Ultimate Self Realization

Any other endeavor besides reconnecting yourself in love with that person who is the very source of your existence is ultimately a royal waste of time. Why? Because all such endeavors lead nowhere except to death. Therefore to have a truly meaningful existence you must dovetail all of your life's activities with the supreme goal of going back to home, back to your original existence in that wondrous spiritual sky. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Reconnecting with that Wondrous Spiritual Sky Sofia, Bulgaria--29 May 2011 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How is Spiritual Master's Body Spiritual? It is said in scriptures that the body of a spiritual master is never to be considered a material body. Then, in this present material world, why does the spiritual master seem to take birth, get old, sometimes get sick and at the end leave his body at the time of death? D.P. Answer: Like an Iron Rod in the Fire Even though the spiritual master's body is still under

God is the source of love. He is not cruel. Rather, He is unlimitedly kind. Therefore, in essence, reality is unlimitedly beautiful. It is only due to our ignorance that we experience it as something ugly, cruel, or bad. The spiritual master is the messenger of God. He carries the torchlight of transcendental knowledge to remove our ignorance so that we too can experience the sublime, splendorous beauty of existence. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Revealing the Sublime Reality of Existence Sofia, Bulgaria--27 May 2011 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How to Achieve Union with the Divine? Dear Acharyaji, Namaste. Most of us move on lower levels of consciousness. We all are unique with different temperaments and different material energies like goodness, passion and nescience. How to program the body and mental self-discipline to achieve samadhi -union with divine consciousness? Yours in Yoga, J.M. Answer: Full Surrender to Guru and Krishna To achieve complete, to

There's nothing sweeter than arriving in a foreign country and being greeted with a joyful, exuberant Hare Krishna kirtan which is so attractive and enthusiastic that it draws the attention of everybody in the airport. This was our experience upon landing in Sofia the other day. The whole world should be like this: filled up with lively singing of the Lord's names along with ecstatic dancing. Nobody will have time for war anymore. They will be too busy chanting and dancing. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Ecstatic Arrival Kirtan--Sofia Airport-26 May 2011 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Complaint: Your Limited Beliefs Spread Sickness I have subscribed to your e-course and have been following the answers that you have been providing. Though some of the answers are good, I feel really apprehensive of certain other answers, and I feel some are dogmatic with the limited belief system you have in your mind. As religion is a way of life and Christianity proposes a super-powe

If we think that through scriptural study we can surpass our spiritual master in transcendental understanding, we are making a big mistake. The only way that we can properly understand the scriptures is to have full faith in the words of our spiritual master. Then by his mercy we will gain perfect understanding of the Vedic siddhanta, the Vedic conclusion. Sankarshan Das Adhikari His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada A Storehouse of Transcendental Knowledge Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Helping Youth is Straying from Bhakti? Please accept my humble obeisances All glories to Srila Prabhupada Dear Maharaja, Thank you once again for a great class and inspiring association at ISKCON's Soho Street temple last Wednesday. I have a question regarding the process of Krishna bhakti: The nine-fold path of devotion beginning with sravanam and kirtanam (hearing and chanting) is the way we practice in the ashram. I have become aware that many devotees become involved

There is only one way to be happy. That way is simply to be Krishna conscious. Nothing more. Nothing less. Krishna consciousness does not require to be enhanced or upgraded. Simple pure Krishna conscious is the supreme satisfaction. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Sri Sri Radha Londonisvara--The Deities of London Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Krishna Used Past Life Regression? Did Krishna use past life regression therapy techniques when He spoke the Bhagavad-gita? P.G. Answer: He Automatically Knows Everything Krishna does not require to utilize any so-called past life regression techniques to see the past. Since time is simply one of His multifarious energies, He automatically has perfect knowledge of everything: past, present, and future. Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Unlimited peace, love, and happiness is there within you at every moment. You simply have to learn how to connect with it from a person who is already connected with it. That person is the bona fide spiritual master. The reawakening of that connection is the most unimaginably joyful experience that one can taste in millions and billions of eons. One simply has to master the art of purely loving Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the source of all existence by rendering uninterrupted, unmotivated service unto Him. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Reconnecting with Krishna Riga, Latvia--14 April 2011 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Are ISKCON Gurus Not Nitya-Siddhas? My dear Srila Gurudeva, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All glories to You! I beg you to please clarify these points below whenever you get time. The spiritual master (an acarya) should be a nitya-siddha, an eternal associate of Lord Nityananda (stated clear

Srila Prabhupada states in his purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 1.5.36, " The Lord definitely says that no one is more dear to Him than one who is always engaged in the preaching work of the Lord's name and fame all over the world." Although we are not very qualified or competent, we are trying our level best to do a little something to assist Srila Prabhupada in his herculean mission of making the entire world Krishna conscious. We are praying for his mercy and Krishna's mercy that we can be successful. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Srila Prabhupada Guiding His Disciples Answers According to the Vedic Version: Objection: Blaming Dr. Hawking is Abusing Krishna In response to the question you were asked about the atheistic scientist, Dr. Stephen Hawking, you used the terms "idiots" and "rascals." According to the Bhagavad-gita, Dr. Hawking or anybody is a form of Lord Krishna. So if we abuse him or anybody I think we are directly or indirectly abusing

After a refreshing, invigorating three weeks hiatus here at Bhaktivedanta Ashram in Austin, Texas USA my wife, Vishnupriya devi dasi, and I are heading out today once again on an around-the-world itinerary for spreading the sublime transcendental self-realization science of Krishna to more and more souls all over the world. Although we are simply tiny, little messengers, the message we are delivering is so powerful that it can completely transform the entire human society within eighteen days, if the leaders of the world society would only listen. We are praying for that day when they will heed our message. May it come soon. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Heading Out on Vrindavana Parikrama-4 April 2011 Sankarshan Das Adhikari--Vishnupriya Devi Dasi Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How to Get Free from Karma? Dear Gurudeva, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. How does the concept of karma work in the material world? If I make some pe

Recently on 13 May 2011, the most auspicious Ekadasi day, my Bulgarian disciple, Narada Muni Das, presented several volumes of the Srimad Bhagavatam to Mr. Georgi Parvanov, the president of Bulgaria. Upon receiving this topmost of all literatures the president stated, "This is serious literature." We hope that this esteemed leader of Bulgaria will take the time from his busy schedule to read and understand these most profound and sublime teachings. If he does so, he will gain new insights on how to be an actual leader of his country, a leader who can deliver the citizens from the cycle of birth and death by facilitating their advancement along the pathway of spiritual perfection. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Narada Muni Das Presents the Srimad Bhagavatam Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: What Can I Learn from a Toothache? Dear Gurudeva, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. I currently have a serious toothache. What lesson s

Do you possess your possessions, or do your possessions possess you? As a matter of fact, if you think that you possess them, you are possessed by them. Only when you see them as the property of the Lord by engaging them all in His service are you rightly situated beyond possessiveness. Lord Krishna confirms in the Bhagavad-gita that He is the owner of everything. Therefore any person who thinks himself to be the owner of anything is in illusion. Such a person has only one possession, the false conception that he is the owner. And the person who engages everything in Krishna's service has only possession, Krishna. Which of these two possessions would you prefer to possess? Sankarshan Das Adhikari Prabhupada Teaches Us Who is the Real Owner Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: What Can I Learn from a Toothache? Dear Gurudeva, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. I currently have a serious toothache. What lesson should I learn fr

This world does not belong to us. It belongs to Krishna or God. We come into it naked, and we leave it naked? So how can we claim than anything here is our property? We clearly cannot, because everything here is God's property. This is why Krishna's pure devotee, the bona fide spiritual master, wants to teach the human population how to engage everything in Krishna's service. This simple act of reconnecting everything with the Supreme Person will transform the present day ever-increasingly hellish global situation into a heaven on earth. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Prabhupada Teaches His Disciples Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Dr. Stephen Hawking's Destination? Dear Srila Gurudeva, Kindly please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! The scientist, Dr. Stephen Hawking, who is nowadays considered to be the world's greatest scientist, says, "There is nothing like heaven or hell in this universe.

Srila Prabhupada shines with the luster of pure Krishna bhakti. His resplendence is sufficient to illuminate the entire material world and deliver everyone back to their original positions of eternity, knowledge, and bliss in that wondrous spiritual sky. Therefore my eternal existence is dedicated to assisting him in this most glorious of all missions. Even though I am most unqualified and unfit to serve in his mission, he has very kindly accepted me as his disciple and given me the name Sankarshan Das, the servant of that Lord who attracts everyone. Sankarshan Das Adhikari My Resplendent Spiritual Master, Srila Prabhupada Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: What Motivates You to Guide Everyone? Dear Srila Gurudeva! Please accept my humble obeisances. 1. Even in such a busy life, you openly welcome questions. Your email and contact details are available for every one. What motivates you to do this? 2. If someone cannot become your disciple, or may not like to be

In this world everyone is conquered by death. No matter how much scientific advancement we make, everyone is still subject to the law of death. Even the greatest scientist, Albert Einstein, could not protect himself from all-devouring death. However, a person who has revived his dormant Krishna consciousness completely conquers over death. He becomes truly deathless. For him death is nothing more than discarding some old worn out baggage as he travels back to his original home, the supreme destination, that wondrous spiritual sky, where nobody ever dies. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Srila Prabhupada Teaches How to Conquer Death Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Why Have a Guru? What is the purpose of having a guru R.P. Answer: To Become Reconnected with Krishna The purpose of having a guru is to become reconnected with Krishna. Just as we plug a lamp into an electrical outlet in order to connect it with the powerhouse, in order to reconnect ourselves with Lord Sri

In this world of exploitation and greed it is very difficult to find someone who does not want to take advantage of us for their own subtle or gross sense gratification. If we can somehow or other come in contact with a pure devotee of Krishna, we will get relief, just like discovering an oasis in the middle of the desert, because there is no one more kind hearted and merciful than Krishna's pure devotee. Sankarshan Das Adhikari The Pure Devotee is an Ocean of Compassion: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Why Do ISKCON Devotees Dance? Dear Guru Maharaja, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga All glories to Srila Prabhupada I was asked by my friend why we dance in ISKCON. What is the reason for it? Please clear my doubt so that I can clarify my friend. Your servant G.V. Answer: Because They Feel Spiritual Ecstasy The devotees dance because they feel spiritual ecstas

Things don't always go nicely in this material world. Sometimes we experience very bewildering and even devastating situations. Such times, although apparently unwelcome at first, are actually the greatest blessing because they give us the best opportunity to feelingly call out to the Lord for His shelter and protection, which is, in the final analysis, our only safe position in this world, where there is danger at every step. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Srila Prabhupada in Prayer Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Is This True? Is this true? “You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you. None can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul." K.N. Answer: It is Patently Bogus This statement is patently bogus because it cancels itself out. The person who makes this statement is taking the position of being our teacher by teaching us that there is no teacher other than our own soul. In other words, he is stating that, accordi

Today is the most auspicious appearance day of Lord Nrsimhadeva, the half-man, half-lion incarnation of Godhead, who appeared for the purpose of protecting His beloved devotee Prahlada Maharaja from being tortured and tormented by his demoniac father Hiranyakasipu. Being a pure devotee of the Lord, Prahlada Maharaja is the genuine well-wisher of all living beings throughout the entire universe. Therefore he prays: bahir nṛsiṁho hṛdaye nṛsiṁhaḥ "Let Lord Nrsimhadeva sit in the core of my heart, killing all my bad propensities. Let my mind become clean so that I may peacefully worship the Lord and bring peace to the entire world." Srila Prabhupada has taught us that we should also pray in this way, both for our own purification and for the deliverance of all living beings. This is the real meaning of being Krishna conscious. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Lord Nrsimhadeva The Amazing Half-Man Half-Lion Incarnation of God Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question:

The material atmosphere of the present day human society is so heavily surcharged with illusion that it is very difficult to remember your actual identity as an eternal spiritual being, who is qualitatively one with Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore if you want to remain fixed in your real identity, you need to take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master and always associate with self-realized transcendentalists, the Lord's devotees, as much as possible. This good association will save you from illusion. If you remain in this good association, you will not forget that you are Krishna's eternal servant, and you will be a liberated soul even while conducting seemingly mundane activities in this material world. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Revealing the Eternal Identity of the Self 28 April 2011--Vilnius, Lithuania Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Who Created God? In one of your mails you said, "Everything comes out of somethi

One of the most important secrets of success on the wondrous path of ultimate self-realization, Krishna consciousness, is to always maintain an attitude of gratitude. Without this gratefulness one will not be able to manifest love in one's relationships. And without this love one will be a dead man, a walking graveyard. We should especially feel grateful for all those persons who have helped us to come to the path of spiritual light because they are the harbingers of that spiritually awakened state in which we will be completely free of all anxieties and re-established in our eternal loving relationship with the source of all existence, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Loving Send Off Kirtan from the Russian Devotees 24 April 2011--Kaliningrad, Russia Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How to Defeat Impersonal Philosophy? In a recent discussion with an impersonalist scholar he asked me this question: When Lord Brah

By its very nature material existence is very complex and problematic. We are constantly tormented by so many difficulties such as birth, death, old age and disease. Therefore we should simplify our lives as much as possible by keeping our material arrangements to the bare minimum so that we can free up as much energy as possible to be absorbed in hearing, chanting, and remembering the wondrous Lord Sri Krishna on a regular daily basis. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Focus Your Mind on Krishna as Much as Possible Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Better to Work or to Renounce Work? Why does Lord Krishna consider working in devotion to be better than the renunciation of work? R.P. Answer: It's Better to Work for Krishna. Working in devotion is better than renunciation of work because the idle mind is the devil's workshop. Since the living entity is active by nature both mentally and physically, to stop acting and stop thinking is an artificial position, which

I was desperately searching to find a way that I could transcend the sufferings of material existence and enter into a state of unadulterated, uninterrupted spiritual bliss. I had tried so many ways to achieve this enlightened state, but I had always failed. Still I did not give up because I had hope against hope that if I persevered, somehow or other I would sooner or later be successful. It was finally one unexpected evening in the fall of 1968 in Denver, Colorado, USA that I got the breakthrough I had so long been seeking. My good friend, Patrick Dolan, dropped by my apartment at 1271 Lafayette Street along with a few friends and starting chanting the Hare Krishna mahamantra. He expressed his faith in its power and asked us to chant with him. I will remain forever grateful to Patrick for this act of extraordinary kindness. And I will always marvel in remembering that exceptional evening when the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna so magnanimously revealed Himself to me in His most merciful

Science means to know things as they actually are, not as they appear to be or as we think them to be. If one is truly scientific, he must not blindly accept something as being either true or false because it could in fact be just the opposite. For science to be perfect the instruments used to acquire and analyze the data must also be perfect. If the instruments are imperfect, the data and conclusions drawn from such imperfect observation will also necessarily be imperfect. Since all scientific instruments currently available only function within a highly limited spectrum of reality, modern science is still quite unscientific and hence still groping along in the dark ages. Fortunately we have a scientific instrument available to us which, if properly focused, can give us perfect data thus allowing us to have perfect scientific knowledge. That scientific instrument is consciousness, but it must be properly focused. If a mirror is dirty, it cannot give a good reflection. But if it is c

My spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, has given us the mission of delivering the entire world from its chaotic condition by educating everyone in the science of Krishna consciousness. How are we to do that when only an insignificant percentage of the world population cares to hear our message? It appears to be completely impossible. But yet by the inconceivable potency of the all-powerful, all-merciful Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, even the most impossible thing can become highly possible. So reposing our full faith in the order we have received from Srila Prabhupada and in the inconceivable mercy of the Supreme Lord, we continue with our mission of enlightening the entire human society with the transcendental science of Krishna consciousness. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Our Mission: Inspire the Whole World to Chant Leading Kirtan--Gurgaon, India--10 April 2011 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Do You Hear Our P

One test of how well situated you are in in Krishna consciousness is how well you can maintain your Krishna consciousness in any and all situations. The key for doing this successfully is to carefully and faithfully follow these guidelines: 1. Regularly chant your prescribed number of rounds of the Hare Krishna mahamantra every day on your japa mala beads as early as possible in the day, ideally before sunrise. For initiates this is at least 16 rounds daily. For others, it is according to their vows. 2. Strictly avoid illicit sex, meat eating, intoxication, and gambling because these pollute the consciousness making it difficult, if not impossible, to remember Krishna. 3. Spend as much time as possible every day reading and hearing the transcendental glories of Lord Sri Krishna (Krishna katha). 3. Render as much service as possible to the Krishna consciousness movement regularly contributing to it as much as possible in as many ways as possible. 4. Always pray to guru and Krishn

If you don't feel the urgency of completely taking shelter of Krishna right now as your only duty, you are in a very dangerous and precarious spiritually compromised position. In fact, whether you realize it or not, you are experiencing the most dire of all possible emergencies. Why? Because death can come at any minute, and if you are not prepared, you will be forced by the laws of nature to remain within the cycle of birth and death. Therefore if you don't feel the urgency, you must immediately, with as much sincerity as you can possibly muster, beg the Supreme Lord to save you from your fallen condition and restore you to sanity as His eternal servant. Otherwise, you are completely lost, whereabouts unknown, like a vanished astronaut accidently separated from his space capsule drifting aimlessly in outer space with no hope of ever being recovered. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Emphasizing the Importance of Human Life Noida, India--8 April 2011 Answers According to the Vedic Ve

Don't neglect your ultimate duty being carried away by your senses. Your senses are cruel masters. Even if you serve them and the senses of your family members faithfully throughout your entire life, your only reward will be old age, disease, and death. Therefore those who are learned always put their ultimate duty of service to the Supreme Lord first before the sensual demands. In this way they become qualified to reawaken their dormant loving relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the source of all existence, who has unlimited names, and who, being unlimitedly attractive, is best described by name Krishna, which means "one who attracts everyone." Sankarshan Das Adhikari Ecstatic Glorification of Krishna Tallinn, Estonia--3 May 2011 Distributing the Sweetest Mercy of Krishna Tallinn, Estonia--3 May 2011 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Do Humans Have Any Rules to Follow? It puzzles me how all living things on mother earth follow t

Initiation means a solid commitment to follow the process of Krishna consciousness according to the authorized directions given in the Vedic literatures. In accordance with Vedic injunctions, it is a commitment to follow the bona fide spiritual master in disciplic succession from Lord Sri Krishna. But can't God be approached directly without going through a spiritual master? We can surely approach Him directly through prayer and scriptural study. But as soon as we do that we discover that He is ordering us to become the devotee of His devotee in order to become His devotee. This is stated by Lord Krishna in the Adi Purana as follows: ye me bhakta-janāḥ pārtha na me bhaktāś ca te janāḥ mad-bhaktānāṁ ca ye bhaktās te me bhakta-tamā matāh "My dear Arjuna, those who are My direct devotees are actually not My devotees, but those who are the devotees of My devotee are factually My devotees." Initiation is the most enlivening experience of being born again into your ete

Have you heard the news? We are celebrating like anything right now because the greatest victory in the history of the universe has now been won. Our greatest enemy, death, is now conquered. Come and dive with us into the ocean of immortal bliss and become deathless. You've got nothing to stop you except for your lack of faith. So throw off the shackles of faithlessness and dive into the ocean of bliss today. It's not difficult. All you have to do is unabashedly chant and dance the holy names of God along with us. You will taste the jubilation. Your eternal spiritual identity will be rejuvenated. Do not miss this greatest of all opportunities. Dive into this ocean of unlimited bliss right now. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Departure Kirtan--Riga, Latvia--May 3, 2011 Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Can God Create a Rock He Cannot Lift? I have been asked two questions: 1.Can God create a rock that He can't lift? If God can't do this, then He isn't