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Actually, the hippies are our best customers. Almost all of our important disciples are recruited from that group

Expressions researched:
"Actually, the hippies are our best customers. Almost all of our important disciples are recruited from that group" |"best customer" |"best customers" |"hippies" |"hippy"

Conversations and Morning Walks

1972 Conversations and Morning Walks

Because the United States, they are our best customer. For material enjoyment, they have got enough. The material enjoyment means money and woman. That is, in America, it is lying on the street. As much as you like, you can take. But they are disgusted with this material enjoyment. Therefore they are coming as hippies. They are coming from very rich family. Their fathers, their grandfathers, are very rich. At least they belong to the richest nation. But they are not satisfied.
Room Conversation -- April 18, 1972, Hong Kong:

Guest (1): The Hare Kṛṣṇa movement has started in the United States. Why did it start in the United States, rather than India?

Prabhupāda: Because the United States, they are our best customer. A businessman goes to a place... Just like you have come here. Why you have come here? Wherever there is best possibility of doing your business, there you must go. I went to United States because I know these people are not poverty-stricken. And our Indian people, they are now, they have been trained to think like that—they are poverty-stricken. Actually, they are not poverty-stricken, but the leaders have educated them that, "You are all poverty-stricken." This is India's position. So far I knew that it would not be successful in India. The government will not help. The public is educated in a different way. They are after technology. So and "familiarity breeds contempt." They say, "What is this Hare Kṛṣṇa movement? It is known to us since a long time. What effect it will have?" Many Indian students in foreign countries, they say, "Swamiji, what will this Hare Kṛṣṇa movement benefit us? We want technology." So that is the mentality of the Indians at the present moment. They have lost everything and therefore they are beggars. They have lost their own culture and therefore they are beggars. So I thought it wise that I shall go to a country where there is no poverty. They will learn. They have enough. For material enjoyment, they have got enough. The material enjoyment means money and woman. That is, in America, it is lying on the street. As much as you like, you can take. But they are disgusted with this material enjoyment. Therefore they are coming as hippies. They are coming from very rich family. Their fathers, their grandfathers, are very rich. At least they belong to the richest nation. But they are not satisfied. They are not satisfied. That is the natural sequence. The Vedānta-sūtra says, athāto brahma jijñāsā. When one has satisfied his senses sufficiently, he is no longer interested in sense gratification. Perhaps you know C.R. Das, the name of C.R. Das in Calcutta. In those days, fifty years ago he was earning fifty thousand rupees per month, but he was not satisfied. And one day he and his wife were sitting together and the wife questioned, "Why do you look so morose? You have got everything at your command. Everyone respects you. You have got money. Everything you have got, education, popularity. Still, why you are unhappy?" So he simply, by chance he saw one mendicant was passing on the street, a sādhu beggar. So he said, "I want to become like him." He said, "I want to be a mendicant like him." So there are many instances in our history. Just like Bhārata Mahārāja. He was young man, twenty-four years old, and emperor of the whole planet, young wife, king, everything. He left everything. Bhārata Mahārāja passed long, long ago. Buddha, Lord Buddha, he was also prince and very young, and he was surrounded with dancing girls. But as soon as he came out on the street, he saw one old man. "What is this?" "This is old man. Everyone has to become old like this." So he became immediately converted to a saintly person. "I must go and meditate and realize myself. Why shall I become old?"

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

On the whole, it is favorable. Hm?
Room Conversation -- November 3, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: What is the news of Nepal?

Girirāja: Oh, well, they have a very nice program there. They have a nice house with many rooms, and the Nepalese people...

Prabhupāda: How many rooms?

Girirāja: About nine big rooms. And they do street saṅkīrtana every day in the main street, and they distribute literature. And the Society is not yet registered there, but I went with Prabhaviṣṇu to a lawyer, and we've set up the formalities for getting registered, but the government is presently reviewing the registration law, so it might take a few weeks before they accept our case.

Prabhupāda: On the whole, it is favorable. Hm?

Girirāja: Oh, yes. There is a tremendous scope. And the royal family is very powerful. They run the whole country, and, of course, they're Hindus. So I also went with Prabhaviṣṇu to meet one relation of the Queen Mother, and this lady was very enthusiastic about our activities. So I discussed with Prabhaviṣṇu the strategy how to approach the royal family, and... It's a Hindu state. They don't claim to be secular, like in India, so...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Hopeful.

Girirāja: Yes, it is hopeful. Then he has one local boy who has joined, Nepali, and he's a very nice boy. I mean, there's so much field for preaching. There's the royal family, then there's membership for the business community, and there's saṅkīrtana and book distribution for the general people, and then also there are many hippies there. So we could recruit devotees from amongst them.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: The hippies seem to be still our best customers, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: The hippies seem to be still very good customers. (Prabhupāda laughs)

Girirāja: That's because Prabhupāda's patita-pāvana. And the temple atmosphere is nice. It's mainly saṅkīrtana. There are no women there, so very good atmosphere. They have a nice program. They have a love feast program, and many people are coming. I think they can have two or three hundred people coming very soon. And the people are very simple and good natured. Everywhere we went, people would chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They recognized the devotees?

Girirāja: Yes. And they're not envious. It seems that in India many of the people are a little envious of us, but everywhere we went in Nepal, it seemed that the people were very happy to see us.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Have you ever been there, Śrīla Prabhupāda?

Prabhupāda: No.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: You'd like to go sometime?

Prabhupāda: Why not?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Okay. We'll include that on our world parikrama.

Correspondence

1969 Correspondence

Actually, the hippies are our best customers. Almost all of our important disciples are recruited from that group, and you are also from that group. So actually we should try to serve the hippy group more than others because there is great potency of recruiting Krishna Consciousness devotees from them.
Letter to Gaurasundara -- Los Angeles 13 July, 1969:

I think it is Krishna's desire that you would vacate the former building and go to the hippy quarters. Actually, the hippies are our best customers. Almost all of our important disciples are recruited from that group, and you are also from that group. So actually we should try to serve the hippy group more than others because there is great potency of recruiting Krishna Consciousness devotees from them. You will be pleased to know that one hippy girl named Chris who came to see me in your apartment is now living in our Los Angeles temple and doing very nicely. So if you make propaganda amongst the hippy group simply by our standard method; Sankirtana, reading some portion of Bhagavad-gita, and distributing prasadam, then I am sure the quarters in which you have now shifted will be very much prospective. Besides that, it is a beach and the atmosphere is very nice. So by the Grace of Krishna do it nicely, husband and wife combined. That will be a good example. I was so much pleased with Govinda Dasi and with you also when I heard about her spirited preaching and your tolerance like Nityananda Prabhu. May Lord Caitanya and Nityananda Prabhu bestow Their blessing upon you, and don't be deterred in any circumstances. Serve Krishna with serious attempt.

1971 Correspondence

Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted that in every town and village this cult would be spread and the hippies are already spread all over the world and they are our best customer.
Letter to Hamsaduta -- London 7 August, 1971:

The Kabul proposal sounds very nice and hippies are already there. If you begin your movement with hippies, then gradually the local inhabitants will take interest. Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted that in every town and village this cult would be spread and the hippies are already spread all over the world and they are our best customer. These hippies are simply frustrated and want something sublime. So we are delivering this sublime movement all over the world and if we do it cautiously and carefully surely we will be successful.

So we must look out for them and take interest that they should be delivered from this miserable condition. They are our best customers. If we give them place to sleep comfortably and nice prasadam, and if they agree to follow the four rules and attend our aratis and classes, why not invite the hippies to live with us?
Letter to Satsvarupa -- Delhi 25 November, 1971:

As for the extra room, that may be utilized in future as classrooms as our school program expands. But for the time being why not open a hostel for the hippies? I want that all the hippies should come to me and I shall solve their problems. Actually all these hippies should join us. I am seeing that in this Delhi city many hippies from your country are coming, but they are simply hungry and dirty and being cheated. During our pandal program some of them came to me and became my disciples. So we must look out for them and take interest that they should be delivered from this miserable condition. They are our best customers. If we give them place to sleep comfortably and nice prasadam, and if they agree to follow the four rules and attend our aratis and classes, why not invite the hippies to live with us? Gradually they will become devotees. The American Ambassador to India, Mr. Kenneth Keating, is very much in favor of our Movement, especially on this point of giving you people the right advice and saving them from intoxication and being hippies. If your government would give us some help I can save all of them. That would be a great blessing for your country. Otherwise this hippie class will simply spoil everything they have worked so hard for.

Page Title:Actually, the hippies are our best customers. Almost all of our important disciples are recruited from that group
Compiler:Visnu Murti
Created:09 of Jul, 2010
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=2, Let=3
No. of Quotes:5