr

Spiritual master of the universe in Sanskrit is jagad-guru. This term describes that spiritual master who is a pure devotee of the Lord. He is called spiritual master of the universe because he possesses the full empowerment of Lord Sri Krishna to deliver all of the conditioned souls in the universe from their entanglement in the cycle of birth and death. I was most fortunate to be accepted as the disciple of such a jagad-guru, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. So how does this description relate to struggling neophytes like us who are battling it out every day with the material energy trying to curb down our material desires? What this means that according to our degree of surrender to the Lord He empowers us proportionately for uplifting the consciousness of the inhabitants of this universe. Therefore out of compassion on the suffering souls of this world we should try to become as Krishna conscious as much as possible so that we can render to them the best possi

Recently somebody dropped out of our course complaining that it did not have enough depth. They must have been sitting on the shore without diving in because the science that we are presenting is unlimitedly deep. Even one word of this science has the power to carry the sincere student across the inconceivably large span of our universe and across its even larger seven-fold coverings to the transcendental abode of the Supreme Person, who possesses perfect knowledge of everything past, present, and future. So anyone who does not think that this knowledge is deep should just try applying it. If they do so, they will experience first hand that it is the deepest knowledge in the universe. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Final Conclusion of the Vedic Science First of all I am very, very thankful to your for all your replies. My question is regarding the two classes of philosophers. One class believes that the highest truth is a kind of impe

This material world is an abode of anxieties. Here we experience one anxiety after another anxiety after another anxiety. Sometimes when the anxieties are not quite as bad we imagine that we are happy. But this is not real happiness. This is only a slight reduction of anxiety. Real happiness exists only on that platform which is completely free from all anxieties. That platform is the spiritual platform where we become reconnected with that most amazing Supreme Personality of God through loving service to Him. From the scriptures, the spiritual master, and the devotees we learn how to master the art of loving service to Krishna. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Balancing Material and Spiritual Life Dear Guru Maharaja, All glories to Srila Prabhupada! Please accept my humble obeisances. How to balance the material world with the spiritual world in this most materialistic age of Kali? Your servant, S. Sukumar Answer: Material L

Song to Srila Prabhupada 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 all solidly declare That Prabhupada saved the worl

Today is the most auspicious day of Sri Krishna Janmastami. On this day around 5,000 years ago the atmosphere in this universe was most pleasing and wonderful in preparation for the Lord's arrival. In his book, Krishna-The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Srila Prabhupada very nicely explains how auspicious the atmosphere was at that time: "He appears out of His own sweet pleasure. When the time was mature for the appearance of the Lord, the constellations became very auspicious. The astrological influence of the star known as Rohini was predominant. This star is considered to be very auspicious and is under the direct supervision of Brahma. According to the astrological conclusion, besides the proper situation of the stars, there are auspicious and inauspicious moments due to the different situations of the different planetary systems. At the time of Krishna's birth, the planetary systems were automatically adjusted so that everything became auspicious. "At that time