Ultimate Self Realization

Lord Sri Krishna mercifully reveals to us in Bhagavad-gita, Chapter 6, Text 30 how to never lose Him: yo māṁ paśyati sarvatra sarvaṁ ca mayi paśyati tasyāhaṁ na praṇaśyāmi sa ca me na praṇaśyati TRANSLATION For one who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to Me. And Srila Prabhupada has given this most wornderful purport to this verse: PURPORT A person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness certainly sees Lord Kṛṣṇa everywhere, and he sees everything in Kṛṣṇa. Such a person may appear to see all separate manifestations of the material nature, but in each and every instance he is conscious of Kṛṣṇa, knowing that everything is a manifestation of Kṛṣṇa's energy. Nothing can exist without Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa is the Lord of everything—this is the basic principle of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the development of love of Kṛṣṇa—a position transcendental even to material liberation. At this stage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, beyond self-realization, t...

Srila Rupa Goswami has warned us not to see Krishna if we want to remain attached to our material friends: smerāṁ bhaṅgī-traya-paricitāṁ sāci-vistīrṇa-dṛṣṭiṁ vaṁśī-nyastādhara-kiśalayām ujjvalāṁ candrakeṇa govindākhyāṁ hari-tanum itaḥ keśi-tīrthopakaṇṭhe mā prekṣiṣṭhās tava yadi sakhe bandhu-saṅge ’sti raṅgaḥ "My dear friend, if you still have any desire to enjoy the company of your friends within this material world, then don't look upon the form of Kṛṣṇa, who is standing on the bank of Keśī-ghāṭa [a bathing place in Vṛndāvana]. He is known as Govinda, and His eyes are very enchanting. He is playing upon His flute, and on His head there is a peacock feather. And His whole body is illuminated by the moonlight in the sky." Sankarshan Das Adhikari P.S. Thank you for reading Thought for the Day. If you have not already done so, please make this your regular daily habit. You will derive great benefit by doing so. Krishna's Instructions Cannot Be Ignored   Answers Acco...

In the Bhagavad-gita, Chapter 4, Text 34 Krishna gave the following instruction: tad viddhi praṇipātenater paripraśnena sevayā upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ TRANSLATION "Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth." Some people have the idea that one can be Krishna conscious without having a spiritual master. But being Krishna conscious means to be follow the instructions Krishna. And since Lord Sri Krishna has instructed that we should accept a spiritual master, we cannot be Krishna conscious unless we follow His instruction to accept a spiritual master. Is this clear to all of my readers? Sankarshan Das Adhikari P.S. Thank you for reading Thought for the Day. If you have not already done so, please make this your regular daily habit. You will derive great benefit by doing so. Krishna's In...

You have a boundless ocean of transcendental bliss there sleeping within you right now. All you have to do to awaken it is to chant the Hare Krishna mantra with love: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishn, Hare Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare So what are you waiting for? Chant Hare Krishna with love right now! Sankarshan Das Adhikari P.S. Thank you for reading Thought for the Day. If you have not already done so, please make this your regular daily habit. You will derive great benefit by doing so. Chant Hare Krishna and Taste the Bliss Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: Can We Chant "Radha" on Beads? Hare Krishna Jai Srila Gurudeva Jai Srila Prabhupada Please accept my humble obeisances on your lotus feet. I want to ask how to win over senses. Can we chant name "Radha" on initiated beads? Youri insignificant servant, Sandipani Muni Das Answer: We Already Doing That From: Austin, Texas USA My Dear Sandipani Muni, Please accep...

Envy of the Lord's devotees is the worst offense. By this envy even the most advanced devotee can fall down from the platform of devotional service. Therefore we pray every day: vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ "I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiṣṇava devotees of the Lord. They are just like desire trees who can fulfill the desires of everyone, and they are full of compassion for the fallen conditioned souls." Sankarshan Das Adhikari P.S. Thank you for reading Thought for the Day. If you have not already done so, please make this your regular daily habit. You will derive great benefit by doing so. Offering Obeisances Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: Is It Okay to Be Pretentious? Hare Krishna Gurudeva Dandvat pranam Gurudev I want to ask you that some people are different from inside and act differently. They just pretend to be good. Is it okay to be pretentious? Is it okay to be ...

In his purport to Bhagavad-gita, Chapter 3, Text 3 Srila Prabhupada very nicely describes the relationship between religion and philosophy. Here's what he says: "Religion without philosophy is sentiment, or sometimes fanaticism, while philosophy without religion is mental speculation." When we combine them we have something that is most enlightening and most powerful. It is known as the science of God. In the Krishna consciousness movement we take them in their combined form and are thus blessed the knowledge and the potency that can lead the entire world out of chaos. Sankarshan Das Adhikari P.S. Thank you for reading Thought for the Day. If you have not already done so, please make this your regular daily habit. You will derive great benefit by doing so. Srila Prabhupada Dictates His Purport Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: Why Am I Fearful About the Future? Why I am fearful about future when I know that one day I will die. Death is inevitable as soon ...

It pains the heart greatly of the devotees to see so much suffering that is going on here in this material world. And the suffering becomes worse when there is an increase of sinful activities, which is what is happening now more and more. This suffering takes the form of famine, pestilence, scarcity, war, earthquakes, and many other things. In this connection we are horrified to learn about the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syrica that has killed more that 12,000 people. This is why our mission in the Hare Krishna Movement is to put a stop to all of this unnecessary suffering by making the world Krishna conscious. So please, my dear , you be solidly fixed in Krishna consciousness and assist us in our mission of making the whole world Krishna conscious as soon as possible. Sankarshan Das Adhikari P.S. Thank you for reading Thought for the Day. If you have not already done so, please make this your regular daily habit. You will derive great benefit by doing so. Searching for Surviv...

The secret of success in spiritual life is do not do your devotional service to Lord Krishna mechanically. Do everything with love as on offerig to Krishna. Whether chanting your japa, cooking an offering, or cleaing the toilet, alway keep yourself of offering loving service to Krishna as our beloved Lord states in Bhagavad-gita, Chapter 9, Text 14: satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ namasyantaś ca māṁ bhaktyā nitya-yuktā upāsate "Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion." Try this. You'll love it! Sankarshan Das Adhikari P.S. Thank you for reading Thought for the Day. If you have not already done so, please make this your regular daily habit. You will derive great benefit by doing so. Perpetually Worship Krishna With Devotion Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: Who is Krishna? My humble obeisance to Srila Prabhupada. Sir, who is Krishna? I am...

Our home base is here in Austin at the Austin Hare Krishna center. I remember back in 1971 when Vishnujana Swami first brought ISKCON to Austin. Austin was a small college town with only three tall buildings. There was nothing much happening here except for the University of Texas, the Texas state capital, and the Hare Krishna center at 2906 Dancy Street, where we did a lot of dancing and chanting. There was such a friendly smal town atmosphere that the mayor of Austin, Mr. Roy Butler, attended my initiation ceremony on Dancy Street. 45th Street was north Austin, Now one has travel ten miles north from 45th Street to be in north Austin. Our ashram in north Austin is next to a forest. Now they are going to tear down the forest and put up an apartment building. Austin is now blessed with hellish traffic jams and regular murders. Sometimes I lament the changes between the old Austin and the new Austin. But then I remember that the old small town Austin and the new hellish city Austin...

Here is a most amazing bhajan (devotional song) by Srila Bhaktivindoe Thakur in which he teaches us how to hanker for pure devotional service. In this recording it is sung in English for the easy understanding and benefit of the English speaking world. Click here to hear the song. kabe ha'be bolo se-dina āmār? When, oh when will that day be mine? When my offenses ceasing, taste for the name increasing, when in my heart will Your mercy shine? When, oh when will that day be mine? Lower than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, when will my mind attain this quality? Respectful to all, not expecting their honor, then shall I taste the name’s nectar sublime. When, oh when will that day be mine? Great wealth or followers, feminine beauty, I won’t care for them or the comforts of my body. Birth after birth give me, O Lord Chaitanya, causeless devotion to Your feet divine. When, oh when will that day be mine? When will I utter Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, with words choked up and sh...

"God" spelled backward is "dog." And in our modern day so-called civilization we see that people are becoming more attracted to dogs than they are to God. In such a dog conscious civilization people will become dogs in their next lives. Therefore we want to teach them how to become God conscious, Krishna conscious, so that instead of becoming dogs in their next birth they will become associates of Krishna in His transcendental pastimes in the Spiritual Sky. Sankarshan Das Adhikari P.S. Thank you for reading Thought for the Day. If you have not already done so, please make this your regular daily habit. You will derive great benefit by doing so. Are Your More Attracted to Dog? Or to God? Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: Difference Between "Hare" and "Hari"? Respected Sir, Please accept my most humble obeisances. I have a simple question in my mind and my question is: What is the difference between Hare Krishna and Hari Krishna? ...

For we eternal spiritual beings, who are by nature full of bliss and full of knowledge, to be stuck in a situation which is temporary, full of ignorance, and full of misery is a very nigtmarish situation. Although we may to gloss over this nightmare by imaginaing ourselves to be happy here. the bottom line is sooner or later we will find ourselves to be in a situation where we are suffering like anything. But by the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu we can now revive our factual spiritual identities in which we are experiencing eternity, knowledge, and bliss twenty hours a day. This process of spiritual revival begins with the tongue. Chant Hare Krishna and taste Krishna prasadam. Sankarshan Das Adhikari P.S. Thank you for reading Thought for the Day. If you have not already done so, please make this your regular daily habit. You will derive great benefit by doing so. Devotees Chanting in Ecstasy Devotees Relishing Krishna Prasadam Answers According to the Vedic Wisdom Question: Why...