Ultimate Self Realization

One of the names of Lord Caitanya is "Gauracandra," which means "golden moon." Just as the moon rays are so pleasing and soothing, the soothing rays of Lord Caitanya's brilliant mercy are going to dissipate the blinding ignorance of the age of Kali and bring a most sublime, divine spiritual renaissance to our devastatingly troubled world. So I was ecstatically astounded when at 1:30am on 29 June 2018 just after having completed an around-the-world bliss of bhakti tour I was awakened by the brilliant soothing rays of a full moon shining in my face. There was no way I was going to go back to sleep again! I picked up my japa beads and chanted 18 rounds of the supreme mantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. May that brilliant soothing moon of Lord Caitanya's mercy now awaken the entire world to the super ecstatic life of devotion to Lord Sri Krishna.​​​​​​​ The Soothing Moonlike Lord Caitany

Feeling separation from Krishna Lord Caitanya prays as follows: "O Govinda! Feeling Your separation, I am considering a moment to be like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world in Your absence." After hearing that Krishna consciousness is the supreme ecstasy and reading the above prayer we may find this to be contradictory, but actually it is not. When one is separated from one's beloved, the intensity of his love is greatly magnified. Thus when a devotee feels separation from Krishna or God his loving feelings are greatly enhanced. And since true spiritual bliss is experienced proportionately according to the intensity of love manifested in the one's heart, when one's heart is pierced by the pangs of separation from Krishna he enters into the highest state of spiritual bliss. Lord Caitanya Feels Intense Separation from Krishna Video for the Day Tasting the Nectar in New Dvar

Today, 27 June 2018, in the morning program at ISKCON Los Angeles there was a large camera crew from CNN, the Cable News Network. They are here at ISKCON Los Angeles for three days preparing a program to be aired on CNN about the Hare Krishna Movement. The kirtans were so super-inspired that even members of the camera crew started to manifest symptoms of transcendental ecstasy. This is very encouraging and absolutely ecstatic that now soon millions of people all over the world will be given the chance to experience the transcendental bliss of Krishna consciousness via CNN. CNN Comes to ISKCON Video for the Day We've Totally Lost Touch With Our Original Nature Answers According to Vedic Wisdom Question: What Pleases You the Most? Dear Srila Gurudeva, Please accept my obeisances. All glories to Your Divine Grace and Srimati Gurumata. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Please reveal what pleases Your Grace the most. How can I always endevor to please Your Divine Gr

It is truly astonishing how this morning we departed from Melbourne, Australia at 9:00am on Qantas Airlines Flight #93 on a non-stop flight from Melbourne, Australia to Los Angeles, California USA and landed here in Los Angeles at 6:25am two hours and thirty-five minutes before we took off from Melbourne. How is this possible? Was it mystic power? Did we travel through a time machine? What happened? The simple explanation is that we crossed the international date line going east. When one does this he immediately goes back to previous day. There is another line crossing that is even more amazing than crossing the international date line. That is crossing the Viraja River, the boundary between the spiritual world and the material world. When one crosses that river in the direction of going back home, back to the Godhead he picks up where he left off as a participant in Lord Sri Krishna's pastimes. When he arrives it will be like practically he never left. It will be just like

Srila Prabhupada very nicely mentions as follows in his introduction to the Bhagavad-gita As It Is: "The Lord descends to this mortal world to show His pastimes in Vrindavana, which are full of happiness. When Lord Sri Krishna was in Vrindavana, His activities with His cowherd boyfriends, with His damsel friends, with the other inhabitants of Vrindavana and with the cows were all full of happiness. The total population of Vrindavana knew nothing but Krishna. But Lord Krishna even discouraged His father Nanda Maharaja from worshiping the demigod Indra, because He wanted to establish the fact that people need not worship any demigod. They need only worship the Supreme Lord, because their ultimate goal is to return to His abode." Our perfection of happiness will be to follow the example of the inhabitants of Vrindavana by making Krishna the only object of our worship. Radha and Krishna's Most Sublime Pastimes Video for the Day Morning Class SB 4.11.21 Answe

Your actual identity is that you are eternal, full of knowledge, and full of bliss. You are qualitatively one with Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Who is the source of all existence. So do not cheat yourself and torture yourself by continuing to misidentify yourself with your temporary material body. It is simply a garment that you, the eternal spiritual being, are wearing right now. If you give your love fully to Krishna (God), at the time of death you will not take another material body. You will regain your original spiritual form that you once had in the spiritual world before you fell down into this most rotten material existence. Super Ecstatic Srimad Bhagavatam Class Video for the Day Srimad Bhagavatam Lecture: 4.11.20 Answers According to Vedic Wisdom Question: Envy Caused Our Fall? Can you give scriptural reference that because of envy of Krishna we have fallen from the spiritual world to the material world? Karthik Answer: Here's the Refere

The Bendigo Interfaith Council arranged a concert for me at a Christian church on 21 June 2018. Actually there is no question of "interfaith" because religion is one, to be a completely sold out lover of God. Just as there is only sun, although it is called by many different names in the different languages of the world, similarly there is only one Supreme Being, although He is called by many different names in the different cultures of the world. So it was indeed a very wonderful opportunity to be able to present to a mixed audience of Krishnites and Christians the concept of one religion. For me this was not at all difficult because it was the example of Lord Jesus Christ that inspired me to become a devotee of Krishna when I was young spiritual seeker back on 1971. Bendigo, Australia Peace and Love Concert Video for the Day Peace and Love Concert Highlights Answers According to Vedic Wisdom Question: Initiation and Being a Healer? Hare Krishna Guru Maharaj

In 1893 Bhaktivinode Thakur wrote a song called "Dalaler Gita" (The Song of the Broker). This song written in Bengali verse describes how Lord Nityananda has opened up the Marketplace of the Holy Name at Surabhi-kunja, which was Bhaktivinoda's headquarters on the island of Godruma in Navadvipa. He says that Lord Nityananda is selling the Lord's name for the mere price of one's faith, and, taking the position of a transcendental 'broker' for the sale of the name, Bhaktivinoda urges us to purchase and relish these transcendental product.​​​​​​​ Here it is: boro sukher khabor gāi surabhi-kuñjete nāmer hāṭ khule'che / khoda nitāi I am singing news of the greatest happiness! At the place known as Surabhi Kuñja in Śrī Navadvīpa, the Marketplace of the Holy Name has now been opened-and Lord Nityānanda Himself is the Proprietor. boro mojār kathā tāy śraddhā-mūlye śuddha-nāma sei hāṭete bikāy Such wonderful things are going on in that blissful ma

In his purport to Bhagavad-gita 2.56 Srila Prabhupada writes as follows: "..a fully Krishna conscious person is not at all disturbed by the onslaughts of the threefold miseries, for he accepts all miseries as the mercy of the Lord, thinking himself only worthy of more trouble due to his past misdeeds; and he sees that his miseries, by the grace of the Lord, are minimized to the lowest. Similarly, when he is happy he gives credit to the Lord, thinking himself unworthy of the happiness; he realizes that it is due only to the Lord's grace that he is in such a comfortable condition and able to render better service to the Lord. And, for the service of the Lord, he is always daring and active and is not influenced by attachment or aversion. Attachment means accepting things for one's own sense gratification, and detachment is the absence of such sensual attachment. But one fixed in Krishna consciousness has neither attachment nor detachment because his life is dedicated in t

Srila Prabhupada writes as follows in his purport to Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 7, Chapter 9, Text 31: "The Lord is always ready to help the fallen souls, but because they are fools and rascals, they do not take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and abide by the instructions of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore although Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is personally the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, He comes as a devotee to preach the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Yāre dekha, tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa. One must therefore become a sincere servant of Kṛṣṇa. Āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra' ei deśa (Cc. Madhya 7.128). One should become a guru and spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world, simply by preaching the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā." Lord Caitanya--The Golden Avatar Video for the Day Become Guru and Deliver the World Answers According to Vedic Wisdom Question: What Happens to the Soul When We Die? I would like to know what happens to the soul when we die. Monalisa P. Answer: Rebirth or

On 19 June when we went to the Kuala Lumpur airport to check in for our flight to Melbourne, Australia the Cathay Pacific agent would not check us in because we did not have an Australian visa for Gurumata. I immediately went online to get one. It was 7:30am and we had until 9:00am for the electronic visa to come through so we could make our flight. But the reply came back that there would be at least 24 hours before we would get the visa. So we were stuck in a real dilemma as I was scheduled to do a concert in Australia just after my arrival. We were hoping that maybe by Krishna's grace the visa would come by 9am anyway. But it did not. When we spoke with an airline agent he informed us that when one applies for a visa through a re-seller, which is unknowingly what I did, it takes 24 hours. But if one applies directly with the Australian government it is instant. So then and there I applied with the Australian government directly and immediately got her visa. But by this time it

After an ecstatic week of teaching the science of Krishna here in Malaysia, we are heading out today to share this most amazing knowledge in the whole universe in Melbourne, Australia. This is the great mercy of my beloved spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, that he has blessed me with such an auspicious and blissful life. Previously I was suffering like anything in material consciousness. But now for the last 47 years since I joined the Hare Krishna movement my life as been a festival of ever-increasing spiritual bliss. Ecstatic Harinam Festival in Melbourne Video for the Day: Do Not Spoil Your Human Form of Life Answers According to Vedic Wisdom Question: Recreational Sex is Okay? Guru Maharaj! Please accept my humble obeisances! All glories to Srila Prabhupada! While preaching I came across a person who asked if sex is completely prohibited in the movement for devotees. If yes, what our movement has to say for mutual agreement for sex between members of the same

Sex attraction is the binding force of this material world. Everyone here is enslaved by sex desire. In this regard Srila Prabhupada explains as follows in his purport to Bhagavad-gita, Chapter 3, Text 37: "When a living entity comes in contact with the material creation, his eternal love for Krishna is transformed into lust, in association with the mode of passion. Or, in other words, the sense of love of God becomes transformed into lust, as milk in contact with sour tamarind is transformed into yogurt. Then again, when lust is unsatisfied, it turns into wrath; wrath is transformed into illusion, and illusion continues the material existence. Therefore, lust is the greatest enemy of the living entity, and it is lust only which induces the pure living entity to remain entangled in the material world." We will get completely free from the trap of lust or sex desire only when we become enchanted by the beauty of Krishna and awaken our feelings of love of Him. Therefore we

One of the most wonderful and enlivening items of surrendering to Krishna is to join a spiritual family. The reason for this is that we develop our consciousness according to the company that we keep. If we associate with non-devotees we remain non-devotees. But if we associate with devotees we become devotees and become liberated from the cycle of repeated birth and death. In this regard Lord Sri Krishna states in the Bhagavad-gita 2.62: saṅgāt sañjāyate--"One develops his consciousness according to his association." Therefore we should always associate with devotees as much as possible by engaging ourselves along with them in the different aspects of bhakti such as hearing about the Lord, chanting His glories, and remembering Him. If in the course of our occupational duties or for preaching work we find ourselves in the association of non-devotees, we should always endeavor to save them by turning them into devotees. By this endeavor instead of our becoming polluted by t

The tongue has two functions: to taste and to vibrate. It is a great source of so-called pleasure for materialists, who like to eat anything and everything, even raw oysters, and talk all nonsense all day and night. Their feverish so-called happiness is not real happiness. It is only a shadow of the real happiness, which is unlimitedly relished by those engage the tongue properly in honoring Krishna prasadam (foodstuffs offered to Lord Sri Krishna with love an devotion) and in discussing the topics of Krishna as presented in revealed scriptures such as the Bhagavad-gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam. In this connection Lord Sri Krishna states in the Bhagavad-gita 10.9 as follows: mac-cittā mad-gata-prāṇā bodhayantaḥ parasparam kathayantaś ca māṁ nityaṁ tuṣyanti ca ramanti ca "The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are fully devoted to My service, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss from always enlightening one another and conversing about Me."

For adventure some people climb Mount Everest and others engage in scuba diving or in sky diving. But the supreme adventure is to embrace the world deliverance mission of Lord Caitanya as one's only business. This adventure is so exciting that one could continue doing it lifetime after lifetime tasting ever-increasing ecstasy for the next 9,500 years. Devotees Relish the Bliss of Sharing Krishna with the World Video for the Day How to Be Free from All Misery Answers According to Vedic Wisdom Question: Forgetting Krishna at the Time of Death? What happens to a person if he or she is a surrendered devotee of the Lord but somehow or other does not remember Krishna at the time of death? Can he or she enter into the kingdom of God? Ramesh R. Answer: Those Who Fully Give Life are Protected From: Shah Alam, Malaysia My Dear Ramesh, Please accept my blessings. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. If anyone sacrifices sense gratification by giving his life for spreadi

Wake up, sleeping souls! How long will you sleep in the lap of witch called Maya? Since time immemorial you've been caught up in the vicious cycle of birth and death unnecessarily suffering like anything. You could be enjoying like anything at every moment, but instead you are being tortured, maddened indeed by endless unfulfilled material desires. Take advantage of this mercy that is being offered to you now by Lord Caitanya and make your lives perfect. Do not neglect this opportunity. It may be millions of lifetimes before you get this opportunity again. Why Torture Yourself When You Could Be Tasting Unlimited Bliss Instead? There Is Unlimited Nectar to Be Tasted in Krishna Consciousness Video for the Day Circling the Globe on a World Deliverance Mission Answers According to Vedic Wisdom Question: How to Get Money and Power? Please, how to be powerful, Sir, and to get money? ​​​​​​​ Mensah Bedzra Answer: You Are Asking the Wrong Question From: Hong Kong M

On 13 June 2018 we are arriving in Malaysia for another adventure of pushing forward the Krishna consciousness movement here in this material world. There is a very special unique feature of this material world. In the spiritual world everyone is already Krishna conscious. But here in the material world everyone is suffering because they are lacking Krishna consciousness. Therefore this material world provides a golden opportunity for the devotees to become especially recognized by Lord Krishna by taking up the missionary activity of delivering the souls who are entangled here greatly suffering in the cycle of birth and death back to their original, most sublime home in that wondrous spiritual sky. Ecstatic Devotees in Malaysia Video for the Day The Great Boon of the Human Form of Life Answers According to Vedic Wisdom Question: How to Present Krishna Consciousness? Hare Krishna Srila Gurudeva, Please accept my humble obesiences. All Glories to Your Divine Grace and Sr

Sometimes neophyte devotees become neglectful in regards to strictly following their initiation vows. For example, they may become so overwhelmed by their material duties that they neglect to fulfill their initiation vow of chanting at least 16 rounds of Hare Krishna mantra japa mala every day. This is a most foolish mistake because when one focuses on executing his spiritual duties very nicely his material duties fall into place automatically. This is another one of the unlimited good reasons why the disciple should always stick nicely to keeping his or her initiation vows. Initiating Disciples (Japa Beads Given to Disciples) Video for the Day Adding One to All the Zeros Answers According to Vedic Wisdom Question: Why Some Souls Fall from the Spiritual World? Hare Krishna! All glories to you and Srila Prabhupada! In the very beginning when Krishna created every soul, why it happened that though all the souls who were parts and parcel of Krishna, some of them lo

Gurumata (my wife) and I are unlimitedly blessed by Lord Sri Krishna and His eternal consort, Srimati Radharani, because they are allowing us to travel with them in their twice-a-year-circle-the-globe journeys to bless the fallen souls of this world with prema bhakti, pure love of God. These particular deities are named Sri Sri Radha Damodar in memory of the Radha Damodar deities which presided the over the famous Radha Damodar Traveling Sankirtan party, which I was privileged to be a member of in my younger days when I was a brahmacari. Every day, no matter where we are (as long as we are not on airplane), we wake them, offer them milk sweets, offer them managla arati, and bathe and dress them in one of the many outfits we carry with us all over the world. They then are decorated very nicely with jewelry and offered fresh flower garlands. After this they are fed a sumptuous breakfast. In the mid-day they get full lunch prasadam. And then in evening we give them evening prasad, ev

As I write these words we are here in Solferino, Mauritius getting ready to depart for Pretoria, South Africa. Why do we take such time and trouble and expense when my wife and I are both 70 years old? The answer is very simple: We have a mission given to us by Srila Prabhupada to make the world Krishna conscious, and there is no question of retirement from this mission even up to the very moment of our deaths. Srila Prabhupada taught us this by his example. When he was lying on his death bed in Vrindavan he told us, "They say the old man is dying in Vrindavan. But I am beating on my mridanga, and it can be heard all over the world." So we want to always keep the world deliverance moods burning our hearts to please our most beloved ISKCON Founder-Acharya: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Ecstatic Hare Krishna Chanting in South Africa Video for the Day Revive Your Original, Natural Consciousness Answers According to Vedic Wisdom Appreciation:

Srila Prabhupada most wonderfully explains in a lecture he gave on the Sri Caitanya Caritamrita, Adi-Lile 1.8 in Mayapur on 1 April 1975 the following most amazing fact: "But you can make this maya-loka also Vaikuntha-loka by spreading Krishna consciousness, the same quality. Just like iron is iron, but you can make it fire. How? Simply putting it into the fire. Gradually, warm, warmer, then it becomes red hot. At that time, the iron is no longer iron; it is fire. Similarly, if you can propagate Krishna consciousness constantly, then, by spreading this Krishna consciousness movement, you can make the whole world Krishna conscious, and then it will be Vaikuntha. The same example. You put the iron rod with the fire, and it becomes hot, hotter and then red-hot. When it is red-hot then it is no more iron rod. It is fire. Anywhere you touch, it will burn. So our Krishna consciousness movement is for that purpose. Increase Krishna consciousness and there will be no more kuntha, no mo

There is only thing that is truly worthy of striving for and attaining in this human form of life. And that is the awakening of pure love of God within our hearts. Everything else is basically a distraction, a diversion from what the real goal of our lives should be, Unfortunately we live in a modern day so-called civilization which diverts our minds to so many other thousands and millions of things which are ultimately not at all important or significant. This is why we need a bona fide spiritual master to bless us and guide us how to remain totally fixed on achieving life's ultimate goal. Prime Necessity of Human Life: Having a Bona Fide Spiritual Master Video for the Day Let the Krishna Sun Rise Within Your Heart Answers According to Vedic Wisdom Question: How to Explain "No Meat Eating"? Many times new friends and colleagues ask why I don't eat meat. I try to explain them that since it is obtained from violence by eating it that fear and violence co