Clever (Conv. and Letters)

Expressions researched:
"clever" |"cleverly" |"cleverness"

1972 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk Conversation -- September 28, 1972, Los Angeles:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: He's not a scientist. He's called a naturalist.

Prabhupāda: Naturalist. Anyway, you can call him a philosopher. So the basic point is wrong. Starting is wrong. Starting point is mistake and illusion. Therefore, the next point is cheating. If you start from wrong conception of life, then if you distribute knowledge, that means cheating. You do not know, still you are distributing knowledge. But this rascal Darwin, he has no clear idea. He is simply theorizing, speculating, and misleading people. Therefore, he is cheating. So if I cheat you and you cheat me, then how you can expect perfection of life? It is a society of cheating, and that is actually going on. Everyone is thinking, "How I have gorgeous way cheated you." That is politics, diplomacy. If you can cheat your friend very cleverly, then you are supposed to be very big man. Big lawyer means the law is there, but if he can cheat the law, then he is big lawyer.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- April 28, 1973, Los Angeles:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: That is what we find in science.

Prabhupāda: Yes. It is, it is a scientific or clever method of drawing money from others. That's all. In other words, simple words, cheating. That's all. They do not know anything, and they're teaching, scientific method. Now suppose here is big, big waves. You scientists, you say some jugglery of words, proton, atoms, this, that, and hydrogen, phoxygen, oxygen. But what benefit people will get? Simply they'll hear this jugglery of words. That's all. What else you can say? Now suppose it is hydrogen, oxygen, protons, neutrons, all these things. So your position, my position, where is the change? Still we do not get any profit by this jugglery of words.

Garden Conversation with Mahadeva's Mother and Jesuit Priest -- July 25, 1973, London:

Mother: Yes. But I think one has to be clever enough not to let people cheat you.

Prabhupāda: Clever means that he must stay in his own land. He should not be cheated by the paper and go to the city.

Morning Walk -- December 3, 1973, Los Angeles:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: But scientifically it can be proved that there is a mistake.

Prabhupāda: Then that is your mistake. In the laws of nature there is no mistake. There is no mistake. Your mistake. Just like in the railway carriage there is first-class, second-class, third-class. So you have purchased third-class ticket. By mistake, you can go to the first-class and just give him, but you will not be allowed to stay there. So it is your mistake. But these first-class, second-class, third..., that is not a mistake. That is arrangement. Similarly, these varieties... God is so clever that He knows that so many mistakes can be done, and so many varieties are there. As you commit mistake, you enter... "You come here. It is ready." And it is very exact mathematically calculated. Because the nature is working in three modes, so you mix up these three modes, it becomes three into three equal nine, and again you multiply nine into nine, equal to eighty-one. Again eighty-one into eighty-one. So many varieties come. Therefore generally it is taken, 84 million varieties. 8, 400,000. That is already there. Just like government creates a prison house. Although the city is not constructed, but they construct a prison house. Why? The government knows that "There are so many rascals. They will be criminals, they must come here." So it is not government mistakes. Your mistake. You become criminal and come here. It is your mistake. Why should you be criminal? That is your mistake.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- March 23, 1974, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: Americans are very clever at using money.

Prabhupāda: Yes. They have made a clique with the managers of the foundation, and they present by literature all lies. The subject matter is India. "Oh, so many people are starving, so many..." In this way they take money from the managers, and it is divided amongst themselves.

Morning Walk -- March 29, 1974, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: I'm not manufacturing, I'm not manufacturing. Nowhere Veda say you kill the animals, and eat them away. They, our forefathers were so clever as to kill them and bring them living again.

Prabhupāda: Every sacrifice, every sacrifice there is written in injunction of Vedic...

Morning Walk at Villa Borghese -- May 26, 1974, Rome:

Prabhupāda: My father used to say, "If you do not allow the servants to steal, so don't keep." Don't keep servants. "A servant who does not steal, he is not a gentleman. He must steal."

Bhagavān: He must steal.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is their satisfaction. So you must allow them. In old zamindar family, they will pay the manager five rupees per month, salary, and allow them to steal. That was simply a token salary that "You are servant." And the manager was so clever, he would steal, but he would not spoil the property of the master. He will manage very nicely that he will extra, make extra income and steal. The master will not be touched. Master will be happy. Master knows that "I am paying him five rupees. That is nothing." And he is constructing big building, getting his sons and daughters married very luxuriantly.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- June 22, 1975, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Then Jesus is a fool, and he has taken contract to suffer, and these people are free to commit sin.

Dharmādhyakṣa: Jesus actually said...

Prabhupāda: And they are so clever that they can make God's son also fool. Over-clever.

Morning Walk -- July 17, 1975, San Francisco:

Prabhupāda: That we have already answered. Just the Rockefeller. He may be also called parasite.

Devotee: He is.

Prabhupāda: But he has got enough money to engage you to work for me. "You work; I enjoy." Devotees are so clever that you collect money... Just like our Kṛṣṇa dāsa collected money by doing hard work and gave me a check. Why shall I work? (laughter) I am so intelligent, I have created an organization-check is coming without my work. So who is intelligent? Why shall I work?

Morning Walk -- July 21, 1975, San Francisco:

Prabhupāda: That is not logic; that is foolishness.

Paramahaṁsa: Right.

Prabhupāda: That is foolishness. You must be experienced, that "There are counterfeit coins. I shall be very clever, intelligent, to see before accepting any genuine coin." That should be your conclusion. Not that I have met one or two counterfeit coins, therefore I conclude there is no genuine coin.

Room Conversation with Devotees -- August 1, 1975, New Orleans:

Devotee (1): Just like Nanda Mahārāja, he also had land. Nanda Mahārāja.

Prabhupāda: Yes. He was therefore called king. But he was a vaiśya. He engaged his land for agriculture and cow keeping. And Kṛṣṇa took charge of the cows, the calves, although still calf, He, (indistinct) This is the system. He was going with the calves whole day, playing with the boys and taking care of the cows, in the evening come back. Mother then washes and bathes and gives nice food. And immediately goes to sleep. And Kṛṣṇa is clever. At night He goes to the gopīs. (laughter) Then mother Yaśodā did not know, when she thought, "My good son is sleeping." And the gopīs also would come at a place and they'll dance. This is called life, childhood life. And when He was grown up, then He was brought to, I mean to say, Mathurā and He fought with His maternal uncle, killed him, and then His father Vasudeva, took care, sent Him to, what is that? Sāndīpani Muni. He was educated. He was learning every subject every day.

Room Conversation -- October 4, 1975, Mauritius:

Cyavana: The government doesn't have the power to control everyone. But Kṛṣṇa can...

Prabhupāda: No. Even if he's strong enough, you disobey. The government has made so many things that you cannot steal, the iron chest, but still, you are clever enough that you do.

Room Conversation -- October 14, 1975, Johannesburg:

Prabhupāda: So therefore if I say that they did not go to the moon, how they can support?

Harikeśa: They cannot prove. They are so clever and sophisticated with their nonsense, they can even make the astronauts believe...

Prabhupāda: Therefore I asked you to ask them, "Why Sunday first and Monday next?"

Room Conversation -- October 14, 1975, Johannesburg:

Prabhupāda: Defamy. Gali. Just like I say, "You rascal fool, you...," so many things. I rebuke. What is that?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Defamy.

Prabhupāda: Defamy. So the last defamy is that you die. I say, "You are rascal. You are fool. You are this, and that." This is all not so dangerous. But if I say that "You die," that is the last defamy. So in spite of all their clever invention, they are going to die. Then what is the value? That you cannot check.

Morning Walk -- November 11, 1975, Bombay:

Brahmānanda: ...this book written by one priest during the war. The name of the book was Somebody Up There Likes Me, referring to God.

Prabhupāda: Still, he did not dare to utter the name of God.

Brahmānanda: No, he said "somebody."

Prabhupāda: "Somebody."

Brahmānanda: "Somebody Up There Likes Me."

Prabhupāda: As soon as he had written "God likes me," nobody would purchase the book. (laughter) Nobody would. He is clever—"Somebody."

Morning Walk -- November 29, 1975, Delhi:

Devotee (3): They say India is very poor country.

Prabhupāda: No. Indians economical backwards because they have given up their own culture. When India was actually standing on the old culture, they were never defeated. Even the Mohammedans, they ruled over India for eight hundred years, but they could not defeat the Indian culture. But the British government are clever. They spoiled the Indian culture. Therefore they are poverty-stricken. Otherwise if India would have continued in his own culture... The Gandhi started the boycott movement. So Indian culture automatically boycotted anything foreign. We know in our childhood nothing foreign-made could be used in some ceremony.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- January 19, 1976, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: I took first opportunity to go to Jagannātha Purī after my examination, and in business connection when I went to Agra, then I first of all took the opportunity to go to Vṛndāvana from Agra. This was in 1925, and I visited Jagannātha Purī sometime in 1920. And '25 I went to Vṛndāvana. I remember, in those days I was sitting within the car, and there was some prasādam. One monkey entered and took away everything.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: In the train compartment.

Prabhupāda: They are very clever. Many times in Vṛndāvana the monkeys have taken away from my hand foodstuff.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: While you were eating.

Prabhupāda: Hm. Thrice... At least thrice, four times I remember.

Morning Walk -- March 9, 1976, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: Yes. You convince him like that.

Yaśodānandana: This is very clever.

Prabhupāda: And factually we have to do that in order to check the flood. Make scheme like Europeans and Americans. Why you are thinking in terms of Indian plan?

Morning Walk -- March 17, 1976, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: You, you prepare brain, or keep something that by chance there will be a brain.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Make a monkey's brain by chance.

Yaśodānandana: In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in one of your purports, you mention that great scientists like Einstein, Newton and Chandra Bose had such great brains, but who has created their brain?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Yaśodānandana: This is a very clever argument of Your Divine Grace.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes.

Morning Walk -- March 22, 1976, Mayapura:

Devotee: Also that professor from Mexico City, he appreciated.

Prabhupāda: Yes, everyone who is after truth will accept. If he's a bogus, if you want to be cheated and cheat others, that will not. Ninety-nine percent, they are cheaters and cheated. This is the position. All these cheaters they are cheating, and they accept to be cheated. If I am very clever that I don't want to be cheated, then nobody can cheat me. But these rascals, they want to be cheated. If you say, "No, no, what is the wrong in illicit sex?" That means you want to be cheated.

Morning Walk -- April 9, 1976, Vrndavana:

Devotee (1): Therefore we will come early in the morning and take advantage.

Prabhupāda: Yes, that is our ājagara-vṛtti. Ājagara-vṛtti means we haven't got to work for anything. Everything should be done by others, and we shall take possession of it. (laughter) Just like the Americans. They have earned so much money, and I have gone there and taking possession. I am not more clever than the Americans? (laughs) "Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and give money. I'll take to India." What do you think?

Room Conversation About Mayapura Construction -- August 19, 1976, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: You send immediately to America. They will pay.

Gargamuni: we sent a newsletter to get people to buy cloth the cloth because we have a huge stock of it.

Prabhupāda: Now, you ask Bhagavān. He is very clever. He's expert.

Jayapatākā: We are worried that now we're getting good men to join, they're doing good work, then how...

Prabhupāda: I think if you prepare according to the order of our foreign centers, then you won't be... They will all give. You can make fine cloth?

Room Conversation -- October 31, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: And they say, the cow's urine, they are forcing to eat. (laughter) (Bengali) ...that they are forcing the devotees to drink cow's urine. (laughter) These are the charges: brainwash, mind control, forcing cow's urine to drink. (laughter) How clever they are to find out some fictitious faults.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- January 4, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: The Communist is trying to take over the industry and get the whole profit. (laughs) That's all. The condition remains the same—hellish. But... What is called...? Complacent, he's satisfied that "I am getting the profit." All foolish. The Iran is also imitating European method of exploiting. They're bringing men from village. In India also, British period, they used to, that, but Indian people are little clever. They would come from the village to the city alone, not with family. They earn money and send to the family. And whenever they like, they go away. They're not dependent. And if you bring family, you have to work. That system is still going on.

Conversation on Train to Allahabad -- January 11, 1977, India:

Prabhupāda: That will rectify everything. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12). All misunderstanding gone away.

Rāmeśvara: We have to be very clever.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Rāmeśvara: In America it requires being very clever to get them to read your books. Even if they buy millions of books, there's no guarantee that they're reading it. So we have to make other kinds of propaganda.

Prabhupāda: No, at least it is expected they will read: "What is this book I have purchased? Let me see." Reading, of course, meant for intelligent class.

Conversation on Train to Allahabad -- January 11, 1977, India:

Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa has already given you. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekāṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). That is simple truth. Believe in Kṛṣṇa. That means Supreme Personality of Godhead. Whatever He says is truth. That's all. This is intelligence: "Whatever Kṛṣṇa says, that is truth."

Hari-śauri: Even if one is not so clever, still, if he simply repeats and presents Kṛṣṇa, then that's enough.

Prabhupāda: Firm faith. Firm faith: "Whatever Kṛṣṇa says is all right."

Room Conversation with Two Indian Guests -- January 27, 1977, Jagannatha Puri:

Prabhupāda: When the Britishers saw, "Now the soldiers are coming in national movement. There is no hope. Better break this and go peacefully so that our business may not be disturbed, our relation may not be disturbed. Make a Commonwealth and so on, so on, hodgepodge. And do as much harm as possible dividing Pakistan and Hindustan, all the food in Pakistan, East Bengal and West Pakistan, gehun(?) and rice." And this Hindustan in starvation, because they were getting gehun(?) from Punjab and rice from East Bengal, and that is stopped. They very clever. Greatest harm they did. And in politics made in such a way that these two people, Hindustan and Pakistan, always fight. So they have gained. You have not gained. Gandhi wanted Hindu-Muslim unity. They made so bitter relationship that they will perpetually fight. That is Gandhi's qualification.

Room Conversation with Two Indian Guests -- January 27, 1977, Jagannatha Puri:

Prabhupāda: They are so great diplomats that "This man wants Hindu-Muslim unity, so make such arrangement that this... They fight will continuous. And give all the food to the Pakistani, so they will starve. Let them eat coal." The Hindustan has got coal mine. "So they will suffer for industrial supply, and they will suffer for food. And they will fight." British diplomats are very clever. Gandhi even offered that "Don't divide India. You better give it to Jhinna." But this commission, this Patita Lalan(?). "No, no," said, "It is... Otherwise, there will be conflagration of always fight. Let it be settled." Gandhi went to this point, that "If you think that without division India will be chaos, so you better give it to Jhinna in the hand. Don't give it to me." But they wanted division.

Room Conversation about BTG the Moon -- February 18, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Moon is finished? No.

Hari-śauri: Practically.

Prabhupāda: What about Transcendental Meditation?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They are very clever. But even now they're coming under great criticism. They're starting to become criticized also. But they are much... He has so much watered down the whole thing that it doesn't disturb hardly anybody. It's no... It's like ten minutes a day. "Keep your job. Keep your position. Do everything you're doing. Just ten minutes a day go to sleep. Say some mantra and sleep." So no one is very much upset by it. It doesn't demand anything, doesn't demand very much at all, like taking a pill.

Prabhupāda: He's very clever.

Short Dissertations -- May 24-25, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Those British were very clever.

Prabhupāda: Artificially created a famine in India. I have seen.

Talk with Svarupa Damodara -- June 20, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: As soon as you take birth, you have to accept brāhmaṇa guru. So there must be brāhmaṇas. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, cātur-varṇyaṁ māyā sṛṣṭam (BG 4.13). There must be brāhmaṇas. Otherwise where is human society? It is animal society. In the animal society they are clever, enjoy. "How! How! How! How!" Jackals and tigers and big, this animal, that animal, they are everything. Where is the brāhmaṇa? This is the first time attempt is being made—"There must be brāhmaṇas"—this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.

1968 Correspondence

Letter to Janardana -- Los Angeles 7 February, 1968:

We can challenge any rascals of the world but the difficulty is that it is folly to be wise where ignorance is bliss. Maharishi Mahesa has gained so much popularity over Europe or America, means the people of this part of the world are not very much advanced in spiritual science. What is there philosophy in the teachings of Maharishi Mahesa? He is very clever man to collect fund. He is proposing individual mantra which is complete nonsense, and he is charging for mantra and allowing his disciples to enjoy life as they like. So these are all nonsense propaganda proposals, but people are blind in accepting his advice. One thing is, however, clear, that the Western people are searching after some spiritual enlightenment in the real sense of the term.

1971 Correspondence

Letter to Himavati -- Delhi 17 November, 1971:

It is very nice that all the men should participate in deity-worship, this will sanctify their all other work. I think you are the most clever manager, better than your husband, because you are organizing temple routine very nicely for serving the deities and this will have very good results for everyone.

Letter to Yogesvara -- Bombay 28 December, 1971:

Our unique asset is our purity. No one any where can match it. That will be noticed eventually and appreciated, as long as we do not diminish or neglect the highest standard of purity in performing our routine work, not that we require to display or announce ourselves in very clever ways to get attention. No, our pure standard is enough. Let us stand on that basis.

1974 Correspondence

Letter to Karandhara -- Mayapur 8 October, 1974:

As alleged by you I have received complaints against Bali Mardan and his wife, so seriously so much so that the girl has declared that Bali Mardan is an incarnation of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura on my name. In India some of the important members they have collected huge amounts in the name of the Society and spent it luxuriously. I wanted you all my experienced disciples should manage the whole institution very cleverly without any personal ambition like ordinary materialistic men. The Gaudiya Math institution has become smashed, at least stopped its program of preaching work on account of personal ambitions.

Letter to Tejiyas -- Mayapur 11 October, 1974:

Gurudasa has all of a sudden left. How will the Vrindaban expenditure be met? Where is the money Gurudasa collected for the Deities? Where is it kept and what is the account? Yamuna is very clever, and I know they have collected huge sum.