Ultimate Self Realization

Every morning we have a Srimad Bhagavatam class, which is attended via telephone and internet by many devotees from all over the world. One morning I give the class, and the next morning my wife, affectionately known as Guru Mataji by my disciples, gives the class. It is a thrilling and most enlivening experience to be together with devotees from all over the world diving deeply into the nectarean ocean of Krishna consciousness. Those who come in on the internet also have the facility to ask questions with the chat window. These questions are all answered in the question and answer session at the end of the lecture. If you are looking for a big boost in your spiritual life, this is exactly what you need. Tune in for the next class and taste the ultimate nectar. http://www.livelectures.net Here's the timings for the daily Srimad Bhagavatam Class: 07:00am to 08:00am in USA (Central Time) 10:00am to 11:00am Santiago, Chile 01:00pm to 02:00pm in London 03:00pm to 04:00pm Latvia,S.

In this material world we are all prone to make mistakes, and thus we often do so. This is our longstanding tendency stemming from our primeval mistake of desiring to enjoy separately from God. Originally we were situated with Him in His unlimitedly sweet pastimes in the spiritual world. But due to our foolish enviousness of His position as the Supreme we desired to be one like Him. This is compared to the small child who saw the moon in the sky and desired to have it as her toy. Her mother satisfied her desire by giving her a mirror in her hand in which the moon was reflected. The child did not really have the moon. She only had the reflection. But she thought she had the moon in her hand. In this way the mother satisfied her. In the same way due to our burning desire to be the Supreme, Krishna has given us a world in which we can think that we are the Supreme. Now is the time for us to realize what a ridiculous mistake we made and to get back to our original position as the eternal s

In this material world we are all seeking friendship. We can utilize this friendship tendency to awaken our dormant Krishna consciousness by making friends with the devotees and by giving our friendship to the non-devotees by helping them to become devotees. Friendships based on Krishna are eternal and ever-increasingly sweet, while friendships based on mutual sense gratification are temporary, disappointing, and unfulfilling. George Harrison With His Hare Krishna Friends Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Why Do We Begin Bhakti With 0% Love of God? On 16 March 2014 you wrote the following: ''No loss in this endeavor means that whatever spiritual advancement you make in this lifetime will be your eternal asset. In other words if you make 1% spiritual advancement in this life, in your next life you will pick up where you left off at 1%. You will not have to go back to 0%.'' Now it is a fact that before falling from spiritual world we were 100% Krishna

This material world is a world of ingrates, ungrateful people. We do not appreciate the wonderful mercy that God is bestowing upon us at every moment. And we also do not appreciate the wonderful mercy that the saintly devotees of the Lord are bestowing upon us at every moment. Instead of appreciating their loving kindness we find fault with them seeing them as ordinary materialists. In this way we are guilty of biting the hand that feeds us. This is the greatest offense. It is known as Vaisnava aparadha. To free ourselves from the grievous reactions to this offense we must contritely fall at the feet of the Vaisnava whom we have offended and beg their forgiveness. And then we must never dare to be offensive again. The Vaisnavas sacrifice their lives to save us from our entanglement in the cycle of birth and death. Therefore instead of finding fault with them we should always be singing their glories. Vishnupriya Devi Dasi Preaches With Great Love and Purity Answers by Citing the Ved

The formula for being totally anxiety-free is very simple. Every time you are in anxiety chant the Hare Krishna mahamantra. If you will sincerely follow this principle, you will always be blissful. A ton of anxieties will not be a problem for you. In fact, by following this simple method you will find that the more you have anxieties, the better off you will be. In other words, if every time you are hit with anxiety you will chant Hare Krishna, you will become more and more impervious or unaffected by all the unlimited miseries of this material existence. You will become very solidly fixed up in unassailable Krishna consciousness. Devotees Chant Hare Krishna in Ecstasy Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Is Shivaloka in the Spiritual Sky? Is it wrong to worship Lord Shiva and Parvati Devi? Recently I have been to Mayapur and I was told that Shivaloka is also in the spiritual sky. Do the worshipers of Shiva after attaining the spiritual sky again fall down in the mat

The greatest day of my life was 12 August 1971 when Srila Prabhupada accepted me as his disciple giving me the new spiritual name "Sankarshan Das." I live forever in that pristine moment when he picked me up out of this material world and resituated me in my original identity as the eternal servant of Krishna. At the time of initiation the spiritual master gives the disciple a new name such as Krishna dasa or Govinda dasa. This is the greatest blessing upon the disciple to help him always remember that he is not a member of a particular family here in the material world, that he is instead the eternal servant of his spiritual master, Krishna, and Vaisnavas, and indeed of all living beings. In his purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 6.2.32 Srila Prabhupada describes the importance of the disciple's getting a new name at the time of initiation: "The Lord, who is situated in everyone's heart, is so kind that if one has ever rendered service to Him, the Lord never forg

Krishna is the absolute best friend of every living entity throughout all of existence because they are all His most beloved offspring. He is simultaneously all-powerful and all-merciful. And thus He gives every living being the full freedom to either serve Him or to try to imitate His position as the supreme enjoyer. He wants us all to happy, and He lets us all seek happiness in the ways that we desire. If the living being wants to try enjoy separately from the Lord, He facilitates him. But since that is an unnatural position for the living being, like a hand cut off from the body, eventually the living being comes to his senses, realizes his foolishness, and reinstates himself in his original natural consciousness as the eternal servant of the Lord in His unlimitedly amazing divine pastimes in he most sublime spiritual sky. Krishna Is Inviting Us All to Return to His Abode Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Why Doesn't Krishna Let Us Also Be Krishna? Dear Gurude

The urge to speak is one the six material urges (vegams): words, mind, anger, tongue, belly, and genitals. When the great spiritual authority, Srila Rupa Goswami, listed these six urges he placed the urge to speak first. This reminds us of the importance of not abusing, but properly using the urge to speak. When these six urges, begining with speaking, are uncontrolled one remains a slave of the material energy entrapped within the endless cycle of repeated birth and death. And when one properly utilizes these urges in the service of Lord Sri Krishna he becomes known as a goswami, a great conquering hero over the otherwise unsurmountable material energy. Regarding the utilization of the power of speech His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhpada writes as follows in his book The Light of the Bhagavata, Verse 33: "There are waterfalls flowing from the hills of the forest, but sometimes water does not flow from them. So the waterfalls are not like ordinary rainfall. They a

The entire human society is lost deep in the dense, dark, dungeon of delusion. Because of this the human beings do not know that the purpose of the human form of life is to realize God. Thus they are fully absorbing themselves in material sense gratification and are going down to the animal kingdom in their next births. It is for this reason that the Krishna consciousness movement has been started, to save these poor fools and rascals from the most pitiable condition of existence. In this connection Srila Prabhupada explains: "Our Krishna consciousness movement is genuine, historically authorized, natural and transcendental due to its being based on Bhagavad-gita As It Is. It is gradually becoming the most popular movement in the entire world," So let us now work together co-operatively as a world-wide family of devotees for bringing the only true happiness of Krishna consciousness to the suffering people of this world. The Hare Krishnas Are Out to Save the World Answers

You have been entrapped in the cycle of birth and death for uncountable lifetimes. It is a most miserable, abominable situation to be in. So may Lord Krishna bless you that you can fully revive your lost loving relationship with Him in this lifetime for attaining the supreme perfection of going back to home, back to Godhead. Lord Krishna Awaits Your Return to His Transcendental Kingdom Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Is Sannyas Guru Equal to One's Diksha Guru? Gurudeva, if one takes sannyasa from other Guru that is not from his diksha Guru because of his disappearance from the world then what is the relation with Guru other from whom one takes the sannyasa . Is it that now he becomes his authority and now he is his initiating spiritual master. What we call the other Guru from one takes sannyasa . Is he is also respectful on the equal level to the Guru from one takes his first initiation. Thank you Your unworthy servant N.D.D. Answer: He Who First Initiates

On Saturday 10 January I was invited to give a seminar on the Bhagavad-gita at the ISKCON center in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. It was a great way to forget about the cold weather (3° Fahrenheit/-16° Celsius) and bask in the sublime celestial atmosphere of Krishna consciousness. You can watch it here: http://youtu.be/al09qNHmNog It is certainly a fact that Bhagavad-gita is for everyone. It will indeed solve all of the problems of the world on that day when the leaders agree to hear it and follow it. May that day come soon. May that day come real soon! Giving a Seminar at ISKCON Scarborough Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Difference Between Love and Devotion? Hare Krishna! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! It is said that we should serve with love and devotion. But what is love and what is devotion? Because for me it seems the same. Thank you very much. Bhakta E. Answer: Devotion Is Love In It's Original Pure Form De

Lord Krishna is the original guru. He teaches us by His personal example how much one should be loyal and dedicated to his spiritual master. On the order of His Gurumata (the wife of His spiritual master, Sandipani Muni) Krishna went to the forest along with His Godbrother, Sudama, to gather firewood for His spiritual master. Years later when Sudama visited Krishna in Dvaraka, Krishna recalled that incident as follows: "My dear friend, I think you remember our activities during the days when we were living as students. You may remember that once we went to collect fuel from the forest on the order of the guru's wife. While collecting the dried wood, we entered the dense forest and by chance became lost. There was an unexpected dust storm and then clouds and lightning in the sky and the explosive sound of thunder. Then sunset came, and we were lost in the dark jungle. After this, there was severe rainfall; the whole ground was overflooded with water, and we could not trace o

Things have gone so far astray. There's practically no sanity left in the world today. For example, more than 30,000 innocent babies are murdered daily world wide. In the USA alone over 1,000 babies are legally murdered daily with the full approval and sanction of the US government. This is a poignant telling sign of the caliber of leadership which is torturing the world's population today. It's very clear that our present slate of leaders are practically all cheaters simply serving their own selfish interests for material sense gratification, both gross and subtle. So the time has come now for positive change. We've got to revolution, we've got to revolution, we've got to revolutionize this corrupted world right now. We need pure, saintly leaders who will guide their citizens how to go back to home, back to Godhead, not these rascals who make so many false promises to get into office and never make good on their promises. Revolutionary Hare Krishna Kirtan in

The greatest resource we have in this material world is anxiety, because when properly utilized it becomes the springboard for attaining unlimited, ever-increasing transcendental bliss. Therefore the most wonderful thing about this material world is that it is a virtual gold mine of unlimited anxieties. Those who properly understand the science of self-realization take full advantage of these anxieties, accepting them as their greatest asset for entering the realm of unlimited happiness. The formula is very simple. Every time you are in anxiety chant the Hare Krishna mahamantra. The more anxiety, the more chanting. And the more chanting, the more transcendental bliss. Therefore anxieties are most welcome. But you have to actually chant, otherwise the formula does not work. If you simply take this as a mental conception, you will not experience the sublime result. You have to chant, chant, chant as much as possible. You will experience how anxiety is your best friend because it is noth

In this material world sexual intimacy is considered to be the closest type of intimacy. But what people do not realize is that sexual intimacy is not real intimacy because it is based on a false understanding of the self, in which the body is taken to be the actual self. The way to really connect with another person is not by connecting your bodily covering with his bodily covering. Real connection takes place when one connects one's actual self with the other person's actual self, i.e. one spirit-soul connecting with another spirit-soul. This exhilarating, uplifting connection takes place when the two persons connect with each other by both connecting with Krishna or God. This real intimacy is described by the great Vaisnava acharya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada as follows: "A living being's sustenance of existence is to coordinate his activities with his eternal relation with the Supreme Lord Krishna. Krishna is the central pivot of living

In this world of dualities sometimes we are bombarded by heavy negativity. Maya or the illusory energy sometimes completely overwhelms us with her attack. What should we do in such situations? When a nation is attacked by an enemy it fully mobilizes its army, navy, and air force as well as calling up its reserves to active duty. In the same way when we are attacked by negativity we should not take it sitting down. We have to fully activate all the weapons that we have available to counter Maya's attack. We have many very powerful weapons more potent than the famous Brahmastra weapon, which can destroy an entire universe. We have Srila Prabhupada's books, devotional service, our spiritual master's divine instructions, the Hare Krishna mahamantra (both in kirtan and in japa), prayer, devotee association, deity darshan, telling people about Krishna, and honoring Krishna prasadam. And the list goes on and on. The point is that when Maya gets aggressive, we have to become even m

The atmosphere here in New Dvaraka (ISKCON Los Angeles) is phenomenal. This place is so surcharged with bhakti that as soon as you enter here you feel that you are already in the spiritual world. This is not surprising because it was here that Srila Prabhupada first established his world headquarters and where he spent a lot of his time. It is also here that I had my first personal interaction with my most beloved spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, when he wanted to make sure that he had given me a flower. That makes this place even sweeter for me. "Srila Prabhupada, you have given me the flower of your loving mercy, which is greatest of all boons." Srila Prabhupada on Venice Beach--Los Angeles 1975 Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: How to Get Free from Lusty Desires? Dear Srila Gurudeva, Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada. I am finding it very difficult to practice a life of celibacy. I stopped eating meat, onion, gar

After millions and billions of lifetimes of suffering within the cycle of birth and death, one's greatest good fortune is to receive the seed of pure Krishna bhakti planted within his heart through the process known as initiation. At the time of initiation the disciple vows to accept his spiritual master's instructions as his very life and soul and thus faithfully serve his guru's orders for all of eternity. This total dedication to his spiritual master qualifies him to regain his original deathless identity in the transcendental pastimes of the Lord in the spiritual sky. Srila Prabhupada explains that his deathlessness begins from the very day that he accepts initiation from the bona fide spiritual master, provided that he strictly follows the orders that he has received from his spiritual master. Initiations on 11 January 2015 in Brampton, Ontario, Canada Aloke Becomes Amogha Lila Das Prachi Becomes Patita Pavana Devi Dasi Aruna Becomes Arundhati Devi Dasi Answer

There's absolutely no reason for you to ever suffer again. Suffering is an unnatural state for you, the eternal living being. It only happens when you misidentify yourself with your temporary material body. All you have to do to become forever free from the multi-varieties of miseries which are constantly attacking you is to stop trying to be something that are you are not, namely your material body, and start being what you actually are, the eternal spirit-soul servant of God. Try it. You'll absoloutely love it! Sharing the Bliss of Krishna Bhakti in Toronto--11 January 2015 Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: How To Not Materially See the Pure Devotee? Dear Gurudeva, Please accept my humble obeisances. In The Nectar of Instruction it says, "One is forbidden to observe the activities of a pure Vaisnava from a material point of view." What does this mean? What would be an example of this offense? R.T. Answer: See Him As an Associate of Krishna Th

Even though the Lord's devotees have taken to the process of Krishna consciousness to become free from all faults, as long as they are in this material world it is natural that they will still have some faults. In spite of this, we should not be very eager to see their faults. We should be looking instead to see their saintly qualities. Will we criticize a man for being filthy while he is bathing himself in the shower? No, of course not. So instead of being like flies looking for the sore-like faults in the devotees, we should be like honeybees who only desire to relish the honey of their wonderful saintly qualities. In this connection Srila Prabhupada explains, "The devotees of Krishna are the most exalted persons on this planet, better than kings, all of them, so we should always remember that and, like the bumblebee, always look for the nectar or the best qualities of a person." In conclusion, the more we meditate on the saintly qualities of the devotees, the more our

Srila Prabhupada explains in his purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 7.12.8 that the relationship between the disciple and the wife of the spiritual master, the guru-patni, is like that between a son and his mother. Therefore just as we obey and lovingly serve our mother, if our spiritual master has a wife, we should always lovingly serve her and obey her. Krishna teaches us this principle by his example. When he was a brahmacari student in the ashram of his spiritual master, Sandipani Muni, he followed the order of his guru's wife to gather firewood in the forest. Just as a mother lovingly disciplines and corrects her children, the guru-patni also corrects and disciplines the disciples to teach them how to become first-class devotees of Krishna and first-class disciples of her husband. The disciples should thus always honor and respect their Guru Mataji, always welcoming and appreciating the guidance, blessings, and inspiration they receive from her. If they do not so and disrespect her

Why does anything, even existence itself, exist? Everything exists because Krishna is manifesting it from Himself simply for His own pleasure. It is not that Krishna has any duty to fulfill. His position is to simply enjoy. This is why He is called Rama, the Supreme Enjoyer. Krishna is the ultimate entity because not only is He the origin of all existence; He is also the origin of Himself as well as the support of all existence. In other words, without Him nothing would exist. Even existence itself would not be present even as a concept. Krishna does not depend on anything or anyone else for His existence. He is self-manifested. And over and beyond this He plays the flute so sweetly that everyone even that animals are totally captivated by the unlimitedly enchanting sound of His flute. Radharani Is Attracted by the Sound of Krishna's Flute Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Dying Before Our Destined Time Dear Srila Gurudeva, Could you tell me whether it is possi

The whole world can be turned into the spiritual world. All we have to do is put Krishna back in the center of all spheres of activities, where He belongs. This will be the greatest, most joyous paradigm shift that has even unfolded in the entire history of our universe. This is the mission of the Krishna consciousness movement. If you have not already done so, kindly make your life unlimitedly glorious by fully dedicating it to this mission. You will experience unlimited happiness, and your entrance into the kingdom of God will be assured at the time, known to the ignorant as death, when you leave your present material body behind and revive your eternal spiritual body. Devotees Chant Hare Krishna in New York to Save the World Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Where's the Time to Read Transcendental Literature? Dear Guru Maharaja, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. I am not trying to find an excuse to not read Prabhupada'

7 January 2015--After an intense but ecstatic lecture series in both Chile and Argentina, today we are heading out from the hot summer in South America to the sub freezing cold of Canada down to -17°C or 1°F. This a good opportunity to practice the principle taught by Lord Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita, to be tolerant of the dualities of this material existence. Such tolerance in obedience to Krishna's order strengthens our relationship with Him and thus increases the transcendental pleasure of being engaged in His service. Toronto Winter Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: What is the Qualfication of a Disciple? Hare Krishna! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupad! What is qualification of a disciple? Or what qualitys should disciple have? Thank you very much. Bhakta Edgar. Answer: First Qualification is Determination The first qualification for becoming a disciple is that one must be very determined to attain the goal of pure d

If in spite of the dualities of material nature such as hot and cold, sickness and health, poverty and wealth, you will continue steadily engaged in Krishna's service in spite of all difficulties, you will become very, very dear to the Lord. When one gains such a position there is nothing greater that can be attained anywhere within this universe or beyond this universe. Therefore you should always remain faithful to the instructions that you have received from Lord Krishna and from His representative, the bona fide spiritual master, in all circumstances, no matter whether they are ordinary or outrageous. There Is Nothing More Wonderful Than Becoming Dear to Krishna Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Did Krishna Open Arjuna's Third Eye? Is it true that Lord Krishna opened Arjuna's third eye, which is referred to as the divine eye that enabled Arjuna to see Krishna's divine universal form? K.P. Answer: Krishna Opened Arjuna's Two Eyes Krishna tra

5 January 2015--After an ecstatic series of lectures here in Santiago, Chile today we are taking a one hour flight up over the Andes mountains landing in Mendoza, Argentina on the plain on the other side of this longest-in-the-world mountain range. It's wonderful to see how the Krishna consciousness movement has expanded all over the world. If we can stick devotedly to the instructions given in Srila Prabhupada's books, very soon this movement will engulf the planet bringing peace, prosperity, and happiness to everyone. From Santiago, Chile to Mendoza, Argentina Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: How Can a King Be Above the Laws? Dear Gurudeva, In the purport to Bhagavad-gita 7.12 I have read, "...under the state laws one may be punished, but the king, the lawmaker, is not subject to that law." How can the king be above the laws of the land? Is he not supposed to lead by example? How will the people follow laws that the king himself does not? Plea

On Saturday 3 June 2015 I was the guest speaker at a Karma-Reincarnation Conference held in downtown Santiago, Chile. It was a well-attended event because people are not satisfied with the status quo of the modern day materialistic society. I explained to the attentive audience the ancient teachings of the Bhagavad-gita, how it is the most relevant knowledge for finding actual peace and happiness in the present highly stressful world civilization. By Krishna's mercy many people purchased our books: Bhagavad-gita As It Is and the Science of Self-Realization. Especially notable was that in attendance at the program were staff members from the US Embassy. When that day comes when the government officials throughout the world take to an understanding of the sublime teachings of the Bhagavad-gita there will be a new era of unparalleled peace and prosperity throughout the entire world. Karma Reincarnation Conference--Santiago, Chile--3 January 2015 Answers by Citing the Vedic Version:

One of the super sweet highlights of my traveling and preaching the science of Krishna consciousness all over the world is that once a year I get to participate in Prabhupada Night at the ISKCON temple in Santiago, Chile. It is a most delightful program held here every Friday night when devotees come in large numbers to hear about and glorify ISKCON Founder-Acharya: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Since I was the only Prabhupada disciple present I was asked to give my memories and appreciation of my most beloved Guru Maharaja. I told the enthralled devotee audience the story of how I was rescued from material consciousness by Srila Prabhupada and his wonderful disciples. I was a Mayavadi singer/songwriter who foolishly thought that he could save the world by his music until I realized, "How can I save the world when I haven't even saved myself?" I understood that it was Srila Prabhupada and his Hare Krishna movement who were actually saving the wor

The tripod is a solid stand. With its three legs it remains solidly in place. A two-legged stand and a one-legged stand are not solid. They will fall over immediately. In Krishna consciousness we have a tripod, the three basic legs of bhakti that will solidly situate you on the spiritual platform. They are described as follow by Srila Prabhupada in Chapter Six of the Nectar of Devotion: (1) Accepting the shelter of the lotus feet of a bona fide spiritual master. (2) Becoming initiated by the spiritual master and learning how to discharge devotional service from him. (3) Obeying the orders of the spiritual master with faith and devotion. All the other items of bhakti are automatically included in these three principles. So if you will simply take shelter of the spiritual master, get initiated by him and always obey him, you will quickly and easily be elevated to the transcendental platform of pure devotional service. In other words, Lord Sri Krishna will become your personal proper

Even though every living being is by nature spiritual and thus eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss, due to the entire world being locked into the material concept of life, at the present moment no one in any country is truly happy. I am traveling all over the world, but nowhere do I see anyone who is experiencing genuine bliss except for those persons who have regained their original spiritual nature by surrendering themselves at the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krishna. So this is our mission. We want to save the people of this planet from their misery and bless them with the ultimate and only genuine happiness of being reinstated in their original constitutional identity as a servant of Krishna. In this way, we hope that by the grace of Lord Krishna we will be able to save the entire world as soon as possible. Don't Cheat Yourself Out of the Nectar. Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Guru Continues to Accept Sinful Reactions? Does the spiritual master contin