Self-realization (Letters)

Expressions researched:
"Self-realization" |"realization of self" |"realization of the self"

Notes from the compiler: VedaBase query: "self-realization" or "realization of self" or "realization of the self" not "path of"

1947 to 1965 Correspondence

Letter to R. Prakash -- Allahabad 22 June, 1951:

The Vedic culture determines the standard of social upliftment in terms of the degree of self-realization and as such the social division was estimated accordingly in terms of goodness (intelligence and higher learning), passion (martial spirit to lord it over the world), passion-cum-ignorance (the spirit of productivity) and ignorance (the spirit of passive acceptance of being controlled by the laws of material nature).

Letter to Mr. Bailey -- Allahabad 14 September, 1951:

You have written to say that "The United States and the American Reporter are keenly interested in bringing together the East and the West closer on a philosophical and religious basis as well as economical and political." Certainly this attempt is not only a laudable thing but also a stepping stone towards the ultimate self realization.

When we speak of Philosophy it is something higher than the attempt of combining the East and the West. The whole cosmic situation is a complete unit and unless and attempt genuine is made for harmonizing the whole disturbed system and partial attempt on our part however large in magnitude will fail to approach the ultimate goal.

Letter to Mr. Bailey -- Allahabad 7 July, 1953:

You have written to say that "The United States and the American Reporter are keenly interested in bringing together the East & the West closer together on a philosophical and religious basis as well as economic agricultural and political" certainly this attempt is not only laudable but also a stepping stone towards the ultimate self-realization.

When we speak of philosophy it is something higher than the attempt of combining the East & West. The whole cosmic situation is a complete whole and unless an attempt genuine is made for harmonizing the whole system any partial attempt on our part however large in magnitude will fail to approach the ultimate goal.

Letter to Members -- Bombay:

This propaganda work is a part of SAMKIRTANJAJNA recommended for the people of this age.

The difficulty is that misguided people are more interested in the matter of sense gratification than in self-realization which is the ultimate goal of life. We have therefore taken up the difficult job to perform and it is our duty to do it.

We invite you to cooperate with the mission for collective welfare and help in the matter of wider circulation of the spiritual propaganda made by the BACK TO GODHEAD.

Letter to Sri Padampat Singhania -- Kanpur 7 May, 1957:

If by such propaganda of chanting the holy name, the filthy atmosphere of jealousy, bickerings, selfishness, falsehood and so many other affairs of the modern age—can be avoided, and if by such chanting the complete process of self-realization can be achieved—is it not our duty to do this service by combined force. In this age of quarrel and fight everything has to be done by combined force to achieve ready success. As the topmost person of a group of large scale industries, your good personality knows better than me how combined forces and diverse energies make the particular industry a successful establishment.

Letter to Sumati Morarjee -- New York 27 October, 1965:

The so called Yogis also could not establish the real cult of Bhagavad-gita. They are after material gains. The Bhagavata Cult is not there at all although it is the only remedy for raising the people in the world in the path of self realization and spiritual salvation.

I do not know what is in the mind of Lord Bala Krishna but I think that your attention to give an impetus to the Bhagavata cult and my humble attempt can serve great purpose. By the grace of the Lord you have a great position in the world and it is learnt that you are one of the richest woman in the world. But above all you are a pious lady with great devotion for Lord Bala Krishna and you can do a lot in this connection.

1967 Correspondence

Letter to Brahmananda -- San Francisco 10 February, 1967:

Please ask Mr. Lerner if Mr. Kallman is unwilling to send the records for reasons known to him so that I can inform here to the parties concerned. We must have some definite understanding instead of prolonging a matter. I think everything is going well there by the Grace of Lord Krishna. I have invitations from other organizations to lecture on 11th, 12th and 14th at Self Realization Organization, Himalayan Academy Administration and San Francisco University College. Some of them writes as follows: "Your Holiness: You have brought great beauty and harmony to our community through your love and devotion. Many souls have found their inner peace in your teachings of the Krishna Consciousness" I could have immediately distributed many records in these meetings by practical demonstration of the records. What shall I do with the empty case? I cannot understand the policy of Mr. Kallman. Please try to understand him and let me know what is the actual position.

Letter to Rupanuga -- San Francisco 11 February, 1967:

The students of this Himalayan Academy have built a very nice temple and I wish the students in New York also finish the proposed building as nicely as they have done at San Francisco. Tomorrow we are going to see Dr. Haridasa Chowdhury one Calcutta man who has a similar institution under the name of Self Realization Organization of San Francisco. An American gentleman Kriyananda (J. Donald Walters) will take me there by engagement. And in the evening tomorrow a couple will be married and two students will initiated prior to their marriage. And the same Kirtana function will be performed at California college on the 14th instant Tuesday. I think our popularity in this part of the country is increasing. I think in New York also you should arrange for such Kirtana programs in different churches and societies on off days like Tuesday, Thursday, Saturdays. Wherever we get opportunities we must perform such Kirtana.

Letter to Jayananda -- Delhi 29 September, 1967:

I've been very glad that you are appreciating by your self the effects of sincere Krishna Consciousness. I've nothing new to instruct you, the same old instruction namely constant chanting and attentively hearing the transcendental vibration Hare Krishna is the only process for self realization in this age. In San Francisco while you were driving your car and I was sitting by you hearing your transcendental vibration, this very sincere attempt has enriched your consciousness and my only instruction is that you may constantly do this habit without fail. Regarding your dispute in your mind as to remaining a brahmacari, grhastha or becoming sannyasi, there is nothing to be bothered with. Anyone who is in full Krishna Consciousness and is dedicating his life for Krishna is already a sannyasi even if he is a married man.

1968 Correspondence

Letter to Hayagriva -- Montreal 10 July, 1968:

That is the distinction between impersonalism and personalism. The impersonalists ultimate goal is something void, and therefore, any attempt for self-realization ending in voidness is all the same for the impersonalists. But we the personalists, we do not agree that all systems of self-realizing process ends in the same goal. In the Bhagavad-gita, it is explicitly said that the worshippers of different demigods ultimately reach the planets of respective demigods; the worshippers of forefathers also go to different pitri planets, respectively; the worshippers of mammon remain in the mammonish world; and the persons in Krishna Consciousness, ultimately reach to the planet of Krishna loka.

Letter to Pope Paul VI -- Montreal 3 August, 1968:

The so-called Swamis are cheating the public because the public also want to be cheated by cheap method of self-realization. They are practicing so-called yoga performances for the matter of reducing fat, and keeping the body fit for sense gratification. If somebody has no sufficient money, it is very hard for him to get justice from the court. And if anyone can simply bluff by so-called advancement of knowledge, he is offered the doctorate degree. If a man is poor, he is at once accepted as non-civilized. If a man is falsely proud, he is accepted as civilized. By frustration, people are gradually becoming communists and hippies, and the guardians of the society must now take up the situation very seriously, without further delay.

Letter to Kris -- Los Angeles 13 November, 1968:

"World Peace Memorium"—and what world peace he has brought? None. And what does Gandhi have to do with spiritual realization anyway? Gandhi was simply interested to get the Britishers out of India—what has this to do with self-realization, the prime goal of life? And here and there, there were signs of all sorts, like "Be still and realize I am God"—what is this, by becoming silent and still one becomes God?! The stone is silent for millions of years, does that mean it has become God? This is all conglomeration of nonsense ideas. Practically, this Yogananda has no philosophy or authority, he simply drags in Buddha, Jesus Christ, Gandhi, and whoever else he can think to put, so that whatever you like it is in his shop. He is just a good shop keeper.

1969 Correspondence

[[Vanisource:Letter to Hamsaduta -- Los Angeles 3 January, 1969 [Based on the 1st paragraph, we believe that the original letter was incorrectly dated. Our estimate is that this is the correct date.--Bhaktivedanta Archives]|Letter to Hamsaduta -- Los Angeles 3 January, 1969 [Based on the 1st paragraph, we believe that the original letter was incorrectly dated. Our estimate is that this is the correct date.--Bhaktivedanta Archives]]]:

Maybe by 1975, all of my disciples will be allowed to initiate and increase the numbers of the generations. That is my program. So we should not simply publish these books for reading by outsiders, but our students must be well versed in all of our books so that we can be prepared to defeat all opposing parties in the matter of self-realization.

Please keep me informed as to the progress of the prasadam program.

Letter to Janaki -- Los Angeles 18 January, 1969:

Regarding competition with other so-called yoga groups, certainly we have to win the race because we represent Krishna directly, and others are all mostly impersonalists or less than that. So far as I know, our Krishna Consciousness movement is the only genuine endeavor for self-realization. I have tried to explain the genesis of this movement in my book, Bhagavad-gita As It Is, and people will learn it if they will carefully study this book. In this connection, there was a radio interview this week in Los Angeles, and the summary is being sent herewith. If possible, you can try to get it printed in the Times, as they have already printed an article about ourselves. You can make the heading as follows: Genesis of the Krishna Consciousness Movement.

Letter to Vilasavigraha -- Los Angeles 22 January, 1969:

You cannot speculate upon Krishna, neither can you ever know Him by such speculations. You can simply use your judgement submissively; that is all, and this cannot be done in a challenging spirit. Lord Jesus Christ also said that the Kingdom of God is only for the humble and meek.

In regard to your next question, self realization means God realization, and God realization means self realization. Just like to see the sun means to see oneself, and to see oneself means to see the sun. Self realization depends completely upon God realization, or else it is not complete. One must know his relationship to the Absolute Truth to fully know his position. The mayavadi school simply discerns spirit from matter, but that is not Ultimate Knowledge. One should know the different manifestations of the spirit also. The highest manifestation of the spirit soul is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna.

Letter to R. Chalson -- New Vrindaban 12 June, 1969:

I am not satisfied with this, so my next attempt will be to publish the same with explanations for all the verses without any exception. Actually, our Krishna Consciousness Movement means to propagate in the human society the transcendental understanding of Krishna. In the Bhagavad-gita it is said that out of many men, only one is interested in self-realization, and out of many thousands of self-realized persons, only one may understand Krishna. But if one understands Krishna as to what He is, what are His transcendental activities, then such person immediately is eligible to enter into the Kingdom of God, and not to come again in this miserable world. People in general do not even understand that this world is miserable for the conditioned soul. Neither are they very interested in the Kingdom of God. They want to make this miserable world as the Kingdom of God without God.

Letter to Martin Malles -- Los Angeles 22 July, 1969:

I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter postdated July 17, 1969, and I have carefully noted the contents. I am very pleased to note that you have been coming to our Krishna Consciousness temple in New York and what you are learning there from the disciples and from our literature is provoking you to think very deeply on the matters of self-realization. Actually, what the devotees there are telling you about the Hatha Yoga system is correct. In Bhagavad-gita you will find confirmation of the fact that this Hatha Yoga system is not so easy process as you have been led to believe by various "masters". To do actual Hatha Yoga one must not live in the city, but he must go to a sacred spot, and completely freed from all attachments and all material desires and disturbances, he must concentrate his mind upon the Lord within his heart.

1970 Correspondence

Letter to Jayapataka -- Los Angeles 2 February, 1970:

They are very insignificant organizations in the face of Krishna Consciousness Movement. Everyone says that what Ramakrishna Mission could not do in 80 years time, we have done many more times in three years time. So nobody can check this genuine movement of Krishna Consciousness by artificial means of bluff. Any sincere soul, serious in the matter of self-realization, will certainly be attracted by our Movement.

Letter to Anil Grover -- Los Angeles 5 February, 1970:

Questions should be put before a person to whom you can submit yourself and to whom you can render some service also—that is the way of self-realization.

The Krishna Consciousness Movement has a basic philosophy in view, which is propagation of the ideal of One God, one religion, one scripture, one hymn, and one human society. So far we Indians are concerned; we are ordered to preach the philosophy of Krishna Consciousness throughout the whole world, after personally realizing what it is.

Letter to Bhagavan -- Los Angeles 8 February, 1970:

If he cannot dedicate his whole life, then let him devote his money; if he cannot devote his money, then let him devote his intelligence; and if he cannot devote his intelligence also, then let him devote his voice in Krishna Consciousness by uttering Hare Krishna Mantra. Therefore Hare Krishna Mantra is the greatest common factor for self-realization. Please preach this philosophy whole-heartedly and Krishna will be very much pleased upon you.

Letter to Hanuman Prasad Poddar -- Los Angeles 4 March, 1970:

People must take to God-consciousness and surely they will be happy in all respects.

By the grace of Lord Caitanya, the method of self-realization is made very easy and universal by chanting Hare Krsna mantra. It is being effective practically. So let us join together to expand this great mission of Lord Caitanya Who predicted that everywhere as many cities and towns and villages are there on the surface of the globe, His Holy Name would be glorified on account of His transcendental gift to the fallen souls of this Kali Yuga.

Letter to Bertl -- Los Angeles 18 April, 1970:

Our philosophy is that we must apply in practical life what we believe. In this age no other philosophy or process of self-realization will be practical and effective as Krishna Consciousness is. So I would request you to come and live with our devotees in Hamburg and join the Sankirtana Party, try to understand the philosophy, eat with them, sleep with them, talk with them, and chant Hare Krishna. I am sure you will be happy and will be relieved from the present disturbances of your mind.

I would have been glad to ask you to come here, but I do not know whether it is possible for you to come here. But if you live in our temple in Hamburg, I am sure you will be happy.

Letter to Minoru, Kenji -- Los Angeles 22 April, 1970:

At the present moment everyone of us is in gross misunderstanding of bodily consciousness and this situation is also present in the animal kingdom. The four necessities of bodily concept of life; namely eating, sleeping, mating and defending, are common in the human form of body or animal form of body. In the human form of body we get a chance for our self-realization and we should utilize this opportunity very seriously.

Letter to Tamala Krsna -- Los Angeles 1 May, 1970:

Different living beings are situated in different consciousness, Some are satisfied in the matter of eating and sleeping, they are on the annamoya stage. Pranamoya means those who can simply survive in the struggle for existence. Manomoya means philosophical speculation. Jnanamoya means self-realization, vijnanamoya means application of that stage in practical life, and when there is the right perfection of life that is anandamoya stage or Krsna Consciousness.

So by the grace of Lord Caitanya, in this age our movement is giving directly the anandamoya stage, and anyone can visit our Temple and see how our students are in blissful life. Naturally they are in jolly mood by chanting, dancing, and taking Prasadam. Your regular chanting of Mahamantra and reading of books will keep you always fit for pushing on this movement. This formula should be rigidly followed by everyone of us.

Letter to Candanacarya, Bharadraja -- Los Angeles 9 May, 1970:

I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 4th May, 1970, along with a nice tape of Sankirtana and solo song.

So it is very nice. Lord Caitanya has introduced a very nice system of self-realization through arts and songs. Both of you are expert in singing and musical science as well as painting work. Now by the grace of Krsna your talents are being utilized in His service. That is what we require in Krsna Consciousness. We do not require to qualify very extraordinarily to serve Krsna. Krsna is Self-sufficient, He does not require anyone's service, but still the more we render service unto Him the more we become happy.

Letter to Gurudasa -- Los Angeles 16 May, 1970:

So these things can be understood when one is advanced in self-realization. The real form of the living entity is eternal servant of Krsna. Now this spiritual form is developed when he enters into the spiritual world.

Regarding your second question, "Where in our scriptures is there mention of Lord Jesus Christ as recognized and what is the purport?"—We do not find in the scriptures Lord Jesus Christ's name. There is mention of Lord Buddha's name which is described in our Srimad-Bhagavatam. So far we are concerned, we have all our obeisances for Lord Jesus Christ because His whole life was devoted to the service of the Lord.

Letter to Madhusudana -- Los Angeles 29 June, 1970:

I am very much glad to learn that you have appreciated the subject matter of Nectar of Devotion and Krsna while working on it in the press, and actually these two books will keep us constantly in Krsna consciousness. The secret of Krsna consciousness is open in these two books. Our method is very simple. All different methods of self-realization are little or more troublesome. This is explained in the Bhagavad-gita 12th chapter that persons who have no fixed idea what is God will have unnecessarily more trouble to reach to the goal. Krsna is the ultimate objective. Unless one therefore reaches to this point he remains imperfect never mind what he is either a karmi, or a jnani, or a yogi. For a devotee the objective is directly approached. So persons will be interested simply in reading our books wherein there is only Krsna consciousness described in transcendental varieties.

Letter to Jagadisa -- Bombay 17 November, 1970:

I beg to thank you for your letter dated October 25th, 1970, and noted the contents.

Yes, you are right to say that self-realization is a serious work. The devotees know this and there one of their qualities is that they are grave and not inclined to frivolity. A Krsna Conscious person is only interested in serving the Lord faithfully and he has got no other extraneous thought. His intelligence is always engaged in finding out the best way to execute loving transcendental service to Krsna and therefore he has no time for idleness. An idle mind is the devil's workshop—is a true remark.

1971 Correspondence

Letter to John H. Morgan -- Allahabad 16 January, 1971:

It does not even finish with the end of the body, but it continues eternally. And it is joyfully performed. At first, though, there may be some inconveniences, but we must tolerate them and we shall realize the goal. Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita that such rules and regulations in the beginning may be just like poison but at the end are like nectar and they awaken one to self-realization. (B.G. 18/37). So strictly follow all the regulative principles, chant Hare Krishna Mantra regularly, 16 rounds daily, and your rapid advancement in Krishna Consciousness will be certain.

1972 Correspondence

Letter to Balavanta -- Ahmedabad 13 December, 1972:

They, because they are little educated or they have got some wealth or fame or ability, so they will be sometimes little puffed-up, but that is all right, they deserve it. Now we shall have to learn the art how to approach such higher-class of men and attract them to apply themselves to this Krishna Consciousness process of self-realization. That requires much tact, and we shall have to expect to meet all challenges by sharp minds. But if we remain always absorbed in remembering Lord Caitanya, how He converted so many intelligent men, even sitting for three days and nights to hear them speak without Himself speaking anything, and if we remember how Krishna was so much patient to explain everything to Arjuna, even Arjuna was speaking like a fool—in this way, being always tolerant of others and appreciating their points-of-view, it will be easy matter for us to convince them gradually to join us.

Letter to Vaikunthanatha -- Bombay 29 December, 1972:

There is no harm for having children, that is no impediment for preaching endeavor. But too much attachment for children, home and work will spoil your opportunity to get very quickly the mature benefit of Krsna consciousness or self-realization.

1974 Correspondence

Letter to Tarun Kanti Ghosh Babu -- New Delhi 11 March, 1974:

This morning you were quoting from Sri Siksastaka, "Ceto darpana marjanam bhava maha davagni nirvapanam (CC Antya 20.12)." This is the first installment of the benediction of Sri Krishna Sankirtana. "Param vijayate Sri Krsna Sankirtana." First of all, people are suffering on account of misunderstanding of self realization. The whole world is moving under the conception of the body in different names are caste, creed, nation, culture, like that. By chanting Hare Krishna Maha Mantra offenselessly, one immediately realizes himself as spirit soul which is described in the Vedas as aham brahmasmi.

Letter to Rupanuga -- Tirupati 28 April, 1974:

Our students who are making this political program must be fixed in one point that human society unless divided into the four classes and divisions is animal society. Among the animals there is no intelligence for self realization or how to make life successful. In human life intelligence is better than animals therefore they should know what is the aim of life and to educate human society there is the whole Vedic literature, of which the Bhagavad gita is the quintessence. The Supreme Personality of Godhead orders that there must be four division in human society, a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th class, like that, and the 1st must be ideal. If the whole society is full of rogues, thieves, drunkards, cheaters and demons, where is there question of decent government.

Letter to Trista Hubbarth -- Bombay 3 May, 1975:

I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated March 25th, which I have only received recently due to touring.

You have very thoughtfully asked me what do I think of the Self Realization yoga and meditation. We are not concerned with other religions or yogas in terms of competition or sectarian spirit. Actual spiritual knowledge is to take the authoritative statements from the scriptures and from the great acaryas, spiritual masters in disciplic succession. Other's opinions are not important. For example, in the Bhagavad gita, Lord Krsna gives His opinion, but He is accepted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead by all the great sages of the Vedic philosophy including Vyasadeva the compiler of all the scriptures, as well as Narada, Brahma, Siva and in the modern time, Ramanuja, Sankaracarya, Lord Caitanya, etc.

Letter to Trista Hubbarth -- Bombay 3 May, 1975:

My point is that when we say "self realization" it does no means that one should realize that He is the Supreme. Real self realization means to understand that you are the eternal servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and perfection is to develop love or bhakti, loving service in relationship with that Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who teaches other conclusion from that of the Bhagavad-gita and the succession of acaryas is certainly not a guru, and in fact according to Lord Krsna, he is a fool, (the word Krsna uses is mudha, ass, rascal).

Letter to Badarinarayana -- Bombay 17 December, 1974:

I am always happy to hear of the wonderful activities of spreading Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's sankirtana movement. Your activities are very pleasing. Going door to door, person to preach the message of chanting Hare Krsna is actually the yuga dharma for this age. In other yugas there are different processes for self-realization but in kali-yuga the real method is simply chanting Hare Krsna and trying to encourage everyone else to do the same. So your program is perfect. It is very nice that you are also making so many new devotees. This is the fruit of our activities. So continue your program in the same way with added enthusiasm and your life will be perfect.

1975 Correspondence

Letter to Kirtiraja -- Bombay 12 January, 1975:

And definitely, the BBT cannot pay any salary to anybody. Our philosophy is "simple living and high thinking"—not sense gratification. The temple presidents and leaders (elder students) must show this by example. Temple or asrama means for renunciation and renounced persons. If one is engaged in self-realization process, then his material necessities become almost nil. Persons who do not like this can work outside.

1976 Correspondence

Letter to Dr. Chatterjee -- Vrindaban 27 September, 1976:

Before going to America I approached many respectable friends for giving me at least one boy from each family to be trained up in this line of self-realization, but I was not successful. The parents had no interest—the same difficulty of sudra mentality. Anyway, we are attempting again this Gurukula program, so why not begin from this small endeavor and gradually develop to the ideal university. On the whole if you can arrange such university there will be no financial difficulty. So I think if you kindly begin from this Gurukula attempt and then develop to the International University, that will be very practical.

1977 Correspondence

Letter to Charles Gold -- Bhuvanesvara 29 January, 1977:

As stated in the Bhagavad-gita, everything in the universe is actually under the control of the Supreme Being, the Cause of all Causes, and He is Sri Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Hearing from the perfect source of the Supreme Being, one can get answers to solve the miseries of life, which begins with self-realization, knowledge of the self as the soul, beyond the body. Knowledge of the cause and origin of life are also given perfectly. I request you to first make a thorough study of these Vedic books as I have translated, and make inquiries of the devotees in the New York temple. Gradually all these things will be known to you.