Prabhupāda: Other . . . you become interested in medical, you become a medical man, you become an engineer, you become other . . . you take that education. But one who is interested to stop all obstacles of life, this is the only education.
Richard: This is the only one.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Richard: Have you studied other religions?
Prabhupāda: Yes, therefore I'm saying. Without studying, how can I say? I am challenging, not saying. We are challenging. We are not saying only.
Richard: Um-hm.
Prabhupāda: If you want to overcome all obstacles of life, this is the only education. That's all. Or if you have different aims of life, there are different departments of knowledge. But if you want this knowledge, then this is the education.
Richard: And according to you, this is the only spiritual knowledge.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Richard: What you write about and have studied.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Richard: What would you classify, ah, other works, say, the Koran or the Bible or any other religious . . .
Prabhupāda: Well, they are also aiming to this aim of life.
Richard: They are in the same aim.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes.
Richard: But do you think they are successful?
Prabhupāda: They are successful if they follow the education. Just like Christ, he's speaking of kingdom of God. So if you follow Christ, there is hope that you go to kingdom of God. But if you don't follow, you simply rubberstamp, "I am Christian," then it is useless.
Richard: But there are other . . .?
Prabhupāda: Yes, they are of the same type.
Richard: Yes, but do they have any value as far as you are concerned?
Prabhupāda: Oh, yes, they have value.
Richard: Okay, that's what I was trying to get at.
Prabhupāda: There is value.
Rāmeśvara: Prabhupāda meant that the other branches of knowledge outside of religion . . .
Richard: Oh, yes, right. I wasn't talking about that.
Rāmeśvara: That was mis . . .
Richard: Right, I wasn't talking about a technical or secular knowledge at all. I was talking about other spiritual philosophies.
Prabhupāda: No. Any science, any knowledge who is trying to give enlightenment about God, there is the same line as we are doing.
Richard: Right. But those people who study, say . . . okay, to use an example, the Pope. Now there is a man who has dedicated his whole life, publicly, personally, spiritually, however you define it, to Christianity, specifically to the Catholic Church. Now apparently, and for all intents and purposes, his life seems to work for him.