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Does this mean that a person should turn his attention from the world, from his surrounding?

Expressions researched:
"Does this mean that a person should turn his attention from the world, from his surrounding"

Conversations and Morning Walks

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

That you cannot do. Just like we are, although we are interested fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, it doesn't mean that we do not live in a house, we do not eat, we do not use motorcar, we do not use typewriter, dictaphone. We are using everything. But the purpose is different. We are traveling and paying heavily to the air companies. Whenever I travel, at least five, six men go with me, and one round trip world travel means sixteen thousand dollars or sixteen hundred dollars?
Evening Darsan -- August 10, 1976, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: We have got three platforms, generally. Material platform divided into two-gross and subtle, and there is spiritual platform. The body is material platform, divided into two, gross and subtle. And then if you are fortunate enough to come to the spiritual platform, then your life is successful. So the karmīs generally... Just like we see in the city, they are all busy, working very hard. They are on the gross material platform. And then next class, just like scientist, poet, philosopher, they are in the subtle platform. And above them, there are persons who are simply interested in spiritual understanding. They are on the spiritual platform. So according to the platform, there are thoughts and activities also. Your question is what is about these so many things. So first of all you have to understand in which platform he is situated. Then his activities are ascertained. If you are in the material platform, doing some business, making some profit, and if you bring there question—"What is this, use of material profit, this body is temporary, why I am..."—then your material activities will be diminished.(?) So we have to understand first of all what is our actual objective. And then if we stand in that platform, then our life is successful.

Ali: Does this mean that a person should turn his attention from the world, from his surrounding?

Prabhupāda: That you cannot do. Just like we are, although we are interested fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, it doesn't mean that we do not live in a house, we do not eat, we do not use motorcar, we do not use typewriter, dictaphone. We are using everything. But the purpose is different. We are traveling and paying heavily to the air companies. Whenever I travel, at least five, six men go with me, and one round trip world travel means sixteen thousand dollars or sixteen hundred dollars?

Atreya Ṛṣi: Sixteen thousand. About five, six people, one round trip is about twelve thousand dollars.

Prabhupāda: So twelve thousand dollars means about more than one lakh of rupees. So we are spending that, but not for any other purpose than for Kṛṣṇa's service. Anywhere we speak we are talking only Kṛṣṇa, trying to push on Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is our business. So the platform is different, eh? Externally, one can see, they are also spending so much money for traveling, they are living in a nice house and they have some nice car. But the consciousness is different. Another example in this connection, that I am sitting on this chair and there is a bug also. He is also sitting on this chair. But that does not mean the bug and myself equal. The bug's business is different, my business is different. But superficially, if one sees that the bug and Swamiji's on the same chair, therefore they're all equal? That is not the fact. Similarly, we may be using all these material things, but we have no material business. We have simply spiritual business.

Page Title:Does this mean that a person should turn his attention from the world, from his surrounding?
Compiler:Alakananda, Rishab
Created:28 of Nov, 2010
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=1, Let=0
No. of Quotes:1