rench devotee (2): If a devotee step on a ant by mistake, the ant...
Prabhupāda: You should be careful. Why should you commit mistake? But if unconsciously, by mistake it is done, that is another thing.
Brahmānanda: He wants to know does the ant receive benefit?
Prabhupāda: No. Then he will be lenient to kill them to give them benefit. (laughter) He'll be so...
Brahmānanda: Like they say "mercy killing," that "This is good for you. I will kill you and it is good for you."
Prabhupāda: Yes. You should always think that you are responsible for its killing. But it may be Kṛṣṇa may excuse you. That is another thing. Consciously you cannot kill. (break)
Akṣayānanda: ...people in India, Prabhupāda, are still pure vegetarians, but almost all of their children eat eggs, and try to smoke cigarettes, and they don't stop them because they don't have any philosophy because of the Māyāvādī philosophy.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Akṣayānanda: Almost 90% of all the people we preach to, they are all influenced by Māyāvādī philosophy.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That I was talking. (break)
Brahmānanda: ...say that the egg is from God, and the apple is from God.
Prabhupāda: So why don't you eat apple? (laughter)
Akṣayānanda: They are also envious of you, Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Prabhupāda: I know that. Do they say like that?
Akṣayānanda: Not directly. But when we explain how many things, what is being done and we show photographs, how people have become devotees, they will say, "Yes, but have you heard of Swami so and so?" And we'll say, "Yes, we have heard of him. But our Guru Mahārāja has got thousands of devotees all over the world." "Yes, he has also got thousands of devotees." They'll minimize, even though it's there in black and white.
Prabhupāda: But where they are?
Brahmānanda: Yeah. Where are those thousands of disciples of these other swamis?
Prabhupāda: "Here we are, but where are the swami's disciples?" Ask them.
Akṣayānanda: Then they will become angry.
Prabhupāda: "No, no. Well, don't be angry. Well, Bhaktivedanta Swami's disciples, we are present here. Present anyone else. So how shall I believe you?"
Akṣayānanda: Then they will say, "We are doing the same as you. But we don't have to help you because we are already doing the same thing. We are feeding the poor, giving charity."
Prabhupāda: Yes. They do not understand.
Akṣayānanda: But yet their children are eating eggs, giving up. (break)
Brahmānanda: ...say that they are doing the same thing that we are doing, then that should be a reason to help us, not to not help us. If we're doing the same thing, therefore if you are helping one, then you must help the other also.
Akṣayānanda: Yes. That's what I tell them. They say, "We already helped the other, but you came too late, so therefore we can't help you."
Prabhupāda: "So you are so poor?"—(aside:) Hare Kṛṣṇa—"that you cannot help the second man? Then how you are charitable? You must be open to give charity to everyone." No use talking.
French devotee (1): They are very rich, Śrīla Prabhupāda. They are very rich.
Prabhupāda: Richer than us? (laughter) Do you think?
French devotee (1): No.
Prabhupāda: How many branches he has got of his business?
Akṣayānanda: So I usually tell them, "It is not for us that we want help, but so that we can help others." They like that. They can appreciate humanitarian viewpoint, material benefit. That's all.
Prabhupāda: So we are giving the best humanitarian service—to stop his repetition of birth and death.