Prabhupāda: You said in your book that the sun is the nearest planet?
Svarūpa Dāmodara: No, I didn't say that. We actually took the concept of the... I wasn't talking much there, saying that there is one star, the sun is the nearest star.
Prabhupāda: Nearest star.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes.
Prabhupāda: So that means near star, nearest, which relationship, with the earth?
Svarūpa Dāmodara: With the other stars.
Prabhupāda: Ah?
Svarūpa Dāmodara: With the other stars.
Prabhupāda: Other stars? Nearest means?
Svarūpa Dāmodara: To the earth.
Prabhupāda: To the earth. So they are... We are speaking the same thing. The sun is the nearest, then moon.
Hari-śauri: But they don't care if the moon is a star.
Prabhupāda: No, moon star is described in the Bhagavad-gītā. Nakṣatrāṇām ahaṁ śaśī. It is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā. Moon is one of the stars, but brilliant star.
Yadubara: How many brilliant stars are there in this Universe?
Prabhupāda: Many. Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi-vibhūti-bhinnam (Bs. 5.40). Aśeṣa. We cannot count.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: The description is also that there is only one star in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The description is that there is only one star in this universe. One star.
Prabhupāda: One star?
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, only one star.
Devotee: One sun.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: I'm sorry, one sun.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: One sun in this universe.
Prabhupāda: This is one universe.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: So actually what they call solar system, science doesn't call it one universe. The concept of universe is very vast.
Prabhupāda: That is not vast. Our concept...
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yeah, our conception is solar system, actually. The solar system is one universe.
Prabhupāda: Solar? There is no solar system. The ninth, I mean planets.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Solar system, what they mean, the science, the sun, and these planets that we know, consists of, comprises our Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam universe, concept of the universe.
Prabhupāda: Yes, the (indistinct) is a big affair, the sun is one of the important planets. Not only the sun, moon, Mars, Jupiter, everyone.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Actually as astronomy and (indistinct) are especially astronomy is one of the most unscientific branch of study, knowledge is concerned. It's very, very little known. The way that... The techniques that they use, are very difficult to rely on.
Prabhupāda: So their Astronomical calculation, the sun is fixed up, that is also wrong. The sun is not fixed up.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yeah, Your Divine Grace, you wrote me a letter saying about the universe is just like an inverted tree.
Prabhupāda: Yes, ūrdhva-mūlam adhah-śākham (BG 15.1), Bhagavad-gītā.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: And the tree, and the leaves, and the fruits and flowers are the planets.
Prabhupāda: Ūrdhva-mūlam, Gītā says, ūrdhva-mūlam adhah-śākham. The pole-star in the... And we see at night everything is moving. As a bunch it is moving.
Hari-śauri: Does that means all the planets are fixed in relationship to each other as well?
Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. Just like a tree. Tree is fixed up, as a whole tree is moving.
Hari-śauri: Because we see practically that the moon also moves, across the sky. Just like the sun does. So the sun has an orbit?
Prabhupāda: Sun is also... Yes.
Hari-śauri: And the moon has an orbit also?
Prabhupāda: In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is said, yasyājñayā bhramati sambhṛta-kāla-cakraḥ. Yac-cakṣur eṣa savitā sakala-grahāṇāṁ rājā samasta-sura-mūrtir aśeṣa-tejāḥ. Unlimited temperature. Everything is there.
Hari-śauri: Does the moon have an orbit also then?
Prabhupāda: Yes, every (indistinct). It is described as a chariot moving. Something, challenge must be given.
Hari-śauri: I think that when we try to explain to them that the sun is drawn by a chariot, then... (laughs)
Prabhupāda: The (indistinct) sun is God. He's one of the gods.
Hari-śauri: Hm.
Yadubara: Won't they just take this...
Prabhupāda: (indistinct) He's a person, sun-god. That is described in the Bhagavad-gītā, imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam (BG 4.1), a person. That is his planet. He is the predominating Deity. And similarly moon. And the kṣatriyas, they are coming from these two planets. As it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, vivasvān manave prāha manur ikṣvākave... Ikṣvāku is the sūrya-vaṁśa, the kṣatriya family coming from the sun.
Yadubara: Śrīla Prabhupāda, we're taking this from the Bhāgavatam. Won't they just think that this is myth?
Prabhupāda: (indistinct) is myth? Who believes you? If you don't believe me, I don't believe you. Finished.
Yadubara: So we should present our side.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is our business. If you don't believe me I don't believe you. Finished business. You have got your authority, I've got my authority. Why shall I...?
Hari-śauri: Actually we have authority and they have no authority.
Prabhupāda: What is your age? You are all scientists within 200 years. And our Bhāgavata is written 5,000 years ago. Why shall I accept yours?
Yadubara: So no matter what they say we should present it at least.
Prabhupāda: Yes. You have become all scientists, and everything within 200 years. What is the age of your European, Western civilization? It cannot go more than 3,000 years? Our Bhāgavata is written 5,000 years ago. And before that, Śukadeva Gosvāmī says, "I have heard like this." That's all. Millions and millions (of years ago)...