Ultimate Self Realization

But the Supreme Nirvana is Unlimited Bliss Dear Reader, We often hear about nirvana, but most people do not really know what nirvana means. Nirvana means the cessation of all material activities. The Buddhists imagine this cessation as a state of being merged into void or nothingness. But this is artificial. There is actually no such thing. By our very nature we are always active either as conditioned souls who are slaves of this material nature, or as liberated souls who are blissfully engaged in unlimited variegated activities in the spiritual world. Thus the supreme nirvana is be fully engaged in devotional service, not being merged into nothingness. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita, Chapter 6, Text 15 as follows: yuñjann evaṁ sadātmānaṁ yogī niyata-mānasaḥ śāntiṁ nirvāṇa-paramāṁ mat-saṁsthām adhigacchati Srila Prabhupada give this translation of this verse in Chapter Four of his book, The Perfection of Yoga: "By engaging the body, mind, and activities in the service of Kr

From Sneering Passer to Initiated Disciple How Mahabhagavata Dasa Came to Krishna Consciousness Dear Disciples and Students, Here is an article written by my disciples, Mahabhagavata Das how he become a devotee: From Sneering Passer to Initiated Disciple By Mahabhagavata Dasa One afternoon, as I walked out of a bustling Mumbai train station, I saw a shaven-headed monk standing close to a big pile of books. I approached him with a sneer on my face, fully intending not to engage with him. The book he held out caught my attention, and something made me stop for a brief moment. It was the Bhagavad-gita As It Is. I briefly gazed upon Krishna holding the reins of the chariot and Arjuna getting ready to shoot an arrow. When I first saw the monk from a distance, all sorts of thoughts raced through my mind. “What a loser,” I thought, and wondered if he’d flunked out of school, or if he’d graduated from university but had such low marks that he couldn’t get a job. I thought of myself as the epi

How to Escape from the World of Dangers In the Srimad Bhagavatam, Tenth Canto, Chapter 14, Text 58 it is very nicely described how the Lord's devotees escape from this world of dangers: samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaṁ mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ bhavāmbudhir vatsa-padaṁ paraṁ padaṁ padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ na teṣām Translation "For those who have accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is famous as Murāri, the enemy of the Mura demon, the ocean of the material world is like the water contained in a calf’s hoof-print. Their goal is paraṁ padam, Vaikuṇṭha, the place where there are no material miseries, not the place where there is danger at every step." Let us take full advantage of this sublime instruction and make our lives safe and perfect by taking complete shelter of Lord Sri Krishna. He will protect us from all dangers. This is real intelligence. I have practical of experience of this how when one eveni

Srila Prabhupada's Sublime Order I have been ordered by my spiritual master to deliver the materially afflicted world by extinguishing the blazing fire of material existence. In other words it is my duty to make the entire world Krishna conscious. One might argue, "This is surely an impossible task. So why even try? It would surely be frustrating." But Srila Prabhupada said, "Impossible is a word in a fool's dictionary." Therefore I am determined to make the whole world Krishna conscious even if I have to take birth after birth to do so. Are you willing to help me? Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: How to Become Free from Sinful Reactions? Please accept my respectful obeisances. If we commit some sins in this life and want to get rid of them, what can we do about it? Thank you. Nisha Answer: Fully Surrender to Krishna My Dear Nisha, Please accept my blessings. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. The only way to get from sinful reactions

Death as the Most Exciting, Thrilling Adventure For a materialist death is the most hellish nightmare because all of a sudden in one swoop he is being ripped away from all of his material attachments. But for the pure devotee of Krishna death is not at all fearful. In fact it is just the opposite. It is the most thrilling and exciting adventure because now the he is going to enter the spiritual world and enter into his eternal loving relationship with Lord Sri Krishna and/or he will take birth again in this material world to continue with his mission of bringing about a spiritual revolution for delivering the fallen, conditioned souls back to home, back to Godhead. You may be wondering how I can say "and," that he can simultaneously go back to Godhead and also take birth again in this material. Srila Prabhupada explains that this is possible in his purport to Srimad Bhagavatam, Seventh Canto, Chapter Four, Text 34 as follows: "From authoritative scripture it is learned

Perplexed Fire Fighters Srila Prabhupada's Vyasa Puja--2 September 1972--New Vrindavan, USA. I had the greatest good fortune of being there in this most magical moment with Srila Prabhupada. I was on the stage standing behind the sannyasis. The Spiritual Master Extinguishes the Blazing Forest Fire of Material Existence We begin mangala arati singing the Gurvastakam prayers of which the first prayer is: saṁsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka- trāṇāya kāruṇya-ghanāghanatvam prāptasya kalyāṇa-guṇārṇavasya vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam Here is the translation: "The spiritual master is receiving benediction from the ocean of mercy. Just as a cloud pours water on a forest fire to extinguish it, so the spiritual master delivers the materially afflicted world by extinguishing the blazing fire of material existence. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master, who is an ocean of auspicious qualities." If there is a huge forest forest it is extremely

One Must Take His Initiation from One of These Four Sampradayas In his purport to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.3.20-21 Srila Prabhupada gives a very important instruction that should be noted by everyone: "[Bhāgavata-dharma, the principles of religion] is understandable if one follows the paramparā system of Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, the four Kumāras and the other standard authorities. There are four lines of disciplic succession: one from Lord Brahmā, one from Lord Śiva, one from Lakṣmī, the goddess of fortune, and one from the Kumāras. The disciplic succession from Lord Brahmā is called the Brahma-sampradāya, the succession from Lord Śiva (Śambhu) is called the Rudra-sampradāya, the one from the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmījī, is called the Śrī-sampradāya, and the one from the Kumāras is called the Kumāra-sampradāya. One must take shelter of one of these four sampradāyas in order to understand the most confidential religious system. In the Padma Purāṇa it is said, sampradāya-vihīnā ye mantrā

Achieving Spiritual Perfection Here's the email I just got from Evan McDermod: "Good morning! I hope this message finds you well! Just letting you know that the podcast is now up and available on all platforms. It was such a pleasure to be able to chat, the work you are doing to assist the world in healing is what is desperately needed. Be well, Evan" It's a lengthy interview for almost an hour. But you may find it to be very encouraging for your spiritual life. Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: Concocting My Own Prayers?  Hare Krishna,  Dear Gurudeva, I wrote this short prayer to Krishna. But I wish to know if I can do so or if I shouldn't concoct my own prayers like this. "render render render my problems insignificant bewilder bewilder my enemies' intelligence" Meaning is "Oh dear Krishna, may I realize all my problems are due to bodily conception of life and thus realize that they are insignificant problems. And dear K

Lord Caitanya Describes the Fifth Dimension In his book "The Teachings of Lord Caitanya" Srila Prabhupada writes as follows: "Lord Caitanya told Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī that the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, called the mahā-mantra (great chanting), enables anyone who chants it to attain the stage of love of Godhead, or intensified bhāva. Such love of Godhead is the ultimate human necessity, for when one compares it with other necessities (namely religion, economic development, sense gratification and liberation), these other so-called necessities seem most insignificant. When one is absorbed in temporary designated existence, he hankers after sense gratification and liberation. However, love of Godhead is the eternal nature of the soul; it is unchangeable, beginningless and endless. Therefore temporary sense gratification or a desire for liberation cannot compare with the transcendental nature of love of God. Love of God is the fifth dimension in the human endeavor. Compared with

Do You Want to Serve Your Genitals or Serve Krishna? Sometimes neophyte devotees, even though they know it is wrong, become overwhelmed by lust and gratify their genitals beyond the allotted quota of using them only for the natural purpose, procreation. In this regard Srila Prabhupada explains as follows in his purport to Text One of The Nectar of Instruction: "As far as the urges of the genitals are concerned, there are two -- proper and improper, or legal and illicit sex. When a man is properly mature, he can marry according to the rules and regulations of the sastras and use his genitals for begetting nice children. That is legal and religious. Otherwise, he may adopt many artificial means to satisfy the demands of the genitals, and he may not use any restraint. When one indulges in illicit sex life, as defined by the sastras, either by thinking, planning, talking about or actually having sexual intercourse, or by satisfying the genitals by artificial means, he is caught in th

How to Become Empowered to Deliver the World In The Nectar of Instruction Srila Rupa Goswami gives the following very powerful instruction: 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." The word for word meanings given for the fourth line are as follows. sarvām—all; api—certainly; imām—this; pṛthivīm—world; saḥ—that personality; śiṣyāt—can make disciples. In the published book as quoted above Srila Prabhupada translates this as "can make disciples all over the world." It is interesting to note in this connection that when Srila Prabhupada was speaking with clergymen in Detroit on 15 June 1967 he translated this line to say that such a person can make the whole world his disciples. This is a

Our Mission: Turn the World Right Side Up Right now the whole world is upside down because everybody is foolishly misidentifying themselves with their miserable temporary material bodies. Our mission is to teach them how to turn on their super blissful spiritual identities in which they are completely transcendental to the laws of birth and death. Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Problem: Cannot Control My Material Desires I can not control my material desires, and I am suffering. (Name withheld for privacy) Answer: You Do Not Want to Control Them My Dear Suffering Soul, Please accept my blessings. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Actually you can control them by taking shelter of Krishna. But the difficulty is that you do not want to control them. You would rather let them control you. This is your foolishness. I hope this meets you in the best of health and in a learning mood. Your ever well-wisher, Sankarshan Das Adhikari Why Punish Yourself When You Can Chant and Be Happy?

Let All Material Desires Evaporate In Bhagavad-gita Chapter 2, Text 70 Lord Krishna mercifully gives us the simple technique by which we can can conquer over our material desires. As long as we have material bodies it is natural to have desires of the tongue, belly, and genitals. If we give in to these desires, we will remain on the animal platform unqualified to go back to home, back to Godhead. But if we can control these desires by only using our tongue, belly, and genitals in the service of the Lord, we will become qualified to go back to the spiritual world after leaving our present bodies. Here's how Krishna explains this technique: āpūryamāṇam acala-pratiṣṭhaṁ samudram āpaḥ praviśanti yadvat tadvat kāmā yaṁ praviśanti sarve sa śāntim āpnoti na kāma-kāmī "A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires—that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still—can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such

Understanding the Cause of All Causes Since we are not these material bodies trying to derive happiness from material sense enjoyment is like to trying to get water from a mirage in a desert. There is not much more to be said in this connection except for that we should not be so foolish. Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: Do You Agree? I believe God exists but I do not believe that the guru is God. Do you agree? Om Khera Answer: Absolutely! My Dear Om, Please accept my blessings. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. You are absolutely correct. The guru is not God. He is the servant of God. Any guru who proclaims himself to be God or allows his disciples to say that is God is bogus and should be imprisoned. I hope this meets you in the best of health and in an ecstatic mood. Your ever well-wisher, Sankarshan Das Adhikari Where Bogus Gurus Belong Sankarshan Das Adhikari is one of the spiritual masters of the worldwide Hare Krishna Movement. He has dedicated the last 50 years

Understanding the Cause of All Causes We see all around us a chain of causality. One thing is caused by something which is caused by something, which is caused by something, etc. etc. And that thing also become the cause for something else, which becomes the cause for something else, which become the cause for something else, etc. etc. If we trace the line of causality back, back, back, far enough, we will eventually come to the original cause, the cause of all causes If someone argues that there is no original cause, only an infinite chain of causality, this is illogical, because even in an infinite row of dominos there has to be one domino which falls over on it's own without pushed in order to set the row of dominos into motion. So is that original cause a machine or a person? Since no machine can turn itself on that original cause must indeed be a person. And who that person is is described by Lord Brahma as follows: īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ anādir ādir