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Newspaper (Conversations 1968 - 1975)

Conversations and Morning Walks

1968 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- March 25, 1968, San Francisco:

Prabhupāda: There was one clergyman lecturing in a Sheffield coal-mine that, "If you don't worship Jesus Christ, then you will go to hell." So first of all one man asked him... First of all, the clergyman inquired, "Do you know Jesus Christ?" So they were silent. So one of them inquired, "What is his number?" They thought that "Jesus Christ must be one of us," I mean to say, workers in the mine. So he must have got a number. "So what is his number?" Then the clergyman could understand that "To whom I am speaking." So then he explained, "Oh, Jesus Christ is not one of you. He is son of God. He has come to deliver you. If you don't worship Him, then you will go to hell." Then one of them said, "What is hell?" Then he described, "It is very dark, moist, and so on." So they were silent, because they work in the mine. (laughter) They were silent. "What is this hell? It is all right." Then the clergyman thought how to impress them. Then, after a few minutes, he said, "No. The hell is very dangerous." "How?" "There is no newspaper." "Oh, horrible." (Laughter) Because in your western countries everyone is fond of newspaper. So he stressed, he hit the point, that "There is no newspaper." So we have to hit to the point that there is no tax-man. So what is your question?

Devotee: My question was... No, that's a good answer.

Prabhupāda: (Laughs) Yes. Your materialistic life is full of anxiety. That is the main symptom of materialistic life. We are always anxious, everyone. President Johnson, he's anxious, "Oh, my presidency is going on. Now I shall no longer be president." He's thinking, very much anxious. And, similarly, you are also thinking, another man is also thinking. Everyone is anxious.

1969 Conversations and Morning Walks

Meeting with Devotees -- June 9, 1969, New Vrindaban:

Hayagrīva: Well, whatever situation you want to set up.

Prabhupāda: No, no, I think this will be nice because if he does outside propaganda, that will help development of this center. You make nice, what is called? Prospectus? I gave you the idea, that what is the idea of this center and make plans and where we want to construct temple, the, what is called, design of the temple, and make nicely and put before the people, and they have already known that Kṛṣṇa conscious movement is going on. So there are so many rich people in our country. If somebody comes forward, we can make very nice progress very quickly. So we have to make some propaganda amongst them. Actually it is the nicest possible thing. Simply they have to be convinced. That's a fact. Nobody can challenge our sincerity and our purity in this world. Let anyone come, any so-called society, yoga society, this society, this, that. The best thing we are presenting. There is no doubt about it. Now people has to know it, how to make it known. We have to go to the newspaper man, magazine man, to the foundations. So one responsible... One? Why one? Two, three men must move amongst them. And whenever required, if some big meeting is arranged, then I also go. People should know about our activities. We are not bogus thing. We are not that Maharshi Mahesh, that "I give you something private, and give me some money." We are not that. We have got philosophy. We have got programs. We have got authorities. So we must let people know the importance of this movement. What do you think, Kīrtanānanda Mahārāja?

1970 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- December 12, 1970, Indore:

Yamunā: Oh, ho, ho, Prabhupāda!

Haṁsadūta: "Life member can send any member of his family for being trained up as a qualified brāhmaṇa who can preach Bhagavad-gītā as it is all over the world." You're going to put this in the newspaper?

Prabhupāda: Huh? Yes.

Haṁsadūta: Oh, that will be nice. (laughter)

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Yamunā: Oh, that's a wonderful notice, Prabhupāda. It's so wonderful.

Prabhupāda: We have to preach all over the world. We require so many men, so many boys, girls, men we want.

Haṁsadūta: I should send this to the GBC members in the West, and they should put ads in the paper.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Let us have application.

Room Conversation -- December 13, 1970, Indore:

Prabhupāda: Window means it will be dark.

Haṁsadūta: Yes. I think that (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: Yes. It has to be done. Not only idea, it has to be done in practical sense. Now who will take charge of this task? That is to be found out. You write to the...

Haṁsadūta: GBC?

Prabhupāda: GBC.

Haṁsadūta: (unintelligible) So many newspapers have come out within the last three or four years. Of course, most of them are hippie groups, but they have become... People are very anxious to read something from different angle of vision.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Haṁsadūta: They are tired of old newspapers. So if we present a newspaper with our angle of vision, Kṛṣṇa consciousness...

Prabhupāda: So immediately you write to the GBC members.

Room Conversation -- December 13, 1970, Indore:

Prabhupāda: So immediately you write to the GBC members.

Haṁsadūta: But the articles that will be in the newspaper, they will be exactly like other newspapers? Who will write them?

Prabhupāda: No, articles... Daily newspaper means there must be news. News you can purchase from the news collecting company. They will supply it. At very cheap price they'll supply. And you take advertisement. Yes. You'll cover your expenses by getting advertisements and make sufficient profit. Newspaper starting is not a losing business provided you can organize. Just like ordinary newspaper, they give... In daily news... People want to learn daily news, and they supply huge quantity. And those who are advertiser, they are simply concerned how many copies are issued. If you issue 100,000's of copies, then you can charge for each page thousand dollars. They will pay. Two thousand dollars they will pay.

Haṁsadūta: That means in each city we would we have to have our own local press.

Prabhupāda: No, not necessarily. You can arrange with any newspaper place. You simply supply your matter; they will print. Just like we are getting from Japan, similarly, make your own layout and supply them. Immediately, within two hours, everything is complete.

Room Conversation -- December 13, 1970, Indore:

Haṁsadūta: But a daily newspaper has to turn out daily, so it takes time to transport it from one city to another city.

Prabhupāda: Well, from every city we can publish. Every city there is a newspaper place.

Devotee (4): ...national, just like the national...

Prabhupāda: Yes. So we have to organize. First of all let us publish in one city, big city like New York, like London, yes, Bombay, Tokyo. Big cities, world's big cities. In India only two cities are big: Calcutta, and Bombay, important. If you publish simultaneously, Calcutta... Delhi is given importance due to capital; otherwise not important as big city, as Bombay and Calcutta. Delhi, without government offices it is a dead city. Just like Washington. What is the value of Washington? It is nothing. Simply because it is headquarters of the President, it has got importance. Similarly, Delhi is that. Otherwise it is not important. But Calcutta, Bombay, is really important city in India, big business, port, all rich men, every kind of, all cultural, everything—Calcutta, and Bombay. Originally only Calcutta, now Bombay also. Because the Britishers, they made Calcutta capital. And Calcutta was very, very important city. But these Calcutta men, they create sometimes situation, very complicated.

Room Conversation -- December 13, 1970, Indore:

Prabhupāda: Yes. The editorial board must be very intelligent how to talk about Back to Godhead with current politics. Giriraja, you can do that?

Giriraja: I could try.

Prabhupāda: Try. You just try it immediately. You take one newspaper and comment on the current news. Any one of you... Every one of you can do. And show me how you have given. Then you start immediately. We have got many things to do. We have Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa is the bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka maheśvaram (BG 5.29). What these petty politicians and three acres of land? Their stage is three acres of land; our stage is the unlimited. That I have mentioned in the second volume of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So what news they can publish? Three acres of land. We have got the innumerable universes. We can supply so much news, provided people are ready to read it. We have published so many books, they are not even able to read these books. So the other devotees, (laughs) they cannot ri..., come at five o'clock. That is the test. Yes. One who cannot rise early in the morning, he is not spiritually serious. That is test. Brāhma-muhūrta, this hour, one hour before sunrise, is very auspicious moment.

1971 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- August 15, 1971, London:

Śyāmasundara: They have contraceptive pills even for young children.

Kulaśekhara: One barrister, one of the top judges in England, a top man, top doctor, he said children should have sex life at fourteen. He said this in the newspaper two days ago. He said children at fourteen should be allowed to have sex life. He said this should be made legal. He's a top doctor or judge.

Prabhupāda: Children?

Śyāmasundara: Children should be allowed to have sex life at fourteen years old.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is psychological. They develop... Sex life, sex urge is there as soon as twelve years, thirteen years old, especially women. So therefore early marriage was sanctioned in India. Early marriage. Boy fifteen years, sixteen years, and girl twelve years. Not twelve years, ten years. I was married, my wife was eleven years. I was 22 years. She did not know what is sex, eleven years' girl. Because Indian girls, they have no such opportunity of mixing with others. But after the first menstruation, the husband is ready. This is the system, Indian system.

Conversation with Journalists -- August 18, 1971, London:

Prabhupāda: You can take instruction from the students who are actually trying to understand God.

Journalist (2): I read somewhere that possibly you wanted to convert people who were politicians and businessmen. Why?

Prabhupāda: Who said? Where you have got this idea that I am trying to convert politicians? Where?

Journalist (2): In a newspaper.

Prabhupāda: Where is that newspaper? This is not a fact. You are telling something which is not a fact.

Journalist (2): You want to convert everyone.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Everyone requires to understand God. Why politicians and newspapermen? Everyone. God is for everyone. Everyone requires... The human life is meant for understanding God. Why politicians and businessmen? Without knowing God, he cannot be happy, whatever he may be.

Journalist (2): Do you think if people had a deeper understanding of God... a spiritual consciousness...?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Then he will be happy.

Room Conversation -- November 11, 1971, New Delhi:

Guest: (Hindi)

Prabhupāda: (Hindi) Let it become reality.

Guest: (Hindi)

Prabhupāda: Why this word should be used as kalpanā? I don't think the newspaper reporter can write in that way unless this word was actually spoken.

Guest: This is Times? Hindustan? (Hindi conversation)

Prabhupāda: (Hindi)

Guest: (Hindi)

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Guest: He says imagination is the supermost.

Prabhupāda: (Hindi)

Guest: (reading Hindi)

Prabhupāda: (Hindi conversation) Bhagavān is sac-cid-ānanda vigrahaḥ. Bhagavān says, ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ, (BG 10.8) ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā. (Hindi) sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya sambhavanti murtayaḥ (BG 14.4). Ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā. So practical experience (Hindi). Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ anādir ādir govindaḥ sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam (Bs. 5.1). (Hindi) They have been cut with two hands because I have got really two hands. (Hindi) Vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya (BG 2.22). (Hindi) Origin, I am spirit soul. (Hindi) Mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūta (BG 15.7). (Hindi) Bhagavān katha mamaivāṁśo. So bhagavān nirākāra. Bhagavān avajānanti māṁ mūḍhāh, mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam (BG 9.11). (Hindi) is for imagination.

Room Conversation -- December 12, 1971, Delhi:

Nara-Nārāyaṇa: Actually, that is their philosophy, Śrīla Prabhupāda. I've heard people say exactly that, "All the things I want to do are for the people that are going to hell, therefore I want to go to hell. Why should I go anywhere else?" (indistinct) drinking, smoking, etc... And so they will.

Prabhupāda: There was a story that the priest was describing about the hell, so they did not respond. But when he said, "There is no newspaper," then, "Oh, it is horrible." (laughter) Other conditions—that it is dark, it is very moist, and so many things described. But they were miners, they know that these things are happening daily, so what is the wrong in the hell? Then he stressed, "There is no newspaper." Then they will, "Oh, it is horrible." (laughter) So, according to one's taste the hellish conditions should described.

Room Conversation -- December 12, 1971, Delhi:

Prabhupāda: Therefore they say the Christian religion is very good. Very good means that Lord Jesus Christ has taken contract for absorbing all their sins and they go on committing. Is that not idea in the Christian religion?

Devotee: Yes.

Devotee (1): They say all our sins have been washed away by the blood of Jesus.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I know, Prabhupāda, that in Seattle you had me lecture on a newspaper clipping that in New Jersey they had opened up one home for alcoholic priests. (laughter)

Prabhupāda: Five thousand, five thousand priests, they are suffering from alcoholism. (indistinct)

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Plus here in India we see that the sādhus are taking gañjā.

Prabhupāda: Gañjā, yes. Not sādhus, rogues. Sādhu's description is there—bhajate mām ananya-bhāk. Fully surrendered to Kṛṣṇa, he is sādhu. Sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ (BG 9.30). He is sādhu. Api cet sudurācāro. Even one is found that his habits are not to the standard, but if he has unflinching faith in Kṛṣṇa and engaged in His service, then he is sādhu. These sādhus with long hairs and gañjā smoking, they have no idea what is the ultimate goal. And those who come from Western countries, naturally they find out these are the sādhus and they imitate. Hippies, they do like that, imitation. They do not know what is the philosophy, what is religion, what is sādhu.

1972 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- April 1, 1972, Sydney:

Śyāmasundara: Cheaply and at once?

Prabhupāda: At once. Yes. The newspaper said that "Mr. such and such went to moon planet." Oh, immediately believe. See? A newspaper, ten cent worth newspaper. And in the Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa says, yānti deva vratā devān: (BG 9.25) "One who can... One can go to the demigods planets by worshiping them. You can go, yānti deva vratā devān, as others. Similarly, one can come to Me by worshiping Me." Mad yājino 'pi yānti mām. So they never worshiped Chandra, and how they can go to the Chandra planet, or moon planet? Then Kṛṣṇa is false. Kṛṣṇa is imperfect. They become perfect. They are defying Kṛṣṇa's instruction. They have gone to moon planet. Then our whole propaganda, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, becomes bogus. Therefore I always protest.

Room Conversation -- July 4, 1972, New York:

ayādvaita: I was reading, they prescribe..., the book prescribes all our principles.

Prabhupāda: And five hundred, five hundred priests are in hospital for, for their drinking habit. Five hundred or five thousand? You know that? Yes. Brahmānanda gave me a cutting from newspaper, that five hundred or five thousand priests are in the hospital to cure of their drinking habit.

Kīrtanānanda: Probably five thousand?

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Kīrtanānanda: Probably five thousand. (indistinct) five hundred.

Prabhupāda: Huh? They're drinking, they're eating meat, they're gambling and they are having illicit sex, and they are preaching. And we say, "First of all stop these things, then claim yourself to be religious, or God conscious." You cannot indulge in all these things. (aside:) Oh, you have kept my one cloth outside?

Devotee: Yes, Śrīla Prabhupāda. It's outside.

Prabhupāda: Because I may require in the.... So, we don't want to enter into arguments, but we must know, but if somebody comes to argument, we have to say. What can be done? We say that "You follow Christianity in perfect order, you'll be benefited." That we say. Our test is whether you're advancing in God consciousness. That is our test. You follow Christianity or Muhammadanism, anything you follow, we don't mind. Whether you are developing your God consciousness, love for God, that is our test. But if your process has failed, then you can try this. And you'll see, in our process within so short time, how they are becoming God conscious. You have to admit. And they admit also.

Interview with the New York Times -- September 2, 1972, New Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: Well, this is a very difficult job, naturally. We don't have a large number of followers. As soon as you try to sell a diamond, you cannot expect many customers. Nonetheless, a diamond is a diamond, even if there are no customers. The number of customers is not the test. The customer must pay the value of the item. In this society we propose that you give up illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication and gambling. When people hear this, they go away saying, "Oh, Swamiji is very conservative." But I cannot become liberal and tell everybody, "Go ahead and do all nonsense and you can become God conscious." I cannot possibly recommend that. Therefore my first condition is that if someone wants to become my student he has to follow these four regulative principles. Consequently I do not have many followers, but I do have a select few. Because they are select, they will bring about a revolution in the world. One moon is sufficient to dissipate darkness. If there is one moon, there is no need for millions of stars. It is useless to expect a large number of followers. We want only one good follower. If I can get one man to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, I will consider my mission fulfilled. If you talk to whatever small number of followers I have, you will find that they talk better than any great philosopher, better than any scientist or politician. That is the quality of my students. What's the point in talking nonsense? One's words may be simple, but they should be valuable. Every day your employer is printing so many newspapers. On Sunday, especially, the paper is so big that one can hardly carry it. But after reading it an hour, people throw it away. Here is this book, Bhagavad-gītā, and people keep it and read it for a lifetime, and in this way it has been read for the past 5,000 years. Give such literature that will be taken and kept forever.

Morning Walk Conversation -- September 28, 1972, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: That is also another suicide.

Jayatīrtha: When I was in Chicago, the one section where the temple is close by, more than sixty percent of the people were heroin addicts in this one section. They were so much degraded. (indistinct conversation) I was reading in the newspaper that the astronauts that are going to the moon, they wanted to take wine with them, so that when they got to the moon they could celebrate their victory.

Prabhupāda: There is a story, (Sanskrit). One man said to his friend, "Oh, you are drinking. You will go to hell." "Oh, my father is also drinking." "Oh, he will also go to hell." "My mother is drinking." "Oh, she will also go to hell." "My brother is drinking." "Oh, he will also go to hell." In this way, the last fellow was, "Oh, everyone is going to hell, then hell is heaven. Why do you say hell? We shall live together and drink. Why do you call hell? This is heaven." (laughter)

Svarūpa Dāmodara: That is why association and company is so important.

Prabhupāda: So ignorance... It is folly to be wise, so ignorance is bliss. So drinking is heaven. Even they go to moon planet, there must be wine. Otherwise, how it is heaven? That is called punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām (SB 7.5.30), chewing the chewed. If your wine is heaven, then why do you take so much trouble? Why don't you drink here? Such rascals they are. Why you spend so much money? No, the heaven will be taken in bottle.

Morning Walks -- October 1-3, 1972, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Jayatīrtha: They have a place in Hollywood. I've never seen it, but I know people who have gone there. They become like a fad, like Maharishi. Two years ago he was very big, thousands of people were coming.

Prabhupāda: Who?

Jayatīrtha: This Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. He was very big. He was in the newspapers and thousands of people came and paid thirty-five dollars, took initiation. But now you don't hear anything about him. So this man will come, make a big show, make some money, but in two years he'll just be a memory.

Prabhupāda: (indistinct) Why does he not come again? He has gone forever.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: You have said that whenever there is Kṛṣṇa there will be success everywhere, all the time.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: When there is Kṛṣṇa, there will be success everywhere.

Prabhupāda: That is the real success. (indistinct) There are so many places I see the sign for.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- February 28, 1973, Jakarta:

Devotee (1): (indistinct) ...newspaper, there's an article about us in the newspaper right here, (indistinct).

Devotee (1): There's a magazine called Express like Time magazine, News magazine and it says, "Attention to the intelligence agency of this country, that the leader of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement is coming here, and they should consider trying to stop you from coming here because it's possible this Hare Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is connected with hippies and narcotics and things like this." But tomorrow there is a reporter from Tempo magazine, which is better magazine, like Time or Newsweek. And if we can get favorable article from him, then it will counteract. Before you came it was announced in all of the newspapers. All of the newspapers, they announced that you were coming, before.

Prabhupāda: (indistinct)

Devotee (1): Not yet. But one man came yesterday who was very interested, big local paper and Associated Press International, the man in charge was in San Francisco for Ratha-yātrā, and he saw you there and took prasādam also. And he wants to take some color photographs for international coverage. (indistinct) I think in Indonesia they're usually a bit slow so a week later they will cover.

Prabhupāda: (indistinct)

Devotee (1): You wrote a letter to me from Sydney in which you said that the preaching program was very nice, but by your experience, it takes much time and money. And how will we do saṅkīrtana and do prasādam distribution and cooking all at the same time? Then you said, "You can think this over with a cool head and we will discuss more when we come."

Prabhupāda: First thing is that we (indistinct).

Morning Walk At Cheviot Hills Golf Course -- May 13, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Real knowledge is to be given to the younger section. Older section, it is not possible. They will have to forget first of all, what they have learned. That they cannot. Therefore it is impossible. Therefore knowledge begins from the school children, not from the man who is going to die. (laughing) That is not... Impractical. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja said kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān: (SB 7.6.1) "Kṛṣṇa consciousness should be taught from the very childhood." Not that at the time of death. That is not possible. Therefore our students, they are all young generation, they capture. These rascals, they cannot. Old fools, they cannot. There was a practical examination. One father and one daughter, both appeared for BA examination in India. The daughter passed and the father failed. It was in the newspaper. In old age they cannot take any lessons. They forget.

Room Conversation with David Wynne, Sculptor -- July 9, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: No, he's bringing. You can take.

Śyāmasundara: David has said that he would like to spend some time, a day or something, making also your form into stone. Is that...? Or into some metal. Is that all right?

Prabhupāda: Well, what I am? I am insignificant. I have no objection. Our, some of our artists may paint this picture. I liked it very much. (Probably speaking of picture of Ratha cart in the Guardian newspaper)

Śyāmasundara: It's a very good photo.

Mukunda: It was taken in such a way so that the cart looks like it is almost as tall as Nelson's Column. Fish-eye lens.

Śyāmasundara: Very clever person who has thought up this idea.

Prabhupāda: No other publication?

Śyāmasundara: I didn't see the newspapers today. I saw two or three, but on Sunday the reporters do not work. So if they were reporters coming, they came outside of their work hours. Some... I heard on television last night, though, there was a half hour program.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Room Conversation with David Wynne, Sculptor -- July 9, 1973, London:

Devotee: Haribol.

Prabhupāda: So you can, at any time, visit our temple. You can understand, try to understand the conception of God. We shall try to explain. But we can, at least, so far our knowledge is concerned, we have got a clear conception of God, what is meant by God. Therefore we do not accept the so-called dogs as God. No. So many people come: "I am God. I am God." We kick on their face. We don't accept. We don't accept such cheap gods. God is one, and He's all-powerful. That is our conception. We all servants of God. If anyone says that "I am servant of God," he's welcome. He's my master. The servant of God is my master. And if anyone claims to become God, I kick on his face. This is our principle. Because he's pretender, cheater. He should be punished immediately. So you, there are other papers also, published? You have seen? No.

Devotee: Are there any papers, newspaper articles?

Śyāmasundara: I'll find out, report tomorrow.

Kulaśekhara: There's none today.

David Wynne: There's other pictures inside, though, aren't there.

Śyāmasundara: You saw inside the pictures?

Prabhupāda: Yes. But this picture is very nice.

Śyāmasundara: Yes. The other pictures were quite revealing too, because they showed Englishmen and Indian people, foreigners everyone.

Prabhupāda: Everyone, yes. And they have declared that we have distributed "free prasādam."

Room Conversation with Indian Guests -- July 11, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: The same thing happened in Kanpur in a hotel. One man was eating meat, and he found a little finger...

Guest (4): Finger of some...

Guest (2): That was in the Bombay, in the Villa Parle, in my place, where I was living.

Guest (4): Newspaper (Hindi)

Guest (2): This gentleman went to the hotel and found a small finger.

Prabhupāda: Small children cut up. And there was another case in Calcutta. The, one Chinaman, he was eating human being. And then... (break) ...some Kancawala (?) (beggar) him called, and then captured and killed him. This was going on. Later on, when police enquiry was made, so many human...

Guest (2): Bones...

Guest (4): Skeletons.

Prabhupāda: ...bones, skeletons was found. In Africa there are still cannibals.

Guest (4): Oh, yes.

Kṛṣṇa-bhāminī: In South America as well.

Room Conversation with Indian Guests -- July 11, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: Where? In Haryana?

Guest (9): Kurukṣetra.

Guest (8): Actually, that is not by the government. That is by Nanda.

Guest (7): No, not...the newspaper. That minister.

Prabhupāda: You, you can give. (about prasādam)

Guest (7): Nanda. He is, he is the chairman of that. I heard that about him.

Prabhupāda: You give, yes. You, whoever you have not given, you give. She does not know.

Guest (8): To whom you have not given here?

Prabhupāda: Ācchā. Give, give others, visitors.

Devotee: Śrīla Prabhupāda, what is the difference between an innocent person and an ignorant person?

Prabhupāda: Innocent person means he's not offender. And ignorant is sometimes offender.

Devotee: Thank you.

Prabhupāda: A child is innocent, and his father is ignorant. His father may be knowing something, and purposely does not take. That is ignorance. Or he thinks that "What is the use of taking it?" That is ignorance. And innocent, he does not know anything. Actually, practically, there is little difference, but if you ask, you can differentiate in this way. Just like in Bhagavad-gītā it is said, na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). This mūḍha is ignorant, and he does not take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Everyone, according to our Vedic culture, for the last five thousand years, everyone accepts Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but he'll not do. He will say, "Why Kṛṣṇa will be the Supreme Lord? I am also." This is offense. This is offense.

Room Conversation with Malcolm -- July 18, 1973, London:

Śyāmasundara: His argument in the newspaper by other people complaining against Zaner's argument. Not members of our movement, but other people, Englishmen. "Zaner is a fool," this and that.

Prabhupāda: Oh yes, they have called. He is a fool.

Śyāmasundara: We'll bring them up. They're in the Times, letters to the editor.

Prabhupāda: And we have directly called him fool, rascal.

Śyāmasundara: Other people are also criticizing. They find other things in his argument that are not... They say he has to realize Bhagavad-gītā before he can criticize anything.

Prabhupāda: Yes. He does not realize. He does not know anything. You can read this letter. It is very interesting.

Śyāmasundara: To Zaner this one? Or to...

Prabhupāda: General, general. Reply.

Mukunda: We've also invited him to come here.

Śyāmasundara: No one defended him in the newspaper, Observer.

Prabhupāda: So other protests have been published in the paper?

Śyāmasundara: Yes. I'll bring them up to you. (end)

Room Conversation with Dr. Arnold Toynbee, Famous Historian, at his home or office -- July 22, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: Yes. (pause)

Śyāmasundara: "A Rival for Nelson."

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Śyāmasundara: "A Rival for Nelson."

Prabhupāda: Yes. There was newspaper photograph. You have seen that?

Śyāmasundara: Guardian.

Prabhupāda: Guardian. "A Rival for Nelson." Yes.

Dr. Arnold Toynbee: Well, the western countries are mostly concerned with economics, money, wealth...

Prabhupāda: No, that is...

Dr. Arnold Toynbee: It's about the same as...

Prabhupāda: That they can continue. But the spirit of Vedic culture should be accepted. It is not that because one has to accept the Vedic culture, he has to stop industry or material progress. Not like that. Bhagavad-gītā does not teach that. Simply to change the consciousness. Therefore we have named the Society "Kṛṣṇa Consciousness." One has to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. Then everything will be adjusted. Not the mode of life should be changed. Little change. Just like we recommend that four things should be avoided: illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication and gambling. So to give up these four kinds of activities, which are considered to be sinful, that is not very difficult.

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

Prabhupāda: So Śivānanda Prabhu, you are doing well? Your wife came to see me. (break)

Yogeśvara: He's named Maurice Rougemont. Śrīla Prabhupāda, notre maitre spirituel.

Reporter: Enchantez.

Yogeśvara: Mr. Rougemont is a journalist from Combat magazine, newspaper. Combat is the newspaper of the socialists of France. Political newspaper, and Mr. Rougemont had some questions about the political and government programs of the Society.

Prabhupāda: Very nice.

Reporter: You accept to answer my questions?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Reporter: Thank you very much. Well, the first point is people are used to seeing that your Hare Kṛṣṇa movement is completely out of life and doesn't take any interest into the real life, materialistic, you know. So, but I think it's a mistake perhaps. It's a mistake. And that...

Yogeśvara: (French)

Reporter: (French)

Yogeśvara: Ah, oui?

Reporter: Oui. I've heard that... It's a mistake. And your movement, your consciousness of Kṛṣṇa, engloves, takes all the direction of economics and political possibility.

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes.

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

Prabhupāda: In the evening at four.

Dr. Inger: All right. I would like to bring Chauhan(?) and two other men.

Bhagavān: You can bring as many as you like.

Yogeśvara: We have a very great interest in having people with something to say, some ability to respond to the philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, come and confront our movement.

Dr. Inger: Yes, I gathered from the papers that you had had Jean Danielou.

Yogeśvara: Cardinal Danielou. Yes, that meeting has already taken place. That was yesterday with the cardinal. He read in the newspaper that it was going to take place. Where did you read that?

Dr. Inger: Yes. In Le Monde, yesterday. Because Cardinal Danielou has brother called Alec.

Yogeśvara: This is the Vedic writer, the cardinal's brother.

Dr. Inger: Yes, he was never (indistinct) he did a lot of translation work, studies in Madras. So then...

Yogeśvara: Is this the article?

Dr. Inger: Yes, this is the article. It says right here. (end)

Discussion about Guru Maharaji -- August 13, 1973, Paris:

Śrutakīrti: Someone showed me a small article in the newspaper the other day in London. At one of his meetings, he was speaking and someone walked up to him like he was going to hand him a bouquet of flowers, and instead he threw a pie in his face.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Śrutakīrti: He threw a pie in his face. He appeared like he was going to give him something. But he put a pie in his face.

Prabhupāda: Pie?

Haṁsadūta: A pie is a cake.

Śrutakīrti: A cake.

Haṁsadūta: A apple cake...

Śrutakīrti: Pastry, pushed it in his face.

Prabhupāda: Therefore, he became God?

Śrutakīrti: No! Therefore, I don't think he's very widely accepted as God.

Prabhupāda: No. That's all right. But whatever propaganda, little, he has made, we must make some counter-propaganda. We must prove him... Simply pushing eyes, pushing eyes. And anyone can push one's eyes and there is some light within... That is called retina light or... What is called? And he has become God. At least, we, we should not allow the people to be in darkness and accept him as God. We have got our meeting. We shall say: That he is a rascal. Call him by all ill names. A cheater. He does not believe in the authoritative scriptures. And he has become God? What he has done? How you have become so foolish? God has created the universe, what he has created? A cake, creating, He's God?

Morning Walk -- August 30, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: So one should transcend these, what is called, historical references. They calculate in Darwin's theory.

David Lawrence: Darwin's theory's out now isn't it? (laughs) It's sort of old fashioned now. They dispense with these theories as quickly as most people do their newspaper each day.

Prabhupāda: (laughs) Yes.

David Lawrence: One day it's in, and the next day it's out. And while it's in, everybody claps and applauds. One or two other points, perhaps I can raise one or two of them. Some of them are longer in fact. An interesting thing that came out of my study of the Christian, or certainly the Jewish tradition, and I wondered, really, on your views on this, whether it relates at all to the Indian one. It seems when you get to the really high spot of Jewish religion, which many people consider the prophets of Judah...,

Prabhupāda: What is their high spot?

David Lawrence: Well, exactly,(laughs) that is, in inverted commas.

Prabhupāda: They are rotting in the lowest spot, still. What is their high spot?

David Lawrence: Let's think, somebody like, perhaps Isaiaḥ or somebody like this who was a universalist and uh...

Prabhupāda: Somebody, somebody says so many things...

David Lawrence: Yes, that's right. Oh yes, I mean if you take them, they all differ in their views. But one of the things, one of the themes that comes through is the idea that...

Prabhupāda: Therefore the gentleman the other day was asking, "How is that you say electricity?" Oh you were not present that time? Because we have translated there is no need of sun, there is no need of moon, there is no need of electricity in the spiritual world. So when he heard the word electricity, he became astonished.

Room Conversation with Dr. Christian Hauser, Psychiatrist -- September 10, 1973, Stockholm:

Prabhupāda: No. If he reads he will be accustomed. Reading will make him accustomed.

Dr. Hauser: Well the reading customs, for example, in Sweden are very, you know, very limited to newspapers and television and it will take them...

Prabhupāda: That we have explained.

Dr. Hauser: Yeah?

Prabhupāda: We have explained. Find out this verse, tad-vāg-visargo janatāgha-viplavaḥ. Yes, first of all you see the index?

Śrutakīrti: What this?

Prabhupāda: Yes, yellow book, you know.

Śrutakīrti: First Canto.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Tad-vāg-visargo janatāgha-viplavaḥ.

Śrutakīrti: (reads verse and translation, S.B. 1.5.11)

Prabhupāda: You follow?

Dr. Hauser: Hm.

Prabhupāda: Read it again.

Śrutakīrti: (reads the translation again)

Dr. Hauser: Yes.

Prabhupāda: The newspaper is glorification of this mundane world. You have to transfer your consciousness to understand the glorification of the Supreme. This is transcendental literature. So people have got the tendency to read but they're glorifying this rascal, mundane rascals. So that attitude should be transferred to understand the glorification of the Supreme Lord. That will be (indistinct). That we are presenting. We are presenting a literature exactly like the newspaper. They are glorifying some Nixon and Dixon. We are glorifying Kṛṣṇa. That is the difference. That is the difference. If Nixon has glorification, how much glorification is there in reserve of the Supreme Lord?

Room Conversation with Dr. Christian Hauser, Psychiatrist -- September 10, 1973, Stockholm:

Śrutakīrti: (reads translation)

Prabhupāda: It is a question of taste. Just see birds, two kinds of birds, crows and the swans, different taste. Therefore we are trying to create taste for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then these crows' place, newspaper, we'll not... We don't read newspaper. We don't touch it unless there is some news of ours. We don't touch it. What is the use of wasting time? They read so big, big bundle of newspaper. But we don't touch them. Oh, we have got (indistinct) literature here. Why should we waste our time in the crows' manifestation? The same politics, same Nixon, same Dixon, same Hitler. It is called punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām (SB 7.5.30), chewing the chewed. Things which have already been chewed and thrown away, another person is crying, "Let me see if there's any juice." But you have already chewed. What juice you find there? Punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām (SB 7.5.30), again and again, same politics, same new leader, same he's a rascal. Just like Nixon advertises in news, "America now requires Nixon." So America accepted him and now America doesn't want him. Again another Nixon will come. This is going on, punaḥ punaḥ, again and again, chewing the chewed. The people are not disgusted but we have tasted all these rascals. Why another Nixon?

Interviews with Macmillan and various English Reporters -- September 12, 1973, London:

Reporter (1): Many thanks. I'm very grateful... (break)

Prabhupāda: Thank you.

Haṁsadūta: Haribol. (break) This gentleman's from the Sunday Mirror.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Haṁsadūta: His newspaper, is that right?

Reporter (2): That's right. Ah...

Prabhupāda: Oh, Sunday Mirror, they published, some, something about us...

Haṁsadūta: I think you published something about us a few weeks ago, about the manor out at Letchmore Heath.

Reporter (2): That's right. Yes. With a lot of pictures. Were you there at the time?

Haṁsadūta: Yeah.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Reporter (2): You were there at the time?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Reporter (2): How've you... Where have you been since then?

Prabhupāda: No, I went to Sweden. I have come yesterday from Sweden. I was in Sweden.

Interviews with Macmillan and various English Reporters -- September 12, 1973, London:

Girl: Thank you.

Prabhupāda: Thank you.

Haṁsadūta: Want to go now, Prabhupāda?

Prabhupāda: Yes. (break)

English Boy: (break) I'm not from a newspaper. So I've got nothing really to ask you.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

English Boy: I'd like to...

Prabhupāda: Which newspaper?

English Boy: I'm not from a newspaper.

Haṁsadūta: He said he's not from any newspaper, but he would like your blessings.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.

English Boy: I do, regularly.

Prabhupāda: Oh, you chant it? Very good. You chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Ācchā. Call that Jaya Hari.

Room Conversation -- September 19, 1973, Bombay:

Guest (1) (Indian man): Lord Brahmā also prays for to be born into Vṛndāvana.

Prabhupāda: Yes yes. Because he will try to understand Kṛṣṇa. Even Lord Brahmā could not understand Kṛṣṇa. (laughs) No. (Hindi) Therefore, to understand Kṛṣṇa he desired to take birth in Vṛndāvana.

manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu
kaścid yatati siddhaye
yatatām api siddhānāṁ
kaścin māṁ vetti tattvataḥ
(BG 7.3)

Out of many millions of persons, they try to understand what is the perfection of life, and out of many such millions of persons who are in the line of understanding perfection of life, some of them or some one may understand Kṛṣṇa. Muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ. Just like Brahmā was also bewildered whether Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Brahmā, the first creature of this universe, he's also... muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ. Therefore we should take advantage of this opportunity. Kṛṣṇa is explaining Himself in the Bhagavad-gītā, about Himself. That is the highest perfection of life, simply to understand Bhagavad-gītā as it is. As spoken by Kṛṣṇa. Then one's life is perfect. But unfortunately, so many scholars and swamis, they are misinterpreting Kṛṣṇa and Bhagavad-gītā. The people are placed in darkness. They are already in darkness. By misinterpretation, they are putting them in darkness. They cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. For practical example you can see in European countries the Bhagavad-gītā was being studied at least for two hundred, three hundred years, but there was not a single devotee of Kṛṣṇa, not even. Within the history. And now they are studying Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, you will find thousands of kṛṣṇa-bhaktas. They are not given the chance to understand Bhagavad-gītā by misinterpretation. "This means that, this means that, Kṛṣṇa means this, Kurukṣetra means body." Misinterpretation, misled. Therefore we are presenting Bhagavad-gītā as it is, and people are accepting and becoming seriously devotee of Kṛṣṇa. They are surprised, the newspaper reporters. They inquire from me, "Swamiji, why younger generation is attracted with this movement?" And younger generation, they are inquisitive. Old fools, whatever they have learned they have to forget again. Then they will, it will take some time. They have learned something wrong. So one has to be washed of these wrong impressions; then he can come to the point of understanding Kṛṣṇa. But these young hearts, they are receptive. They are seeing, "Here is nice." They are accepting. They are chanting now on the streets. You have heard that record, Hare Kṛṣṇa?

Room Conversation -- November 2, 1973, New Delhi:

Brahmānanda: Where did you hear it from?

Prabhupāda: Anyway, that, our, our architect, that...

Brahmānanda: Surabhi. Oh, Mr. Lahiri.

Prabhupāda: He has seen in the Jugantar Press.

Śyāmasundara: It was in the newspaper here in India. (laughter) She did! She read it one day for three hours, four hours.

Brahmānanda: You're kidding!

Prabhupāda: And the latest report is that Bhagavad-gītā is selling fifteen thousand copies per month in London. Who told me? Thirty-thousand copies sold in two months.

Śyāmasundara: It was MacMillan's biggest selling book in England.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That also you can inform her. And present her one copy.

Śyāmasundara: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Yes. One copy of Bhāgavata.

Room Conversation -- November 2, 1973, New Delhi:

Prabhupāda: Indira, simply Indira Gandhi comes, it will be tremendous success.

Śyāmasundara: Yes. Crowds will come. People will donate money for the pandala.

Prabhupāda: So when the pandala will be erected?

Tejas: It will begin on the fourth, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Devotee: It will begin on the fourth.

Prabhupāda: That place is nice, but it is not as public as the L.I.C.

Tejas: We need some... For that reason, we need some very good chief guest and some good publicity.

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes.

Śyāmasundara: We arranged some newspaper publicity today. So... And he's arranged banners and posters and... Enough people will come.

Prabhupāda: You have got some fruits?

Śyāmasundara: Mostly, I think they'll come because they remember before, when you were here... (break) (end)

Room Conversation -- November 8, 1973, New Delhi:

Prabhupāda: Give up your material activities and engage yourself in spiritual activities. That is mukti. Just like a man in diseased condition, he is acting. He is also acting. He is also passing stool, passing urine, eating something, lying down, talking. He has got activities. But that activities and when he is free from the disease, that activity is different. Similarly, if you change your activity, you can become mukta even in this life. That is mukti, real mukti. Muktir hitvānyathā-rūpaṁ svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ (SB 2.10.6). If you give up your diseased conditional activities... Just like these boys who are in Kṛṣṇa, they are muktas, because they are not interested with any material activities. They are not interested to read in the morning any newspaper. No. They cannot waste their time in that way or take part in politics. No. They are simply interested in chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and reading these books. Therefore they are muktas. They are all liberated. Because hitvānyathā-rūpam. Other people, they are reading newspaper, doing all nonsense, but they are not interested. The anyathā-rūpam. That is material business. Svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ (SB 2.10.6). Svarūpa means jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). Every living entity is eternally Kṛṣṇa dāsa. So if you give up these material activities and engage yourself in Kṛṣṇa's service, you are mukta. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā.

Morning Walk -- December 2, 1973, Los Angeles:

Karandhara: A man is considered very rich if he can play golf every day. The rich men play every day.

Prabhupāda: It is very expensive, golf?

Karandhara: Well, if you play golf, you don't have to work. People who are rich, they don't work. They just play golf all day. (break)

Citraka: ...newspapers, that now he is follower of Śaṅkarācārya in India. The queen of Greece. She's a follower.

Prabhupāda: Queen of Greece. This cloth is very inconvenient... (break) ...illusion. Accepting this illusion, wherefrom the idea came? Just like in the tailor's window, there are nice beautiful women or men standing. That is illusion. Actually, that is neither man or woman. It is doll. But wherefrom the idea came of this illusion?

Hṛdayānanda: Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda: No, no. Unless there is a real man, a real woman, how the illusory man and woman is there, doll? Illusion means which is not fact. So the fact must be there; otherwise how the illusion, reflection, comes? Illusion is exemplified by the mirage, water in the desert. So the man is or the animal is running after water, but that is not water. This is illusion. But that does not mean there is no water. This is the conclusion. Unless there is real water, how... (aside) You can give around here. How this illusion of water is there?

Morning Walk -- December 2, 1973, Los Angeles:

Karandhara: Prabhupāda, you know the scientist you quoted in Easy Journey? You quoted an article from the newspaper in Easy Journey about the two scientists who were studying anti-matter?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Karandhara: Well, about a year ago another scientist came forward, and he charged that those two scientists actually stole the knowledge from him. They were working with him, and they stole it to win Nobel Prize.

Prabhupāda: Yes, there are many scientists like that. Just like this Marconi, he stole the knowledge from Dr. Jagadisha Candra Bose. You know that?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: I have heard this.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Jagadisha Candra... I was present. He said that "This man cheated me. I talked with him. Next morning he published the theory."

Karandhara: About radio?

Prabhupāda: No, newspaper. Because both of them were friends, scientists, they talked. And he took the clue, immediately published the theory.

Morning Walk -- December 4, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Yaśomatīnandana: They accept like, "I have not seen President Nixon, but I accept because I read in the newspaper." So somebody says that, well, by following this bhakti you can see Kṛṣṇa, but they will not accept that.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Devotee (2): Why should they accept Kṛṣṇa as authority over Darwin authority?

Prabhupāda: Ah? Because He's accepted by...

Yaśomatīnandana: Great sages.

Prabhupāda: ...great sages, saintly persons, scholars...

Devotee (2): By many scientists.

Prabhupāda: Then fool's paradise it is called... It is folly to be wise where ignorance is bliss. That is the only conclusion.

Morning Walk -- December 8, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: That means they are failure.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: They are interested in politics now.

Prabhupāda: Just like nowadays they are not talking of going to the moon planet. There is no newspaper news.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: They have a bigger plan.

Prabhupāda: That is another bluff. Now the small plan they could not make successful. Now they are thinking of bigger plan. You see?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: They are planning to go to Mars now.

Prabhupāda: Yes, that is another bluff. Another bluff. The smaller plan, they could not make successful. Now they're attempting bigger plan. Bara bara goragere rasatala, beta gora katha jala.(?) Betagor... There is a story that there was river. You know, horse can swim over. So big, big stalwart horses, they waved, mean, they washed away by the flood. So one lean and thin horse is coming, "Can you tell me how much water is there?" It is like bara bara goragere rasatala, beta gora katha jala. (?) So these rascals could not reach even the moon planet; now they are planning to the Mars planet. Just see. And another rascal will believe him. That, What you have done for the, which is the nearest planet?

Morning Walk -- December 11, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prajāpati: In the last World War there was a very famous German propagandist named Goebbels who wrote that if one controls the communications, the media, the radio and television, newspapers, like this, he actually controls what people think. So we've not put so much emphasis on that so far in our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, actually controlling the linkage of communication. In the future should we be more and more concerned with that?

Prabhupāda: What is that future? What do you want to do in future?

Prajāpati: Actually permeate all the media with Kṛṣṇa consciousness propaganda, not simply just writing but actually all aspects of...

Prabhupāda: Yes, you can take advantage of all this media. That we are doing. Just like we are taking advantage of this microphone. We are not rejecting, "Oh, it is material. Why should we take?" Nothing material. Anything used for Kṛṣṇa is spiritual. Material means what is not used for Kṛṣṇa. That is material. You are materialistic when you are not used for Kṛṣṇa. And as soon as you are utilized for Kṛṣṇa, you are spiritualistic. That is the difference. Here we say, "This is material world." This is material world because everyone has forgotten Kṛṣṇa. Therefore it is material world. So if they come into Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then it is spiritual. (break) ...conscious people now challenge this rascal that "We are searching after Kṛṣṇa. We are not searching... We are devotee of Kṛṣṇa, and you are posing yourself as Kṛṣṇa. So show us some Kṛṣṇa's power. We immediately come to you."

Morning Walk -- December 18, 1973, Los Angeles:

Jayahari: It is just like the scientists. They cannot accept the existence of the soul until they see it.

Prabhupāda: No, that is explained. Why you are repeating that? You have no seeing power, still, you are boast of seeing. That is your rascaldom. That is your rascaldom. Yes. There was a question in a newspaper. A child is asking his father, "Father, you were a girl or a boy in childhood?" Because he has no distinction what is the boy, what is the girl, therefore he is asking that nonsense question. Now, my second son, when he was four years old, we were passing, and there was a big marriage party. You know how marriage party goes?

Girirāja: Oh yes.

Prabhupāda: So he was asking. Very intelligent boy, he was asking, "What is this? What is...?" So I also explained, "This man is going to marry." So in this way, after, "Father, you were married?" He asked me. So this nonsense question is there. He does not know, "Without marriage, how I am come into existence?" So these questions are like that, childish questions. It has no meaning. (break) ...the Vedic injunctions is tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). One must approach guru. Guru means heavy, who knows perfectly. You must go there to learn. And actually it is happening. Why the children are sent to school? When he becomes educated, the same eyes, same hands, same legs, same body, but he becomes educated. What is the different between educated and not educated? Because he has heard from authorities. That's all. This is education. Without going to school, he is not considered to be educated. Why? Because he did not hear from the authorities. Therefore he is uneducated. Let him learn everything. He has got the eyes. He has got the senses. Why he is sent to school? Why? Tell me, why? He has got the eyes. Why he is sent to school for education?

Morning Walk -- December 31, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: ...theologician?

Prajāpati: Here I am, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: No theory?

Prajāpati: Actually, I was concerned this morning about inflation. The government and the newspapers, they say the biggest problem today is inflation. From our Kṛṣṇa conscious standpoint, how can we cure this problem of inflation?

Prabhupāda: It is very simple. Don't accept paper currency. It must be gold or some metal worth. Just like one dollar, it must be worth one dollar metal. Then it is solved. But they want to cheat. How it can be solved? Because if I pay you one dollar, I must pay you value for one dollar. But it is the cheating process is going on, "I pay you one dollar, a piece of paper. That's all." So you accept cheating, and I also cheat. Government allows. So how the problem can be solved? It is cheating. But the government allows it as law. And you accept, I accept. Then how they can be solved, solution? This is the solution.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- January 7, 1974, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: ...for one day's advertisement. And advertise this poster in every paper. You see...

Bali Mardana: I want to do that.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Bali Mardana: Also I was thinking to have a large scale propaganda in all the college newspapers.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Bali Mardana: Specifically. To attract...

Prabhupāda: The same, one advertisement. What is the...?

Karandhara: "Real leaders of human society."

Prabhupāda: Yes. That... You have seen that design I have given?

Karandhara: No, I haven't seen it.

Prabhupāda: Oh, it is not yet done?

Karandhara: No, it's being worked on.

Prabhupāda: Hm. You can give him the rough idea. That will be very nice propaganda, to select real leaders of the society. The... We are misled by rascal leaders. That is the difficulty, all rascals. If the society is led by real, learned scholars, then it will be nice. Qualified leaders. That is wanted. Leader means better qualified man to lead others. That is leader. Leader does not mean he is himself a fool and leading other fools.

Morning Walk -- March 6, 1974, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Thank you. That's... Svarūpa Dāmodara asked the scientist that, "You are beginning life from chemicals. Suppose I give you chemicals, can you make life?" "That I cannot say." This is their proposal. This is their... All rascals. And they're wasting public money and making other fools. They're going to the Candraloka and this loka, Venus. Simply wasting time. This remark I gave in the newspaper sometimes in San Francisco...

Siddha-svarūpānanda: When they asked about the moon.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes. It is simply waste of time and energy. That's all. And in 1968 I wrote that Easy Journey: "And this is all childish."

Siddha-svarūpānanda: Sputniks.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Have you read that?

Siddha-svarūpānanda: Yes. It is very nice.

Prabhupāda: So we can boldly say on the strength of Vedic literature that all these attempts are childish and those who are attempting, they're all fools and rascals. That's all. Now they're silent about moon expedition. They're trying to go to Venus. What happened to moon, moon planet?

Siddha-svarūpānanda: Yeah right.

Morning Walk -- March 27, 1974, Bombay:

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

Prabhupāda: If they were bad enough, we are now worst enough. We are now introducing meat-eating and drinking and... We are worst.

Devotee: Prabhupāda, in the newspaper the other day it said that the India government wants to start exporting beef.

Dr. Patel: Beef! Because they want to... Yes, we read it. They want to be..., slaughter the surplus cows because they are not yielding enough milk. There was very big article I read wherein they said that not only the milk is important, but the cow dung is as fertilizer in the fields much more than the modern day... (break) No? (break)

Prabhupāda: Why it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, go-rakṣya? Why not another animal-rakṣya?

Dr. Patel: Bāgha-rakṣya koro.

Prabhupāda: Why it is specially mentioned? Go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya.

Morning Walk -- April 12, 1974, Bombay:

Indian man (1): So for improving our morality.

Prabhupāda: Yes, that "Everything, what you have done, it is all right. Utilize for saṅkīrtana yajña." Nirbandhe kṛṣṇa... Rūpa Gosvāmī has recommended that

anasaktyasya viṣayān
yathārham upayuñjataḥ
nirbandhe kṛṣṇa-sambandhe
yukta-vairāgyam ucyate

We have no attachment for these things. Just like in America, I ride on Rolls Royce car. That does not mean because in India there is no Rolls Royce car, therefore I shall not walk. We are not attached to all these things. But if it is available, we utilize it for Kṛṣṇa's purpose. That's all. (break) ...the best use of a bad bargain. When there is a bad bargain, so intelligent man makes the best use. "All right, how it can be used for the best purpose?" That is wanted. (break) Newspaper men, they call me "jet plane parivrājakācārya." (break) But our process is for yajña.

Morning Walk -- April 13, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: ...gṛha-medhinām. Apaśyatām ātma-tattvaṁ gṛheṣu gṛha-medhinām (SB 2.1.2). Those who are gṛhamedhis and do not know anything else except maintaining the family, they are called gṛhamedhi. And those who cultivating spiritual consciousness in gṛhastha life with family and children, they are called gṛhasthas. That is the difference between gṛhamedhi and gṛhastha. So gṛhamedhi, they have no aim of life, of self-realization. Apaśyatām ātma-tattvam (SB 2.1.2). That is described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Nṛnāṁ santi sahasraśaḥ. (break) ...self-realization. Nṛnāṁ santi sahasraśaḥ. Apaśyatām ātma-tattvam (SB 2.1.2), who cannot see what is the ātma-tattvam, what is the path of self-realization. Gṛheṣu gṛhamedhinām. Therefore it is the duty of the sannyāsī... Sannyāsī does not mean that he will beg for fulfilling his hungry belly. Sannyāsī means he must enlighten—that is sannyāsī—in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. (break) ...rājendra nṛnaṁ santi sahasrasaḥ apaśyatām ātma-tattvaṁ gṛheṣu gṛha-medhinām (SB 2.1.2). This is the Sukadeva Gosvāmī says that śrotavyādīni rājendra (SB 2.1.2), subject matter for hearing nrnam, for the human being, nṛnāṁ santi sahasraśaḥ, thousands of... Just like in the newspaper in the morning, thousands of varieties of news they will attend, and ask them to attend the maṅgala ārati for self-realization, "No, that is not... You are disturbing, nonsense." This is gṛhamedhi. Gṛheṣu gṛhamedhinām. Vedic culture is that one must rise early in the morning. And even Kṛṣṇa in His gṛhastha life, immediately He rose up. Rukmiṇī was disturbed because womanly nature, and again immediately taking bath, meditation. This is Vedic culture. And sleeping up to seven and then unless takes bed tea, without washing teeth, and he is advanced. You see. And if one is asked to "Rise early in the morning and wash yourself, take your bathing and attend maṅgala ārati." "Oh, this is old way, bhajana nonsense." You see. Gṛheṣu gṛhamedhinām.

Room Conversation with Richard Webster, chairman, Societa Filosofica Italiana -- May 24, 1974, Rome:

Dhanañjaya: I was reading in the newspaper that a few days ago India exploded a nuclear bomb, an atomic bomb, underground. This was the first step. And they have declared that this was used for peaceful reasons, in order to develop...

Prabhupāda: There was a cartoon. When I... One leader is approached for food, that "We are in scarcity of food." The leader says, "Of course, it is very difficult to assure you for food grains. But from next week you will have television." (laughter) Next week you will have television. So these improvements are going on, television, but they are starving. This is going on. Advancement of knowledge and learning is going on in discovering television, but there is no food. This is the mismanagement of the leaders. Dishonest. There is enough food. Punjab still produces food grains. Bengal still produces rice, but they are stocked by government men, and they are mishandling. They are lying on the station for dispatch, but they will not be dispatched. They are rotting. Rainy season spoiled the whole stock; still, they are not dispatched. Official: "There is no dispatch order. There is no wagons available." Simply mismanagement or bribe. This is going on. And people are suffering. How it is possible to purchase? Suppose India's income, the average income, is very poor. Suppose one man earns ten rupees a day, and if he has to purchase ten rupees simply rice for the family, ten..., what for others? Then he becomes dishonest. He wants to earn money by taking bribe in his own capacity. So bribing has become a custom. Anywhere you go, unless you bribe, you cannot get release. And they say that "Whatever salary we are getting, that is not sufficient. Our extra earning is by taking bribe." And now in the Western countries also the difficulty is arising. I do not know whether you are already, I mean to say, aware that so many boys, they are becoming hippies. They are reluctant to do anything. That is a very dangerous sign. If you... If unemployment, no engagement, that is not good for the country. Everyone should be employed. Everyone should be engaged in some service. That should be the policy of the government. And everyone should be happy, without any anxiety. That is good government.

Morning Walk -- May 27, 1974, Rome:

Dhanañjaya: But they are saying they used all the wood for paper, so there's no more wood.

Prabhupāda: No, no. Paper you can make from grass, from cotton. So many other fibers. You don't require wood. You grow grass, sufficient quantity, and you make paper. Why should you publish so many rubbish literatures? Just like you were telling. The Times of India, the newspaper. (Sound of cars) This is the difficulty, walking on street. Therefore I wanted to go to the park. This is disturbance. So paper, if we don't produce unnecessary paper, there is no scarcity. From grass. You produce grass, huge quantity of grass, you will get paper. Cotton also. First-class paper. In India also, the rejected paper. From rejected paper you can get another paper also. But they throw it away in your country. Collect this rejected paper and again put it into paper. And why should you publish all rubbish literature? Simply publish Bhāgavata and Bhagavad-gītā, that's all. What is the use of this newspaper, nonsense newspaper, huge, huge quantity? So everything will be nice provided you become ideal. Live in community. Produce your own food. Even you can produce your own paper. You don't require printing of so many books. If there is one book, others can imitate, or copy. There is no need of printing. Formerly they used to do that.

Room Conversation -- June 11, 1974, Paris:

Yogeśvara: Sigmund Freud.

Prabhupāda: The rascal, what is there, philosophy? This philosophy everyone knows. And he's philosophizing.

Yogeśvara: There was an article in this week's newspaper. Sigmund Freud's grand-daughter is now posing for naked pictures in magazines. She is saying, "My grandfather's philosophy was not so good." So now she is posing.

Prabhupāda: He's ad... She's advanced. (laughter) She's more advanced. That's nice. (laughs) This is going on. Animals, simply animals in a different posture. That's all. Fourth-class, fifth-class men. And they are governing, they are leaders. Then what is that? Śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-kharaiḥ.

Room Conversation with Roger Maria leading writer of communist literature -- June 12, 1974, Paris:

Jyotirmayī: ...in France amongst the communist students, the communist Indian students. And I said he is also a literary critic. That means that he is writing a lot of articles in the newspaper and explaining many things in the literary circles in France. He also knows very much about Gandhi philosophy. He has been writing a lot about Gandhi's philosophy. So when he knew that you were with Gandhi, he came very interested.

Prabhupāda: Hm. So we are also communist. As you take the state as the center, we take Kṛṣṇa as the center. Kṛṣṇa is the proprietor. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Where is Karandhara?

Devotee: He's coming.

Prabhupāda: The Bhagavad-gītā says, Kṛṣṇa, that "I am the enjoyer. I am the proprietor. I am the friend." Bhoktāram... Read out this.

bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ
sarva-loka-maheśvaram
suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati
(BG 5.29)

This is the process of peacefulness, when one understands that Kṛṣṇa is the enjoyer, Kṛṣṇa is the proprietor of all lokas, all worlds. And Kṛṣṇa is the best friend of everyone. (French) (aside:) Get the light.

Room Conversation with Roger Maria leading writer of communist literature -- June 12, 1974, Paris:

Prabhupāda: No, we are teaching, our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, we are teaching how to practice religion. (French)

Jyotirmayī: He said that even though he himself is materialist and atheist, he propagates this in his articles, in his newspaper, you know, he propagates certain aspects of religion.

Prabhupāda: No. First of all, we must know what is religion, and what is atheist or what is theist. First of all, if we know what is religion, then we can define who is following, who is not following. (French)

Jyotirmayī: So he said what he can give is his own experience of religion and what he is propagating when he talks in his articles...

Prabhupāda: What is his experience of religion? (French)

Jyotirmayī: So he said that in Hinduism, what he thinks is the best...

Prabhupāda: No, no. Religion is not meant for Hindus or Christians—for everyone. So there must be a general definition of religion.

Room Conversation with Professor Oliver La Combe Director of the Sorbonne University -- June 14, 1974, Paris:

Prabhupāda: That is your sentiment, but practical world, he is a scholar, he is a head man of a department, a university. He must be famous.

Devotee: I just saw... Maybe you knew the latest headlines in the newspapers today were "President Nixon is found innocent."

Prabhupāda: Oh, ācchā?

Devotee: They said he was found innocent.

Prabhupāda: In the court?

Devotee: Yes. Because, you knew about the Watergate case. He was caught...

Yogeśvara: Prabhupāda knows the story. He knows the incident. He was found innocent by who? By court?

Devotee: Yes, by the whole government. He had done some cheating and campaign making secret tape recordings against the other party.

Prabhupāda: He did? And still he is innocent?

Devotee: Yes. He paid so many millions, thousands and thousands of dollars. His party, the republican party, they put microphones and everything in the convention of the democrats and had spies and everything in order that he could find out their tricks. He had paid all these men and there were all fired.

Prabhupāda: So that is not bad because in politics you have to do that. Everyone does so. What is Nixon's fault?

Room Conversation with devotees about Twelfth Canto Kali-yuga, and Conversation with Guest -- June 15, 1974, Paris:

Prabhupāda: Hmm. Recently, there was a historical excavation that Jesus Christ did not die, and he, after crucification, he was taken to Kashmir.

Yogeśvara: Kashmir?

Prabhupāda: Yes. (French)

Yogeśvara: Where was this? In a newspaper?

Prabhupāda: Yes. In paper I saw. (French)

French Woman: But we are not under historical literally. We try to speak of mystical experience. This is exactly the subject of, that we did. We cannot discuss history because everybody has his own documentation.

Prabhupāda: Yes. So I was very much pleased because I was very sorry that Jesus Christ was crucified. But when I heard this historical discovery, I was very satisfied. But one thing is that... Here, at least, in London, I have seen. There are so many churches vacant.

Morning Walk -- July 9, 1974, Los Angeles:

Bali Mardana: I've never seen so many young Americans sit for, listen to the lecture so attentively.

Prabhupāda: And religious, most dry subject. Not cinema.

Bali Mardana: The newspaper said that it was the most favorite festival of all San Francisco, of all the festivals.

Prabhupāda: So they have mentioned, "American Hindus." (chuckles) (pause) It is a dead blow to the material civilization: "No drinking and no intoxication, no meat-eating, no gambling, no illicit sex." Their whole civilization is finished. Because they stand on these things, four pillars.

Jayatīrtha: Yes.

Prabhupāda: They have no other...

Kṛṣṇa-kānti: Therefore we must present a better civilization.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Kṛṣṇa-kānti: We must present a better civilization.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Not better or best. The civilization. Everything is all false, cheating. Everything, everything is cheating. Without this Kṛṣṇa consciousness, all other consciousness, they're simply cheating. That is called māyā, illusion. If you remain in any other consciousness except Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that means you are in illusion. You are misguided. That is explained in the second verse of the First Canto. Dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo 'tra paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satāṁ vāstava vastu vedyam atra: (SB 1.1.2) All kinds of cheating religious system is kicked out." That is the second verse. Projjhita, completely cleansed of all cheating type of religion.

Morning Walk at Marine del Rey -- July 13, 1974, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: So what will wealth do? If it does not appeal to the people, what wealth will do? In Chicago also, the Christians came with some wooden signboard. You have seen?

Bali Mardana: No, I didn't see.

Prabhupāda: "It is through Christ. It is through..." They were showing me. So that has been criticized by the newspapermen, that "Nobody cares for you." (laughter) Yes.

Bali Mardana: In New York also, we have to do negotiations very secretly because if they find out, they would not want to sell to us. They would be afraid.

Prabhupāda: Oh, New York, there was Ratha-yatra?

Bali Mardana: No, no. For purchasing the church.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Bali Mardana: They're also afraid that we will take over.

Prabhupāda: But that is not yet finished.

Morning Walk at Marine del Rey -- July 13, 1974, Los Angeles:

Bali Mardana: Jaya. (laughter) (break)

Prabhupāda: So even it is as it is, they may take in palanquin, but there must be a protest meeting continuously. Protest meeting and the Indians should approach the Ambassador that, "Represent our case to the Queen that Hindus are being harassed." This should be organized.

Bali Mardana: And also newspaper.

Prabhupāda: Also newspaper. There must be...

Bali Mardana: They can make advertisements in the newspaper.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That "On certain plea only, they have stopped our most important ceremony." In this way agitation must go on. And our men, those who took part in political agitation, they should go there and speak everywhere, that "It is religious discrimination."

Bali Mardana: They should have a protest meeting in front of the Parliament building, with signs.

Prabhupāda: Protest meeting must be there. How to organize? At least, a protest meeting should be done in such a way that the whole world may know that the British Government stopped the yearly Ratha-yatra ceremony of the Hindus. That should be organized. What can be done? You are not very strong GBC's. There must be vehement protest meeting.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk Through the BBT Warehouse -- February 10, 1975, Los Angeles:

Jayatīrtha: She can come here?

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. She is expert dancer. She was very popular actress before joining. Very, very popular actress. You know?

Viśākhā: I've heard the name, yes.

Prabhupāda: Yes. There was a newspaper, big, big..., that "This girl has given up everything, now has joined Kṛṣṇa."

Gurudāsa: Yesterday one professional skydiver, one who parachutes from a plane for money, I talked to her. She's joining the dance company. Yesterday. Thirty-four years old, professional parachuter woman, she is joining the dance company. (laughter)

Prabhupāda: Our dance company?

Gurudāsa: Yes, our dance company. She saw the dance, and I preached to her. She's joining.

Viśākhā: We plan to make a motion picture of the Bhagavad-gītā dance that they do. My husband and I...

Prabhupāda: Do it. Apply your American brain how to serve Kṛṣṇa. That is success.

Morning Walk Through the BBT Warehouse -- February 10, 1975, Los Angeles:

Hṛdayānanda: Back to Godhead.

Prabhupāda: Oh, magazine.

Rāmeśvara: These boxes have come from the printer all ready to go to different countries, and they stamp the address on it. These are those newspapers you saw yesterday called "Spiritual Revolution."

Prabhupāda: I think this Revolution is not very important. Make revolution with magazine, this Back to Godhead. What are these?

Rāmeśvara: The Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Lord Caitanya in Five Features, that chapter that we printed.

Jayatīrtha: These are the ones that you wanted us to bring for distribution to the Māyāvādīs.

Prabhupāda: Yes, Māyāvādīs.

Rāmeśvara: Just before Christmas this wall was filled up, and now it is practically empty. We have sold so many books just in a few months. All up to the ceiling it was filled up. Now we have to reprint.

Prabhupāda: Now it is only in English language. In every language such big go-down should... Yes. (chuckles) You have taken Spanish, and he is German. Then... Then overflood. No more other literature. (laughter) Ara nāhe bābā. They'll say, "No, no, we don't want any other literature." Yes, George says, "No more singing anything except Kṛṣṇa." Does he not say? He says like that.

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- March 1, 1975, Atlanta:

Dr. Wolf: No, sir, I don't.

Prabhupāda: Oh, we have got any experience? You have got any experience? Then, why do you say nonsense, this? You have no experience, and you say something nonsense, ludicrous. They say "nature." What is the nature? Nature is a machine only. Just like the harmonium. It is also machine. But if one expert operator is there, it makes very melodious, oh, nice. So will the harmonium play automatically? And bring melodious sound? So they have no common sense even; still, they are scientist. That is our regret. They are less than common sense man. That you have to expose, that these people have not even common sense, and they are passing on as scientist. That you must protest because you are servant of God, you are servant of the scientist. Call them directly rascal. Let them defend that they are not rascal. He brought some scientist. I called him, "You are rascal, you are demon. You are everything," (laughs) and he tolerated. That means internally he accepted that he is a rascal. (laughs) Actually they... They have no common sense even. So we are not scientist, but we speak from common sense. That's all. Yesterday or day before yesterday, I was talking on common sense on law points, so Rūpānuga said that "You are bigger than lawyer." I do not know that I am bigger than lawyer, but I was speaking on common sense. The difficulty is they are misleading. So many people are being misled by the so-called politician and scientist and... But Gandhi says... He has written so many nonsense things. One thing is that he said, "I do not believe that there was anybody as Kṛṣṇa living ever. Kṛṣṇa is of my imagination." These things he has written. And he is Mahatma Gandhi. Mahātmā's definition is there in the Bhagavad-gītā, mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ (BG 9.13). Mahātmā means devotee, who have understood vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti (BG 7.19). But these rascal politicians, they have become mahātmā. For politics, they can do anything, lie like anybody, and so many things. There was a big writer in Bengal. So he is giving evidence in the court... That's a comic. So he says, "Do you think I am editor? I am pleader? I am prostitute?" Means indirectly he is saying that they are prostitutes. As the prostitute can say anything, lies, for their profession, similarly, these people, the editor and the..., pleaders, they are like that. "Do you think I am prostitute? Do you think I am lawyer? Do you think I am editor, newspaper editor?" So take this formula from the śāstras that a living entity is never created. These rascals are trying to create living entity and spending money and going to hold big, big conference.

Room Conversation with Bernard Manischewitz -- March 5, 1975, New York:

Bernard Manischewitz: There seems to be a determination on the part of most of the devotees to eliminate from their lives all news except that dealing with Kṛṣṇa. It seems..., it seems to me if they are to bring Kṛṣṇa to the world that it would be an important thing for them to have news, to know, to be able to communicate with people. Is there some actual prohibition against (indistinct)?

Prabhupāda: No, we know... It is useless. It is useless. Because what you will find in the newspaper? The material activities within this item-eating, sleeping, sex and defense. All the politicians will speak, "Now we are arranging eating process like this, we are making this plan, we are..., economic." Uhh? (aside:) Thank you. Very good. You have written? Aiye. The repetition of the same news. It has no good news. "There was a burglary, there was a theft, and this man cheated, and this man was rogue." What is the use of this news? Let everyone know that the whole world is full of such rubbish things. The politicians, they are talking in their own way, that's all. (indistinct) Even Gandhi, such an exalted man, he says that "I have no belief. I do not believe that there was any person as Kṛṣṇa ever living." Just see. All the big, big ācāryas of India who are practically controlling the destiny of the Hindu civilization or Vedic civilization, they all believe. Gandhi became more than them. Who made him, that is another thing. But he thinks like that, and because Gandhi thinks, just imagine how many millions of people have been misled. Similarly big, big scholars like Dr. Radhakrishnan, he says when Kṛṣṇa says man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65), he said, "This is not to the person Kṛṣṇa." Just see. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, clearly it is stated, bhagavān uvāca Find out this verse. Please, you find out, somebody. Bhagavad-gītā here.

Morning Walk -- April 1, 1975, Mayapur:

Pañcadraviḍa: They say we are old-fashioned. They don't want to bother with us anymore.

Prabhupāda: Hm? Then why do you bother with the problems? Why do you bother with the problems of society? You bother, but you cannot make a solution. All over the world, the newspaper is full, simply throbbing.

Viṣṇujana: Śrīla Prabhupāda, can you make them reasonable? If they're unreasonable, is there some way to make them reasonable?

Prabhupāda: They are reasonable. Man, every human being, is reasonable. It is said, "Man is rational animal." So when the rationality is not there, that means they are still animal.

Pañcadraviḍa: Well, what can be done with animals?

Prabhupāda: It is... It is very simple truth. Just I am this body. I am seeking happiness. So why I am seeking happiness? The... If you simply discuss on this point, then you'll find that a man is reasonable. Why I am seeking after happiness? What is the answer? That's a fact. Everyone is seeking happiness. Why we are seeking happiness? What is the answer?

Pañcadraviḍa: Because everybody's miserable, and they don't like it.

Prabhupāda: That is a opposite way, explanation.

Morning Walk -- April 1, 1975, Mayapur:

Jayatīrtha: The children are under the control of the parents, but the parents don't kill the children.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Brahmānanda: They protect.

Santoṣa: Control means protect. (break)

Prabhupāda: Suffering for all these sinful activities, always throbbing. See the newspaper. The newspaper is full of news—one side, everyone is restless condition, throbbing, and another news, sense gratification. That's all.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Is it necessary for people to leave the cities and live in our varṇāśrama situations in order to become happy?

Prabhupāda: You haven't got to leave anything, provided you understand Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We are not after leaving or accepting. We are not after this. We are after understanding Kṛṣṇa consciousness. What... What shall I leave? Suppose if I leave city—I come here—still it is God's property. So what, what I leave? What I have got that I have to leave? Everything God's property. If you have something, then you can leave. But if you have nothing, what you will leave? It is another bogus. This is Māyāvādī theory. Brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. Why jagan mithyā? If Brahman is satya, jagan is also satya. (break) ...means they are trying to possess, and the jñānīs are trying to leave—both of them rascals. Where is the question of possessing? Stealing. You... I want to possess, but that thing does not belong to me. Therefore it is stealing. And the jñānīs are trying to give up living. That is also not truth. But you haven't got anything, so what you are going to leave? So both are in ignorance, the karmīs and jñānīs, the yogis. Simply Kṛṣṇa conscious persons, they are in knowledge. Before your birth the land was there, the world was there. Everything is there. Now you came. Then how do you possess? Before your birth, things were there. How do you possess unless you steal and cheat? Hm? What is the answer?

Pañcadraviḍa: I have inherited it.

Morning Walk -- April 6, 1975, Mayapur:

Brahmānanda: Eh?

Rāmeśvara: It is not widespread.

Nalinī-kānta: We've seen in the newspaper that...

Rāmeśvara: Hippies.

Prabhupāda: That will increase, this idea. They'll put forward some scientific method... (devotees laugh) Yes. Now for the abortion the so-called scientists, they're explaining in a scientific way that "This is very good action." That I was talking with that Indian scientist. I gave him slaps: "Rascal, you are scientist." The government engages that "Write scientific book for killing your own child." And they'll accept: "Oh, it is scientific." That's all.

Pañcadraviḍa: Now the scientists...

Prabhupāda: Anything nonsense you do, that is scientific, artist.

Pañcadraviḍa: Now the scientists have another plan for changing all the plastic to eatable foodstuffs.

Prabhupāda: No.

Pañcadraviḍa: There's something they put on the plastic so you can now eat it.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Just like the Germans, they extracted fat from stool. And that was used as butter. This is scientific. They'll have to eat stool even. They have eaten. In the last war, concentration camp, they have eaten their own stool. There was no food. So nature will punish them in that way. They'll eat everything. This godless civilization will lead people to such condition of life. Kadharya bhakṣaṇa kare, tara janma adho pate yaya. This life they will eat everything, all nonsense thing, and next life they become pig, cats, dogs. That's all. This will be.

Morning Walk -- May 9, 1975, Perth:

Prabhupāda: What is that other thought? We know everyone's thought. We know everyone's thought.

Amogha: In the university newspaper I was reading, all their discussion is about things like homosexuality is all right or not all right.

Prabhupāda: Ācchā? They are discussing?

Amogha: Yes. In the newspaper articles in the university. The homosexuals are campaigning for equal rights. And there is a big debate whether homosexuals are good or bad. All over the world there are homosexuals, and also they are arguing over Palestine and Israel. And sometimes (indistinct) In Melbourne there was fighting between people who support Israel and Palestine. All these arguments they have in the newspapers.

Paramahaṁsa: Even in Los Angeles they have a group of homosexuals who used to get harassed by people all the time. So now they have become a military group, and they carry weapons. And if anybody harasses them, they shoot them. They're called Militant Homosexuals.

Amogha: In one high school here they asked the question whether we accept homosexuality. And I said, "Of course not. This is only a perversion." And they said, "This is nature's way to stop overpopulation," because there won't be any children. So much foolish.

Prabhupāda: How degraded the human society is becoming. And the children, they are discussing.

Morning Walk -- May 12, 1975, Perth:

Amogha: Because he is so rich he can pay the judge a few million rupees, and the judge will say, "Yes, yes, he is God." By court's rule.

Prabhupāda: Then the other party will go to appeal. Where he is being judged, in the Supreme Court or lower court?

Amogha: I'm not sure. Actually, the judgment is whether or not he put a false picture in the newspaper of his brother with a girl. The older brother is claiming that... First he put a picture in the paper showing the younger Guru Maharaj-ji kissing an American girl. So Guru Maharaj-ji put another counter-photo showing his older brother with an American girl. So the suit is over whether this second picture is a real picture or is it artificially made. That's what the court will decide.

Prabhupāda: Oh. That is the suit.

Paramahaṁsa: Yes.

Morning Walk -- May 13, 1975, Perth:

Prabhupāda: No, no, copying in examination?

Amogha: Oh, yes. Well, what they do is someone sneaks the exam answers out before, and they sell the answers to the questions before the test.

Prabhupāda: Just see. Here it is more advanced.

Amogha: Yes. Very scientific. Sometimes they get caught, it's in the newspapers.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Amogha: Sometimes they are caught by the authorities and it comes in the newspapers, and there's a big scandal because all the students are buying the answers to the questions.

Prabhupāda: Just see. The main point is how to get some money. So the teachers are also dishonest.

Paramahaṁsa: There's a saying that everyone and everything has its price.

Prabhupāda: What is that?

Paramahaṁsa: It means that if you pay enough money, you can get anything, or you can get somebody to do anything.

Prabhupāda: Yes. The justice, they are taking bribe, giving judgment.

Morning Walk -- May 13, 1975, Perth:

Prabhupāda: They are doing?

Paramahaṁsa: Well, they're changing, but they can't become pregnant. That's the only thing. They take these special hormones, and then they can grow breasts and everything just like a woman. But they can't become pregnant.

Amogha: In the newspaper there was an article about two weeks ago about a Christian church in America where they have a naked dancer come.

Prabhupāda: Hmm?

Amogha: They had a lady who dances, taking off her clothes, so the people will come to church. (laughter)

Prabhupāda: Ācchā?

Amogha: Yes. I was very surprised, but they showed a picture. And they said this is a Methodist... I think it was Methodist. Some church... I am not sure which.

Morning Walk -- May 14, 1975, Perth:

Prabhupāda: (break) ...circumstances, it is now doubtful whether they are going to the moon planet.

Amogha: Yes. (break)

Paramahaṁsa: Śrīla Prabhupāda?

Prabhupāda: Hm.

Paramahaṁsa: In the newspaper yesterday there was an article about New York City. The city government is going bankrupt because they... They have asked the President for 1,500 million dollars in emergency aid. Because of crime and dirtiness and noise, all the rich people are leaving New York, and they can't get any taxes from the poor people. So they don't have money to pay to run the city.

Prabhupāda: Yes. I have seen. New York is very dilapidated, many quarters. And especially Second Avenue, those are very dirty. The... On the Fifth Avenue, that Central Park is also very dirty. This civilization will collapse. It cannot be run on. Fourth-class men, I tell. Because it is conducted by the fourth-class men. Ask that gentleman why they are asking. Are they not fourth-class men? They could not manage?

Śrutakīrti: That man last night admitted. He said, "Now I must leave and do my fourth-class activities."

Prabhupāda: Yes, that is fourth class. This is the proof. Fourth-class men administering... Just like misadministration not immediately detected. After some time, when the case is unmanageable, it is detected. Therefore fourth-class men.

Morning Walk -- May 16, 1975, Perth:

Amogha: When we walk in the city in Perth the young people, many people, they say, "Hare Kṛṣṇa." They say, "Oh, there is Hare Kṛṣṇa."

Prabhupāda: There was a newspaper clipping in the Bhagavad-gītā. I saw.

Devotee (1): Oh, yes, that is mine. It was about three years ago, three or four years ago. They put one article. Amogha was supposed to come over from Sydney. I was not even a devotee then, but still, they put this article that there were three devotees in Perth chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Amogha: That was because I was going to Indonesia and I stopped here on the way.

Devotee (1): Many people in Perth, they have the books. About one and a half years ago we were over here and we were distributing the big Kṛṣṇa books and the Bhagavad-gītā, many books.

Prabhupāda: So you are not distributing now?

Devotee (1): Yes, we are still distributing, only around Christmas in Perth. During the rest of the time of the year, it is not very crowded.

Amogha: When we came over here, we stayed in a hotel before we found the house about ten days ago. And when we came to the motel, the lady said, "Oh, someone has left this book here." And she gave us a Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. (pause) Yesterday the United States attacked and sank three Cambodian boats. They are fighting because the Cambodian Communists, the new government, captured one United States freighter. So now they are beginning to try to take it back. (pause) The bus is empty again.

Prabhupāda: A very good bus.

Morning Walk -- May 20, 1975, Melbourne:

Devotee (1): Not too many flowering varieties.

Prabhupāda: No, not speaking of flowering. I mean to say varieties, plants and creepers, two millions. Lakṣa-viṁśati. Ten lakhs equal to one million, and viṁśati, twenty lakhs.

Hari-śauri: There was one newspaper article in the paper I was reading. They were advertising a new book about the evolution of man. And they were saying that there was approximately two million varieties of life on this planet. This was the calculation of the scientists.

Prabhupāda: Two millions? No, 8,400,000.

Śrutakīrti: You were saying the other day that all the species of life are mentioned in the Padma-Purāṇa.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Śrutakīrti:: They're all given account of.

Prabhupāda: They have given separate account or only on the total?

Hari-śauri: Only approximation.

Morning Walk -- June 10, 1975, Honolulu:

Devotee: I think up to now they have sold 200,000,000 hamburgers or something like that.

Prabhupāda: You also keep account?

Devotee: No, they put that ad in every day.

Siddha-svarūpa: They put in a newspaper.

Ambarīṣa: You can't avoid seeing it.

Siddha-svarūpa: No, they are always telling you.

Devotee: In front of their shop it's always there.

Siddha-svarūpa: "We have killed this many." They are also trying to connect themselves with patriotism and religion. They have, at all of their restaurants, they have the American flag flying along with the McDonald's flag. They have their own flag, McDonald's. So they fly alongside the American flag. (break)

Ambarīṣa: I heard once that human beings in the modes of goodness were coming from the cow family or from the cows mostly? If there are so many cows being killed, why aren't there more people in the modes of goodness?

Prabhupāda: Hmm? Now, after the... There are three sources: cow, monkey, and lion. This is the last animal life.

Morning Walk -- June 10, 1975, Honolulu:

Prabhupāda: ...chanting, dancing. So this will rectify his philosophy. Chanting is so strong, it will send all philosophy to hell. (laughter) Vijāyate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam. (break) You will come out triumphant of all others. (break) ...that is happening. What we are doing? We are not playing any magic. How this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is increasing?

Devotee: Yesterday I read in the newspaper that Indira Gandhi has been asked to step down from the prime ministership.

Prabhupāda: I heard it. Where is that paper?

Siddha-svarūpa: Yeah, so this morning you get a paper, okay?

Devotee: I'll try to get a paper. (break)

Prabhupāda: ...body comes in her place he will be another.

Devotee: Yes. (break) ...to step down, she's going to defy the court order.

Siddha-svarūpa: They never want to step down.

Prabhupāda: Like Nixon, like Nixon.

Morning Walk -- June 21, 1975, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Why? That is my question. Why? Why this tendency?

Revatīnandana: Some years back...

Prabhupāda: That means it is unnatural. "I am eternal, but this death has been forced upon me. That is unnatural." That is intelligence.

Revatīnandana: Some time back in the newspaper... This old president of America, Harry Truman, died, and it mentioned that he was eighty-eight years old and that in the last eight years he had been in and out of the hospital ten times for surgery. So in eight years he had been operated on ten times. At eighty-eight years old he was still trying to live, and finally he died.

Prabhupāda: Just see, just see.

Revatīnandana: So much misery; still, he would not die. He tolerated all these operations.

Bahulāśva: This Professor Stahl, he was saying that his experience is that everything is changing and temporary. So therefore he was thinking that that is the nature of all things, that they are temporary.

Prabhupāda: Temporary, this (indistinct). Why this "temporary" word has come into existence unless there is the opposite, "eternal"? Why do you use this word, "temporary"? When you say, "It is fraud," and there must be something as honesty. Otherwise, why this "fraud" has come? Hm? We say, "This is light"—means there is something as darkness. This is relative world. The Professor Einstein said relativity. This is relative: as soon as there is darkness, there must be light. Otherwise, how you understand light and darkness? So unless there is eternity, how do you bring this word, "temporary"? What is their answer?

Bahulāśva: They have no answer.

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

Prabhupāda: Prostitute's house.

Brahmānanda: Prostitutes, yes. And in Germany the newspapers gave this very big publicity, that "Just see how France is..." They took the opportunity of criticizing that "Here is the French church." Another big official, he was found naked.

Prabhupāda: And we say, "No prostitution." (break) ...the problems will come, one after another. This is a bad civilization. It is already a dangerous place, material world, and this bad civilization is creating more dangerous problems.

Jayatīrtha: Now everyone is terrified. In New York they published... The police and the fire department published a pamphlet saying that New York is now called "fear city." And they pass them out to the passengers that come in on the airplanes and the buses, saying that "You should be very careful. You should not walk the streets at night and..."

Brahmānanda: Because the New York City is financially bankrupt they are firing so many policemen, firemen,...

Prabhupāda: Ācchā.

Brahmānanda: Yes. So the policemen, in retaliation, they are making propaganda—and actually it's a fact—that "Now New York is very unsafe, and no one should go out on the street after six o'clock."

Prabhupāda: Just see.

Morning Walk -- July 5, 1975, Chicago:

Jayatīrtha: Amenities. (break)

Prabhupāda: It is good you have done this, but make this Kṛṣṇa consciousness also one of the paraphernalia. Then it is very nice. But they are not inclined. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (break)

Jagadīśa: ...newspaper there were pictures only.

Brahmānanda: So do you have the clippings?

Jagadīśa: Yeah, it's posted.

Prabhupāda: Every house, however poor he may be...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Go along the north shore, where the Bahai temple is. That's very... (break)

Jayatīrtha: About, a big town has got maybe ten television stations. (break) ...means of enjoyment are available.

Prabhupāda: Center variety is crime.

Morning Walk -- July 6, 1975, Chicago:

Prabhupāda: ...was seeing in that paper, the meeting, a photograph of Jaya Prakash Narayana and Mrs. Gandhi. Both of the meetings were overcrowded. So who is right and who is wrong? People were hearings in throngs both of them. So? Who is wrong, who is right? (break)

Brahmānanda: ...newspaper report here was that the crowds who came to cheer Indira Gandhi that they were paid, paid crowds. They would pay them one rupee each.

Prabhupāda: Ācchā? (laughter) Yes. That is for car or...?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Car, yes. (break)

Prabhupāda: ...any bird called thunderbird?

Bahulāśva: Thunderbird? A big bird, big eagle, in the United States.

Prabhupāda: No, big eagle, thunderbird. You have seen in this car?

Brahmānanda: Automobile is called.

Prabhupāda: But actually is there any bird called thunderbird?

Jagadīśa: It's a legendary bird from Indian legend. American Indian.

Television Interview -- July 9, 1975, Chicago:

Satsvarūpa: Śrīla Prabhupāda, if we speak these things on television and the newspapers and people become angry, if all the people become angry like she does, is it still good propaganda for us?

Prabhupāda: No, then we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. We don't make disturbance. But in the Bhagavad-gītā everything is discussed, this varṇa-saṅkara and the first-class man, second-class man. If we have to push on Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, then we have to discuss. But if they do not like, better chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and don't discuss anything. But these things are discussed. If you are not agreeable to hear from Bhagavad-gītā, then let us chant together Hare Kṛṣṇa. That's all. But these things are discussed in the Bhagavad-gītā about varṇa-saṅkara. If the population, varṇa-saṅkara, is increased, then it becomes hell. So if you want to increase the hellish person, then don't discuss. But if you think it is a problem, then discuss.

Morning Walk -- July 18, 1975, San Francisco:

Nalinī-kaṇṭha: He's taking money from the government for his work so that he can live.

Prabhupāda: Well, money is everyone is getting. The dog is also getting. Sometimes dog is inheriting the property of his master. But that does not mean he is not a dog.

Paramahaṁsa: About one month ago there was a very big story in the newspapers about how this student who went to all the archives in the Washington D.C. library, and from known records he compiled enough information to construct an atom bomb. Did you hear about that?

Prabhupāda: No.

Paramahaṁsa: He became world famous. So they concluded that anyone who wanted to could get normal information from normal sources and theoretically construct an atom bomb. But they don't have the equipment, but they have the knowledge now. So they're proposing in that sense that any terrorist organization within the next five years will be able to invent their own atom bomb.

Prabhupāda: Yes, that's a fact.

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

Rādhā-vallabha: (break) ...scientist named Fox who has. They have conjectured that these original very complex nucleic acids have created life. So he has taken these acids in a big test tube...

Prabhupāda: I say (?) "Fox, go to the forest. (laughter) And cry there." Yes, we treat them as foxes and jackals, that's all, not even human beings. Why they waste time in this way and people are enamored by them? That is... Just like you were talking about space meeting. What they have gained out of it? And people are enamored to talk about them, write in the newspaper or make a subject matter. And then all of a sudden death comes, "Get out," finished. You see? How foolish they are. So, Hayagrīva prabhu, how you are feeling?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Hayagrīva.

Prabhupāda: How you are feeling?

Hayagrīva: Oh, fine, Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: That's nice. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (break) Caitanya Mahāprabhu's order is yāre dekha, tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa (CC Madhya 7.128). Don't talk nonsense. Whomever you meet, if you want to become a leader and talk something, talk Kṛṣṇa-kathā, yāre dekha, tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'..., what Kṛṣṇa has said. Then satisfy your ambition to become a talker. Otherwise, you rascal, remain a talker only. You talk only; you get nothing. If you want to utilize your talking power, then talk what Kṛṣṇa has instructed. Then your life will be successful. And if you talk foolishly, then you will be revealed as a rascal.

Morning Walk -- July 29, 1975, Dallas:

Prabhupāda: (in car:) ...and artificially they construct big, big cities. Wrong?

Jagadīśa: Wrong turn we made back at the beginning of the street. (break)

Prabhupāda: ...coming. Why?

Brahmānanda: This is more pleasant.

Satsvarūpa: In a newspaper report, Śrīla Prabhupāda, about India, it said that the mass of people in the rural areas didn't even know that there was an emergency rule. They don't... It's so peaceful. They're not affected. (break)

Prabhupāda: ...of people, they do not care for these political things. Even in Gandhi's strong civil disobedience movement, out of the whole population of India, only sixty-thousand men joined. What is the India's population?

Brahmānanda: Six hundred million.

Prabhupāda: Six hundred million, and out of that sixty-thousand joined, and it became successful. Sixty thousand joined by statistics. Actually worker, I don't think more than ten thousand people. Exactly like Indian village. Here there is no business. They simply reside.

Morning Walk -- August 29, 1975, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Nobody will be attracted.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: They are trying to attract people that they'll get a chance to go abroad.

Prabhupāda: That may be allurement.

Brahmānanda: Actually by placing such an ad, then all the wealthy people read the ad in the newspaper, and they think, "Oh, they are doing such nice work." So then they go and collect, and they say, "Oh, you see? We are placing the ads." So on the basis of the ad alone.

Akṣayānanda: That means there is no work.

Prabhupāda: But no educated man, at least in India, is interested any more with philosophy and preaching. No Indian. (Aside) Jaya. (break)

Akṣayānanda: ...preach more, then that would help? Because he was previously a principal of a school.

Prabhupāda: No, how he is preaching? Have you heard? No, you cannot understand in Hindi.

Morning Walk -- August 29, 1975, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: ...educated, he appreciate it.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: He wants to become your disciple.

Akṣayānanda: What if the Hindi Back to Godhead was in newspaper form? Would that be lowering the standard?

Brahmānanda: Then they'd throw it away.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: You can't have a color picture then.

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Akṣayānanda: If it was in newspaper form, that would be lowering the standard too much, the Hindi Back to Godhead. Then they will throw it away?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Like we have those...

Prabhupāda: No. We must have quality. Our Godbrothers, they publish tenth-quality papers. Nobody... Nobody cares.

Morning Walk -- September 13, 1975, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. Kaṣṭan kāmān. Unnecessarily creating problems. (break) ...one after another, one after another. Formerly paper was used only for Vedic knowledge. Now the paper used for so many useless newspaper, volumes and volumes and jasusi(?), unnecessarily creating agitation of the mind. And if you explain these things they will say, "This is all primitive ideas." Modern ideas means one must work very hard day and night to get a little piece of capati. Hm? What is the answer.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: If we don't work hard they say, "You are a burden on society.

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: If a person doesn't work hard day and night they say, "You are just living on society."

Prabhupāda: That I am explaining. The day and night is that pig is working. That I am explaining. Then what is the difference between the pig and me if I am also working hard like that pig? Huh?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: There's no difference.

Morning Walk -- September 18, 1975, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: No. No. If he can manage, that is nice.

Dhanañjaya: Otherwise I am sure such a person will simply try to cheat us. And he is quite prepared to do that service for us.

Prabhupāda: All right. Let him do that. Now bring guest.

Dhanañjaya: Yes. So Tejas, he has prepared some ads for the Delhi newspapers.

Prabhupāda: What is ad?

Dhanañjaya: Advertising.

Prabhupāda: I know that.

Dhanañjaya: And we have also prepared signs.

Brahmānanda: How much did you spend on ads?

Dhanañjaya: One hundred rupees.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Dhanañjaya: One hundred rupees.

Prabhupāda: For advertising?

Dhanañjaya: Yes.

Prabhupāda: What is the subject matter?

Room Conversation -- October 5, 1975, Mauritius:

Prabhupāda: How long it takes to go from here?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: It's just a few hours. Johannesburg letter would only take two, three days.

Prabhupāda: So you keep the address and be in correspondence.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Best if everything is set up beforehand, so when Prabhupāda comes it is already organized.

Guest (1): Yes. We can put it in newspaper.

Prabhupāda: But one thing you must be assured, that if you can introduce this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, everyone will be happy. Be rest assured. That's a fact.

Guest (1): Because if you go to the villages...

Prabhupāda: Everyone will be happy. Men and animal, everyone will be happy. Even the trees and plants, they will be happy.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: We could have big saṅkīrtana parties in the villages here too.

Brahmānanda: How is it that the trees and plants will be happy?

Prabhupāda: Because they will hear Hare Kṛṣṇa. Not only trees and plants. The insects and everyone, they will have the opportunity of hearing Hare Kṛṣṇa. That will benefit.

Room Conversation -- October 5, 1975, Mauritius:

Guest (1): If we have got this act, Swamijī, here itself we can organize it. For example, we are getting holidays in November, school holidays, twenty-first November. So we can put it in the newspaper that "Those who are interested, young people from fifteen or twenty to thirty or forty, these people can send their letters and they would come. So we can answer them through newspaper, also radio, through TV, so that they would come...

Prabhupāda: Yes. If you do organize, then I shall stay. It is very good program. Let us give it some shape with your good cooperation. So Kṛṣṇa is giving you intelligence. He is giving so nice program. So do it practically.

Guest (1): And we can conquer out there.

Prabhupāda: (laughs) Yes. Paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam. Śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana is so powerful that it will conquer. It will be victorious. So I am very glad to meet you. And do this program. And if you like, I shall come back after a week and do. Utilize me in this way, I shall be very glad. That's all right.

Room Conversation -- October 29, 1975, Nairobi:

Brahmānanda: Near our temple there's a big... It's called the International Casino, and they advertise in the newspaper, and they have little drawings of people engaged in gambling, meat-eating, show girls and intoxication.

Cyavana: Alcohol.

Prabhupāda: This is the only means of material enjoyment.

Cyavana: This means they're constantly in fear.

Prahupada: Must be.

Cyavana: They must be fearing.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Bodily conception life means misery and fear.

Brahmānanda: In Mauritius one of our life members, he's a contractor. He's constructing a hotel that has four floors. On one floor is the gambling casino, one floor is the restaurant, one floor is the cabaret, and one floor is the, also rooms for the women to stay.

Prabhupāda: Naturally people are not very much interested in our movement.

Morning Walk -- November 13, 1975, Bombay:

Devotee (2): Recently they had a big questioning in the... (too faint) ...newspapers what the outcome would be.

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Devotee (2): And your Godbrother Swāmī Bon?

Prabhupāda: Yes, I know that. He is also one of them.

Devotee (2): He established... (too faint)

Prabhupāda: Others, they do not accept. So...

Yaśomatīnandana: Funny thing is that some of the historians, they say, "There was no war like Mahābhārata. It's all fictitious. There's nothing like Kurukṣetra." Some historians say that there is Kurukṣetra and there is evidences of war of Mahābhārata. But none of them completely agree with the scriptures. They all have their own fantastic theories, even those who say that...

Prabhupāda: So why shall I accept them?

Yaśomatīnandana: How can we prove the...

Prabhupāda: They cannot prove. Our proof is already there. They cannot prove. Why don't you take that point, that these rascals, they are contradictory to one another, so they cannot prove. Our proof is already there.

Yaśomatīnandana: That is what we should aim at. We should aim at "You cannot prove your..."

Prabhupāda: You cannot prove. You are contradictory. So why shall I accept you or he? We accept our own proof. That's all. First of all you agree amongst yourselves; then question us. You cannot agree. Why shall I believe you? One says that "He is wrong" and the other says "He is wrong." Now we say "You are both wrong. We reject you." Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Morning Walk -- November 16, 1975, Bombay:

Girirāja: But he's sure that they don't need God to explain it.

Prabhupāda: That he knows, how to deny God. That he is expert. And the newspaper reporter accepted this?

Girirāja: No. He didn't express his point of view, but you could see he wasn't satisfied.

Prabhupāda: That is the position. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Jaya.

Girirāja: Then he asked him about the future.

Prabhupāda: Future is darkness because these are scientists. He doesn't know; still, he is scientist. Then what is the future? Future is darkness, because a person who doesn't know, he has become leader. The same thing, andha yathāndhair upanīyamānāḥ (SB 7.5.31). If a blind man, he becomes the leader of other blind men...

Devotee (2): Actually it's sad that if someone says there is no God then that means that they...

Prabhupāda: He's a dog.

Morning Walk -- November 18, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: So that we can understand, that he is grasping like a fool. Therefore we call them "fools, rascals." There was a newspaper interview with a so-called scientist.

Dr. Patel: The great-grandfather of modern science, Einstein, did he not believe in God? He made darśana of God everywhere. Even in explosion of atom he saw it. Even in his theory of relativity, he finally said it was wrong. "All things are relative to God." That is what he said. And I don't think there is a greater scientist than Einstein in the modern times.

Prabhupāda: There are some scientists...

Dr. Patel: If other fellows say any damn thing, that does not mean... Even though he may be a Nobel Prize winner, that does not mean that he is really a true scientist. He may be all right. He is looking through a long narrow tube in his own subject, a specialist. I have my definition about a specialist is a one who sees through long narrow tube and he got this much vision of the horizon. Such a man may be saying like this to you. I don't think we should deride that science... Scientists are trying to approach God through their own way, sir. That is what I think.

Prabhupāda: That is rascaldom.

Dr. Patel: That doesn't matter if you call them "rascal" or no rascal, but that is their way. That's all. Our way is this; their way may be that. We must not... By many...

Prabhupāda: No, no. God says, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti (BG 18.55).

Morning Walk -- November 21, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is Aryan culture. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9). That is Aryan culture. But they do not know what is punar janma, how we can stop this birth and death, nothing of the sort. Simply dogs and cats, that's all, jumping, very busy. (aside:) Hare Kṛṣṇa. Sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13). That's all. Immediately the verdict: "Oh, he does not know anything. He's as good." So? Everything is going nice?

Mahāṁsa: Yes, Prabhupāda. I just came from Bangalore last night. They are having a very big program there and a lot of publicity from the newspapers with pictures and nice articles, big articles on the front page of the newspapers there. And tomorrow the governor is coming as the chief guest for the program. He was... He had that Sunday—that is tomorrow—he was fixed on going to Sai Baba's conference, but when we went to see him he was very pleased because he had gone to our Vṛndāvana temple just ten days back, so he was very much enthused with our activities and he liked the temple very much. So he was very pleased and he said, "Yes, I will cancel Sai Baba's program and come to your program."

Devotee: Jaya. (laughter)

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: That's the governor of Karnataka?

Mahāṁsa: Yes. He was the chief minister of Rajastan previously.

Prabhupāda: Yes, some governor went to our temple, I heard.

Morning Walk -- December 14, 1975, New Delhi:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Tejas: Not just the Old Delhi people.

Prabhupāda: Yes. And...

Tejas: And we can make very good... In the newspaper, if we get, then we'll get... We can sell the tickets also.

Prabhupāda: Yes, you attend all these Kala Bhavan. Utilize like that way. You will have always engagement. This our chanting, dancing, prasāda distribution. And they will pay also. We'll sell books. Why don't you take advantage of this institution? It requires organisation, that's all. Why LIC grounds, so much money? Three thousand daily and 40,000 monthly and so on.

Tejas: So much endeavor also.

Prabhupāda: And so much endeavor.

Tejas: This Vijñāna Bhavan we can get, it's very nice.

Prabhupāda: So do it! Am I right or not?

Hari-śauri: Programs like that would work very successfully in the west also.

Prabhupāda: Yes. And what is three thousand, four thousand? You get two members and it is...

Tejas: No. People will contribute. No problem.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Do it immediately.

Morning Walk -- December 17, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: No, (Hindi). Hm.

Dr. Patel: Same thing—our boys have started smoking LSD in the colleges here. Yes, yes. In Grand(?) Medical College boys have started smoking. They know very well that it is a bad thing, medical students. Never bother the arts and science schools. (Hindi) Because their ideal starts from American precedent. The last precedent (president?) was so idealistic, so... (laughing)

Girirāja: A few days back in the newspapers there was..., smoking causes damage to the brain...

Dr. Patel: It causes damage everywhere, because it damages your blood vessel which carries the vital fluid to all the organs. The blood vessels are spoiled and narrowed down so not sufficient amount of blood will get to your brain, to your heart, to your lungs, your everything practically. Follow? This is not one of (indistinct). They smoke this ganja, sir, because artificially they go into a sort of a trance. That is what the psychedelic drugs.

Prabhupāda: That man also says like that.

Page Title:Newspaper (Conversations 1968 - 1975)
Compiler:Visnu Murti, Mayapur
Created:09 of Mar, 2012
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=96, Let=0
No. of Quotes:96