Dead elephant, one lakh rupees
Expressions researched:
"Dead elephant, one lakh rupees"
|"A dead elephant is also one lakh of rupees"
|"elephant. Dead or alive, it is one lakh of rupees"
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
General Lectures
Your Highnesses will be pleased to see how many books we have published. Perhaps you have seen one of them, Kṛṣṇa. That is published in two parts. We have got our magazine, Back to Godhead, in five languages: English, French, German, and Japanese, Hindi, and Bengali. Of course Bengali is going to be out. Hindi is already out. So we are doing these activities, and we have a mind that we may open a center in a nice city like Indore under your patronization. Although I know that at the present moment the time is different, still, if you like, you can help us in so many ways. In our Indian parable it is said that "A dead elephant is also one lakh of rupees." Elephant, living or dead, still, it is valuable. Mara hati laksa (?).
So this movement, from very old days, beginning from that sun-god, and again five thousand years ago between Lord Kṛṣṇa and the Pāṇḍavas, the pious kings. So this movement has got very intimate relationship with the kṣatriya kings. So I would request Your Highness... Both, you are sitting. If you kindly give us a little place here in Indore, we can immediately start a nice center. And this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is essential.Conversations and Morning Walks
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: ...ages, Śrīla Prabhupāda, did the people, in order to get valuable minerals and gold and things like that, did they mine underneath the ground?
Prabhupāda: No. There was no need of coal. And the jewelries and stones were received from the sea-pearls, valuable stones from the hills.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: So they didn't dig deep holes underneath the ground?
Prabhupāda: No. There was no need. The richest persons' property were ivory, gold, marble, valuable jewels, pearls, silk. This was luxury, not plastic. Now they have advanced, they have got plastic, no gold, no silver. Paper money and plastic utensils. This is advancement.
Brahmānanda: Do we consider ivory as something pure or impure?
Prabhupāda: No, pure.
Brahmānanda: It is pure.
Prabhupāda: Ivory, yes. There is a current proverb, "Dead elephant, one lakh rupees." Mara hati lakṣa na:(?) "Elephant, alive or dead, one lakh of rupees." On account of ivory. When the elephant is dead, it is put into a hole and covered. And after sometimes you find all the ivory. The bones and the teeth are very, very valuable. Formerly big, big kings, they used to manufacture their furniture of ivory and gold and silk pad. This is luxury. And the rooms bedecked with jewel. No electricity, no lamp. This is description of Kṛṣṇa's sixteen thousand palace. Who has got now? Sixteen thousand wives and sixteen thousand palace of marble and furniture ivory and gold. Where is there now? Therefore Kṛṣṇa is the richest.Page Title: | Dead elephant, one lakh rupees |
Compiler: | Sahadeva |
Created: | 29 of Apr, 2009 |
Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=1, Con=2, Let=0 |
No. of Quotes: | 3 |