Ultimate Self Realization

There's one thing in this world that everybody has in common. Although nobody likes to suffer everyone is forced to suffer, even the so-called rich, powerful, famous successful people. But there is no need for so much suffering. All everyone has to do to become free from this suffering is to revive their original Krishna consciousness, which is now lying dormant within their hearts. This is done by reconnecting with the Supreme Person by serving Him with love. This simple method can be practiced even by a young child. Simply one has to bow down to Krishna or God, become His devotee, worship Him, and offer one's homage to Him. In this way one will become fully absorbed in Krishna consciousness 24 hours a day and forever be free from all the sufferings of this material existence. Teaching the Secrets of Uninterrupted Supreme Bliss 26 September--Tallinn, Estonia Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Of Secrets I Am Silence Hare Krishna. All glories to Srila Prabhu

The evening of 27 September 2011 was the time, and the prestigious Russian Theatre in Tallinn, Estonia was the venue that Bhakta Denis arranged for my "Mantra Express" lecture. It been promoted on Facebook, the newspaper, and on some fliers posted around Tallinn. I did not know how many people would come, but when I arrived I was pleasantly surprised to see the auditorium was completely packed with every single seat occupied. Even some benches had to be brought in to accommodate the overflow crowd. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing people being attracted by Krishna consciousness. Of course, this is natural because every living being is originally Krishna conscious. But because we live in a world that it 99.99% unnatural it is quite rare and extremely satisfying to see a person who is attracted to hear about their original nature. Mantra Express Lecture--27 September 2011 at the Russian Theatre--Tallinn, Estonia Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: H

26 September 2011 was a full travel day for us. Immediately after mangala arati at 4:30am at the ISKCON temple in Copenhagen, Denmark we headed out to the airport to check in for an early morning flight to Helsinki, Finland. After landing in Helsinki, devotees from ISKCON's Helsinki temple picked us up and drove us to the Helsinki temple for lunch. After lunch we rested for a bit, and then we took a ship across the Gulf of Finland to Tallinn, Estonia, where the devotees greeted us with a super ecstatic kirtan and where we will be teaching the science of bhakti for a week both in and outside of Tallinn. 26 September 2011 After Crossing the Gulf of Finland... We Had an Ecstatic Kirtan Arrival in Tallinn, Estonia Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Are the Vedas Mythology? Dear Guru, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. I pray that I am not asking a question that was covered before I became a member of the course or that I am doin

It's time to get serious about spiritual life. It does not make sense to waste any more time unnecessarily engaged in material sense gratification. Serve your bodily needs only inasmuch as you require to stay healthy. The balance energy you should fully devote to the self-realization process. If you don't get serious about awakening your actual identity, you won't become self-realized, and you will remain suffering in the cycle of repeated birth and death. Is this what you want? Sunday Feast Lecture Copenhagen, Denmark--25 September 2011 Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Where Can I Find a Spiritual Master? I am reading in the Bhagavad-gita that one is supposed to have a spiritual master, that the spiritual path becomes very easy when one has a spiritual master. Can you help me to find a spiritual master? Kusum Answer: You're Asking Guru Where to Find Guru. You are asking the spiritual master where you can find a spiritual master. Sankarshan Da

A Mayavadi is someone who sticks to the principle that the form of God is maya or an illusion. The Mayavadis use very sophisticated world jugglery to try to establish their false conclusion. Those who are not learned in the Vedic wisdom can easily be razzle-dazzled or misled by Mayavadi philosophy. Here is a classic example of their philosophy as stated by a popular Mayavadi guru: I am that Brahman which is bliss, which is eternal, effulgent, all-pervasive, the substratum of names and forms, which is not cognized by the impure intellect, but is cognized by the pure intellect, stainless and boundless. That is to say, when one discards the jiva (individual being) of the form of ahamkara (ego-sense), which is the apparent meaning of the word 'I', what remains merely as the effulgent and conscious Atman (Self), which is the implied meaning of the word 'I', is Brahman. This can also be understood from the following words of Arunagiriar's experience: "After swallowi

People all over the world are always worried about not having sufficient money to live happily, but there is no need for all of this anxiety. Material opulence is given by Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune, who always remains engaged in loving service to God, Her beloved Lord Narayana, an expansion of Krishna. By Lakshmi's grace those who fully engage their wealth in the service of God are given whatever wealth is required to engage themselves happily in His service. It is only when we engage wealth in our own selfish purposes that we experience a constricted supply. Therefore if the people of the world would like to enjoy sufficient wealth, all they have to do is engage whatever opulence they have now in the service of God. Then they will receive more and more wealth to engage in the Lord's service. Because people are not aware of this simple fact, there is so much unnecessary anxiety all over the world about a lack of money. Revealing the Secrets of Unlimited Happiness Copenh

The world civilization is in a downward spiral, increasingly becoming more chaotic and problematic as its foundations continue disintegrating and unraveling. Because it is based on the false conception of "I am this body." it cannot continue perpetually. Sooner or later it must wind down. Foreseeing the impending collapse of the global economy people all over the world are becoming fearful about their economic future and doubting more and more the ability of the present socioeconomic system to give them a happy, prosperous future. This situation is a great boon for the mission of the Krishna consciousness movement. For decades this movement has been trying to alert the leaders and the people in general of this planet that the present world civilization has been operating on an unsustainable artificial platform. The Krishna consciousness movement is not only giving a warning; it also has the solution. It can give peace, happiness, and prosperity to all living beings on this p

In the grand scheme of things what happens in this life and in this world is not so important as long as you are fixed in Krishna consciousness. Whether you are rich or poor, powerful or weak, famous or unknown, ultimately does not make any difference as long as you can remember Krishna at the time of death. This entire life is nothing more than a brief blip on the screen of eternity. Compared to eternal time it simply comes and goes as a momentary flash only. Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: If One's Religion Allows Meat Eating? Please accept my humble and respectful obeisances at your lotus feet. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Thank you for your wonderful and insightful emails. I am sorry to worry you with my query. Just a question regarding the other “faiths” – Muslim, Christian, Jews etc. We know for a fact that they are meat eaters (including eating of the sacred cow). What is their position in their next lifetime? Do they go down the spiritual ladder or

After two-and-a-half weeks of spreading the amazing science of Krishna bhakti in Bulgaria and Romania we are now heading north to do the same in Denmark for a few days. And then it's onward to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Russia. No matter how sweet Krishna consciousness gets, it magically continues to get sweeter and sweeter without any end. What could be more joyful than this? To sing and dance the transcendental glories of the Lord in the association of Lord's devotees is the ultimate experience. Super Ecstatic Ratha Yatra Kirtan Burgas, Bulgaria--10 September 2011 Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Why Are People by Nature Godless? Dear Gurudeva, Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet. In the Bhagavad-gita Krishna is saying that if He does not teach the universe to live in a godly way, godlessness will prevail. Why does godlessness prevail, not godliness? In other words, why are people by nature godless? Your humble servant Deo Answ

Recently a subscriber who had been enrolled in our course for almost two years dropped out. When asked the reason for cancelling his subscription he said, "I am a skeptic." Not wanting to let him miss the opportunity of achieving life's goal of realizing the highest truth, I wrote him as follows in response to his cancellation: "We thank you very much for checking out our e-course and have noted that you are dropping out because you are a skeptic. Kindly note that if one takes skepticism to its logical conclusion, one has to be ultimately be skeptical about everything including even skepticism itself. In other words after one has expanded his skepticism to its final conclusion, he ultimately has to reject skepticism in order to be true to the principle of skepticism. And then it is at that point that he is ready to be shown the inner meaning of reality. So kindly take your skepticism to its ultimate conclusion. Do not remain a half-baked skeptic. When you have reac

There is no reason for you to languish any more suffering here in the cycle of birth and death. Awaken now and enter into your eternal spiritual identity as a servant of God. Come now through the science of bhakti or devotion to that wondrous dimension beyond time and space where life is eternal, full of unlimited knowledge, and full of unfathomed bliss. Don't cheat yourself by remaining under illusion. Take this key and open the door to your liberation. Opening the Door to Unfathomed Bliss Lecture in Timisoara, Romania--18 September 2011 Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Why Mind Goes Back to Bodily Concepts? Why does the mind keep going back to bodily concepts even after realization of the truth? Raghavendra Answer: You Are Not Getting a Higher Taste. If your mind keeps going back to bodily concepts, this means that you are not getting a higher taste. In other words, your realization of the truth is not mature. To get that higher taste, to become mature in y

Every day the devotees of Krishna are blessed with the most sublime opportunity of a private, personal meeting with God. This is the time that the devotees spend chanting the Hare Krishna mantra on their japa mala beads. Sometimes when people hear that the devotees have accepted a daily vow of chanting the Hare Krishna mahamantra at least 1,728 times daily, which takes one-and-a-half to two hours, they think that this is excessive. They find it odd that someone can spend so much time praying. But these same persons think nothing of spending so many hours a day wasting their time with their friends and family members in so many varieties of nonsensical activities, which do nothing but degrade their consciousness more and more. There is truly nothing more treasurable or sublime than personally meeting with God. This is the special privilege given every day to the devotees of Lord Sri Krishna and to anyone else who is willing to spend time calling out the names of God begging Him to be e

On 16 September 2011, after a rather unpleasant journey from Sofia, Bulgaria consisting of two separate propeller plane flights we finally arrived in Timisoara, Romania. I was sick with a nasty cold and thus feeling very weak. My voice was practically gone. Speaking and singing were very difficult. I felt like a croaking toad struggling to sing and speak nicely. But in spite of all this I was relishing the sweet transcendental nature of Krishna's name and teachings. Krishna consciousness is just like Krishna, inconceivably nectarean. In any condition we can relish the sweetest happiness simply by being devoted to Lord Sri Krishna. Relishing the Sweet Flavor of Krishna Consciousness Lecture in Timisoara, Romania--16 September 2011 Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Body is Guilty of Sin, Not the Self? My parents say that sins are done by the body (deham) not the self (dehi or atma) within the body. Their logic is that once the body dies and is burnt or buried all

Just as milk is transformed into yogurt when it comes into contact with sour tamarind, when our original prema or pure love of God comes into contact with the material mode of passion it is transformed into kama or lust. And conversely, if we engage our passion in the service of the Lord, our kama, our lustful tendency to enjoy this material world, will be transformed back into prema, pure love of God. This should be the goal of everyone here in this material world, if they want to attain true, lasting happiness. Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: How to Tolerate Dualities? Gurudeva, Namaste. I would like to ask following question: How to develop capacity to withstand dualities such as heat and cold or pleasure and pain? Janardan M. Answer: Take Shelter of Krishna If you will take shelter of Krishna in all circumstances, you will not be disturbed by the always present dualities of the material nature. Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Krishna consciousness is so nectarean that we can dreadlessly look forward to every minute of our day and every day of our life because every day and every minute is the most sublime opportunity to connect with the unlimitedly sweet and merciful Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Why Kali Yuga is Getting Worse? If Lord Caitanya predicted that the holy names of the Lord would be spread to every town and village in the world, why is the Kali yuga (the age of quarrel and hypocrisy) continuing to get worse and worse? De Pa Answer: Kali Yuga Can Be Stopped Because the holy names of Krishna have spread all over the world by the mercy of Lord Caitanya and the dynamic preaching of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Kali yuga is not nearly as bad as it would have been otherwise. Now if we can induce everyone to chant Hare Krishna, the influence of the Kali Yuga will become nil and everyone will drow

If a job is 99% completed, why trash it? The intelligent thing to do is to finish off the last 1%. Therefore, after transmigrating in the cycle of birth and death through 8,000,000 species of life, in which there are gradually higher and higher levels of consciousness, to reach the human form it makes sense to finish the remaining 1% in the evolution of consciousness by becoming super conscious or Krishna conscious. Why turn around and go back down in the evolutionary cycle after coming this far? After evolving through 8,000,000 forms the intelligent person continues and finishes the process of evolution by awakening his superconsciousness or Krishna consciousness instead of devolving back down to the animal and plant kingdoms. Revealing Superconsciousness at the Krishna Yoga Center--Burgas, Bulgaria 11 September 2011 Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: More Consciousness Is More Pain? Dear Gurudeva, Many thanks for providing daily thoughts which are helpful in get

There is no reason to suffer in a drab, boring material existence when you can be swimming in an ocean of love at every minute. The love of which I speak is Krishna prema, pure love of God, because that love is perfect in that it does not demand anything in return. When you give your love to Krishna or God that love is automatically distributed to every living being throughout the entire existence and you experience an indescribably wonderful feeling of happiness that goes on increasing unlimitedly for all of eternity. There is nothing better than this. This is the ultimate perfection of existence. Revealing the Ultimate Perfection of Existence Krishna Yoga Center--Burgas, Bulgaria 11 September 2011 Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: How Allah Consciousness is Krishna Consciousness? Dear Gurudeva, Regarding Allah consciousness, the Muslims are not strict vegetarians in accordance with Lord Krishna's desire. Many times, Gurudeva, you have said that Allah consciou

Why do I exist? This is the most basic, essential question that every human should know the answer to. If we have no idea why we exist, what is the difference between us and the animals? There is no difference. The animals eat; we eat. The animals sleep; we sleep. The animals mate; we mate. The animals defend themselves, and we also defend ourselves. What differentiates us from the animals is our ability to ponder the purpose of our existence. The modern day scientists foolishly tell us that there is no reason at all for our existence, that we are simply the products of a random combination of material elements. But nothing could be further from the truth because order does not arise out of chaos. It's not that we can throw a stick of dynamite into a stack of building materials and expect to get a nicely constructed house out of the explosion. There has to be supreme organizer behind this creation, and our purpose is to live in harmony with His purpose. Srimad Bhagavatam Lecture

It's amazing how unlimited bliss can become even more unlimited. Well, that's what happened on 10 September in Burgas, Bulgaria where we held another Ratha Yatra festival. At one point in the middle of the parade the devotees asked me to lead kirtan and give a speech. I poured my heart and soul and into that kirtan trying to chant with so much enthusiasm that the whole world be attracted to join the kirtan. I was yelling out to the people surrounding our kirtan, "Whole world, chant Hare Krishna." By the unlimited mercy of Lord Sri Krishna many of the local people were in fact quite attracted by the kirtan. It was pretty ecstatic. Transcendental Bliss Explosion Burgas, Bulgaria--10 September 2011 The Devotees Asked Me the Lead Kirtan Krishna's Name is Krishna Himself. What Bliss! God Himself Dances on our Tongues Even a Baby Was Inspired to Join the Kirtan There is Nothing Sweeter than the Mahamantra May the Whole World Join Our Kirtan Party

There was an explosion of bliss on 9 September 2011 in Sliven, Bulgaria as Lord Jagannatha traveled in procession through the center of Sliven's central shopping market accompanied by His singing and dancing devotees. There was so much ecstasy generated that everyone along the parade route could do nothing but absorb themselves in observing this amazing celebration of transcendental bliss. May the whole world be soon captured by the sweet mercy of Lord Jagannatha. Transcendental Blisskrieg in Sliven, Bulgaria 9 September 2011 Devotees Sing and Dance in Love of God Local Teenagers Join in the Bliss Sliven Police Observe the Bliss Lecture to the Slivenites on Krishna Bhakti Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Why Soul First Gets a Material Body? Gurudeva, Namaste I would like to ask you the following question: The connection and disconnection of the individual consciousness of all living entities from the physical body is known as birth and death. Why doe

The real ecstatic reality is that we are all eternal spirit-souls, each possessing a unique ecstatic loving relationships with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So why should we suffer unnecessarily in this material existence? This does not make any sense. All we have to do is revive our actual identities and celebrate forever in a festival of divine love with the Supreme Lord. Home Program--Nassebar, Bulgaria 8 September 2011 Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Liberated Soul Can Become Conditioned? it is said that we have an eternal relationship with Lord Krishna. This means we had this relationship from time immemorial. Now let us consider a particular time when we were conditioned. Does this not mean that we were previously liberated? So, how can someone be conditioned after liberation? If we were conditioned from the beginning, then how can we say, "back to Godhead"? If we can be conditioned even after liberation, what is the meaning of "sat

In this material world by our practical daily activities in complete neglect of the Supreme Lord we falsely declare our independence from God. This is ludicrous because at every moment we are fully dependent upon God for everything: the air we breath, our food, water, clothing, shelter, and all other varieties of resources that we utilize to maintain our comforts of life. We cannot exist for a moment without these necessities of life, which He kindly supplies us. We should be constantly engaged in glorifying and remembering the transcendental name, fame, qualities, and pastimes of that most amazing Supreme Personality of Godhead, but yet we have the audacity to declare our independence by ignoring His existence. Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Devotion or Detachment? Which Is First? Kindly say which comes first: devotion or detachment? Should one first get detached to come to the platform of bhakti, or should he perform bhakti without being qualified to do so, to a

Always do a first class job in your service to Krishna because your Krishna consciousness depends on it. In other words you can only be Krishna conscious to the extent that your service is nicely done. If you do tenth class service, your Krishna consciousness will be tenth class. And if your do first class service, your Krishna consciousness will be first class. You can learn how to do first class service from those devotees whose service is first class. So full advantage of advanced association and become a first class devotee. Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Why is Krishna Accepted as Supreme? Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja, Why does ISKCON accept Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead? What is the position of the devatas and avatars? Your servant, R.K. Answer: Vedas and Great Sages Confirm This ISKCON accepts Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead because this is the ultimate conclusion of the Vedic literatures and all the great acharyas. And this

Do you know who you are? Do you consider yourself to belong to a certain gender, race, nationality, or age bracket? If you do, you are grossly mistaken. You have nothing to do with any of these identities because you are not your material body. You are instead an eternal spiritual being, who is constitutionally a servant of Krishna or God. If you want factual permanent happiness, you must solidly resituate yourself in your original, natural consciousness. This enlightened state is known as Krishna consciousness, and can also be designated as Christ consciousness, Jehovah consciousness, or Allah consciousness. Revealing the Real Self--Sofia, Bulgaria 5 September 2011 Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Objection:  We Cannot Concentrate on a Formless God From what I understand from the scriptures, meditation is not concentration, but we call it de-concentration because scriptures say we meditate by saying "neti neti" (not this not that). God is not a thing whereupon

In spite of all its temporary fleeting pleasures, in the final analysis this material life is a hellish nightmare. We want to live forever, but yet we are dragged to death by the inexorable wheel of time. We want to stay young and energized forever, but yet we are forced to get old and invalid. We want to always be healthy, but yet we have to get sick again and again. The good news is that this nightmarish situation is not the ultimate reality. It is only a covered version of reality. All we have to do to become free from this hellish nightmare to come out of the covering like a caterpillar emerging from its cocoon to become a butterfly. We simply have to wake up to our eternal identities as pure spirit souls, eternal servants of Lord Sri Krishna, by chanting the Hare Krishna mahamantra with love on a regular daily basis. Radhastami Kirtan-Sofia, Bulgaria-5 September 2011 Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Definition of Meditation Hare Krishna, Gurudeva, What is the

Today in Bulgaria it is Radhastami, the appearance day of Srimati Radharani. Radharani is our most beloved spiritual mother. Today we fast until noon and then partake of the feast that has been prepared for her. Those who are especially fortunate will be in the kitchen this morning preparing her feast. Devotees who are at home can also celebrate her appearance day by fasting and by preparing and partaking of a feast in her honor. It is only because of her unlimited kindness that we have access to her beloved Lord Sri Krishna. Mother Radharani is most kind. If we pray to her to tell Krishna about us, she will recommend us to Krishna that we are better devotees than she. In this way, by her divine grace, we will get the attention and special blessings of Krishna and our lives will be become perfect. This is how we should pray on this most auspicious day. Srimati Radharani Worships Her Beloved Krishna Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Serving God is Serving Mankind?

It is not difficult to become a liberated person. When we say, "liberated" we mean liberated from the clutches of the material nature. We are not speaking of the so called liberation of the sense gratifiers, which is nothing but bondage in disguise. Becoming such a genuinely liberated person is not at all difficult. Srila Prabhupada very nicely describes this in his purport to Bhagavad-gita 4.42: "The Lord is definitely the supreme person, and His activities are transcendental. One who understands this is a liberated person from the very beginning of his study of Bhagavad-gita." So all that is required to be a liberated person, even as one begins this path of Krishna bhakti, is to understand that Krishna is definitely the supreme person and that all His activities are transcendental. If one hears submissively from a bona fide spiritual master and serves him with love, it is not at all difficult to understand these points and become a liberated person. Answers b

There are many storms that we must endure while crossing the ocean of material existence on our return to the spiritual sky. So if we want to successfully cross this dangerous ocean, we must be determined captains to keep our ships on course through all varieties of circumstances. To keep our ships on course we must always remember Krishna. The easiest way to do that is to always chant the Hare Krishna mahamantra as much as possible at least 1,728 times a day. 1,728 repetitions of the mahamantra is accomplished by chanting 16 rounds on japa mala beads. Why this number? This number gives a full charge of our spiritual batteries for one day of Krishna consciousness. In this connection it is interesting to note that the most pious age, the Satya Yuga, has a duration of 1,728,000 years. Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Why 8,400,000 Species? Why God has created 8,400,000 different species? Your servant Jagdish Answer: 8,400,000 Different Ways to Enjoy God has create

Krishna consciousness is so wonderful that life is sublime no matter you are doing in Krishna consciousness. The seven weeks we just spent off the road at Bhaktivedanta Ashram in Austin, Texas were the sweetest nectar, so relishable that we could have stayed there forever. And now that we are out on another around-the-world lecture tour, this is also the sweetest nectar. The key to experiencing the ultimate happiness is that whatever you are doing, do it for Krishna. Let Him be the enjoyer of the results of your activities. Then you can engage in any occupational duty and experience it as the sweetest nectar. Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Is Jesus the Only Way? Dear Master, My question is: Is Jesus the Christ the son of Lord Krishna? I ask this because Jesus tells us,"I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by me." Thank you very much, Andrea von Roth Chile Answer: His Way is the Only Way Since in the Bible Jesus C