Ultimate Self Realization

In his book, the Nectar of Devotion, Srila Prabhupada writes, "The Nectar of Devotion will teach us how to turn the one switch that will immediately brighten everything, everywhere." This one sentence captures the essence of the Krishna consciousness movement. Simply by turning the whole world onto Krishna all the problems of the human society with be solved. Therefore our lives are fully dedicated to flipping the global consciousness switch. There are no other reasons for us to be here in this material world except for our own purification and for delivering all of the fallen conditioned souls, who are so miserably stuck here, back to their original home in the spiritual sky. Prabhupada Delivers the World and We Assist Him Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: How Krishna Can See Future When We Have Free Will? Krishna can see past, present, and future. But how can Krishna see the future when at every moment we have free will? Tom Answer: Because He Knows Wh

I just received an email from one of my students who normally chants 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra daily on japa mala beads but skipped it one day because she felt that it was work. She wanted to know if this is wrong. Yes, it is wrong. Whether it feels like work, like play, like worship or even if it feels like torture, we should never give up our chanting under any circumstances because we have been ordered by Lord Krishna to chant His names. It is simply our duty that we must execute under all circumstances. By dutifully chanting our rounds of japa every day without fail we will gradually attain the perfectional stage of chanting in which every syllable of the Hare Krishna mantra explodes with unlimited oceans of transcendental bliss. Devotee Ecstatically Chants Hare Krishna Japa Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Selfish to Absorb Oneself in Hearing from Sri Guru? I wanted to inquire from Your Divine Grace that I am so attached and attracted to your hea

What to do when your spiritual life is such of mess that you don't feel like chanting Hare Krishna or even in getting out of bed in the morning? The first thing to understand that these are symptoms of someone who has become under the influence of the mode of ignorance.  Sometimes it is said that ignorance is bliss. But this is only true for those who don't mind remaining in ignorance and gliding down to a lower species of life in their next life. Anyone who has any intelligence at all will not be satisfied to remain in ignorance. The first thing to do is to make sure that you are getting enough rest. If you are not sleeping enough, you may be feeling sleepy. But the most important thing to do is to rise early in the morning and chant Hare Krishna, even if you don't feel like it. This early morning chanting, if practiced on a regular daily basis, will gradually free you completely from the influence of the material modes of nature and take you into the unlimitedly blissfu

To be Krishna conscious means to live a life completely free from anxiety because a Krishna conscious person uses each and every experience he has to increase his Krishna consciousness more and more. Whether he experiences the good, bad, beautiful, or the ugly he sees every moment of his eternal existence as the greatest blessing of Lord Krishna to help him dive ever deeper into the unlimitedly blissful ocean of love of Godhead. Therefore anxiety can never penetrate his all-blissful heart. ISKCON Denver Devotees Chant at Colorado State University Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Devotees in Distress? In the material world non-devotees experience distress. From the Puranas we know that the Pandavas who were the most exalted devotees of Krishna also had their share of distress. So what's the difference? Your humble servant Makarand Answer: Different Perception The difference is how you perceive the distress. Most experience distress as bitter poison. But those

In your present human form of life you are blessed with the rarest of all opportunities, the unlimitedly great good fortune of being able to awaken your original enlightened consciousness, your Krishna consciousness and thus regain your original, eternal identity in the pastimes of the Supreme Lord in His unfathomably sweet transcendental abode. Fully take advantage of this opportunity by totally and completely surrendering yourself under the representative of the Lord, the bona fide spiritual master. By so doing you will attain the supreme opulence, pure love of God, which pales all other opulences such as power, beauty, renunciation, knowledge, wealth, and fame into utter insignificance. Any other course of action is absolute foolishness. So, please do not be a fool. Krishna's Amazing Pastimes in Goloka Vrindavana Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: How Householder Can Spread Krishna Consciousness? How does one practically dedicate one's life to this missio

Even though I am highly unqualified and incompetent in so many ways, Lord Sri Krishna has so kindly sent me thousands of sincere souls all over the world to guide on their pathway of spiritual perfection. I accept this as the greatest good fortune. There is no greater happiness than teaching someone else how to become Krishna conscious because the more you give Krishna, the more you get Krishna. Therefore I am humbly begging Krishna to please bless me that I can give Him to the entire world. Testimonial From Aarushi “Krishna, you are being very unfair.” I bawled my eyes out while pouring over the pages. Let us go back in time a little. A generous friend gifted me the Bhagavad-gita while making me pay for it. I was a little annoyed but obediently obliged. Little did I know that what I had bought for a mere hundred rupees was worth more than the riches of the three worlds. Curious about the new book I immediately dived into it. I clearly remember reading through just half of the int

If you want to get out of this miserable material existence, you must surrender yourself fully to the bona fide spiritual master. If you try to practice Krishna consciousness on your own without taking shelter of the bona fide spiritual master, trying to concoct your own non-bona fide process of spiritual realization, you will not be successful. Therefore it is clearly described by Srila Prabhupada in his purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 4th Canto, Chapter 21, Text 35 as follows: "The Vedas give the direction tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet: [Mundaka-Upanisad 1.2.12] in order to reach the perfection of life or to understand the real constitutional position of the living entity, one must approach the spiritual master. Gurum evābhigacchet—one must; it is not optional. It is imperative that one approach the spiritual master, for by such association one proportionately develops his consciousness toward the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The highest perfection of such conscious

It is utterly pathetic to see how much the conditioned souls are caught up in the material energy. Even if we approach them with a Bhagavad-gita they have absolutely no interest whatsoever to even stop for a second to hear about it. They are so much covered by passion and ignorance that all they can think about is material sense gratification. Yesterday (22 August 2015) while distributing Bhagavad-gitas on South Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas one young woman I approached with a Gita was scantily dressed in shorts and a tank top which read "Let's Get Physical", which is another way of saying, "Let's Have Sex." Feeling sorry for this poor deluded soul who is completely enamored by material sense gratification I immediately offered her the Krishna conscious positive alternative, "Let's Get Spiritual." But she ignored me and continued walking down the sidewalk. Such ignorance and misfortune is sadly typical of everyone in this fallen age of Kali

Lord Krishna's devotee cannot tolerate the sufferings of the conditioned souls who are caught up in the cycle of birth and death. It is too much painful for him to see their endless miseries. Therefore he fully dedicates his life for awakening the dormant Krishna consciousness that is sleeping in the hearts of all living beings. He is even willing, if the Lord so desires, to take birth after birth in this material world to serve the mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, which is to inundate the entire universe with Krishna consciousness, pure love of God. Lord Caitanya's Movement Will Deliver the Entire Universe Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Why No Onions and Garlic? While eating lunch at my work place a question was asked by a non-devotee, who is also a non-vegetarian, as to why we don’t eat onions and garlic. I explained whatever I could, but I’m curious to know the convincing answer that I could give next time if asked. Please let me know. Your hu

Don't punish yourself by giving in to the whims of your temporary material senses, which are not really you, being only a covering of the actual self who resides within. Why put yourself into misery when you can instead by using a little intelligence put yourself into  the realm of eternal unlimited bliss. Srila Prabhupada Teaches Us How to Be Truly Happy Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: How to Be Both Desireless and Effective? How to be desireless and simultaneously perform worldly duties effectively? JMN Answer: Desireless Devotee is Most Effective Person in the World In regards to material sense gratification a devotee has no desires. And regarding Krishna’s service a devotee has unlimited desires for satisfying his beloved Lord. Therefore by acting always for the pleasure of Krishna there is no one who can act more effectively in this world than the Lord's devotee. Hanuman and Arjuna are perfect examples of this. They both acted very effectively in th

In our prasadam prayer we pray that of all the senses the tongue is the most voracious and uncontrollable, and this is most certainly a fact. Our tendency is to speak anything nonsense and to eat anything nonsense. So we must conquer the tongue by only talking about Krishna and by only eating Krishna prasadam. And also we should not overindulge in our eating of Krishna prasadam. By such overeating prasadam loses its spiritual qualities and becomes material. Krishna Prasadam Will Conquer the World Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: No Discussion of Subhadra? The following questions were asked by my wife, for which I had no answers: Why we don't celebrate the appearance day of Subhadraji when we celebrate the appearance day of Krishna, Janmastami, and Lord Balarama's appearance day? Why don't we discuss the pastimes of Subhadraji? Many thanks for your valuable time, Aspiring to be servant of your servant, Gopal Answer: Are You Not Reading Our Books? We d

Sometimes foolish neophytes on the pathway of Krishna consciousness think that it is okay to violate the principles of Krishna consciousness a little bit. They think that there is no harm in engaging in a little bit of material sense gratification and that even advanced devotees sometimes do this. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you give Maya an inch, she will take a mile. Anyone who indulges in material sense gratification has not yet learned what it means to a be a devotee and is at best understood to be a pseudo devotee, not an actual devotee. Devotee means someone who is fully devoted to Krishna. Those who engage in material sense gratification are still devoted to their rascal senses and cannot be rightly considered to be devotees of Krishna. Krishna's Pure Devotee, Srila Prabhupada, is Glorious Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: How to Deal With Puffed Up People? When we happen to encounter puffed up people, how should we treat them: reject the

Srila Prabhupada trained us in all aspects of Krishna consciousness. One of the most important things is to understand the process of disciplic succession. In this regard on 2 December 1975 when Srila Prabhupada was in New Delhi he wrote to his disciple Tusta Krishna as follows: "Keep trained up very rigidly and then you are bona fide guru, and you can accept disciples on the same principle. But as a matter of etiquette it is the custom that during the lifetime of your spiritual master you bring the prospective disciples to him, and in his absence or disappearance you can accept disciples without any limitation. This is the law of disciplic succession. I want to see my disciples become bona fide Spiritual Master and spread Krishna consciousness very widely, that will make me and Krishna very happy." Therefore when one's guru is on the planet and one is preaching, one's duty is to make disciples for his spiritual master, not that he tries to make his own followers

We must never stop chanting Hare Krishna because this chanting is our only hope for becoming free from the miseries of material existence. The following video is a "must watch" for anyone who wants to appreciate the great liberating power of the Hare Krishna mahamantra: https://filmfest.musicbed.com/submissions/never-stop-chanting/681 Please watch the video and give it your vote. We want it to win the number one spot in the film festival. BB Govinda Maharaja Leads Ecstatic Hare Krishna Kirtan (This is a scene from the above mentioned video.) Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Can I Be My Own Guru? I came across a verse from Krishna to Uddhava in Bhagavatam 11.7.20. "ātmano gurur ātmaiva--One can indeed become one's own guru." I saw this on a wall near my place and kept thinking about the meaning. Can you please make me understand what does "ātmano gurur ātmaiva" means? Does it mean a soul can be his own teacher. Thanks, Vivek Answe

Envy is our worst enemy. It was what brought us into this material world. And it is what is keeping us here in this material world. If you can conquer it, you become liberated from this hellish existence. And if you are not able to conquer it, you remain enslaved here in karma chakra, the wheel of action and reaction. Therefore learning how to conquer over it is the greatest lesson that you can ever learn in millions upon billions of lifetimes in this material world. The method for conquering it is not difficult. You simply have to take complete shelter of a person who is non-envious. In Srimad-Bhagavatam (5.5.2) it is said, mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimukteḥ: if one associates with a saintly person, a devotee, one's path of liberation becomes clear. In this way, by his mercy, his non-envious qualities will gradually become more and more manifested in you until you become completely liberated from the debilitating enemy known as envy and you regain your original liberated position

If we want to attain the supreme perfection of going back to home, back to Godhead, we have to keep Krishna consciousness as it is. We cannot concoct our own new version of Krishna consciousness adapted to facilitate our sense pleasure. If we compromise with maya or illusion, we will be fated to remain here in this material existence rotating perpetually in the cycle of repeated birth, death, old age, and disease. Don't Remain Entangled in this Endless Cycle Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: How Ajamila Got Perfection? In Lesson C205 you write how it is important to remember Krishna at the time of death. But please explain how I should understand Srila Prabhupada's purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 6.2.13 where he says: "The Visnudutas, who are superior authorities, gave orders to the Yamadutas, who did not know that Ajamila was no longer subject to tribulation in hellish life for his past sins. Although he had chanted the holy name Narayaṇa to indicate h

It is sometimes very profoundly said, "Perseverance furthers." What this means is that those who are so determined that they undeviatingly stick to the duties given by their spiritual master no matter what, achieve unparalleled success both in this life and in their eternal existence beyond this lifetime. Therefore one should never abandon the duties given by his spiritual master under any and all circumstances. This is called unconditional devotional service. Those who are not solidly situated on the transcendental platform sometimes waver in the steady execution of these duties, while those who are fixed in transcendence are rock-solidly, undeviatingly always fully absorbed in the execution of these divine instructions. Vedic culture means that for my entire life I undeviatingly stick to the duties given to me by my spiritual master even if under the most cataclysmic of circumstances. Mleccha culture or material culture means that I can give up serving my spiritual master

In this material world we are taught to first and foremost love ourselves. In this connection there is a popular saying: You've got to take care of number one. What this saying assumes is that you are number one, that your first business is to love yourself. In this connection there is a nice example. If the hand thinks that it is number one and tries to get the nutrition it needs by squeezing food between its fingers instead of feeding the stomach, it will not be successful. It is only when the hand realizes that it must feed the belly that it will get the nutrition it needs. Similarly it is only when we realize that Krishna is number one and is therefore that person to whom all of our love should be channeled that our lives become happy, peaceful, and successful. Jagadananda and Gaurangi's Cows Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Is Serving Krishna Fun? We are very happy, that your blessings give us such opportunity to take care of cows. It is wonderful. Kr

Selfishness is complete, total madness. And it is the most bitterly miserable state of mind to be in. Yet that is what the modern day society trains us to be: completely, totally selfish. This is going on because the entire world has gone mad imagining that selfishness is real happiness. So you have a choice. You can either be a part of the madness, or you can step outside of it into the transcendental realm of the association of those who are truly selfless, the pure devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Join the Company of Those Who Are Selfless Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Give Up Self-Centeredness How to give up self centeredness? Your servant, Bhakta Shashank Answer: Your Highest Self-Interest The secret of giving up self-centeredness is to understand that putting Krishna in the center of your life is your highest self-interest. Sankarshan Das Adhikari

If you want to become a liberated soul, you have to learn how to think, speak, and act outside of the box. In other words, don't blindly cling to the stereotypical patterns of thinking, speaking, and acting that you are habituated to. When you take to Krishna consciousness everything is on the table for being introspectively examined. Whatever about your life is favorable for Krishna consciousness, should be accepted. And whatever is not favorable for your Krishna consciousness should be rejected. From now on this should be the only guiding principle of your life.  Krishna Awaits Your Return to the Spiritual World Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: What is Maya? Dear Srila Gurudeva, According to ISKCON teachings maya means illusion. But yesterday I read regarding Krishna's spiritual energy and material energy, that the spiritual energy is called yogamaya and the material energy is called mahamaya. I thought both the energies are maya (illusion). Could you

To realize the goal of the human form of life you must stay always focused on Krishna. If you lose your focus on Krishna, you are out of touch with reality. Sometimes foolish materialists whose only focus is on material advancement want to utilize Krishna to facilitate their material progress. For this purpose they temporarily take an interest in Krishna. However as soon their material goals are achieved they immediately discard Krishna and fully reabsorb themselves in material sense gratification. This is their greatest misfortune. Don't make this mistake. Make the pleasure of Krishna the only goal of your life. This will bring you eternal happiness. Devotees in the Philippines Focus Their Minds on Krishna Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: How to Become Krishna Conscious? How to become Krishna Conscious? Your servant, Shashank Answer: Always Remember Him. Never Forget Him. Always remember Krishna and never forget Him, not even for a moment. Sankarshan Das A

On Saturday 9 August 2015 a crew of sankirtana heroes joined me and my wife, Vishnupriya Devi Dasi, on a combat/rescue mission in the heart of Austin, Texas. Our mission given by Lord Caitanya and Srila Prabhupada was to combat the ignorance which has captured the human civilization and to rescue Maya's prisoners by the power of the Hare Krishna mantra and transcendental literatures. My stalwart transcendental companion and wife was the organizer/facilitator of this combat/rescue mission. The sankirtana heroes who joined us were Vraja Kishore Das, Abhay Charan Das, Chakravarti, Ritesh, Mamta, Kirtan, Govinda, and Gayatri. We went to an area of town which has a constant flow of people walking up down the sidewalk so that we could bless as many people as possible with the liberating sound of the Hare Krishna mantra and the opportunity to purchase Srila Prabhupada's books. Books were sold and many people got the blessings of hearing Krishna's holy name. If you want to taste

Lord Caitanya has ordered his devotees to save the world by telling everyone about Krishna. So if a devotee has a desire to save the world, this is very nice that he wants to do his duty. So how does one become empowered to spread the Krishna consciousness movement? The most important to understand is that one becomes empowered to save the world only to the extent that he has saved himself. In this connection there is a very appropriate verse: vāco vegaṁ manasaḥ krodha-vegaṁ jihvā-vegam udaropastha-vegam etān vegān yo viṣaheta dhīraḥ sarvām apīmāṁ pṛthivīṁ sa śiṣyāt "A sober person who can tolerate the urge to speak, the mind's demands, the actions of anger and the urges of the tongue, belly and genitals is qualified to make disciples all over the world." --Nectar of Instruction, Verse 1 So the first step in saving the world is to see that one's tongue, belly, genitals, mind, words, and anger are perfectly dovetailed in the service of the Lord. One Who Conquers

Take full advantage of what we have to offer you. If you are willing to come along for the ride, we are going to take you back to your original home situated far, far beyond the realm of birth and death, in which you are presently entangled. Although after thousands and millions of lifetimes you have forgotten it, your actual identity is that you are a resident of that gorgeously resplendent transcendental realm in which there is perfect peace, harmony, happiness, and love. The teachings we bring you are like a transcendental airplane, which can carry you back to your original liberated identity, if you will simply open your heart to them. So take our instructions very seriously. We hope you will fully connect with them in the deepest possible way. Krishna Awaits Your Return to His Transcendental Abode Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: How to Serve the Mission While in Married Life? How does one practically dedicate one's life to this mission? Considering that

Our spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, ordered us to deliver the entire world population from ignorance and misery by enlightening them in the ultimate science of Krishna consciousness This is surely an inconceivably titanic task. Therefore we need all the help we can get if we are going to have a chance to really a make a difference in world history. This is why I am requesting you to fully dedicate your life for assisting us in making the entire world Krishna conscious. This will make your life truly glorious and will give us more hope of being able to successfully carry out this order given to by Srila Prabhupada. So please make your commitment today to dedicate your life for this, if you have not already done so. Chanting on the River Yamuna for the Deliverance of the World Spring 2014 Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Can I Desire to Be With Krishna? Hare Krishna Dear Srila Gurudeva, Please accept my humble obeisances. I have understood one is closest to Kr

Your life is perfect when you have taken shelter of the bona fide spiritual master by initiation in full obedience and you are in the association of Krishna's pure devotees. Simply by doing these you are properly situated for attaining the spiritual world when you leave your present material body. Any other considerations such as geographic location, physical health, financial status, or social status are superfluous. Sadly the entire human society has missed these most essential points of life. They are in complete ignorance of how to actually be happy. Blindly they carryone on in their fool's paradise of trying to be content by over-gratifying the covering of the self known as the material body, while completely neglecting the happiness and satisfaction of the actual self within. It is sad indeed. We must try to save them. Devotees Blissfully Chanting Hare Krishna in Sydney, Australia Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: How to Become a Pure Devotee? Hare Kr

The greatest pitfall to be avoided on the pathway of Krishna consciousness is be offensive towards a devotee of the Lord. Such an offense is called hati mata, the mad elephant offense. Just as when a mad elephant enters your garden all your plants are destroyed, when one commits the mad elephant offense of being offensive towards a devotee, his spiritual life is ruined and remains off the track until he rectifies himself by with genuine humility, begging forgiveness from the devotee he offended. Therefore we must always be very, very careful not to speak or act in such a way that is offensive to a devotee. Even if our attitude is offensive, this improper attitude will sooner or later manifest in our words and actions. Therefore we must very careful that even our thoughts about each of the devotees are duly respectful and not offensive. If we have offended a devotee, we should beg forgiveness for the offense. If we think we are so advanced that we are beyond the realm of committing of

As living beings we are meant to love and be loved unconditionally. When we are starved of this we become miserable. This is the present plight of the entire human civilization. And this is why there are so many wars and so much hatred going around. To realize our full potential as living beings we must come to the platform of unconditional universal love. This platform is achieved when we give our love fully to the Supreme Person. Just as when you water the root of all tree all the leaves and branches are nourished, similarly when you give your love fully to the Supreme Person with unconditional surrender, your unconditional love for all living beings then becomes fully manifested and distributed and you experience unlimited peace and happiness at every moment. There Is No One More Lovable Than Krishna Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: How to Give Up Lusty Desires? Hare Krishna, Dear Srila Gurudeva, Please accept my humble obeisances. How to give up lusty desires

Healthy human relationships are based on true love, dedicated selfless service to each other. It is such loving relationships that bring genuine happiness to the living being. In the absence of this true love all bad qualities; such as lust, anger, greed, madness, illusion, and envy; become gradually more and more manifested and the human population become regressively more and more miserable. Therefore the mission of the Krishna consciousness movement is to inspire everyone throughout to cultivate pure loving relationships based on a loving relationship with Lord Sri Krishna, the ultimate source for all of existence. Happy Hare Krishna Devotees in London Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Is the Term "Higher Self" Bona Fide? In the West spiritualists have been using the term, "higher self." What is the equivalent in our terminology, or is it a pseudo expression? Golok Das Answer: Yes Higher self means the actual self within, the pure devotee o

Those who are in favor of abortion say that they are not killing a human being, that they are simply removing a fetus. What they do not understand is that there is a human being present in the mother's womb from the very moment of conception when the male injects the living being in his semen into her womb where it then develops a body. So when they remove a fetus they are actually murdering a human being. Because they are too much addicted to illicit sex they refuse to accept the fact that abortion is murder. The karmic reaction they will receive for such a sinful act is that they will be aborted in their next life before they take birth from the womb of their mother. For each abortion that they commit they will be aborted in a future lifetime. Raise Your Children in Krishna Consciousness Don't Murder Them Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Krishna's Childhood Pastimes in the Spiritual Sky? I want to know that whether Krishna's pastimes are continui

The wonderful reality is that nobody dies. It is simply due to our foolish misidentification with our material bodies that we are under the illusion that people die. To factually realize the eternal identity of all living things is the real purpose of the human form of life, not material sense gratification on a more polished level than the animals. There is no process of self-realization more powerful and more potent than the process of Krishna consciousness as taught by Lord Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita and also here in this course, the Ultimate Self Realization Course. Take full advantage of this course and attain the supreme happiness. Krishna and His Eternal Associates in Goloka Vrindavana Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: What is a Good Round of Japa? What's the definition of a good round of Hare Krishna japa? Tom Answer: Feeling Presence of Krishna or Attentively Hearing Good round means feeling the presence of Krishna or carefully pronouncing and