Prabhupāda: ...there are so many paths, that Kṛṣṇa says that "Real religion is to surrender unto Me. Therefore you give up all this pseudo-religion," sarva dharman parityajya, give it up, mam ekam saranam, "just surrender unto Me, I shall give you protection from all sinful reaction." So here is God, and He is accepted by great ācāryas. In India there were great ācāryas, religious leaders. Just like Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Viṣṇu Svāmī, Nimbarka, later Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and many others. They accept Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So there is God, His name, His address, His activities, everything is there. If you accept, then you will benefit.
Woman: Do you think that the, the poor Indians who are suffering because of this terrible drought in India..., is it in India?
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Woman: Yes. Umm, is their relief never going to be in this world? Is it only going to be when they die?
Prabhupāda: Well, nobody is dying.
Woman: Dying is parting, is the soul parting from the physical body (indistinct)....
Prabhupāda: So every, everyone everywhere is dying. Do you think in your country nobody dies? Is there any guarantee, that any, that nobody will die?
Woman: No, but everyone, everyone dies because this..., because this is the pattern and this is the cycle: you are born, you will live your life, you will die. Some people die young, some people die old.
Prabhupāda: No. India, India at the present moment, they have lost their culture. In India, five thousand years ago, when Maharaja Pariksit was there, one black man was trying to kill a cow. He immediately took his sword, the king. So "Who are you? You are killing cow in my kingdom?" The same India, the government is sanctioning ten thousand cows to be killed daily. So India is not the same India. India has lost its culture. You see? Therefore they are suffering.
Woman: But everything is changing. Not only India is changing, every country is...
Prabhupāda: So every country is suffering. Just they are suffering in one way.
Devotee (1): California is suffering...
Prabhupāda: Suffering another way. Nobody is, is free from suffering. I have already explained. There are three kinds of suffering. So who is free from this suffering? You may not be suffering from any bodily disease, but you may be suffering from mental agony. You may not be suffering from mental agony, but you may suffer, suffering imposed by others. There are so many suffering. This place is suffering. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam. This place is for suffering. Duḥkhālayam. Duhkha means suffering, alayam means place. Asasvatam. And still you cannot make adjustment. You, if you say "All right, let there be a little suffering. Let me stay here," that also will not be allowed. You will be kicked out: "Get out!" Then you have to accept another body. You do not know what kind of body. So these things are there. Don't think that a little happy life for ten years or twenty years is the solution of your problem. That is not solution. Real solution is different. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā,
- mām upetya kaunteya
- duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam
- nāpnuvanti mahātmānaḥ
- saṁsiddhiṁ paramāṁ gatāḥ
Find out this verse, mām upetya tu kaunteya, duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam. You are reading Bhagavad-gītā, kindly read very carefully. You will get all answers.
Man: I am going to read it.
Devotee (2): I have the book, Prabhupāda.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Devotee (2):
- ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ
- punar āvartino 'rjuna
- mām upetya tu kaunteya
- punar janma na vidyate
- (BG 8.16)
"From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kuntī, never takes birth again."
Prabhupāda: This is a, this is a fact. That, that people are going to the higher planetary system, that is already known. Not this process, but there is another process, how you can graduate there. So, ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ. And even if you go to the highest planetary system, Brahmā-loka, where people live for millions and millions of years... Brahmā's one day, twelve hours, you cannot calculate. It is so big number of years. So Kṛṣṇa says that if you do go to the Brahmā-loka, still you have to come. Simply your suffering will be stopped, mām upetya tu kaunteya, duḥkhālayam. What is that?
Devotee (2): Mām upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate.
Prabhupāda: Then mām upetya kaunteya duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam, where is that?
Devotee (2): Oh,
- mām upetya punar janma
- duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam
- nāpnuvanti mahātmānaḥ
- saṁsiddhiṁ paramāṁ gatāḥ
Prabhupāda: What is the meaning?
Devotee (2): "After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogis in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection."
Prabhupāda: This is the highest perfection. We have to go to Kṛṣṇa.