Ultimate Self Realization

Krishna and Balarama in ISKCON Vrindavan Here's How to Surrender to Krishna Thought for Day--9 January 2026 In the preface to The Teachings of Lord Caitanya Srila Prabhupada telll us exactly what we need to do to surrender to Krishna. Here's what he says: In the surrendering process, one should (1) accept things favorable for discharging devotional service, (2) reject things unfavorable, (3) firmly believe that the Lord will always protect His devotee, (4) feel exclusively dependent on the mercy of the Lord, (5) have no interest separate from the interest of the Lord, and (6) always feel meek and humble. So each of us should see to what extent we are following these guidelines. If we not following them 100% we should adjust ourselves to come to 100% as soon as possible. If we do not do this we are cheating ourselves. Hoping this meets you in good health and in a cheerful mood, Your ever well-wisher. Sankarshan Das Prabhupada's Perfect Example Attracts Thousands Urgent! Ple...

Krishna Kills Ariṣṭāsura, the bull demon His killing so many demons makes Him more glorious. There is No Question of Glorious Victory Without Strong Opposition Thought for Day--8 January 2026 Just as the kṣatriyas—the warrior class in Vedic culture—were enlivened and inspired to fight powerful enemies in battle, those who are dedicated to spreading Krishna consciousness do not shy away from philosophical battle. Rather, they find enthusiasm and joy in defeating all opposing arguments—arguments that challenge the Vedic siddhānta, the conclusive understanding derived from the Vedic literature and confirmed by the great ācāryas. By smashing to smithereens the most powerful arguments of all varieties of materialists—the hedonists, the atheists, the agnostics, the so-called scientists, the pantheists, etc.—the Vaiṣṇava preachers achieve the most glorious victory and give the greatest pleasure to Lord Sri Krsihna. Just as Krishna relished killing so many demons, His devotees similarly relish...

Krishna and Balarama--Transcendental Cowherd Boys (Who could imagine that God is a cowherd boy?) Heading Out Today on a Deliver the World Tour Thought for Day--7 January 2026 The whole world is dying to be born. Thus, it is the mission of our Krishna consciousness movement to awaken them. Today I am very happy to be heading out on another around the world Krishnaization tour. I am humbly down at the feet of my beloved spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, begging for his mercy that very soon we may be able to make the whole world Krishna conscious. Hoping this meets you in good health and in a cheerful mood, Your ever well-wisher. Sankarshan Das Prabhupada Gives the Order: Become Guru and Deliver the Whole World December 17, 1973, Los Angeles Urgent! Please Help Us Make the World Krishna Conscious. Donate Now by Clicking Here For Transcendental Videos Click Here Transcendental Reply Bob: Do we get sick because of our bad actions in the past? Śrīla Prabhupāda: Yes...

The Divine Couple in ISKCON Pune (NVCC) Truth Passes Three Phases Thought for Day--6 January 2026 It is sometimes said that truth passes through three phases: first it is ignored, then it is abhorred, and finally it is adored. In the early days of ISKCON, we were completely ignored. But when people saw the movement spreading like wildfire, one politician declared, “The Hare Krishnas are spreading like an epidemic. They are a great danger. They are spreading like wildfire, and if they are not stopped, they will eventually take over the government.” So, from being ignored, we came to be hated. Devotees were even kidnapped in attempts to “deprogram” them from Krishna consciousness. But now gradually as Srila Prabhupada's books are more and more distributed our movement will come to be adored all the over the world. Hoping this meets you in good health and in a cheerful mood, Your ever well-wisher. Sankarshan Das Distributing Prabhupada's Books is the Topmost Welfare Urgent! Please...

Prabhupada loves his disciples. His disciples love him. Krishna is His Body Thought for Day--5 January 2026 We are not our bodies, but Krishna is totally different. He is His body. We don't base this understanding on speculation. We base it on authoritative scriptures. Here in Brahma-samhita 5.32 is the proof that Krishna is His body: aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛtti-manti paśyanti pānti kalayanti ciraṁ jaganti ānanda-cinmaya-sad-ujjvala-vigrahasya govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi TRANSLATION I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, whose transcendental form is full of bliss, truth, substantiality and is thus full of the most dazzling splendor. Each of the limbs of that transcendental figure possesses in Himself, the full-fledged functions of all the organs, and eternally sees, maintains and manifests the infinite universes, both spiritual and mundane. These words, "Each of the limbs of that transcendental figure possesses in Himself" firmly establish that Krishna is Hi...

Sri Sri Radha Damodar in Melbourne Do Not Leave Any Gaps for Māyā Thought for Day--4 January 2026 In 1971 when I prayed to God to guide me how to become His perfect servant, He heard my prayer and sent His Holiness Vishnujana Swami to teach me exactly how to do that. One of the most poignant, unforgettable, instructions I received from that great soul was, "Do not leave any gaps for māyā." The simple formula for doing this is to get on engaged in Lord Sri Krishna's service 24 hours a day. If we can engage ourselves 23 hours and 59 minutes, we have a one minute for māyā to enter. And if we give one inch she will take a mile. Therefore, we have to carefully close all the gaps. This will make our progress in Krishna consciousness very sublime, easy, and ecstatic. Hoping this meets you in good health and in a cheerful mood, Your ever well-wisher. Sankarshan Das The First Kirtan I Heard from Vishnujana Swami (This was in Austin's Pease Park) Urgent! Please Help Us Mak...

(This is the original Krishna I worshipped in December of 1968.) Krishna is Astonishing Thought for Day--3 January 2026 There is truly no one more astonishing than Krishna. This we can understand by hearing about His pastimes from the great Vaisnava acaryas. This is not at all surprising because Krishna is source of all astonishing things. In this connection Srila Prabhupada has written in The Nectar of Devotion as follows: An instance of astonishment in devotional service by indirect perception occurred when Mahārāja Parīkṣit heard from Śukadeva Gosvāmī about Kṛṣṇa's killing Narakāsura, who had been fighting Kṛṣṇa with eleven akṣauhiṇī divisions of soldiers. Each division of akṣauhiṇī soldiers contained several thousand elephants, several thousand horses and chariots and several hundreds of thousands of infantry soldiers. Narakāsura possessed eleven such divisions, and all of them were throwing arrows toward Kṛṣṇa, but Kṛṣṇa killed them all, simply by throwing three arrows from Hi...

Keep Your Individuality and  Become Krishna's Pure Devotee Thought for Day--2 January 2026 We all have individual natures, different personalities, different talents, and different propenties. Becoming Krishna conscious does not mean that we have to give them up. It means that we can keep them and perfect them by making Krishna their center. In the material world everyone has their individual natures. But because they are not Krishna centered their circles of interest clash with the circles of interests of others and there is so much trouble: disagreements, fights, wars, etc. On the other hand, In Krishna consciousness all of our circles are concentric. They do not clash with each other and thus there is perfect peace and harmony in our relationships. (Whatever clashes devotees experience are due to their not yet being perfectly Krishna centered.) In this regard, Srila Prabhupada explained as follows in a lecture he gave on The Nectar of Devotion in Vrindavan on October 24, 1972:...

Thought for the Day--1 January 2026 I Am Trying a Different Format (It has been reported that our present format is difficult to directly access in smart phones using Gmail. So today I am trying a new format and asking your feedback if this is making it easier for you to read Thought for the Day.) .... We don't have to wait a full year to celebrate the new year. We can have a new year's celebration at every moment. Here's what Srila Prabhupada said in this regard on a morning walk in Los Angeles on 3 January 1974: Our every day is a New Year. Nava-nava-yauvanaṁ. Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so nice, the more you advance, you see new year, new year. That's all. Nothing is old. So, my dear readers, let us take this process seriously so that our every moment can be a most exciting new years' experience. Hoping this meets you in good health and in a cheerful mood, Your ever well-wisher. Sankarshan Das Urgent! Please Help Us Make the World Krishna Conscious. Donate Now by...