Ultimate Self Realization

Don't torture yourself by foolishly misidentifying yourself with your temporary material body, which is subject to birth, death, old age, and disease. It is not really you. Rather it is simply a vehicle that you are temporarily situated in. The real you is the eternal spirit-soul who is full of bliss and knowledge. Thank God that you are not that temporary body, which is full of ignorance and misery. If you misidentify yourself with your temporary material body, you are condemning yourself to a life of endless misery. So be intelligent by realizing who you are and always thinking, feeling, speaking, and acting in all circumstances as the spiritual being that you actually are, who is qualitatively one with God and is the eternal servant of God. Who Am I? Am I this Body? Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: Evolve from Non-Soul Monkeys? How did we evolve from non-soul monkeys/apes to humans with a soul? Navaneet Pandurangan Answer: Monkeys Have Souls My Dear N

I am eternally indebted to my vartma-pradarsaka guru (the spiritual master who first gives information about spiritual life), His Holiness Vishnujana Swami, because he is that great soul who brought me to Krishna consciousness in 1971 in Austin, Texas. Srila Prabhupada recognized the greatness of this wonderful devotee in my initiation letter dated 12 August 1971 from London: "...you have been trained up under the expert guidance of Visnujana Swami." When he was in Austin Srila Prabhupada wrote him a letter from Mumbai, India on 4 April 1971 in he very much appreciated Vishnujana Maharaja. Here is an excerpt from that letter: "I have got confidence in you because Krishna has given you special talent for chanting Hare Krishna Mantra. When you were chanting in L.A. temple in the evenings, or in the mornings, I enjoyed your chanting so nicely that I thought myself immediately carried to Vaikuntha. So I am always thankful to you for your activities in announcing the

Krishna is the reason for our existence. Because He desires to have loving relationships He is manifesting us from Himself for that purpose and for that purpose only. Therefore if we don't love Him was are casting ourselves into the miserable pit of unreality. He does not force to love Him because love by its very nature must be voluntarily. So now it is up to us to have a little common sense realizing that the only way we can be happy is to love Krishna and then to do the needful. I hope that you have understood this and can fully apply it because I want you to be in that state of unadulterated, unlimited bliss which is your natural constitutional position. Krishna Wants a Loving Relationship With You Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: When There is No Rebirth? What happens when there is no need for rebirth? R.J. Answer: One Enters the Spiritual World When one awakens pure love of God within his heart he does not take birth again here in this rotten

Lord Caitanya has very mercifully instructed us as follows: tṛṇād api su-nīcena taror iva sahiṣṇunā amāninā māna-dena kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ TRANSLATION “One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honor yet is always prepared to give all respect to others can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord.” Srila Prabhupada has explained as follows in regards to this verse: "The grass is specifically mentioned in this verse because everyone tramples upon it yet the grass never protests. This example indicates that a spiritual master or leader should not be proud of his position; being always humbler than an ordinary common man, he should go on preaching the cult of Caitanya Mahāprabhu by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra." We are very grateful to Srila Prabhupada and Lord Caitanya for enlightening us with this most sublime wisdom. Lord Caitanya is Krishna Himself Answers According to the Vedic Wisd

In Austin, Texas USA on Saturday 25 January and Sunday 26 January 2020 we had the most wonderful opportunity to share the mercy of Krishna with so many sincere souls at the Mind, Body, and Spirit Expo. Many of Srila Prabhupada's books were distributed and we made many new friends. Below are some photos from this most joyous weekend. I hope you can capture some of the nectar of spreading Krishna consciousness by seeing the photos. From the Mind, Body, and Spirit Expo Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: Enlightenment in the Mountains? Is enlightenment achievable by living in mountains and forests? Sunita Kumar Answer: By Chanting Dear Sunita, Please accept my blessings. If you take your material consciousness to the forests and mountains, you will certainly not be enlightened there. I was blessed by finding a guru who taught me how to be enlightened even while living in the city. If you will chant these sweet names of God as muc

Srila Prabhupada initiated me in the first letter I received from him from London dated 12 August 1971. An initiation ceremony was then held shortly thereafter. At my initiation ceremony, which was conducted by His Holines Vishnujana Swami at the Hare Krishna center in Austin, Texas, I collected some donations and sent them to Srila Prabhupada with a letter expressing my desire to spread Krishna consciousness. When Srila Prabhupada received my letter he wrote me back in the most encouraging and sublime letter, which went as follows: London 7 September, 1971 My Dear Sankarshan, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 2nd September, 1971 and have noted the contents. Also I have received the three checks enclosed for $15.00, $12.50 and $10.76 respectively and I thank you very much for the same. Also I have seen the clipping of Visnujana Maharaja speaking with the mayor. It appears that he is doing very nicely there, preaching in Austin. Please o

Our Krishna Consciousness Movement is dedicated to making the whole world Krishna conscious. This is confirmed by a letter that ISKCON's Founder-Acharya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, wrote to his disciple, Ramesvara Das on 9 January 1973 in which he states: "That is our real mission, to deliver the world by preaching Krishna's message to others, but even higher realization, the highest realization, is to save oneself." Srila Prabhupada states that even higher than saving the world is saving oneself. This is practical because if the preacher of Krishna consciousness is not himself Krishna conscious, how will it be possible for him to inspire others to become Krishna conscious? So let us always focus on making ourselves pure devotees of Krishna. In this way we will have the purity, the potency to execute our world deliverance mission, making the whole world Krishna conscious. This is indeed the highest realization. By Following Srila Prab

There is no reason to keep yourself unnecessarily in a situation of suffering because you are constitutionally situated to be relishing unlimited bliss within your heart at every minute. Since I have been blessed by my spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, with the formula of how every man, woman, and child throughout the entire world can achieve this perfectional stage of pure, unadulterated happiness, completely free from all anxieties, and all along with my Godbrothers have been instructed by him to deliver the whole world by enlightening everyone in this science, I am therefore making this humble attempt through this course, the Ultimate Self Realization Course, through my lectures and my personal emails to my students, disciples, and sincere inquiring souls. Please let me know whatever I can do to help you awaken your dormant state of unlimited happiness, your Krishna consciousness. Suffering is the Pastime of Fools Answers According to t

In Krishna consciousness our faith is based on sound reasoning. Thus it is not blind faith. Everywhere we see that persons produce persons. It is not that persons come out of something impersonal like a rock. Therefore we can reasonably deduce that the original source of existence must also be a person. This is confirmed by Lord Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita, Chapter 10, Text 8 when He states: ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate iti matvā bhajante māṁ budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ "I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts." Krishna, the Source of All Existence Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: Power Behind Mother Nature? What is the power behind Mother Nature? Darian Hunter Moffitt Answer: Mother Requires Father to Produce Children A mother cannot bear children without a father. That fathe

Vineet Chander writes as follows in his article "The Marks of a Warrior": In bygone days certain Native American tribal warriors wore special marks meant to protect themselves in battle, identify themselves as sacred, and boost their fighting spirit. Similarly, we aspiring devotees must declare war on maya. The Hare Krishna maha-mantra is our best weapon, the tilaka our mark as warriors. By wearing tilaka, the devotee proclaims his allegiance to Lord Krishna and His devotees and gains the strength to fight harder against the temptations of maya and serve even more. The devotees I know testify that when they wear fresh tilaka they feel more inspired and enthusiastic in their devotional service. Indeed, wearing tilaka helps transform a neophyte into a strengthened veteran in Lord Caitanya's transcendental army. Devotees also gain inspiration from knowing that Srila Prabhupada was pleased to see his followers wearing tilaka. He has written, "When [the devotees in the

If you want spiritual awakening, you have to become sober and serious about making this attainment of spiritual perfection the one goal of your life, having total complete faith that by putting all of your energy into this one most important endeavor everything else will fall into place automatically by God's grace. I am confident to advise you in this way because this is not only what is taught in revealed scriptures such as the Bible and the Bhagavad-gita. It has also been my personal experience. My life has been transformed from a miserable mess into an ever-increasingly ecstatic super adventure simply by my focusing everything on awakening my dormant Krishna consciousness. Thus out of kindness and love for you I am requesting you to do the same. Don't Spoil Your Life Simply Seeking Material Advancement Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: Chanting Free Us From Fear? Dear Master, Thank you for your tireless work. Is chanting the Mahamantra the best wa

Real transcendental meditation is not making the mind blank, which is an impossible feat because the mind is always active. Real transcendental meditation is to absorb the mind fully in the Supreme Person Who is the source of all existence. That Supreme Person has unlimited names and unlimited pastimes and unlimited qualities. He is manifesting us from Himself for the sole purpose of enjoying unlimitedly sweet loving relationships with each and every one of us. By absorbing our minds in Him our dormant pure loving relationships with Him become gradually reawakened. And we thus enter into the realm of pure, unadulterated transcendental bliss. The Most Amazing Krishna, the Source of All Existence Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: How to Maintain Exemplary Spiritual Practice? How can I maintain a spiritual practice and serve as an example of more skillful living to enhance the lives of those around me while living life in the midst of chaos? Chintan Shah Ans

Srila Prabhupada very nicely explains in a Srimad Bhagavatam class given on April 6, 1976 in Vrindavan: "If becoming a bhakta, if you want some material comfort, it is not at all difficult for Kṛṣṇa, He can give you. But you are cheated. By your asking for material comfort from Kṛṣṇa, God, by exchange of service, you can get the material comfort... then you must know you are cheated. You are not cheated by Kṛṣṇa, but you cheat yourself. ...Whatever you want, He will give you. If you want to be cheated, He will cheat you. This is God. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham [Bg. 4.11]. "If you want to be cheated, I will cheat you. If you don't want to be cheated, I will not cheat you." ....So don't try to be cheated.... Don't ask anything from Kṛṣṇa. Simply you have to give everything to Kṛṣṇa, then that is bhakti. Don't try to take from Kṛṣṇa in exchange of your service. He can give you immediately. That is not difficult for Him. But don'

Sometimes people argue that seeing is believing. They say, "If I am going to believe in God I have to been able to see Him." But these same people believe in the existence of the wind even though they can't see it. Just as we can fully experience the presence of the wind without seeing it, in a similar way we can fully experience the presence of Krishna simply by chanting His name with love either in japa (individual private meditation) or in kirtan (group singing meditation). Therefore we encourage everyone to chant Hare Krishna with devotion and feel the presence of Krishna. It is the most satisfying and thrilling experience. Even Though We Can't See the Wind We Can Certainly Feel It's Presence Even Though We May Not Be to See Krishna We Can Certainly Feel His Presence Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: What Will Be Your Answer? What will your be answer to the atheist's claim that life’s events (good and bad) are simply a series random

A so-called enlightened spiritual master who had thousands and thousands of followers, who accepted the title "Bhagavan," which is a name for God in Sanskrit, had declared as follows: "God is the greatest lie you can ever find, because on that lie thousands of other lies depend. Churches, religious organizations go on multiplying lies upon lies, just to protect one lie." Just see how much cheating and hypocrisy is running rampant in this most materialistic age of Kali. This rascal died in 1990, but Krishna, God Himself, lives on in His eternal youthful form. Beware of Bogus Gurus Accept Instead the Original Guru, Lord Krishna, and His Bona Fide Representatives Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: Soul Myth? Is soul a myth? Navaneet Pandurangan Answer: Who Are Those Rascals? Navaneet, rather it is quite to the contrary. That there is no soul and no God is the greatest myth ever crammed down people's throats in the history of the world

Since anxiety is only due to ignorance, to become free from anxiety does not require any sort of material adjustment. The only requirement for becoming completely free from all anxiety is to see things as they are actually are. When one is blessed with this enlightened vision he can remain undisturbed even in the most calamitous situations. He has to perceive things from the platform of the eternal spirit-self situated within the temporary material body, not from the false position of considering his body to be his actual self. Always Remember You Are an Eternal Spiritual Being Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: Spiritual Identity Necessary? Is spiritual identity a necessary component for a person’s overall development? Wayne Hardy Answer: Absolutely Since your actual identity is that you are an eternal spiritual being, if you do not learn the art of how to identify as such, you will never actually be able to properly develop yourself. You will remain in

In this material world we try to take shelter of so many things: our doctor, our job, our friends, our family, etc. But ultimately at the time of death all of these so-called shelters will fail us. They cannot save us. The bottom line is we have only one true shelter and that is Krishna or God. Therefore in the midst of all the ups and downs of daily life we should always be mindful of this and always take shelter of Krishna at very minute. In this we will never be disturbed in any situation. The only reason that we are ever disturbed in any situation is that we are forgetting to take shelter of Krishna. Krishna Always Give Full Protection to His Devotees Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: Benefit of God Consciousness? If I fully developed my soul/mind to God Consciousness, what would happen to me? Caleb Wright Answer: No Anxiety You will become completely free from all anxiety. Even the moment of death will be a piece of cake. Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Are your fed up with all the nonsense and chaos of our modern day totally materialistic society? There is absolutely no reason to let it get you down because there is something you can do about it. You can change the world. That's right. You can empowered to make the world a much better place. All you have to do is reconnect with the divine that it is within you by entering into a loving relationship with that Supreme Person Who is the source of all existence. You will become a liberated, spiritually enlightened being empowered to liberate and enlighten others. In this way by changing others who will in turn be empowered to change others who will then be empowered to change others you can have.a significant impact on global history. You will be able to change the world. So what are you waiting for? Do it right now! You Can Do It! Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: Astral Travel? Sir, I would like to ask you if you can teach me astra travel. Benjarmin Kwesi

The modern day materialistic society is doing the greatest disservice of disconnecting the world's population from their natural connection and relationship with God. Do not cheat yourself by being a pawn in their game and thus remaining in bodily consciousness. You should instead do yourself the ultimate favor of turning on/reviving your eternal spiritual identity by the simple process of remembering Krishna or God. Remembering Him is super sublime. In Chapter 6 of the Bhagavad-gita, Verse 30 Krishna give us this most sublime instruction: yo māṁ paśyati sarvatra sarvaṁ ca mayi paśyati tasyāhaṁ na praṇaśyāmi sa ca me na praṇaśyati "For one who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to Me." Follow this instruction and you will taste the sweetest nectar at every minute from now on for all of eternity. Just Give Your Love to Krishna Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: How to Understand? Dear Gurude

On 17 December 1973, while giving a lecture in Los Angeles on the Srimad Bhagavatam, First Canto, Chapter 15, Text 39 Srila Prabhupada gave the following instruction: "So therefore our request is that these Europeans and Americans who have taken to Krishna consciousness, just become perfect in the understanding of this science and become guru and deliver the whole world." Therefore as one of those persons that he referred to in this instruction it is my duty, as per his order, to become a spiritual master and deliver the world. With the additional blessing of ISKCON's GBC body I am now a spiritual master with disciples all over the world. And now it is also my duty to carry out the second half of Srila Prabhupada's order. I have to now deliver the entire from ignorance by making the whole world Krishna conscious. Considering myself to be totally unfit in this regard, all I can is beg for Srila Prabhupada's unlimited mercy that I can successfully carry out his in