Prabhupāda: ...ornament Kṛṣṇa, the more you become rich. The reflection, Kṛṣṇa being richly dressed, richly fed, it will be reflected on you. Kṛṣṇa is not in necessity, but we should dress Kṛṣṇa with the first quality ornaments. In India the Deities, They are given very, very valuable jewelry. The Mohammedans were attracted for these jewelries, and they came to India to plunder the temples to get the jewelries. Still, temples have millions of dollars of jewelries. Any such temple. In Jagannātha temple there is a valuable jewel. Just here, it is kept here, in a pocket. So Deity should be very nicely dressed. That is the temple worship. At the same time should be careful also. Chant. (end)
Feed (Conversations 1969 - 1975)
Conversations and Morning Walks
1969 Conversations and Morning Walks
Conversation Including Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.1-34 Recitation & Explanation -- April 1, 1969, San Francisco:
Prabhupāda: "So whom do you like?" Oh, they will naturally say, "I like you." (laughter) Because they are not intelligent enough to answer, "You rascal, wherefrom you have brought this bread, from your father's house?" (Laughter) Can you manufacture the bread in the factory, rascal? It is God's bread. But they have no intelligence. They cannot say like that. If they had presented to me, I would have at once said, "Rascal, this is not your father's bread. It is God's bread. You have stolen the property." You cannot manufacture bread or wheat. It is sent by God. That answer we have to give to these so-called Communists and rascals, godless people, that "You are not proprietor. You are all rascals. Everything belongs to God." That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So we have to present scientifically. We have to present by reason, by argument. Not that if we say somebody, "You are rascals..." No. You have to place the matter, that he is rascal. So that... Bhāgavata says that for economic solution... religion is not meant for economic solution. Economic solution is there, either you be religious or not religious. In God's kingdom there is wheat, there is rice, there is water, rainfall, and the production. Everything is there. There is fruit, there is flower. So either you be religious or not religious, it doesn't matter. Your economic problem is settled already. Just like in the prisonhouse, they are all criminals. That does not mean they will starve to death. The government has all arrangement to feed them. Similarly, although this material world is prisonhouse, all criminals are here, revolt, to a person are here, those who do not care for God. But still, their fooding problem, their lodging problem is there by arrangement of God. Everything is there. So Bhāgavata says, dharmasya hy āpavargyasya nārtho 'rthāyopakalpate (SB 1.2.9). Don't execute religious principles for making your economic problem solved.
Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 11, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:
Allen Ginsberg: Where do you get the... How do you feed the cow, or would you?
Kīrtanānanda: On four acres you can do it.
Allen Ginsberg: You can get enough hay for a cow, for...?
Prabhupāda: Fodder. Yes. We grow.
Guest: On food, it depends on what part of the east?
Allen Ginsberg: He's a farmer.
Guest: Whereabouts? What part? Cause a cow has to have about three acres for grazing.
Kīrtanānanda: So at most five acres. It's in that vicinity.
Allen Ginsberg: See we are interested in this problem of minimizing.
Prabhupāda: So let us cooperate.
Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 11, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:
Allen Ginsberg: The cow.
Prabhupāda: Cow, yes. And in Vedic literature you'll find, a man is... Richness of a man is estimated by the possession of grains and cows. Dhanyena dhanavān. If he has got sufficient quantity grain, then he's to be... Formerly, even still in India, when a daughter is offered to a family, they will go and see how many morais(?) there are. Grain stock. If he sees that he has five, six, big, big grain stock, then he can... "Oh, this is nice house." You see? "They can feed." So in India still, the arrangement is that every family has got at least two years grain in stock. You see? And cow at least one dozen. No economic problem. And actually, that is the fact. You keep cows and have sufficient grains, whole economic problem solved. Eating. And sleeping, you can take some wood and four pillars. Of course, in your country it is not...
Allen Ginsberg: It's very cold.
Prabhupāda: Very cold. (laughing) India, all the year they are lying on the flat sky.
Kīrtanānanda: But still, it is very simple. We also experimented with that. You can build a nice shelter very... for ten, fifteen dollars.
Allen Ginsberg: Well, it depends. You see, where we are we're twenty below.
Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 14, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:
Prabhupāda: ...six or seven years old, my father was worshiping, so I wanted to imitate. I asked him that "Give me Deity." So he gave me.
Allen Ginsberg: Did you wash them and play with them?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Washed, changed dress.
Allen Ginsberg: Fed them.
Prabhupāda: Yes, everything.
Allen Ginsberg: Do you still? Do you still wash them and feed them and play with them?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Now my disciples I have... (laughs) At home I was doing that.
Allen Ginsberg: What are you reading?
Prabhupāda: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. This is original Sanskrit. There are eight commentaries by big, big stalwart scholars.
Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 14, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:
Prabhupāda: So there is a story, Udarendriyānām. Udara means this belly, and indriya, the senses, hands, legs, means. So all these senses, they conferred that "We are working day and night, and this rascal is eating simply. So we shall noncooperate. We shall not work." That's all right. Resolution was passed. So they stopped working. And next meeting they saw that "We are becoming weak. Why?"
Allen Ginsberg: The hand wasn't bringing food to the mouth.
Prabhupāda: Then they come to their senses. "Oh, we have to feed this rascal belly. Otherwise we become weak." Similarly... What is this position? These hands and legs are parts anbd parcels of the whole. Similarly, the whole Brahman, Absolute, we are all parts and parcels. So we shall cooperate in satisfying Him. Then automatically we become satisfied. If we noncooperate, then we suffer.
Allen Ginsberg: Well, if you call Brahmā the Absolute, how do you make a distinction between Brahmā and Kṛṣṇa?
Prabhupāda: That I explained the other day, that the sunshine, the sun globe, and the sun-god.
1971 Conversations and Morning Walks
Room Conversation -- July 18, 1971, Detroit:
Prabhupāda: Our everyone's future is Kṛṣṇa. You believe in Kṛṣṇa and nobody of our group has got any need, because we believe in Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that "Those who are engaged in my service, I personally attend to their needs," yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham (BG 9.22). Perhaps you know this. Those who are engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service, Kṛṣṇa is supplying the necessities of everyone, because Kṛṣṇa is God. So God is supplying the necessities of everyone. That is one thing. But He takes special interest for those who are devotees, pure devotees. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā:
- samo 'ham sarva-bhūteṣu
- na me dveṣyo 'sti na priyaḥ
- ye bhajanti tu māṁ bhaktyā
- teṣu te mayi
- (BG 9.29)
"I am equal to everyone. Nobody is my enemy; nobody is my friend. But anyone who is engaged in my service with love and devotion, I am especially attached." So Kṛṣṇa is feeding even cats and dogs, and why He shall not feed us, we are engaged in His service? Why? It is simply a question of understanding. One should know that Kṛṣṇa is feeding the elephant, Kṛṣṇa is feeding the ant. So there are 8,400,000 species of living entities. So if one who has completely forgotten Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa is feeding them, then why not we? We have no other business than Kṛṣṇa. So it is a question of confidence and surrender. And actually we have no problem. So far our children are going, these boys, they are taking prasādam, we are taking prasādam, we are traveling all over the world, spending, as I told you, over 700,000's of rupees per month, but we have no source of income fixed. We have no business. Nobody goes to the factory, nobody goes to work, but still we are maintaining our establishment.
Room Conversation -- July 20, 1971, New York:
Prabhupāda: You know how to do that?
Devotee (4): Yes, Prabhupāda, I got A's in that.
Pratyatoṣa: These terminals have paper tape punches. You can the punch paper tape and then feed the paper tape into a machine called a photon machine, and you get out a perfectly composed page with... You can have any type size you want, you can have any type of, what do you call it, the face, the typeface, and it'll be perfect for publishing. It'll come right out of that. The whole process is automatic.
Devotee (4): Those tapes can be kept, stored, all the tapes.
Pratyatoṣa: Sure, they can be kept stored. And then... Oh, also, you get free storage with this for 300,000 characters, that's about 100 pages at least.
Devotee (4): This is a wonderful idea, Śrīla Prabhupāda. I don't know why no one thought of this before.
Pratyatoṣa: I'll leave this here, OK? I'll leave this here.
Prabhupāda: All right, you read it.
Conversation with Journalists -- August 18, 1971, London:
Guest: And that's because, you would say that we have the wrong...
Prabhupāda: No, I, I... We are believer in God. You see. So we know God is the original father. He is supplying maintenance for everyone. So there is no question of increasing population. If there is increase of population, God has enough resources to feed them. It is not the question of increasing population. But what is the question of demonic civilization.
Journalist (1): Well, I was going to ask you about that, civilization.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes. That demonic civilization is creating problems. Not the increase of population. This is not the fact. Now, so far I have studied, that in America, in Africa, in Australia, there are so much vacant places that the present population of the world, if it is increased ten times, still there is enough food...
Journalist (1): And you think there's enough food.
Prabhupāda: There is enough provisions. But we have made artificial divisions. "This is America." The Americans, they went from Europe, and they illegally occupied that place. Now they won't allow anyone to come there. Similarly, the Australians, they won't allow to come there. New Zealand, Africa. Why? Our philosophy: Everything belongs to God, and we are all sons of God. Everyone has got the right to live at the cost of God. This is our philosophy.
Interview with Reporters -- November 10, 1971, New Delhi:
Prabhupāda: What is that problem?
Reporter: All the (indistinct), harijanas will (indistinct) you.
Prabhupāda: Huh?
Reporter: If you proclaim that this is the real Hinduism, the people are getting fed up with Hinduism.
Prabhupāda: No. No Hindu. Why you are bringing Hinduism?
Reporter: Our, this system...
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Reporter: ...is only by Hindu...
Prabhupāda: No, no. Hinduism is a foreign word, given by the Muslim. We don't find any word "Hindu" in the Vedic literature. Why do you call Hinduism? We are not preaching Hinduism. We are preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Reporter: By such a social system, social...
Prabhupāda: That is, that you satisfy (indistinct). But this is a broad Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is broader than any system, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We are not preaching. We don't go to preach that "Oh, we are preaching Hinduism." But because those who are accepting this Kṛṣṇa consciousness, mostly they are Hindus, then you can call it like Hinduism. But this is not Hinduism.
1972 Conversations and Morning Walks
Room Conversation Including Discussion on SB 4.13.48 to SB 4.14.11 -- January 18, 1972, Jaipur:
Prabhupāda: So therefore, a saintly person duty is to protect the praja, the citizens, in a system so that they may become happy both materially and spiritually. This is one of the duties of the saintly person. Not that let me go to Himalaya and press my nose and I become liberated. This is not saintly person. This is not saintly person. Saintly person means they should be interested with the public welfare, real public welfare. And public welfare means every citizens should be Kṛṣṇa conscious, and then they will be happy both materially and spiritually. My point is that our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not selfish movement. It is the most philanthropic movement. But people in the name of philanthropic movement generally, because they are not actually saintly persons, they collect money and live.
Just like we can say frankly that the Ramakrishna Mission, they are collecting money, huge money from your country, here also, to mitigate the sufferings of the poor people, daridra-Nārāyaṇa seva. But actually you see that how many poverty-stricken people are there in India, and if you go to the Ramakrishna Mission, you will see all the swamis, they are living in royal order. This is going on. But people are still fool that... But your American people now, they are questioning. That one swami, Nikhilānanda, he told me personally that the American people now are questioning that "You collect money for feeding the poor, but when we go to India, we see so many people lying down on the street." So they are questioning. Naturally there will be question. So... (aside) Oh, Hare Kṛṣṇa. (chuckles) So our Jaipur party is becoming stronger and stronger. So what news from Delhi? (end)
Talk with Bob Cohen -- February 27-29, 1972, Mayapura:
Bob: This I see. The devotees have said that the sensual pleasures that they have given up are replaced with spiritual kinds of pleasures. But see, I haven't...
Prabhupāda: Spiritual kinds of pleasure means when you desire to please Kṛṣṇa, that is spiritual pleasure. Just like example, a mother is more pleased by feeding her son. (break)
Bob: Spiritual pleasure, then, is pleasing God.
Prabhupāda: Spiritual pleasure means pleasure of Kṛṣṇa.
Bob: Pleasure of Kṛṣṇa.
Prabhupāda: Yes. And material pleasure means pleasure of senses. That's all. This is the difference. When you try simply to please Kṛṣṇa, that is spiritual pleasure.
Bob: I had viewed this as... My thought of pleasing God was to do...
Prabhupāda: No, no, don't manufacture your ways of pleasing God. Don't manufacture. Suppose if I want to please you, then I shall ask you, "How can I serve you?" Not that I manufacture service. That is not pleasing you. Suppose if I want a glass of water. And if you manufacture that "Swamiji will be more pleased if I give him a glass of milk, hot milk," that will not please me. If you want to please me, then you should ask me, "How can I please you?" And what I order, if you do that, that will please me.
Talk with Bob Cohen -- February 27-29, 1972, Mayapura:
Prabhupāda: No dislikings, no liking. Whatever Kṛṣṇa likes, that's all right.
Devotee: Yes. But say someone prepares something, like some prasādam for Kṛṣṇa, but he does not make it so good, and it is...
Prabhupāda: No, if you have made sincerely with devotion, then Kṛṣṇa will like it. Just like Vidura. Vidura was feeding Kṛṣṇa banana. So he was so absorbed in thought he was, I mean to say, throwing away the real banana and he was giving Him the skin, and Kṛṣṇa was eating. (laughter) Because He knows that "He's giving Me in the devotion." So Kṛṣṇa can eat anything, provided there is devotion, real devotion. It does not matter whether it is materially tasteful or not. Similarly, a devotee also take Kṛṣṇa prasādam. Whether it is materially tasteful or not, he should accept everything.
Devotee: But the devotion is not there. Like in India...
Prabhupāda: Devotion is not there, He does not like any food, either is tasteful or not tasteful. He does not accept it.
Room Conversation -- April 1, 1972, Sydney:
Bhūrijana: In the United States, the most amazing thing is that everyone is envious. The general population is envious of the hippies because they all want to do that. The ones who are working so hard, they want to be the ones who are just getting fed and do nothing and enjoy sex. But then when the hippies have it, they say bad things about them.
Prabhupāda: What is that? I could not...
Bhūrijana: The advancement of civilization is leading to just sense gratification.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Material civilization means sense gratification. That's all.
Bhūrijana: So the hippies have this sense gratification and all the people who are working so hard, they are envious of them, and they use that for their advertising.
Prabhupāda: We say in our śāstras that this sense gratification facility is there to the hogs and dogs, better sense gratification. If you have to enjoy sex life, you'll have to find out some room. Either you go to a hotel or have your own apartment, otherwise you cannot have sex life on the street, although you are too much lusty. But you have to arrange for it. But the dogs and hogs, they have no such restriction. Immediately "Come on. Let us enjoy." So they are better, in better position for sense gratification.
Morning Walk -- June 29, 1972, San Diego:
Prabhupāda: How they can produce thousands of animals?
Ātreya Ṛṣi: They're producing animals in the laboratories, not with... They're not producing, they are utilizing nature's way, but they don't let the animals see the green and the grass or the outside. They keep them in the barn and just keep feeding them.
Prabhupāda: I don't think it is possible. It is simply imagination.
Ātreya Ṛṣi: It's the cows which are producing each other, it's not the man that is producing. But they artificially try to make them fat fast.
Prabhupāda: And what is the harm if they live?
Ātreya Ṛṣi: Excuse me, Prabhupāda?
Prabhupāda: There is enough grass.
Ātreya Ṛṣi: Yes, yes.
Devotee (1): This is a nice park.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Interview -- July 5, 1972, New York:
Guest (2): Do you seek government help?
Prabhupāda: Yes. If I get government help, I can give protection to these confused, frustrated youths. I have no proper house to accommodate them, to feed them. With great difficulty I am pushing on this movement. So if the government comes forward, this means a little facility, I can turn the face of your country, immediately. There will be no problem.
Guest (2): What can you cure? What can you make better?
Prabhupāda: This is the cure: I am making good character. Don't you see their face? Some of them were hippies, frustrated, wretched condition. Now they are known as bright faces, serious character. They don't have any illicit sex. They don't eat meat. They don't have any intoxication. They don't engage in gambling. These are the four pillars of sinful life. If you allow people to indulge in sinful life, how you can expect good citizen? That is not possible. Their character must reform. So we have taken from the root. We are making men of character, knowledge, sincerity, God conscious. Don't you appreciate it?
Guest (2): Will they be able to function in a society as working individuals?
Prabhupāda: Yes. There is nothing prohibited. Simply you have to change your consciousness, that's all. We are also eating, we are also sleeping. Many of our students are householders; they have sex. So there is..., nothing is prohibited, but regulated for higher achievement. That is our program.
Room Conversation -- October 25, 1972, Vrndavana:
Prabhupāda: Ravan?
Pañca-draviḍa: Rava or something, a particular notation on the calendar, it corresponds to March or April, r—a something. I don't know the exact period of time, but by March, the government says they will completely..., they want to completely take over the control of wheat by this time. They have already taken over the control of atta and flour and now suji. They want to take over the control of wheat and the control of sugar completely. So all these things we are seeing is what they are doing, they are taking over control, they are rationing the items, but in the ration shop you can get 800 grams of the product and then you have to go out onto the market and buy at outrageous prices, because nobody can feed a family on 800 grams of sugar a month. It's very little for five people. The price of sugar has gone up over a rupee and a half since the government took over.
Prabhupāda: Ration means black market. (break)
Devotee (3): ...especially in Bengal. (break) You come to Calcutta, we will keep you forever.
Pañca-draviḍa: But in Bombay we'll make better arrangements.
Prabhupāda: We have published one brochure.
1973 Conversations and Morning Walks
Morning Walk -- February 28, 1973, Jakarta:
Prabhupāda: Yes. And then they say "I will make you perfect man, whatever you like you can... You become my disciple, give me some money."
Devotee (3): And enjoy.
Prabhupāda: There is a proverb, that a drowning man catches even a straw. A man is drowning, he's seeing the straw is floating, he wants to catch it. So in western countries, they are so much fed up with this materialistic way of life that any person from India comes, they think he may give something spiritual.
Devotee (3): Hm.
Prabhupāda: Light. Catch it. But what... Why did you not have tilaka, both of you. You have no time for tilaka?
Devotee (3): Our tilaka was locked in the bathroom. The door got locked.
Prabhupāda: Tilaka, why it is locked in bathroom?
Devotee (3): Somehow the door became locked from inside this morning, I don't know how but we couldn't go inside.
Prabhupāda: You don't get him my tilaka? All right. What is this?
Devotee (3): This is called Jakarta Fair, International Fair for business trade. Once a year they come from all over the world and...
Prabhupāda: This side is better than the other side.
Morning Walk -- April 19, 1973, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: Yes. You are very benevolent. You take Kṛṣṇa prasādam for others.
Brahmānanda: Welfare work.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That you can do without taking Kṛṣṇa prasādam. Because you have got stool and urine within your body, and there are many germs. They're eating that. You need not make a separate endeavor to feed them. (pause) The individual soul is never lost. That is our philosophy. Dehino 'smin. He's simply changing different body under different circumstances. That's all. The soul, individual soul, is never lost. Neither he takes birth, neither he dies. He's simply changing the garments. This is perfect theory.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: So when they think nicely, there's no reason why they don't accept it.
Prabhupāda: But they are not nice men. They are rascals. They're not even gentlemen. A gentleman will have some shyness, some shame. But they're shameless. They cannot answer properly, still, shamelessly, they claim they're scientists.
Room Conversation with David Wynne, Sculptor -- July 9, 1973, London:
Prabhupāda: Again, the same... You are comparing with yourself. Because your person can stay in one place only. That means you are simply comparing the Personality of Godhead with your personality. That you have to forget. He, He stays everywhere. Goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma-bhūtaḥ (Bs. 5.37). Therefore we have to consult the authoritative Vedic literature. This answer is there, that goloka eva nivasaty, "He is living in Goloka Vṛndāvana; still, He is everywhere." You cannot think of. You are in this apartment. You are not in your office. But Kṛṣṇa, although He's in Goloka Vṛndāvana, He's everywhere, in everyone's heart. He's seeing everything. That you cannot imagine, how it is possible. That means you want to compare with your, this foolish, imperfect personality with God's personality. That is our defect. He's distinct from our personality, but He's a person. Yes. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). He's also a person like us, He's also living entity like us. But what is the difference? He's the maintainer; we are maintained. How many persons you can maintain? A family of two children and one wife, you are embarrassed. And He's maintaining everyone. Eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti... Innumerable living entities, He's supplying food everyone. He's supplying food the ants within the hole of your room there are thousands of ants. You are not supplying food. How they are getting food? Similarly, you go to the African jungle. There are thousands and millions of elephants. They eat one at a, oh, huge quantity. He's giving food. Eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān. In the air, within the water, there are so many living entities. In the air there are so many living entities. On the land there are so many living entities. Everywhere. How He's feeding? That is the distinction between God's personality and our personality. We are embarrassed to maintain a family of four, five members, and He is maintaining the whole family of living entities. Not only one planet, there are innumerable planets. And not only innumerable planets, the one universe, then innumerable universes. And these, all these taken together, this is one-fourth creation of God. So three-fourth creation is of the spiritual world. Just imagine how big it is. All of them being maintained by that one. This is the difference. (Someone comes in). Come on. Eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān. This is the distinction. Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Room Conversation With David Lawrence -- July 12, 1973, London:
Prabhupāda: Yes.
David Lawrence: They were just working with nature, not against nature.
Prabhupāda: Just like so much field is there. You, if you take the all village people, you can produce enough food for them in this village. So much land is lying there. Simply you keep cows and till ground, get your food grains. Enough. And if you take the whole planet as it is, you can feed ten times population. There is so much prospect. Australia, Africa. So much vacant land. You can produce enough quantity of milk and food grains.
David Lawrence: Yes, I think this was the clinching argument in this program...
Prabhupāda: But they are doing... What they are doing? They're taking the milk and slaughtering the animals and sending to foreign countries for trade. New Zealand, Australia, they are doing like that. Just see.
David Lawrence: Or they're throwing down the surplus milk down coal mines.
Prabhupāda: Eh?
David Lawrence: They throw surplus milk down coal mines.
Prabhupāda: That's it.
Room Conversation with Mister Popworth and E. F. Schumacher -- July 26, 1973, London:
Popworth: Far more.
Vicitravīrya: What happens is they have large factories where they have thousands and thousands and thousands of chickens in a very tight space, and they breed them for slaughter.
Prabhupāda: Oh.
Popworth: And young cows, calves are kept in a dark shed, deliberately kept in a dark shed and fed on an unnatural diet. They are not allowed to move, they are just kept in a space the size of their body. And for eight weeks, three months, they are fed on unnatural food, milk powder or something, devoid of certain necessary vitamins, to make the flesh whiter so that it gets a market. But that unfortunate beast, instead of walking in the fields under the open sky, he's shut him down.
Prabhupāda: All right, if you are so compassionate, you can kill those animals. But why you are maintaining slaughterhouse, killing nice animals.
Room Conversation with Rosicrucians -- August 13, 1973, Paris:
Yogeśvara: ...there is giving. There is also taking. But it's not... The person who has achieved this ultimate perfection, whenever he takes, he immediately gives it to someone else.
Prabhupāda: That's all right. The transaction between two lovers, one gives, another takes. Sometimes one gives, another takes, another gives, and one takes. This is exchange. Similarly, feeding. I give something to my beloved to eat something. He also gives me something. I eat also. Similarly, I disclose my confidence unto my beloved. My beloved also discloses her or his confidence. These are loving exchanges.
Yogeśvara: He says that he understands that we are talking of love meaning two people, but does that mean that... Why can't we think of love in terms of an exchange between man and everything, between man and the cosmos?
Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. Cosmos represents, as he says, consciousness. That is the person, consciousness. Just like if I love a tree, I love the leaves and twigs also. If I pour water on the root of the tree, it goes to the leaves, twigs, branches, automatically. So if we love the supreme consciousness, Supreme Person, who has got universal consciousness, then automatically my service goes to everywhere.
Room Conversation -- September 2, 1973, London:
Prabhupāda: Yes. They do not know. Even big, big professors. I talked with Professor Kotofsky in Moscow. He said, "Swamiji, after annihilation of this body, there is nothing."
Guest (2): Well, that has brought this disaster and is causing more and more trouble, I think. More and more in practice of medicine, if we look into the practice of medicine, I think, we are more pressed with the problem of mental illness. I should say in the region of thirty percent of our time is devoted for people suffering from mental anxiety, which we call "anxiety state" and partly depression. I think most of the time, I surmise... Part of the problem is not that they are not well-fed, it is not that they are not well-dressed. Part of the problem is to accept as they are and to think of something which is present, I mean they could believe that there is something beyond this world, and if they can accept that, probably they will be better off and they will accept their present inconveniences more easily and will not be depressed.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Guest (2): And that is the present problem.
Prabhupāda: That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā: mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ. Sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ
- mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya
- śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ
- āgamāpāyino 'nityās
- tāṁs titikṣasva bhārata
- (BG 2.14)
If one is engaged in his cultivation of spiritual life, then he should tolerate all these bodily pains and pleasure. Because they come and go. Just like you are medical man, you treat, some patient. Suppose he's attacked with fever. Everyone knows that fever has come; after some time, it will go away. So the one who is cultivating Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he's not very much disturbed with fever. He knows that it has come, it will go automatically. If we fast for few days.
Room Conversation with Indian Ambassador -- September 5, 1973, Stockholm:
Ambassador: It's the Rāma-rājya ideal.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Strong government means that, that government should be very, very vigilant that citizens are doing their duty properly. That is the first duty. They should be given all protection. At the same time... Just like the father gives protection to the children, at the same time, very strict that they are morally and disciplinary, they are going, coming out nice. That is father's duty. It is government's duty. If the father thinks, "Let my son go to hell. I don't care. I give them some food. That's all." Is that father's duty? No. Father's duty, to arrange for their food, for their dress, for their shelter, at the same time, to see that they are growing nice, not rascals. That is father's duty. Similarly, government's duty is that. We see from Vedic śāstra government duty is that. Otherwise why there is need of government? Government... Now it is government. But formerly it was the king. The king must be representative of God. Because... Who is God? God means nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām, eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). Kaṭhopaniṣad. So God, what is God? God means He's also person. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām. He is also eternal, He's also cognizant. We are also eternal, we are also cognizant. But what is the difference between God and we? The difference is He maintains us. Eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān. Bahu-vacanam, nityānām, cetanānām, this is bahu-vacanam. And nityaḥ, cetanaḥ, eka-vacanam. So what is the difference between this singular number and plural number? The singular number is maintaining the plural number. Eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān. So God is maintaining everyone. So difference is that He is so powerful, He can maintain every living entity. He's maintaining the elephants in Africa, who eat, at a time, forty kilos. He's supplying food. There's no scarcity of food in the jungle for the elephants. Neither there is scarcity... In the hole of your room, you'll find hundreds and thousands of ui. Who is feeding them, within the hole? Unless they're eating, sleeping, the same thing are there. How they are living very nicely? But who is giving them food within the hole? A small hole. You did not provide that hole. You did not provide their food. But there are hundreds and millions of ants.
Room Conversation with Indian Ambassador -- September 5, 1973, Stockholm:
Ambassador: Also.
Prabhupāda: There, there also... Now India has got poverty. So why in America and Europe, there are hippies. Why?
Ambassador: It's an express... It's another type of poverty.
Prabhupāda: They're also thinking that "We are not sumptuously fed," or something. Some demands is there. Some demand. And they are lying down, Amsterdam and here, on the street. And why? But they are coming of rich families, rich nation. Especially America. In London also, I have seen. Regent Park. They're lying down. Police is kicking. Police is kicking: "Get up, get up!" Why? Behind them the British Empire is, British government is there. Why he's lying down there? Who has told him to...? Government is requesting, "If you have no home, come on. I shall give you home." In Bombay also, these, what is called? The huts?
Haṁsadūta: Huts?
Prabhupāda: Eh?
Haṁsadūta: Those tent huts?
Prabhupāda: They are on the... You have seen in Bombay?
Ambassador: Yes.
Room Conversation -- September 18, 1973, Bombay:
Guest (1): Kṛṣṇa says, yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham (BG 9.22).
Prabhupāda: Yes. Here it is. Kṛṣṇa is giving opportunity of eating for the cats and dogs, the birds and beasts, and I am engaged in His service, He'll not give me food? Because we are not Kṛṣṇa conscious, therefore we are thinking, "If I do not work like these cats and dogs, I'll starve." That is my imperfect Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And perfect Kṛṣṇa consciousness means he knows that "I have engaged my life in Kṛṣṇa's business. Kṛṣṇa is..., Eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. He's feeding millions and millions of living entities. And he'll keep me starving?" Is it possible? That means he, he does not know what is Kṛṣṇa. He's thinking Kṛṣṇa is a fictitious thing. That is his position. He does not know what is Kṛṣṇa. (break) ...then they would have been confident, "Yes, Kṛṣṇa is feeding everyone. Why not me? What I have done? Because I am engaged in His service, therefore I shall starve?" And the devotee has no such question also, whether he'll starve or eat. It doesn't matter if he starves. It doesn't matter. He thinks, "Oh, Kṛṣṇa has put me in this position, to starve." Just like in hospital. A patient is ordered by the physician: "You should not eat anything." So he knows, "It is good for me." Similarly, a devotee, when he's starving, he knows, "Kṛṣṇa has put me in this starving condition. It is good for me." He never complains.
Room Conversation -- September 19, 1973, Bombay:
Guest (1): But what should be the first step to become a devotee.
Prabhupāda: Yes, dadāti. That I have already explained. Dadāti. He must give. Give. Everyone goes to God to beg, "God, give us our daily bread." But one must go to God to give Him. If I do not give bread to Kṛṣṇa, he will be starving. This is devotee's mentality. Yaśodāmāyī, Yaśodāmāyī is thinking, Kṛṣṇa, "If I do not feed Kṛṣṇa well, my child will die." This is devotion. Otherwise everyone is asking from Kṛṣṇa. But Yaśodā-mā is thinking that "If I do not maintain Kṛṣṇa properly, He will die." Therefore he (she) is always trying to supply everything, mākhana, miśri. So real love begins when you try to give God. Everyone is trying to take from God, "Oh father, give us our daily bread." This is not pure devotee. This is good because he has approached God, but this is not devotion. It is not devotion, it is..., means business "God, give me something, then I will love you." Is it not?
Guest (1): But giving means, you know, giving part of what you earn, or some other way. When you say give...
Prabhupāda: Give means, you want to take something from God. "God, give me wealth, give me fame" Yaśo dehi.
Room Conversation -- September 19, 1973, Bombay:
Guest (1): God expects something from you.
Prabhupāda: God does not expect. It is for your good. If you are simply taking from God, now if you learn how to give God, that is your perfection. That is your perfection. Why God will ask from you? He is all perfect. He does not want. He is not hungry. He is feeding millions of living entities. Eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān. Why God will ask from you? But if you give your life to God, then you become perfect. God is not want of, in your service or anything... He is complete. If he is not complete, he is not God. These are all mental concoctions. What you can do? What you have got to give charity?
Guest 4 (Indian man): What is the position of man...
Prabhupāda: You are poor man, what you can give, charity? Why you are thinking that you can give in charity? Therefore God says, dadāsi yat: "If you are thinking to make some charity, give it to Me. Come on." Just like Bali Mahārāja was approached by Vāmanadeva. The Supreme Lord went to Bali Mahārāja, "Bali Mahārāja, give Me some land." You see. So these are all mental concoctions. Therefore Bhagavad-gītā says that "If you have got such mentality to give some charity, give it to Me. Come on." The first thing is you try to learn how to give God.
Morning Walk -- December 16, 1973, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: Oh, there was big meeting of the prisoners. Kīrtana, everything, yes.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: So by lacking the understanding, they say that God is not merciful. The sufferers. People, who are suffering, but by not knowing that it is the mercy of the Lord, we complain that God is not merciful. But he is impartial.
Prabhupāda: No, God is merciful, but this fool does not know because he is ignorant. The same thing, mother says. One child, she is feeding very sumptuously. Other one, "Oh, don't take it. You go away." Does it mean the mother is merciful to one child and not to the other? The child does not know it, he cries, "Why shall I not...? Why I shall not eat? Why I shall not eat?" So these foolish questions will be stopped as soon as one becomes God conscious.
Karandhara: But unless they understand the difference between spirit and matter, they can't accept this logic.
Prabhupāda: Well, foolish men cannot accept any logic. Their logic is stick. "If you don't accept, I shall kick on your face. Accept it." That is the... That is wanted.
Morning Walk -- December 16, 1973, Los Angeles:
Rūpānuga: And then God sanctions the judge. The judge can kill.
Karandhara: Well, that is why they say we must work to help poor people and starving people.
Prabhupāda: Why poor people? You starve. You are already yourself a poor people. How you can help them?
Karandhara: No, they say if we find poor and starving people, we must go and feed them.
Prabhupāda: So you feed them. But we also feed them. But we feed them with Kṛṣṇa prasādam. That is the difference. You do this. That will be actually beneficial. By distributing Kṛṣṇa's prasādam, you will be benefited, they will be benefited.
Prajāpati: If we see a group of demons fighting, killing each other, should devotees go and try to stop them from killing each other?
Prabhupāda: First of all you must know whether they are demons. But demons fight. Gentlemen do not fight.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Let them fight.
Prabhupāda: Let them fight. (laughing)
1974 Conversations and Morning Walks
Morning Walk -- January 3, 1974, Los Angeles:
Prajāpati: ...getting worse over these five thousand years, but by a reintroduction, reintroducing Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the tide can be turned in age of Kali?
Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. That is the only remedy. That is the only remedy. Anyone who takes to this chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, he'll be cleansed of all sinful activities and then everything will come out nice. And it is practical. It is not story. Just see, all our disciples in Europe, America, they were habituated to so many bad habits, and because they are chanting, they are now cleansed. So it is small-scale. If you propagate it large-scale, everyone will be cleansed. (break) ...disciples who were trained up from very beginning of their life: meat-eating. They are giving meat-eating. Here in your country, small children, they are fed with meat-powder. Intoxication is also a daily affair. How they are giving up all intoxication? (break) Is there arrangement for... Where is Karandhara?
Karandhara: Jaya, Prabhupāda.
Prabhupāda: That placard, poster?
Karandhara: Prajāpati and I discussed it yesterday and we're trying to find an artist to do it.
Prajāpati: Nara-nārāyaṇa Prabhu's good wife is expert artist.
Prabhupāda: Ah.
Morning Walk -- January 5, 1974, Los Angeles:
Yaśodānandana: Even though they have big posts...
Prabhupāda: No, either purify or... You come with us and you will be purified. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says, rādhā-kṛṣṇa bolo saṅge calo, ei-mātra bhikhā cāi. We don't want anything from you. You, I shall give you eating. I shall give you everything. You simply come with me and chant. This is our propaganda. We don't say that "You do this, do that." We don't do anything. Simply come with us and chant.
Bali Mardana: Just like the Catholic church, in different places around the world they feed the people.
Prabhupāda: Ah.
Bali Mardana: But we cannot only... If we not only feed them, but give them chanting and dancing...
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Bali Mardana: ...they will accept it as superior.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Morning Walk -- February 17, 1974, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: That is... First answer is this, that you are bothered for increased population, but the animals are not. Therefore they are more advanced than you. They know that there is no botheration. Because in the Vedic injunction it is said, eko yo bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān. Now, there are millions of elephants in Africa. Who is feeding them? Who is feeding them? They eat at one time one mound. Where the food is coming from? Why you are bothered? You'll take only one chaṭāka. That means you are godless. You do not know who is supplying your food. You are less than animal. That is my answer.
Guest (1): Swamiji, my question is different.
Prabhupāda: This is answer. You are very much...
Guest (1): No, that is...
Prabhupāda: ...in anxiety.
Guest (2): (Hindi)
Prabhupāda: He.
Morning Walk -- February 22, 1974, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: The government is against our movement. Because they are teaching: "Drink wine, eat meat," and we are teaching no meat-eating. How they will approve of our movement?
Dr. Patel: Not only that. We have just now talked about teaching meat. This government of Maharashtra has created an institution, government institution, which are feeding pigs for selling, meat, and poultry. It could have been done by any private institution outside. Why, eh?
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Dr. Patel: I don't know why they... So they are all śūdras, these, these daityas.
Prabhupāda: Not śūdras. They are less than śūdras.
Dr. Patel: Actually, they are the relatives of...
Prabhupāda: Mleccha. They have been described in the Bhāgavata: mlecchā rājanya-rūpiṇaḥ. Mlecchas, they will assume as kṣatriya government. Mlecchā rājanya-rūpiṇaḥ. Bhakṣayiṣyanti prajās te mlecchā rājanya-rūpiṇaḥ.
Dr. Patel: These fellows created such a horrible state. They actually broke down the temple.
Prabhupāda: That is a...
Dr. Patel: Why? Why? Why? What, what wrong these boys are doing to them? If any wrong is done to them, it is done by me because I am giving so much botheration to them.
Prabhupāda: No, no. It is that wrong that we are preaching no meat-eating, no intoxication. We are the greatest criminal.
Morning Walk -- March 6, 1974, Mayapura:
Jayapatākā: Human life is no special advantage. Only if you come, the spiritual master comes, then it can be some advantage.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Therefore Vedic injunction is gurum eva abhigacchet: "You must go to a bona fide spiritual master if you want to make your life perfect." There is no question whether I shall go or not. "You must!" That is the beginning of human life. Otherwise animal life. He has no spiritual master. He's not going to obey anyone. He's working in his own whims. That is animal life. Real life here begins.
- tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet
- samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham
- (MU 1.2.12)
This is the Vedic injunction. You cannot do anything without abiding the orders of spiritual master. That is surrender. How nice water it is. (break) And there are many thousands, you'll find. And we are thinking, "Oh, if I go away, who will feed my son? Who will feed my daughter?" He'll never think that "If so many animals are fed by the Supreme," eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān, "He's supplying all the necessity why not for me or for my other children?" It is māyā that one thinks that "Without me...," Just like Gandhi was thinking. Unless he was killed... He was always thinking, "Without me, India will be spoiled." India will be spoiled. It was spoiled. Therefore you wanted sva-rājya... And after his death, it is also spoiled. So India's karma will have to suffer, either Gandhi's there or not there. Prakṛteḥ kriya... Prakṛteḥ: Everything is being done by the material nature. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ, by, dictated by different modes of nature. Ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate: (BG 3.27) The rascal, being bewildered by, he's thinking, "Without me, everything will be spoiled. I am the director. I am the director!" So I requested Gandhi, "Now you come out of this turmoil, politics. Just preach Bhagavad-gītā." No. He'll be killed. That's all. This is the way. Going on. Even a Gandhi commits mistake, what to speak of others. What is the effect of this sva-rājya. The effect of sva-rājya is that people are starving. That's all. At least, British government would not allow like this. That's a fact.
Morning Walk -- March 14, 1974, Vrndavana:
Prabhupāda: You have not digested your food. (break) Any carpenter working in... (break) The government was pleased to reply that they're maintaining themselves by selling literature. Similarly, if it comes to the notice of the government that they're maintaining ourselves by production of food, they'll like very much. (break) In your temple.
Devotee: Feeding.
Prabhupāda: (chuckles) (break)
Bhagavān: ...the society would go to the gurukula, and there it would be decided what their work would be?
Prabhupāda: Yes. First of all there should be an instructor on the spiritual life, then according to his position... Our spiritual life is meant, we should always remember... But for management we have to make divisions. That is...
Devotee: Actually the whole society could be Vaiṣṇava.
Prabhupāda: Ah. They're Vaiṣṇava. But because they have got to live in the material world, there must be division of work. If everyone wants to become the brain, who will act as leg? That is also required. If everyone says, "No, no, I'm not going to do the work of leg. I want simply to work as..." No. It is needed. The brain is needed, the hand is needed, the belly is needed, the leg is needed. So that we have to divide. Who will work as brain, who will work as hand, who will work as leg... The main aim is how to maintain this body perfectly, fit. That should be the aim, how the society will go on nicely. And for management, this hand, leg, brain, belly must be divided. Just like there's slight difference, those who are directly engaged in temple worship and those who are going to sell books. Apparently there's difference, but basically there is no difference. Like that. If one can sell books nicely, why he should be, I mean to say, engaged in the temple worship? He can do better work in that way. But there is no difference between selling the books and temple worship. Or washing the dish. There's no difference, because it is all transcendental. Just like aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛttimanti. Kṛṣṇa's hands and legs, there's no difference.
Morning Walk 'Varnasrama College' -- March 14, 1974, Vrndavana:
Prabhupāda: Business means if you have got extra grains or extra foodstuff, you can sell where there is necessity, there is want. That is business. We are not going to open mills and factories and... No. We are not going to do that. That is śūdra business. The real business is that you produce enough food grains, as much as possible, and you eat and distribute. That's all. This is business. He does not require any so high technical education. Anyone can till the ground and grow food. Is it difficult? This is the business. The first thing is that everyone, man and animal, especially the cows, they must be properly fed so become very stout and strong. Cows will supply milk, and man will work hard, without being suffered by dysentery. He must work hard. Any capacity. Work as a teacher or work as a kṣatriya, work as a ploughman. Or work as general assistant. He must work. Everyone should be employed. And his employment will be provided from any of these groups, according to his capacity. Either as a brāhmaṇa, or as a kṣatriya, or as a vaiśya, or as a śūdra.
Hṛdayānanda: What kind of training is there for a śūdra?
Prabhupāda: Śūdra is general assistant.
Hṛdayānanda: Oh, just...
Prabhupāda: Order-carrier. He has no intelligence. He doesn't require intelligence. "Do this." That's all.
Morning Walk 'Varnasrama College' -- March 14, 1974, Vrndavana:
Hṛdayānanda: Prabhupāda, generally in colleges in the West, they charge some fee for going to the college. What is our position?
Prabhupāda: No, we don't charge any fee. There is no question of money. Because the brāhmaṇas, they'll teach free. They require money because they have to give fat salary to these rascals. But we haven't got to. And even we have to feed them, we produce our own grain. So where is the question of taking money? So therefore it is required, somebody must produce food. Then there is no necessity of money.
Hṛdayānanda: The vaiśya students will produce the food.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Satsvarūpa: Should our children who are at gurukula, when they grow up, should they go to that varṇāśrama college, or...?
Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. They should go.
Hṛdayānanda: We'll start it right away.
Morning Walk -- March 15, 1974, Vrndavana:
Devotee: It seems that people are so attached to sense gratification, if we tell them we want to stop all these facilities for drinking, cinema, women, like that, they become angry.
Prabhupāda: So that, that is natural. If you give good instruction to a rascal, he'll be angry. Mūrkhāyopadeśo hi prakopayati na śamayati (?). Mūrkha, a rascal, if you give him good instruction... But give him practical. "Come here. Sit down. Take prasādam. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. And help me by doing this." In this way you have to... Just like a child. Child does not want to go to school, but some, by... Find out some means so that he'll be induced. That is intelligence. He'll be angry, naturally. He's a rascal. He'll be angry. That is not unnatural. Mūrkhāyopadeśo hi prakopayati na śamayati (?). Just like a snake. You feed the snake with milk. It will increase the poison. That's all. Practically attract. Practically attract. That is the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement will practically attract the people. If the world affairs are adjusted according to our Kṛṣṇa conscious plan, there will be no difficulty for all the nations, all the countries. They will be happy. So we have to educate people gradually. And by our example, living example, we'll have to attract.
Morning Walk -- March 17, 1974, Vrndavana:
Prabhupāda: ...and they would all come to our place in procession, and we shall feed them. This program should be started immediately. And so that the whole day and night this nuisance will go on.
Guru dāsa: Maybe we should occupy the L.I.C. grounds in Delhi with kīrtana.
Prabhupāda: Eh?
Guru dāsa: We should occupy the L.I.C. grounds in Delhi with kīrtana?
Prabhupāda: No... No, you are jumping over... Now, the question is in Bombay. Why you are jumping in Delhi?
Guru dāsa: But they asked us in L.I.C. the same thing. They asked us to leave L.I.C. grounds because the kīrtana was nuisance.
Prabhupāda: No, that's all right. That chapter is now...
Guru dāsa: I see.
Prabhupāda: ...in prominence. Don't come near.
Devotee: We could go to the... (break)
Prabhupāda: ...that they're planning the same plan as they did. This is the preliminary sign.
Morning Walk -- March 25, 1974, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: Nityo nityānām. That means we, jīva, we are plural number, and the Supreme Lord is singular number. So what is the difference? The difference is that eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. That bahu-vacana, nityānām, they are maintained by the singular number.
Dr. Patel: Eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān. He is only one. But He is, I mean, fulfilling their... This is so many, all. Because He actually...
Prabhupāda: He is feeding everyone. He is feeding His devotee, as well as nondevotees. The nondevotees are also provided by God. The nondevotees, they are not independent. They are also dependent. But they do not acknowledge.
Guest (1): They don't understand.
Prabhupāda: Just like the prisoners. They are also maintained by government. And those who are not prisoners, they are also maintained by government. The prisoners are outlaw. They do not recognize the government. That is prisoner, criminals. But both of them are provided by the government. And so far individuality is concerned, that is mentioned in the Second Chapter. Kṛṣṇa said that "You, Me, and all these soldiers and kings, they were before existing like this, they're existing now like this, and they'll continue to exist." So individuality's always. Kṛṣṇa never said that "After this, we shall become a homogeneous mass." Never says. Individual.
Morning Walk -- March 29, 1974, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: That is all right, but...
Dr. Patel: I can...
Prabhupāda: ...you cannot...
Dr. Patel: ...not mix it. They go, sometimes, and feed (indistinct).
Prabhupāda: Even they go, that does not mean they're going to kill animal.
Dr. Patel: But suppose an animal is killed and prasāda is offered, they won't take it.
Prabhupāda: No, no, yes.
Dr. Patel: Yes, sir, that is what it says, "Don't take this prasāda even if it is offered."
Prabhupāda: But I cannot say to stop animal sacrifice before the deity Goddess Kālī. That I cannot say. I cannot disobey. I may not take it.
Dr. Patel: That is what he means to say, but...
Prabhupāda: But you cannot say that I reject...
Dr. Patel: "My followers do not take meat even kālī-yajña."
Prabhupāda: You cannot dictate on the Vedic authority. Veda...
Dr. Patel: Kālī temple, Kālī temple is not Vedic, but it is Tantric, Tantric.
Prabhupāda: That you say, that you say. Not tantra. Tantra is also within the Vedas. Just like we have got Nārada Pañcarātra.
Morning Walk -- March 30, 1974, Bombay:
Dr. Patel: Annakūṭa (Gujarati) (break)
Prabhupāda: ...we do not feed anybody.
Dr. Patel: You may be feeding, but others are throwing it away. That is why they have said daridra-nārāyaṇa.
Prabhupāda: That is... Others are throwing, others are doing this, this... That is not considered.
Dr. Patel: But they have not seen you doing it, you see...
Prabhupāda: Dari... Why not first of all offer to real Nārāyaṇa and then distribute to the daridras? (break) First of all try to understand that... Just like we have got prasāda distribution program. So... But that does not mean that we shall say, "We are feeding daridra-nārāyaṇa." We are offering to Nārāyaṇa and then feeding to the...
Dr. Patel: They are... (break)
Prabhupāda: No, no. You do not talk. You do not know. You do not know. Don't talk. Please stop. I know very well, better than you.
Morning Walk -- April 10, 1974, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: ...even the richest man, their wife has no bangles. You see? And they are jewelries. Jewelries. Cow, butter, throwing butter like anything, and silk sari and enough food grains. What is more want for material advancement? That is real material ad... You have got everything, material needs. (break) If a man can feed his wife and children, then he is successful. There is no question of charity. There is no question of charity. But here it is said they were also giving in charity. (break) ...stopped to become real brāhmaṇa and give instruction to the society, and they also stopped giving charity to the brāhmaṇas. So therefore the society is so fallen. There is no instruction from the brāhmaṇas and no charity from the kṣatriya and vaiśya. (break) ...proṣita bhārtṛkā. By the dress a woman is recognized. When she does not dress very nicely, it is to be understood that her husband is out of home. When there is the vermillion, that means she is married. When the, what is called, division? Siti. Siti is in this side, then she is prostitute. The dress, when the woman dresses with white dress, they are widow, no husband. Yes, in this way by dress...
Indian man: Yes. You can recognize here. But now they are changed completely.
Prabhupāda: Yes. When the girl has no this covering, that means she is virgin. She is not married. In this way all the signs are there. This is prosita bhartrka. Prosita-bhartrka means one whose husband is not at home, outside. Then she will not dress, she will not take regular bath, so that people may know that her husband is not at home.
Morning Walk -- April 13, 1974, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: Nanda Mahārāja did not know who is Kṛṣṇa.
Dr. Patel: When did he know that He, Kṛṣṇa was really the son of Devakī? I think after the... just now only.
Prabhupāda: Just now only. He is disclosing. He has given... (break) ...bahūni me janmāny atītāni tava cārjuna. Same thing. "I had many, many births before." That is confirmed here.
Girirāja: "Just as demigods are always protected by Lord Viṣṇu, so the devotees of your child will always be protected by Nārāyaṇa." (break)
Prabhupāda: ...accept that process. (break) ...cation. (break) Without any advertisement, without any..., how one can stop this?
Indian Man (2): It is not possible. (break)
Girirāja: "The child is very clever. After breaking the pot He has left the place fearing punishment. After she sought all over she found a big wooden grinding mortar kept upside down, and she found her son sitting on it. He was taking butter which was hanging from the ceiling on a swing and was feeding it to the monkeys." (continues reading from Kṛṣṇa Book; rest of tape is unintelligible) (end)
Morning Walk -- April 16, 1974, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: And the medicine is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Bhava-auśādhi. Śrotriyaṁ mano-bhirama. Go on.
Girirāja: "The mothers of the boys heard the vibrations of their flutes before their entrance and to receive them they came out of their homes with great..." (break)
Prabhupāda: They took the position of Yaśodā, directly feeding. This is the unique position of Vṛndāvana. (break) ...yogamāyā.
Dr. Patel: Yogamāyā samanvitaḥ.
Prabhupāda: Ah. Nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yogamāyā-samāvṛtaḥ (BG 7.25). So two māyā is working.
Dr. Patel: Yogamāyā is the superior māyā.
Prabhupāda: Yes. No, for Kṛṣṇa, all māyās are the same. Just for engineer, the electricity is the same both in the refrigerator and the heater. For us we see different, that "This is hot and this is cold." (break) ...when you are freed from all these māyās. That is Kṛṣṇa's mercy. (break) ...the sample of Kṛṣṇa's mercy...?
Dr. Patel: (Hindi)
Prabhupāda: No, no. No, Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhāgavata, yasyāham anugṛhṇāmi hariṣye tad-dhanaṁ śanaiḥ (SB 10.88.8), that "This is my mercy. The first test is that I take away everything, what he possesses."
Press Conference -- April 18, 1974, Hyderabad:
Prabhupāda: So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is meant for spreading the knowledge contained in the Bhagavad-gītā as it is, without any malinterpretation. Bhagavad-gītā as it is. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān (BG 10.12). After understanding Bhagavad-gītā from Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna affirmed, "Kṛṣṇa, You are Para-brahman, the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Brahman... Every living entity is Brahman, or everything is Brahman. Sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma. That is a fact. But Para-brahman is Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). That is the Vedic version. He is the Supreme. So unless we accept Kṛṣṇa the Supreme, what is the use of reading Bhagavad-gītā? So that we have to accept, and His instructions, as they are given, everything. Just like economic solution, there is in the Bhagavad-gītā, annād bhavanti bhūtāni (BG 3.14). There is need of anna to feed the animals and the human being. Simply by passing resolution, conference, it will not do. You must produce anna so that animals and men, they may be fed sumptuously. They will get strength, then they can work for yajña. Yajñaḥ karma-samudbhavaḥ. In this way people can be happy.
Press Conference -- April 18, 1974, Hyderabad:
Prabhupāda: The Americans and the Europeans, they are fed up with this material type of civilization. They are... They know that spiritual life is there in India. They understand it. Therefore, any swami goes there, they go round him to take some spiritual instruction. Unfortunately, mostly they go who have no knowledge. They cannot give them right knowledge. So for the time being they may surround them, but after some time they disperse. Because they do not get actually. Because so far Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, now many swamis went there and they preached Bhagavad-gītā also, but not a single person became a devotee of Kṛṣṇa for the last hundreds of years. But now Bhagavad-gītā is being presented as it is, and people are taking it by hundreds, thousands. So they are after some knowledge, spiritual knowledge, from India, but our so-called swamis, they go, they do not give actual information of the Indian spiritual culture. Therefore they are practically deceived. But this Bhagavad-gītā as it is, we do not change anything. In the Bhagavad-gītā you understand that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7). So we are teaching them that "Here is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa." So they are accepting. Kṛṣṇa says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). So we are teaching that "Just always think of Kṛṣṇa, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, and you will remember Kṛṣṇa."
Press Conference -- April 18, 1974, Hyderabad:
Guest (6): Consciousness movement in the West-like you said, the Western people are fed up with materialism. Is it that they are fed up only with materialism or with...?
Prabhupāda: Well, people, people have become godless everywhere. It doesn't matter whether he is a Christian or Muhammadan or Hindu. That is a general disease. So actually, everyone is concerned now with material comforts. But these material comforts mean wine and women, that's all. Substance of material comforts. So that they have enjoyed enough. The facility of enjoying woman and getting money, there is no limit. There is no limit. Anyone, the money is thrown in the street. You can simply collect. And similarly, women are available. So actually, they do not get any happiness by these material elements. They are seeking after something, that's a fact.
Guest (7): But isn't the Kṛṣṇa consciousness has not spread in the Arab world?
Prabhupāda: Yes, it is spreading. We have got branch in Iran.
Morning Walk -- April 22, 1974, Hyderabad:
Pañcadraviḍa: When we run into those people... Sometimes we run into Muslims, Jains, Christians, and usually what we do is we approach them on the basis of our welfare work. Because we have got our work where we are feeding persons in Māyāpur, we are doing different..., opening schools. So we approach them that God is also one. There is one God and we are doing work for bringing all the people to God. In Māyāpur we are feeding so many Muslims every day.
Prabhupāda: Yes, that is good preaching. But when there is argument, when somebody says, you should be prepared to argue with them. It stopped? We shall go another round?
Akṣayānanda: I think it has stopped.
Satsvarūpa: No rain.
Pañcadraviḍa: (break) ...dressed in shiny saffron. He is dressed in black. He looked like nescience and you look like the sunshine, standing next to him. He is wearing all this black with a little bit of red trimming on it, looked like nightime. (break) ...I met a Christian, and he said "You have got your guru and you are following him. He teaches you by his example. We have got our pope. He is our example of what Christianity is. He is the head of Christian order, and he himself is eating meat. Now how you can say...?"
Prabhupāda: Then how he can be pope?
Pañcadraviḍa: "But how you can say he is not the best Christian? He is the head of all the Christians."
Prabhupāda: But that means you are foolish and pope is also foolish. If he does not follow the orders of Jesus Christ, then how he becomes a pope? Therefore you are foolish. You have elected some foolish, another foolish man as your pope. That should be the right answer, that "If he does not follow Christ, how he becomes pope?"
Pañcadraviḍa: He is not killing.
Room Conversation with Richard Webster, chairman, Societa Filosofica Italiana -- May 24, 1974, Rome:
Prabhupāda: Many countries... Especially we are Indian. We have seen in India. Nowadays there is no eatables. The government cannot supply food, failure, the problem which is not even amongst the beasts and birds. The birds and beasts, they have no such problem. They are freely living, jumping from one tree to another, because they know there is no problem of eating. And human society, there is problem of eating. What is the advancement? And there is enough place for producing food. I have seen Africa, Australia. Enough place. If the foodstuff is produced there, ten times of the population can be well fed. But they are: "Don't enter. Don't come here." The Africans will say to the Indians, "Don't come here. Go out." What is this? Therefore Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so nice. We say, "Everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa. We are all sons of Kṛṣṇa. Let us live peacefully and utilize Kṛṣṇa's property." This is the best philosophy. But the so-called politicians and leaders, they are saying "No, you cannot enter here," immigration. America has got enough place to produce food. But they will, although they have gone to the United Nation, UNESCO, they could not find out any solution. Although there is possibility of producing ten times of the requisites of the whole population of the world, they will not allow. They will not allow.
Room Conversation with Richard Webster, chairman, Societa Filosofica Italiana -- May 24, 1974, Rome:
Prabhupāda: In Africa and Australia, they are killing the animals and exporting. So in other countries they are getting meat to eat, and so they are very free to produce bolts and nuts by industry. They don't require to produce food because from Africa and Australia they are getting meat. This is going on. Instead of producing food, people are interested in producing motor car bolts and nuts. So why there should not be food scarcity? After all, you require to eat. But instead of starting industries, why don't you produce foodstuff? What is this civilization? Produce foodstuff. The animals will be nicely fed, and the men will be nicely fed.
Richard Webster: What civilization there is comes chiefly from the television, I'm afraid. I mean the public opinion is made by the television.
Atreya Ṛṣi: The television today is setting up the standard for the civilization, for today's civilization.
Richard Webster: But they talk about nothing but name war (?) and...
Prabhupāda: (indistinct) pictures.
Room Conversation with Richard Webster, chairman, Societa Filosofica Italiana -- May 24, 1974, Rome:
Yogeśvara: But ultimately isn't our idea that the city complexes shouldn't remain, that things should become more spread out to farm and rural areas?
Prabhupāda: Yes, naturally. If this man is fed up with this industry, he can go back to village and produce his own food. But he is attached to this industrial activity because he is thinking that "We are getting more money for wine and woman and meat. Let me enjoy." That is the perfect, imp... But if he chants Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, his consciousness will be purified and he will be made not interested this kind of work. He will go back to village and produce food. This is French?
Atreya Ṛṣi: No. It is new, 62 the new American. (BTG?)
Yogeśvara: This was your idea, to put the temple buildings on the magazine. Jayādvaita wrote me about that.
Prabhupāda: Very good picture, encouraging, that so many devotees in one center. It is very much pleasing to me. I started single-handed.
Morning Walk -- May 29, 1974, Rome:
Prabhupāda: So that enjoyment, eating, sleeping, mating, the animals are doing that. What other enjoyment you have got? The same thing, eating, sleeping, that's all. That can be done without this building. Even the animals, they very nicely sleep on the ground. They haven't got skyscraper building, but they have no disturbance in their sleeping. The birds are sleeping on the top of the tree very nicely. So what advancement you have made than the birds and the beasts? The business is the same.
Devotee: The Communists say that first we must feed the people, give the people the same rights, and after, we will give them a life of spiritual life, a life of...
Prabhupāda: That's all right. But you cannot do that. Why there are so many hungry people all over the world? What you have done? There are thousands and thousands. Even in big, big cities like New York, why there are so many people lying on the street? Why the hippies are lying on the street, on the park? So what is the value of your, this proposal? You cannot stop it.
Morning Walk -- May 29, 1974, Rome:
Devotee: Yeah, but they criticize us that we don't want to feed...
Prabhupāda: No, why the hippies are lying on the street or in the park? Why? You give them relief. The whole Amsterdam city is full of hippies lying on the street and park. What you are doing for them? They are not poor men. They have got enough to eat. Their parents, father, grandfather, they can give. Why they are lying? What you can do? Go and pick them up. Make them nicely living. Why don't you do that? Talking nonsense. What is their answer? Why they have become hippies? They are not... The Indians may be poverty-stricken, but they are not poverty-stricken. In England the whole British empire is there. The whole American government is there. And still, western countries, they have got resources. They have means. They are not poor. Why your sons and grandsons are lying on the street? What is their answer? They are making plan that everyone would live materially very comfortably, but why these people, in spite of possessing material facilities... (break) Yes, this is the real problem.
Morning Walk -- May 29, 1974, Rome:
Prabhupāda: I think so. Yes. So where is the satisfaction? He wants something. That is... That is not possible. When there is full knowledge, one can be satisfied on knowledge, not by this artificial means. That is not possible. So actually the whole world is suffering for want of knowledge. So we are giving that knowledge. We are satisfying everyone. We are giving the knowledge.
Haihaya: And we are feeding too.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Well, that is secondary. That is secondary.
Dhanañjaya: But their philosophy is first you feed them; then give them knowledge,
Prabhupāda: But why...? You cannot feed even. Just like I wanted rice, I wanted fruit. You could not give me. So why do you claim that you can feed everyone? That you cannot. You are falsely claiming. If you think that simply supplying meat, everyone will be satisfied, that is your nonsense.
Haihaya: Yes, they give. But they say you must prostitute for it. You must prostitute for this food which we give you.
Prabhupāda: So is that very good proposal?
Haihaya: It's worst thing that one can propose. It's just to push man to degenerate himself because of this food, little food.
Prabhupāda: It is my practical experience. Śyāmasundara had to waste at least two to three hours to secure rice, fruits. Only milk and butter could we get. And then we had to wait in the... They would not allow us to cook unless they had finished. This was the difficulty. Practically I have suffered. All their claims are bogus. The people are not happy there. The young men are not allowed to go outside the country. Just see. All freedom lost. All freedom lost. It is a government of terrorism, that's all. And whatever the Communists do, simply by terrorizing that's all. They have no gentleman's method. Terrorizing. (break) ...misleading other rascals that "You come this way; you will be happy." And the rascals are being misled. They are accepting. This is going on. Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānāḥ (SB 7.5.31). The blind man is asking other blind men, "Come on, I shall cross you the street." But because he is rascal, he does not ask, "Sir, you are also blind. how will you lead us?" They cannot inquire. Or he does not know that "This man is asking me, who is willing to take the leadership, he is also blind." This blind man does not know, do not know. They do not know. This is going on.
Morning Walk -- June 2, 1974, Geneva:
Guru-gaurāṅga: If the people here are so sinful, how is it that they have so many nice facilities? It will go away soon, very soon.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes. As they increase their sinful activities, these facilities will be taken away. Therefore we propose that everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa, and we are all sons of Kṛṣṇa. Just cooperate in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then the whole world will be happy. This is our proposal. Why do you think it is American, it is Swiss, it is Indian? Everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa. Let us become obedient to Kṛṣṇa, and because we are sons of Kṛṣṇa, let us enjoy the property of Kṛṣṇa. Immediately there will be happiness. I have several times said that the, still the whole world can produce so much grains and foodstuff, ten times of the population can be fed, ten times. In Africa, in Australia, and even in America, so much, I means, prospect of producing food. But they will not cooperate. They will kill the animal. They will throw the grain to the sea, and claim, "It is my land. It is my property."
Bhagavān: Then they complain about scarcity.
Prabhupāda: For money. So rascal civilization is going on. Therefore I challenged that man, "Where is your brain?" There is no brain. You remember that?
Yogeśvara: From the International Labor Organization.
Room Conversation -- June 5, 1974, Geneva:
Yogeśvara: (translates) There's a story. Someone asked Lord Jesus to describe how we should love all people. Describe... Just like a man who has one hundred sheep and there is one of them who has gone astray, he is lost, so the man leaves aside all of his other hundred sheep to go looking for that one sheep. So in the same way, he says, we must take care of the people who are suffering. The minority, those who are suffering, they must receive food, they must be given help and fed.
Prabhupāda: That's all right. But why you should kill animal?
Young Swiss Man (3): At the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā...
Prabhupāda: And Christ says, "Thou shall not kill." Why you are killing? From the very beginning disobedience. How you can become Christian?
Young Swiss Man (3): Isn't it at the beginning Arjuna hesitates to kill his family and doesn't want to go to fight, and what he is taught, through Bhagavad-gītā in some way is that he should not restrain and that...
Prabhupāda: But first of all you take your Bible. You are ordered not to kill. Why you are killing? Then go to Bhagavad-gītā. When there is aggression you have the right to kill but not unnecessarily you can kill. Suppose a tiger attacks you; you can kill. But you cannot go in the forest and kill the tiger. That is sinful.
Room Conversation -- June 5, 1974, Geneva:
Prabhupāda: But there are so many human beings also dying out of hunger. Is it to be recommended that they should be killed? There are many human being also; they are also skeletons. They have no sufficient food. So if you think that the cows are skeletons for want of food, you supply them food. Why you are restricting? If... The Americans, they are throwing tons of food in the water. Why they do not send to India for feeding the skeleton cows? What the cows have done? They are also living entity. Why you are thinking of human beings, not of the cows?
Swiss Man (1): (French)
Yogeśvara: He says for Protestants especially, there is a feeling that to think that we can become purified of our sins by following some formulary, that is a kind of false pride, that actually to become free...
Prabhupāda: Then why Christ recommend, "Thou shall not kill. Thou shall not covet. Thou shall not do this. Thou shall not..."? They are all false thing? Now let us talk of knowledge. We have talked so many outside knowledge. What is the real knowledge? The real knowledge is that everything is the property of God. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). No land belongs either to the Americans or to the Swiss people or to the Indian people or to German people. No. Everything belongs to God. And all living entities are the sons of God. So everything produced out of God's land, either on the land or in the sky or anywhere, it is God's property, and all the sons, they have the right to share. So there is no scarcity in the God's kingdom. Simply due to our mismanagement we have created so much trouble. If we accept God as the center and all living entities sons of God, then we can actually live very peacefully in God consciousness. Therefore this is the recommendation, how we can live very peacefully, all of us, both men and animal and everyone. That is said here. Annād bhavanti bhūtāni.
Room Conversation -- June 5, 1974, Geneva:
Yogeśvara: (translates) And in that situation, always thinking of God like that, our philosophy is that naturally these others things, charity, humanitarian works, they will all come naturally?
Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). As soon as you become a unalloyed devotee of God, all the good qualities will manifest in you. If the good qualities does not manifest in you, that means you are not yet perfect in God consciousness. Just like you European boys, American boys, why you have given... (break) ...one of the item is that good quality that "Why shall I give trouble, pain, to other animals?" This is within the God consciousness. Just like poor-feeding. This program we also follow. In our temple, especially in India, any man can come and take his food. Yes. We have got arrangement. In the U.S.A also, Los Angeles, New York, we invite anyone, "Come and take food." We don't want to see that anyone is hungry. We don't want to see. So God consciousness means all the good ideas we are manufacturing, they will be manifested in God consciousness automatically. Therefore our duty should be, if we want to make all human being well-behaved, then we must try to make every one of them God conscious.
Room Conversation -- June 5, 1974, Geneva:
Prabhupāda: That's all.
Yogeśvara: "...think we can do something."
Prabhupāda: You cannot do anything. But they show. They make a collection, that "We are doing such nice work." The Vivekananda also imitated like that and could not do anything. It is not possible. Swami Nikhilananda said... He belongs to the Vivekananda group. Because they raise funds from America, huge funds, that "We shall feeding the poor in India." And they eat meat and big, big become fat, these rascals. So the Americans asked them that "You are taking away our money somewhere to feed the poor. But when we go to India, two sides we see all poor men are lying on the street. What you have done?" So this is a slogan. They cannot do anything. Thinking of poor... Now, those who have accepted voluntarily povertyism, the hippies, what you are doing for them? Why don't you make arrangement for their gentlemanly living? They are not poverty-stricken. Why they are living like wretches, lying on the street, no program for eating, no for sleeping, no for bodily comfort, just like animals? What you have done for them?
Yogeśvara: Because the real problem is not poverty. That they haven't understood.
Prabhupāda: This is karma. If you have bad karma, then you must suffer by the laws of nature. You may be a rich man's son or king's son.
Room Conversation -- June 5, 1974, Geneva:
Prabhupāda: This is karma. If you have bad karma, then you must suffer by the laws of nature. You may be a rich man's son or king's son.
Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: Christ, he actually also said that. There's one verse in the Bible. Christ said, "The poor you will always have with you, but I will not be with you always." He said that also. They misunderstand.
Prabhupāda: Very good idea. Therefore I said Jesus Christ is son of God, so what he says and what Kṛṣṇa says, there is no difference. This has become a hackneyed slogan, "poor feeding." To do to the humanity—and cut the throat of the animal. What is this philosophy, nonsense philosophy? They have no conception of God. If he has got conception of God, then everyone—paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ (BG 5.18). Oh, why for the benefit of the human being, other animals' throat should be cut? Even they have no common sense. National. National means one who is born in that land. That is national. So why the animals born in that land, they are not national?
Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: You used a very nice example, that the children, they are ignorant but that does not mean you kill them.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Is there any meaning, "Oh, these are foolish children creating trouble, so I will kill them"? What is this?
Morning Walk -- June 14, 1974, Paris:
Dhanañjaya: They starve the animals.
Prabhupāda: No.
Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: They feed them every time, whenever they do something.
Prabhupāda: No, after catching them from the forest, they kept within the bars, and no eating for at least one week. Then the trainer comes. Only whips. He comes, and open the doors and only: (makes sound) Flosh, flosh, flosh. So already he's hungry, weak, and he's whipped. In this way, he becomes fearful. As soon as the man comes, he becomes fearful. Then he gives him little food. In this way, after all it is animal, he thinks that "This man is my God. He can save me. He can kill me." Then he takes to him. Whatever he says, he takes. Similarly, if you do not give the ingredients for sense enjoyment, the mind will be controlled. That is the beginning. You simply... Don't give... The mind wants, "Now let me go to the restaurant." "No, sir." Beat him with shoes. Instead of going to the restaurant, he beats the mind with shoes. Then mind will not again say, "Go to the restaurant." That is called swami, gosvāmī. One who can control his mind, that is gosvāmī. We giving the title "Gosvāmī" But if you cannot control your mind, then you are unfit. Go means senses, and svāmī means master. One who can control the senses and master, he is gosvāmī. (pause) ...definition of gosvāmī there: vāco vegaṁ krodha-vegaṁ manasa-vegam udara-vegam upastha-vegam, etān vegān yo viṣaheta dhīraḥ pṛthivīṁ sa śiṣyāt (NOI 1). You have to control the impulse of speaking, vāco vegam, the impulse of becoming angry, vāco vegam, krodha-vegam. Then manasa-vegam, force of the mind.
Room Conversation with Professor Durckheim German Spiritual Writer -- June 19, 1974, Germany:
Professor Durckheim: For eating vegetables, for instance, you need it.
Prabhupāda: Yes. No, that is the law of nature, that every living being is eating another living being. That is stated in the Vedic śāstra.
- ahastāni sahastānām
- apadāni catuṣ-padām
- phalgūni tatra mahatāṁ
- jīvo jīvasya jīvanam
That "Those who have no hands—that means animals—they are food for the animal who has got hands. And those who have no legs, they are food for the four-legged." Just like grass has no legs, but it is a food fo the cows and the goats. Apadāni catuṣ-padām, phalgūni tatra mahatām: "Then one who is powerful, very powerful..." Just like tiger, he jumps over another animal. So because the other animal is weak and this animal is strong, so in this way, the feeding is going on, one living being for the other. But when you come to the... That is nature. The tiger will never eat grass. But we human being, we eat grass, goat, cows and everything. Because advanced, so-called advanced. But our foodstuff is to accept the remnants of foodstuff which is eaten by Kṛṣṇa. That is our philosophy. Kṛṣṇa-prasāda. Just like in this temple, we don't eat anything. Neither we eat grass, neither we eat animals. We eat kṛṣṇa-prasāda.
Room Conversation with Professor Durckheim German Spiritual Writer -- June 19, 1974, Germany:
Prof. Pater Porsch: Very constructive and very... So much success in a relative very short time, if you began in 1966.
Prabhupāda: '67.
Prof. Pater Porsch: And during the Bangladesh crisis you also...
Prabhupāda: Yes, anyone came; we feed. That much... There were many refugees, so we fed them.
Prof. Pater Porsch: But that automatically answers the question of this gentlemen also, the body in the service of other people, you see...
Prabhupāda: No, we give food. Anyone come and take food. Here also. There is no question of Bangladesh. Let anyone come and take food. In our Māyāpur center we especially give food distribution on Saturday and Sunday. At least five thousand people come. So all humanitarian work is included.
Lady: Thank you very much.
Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. Thank you. (some guests leave) So now we have come to Germany. You cooperate and make it a great success for the general benefit of the whole humanity. We have got arts, music, literature, culture, food, everything.
Room Conversation with Scientists -- July 2, 1974, Melbourne:
Prabhupāda: (aside:) Have you got our picture, Kṛṣṇa stealing butter?
Dr. Harrap: And we are doing some quite interesting work at the dairy research laboratory aimed at making ruminants' milk, cow's milk, much more like human milk in this way by a special feeding techniques to the cows.
Prabhupāda: Yes, milk means cow's milk. Milk means cow's milk because you find in this book that kṛṣi-go-rakṣya. Go means cow. Cow protection, cow's milk is important, not other animal's milk.
Dr. Harrap: Yes, what about human milk?
Prabhupāda: Human milk is natural.
Dr. Harrap: Yes, but then that's very different to cow's milk.
Guest (2): It's very obvious that His Grace isn't suffering from cholestrol. (laughter) Cholestrol is no problem for you.
Dr. Harrap: But we've had very close connections with India in the dairy research laboratory in that Dr. Chulak... Yes, you know him? One of our staff members some years ago spent several months in India developing methods of making cheese from buffaloes' milk.
Prabhupāda: No, India's position is different now. India has practically no milk, and no food. Due to our leaders' mismanagement, there is no milk. India is depending on your milk powder sent by Australia or by Europe. There is no milk. But milk is very important because Kṛṣṇa said that kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyaṁ vaiśya-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.44). Find out that verse. You do not have that Kṛṣṇa Book?
Morning Walk -- July 9, 1974, Los Angeles:
Hṛdayānanda: Jaya. It is a completely revolutionary idea.
Prabhupāda: Yes. I cannot allow anyone he's waste his valuable time of human life.
Guru-kṛpa: You said before that the more hospitals they open that means the more people have to become sick.
Prabhupāda: That, more... Yes.
Guru-kṛpa: To get in the hospital.
Prabhupāda: They are very much proud, "We have opened fifty hospitals." That means fifty thousand people have become sick. "We have increased so many beds." That means so many people have more increased their disease. But they're proud of doing this. Our poor-feeding and their poor-feeding is different. We give prasādam—by eating he'll become Kṛṣṇaized. He'll become a devotee. And ordinary eating means he will eat and go to hell. Hare Kṛṣṇa (japa) Kṛṣṇotkīrtana-gāna-nartana-parau...
Kṛṣṇa-kānti: Jaya Prabhupāda.
Jayatīrtha: Jāyate. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. (end)
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Room Conversation with three Trappist Monks, Psychologists from the University of Georgia, and Atlanta Lawyer, Michael Green -- March 1, 1975, Atlanta:
Prabhupāda: Our first problem is, because we have got this material body, eating. Everyone must eat. So Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, annād bhavanti bhūtāni: (BG 3.14) "If there is sufficient food grains, then both man and animal, they become happy." Therefore our first religion is to produce food grain sufficiently to feed everyone. Kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyaṁ vaiśya-karma svabhāva (BG 18.44). This matter has been entrusted to the vaiśyas. They should produce sufficient food and give protection to the cows for sufficient milk. Then the whole human society, animal society, will be happy. But we are disobeying the orders or the rules given by God. Instead of producing food, we are producing motorcars. And motor tires, motor parts. And so many other things. And therefore people are starving. The manual labor is being misused. We are disobeying the orders of God. Therefore we are unhappy. I have seen all over the world. There are enough space for producing food grains. And if we actually produce food grain, we can maintain ten times of the present population of the whole world. There is no question of scarcity because God has created everything complete. Pūrṇam idaṁ pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate (Īśopaniṣad, Invocation). There cannot be any defect in the creation of God. We have created these defects on account of our disobeying the orders of God. God never said that "motorcar-ād bhavanti bhūtāni." He never says. But instead of producing food grains, we are producing so many unwanted things. People's energy is engaged for... Just like in America or in every country, so much energy and resources are engaged for preparing war materials. And that means there must be war. And you must be killed; I must be killed. You will kill me; I will kill you. That's all.
Room Conversation -- March 2, 1975, Atlanta:
Prabhupāda: Because we have lost our original culture and we could not take the Western culture. So we are in the wilderness.
Guest (1): Because here the average man takes more interest.
Prabhupāda: Because they are fed up.
Guest (1): Whereas in India the average man doesn't even take interest.
Prabhupāda: No, he knows, "What is this Hare Kṛṣṇa? We know it, now reject it."
Guest (2): An average Indian, I think he will not be able to tell you how many chapters there are in the Gītā.
Prabhupāda: Yes, they have never been taught. But still they are Kṛṣṇa conscious.
Guest (2): Yes.
Prabhupāda: When we hold our meeting in India twenty thousand, thirty thousand people come still, because by nature they are inclined. By artificial means they are being subdued. And in every step I can feel—they are not openly saying—the government is giving me trouble. They don't want this movement may go on nicely in India.
Room Conversation with Reporter -- March 9, 1975, London:
Reporter: You are not suggesting that all of that is just cut away completely, but that people...?
Prabhupāda: No, you require... First thing, you require to eat. So Kṛṣṇa says that annād bhavanti bhūtāni (BG 3.14). Produce sufficient grain, food grain, so that both the animal and the man, they will eat and become robust, stout, and strong. And they will be capable of working. So that is the first thing. But who is producing food grains? They are producing motor tires. When there is scarcity of food, will these motor tires help us? We shall eat motor tires? This is going on, so-called industrialization, producing unnecessary thing which is not required, and they are neglecting producing food grains. And I have estimated—I am traveling all over the world—that there are so much space even now that if you produce food grain, you can feed ten times of the population as it is. But they will not do that. They will create motorcars, and the whole street is congested. At any moment there can be accident, and if you have to go to consult a doctor, you have to go thirty miles off. Because the motorcar is there. I am diseased. I want to consult a doctor. So he must be in neighborhood. But I have to go thirty miles. And maybe, before going to the doctor, I may be finished, by accident. Anartha, it is called anartha.
Room Conversation with Canadian Ambassador to Iran -- March 13, 1975, Iran:
Prabhupāda: Where, in the East? Yes.
Ambassador: In the East. So there's been a crossover taking place.
Prabhupāda: Hm, yes.
Ambassador: Do you see it like that?
Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. In Western countries they are now fed up with this materialistic way of life. And I think it will very soon collapse, the Western way of life. And naturally the next enquiry is spiritual.
Ambassador: Yes, it's already beginning.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. The material life means animal life.
Ambassador: Yes.
Prabhupāda: So when the animal comes to higher consciousness, that is spiritual consciousness. We are combined at the present moment. We are actually spiritual, but some way or other, we have come in contact with matter, and we are covered by the material body, and... But we cannot become happy with this material interest. That's a fact. Just like the fish cannot be happy on the land. The example is: just like the other day we saw one crocodile. One or two... two, three?
Paramahaṁsa: Two or three.
Interview with a German Girl and Assorted Devotees -- March 30, 1975, Mayapur:
Girl: (German)
Haṁsadūta: And she says the second aspect of her questioning will be the practical side of it, like feeding the people here, like feeding the people here, what we are actually doing, like building this house, feeding the people in the neighboring towns, or teaching them English or teaching them how to cultivate the land, like that.
Prabhupāda: Our... You take answer one after another.
Haṁsadūta: Yes...
Prabhupāda: Not put all the questions.
Haṁsadūta: So you can begin.
Prabhupāda: Our ideal is that we have got this body, and there are some bodily necessities. That is the prime necessities. So we do not neglect these necessities of the body. But our culture is spiritual culture. Generally, people, being disturbed by the bodily necessities, they do not inquire about the spiritual identity. Actually this is the distinction between human life and animal life. (Hindi) (break) Our real purpose of this mission is to educate people about his spiritual identity. All people, they are misguided by the idea-(aside:) Don't do—that he is this body, everyone, all over the world, especially in the Western countries.
Conversation with Devotees -- April 14, 1975, Hyderabad:
Prabhupāda: Anyway, she was think that by cheating this man I am becoming successful. Then she, without any restriction, she began to cheat.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yeah.
Prabhupāda: And because he was Mahārāja so he became, she became Mahārānī.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: But still he's being fooled by her. Those birds I think are the ones from the cage. Because they're being fed they're all, agree to be...
Prabhupāda: ...put in cage. (indistinct) free. They can go away, but no...
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Just like, the human beings are like that.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Yaśodānandana: Do you think that... As the Kali-yuga progresses the people are getting smaller. Does this mean that Kṛṣṇa and His associates were much taller in stature than we are now?
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Morning Walk -- April 19, 1975, Vrndavana:
Prabhupāda: So without woman there is no dancing? (laughter)
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: His whole troupe is women. The New York devotees, the Vaikuṇṭha Players, they have drama group.
Prabhupāda: So, drama is good. Woman dancing will not be very much appreciated here. (break) ...scarcity of grains and government will exact taxes for poor-feeding, and it will be used for their own purpose. These are the Kali symptoms. (break) ...stay in future.
Guest (1) (Indian man): Are they doubting for themselves or for us?
Prabhupāda: For us.
Guest (1): They should doubt for themselves.
Prabhupāda: No, apart from that, now, from logical point of view...
Guest (1): Our movement, this movement, is Kṛṣṇa's own movement.
Prabhupāda: No, no, that they may not... I mean to say, from mundane argument, we are selling these twenty lakhs of worth books monthly, so it is being spread all over the world. And those who are purchasing books, they are intelligent men. Then when they will read, how this movement will stop?
Morning Walk -- May 12, 1975, Perth:
Paramahaṁsa: It seems like these demons who say that they are God, eventually they will end up destroying each other.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Now they are fools, rascal, bluffing, but even the scientists, they are also bluffing. Now Russia and America combined together, going? Just see where they are going.
Paramahaṁsa: Here's one article about scientists in the paper. It says, "Wonder food will help control heart disease." They say they have a new way of feeding beef and poultry so that the food now, when they eat the beef, it won't give them heart attack.
Prabhupāda: Huh?
Paramahaṁsa: They say if they feed them a special diet they have found it changes the cholesterol level in the beef, so if they eat it, they won't get heart attack like they used to. And it says, "The director of the National Heart Foundation, Ralph Reeder, said he believed the process was one of the most significant contributions in recent years toward controlling heart disease. 'It should not be taken lightly by skeptics. It is a world's first,' he said."
Amogha: Now they are also thinking that different types of meat cause cancer, not only heart disease but cancer.
Gaṇeśa: What have the scientists got to gain by bluffing?
Prabhupāda: Position. Material world means they want some material gain, some adoration, and some fame. That's all. This is material world. So if by bluffing you I get some material profit and adoration and fame, why shall I not do it? Everyone is doing that.
Morning Walk -- May 17, 1975, Perth:
Paramahaṁsa: Your country is India; our country is Australia.
Prabhupāda: No, no. Anywhere, I come here for three weeks or some three years or some three hundred years. What are these in comparison to the eternal time? So why I am thinking like that, "my country, your country, this country"? Everyone will be kicked out: "Get out." You country will stay here permanently. This is called fourth-class man.
Śrutakīrti: It is like that woman you speak about. She goes into the marketplace: "How will I feed all these men?" (laughs)
Prabhupāda: Only she is anxious: "Oh, so many men. Where shall I keep them? Where shall I give them food?" And in the evening her son brought him (her)—everything is finished. Everything is finished by the evening. Nobody in the market. And she was very much anxious "How to feed them? How to keep them?" It is like that.
Paramahaṁsa: But even if we can't stay here, we all have to die, our sons and their sons, if we do something now, then maybe they won't have to suffer so much in the future.
Prabhupāda: So why you are thinking of your son's future, your grandson's... Why don't you think of your future?
Paramahaṁsa: It makes me happy to think that they'll be happy.
Morning Walk -- May 19, 1975, Melbourne:
Madhudviṣa: They have run one survey...
Prabhupāda: Hm.
Madhudviṣa: ...and they have found out that the people of Australia spend so much money on feeding their pets that two hundred thousand people per year could be fed with the money that is used to feed the pets.
Prabhupāda: Just see.
Devotee: What is the population of Australia?
Madhudviṣa: Two hundred thousand people a year.
Prabhupāda: If they spend money for the poor country, they'll not do that. Sinful man is given this form of tea(?), a tree. So, but nature is so nice that even the sinful living entities can beautify. How properly utilized. But they have no fruits and flowers.
Madhudviṣa: No. Kali-yuga trees. (break)
Prabhupāda: ...are available here? No.
Devotee: Popper? Yes.
Prabhupāda: Indian store here? No.
Devotee: Indian import store?
Madhudviṣa: Yes. Indian import store they have. We have pāpadams.
Prabhupāda: Take the ḍāl, urad ḍāl, and make it powder like flour, and knead it with oil. And give masalā and then make like cāpāṭi. And when it is dry it is pāpad. It is not difficult. Add little soda-bicarb.
Room Conversation with Dr. Copeland, Professor of Modern Indian History -- May 20, 1975, Melbourne:
Prabhupāda: This is brāhmaṇa. We do not serve anyone, any merchant, officer, any... No. We chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. That's all. If Kṛṣṇa wants, He will give us food, or we shall starve. We are not going to serve. This is the proof. We are spending not less than twenty lakhs of rupees for maintaining our establishment throughout the whole world, but we do not know what is our next moment's income. We do not know... We have eaten today. We do not know whether we shall have any eatable next day. This is our position. If it is available, we shall eat; otherwise we shall starve. This is our position. Still, I don't seek any employment, "Give us some service to maintain our..." No, we don't do that. We never do that. When I was alone, I was not doing that. I was living alone. I had no income, no friend, no shelter. Since I left my home, since 1954, I never cared for anyone maintaining me. And there was no resource, fixed income, nothing of the sort. I depended on Kṛṣṇa. Similarly, in the whole society we are feeding daily ten thousand men.
Room Conversation with Dr. Copeland, Professor of Modern Indian History -- May 20, 1975, Melbourne:
Amogha: "Jñānam-wisdom."
Prabhupāda: Yes, full knowledge.
Amogha: "Vijñānam-..."
Prabhupāda: Vijñānam means practical application. If one believes God, Kṛṣṇa, and if he believes that Kṛṣṇa is giving food to everyone, even to the elephant and to the ant, then why shall I bother for my food? He must give me. If He is supplying food in the jungle, so many animals, and the elephant eats at a time forty k.g. foodstuff, and the ant within the hole of your room, he is also there. The lizard is there, the rat is there, the snake(?) is there. So Kṛṣṇa is supplying food to everyone. Eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. That is God. He is supplying the necessities of life to everyone. So what I have done that He will not give me food? And I am engaged my life for His service. If I have no such confidence, then where is Kṛṣṇa consciousness? Why shall I flatter others for my food? So this is brāhmaṇa's... "I must have full confidence in Kṛṣṇa. And God is so able, so competent, that He can feed millions and trillions and unlimited number of living entities, and I have dedicated my life for Kṛṣṇa's service, and I will starve?
Kṛṣṇa will not look after me?" Is that faith?
Dr. Copeland: Not by your measure.
Prabhupāda: What is that?
Amogha: He says not by your measure. In your terms that is not.
Prabhupāda: Yes. No, actually, that is the fact. That is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Find out. Kasmād bhajanti kavayo dhana-durmadāndhān (SB 2.2.5).
Room Conversation with Director of Research of the Dept. of Social Welfare -- May 21, 1975, Melbourne:
Prabhupāda: It requires little time to practice. Otherwise, it is open for everyone for reformation.
Director: But you would have your limitations how far you can go in feeding people.
Prabhupāda: Hmm?
Devotee: He says we would have our limitations in that how many people we could feed.
Prabhupāda: We can feed unlimitedly provided the government helps.
Director: You could form... you could make a place destitute people could come and have a free meal.
Prabhupāda: Oh, yes, oh, yes. Everyone, we open to everyone. You come and take prasādam.
Director: Could the government in a word use you...
Prabhupāda: No, we cannot be used by the government. We can use the government. Government cannot dictate us. That will not help.
Director: Just a moment. Just a moment. It is the fact that we have a lot of destitutes to look after, and you feel your religious order would like to help people. If the government subsidizes you to provide these services...
Prabhupāda: That we can do.
Director: That you can do. As long as they don't contradict your...
Prabhupāda: No. Our principle is this.
Morning Walk -- May 29, 1975, Honolulu:
Gurukṛpa: You told us the story that in New York you walked in one yoga āśrama, and the man who was teaching yoga, and he told you in Hindi, "Don't reveal it. This is my... I am feeding my family by this method."
Prabhupāda: That is tanker? Oil tanker, yes. He is carrying so much oil.
Gurukṛpa: They have this type of gas now that they freeze it, and it shrinks five hundred times. And they put it in these big tanks, and they bring it across the ocean, and then when they get it to port, they again heat it up into the big tanks and it expands. So they freeze it and it becomes smaller and they can export more.
Prabhupāda: Oh, it becomes solid?
Devotee: Just like liquid oxygen, they cool it and yes, it comes to the liquid state.
Prabhupāda: There are so many living entities living within this sand, and on unfortunate moon there is no living entities. And we have to believe it. Hm? What is that?
Gurukṛpa: I was telling them we should come pick these flowers every day, this jasmine. Nobody is picking.
Prabhupāda: Oh. No, no, they will fine.
Morning Walks -- June 18-19, 1975, Honolulu:
Siddha-svarūpa: Maybe dogs and cats combined. (break)
Bali-mardana: The people, they feed their dog and cat so much food that millions of human beings could be fed from the food. Because so much grains are required... They feed them meat, but so much grains are required to produce that food.
Siddha-svarūpa: More money is spent on food for dogs in the United States than for babies.
Prabhupāda: Ācchā?
Siddha-svarūpa: Yes. (break) In the recent food crisis in the United States, 18% of the people started eating dog food because there's so much... They use such high quality beef and based on so many grains and everything. And they use grains themselves. Milk products. (break) They're even learning how to eat dog food. (break)
Prabhupāda: ...dogs in the beach, you cannot walk without seeing dog. More footprints of the dogs than human being. (break)
Siddha-svarūpa: ...actually give dogs more rights also, in a sense. For instance, if you... (break) ...and a human being, every time you walked, if there was a human being yelling at everyone who walked by and was going, "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! You get away! Get away! Get away!" then soon the man would be arrested for being a nuisance or a threat to people. But a dog is allowed to do that. He can stay there and yell and yell at everybody... (break)
Prabhupāda: (in car:) ...and Russian, they are different country. Chinese, Oriental; Russian, Occidental.
Morning Walk -- June 21, 1975, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: All right.
Jayatīrtha: And inform you about the schedules.
Prabhupāda: What time do you want to go there?
Jayatīrtha: Perhaps around... When is convenient? Ten o'clock? Before the massage?
Prabhupāda: Yes. (break) ...fed up with so-called religion. Therefore they're angry. But when they find this is real, genuine, everyone will accept. (break)
Brahmānanda: ...wants to come and see you, he likes your movement very much. He has written one review of one of your books. He also met you I think briefly. He is from Boston, Mr. Leo Prudden, Professor Leo Prudden. Now he lives here in Los Angeles.
Jayatīrtha: There will be many professors coming over to see you while you are here.
Prabhupāda: Yes...
Jayatīrtha: Ph.D.'s, and psychologists,...
Prabhupāda: Ask them to see me. What time we should fix up?
Brahmānanda: I think afternoon? You prefer afternoon? Or early time?
Prabhupāda: Afternoon is a nice...
Brahmānanda: Yes. (break)
Jayatīrtha: ...men from the University of Southern California wants to come and see you, the chairman and many of the members.
Prabhupāda: Oh. Then invite them and give them nice feast, yes. Make arrangement. Time, whatever suitable time you will fix up, I...
Garden Conversation with Dr. Gerson and devotees -- June 22, 1975, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: That's all right. But these general, the students... You are going to study our students, but you see they are not smoking. Why don't you see...? (break)
Dharmādhyakṣa: ...making other people starve by eating so much meat so in the future the other countries might force us to stop eating meat so that we can use the grain to feed people. So actually materially, economically, socially, in every way it is very bad. They are realizing now.
Prabhupāda: And they will say that because they are not eating meat, they are weak in health.
Dharmādhyakṣa: But their children are not chanting and dancing. You see? In their schools... When people come here and they see the young children chanting and dancing and so energetic, they say, "Where are these children getting their energy?"
Prabhupāda: That is real study.
Morning Walk -- June 28, 1975, Denver:
Prabhupāda: Oh, yes.
Kuruśreṣṭha: Nice walkways?
Prabhupāda: Mmm. Better than this.
Kuruśreṣṭha: Mangoes growing?
Prabhupāda: Oh yes. In a time the swan gives birth, dozen children, and there is no overpopulation. And men are killing so many children, and still, they say overpopulation? Why overpopulation? In the animal society, bird society, they do not say it is overpopulated, neither they kill. Rather, those who are bird eaters, they will be glad, overpopulation. "We shall be able to eat them." You see. How many there are?
Brahmānanda: Nine.
Prabhupāda: The mother is not concerned how to feed them. (break) ...safe under the protection... They are learning from the mother how to pick up food. (end)
Morning Walk -- July 3, 1975, Denver:
Prabhupāda: So you remain with bad and good. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. That possibility is here. Sometimes you are going to the higher heavenly planets, a long duration of life, better standard of enjoyment—again coming back. (break) Good and bad is exemplified: just like I catch you and put down the water, and when you are suffocated, I raise you little, and you say, "Oh. (laughter) It is very nice." But you do not know, again you are going to be... You see? "This good, bad" is here like that. He is put into the water and suffocated, and when he is taken out little, he says, "Oh, it is very good. It is very good." The rascal does not know, the next moment he is going to be again drowned in that. That is going on. Daṇḍya-jane rāja-jana... That was the chief punishment formerly. If one has to be punished, instead of putting into the jail and feed him, the officers will take him to a river and put him in the water. In this way, one day doing, he will say "I will never do these things. Please excuse me." Daṇḍya-jane rāja-jane nadite cubaya. (break) ...unless one remembers this, that "To be in the material world, how suffocating it is," he will not fit for going to back to Godhead. He must be completely detestful. If he keeps little attachment, "No, it is very good sometimes," then you have to remain here. (break) "This is not permanent. I shall be put next moment in the bad condition." That he must know. That is knowledge.
Room Conversation with the Mayor of Evanston -- July 4, 1975, Chicago:
Prabhupāda: But I have no money. So if the authorities give me a place, and for feeding them necessary foodstuff, then I am sure it will be successful. These two things I want. I don't want any charges for my mantra, no. My mantra is open, Hare Kṛṣṇa, and there is no charge for it. And I have no necessity. I require a little clothing and two capatis. That's all. Anyone can bring. I thought Chicago is one of the important cities of your country. And when I first came, I saw this is vacant. So I thought if this house can be utilized in the beginning and we invite anyone, especially young men, come here, live with us at least for one week and associate with this chanting, dancing, and we give nice prasādam. There is no difficulty. We can attempt. And if the authorities give us this facility at least for one year then we shall talk of permanent. They can see the result.
Room Conversation with the Mayor of Evanston -- July 4, 1975, Chicago:
Prabhupāda: Yes, give him.
Mayor: All right, thank you.
Prabhupāda: So, Jagadīśa, you give whatever... You take his... Give him some fork.
Mayor: I had some cake over at the temple on Emerson Street, so I'm being well-fed this morning. (break)
Viṣṇujana: ...park areas where a lot of young people go for their summertime. And we'll be putting on our program right there in the park. We'll be chanting with our simple instruments. We'll want to serve some simple vegetarian, like a drink and some fruit, and discuss this philosophy amongst young people. We find that very successful all over the colleges in the country. And we think that around the Great Lakes here it will be very successful.
Prabhupāda: Now, we want this house just to keep them for sometimes with our association. That is temporary, for one hour or two hours, but I wish they should come and live with us for some time. Then it will be effective, more effective. That is... Therefore I wanted a house like this.
Room Conversations -- July 26, 1975, Laguna Beach:
Prabhupāda: No, kamam vavarsa parjanyaḥ (SB 1.10.4).
Satsvarūpa: Oh, yes. Purport. "The basic principle of economic development is centered about land and cows. The necessity of human society are food grains, fruits, milk, minerals, clothing, wood, etc. One requires all these items to fulfill the material needs of the body. Certainly one does not require flesh and fish or iron tools and machinery. During the regime of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, all over the world there were regulated rainfalls. Rainfalls are not in the control of the human being. The heavenly King Indradeva is the controller of rains, and he is the servant of the Lord. When the Lord is obeyed by the king and the people under the king's administration, there are regulated rains from the horizon, and these rains are the cause of all varieties of production on the land. Regulated rains not only help ample production of grains and fruits, but when they combine with astronomical influences there is ample production of valuable stones and pearls. Grains and vegetables can sumptuously feed a man and animals, and a fatty cow delivers enough milk to supply a man sumptuously with vigor and vitality. If there is enough milk, enough grains, enough fruit, enough cotton, enough silk and enough jewels, then why do the people need cinemas, houses of prostitution, slaughterhouses, etc.? What is the need of an artificial luxurious life of cinema, cars, radio, flesh and hotels? Has this civilization produced anything but quarreling individually and nationally? Has this civilization enhanced the cause of equality and fraternity by sending thousands of men into a hellish factory and the warfields at the whims of a particular man? It is said here that the cows used to moisten the pasturing land with milk because their milk bags were fatty and the animals were joyful. Do they not require, therefore, proper protection for a joyful life by being fed with a sufficient quantity of grass in the field? Why should men kill cows for their selfish purposes? Why should men not be satisfied with grains, fruits and milk, which, combined together, can produce hundreds and thousands of palatable dishes. Why are there slaughterhouses all over the world to kill innocent animals? Mahārāja Parīkṣit, grandson of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, while touring his vast kingdom, saw a black man attempting to kill a cow. The King at once arrested the butcher and chastised him sufficiently. Should not a king or an executive head protect the lives of the poor animals who are unable to defend themselves? Is this humanity? Are not the animals of a country citizens also? Then why are they allowed to be butchered in organized slaughterhouses? Are these the signs of equality and fraternity and nonviolence? Therefore, in contrast with the modern, advanced, civilized form of government, an autocracy like Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira's is by far superior to so-called democracy in which animals are killed and a man less than an animal is allowed to cast votes for another less than animal man. We are all creatures of material nature. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that the Lord Himself is the seed-giving father and material nature is the mother of all living beings in all shapes. Thus mother material nature has enough foodstuff both for animals and men, by the grace of the father almighty, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The human being is the elder brother of all living beings. He is endowed with intelligence more powerful than the animals for realizing the course of nature and the indications of the almighty father. Human civilizations should depend on the production of material nature without artificially attempting economic development to turn the world into a chaos of artificial greed and power only for the purpose of artificial luxuries and sense gratification. This is but the life of dogs and hogs."
Prabhupāda: Now men are killing their own children. Is it not? Even cats and dogs do not do this. Although they give birth at a time half a dozen children, still they are not anxious to kill them. (pause) So I am coming in one minute. Please sit down. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (break) Why you are there?
Mr. Surface: I must leave. Thank you.
Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. Give him some prasāda.
Room Conversation -- July 31, 1975, New Orleans:
Prabhupāda: That is Hare Kṛṣṇa. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa always. That's all. All of us, we are keeping these beads. Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Devotee (4): Prabhupāda, what can you say to someone who says, "Lord Jesus fed thousands of people fish"? What can you tell them?
Prabhupāda: If there is nothing available, what can be done? But when you have got such orange, such nice fruits, and rice and dahl and milk, why should you eat fish? After all, you have to eat something. If such nice foods are not available, you can eat fish. But when very nice foods are available, why should you? In other place Christ said that "These vegetables should be your meat," like that?
Satsvarūpa: In Genesis, the very beginning of the Old Testament. "The plants shall be your meat."
Prabhupāda: One must eat something. The nature's law is that sahastānā... Sahastānām ahastāni. And catuṣ-padam. That is the arrangement by nature's way, that animals, they have no hands. So the primitive life, so they become food for the primitive natives or uncivilized man. They kill some animals and eat. And why civilized man do so? He can produce his food. God has given him land. He has intelligence. Just like our temple commander was telling us. He has got immense opportunity... Just explain to them about you are producing with the farm.
Room Conversation -- July 31, 1975, New Orleans:
Prabhupāda: This is our product, to produce for the animal, (indistinct). So the animal eats it and he gives you milk. He's not eating (indistinct). He gives you the nicest food, full of vitamins. And you can prepare from milk hundreds and thousands of so many palatable things. That is civilization. And this is not civilization: "Because cow is so potential, so let me eat the cow." "Guru is so sattvic, spiritual; let me eat guru. Then I will be..." (laughter) This is philosophy. Cow is so full of vitamin, valuable. But civilization is that "Why should you eat the animal? Take the milk." What is this milk? Milk is nothing but the blood. So civilization means let the cow live, and you take the milk, which is nothing but blood. When the mother feeds the child with milk, wherefrom the milk comes? Milk comes from the blood of the mother. Therefore the mother is supplied nutritious food so that she can produce milk for the child. Similarly, cow is mother. What is this philosophy, "Kill the mothers and eat?" "Kill the child and eat?" What is this nonsense? Such crude things are going on in the name of civilization. You are manufacturing billion motor cars, and you cannot manufacture your food? God has given you so much land. This is not civilization. Civilization is how to go back to home, back to Godhead. That is civilization. One should be intelligent enough. Education must be directed in that way. But they do not know. Actually, they do not know it, that "My aim of life is how to go home, back to home, back to Godhead. That they do not know it.
Room Conversation -- July 31, 1975, New Orleans:
Brahmānanda: So these are the reactions.
Prabhupāda: Yes. The disease is already there, but we have made such a disease that it will be incurable.
Nityānanda: They're giving the water out of it to make it dry.
Prabhupāda: What you do with this when it is dry?
Nityānanda: Put it in a silo, to preserve it and feed it to the cows later. In this silo the grass will keep good for many years without spoiling by heat. Then after it dries a little more this machine, it stuffs it and puts it in a wagon. It picks it up from the field.
Prabhupāda: Then what you do with that?
Nityānanda: Then you take the wagon to the silo, and put it in the silo, so that it fills. Now you put the wagon with the cut grass up at the bottom of the silo, and it comes out, and loads it up to the silo.
Prabhupāda: So you have got up-to-date machines... For feeding these animals. Eh? They are made for feeding the animals? Eh? Enough food for them and take milk. Why they should be killed? There is no problem. So teach those yogis about the real idea, like that.
Walk Around Farm -- August 1, 1975, New Orleans:
Prabhupāda: In the meantime it will be finished. By the time you finish your shed, it is finished. Śāstre śāstre dal phariyaga.(?) "Some women were dressing to go to a fair, and when they were dressed, the fair was finished." (laughter) Utilize them. Otherwise, while they are in working order, sell them. Don't keep in that way, neglected way. Either utilize it or sell it at any cost. Otherwise they are useless.
Devotee (4): Srila Prabhupāda? A materialist or someone who wouldn't know, he may say that when the bull is not plowing, all he is doing is eating. You have to pay money to feed him grain or to grow grain to feed the bull.
Prabhupāda: They will grow, and they will eat. Rather, they will help you for your eating. The father also eats, but he maintains the family. Therefore the bull is considered as father and the cow as mother. Mother gives milk, and the bull grows food grains for man. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu first challenged that Kazi that "What is your religion, that you eat your father and mother?" Both the bulls and the cows are important because the bull will produce food grain and the cow will give supply milk. They should be utilized properly. That is human intelligence. This is filling up with paddy or...? No?
Nityānanda: With food for the cows. This one has forage or fodder, and that one has grain.
Prabhupāda: So everything is for the animals. Nothing for the man?
Nityānanda: The cows give us milk.
Room Conversation with Devotees -- August 1, 1975, New Orleans:
Upendra: At the moment of pregnancy? From the moment of pregnancy one and a half years?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Pregnancy is understood at three months. From that month till further, sixteen months at least, she should not come to be near husband. That is eka-kadi (?). The child does not live. And they are not inclined to come unless a man induces. So the man, if he has got more than one wife, so man will not disturb her. And she will take rest for the next eighteen months. So after ten months she will give birth to the child, and for six months continually she will take care of the child. Feeding the child with breast milk, the child will be healthy. If the child can take mother's milk for six months at least continually, he'll become healthy for life.
Upendra: Where do they send that mother?
Prabhupāda: Where they'll take care.
Upendra: If the man sends the woman away, where does she...?
Prabhupāda: Our aim is not to give help, but not... Generally she goes to the father's house. So you can have separate building for that.
Morning Walk -- August 27, 1975, Vrndavana:
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.
Morning Walk -- September 15, 1975, Vrndavana:
Prabhupāda: Insanity... everyone is overpowered by insanity, anyone in this material world and who is trying to be happy. Everyone is in insanity. They are trying to different way. They do not know the only solution is, as Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇa... (BG 18.66). That they do not, neither they'll accept.
Vāsughoṣa: Especially Indian people, you know, they say, "Well, if I surrender to Kṛṣṇa, who will feed me?"
Prabhupāda: No, no, Indian, American, everyone. Why you are, American, you are so proud of your...?
Vāsughoṣa: No. (laughter) No, but because in India people know that they should surrender to Kṛṣṇa, no?
Prabhupāda: But you also know.
Vāsughoṣa: But the general mass, I mean, of Americans, they don't understand.
Prabhupāda: These are faulty, fault-finding. It is no good. Everyone. Kṛṣṇa did not say for Indian or American. For everyone. But at the present moment Indians are misled that they have been, I mean to say, induced to think that if they become like American or Western people they will be happy. That is misleading.
Room Conversation -- October 5, 1975, Mauritius:
Prabhupāda: Just we are doing so many places. So you produce your own food grains, not for making money but just for feeding yourself and the animals, cows. Keep cows, as many cows as possible, and produce, till the ground, field, and make water supply arrangement. If the investment is required, we shall do that. You have no worry about investment. We shall bring money from anywhere. But the work must be done very nicely. There must be good arrangement for water supply and for plowing and keeping the cows in order. Then you get sufficient milk, sufficient food grains and produce your own cloth. The girls and ladies, they can spine (spin) thread, and from the thread you make cloth, handlooms. So your first necessities of life, eating, and make little cottage, sleeping... And if you want sex, get yourself married, live peacefully. And when you are there you can defend yourself. So the first necessity is how to eat and how to cover. That you have to provide. That is not difficult. You can do it. And then you become peaceful, no anxiety for your maintenance. And then cultivate this spiritual knowledge the same way. Have a temple there. Have... Go on chanting, offering prasādam. You have got your food grains. Don't be dependent on anyone else. Become self-independent. And don't be after money. Simply produce your bare necessities of life. Keep yourself fit, strong. And chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, read book. Then you'll grow strong. Is there any difficulty?
Guest (1): No, Swamijī.
Morning Walk -- October 16, 1975, Johannesburg:
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: The argument is, though, that everyone has to work because they have to feed themselves and they have to...
Prabhupāda: Yes. We are working. We are not sitting idle. Now, for our food, if we just get some food by plowing some land for the animal, cows, and for me, and the cow is giving me milk, the tree are giving me fruit, why shall I work so hard? The business of dogs and hogs, whole day and night simply working for getting food and sense gratification? That is not civilization. Live peacefully, get your nice food, and save time to advance in spiritual life. This is civilization. And simply for little comfort for a few years I have wasted my time in so many humbug comforts. Actually that is... What is this comfort of the skyscraper building? I think it is a mechanical prison.
Morning Walk -- October 16, 1975, Johannesburg:
Prabhupāda: Well, gold plates, that is not a necessary thing. He can eat on plantain leaf, natural production. That is luxury. So when people live simple life, the luxuries will no more be required.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Let's say the government is building some wells or some roads. They could feed the people who are doing that, śūdras who are doing that.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Śūdras, that "You dig this well and take your food." That's all. Work will go on. At the present moment I require one scissor. I can go to the blacksmith and pay him some grain. He will give me. Now they are producing, Krupp Company in Germany, millions of razor, millions of scissors. Now they will have to find market, where to sell. And as soon as goes to sell in India, the British government—"No, no. You cannot sell." Then he becomes angry: "Oh, all right." He declares war.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: So complex.
Prabhupāda: Yes. This is going on. "These Britishers do not allow me to go there? All right, kill them." That was the Hitler policy and Kaiser's policy, to kill British empire. They did it. They were successful. But they were also killed. This is going on, unnecessary. Why you produce so much razor and scissor? And then find out market, and when there is competition, there is anger, there is enviousness, there is fight, one after another, one after another. Where is peace? Why do you produce so many unnecessarily? Why do you produce so many cars, when there is scarcity of power, and fight with Arabians? Anartha. Therefore it is called anartha, unnecessary. Anarthopasamaṁ sākṣād bhakti-yogam adhokṣaje (SB 1.7.6). As soon as people will be devotee, they will not require unnecessary things. They will be satisfied, simply bare necessities of life. That is peaceful condition. You create unnecessary needs of life, and then there is competition, there is hellish life, the factory, and then the factory man requires wine to forget his hard labor, so on, so on. Then he become thieves. He become rogues. This is your society. How you can expect peace?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: The only solution is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Morning Walk -- October 28, 1975, Nairobi:
Indian lady (3): Can we purchase the house for our own staying?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Because this is necessary. You must have some shelter; you must eat; you must cover. That is necessary. So you do it. Grow food first of all to feed yourself sumptuously. You must get strength, and that is needed. But not for trade. The policy should be that you should be self-sufficient and save time for advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is wanted. Yavad-ārtha prayojanam. Yuktāhāra-vihārasya yogo bhavati siddhi-daḥ. You shall eat whatever you require for proper upkeep of the body, not eating too much and sleeping whole day. Don't do that. Eat only what is absolutely necessary. Then you'll never be in want. People are engaged in material civilization means they are increasing the bodily demands, unnecessary. Just like this park. Why we have come to this park? We like this atmosphere. So similarly, in villages, everyone, if he has got some land, he can live simply without any gorgeous building. What is the use? Just have a cottage and have garden. You'll live very peacefully. But they're constructing big, big skyscraper building in the downtown, and they will have to come here by car for some peace of mind, and in the meantime, accident, police. This is the civilization, nonsense civilization. At weekend they will go to the village, country, and during the week-time they will work hard. This is their civilization, with the risk of life, running motor car eighty miles' speed. Every moment there is risk. What is this civilization? Most ludicrous civilization. So farming means if you live in a farm... Just like in New Vrindaban they are doing. Produce your own food, live peacefully, fresh vegetable, fresh grains, fresh milk, and prepare so many nice milk preparation, kachori, halavā with ghee. Offer to the Deity. Eat sufficiently. What is the use of going outside? Simple life and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. If you can organize that, that will be very nice.
Room Conversation -- October 29, 1975, Nairobi:
Prabhupāda: Nobody of you could answer the question. Now I give you again chance to answer this question very properly. Why one should be obliged to please Kṛṣṇa? Why?
Harikeśa: Just like this finger. Its position is to serve the body. Just like the stomach. Everyone may be jealous of the stomach and not want to feed the stomach, but if all the hands and the legs and the mouth went on strike not to feed the stomach...
Prabhupāda: This is the right answer.
Harikeśa: ...they would ultimately be destroyed.
Prabhupāda: This is right answer, that you cannot non-cooperate with the stomach. You must serve the stomach. Otherwise your position is very precarious. That is the answer. If the finger thinks that "I shall remain independent and be happy," that is not possible. The stomach must be supplied food, and then all the parts of the body, they'll be happy. That is the point. So you cannot non-cooperate with the stomach. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is the central enjoyer. Bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram (BG 5.29). He is the center. Just like ordinarily this African state, if you do not satisfy the state or the president, then you cannot remain happy. Independently you cannot be happy. We require in every step sta... We have come to this park because state is cooperating. In the morning we shall come, and they have prepared it nicely. We are not going to the jungle. So if we actually want happiness we must cooperate with the state. This is crude example. Similarly, if our ultimate aim is to become happy, then we must cooperate with Kṛṣṇa. This is obligatory. You cannot escape it. Then you'll be unhappy.
Morning Walk -- November 29, 1975, Delhi:
Prabhupāda: Then the lion is better than them. The elephant is better than them. Why do you call them, "They are animals"? They are better situated. One lion can kill hundreds of Russians. Then lion is better than the Russian? You have to accept that.
Harikeśa: I mean, but they're not poor because they're so, you know, they're well fed.
Prabhupāda: There everyone is poor, begging. You are talking theoretically. I went to Moscow. The taxi driver was wanting something excess. They are so poor, begging, "Give me something more." They are so poor. Most of the people, they are walking on the street. There is no taxi. Nobody can pay for taxi. This is their situation.
Harikeśa: Yes, but why should somebody be rich and I be poor? What gives him the right to have money?
Prabhupāda: That is everywhere. That is called, that... He is born in a rich family; I am born in a poor family. So why this is happening?
Harikeśa: Yes, that's unfair. I mean, I should take his money.
Prabhupāda: No, no, not unfair. This is nature's arrangement, uccavacca. Why one has become animal? Why one has become man? The same living entity.
Morning Walk -- November 30, 1975, Delhi:
Prabhupāda: Just see.
Tejās: A house for each wife, I think.
Prabhupāda: Another madman.
Tejās: All his children are avowed atheists.
Prabhupāda: Means children are born by others. He feeds them. That's all. This is going on. (break) It is easily calculated that government will collapse very soon. They have made changes because they cannot manage.
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Also they try to change their image. They'll always...
Prabhupāda: Eh?
Tejās: Every six months they've been changing the ministers.
Prabhupāda: That means mismanagement.
Morning Walk -- December 18, 1975, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: If you make tamasic dāna, then you become implicated with his sinful activities. Suppose you want to kill somebody, and you're asking, "Can you give me a nice knife?" "What you will do?" "I shall kill that man." "All right, take it, dānam. I am giving you in charity." So he will be implicated. In the court, if it is known that that man supplied the knife, "Arrest him. Bring him immediately."
Dr. Patel: So what do you think about this America has supplied a lot of grain free of charge to this country, and that grain is fed to the whole of this poor population, and they are not God believers?
Prabhupāda: No, no. The Americans, they give to the government, and they are free. They have given to the government.
Dr. Patel: Sattvika dāna.
Prabhupāda: Yes. The government, Indian government, is in necessity. In necessity, "All right, give it to the government." Their duty is finished. But if the government is rascal, that is their responsibility.
| Page Title: | Feed (Conversations 1969 - 1975) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, Mayapur |
| Created: | 14 of Mar, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=106, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 106 |