Ultimate Self Realization

Sometimes the question is raised, "Who absorbs the sinful reactions of the disciple, the diksha guru (initiating guru) or the siksha guru (instructing guru)?" In this connection Srila Prabhupada explains as follows in a letter he wrote to Sacisuta das on 19 September, 1969: "Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita that He takes charge of a surrendered soul; so much so that Lord Krishna protects His devotee from all his sinful activities in the past. Similarly, the Spiritual Master, when He accepts a disciple and the disciple surrenders unto Him, He has got the responsibility of absorbing the sinful reaction of His disciple's life. This is a great responsibility of the Spiritual Master. We should therefore be very careful not to overburden our Spiritual Master by further repetition of sinful activities." When Srila Prabhupada says, "accepts a disciple" he is referring to initiation. So it is very clear that the diksha guru, the initiating spiritual master, a

For anyone who is serious to attain the ultimate goal of going back to home, back to Godhead it is must to master the art of discipleship. In other words, one must learn the art of how to a be perfect disciple of his spiritual master. This a Vedic injunction coming from the Supreme Lord Himself. Krishna says that unless you are the devotee of His devotee you are not His devotee. There is a golden opportunity for all initiated disciples and those who would to become initiated disciples to take an expertly managed online course on how to be disciple. The course is being administered by Bhaktivedanta College and is being conducted from 5 January through 23 February 2014. Here's where you can learn more and sign up for the course: http://bhaktivedantacollege.com/events/disciples-course/ I am requesting all of my readers who would to become my initiated disciples now or in the future that this course is a must. If this course is offered at your local ISKCON temple, I recommend

Whenever we are associating with the devotees of Lord Sri Krishna we must do so with the utmost respect because there is no one more dear to Krishna than His devotees. This is confirmed in the Srimad Bhagavatam as follows: sādhavo hṛdayaṁ mahyaṁ sādhūnāṁ hṛdayaṁ tv aham mad anyat te na jānanti nāhaṁ tebhyo manāg api "The devotees are My heart, and I am the heart of My devotees. My devotees do not know anyone but Me; and, I do not know anyone else but them."--SB 9.4.68 Therefore we should never take the devotees for granted. We must always remember that there is nothing and no one more dear to the Lord than His devotees, and we must always value as our greatest treasure the association of Lord Krishna's devotees. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Bhagavad-gita Lecture--Adelaide, Australia 27 December 2014 Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: How Can I Be A Conjugal Lover of Krishna? I offer my obeisances unto you, Gurudeva. This self realization

  After an ecstatic week with the Hare Krishna devotees of Melbourne, Australia engaging in chanting, lecturing and counseling we headed out on 26 December to the airport to fly to Adelaide, to give guidance to the devotees there. A large of assembly of devotees accompanied us to the airport. It's really nice in Australia that non-passengers can also go through security, going right up to the gate to see you off of your flight. It's been many long years since that could be done in the USA. So we took a large entourage of the devotees with us to Gate #2, where we would be catching our flight to Adelaide. Since we had arrived early and the waiting area was totally ours, we turned it into a classroom and had a great question and answer session that went on for over an hour. Krishna consciousness is so nice that you can turn any occasion into a festival of bliss. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Ecstatic Final Questions and Answers Melbourne, Australia Airport--26 December 201

Krishna's mercy is inconceivably wonderful and sublime. His mercy is fully available at every minute for everyone. Unfortunately, hardly anyone is aware of this. Those who take full advantage of it are called devotees. And those who foolishly do not take advantage of it are called non-devotees. His mercy is delivered to us through the transparent via medium of the bona fide spiritual master. Therefore for anyone who is serious about coming to platform of spiritual realization taking shelter of a bona fide spiritual master is essential. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Disciples Take Shelter of Srila Prabhupada New Vrindavana, West Virginia USA--2 September 1972 Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Can the Devotee Pray for Death? Dear Srila Gurudeva, Hare Krishna, Is it possible for the devotee to pray to Krishna for wanting to leave his material body sooner than his allotted lifespan and for Krishna to let it happen? Your devotee, J.G. Answer: The Devotee Glad

Just imagine if you could come into direct with God and remain always in that direct contact with Him, how wonderful that would be. Well, the good news is this. You can do it. You can be in direct with God twenty-four hours a day in all places and circumstances. You must simply learn the art of how to do it. This constant connection with Him is achieved by regularly chanting HIs holy names every day with love. This is the secret of how to always be in the presence of God and always feel His presence with you. If you will do this under the guidance of the bona fide spiritual master, you will taste the sublime results. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers by Citing the Vedic Version:   Question: How is Krishna All-Merciful?   My dear Gurudeva, Once you wrote that whatever is happening in our life is arranged by the Lord. Everything happens in such a way that finally we will engage eternally in Lord's pastimes. You also mentioned that Krishna is doing all of this only out of

In this world there are many types of questions and answers going on constantly. The birds are chirping, "Where is the worm?" The businessmen are chirping, "Where can I make a profit?" And the students are chirping, "How can I pass the exam?" All such inquiries are more or less a waste of time because they do not liberate one from the vicious cycle of repeated birth and death. The only questions and answers that are truly worthy of our time are questions and answers regarding what is the Absolute Truth, because such questions and answers empower us to regain our original identities as associates of the Supreme Lord in His eternal pastimes in the spiritual world. While other types of relative questions and answers may be accepted in order to take care of our temporary material needs, they should never be understood to be as important as questions and answers regarding the Absolute Truth. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Ecstatic Questions and Answers Session I

We have been informed by one of our students about his sister-in-law who has already given birth to two daughters and is now pregnant for the third time. Since she wanted to have a son this time and since she has been informed that this third child is also a daughter, she has decided to kill this third child by abortion. Such gross sinfulness is not at all an isolated incident in today's world society. Indeed such depravity has now even become legal and socially acceptable in many nations. One can murder their own child and think that there is nothing at all wrong in doing this. Abortion is being promoted as "reproduction rights" when in fact it is nothing but the falsely conceived right to murder another human being. Considering this ever-increasingly lower standard of what is thought to be proper human behavior, it is not all astonishing that people nowadays are so miserable. The more that people drift away from God consciousness and morality, the more they will unavo

If in all circumstances you will remain steady in your practice of Krishna consciousness, you will advance rapidly along the pathway of spiritual perfection. Therefore never allow any situation to divert your mind from your duty to take complete shelter of guru and Krishna. If you will thus always remain steadfast in your devotion to Krishna and submissive to following the orders of your spiritual master, your attaining the ultimate destination of Lord Sri Krishna's abode is guaranteed. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Krishna Awaits Your Return to His Transcendental Kingdom Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Is the Time of Death Predetermined? Dear Srila Gurudeva, Hare Krishna. Could you please tell if a living entity's exact time of death has been fixed when they are born in a material body, or is it changeable according to one's lifestyle, health care, etc.? Your devotee, J.G.​ Answer: Only for Materialists; Not for Devotees. When one is born his e

In this material world all of us have to undergo various types of suffering situations: some slight, some moderate, and some severe. So how we do cope with all these undesirable situations? The answer is that instead of identifying with our minds and bodies and being bewildered by these difficulties, we should see them like warning lights alerting us to the reality that this material world is not our real home and that the material body is not our actual self. In this way instead of being disturbed by the sufferings, we will experience them with sense of gratitude. Instead of pinching us they will assist us in entering into the realm of eternal transcendental bliss. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Suffering Like Car Warning Lights Is a Helpful Indicator Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: How to Choose My Spiritual Master? Gurudeva, it I took lot of time to find you, my spiritual master. I was wandering earlier here and there, thinking I want to be a disciple of one guru an

  Due to our false egos, when we are corrected we tend to have an argumentative, self-defensive mood rather than a humble, learning mood. This inhibits our spiritual advancement and keeps us stuck on the material platform. Therefore we should consciously cultivate a humble learning mood of always being willing to be corrected for our mistakes. In this way we will make rapid, steady advancement on the path of spiritual awakening. Sankarshan Das Adhikari P.S. This weekend we are holding a Krishna consciousness retreat at serene Hare Krishna Valley, a country ashram with a cow protection program connected with our ISKCON temple in Melbourne, Australia. Unfortunately due to a low band-width internet connection we are not able to live broadcast our lectures from here on the internet. Serene Hare Krishna Valley Cow With Baby Calf in Hare Krishna Valley Ideal Household Life Seminar in Hare Krishna Valley Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: What Should I Learn

Last night after my lecture here in the suburbs of Melbourne I was asked if being a follower of our Hare Krishna movement (ISKCON) is the only way to realize God. So what is the proper understanding in this regard? We never say ISKCON is the only way to realize God because anyone from any religious tradition who develops pure love of God is a first class religionist qualified to attain the kingdom of God. One could then wonder why then do we even have a separate movement, the Hare Krishna movement, if by any religious process one can realize God. The answer is that at present the followers of the world's religious traditions have lost the essence of what religion actually is. They have degraded religion into a self-centered process of begging God to fulfill their material desires. They have forgotten what is the real essence of religion, namely to become a selfless pure lover of God by fully surrendering oneself unto following His will. Our ISKCON Founder Acharya, His Divine Gr

On 17 December 2014 on our way to Melbourne from South Africa we passed through Sydney, Australia where a lone terrorist had just on 15-16 December held 17 customers and employees hostage for 16 hours in a downtown Sydney café. At least one hostage was shot dead by the terrorist before police stormed the café and shot him dead. Why do such things take place? In the jungle there are always certain animals who are ferocious and terrorize the other animals. Human life is especially meant for self-realization. When a human being gives up the pathway of self-realization and takes instead to sense gratification he descends to the animal platform. Srila Prabhupada explains that in a world where all people are animals it is natural that just as in the jungle some of the animals will be ferocious, in an animalistic human society it is natural that some of the humans will be terrorists. This means that the only way to defeat terrorism is to elevate everyone to the platform of Krishna conscious

Sometimes in this material world you find yourself in extremely stressful situations. How do you maintain your Krishna consciousness under such situations? The first thing is that instead of thinking of how to maintain your Krishna consciousness in such awkward circumstances you should instead be capitalizing on the golden moment as opportunity for advancing your Krishna consciousness. As soon as you think in this way you have already conquered over the stressful situation. Remember that Krishna will never put his devotee in a situation which is more than he can handle. Krishna very kindly always blesses His devotees with a never-ending stream of experiences which if properly utilized will bring his devote quickly to perfectional stage of pure devotional service. When heavy stress hits all you really have to do is chant Hare Krishna with full confidence that Lord Sri Krishna always protects His devotees in all circumstances. In this way you will immediately conquer over the influence o

Sometimes when neophyte devotees see persons who claim to follow the path of Krishna consciousess but who do not to follow it strictly they may wonder how important it is to strictly follow this path. To answer this question lets's see what Lord Krishna and Srila Prabhupada have to say. First of all here's what Krishna says: yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya vartate kāma-kārataḥ na sa siddhim avāpnoti na sukhaṁ na parāṁ gatim "He who discards scriptural injunctions and acts according to his own whims attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme destination." --Bhagavad-gita 16.23 In reference to this verse Srila Prabhupada writes: "One who does not strictly follow the terms of the Vedic injunctions never attains success in life or happiness. And what to speak of going home, back to Godhead." So those who do not strictly follow the path of bhakti are not qualified to go back to Godhead. In the following quote from Srila Prabhupada's pur

There are no material solutions for the world's problems because all of the world's problems are stemming from one basic problem: a lack of Krishna consciousness. Therefore if we can simply make the world Krishna conscious, all of its problems will be solved. The difficulty is that the people have no interest in Krishna conscious because they are too much addicted to material sense gratification. Thus sadly they remain tightly and miserably entrapped in the three modes of material nature. This is why compassionate souls dedicate their entire lives for making the world Krishna consciousness. This is the only welfare activity that can be successful for solving the world's problems. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Hare Krishna Kirtan Will Save the World! Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: How Can I Attain Exclusive Devotion? I was wondering how will I ever come to the point of exclusive devotion as mentioned in Bhagavad-gita 9.22, wherein Krishna states that if we

After Krishna left Vrindavan, Radharani and the devotees of Vrindavan were plunged into an ocean of unlimited grief. Finally, after many long painful years of separation they were able to again get Krishna's association. This joyful event took place on the occasion of a solar eclipse when the Dvarakavasis, the devotees from Dvaraka, and the Vrajavasis, the devotee from Vrindavan, came together at Kurukshetra. Now that Radharani was reunited with her beloved Lord Krishna she was greatly satisfied. However, in the following words to one of her gopi friends she revealed that she was not fully satisfied: priyaḥ so 'yaṁ kṛṣṇaḥ saha-cari kuru-kṣetra-militas tathāhaṁ sā rādhā tad idam ubhayoḥ saṅgama-sukham tathāpy antaḥ-khelan-madhura-muralī-pañcama-juṣe mano me kālindī-pulina-vipināya spṛhayati "My dear friend, now I have met My very old and dear friend Krishna on this field of Kurukshetra. I am the same Radharani, and now We are meeting together. It is very pleasant, bu

In addition to writing so many books and giving so many lectures and engaging in so many conversations, Srila Prabhupada also wrote many thousands of letters especially for giving personal guidance to his disciples on how they can become fixed up in Krishna consciousness and on how they can make the Krishna consciousness movement a grand success all over the world. Those rare souls who were most fortunate to have gotten a personal letter from Srila Prabhupada know what extraordinary mercy this is. Srila Prabhupada is not an ordinary devotee or an ordinary spiritual master. He is the most powerful, influential spiritual master, at least in present age of Kali, for bringing about a spiritual revolution in the lives of this world's misdirected, suffering human population. Therefore to get a personal letter from him was a very, very special blessing indeed. I was most fortunate to receive many letters from His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, in which he greatly encouraged me in my K

The pure devotee of Krishna has a maya proof consciousness, i.e., a consciousness which is completely impervious to and impenetrable by the influence of the material energy. Even if he is offered all the opulence of this material world, he will not be even slightly attracted because he is totally absorbed in the unlimited happiness of serving Lord Sri Krishna at every minute. Just as no sane man has a desire to drink poison, the pure devotee of the Lord has no inclination to try to enjoy separately from the enjoyment of Lord Sri Krishna. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Srila Prabhupada is Transcendental to the Material Nature Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Why Do We Forget When We Were In Hell? It is well-established that sinners face inexplicably horrible torments in hell. So my question is: If life in hell is so horrible, why does the soul forget such insurmountable horror in its next birth? Avinash G. Answer: Krishna's Kindness If the soul were to remember

Our goal is to make the entire world Krishna conscious. But is this really possible? Sometimes it is said that it is impossible to make the entire world Krishna conscious. And considering how grossly materialistic is the modern day so-called civilization, this really makes a lot of sense. But then we read the prediction in the Caitanya Caritamrita that the entire world will become Krishna conscious. So what is the proper understanding? It is possible or impossible to make the entire world Krishna conscious? In this connection we can remember Srila Prabhupada's famous statement, "Impossible is a word in a fool's dictionary." So what is the conclusion? By Krishna's special mercy even that which is impossible can become a fact. Therefore we should endeavor like anything to make the entire world Krishna conscious. And then even if it is impossible, Krishna can make it possible. There's one thing for sure if we fully dedicate our lives in this way. Our going ba

Why not take seriously to the process of Krishna bhakti, devotion to Lord Sri Krishna? You've tried every other conceivable way to be happy in your millions and billions of lifetimes of sojourn here in this material existence. And in each and every case you've always come up short not being fully satisfied and happy. So why not make an experiment and give just one lifetime exclusively to guru and Krishna, and then judge by the result? I personally guarantee you that if you diligently apply the principles of Krishna consciousness to your present life's situation, no matter what it is, you will become one of the happiest and most enlightened people in this entire universe, and this will be your last lifetime in this miserable material world. Upon leaving your present body you will awaken to find yourself to be an unlimitedly happy participant in the transcendental pastimes of Lord Sri Krishna in any one of five primary rasas. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Krishna Awaits Your Re

The devotee of the Lord is not overwhelmed by problems or even a deluge of problems. Rather he takes problems as the greatest blessing to help him overcome his one and only true problem, which is how to escape the cycle of birth and death. This is why Queen Kunti prays as follows: vipadaḥ santu tāḥ śaśvat tatra tatra jagad-guro bhavato darśanaṁ yat syād apunar bhava-darśanam "I wish that all those calamities would happen again and again so that we could see You again and again, for seeing You means that we will no longer see repeated births and deaths."--SB 1.8.25 So the next time you are hit by a tidal wave of problems instead of becoming bewildered you should count your blessings and dance in ecstasy. Sankarshan Das Adhikari We Are Now Using Start Meeting For Live Lectures! Tune In and Bliss Out! Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Material Desires Before Krishna Consciousness? Dear Srila Gurudeva, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glo

The pure devotee of the Lord is impervious to the material nature, which means that his consciousness is impenetrable, it cannot be touched or influenced by the material nature. Just as a lotus leaf is superhydrophobic, i.e., impenetrable by water, the influence of the material nature simply bounces off the consciousness of the pure devotee. The prime example of this is Haridas Thakur, who was tempted by a beautiful prostitute in dead of night in the solitary place where he was chanting his daily quota of Hare Krishna mahamantra on his japa beads. Haridas Thakur did not fall down under the charms of this beautiful girl. Rather it was she who succumbed to the influence of Haridas Thakur and the Holy Names and became a pure devotee of Krishna. Accepting Haridas Thakur as her spiritual master she gave up her profession of a prostitute and absorbed the rest of her life in chanting 300,000 names of the Lord every day just as Haridas Thakur was doing. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Haridas Thaku

A foolish neophyte follower of Lord Caitanya has accused me of being a fanatic simply because I stated that our goal is to make the entire world Krishna consciousness. What can I say? Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. This is the mission of Lord Caitanya and the order we have received from Srila Prabhupada. Our beloved spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, told us, his disciples, in Los Angeles on 17 December 1973: "Just become perfect in the understanding of this science and become guru and deliver the whole world." And Krishnadas Kaviraja (Caitanya Caritamrita, Adi 7.26) has indeed predicted that our movement will some day be successful in delivering everyone: saj-jana, durjana, paṅgu, jaḍa, andha-gaṇa prema-vanyāya ḍubāila jagatera jana "The Krishna consciousness movement will inundate the entire world and drown everyone, whether one be a gentleman, a rogue or even lame, invalid or blind." So it is my duty, as a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, to p

A devotee of the Lord is not discouraged in any situation because, seeing every turn of events as the special mercy of Lord Krishna, he uses every circumstance to advance himself further along the pathway of Krishna consciousness and to expedite his pushing forward of the mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Therefore he is always progressing in expanding and spreading Krishna consciousness for his own benefit and the benefit of all other living beings. Even though he may sometimes appear to be defeated, he is in reality only taking one step back in order to take ten steps forward. In this way, no matter whatever failures he may appear to undergo, he emerges as a mega success in the end. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Ecstatically Spreading Lord Caitanya's Movement--Czech Republic Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: How to Get the Association of Pure Devotees? In so many books Srila Prabhupada tells that association means association of pure devotees of the Lord. Now we