Muslim (Conversations 1974 - 1975)

Expressions researched:
"muslim" |"muslim's" |"muslimism" |"muslims" |"muslin"

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- February 17, 1974, Bombay:

Guest (1): Some of those childrens are Christians.

Prabhupāda: Never mind Christian, Hindu, Muslim. A Christian or a..., if we offer them nice food and nice dress, nobody will deny.

Dr. Patel: But these Hindus became Christians because they were offered nice food and dress by Christian missionaries.

Prabhupāda: No, our point is not that, just to bring them and proselytize them to Hinduism. No. Take prasādam, take dress, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, dance. That's all. I never said to all these European and American disciples that "You become a Hindu." I never said. Ask them. I never said.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Neither we would have agreed.

Morning Walk -- February 17, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: No, that is also... There is law. You cannot have sexual intercourse with wife as you like, no. That is also illicit sex. Then... When the woman is in menstrual period, after five days, you can have once. As soon as she is pregnant, no more sexual intercourse. This is human being. Not that like animal. Animals also, they have got restrictions. You see? The lions, they have sexual intercourse once in life. Once in life. Brahmacārī. You see? So as soon as you violate the laws, then you are animal. Because law is meant for man. Just like "Keep to the right" and "left" in the road. It is meant for human being, not for the dogs. Dog, if he keeps right or left, it is not under law. But if you keep your car instead of left to the right, then you are criminal. (pause) So which way we have to go?... Human life begins when he understands what is dharma. That is human life, beginning. Aushikha (?) (Hindi) Jaiye aur Hindu religion hai, Muslim religion hai, Christian religion hai, Buddhist religion hai, Jewish religion hai. The religion must be there. But when we give up this religious process, then there is no more human life; it is animal life. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Morning Walk -- February 20, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: So they are...

Dr. Patel: (indistinct) they degenerate for others. So that (indistinct) degenerate. We degenerated. So the Muslims degenerated. Americans will degenerate. Somebody else will degenerate. Is that sort of a will? No?

Prabhupāda: So janmaiśvarya-śruta-śrī, good birth, riches, education, and sri, beauty, these are the result of pious activities.

Dr. Patel: When you say the present education and all... But this education has created those boys, smoking carasa and gañjā and bhāṅga...

Prabhupāda: That is not a university education. That is due to their coming to India.

Morning Walk -- February 22, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: The other countries, they were never following.

Dr. Patel: Worst are these Muslim countries. They kill each other and come into the power. Still they are following their forefathers. They are faithful to them.

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. (japa).

Dr. Patel: We should go there. And here.

Prabhupāda: A little more?

Dr. Patel: So I am trying to associate with them because here is a guru who is trying to spread the real religion to the foreign countries.

Prabhupāda: Thank you very much.

Morning Walk -- February 22, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: She was not coming back from that Mohammedan. Only Gandhi intermediated.

Dr. Patel: Mahatmaji played a fool with her. Being a bania he said that one wanted to, had to be a Muslim. So Mahatmaji said he would ask that man to become a Hindu. "If he becomes Hindu, I don't mind. You marry her." And that fellow, the Muslim, would not become Hindu. And then he ran off. That is how it happened.

Prabhupāda: Yes. (break)

Dr. Patel: ...of the Hindu culture as we have suffered from Muslims.

Prabhupāda: No, it is all gone.

Dr. Patel: That is why, that is why you don't speak much of Muslims. But they are rogues and rascals, lower than...

Morning Walk -- February 22, 1974, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: That is why, that is why you don't speak much of Muslims. But they are rogues and rascals, lower than...

Prabhupāda: No, we don't hate Muslims. I have got many students, Muslims.

Dr. Patel: No, we don't hate. I mean, what they have done in past, their forefathers. They have demolished so many temples. Because they did not... They were all (Hindi).

Prabhupāda: And this is all going on. Even in the Kurus' family, the other party, how much wrong they did to the Pāṇḍavas. They insulted their wife, they took their kingdom, and so many... They sent them to the forest, banishment. What did they not do? It is not the question of Hindu-Muslim. It is the question of the man, who is concerned.

Dr. Patel: Swami, you have got a soft kind of conscience.

Prabhupāda: Eh? Eh?

Morning Walk -- February 22, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: No, no. For everybody. No, No. Because these are, these are designation. So our philosophy is sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam (CC Madhya 19.170). Be free from all designations. Just like you are. You don't hate any particular patient because he's Hindu or Muslim.

Dr. Patel: I? I hate Muslims. I am telling the truth.

Prabhupāda: What kind of physician...?

Dr. Patel: I am their enemy number one. (Hindi conversation) If I have to... If I were a prime minister of this country. I would ask them to go to Pakistan.

Prabhupāda: No, no. As a physician...

Dr. Patel: They wanted Pakistan for themselves.

Prabhupāda: As a physician, you cannot deny...

Morning Walk -- February 22, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: That is our position.

Dr. Patel: That is... I am discharging my duty. But had I been a prime minister of this country, I would have discharged my duty that way.

Prabhupāda: Yes. We don't like Muslim culture, but...

Dr. Patel: But I, I hate them!

Prabhupāda: But...!

Dr. Patel: Because...! Because, to them...! Pardon me interrupting. They, their culture is this. I consider every woman to be my sister, excepting my wife. They consider every woman equal to their wife excepting their sister. This is the difference between the two cultures.

Morning Walk -- February 22, 1974, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: That is degeneration because they were contamin...

Yaśomatīnandana: They are now developing the same community.

Dr. Patel: They have, they have...

Yaśomatīnandana: Because the Muslims, they have all this. And now the Hindus, they...

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Dr. Patel: Contaminated, they have contaminated the Hindu society by their contact, long contact.

Prabhupāda: Otherwise how the Hindus dared to demolish our temple?

Indian Man (5): Yes. That is the main thing.

Prabhupāda: They are less than Muslims

Morning Walk -- February 23, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: No, kuhakam means illusion, magic. Something magician showing. So much money. Just like your this, one bābā, what is...? Satya...? He creates some gold.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Satya Sai.

Dr. Patel: (Hindi) A magician in Gujarat, some Muslim magician. He would ask, not ask for a (indistinct)

Guest (3): He would not...? He would not...?

Dr. Patel: (Hindi)

Indian (3): Mama Chel.

Dr. Patel: Mama Chel. There was one man called Mama Chel. And when the ticket taker comes and asks for a ticket he would say, "All right, take this," and there would be a heap of tickets, railway tickets.

Morning Walk -- February 25, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: That is a...

Dr. Patel: Minority follow big number. That is where our question is. And come what may, you may say anything. If you open a single temple... (break) ...ancient religion, even though they are Muslims.

Prabhupāda: And Java.

Dr. Patel: Java, Sumatra, the same thing. Java and Indonesia, the same thing. Java, Sumatra is called Indonesia now.

Prabhupāda: In Indonesia, Jakarta I went. The Java Hindus, they gave me reception.

Dr. Patel: The whole Bali Island is all Hindus.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Morning Walk -- February 25, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Yes. That I have seen. They are taking bath in the morning. (break) ...Jakarta people.

Dr. Patel: They are better Muslims than these Punjabi Muslims. (Hindi)

Prabhupāda: (Hindi)

Dr. Patel: (Hindi) Bengalis are very good. (laughter)

Prabhupāda: And Marwaris?

Dr. Patel: Marwaris are rascals. (laughter)

Guest (1): (Hindi)

Guest (1): I am not a Marwari, I am Agarwal.

Room Conversation -- March 20, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: No, no. People now, people are drunkards, meat-eaters. They may, even they show, that is not authority. Authority is the śāstras.

Guest: So therefore... You see, the authors of the śāstras... śāstra big authors who are good so-called leaders and same, those who have faith in the śāstras, but the government which is so-called secular or pro-muslim and the pro-communist...

Prabhupāda: No, no, they, they may be secular, but they cannot neglect your one śāstra.

Guest: Therefore they are neglecting it. They should not neglect it. They should not...

Prabhupāda: So that is to be decided by the court.

Morning Walk -- March 24, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: ...kingdom, the Maharastrian brāhmaṇas, they were more staunch.

Dr. Patel: They did not serve Muslims, like brāhmaṇas who are from Bengal and Gujarat. Gujarati brāhmaṇas and Bengali brāhmaṇas served the Muslims...

Prabhupāda: Brahminical culture. Sanātana Gosvāmī, he was also brāhmaṇa, but because he served the Mohammedans, he was rejected from the brāhmaṇa society. Then Kṛṣṇa, as Caitanya Mahāprabhu, raised them to the position of gosvāmīs. Their name was also changed. Dabir Khas.

Dr. Patel: Muslim name.

Prabhupāda: Yes, Muslim name.

Morning Walk -- March 24, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Yes, Muslim name.

Dr. Patel: But here in Gujarat we have got so many brāhmaṇas and... (break)

Prabhupāda: ...magistrates.

Dr. Patel: Ah, but then these are Muslim brāhmaṇas.

Prabhupāda: So it is Muslim name. Their forefathers were magistrates. That's all. Kāzi, there is no harm... Munshi, Kāzi. They're common... (break) If you go to anyone, "Hare Kṛṣṇa," they'll understand: "Here is Hare Kṛṣṇa people." That's all. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Anywhere, Africa, Australia, Japan, they know, "These are Hare Kṛṣṇa people." We are known as "Hare Kṛṣṇa people." So there are so many apartments... (end)

Morning Walk -- March 26, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Dr. Patel: And the drinking water also should be strained to, to...

Guest (1): That is most important part.

Dr. Patel: Through muslin. That is the (indistinct) (break)

Prabhupāda: ...fire it, and keep it. It is all right. (break) ...no service. Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa...

Dr. Patel: I have, you see, I have seen in England in my training days in the College of Tropical Medicine and our hospital... (break)

Prabhupāda: ...for all disease. Bhavauṣadhāc chrotra... nivṛtta-tarṣair upagīyamānāt.

Dr. Patel: I was told you are going away on sixth?

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Morning Walk -- March 27, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: ...gentlemen. Otherwise, how they could reign for eight hundred years? At that time Hindus were very strong. They were rigid. And there were many native princes. Still, they ruled over India for eight hundred years. As soon as the Aurangzeb showed his bigotry, it was failed. Muslim... As they're advertised, Muslims are not like that.

Dr. Patel: They were good to Bengal.

Mākhanalāl: They have very much reputation for violence...

Prabhupāda: No. In Vṛndāvana we have got. So all the Muslim emperors, they contributed.

Morning Walk -- March 27, 1974, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: But that way, in Vṛndāvana you have got some signs that some of the Arabs have become saints, Hindu saints. Two or three Arabs, they have got very big tombs there in Vṛndāvana. Arab saints. They came to Surat and then they, I mean... (break)

Prabhupāda: ...our calculation is if the Muslims were...

Dr. Patel: So bad as that.

Prabhupāda: ...so bad, then how they could rule for eight hundred years?

Dr. Patel: That is right, but they were bad enough. They were...

Prabhupāda: Bad enough... Your, our so called Hindus are worst enough.

Dr. Patel: That's all right. But they were bad.

Guest (1): Because devotees of Kṛṣṇa...

Morning Walk -- March 29, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Vaiṣṇavas should go to sacrifice. (Hindi)

Indian man (3): There is no... Hindu, aren't the Hindus...

Prabhupāda: No, no, no. You are mixing the Hindu, Muslim, and Vaiṣṇava...

Indian man (3): I don't think I am so fool like that, to mix up Hinduism with Buddhism. I think you have little be...

Prabhupāda: But you don't hear me, that is the difference.

Indian man (3): I'm hearing you perfectly well, but I'm very quick to grasp it, that is the misfortune of me.

Prabhupāda: You are quick to deviate, that is the point. You do not hear.

Indian man (3): How can you... (laughs) How can you say I'm in...

Morning Walk -- April 14, 1974, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: Mātṛvat...

Prabhupāda: Yes. (break) ...also have to die.

Dr. Patel: We die, don't mind, but we want others to die as Muslims. We want to die them as Hindus. (break) ...Supersonic sound.

Prabhupāda: Supersonic, what is that? Any circumstance, the ruling power is nature. He cannot avoid that. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). (break) ...more their senses are turbulent. This is also... Therefore there is one tapasā brahmacāryena (SB 6.1.13) and the word anaśana, anaśana, "not eating." Eating should be reduced.

Dr. Patel: Tapasā brahmacāryena... (break)

Morning Walk -- April 22, 1974, Hyderabad:

Pañcadraviḍa: But if the man says, "I am Muslim; how you can say I am disobedient to the laws of God? I am following my own religion?"

Prabhupāda: No, no, we shall come to the Muslims next. First of all let us talk with the Christians.

Satsvarūpa: We are always arguing with them. They say they are following. They are allowed to kill animals.

Pañcadraviḍa: "I am accepting Christ. Therefore I am saved. I am following closely Christianity."

Prabhupāda: No, no. If you love God, then why you are disobeying His order. That is my charge, first thing. God says, "Thou shalt not kill," but why you are killing? This is the charge I give to the Christians.

Satsvarūpa: Yes, you always do that.

Prabhupāda: Yes. There they are captured.

Morning Walk -- April 22, 1974, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: The thing is that we must eat something. And vegetables also have got life. The nature's way is that one living entity is eating another living entity. It may be animal or it may be vegetable. The question is the obedience to the order of God. So when Jesus Christ says that "Thou shalt not kill," it means bigger animals. Killing is applied, from dictionary, if I kill a man, if I kill an animal, then this word is used. So he meant like that. And that is very reasonable. Because I am eating another living entity, that does not I can eat another man. So therefore Kṛṣṇa has specifically mentioned, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26). After all, we have to eat. And if you take that all killing is the same, even by ordinary law, if I kill one tree, and if I kill one man, does it mean it is of the same degree? Even taking killing of plant, so there are comparative. But it is also necessity that we must eat something. So therefore here, perfect thing in the Bhagavad-gītā, that He says that "You offer Me." "Offer Me" means "After My eating, you shall eat." Yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ. Even by killing vegetable, you are also as sinful as killing animal, but because we offer to Kṛṣṇa, therefore we are not sinful. Kṛṣṇa wants it. Just like Kṛṣṇa wanted Arjuna to fight and kill the other party. Therefore Arjuna is not infected with the sin. So here Kṛṣṇa is asking, "Give me this foodstuff," and Kṛṣṇa knows that I will eat the remnants of the foodstuff. So I am not responsible. We have no very much study of the Muslim, but instead of criticizing others, better we shall preach our own cult. But if there is occasion when somebody attacks, then we should be prepared. But our positive business should be to inform people what is the nature of God, as they are stated in Bhagavad-gītā and in Bhāgavatam.

Morning Walk -- April 22, 1974, Hyderabad:

Pañcadraviḍa: When we run into those people... Sometimes we run into Muslims, Jains, Christians, and usually what we do is we approach them on the basis of our welfare work. Because we have got our work where we are feeding persons in Māyāpura, we are doing different..., opening schools. So we approach them that God is also one. There is one God and we are doing work for bringing all the people to God. In Māyāpura we are feeding so many Muslims every day.

Prabhupāda: Yes, that is good preaching. But when there is argument, when somebody says, you should be prepared to argue with them. It stopped? We shall go another round?

Akṣayānanda: I think it has stopped.

Satsvarūpa: No rain.

Morning Walk Excerpts -- May 1, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: ...Vaiṣṇava kavi has sung,

viṣaya chāriyā, se rase mājīyā,

mukhe bala hari hari

Unless you are free from the material desires, you cannot enjoy what is the celestial or spiritual bliss in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. If one has got material desires, he cannot enjoy.

viṣaya chāriyā, se rase mājīyā,

mukhe bala hari hari

(break) ...can see here United Nation actually. Here is Britisher, here is American, here is African, here is Indian, here is Hindu, Canadian, Hindu, Muslim, Christian-all. This is United Nation. Just let them see practically what is United Nation. Brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra—all combined in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Why do they not see? The so-called unity, brotherhood, why do they not see the reality?

Room Conversation with Irish Poet, Desmond O'Grady -- May 23, 1974, Rome:

Prabhupāda: Actually... Just like you are sitting in a different dress; I am sitting in a different dress. So the dress does not affect our actuality. We are human being. Similarly, the conception of body—"I am Irishman, I am Englishman, I am Hindu, I am Muslim, I am Christian,"—these are different dresses. So one has to become free from these designations.

O'Grady: Accepted.

Prabhupāda: So when one is free from the designations, then he becomes purified.

Morning Walk -- May 27, 1974, Rome:

Prabhupāda: If there is no opposite elements, there is no need of weapons. If I am not your enemy, there is no fear. We are preaching this philosophy, brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā: (BG 18.54) "As soon as you become Kṛṣṇa conscious, you become jubilant." So where is your enemy? Samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu. Then where is your enemy? Formerly, a man might have become enemy of another man. But this demonic civilization has created nation to nation, country to country, community to community, all enemies. And on account of this communistic enemy, so many innocent people are killed. I have seen in Calcutta during the partition days. So many innocent Hindus and Muslims were killed. Any (indistinct), very quickly this Communistic feeling is aroused, and they fight, like cats and dogs. "Oh, here is another dog! Here is another dog, coming from another neighborhood." So this is demonic civilization. If you want to go to some country, you have to take visa, permission, this, that, so many. Why? Vedic civilization is "You come to my country. Welcome. You are my guest." Gṛhe śatrum api prāptaṁ viśvastam akutobhayam: "Even one is enemy, when he comes to my house, he is my honorable guest." And here, they are so much afraid that you keep dogs. The dog is kept here. (loud truck noise)

Room Conversation with Mr. C. Hennis of the International Labor Organization of the U.N. -- May 31, 1974, Geneva:

Prabhupāda: No.

C. Hennis: One of the obstacles is just plain poverty. One of the obstacles is overwork.

Prabhupāda: No, no. A human being should be considerate. Everyone has got religion. Either he is Hindu or Muslim or Christian, it doesn't matter. There must be discrimination between sinful activities and pious activities. Human being should be engaged for pious activities, not for sinful activities. That is human society. If the human being does not discriminate what is pious activities and what is sinful activity, that means lack of brain. He has no brain. He is no better than the animals.

Morning Walk -- June 2, 1974, Geneva:

Prabhupāda: Just see. It is a country... People are not bad. I have seen. They are very nice. The government, the rascals, a few men, who are controlling the government, they are all rogues and thieves. The same thing in India. Everywhere mass population, they are innocent. These rascals made them..., misleading. In Russia I have seen. The mass people, they are very nice. Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānāḥ (SB 7.5.31). They are innocent. In India also. The Pakistan happened due to these politicians. The Hindus, Muslims, they are innocent. They don't fight. These politicians engaged them to fight artificially for their political ambition. The wars also declared nowadays, on account of the rascal politicians. The people do not want it. (break) ...to the Indian railway strike, have you got any news?

Room Conversation -- June 5, 1974, Geneva:

Yogeśvara: (French)

Prabhupāda: First of all, the quality. The quality of Christian is that he must obey the ten commandments. If he does not obey, then where is his Christianity? That is stated, guṇa-karma: by quality and work one becomes Christian or Hindu or Muslim. There must be the quality. But when the spirituality develops either from Christianity or Hindu or Muslim—it doesn't matter—then there is. Find out that verse, sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje (SB 1.2.6). Read it. This is the ideal of equality. Find out.

Room Conversation with Christian Priest -- June 9, 1974, Paris:

Prabhupāda: No. Even we are imperfect, with our... As far as our knowledge goes, generally, just like the Christians, they say "God is great." Is it not?

Priest: That is rather the Muslims.

Prabhupāda: Huh? That is Muslim.

Priest: Allah.

Prabhupāda: Allah akbar. So what is the conception of God of the Christian?

Priest: As you said, it's impersonal, trans-personal, what we explain by that Trinity. It's a relationship. It's a pure relationship.

Prabhupāda: Yes, relationship means that He must be a person.

Room Conversation with Christian Priest -- June 9, 1974, Paris:

Prabhupāda: If you think that Jesus Christ's name is also, you can chant, we have no objection. We say that you chant the holy name of God, whatever you have got. That's all right.

Priest: And for a Muslim you mean to chant Allah.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Priest: Name Kṛṣṇa, Allah, Jesus, (indistinct), what is the...

Prabhupāda: Allah is not name. That is... It is not the name. It is just like the idea of God.

Priest: Yeah.

Prabhupāda: Allah means God, īśvara.

Room Conversation with Christian Priest -- June 9, 1974, Paris:

Priest: Do you know the Sufi?

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Priest: Do you know the Sufis are Muslims (indistinct).

Prabhupāda: No.

Priest: They are the great mystics of Islam, and they always address God as Allah. As we say...

Prabhupāda: Allah means God.

Priest: Yes. It is the name of God for them. "Allah the all-knowing is great." Anybody who knows Islam knows that.

Room Conversation with Christian Priest -- June 9, 1974, Paris:

Prabhupāda: Anyway, if one chants Allah or Jesus Christ, we have no objection. We don't say that you stop it. We say that you chant the holy name of God. If that name is of God, you chant.

Yogeśvara: Yesterday, Srila Prabhupāda, you gave the story, I think you said it was from the Padma Purāṇa, about a Muslim who was attacked by a wild boar.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Yogeśvara: He was attacked by a wild boar, and the boars for the Muslims are untouchable. So he was saying haram, haram, which means untouchable. And he was killed by that boar, but it was taken by higher authority that he was chanting "ha rāma," which means "where is Lord Rāma," so he derived liberation. Even unconsciously he was chanting and derived liberation.

Room Conversation with Professor Durckheim German Spiritual Writer -- June 19, 1974, Germany:

Prabhupāda: Yes. It doesn't matter whether it is Christianity or Hinduism or Muslim or... Knowledge is knowledge. Wherever knowledge is available, you must pick up. So knowledge... Now let us explain, that knowledge has no color. Knowledge is knowledge. It doesn't matter whether Christianism or Hinduism or Mohammedan. Now, this is a knowledge, that every living entity is imprisoned within this body. This knowledge is equally good for Hindus, Muslim, Christian or everyone. There is no question of Christianism or Hinduism. The soul is imprisoned within this body, and the problem is birth, death, old age and disease on account of this body. But we want to live eternally, we want full knowledge; we want full blissfulness. To attain that goal of life, we must get out of this body. This is the process. (German) (break)

Room Conversation with Professor Durckheim German Spiritual Writer -- June 19, 1974, Germany:

Prabhupāda: If you don't like to chant Kṛṣṇa you chant in your own way. Chant the name of God. If you know the name of God chant it. If you do not know then take it from me. (laughter) We are recommending to chant the holy name of God. If you know, you chant that name and if you don't know then take it from me. (German) (break) ...explained by Caitanya Mahāprabhu that God has many thousands of names or God has no name. No name means He has, He has got so many thousands of millions of names that you cannot say, "This is only God's name." This is one sense. But how God names are understood? The God names are understood by His action. Just like we say Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa means all-attractive. God is all-attractive. God is attractive for the Hindus, for the Muslim, for the Christians, for everyone. Therefore, being all-attractive, there's a Sanskrit word of all-attraction, Kṛṣṇa. This is the explanation of the attribute of God. Similarly, if you've got similar name which explains the attributes of God, that is also God's name. (German) I think Lord Jesus Christ said "God, hallowed be Thy name."

Room Conversation with Pater Emmanuel (A Benedictine Monk) -- June 22, 1974, Germany:

Prabhupāda: So we are chanting Kṛṣṇa, or God, along with His energy. He has got two energies, spiritual energy and material energy. So at the present moment we are under the jurisdiction of material energy. So we are praying to Kṛṣṇa, "Kindly transfer me from the service of material energy to the service of spiritual energy." This is our whole philosophy. Hare Kṛṣṇa movement means, "O the energy of God and O God, Kṛṣṇa, please engage me in your service." Because our constitutional position is to give service. Some way or other, we have been put in the service of the material energy. So this service can be transferred to the spiritual energy. Then our life is successful. That is our philosophy, bhakti-mārga, bhakti-yoga. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam (CC Madhya 19.170). Here we are giving service as Hindu, as Muslim, as Christian, as Jain, as this or that. These are designation. Designation. When we become free of the designation and then serve God, that is called bhakti or devotion. Just like we have manufactured Christian religion, Hindu religion, Muslim religion, this religion, that religion. But when the religion will be without designation—I am neither Hindu nor Muslim nor Christian, but I am servitor of God—that is pure religion.

Room Conversation with Pater Emmanuel (A Benedictine Monk) -- June 22, 1974, Germany:

Prabhupāda: Not only Christianity, everywhere, the people now do not love God, but they love dog. Yes. Therefore this movement is required, awakening of God consciousness. Not the Christians, they are only to be accused, but Hindus, Muslim, everyone. They are simply stamp, but no obedience to God. This is the position.

Pater Emmanuel: Can you say exactly the point where Christians are not obedient. Do you see any points here by your visit to the Christian countries and you like to say for us? It is a help for us to say exactly the point.

Prabhupāda: Yes. The first point is that your commandment is "Thou shalt not kill," and you are maintaining regularly slaughterhouse. The first commandment is disobeyed. Do you agree or not?

Room Conversation with Pater Emmanuel (A Benedictine Monk) -- June 22, 1974, Germany:

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. We are also chanting Christ or Kṛṣṇa, the same thing. So let us join to together and chant. If you have got objection to chant Kṛṣṇa, you chant Christ or Christo. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktis tatrārpitā niyamitaḥ smaraṇe na kālaḥ. He says that God has got many multi names. Any one of them you chant because each and every name has the same potency as God the person, because His name and He, there is no difference. And if we become designationless, if we give up these titles, "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am Christian," and simply chant God's name, then we become on the spiritual platform immediately, without any discrimination that "Here is Hindu, here is Muslim, here is Christian, here is white, here is black," that. We are preaching that human form of life is meant for God realization or to learn how to love God. That is real business of human being. So either do it as a Christian or as a Muslim or as a Hindu, it doesn't matter. But do this business. (German)

Reporters Interview -- June 29, 1974, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: There is no second religion. There is only one religion. That is God consciousness. Now, as soon as you designate, "Christian," "Hindu," "Muslim," that is upādhi, designated religion. Just like you are here and you are in black coat. So if I say, "Black Mr. such and such," so to say, "Black Mr. such and such," there is no need. "Mr. such and such" is sufficient. But we have been accustomed to say like that, "Black Mr. such and such, white Mr. such and such." Similarly, religion is one, but due to our sophisticated mind, we call it "Christian religion," "Hindu religion," "Muslim religion." Why don't you come in? Why are you outside?

Devotee: I have my working clothes on, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Reporters Interview -- June 29, 1974, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: All right. So there cannot be... but for particular reason or circumstances we call it, but religion is one. That means to abide by the laws of God. That is religion. If you do not know what is God, what is His law, that is another thing. But the religion means to abide by the laws of God, that's all. It cannot be Hindu, Muslim, Christian. Just like the state law. So there are many persons, citizens of the state. The law is not that it is for the Christians, it is for the Jews, it is for the Negroes, it is for the white man. It is not like that. Law is the same for everyone. You can call it, "This is Negro law, this is white law, this is black law..." No. That is not very scientific. Scientific is that God is there and we are all... God is great, we are all subordinates and we have to obey the orders of God. That is religion. Am I right or wrong?

Reporters Interview -- June 29, 1974, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: Therefore you cannot say, "Christian religion, Hindu religion, Muslim religion." Religion is religion. That's... God is neither Hindu, Muslim, Christian. God is God. God is one. We... It may be that God is one, but we understand Him from different angles of vision, and that different angles of vision may be called as Christian angle vision, the Hindu angle vision, this Jew's angle vision. But that is angle of vision. Now, just like the sun is there. Here we see it is not so bright, but you ask some Arabian friend. What is, he will say, "it is very bright." So his appreciation of the sun is different from your appreciation here. It is cloudy; it is misty. But the sun is the same. There is no such thing as Hindu religion, Muslim religion, Christian religion. It is all sophisticated. Religion is one. You must know what is God, and you must know what is order and abide by it. You are religious. That's all. We are preaching that.

Room Conversation with Scientists -- July 2, 1974, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: ...these are all misconceptions because I am not this body. I am spirit soul. When the spirit soul goes away, then where is the distinction? Suppose in hospital some Hindu dies or some Muslim dies, some Christian die, the spirit... They are stacked together as useless matter. Is it not? There is no distinction there now, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, white, black. Now it is dead body, put aside. Eh? So, but when living, when the spirit soul is there, they are dividing, this designation. So this knowledge that so long the spirit soul is there in the body, it is important. As soon as the soul is gone, it is useless. But people are giving more stress on the body than on the active principle, living force, what is there. There is no study. Suppose you are all scientists. What is your studying about that living force that is moving the body?

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

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

Prabhupāda: No, dharma is duty, varṇāśrama-dharma. That is also given up. That means the only duty becomes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He said, sarva-dharmān parityajya. In the beginning He said that dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya. Yes. Yuge yuge sambhavāmi. Now, He said that "I appear to reestablish the principle of religion." So at the last stage He said, sarva-dharmān parityajya. That means the so-called dharmas, or religion, which is going on in the world, they are not real. And the Bhāgavata therefore says, dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo 'tra (SB 1.1.2), that "All kinds of pretending religion is rejected here." Pretending religion, what is that? Pretending... Just like gold. Gold is gold. If the gold is in the hand of some Hindu, then will it be called Hindu gold? Similarly, religion means obedience to God. So where is Hindu religion? Where is Christian religion? Where is Muslim religion? God is everywhere, and we are just meant for obeying God. That is one religion, obedience to God. Why they have manufactured this Hindu religion, Muslim religion, Christian religion, this religion, that...? Therefore they are all pretending religion. Real religion is obedient... Dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (SB 6.3.19). Just like law. Law is made by the state. The law cannot be Hindu law, Muslim law, Christian law, this law, that law. Law is meant for everyone. Obedience to the state. That is law.

Room Conversation -- March 2, 1975, Atlanta:

Prabhupāda: He is serving International Society. I am serving Kṛṣṇa, or he is serving Kṛṣṇa, like that. So everyone is serving, this is religion. To remain a servant. It does not mean that the Hindus are only servant, or Muslims are servant and Christians are not. Everyone is servant. Is it not a fact?

Professor Fenton: I hope it is.

Prabhupāda: That servitude or service has to be rendered to God. That is perfection of service. So that is religion. We are serving, I am serving this, you are serving that, you are serving... But when that service is rendered to God, Kṛṣṇa, that is perfect service, perfect, perfection aḥ... satisfaction, that is religion. According to Sanskrit dictionary or what is it called? The dictionary?

Interview -- March 5, 1975, New York:

Prabhupāda: This is the best humanity's service. They were all fools and rascals and we educated them for spiritual understanding. The material... If I think "I am this body," then I am no better than cat and dog. That is going on. "I am American." "I am Indian." "I am Hindu." "I am Muslim." "I am Christian." Only this bodily relationship. But suppose you have come to me, can I ask you whether you are body or something else?

Reporter: Swamiji, perhaps the deficiency is in my question. Let me rephrase the question, if you'll permit. And I realize there isn't much air to breathe. Hare Kṛṣṇa. But I will make the question brief. My question has to do with karma-yoga in the outer world, for instance, in New York City. From what I understand, your disciples do not pursue the professions. Is that correct?

Room Conversation with Reporter -- March 9, 1975, London:

Prabhupāda: Yes. Because they do not understand what is their position; therefore their teaching is simply waste of time. This is the position: that God is great, and we are all dependent on God. Who will deny this? This is the original principle. Now, in one religious system it may be taught in a little different way. In another religious system it may be... But if there is no such sense that "God is the supreme, and we are all subordinate servant..." This should be the basic idea. That is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:

sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo

yato bhaktir adhokṣaje

ahaituky apratihatā

yayātmā suprasīdati

(SB 1.2.6)

He says that "That is first-class religion which teaches the followers how to become obedient to God." It doesn't matter whether it's Christian religion or Hindu religion or Muslim religion. If they are teaching this fact, that... Actually they are doing that. Muslim they say, allah akbar. Christian people say, "God is great," and the Hindus also say, eko brahma dvitīya nāsti. So you go... Just the same teaching.

Room Conversation with Indian Guests -- March 13, 1975, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: I manufacture something, that is imperfect because I am imperfect. So how can I speak perfectly, or how can I give perfect knowledge? It is not possible because I am defective, I commit mistake, I am sometimes illusioned. Why sometimes? Practically always. Everyone is thinking that he is this body—he is Indian, he is American, he is Hindu, he is Muslim. That is illusion. He is not this body. Similarly, our senses are imperfect, and so long we are in the imperfect condition, if we teach, that means we cheat. I have no perfect knowledge, and still, I am trying to teach. That is cheating. Nobody should try to preach with imperfect knowledge. That is cheating. That is stated in the śāstra: bhrama, pramāda, vipralipsā and kāraṇa-patāvā. We are qualified with these imperfections, and therefore we cannot manufacture. Somebody says "in my opinion." So what is the value of your opinion? You are imperfect. If the child says "in my opinion," what is the value? Therefore we don't say, "in my opinion," "our opinion." We say "Kṛṣṇa says this," that's all.

Room Conversation with Yoga Student -- March 14, 1975, Iran:

Prabhupāda: No, what was his relationship? Just like Christ, he presented himself as the son of God. So what is the position of Muhammad?

Yoga student: He presented himself as a man, as considered by Muslims as the perfect man.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Atreya Ṛṣi: The disciple of God.

Yoga student: And he was the perfect expression of the divine manifestation in human terms. He was not a divine figure as Christ or Kṛṣṇa. He was simply a man, and who was the mouthpiece of the divine word.

Prabhupāda: What is the meaning of Allah akbar?

Yoga student: It means God, the greatest.

Prabhupāda: Greatest.

Room Conversation with Yoga Student -- March 14, 1975, Iran:

Prabhupāda: And Muhammad is the greatest? No. He is subordinate.

Yoga student: No. And in fact Muslims object to their religion being called Mohammedanism because it implies that they worship Muhammad, whereas in fact they feel that they go straight to God, to Allah, which... and that Muhammad simply was a messenger.

Prabhupāda: That's good.

Yoga student: And they regard... They call their religion Islam, which means submission.

Prabhupāda: That's very good.

Room Conversation with Yoga Student -- March 14, 1975, Iran:

Yoga student: The Muslim is he who submits.

Prabhupāda: Then God is the greatest, and we are finite, limited. We are not greatest. And our business is to serve Him. What is that?

Yoga student: Our business is to serve Him. Precisely as was said last night, our business is to satisfy Him.

Prabhupāda: That's it.

Yoga student: There is a tradition, and there's a body of forty traditions, which are called the sacred traditions, one of which says that these are the words of God as enunciated through Muhammad, one of them saying that "The more you strive towards Me, the more you love Me, the closer I come to you."

Prabhupāda: Oh, that's it. Then the ultimate goal is how to love God.

Yoga student: Yes.

Room Conversation with Yoga Student -- March 14, 1975, Iran:

Yoga student: They believe... The Sufis see the personality of Ali...

Prabhupāda: No, I am not talking of the Sufis. I am talking of the original Islam.

Yoga student: Well, the Sufis claim to be the original Muslims.

Prabhupāda: Do the all the Muslims accept them? Then?

Parivrājakācārya: There are about 780 different schools of Islam and different ideas.

Prabhupāda: Then? We have to take the original. Otherwise misled.

Yoga student: Well, I think the original path must be found in Sufism because that is the...

Prabhupāda: Then, if the original path is followed, why it is named Sufism?

Room Conversation with Yoga Student -- March 14, 1975, Iran:

Prabhupāda: They accept God, that's all. But God is here explained. They cannot give an explicit idea of God. But here is God speaking personally. They have got "There is God," "God is great." That's nice. But who is that God, how He is great, that they have to learn further. Simply a vague idea, that "God is great..." One should know how He is great and who is that great. That is perfection. So that is explained here. They accept God. That is... They are also our brother because they accept God. They are not atheist. Atheists, they don't accept God. "There is no God"—that is atheist. But here they are theist. They accept God. They want to please God. They go to the church, go to the mosque, offer prayer. Prayer is also bhakti, devotional service. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam, arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ... (SB 7.5.23). Śravanaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇam..., arcanaṁ vandanam. Vandanam. The Christian way or the Muslim way, to offer... The Muslim offer obeisances and offer prayer. So that is also bhakti. The Christian also do that, so that is also bhakti. And they accept God; we accept God. So there is no difference. But the only point is who is that God.

Room Conversation with Yoga Student -- March 14, 1975, Iran:

Guest: Do you know, sir, that it is exactly the same way of thinking which we have in our people who believe to Muhammad? They think that the teaching of Muhammad is the most superior one. And others... Of course, Muslims do believe to others' religions, to Moses, to Christ, and so on. They have the same way of thinking. They think that they are elementary stages...

Prabhupāda: The point is... Yes.

Guest: ...and Muhammad's teaching is supposed to be the superior one. So everybody thinks that his way or his way of thinking, his theory, his religion is the most superior one.

Prabhupāda: That's all right. That is all right. If you accept progress... Just like you are seeing the sun, I am also seeing the sun, the boy is also seeing the sun, but the understanding of the sun may be different. Everyone is seeing the sun. The objective is the same.

Morning Walk -- March 15, 1975, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: Why are they disobeying the order of Mohammed?

Guest: Yes, they follow. It's essentially the same practice as the majority.

Prabhupāda: Yes, you cannot amend on the words of Mohammed if you are a true Muslim.

Guest: I don't think they have meant to amend it, its just that...

Prabhupāda: Now why? There was five now they have made three. (indistinct) You cannot do that.

Guest: They maintain that, that Ali, that this was the practice of Ali. That Ali prayed at noon in the afternoon.

Guest: Ali is a representative of Mohammed.

Morning Walk -- March 15, 1975, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: No, what was his relationship? Just like Christ, he presented himself as the son of God. So what is the position of Mohammed?

Guest: He presented himself as a man, was considered by Muslims to be the perfect man.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Guest: And ah, he was the perfect expression of the divine manifestation in human terms. He was not a divine figure as Christ or Kṛṣṇa. He was a, ah, simply a man, and ah, he was the mouthpiece of the ah, divine word.

Prabhupāda: What is the meaning of Allah?

Morning Walk -- March 15, 1975, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: Greatest.

Guest: Yes, God as being the superlative of (indistinct).

Prabhupāda: Eh? Mohammed is the greatest? No, he's subordinate?

Guest: No. In fact, Muslims object to their religion being called Mohammedanism because it implies that they worship Mohammed. Whereas in fact they feel that they go straight to God, to Allah, which Mohammed is simply a messenger.

Prabhupāda: That's good.

Guest: And they call their religion Islam, which means submission.

Prabhupāda: That's very good.

Guest: The Muslim is he who submits.

Morning Walk -- March 15, 1975, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: No, I am not talking of the Sufis, I am talking of the original Islam.

Guest: The Sufis claim to be the original process.

Prabhupāda: Do they, all the Muslims accept them?

Devotee 2: There are about 780 different schools of Islam, different ideas they have.

Prabhupāda: You have to take the original, otherwise mislead.

Guest: I think the original path must be found in Sufism, it can be because that is the essence...

Prabhupāda: If the original path is followed, why it is named Sufism?

Guest: Because there were those who had fallen away from it.

Morning Walk -- March 15, 1975, Tehran:

Guest: I think the formalists have fallen away like the jñānīs in Hinduism. Just as there is a dispute between the Śaivites and the Vaiṣṇavites.

Prabhupāda: Who has fallen? The original Islam or the Sufis?

Guest: The Sufis are the original Muslims.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Guest: The Sufis are the original Muslims.

Prabhupāda: Sufis or (indistinct).

Devotee: Sufis are the original ah...

Prabhupāda: They are original cult?

Conversation with Devotees on Theology -- April 1, 1975, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: No, the... The... First of all, this should be established, whether God can be Christian God or Hindu God or Muslim God? Is God to be designated like that? God is one, so how there is one God? If Christian has got separate God, a Hindu has got separate god, Muslim has got separate God, then how God is one?

Prajāpati: Their answer would be: "We cannot talk about God. We can simply talk about the Christian tradition of God, or the..."

Prabhupāda: Now, again you come to the Christian God.

Acyutānanda: Then your knowledge is limited.

Prabhupāda: Then... Either Christian tradition... Then it becomes bound up by the Christian ideas.

Prajāpati: And that is exactly the situation today.

Conversation with Devotees on Theology -- April 1, 1975, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: But that is not God. Just like gold. Gold is everywhere gold. Because it is in Christian country, you cannot say, "It is Christian gold." And because it is in Muslim country, you cannot say, "It is Muslim gold." Gold is the world standard of money. The same gold, dispatched from America, can be accepted in India. Dispatched from India, it can be accepted in Palestine because it is gold. Everyone who knows what is gold, he'll accept it. So God should be like that. And therefore the name Kṛṣṇa, "all-attractive"... When there is gold, either you be Christian, Muslim, Hindu—"Oh, here is a lump of gold. Can I possess it?" That is attraction. So as gold is all-attractive, similarly, God must be all-attractive. And that word is used as Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa means all-attractive. One who knows gold, he'll be attracted. Doesn't matter whether he's Hindu or Muslim, Christian, poor, rich man, black, white. It doesn't matter. Here is gold, and everyone... Just like in your country there was gold rush. Eh? In California? From all different parts of the world they came. So gold is gold for everyone. So now one should try to understand or check what is gold. That is required.

Conversation with Devotees on Theology -- April 1, 1975, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: No. That, that is also beginning of understanding. But first, preliminary understanding should be that God is one. There cannot be Christian God. There cannot be Hindu God. There cannot be Muslim God. That is not complete idea of God. That is imperfect. Just like in Vedic literature, brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti: (SB 1.2.11) three phases of understanding of the Absolute. First, beginning, is Brahman, then, further advanced, Paramātmā, then, final advancement, Bhagavān. Similarly, the final realization of God is the Supreme Person. And then we should seek (see?) who is that person. That is real theology.

Pañcadraviḍa: What if they say, "We agree there's one God, but we do not agree that His name is Kṛṣṇa" or "We do not agree..."

Room Conversation -- April 4, 1975, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: No. The Bangladesh, they were Bengalis. Although the whole Pakistan, including Bangladesh and the other part, West Pakistan, East Pakistan, Bangladesh... So actually, Bangladesh is bigger than West Pakistan. They should have taken the government, majority. But the West Pakistan, by force they were ruling. They are not majority. So after all, they are Bengalis, maybe Muslim. They're intelligent than these Punjabis. Punjabis, they have got bodily strength, not brain. So these Bengalis, in Mujjhamat Raman, that was his demands, that: "We are majority. Why they should govern us? We should govern over them." This is the movement. So, but they're already in power. So how to throw them out of power? So he negotiated in India, that: "You help us to separate from..." And India's interest is that Pakistan becomes weak by separation, that is India's interest. So India agreed to help them. How to help? They organized a false, er, soldiers. You know? What is called? Bahini. Mean a freedom soldier. They organized freedom soldier.

Conversation with Governor -- April 20, 1975, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: ...that everyone is doing his own duty. Never mind if you are Christian or if you are a Muslim or Hindu, that, what is your duty, what is said in your scripture, you must do it. Not that "Because it is secular, I can do whatever I like."

Governor: Secular means I respect you, not only I am Hindu or do what I do...

Prabhupāda: Secular means impartial.(?)

Governor: But also not come in the way of a Muslim.

Prabhupāda: No, there is no need. Secular means government's duty is that "You call yourself a Hindu. Whether you are acting as Hindu? You call yourself as Muslim. Whether you are acting as Muslim?" This is government's duty. Government does not say or prefer that "You are Christian. It is not good. You become Hindu." No, that is not government's... You remain your Christian, but government's duty is that whether he is acting as Christian.

Morning Walk -- May 7, 1975, Perth:

Prabhupāda: Government means they are full of rascals. Government by the people. So you are all rascals, the government is also rascal. Your democracy means government by the people for the people. So all the people are rascals, beginning from the Pope down to the common man. Therefore the government is rascal.

Paramahaṁsa: But not all of us are Christians. Some of us are Muslims, and in the Koran Mohammed says that eating meat is all right. In fact it is required to be a good Muslim, to eat meat.

Prabhupāda: They spoke in the desert. What will they eat? But you are not in the desert. Meat-eating is a crude form of eating when people are uncivilized. When there is no other food, you cannot produce. But when you are civilized, when you learn how to produce other foods, why would you eat meat? How are you civilized?

Morning Walk -- May 7, 1975, Perth:

Amogha: Śrīla Prabhupāda, in Sikhism there was Guru Nanak and Guru Granth Sahib. Is that actually a real scripture, and was Guru Nanak actually a devotee? Or is that not correct?

Prabhupāda: They created a system of religion which can include Hindus and Muslim. That was at the time needed. But that is not a good system of religion.

Paramahaṁsa: You mean a compromise between the two.

Prabhupāda: Compromise, yes. There was too much strain between Hindus and Muslims, so he wanted to make a compromise. Actually there was only Vedic culture all over the world. As the things deteriorated, new systems of religion came in. Either the Sikh religion or the Christian or this religion, Muslim religion. They are, what is called, deformed type of religion. Religion is that sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ (BG 18.66). That is religion. These are later on deformed.

Morning Walk -- May 10, 1975, Perth:

Prabhupāda: (laughing lightly) You cannot say that I have introduced it. It is already there. As it is there in India, it is also everywhere. It may be under different names. The four classes are already there, everywhere. The... Even in Muslim, they have also got the (indistinct), what is called, mohallas, priestly class. They have got. We are introducing the systematic caste system, but caste system is already there, everywhere. Maybe under different names. And it is necessary. The caste system is there as a matter of necessity. You cannot abolish it. But it is now existing in a deformed manner. People should be systematic and organized. That we are trying to. Not that a new thing we are trying to introduce. It is already there. Our proposition is that "You priestly class, you must act exactly as a priest-ideal priest. You are a drunkard, you are woman-hunter, you are doing everything nonsense, and at the same time you are passing on as priest—this should be stopped." This should be stopped.

Room Conversation with Justin Murphy (Geographer) -- May 14, 1975, Perth:

Prabhupāda: No, one thing is that may be Anglican, may be Roman Catholics, may be Christian, may be Hindu or Muslim or anyone. Whether they have God in their conception of religion or not. Do they have God or no God?

Justin Murphy: Well they all have. They must have, to be a religion.

Prabhupāda: So I am asking that "You chant the holy name of God. If you have God, you chant the holy name of that God." I don't say that "You chant the holy name of my God." You chant the holy name of your God. God is one. Just like water. Somebody says "water," somebody says "pāni," somebody says "jala," but the end is, the aim is, water. Similarly, God... I may say "Kṛṣṇa," you may say "Jehovah," the Muslims may say "Allah," or others may say something else, but the aim is God.

Room Conversation with Ganesa dasa's Mother and Sister -- May 14, 1975, Perth:

Prabhupāda: God is the Supreme Truth. So Supreme Truth cannot be Hebrew truth, Christian truth, Hindu truth. Truth is truth. Just like gold. Because gold is found in America, nobody says, "It is American gold." It is gold. So similarly, God is one. He is for Hebrew, He is for Hindu, He is for Muslim, He is for everyone. Simply we have to know what is God. So if you try to understand through Hebrew religion, that's all right. But if you come to know what is God, that is all right. Otherwise useless. If you cannot understand what is God, then Hebrew, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, these different names, they are useless. And if you understand God, then whatever method it is, it is all good.

Mother: Yes.

Room Conversation with Alcohol and Drug Hospital People -- May 16, 1975, Perth:

Prabhupāda: Any religion. Christian religion does not allow illicit sex. No adultery.

Guest (2): Any religious principles?

Prabhupāda: This is religious principle. In the animal kingdom there is no marriage, but in the human society—may be Christian, may be Hindu, may be Muslim—there is marriage system. That is religious system.

Guest (2): Is polygamy illicit?

Prabhupāda: No.

Guest (2): Not illicit. But it is...

Room Conversation with Jesuit -- May 19, 1975, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: No, you can keep me engaged whole day and night, (laughter) provided you have got time. We are meant for this purpose. If anyone can understand God consciousness, that is a great profit for us. Now our appeal is to everyone, every religious sect, that people are becoming godless generally at the present moment. So we should make combined effort to revive their God consciousness. Otherwise it is doomed. And there is no question of Christian God or Hindu God or Muslim God. God is one. So there should be no difference between the system. According to the time and circumstances, there may be little difference, but really if we can understand God, either through Christianity or through Hinduism or Muslim, that is our profit. That is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje (SB 1.2.6). "That is first-class religion, following which, one becomes a lover of God". You become a lover of God. That we want to see. It doesn't matter whether you go through Christian religion or Mohammedan religion or Hindu religion or Buddhist...

Room Conversation with Journalist -- May 19, 1975, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: No, total human being, 400,000 species. Altogether, 8,400,000 species of living entities. So these are coming, evolution, by the laws of nature. You cannot stop it. The laws of nature, you cannot interfere. In this way we come to the human form of body, and especially civilized human being. Supposedly, it is the Aryans. The Aryan family, they are the topmost civilized group amongst the living entities. Now, in this life one has to enquire about himself that what is the difference between me and the dog? Why I am claiming a better position than the dog? What is the difference? The difference is that a human being, if he endeavors, he can understand his real constitutional position and he can understand God also. God. Therefore in the human society, civilized human society, there is some sort of religious system. It does not matter whether it is Hindu religion, Muslim religion, Christian religion, or Buddha religion. There is some religion in the civilized human society.

Morning Walk -- May 29, 1975, Honolulu:

Prabhupāda: All nonsense. They are professing I am Christian, I am Hindu, I am Muslim, but they are enemies, one another. So where is their religion? Just see, common sense. Even the animals, amongst themselves, they do not say "Keep out." Sit down together. They sit down actually. The birds, beasts of the same position, they keep together. Birds of the same feather flock... But human being, having, professing so many religions-enemies. This is their civilization. They discover better religion, but enemies to the animal, to the man, everyone. Therefore Bhāgavata religion is meant for persons who are not enemies. Paramo nirmatsarāṇām (SB 1.1.2). That is religion. We have come to here from India not as enemy but as friend, to give you Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is dharma. Although politically they are enemies-India is thinking "America is my enemy," or America is thinking "India is my enemy"—we do not think like that. We go everywhere, take Kṛṣṇa consciousness, be happy. This is our business. Paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satām. "Private. Keep out."

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

Prabhupāda: No, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa's... What Kṛṣṇa says, that is written in the Bhagavad-gītā. Why don't you take it, Bhagavad-gītā, that instruction? What is wrong there? Every problem is solved there. Now, so far economic... Now the question is economic. So Kṛṣṇa says, annād bhavanti bhūtāni (BG 3.14). So where is the objection? Produce food grain, and both animal and man will be happy. So who will disagree with this point? Follow this. Annād bhavanti bhūtāni. Kṛṣṇa says first. This is economic. Social—Kṛṣṇa says, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). The human society should be divided into four classes according to quality and work. So four classes there are. First class, intelligent class; the second class, the administrators; the third class, the mercantile; and the fourth class, who are not within these three class. That is going on. Now make it systematic. The first-class man... Who is a first-class man? Then... Find out. Satya śamo damaḥ titikṣa ārjavaḥ, jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.42). Train first-class men. He must be truthful. He must be self-controlled, controlling the mind, controlling the senses. He must have full knowledge of the whole world, jñānaṁ vijñānam, practical application. So where is the question of that "I am Sikh," "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim..."

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

Prabhupāda: Brahma-karma svabhāva... this is first-class man. Śamaḥ. Śamaḥ means controlling the sense or controlling the mind. And damaḥ, controlling the sense. Now, if either you may be Hindu, Muslim, Christian... Now, if I say, "Please come here. Learn this thing, how to control the mind, how to control the senses," so who will object to it? So if anyone is trained up, it doesn't matter from which sect, which family he is coming, if he has learned how to control the mind, how control the senses, then he becomes first-class man. So we have got everything already spoken by God. If we accept it, then there is unity. But we don't accept, we manufacture something. That is the difficulty.

Yogi Bhajan: Yeah, but let us agree to confer...

Prabhupāda: No, no. Your...

Morning Walk -- June 25, 1975, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Animal condition. Not only horrible, it is animal condition. They do not want to know God. Just like these animals, they are not interested. So they have no church, the animals, or temple. But in the human society, either he is Hindu or Muslim or Christian, there is some arrangement for understanding God. Now they are also neglecting that, everyone, all over the world. Now they are clearly... The Communists, they hate to say anything about God. So ultimately they are coming to such position, the Communists, that "No word about God." So this is the position. Now apart from them, just like theologists and theosophists. They are, at least, after understanding what is God, but they cannot ascertain definitely. So why do they not take? We are offering, "Here is God." Where is the objection? Why they should object? If you do not know something and if I give you the information, why you should not take?

Morning Walk -- June 25, 1975, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: So we can describe. (break) Let them take it. If they cannot describe, then take the description from us. We can give. That is knowledge. Nīcād apy uttamā vidyā strī-ratnaṁ duṣkulād api. Why they should hesitate, "No, no, why shall I take from him? He is a Hindu." Or "He is a Muslim." What is this? Knowledge has to be taken wherever it is available.

Bahulāśva: In the Bible it says that no one has ever seen God.

Prabhupāda: But then why don't you go who has seen God? Why remain foolish? That is the Vedic injunction. Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). If you do not know, if you have not seen, then go to guru. Why should I sit idle, "I have not seen; I will never see"? Is that knowledge? Go there where you can see. That is intelligence. "Nobody has seen. Therefore there is no use of seeing." What is this argument? This is no argument.

Morning Walk -- June 26, 1975, Los Angeles:

Jayatīrtha: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Negroes are envious of the white men.

Jayatīrtha: Yes. In Detroit every year one out of every five hundred people is murdered.

Prabhupāda: White man?

Jayatīrtha: White men and black men. Usually black men are murdering.

Prabhupāda: What is the reason? The same feeling as in India, Hindu Muslim. But it is not so strong.

Brahmānanda: No. (end)

Morning Walk -- July 1, 1975, Denver:

Prabhupāda: Who?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Gandhi. I mean, she always turns towards the Muslims more.

Prabhupāda: No, no, she has guru. And she is going occasionally to Anandamayi.

Brahmānanda: Yeah, that guru has spoken highly of our movement. In Germany there was an interview of him in one German magazine, and he was asked about all different types of groups. And most of the groups he criticized, but our group he gave his recommendation, the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement.

Prabhupāda: What did he say?

Brahmānanda: I don't remember exactly, but he stressed the importance of the chanting of the mahā-mantra. He said "It is an important means for God realization, and by doing this, one can achieve love of God, and they are spreading this all over the world."

Room Conversation with the Mayor of Evanston -- July 4, 1975, Chicago:

Prabhupāda: They are missing the aim of life. That is the... The aim of life is, an..., not according to Vedic, but anyone, the aim of life is how to realize God. That is aim. In the animal life or in other lives less important than the human being there is no question of God realization. In the human life, the civilized human life, there is religion. It doesn't matter whether one is Christian or a Hindu or a Muslim or a Buddhist. These are the principle religions of the world. So any civilized man must be inquisitive to know what is the original source of everything. That philosophy is there. It is called Brahma-sūtra or Vedānta-sūtra. Perhaps you have heard the name, Vedānta philosophy. Veda means knowledge, and anta means end. In the materialistic way of knowledge they did not find any end, and they accept it "That this is progress." But one must come to the end of the knowledge, what is the ultimate knowledge. So generally they are missing what is the ultimate knowledge. We are searching after knowledge in so many ways but what is the ultimate knowledge?

Room Conversation with the Mayor of Evanston -- July 4, 1975, Chicago:

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. We invite. As soon as they have got a leisure hour, let them come and live with us for one week and see the result. They can remain forever. It doesn't matter. But for experimental sake they can come, live with us and associate with us. It is not difficult. And we invite everyone. We have no such discrimination that black, white, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, no. Anyone. It is universal. Because we consider every living entity is part and parcel of God. That is a fact. We are teeny gods, part and parcel. The same quality we have got—in minute quantity. Quality is the same, quantity is less. So God is good, so we are also good. But we have become bad under circumstances. Just like under infection, one becomes diseased. So if we cure that infection, again he becomes good. So it is the curing process. It is not an external artificial thing, imposed upon somebody, no. His goodness is there. Just like generally a man is healthy, but by infecting some disease he becomes diseased. So this material way of life is a kind of infection. So we have to cure that.

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

Prabhupāda: No, no. That is the difficulty. We do not know the meaning of religion. At the present moment the human society does not know what is the meaning of religion. The meaning of religion is to abide by the laws of God, just like a good citizen means who abides by the laws of the state, of the government. Because we have no understanding of God, therefore we do not know what is the laws of God, and therefore we do not know what is religion. That is the present status of the human society. They are forgetting religion. They take religion as a kind of faith. Faith may be blind faith. Faith is not the real description of religion. Religion means the laws which is given by God, and anyone who follows the laws, he is religious. It doesn't matter whether he is a Christian or a Hindu or Muslim. If he follows the laws of God, then he is religious.

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

Prabhupāda: We don't say that. We don't say that. We say that you follow any religious system. Doesn't matter. But you understand God and love Him. That is our propaganda. We do not say that "You are Christian. This is not good. You come here." We do not say. Why say? Everything is... But our proposition is that either you are Christian or Muslim or Hindu, it doesn't matter. You understand God and love Him, that's all.

Lt. Mozee: I recognize, sir, that your time is very valuable and I won't delay you much longer. If I could return to my original purpose for coming in the..., what words you may have that would assist us, my superintendent and my department, in the reduction of crime, other than, I recognize, that the first and the foremost way would be a return to God as you said, that there is no doubt about that. But is there something else that you may know or that you may feel that you may be able to say that would assist us in a reduction less than the ideal?

Room Conversation with writer, Sandy Nixon -- July 13, 1975, Philadelphia:

Prabhupāda: Religion means primarily to know God and love Him. That is religion. And nobody knows God, and what to speak of loving Him? Nobody is trained up how to know God and how to love Him. They are satisfied by going to the church: "O God, give us our daily bread." That also not everyone goes. So the Communist says that "You don't go to the church. Bread we shall supply." So poor innocent persons, they get bread elsewhere, so they do not go to church. But nobody is serious to understand what is God and how to love Him. Nobody is serious. Therefore in Bhāgavatam, it is said, it is cheating religion. I profess some religion, but I do not know what is God and how to love Him. That's all. So that type of religion is cheating religion. Religion means to know God and love Him. But generally, a man does not know what is God and what to speak of loving Him? So therefore that is cheating religion. That is not religion. But so far Christian religion is concerned, there is ample chance of understanding God. But they do not care for it. Take for example, the commandment is "Thou shall not kill." But in the Christian world, best slaughterhouses are maintained. So how they can become God conscious? They disobey the commandments, do not care for Lord Jesus Christ's order. So this is not only in Christian religion. Every religion, it is going on. It is simply rubber stamp. "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am Christian." And none of them do know what is God and how to love Him.

Conversation with Professor Hopkins -- July 13, 1975, Philadelphia:

Prabhupāda: Yes. Dharmasya hy āpavargyasya nārtho 'rthāyopakalpate. The first thing is that people become religious. Just like in your Christian religion they go to the church to get some material profit. "Oh God, give us our daily bread." This is material profit. Similarly, Hindus or Muslims, they become religious, dharma artha kāma mokṣa (SB 4.8.41, Cc. Ādi 1.90), the material activities. Those who are actually advanced... Those who are not even human beings, their philosophy is different. Those who are human beings, their dharma, religion. Then artha, economic development, and then kāma, sense gratification, and then mokṣa, liberation. These four things are taken as general activities. So Bhāgavata says your dharma... Religious principle means the ultimate goal is how to become liberated, not artha. Artha means economic development.

Morning Walk -- July 25, 1975, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: You have not come to that perfection, so you are not important. (break) ...Muslim country there is a word, khodaka upar kimvar dhari. (?) Khoda (?) means God. These rascals want to go above God. (break)

Jayādvaita: ...tees have remarked that since you have come to Los Angeles, the Deity has increased in beauty many times, Kṛṣṇa. (break)

Prabhupāda: ...my anxiety, that in my absence you may neglect Deity worship. Then the whole thing will be spoiled. That is my anxiety. (break)

Rādhā-vallabha: ...are very worried. They say the earth has a certain tilt, and every few million years the tilt is changing little, little, and by this changing eventually the ice on the North and South Poles will melt, they say. So they are very afraid because then their estimate is that the entire earth will be covered with water.

Prabhupāda: Why he is..? Why he is afraid?

Morning Walk -- July 28, 1975, San Diego:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: El Cid Conquedor.

Jayatīrtha: He was a famous Spanish soldier.

Rāmeśvara: He fought the Muslims when they invaded Spain. He is a famous Spanish man who fought against the Muslims when they invaded. From Africa, they crossed over the sea and invaded Spain.

Brahmānanda: The Moors. (break)

Prabhupāda: This has got some meaning. What is this matchbox? There is earth, there is sands (sense?), there is comfort. So we shall go this way or...? (break) It is all vacant? (break) Big demonstration of cow fighting, bull fighting, and kill them. Such a Christian is trying to convert others as Christians! Just see the fun. Christ said, "Thou shall not kill," and they are sporting with the life of bull, and they are Christian. We have to believe.

Morning Walk -- August 24, 1975, Delhi:

Brahmānanda: So they could speculate about the stars and planets. (break)

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: ...all the British names out and replaced them with Italian and Indian and other names.

Tejas: Many Muslim names they have replaced also. Because they are supposed to be historical. (break)

Prabhupāda: This is the road. This is the bus. (break)

Tejas: Many of the members are reading the books now, Śrīla Prabhupāda. One man, he is coming tonight. He has read your Bhagavad-gītā six times now. He is very enthusiastic. Now he is thinking that he has wasted his whole life. That's the way he talks.

Morning Walk -- August 24, 1975, Delhi:

Tejas: Babar was also a minister of his?

Prabhupāda: Babar was father of Akbar, Babar.

Tejas: These are all Muslim names here.

Prabhupāda: It was Muslim kingdom. Todarmal is Hindu. The Muslim emperors, they used to employ Hindus as chief of department.

Tejas: Like Rūpa Gosvāmī.

Prabhupāda: They did not believe Muslims to become the chief. They knew it very well that these Muslims are not reliable. They can kill their father even.

Morning Walk -- September 3, 1975, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: As soon as you make "Hindu religion," "Muslim religion," "Christian religion," immediately it is not religion, immediately. Because Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya (BG 18.66). Why does He say, sarva-dharmān parityajya? (Aside:) Hare Kṛṣṇa. Jaya. Because that is not religion. The so-called religions which are going on, they are not religion. That we do not say at the present moment because you are not so strong. But we have to say that. There is no religion. All cheating. Why Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya (BG 18.66)? Why?

Akṣayānanda: Because there is no other religion.

Prabhupāda: Yes. There is no religion.

Morning Walk -- September 26, 1975, Ahmedabad:

Prabhupāda: Caitanya Mahāprabhu, when He entered Jagannātha temple, He immediately fainted: "Oh, here is my Lord." So it is the question of seeing.

Indian man (6): But what is our inner things? How we know it? In our classical music, actually Lord Kṛṣṇa is the main figure in all... In even Muslim classical music, they also pray Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda: Premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti (Bs. 5.38). We have to create our eyes to see. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Indian man (7): (break) ...unless there is a good center. Mr. Marya said that you are going to have one here.

Prabhupāda: (Hindi)

Morning Walk -- September 30, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: No, no. In comparison to Vaiṣṇava ācāryas... Apart from the Vaiṣṇava ācāryas, they have done nothing even like me, what to speak of the ācāryas. I am only a servant and a servant of the ācāryas. They could not do anything. They admit. Real Arya-samājīs, they admit that, that "What was our program, you have executed."

Dr. Patel: In Punjab there was lot of Muslim hierarchy, and that is what they wanted, that... Arya-samājīs.

Prabhupāda: But we are not against any "ism," either Muslimism or Christianism. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we never preach against anyone.

Dr. Patel: It was a socio-economic problem or socio-political, not a religious problem.

Prabhupāda: Whatever it may be, but we never criticize anyone. When the Christians come forward—"Whether our Christian religion can also give the same meaning"—"Yes, why not?" Yes.

Morning Walk -- September 30, 1975, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: This Bhagavad-gītā has got everything, all aspects of life.

Prabhupāda: No, no. This is the beginning of teaching, that "You are not this body." If you remain in the false understanding that "I am this body," "I am Indian," "I am Englishman," "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," there is no spiritual education. Mohita. That is called mohita. Tribhir guṇamayair bhāvair, mohitaṁ nābhijānāti. He remains in ignorance. (aside:) (Hindi) Jaya.

Passerby: (Hindi)

Prabhupāda: He's a great devotee. Humbleness.

Morning Walk -- October 5, 1975, Mauritius:

Prabhupāda: The other man I said, "Why do you bring India? Never... Kṛṣṇa never said, 'yadā yadā hi Hindu dharmasya glānir...' (laughter) Nonsense, what is this? Dharmasya glānir bhavati. Why do you bring 'Hindu dharma,' India?" That is their imperfectness of knowedge. We are not talking of Hindu dharma, Muslim dharma, this dharma. We are talking of what is religion. Dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (SB 6.3.19). Religion means the law given by God. You should know what is God, what is that law. That is religion.

Devotee (6): They all think we are propagating Hindusim because we're wearing dhotī...

Prabhupāda: They are thinking. They are rascals. They are thinking like that. Therefore I say they are imperfect. They are imperfectly thinking. So... So there were many Muslims, and the Christian, that Scotland man, he appreciated.

Room Conversation -- October 5, 1975, Mauritius:

Guest (1): Yes. I have contacted two president of village. For example, Iskadye(?) There is a village known as Iskadye. Now there is Marshali.(?)

Prabhupāda: And we have no distinction that "He is Hindu. He is Muslim. He is Christian." No. Everyone is welcome to take this culture, education. We have no such sectarian view. No.

Devotee: Excuse me. Your idea is a program similar to what we've done or been doing previously?

Guest (1): No, Swamijī. Previously you have been only going one day in a village. Only one day means two hours or like this. People are influenced...

Prabhupāda: Once or continual. Yes. That is required.

Morning Walk -- October 7, 1975, Durban:

Prabhupāda: Oh. When they open?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: About seven-thirty. Botanical gardens. (break)

Prabhupāda: These are owned by Indians?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: These are some Muslim shops and Indian shops mostly. (break)

Prabhupāda: ...are employed in the factory?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Yes. Very menial labor, driving trucks and delivery. Gokulendra, when he went to...

Prabhupāda: They are given equal facility for education?

Morning Walk -- October 7, 1975, Durban:

Prabhupāda: So the European come here to shop, for shopping?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Oh, yes.

Prabhupāda: They are Indians or, these, white?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Muslims. Most of these Muslims originally from Gujarat side. Their forefathers came here.

Prabhupāda: They are called Boris. (pronounces "Boreez") Boris Muslim.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Boris Muslim.

Prabhupāda: They were formerly Hindus. All Muslims were Hindus formerly.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: They have an Islamic propagation center here, and I went there. I was walking by one day. They invited me in. So they began to blaspheme this and that. So I asked them, "What is your conception of God?" He said, "God is beyond conception."

Room Conversation with the Rector, Professor Olivier and Professors of the University of Durban, Westville -- October 8, 1975, Durban:

Prabhupāda: It is not the Hindu point of view. It is science. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13)—that is applicable both for Hindu, Muslim, Christian, everyone. Just like a Hindu child and a Muslim child. Does it mean that Hindu child will not grow to become young man? Only the Muslim will grow? The dehāntara-prāptiḥ—a child becomes a boy—that is equally applicable to the Hindus, to the Muslim, to the Christian, to everyone.

Professor: Of course, yes.

Prabhupāda: Then where it is, the religion? It is the science.

Professor: Yes. But the Christian, for example, says...

Room Conversation with the Rector, Professor Olivier and Professors of the University of Durban, Westville -- October 8, 1975, Durban:

Prabhupāda: Now... Yes, that we can say like this, that "two plus two equal to four"—this is applicable to the Hindus, Muslim, Christian, everyone. This is science.

Professor: Yes. No, no, I understand. I understand. I know where your argument is going to. But any case, let us beg to differ. Because... Let us accept it. I just want to say I agree with you in this sense. I agree with you in this sense, Swami, that if we do not pay attention to the religious side, then we keep the people in darkness. We have to, on the religious side too. (someone entering) Professor Olivier, the rector. (introducing) ...And this is our Swami Bhaktivedanta.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: The principal of the university, Śrīla Prabhupāda. Hare Kṛṣṇa. How are you?

Room Conversation with the Rector, Professor Olivier and Professors of the University of Durban, Westville -- October 8, 1975, Durban:

Indian man (3): I want an answer, please. Are you suggesting that every person, whether he is Muslim or Christian or Buddhist or Jew or Parsi or anybody else for that matter, should accept the Hindu doctrine of transmigration or reincarnation of soul in order that he may be called really a religious person or a scientific person?

Prabhupāda: Well, the difficulty is that we are talking of transmigration of the soul on scientific basis. But you are trying to give it a Hindu color. Why? To become... I have already explained. To become old man is equally applicable to the Hindus, Muslim, Christian. So why you say it is Hindu belief? It is not Hindu belief. It is a science. Why you are bringing "Hindu, Muslim, Christian"? I do not know why.

Indian man (4): The real question between this statement of Mr. Professor and you is that what is religion and what is science. Unless the nature of science and religion defined...

Prabhupāda: Yes. Science is applicable to everyone.

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

Prabhupāda: No, you can give an experiment. We don’t charge anything. You see how he teaches. Then if you like, you can appoint.

Prof. Olivier: He would have to be acceptable to the Hindu community because it would be for them only, not for the Christians or for the Muslims.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Well, the Hindu community accepts our movement. Every program we have, we have at least...we’ve seen at City Hall we had full house, last night (?) full house, and they very much appreciate our movement in particular. They come to us with many questions. So any representative of our movement is pure in his activities and his understanding of the philosophy is comprehensive, so they have no objection. But they see practically that the big men in the Hindu community here, in Johannesburg and Durban...

Prabhupāda: You can ask the Hindu community.

Morning Walk -- Durban, October 13, 1975 :

Prabhupāda: Victim of European propaganda. He used to take "Anything Indian, bad. Anything Indian, bad." Not only he. Later on, all the so-called educated persons, they took it for granted that "Whatever is done in London, that is first-class, and whatever is Indian original, that is all bad." And they controlled the native princes. So many things. It is a big history, how they killed India's original culture. And then Hindu-Muslim riots, friction, fighting between Hindus and Muslims and dividing them.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: You said that the British instigated the Muslims.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: How did they do that?

Morning Walk -- Durban, October 13, 1975 :

Prabhupāda: Oh, you… Nowadays you pay somebody, and he will do anything. So they appointed this Jhinna. He found that he is a very, intelligent lawyer. He was in the Congress. So there was dissension. There must be. So once this Jhinna was to be the president of the Congress, and the Patel, he frustrated. So Jhinna became angry, and at this moment the Britishers took it. He was a very intelligent barrister. So he instigated that, "You form a party, Muslim league. And whatever money is required for propaganda, we shall pay." So regular subscription was raised from all big, big British companies, mercantile, to pay him: "Whatever money, you organize the Muslims against the Hindus." And he did it.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Jhinna, he was Muslim.

Morning Walk -- Durban, October 13, 1975 :

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Jhinna, he was Muslim.

Prabhupāda: He was neither Muslim nor Hindu. He was an intelligent barrister coming from the… His father, means not real father, his father was Parsi, and he kept one Mohammedan girl. So the Jhinna is the issue of this… (to passerby) Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Indian: Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Hare Kṛṣṇa. Today at 2:30 we have program at Peter Mather Hall. Yes. Come along.

Indian: Not Carlisle Street?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: No. Carlisle Street is the Arya-samāj temple. (laughs) So…

Prabhupāda: "So if you make propaganda and pay money to go against the Hindus and incite them"—gradually it developed. And the money was being paid by the Britishers. And he saw that money is coming. He had no feeling, national or… He wanted money, that's all. For money you can purchase anything nowadays.

Morning Walk -- Durban, October 13, 1975 :

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: (entering car) Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. Over the Muslims.

Prabhupāda: No, Britishers. The Muslims interfered. They wanted to propagate Islamism. Not all, some of them. But Britishers, although they were spreading Christianism, still, outwardly they were neutral about religious affairs. So Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura preferred that "Britishers are good. They do not interfere with our religious affair." So the idea is that India—you may say primitive or whatever you want—they wanted to make progress of the soul. They did not care who is ruling. So "Whatever tax is due we shall pay. Let us do our own business." That was India's attitude. They never thought in terms of nationalism. That was never educated. They were never educated.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: (to driver) Go down this street, Prabhu.

Prabhupāda: Nationalism was unknown to India. They never thought.

Morning Walk -- Durban, October 13, 1975 :

Bhargava: … allow the Muslims to enter and do so much damage to the Vedic culture?

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Bhargava: Why did Kṛṣṇa allow the Muslims to enter and do so much damage to the…

Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa is your father's servant that you do something wrong and Kṛṣṇa has to check it? Is your Kṛṣṇa your father's servant? Then why do you ask this question? If you allow somebody to cut your head, has Kṛṣṇa to come to save you? Why do you ask this nonsense question? You are Kṛṣṇa conscious. Samo ’haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu. If you cut your own head, what Kṛṣṇa will do? In the same term, nationalism, as Vedic culture is Kṛṣṇa's national affair, your disease is there. Why Kṛṣṇa will come to save the Vedic culture? What business He has got? If you are spoiling it, then why Kṛṣṇa will come? Spoil, and suffer. (break) … the same question in a different way, "Why India? Why Kṛṣṇa?" as if Kṛṣṇa is Indian. Kṛṣṇa is Indian? Then why do you ask this question, that “Kṛṣṇa will come to save India's culture?”

Room Conversation -- October 29, 1975, Nairobi:

Prabhupāda: That is natural. When they plunder, they are united, and when they share, there will be fight. This is psychology. When plundering others' property they will unite and take the whole thing, and then, when they come for sharing, there will be fight. This is the psychology everywhere. Therefore there are so many parties. Just like in India the... Of course, Congress Party was the predominant to fight with the Britishers. And as soon as they got independence, so many hundred thousand parties grew up: the Congress Party, the RSS party, the Hindu-mazara(?) party, the Muslim League party, this party, this party. And then they began to fight. This is the way. Senayor eva sa ucyate. All these thieves and rascal, rogues... God's property, why you should fight amongst themselves? Property belongs to somebody else. Insanity. Just like this is government park. Anyone can come in. Everyone can equally enjoy. So why not make the whole world as Kṛṣṇa's park? What is the difficulty?

Morning Walk -- November 3, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: No, there cannot be uniformity. On the bodily concept of life there cannot be any uniformity. That is a... When uniformity comes? Samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu. When? Brahma-bhūtaḥ. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati (BG 18.54). Then uniformity. You have no knowledge of Brahman. You are living like cats and dogs. How there can be uniformity? That is not possible. (break) Practically you see uniformity. Somebody is coming from Europe; somebody, American; somebody, African; somebody, Canada; somebody, Hindu; somebody, Muslim; somebody, Christian. How they are becoming uniform? Because on the Brahman platform. And if you remain in this bodily concept of life, there is no question of uniformity. Para... (break) ...nirmatśarāṇāṁ. This uniformity means "I am envious of you; you are envious of me." This is our position. Bhāgavata says that this... Bhāgavata culture is meant for paramo nirmatsarāṇām (SB 1.1.2).

Morning Walk -- November 4, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: arya-samājīs, do they believe in God? I don't think.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: They are impersonalists.

Indian man (1): (Hindi) (break)

Prabhupāda: Parsi, Hindu, Muslim, they will take anyone, provided he teaches you how to love God. Otherwise useless. If you don't get the knowledge how to love God, then it is useless waste of time. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (break) Every time I would say Hare Kṛṣṇa, some of them were lying and have distributed by sticks. (break) ...it is stated that he was seeing everything material as nonsense, avastuvāt. Avastu means no substance. Vastu means substance. And he was surprised how a man can become without Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Because he was a child, five years old, he was surprised that "How these people, my father and others, they are without Kṛṣṇa consciousness?"

Morning Walk -- November 4, 1975, Bombay:

Yaśomatīnandana: That is also propounded by him only, that "You can do anything as long as you know that you are not this body, you are soul." I heard that one day he went into the Muslim mosque and said, "Today I am a Muslim, so I can eat beef today. Tomorrow I am a Christian, so I can eat this, because I am not this body."

Prabhupāda: That was done by Rāmakrishna also. And when he wanted permission from the proprietor of the temple, that "Now I shall practice the Muslim way of religion. So I shall eat beef," so the proprietor said, "Kindly go out and practice it outside." (laughter) (break) ...exemplified like this: on the glass it appears like a sun, but it is not sun. A reflection, pratibiṁbha. (break) A man can understand that dahi is nothing but milk. (Hindi) Why you wait for the milk? (Hindi)

Morning Walk -- November 10, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: No, no. Brahman he is, but the rascal, he is thinking, "I am American," "I am Indian." That is rascaldom. He is Brahman. By origin he is Brahman, but rascal, due to his rascaldom, he is thinking that "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am Indian," "I am American." That is rascaldom. Otherwise he's Brahman. So when he gives up this wrong conception of life and accepts that "I am part and parcel of the Supreme Brahman," that is brahma-bhuta (SB 4.30.20). Otherwise he is jīva-bhutaḥ. (aside): Thank you. Jīva bhūtaḥ mahā-bāho yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat: (BG 7.5) "These living entities, jīva bhūtaḥ, they are conducting the whole universal affairs." Jīva-bhūtaṁ mahā-bāho yayedaṁ dhāryate. Without jīva what is the value? These buildings are constructed because the jīvas have taken the material from the matter and done. So everything is like that. Why these trees are there? The jīvas have taken the shape of this tree, and it looks beautiful. Jīva-bhutam maha-baho yayedam... Everything is like that. So that is jīva. So that jīva... In the material concept of life the tree is thinking, "I am tree," the dog is thinking, "I am dog," I am thinking, "I am Indian," you are thinking something else. So this is jīva-bhūta. And when he understands that ahaṁ brahmāsmi, that is brahma-bhūta. Simple thing. Ekatvam. Ekatvam...

Morning Walk -- November 13, 1975, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: Because he tried to worship God in the form of Muslims.

Prabhupāda: Yes. So he wanted permission from the proprietor of the temple. "Now I am going to experiment Mohammedan religion, so I want to eat beef." So he said frankly that "Now you have to go away, sir. I cannot allow this." Then he stopped.

Dr. Patel: But he did not eat beef. He did not eat beef. He saw it and that's all.

Prabhupāda: No, when the permission was not given by the proprietor he had no other way to stop.

Dr. Patel: Rasamaṇi.

Prabhupāda: Rasamaṇi. Rasamaṇi's husband.

Dr. Patel: She was a widow.

Prabhupāda: Oh, husband, no. Yes. His son-in-law.

Morning Walk -- November 13, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Yes. Ah, yes.

Dr. Patel: So he experimented as a Christian, as a Muslim, and all, and he said he came to the same truth.

Prabhupāda: That is rascaldom. That is rascaldom. He experimented means he was a fool. And a fool makes experiment, one who is fool. One who knows, why he should make experiment?

Dr. Patel: Scientists do make experiments.

Prabhupāda: Therefore they are fools. (laughter)

Dr. Patel: You say so.

Morning Walk -- November 13, 1975, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: No, sir. The Christians, they go to the temple to worship God in the same way.

Prabhupāda: No, I don't say Christian and Hindus, Muslims. Anyone who is not a bhakta, he is a rascal. That's all. That is our conclusion. Therefore we say all rascals. Muḍḥa. Kṛṣṇa says, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti (BG 18.55). Why should we experiment other than that?

Dr. Patel: But that is the way of bhakti, sir. My contention is this, with all my...

Prabhupāda: You cannot make.

Dr. Patel: I submit myself meekly, that...

Prabhupāda: Truth is truth. There is no experiment. Truth is truth. You cannot make experiment. "All right, let us see. The sun may rise this side." Can you do that?

Dr. Patel: I think I am not explicit to you, sir. What I mean to say is way of worshiping...

Prabhupāda: There is no other way of worshiping except bhakti.

Morning Walk -- November 20, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Which?

Dr. Patel: The Kāśmīrī brāhmaṇas. They had no guts to go against the Muslims there, but they showed their arrogance. Fools they are.

Prabhupāda: (break) ...Caitanya Mahāprabhu was sixteen years old, He defeated one great Kāśmīrī paṇḍita, Keśava Kāśmīrī.

Dr. Patel: Yes. Yes. I have read it.

Prabhupāda: Yes. (break) ...Digvijayi. And when he came to Nabadwip, then he was defeated by a boy, Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Nimāi Paṇḍita.

Dr. Patel: The ancient times, in Śaṅkarācārya's time, Kashmir was supposed to be the...

Prabhupāda: Caitanya Mahāprabhu has given the evidence of His scholarship in the argument with Keśava Kāśmīrī and Sarvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya. Two places He has proved Himself as greatest scholar of the.... Hare Kṛṣṇa. (break) ...read that portion, ātmarāma ca munayo?

Morning Walk -- December 16, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Hindu-Muslim teaching...

Dr. Patel: No, I mean sanātana dharma of this country.

Prabhupāda: Sanātana dharma, there is no teaching; it is already there.

Dr. Patel: Yes, that's it.

Prabhupāda: There is no concoction.

Dr. Patel: This concoction has come out from there.

Prabhupāda: Yes. No, everywhere. In your country also there are so many parties...

Dr. Patel: Karl Marx...

Morning Walk -- December 18, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Bhagavad-gītā begins education, instruction. Immediately He puts forward that you are not this body. That is the beginning of education. Where is such education? Everyone is thinking, "You are this body." "You are Indian, you are American, you are Hindu, you are Muslim." What is education? Bhagavad-gītā says you are not this body. That is the beginning of education. And now education means be nationalist. Drive away and bark...

Dr. Patel: (something about passport in Hindi)

Prabhupāda: No, why passport? Even in our country, Mahātmā Gandhi was also infected: "Quit India." "Quit India."

Dr. Patel: No, he did not mean quit India. He meant "You quit your matter of ruling." I mean actually...