How I Came to Krishna Consciousness

As a youth in 1968 I had a burning desire to become self-realized. I had no interest in making money or in having a successful material career. My only desire was to become self-realized. After a friend named Patrick Dolan introduced me to the Hare Krishna mantra worshipping Sri Sri Radha and Krishna became my only real interest. I then resolved to go to India to be a holy beggar for the rest of life. However on the way to India I had a very powerful realization as follows: "I denied and I denied until I could deny no longer, and then I had to start accepting." In other words, in my attempt to attain spiritual perfection my modus operandi was to deny everything of this material world with the goal of merging into spiritual perfection. But then I realized that if you deny absolutely everything you must come to the point of denying denial itself, which now leaves you in the position of having to accept something transcendental to this material existence. So what transcendental thing was there for me to accept? I understood that instead of leaving the world my duty was to remain in the world for making a spiritual revolution for the total, complete respiritualization of the entire human society. So this became my mission, to completely revolutionize the entire global society. For two years I struggled trying to do this on my own with no success. But then in 1971 I was blessed by His Holiness Vishnujana Swami with the knowledge that his spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, was already successfully doing this. I realized at this point that spiritual perfection was to totally surrender unto the will of God just as Lord Jesus Christ had done and that Srila Prabhupada was perfectly teaching his disciples how to factually do that. So I decided to become Srila Prabhupada's disciple. This was the greatest decision of my entire life and has brought me for the last 48 years to a life of unlimited happiness and full absorption in bringing about a complete, total respiritualization of the entire global society. What could be more ecstatic than this?

So that's my story of how I came to Krishna consciousness. Now what is yours?

In 1971 His Holiness Vishnujana Swami Brings Krishna Consciousness to Austin, Texas. Here He Leads Kirtan in Pease Park.

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Answers According to Vedic Wisdom

Question: Making Notes in the Books?

My Dear Gurudeva,
Please accept my humble obeisances
All Glories to Srila Prabhupad

As I reach my office and log into my PC every day, the first thing I do is open my Gmail account and read your daily emails. I find it the best way to begin my day with this.

I have one query: While reading Srila Prabhupada's books is it appropriate to make notes or underline certain sentences in the same book? I have been doing that with a pencil whenever i read the books of His Divine Grace. But I am not sure whether it is good or not. Am I committing an offense to Srila Prabhupad and the books by doing that?

I seek your advice on this, Gurudeva.

Insignificant servant of your lotus feet,

Yesh

Answer: Keep a Separate Notebook

From: Sri Mayapur Dhama, India

My Dear Yesh,

Please accept my blessings.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I am very happy that you begin your work day every day by reading my daily broadcast, "Thought for the Day."

Thank you very much for your question. While it is very nice that you are making notes, the answer is that you should not write in the books. You should keep a separate notebook for making notes. It is a matter of practicality. You will be reading and rereading these books for the rest of your life. If for the next 50 years you keep making notes in the books, there will be so many notes written in the books that it will become an unmanageable disorganized mess. Therefore a separate notebook is the best system for making notes.

I hope this meets you in the best of health and in an ecstatic mood.

Your ever well-wisher,
Sankarshan Das Adhikari