Gather (Conversations)

Expressions researched:
"gather" |"gathered" |"gathering" |"gatherings" |"gathers"

1967 Conversations and Morning Walks

Discourse on Lord Caitanya Play Between Srila Prabhupada and Hayagriva -- April 5-6, 1967, San Francisco:

Hayagrīva: His age at this time?

Prabhupāda: Twenty-four years. It is just after His sannyāsa. He took sannyāsa at the age of twenty-four. So He's visiting. After sannyāsa He's going to Jagannātha Purī. On the way He visited this Kṣīra-corā-gopīnātha, Sākṣi-gopāla, and ultimately He came to Jagannātha temple. And in the Jagannātha temple was very crowded temple because it is always at least 500, 1,000 devotees are always seeing. It is significance of Jagannātha temple. So He entered and as soon as He saw Jagannātha He became overwhelmed with ecstasy and fell down unconscious. So all the people gathered, "He's a young sannyāsī. He has fallen down." So there was Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, the learned scholar of Purī. He saw, "Oh, this young sannyāsī, He's not ordinary." So he asked his men to carry Him to his place and that will be the scene. Then after His departure His followers will come, and they will search in the temple that Caitanya Mahāprabhu is not there. Then one Gopīnātha Ācārya, I think the character is there? Gopīnātha Ācārya?

1968 Conversations and Morning Walks

Interview -- February 1, 1968, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Crowd, of course, whenever there is crowd, it is natural—police do not like it. So we don't create crowd. But generally, people, out of inquisitiveness they gather together and see how they are chanting. They are sympathetic. They contribute. They purchase our books and literature. The people, public is sympathetic. The police are also sympathetic. They don't object when we go at night, but during busy hours, they object. So one of our students was arrested by the police. So he was taken to the court, and I gave them $315 for what is called? Bail. But he was not convicted. He was immediately liberated, and now our money was returned. So it is not a problem.

Questions and Answers -- Montreal, August 26, 1968:

Prabhupāda: This information was given to Lord Caitanya, and He ordered civil disobedience. He was the first man in the history of India who started this civil disobedience movement. It is not Gandhi who is the originator of civil disobedience; it was Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He said that "Defy the order of the Kazi." Kazi means magistrate. So "This evening we shall go at the Kazi's house in hundreds of thousands, with mṛdaṅga and kīrtana." So simply by His order many hundreds of thousands young men—not young men; young, old, all kind of men-gathered, and... The point is just how popular leader He was. Even in His young age, when He was only twenty years old, how popular He was. So..., and because He was a learned brāhmaṇa, people would send Him many presentation. A brāhmaṇa is not expected to work. That is dhana pratigraha. Pratigraha means accept offerings from others. Just like you offered so many things to me-money, clothing, food—so a sannyāsī, a brāhmaṇa, can accept.

Questions and Answers -- Montreal, August 26, 1968:

Prabhupāda: Yes. He was playing Vaiṣṇava drama in His household life, rather in student life, and He was taking the part of Rukmiṇī, because He was very beautiful young boy. Formerly, in our childhood also, we saw in drama there was no females taking part. If there was a female part, the man would be dressed just like a female. Formerly females are not allowed. If one has to find out a female for taking part in drama, then he has to find out from other quarters, not in respectable part. Now, very, very respectable, educated girls are taking in drama and cinema in India. Formerly this was not possible. And perhaps in the theatrical performances, stage, that was introduced by Lord Caitanya, drama. But His dramatical performances were limited within the devotees. He will not allow to take part in the performance who is not a devotee. So if our devotees... That movie was very nice. That's a good example. If we play, train our devotees to present some dramatical performances or movie, I think it will be very successful, because they will play from transcendental sentiment, not for trade purpose. So that will come out very successful. Yes. In our childhood we had the occasion of taking part in a drama, Caitanya-līlā. I took the part of Advaita, and our friends, others, somebody took the part of Caitanya, Nityānanda. So that drama was so successful, it was unique in Calcutta. Because we were not, we were not professionals. I saw from the stage a huge gathering, they're all crying. I was surprised, "Why these people are crying?" You see?

1969 Conversations and Morning Walks

Radio Interview -- February 12, 1969, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Yes. I travel... Just like now I am this side, and from here I'll go to New York. Then I shall go to Boston. Then I shall go to Buffalo. Then I shall go to Montreal. In this way I travel.

Interviewer: And in the main, are the people who have gathered around you, younger people?

Prabhupāda: Yes. My disciples are all between twenty to thirty years. Generally they are between twenty to twenty-five, utmost, thirty years old.

Interviewer: Is that deliberate on your part...

Prabhupāda: No.

Radio Interview -- February 12, 1969, Los Angeles:

Interviewer: Well, now, I'd like to go over in some greater detail what the disciples may and may not do. I think that's where... I just wanted to get some of the factual background before we went into that. Now, your, the sexual abstinence does not include marriage, I gather.

Prabhupāda: No. Marriage allowed.

Interviewer: Marriage is allowed.

Prabhupāda: I say, "illicit sex." Without marriage, sex relation is forbidden.

Interviewer: I see. Would you say that there were times when, well, that there were marriages which were also illicit?

Radio Interview -- February 12, 1969, Los Angeles:

Interviewer: And there is a great deal of the repetitive chanting involved then in the meditation? How much is preaching? Supposing you were going, you are gathered together to accomplish this approach to consciousness. What happens? Do you speak with your disciples?

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes.

Interviewer: And do they raise questions or is it a formalized ritual?

Prabhupāda: Yes. First of all we pray to God to help us in the, our, I mean to say, preaching or chanting process. Then we begin chanting this Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare, Hare Rāma Hare Rāma, conjoinedly, congregationally. And it immediately transfers the atmosphere to a spiritual feeling, and if you sometimes attend our class, you can see practically how the boys and girls, they become ecstatic and chant and dance. So after chanting and dancing for a few minutes, say, fifteen to twenty minutes, then we speak something from Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam about theology and philosophy, ethics, morality. Then again we chant and pray to God and then close our class.

1970 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- December 13, 1970, Indore:

Prabhupāda: Yes, that's it. So you are a military man. I request you to fight against this nonsense.

Guest (1): Swami, I wish you could come sometime. I will gather section of some people.

Prabhupāda: Yes, I'll go. I'll go. Where? Just fix up some time.

Guest (1): Because I am very near to temple, only 100 yards.

Prabhupāda: That's all right. That Takat? (?) Takat?

Guest (1): No, not Takat.

Prabhupāda: Oh, I see, oh. We are thinking of having a branch near that Takat, in that Takat colony. What is your idea? Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness center. Is that a good locality?

1971 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- January 17, 1971, Allahabad:

Prabhupāda: Immediately there is "dung, dung, dung, dung," all temples. Immediately. And people are running. Oh, they will gather all to the Deity, temple. Hundreds of people will go automatically. The same man who was living at home, a very degraded condition, as soon as he goes to Vṛndāvana he becomes habituated to all these things automatically. Automatically. Yes. The society, association, is very important.

Yamunā: Those beautiful birds, the peacock birds also at this time, they are flying in trees and waking up now and make that sound. Oh, Vṛndāvana.

Prabhupāda: So the society is very important thing. Any, anything, society... The businessmen, they have got their association, society, to improve. Therefore the standard of this International Society should be kept very carefully. Then who will come in touch with this society will be improved automatically by association. All right. Even in the bird society there are swans and there are crows, by nature, and the crows will never go to the swans, and the swans will never come to the crows. "Birds of the same feather flock together." Yes. Therefore society required. Unless you come to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness society, how you can develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness? The same principle. Satāṁ prasaṅgān... Satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-saṁvido bhavanti hṛt-karṇa-rasāyanāḥ kathaḥ (SB 3.25.25). Vīrya-saṁvidaḥ. It becomes very palatable, satāṁ prasaṅgāt, in the association of devotees, not otherwise. (end)

Discussion with Indians -- January 18, 1971, Allahabad:

Prabhupāda: Now, one thing is that I am preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If you talk on Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then you can ask me.

Guest (1): Yesterday you said in our nice gathering, I remember, that we have to rise above body consciousness.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is in the Gītā.

Guest (2): And we have to be soul conscious.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Guest (2): Now, the idea of rising above body consciousness is to sell off the wild things, kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, ahaṅkāra.

Guest (2): Ahaṅkāra

Conversation with Prof. Kotovsky -- June 22, 1971, Moscow:

Prof. Kotovsky: ...because of influx of refugees from Bangladesh.

Prabhupāda: Yes. But we had our saṅkīrtana festival for ten days, and people participated very wonderfully. We... Our gathering was not less than thirty thousand people daily, and they are so much interested in hearing about our... Lecture things, we are lecturing from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-gītā. We are... Our preaching method is on the basis of Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So people are responding from every part of the world, especially the American boys. They are especially interested. And England also, and Germany, and France. From here I shall go to Paris. There we have got center. What is the name of that place? Paris? Recently they have taken.

Śyāmasundara: Eh?

Room Conversation -- August 14, 1971, London:

Prabhupāda: Thompkins Square in New York. I was simply chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, and they used to gather. And gradually, they became my disciples, students. So I began in this way, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare... For three hours, from two to five. That's all. And they are still doing that. They are going on the street. This Hare Kṛṣṇa, the same thing, is going on. They are being arrested sometimes. They are being harassed. But still, they don't give up. They chant. This boy in Germany, I sent in Germany. He sat down on the footpath and chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. This boy. Practically, he started my European movement, he started first.

1972 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation Including Discussion on SB 4.13.48 to SB 4.14.11 -- January 18, 1972, Jaipur:

Prabhupāda: By bugle announcement. In your country, I do not know, maybe. It is here in India still existing that if some public announcement has to be done, one takes a drum or bugle, he stands in one place and bugles or beats the drum, people when gathered they announce something that "This will be done. This is the order of the king or the state." Is there any such system in England?

Śyāmasundara: Formerly there was.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Śyāmasundara: Formerly there was. A town crier.

Prabhupāda: Trumpeting.

Śyāmasundara: They call it town crier.

Prabhupāda: Town crier, yes, yes.

Śyāmasundara: He would go around and announce.

Prabhupāda: Yes, the town crier. So the town crier began to preach that "No more any sacrifice or yajña. Stop all this nonsense. No more Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra." (chuckles) Yes, they... Just like in Russia we are afraid or China, yes. They will immediately arrest. So this declaration was there, public. Na yaṣṭavyaṁ na, no charity, no more charity. Just like government at the present moment, they are allowing charity still, but most of the portion of the income they take away by income tax so that one may not have any power to give in charity. So at the present moment, the government does not declare that charity is illegal, but that time is coming very soon, very soon. As soon as there will be Communist government... Our Indira Gandhi is cooperating with the Russians, and as soon as she is under the control of the Russians, gradually Communism will be introduced. People are afraid of this attempt by Indira Gandhi.

Interview -- July 5, 1972, New York:

Prabhupāda: Now, who is that person, or the authority, who is giving that law, who is controlling that law? That is divine search. But that divine search cannot be completed by the speculation of our imperfect senses. Our senses are imperfect; therefore whatever knowledge we gather by speculating our imperfect senses, that is imperfect. Just like the sun. The sun is very big, bigger, fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this earth, but with our imperfect eyes we see just like a disk. If we remain satisfied with this imperfect knowledge, then we remain in darkness. We have to know the sun from the astronomer. They have calculated. They know. In this way knowledge, perfect knowledge, can be attained—when it is received through the perfect knower, not by speculation. That speculation means I shall speculate with limited mind and imperfect senses. So however carefully or expertly I manage with the instruments, they are themselves imperfect. Therefore Vedic sastra says that to understand the divine you must have divine mercy. You must possess. Athāpi te deva padāmbuja-dvaya-prasāda-leśānugṛhīta eva hi jānāti tattvaṁ (SB 10.14.29).

Interview -- July 20, 1972, Paris:

Prabhupāda: No. It's not to be... Life is divided into four parts: brahmacārī, student, gṛhastha, householder, vānaprastha, retired life and sannyāsa. Everyone should follow this principle. First of all, as brahmacārī student he should learn sufficiently what is the value of life. Then, when he's a householder, he should live properly with husband, wife and children-properly. Then, after retired life, giving the responsibility of household life to grown-up children, he should take lessons from saintly persons. (indistinct) Then at the end he should take sannyāsa. Whatever knowledge he has gathered he must distribute by traveling from one place to another. This is Vedic civilization. Everyone should come out. Not that they should remain at home and drink and sleep for the whole life. This is Vedic civilization.

Room Conversation -- October 25, 1972, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Once I was invited to speak in that institution, MIT. So I questioned, "Where is your department of technology to understand the difference between dead body and living body?" So I spoke on this. So the students appreciated. After my lecture, they gathered around me. How do you explain? What is that technology, why the man is dead? Science is simply based on this bodily concept. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke (SB 10.84.13).

Indian man: But about body also they don't know anything.

Prabhupāda: That also they have no perfect knowledge.

Indian man: About matter they say... (indistinct) has written a book in which... (end)

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- March 1, 1973, Jakarta:

Prabhupāda: No, no. I cannot do that.

Devotee (1): That was before that night they want... I think...

Devotee (2): No, he doesn't understand...

Devotee (1): The night that, the first gathering at the Indian man's home, they all wanted to meet with you then but Amogha didn't know that. They were planning to come in the room and offer their services. But there was some mix-up, and they didn't understand. They thought they had been cut off.

Devotee (2): They told me they wanted you to go in the room for prasādam. But they wanted a meeting and they didn't tell me. I didn't know.

Prabhupāda: I can request them. But if they deny that will be insult for me. Therefore I do not like to request them. That will be not good for them, if I request and then they deny, or they do not do. That is not that will be good for them. It is better not to request. That will be offense, if they deny. Or if they did not carry out my order, then it will be offense. Why should they put themselves in such risk? Generally it is the duty of the householder to offer, "Sir, what can I do for you?" Then I can request. But if, as a beggar, I request them and they deny, then that will be great offense for them. That will not good for them.

Morning Walk At Cheviot Hills Golf Course -- May 15, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Yes. I was invited by some Christian priest in Melbourne, very good gathering. I said also the same thing.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: I think his answer was "When the Bible was written, Christ didn't mean this way." That was his answer.

Prabhupāda: Oh, He used that part. He has found out. The rascal. Beat with shoes, that what "Christian, Christ could not find out, you have found out. You are so great. Thank you very much. You are more intelligent than Christ. Oh. So why Bible. Why not write your Bible? Let us follow."

Paramahaṁsa: Generally there are now something like 451 different translations. Just like the Gītā. They interpret in so many ways.

Prabhupāda: No Gītā, or... Many translations, but the original Gītā is perfect.

Conversation with Sridhara Maharaja -- June 27, 1973, Navadvipa:

Śrīdhara Mahārāja: Enjoying mood. That is the basis of this. And mood of renunciation. That is a vapor state. That is nothing only. And the real life is the life of self-dedication and service. And the service not of any part. Or service not for any part which is like me, but for the whole, for the Divinity. As Kṛṣṇa says in Gītā,

athavā bahunaitena

kiṁ jñātena tavārjuna

viṣṭabhyāham idaṁ kṛtsnam

ekāṁśena sthito jagat

(BG 10.42)

Who lies, whose bed is infinite. Śeṣāśrita, Ananta. Infinite gathered together. And though He seems to, to have a figure, but figure that, that sort of figure which can contain many, many number of infinite of our conception. Kṛṣṇa is a figure talking with Arjuna, a limited figure, but Viśvarūpa emerged from Him. How? A big Viśvarūpa emerged from a limited figure? So such limited figure, that is God. Vṛndāvana. Vṛndāvana has been described as only sixty..., say...

Prabhupāda: Eighty-four miles.

Śrīdhara Mahārāja: Thirty two miles. Thirty-two miles.

Prabhupāda: Somebody says eighty-four.

Room Conversation with Two Buddhist Monks -- July 12, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: But their nature is to eat meat. You have to give him. That is different thing. But they can be tamed. But not very trustworthy. (laughter)

Buddhist Monk (1): If they get a little irritated and hungry, they may go to gather.

Prabhupāda: No, if you give them nice food, they'll never attack you.

Haṁsadūta: In the Bible also, in the very beginning page, there's a verse. After God created everything, the animals and the trees and everything, then He gave allotment of food to the human society. It says very plainly that "The seed-bearing plants and trees of the earth shall be your meat, or shall be your food."

Prabhupāda: Just see.

Haṁsadūta: And it says nothing...

Room Conversation with Lord Brockway -- July 23, 1973, London:

Lord Brockway: Yes, a little. I would make it into a political British association, just as the British Association is gathering of all the scientists. I would have the House of Lords gathering of people who are representative of creative thought in all spheres, from all spheres.

Śyāmasundara: Yes, great thinkers from all different parts of society.

Lord Brockway: Yes. Then I think it could be a real gathering.

Śyāmasundara: Yes. We noticed that day in the House of Lords that great, such great thinkers were discussing topics.

Prabhupāda: Yes, selected persons.

Lord Brockway: What was the subject of discussion that day?

Śyāmasundara: Well, they were discussing something in the airport, and...

Lord Brockway: Oh, MacLynne (?) airport?

Śyāmasundara: ...Pakistan and Bangladesh and two or three other points.

Room Conversation with French Journalist and UNESCO Worker -- August 10, 1973, Paris:

Prabhupāda: What does he know about Earth? His knowledge is not sufficient. He, he's speaking like a woman who saw in the marketplace in the morning thousands of people have gathered, and she began to cry: "Where I shall give place to these men?" So her son came: "My dear mother, don't cry. You come in the evening. We shall find some solution." So when she came in the evening, there was nobody.

Yogeśvara: You can translate that story? (French) (to Prabhupāda:) She went there to buy her foodstuffs?

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes.

Yogeśvara: (French)

Room Conversation with British Man -- August 31, 1973, London:

Guest (1): I have been seeking all my life, and I expect when I was about twenty-two I became a convert from Judaism to the Christian Church. And of recent years, as a result of a very serious illness, a heart attack, I began to get other experiences which took me right away from all this knowledge, but no wisdom. I gathered a lot of knowledge, to the extent that I was, well, I was getting nowhere. I knew all about God, but didn't know what He, who He was. I knew all about Him though. Then I was led to understand a lot of other things which did not come by reading. I couldn't tell you. They just came. Thoughts, from wherever they were, they came. So I am now currently at the stage where I acknowledge that the certainty of this world isn't worth knowing about.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Room Conversation with Indian Ambassador -- September 5, 1973, Stockholm:

Prabhupāda: All over the world, they are expecting something spiritual enlightenment from India. That is a fact. But our government is callous in that respect. Therefore any so-called swami, yogis, come from India, they gather to receive him, to hear something from him. Yes. This is the tendency, that... The real thing is that people expected something... Still they are respectful to India on account of the spiritual enlightenment. That I have studied. Still they go to India to have some spiritual enlightenment. And actually we have got this in India. If anything has to be learned about spiritual, then it is only India. That has been admitted by one Chinese gentleman. He's a learned scholar. His book is recommended in New York University. I forget his name. He has written in his book that "If you want to learn something religion and spiritual, then you must go to India."

Room Conversation with Banker -- September 21, 1973, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: So that very time so I first of all asked the students, "Where is your technological department to find out the thing when a man is dead, and you replace it?" These were my subject matter. I talked. A man is working. (Aside:) come on. A man is working. All of a sudden he stops to work. So a motor car is working. All of a sudden it stops. So there are technologists who can repair the car and it will again start. That is technology. Now the man is working, stopped. So where is that technology to make it move again. That was... I spoke on this. So they very much appreciated. After my lecture they gathered round me. You remember that? No.

Gargamuni: I wasn't there.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- January 16, 1974, Hawaii:

Prabhupāda: ...enjoy in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Don't forget Kṛṣṇa, Then you are well. Nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe yuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyate. Such a nice park. If we hold saṅkīrtana, people gather and enjoy distribution of prasādam, then it becomes very nice. And only to come here to find out sex facilities, then going to ruin. (Aside:) Give me that. (japa) Very good park. (break) ...and for class of people, talking. This is required, philosophical talk, those who will understand. For mass of people kīrtana is sufficient.

Bali Mardana: Kīrtana and prasādam.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Bali Mardana: And then when you start to talk, they become fidgety. (laughter)

Morning Walk -- January 16, 1974, Hawaii:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Bali Mardana: And then when you start to talk, they become fidgety. (laughter)

Sudāmā: Or they want to argue.

Prabhupāda: Just like for children, you give them prasādam, all will gather together. You see? And if you talk before them philosophy, what they will understand? (japa) (break)

Bali Mardana: ...Rajneesh. I think he's just doing exercises.

Prabhupāda: Varieties of madmen. Keśava tuyā jagata vicitra (?): "O My Lord Keśava, Your creation is full of varieties." (sound of man shouting in the background) The same Rajneesh process?

Bali Mardana: Yes.

Morning Walk -- January 22, 1974, Hawaii:

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Satsvarūpa: Fossils, impressions of animals' bodies in the stone that are left there thousands of years. They gather all these... That's what Darwin's work mostly was. He would sail around the world and collect all these fossils, and make conclusions and write books.

Prabhupāda: But where they will get fossils of old intelligent men?

Satsvarūpa: Well, they say that they've found just skulls of very primitive men...

Prabhupāda: No, no, you cannot find because according to Vedic culture, the body's burned into ashes. Where you'll get the bones and fossils?

Room Conversation -- March 20, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Uncivilized. A similar thing is happening in India where the civilization is supposed to be so... And actually it is so, but they have become so degraded that a responsible officer in the government, he is saying that "Bhajana is nuisance." You see. He has no knowledge what, how much valuable, spiritually valuable, bhajana is. In the Bhagavad-gītā... Gandhi accepted Bhagavad-gītā. It is said, catur-vidhā bhajante māṁ sukṛti... Gandhi was chanting in temple: Raghupati rāghava. So what they are following? Gandhi was against drinking and intoxication. Now they're introducing. So this is the position of the government. Therefore I suggest that according to the word, so far traffic, we are diverting the ways this way. And let people come here, join with bhajana, take prasādam, and they sign, "Yes, there must be a temple here." Let this. And make propaganda that people may come here, and... I am present here. I will speak. The same thing, as it is going on, kīrtana and speaking from Bhagavad-gītā. And after they are convinced, let them sign, "Yes, there must be a temple here." In this way, gather public opinion, one point, that bhajana is not nuisance, essential, we want it, and the other thing, we are making gate in and out to get... Submit a plan like that, that this is... There will be no... That may be a small road, lane, but here is a big road. And purchase that land in front and make a gate. Call a good architects, make a nice gate and road. Take this proposition. Our business is there. If we invite people, "Come..."

Morning Walk -- March 23, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Mākhanalāl: Sufi philosophy, there's one professor, so-called professor, Baba Ramdas. He says there's no need for talking, but he has many thousands of followers. They all gather around him.

Prabhupāda: But he's talking.

Mākhanalāl: Yes. But he's talking.

Prabhupāda: He's talking. These are the defects.

Dr. Patel: Huh?

Prabhupāda: Some rascal has said that "There is no need of talking." But this is also talking, "There is no need of talking." Why he's talking?

Morning Walk -- March 25, 1974, Bombay:

Guest (1): Just as the bees gather honey from different trees...

Prabhupāda: Yes, they keep their individuality.

Guest (1): ...and when the whole mass comes from, each small particle of honey does not know that he's from a particular tree, like that, he becomes... After the whole thing he gets, what do you call? The deluge.

Prabhupāda: No, no. Those, the collector, they remain individual, after and before. And while on the beehive. Always individual. That is the point. When they begin collecting honey, they're individual. And after collecting, when they make a beehive, they're individual. Or when they're sitting on the beehive, they're individual. Eternal. This is eternal. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). (break) So what is that? Mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ?

Morning Walk -- April 7, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Water comes from man. If you pass urine, there is water. What is the difference? The water also comes from...

Yaśomatīnandana: It is just that it is beyond their experience.

Prabhupāda: That experience should be gathered from authority.

Yaśomatīnandana: Yes. I also tell them sometimes that "Did you see your grandfather?" They say "Well, no." "But you still accept that he was there." They say, "Yes, because my father tells me, somebody else says." Similarly, I said that "Even though you didn't see your grandfather, you accept that there is a grandfather." (break)

Prabhupāda: ...contradiction of the law of gravitation. According to our śāstra the planets are held on the hood of Ananta. He is carrying. But they say they are staying on account of law of gravitation.

Morning Walk -- May 9, 1974, Bombay:

Indian Devotee (5): Actually I could gather that he just talked because he also said that we should train up some devotees to do bandage and other things like that.

Prabhupāda: (laughs) No, no, this is not.

Bhāgavata: We do all the work, and he gets advertised as a great charitable doctor.

Prabhupāda: That's it.

Bhāgavata: That he has opened the clinic.

Prabhupāda: Daridra-nārāyaṇa-sevā. We are not all these false things. Doctor Ghosh is also after daridra-nārāyaṇa-sevā. (break) We will collect medicine. Our... We shall pay for the expenditure. Our men will be engaged for bandaging. (laughs) Nonsense.

Bhāgavata: And the preaching stops.

Morning Walk -- May 9, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Ah. They cannot understand what is the meaning of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They are such dull headed men. They have no brain to understand. They are coming down again. Just like the dog's tail. Know, dog's tail. You may, however grease it... (laughs) They are hearing about this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The aim is the body, the dog's tail. They are hearing daily about Kṛṣṇa na..., but they cannot understand. It is very difficult. These karmīs... Now they say... Because we are reading this Bhāgavatam, now gradually they dispersed. Gradually they dispersed. They are not interested. Hare Kṛṣṇa. And if you talk politics and all nonsense, oh, they will gather.

Room Conversation with Catholic Cardinal and Secretary to the Pope -- May 24, 1974, Rome:

Cardinal Pignedoli: Because they need badly. They need this spirit of friendship with God and with His supreme values. God... Well, I wouldn't say to the Moslem world because they are good believers. And God is probably, they are more faithful to. And for instance, these areas of the modern world like, also in the States sometimes, because these big cities like New York or Tokyo or Toronto, and some, these are cities, where they are areas where spiritual values have no meaning for these people. It's a pity and we have to be very open and very friendly to them. I gather this. And your method is meditation and prayer, if I understand it well.

Prabhupāda: There are two things. We recommend two things. For the mass of people, this prayer, kīrtana, a prayer. Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma. So this is prayer. Hare means appealing to the energy of God, and Kṛṣṇa is God. "O the energy of God, O God, please engage me in your service." This is the sum and substance of the Hare Kṛṣṇa. Hare: "O the energy of God, 'Kṛṣṇa,' O the Lord, please engage me in Your service." Because we are now engaged in the service of Satan, māyā. I think... Māyā. So therefore we are suffering. Service we have to render. Because we are meant for rendering service. But when you forget God, then you render service to māyā. Therefore it is the prayer to God that "Please pick me from this service and engage me to Your service." That's all. Service is my occupation. I cannot become master. That is not possible. The Māyāvādī philosophers, they sometimes say that "We are now in māyā. As soon as we are out in māyā, then we become master."

Morning Walk -- June 5, 1974, Geneva:

Prabhupāda: Yes. But we are opening school for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore the rascals, they cannot understand what is bhakti and what is karma. Bhakti looks like karma, but it's not karma. It is bhakti. They cannot understand what is bhakti. Bhakti means the same karma, but for Kṛṣṇa's sake. That is bhakti. Just like the same fight, battlefield, but because it was done for Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna is accepted, bhakto 'si priyo 'si me: (BG 4.3) "You are My devotee. You are My very dear." But what did he do? His business was to fight. He fought, that's all. But fought for Kṛṣṇa. That is the secret. He did not change his fighting capacity as a warrior. But he changed his mentality. His mentality was that "Why shall I kill my kinsmen?" But Kṛṣṇa wanted, "Oh, that's all right." So therefore service is for Kṛṣṇa. That's all. Not for his sense gratification. Karmī means sense gratification, and bhakta means Kṛṣṇa's sense gratification. That is the difference. Sense gratification is there. When you do it for your personal sense grati..., it is karma. And you do it for Kṛṣṇa's sense gratification, it is bhakti. So therefore they look similar, but the quality is different. Harer nāma (CC Adi 17.21). Dhare prema nāma. The gopīs, they acted like prostitutes, but the center was Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommends, ramyā kacid upāsanā vrajavadhu-vargena ya kalpita (?): "Oh there is no more better mode of worship than it was conceived by the gopīs." What is their conception? Prostitution, that's all. Simple prostitute. Kṛṣṇa was a beautiful boy and they were attracted by the beauty of Kṛṣṇa. They wanted Him as their husband, lover, to dance with them. That is the gopīs. And these rascals are taking that "This is very good. Kṛṣṇa also did like this. So let us do; gather some girls and dance, and we become Kṛṣṇa."

Room Conversation -- June 11, 1974, Paris:

Prabhupāda: So use this. This is one of the business. Kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyaṁ vaiśya-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.44). We don't stop trade. We don't stop food, producing food grains. But we want to stop these killing houses. It is very, very sinful. Therefore in Europe, so many wars. Every ten years, fifteen years, there is a big war and wholesale slaughter of the whole human kind. And these rascals, they do not see it. The reaction must be there. You are killing innocent cows and animals. Nature will take revenge. Wait for that. As soon as the time is ripe, the nature will gather all these rascals, and club, slaughter them. Finished. They will fight amongst themselves, Protestant and Catholic, Russian and France, and France and Germany. This is going on. Why? This is the nature's law. Tit for tat. You have killed. Now you become killed. Amongst yourselves. They are being sent to the slaughterhouse. And here, you'll create slaughterhouse, "Dum! dum!" and killed, be killed. You know. You showed me?

Room Conversation with Russian Orthodox Church Representative -- June 13, 1974, Paris:

Prabhupāda: So according to Vedic way, Kṛṣṇa is the Absolute Truth. Kṛṣṇa is Absolute Truth, accepted by the ācāryas. Indian civilization is carried on the advice of the ācārya-sampradāya. So all the ācāryas like Śaṅkarācārya, Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, they all accept Kṛṣṇa as the Absolute Truth. So when we hear from Kṛṣṇa then we get absolute knowledge.

Karandhara: The reason why we gather like this to discuss these principles is that just like a group of scholars will gather to refine and crystallize their knowledge.

Guest: (French)

Yogeśvara: He must excuse himself, he has a prior engagement.

Guest: I thank you so much for your... I must go now.

Room Conversation with Russian Orthodox Church Representative -- June 13, 1974, Paris:

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. (some people leave)

Karandhara: I'd just like to finish the one point I was making, that the reason we gather like this and we desire to discuss with other personalities, other people with different views of religion, is for the sake of the edification of everyone, so that the highest principles can be isolated and so we can advance the purpose of religiosity. It's not simply for the sake of argument that we pose questions. But it's for the sake of the edification or the crystallization of the highest principles of religion.

Church Representative: I absolutely agree on this point, certainly. (French)

Yogeśvara: He says he's familiar with this principle. He says he knows of it, but he doesn't consider himself to be an expert.

Room Conversation with Reverend Gordon Powell, Head of Scots Church -- June 28, 1974, Melbourne:

Reverend Powell: Your people have a serenity that many western people don't have. What, what is the secret of serenity? And is it... I gather you reject many material demands, materialism as such.

Prabhupāda: Surrender is not material.

Satsvarūpa: Serenity...

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Satsvarūpa: To what do you attribute this serenity that your devotees have, their calmness.

Prabhupāda: Communist?

Satsvarūpa: The devotees seem to be calm, serene. Where does that come from?

Prabhupāda: From Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Yes.

Room Conversation with Reverend Gordon Powell, Head of Scots Church -- June 28, 1974, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: Always. Then they'll be freed from birth, death, old age and disease.

Reverend Powell: And... Were the papers correct in reporting you as... Well, they reported opposite things that... But you, of course, hold to transmigration, I gather. And this is... Death really doesn't happen. It's a change of form. Is that it?

Prabhupāda: Yes. As soon as the..., everyone dies, so a devotee, after death, in his transcendental form, he goes, back to home, back to Godhead.

Reverend Powell: Thank you. I take it from what you've just been saying, Your Grace, that this explains what is said here in the..., referring to illicit sex as being anything that's not in marriage and not for procreation within marriage.

Prabhupāda: Only, the sex allowed only for begetting nice children.

Room Conversation with Reverend Gordon Powell, Head of Scots Church -- June 28, 1974, Melbourne:

Reverend Powell: Yes? Hm. Another thing. We, of course, have been impressed by the number of young Australians who have become interested in the Hare Krishna Movement and we really congratulate you, sir, on the very fine work (Prabhupāda chuckles) that you've done, and the ones who have rescued the ladies from the fire the other day. But I think everybody recognizes that they're most sincere, that they're not involved because they're not being blessed. They feel they're getting something out of it. But how do you explain... I gather that most countries, in Britain and America and so on that there are many thousands...

Prabhupāda: In Africa. In China, in Japan. Everywhere.

Reverend Powell: And now, how do you explain this? Why are people...? Why are...?

Prabhupāda: Because they are on the spiritual platform, they forget the material designation.

Room Conversation with Reverend Gordon Powell, Head of Scots Church -- June 28, 1974, Melbourne:

Reverend Powell: Calcutta, ah. I was there many years ago, I knew...

Prabhupāda: You have been in Calcutta?

Reverend Powell: Yes, I have. I crossed from Karachi and Delhi, I went down to Agra, and I gather this...

Prabhupāda: Yes, for people coming from England to Australia, they passed through Calcutta or Bombay, like that.

Reverend Powell: That's right. Yes. We came by air. Was there some reference?

Satsvarūpa: Yes.

Room Conversation with Reverend Gordon Powell, Head of Scots Church -- June 28, 1974, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. When, when one is qualified with all these attributes and he acts accordingly, then he is first-class man.

Reverend Powell: Yes. I gather when you had this interview with the professor in Moscow that there was a little bit of adjustment needed. What is your view of communism, Your Grace?

Prabhupāda: Communism, the idea is nice. But they are imperfect. Imperfect. Their philosophy is that everything belongs to the state.

Reverend Powell: Yes.

Room Conversation with Bhurijana dasa and Disciples -- July 1, 1974, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: That's it. As soon as the discipline broken, then everything is lost. Now you can dance like a dog. That will not affect. Nobody can do that unless there is spiritual strength. Now, last night Madhudviṣa Mahārāja was singing, and so many men became enthused to dance. So unless there is spiritual strength, it cannot be done. Others cannot ask and dance. No, that is not possible. That is not possible. Unless there is spiritual strength, you cannot enthuse others. So we should have to acquire spiritual strength by following the regulative principle. Sanātana Gosvāmī has therefore forbidden. Avaiṣṇava-mukhodgīrṇam pūta-hari-kathāmṛtam śravanām kartavyam: "Those who are not following Vaiṣṇava principles, one should not hear from him." Why? It is Kṛṣṇa-kathā, Kṛṣṇa's. Now sarpocchiṣṭa-payo yathā: "Milk is very good, but as soon as it is touched by a serpent, it is no more good. It is harmful." So one must be Vaiṣṇava. Unless one is Vaiṣṇava, there is injunction, "Don't hear from him. It will be poisonous." So one who is not following Vaiṣṇava principle, he cannot speak about Vaiṣṇava principle. It is harmful. That is forbidden by ācāryas, Sanātana Gosvāmī. If somebody says, "What is the harm? He is chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa..." He cannot chant. That is a show-bottle chant. That is not effective. But even taking that "Anyone who is chanting, let me hear," no, Sanātana Gosvāmī says, "No, don't hear." It will be harmful more than... In other words, if you are not following the Vaiṣṇava principle, you don't chant. It will not be effective. Did you not see the difference last night? There were many others. They could not join in the dancing. So far gathering men, if you do not gather intelligent men, then what is the use of gathering men? Ekaś candras tamo hanti na ca tārā sahasraśaḥ: "If there is one moon, that is sufficient. What is the use of millions of stars?"

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Sanskrit Professor, other Guests and Disciples -- February 12, 1975, Mexico:

Prabhupāda: Means calculation. It is going on, regulated way. Just like everyone knows that this month is February. In the month of June the summer will begin. Everyone knows. It is not conclusion; it is experience. There is no need of calculating. So one who has got better experience, he can say like that. Calculation and experience. Just like if somebody says, "Two plus two plus two plus two," somebody says immediately, "Six." And another calculates, "Two plus two plus..., six." So experience and calculation. Lacks experience, he calculates. One who has better experience, he doesn't calculate. One who knows past, present, and future, he doesn't require to make calculation. He knows everything. So God knows past, present, and future, and others who are favored by God, he also knows by the grace of God. Because he hears from God. God knows past, present, and future. Then he simply reproduces God's words, that's all. He doesn't require to calculate. Just like in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmaṇo viduḥ (BG 8.17). The Kṛṣṇa says. Now, we can say what is the age of Brahmā by Kṛṣṇa's words. I don't require to be a very expert astrologer or astronomer. I hear from Kṛṣṇa, and I reproduce. Just like child. Father said, "This is this;" I say, "This is this." That's all. The child is not perfect, but when he says, "Father said this is this," that is perfect. Therefore our process of gathering knowledge from the father—we don't calculate or don't concoct or put theories, no. We don't do that. This is called śruti, śruti-pramāṇa, evidence from śruti.

Room Conversation with Woman Sanskrit Professor -- February 13, 1975, Mexico:

Prabhupāda: Eh? It is actual fact. That is pragmatic. It is actual fact. There is... So many things there are, but you do not know because your senses are imperfect. Your eyes are imperfect, your touch, imperfect, the gathering senses... The senses which gathers knowledge... Just like eyes... We can see and gather knowledge. We can hear; we gather knowledge. We can taste; we gather knowledge. So, because your senses are imperfect, therefore your knowledge gathered, that is imperfect.

Professor: But in the case of a mystical man that has been able to see...

Room Conversation with Woman Sanskrit Professor -- February 13, 1975, Mexico:

Prabhupāda: There is no question of mystic. First of all we have to admit that on account of our senses being imperfect, whatever knowledge we gather, that is imperfect. That is imperfect. Therefore, if you want to possess real knowledge you have to approach somebody who is perfect. You cannot... Huh?

Guest (1): How can we know that somebody is perfect?

Prabhupāda: That is another thing. But first of all, the basic principle is we have to understand that our senses are imperfect, and whatever knowledge we gather by these imperfect senses, they are imperfect. So if we want perfect knowledge, then we have to approach somebody whose senses are perfect, whose knowledge is perfect. That is the principle. That is the Vedic principle. Therefore the Vedic principle says, tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). You know Sanskrit, yes. "In order to know that perfect knowledge, one should approach guru." So who is guru? Then the next question will be... Your question is that, "How I can?"

Morning Walk -- March 2, 1975, Atlanta:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Unless the matter is touched by life, it cannot...

Prabhupāda: Manifest. Just like this coat. It has not automatically come on my body. I have gathered it. Similarly, life is there, and it is gathering the matter to dress himself in a particular way. This is the varieties of life.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: We give that example that the difference between life and matter... We say that the difference is that the material living bodies... We live in a material body, but the material bodies, when a living entity stays inside a body, is fully automated, fully equipped.

Prabhupāda: Life is enjoying or trying to enjoy the matter. Matter is prakṛti, and the living entity is puruṣa. The chief puruṣa is Kṛṣṇa, and we are trying to imitate Kṛṣṇa to enjoy. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Living entity is superior prakṛti. Apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakṛtiṁ paraḥ. It is a prakṛti, but they are trying to become puruṣa. This is struggle for existence. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (break) ...trying to live within the water. They are not trying?

Morning Walk -- March 11, 1975, London:

Prabhupāda: You have seen?

Śrutakīrti: No.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: I've seen pictures.

Prabhupāda: Very poor men, still, they gather, sixty lakhs, without any advertisement.

Brahmānanda: Here you have to advertise to get six hundred.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Or six.

Prabhupāda: And it was so nice to live there, spiritual atmosphere, on the bank of the Ganges and Yamunā. Immediately you go, you become spiritualized. Vṛndāvana is also like that. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, bhārata-bhūmite janma haila, manuṣya-janma haila. To get the human form of life born in India, that is a special prerogative. Bhārata-bhumite manuṣya-janma haila yāra (CC Adi 9.41). He is fifty percent-prepared by birth.

Interview with a German Girl and Assorted Devotees -- March 30, 1975, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: It is very simple thing, that "I am changing my body, and similarly, I'll change this body." This should be understood by my present circumstances of life, and it is confirmed by the greatest authority, Kṛṣṇa. Knowledge by authority and knowledge by experience, both things are there. And still, the rascals do not understand. Knowledge is gathered by experience, and knowledge is gathered from the authority. Just like I ask my father, "What is this?" Father says, "This is bell." So this is knowledge. I get it from my father. And by experience, when I push it, it is ringing. So understand, "This is bell." So two sources of knowledge: by practical experience and by authority.

Girl: I must believe what my father says.

Interview with a German Girl and Assorted Devotees -- March 30, 1975, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: First of all, we have to understand that we... There are many sources of knowledge, but the summary is that knowledge gathered by experience and knowledge gathered by, through authority. So both knowledge is helping me about the change of body. So how can you deny it? And still, if you remain ignorant, then you are foolish. How you can say there is no life after death? I am giving you evidence by experience and by authority. Then mostly, perhaps you have got experience of the... In the, especially in the Western countries... Here, if you ask ordinary cultivator, he'll believe: "Yes, there is life." They they are philosopher. "Yes, in my past life I did something wrong. Therefore I am suffering. And if I do wrong, I'll suffer in my next life." You'll get this knowledge even from the cultivator. This is India.

Interview with a German Girl and Assorted Devotees -- March 30, 1975, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: Hm? Then again, the same question. Because they are rascals.

Haṁsadūta: (German)

Prabhupāda: Because they are rascals, they are speculating. They do not understand how knowledge is gathered. This is our charge. You refute it.

Haṁsadūta: (German)

Guest (2) (Indian man): Just one sentence, Prabhupāda. Another thing is they know they are taking body again and again. They are taking the body again and again after birth. Why they are committing again and again sins and which mode of nature...?

Prabhupāda: Because they do not know how to stop this process. That is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā. You can stop this. But these... Again rascals. They'll not take the method. Kṛṣṇa said that "If you simply try to understand Me," janma, "why I appear and why I come here and work," karma..., "they are divine." The divine nature of Kṛṣṇa's appearance, disappearance and activities, if one can understand, then immediately he becomes free from this process. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9). But the rascals will not do that. They'll misunderstand Kṛṣṇa. They'll misdescribe Kṛṣṇa. They'll think, "Kṛṣṇa is ordinary man." Gandhi will say that "I don't think there was any person living as Kṛṣṇa." And he is mahātmā.

Interview with a German Girl and Assorted Devotees -- March 30, 1975, Mayapur:

Guest (2): They are fallen from. A lot of people in India, they have all misguided and misleading, their own adjusted, their own...

Prabhupāda: I have to gather knowledge from my superior. (Bengali) You came last night?

Guest (2): Ah, no, last evening.

Prabhupāda: Oh, last evening? What is your...?

Guest (2): He told to come at nine o'clock.

Prabhupāda: Ah, yes. What do you want to say?

Guest (2): I like, I like to join in the special (indistinct).

Morning Walk -- April 7, 1975, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: No. Body will have finished when you are liberated. Otherwise, one after another, another body, that's all. Childhood body is finished, you have got another body. But in a childhood body there were senses, and still you have got senses. The body may change, but the senses will continue. Even in the small ant, for sense gratification, they gather as soon as there will be grain of sugar immediately. They have got the same senses. Just like you run after something according to your estimation very big, for them that one grain of sugar is very big. So they are also running after sense gratification. So anybody, viṣaya karuṇa sarva dakṣaya, whatever body you may get, the senses will be there, and you'll enjoy, according to your capacity.

Yaśodānandana: If we take the position of an objective observer, and we look at the hog and we see that his standard of happiness is very low...

Room Conversation with Kim Cornish -- May 8, 1975, Perth:

Amogha: He was telling me that the paper he's writing for his master's degree is comparing a German philosopher with Buddhist philosophy.

Kim: Which, as far as I can gather, the self/no-self thing, Buddhism was denying that you're the ātman, I think. Could you perhaps say something about that?

Amogha: He's asking about the conception of denial of the self.

Kim: Of the ātman, yes.

Amogha: Ātman. The finishing of ātman.

Prabhupāda: Hmm. So how can you deny ātman?

Kim: In Hindu philosophy, what is the nature of the ātman?

Prabhupāda: Nature of ātman is eternal. Eternity, knowledge and blissfulness. Ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt: (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12) ātmā is joy, ānanda, blissful.

Kim: I've read some of the Upaniṣads where they say that ātman is Brahman?

Prabhupāda: Why have I placed this flower here? Why do I like this flower? What is the reason?

Room Conversation with Yogi Bhajan -- June 7, 1975, Honolulu:

Prabhupāda: No individuality. Then suppose you are leader of a group. If you honestly believe, teach them. They will accept it.

Yogi Bhajan: So that is why we are having understanding, why we are to gather today at this point. Because we understand that one particle...

Prabhupāda: Yes. So if we accept, if we try to convince the people that "We haven't got to research how to unite the whole world. The things are already there in the Bhagavad-gītā. Accept it and follow it, everything will be done."

Yogi Bhajan: Come for a message then.

Prabhupāda: Message is already there. I am giving you the message.

Morning Walk -- June 23, 1975, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Our science is stated in the Vedas, yasmin vijñāte sarvam evaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavanti. Just try to understand Kṛṣṇa, and everything will be understood. So try to understand one, Kṛṣṇa, and then you understand everything. Yasmin vijñāte sarvam evaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavanti. (break) ...philosophy is, it is said, that bhaktim... śreya-sṛtiṁ bhaktim... śreya-sṛtiṁ bhaktim upasya, ye kliśyanti kevala-bodha-labdhaye. Kevala-bodha means just trying to understand this, that, this, that, this, that, this, that. In this way they are wasting time and giving up devotional service to the Lord. So what is the result? Bhaktim udapasya te vibho kliśyanti ye kevala-bodha-labdhaye. Kevala-bodha. The duration of life is very short, and he is gathering knowledge by going to the moon. In this way he is wasting his time. So the result is that waste of time. That is their gain and nothing more. Just see that these people instead of teaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they wanted to study, go to the moon planet to understand. The result is, their only result is, that they have labored so much, and that is their gain, nothing else. What other thing they have made.

Room Conversation with Lt. Mozee, Policeman -- July 5, 1975, Chicago:

Prabhupāda: It is not idea, it is fact that one man is very pious and one man is very vicious. What is the difference? The difference is: one is dirty in his heart and one is pure in his heart. So if you keep people dirty, then there will be crimes. This is the sign that the general people, they are dirty. So you have to purify the dirty things, diseased condition. Then things will be all right. So our simplest process is to assemble in congregation and chant the holy name of God. Then dirty things will go away. So if you want to stop crime, then you have to arrange for mass saṅkīrtana. That is our movement. Gather people as large as can be possible and congregationally chant the holy name of God. Then it will be all right.

Lt. Mozee: Do you have any feeling about the crime here in the United States as opposed to the crime in your own land?

Prabhupāda: Crime, what is your definition of crime?

Morning Walk -- July 16, 1975, San Francisco:

Dharmādhyakṣa: ...singing and dancing are great stimulants to self-realization. And he says but he doesn't know why, but he said that perhaps if we study the glands more carefully, we will find out why singing and dancing stimulates identity. (break)

Prabhupāda: ...parvato muākam aprasavat: "Himalaya will give birth children." So many people gathered, "Must be very gigantic." But they saw only rats are coming. (break)

Bahulāśva: ...is from this school, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Oh. Where is Yadubara?

Bahulāśva: Right here, Yadubara.

Brahmānanda: Poor Yadubara. (laughter)

Yadubara: I am one of the rats. (break)

Prabhupāda: ...also? No.

Room Conversations -- July 26, 1975, Laguna Beach:

Prabhupāda: Identification. So that identification is there in the animal life also. The animal, dog, also tries to protect his cub. So that sense is not sufficient to be human being. That sense is visible amongst the lower animals. In Kanpur I was sitting within the room, and one monkey came outside the window, and she had her child. So somehow or other, playing, that child entered into my room through the railings, and the mother remained outside. The mother became mad how to get the child. Then I pushed the child out of the room and she immediately embraced, and... The affection is there. You will find everywhere. In the birds, beasts, animals, lower animals, big animals, the same affection is there. If you strike one crow, then thousands of crow will gather: "Caw. Caw. Caw." You have seen? In India it is very... (chuckles) And they will bite you. If you have done any harm to any crow, all the crows will come.

Morning Walk -- August 12, 1975, Paris:

Brahmānanda: Yes. There are certain pending investigations. So he is eligible for being called to give testimony for these investigations. But on the plea of his bad health, therefore he is not being called. He is afraid actually. Right now he does not go to any social gatherings, he does not make any public appearances. He is afraid that as soon as he makes public appearances, then he will be called to give testimony. So he is actually being forced to live a very lonely life.

Prabhupāda: Lonely life means drinking. What he will do? (break) ...this was made by Napoleon?

Bhagavān: Yes.

Brahmānanda: So the arch is still here. (laughs)

Prabhupāda: People, they come to see the arch. Just like in Rome, so many broken buildings, thousands of men go to see them, and they get good income, tourist.

Bhagavān: On New Year's we took our saṅkīrtana party through that arch.

Morning Walk Excerpt -- August 17, 1975, Bombay:

Saurabha: We have... Well, the height would come same as that. This is the limit now. They don't allow any higher building.

Girirāja: We could have had an extra story, but since the ground floor will be round and public gathering place, so we're making a little higher plinth in a higher ceiling.

Prabhupāda: Never mind. Do it nicely. And we cannot make garage like that? Hm?

Saurabha: Yes, we can make. How many garages do you want?

Prabhupāda: That we shall see.

Saurabha: The difficulty is there's a law that so much garden we have to make, and each garden has to be minimum 4,000 square feet, so it has to be one particular area. And our land has been divided in so many small pieces, so we have somewhere to make a big garden. Then everywhere else we can build.

Room Conversation with Professor Olivier -- October 10, 1975, Durban:

Prabhupāda: The Hindu community, I think they will accept us. I don’t think they will deny.

Prof. Olivier: But this would be a wonderful opportunity to bring the essence of Hinduism because from what I gather here from what you have said, this is not only the essence of religion from here but it is also the essence of Hinduism.

Prabhupāda: Yes. The essence of Hinduism is Bhagavad-gītā As It Is.

Prof. Olivier: Yeah. Therefore, one would like to see that the foundation of any course which is given here in Hinduism is a pure foundation, unadulterated. Therefore, based on the Gītā and the Upanisads and the Veda, all the Vedic literature, because that's all that's available. But the trouble is, you see, as it is, whether it is Christianity or whether it is...I don’t want to speak about Islam because I don’t know enough about them, but there is always the danger that you will get intellectual expositions...

Morning Walk -- October 28, 1975, Nairobi:

Prabhupāda: Anywhere, hell or heaven, it doesn't matter. You induce people to chant. This is the sum and substance of devotee. It doesn't matter whether it is town, city, village. Wherever you go, you gather people and induce them by flattering them, by falling their, on their leg—some way or other, induce them. Dante nidhāya tṛṇakaṁ padayor nipatya. This is the process shown by Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī, that "My dear sir, I have come to you with great humbleness, taking a straw in my mouth." Dante nidhāya tṛṇakaṁ padayor nipatya: "And falling down on your lotus feet." Kaku-satam kṛtva: "And I am trying to please you by so many flattering words." Kṛtva ahaṁ bravimi: "I have got some submission, if you'll kindly hear." So who is that man who will deny? If you fall down on his feet and take a straw and very humbly you pray, "Sir, I have got something to say if you kindly hear," who will deny? Who is that man?

Morning Walk -- October 28, 1975, Nairobi:

Indian lady (3): ...go house to house or at the time of their function there are ladies gathering there.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Indian lady (3): When the ladies are gathering their own function, just like...

Prabhupāda: What function?

Indian lady (3): On Maṅgalbara they and... Here usually they do like that.

Prabhupāda: Let them come.

Brahmānanda: Let them come to our function rather than going to their function.

Prabhupāda: Their function means recreation. That is not function. By that function they'll... But it is... Something is better than nothing. That is another thing. Arto 'rthārthī jijñāsur jñānī-four kinds of men, they take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, the arto 'rthārthī. Ārtaḥ means distressed, and arthārthī means those who are in need of money. So they are arto 'rthārthī, and better than the rogues and ruffians, but their Kṛṣṇa consciousness, chanting Kṛṣṇa, means they want to get some money and to get out of some distress. That is ninety-nine percent people. And some of them are jñānī. They want to learn about Kṛṣṇa very seriously, not to fulfill their material desires. They are called jñānī. Jñānī and jijñāsu, inquisitive.

Room Conversation -- October 29, 1975, Nairobi:

Prabhupāda: That is another scheme. For the last thirty, forty years they could not study. "In future, we shall be happy."

Indian: Monday, president, he was addressing that Kaiser(?) affair in the next park. So there was even one helicopter. So they came to throw off flowers on him in the gathering. But suddenly the helicopter fell down there on the train. There was train was going on.

Brahmānanda: No, it was a jet plane.

Cyavana(?): It was a jet. Yes, one of the jets fell down.

Brahmānanda: They had the air force here. They have four jet planes.

Cyavana: Fighter jets.

Morning Walk -- November 17, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: No, no, no. I am saying, repeating their word. But why, then, eclipse takes place irregularly?

Dr. Patel: This is a question of simple harmonic motions according to the scientists here who explain it. The simple harmonic motion principle is that several motions are, I mean, going, gathered at a time. Then all of them come together. Then you see that thing occurs.

Prabhupāda: No...

Dr. Patel: So that motions are different. The different timings come.

Prabhupāda: But that means they do not know actually the motions.

Morning Walk -- December 10, 1975, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: They were very upset. And when I was coming, I think, in Chicago, in the airplane, one of the host girl, she was seeing... (laughter) I asked her to supply one 7-up. And, "I have no key." She was so angry. But all the captains and others, they gathered around me. (laughter)

Harikeśa: I think that was the same stewardess who came in the back and asked us, "Why the Swamiji doesn't like women?"

Prabhupāda: No, no, I don't say that I don't like women, but I cannot say that equal rights. How can I say? First of all show that you equal rights—your husband becomes sometimes pregnant and then you become pregnant, alternately.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- January 3, 1976, Nellore:

Prabhupāda: Somebody is reading.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Oh, yes. I made a study. I asked the men in our party, when they were all gathered, to raise their hand if they had received a book before joining our party, and every single one of them had gotten a book before joining the movement—without exception. They were attracted through reading a book or a magazine.

Prabhupāda: I talked with that police officer. He has published. In Chicago.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "Crime: What to do?"

Harikeśa: "Why and what to do?"

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "Why and what to do?"

Room Conversation -- January 3, 1976, Nellore:

Prabhupāda: Thatching, yes. That is right. So the windows are thatched. So where is the production? Vivekananda is standing as preacher. So where is the preachers? People should have gone there in hundreds; there should have been some program. So where is the program? Simply "Vivekananda house." Lick up the house. (break) ...rows of statues on the beach, many statues—for passing stool by the crows. I have seen in Calcutta one statue of Sir Asutosh Mukherjee. So in the morning, on the day of the birth anniversary, in the morning the municipal sweepers with their brush, they will rub it to cleanse the solidly stuck-up crow's stool with water. It will be done for three, four hours. Then in the evening, big, big men will come, gather, and offer him garland one after another, just like they were offering me. In this way the meeting will be held. In the morning it is brushed with the sweeper's street brush, and in the evening it is offered garland. I have seen it. Here also I see that she has kept Kṛṣṇa's mūrti outside. It is aparādha.

Room Conversation -- January 16, 1976, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: The mind is the first creation for material enjoyment. From the mind, senses are created, five senses for knowledge-gathering and five senses for working, and five airs within the body. In this way the mind and fifteen. This is called ṣoḍāśa upacāra, sixteen. And then the ingredients, pañca-mahā-bhūta. Then intelligence, ahaṅkāra, false ego. These twenty-four, combination. And ātmā, jīva, and then Kṛṣṇa-twenty-six. The twenty-six combination is this body, mind, self, soul, Supersoul, everything. So I am ready.

Hariśauri: I think it's just a little early yet, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Morning Walks -- January 22-23, 1976, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: And it is so damp that in the trees you will see, what is called? (Bengali) Moss, moss, moss. Yes.

Indian man (1): Gathered moss.

Prabhupāda: Yes. In every tree you will find. They do not get sufficient sunshine. (Bengali) We have got very nice lawn, but I cannot enjoy it. Hardly one day or two. You cannot sit there. It is cold.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: And damp. It's about five after seven now, Śrīla Prabhupāda. (break) ...last month?

Prabhupāda: No, they gave it, account up to December 12, week ending on December 12.

Morning Walk -- February 27, 1976, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Bengali culture was very much adored. Surendranath Bannerjee started the political movement, and he was so well known. Even in Parliament, the Englishmen, English M.P.'s, he... They were speaking of Surendranath. They used to say "Surrendered not." "Here is a person who is not 'Surrender not.' He'll never surrender. 'Surrender not.' " Actually, the British Empire was startled by the agitation of Surendranath Bannerjee. The Congress was started by Surendranath Bannerjee, this one Congress. Two Bengali and one Englishman started this Congress sometimes in 1887, 1867, like that. So in our childhood we used to see that Surendranath Bannerjee was being elected president of Congress almost every year. And Gandhi came into prominence when Surendranath Bannerjee surrendered. Formerly he was not surrendering. But the government gave him the first ministership, that "You become minister." So he became a government man. Then Gandhi came in prominence. Surendranath Bannerjee was the first minister in India. (break) ...in our childhood, if he would speak, thousands, thousands men will gather in Calcutta. (break) ...Surendranath Bannerjee Road.

Room Conversation -- June 10, 1976, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: We came in 1965.

Richard: Eleven years ago. And in a relatively short period of time you've managed to gather around you a great number of people. Has it surprised you or...

Prabhupāda: Yes, I did not expect. When I came here I did not expect, because we have got so many strictures, so I did not expect that here the people will accept my proposal.

Richard: Your proposal?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Because our proposal is "No sinful life." No more illicit sex, no meat-eating, no gambling, no intoxicants. So I did not expect that anyone will accept this proposal. (laughs)

Richard: Are those three sort of proscriptions...

Conversation with Clergymen -- June 15, 1976, Detroit:

Kern: I think there are many good signs, however—your own movement. And we have..., I noticed you use the beads. We have a priest, Father Peyton, who gathers thousands to recite the rosary. Mostly young people. There are other movements that gather young people, which require a discipline. And perhaps since we think more in terms of the individual rather than the group, and the individual's decision, we possibly have forgotten that group discipline is very important. Therefore the attraction of your own movement and many others like that.... Within the Roman Catholics, there is now a very hopeful sign of mostly young people who are in what is called the charismatic movement, seeking to learn more of the Holy Spirit, seeking to change their lives for the better-however, at the same time, staying involved in the world. And it could be said that they seek to carry on the redemptive work of Jesus that he wishes done in the world, since he would be the key to our, to our advancement in the world. Our advancement, I say, and I'm not speaking of myself as a young man. But I think many young people in this charismatic movement, this is within Protestants and Catholics and others, I would say. There's a great emphasis among Jewish young people in the schools, to the development of the Jewish religion.

Prabhupāda: What is the difference? Can you explain? Young..., I have been several times inquired that why young people coming in this movement? What is the reason?

Room Conversation -- June 18, 1976, Toronto:

Prabhupāda: Vibhrama, the Sanskrit is vibhrama-milita-kriyā. The ārambha, ārambha means endeavor. Very gorgeous. The result is sand and rocks. Going to the moon planet, the ārambha was so much expensive. And the result is to bring some sand and rocks. This is hoax. And another: parvatān muṣakodbhavaḥ. Hoax. There was a great advertisement that the Himalayan mountain is going to deliver a child. So people gathered on, to see, "Oh, such a big mountain. The child must be a very big child." So they went to see there, and they saw one rat is coming from the hole of.... A rat is coming. They expected another Himalayan mountain, and they saw from the holes, one rat is coming. This is going on. And they are satisfied. "Now the Himalaya has delivered the child." One rat. (laughs) This attempt is like Himalayas begetting a child. If some elephant would have come, it would have saved the..., not even elephant, one rat. And in English, another is, "Much ado about nothing."

Room Conversation and Reading from Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 1 and 12 -- June 25, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: So vittam, money. Money is the criterion, not family. Formerly, there was family, respectable family, aristocratic family, brāhmaṇa family, kṣatriya family. All these things are gone now. If you accumulate some money some way or other, then you are respectable, never mind what you are. That is Kali-yuga symptom, that position in society, if you want to be respectable man, you somehow or other gather money. Never mind how we have gathered, what is the method. It doesn't matter. Get some money and you become respectable. Vittam eva hi.

Pradyumna: Vittam eva kalau nṛṇāṁ janmācāra-guṇodayaḥ.

Morning Walk -- July 5, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: But Śrīla Prabhupāda blessed yesterday around the Capitol. There were so many people, and they seemed like they liked...

Prabhupāda: So many people, there are so many earthworms also. Ants also, gathered together. Does it mean they are independent? Hare Kṛṣṇa. You know the earthworms? They heap up earth and disappear. So you are, if you take it in that way, that big, big buildings, just like earthworms gathering up earth and then disappears. Actually that is the... Like the worms, we gather together and become a nation and apply all our energy, heaps of buildings, then finished. We go somewhere, you go somewhere. And who knows what he's going to be next life? Everything is going like that, family, community, national. Like the same earthworm, they gather so much huge dipi..., what is called dipi (?)in English?

Morning Walk -- July 5, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: We are dipi. (?)We are dipi. We dipi. You have seen?

Devotee: Teepee?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: No, big heaps, mountains, hills?

Prabhupāda: Not hills. Anyway, small or big, they gather together and then goes away, finished by the laws of nature. Washington, he gave you independence, but where he is? What he is doing? Where is that person who gave you independence?

Vipina: Would you like to walk this way today, Prabhupāda?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: There is a basic difference between the earthworm and the man.

Prabhupāda: No difference. It is also living entity, you are also living entity.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: But difference in the sense that the earthworm is, actually, it is not trying to violate the laws of nature. Just follows.

Room Conversation -- July 7, 1976, Baltimore:

Prabhupāda: You should not be so proud falsely. That is our point. And mislead others that there is no God. Because you are accepted as authority, scientist, if you say that there is no God, they will accept it. Then our back to Godhead movement is stopped. Then we must stop your also nonsense. It is a fight. Because you say there is no God, and we say you are all nonsense. We must say it. You are challenging, we must challenge. But you accept God, then we have nothing... I think Sir Isaac Newton said like that: "The vast knowledge, we have simply gathered a few grains of sand on the beach of knowledge," something like that. That is good.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, humble.

Interview with Religious Editor Of the Associated Press -- July 16, 1976, New York:

Interviewer: I gather what you are driving at is that bodily food is different than, mental, reading, intellectual food, spiritual food, it all comes into the body and we take it all information, ideas, this is the kind...

Prabhupāda: Not ideas, that is a fact. Fact that you driver, you must have your food. Otherwise you will die.

Interviewer: I'm looking at you, that's taking in a certain kind of information.

Prabhupāda: You cannot drive the car without food.

Interviewer: You have all kinds of information that you have to have to survive. To get down the sidewalk without running into the building you've got to see the wall.

Prabhupāda: The sum and substance is that if a person thinks that he is the car, the driver, if he thinks wrongly that he is the car, then his life is spoiled.

Interview with Religious Editor Of the Associated Press -- July 16, 1976, New York:

Prabhupāda: Just like a man has gone to jail, he's giving education to the prisoners, "My dear brother prisoners, this life is not good, you become honest, don't come to the jail." So other prisoners, they are working hard, they are hammering on the bricks, they think that "This man is not hammering on the bricks, he's talking only."

Interviewer: I didn't gather that.

Bali-mardana: In the prison the people are, their work is, say, to hammer on bricks. So when, if someone comes into the jail and tells the prisoners, "You shouldn't be doing this, actually you should become honest and go out of the jail and be free." Now if the persons in the jail... Because... They will then become envious that "this person, instead of working hard like us, he's simply talking." They cannot understand the benefit that he's giving them and they become envious, that "Because he's not working like us he is nonsense." So do you understand the analogy? It's an analogy. Just like we are coming in the world and telling people to get out of this world, to understand the spiritual world, spiritual side of life. But because we're not working like them, sometimes they misunderstand what is our purpose.

Interviewer: In other words you think people should get away from what they're doing in the world.

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes, that is real life.

Interview with Trans-India Magazine -- July 17, 1976, New York:

Interviewer: Yesterday in my talks with your disciples I gathered that you have at least three of the āśrama-dharmas in practice: brahmacarya, gṛhastha, and sannyāsa. Did you do this to suggest that your movement does not involve renunciation in the Western sense, in which they understand it, asceticism only, to retreat, to withdraw from society, to form a different, small spiritual community or fraternity, not interacting with the rest of society, not influencing society, not being influenced by society? In other words, was it your aim to suggest that the daily life of ordinary people can be built on the foundations of your philosophy?

Prabhupāda: The thing is that human life, the system of society should be divided... Just like you are journalist, so you are not motor mechanics. But there is necessity of motor mechanics also and the journalist also. Is it not?

Room Conversation -- July 19, 1976, New York:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They have very big program, and the reporters-Dhṛṣṭadyumna was watching—he said that the reporters through the whole news, they were very grim, and then they, because they read what they say, and suddenly their faces lit up, and they said "And Hare Kṛṣṇa had a parade today!" And they described the whole parade. And they loved it, they said it was very well received. CBS reported, ABC reported, NBC reported, Channel Five gave big coverage, all the television networks gave a big coverage. It was very well publicized, with a lot of coverage and photos. They were showing movies of the parade, of you lecturing, of the crowds that were gathered taking prasādam.

Prabhupāda: Somebody should send this clipping, not our men, to...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: To your Godbrothers.

Prabhupāda: To Indira Gandhi.

Radio Interview -- July 27, 1976, London:

Prabhupāda: If one is going to pass M.A. examination, he must be qualified. Not that all of a sudden one becomes M.A. He must be qualified.

Mike Robinson: So what are you doing now? You've come to England for a brief stay. I gather you travel a lot.

Prabhupāda: Just to guide my disciples and to see how they are doing things, that's all.

Mike Robinson: And do you do that, or travel around the world, don't you.

Prabhupāda: Yes, but now I am getting old. So it is little difficult for me. Still I have to do and come and see.

Mike Robinson: And that is your mission in life, is it, to...

Prabhupāda: Yes, I have established it, I want to see that it is not spoiled.

Radio Interview -- July 27, 1976, London:

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes.

Harikeśa: That would be very nice.

Mike Robinson: Perhaps if I phrase it a bit differently. I gather that the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement also has some concern for areas of the world where there is suffering, physical suffering.

Prabhupāda: We have got the only concern. Others, they are simply avoiding. They have no responsibility. They are talking all nonsense. We have got real responsibility. These people are being misguided, they are kept in darkness. Let us try to give them some enlightenment.

Mike Robinson: Yes, but apart from giving spiritual enlightenment, do you also..., are you also concerned for people's physical well-being?

Room Conversation -- August 3, 1976, New Mayapur (French farm):

Prabhupāda: Very good, but I could not digest them. That is my fault, but, oh, it was so nice palatable. Chick peas, chick peas, grow fresh. Eat very nicely, keep strong, drink milk, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Bas. Don't depend on this outside work and then gradually become debauch, thief, rogues, prostitutes. Is that civilization? They cannot imagine that the modern civilization can go without all these things. Do they not? Slaughterhouse, brothel, cheating, diplomacy, roguery, drinking—without this, no civilization. We are quite opposed. We want to show it is possible, yes. You can stop all this nonsense and still you go on as a perfect civilized man. With character, knowledge, satisfaction, everything. They are trying to gather knowledge by sending so many machines up to date. We have already got. We say you cannot go there, you are simply wasting your time. We have got so much knowledge.

Morning Walk -- August 11, 1976, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: Detroit, everyone is trying to take some advantage.

Ātreya Ṛṣi: Everybody thinks America is everything. A heavenly planet.

Prabhupāda: Yes, for India it is heavenly planet, certainly.

Ātreya Ṛṣi: I'm sure there is always a lot of people who gather around American devotees.

Prabhupāda: To exploit.

Ātreya Ṛṣi: They want money, they want this, they want benefit, some sort of, this I can see.

Prabhupāda: What is the price of this bread?

Ātreya Ṛṣi: Five rials, it's about half a rupee.

Prabhupāda: Ācchā.

Press Interview at Muthilal Rao's House -- August 17, 1976, Hyderabad:

Host: With your permission I must thank with the permission of Swamiji, my friends, I welcome you to my humble house. Today, though you are all very, very busy, but you have made it a point to come and listen to Swamiji speak to you theory, lessons, and his belief and faith. It depends how we take it. Because I have faith in him, I have faith in his teachings, that is why, I being a politician, I being a member of Parliament and the legislative assembly, deputy minister and the ambassador, I have requested and begged of him to come to my humble house to spread his knowledge, which he is giving to the other parts of the world. Last time he visited in a very similar manner, we have got a small gathering here. So at that time I hope you will pardon me, I couldn't think of you all, thinking that, you know, the journalist friends are my good friends, and they are very knowledgeable friends, and that is why they can put so many questions. And by putting so many questions will get the answers by that we are enlightened. So that is why now it is the time for Swamiji to go for maṅgala-ārati. He has given me something. I am a student of Bhagavad-gītā. My guruji is there, he's doing pūjā. He has given me something when I met him, when I heard him, he has given me a gupta-dāna. That is dātavyam iti yad dānaṁ dīyate 'nupakāriṇe deśe kāle ca pātre ca tad dānaṁ sāttvikaṁ smṛtam. It is in the Seventeenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, it is as far as sukṛta is concerned. So that is why he has given me something that indirectly gupta-dāna. So I said always I should follow. Unfortunately, I could not meet him. Recently when I was..., till recently when I was an ambassador I was to go to Nairobi, I was in Somalia, but unfortunately things couldn't materialize. But now if at all I get an opportunity of going abroad I shall be visiting all the institutions, their organizations, their temples, because I am a member of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, life member. I have canvassed, some have become. Canvassed means I've just put a word. Some have become, I who requested, some of my friends who have not become, to become members of Kṛṣṇa conscious, permanent members, life members, like Mrs. Yamuna is here. Yamuna's husband, Raman Rao is here. And I would like you also to become, others also to become.

Prabhupāda: I was explaining, imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (BG 4.2). If the big big politicians, head of the state, they understand, yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhaḥ lokas tad anuvartate (BG 3.21), others will follow.

Conversation with Seven Ministers of Andhra Pradesh -- August 22, 1976, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: That is our Indian culture, Vedic culture. Still, hundreds and thousands of people go to see Bālajī, and they contribute their hard-earned money for worshiping the Lord. This is the principle. Yajñārthāt karmaṇo 'nyatra loko 'yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ (BG 3.9). I have seen in Bālajī temple, mostly cultivators, they come, stand whole day there just to offer something, yajñārthe, for the satisfaction of the Lord. It's a great culture. Yajñārthe karmaṇo 'nyatra. So karma, ordinary fruitive activities should be carried on for yajñārthe, for the satisfaction of Bālajī, or Kṛṣṇa. Not otherwise. The same, what is gathered as contribution, it should be utilized for yajña. Because the money is given for yajña, not for other purposes. That is a fact. Of course, the money is there. The innocent villagers, they have given the money in good faith that Kṛṣṇa or Bālajī will accept it and their hard labor will be successful. Yajñārthe karmaṇa. Now that money should be properly utilized for yajñārthe. Actually, everything belongs to God, Bālajī. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). We are claiming unnecessarily, "This is mine."

Garden Conversation -- October 14, 1976, Chandigarh:

Prabhupāda: Wherefrom he has drawn? He has speculated only, like a rascal. That's all. Wherefrom he got this thing? He has said that "It is my speculation." Speculation is no knowledge. You can speculate in your own way. Knowledge gathered from the authority, that is real knowledge. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (break) We have published even in Chinese language. European.

Indian man (8): With your comments or...?

Prabhupāda: No, comments means to explain the original verse.

Indian man (8): You have explained also in that copy?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Room Conversation on New York court case -- November 2, 1976, Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: Why you have refused him? Let him come.

Aksayananda: Ācāryam upasaṅgamya rājā vacanam abravīt (BG 1.2).

Prabhupāda: Yes. What is the translation?

Aksayananda: "Sañjaya said, 'Oh king after looking over the army gathered by the sons of Pāṇḍu, King Duryodhana went to his teacher and began to speak the following words.' "

Prabhupāda: Aiye. (break) Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission is to preach. So you join us. Why should you be limited within Vṛndāvana? The people are taking this, and there is... Now they are feeling the strength. The whole world is now combining against this movement. That means they are feeling the strength. Certainly it is (indistinct) credit.

Room Conversation on New York court case -- November 2, 1976, Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: You should go to see Visvambhara Gosvāmī also. (Hindi) This is fortunate that you have come in this moment. So I'll give you this inspiration, now combine together all Vṛndāvana gosvāmīs. Kṛṣṇa cult is for everyone, either Gauḍīya or Rāmānuja or everyone. Now all of you should come forward. That you do. Admitting (Hindi conversation). They are concerned with the Kṛṣṇa cult. Kṛṣṇa cult means all the ācāryas, all the ācāryas, either Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, Nimbārka or anyone, they should combine together. (Hindi) (aside:) Why you are talking? It is not very important. It is for him. It is a very bad habit. (aside ends) So we should be very alert in this point. All the Vaiṣṇavas of different sampradāyas, especially Gauḍīya sampradāya, you should come forward to fight this. They are gathering their strength. We should gather our strength. Fight, Kṛṣṇa never said that "Don't fight." (He) never said (to) Arjuna that "You are My devotee, you don't fight.

Room Conversation -- November 24, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Change is no rectification. If somebody is not working he should be trained up. Changing is another... If he is a fool, another fool will come. What will be the difficulty? You see? Change, of course, sometimes required but if you constantly change, the man is not trained up. That practice is not good. If somebody is not doing satisfactorily, then he should be trained up that "You should like this." And if you immediately change another that, that is not actually solution because all our workers, they are not accustomed to certain type of duty. They are devotee, after all. So still, we have to do something, so one man requires little training. But whatever capacity he has got, he is posted, so immediate change, that is not very good management. Let him be reformed and whatever inability he has got, he should be instructed and he should be... And this, all of a sudden change, simply go on changing, nobody... "Rolling stone never gathers moss." A "rolling stone" policy is not good. So what is the difficulty? Keep the stone in a place and it will gather moss. And if you simply roll, it will never gather moss. If the man who has committed mistake, he should be reformed. He should be instructed. Sometimes I show your cleaners by myself, "Do like this." Change them, immediate change, that is not good management, and to make him competent in that way, that is management.

Room Conversation on Farm Management -- December 10, 1976, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: Eh? Tamarind, so many preparations. So make like that. Why dog eating? They are not dogs. You cannot expect, because you are giving some dog eatable food, they will come. There must be one first class cook, and all our men should learn. There's no need of simply keeping unduly: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, and sleeping. We don't want such men. Make a show. And do not know anything how to preach. Useless. The householder, the women should be engaged in cooking. Their children should be gathered together. One man... I have said many times, all the children should be taken in a room by one woman, and others should be engaged in the cooking department. I have seen it. Your country, America. When they go to church, all the childrens are gathered together in a room. Is it not?

Room Conversation with Life Member, Mr. Malhotra -- December 22, 1976, Poona:

Prabhupāda: Any yoga. You are individual, God is individual. That is already explained, I told you. God says, Kṛṣṇa says to Arjuna, "Me, yourself and all these people who have gathered, they are all individuals. They were individuals in the past, they are individuals now, and we shall continue to remain individuals in the future."

Mr. Malhotra: Even if we surrender.

Prabhupāda: Surrender means agreement.

Mr. Malhotra: Agreement. Individuality will all along exist.

Prabhupāda: Otherwise why is he asking, "You surrender," unless there is individuality? Why this request is there? Because you are individual, you can deny it. That individuality continues. But if you have love for God, then you agree, "Yes, kariṣye vacanaṁ tava (BG 18.73)." So that is wanted. Not that he lost his individuality. Individuality is there.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Conversation with Yogi Amrit Desai of Kripalu Ashram (PA USA) -- January 2, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: It is actually a religious conference. All the different groups, they gather in that holy place, and they propagate their philosophy, discussion, like that. India is country of religion. They know how spiritual life more important than this material life. That is India. Now they are diverting their attention to the material; otherwise whole India, they are for spiritual life. They don't care for material ... This material life is brought from Western countries, these railways, these..., so many things, bridges and so on, so on.

Hari-śauri: Factories.

Conversation with Yogi Amrit Desai of Kripalu Ashram (PA USA) -- January 2, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Billiard-playing or some exhibition of singing, and hundreds of men will gather. And they were feasting, first-class food. In this way spending, spending, spending... And then prostitute, aristocracy. In this way one property and one property lost, everything. At last I saw him going by rickshaw. One day it was raining, and I saw that he was sitting in a rickshaw, and no friend asked him that, "Haren Babu, why you are...? You come to my car," so many. And he was friendly to so many zamindars, kings, and very intimate with... But they lost of everything, and nobody cares. His sons, they are of our age. I do not know whether living or not. But most probably they are not living. They became professional singers, coming of such aristocratic father. His father, that Mr. R. N. Singh, was a very good singer. That also was another aristocratic that aristocrat family—art, some art: painter, singer, poets. Just like Rabindranath Tagore. They became famous as artist. Avanindranatha Thakur, he became famous as artist, and Rabindranath Tagore became... They also followed the aristocratic family, Calcutta. Similarly, this R. N. Singh became a singer. Because they are rich men, they have nothing to do, so... And nobody instructed them how to become saintly person. Simply debauchery and... (break)

Room Conversation -- January 3, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Kick out the West. We are doing here, in India. The municipality is doing that also in Vṛndāvana. Everywhere it is. In Calcutta there is called dhāpāra māṭha. Dhāpāra māṭha, formerly, anything produced in dhāpāra māṭha, that was not used for Deity. The superstition that "These vegetables are grown in filthy water, nasty..." But the vegetables were-cauliflower so big, so big. Everything, very luxuriantly, very tasteful and solid and big... Dhāpāra māṭhera (Bengali). They used to take. In Bengal, generally, the land is very fertile to produce vegetables. But this, the more the filthy things of the city were thrown there, and the cultivator used to grow very nice... That is utilization of this filthy water where there was sewer ditches formerly. In the village they diverted from the water in the field, and they got good crops. Generally they pass stool in the field. The cow's, cow dung and man's stool and everyone's stool, they are wrapped gathered together in the rainy season. It became fertile. (Hindi)

Room Conversation with C.I.D. Chief -- January 3, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Hundreds and thousands. Here, of course, we have not so many cars, but there in many cities I have seen. They have gathered together, and then they are pressed and thrown to the iron factory and again melted in fire of... So similarly, when the life is not there, it is a lump of matter. So it is lump of matter. Just like the motorcar. When it was being driven by driver, it has value, but when it is not to be driven anymore, it has no value. Similarly... But the motorcar is the same. It is the driver that is important. Similarly, the soul is important, not this body. But the modern civilization, accepting this body as the important, and they have no information of the driver, soul.

Room Conversation with C.I.D. Chief -- January 3, 1977, Bombay:

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Now, this is from Philadelphia, Judge Alfred Longo, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia decree was typical and included the following points: "Kṛṣṇa consciousness is recognized as an authentic religion. To broadcast the glories of God to all people, members of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness society can perform saṅkīrtana, a missionary activity including chanting, dancing, and playing cymbals and drums, the dissemination of the word of God through preaching and reading aloud from religious literature, the distribution of religious literature, sanctified food and flowers to the public, and the solicitation and acceptance of contribution. In performing saṅkīrtana devotees can go wherever people gather: streets, libraries and other public places." So we also had decisions... Eventually we win almost all cases.

Prabhupāda: And we have got good support from the scholarly section by big, big professors. Even one priest, Mr. Cox, he is forming an association to support this movement in Harvard University. So we have got supporters also.

Room Conversation -- January 8, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Yes. (break) Dāśyu-dharma. Their business will be how to plunder. Because at the present moment the so-called democracy means, to tell the truth, all cunning, third-class, fourth-class men, they are doing. They have no sympathy for the general public. Their only aim is, so long he's in the office, gather as much money as possible. Am I right or not?

Mr. Asnani: Yes, sir.

Prabhupāda: That means plunder. So if you remain with no money, who will plunder? Because they are becoming plunderer, you remain without any bhūtīs.

Girirāja: Sanātana Gosvāmī, when he suspected that they were going to steal, he told, "Get rid of it."

Morning Darsana and Room Conversation Ramkrishna Bajaj and friends -- January 9, 1977, Bombay:

Girirāja: This is Mr. Sharma, the head technician at the airport, radar.

Prabhupāda: When I went to your MIT, I challenged that "Where is that technological department where a dead man can be brought into life?" It was interesting speech. The students gathered. This body is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā as machine. Do you know that? This body is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā as machine. Yantrārūḍhāni māyayā.

Conversation on Train to Allahabad -- January 11, 1977, India:

Hari-śauri: Cats and dogs.

Rāmeśvara: That's changed. America has given that up a little bit. They do not have these big gatherings anymore. The hippie movement in America is stopped.

Prabhupāda: What is the next movement?

Hari-śauri: Hare Kṛṣṇa. (laughs)

Rāmeśvara: Hare Kṛṣṇa. They're just waiting now. They are waiting for something to happen.

Hari-śauri: All these religious, what they call the religious cults, came immediately after the hippies. That's the big thing now. There was the growth period for those. Now they're trying to destroy them. Of course, they won't destroy us, but they've succeeded in one or two other groups. (break)

Prabhupāda: ...below one person.(?) In the name of religious men, because they are not civilized even, it is further, further. This is going on. Actually there was no such...

Conversation on Train to Allahabad -- January 11, 1977, India:

Rāmeśvara: And also Dr. Harvey Cox of Harvard, he quoted one section of the Bible where Jesus was preaching and his mother did not like it, and his father, and they came to get him away. They thought he was gone crazy, that he was preaching so much about God. So they came to his place where he had gathered many people. They wanted to deprogram him. And Jesus said, "You're not my mother. You're not my father. My real father is in heaven, and my real relatives are those who believe in God."

Prabhupāda: Where is that?

Rāmeśvara: That's right in the Bible.

Prabhupāda: (break) Because there are many fanatics. Hm?

Morning Walk Excerpt -- January 20, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Rāmeśvara: ...two demons, she was feeling thirst. So Lord Śiva with the end of his trident created this hole. And then he sent his bull carrier to gather waters from all the sacred rivers in the universe. An then Lord Brahmā came...

Prabhupāda: Bindu-sarovara. Drop by drop. Bindu means drop. So the sarovara came into existence by contribution from all rivers. (break) Bhuvaneśvara will help me. I have got little hint.

Gargamuni: Maybe we should build a permanent house for Your Divine Grace also.

Prabhupāda: We shall build there, in our place.

Gargamuni: Yes, there. I mean a separate bungalow there.

Evening Conversation -- January 25, 1977, Puri:

Prabhupāda: ...perception. That is experience. Why do you give on seeing only? By seeing one mango you cannot understand what quality it is, but you have to touch with your tongue. Therefore in chemical laboratory the characteristics are there: "This is the color. This is the taste. This is the reaction." So you have to gather experience like that, not by simply seeing. That... I gave the example. Now you take one egg. What is there? Some white and some yellow substance. So you make one egg with white and yellow and bring life. So what is the power of your seeing? A small egg. Take a small egg. The covering, some celluloid, within, some white substance, some yellow substance. Or make further analysis and give some chemicals of the same taste, same color, same characteristic—now bring life. But the same thing. You put under the feather of the chicken. Within five days it will bring life. So what is the credit of these rascal doctors, D.H.C.? That a small chicken is better than these D.H.C.

Evening Darsana -- February 15, 1977, Mayapura:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They have their doctors and psychiatrists now. Just as we are getting armed with so many statements, they are also gathering together their groups of doctors and psychiatrists to all attest to the fact. But they have nothing to say. They're trying to get behind them some men, but the men are not of as much consequence as our people are. But then you see another thing they do is they cause trouble through other processes. For instance, they will audit the accounts, look into the Society's money, and they'll try to...

Prabhupāda: They'll try to give us trouble in so many ways.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: So many ways. So we have to be very careful.

Interview with Mr. Koshi (Asst. Editor of The Current Weekly) -- April 5, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Yes. That "You are this body, jump like cats and dogs," that's all. What is nationalism? This is, that "You are this body. Jump like cats and dogs." A group, as a group of crows gather together, caw caw caw caw. That has been taught. Make group and crow.

Mr. Koshi: Something is wrong.

Prabhupāda: Yes. You don't find this word "nationalism" in the Bhagavad-gītā. You don't find it. Can you find out this word? These are all borrowed words.

Mr. Koshi: And what is your alternative?

Prabhupāda: Huh? What is that? We are preaching internationalism, everyone welcome. Come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is being done. Real United Nations. Here is Christian, here is Jew, here is African, here is Muhammadan, everything. Worldwide. That is real United Nations. They have no conception. If they would thought that "I am American," then why he is after a poor Indian man? Indians are known outside India as poverty-stricken, and that's a fact. So why he should come to the person born of poverty-stricken nation? But actually we are not poverty-stricken. If we cultivate our own standard of knowledge, Bhagavad-gītā, then we are the richest and we can give the whole world the gift. That should be... And they will welcome. That will be glorified if they accept. Just see. This is our... I am trying for that.

Morning Conversation -- April 11, 1977, Bombay:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: (reading:) "Why she was silent." This is from the Readers View column. "In the farewell talk she gave to the outgoing Communist Party members of Parliament, Mrs. Indira Gandhi is reported to have told them that she was to blame for the rout, but she does not mention what is common talk among people everywhere, and especially among the village folk: her connivance at the build-up of her son Sanjay Gandhi as the probable future prime minister of India. Mrs. Indira Gandhi's refusal throughout the last two years to face the facts about her son's inordinate ambitions has shocked most of her admirers. Could she not see that this get-rich-quick son of a mother who swore by Garibihato, as the person running the maruti,(?) was playing ducks and drakes with money taken in advance from motor agents for a people's car which has still to come on the road? Was she unaware that he was put next to the late president of India on the flagship of the Indian navy at the naval parade, though he has no position in the government of our country? And is it possible that she did not know of his interference from her own house in the exercise of executive authority in many matters of appointments? Did she not see newspaper reports of vast gatherings often paid for and brought to the pandals by her chief ministers to provide an audience and popular build-up for the Raj Kumar, as he came to be called? Those of us who knew her father are sanguined that Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru could never have allowed himself to entertain a dynastic order."

Prabhupāda: He wanted.

Morning Conversation -- April 11, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: That everyone will say.

Bhakti-caru: (break) "And is it possible that she did not know of his interference from her own house in exercise of executive authority in many matters appointments? Did she not see newspaper reports of vast gatherings often paid for and brought to her family by her chief minister to provide an audience and popular build-up for the Raj Kumar, as he came to be called. Those of us who knew her father are sanguined at Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru could never have allowed himself to entertain a dynastic order. When Mrs. Gandhi was elected president of the Congress, we recall that her father first disapproved of the proposal made by S. K. Patila at a Bombay meeting." (break)

Prabhupāda: ...is to bring her in limelight again, Indira.

Morning Conversation -- April 11, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: No, any knowledge. Just like modern scientists, they do. When they discover something, they give it. Go from university to university. Whatever... They may be wrong. They want to give it. That is the way. In India such vast knowledge, it is kept for professional Bhāgavata readers. How much harm they have done! Some professional Bhāgavata readers, it is their profession. And they will gather some woman and talk of rāsa-līlā and Bhāgavata reading. Some lady, old men, some woman, they will gather and sit down with their grammar,(?) karma-kāṇḍa. So that his material position will be better off. And the reciter will gather so many dozens of (indistinct) and umbrella and cloth, and take it away and sell it in the market, and employ it for his son's marriage, daughter's marriage. And this is called Bhāgavata. This is going on.

Short Dissertations -- May 24-25, 1977, Vrndavana:

Jayapatākā: There has been no sādhus there for many years, and the people there are very eager to hear about Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Wherever I went, thousands of people gathered. One time ten thousand people gathered. It was the biggest function held in the history of the town, either Hindu or Muhammadan. The Muhammadans are also very interested. They don't know anything about Lord Caitanya. Many have asked, "Do you have any books about the life of Lord Caitanya?" They like to read. And the person who arranged...

Prabhupāda: So give the book, Teachings of Lord Caitanya.

Short Dissertations -- May 24-25, 1977, Vrndavana:

Bhavānanda: We're getting lots of lemons.

Prabhupāda: Hm. What you are doing with them?

Bhavānanda: Nimbu pāni, and all the devotees get piece of lemon with their main meal. We have now... Everyone has gathered. All of the preaching parties have come back, and we've... They're all dispersing again on Friday. So when everyone is there, we have close to 275 residents.

Prabhupāda: Everyone is satisfied.

Bhavānanda: Everyone is satisfied.

Prabhupāda: Anyone.

Jayapatākā: The gurukula put on a drama just the day before we left. What was the play?

Room Conversation -- June 17, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: No.

Upendra: No? Just open on the ground?

Prabhupāda: Yes. No fire pot required. Simply gather together and set fire. That smoke is fire. It will increase. Just in a plate you can do it. This plate, the washing plate, that will do. It can contain four, five big kandi. That is sufficient.

Upendra: Rice, ḍāl and laktha.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Laktha. You can make experiment.

Upendra: Yes. I would like that. Sometimes we might find ourselves having to walk in...

Prabhupāda: First of all purchase some kandi. And keep it in corners of... In this veranda keep it.

Talk with Svarupa Damodara -- June 20, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Bose Institute has developed?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: They are doing many kinds of research on life. They're specializing on life sciences. But they have also been taken away by the Western ideas, I gather. So first of all, when I went... Actually there is a professor called Professor Bakat(?) in science college. He was my former teacher. So he took me along. So it makes things very easy because he knew all of them, and he had great appreciation for us, like a father. He's a professor, full-time professor, and he knew all these friends, big, big scientists there. First of all, Professor Bakat introduced me, "He's from the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. He's former student, but now fully engaged in scientific Kṛṣṇa consciousness." So they thought it is some sort of religion. Then... "No, no, he's not speaking about religion.

Talk with Svarupa Damodara -- June 20, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yeah, they showed him going up and down the Empire State Building in a movie.

Prabhupāda: And it was so interesting, it gathered so many public to see.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Now they have another one, "King Kong Returns." Still it's very popular.

Prabhupāda: So they can do these things.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They made another one where they go into the human body. They make the man very small, and then they send him on a trip through the human body, and he's fighting with germs. He gets attacked by germs, and the whole thing is very believable.

Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- June 21, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He was the president of his class at Princeton University. When he graduated, he was top man in the school. In the Ivy League that school is as good as Harvard. He's an extraordinarily intelligent... I stayed with him for some time. He sleeps three or four hours, maximum, a day. He eats practically nothing. Very austere. Very, very austere. And humble, very humble. Very saintly person. But when he sells your books, he becomes completely different then. It's like Tripurāri. When Tripurāri is... Normally in the temple he's very humble, quiet. But when he's out there selling... He has a new system now. When he was here he told me. He goes to these spiritual fairs, where there's many thousands of people come to learn about spiritual subjects. So he stands there, and he... In the normal fairs in the United States, they have a man, they're called carnies. What they do, they stand around—this is the normal-type person—and they gather a big crowd by talking very quickly, and they throw everyone some object for free-say a, some cheap thing, whatever it may be..., a pen, a fountain pen... They'll pass out twenty of them for free. So that... Hundreds of people gather around, 'cause they all want to get a free thing. So then after that, he says, "Now everybody who got a pen give me $2 and I'm going to give you something better." So they all put $2 down. Then he says "Now anyone who wants to get that thing that's better, but you didn't get a pen, you put down $5," and many people put down money. And like this he takes them along, giving a little bit and taking so much money, until eventually people are putting down $50 at a time. I saw this when I was travelling with our buses. We would go to these fairs. Tripurāri, he studied this, and now he's doing it also, but with your books. See, he sells sometimes fifty and sixty books at a time, big books. He knows how... He gets people to put down money, telling them that he'll give them something. First he gives out some small thing, then they all put down finally $5, and then he gives everyone a Bhagavad-gītā. (laughing) So he's learned how to do this, but he's..., sometimes he's selling two and three hundred books in a day, huge quantities of books. He's figured out a new system. So these men, they become very much empowered by you, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: All right. (break)

Room Conversation With Son (Vrindavan De) -- July 5, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Just see. This is our triumph.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "...for the most attractive booth. And a plaque was awarded to our representative, Śeṣa dāsa." He was called up in front of all of the gathering of librarians. They awarded him a plaque. "He had the booth arranged with a portable movie projector showing one of the ISKCON films. Incense was burning, Indian sweets were distributed, and all your books were displayed as well as tapes. So it was nice that such a big organization recognized Kṛṣṇa was all-attractive."

Prabhupāda: That's the kind of propaganda.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Four hundred booths competed, four hundred publishers.

Prabhupāda: And we became first.

Room Conversation -- July 27-28, 1977, Vrndavana:

Yaśomatīnandana: One boy just came from Toronto, and he said that now they have a team of Indian people. They get on the phone. They have one festival every month. And these five or six Indian people call up all the Indian people, and one thousand people gather every festival. And it is just one little town.

Prabhupāda: They have got life now. The Indians, on account of this movement, they have got life. They were forlorn, completely cut off from Indian culture. Now they have got it.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Śrīla Prabhupāda, I was in Ahmedabad last week. The farm that Bhogilal Patel gave, it's beautiful.

Prabhupāda: Yes, he has made this.

Room Conversation -- October 8, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: That's nice.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It is our greatest pleasure to be with you and sing for you. Actually, I was thinking how your whole life is so perfect, Śrīla Prabhupāda. You have so many nice disciples, nice sons, and they are all gathered here to be with you, and everything is perfect by our chanting.

Prabhupāda: Yes. More chanting.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Shall we chant some more?

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. (kīrtana starts-Govindam prayers)

Room Conversation -- October 11, 1977, Vrndavana:

Brahmānanda: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Rūpānuga: Ten-thirty Friday, it begins. About 10:30 in the morning.

Prabhupāda: All bona fide scientists.

Dr. Kapoor: Yes. It should be a very representative gathering if they all come.

Brahmānanda: He's expecting ninety to come.

Dr. Kapoor: Ninety to come, oh. Then it will be a grand success.

Prabhupāda: (Bengali) ...theory, they are doing nonsense. Vivekananda's theory, Darwin's theory... Who is that Ram? Ramakrishna's theory. Another. What is that Ram?

Brahmānanda: Another Ram?

Dr. Kapoor: Ram-tirtha.

Room Conversation -- October 12, 1977, Vrndavana:

Jayapatākā: Yes, although it's a village-type area, it seems to be good field. The people are not at all envious but quite cooperative. Also just about a quarter mile from the mandira there's a gośālā which has got 33 acres, about 100 bighās of land and about 100 cows. Cows are not so good cows, but there's nice, pākā buildings and good facilities. It's managed by some Marwaris. So they're willing to give that over to us in the future if we want. It's very nearby the temple. When I was there I gave a lecture at one temple, and about two, three hundred people came without any advertisement. In Haridaspur, at their Janmāṣṭamī festival they had... Two thousand people came. They had a huge crowd. And every one of the villagers, they organized the whole thing there, the leaders, gathered firewood, helped with distribution. We sent some devotees from Māyāpur. Bhakti-prabhāva Swami sends his obeisances to Your Divine Grace.

Hari-śauri: What about Maheśa Paṇḍita's place? (break)

Jayapatākā: They want that the case be dropped and that they be given jobs, like before. (laughter)

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Room Conversation -- October 24, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: This Tulasī dāsa has sent different things. Here's a news clipping from the Leader. It's a newspaper. It says, "Hare Kṛṣṇa festivity. All roads lead to the Hare Kṛṣṇa farm āśrama at Cato Ridge last Sunday where thousands of well-wishers and devotees celebrated Kṛṣṇa Janmāṣṭamī. His Holiness Śrīmān Jayatīrtha dāsa Prabhu came out especially from the United States for the occasion and to officiate at the opening of the new temple of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness." One picture shows the devotees... It says, "Members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and followers of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda lead the crowd in the singing of Hare Kṛṣṇa kīrtana. In the foreground is the havana-kuṇḍa on which the sacrificial prayer was performed prior to the opening of the new temple. A view of the large gathering...," it shows thousands of people, Śrīla Prabhupāda, "...at the Hare Kṛṣṇa farm āśrama at Cato Ridge at the weekend when the new temple was officially opened. The function was held in conjunction with Lord Kṛṣṇa's birth anniversary celebrations." Here's the temple. "Head of the group, Tulasī dāsa, seen with other devotees in front of their new temple." It's a very beautiful temple with pillars and arches. I don't know how they built it so soon. (laughs) It's a big temple they built there. It says, "The International Society for Krishna Consciousness, more widely known as the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, opened its temple to coincide with the celebration of the birth of Lord Kṛṣṇa. This birthday celebration..." (break) Here's another article, pictures of devotees opening the temple. Another article. "Śrīmān Jayatīrtha dāsa Prabhu, one of the top officials..."

Prabhupāda: Still, they criticize us. Hm? Affirmations(?) good character, good health...

Room Conversation -- November 13, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: So go.

Lokanātha: No, we already did. I announced, and we also had kīrtana. It was very ecstatic. Thirty, forty devotees came, and it was very, very nice. Wherever we stopped, people gathered around us in a big number, enjoyed kīrtana and heard announcements about the program. So I just came back.

Prabhupāda: And prasādam?

Lokanātha: Prasādam will be served out to the guests after this ārati. Twelve o'clock is ārati. And then we'll be serving out prasādam to the guests first. When everyone is served, we'll eat the remnants.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: The devotees aren't going to take the feast also?

Lokanātha: Yes, remnants of the Lord.