Ultimate Self Realization

Srila Prabhupada explains that the secret of success on the pathway of self-realization is to follow the order of the bona fide spiritual master. He teaches this not only by words, but also by his unflinching dedication to carrying out the order of his spiritual master to spread the Krishna consciousness movement to the English-speaking world. If we will dedicate ourselves fully to carrying the order of Srila Prabhupada to make the entire world Krishna conscious, we will already be liberated souls even while we maintain our material bodies here in this material world. Home Program--Mill Park, Australia--28 June 2014 Lecture at Urban Yoga Center--28 June 2014 Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: How Can An Endless Krishna Have Arms and Legs? You mentioned that Krishna is eternal, and endless. So then isn't Krishna shapeless if he's eternal, endless, and without a beginning and without an end? I've always thought that Krishna is a man who also has arms an...

In a Srimad-Bhagavatam class given in Mayapur, India on September 30, 1974 Srila Prabhupada stated: "Paramahamsa, one must be only spiritually interested like the swan. He is interested only to drink the milk, not the water. Similarly, one must become paramahamsa. One must be interested with spiritual advancement of life, not material." A paramahamsa is a pure devotee of the Lord, who has no interest at all in this material world. Even while in this material world by his divine consciousness he extracts Krishna from it leaving aside the material energy, just as a swan can with his beak extract milk from a mixture of milk and water leaving aside the water. How does one know when he has reached the paramahamsa stage? Srila Prabhupada answers:  "The symptom is that he cannot waste a moment without glorifying Krishna. That is paramahamsa. At that time, you can know, that when you cannot remain even for a single moment without describing Krishna, then you can know that y...

The Srimad Bhagavatam, the spotless Purana, answers all questions because it is Krishna Himself, and when you know Krishna, you know everything. Therefore there is nothing more sublime in all the three worlds than to carefully study the Srimad Bhagavatam and realize in full the Supreme Personality of Godhead by following the Bhagavatam's teachings. Question/Answer Session--Melbourne, Australia 26 June 2014 Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: My Sister Wants Me to Go to Movies. What to Do? Dear Srila Gurudeva Could you please advise me as to how to move forward with my life? My elder sister keeps pressuring me to become socially active such as going to movies with her friends, etc. Your devotee J.G.  ​Answer: If You Follow a Fool, You Become a Fool If you follow the advice of a fool, you become a fool. Therefore we only follow the mahajanas, the great devotees of the Lord. The only social life a devotee needs is the association of other devotees. However...

The current slate of world leaders cannot help but be cheaters because they do not know that the goal of the human form of life is to qualify oneself for going back to home, back to Godhead. The Srimad Bhagavatam states that all leaders on any level of responsibility must be able deliver their dependents from the cycle of birth and death. Due to their gross misguidance the entire human population is in a suffering condition and will be in even a worse position after leaving their present bodies and finding themselves in the animal kingdom. If we are to have a bright future for the human race, the only hope is that from now on we should only have leaders who are conversant with and who strictly personally follow the Vedic wisdom. Srila Prabhupada Teaches the University Professors Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Difference Between Radha and Rukmini? What is the difference between Srimati Radharani (Krishna's eternal consort in Goloka Vrindavan) and Srimati Ruk...

Sometimes when a person says they doubt that Krishna exists we remind them that since Krishna is the cause of all causes if Krishna did not exist, you would not exist either to doubt His existence. Krishna is the very source and substance of reality itself. Were it not for Krishna nothing at all would exist. So the fact that we are here proves that Krishna exists. Home Program--Botanic Klang, Malaysia--24 June 2014 Devotees Give Us Heart Melting Ecstatic Send Off , Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Airport--25 June 2014 Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Does Krishna Eat Meat? I have three questions: 1. Which is correct: "I am the soul," or "I have a soul."?" 2. If I am the soul, why is that we are attached to the body? Why do we feel that we are the body? 3. Is Krishna a non-vegetarian? Kindly enlighten me on these. Karthik K. Answer: Meat Is Not On His Menu It's not that I have a soul because the "I" is the soul itself...

The air, water, and noise pollution that we are currently ever-increasingly plagued with here on planet earth are simply the manifestations of the even greater pollution that is there within us, the tons of psychological gook that is clouding up our minds. We keep thinking that we are the lords of all we survey when in fact we are simply the humble servants of God. As within, so without. Since our minds are so clogged up with lust, anger, greed, madness, illusion, and envy it is natural that the landscape before us is becoming more and more dreadful with each passing year. If we want to live in a clean external environment, we must first clean up the environment within. Otherwise all our attempts at cleaning up the external environment will be artificial and a complete, total waste of time and money. They will fall flat on their face in utter failure.  The successful program for cleaning up the environment begins by fixing our minds on God, which is most easily achieved by chan...

Have you noticed? The world is in chaos, and it is getting worse and worse every day. And our current slate of world leaders is completely, totally incompetent to do anything to bring about a solution to this maniacal madness. Because they themselves are in a state of chaos they can do nothing except bring more and more chaos to the world table.  Do you want to see this global mayhem rectified with peace, happiness, and prosperity for all? This will only happen when the people of the world recognize the leadership of those who are not in chaos, the leadership of those who have fully harmonized themselves with Krishna or God. Then this planet be a decent place for a sane person's residence. Until then the global affairs will continue deteriorating more and more into eventual total anarchy.  So do you think it's bad now? You haven't seen anything yet. If the world does not accept the leadership of the Krishna consciousness movement, you will see all unbelievable hell ...

Don't be a miserable silent cog in the machine of the materially conditioned society. Find yourself a niche where you can be an ecstatic fighter for bringing in a new age of spiritual enlightenment for the suffering humanity. Otherwise, of what value is your life? It will be no better than an animal's life of eating, sleeping, mating, and defending until you die and vanish into oblivion. If, on the other hand, you dedicate your life fully in service of the Lord's divine world deliverance mission, you will be the best servant of the human society, and you will attain glorious immortality. Now the choice is yours. Do what you like. I hope you make the right choice! Hare Krishna Distributes a Gita to a Most Fortunate Soul Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: How to Not Be Affected By Others? How to avoid being affected by others consciousness? How to subdue the desires? In presence of unnecessary desires I forget everything else.  On what instruction s...

If you want to be happy, you must love Krishna. There is no two ways about it. Some people object when we speak so strongly, but what can we do? We are obliged to speak the truth. Just as a doctor has to honestly tell you what is the condition of your health, we are also duty bound to speak the truth, even if people find it to be unpalatable. Of course, we always endeavor to make it as palatable as possible. But sometimes in spite of all our best efforts to present the truth in the most palatable way, people will find it to be unpalatable. No One Is More Beautiful or Wonderful Than Krishna Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: What's Wrong With Material Sense Gratification? Dear Gurudeva, I'm having problems/doubts about instructions regarding sense gratification and why this is necessarily wrong and to be avoided. I almost feel it is a slap in the face to the Creator. I hope you can help me with these doubts. Thank you for your patience. Sincerely, An...

Now we are in Shah Alam, Malaysia in the Muslim world. Outside the window of our residence I see a restaurant which advertises itself as 100% Islam and also there is an Institute of Quranic sciences. Here in the Muslim world we can appreciate how much religion is emphasized in the daily lives of the people. Everywhere we see people expressing their religious faith even by the way they dress. This emphasis on religion is something which is lacking elsewhere in the world. It is on the basis that we can very much appreciate the Muslim countries. However, here and everywhere else there is something sorely lacking, which is the conception of pure bhakti. Everywhere people of all religions are mixing sense gratification with devotion to God, and they say that their sect of religion is the only religion. They do not realize that religion cannot by its very nature be sectarian and that by sectarianizing it they are bastardizing it turning it into irreligion masquerading as religion. This i...

Of all the places I see as I travel the globe Hong Kong stands out as one of the most glittery places on earth. Here materialism has peaked out. Traveling the globe I rarely see the world's ultimate luxury car, the Rolls Royce. But here in Hong Kong they are not that uncommon. The streets of Hong Kong are lit up like anything. Walking or driving down practically any Hong Kong street one is bombarded with an overwhelming phantasmagoria of slick advertising from all sides urging you to enjoy this and enjoy that. But what is the use of all this material advancement when is one is going to become an animal in one's next birth? Tucked away in the middle of all this Hong Kong glitter on the 6th floor at 27 Chatham South in the Tsim Sha Tsui district is ISKCON's Sri Sri Gaura Nitai Temple, a true oasis in the middle of the desert. Hong Kong Skyline Hong Kong Street Scene Three Rolls Royces Parked Side by Side in Hong Kong Sri Sri Gaura Nitai--An Oasis in the Hong Kong Dese...

Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) said, "If you work cooperatively, you'll get more strength." Since we are fighting an inconceivably tremendous uphill battle against the ignorance of this age of Kali, it is imperative that we all work together co-operatively in order to have sufficient strength to carry out our duty of delivering the world from suffering and illusion. United we stand, divided we fall. Those who obey Srila Prabhupada's instruction will be successful, and those who disobey his instruction will be a failure. Spiritual Perfection in Household Life Seminar, Hong Kong, 18 June 2014 Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Deliverer of Karma Is Karmically Implicated? I wrote you as follows on 18 June 2014: "Lord Krishna said that He has already made arrangements for everyone's death, and death is predestined for everyone. So if everyone's death already is pre...

Death is no joke. There is one thing of absolute surety for everyone in this material world: death is coming at any time, your death, my death, and everyone's death. Therefore the most important thing that we can do is to be prepared for death. However, the sad reality is that everybody lives their life in the pursuit of material sense gratification as if death will never come. Thus they are not at all prepared for death. The preparation for death is to always be absorbed in thoughts of the Lord seeing everything in relation to Him and in always rendering Him tangible service. Such God consciousness or Krishna consciousness qualifies one to enter into Krishna's transcendental abode at the time of death instead of continuing on within the endless cycle of birth and death here in this material world. Distributing Transcendental Literature in Hong Kong Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Everyone is Attracted to Krishna? Dear Srila Gurudeva, Please accept m...

This material world is a fool's paradise because here everyone is programmed to think that they are their bodies and that therefore their happiness revolves around satisfying the senses of their body. Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is that we are not these bodies. These bodies are just temporary coverings of the self. We are instead pure spiritual beings constituted to have a sweet loving relationship with the Supreme Person, the source of all existence. That person has unlimited names, the chief of which is the name Krishna. To connect with that Supreme Person in a loving relationship is not being dogmatic as the foolish atheists claim. It is simply a matter of knowing who you are and being who you are. Teaching the Science of Krishna Bhakti at a Home Program, Equestria, South Africa--16 June 2014 Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Impossible to Make Whole World Krishna Conscious? In this age of Kali, isn't it impossible to make the who...

Where are the great heroes whose glories we sing Reformers, politicians, scientists and grand kings? We're awed by celebrities who sport mega fame Stars of music, athletics, and cinematic acclaim. But where have they gone now? Of a trace there is none. We cannot find them For they're vanished in oblivion. We worship these heroes as our life's model Repeating their words as if they were gospel. But here's a fact that we just do not see: They get old and die just like you and me. So where have they gone now?  Of a trace we find none. We cannot find them  For they're vanished in oblivion. Destiny spins out everyone's karma. Making you dance in the puppeteer's drama. Sometimes you're famous, sometimes you're unknown From the pious or sinful karma you've sown. So hanker not for karma's rigged game. Make personalistic nirvana your exclusivistic aim. Reunite with that luminary of unlimited fame. ...

Sometimes we are suffering like anything in a nightmare trapped in a hellish predicament with no escape until finally with great relief we realize that the hell we find ourselves trapped in is only a dream, from which we can wake up and become completely relieved. In a similar way, the devotee of the Lord feels great relief gratefully realizing that all the hell we go through in this material world is nothing but a dream from which we can wake up by fully absorbing ourselves in the devotional service of the Lord.  Devotees in Melbourne, Australia Relish the Nectar of Kirtan Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Difference Between Kirtan and a Mundane Rock Song? What is the difference between the ecstasy one experiences by chanting and dancing Hare Krishna in kirtan and the ecstasy experienced by a drunkard when dancing to a mundane rock song, since both of them forget themselves at that time? Shrishall M. Answer: Attain Your Eternal Form or an Animal Form ...

We are suffering like hell in this material world, but since we do not like to admit this we imagine that we are enjoying here by inventing so many varieties of so-called enjoyment, which are nothing more than smoke screens to keep us from seeing the truth. Because our happiness here is only imaginary it is described in the Sanskrit language as maya-sukhaya, illusory happiness. The fact is that our actual position is unlimited enjoyment, but due to our foolish misidentification with this material body we are now experiencing otherwise. This is why we need the help of a bona fide spiritual master to snap us out of this spell of illusion, to bring us out of our confusion, to give us a consciousness transfusion back to our original state of pure, unadulterated spiritual bliss. Revealing the Truth of the Bhagavad-gita, Glen Park, Mauritius--13 June 2014 Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: How to Choose the Bona Fide Spiritual Master? Respected Gurudeva, Would you p...

When the governments of the world take guidance from the bona fide spiritual master there will be a new dawn of peace and prosperity for the entire human society. So I was very happy when I was invited to speak to an agency of the Mauritius government on how one can be happy while working his job. I explained to the government employees how important it is to realize one's spiritual identity and to reconnect with it every day before coming to work by chanting the holy names of God. As long as one misidentifies himself with his temporary material body he must necessarily suffer from so many material miseries. But when one connects with God he realizes his eternal, all blissful, fully cognizant identity, which is never affected by any material miseries. I pray for that day when all the governments all over the world will be eager to take training from the bona fide spiritual master on how everyone can become genuinely happy. Guiding an Agency of the Mauritius Government, Port Louis...

Even if you were search everywhere examining every single person in all of existence, you would never be able to find anyone who is more wonderful than Krishna or even equally wonderful with Krishna. There is no one who is even remotely close. Krishna surpasses all in excellence. Everything wonderful and sublime that you can find anywhere is simply a manifestation of Him. If you would like to relish His most marvelous association at every minute, all you have to do is become His devotee. He will then eternally bless you with His inconceivably glorious association in unlimited flavors or rasas. Absolutely Amazing Krishna Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: How To Be Steady on the Bhakti Path? Dear Gurudeva,  Please solve my query as follows: On the path of devotion, there arise many hurdles. So how should a sincere devotee handle these obstacles and be steady on the path of bhakti for Lord Sri Krishna? Thanks and kind regards, Hare Krishna, Amit G. ...

There are two ways that you can go in life. You can go into the light or you can go into the darkness. If you go into the light, as you continue along the way your life will become brighter and more illuminated. On the other hand, if you go into the darkness, as you traverse that trail you will find that things become darker, more miserable and more illusioned. The path of light is the golden road of being reborn into your eternal all-blissful, all-cognizant spiritual identity. And the path of darkness means that you are dying, killing or deeply burying your actual identity by covering it with so many false identities in relationship to your temporary body. Teaching Krishna Consciousness--The Pathway of Light, Roches Brunes, Mauritius--10 June 2014 Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: How To Get Free From Karma? How will we be able to know whether or not we are suffering our previous karma and creating new karma? Although I try to follow Krishna consciousness very se...

According to Krishna's statement in the Adi-Purana unless we are devoted to Krishna's devotee He does not accept that we have any devotion to Him. Therefore the first step on the path of bhakti is take shelter of the bona fide spiritual master by initiation. This is confirmed by Srila Rupa Goswami as follows: ādau gurv-āśrayam sad-dharma-pṛcchā sādhu-mārgānugamanam "In the beginning one should accept the shelter of a bona fide spiritual master and inquire submissively about religious principles. He should then desire to follow in the footsteps of the great devotees of the Lord."--Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu 1.1.74 So do yourself a favor. If you have not already done so. Become the devotee of Krishna's devotee so that Krishna will recognize you as His devotee. Srila Prabhupada Gives Initiation in Los Angeles, USA Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Should We Love Worldly People? Dear Guru Maharaja, In this material world, it is gene...

Without Krishna what then would this life be? What would this life be? What kind of reality? We'd be drowning in an ocean of bitter sorrow With no hope at all of better brighter tomorrow. Without Krishna bitter life. Without Krishna only strife. Without Krishna how then could we survive? What meaning to derive? How could we be alive When stranded in existential crazy voidness With no escape from this deadly prison madness? Without Krishna how would we be? In only painful misery. Without Krishna nothing at all would be. There'd be no you or me Or any reality. So we thank Him for giving us our existence And the means of our very subsistence. Now with Krishna we'll be free In ecstatic eternity. Now with Krishna blissfully In nectarean eternity. Sunday Feast Lecture--8 June 2014--Phoenix, Mauritius Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Difference Between Catholic and Vaisnava Philosophy Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories ...

Sometimes things become so difficult in this material world that we find it completely intolerable and wonder how we can continue to function in such an atmosphere. When we hit such a psychological rock bottom this is the ideal time to remember that this temporary material world is not our actual home, that we are instead residents of the eternal spiritual world who somehow or other foolishly relegated ourselves to this rotten place by our improper envy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We must now cast aside our ridiculous envy and rechannel our loving energy back to where it came from, back to where it belongs, to the beautiful, all-merciful Lord Sri Krishna. The fact is that we cannot live without love. We need to somebody to love who can perfectly and eternally reciprocate love with us. Krishna is that person. Therefore Krishna is that person whom we need to love. Vishnujana Maharaja Says, "Give Your Love to Krishna." Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Quest...

The entire world is drowning in an ocean of godlessness, selfishness, hate and greed. The politicians, scholars, and scientists are powerless to do anything to rectify the situation because they themselves are polluted by the same disease. The only solution is to put God back in the center, not as the order-supplier whom we use to satisfy our own desires, but as that person whose desires we fully submit ourselves to. The Krishna consciousness movement has been started for the purpose of educating the entire human society in the science of pure loving service to God and has successfully spread all over the world. Now in each and every nation the people must be educated in the principles of pure loving service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead in order to bring the much desired peace, prosperity and deliverance from the cycle of birth and death to all. Please help us by dedicating your life fully for doing whatever you can to make the Krishna consciousness movement a success in your...

Just image a person who manifests everything that exists out of His transcendental body, who is so powerful that not even a blade of grass can move without His sanction, who is so kind that no matter how much you neglect Him He still has unlimited love for you, who is so attractive that anyone who comes into His contact cannot help but fall madly in love with Him, who is so sweet that anything else besides Him is by comparison unbearably bitter, who isso funny that He can make everyone laugh uproariously, who is so serious that He can make everyone very sober even the most frivolous buffoons, who plays His flute so artistically with such unlimited depth of beautiful emotions that He can make everyone cry pools of tears in ecstasy, who is so accessible that even though He is the supreme superstar you can have Him exclusively as your personal companion, and who has so many unlimited wondrous qualities that I could go on writing this sentence infinitely for all of eternity. (Do I need to...

The planet earth is currently devastated by selfishness and greed. The result is that everyone is miserable. Because everyone is self-centered there are constant conflicts and clashes going on all over the world. So instead of being selfish. Do something revolutionary for your own benefit and the benefit of all living beings everywhere. Be proactively loving, friendly, and kind to everyone you meet. If you are kind to someone, they will inspired to be kind to someone else, who will then become inspired to be kind to someone else, etc. In this way the entire human society will gradually be elevated to a loving, happy place. As you practice kindness, don't forget your four-legged friends, and your winged and finned friends. Be kind to them by not eating them. And most importantly of all, don't forget to reciprocate with the loving kindness of that Supreme Person who is the source of love and indeed the very source our existence and who is flooding us with unlimited love at every...

I just finished reading an incredibly enlivening book, that I could hardly put down until I finished it, called "Blazing Sadhus or Never Trust a Holy Man Who Can't Dance." My beloved friend and Godbrother, Acyutananda Prabhu, takes us back to a time when he was a young musician-spiritual seeker in New York City in 1966. He learned about a swami with a small storefront at 26 2nd Avenue who was teaching the Hare Krishna mahamantra and lecturing on the Bhagavad-gita. Even though the swami's new movement only had a handful of members, the boy Chuck decided to devote his life to Swami Bhaktivedanta as his disciple. Just try to understand the unlimited good fortune of this young man to have joined our Srila Prabhupada as one of his original disciples back in the time when everyone in the movement shared the same bath towel. I cannot even begin to try to comprehend the unlimited extent of his good fortune! I encourage you all to read this book for yourself. You can get ...

The time has come now for all religious people of the world to unite in the common cause of driving away godlessness from this planet. Although God, being multilingual, can be addressed by us by many different names, this does not mean that He becomes divided into different people. God, although many named, is only one person, the supreme father of us all. Therefore we should also not be divided. We should all fully embrace the common cause of our world mission to awaken pure love of God within the hearts of all. Otherwise the world society will continue spiraling downward into ever increasing degradation, disunity and immorality. Srila Prabhupada Arrives to Bring Religious Unity Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Prabhupada's Use of the Word "Childish" Dear Srila Gurudeva Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to you and to Srila Prabhupada. In his purport to Bhagavad-gita 13.25, Srila Prabhupada writes: "Similarly, there are othe...

What to do if you find yourself buried alive in an avalanche of anxieties? How to escape it to become completely free and happy? Is there a way out? Or do you just have to keep on suffering for an unknown period of time until your sinful karma is burned away and you can finally get a little relief? The answer is that you can immediately escape if you have unflinching faith in the words of the spiritual master and in the words of Krishna as spoken in the Bhagavad-gita. If out of pride you choose to not put your faith in the words of guru and Krishna, then you remain entangled in the miserable cycle of birth, death, old age, and disease for countless lifetimes. So don't be a fool. Do yourself a favor. Hear from the spiritual master submissively and inquire from him until all of your doubts are dissipated. This will liberate you. Devotees Faithfully Hearing From Srila Prabhupada Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: How is Jesus the Absolute Truth? Please accept my hum...

There is no reason at all to be depressed or elated over your present situation in this material world because your present life is simply another chapter in your eternal existence book. You had many previous chapters and now you in are in this chapter. After this chapter you will go on to a new chapter, which will be determined by what was your consciousness at the time of your leaving your present material body. It you are smart, you will fully absorb yourself in Krishna consciousness in this chapter so that your next chapter will be unlimitedly glorious in that astonishing spiritual sky. Inconceivably Sublime Pastime of Krishna with the Gopis Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: In What Ways Does One Serve the Spiritual Master? Dear Gurudeva, In what ways does a person render service to a spiritual master (both when the spiritual master is physically present and when he is not)?. R.T. Answer: Personally and Through His Instructions and Mission I am very ...