Prabhupāda: Rats?
Rādhā-vallabha: Yes, they said how there's a big problem. There's too many rats. And it says that . . . and at the end of the article they made a sly comment about how many people considered the rats sacred. So this is a big problem. Whenever they make some report about India, they always make some joke about how the people will think the animals are sacred and how this is actually the real problem.
Prabhupāda: So why do they not go and eat the rats? Then why these people do not go there and eat the sacred rats? Huh? Please go there and eat the sacred rats. (laughter) Because you are expert in eating animal, so go and eat the sacred rats—India is a good field—and clear their problems. You write one article and send them. It is a good opportunity for the animal eaters to go to India and eat the rats, sacred rats, and solve their problems. (laughter)
Mahendra: It won't even cost anything.
Prabhupāda: Yes, free. They can take them free.
Ṛṣabhadeva: They said one of the main reasons is because they are killing the snakes for the skin, the snakes that feed on the rats. They kill so many snakes to get the skin, therefore there's no way to control the rat population.
Prabhupāda: That's all right. It is saved for you. Go and take it.
Mahendra: They wear the snakes and eat the rats.
Prabhupāda: Snake will die of starvation. It is better. You go and eat.
Rāmeśvara: Śrīla Prabhupāda, in Egypt, they have been able to dig underneath the ground and find the remains of ancient cities. So this is proof of the ancient civilization of Egypt. But they have not found ancient ruins of the cities of Dvārakā or Hastināpura. They do not have such . . .
Rādhā-vallabha: There are ruins in Dvārakā.
Rāmeśvara: So they do not accept that the ancient civilization of India is old, very old.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I read one anthropology book, and it said that about 3,500 years ago in India people were only living in all the caves, and they were simply using stones and things like that, very primitive tools. No knowledge at all.
Mahendra: But they cannot explain how it was that these people evolved, these cavemen evolved such a language as Sanskrit, which not even the greatest scholars today can even begin to comprehend. It is a very great language.
Prabhupāda: That is their grudge. When they see such exalted literature, they are envious.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: (aside) Why don't we cut over?
Hṛdayānanda: Prabhupāda, can we walk over this way? There's no water.
Prabhupāda: It was all manufactured by the Britishers. To keep their faith with other nations, they were protesting that, "Why you are keeping India dependent?" So they were pleading that "We are making India civilized." That was their propaganda.
Rāmeśvara: "The white man's burden," they called it.
Prabhupāda: Yes, yes.
(pause)
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: (referring to the sprinklers) Prabhupāda, wherever you walk, the water turns off.
Candanācārya: The entire Golden Gate park was cultivated by men.
Rādhā-vallabha: Instead of planting grass by the roads, they are now putting green rocks. They figure it looks the same, and it saves money.
Kīrtirāja: They put plastic grass. They are also planting plastic grass in the middle of the road.
Hṛdayānanda: No opulence.
Rādhā-vallabha: In Russia now they have declared one . . . that it is a big crisis. Because their grains did not grow properly, they are not able to produce as much meat, so now one day a week everyone is forced to eat fish. So they are lamenting. They were describing how . . . about the good old days were when you could go and buy an entire carcass. (break)
Candanācārya: . . . country, build cities and then spend billions of dollars to make the city look like the country.
Prabhupāda: Carvita-carvaṇānām. Chewing the chewed, again and again. This is their position. (japa) (break)
Rāmeśvara: On the calendar it says it is Bhīma-ekādaśī.
Prabhupāda: Bhīma-ekādaśī, yes.
Rāmeśvara: So I've been told that if one fasts on Bhīma-ekādaśī, that it is like fasting on all the ekādaśīs. Is that true?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Ekādaśī is meant for fasting, either Bhīma or Arjuna. (chuckles) But we cannot fast, therefore we have to take little fruits and . . . otherwise, ekādaśī means fasting.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: If it is possible, should we go without eating at all?
Prabhupāda: Yes. But don't lie down and sleep.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: As long as it doesn't affect one's service, one can fast all day.
Mahendra: Eating mahā-prasādam is also fasting.
Prabhupāda: Who says?
Mahendra: You said that to Paramahaṁsa Swami once.
Prabhupāda: And you heard from Paramahaṁsa.
Mahendra: No, I was in the room. It was when he was trying to observe Caturmāsya.
Prabhupāda: I never said that.
Mahendra: Oh, okay. I must have heard wrong.
Prabhupāda: If there is service and, on my fasting, service will be stopped, then I can take. First consideration—service. Now if somebody feels weak, he can take mahā-prasāda, render service.