Go to Vanipedia | Go to Vanisource | Go to Vanimedia


Vaniquotes - the compiled essence of Vedic knowledge


American people are materially comfortable. But why they are producing hippies now

Expressions researched:
"American people are materially comfortable. But why they are producing hippies now"

Conversations and Morning Walks

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Just like in the whole world, these American people are materially comfortable. But why they are producing hippies now.

Prabhupāda: Yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhaḥ, lokas tad anuvartate (BG 3.21). If these big men of the world, they take it, "Oh, yes. Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is genuine," then naturally it will be followed by the others. So here is a good opportunity to contact big men of the world. So utilize it properly. You . . . both of you are intelligent. Very cautiously deal with them. They will understand that, "Oh, these people are very honest men of character and high knowledge and God conscious." That will make our movement success.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: His father has been giving us . . . of course, it was . . . we have been approaching him through the aspect of doing business in China. His father is encouraging us in the sense that he is seeing Dhṛṣṭadyumna . . . like whenever we visit him, we come in our suits, and his father is seeing that . . . he is encouraging him also because he's taking some . . . what he calls a very, what would you say, a responsible position, attempting to do some business. So he's been giving us letters on his company's letterhead. Just like this is a letter to the director of the Department of Commerce of the United States. We've seen a number of people. We've been visiting different directors. First thing we did when we went back is, after meeting him, we got many books on China. Some of the examples are, just like this. We read about twenty-five books. We've studied up very thoroughly and researched everything about China. Here is a book, The Religious Policy and Practice in Communist China. It describes everything about religion there. So we thoroughly read this book. Then there's other books, books on education, we read books on history . . .

Prabhupāda: Chinese people, they are trying to raise their standard of civilization. Do they?

Dhṛṣṭadyumna: Well, Śrīla Prabhupāda, they . . . their philosophy is called dialectic materialism. They want to advance materially, and they . . . we have prepared one report of an interview with the president of a committee on United States and China relations. He's one of the leading experts in China. So after researching and studying all the educational, the libraries, all the different functions in China, we went and spoke with this gentleman.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: First we got a lot of information ourselves, so we'd be knowledgeable. We read for one month. We got . . . we wrote away to all the councils, we got hundreds of books like this, special reports about China. We read them, and then we went to meet this man, because he is the most knowledgeable, expert person on China in the United States. And we made up a report which we wanted to read to you, because it gives everything very nicely. It tells what China is doing now, and what our program can be for book distribution.

Prabhupāda: No, what is their aim? After studying all these books, what do you think? What is the aim of China? What is the objective they are making progress towards?

Dhṛṣṭadyumna: Their aim is that everyone should be materially comfortable. That no one . . . there should be no . . .

Prabhupāda: In that case, they should, if they have got sense . . . just like in the whole world, these American people are materially comfortable. But why they are producing hippies now?

Dhṛṣṭadyumna: They see this as a fault of the system, capitalism. They say that capitalism means the enjoyment of the few at the . . .

Prabhupāda: Materialism means capitalism.

Dhṛṣṭadyumna: Well, they want communistic materialism. In other words, by creating, forming communes, everyone will get equal portion of food and bedding and clothing and medicine.

Prabhupāda: No, that is not the fact. A man's tendency is that everyone wants to get more. So how they will check it? This is already proved in Russia.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They condemn Russia. They say Russia is a failure.

Prabhupāda: And similarly, they will have to condemn.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That's our conclusion.

Prabhupāda: If they follow the wrong path, they will have the wrong result. This is not . . .

Dhṛṣṭadyumna: Their leader, Mao Tse-tung, he was very austere, and he is very moral, and he has these purges where he takes the men who he sees are not . . . or who are trying to use their position for their own power, and he takes it away from them. And they are constantly going through these purges of their system to insure that no one enjoys more than others, at the expense of others.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Artificial, though.

Prabhupāda: So that is artificial way of. Unless one is prepared to . . . just like why they are inducing persons to sacrifice their accumulated wealth for the state? Why? Communistic idea that everyone should be equal. So if somebody has more than others, they want to take it away. Just like in India this policy is now growing. So everyone should give away, but now it is being done by law, by force. But that will not stay.

Dhṛṣṭadyumna: We agree. Yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: We also agree it's a failure.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It is bound to fail.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Unless you voluntarily give, it will be failure. You will try to find out ways how you can take everything . . . just like income tax. The government is trying to take more money from the public, and public is hiding them in black market. This is going on. Nobody is . . . even your Nixon, he also hidden some money from the income tax. Why? He is the head of the government. So one side, he is head of the government, try to take money from the public, but he personally, himself, he is hiding. Why this defect?

Dhṛṣṭadyumna: They will say that the system encourages man's greed, whereas their system . . .

Prabhupāda: No, no, system . . . if the . . . you cannot change the mind. If you have got mind to enjoy more, by force if I try to force you not to enjoy more, give to the state, this is a struggle. This is not perfect process.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They say that that will be corrected by education.

Prabhupāda: Education . . . that means what is that education?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They say that the . . . they don't . . . of course, we say education means Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Education means they must learn to sacrifice everything for the topmost.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Well, they say the topmost is the general mass of everyone, the proletariat, all people combined.

Prabhupāda: That's all right, general. But you know how to make general mass of people happy. That example we give, that the whole body . . . you can make the whole body happy simply by supplying food to the stomach. That is the best way. And if you want to make happy every part of the body individual, that will never be successful. You must know where to touch. Just like the huge machine is going on by the expert manipulation of the pilot. He is pushing one works, immediately the plane becomes . . . it is . . . so you must know where to touch. If I am layman, I am put into that, then, instead of putting here, I shall put my here, and then it will go down, immediately "ohn-ohn-ohn," finished. So this is nature's way, that you supply food to the stomach, and the energy will be distributed every part. You supply water to the root of the tree, it will be supplied everywhere. That you must know. Otherwise, if you . . . just like if you do not know, a expert, not expert, so he's advised, "Give to, the food to the stomach." "And in where?" "No, in the hole of the body." If he does not, which hole, then he will put somewhere, sometimes here, sometimes here, sometimes here, sometimes here. It will never act. Then you must know the science how to make everyone happy. If you do not know that, then your imperfect imagination will never be done, and that has become everywhere. Why there is difference of opinion even both of the communistic countries? Why there is difference of opinion between Russia and China? Because both of you do not know how to make everyone happy. That is the point.

Page Title:American people are materially comfortable. But why they are producing hippies now
Compiler:SharmisthaK
Created:2022-08-30, 08:14:23
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=1, Let=0
No. of Quotes:1