Mr. Koshi: Is something wrong with tea?
Prabhupāda: Yes. It is sinful, pāna.
Mr. Koshi: By itself it is not bad.
Prabhupāda: Itself is bad, sinful.
Mr. Koshi: It's a neutral thing.
Prabhupāda: You say, but śāstra says striya, sūnā, pāna, dyūta (SB 1.17.38), four kinds of sinful activities. Illicit sex; pāna, intoxication. Pāna, pāna, so it is intoxication. Therefore it is sinful.
Mr. Koshi: And what is the fourth?
Prabhupāda: Striya, sūnā and jīva-hiṁsā, unnecessarily killing animals.
Mr. Koshi: And therefore vegetarianism. Is that why vegetarianism is...?
Prabhupāda: First of all, you try to understand the principles. These are the four principles of sinful life. So you should avoid. Unless... Yeṣām anta gataṁ pāpam. That is the... Unless you are free from sinful activities, you cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. Yeṣām anta gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām, te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā (BG 7.28).
Mr. Koshi: What is the meaning of that?
Prabhupāda: Anyone who is completely free from sinful activities, he can understand Kṛṣṇa. If you are engaged in sinful activities, how you will understand Kṛṣṇa? Therefore these things are forbidden. "Don't do this. Understand Kṛṣṇa."
- manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu
- kaścid yatati siddhaye
- yatatām api siddhānāṁ
- kaścin māṁ vetti tattvataḥ
- (BG 7.3)
Mr. Koshi: I don't understand.
Prabhupāda: You don't understand, therefore I say you become a student. Understand it. That is our institution. If you don't want to understand, that is another thing.