Ultimate Self Realization

Cast off your shell of bodily identification and come forth as who you really are, the eternal spirit-soul servant of Krishna. Why remain in illusion suffering unnecessarily the pangs of birth, death, old age, and disease when you could be swimming at every minute in an ocean of unlimited bliss? It's time now for you to stop being a fool, to use your intelligence and claim your original birthright as an eternal associate servitor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Writing "Thought for the Day" in Hong Kong--29 June 2016 Video For the Day: Our World Mission Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Karmic Destiny or Free Will? Hare Krishna, Srila Gurudeva, Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet. My question is: If everything is destined to happen in life, then what is the significance of karma? If we have no control over karmic reactions of our past lives and we suffer or enjoy them in our present one, then why it is said that we should

If you happen to be in or near Hong Kong tonight (29 June 2016), you are invited to attend my lecture from 7:00pm until 8:30pm at ISKCON Hong Kong entitled "Living in Vrindavan at Every Minute." Here's the temple information: ISKCON Hong Kong 6/F Ocean View Court 27A Chatham Road South Tsim Sha Tsu, KOWLOON, Hong Kong Telephone: 852-2739 6818 Website: www.iskconhk If you cannot attend in Hong Kong, the lecture may be available live at: www.livelectures.net There is no guarantee it will be available. We will have to see whether or not we can get a good internet connection in the temple room. If we are online, here are the timings for different parts of the world: 01:00am to 02:30am in Honolulu Hawaii 04:00am to 05:30am in Los Angeles 06:00am to 07:30am in USA (Central Time) 07:00am to 08:30am in NYC, Toronto, Santiago (Eastern Time) 08:00am to 09:30am in Mendoza, Argentina 12:00pm to 01:30pm in London 01:00pm to 02:30pm in Copenhagen, S. Africa 02:00pm to 03:30pm Latvia,

Great adventurers do not shy away from struggle. Rather they excitingly embrace struggle with great determination, enthusiasm, and patience. Therefore those who undertake the greatest struggle of all, the awakening of their dormant Krishna consciousness, should always remain determined, enthusiastic, and patient. If they do so, their rapid attainment of spiritual perfection is guaranteed. Bhagavad-gita Lecture--Sandton, South Africa--26 June 2016 Video For the Day: The Greatest Opportunity Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: How There Can No Rules and Ten Offenses? It's written there's no hard or fast rules to chanting the holy name, but at the same time we have the 10 offenses against the holy name. How do we understand this? Tom Answer: Beginning Stage and Advanced Stage "No hard and fast rules” means that everyone can come and join our kirtan even if they are most sinful. It also means that we can chant anywhere: in the street, on a subway,

No matter where you may go in this material world even up the highest planet, Brahmaloka, you will find that every place is place of misery. This material world is a bad neighborhood, and there is not much more to be said in this connection. Therefore instead of trying to find happiness by changing your material position, the intelligent thing to do is to get out of this material world and return to your original position in the spiritual world. There you will enjoy an eternal, blissful, youthful existence in the association of Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and His pure devotees. Come Back to Your Original Home Video For the Day: Realizing the Absolute Truth Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: How to Become Free From Fear? Dear Srila Gurudeva, Before I joined Krishna consciousness I had lots of fear and anger, but now while doing my 16 rounds of japa I do not feel the anger anymore, and all I feel is more love for Lord Krishna. However, I still

The root cause of all suffering and turmoil is that we are disconnected from God. Therefore any institution which is not God-centered is doomed to ultimately fail. The European Union was formed without even the slightest connection with God. Therefore it is sure to collapse in due course of time. But if the European leaders will take advise from us how to put God in the center of their union it will never be broken. So now let's see if they will hear and heed our warning and do the needful. The problem faced by the European Union is symptomatic of the rapidly disintegrating world order. Unless Krishna or God is put back in the center of the world society, we are surely headed for total global anarchy. All Problems Are Solved When Krishna is in the Center Video For the Day: Let's Work Together to Save the World Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: How to Chant 16 Rounds of Japa in One Session? I am writing to you as I am sure you would be able to give me s

After a wonderful eleven day, twenty-three lectures marathon here in Mauritius we are heading out today to South Africa in continuation of our around-the-world lecture tour. What could be more wonderful than connecting people all over the world with their original spiritual natures? It is not difficult to do this. All we have to do is to engage them in hearing and chanting the glories of Lord Sri Krishna. In this way their original divine consciousness is automatically revived as confirmed in the Sri Caitanya Caritamrita, Madhya-Lila, Chapter 22, Text 107: nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema ‘sādhya’ kabhu naya śravaṇādi-śuddha-citte karaye udaya “Pure love for Krishna is eternally established in the hearts of the living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, this love naturally awakens. Our mission is to awaken the entire world to Krishna consciousness. We are praying to Krishna that our mission will be successful.

I am very happy that Krishna has blessed me with the opportunity to give Krishna consciousness to so many people all over the world through this online course. Here is an appreciation from one of our students: Hare Krishna! Please accept my humble obeisances All glories to Srila Gurudeva and Srimati Gurumataji All glories to Srila Prabhupada. The weekly questions and answers are very helpful for me, because they help me clear any doubt and confusion about the Supreme Lord Krishna. And also how to properly use this human form of life in this material world and the importance of this human form, also how to develop my Krishna consciousness. Of course, it also give me the opportunity to clearly understand the Bhagavad Gita As It Is. By reading the 'Daily Thought' and listen to Srila Gurudeva 'Video for the Day', I really start my journey with Krishna in my mind, there is nothing more relishing than remember Krishna and the spiritual master all the day. The online class o

You are an eternal spiritual being, qualitatively one with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the source of all existence. Therefore you should not cheat yourself out of your constitutional birthright, which is an eternal existence full of knowledge and full of bliss. The great Vaisnava acharya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, explains in this regard that pure Krishna consciousness is the birthright of all living entities because every living entity is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. The conclusion is that if you focus your life on anything other than awakening your dormant enlightened state of Krishna consciousness, you are simply absolutely cheating yourself. And there is not much more to be said in this connection. Srila Prabhupada Enlightens His Disciples Video For the Day: It's Better than Sex Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: How to End My Confusion? Dear Srila Gurudeva, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to

Relish this marvelous verse, Brahma-samhita 5.41: māyā hi yasya jagad-aṇḍa-śatāni sūte traiguṇya-tad-viṣaya-veda-vitāyamānā sattvāvalambi-para-sattvaṁ viśuddha-sattvam- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi "I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is the absolute substantive principle being the ultimate entity in the form of the support of all existence whose external potency embodies the threefold mundane qualities, viz., sattva, rajas, and tamas and diffuses the Vedic knowledge regarding the mundane world." This a wonderful description of Krishna's divinity. Krishna is God because He is the absolute substantive principle. This means that things have substance only because Krishna gives them substance. Without Krishna giving them substance, they have no substance. In this way He is the support of all existence. In other words, without Krishna nothing exists. Without Krishna manifesting existence, even existence does not exist. So everyone and everything that exists do

I am completely disgusted with the present day world situation. The modern day world leaders are totally blind and thus incompetent for properly guiding the human society. By the grace of Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and my most beloved spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, I have been blessed with the formula how the entire world can live in perfect peace and happiness. Therefore I want to make a revolution, a spiritual revolution, on this planet by teaching everyone this formula. But the difficulty is that because everyone is under the grip of these rascal non-leaders, practically no one wants to hear our message. This is the dilemma. Lecture--19 June 2016--Krishna Balarama Temple--Mauritius Video For the Day: Realizations from the Road Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Can I Desire to Make Money? I am connected to Krishna conscious movement for almost 7 years and my devotion towards Krishna has only

Just as a drop of ocean water is simultaneously the ocean and not the ocean, in the same way the living being is simultaneously God and not God. The drop of ocean water is ocean because it has exactly the same chemical composition as the entire ocean. But it is not the ocean because you cannot float a cruise ship on it. In other words, it is ocean, but it is not the ocean. It is not the entire ocean. Similarly, the living being is qualitatively one with God because just as God is eternal, the living being is eternal. Just as God is full of knowledge and bliss, the living being in his liberated state is also full of knowledge and bliss. But quantitatively speaking there is a gargantuan gulf of difference between God and the living being because God being infinite includes everything within Himself, while the living being infinitesimal is only a tiny insignificant fragment of a fragment of the vastly unlimited energy of God. Krishna Has All of Existence Within Himself Video For the

The entire world is suffering due to a lack of Krishna consciousness. Simply by becoming Krishna conscious, all the world's problems will be solved. Therefore our mission is to introduce the whole world to Krishna. If the world's leaders can learn how to put Krishna back in the center, world wide peace and prosperity will be the immediate result. But how to convince them? That is the challenge. The key, of course, is to get them to read Srila Prabhupada's books. This is why Srila Prabhupada so much emphasizes the distribution of his books as the topmost welfare activity to relieve the suffering humanity from illusion. Distributing Srila Prabhupada's Books Video For the Day: Get Back to Your Original Nature Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Why Can't I Remember What I Read? Pranam Guru Maharaja, I read many of Srila Prabhupada's books like the Nectar of Devotion. I have almost finished the Srimad Bhagavatam, and I have read the Bhaga

In his purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 4.12.11 Srila Prabhupada wonderfully describes the vision of the maha-bhagavata, the highest level devotee of Krishna: "A devotee can see that the Lord is situated in everyone's heart, as stated in the Bhagavad-gita (isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese 'rjuna tisthati [Bg. 18.61]). Ordinary persons cannot understand how the Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, but a devotee can actually see Him. Not only can the devotee see Him outwardly, but he can see, with spiritual vision, that everything is resting in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as described in Bhagavad-gita (mat-sthani sarva-bhutani [Bg. 9.4]). That is the vision of a maha-bhagavata. He sees everything others see, but instead of seeing merely the trees, the mountains, the cities or the sky, he sees only his worshipable Supreme Personality of Godhead in everything because everything is resting in Him only. This is the vision of the maha-bhagavata. In summary, a mah

As our most affectionate father, Krishna eternally manifests unlimited mercy upon all of us living beings. He is never cruel or hateful to anyone. Whatever sufferings we are undergoing are simply due to our own foolishness of cutting ourselves off from Krishna's unlimited mercy. Therefore we should be intelligent enough to reconnect ourselves with that most wonderful of all persons in all of existence. Krishna Unlimitedly Loves Everyone Video For the Day: Wake Up Sleeping Souls Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Why Pray to Krishna? Dear Guru Maharaja, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. It is said in the Bhagavad-gita that the Supreme Lord Krishna is the knower of everything. He knows the past, the present, and even the future. My question is: Does Lord Krishna also know about what is going on in my heart and my mind - my thoughts, feelings, and concerns? If yes, then what is the use of praying to Krishna and expressing my

At the present moment the world social order is rapidly degenerating more and more every day tottering on the edge of complete total collapse, which will be even more devastating than the Dark Ages (500-1100 A.D.) of medieval Europe. Unfortunately the world leaders have not a clue how to bring about a solution to this ever-increasingly dire situation. So what to do? Most fortunately I was blessed with the tutelage of a great spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who taught me the formula for perfect world peace. The entire global society was formerly based on this formula thousands of years ago, before modern recorded history, when the entire earth population lived in perfect peace and harmony. Swami Prabhupada taught me in detail how this formula can be practically applied in every facet of the human society, and he ordered me to disseminate this knowledge all over the world. Somehow or other you are one of those most fortunate souls who has been at

15 June 2016--It was a most glorious arrival in Mauritius because as we came to the terminal exit we were greeted by a sankirtan party ecstatically chanting the holy names of God. Simply by this congregational chanting there will be vast spiritual revolution that will soon envelope the entire earth planet in an ocean of transcendental bliss. This Krishna consciousness movement is the only solution for all the problems of the world. How fortunate we are to have attracted to this movement by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Mauritius Lecture Schedule (Click to Enlarge) Video For the Day: Bringing Krishna Back to the Center Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Is Kicking Out Doubts Blind Following? You told me regarding my doubts to kick them out of my mind. Does it mean that I should ignore all my thoughts and practice Krishna Consciousness without any hesitation? But isn't this blind following? Your servant, Answer: Practice Unhesita

Upon arriving in England we received the sad news of the deadliest mass shooting in US history. 50 people we shot dead by a terrorist in a night club in Orlando, Florida. How do we make sense of such tragedies in the light of Vedic wisdom? To understand it is very simple. If one meets with untimely death, it is a reaction for his sinful activities. Therefore the only real solution for such ghastly catastrophes is to train the human population how to become perfectly sinless, free from all karmic reactions by surrendering to Krishna. Krishna promises in the Bhagavad-gita that those who fully surrender unto Him will be free from all the reactions of their previous sinful activities. As long as we engage in sinful activities, it is natural that reactions will come and torture us in various ways. But when we become sinless, these reactions will naturally go away. No Terrorism in the Serene Spiritual World Video For the Day: Plug Into Krishna Answers by Citing the Vedic Version

Of all devotees the maha-bhagavata is the most exalted. What distinguishes him from the other devotees is that he sees everything within Krishna and Krishna within everything. In this way he is never separated from Krishna, not even for a minute. Srila Prabhupada explains: "So that is the aim of Krishna consciousness movement, that everyone, at least those who are ruling, those who are on the executive function, they must be all maha-bhagavata. Under them everything should be ruled. Then people will be happy. Because they will never do anything unjustly." So if the executive heads throughout the world all must be maha-bhagavatas, who will train them how to become maha-bhagavatas? This means that the Krishna consciousness movement must have maha-bhagavata preachers all over the world who will train these executive heads how to become maha-bhagavatas. Srila Prabhupada--The Topmost Maha-Bhagavata Video For the Day: Circling the Globe for Krishna Answers by Citing the

Srila Prabhupada wonderfully enlightened us in a Srimad Bhagavatam class that he gave in Los Angeles on 28 December 1973 that even though worshipping Krishna is good, it is better to worship Krishna's devotees Because Krishna's devotees are very, very dear to Krishna, when He sees that they are being worshipped very nicely He becomes even more pleased than when He is being worshipped. In this connection Srila Prabhupada explained, "Why spiritual master is very dear to Krishna? Because his only anxiety is how Krishna will be known all over the world. That's all. He has no ambition, pounds, shilling, pence. He only wants to know, only wants to see that everyone is devotee of Krishna and they are happy." So if we will mold our lives in such a way that we are always pleasing our spiritual master, Krishna will bestow His unlimited blessings upon us at every minute. Srila Prabhupada Preaches in Vrindavan, India Video For the Day: Taste Bliss in Suffering An

We are heading out today on another around-the-world lecture tour. On this trip we will speaking and leading kirtan in the following countries: 1. United Kingdom (London) 2. Mauritius (various cities) 3. South Africa (Pretoria and Lenasia) 4. China (Hong Kong) 5. Malaysia (Klang and Kuala Lumpur) 6. Australia (Melbourne) 7. United States (Los Angeles) Srila Prabhupada's mission is to make the entire world Krishna conscious, and we are praying that we can be his fully empowered instruments to assist him in the most essential work for the deliverance of the fallen, conditioned souls back to home, back to Godhead. Video For the Day: Serve with Love Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Depressed, Stressed, and Tense. What to Do? All glories to Srila Prabhupada! Your lectures are very nice. I regularly chant, read and do a little devotional service every week. But I am depressed, stressed and tense. How to conquer this? Your servant, J. Das Answer: Dive Deeper into

There is only one religion in the world, to become fully surrendered to the Supreme Person, who is the source of all existence. Whether you call Him Allah, Krishna, or Jehovah, there is only one Supreme Person. There cannot be two or more because then He would no longer be supreme. The Supreme can only be one. Therefore people should not waste their time in so-called inter-religious fighting. Such fighting is not religious at all. It is simply irreligion. Everyone should now fully surrender themselves to the one Supreme Person, who is source of all existence. This is the one true religion that will solve all the problems of the world. The Supreme Person, the Source of All Existence Video For the Day: The Deathless Self Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Attracted to Gita, But Not Bhagavatam? Reverend Gurudeva, I love to read the Bhagavad-gita, but I have no attraction for the Srimad Bhagavatam. Why is it so? Your insignificant servant Answer: Artificial

Take self realization seriously as the sole purpose of your human form of life, and it will be very easy to advance on the self-realization path. However, if you simply take it as a sideline, as an interesting hobby, you will find that it is very difficult to make spiritual progress. Krishna rewards you according to your degree of surrender unto Him. Therefore those who are highly intelligent surrender unto Him and reap unlimited rewards. Prabhupada Takes Krishna Consciousness Very Seriously Video For the Day: Appreciating Srila Prabhupada  Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Remedy for Frustration? Are patience and perseverance essential for long-term spiritual progress? I am quite sure this is the case, but sometimes I get frustrated at how much time it is taking to progress. Is the mere remedy for this frustration patience? Varun Answer: Intensely Beg for Pure Bhakti As Much As Possible I am very happy to learn that you are feeling frustrated by your lack

In this material world many people talk about universal love, i.e. loving everyone. But when it comes to applying this principle they always fall short of the mark. For example, after talking about universal love they eat a hamburger demonstrating practically that they do not love the cows. There are so many examples to show that no one is able to actually manifest universal love. For the devotee of the Lord, however, manifesting universal love is very easy. Simply by loving Krishna he automatically loves everyone. In this connection Srila Prabhupada describes as follows in the preface to the Nectar of Devotion: "If we learn how to love Krishna, then it is very easy to immediately and simultaneously love every living being. It is like pouring water on the root of a tree or supplying food to one's stomach." So just focus your life on loving Krishna and you will have the sweetest most happy life beyond what can even be imagined. Loving Krishna is the Perfection of Your

Krishna's pure devotee feels himself to be the most fortunate person in the entire universe because he possesses Krishna. And one who possesses Krishna, Who is manifesting all of existence from His transcendental body, becomes the possessor of everything. Therefore Krishna's pure devotee can never be lacking in any way. This may not make any sense from the standpoint of mundane logic, but it is factually experienced by those who have fully awakened their dormant Krishna consciousness. Prabhupada Bestows Unlimited Good Fortune on His Disciple Video For the Day: Properly Utilize Your Human Form  Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: How to Get Free From Sex Desire? Dear Master, It is very difficult to overcome sex desire. Sometimes consciously I am able to divert myself from this desire by saying to myself, "The skin is only made of earth so why get attracted to it?". However the desire comes in my sleep and tries to take control when I'm not c

The Srimad Bhagavatam 2.7.53 gives us the simple formula how to become liberated from the illusory energy: "The Lord's activities in association with His different energies should be described, appreciated and heard in accordance with the teachings of the Supreme Lord. If this is done regularly with devotion and respect, one is sure to get out of the illusory energy of the Lord." A key word to focus on here is the word "appreciated." We need to talk about and hear about Krishna with keen appreciation. The degree of appreciation that we have indicates our level of spiritual awakening. So we should strive to appreciate the topics and names of Krishna to the fullest possible extent as we regularly engage in hearing and vibrating them. This will quickly free us from the clutches of the illusory energy. Prabhupada Shares His Appreciation of Krishna Video For the Day: Appreciate Krishna  Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: No Reaction from Sinf

There is no greater good fortune than awakening your dormant Krishna consciousness. To achieve this transcendental platform of perfect spiritual awakening completely beyond the debilitating influence of the three modes of material nature is the greatest of all victories, the most auspicious of all auspicious things. As stated in Bhagavad-gita 6.22: "Established in Krishna consciousness, one never departs from the truth, and upon gaining this he thinks there is no greater gain. Being situated in such a position, one is never shaken, even in the midst of the greatest difficulty." Therefore only an ignorant fool would not make the awakening of his dormant Krishna consciousness the prime goal of his life. Srila Prabhupada Teaches How to Become Krishna Conscious Video For the Day: Guru is Required  Answers by Citing the Vedic Version Question: Mistakes of Senior Devotees? Srila Gurudeva, His Grace Susanth Prabhu, a senior monk in ISKCON Thiruvanthapuram requested me