Making the Ultimate Journey Within

In this world people are very eager to travel from this place to that place seeking pleasure. Travel is so popular that it generates billions of dollars of revenue every year. What people do not realize is that the ultimate journey is within, the soul's return to the association of his beloved Lord Sri Krishna. One does not have to travel anywhere externally to reconnect with Krishna. Simply one has to awaken the feelings of love of God within his heart. This love will then automatically carry him on the ultimate journey back to Krishna's eternal abode.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Journey Within to Radha and Krishna's Abode

Answers by Citing the Vedic Version:

Question: Everyone Destined to Go Back to Godhead?

Dear Sankarshan Das Adhikari Prabhu,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

This is Naveen Krishna das, a young man from Alachua Florida. I, along with a group of other Alachua youth, spoke with you in Vrindavan before Kartik began last year.

During your talk, I asked a question including the words, "All conditioned souls return to Krishna eventually?" And you enthusiastically exclaimed, "Yes, this was revealed by Srila Prabhupada in his Teachings of Lord Caitanya." I have recently searched the Teachings of Lord Caitanya to find this confirmation, and this is the quote I have found:

"Actually every living entity is destined to reach the Supreme Lord. Indeed, it is possible for everyone to understand his relationship with the Supreme."

Reading this in context, I having some doubt as to whether Srila Prabhupada is actually saying all living entities go back to Krishna eventually, as he says right after "it is possible for everyone to understand his relationship with the Supreme Lord." Can you please remove this doubt if it is ill placed? Do all conditioned souls return to Krishna eventually?

Naveen Krishna das

Answer: All Are Fated to Return to Krishna

I was very happy to meet with all of you wonderful young Vaisnavas last year in Vrindavan. That meeting was one of the highlights of my visit to Vrindavana.

I am very happy to see how you are using your intelligence to come to a solid understanding of the teachings of Srila Prabhupada. This is very important. We are meant to continue inquiring until our intelligence is fully satisfied. It is not that we are meant to blindly accept the teachings of Lord Sri Krishna.

So what does Srila Prabhupada mean by the word “destined” when he states that every living entity is destined to reach the Supreme Lord?

The word “destined” means “fated.” In other words if one is destined to attain something, it is his fate to attain it. It will definitely happen within due course of time. This standard use of the word “destined” is consistent with how Srila Prabhupada uses it throughout his writings.

So if we are to take Srila Prabhupada’s words as they are directly stated without any interpretation, being destined to reach the Supreme Lord does indeed mean that reaching the Supreme Lord is the ultimate fate of every jiva soul.

How does this understanding of Srila Prabhupada’s statement correlate with the next sentence?

“Indeed, it is possible for everyone to understand his
relationship with the Supreme.”

Srila Prabhupada is informing us in this sentence that since everyone is destined to go back to Godhead it is therefore possible for everyone to understand their relationship with Krishna. This is the ultimate good news.

If this is not clear to you, please inquire further.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari