Prabhupāda: So, and devotees, they want to decrease the fever. Decrease the fever. Therefore the highest, ideal life, according to Vedic civilization: brāhmaṇas, Vaiṣṇava. They decrease their demands of the body. Minimum demand. You see? There is amongst the brāhmaṇa, not now, in the Vedic system, the uñca-vṛtti. It is called uñca-vṛtti. Uñca-vṛtti means they will go the paddy field, and after the cultivator takes all the paddies, some paddies are thrown away. They will collect those paddies only. Just like birds, they collect. They collect those paddies, and that they will eat, not even beg, ask anybody for any morsel of food. So completely... And in the Bhāgavata, Śukadeva Gosvāmī recommends that "Oh, this open field is your bed, this is your pillow, this is your pot, and the water in river is sufficient water, the tree is full of fruits, and in the cave, there is sufficient apartment. So why should you go, anyone, to ask for your shelter, for your food?" Kasmād bhajanti kavayor dhana-durmadandhān: "Why should you approach the materialistic, puffed-up, monied men to give you some help?" So Śukadeva Gosvāmī was strictly following this, strictly following, completely independent. That is not possible at the present day. (chuckles) If we imitate, that will be not good. We have to depose(?). Our Gosvāmīs, they have prescribed yukta-vairāgya: accept everything in relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Then it is yukta-vairāgya. It is also vairāgya. Śuṣka-vairāgya and yukta-vairāgya. Śuṣka-vairāgya means simply renunciation without assimilation.
Minimum (Conversations)
Conversations and Morning Walks
1968 Conversations and Morning Walks
Journalist: That's sixty thousand a year. I mean, is it donated?
Prabhupāda: Five thousand is very minimal. I think it is more than that.
Hayagrīva: I have no idea.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Because we are paying... This temple, we are paying four hundred, simply rent. Similarly each and every place we are paying three hundred, four hundred rent.
Journalist: Well, do people come to the services who are not disciples and devotees?
1970 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: So please come.
Guest (4): But for my family liabilities...
Prabhupāda: What amount you want for your family, minimum?
Guest (4): Five hundred a month.
Prabhupāda: That is not possible. Yes, you require five hundred. I know that. That is not much. To maintain a family nowadays five hundred rupees is not much but where is the money? How can I pay you?
1972 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: To ride on a car in Vṛndāvana. (chuckles) (break) (inside a building:) Price is fixed up at five thousand, then it comes to...
Indian man: Minimum is five hundred rupees.
Prabhupāda: Why five hundred? Sixty...
Indian man: Sixty-five rupees per thousand for the stamp duty, then court fees, and then other (indistinct) solicitor charges or the (indistinct) charges. So the last time... (break)
Prabhupāda: Yes. So...
Indian man: Would you like to see the draft, Prabhupāda, first?
Prabhupāda: Hm?
Prabhupāda: And we are, Nara-nārāyaṇa has been engaged to make it a nice garden. All vacant land, we are getting nice garden, and the owner of the land, he has given me the best facility. First of all, the land is worth minimum 30,000,000 rupees.
Devotee: Thirty lakhs?
Prabhupāda: Thirty lakhs. But he has given me for fourteen lakhs. And that's also by instrument, in three years, or four years, without any interest...
Devotee: Who is that man?
Prabhupāda: Mr. Nair. Mrs. Nair. She is, she is also very nice devotee. So every year four lakhs of rupees, in three years, or four years, fourteen lakhs, without any interest. So we have got good facility. And in Vṛndāvana, some gentleman has given us the land.
Ian Polsen: Your Grace, how many times do you recommend that I chant on my beads? How many rounds?
Prabhupāda: We recommend minimum sixteen rounds.
Ian Polsen: Minimum sixteen rounds, every day.
Prabhupāda: Otherwise, you can chant twenty-four hours. Minimum sixteen rounds.
Ian Polsen: Is it true that if I follow the regulative principles, the four, that I will be able to chant without offense?
Prabhupāda: Yes. But ah... You are married, no?
1973 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is their business. Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānāḥ (SB 7.5.31). (pause) Kṛṣṇa so easily simplifies the matter. They'll not accept it. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā, tathā dehāntara-prāptir... (BG 2.13). In two lines, he solves the whole biological problems. In two lines. That is knowledge. Minimum words, maximum solution. That is knowledge. And talking nonsense and no meaning. Books, volumes of books, talking nonsense and there is no meaning. Is that knowledge?
Svarūpa Dāmodara: That's ignorance.
Prabhupāda: Ignorance.
Brahmānanda: Like the wolves, they bay: "Ohhh, ooow."
Prabhupāda: The frogs.
Prabhupāda: Now, in each of our centers we have got minimum fifty heads, maximum two hundred, 250. In Los Angeles, you see... Just we have got recent photograph. Bring the photograph from my room. You can bring. So we are giving them place, we are giving them food, we are giving them education.
Jesuit Priest: Yes.
Prabhupāda: In this way. So we invite anyone, everyone, without any distinction, without any discrimination. He may be Christian, he may be Hindu, he may be Mohammedan. "Come on. Live with us, and learn how to love." That is our mission. We say, according to our Vedic description,
1974 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Varṇāśrama college means for grown-up students. College means for grown-up students.
Hṛdayānanda: Is there a minimum age for beginning such a college?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Ten to twelve years.
Hṛdayānanda: They can start at ten to twelve?
Prabhupāda: Yes. From five to ten years, gurukula. And after ten years, they should go to the varṇāśrama college.
Viṣṇujana: New Vrindaban would be an ideal place in America for such a school.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Organize that.
Prabhupāda: Hm.
Mahāṁśa: ...and for the plane tickets there was a little difficulty. I don't know how many plane tickets are available yet, but I definitely got minimum two. I don't know if I'll be able to get four, but I'm trying. I'm first on the waiting list, so... (break)
Prabhupāda: ...our nice program.
Mahāṁśa: Yes, I told him to send a telegram in any case, but he has not sent, but if the..., if the program was not nice, then he would have definitely have sent some message to cancel the program. (break)
Prabhupāda: ...get help from them by his bogus program.
Prabhupāda: No, this much cloth... But if you become Kṛṣṇa conscious, then you will be satisfied with the minimum necessities of life. That is natural. You won't demand.
Yogeśvara: So actually such a program can only be successful proportionately with the rise of Kṛṣṇa consciousness of the people.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is the main basic principle. Without being Kṛṣṇa conscious, if you arrange like this, that will never be successful.
Yogeśvara: They won't be satisfied.
Prabhupāda: No.
Prabhupāda: Not very few hours. Say, four, five hours altogether. Altogether. Maximum five, minimum four.
Professor Durckheim: All the night or do you at the day sometimes?
Prabhupāda: No. At night I get up at one, at half past one, sometimes half past twelve. But I take a little rest, one or two hour in the daytime. So two hours at night, two hours at day, or three hours at night, two hours in day. In this way, altogether five hours, not more than that. Our predecessor gurus, Gosvāmīs, they were taking rest not more than two hours or 2-1/2 hours. So we should come to that standard, yes. Nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau **. About them this description is: they reduced their sleeping, nidra. Nidra means sleeping.
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Bhagavān: Minimum? Minimum salary?
Prabhupāda: No.
Jayatīrtha: That eight hundred, two hundred goes for taxes...
Prabhupāda: No our, our... That was the... Formerly, who was managing?
Jayatīrtha: Formerly, I was managing.
Prabhupāda: So you were also taking one thousand?
Jayatīrtha: I was... But that was... But I was... I wasn't taking anything. But that was...
Prabhupāda: Then? How...? Why he is taking?
Jayatīrtha: Right. Well, generally we have about seventeen, eighteen gṛhasthas employed in Los Angeles, and they get much smaller salary, and they, for the most part, they're giving everything over subsistence to the temple as donation. They take out minimum subsistence...
Prabhupāda: But Karandhara is not giving anything.
Jayatīrtha: Well, his point is... As you know, he made that unauthorized loan from BBT when he left, for five thousand dollars. And he has to pay it back at three hundred dollars per month. So after he makes...
Prabhupāda: Unauthorized loan?
Prabhupāda: Then he should try to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, instead of sixteen rounds, sixty-four rounds. That is the way. Sixteen round is the minimum. Otherwise Haridāsa Ṭhākura was 300,000. So you have to increase. That is the only remedy. If one has got determination, he will make progress without any trouble. That determination is very difficult, that determination, "I must be Kṛṣṇa conscious fully." That determination. Dṛḍha-vratāḥ. So they have asked to the central government, federal government, help?
Paramahaṁsa: In New York? Yes, they asked from the President, President Ford.
Prabhupāda: That is federal government.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I remember you were instructing once that all of your initiated disciples should chant twenty-five rounds...
Prabhupāda: Minimum.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Minimum on this day. Is that a rule that we should all follow in our temples?
Prabhupāda: We are sixteen rounds.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No, I mean on ekādaśī.
Prabhupāda: Oh yes. Ekādaśī, simply you should chant. No other business. Nirjala.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No preaching work? Should they go out for preaching?
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.
Prabhupāda: Do. You have got enough space.
Prabhupāda: We have fixed up sixteen?
Lokanātha: We are chanting sixteen.
Prabhupāda: No. We say "Minimum sixteen." Minimum.
Lokanātha: Why that sixteen minimum?
Prabhupāda: If you can, sixteen thousand you can go. Sixteen rounds is the minimum. But if you are able to chant sixteen thousand rounds, that is welcome. We have got so much engagement. Still, we say, "We don't find engagement." This is our misfortune. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Jaya. Haridāsa Ṭhākura was engaged in chanting and the prostitute came. She offered, "Let us enjoy." "Yes, let me finish. Let me finish this chanting." So much engagement, and still, we say, "No engagement." He refused to have sex with a beautiful young girl because he had engagement. "First of all let me finish my engagement," and we say we have no engagement. How unfortunate we are. (break) ...says, kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ (CC Adi 17.31).
Lokanātha: Some devotees have fixed different number than sixteen. Some are chanting twenty minimum or twenty-five.
Prabhupāda: Yes. It should be increased.
Lokanātha: Is it recommended for our...
Prabhupāda: But don't decrease. Don't decrease; increase. Therefore one number is fixed. "At least this much I shall do." That is sixteen rounds.
Lokanātha: But you are recommending sixteen as a minimum, and some devotees are choosing twenty as a minimum.
Prabhupāda: So who forbids? Who says that "Don't do it"?
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is wanted. But because you cannot do it, therefore we have fixed up this minimum. Saṅkhyāta asaṅkhyāta Saṅkhyāta means with vow, numerical strength. And asaṅkhyāta means there is no limit. (break)
Yaśomatīnandana: ...are higher than any other activities or they are on the same platform? Any activities in Kṛṣṇa consciousness... Is chanting the most exalted or...?
Prabhupāda: Everything is exalted. Therefore there are nine processes. śravaṇam kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam, arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyam (SB 7.5.23), so many. They are all exalted.
Prabhupāda: But we have got sufficient S of I.
Saurabha: Yes, but we need... We require a certain area for garden, and that is not there yet. Minimum garden has to be, and we have about three-quarter of that. So unless you make another garden first, we cannot make, according to the architects. But maybe with, er, by paying some money in advance, that we promise them that, say, after so much time we will break these houses down, then they may agree, like they agreed on the old house that we had to pay six hundred rupees, and as soon as we break the house down we get six hundred rupees back. Then they know that we will break it down.
Prabhupāda: Which one?
Prabhupāda: Do that. Do.
Saurabha: And then we make five like this, six, five or six. Then put... For those buildings one can get about 150. I think here at least 150 rupees per square foot minimum. I think it will... By the time we are having it built there'll be more.
Prabhupāda: So try for that.
Saurabha: Some buildings, it's already 175. Build a parlor so that each...
Prabhupāda: The tenants will advance money. If you open office they will pay advance. You can go on constructing. If not, we shall take money from Bank of America. (break)
Saurabha: ...make a parking under the building.
Prabhupāda: Huh?
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Dhṛṣṭadyumna: ...sleep on the streets. They've arranged this housing, it is very minimal. So what many of these slumdwellers do when people are living on the streets is they come here, and they go back and live on the streets, but they rent out the apartment that the government has given them and they keep the money. They go back and live on the streets.
Indian man (1): This houses? This is all rented by the government and given free of charge to the poor to clear the slums.
Prabhupāda: Therefore Bhāgavata says,
- tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido
- na labhyate yad bhramatām upary adhaḥ
- tal labhyate duḥkhavad anyataḥ sukhaṁ
- kālena sarvatra gabhīra raṁhasā
- (SB 1.5.18)
(Hindi) So three classes of men are there: upper class, middle class. You cannot change it. It is laws of nature.
Jayapatāka: Yes. We plan to put irrigation there. I have two diesel five-horsepower, seven-horsepower engine. One I put over there and they are irrigating. We have fourteen bīghās of wheat, very good wheat. And here in the back we've also purchased here another set and we're irrigating that, this unirrigated land, and it only gets some chick pea and things, very bad crop, minimum crop. So now we've got the irrigation, we're getting many more crops. (break)
Prabhupāda: That I want, that it must be properly utilized. Otherwise you purchase and there is no utility.
Jayapatāka: But Tapomaya, he says that we need more land to be able to feed all the devotees. And every time we're building more buildings, we're just losing land but we're not gaining so much agricultural land.
Prabhupāda: No, no. We can purchase. First of all think that whether we can utilize.
Mahāṁsa: Yes, Prabhupāda, even if they take away... Even if they take away 600 acres, they have a right on 250 acres, so we will get the 250 acres. So minimum we'll get. We won't get... Maybe we won't get the full 600 acres, but we'll get 250 acres. Because even if they come under the Ceiling Act, then 250... They can keep the rest they will get. Then they can give, they can sell, they can do anything.
Prabhupāda: (break) ...can get?
Mahāṁsa: Yes, as soon as they can... Either one decision is that "Yes, you can keep the whole 600 acres." And the other decision is "No, you have to... We will confiscate. You can only keep 250." As soon as that decision is made, I will get the document for transferring the trust deeds.
Prabhupāda: Yes. So you can invent so many means of curing the danger. But as soon as the sun is there, immediately all mist is over. Similarly, we have invented so many medicines and counteractions for so many things. But if one becomes a devotee, all these troubles immediately.... That is the only one medicine. He has no more any inclination. Svāmin kṛtārtho 'smi varaṁ na yāce: (CC Madhya 22.42) "No more I want." And that is wanted. (break) ...asmi varaṁ na yāce. One should be fully satisfied: "No more I want this material disease. That's all. Enough of it." That mentality required: "I don't want anything material facility." Sannyāsa means that, that "I shall live with the minimum necessities of life and simply devote..." That is sannyāsa. "I shall become a sannyāsī and enjoy all material facilities"—that is not sannyāsa. (break) ...recommended that "If there is no need, don't take even cloth.
Reporter (8): One lakh daily.
Prabhupāda: That is minimum. Sometimes we collect five lakhs daily.
Reporter (5): What is the way you go about collecting money?
Prabhupāda: That book-selling.
Reporter (8): Only, books are the only source of your...
Prabhupāda: That's it. This question was raised in the Parliament, that "Hare Kṛṣṇa people, they are fabulously rich. Where they get their money?" And the Parliament answer was "They get their money by selling literature."
Prabhupāda: Yes, available. And we have asked government to give us 350 acres of land in Māyāpur to construct Vedic planetarium, 350 feet high. It will require eight crores of rupees minimum. I shall exhibit there all the planetary system, bhurloka, Goloka...
- goloka-nāmni nija-dhāmni tale ca tasya
- devī-maheśa-hari-dhāmasu teṣu teṣu
- te te prabhāva-nicayā vihitāś ca yena
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
- (Bs. 5.43)
Dr. Patel: Now the Russians also have come to this conclusion, the Russian scientists and astro-physicists, that there are some planets here in the cosmos which actually have people, I mean, has life like human beings. The other day I read a big article on that. Now they agree.
Prabhupāda: They will agree so many things.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Yeah, sometimes tens of thousands.
Prabhupāda: Twenty thousand dollar daily.
Guru-kṛpā: Minimum.
Prabhupāda: Minimum. Sometimes we go to fifty thousand dollars.
Carol Jarvis: A day?
Prabhupāda: Day. All over the world.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Devotees are working very hard to spread this consciousness, knowledge. (background talking)
Prabhupāda: Religious book, selling daily so much, huge amount, that is unique in the history.
Prabhupāda: About ten to twelve thousand, directly dedicated. Otherwise millions, they are reading our books. They have sympathy. We are selling books very nicely, daily twenty thousand dollar minimum all over the world. In learned circle, big, big universities, professors, they are appreciating. We have many congratulations.
Mr. Dixon: And the funds that you derive from the books...
Prabhupāda: Book Trust. That is explained.
Mr. Dixon: ...are used within your congre..., within the people that live in...
Prabhupāda: Yes. I make a Book Trust. That is my will, that from all the collection of the books fifty percent for reprinting and fifty percent for expanding these temples, these buildings. In this way.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: 5,000 copies each.
Prabhupāda: Yes, if possible, minimum 1,000.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Last time we were speaking, I was mentioning to you that in Russia they are particularly inclined towards an exchange program of books, where we give our books and they will give some useless books.
Prabhupāda: (indistinct), why should we do this?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: You mentioned last time you will throw them away.
Prabhupāda: For us there is no readable books in the whole world.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Oh yeah, very expensive.
Guru-kṛpā: Construction worker, just to build a simple building, they charge construction about nine dollars an hour, every man, minimum, unskilled man, nine dollars an hour.
Prabhupāda: Then, how it will be possible?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: We were discussing this. The way to do it, is that you get some person... There are many persons all over the country who are knowledgeable, who can do the work, but who are friendly. Just like in many temples that I visited, they have people, professionals who are working, but they are young men and because they are friendly towards our society, they'll do the work for less money. I'm sure that there are people who can be found like that here.
Prabhupāda: American devotee, Asian, and Australian devotee.
Rādhāvallabha: Depending on the size.
Prabhupāda: No, generally. So there are ninety chapters. That means minimum fifteen volumes, and maybe more. We have presented Kṛṣṇa book, just a summary study, not explained. But when it will be explained, with each and every śloka, purport, then it will be not less than fifteen volumes. Tenth Chapter is the face of of the Lord. We have described the legs, hands, belly, that's all, and Tenth Chapter is the face, smiling face. Therefore we should not jump over the face all at once. It must go from the legs, gradually, and then face, then forehead, then hair. Eleventh, Twelfth, Twelfth Chapter, finished, the whole body of Kṛṣṇa. Hmm. So thank you very much.
Prabhupāda: So sleeping is waste of time. Therefore spiritual advancement means minimizing sleeping. Nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau **. About the Gosvāmīs' life it is said they conquered over nidrā-āhāra. If you eat extraordinarily, then you will sleep also extraordinarily. If you eat frugally, as much minimum required, then you can conquer over sleep. Eating, sleeping. Sleeping depends on eating. Atyāhāra. Atyāhāraḥ prayāsaś ca prajalpo niyamāgrahaḥ (NOI 2). The people in the material world.... Atyāhāra means collecting more than necessity. One, somebody has got millions of dollars; still, he is working hard day and night to increase the bank balance. Why? You have got sufficient money; now you engage your life for spiritual advancement and take little food. God has given you enough. Why you are wasting your time in collecting money and eating more? That is misuse.
Prabhupāda: They are predicting so many problems, and still the rascals will say there is no problem. Padaṁ yad vipadām. The material world is so made that in every step there is problems. (break) ...na teṣām.
Rāmeśvara: They say that as the population increases in the cities, there must be rioting and fighting. There will be so many people without the minimum necessities of life, so much exploitation of the rich upper class.
Prabhupāda: Why not go to New Vrindaban? That they will not do.
Rāmeśvara: There is no training how to live in New Vrindaban. They are educated only to live in the cities and work like mūḍhas. Even now.... One of the biggest problems that they're predicting is unemployment. They cannot...
Prabhupāda: Yes. In America it has begun, what to speak of other countries.
Prabhupāda: Weakness there, you should rectify weakness. Why you should give any importance to weakness? Weakness is weakness. Rectify it.
Kulādri: This promise is the minimum determination.
Prabhupāda: Hmm?
Kulādri: This promise of following four regulative principles, chanting sixteen rounds daily, that is the minimum determination. Then, from there, he must increase.
Prabhupāda: Initiation means minimum, just beginning. That is the dictionary meaning, initiation. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta there is a verse, śraddhā-śabde-viśvāsa kahe sudṛḍha niścaya, kṛṣṇe bhakti kaile sarva-karma kṛta haya (Cc. Madhya 22.62). Explain. You understand? Śraddhā, śabde, viśvāsa, sudṛḍha, niścaya. Kṛṣṇe, bhakti, kaile, sarva-karma, kṛta, haya.
Kīrtanānanda: As much as they want.
Prabhupāda: As much as they want, then jaundice. (laughter) Too much is not good. They may take minimum half pound per head.
Kīrtanānanda: Minimum.
Prabhupāda: Minimum. And maximum one pound. Not more than that. But "Because there is enough, let us eat," no. That is not good. But children must get at least one pound, milk. If they drink more milk they become stout and strong.
Kīrtanānanda: They get more than one pound. They get at least two pounds.
Prabhupāda: Then their life is built up strong, and nice brain to understand. Do they not see the benefit of the society, that we are not killing children, we are maintaining them with sufficient milk. Is it not better civilization? And they are, for fear of overpopulation, they are killing. The mother is killing the child. Is that civilization?
Prabhupāda: As you can afford. Minimum one cart. Otherwise, three carts. In India the Ratha-yātrā festival is going on, according to rough estimate, for the last two thousand years, and the crowd never diminishes. One secretary of Parliament or something like that.
Hari-śauri: Śrī R. Subramanyam, M.A., Deputy Director Research, Lok Sabha Secretariat, National Parliament, New Delhi. Should I read it? "A strange feature of the modern world is that in spite of vast advances in science and technology and the establishment of a good number of institutions for human welfare, mankind has not found true peace and happiness. Knowledge of material sciences and arts has increased tremendously in recent times, and millions of volumes on each fill the libraries the world over. People and leaders in every country are generally well versed in these arts and sciences, but despite their efforts, human society everywhere continues to be in turmoil and distress.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Question number three. It is said that the greatest strength of Hinduism is its catholicity, or breadth of outlook, broadness of vision, but that this is also the greatest weakness in that there is very little common prescribed religious observances which are obligatory for all as in other religions. Is it necessary and possible to outline certain basic minimum observances for all Hindus.
Prabhupāda: So far Vedic religion is concerned, it is not for the Hindus. That is to be understood. The sanātana-dharma. It is for all living entities, all human beings. It is called sanātana-dharma. That I have already explained. The living entity is sanātana, God is sanātana, and there is sanātana-dharma. Paras tasmāt tu bhāvo 'nyo 'vyakto 'vyaktāt sanātanaḥ (BG 8.20). And where Kṛṣṇa is described sanātana in the Eleventh Chapter. Do you remember? He is described as sanātana. Sanātanam. So actually, the Vedic system is called sanātana-dharma. Not Hindu dharma. This is a wrong conception. The sanātana-dharma is meant for all living entities, not the so-called Hindus, Muslims, Christians. For everyone.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: So is there anything obligatory or prescribed for all people who follow this religion, that a minimum observance that they must do?
Prabhupāda: Yes, sanātana... The sanātana... Every living entity is eternal, sanātana. God is eternal, and we can live with God in a place which is called sanātana-dhāma. So this reciprocation is called sanātana-dharma. So Vedic religion means this sanātana-dharma, not Hindu dharma, or Muslim dharma, or this dharma. Read it.
Pradyumna: There's just one more thing. What's the minimum knowledge one must have to...
Prabhupāda: God is great. That's all. God is great. Kṛṣṇa proved that He's great. Therefore He's God. Everyone says, "God is great." Allah akbar, Muslims say. God is great. It is translated, "God is great." And Hindu says, paraṁ brahma. So God is great. So Kṛṣṇa proved that He is all-great. Therefore He is God. Kṛṣṇa, when He was present, He proved it that He is the great. Therefore He's God. If you accept God is great, and if you find somebody, he is great in everything, then he's God. How can I deny it? At least, you can see Kṛṣṇa great by His Bhagavad-gītā. It is still going on. Five thousand years passed, still Bhagavad-gītā is accepted as the greatest book of knowledge all over the world. Even among the Christians, among the Muslims, those who are really learned, they take it, "Yes." That is greatness of Kṛṣṇa, the knowledge. Who can give such knowledge? That is the proof that He is God. Aiśvaryasya samāgrasya viryasya yasasaḥ... Jñāna, knowledge. Where is such knowledge throughout the whole world? Everything, every line is sublime knowledge. If one studies scrutinizingly Bhagavad-gītā, you find Kṛṣṇa is Supreme Lord.
Prabhupāda: Sense gratification is never helpful. That is described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that kāmasya nendriya-prītir (SB 1.2.10). Sense gratification is required as far as..., as little as possible. Otherwise, not for sense gratification. Just like sleeping. Sleeping is required because this material body requires some rest. But not that we shall sleep twenty-four hours or twenty hours and enjoy, as in this country sometimes they enjoy sleeping. But sleeping is wasting time. So long we shall sleep we cannot do anything good work. Therefore it should be minimized. You cannot avoid sleeping altogether. That is not possible. But it should be accepted to the minimum extent. That is not possible. But it should be accepted to the minimum extent. That is called tapasya, or advancement of spiritual life. Eating, sleeping, sex and defense. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithuna.
Prabhupāda: The system is the boys and girls should be married earlier, and they should work, and there should be no divorce. But whether your country law will allow, that is another difficulty. You may introduce something, but the state law may not approve of it.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: I don't think there is any minimum age for marriage, simply the parents have to give their consent under a certain age. There's no minimum age.
Hari-śauri: There is in England. In a lot of countries now there's a minimum age. No, they cannot be married under that age. Women sixteen, men eighteen.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: But with parents' consent.
Rūpānuga: ISKCON parents, if the girl is fifteen, like you said, fifteen, then the ISKCON parent may give permission, that is legal. Not only that, but our own men, as I have done in Virginia, I have registered as minister in the state, and I can perform marriages. So our own men can register to perform marriages.
Prabhupāda: Another difficulty is the boy and the girl, they also do not stick. That is another difficulty.
Prabhupāda: Must be.
Rāmeśvara: Already people are coming and offering minimum one thousand dollars to buy a painting. In Los Angeles, I have sold some paintings for a thousand dollars each. Originals and some copies (laughter) also.
Prabhupāda: Copy, how do you make copy?
Rāmeśvara: We have some artists practicing. So he makes a copy of the original, and I sell it for five hundred dollars. Half the price of the original.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Good business.
Rāmeśvara: But that will increase. You can get ten thousand, twenty thousand dollars for one painting in the future, because they are paying that much now for inferior work.
Prabhupāda: Who is painting nice? Muralī?
Prabhupāda: No, this is better, to give a card. Many Indians were standing when I came.
Bali-mardana: Did you see the Indians?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I think at least three thousand Indians attended, minimum. A huge crowd of Indians, but the big thing was not the Indians, it was the American people.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That's a good location for the festival, very important place, Washington Square Park. It's the center.
Prabhupāda: Best thing would have been to keep the Deities for a week there.
Prabhupāda: There's no question of starvation for want of money. Anywhere sit down and do something palatable, and people will purchase. So your livelihood will go on. Pakorā, kacuri, jalebi, anything. You make some palatable, people are fond of eating some palatable things. That is their hobby. In Allahabad, there was a brāhmaṇa. I had my business, and he was neighborhood, he was living. So in the morning, the husband and wife would go to take bath in the Ganges. They would very nicely take bath, and while coming they will purchase some ingredients and then come home. The husband will perform pūjā, etc., and the wife will prepare many nice preparations-baḍā, pakori, puskar (?), this, that. Then he'll take his meals, rest awhile, and in the evening he will sit down, he was sitting just in front of my shop, about four or five o'clock. All the preparations his wife had made whole day, and the small shop. And the university students will come up to night, ten o'clock, he'll finish. Nothing will remain. Everything will be... And he'll make at least ten rupees profit, minimum.
Gargamuni: ...to keep it going we took a minimum amount of ten thousand a month. We were getting ten thousand a month. But to finish the building we require more, more per month, because ten thousand is just the most minimum amount just to keep it going.
Prabhupāda: So you are collecting?
Gargamuni: Yes, but that is going for maintenance. I give twenty thousand a month now.
Prabhupāda: Maintenance, twenty thousand?
Prabhupāda: We shall repair.
Jayapatākā: In the letter of the Home Minister where he said that every disciple can stay for two years, possibly if he allowed that in every center, if a minimum of a few people could stay for citizenship that might...
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Jayapatākā: Ordinary, by rotation and three, two or three or four permanent, by citizen, if he allowed to stay...
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Jayapatākā: Then that would solve the problem.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That make.
Prabhupāda: That time how many copies we were printing?
Gargamuni: We were printing 500 to 1,000. We started at 500 then to 1,000.
Prabhupāda: Then when Brahmānanda proposed that we can get it printed from Japan, but they want order for 20,000 minimum. So I said yes. Five hundred, 1,000 we were selling, and he proposed 20,000. "Yes. You order." (laughs) Now, two million?
Hari-śauri: The biggest one I think was that centennial, bicentennial issue. What was that? It increases, anyway, every year.
Prabhupāda: Brahmānanda was hesitating how 20,000 per month we shall consume.
Prabhupāda: You can show, they'll be... How in the American industrial process we are printing our books. I made the Book Trust, sixty thousand dollars they are selling. So as author, I could have derived from them at least six thousand, ten percent minimum. Six thousand dollars per day. Six thousand dollars means sixty thousand rupees. That could have been my daily income. But I take little khicuḍi from them, that's all. (Harikeśa laughing)
Indian man: Two crores per year, it comes to...
Prabhupāda: Yes. (pause) Our farming projects, very successful. Now here Badrukaji is also giving us some land. (indistinct)
Hari-śauri: Vāsughoṣa.
Prabhupāda: So this is the real platform of United Nation. Samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati samaḥ sarveṣu (BG 18.54). At that time samaḥ sarveṣu. Na śocati na kāṅkṣati. They have no demand. These boys they are working so hard. They never ask a single paisa from me. It is not possible for me to pay these foreigners as salaried man. That is not possible. They get minimum four thousand rupees minimum. Minimum salary America is $400 dollars. That means four thousand rupees. So and they are getting $800, $1200, $2000. And poverty is unknown in America. They do not know what is poverty. I see here the milk they are standing in block. You can get as much milk as you want anywhere you go, any shop you go you take immediately. Anything. Building materials. You simply order to the suppliers, immediately everything is there.
Prabhupāda: Here, unnecessarily increasing men and increasing expenditure, twenty thousand, twenty-five thousand, thirty thousand. Why? Unnecessary. Only minimum men should be kept who are actually useful. There is no need of keeping extra men. What is that?
Harikeśa: When you originally were speaking about Vṛndāvana, you mentioned that Vṛndāvana would be a place for those people who have become a little disturbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or burned out, we call it, from so much activity, that he comes here and gets rejuvenated. Is that still...
Prabhupāda: That is a fact, but provided he is devotee. If he's not a devotee then he will go away, here and there, here and there. That is the habit. And a devotee is satisfied anywhere. A devotee is not that "I'll go to Vṛndāvana, then I'll be satisfied." Nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve na kutaścana bibhyati (SB 6.17.28). I did not go to your country taking Vṛndāvana with me. I had to stay in places where in the refrigerator there is meat. And I was cooking. When opened it I saw, "Here is meat. All right, what can be done? Hare Kṛṣṇa." That's all.
Harikeśa: What if he comes with money to pay for himself.
Prabhupāda: Is there a guest house? Stay. There is no harm. There is guest house, he can pay and stay. But here we shall keep only minimum number of men without whom we cannot make, manage it. That's all.
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Very good.
Prabhupāda: Otherwise, how it is possible? Who will bring twenty-five thousand per month? I'm surprised. Twenty-five... (Hindi)
Akṣayānanda: It's much more. Sometimes thirty.
Prabhupāda: So this must be stopped immediately. We cannot pay more than five thousand. You stop. We cannot pay. (Hindi) My Guru Mahārāja used to say, (Bengali) "Joint mess." This is not possible. That we have to maintain a big bundle of burden. What is this?
Prabhupāda: So is it not credit? We spend for God. We are servant of God. We want to see God gorgeously situated, and for us we have no comforts, we don't care for any comfort. We simply spend minimum just to keep the body and soul together, that's all. This is our principle. We don't spend a farthing for our sense gratification. This should be noted down if some case is there, this should be presented. We don't go to restaurant, we don't go to cinema, we don't spend lavishly for dress or something else, no. Neither for furniture (laughter). Eh? If you sit down in a, a pad is that faulty?
Hari-śauri: Then when they go to any of our temples, they're amazed because we don't...
Mahāṁśa: Yes. It can go directly into this account.
Prabhupāda: So immediately open account, and whatever minimum you want, I will give you. That's all. And three signatories. Out of three, two. Yes.
Haṁsadūta: Prabhupāda, if were going to have a permanent pandal for visitors, why don't we build some simple kīrtana hall where the people can also take prasādam, something like they built in Māyāpur but not...
Prabhupāda: Do it... Do it gradually. For the time being have a pandal. Yes.
Haṁsadūta: That could be used for kīrtana and prasādam.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Prabhupāda: There is no income tax. We are charity.
Guest (9): 75,000 daily, you said.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Because five to six lakhs daily collection. If I take minimum fifteen percent, what it comes to? Big, big authors, they get twenty-five percent.
Guest (9): But one gentleman... I think in this temple... Some of your books are, rather, prohibiting the cost.
Prabhupāda: Yes, this was meant for the outside. Because our countrymen, they are learned, they don't require. They are so learned, they don't require anybody. Therefore it is prohibited. Better they do not take it. Otherwise they will misinterpret. That's all. Their only business is misinterpret. Therefore the prohibited price.
Mr. Malhotra: Minimum needs of the body.
Prabhupāda: Yes, that is not hankering. That is not hankering. so long the body is there. That is wanted. Just like about the Gosvāmīs it is said, nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau **. One has to conquer over sleeping, eating, sex and fearing. A saintly person has no fearing. Because he depends on Kṛṣṇa. But these things particularly conquered over. Simply little eating, that's all. Nidrāhāra-vihārakādi. At least trying to conquer over sleeping, eating and sex life.
Mr. Malhotra: Sleeping, eating and sex. (break) ...sleeping at all or some little sleep.
Prabhupāda: Practically no sleeping. Practically no eating and no sex life.
Mr. Malhotra: Sleeping means, actually sleeping or awareness, I mean awakening of the mind or awakening...
1977 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Yes. Temple (indistinct). Temple means preaching center. This Gurukula I have made for temple (indistinct) center. Now they have made it but that (indistinct). Purpose is, that whole world in the neophyte stage, they will (indistinct), man-manā bhava mad..., think of Kṛṣṇa, offering obeisances, offer (indistinct) from the persons maintaining the temple (indistinct). Therefore they do not like that a temple should be constructed, it is waste of... (indistinct) ...must be engaged to work hard, produce money and enjoy sense gratification. Hog civilization. We are restricting that "Don't work hard like hog and dog or animals, just satisfy your minimal necessities of life, save time and (indistinct) spiritual understanding. This is our mission. Their mission is, "What is this nonsense, spiritual understanding?
Prabhupāda: And how devotedly he is working. That is the..., that "I am..." How devotedly he is working. That will elevate him. He's very attentively serving Kṛṣṇa. This is advancement.
Rāmeśvara: They are working, minimum, twelve hours daily just on the dolls.
Prabhupāda: Yes. They do not become tired. Kṛṣṇa conscious work is so nice, nobody becomes tired. He wants to do more. Duralage hurahuri. (?) Competition. This is spiritual.
Rāmeśvara: This is one devotee who is painting dolls of the demigods.
Prabhupāda: Aiye, aiye.
Devotee: Śrīla Prabhupāda, these people come from Muscat. That's where I went last month. (break) (Hindi)
Rāmeśvara: And we gave this proof, another proof that our movement is transcendental to all material obstacles and impediments, that this year in America there was spiraling inflation and unemployment, and the cost of living was therefore rising like anything, but our books, in defiance of all these material trends, were being printed in larger quantities, but the temples were paying less for the books than ever before. And even though all the major airports were closed for, a minimum, six months or more, the hardbound book distribution—we just looked at the numbers-actually increased by one hundred percent.
Prabhupāda: So it is Kṛṣṇa's mercy. "You can do all kinds of opposition, but we shall go forward. The caravan will pass. You may bark." So take all these things as Kṛṣṇa's mercies and engage more enthusiastically. Why should we be defeated? Yuddhyasva mām anusmara (BG 8.7). Just remember Kṛṣṇa and fight. Bas. Fighting is... This material world is fighting. Manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati (BG 15.7). The karṣati is struggle, but struggle for Kṛṣṇa. That is perfection. That's all
Rāmeśvara: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Prabhupāda: Thank you. Work very hard for Kṛṣṇa one life.
Prabhupāda: More than that. You were in the welfare department. What is the minimum?
Satsvarūpa: It keeps going up. I think it's more like forty, fifty dollars for one person.
Prabhupāda: Forty means at the rate of nine rupees.
Guest (2): Nine-fifty.
Prabhupāda: No, not fifty. Per week, yes.
Mr. Pandiya: In Western countries they give wages in terms of weeks.
Prabhupāda: Yes, weekly.
Prabhupāda: Suez Canal still not open?
Hari-śauri: No.
Prabhupāda: What they have done, these...? They were getting, minimum, fifty thousand rupees daily.
Hari-śauri: Oh, at least.
Prabhupāda: So what, these nonsense politicians? They lost the money and inconvenience to others. These rascal politicians, they can do anything whimsical. They were getting money, not less than fifty thousand, not smaller than daily fifty thousand. From business point of view they could have raised the toll. They could get more money. What is the use of stopping?
Prabhupāda: What difficulty? What is the difficulty?
Pṛthu-putra: Well, for example...
Prabhupāda: We have got everything clearly stated, that we observe these regulative principle, chant, minimum sixteen rounds, and act as far as possible for the service of the Lord. Where is the difficulty?
Pṛthu-putra: Maybe the realization may not be there.
Prabhupāda: What is that realization? This is the prescribed duty. So there is no question of realization. You must do it.
Pṛthu-putra: Yes. They must and they do also. They also do it.
Prabhupāda: Twenty-four hours. Kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ (CC Adi 17.31). There is no question of "How many times?" But if you have got other business, make some minimum quantity.
Guest (2): Minimum?
Prabhupāda: Quantity. Minimum number.
Satsvarūpa: If you can't chant all day—you have other business—at least make a quota and chant that every day. In our... Prabhupāda's disciples, we promise to chant at least sixteen rounds on the beads, japa-mālā, every day. One round is 108 mantras.
Prabhupāda: It comes to twenty-five thousand. So Haridāsa Ṭhākura was chanting three lakhs. That is not possible. Twenty-five thousand minimum. Now you can increase as much as you like.
Guest (3): Is there a difference between Rāma and Kṛṣṇa?
Prabhupāda: No difference. Rāma is Bhagavān. Kṛṣṇa is Bhagavān. Rāmādi-mūrtiṣu. Bhagavān has got many incarnations: Nṛsiṁha-deva, Varāhadeva, Rāma, Rāma, Paraśurāma, Balarāma, Dāśarathi Rāma. So whomever you like, you can worship. (pause)
Guest (5): Should you count every day how much you do japa?
Prabhupāda: Dṛḍha-vrata. If you have no dṛḍha-vrata, (laughing) that is no vow. So that dṛḍha-vrata means you must promise that "I shall chant at least, minimum, so many times." That is called dṛḍha-vrata.
Satsvarūpa: "With determination."
Prabhupāda: With determination. Otherwise, satataṁ kīrtayanto mām (BG 9.14). Satatam means twenty-four hours. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ (CC Adi 17.31). Harer nāma harer nāma harer nāma eva kevalam (CC Adi 17.21). But that we cannot do. Therefore to keep dṛḍha-vrata, we have fixed up a certain quantity. Chant that. Saṅkhyā-pūrvaka-nāma-gāna-natibhiḥ kālāvasānī-kṛtau. About the Gosvāmīs-saṅkhyā-pūrvaka: "So many times." Not only chanting, also offering obeisances. Saṅkhyā-pūrvaka-nāma-gāna-natibhiḥ. Nati means praṇati. "I shall offer obeisances hundred times." Gosvāmīs, they used to do that. Still in Rādhā-kuṇḍa, Vṛndāvana, you'll see many devotees. They offer, counting, flat, so many times. So we have to take some labor.
Prabhupāda: With determination. Otherwise, satataṁ kīrtayanto mām (BG 9.14). Satatam means twenty-four hours. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ (CC Adi 17.31). Harer nāma harer nāma harer nāma eva kevalam (CC Adi 17.21). But that we cannot do. Therefore to keep dṛḍha-vrata, we have fixed up a certain quantity. Chant that. Saṅkhyā-pūrvaka-nāma-gāna-natibhiḥ kālāvasānī-kṛtau. About the Gosvāmīs-saṅkhyā-pūrvaka: "So many times." Not only chanting, also offering obeisances. Saṅkhyā-pūrvaka-nāma-gāna-natibhiḥ. Nati means praṇati. "I shall offer obeisances hundred times." Gosvāmīs, they used to do that. Still in Rādhā-kuṇḍa, Vṛndāvana, you'll see many devotees. They offer, counting, flat, so many times. So we have to take some labor. It is not so easy thing that you realize (chuckling) God so easily. Saṅkhyā-pūrvaka-nāma-gāna-natibhiḥ kālāvasānī-kṛtau. The valuable time of human life should be utilized only for cultivating Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is perfect. No other business. Sarva-dharmān parityajya (BG 18.66). That is sarva-dharmān. But if you cannot do that, all right, make
minimum: "So many times I shall chant. So many times I shall offer obeisances." Make some dṛḍha-vrata. Then gradually it will be successful.
Prabhupāda: Just like this Gauḍīya Maṭha has become. They have no other way of income except begging in different way. Now they have taken to this business, parikrama. They earn something, lump sum, by calling men to parikrama, and they pay, say, two hundred rupees. Out of, a hundred rupees they save, minimum, and that is their whole year's livelihood.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That is not a good business.
Prabhupāda: They are... They have come because they have no books.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: One very good business that we are developing in New York is prasādam.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Prabhupāda: How many copies?
Rāmeśvara: Twenty thousand.
Prabhupāda: Twenty, minimum.
Rādhā-vallabha: 9.2 will be printed this (indistinct).
Prabhupāda: What is that?
Rādhā-vallabha: Same thing.
Hari-śauri: This is the same one, 9.1.
Rāmeśvara: The back cover is painted by Parīkṣit.
Rādhā-vallabha: This is the verse that you always quote, on the first page.
Rādhā-vallabha: Is there a minimum age for the man?
Prabhupāda: No. That is... Minimum age means generally the husband must be older than the wife, at least five years' difference.
Rādhā-vallabha: What is the most amount of years they can be different? What is the maximum amount of years there can be difference?
Prabhupāda: Man has no maximum. Even an eighty-years-old man can marry a sixteen-years-old girl. (laughter)
Rādhā-vallabha: Because this one devotee has a daughter twelve and he wanted to marry her to a man twenty-six, but he thought that was too much difference.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is too much difference. But eight years, ten years usual.
Rādhā-vallabha: Eight or ten years is best. So he also wanted to know if...
Prabhupāda: That is healthy.
Prabhupāda: Yes, yes.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "10) The property committee should also be consulted on leases." Up until now, Śrīla Prabhupāda, we have a property committee, consisting of Rāmeśvara Mahārāja, Jayatīrtha Prabhu, Ātreya Ṛṣi and myself. And we have always been consulted on all property purchases. But we now decided that we should also be consulted on property leases. Because leases are also very... They can be very disastrous also if they are improperly entered into. Especially any long-term leases. Of course, they also have to deal through their local GBC, but then they also deal with it practically. "11) It was noted that a total of $630,000 would be available for construction purposes between now and the end of 1977. $300,000 dollars is the minimum required for emergency US loans. This leaves $330,000 dollars for India. Of the $330,000 dollars, $240,000 is required to complete the pledge of one crore to Bombay.
Prabhupāda: Hm?
Girirāja: I met one young man, and he may donate for one of the rooms fifty thousand. Otherwise he'll donate for some..., either twenty-five thousand or, minimum, eleven thousand. Then a lot of people wanted to arrange our speaking engagements at Rotary Club, Lions Club and different associations, so we're arranging towards the end of May to go back again and have a..., maybe a week, every night, different program.
Prabhupāda: Very good. Poona is not far away.
Girirāja: Oh, no. It's two or three hours.
Prabhupāda: By train. So it is nice place, educated.
Prabhupāda: Hm?
Girirāja: Going to try to phone Mr. Rajda. And considering that the Prime Minister may not have that much time... We had discussed that he should come here to meet you, but suppose if we fix up, say, a minimum time if he can't come here, say at least a half hour undisturbed, something like that, is it possible to fix in the city or we should just insist that...
Prabhupāda: Hm?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He's suggesting that if the Prime Minister can't give that much time, whether you would go to see him? Actually, if you give the idea that Prabhupāda wants to see him in the morning hours...
Girirāja: Yeah, I'm going to.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: ...in winter months, even though we keep it to a minimum, the oil bill runs about eight thousand dollars a month. It's very costly. Because one time we tried to turn it off, and it was very dangerous. They warned us never to do that again, because if the pipe freezes, the whole thing will explode. Therefore we have to always keep some steam coming so that it never freezes. We can't turn it off for ten hours and then turn it on again. We were thinking we could do that. That we may do in each room, but down in the boiler room we must keep the boiler going.
Prabhupāda: And in summer shut off.
Prabhupāda: Human activity should be guided toward Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then it is human. Otherwise it is animal. Take minimum demand, be happy, and make progress. That is the platform of progress. Very little... (too faint) The same shape, (too faint) they are improving to make straighter, topless, bottomless, in this way and that way, miniskirt. They are arranging. The thing is the same, but they want to change the taste in different way. No knowledge. That means (too faint). Sex, you require under... You'll get it between husband and wife. There is no difficulty. What is the use of that? Daily pregnancy, daily... Three days divorce. Actually I saw in Chicago, within three weeks, three divorce.
Prabhupāda: Well, with chanting you can meditate. The Deities are there. So you can think of the Deities—that is meditation—and chant.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Is there a certain number of rounds you would recommend for her?
Prabhupāda: That is minimum... Because these people are not accustomed, only sixteen rounds.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Sixteen rounds.
Prabhupāda: But the chanting is recommended twenty-four hours.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Twenty-four hours.
Alice Coltrane: (laughs) (indistinct)
Prabhupāda: Kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ (CC Adi 17.31). Sadā means twenty-four hours.
Prabhupāda: Kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ (CC Adi 17.31). Sadā means twenty-four hours.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: But minimum, sixteen rounds.
Prabhupāda: But one who cannot, minimum, sixteen rounds.
Alice Coltrane: That only an experience (indistinct).
Prabhupāda: Otherwise Haridāsa Ṭhākura, he was chanting three hundred thousand.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Per day.
Prabhupāda: Without chanting three hundred thousand times, he won't take his food. Nāmācārya.
Prabhupāda: So that is not possible for everyone, but there is no limit. Twenty-four hours you can chant, if you can.
Alice Coltrane: (indistinct)
Prabhupāda: Otherwise, minimum sixteen.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: She asked, how does she get Kṛṣṇa's instructions while chanting?
Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa's instruction are there in Bhagavad-gītā. Don't you find Kṛṣṇa's instruction? Is it difficult? All instruction are clearly given there. What is the difficulty?
Alice Coltrane: (indistinct)
Prabhupāda: Yes, everything...
Prabhupāda: All right. Whatever manuscript you have ready, print.
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Because it blocks up too much money otherwise, because we don't have much money, and we're going to print five books in Gujarati now, so we just invest the minimum.
Prabhupāda: I want to see, whatever manuscript is ready, they should be printed.
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Also, Śrīla Prabhupāda, we've come out with Diwali cards this year. These are going to be very, very big. Inside is a message. We are selling hundreds of these. On this BBT will make a very big profit plus the temples will make a profit. We are selling these exclusively to our life members. And on the back is the mahā-mantra. I brought you a package with me. This is another sample.
Yaśomatīnandana: This is going to be very profitable business.
Prabhupāda: Yaśomatīnandana will order that set. You can sell.
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, each temple I've given them a quota of one lakh cards. I wrote a newsletter to all the temples, and they must do minimum one lakh cards. Plus we're going to export these to New York, London, Los Angeles. They're all interested in these.
Prabhupāda: The printing is first class.
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. It's like American standard.
Prabhupāda: I think the Diwali greeting card dealers also will accept.
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: So this we are showing, as if we are doing the life members a favor. These are just some advanced samples that are printed just to get orders. And plus, anyone who orders more than hundred cards, we will print their name and message inside. And plus, there's a mahā-mantra on the back of every... Hundred cards is the minimum order.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: A hundred's nothing. They'll all do that.
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes.
Prabhupāda: So both consulting, you can see.
Yaśomatīnandana: Oh, yes, I can sell. I think this will be very successful.
Prabhupāda: So far the printing is concerned, there is no question. First class. Very nice.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes. They have got a sentiment of Hinduism. So with their cooperation, a little foreign exchange, you can establish a stronghold there. It will be a grat service. So how much foreign exchange will be required, minimum, to establish a stronghold there?
Prabhaviṣṇu: Actually they have a regulation that when foreigners come into the country they all have to change at least 150 dollars a month per person.
Prabhupāda: So that we can spare very easily.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: How many men you want to go with you?
Prabhaviṣṇu: To begin with, about four or five devotees.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: All foreigners?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, he said that to me today. He said, "Now your fixed deposits are decreasing, and your bank balances in all accounts are very minimal." The manager said this to me today.
Prabhupāda: Because they are harassing.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Because... The reason... We are afraid of their psychology that they think that our money is now theirs. And that is giving us fear.
Prabhupāda: They're thinking like that. We cannot freely have our money.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Actually it's only with the greatest difficulty that you were able to transfer this fixed deposits. Four times they came to you, and for even a half hour to one hour at a time went on and on, explaining to Prabhupāda why he should not do this. Really the best thing is that, I mean, if I can give this humble advice, is that someone like Girirāja should deal with them instead of... Because I feel, Śrīla Prabhupāda, they take advantage of you when they talk with you, and that makes me feel very bad to see.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Acyutānanda was giving good discourse.
Guest (1): Yes, he was every time, I think. When he was there, three, four hundred minimum crowd used to be there, and they used to take interest in question-answers. And it had become a lively, interesting...
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Good speaker has to be there.
Guest (1): Yes, good speaker, or... Or on this Caitanya philosophy daily, if some lectures are arranged and discourse is arranged. If you can permit, Prabhupāda, there's Bhāgavatam discourse in the daytime, and all of this kono(?) Hindi fluently on Caitanya philosophy... Yesterday I saw this rāsa-līlā also. If suppose some rāsa arrangement also is made.
Prabhupāda: Who?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He says that there should be good speaker in Hindi. But Acyutānanda could not speak Hindi.
Guest (1): No, no. His was a different thing, whether Hindi or English. He was attracting very big crowd.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It has to be good speaker.
Prabhupāda: Practically I have seen that it is not working.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: But you're not allowing sufficient time, according to the kavirāja.
Prabhupāda: What time? I could not...
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Well, he says fifteen days. He said fifteen days. He said a minimum of fifteen days. It's been about six days, five days.
Prabhupāda: No, no, in case it is not successful.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: So why don't we wait for that "in case."
Prabhupāda: We are waiting, but in case. (Tamāla Kṛṣṇa laughs)
Bhakti-caru: Śrīla Prabhupāda, the Āyurveda doctor was telling that one great factor is your willpower. That's very important.
Prabhupāda: I am losing my willpower, because practically I see that I am becoming more and more weak.
| Page Title: | Minimum (Conversations) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 26 of Feb, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=85, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 85 |