Ultimate Self Realization

You are not your material body, which is temporary, full of ignorance, and misery. You are instead an eternal living being full of bliss and full of knowledge. So stop suffering by trying to be what you are not by over-indulging your material senses. Bless yourself with eternity, knowledge, and bliss simply by being who actually are, the eternal servant of Lord Sri Krishna. This is realized by engaging yourself as much as possible in His loving devotional service 24 hours a day. The bona fide spiritual master will teach you how to do this. He will get out of all misery by teaching you how to regain your original state of pure enlightened consciousness. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Request: Get Me Closer to Krishna Hare Krishna. I hope that each "Thought for the Day" you will share will get me more closer to Kanhaji (Lord Sri Krishna). Jai Shri Krishna Varsha Thakur Reply: They Will My Dear Varsha, Please accept my blessings. All glorie...

In a Srimad-Bhagavatam lecture on the First Canto, Chapter 3, Text 9 given by Srila Prabhupada in Los Angeles, California, USA on September 15, 1972 he explains as follows why sex should be avoided as much as possible: "The camel he is a big animal, who takes pleasure in eating his own blood. How is that? You will find the camels are very fond of eating thorns. So the thorns they eat, and the thorns cut the tongue, and the blood comes out. It makes a taste, and he is thinking that the thorns are very tasteful. That is camel. Similarly, we are everyone like camels because we are enjoying sex. What is this sex? I am spoiling my blood. One drop of semen is created by sixty drops of blood. That is scientific. So when one discharges this semen, he thinks he is enjoying. He does not know that he is spoiling his blood. That is camel. He thinks he is enjoying. He does not think that 'I am spoiling my blood. And if I spoil my blood more, then I shall be attacked with so many diseases,...

This morning just at the beginning of the Srimad Bhagavatam class here at ISKCON's Bhaktivedanta Ashram at 10700 Jonwood Way in Austin, Texas USA we were blessed with a beautiful sunrise which reminds us of an even more beautiful verse from the Srimad Bhagavatam, First Canto, Chapter 3, Verse 43: kṛṣṇe sva-dhāmopagate dharma-jñānādibhiḥ saha kalau naṣṭa-dṛśām eṣa purāṇārko 'dhunoditaḥ "This Bhāgavata Purāṇa is as brilliant as the sun, and it has arisen just after the departure of Lord Kṛṣṇa to His own abode, accompanied by religion, knowledge, etc. Persons who have lost their vision due to the dense darkness of ignorance in the age of Kali shall get light from this Purāṇa." Srila Prabhupada has blessed us unlimitedly by giving us the Srimad Bhagavatam. Thank you, Srila Prabhupada!! Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Complaint: I Can Only Worship Jesus My guru is Jesus Christ, and I am not allowed to worship another God. Sorry. All my love...

This a correction for yesterday's Thought for the Day. I wrote (error in italics and bold): "So even though we often emphasize the absolute importance of ISKCON's world deliverance mission, far, far more important is the deliverance of ourselves. Of course, it is matter of practicality because we can only be successful in delivering the world to whatever extent we have been successful in delivering souls. In other words, we have to be the revolution we want to make." What I meant to say is (correction in bold and italics): "So even though we often emphasize the absolute importance of ISKCON's world deliverance mission, far, far more important is the deliverance of ourselves. Of course, it is matter of practicality because we can only be successful in delivering the world to whatever extent we have been successful in delivering ourselves . In other words, we have to be the revolution we want to make." Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the V...

Srila Prabhupada very wonderfully explains as follows in a letter he wrote from India on 9 January 1973 to Ramesvara Das: "...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." So even though we often emphasize the absolute importance of ISKCON's world deliverance mission, far, far more important is the deliverance of ourselves. Of course, it is matter of practicality because we can only be successful in delivering the world to whatever extent we have been successful in delivering souls. In other words, we have to be the revolution we want to make. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Difficulty: Not Allowed to Worship Another God Greetings. My guru is Jesus Christ, and I am not allowed to worship another god. Sorry. All my love to you. Thanks for the wise mails. Andreas Hirt Answer: You Don't Have to Worship Another God M...

At first I tried to become Krishna conscious without accepting initiation from the bona fide spiritual master. But then I realized one morning that the devotees who had accepted initiation were experiencing an inconceivably nectarean feeling of pure love that was completely beyond my reach. I was futilely trying the taste the honey by licking the outside of the jar while they were fully relishing the honey by sticking their tongues inside the jar. Once I realized this I immediately asked to get initiation. I was accepted by Srila Prabhupada as his disciple on 12 August 1971 via a letter he wrote to me and two other boys from London. Sankarshan Das Adhikari P.S. Here's that most wonderful letter: London 12 August, 1971 71 My Dear Sons, Please accept my blessings. Upon the recommendation of His Grace Visnujana Maharaja I have gladly consented to accept you three as my duly initiated disciples. Your beads are duly chanted on by me and are enclosed herewith. I have given the spi...

Jesus Christ is a great Vaisnava acharya who preached God consciousness 2,000 years ago. He taught that we should fully surrender ourselves unto the will of God. Unfortunately even though the Bible teaches "Thou shalt not kill," in the Christian world the killing of innocent animals and the eating of their flesh is extremely popular. In other words the modern day Christians are actually only so-called Christians because they are not truly following the teachings of Lord Jesus Christ. It was the teachings of Lord Jesus that inspired me to surrender to Krishna when I ready his prayer to Krishna, "Father, not my will, but Thy will be done." This is why I sometimes describe myself as a "Christian Hare Krishna." We ardently hope now that the millions of so-called Christians in the world will become real Christians so we can save the lives of the 156 million innocent animals that are murdered every day in the world's slaughterhouses. Sankarshan Das Adhik...

The material ocean is very agitating. It is roughly tossing us through birth, death, old age, and disease like a stormy sea. But if you dive deep within that material ocean seeking its very source, you will joyfully discover a spiritual ocean of unlimited peace and happiness in which you can blissfully live forever without being disturbed by material ocean ever again. So come on in now. The "water" s most sublime!! Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: Why Unhappy While Chanting? I 'm chanting Hare Krishna but always unhappy and coming into bad situations. Why? Tharinda Dharshana Answer: You're Not Going Deep Enough If we remain on the surface of the ocean, we will always be bounced on the waves up and down and up and down. But when we go deep into the ocean we no longer experience the waves. So you need to go deep into the chanting. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Sankarshan Das Adhikari is one of the spiritual masters of the worldwide...

Here is the most beautiful, inspiring song by Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur: (1) kabe ha'be bolo se-dina āmār (āmār) aparādha ghuci', śuddha nāme ruci, kṛpā-bale ha'be hṛdoye sañcār (2) tṛṇādhika hīna, kabe nije māni', sahiṣṇutā-guṇa hṛdoyete āni' sakale mānada, āpani amānī, ho'ye āswādibo nāma-rasa-sār (3) dhana jana āra, kobitā-sundarī, bolibo nā cāhi deho-sukha-karī janme-janme dāo, ohe gaurahari! ahaitukī bhakti caraṇe tomār (4) (kabe) korite śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāma uccāraṇa, pulakita deho gadgada bacana baibarṇya-bepathu ha'be saṅghaṭana, nirantara netre ba'be aśru-dhār (5) kabe navadwīpe, suradhunī-taṭe, gaura-nityānanda boli' niṣkapaṭe nāciyā gāiyā, berāibo chuṭe, bātulera prāya chāriyā bicār (6) kabe nityānanda, more kori 'doyā, chārāibe mora viṣayera māyā diyā more nija-caraṇera chāyā, nāmera hāṭete dibe adhikār (7) kinibo, luṭibo, hari-nāma-rasa, nāma-rase māti' hoibo bibaśa rasera rasika-caraṇa paraśa, koriyā mojibo rase anibār (8) kabe jībe do...

In the Bhagavad-gita, Chapter 10, Verse 8 Lord Sri Krishna reveals why we exist: 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." We exist not because of the so-called Darwinian evolution or because our mother and father wanted to have a baby. We exist because Krishna is emanating us from Himself for the purpose of enjoying a sweet, loving intimate relationship with each and every one of us. This is we need to reconnect with Krishna. And we need to do it now! Right now! Otherwise we are simply cheating ourselves, big time. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: Will I Go Back to Godhead? Hare Krishna Guruji, Please accept my humble obeisances. I have one doubt because I am visiting ISKCON since 7 years, but s...

In the Nectar of Devotion Srila Prabhupada wonderfully describes as follows how Arjuna protected Krishna from the arrows of Aśvatthāmā by acting as a human shield: "There is a nice example of the friendship between Krishna and Arjuna on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra. When the fighting was going on, Asvatthama, the son of Dronacarya, unceremoniously attacked Krishna, although according to the prevailing rules of chivalry one's chariot driver should never be attacked by the enemy. Asvatthama behaved heinously in so many ways that he did not hesitate to attack Krishna's body, although Krishna was acting only as charioteer for Arjuna. When Arjuna saw that Asvatthama was releasing various kinds of arrows to hurt Krishna, he immediately stood in front of Krishna to intercept all of them. At that time, although Arjuna was being harmed by those arrows, he felt an ecstatic love for Krishna, and the arrows appeared to him like showers of flowers." In a similar way, if we are ...

Since now is the time of democracy on this planet we need to educate the general population to elect Krishna conscious leaders. Until that day comes more and more hell will continue breaking out on this planet. In this connection Srila Prabhupada explains in a room conversation on 12 December 1970 in Indore, India: "And when the Krishna conscious people will elect Krishna conscious leaders there will be peace and prosperity. And now, because the minority is Krishna conscious, they cannot elect Krishna conscious leaders and therefore havoc is being played." Therefore we must continue educating as many people as possible in the science of Krishna so that as soon as possible the majority of the population will be Krishna conscious and they will only vote for Krishna conscious leaders. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: How Do We Know that Krishna is God? How can we be sure that Krishna is God? Anonymous Answer: Parasara Muni's Defintio...

How we see your attitude determines your altitude: After the great fire of 1666 that leveled London, the world’s most famous architect, Christopher Wren, was commissioned to rebuild St Paul’s Cathedral. One day in 1671, Christopher Wren observed three bricklayers on a scaffold, one crouched, one half-standing and one standing tall, working very hard and fast. To the first bricklayer, Christopher Wren asked the question, “What are you doing?” to which the bricklayer replied, “I’m a bricklayer. I’m working hard laying bricks to feed my family.” The second bricklayer, responded, “I’m a builder. I’m building a wall.” But the third brick layer, the most productive of the three and the future leader of the group, when asked the question, “What are you doing?” replied with a gleam in his eye, “I’m a cathedral builder. I’m building a great cathedral to The Almighty.” Similarly, if we ask someone who is new to Krishna consciousness, "What are you doing?" when he is chanting japa, he ...

Loren Sperry has very favorably reviewed my song "The World Peace Formula" as follows on the Music Existence web site:   Sankarshan Das has a lot to say in his new single “The World Peace Formula,” and when it comes to getting it off of his chest, he’ll use whatever melodic weaponry is handy to make sure we get the point. Armed with a guitar and a voice that is both familiar and warm amidst these quarantine times, Das doesn’t attempt to adorn his music with a lot of flamboyancy here, but instead gets down to the nitty gritty of folk-pop’s melodic framework with the purpose of making his lyrics the primary focus from start to finish here. Though I have nothing against big budget videos when they strike the right tone beside that of the music’s deeper narrative, the simplistic look Das went for in “The World Peace Formula” seems more genuine and heartwarming when I compare its style to that of a mainstream pop singer on either side of the Atlantic this winter. Social justice h...

When we are little babies we are nourished by our mother's breast milk. Then when we are a little older we are nourished by the cow's breast milk. So the cow is our second mother. How we can be so cruel to kill and eat our second mother when her breast milk dries up? Do we do that to our first mother? It's time to stop all of this nonsense, sinful cow killing! Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: Suffering Momentary or Longer? Hare Krishna!! Please accept my respectful obeisances unto your lotus feet. When we derive momentary pleasure from sense gratification, of course we will suffer in the future. Will the suffering also be momentary or would it be longer? Your servant, Mrutyunjay Mallik Answer: It Can Be Eternal My Dear Mrutyunjay, Please accept my blessings. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. As long we as engage in material sense gratification we will go on suffering like anything for all of eternity. I hope this meets you in the best of health and in a l...

According to the philosophy known as existentialism life has no meaning and thus we are compelled to invent or create what is the meaning of life according to our imagination. But if life truly has no meaning, why would we feel compelled to invent some meaning? In this regard consider this example: The thirst for water exists because water exists. If there was no such thing as water, the thirst for water would not exist. Similarly, the thirst for the meaning of life exists because the meaning of life factually exists. Therefore instead of denying that life has meaning, we should try to find out what is the meaning of life. The answer is very simple. Lord Krishna is emanating from Himself for the purpose of enjoying a personal loving relationship with each and every one of us. Thus the purpose and meaning of our existence, our life is simply to love Krishna. Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: How Does It Feel to Have Sex? Dear Sir, My sex desire is finished. But still I w...

 Regarding ecstatic love for Krishna Srila Prabhupada writes as follows in the Nectar of Devotion: "Ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa, which is known as anubhāva, is symptomized by the following signs: one becomes engaged exclusively in the service of the Lord, being attentive to carry out the orders of the Lord faithfully; one becomes undisturbed and nonenvious in full transcendental loving service to the Lord; and one makes friendship with the devotees of the Lord who are situated in faithful service to Him. All of these symptoms are called anubhāva, ecstatic love." By following the teachings of Srila Prabhupada that he so mercifully gives us in his books we can all easily the supreme perfection of ecstatic love for Krishna. So why should we cheat ourselves any longer? Let's do it now! Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: Is Offensive Chanting Useless? Hare Krishna, Dear Gurudeva, Dandavat pranam! It is said even if one unintentionally or jokingly chants, he gets ...

 Srila Prabhupada writes: "In the Narada-bhakti-sutra it is said that one who is very serious about developing Krishna consciousness has his desire to understand Krishna fulfilled very soon by the grace of the Lord." So we should take hint from Narada Muni and Srila Prabhupada to become very serious about the awakening of the Krishna consciousness that is currently soundly sleeping within our hearts. As soon as we do this Lord Sri Krishna will very wonderfully reciprocate with us and bestow upon us the supreme benediction. The difficulty is that we are still foolishly holding onto so many material desires which are doing nothing but clouding our consciousness. Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: Why Our Chanting Has Had No Impact? Why there is no impact of our Harinam chanting on world peace and order? It is often asserted that even pure devotee can change the whole world. Golok Das Mumbai Answer: It Has Already Had a Powerful Impact My Dear Golok Das, Pleas...

In a lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam, First Canto, Chapter 3, Text 29 given in Los Angeles on October 4, 1972 Srila Prabhupada wonderfully reveals to us how see Krishna everywhere: God is everywhere. Simply you require to purify your eyes to see God. Otherwise God is everywhere. It is not that God has to be searched out some long, long... He's in... Of course, His real abode is long, long distant, but still, He is within your heart. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati [Bhagvad-gita 18.61] . So to purify the eyes we require... That is meditation, how to search out. He is within my heart. Anywhere you sit down, you can see God, provided you have got the eyes to see. Premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti [Brahma-Samhita 5.38]. Those who are saintly persons, they are twenty-four hours seeing God. They have nothing, no other business than to see God. But they have got eyes to see. That is the difference. Ordinary persons, they have no...

 The whole world is simply waiting to be awakened to Krishna consciousness. So what you are waiting for? Tell everyone you meet about Lord Sri Krishna, and His special blessings will flow upon you like torrents of rain in India's monsoon season. Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: How to Attain Nirvana? What is moksha or nirvana, and how do people get it? Jayantital Patel Answer: Surrender to Krishna Under Guru's Guidance It is the perfection of our existence. At the present time we are entrapped in the cycle of repeated birth and death, sometimes taking birth as a human, sometimes as an animal or a plant, sometimes as a demigod in the heavenly planets, and sometimes as a germ. In each birth we have had to suffer the pangs of material miseries: birth, death, old age, and disease. Moksha or nirvana is achieved by fully surrendering ourselves unto Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, under the direction of the bona fide spiritual master. This surrend...

Today's Thought for the Day comes in the form of this video: Click here to see the Video. Consider the message very deeply, apply it, and be unlimitedly benefitted and blessed! Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: How to Get Favorable Results? Hare Krishna, Dandavat Pranam, I am colleague of Shashi Bhushan and he told me write you to ask questions. My first question is: “I am working very hard anxious for the result of my action. What should I do to get the favorable result?”. My second question is: “When I try to study my technical subject after 10-15 mins I lose my focus. What should I do to improve it?”. Regards, Siddharth Jaiswal Answer: Do Everything for Krishna My Dear Siddharth, Please accept my blessings. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. The key for being satisfied and successful in all of our activities is to do them as offering of love for Krishna. This is described by Lord Sri Krishna Himself in the Bhagavad-gita, Chapter 9, Text 27: yat karoṣi yad aśnā...