Ultimate Self Realization

The majority of my time is spent in circling the globe through six different continents for spreading the ultimate liberating message of Krishna consciousness to awaken the sleeping souls of this planet to their original identities, which are eternal, full of knowledge, and full of bliss. One of the most remarkable things I have noticed in my travels is that wherever I happen to be feels like my home. When I depart from that place to go to the next destination I feel like I am leaving my home behind. But when I arrive at the next destination I feel that I have returned to my home. This never ceases to amaze me, but actually it is not surprising because Krishna is my only shelter, my only home and He is everywhere. Sankarshan Das Adhikari At Home Teaching Krishna Consciousness Vilnius, Lithuania--28April 2011 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Fourteen Planetary Systems Hare Krishna Gurudeva All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!! Which are the fourteen divisions of pl

If you depend on this material world for your happiness, you are sure to be disappointed today or tomorrow. Therefore those who are wise do not depend on this material world for their satisfaction. They simply depend on the wonderful, divine arrangements of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna. If we always depend on Krishna, He will never let us down in any time, place, or situation. So the smartest thing to do is to always trust in the divine arrangements of the supremely merciful Personality of Godhead. This alone can bring true peace and happiness to the living beings. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Teaching Krishna Bhakti Kaunas, Lithuania--25 April 2011 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Proof for God's Existence? Respected Gurudeva, My son asked, "Is there a proof for the existence of God?" V.L. Answer: He's the Source of All Existence Kindly inform your son that God must exist because God means the source of all existence. Si

This material world is not a safe place. It's a wild, dangerous jungle where death can attack you at any moment. Our only safe position is to take complete shelter of that person whom even fear personified is afraid of, Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Only if we are under His shelter are we fully protected from this dangerous material jungle. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Shall We Develop Love Intentionally? Dear teacher: Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. In the beginning stage we do not have love for Krishna and Vaisnavas. Is it that by dutifully serving them we can develop our love for them, or we should intentionally try our best to love them also? Your humble servant Y.Z. Answer: Lovingly Do Your Duty Do both. Work the process from both sides in order to make the quickest advancement. Sankarshan Das Adhikari

If you want to have a productive day of mobile phone use, you must make sure to fully charge your mobile phone's battery before you start your day. And if you want to also have a productive spiritually enlightening and fulfilling day, you need to make sure to charge your spiritual battery also with a deep, intense meditation session. There are many different meditation techniques, but in this hectic materialistic age there is only one technique that is sufficiently powerful to elevate your consciousness beyond the material plane. That process is mantra meditation, chanting the holy names of God. You may choose any name of God according to your religion. And if you do not have any specific name, you can take the advice of the Kali Santarana Upanisad that the most powerful names of God to meditate upon for attaining self-realization are: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Teaching Mantra Yoga

25 April 2011--Our visits to Russia are always super sweet because the devotees in Russia so much open their hearts to us. Every program during our short weekend stay here has been unforgettably blissful as we dive deeper and deeper into the sweet nectarean ocean of Krishna consciousness. Even though the vast difference between Russian and English sometimes creates a barrier for communication, the ecstatic kirtans always bridge the gaps. Spring is just beginning now during our short weekend visit. Flower buds are coming out marking the end of the bleak, austere winter. In the same way the splendorous spring of Krishna consciousness is heralding a break from the bleak, desolate Kali yuga as it gradually transforms into the Caitanya Era, an amazing 10,000 year period during which this planet will again become like Satya Yuga. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Memories of Russia: Public Hall Program--24 April 2011 Overflow Audience at Bhakti Club--22 April 2011 Affectionate Farewell from Russ

In China animals' rights activists are vigorously campaigning to convince the Chinese people to stop eating dogs. While we appreciate their endeavors to save the dogs we wonder why they are not campaigning to save the cows also. Why should only dog eating be stopped and not cow eating? Just see how valuable the cow is. She eats grass, which we cannot digest, and transforms it into the most wonderful tasty miracle food, milk. We enjoy milk in so many varieties of ways, taking it straight or as yogurt or ice cream. How can we be so cruel to enjoy the milk of the cow and then slaughter and eat her flesh when her milk bag dries up? How barbaric we are! It's time we learn how to become civilized. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Cow at ISKCON Temple--Alachua, Florida Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Can I Desire to Relish Krishna's Name? Dear Gurudeva, Please accept my obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. I have some questions. You said in a lecture: &q

Krishna is everywhere. There is nowhere where Krishna is not present. Therefore we can connect equally with Krishna in Sri Vrindavan Dhama, in London, in Austin, in Riga, in Russia, or anywhere where we hear, chant, and remember the transcendental name, form, qualities, and pastimes of the Supreme all-beautiful, all-powerful, all-renounced, all-knowing, all-wealthy, and all-famous Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna. The insider's secret is that the more we share this connection with others, the more our connection becomes enhanced. Therefore those who are greedy for the strongest possible connection with Krishna dedicate their entire lives for reconnecting the entire universe with Krishna. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Home Program Lecture Kaliningrad, Russia--22 April 2011 Ecstatic Farwell Kirtan Kaliningrad, Russia--22 April 2011 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How Am I Different from Krishna? If everyone is within Krishna, how can we be separate from K

At the present moment the human society is grossly discombobulated because they are completely disconnected from themselves and the source of their existence. Therefore, it is no small wonder that the entire world has been plunged into an ever-increasingly chaotic condition. If we ask people who they are, they will not be able to tell us. But there is hope. Through the inconceivable healing power of mantras, transcendental sound vibrations, one can be completely restored to his original divine state of enlightened consciousness. The Vedas contain thousands and millions of bona fide mantras, but that same Vedic wisdom advises us that in the present materialistic age of Kali there is no mantra more powerful and more effective for self realization than the Hare Krishna mahamantra. Therefore anyone who is tired of suffering in ignorance and illusion can come back to their original, natural, harmonious consciousness quickly and easily by chanting the Hare Krishna mahamantra on regular dail

On 20 April 2011, by the nice arrangement of my disciple, Sankirtan Das, we had a wonderful opportunity to spread the light and life of Krishna consciousness to a hall full of sincere souls in Jonava, Lithuania. After an ecstatic kirtan and a lecture on mantra meditation I was amazed by the endless stream of wonderful questions asked by the various local people who were attending. One lady asked, "Since the people of Lithuania are Christians, why should we practice Krishna Consciousness?" I polled the audience to see how many Lithuanian people present were devotees of Lord Krishna and how many were Christians. There were more Lithuanian Krishna devotees than there were Christians. The audience laughed enthusiastically to see how I handled her argument. But then she countered that outside of this meeting the overwhelming majority Lithuanian people are Christians. To this I responded that actually everyone in Lithuania is already a devotee of Krishna, simply they have not real

There is no reason to continue suffering in this material existence. All you have to do to be completely blissful all the time is to plug back into your actual eternal identity as a servant of Krishna or God. This is done by taking complete shelter of the divine instructions of Lord Sri Krishna and His pure representative, the bona fide spiritual master. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Ecstatic Arrival in Kaunas, Lithuania 19 April 2011 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Foreigners in ISKCON I am very upset because my family members don't like ISKCON (the International Society for Krishna Consciousness). They say that there are a lot of foreigners in ISKCON and that foreigners don't have the right to know about Indian religion. They say that you have to be an Indian to know Indian religion. I have also noticed that many Indian people also have the same idea. They look at the whole thing from the materialistic point of view. It pains me a lot. Please, Gurudeva, adv

Just as the thirst for water indicates the existence of water, similarly our thirst to know the meaning of life indicates that life does in fact have meaning. And when we are serious to discover that meaning and fully dovetail our thoughts, words, and deeds with it, the Supreme Absolute Truth Personality of Godhead, who is seated within our hearts will manifest before us externally in the form of the spiritual master to enlighten us fully with scientific understanding of that meaning and how to always live in perfect harmony with it. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Revealing the Meaning of Life 18 April 2011, Riga, Latvia Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Misinterpretation of the Mayavadis My dear Srila Gurudeva, Please accept my most humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and to Your Grace. I have a question after listening yesterday to a devotee preaching. He was saying that although we have lots of different groups in the "Hindu" "religion

This world has become a completely crazy madhouse. The mass population is totally misguided, unfortunate and always disturbed because they have not been enlightened in the transcendental science of the relationship between the self and the Supreme Self. Therefore there is no greater need for the human society than the wide scale introduction of the science of Krishna consciousness in all spheres of the human society. We are therefore requesting that all the government leaders and all the other leaders throughout the world should now give full facility for the Krishna consciousness movement to educate all the people in the higher values of human life. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Home Program Arrival Kirtan17 April 2011, Riga, Latvia Revealing the Cure for the Global Madness Home Program--17 April 2011, Riga, Latvia Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Does God Exist? Dear Gurudeva, I would like to put my question humbly. I am not a Krishna devotee, but I was introduce

To become Krishna conscious means that one has to completely conquer over the influence of the mighty material energy within one's heart. It is not possible to accomplish this by one's own strength because the material energy is simply too powerful. However, if one will take shelter of guru and Krishna, by their grace it becomes quite easy to win the war and defeat the maya or illusion that is so solidly entrenched within one's heart. For such a conquering hero the doorway back to home, back to Godhead is fully opened. He will easily attain an eternal life, full of knowledge, and full of bliss as an eternal associate of Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Teaching How to Defeat Maya Riga, Latvia 16 April 2011 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Healing Request I would like to be cleansed from negative energies that are sent to me. D.B. Answer: Chant Hare Krishna The most powerful and effective means for clean

The key to forever being happy in transcendental all-blissful Krishna consciousness is to always be the servant in all circumstances. Never try to be the enjoyer. If one always engages himself as the servant of Krishna, guru, and Vaisnavas, there will be no end of his Krishna consciousness bliss, and he will be doing the highest good for all other beings by always revealing through his words and deeds the path of devotional service, the original, natural, pure state of existence. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Teaching the Perfection of Service Riga, Latvia 15 April 2011 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Bhagavatam Lists All Avatars? Are all the avatars of Lord Krishna depicted in the Srimad Bhagavatam? A.S. Answer: Only a Sample The Srimad Bhagavatam only depicts a few of the avatars of Krishna because they are as innumerable as the waves of the ocean. But it has kindly listed all the incarnations that will appear in this age of Kali to protect us from being misguid

Although it seems quite illogical and contradictory, the more a devotee feels sadness within his heart to see the suffering condition of the world population, which is completely lost in illusion, the more he realizes deep transcendental bliss within his heart. How can this be? The way it works is this: Unhappiness is due to selfishness. The more we think only of ourselves, the more we become miserable. And the more we become selfless, concerned for the well-being of others, the more we become happy. Therefore that person who is trying to do the highest good for all living beings, who finds it intolerable that the entire world is lacking Krishna consciousness, and who thus is devastated to see its deplorable condition, realizes the highest happiness within himself. This is why a Vaisnava is said to be an ocean of mercy and is described in the Sanskrit language as para-duḥkha-duḥkhī, one who suffers to see the suffering of others. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Compassionate Srila Prabhup

The quality of our relationship with Krishna is manifest in proportion to the quality of our japa. Sloppy, deficient japa means a sloppy, deficient relationship with Krishna. Perfect japa means a perfect relationship with Krishna. If we do not have perfect japa, we do not have a perfect relationship with Krishna. Imperfection in our relationship with Krishna means that we are still flirting with Maya, the material energy. Such a love affair with the material energy is suicidal for the eternal living being in that it relegates him to rotate perpetually in the cycle of birth and death. Therefore to be saved from the clutches of the material energy we have no alternative. We must perfect our japa by diving deep into transcendental meditation each time we chant our rounds. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Srila Prabhupada Chanting Perfect Japa Answers According to the Vedic Version: Request: Change the Radha Krishna Picture Please keep our request. Change the icon image of Sri Radha Krishna

Don't be a fool spending your entire life simply serving your temporary material body and the temporary material bodies of your near and dear ones. Instead you should as far as possible invest your energy in the eternal spiritual reality which underlies this material existence. This is real intelligence. So be intelligent. Do not misuse your most valuable human form of life, which is meant for realizing the highest truth. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Serving Krishna and Neglecting Work If a devotee serves Krishna and Krishna's devotees, but he does not serve the society and does not do his work well, is it considered to be bad or is it a part of his spiritual service? I.D. Answer: Serving Krishna is the Best Work If one waters the root of a tree, he is rendering the best service to the entire tree. Similarly, if one is properly serving Krishna under the guidance of the bona fide spiritual master, he is doing the best service

Just as a river is flowing constantly to the sea, the devotee's heart is always flowing closer and closer to Krishna. In this connection Queen Kunti has prayed as follows: tvayi me 'nanya-viṣayā matir madhu-pate 'sakṛt ratim udvahatād addhā gaṅgevaugham udanvati "O Lord of Madhu, as the Ganges forever flows to the sea without hindrance, let my attraction be constantly drawn unto You without being diverted to anyone else." --Srimad Bhagavatam SB 1.8.42 In this way Krishna consciousness is never stagnant. It is ever-increasing, dynamic, and ecstatic. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Sunset over the River Ganges Mayapur, West Bengal, India Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Desire for Profit, Adoration, and Fame My dear Srila Gurudeva, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to You! All glories to Srila Prabhupada! Our past acaryas have mentioned that there are 3 weeds that grow well along with bhakti (due to nama aparadha) and choke

Although we perpetually try to get a good deal from this material world, we will never be able to do so because in the final analysis it is nothing but a royal rip off. Try as we may and try as we might we will always be defeated by the stringent laws of the material nature. We try to always be healthy, but yet we are forced to get sick. We try to remain young, but yet we are forced to get old. We try to live forever, but yet we are forced to die. So it's time we learn our lesson and realize that this is not a fit place for our residence and get out of here as soon as possible. But due to our conditioning we think, "Home sweet home" and we continue to have hope against hope that someday we will be able to make all the suitable arrangements for being happy here. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Are We Guilty of Killing Vegetables? My son tells me that I am killing vegetables like lettuce, cabbage, etc whenever I eat them. How l

After a very inspiring two weeks stopover in Krishna's holy land giving many lectures on the science of Krishna bhakti and visiting some holy places, today, 11 April 2011, we are heading westward to Europe to share the sublime nectar of Krishna consciousness with so many sincere souls who are eager to receive it. India is an ideal place for spiritual rejuvenation because it is the sacred land of Krishna's transcendental pastimes. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Revealing the Secrets of Krishna Bhakti Noida, India--9 April 2011 Eager Hearers-Noida, India--9 April 2011 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How to Get a Prestigious Post? I want to take birth again in the human life in a prestigious post. What should I do? Ravi Answer: Go Only For the Ultimate Prestigious Post You should give up this foolish desire to take birth again in this material world for getting a prestigious post. The most prestigious post in this material world is the position of Lord Brahma

On 8 April 2011 I was asked to speak on the topic of "Know Who Are--Be Who You Are" at our ISKCON center in Noida, India. It was a wonderful opportunity to share the nectar of Krishna consciousness with a super-surcharged audience. After sporting in the oceanic waves of Krishna kirtan for fifteen or twenty minutes, we then dove into the invigorating reservoir of hearing and the chanting the unlimited glories of Lord Sri Krishna and how to attain Him. So many wonderful questions came in that we did not have time to answer them all. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Kirtan Bliss in Noida, India Describing How to Realize Who You Are There's Nothing Sweeter than Krishna Bhakti Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Service to Man is Not Service to God? Thank you for the great session on 8 April in Noida. But I did not like one opinion of yours. You said that it is all rubbish to think that by serving mankind we are serving God. Are you 100% sure? If you are, than

We have been ordered by our spiritual master His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada to save the entire human civilization from its pitiable suffering condition. At the present moment due to gross ignorance, practically the entire human race is living in such a way that they will become animals or even lower in their next life. Although we understand ourselves to be totally incompetent for even thinking of undertaking such an awesome task, we must accept this duty because it is an order which has been given to us by our spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, for the benefit of all the suffering souls in this world. Therefore taking the dust of his feet upon our heads, we humbly beg that we may be able to somehow or other serve his most merciful mission of delivering all of the fallen, conditioned souls back to home, back to Godhead by the combined sublime mercy of Srila Prabhupada and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Lord

It is always a very special experience to be here in Sri Vrindavana Dhama, the transcendental abode of Lord Sri Krishna. Lord Krishna displayed His most intimate pastimes in this place, the most sacred of all holy places. If one comes to this sacred land in the mood of devotion, he can quickly advance along the pathway of pure devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Every particle of dust here is more valuable than all of the wealth of this entire material existence. Therefore residence in Vrindavan is the supreme residence. Those who are advanced in Krishna consciousness never leave Vrindavana because they always carry this most auspicious of all holy places with them within their hearts wherever they may go for spreading the glories of Vrindavana all over the universe. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Do I Have to Leave My Family? I would now like to bring your attention to a question which creates confusion in my mind. If a perso

It is not difficult to see God provided you have the qualification. What is that qualification? To be a pure lover of God. In other words when you have nothing to take from God and you only want to give to God, that is when He will reveal Himself to you. This means that there is nothing more important, more valuable, or more essential than developing your pure love for God. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Can We Serve More Than One Master? Can we serve more than one master and not be hurting our spiritual growth? I belong to SGI, a Buddhist group, a Christian church and am now chanting Hare Krishna/Rama and Om namah Shivaya. I am also chanting Christian and Buddhist chants twice daily. Master, am I only canceling one another, or can I believe in more than one master and serve them all/one? Joe Answer: Water the Root of the Tree If you will simply water the root of the tree, all the leaves and branches will be nourished. Sankarshan Das

If you would like to attain spiritual perfection, you need to start off by learning how to hear transcendental knowledge submissively. In other words if you don't understand the Vedic wisdom, do not assume that it is wrong. Understand that your understanding is imperfect and incomplete and that you need to be enlightened by one who is already enlightened. From whom are we to hear? We must hear from the bona fide spiritual master. Others are not qualified to properly present the Vedic wisdom. Just because someone is a famous sannyasi or guru does not necessarily mean that he is a bona fide spiritual authority. In fact, most of the famous big name gurus nowadays are not actually bona fide. Before submitting ourselves for training we must see if the spiritual master is presenting the authorized message, which has been carefully handed down from the great mahajanas, the authorities of Vedic wisdom. For example, recently a well-known sannyasi-guru who has written what he calls "

Today (4 April 2011) we took a party of devotees on Govardhana Parikrama, a circumambulation of Govardhana Hill. Govardhana is the famous hill that was lifted by Krishna 5,000 years ago to protect the inhabitants of Vrindavana from the devastating storm sent by Indra, the king of heaven. At the beginning of our parikrama we sat at the foot of Govardhana, and I told the amazing story of how Govardhana appeared in this universe in a place known as Salmalidvipa, one of the seven islands on Bhumandala, was later transferred to Vraja Dhama. It was a truly sublime experience to spend so many hours fixing our minds on the wonderful Govardhana Hill, which is an incarnation of Krishna. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Krishna Lifts Govardhana 5,000 Years Ago Govardhana As It Appears Today Describing How Govardhana Appeared A Most Auspicious Atmosphere Praying for Radharani's Mercy at Radha Kunda Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Why Do We Need a Guru? I have a question