Vishnujana Swami: "You Have to Become Sober"

One of the most poignant spiritual instructions I have ever received was from His Holiness Vishnujana Swami sometime in spring of 1971 in Austin, Texas USA. I was a young spiritual seeker attending an evening program that he was conducting at the home of Robin Ferris. In the middle of the program I left the living room to get a drink of water in the kitchen. Somehow or other he was in the kitchen too. Krishna arranged that it was just the two of us there standing by the sink. He told me very soberly and compassionately, "You have to become sober." That instruction has reverberated n my heart now for forty-one years as I realize more and more over these years the unlimitedly deep significance of this instruction. Sober means not to be carried away by the dualities: either good or bad. It means to always remain staunchly fixed in Krishna consciousness. Thank you, Vishnujana Swami, for being so kind and merciful to me. It is because of your loving kindness that I was able to join this Krishna consciousness movement and accept Srila Prabhupada as my spiritual master.

His Holiness Vishnujana Swami in Pease Park
Austin, Texas-1971

His Holiness Vishnujana Swami in Pease Park, Austin, Texas

Answers by Citing the Vedic Version

Question: Who Goes Back to Godhead?

Do you have to be in prema, pure love of God, to go back to Godhead? Or can some devotees in the lower stages of devotion go back to Godhead as well?

De Pa

Answer: All of the Devotees Go Back to Godhead

The process of Krishna consciousness is so wonderful that all of the devotees will go back to Godhead. Those who are 100% pure will go back to Godhead at the end of this lifetime, and those who are not 100% pure will take birth again in this material world to continue their spiritual progress so that they can go back to Godhead in a future lifetime.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

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