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Residential quarters (Conversations)

Lectures

Initiation Lectures

Deity Installation and Initiation -- Melbourne, April 6, 1972:

Revatīnandana: So the These are mentioned already in the Vedic literature. So it is not that the world was not known to Vedic culture. It was fully known. And one king—he was that Mahārāja Pṛthu—he was the only one ruler all over the world, and he was ruling over these seven islands—that is mentioned-although his residential quarter was in the Brahmāvarta, the piece of land between the rivers Yamunā and Ganges. That tract of land is still considered a very sanctified land. Practically all the Vedic culture is there still. So the example is that as there is a chief man or king... He is also supposed to be God's representative. God gives power to somebody to look after the interest of the inhabitants of that particular planet. Similarly, there is a king in the sun planet. We may call him sun-god or something like, but there is a predominating personality. He has got his personal effulgence, body. Just like fire has got effulgence, heat and light, similarly, he is the fiery god or fiery person, and his effulgence is spread all over the universe.

Prabhupāda: No, it is a temple, very big temple.

Conversations and Morning Walks

1970 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- December 21, 1970, Surat:

Prabhupāda: Yes. If you give us some place, we'll immediately open. Just like in Indore we had been. Somebody has given us a land. Not only land, but they are going to prepare a temple also there. And the residential quarters, we shall arrange to construct. So this land is about 400,000 square feet.

Guest (3): In Surat?

Prabhupāda: No, in Indore. Yes. So if we get place, we can start. Our program is international. And it is not difficult for us. We can start a branch even underneath a tree. We begin... I began in New York like that. I was chanting underneath a tree in a park. Yes.

Guest (4): (indistinct)

1971 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- January 17, 1971, Allahabad:

Prabhupāda: So why not give us that place?

Haṁsadūta: I don't think he's prepared to do that.

Prabhupāda: They have residential quarters? They have made some residential quarter?

Haṁsadūta: I didn't see any residential quarter. Mostly temple.

Prabhupāda: Very big temple?

Haṁsadūta: It's one big temple with different rooms. Very large, very nice.

Prabhupāda: Better than this Gītā Bhavan?

Haṁsadūta: No, I don't think it's better than Gītā Bhavan.

Prabhupāda: It was simply attempted, not finished.

1972 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- April 20, 1972, Tokyo:

Prabhupāda: It is like our New Vrindaban. Eh?

Devotee (1): It is better.

Prabhupāda: You had been in New Vrindaban. But there are other residential quarters also. Hm?

Trivikrama: There is one rented motel for you Prabhupāda. There's a section of a small motel. He has rented.

Prabhupāda: Oh. Who has rented?

Trivikrama: Just very close.

Śyāmasundara: Sudāmā.

Prabhupāda: Sudāmā.

Room Conversation -- October 25, 1972, Vrndavana:

Gurudāsa: He also is the one who has the Windsor Palace?

Prabhupāda: No, Windsor Palace is the queen's. That is some seasonal residence. This Buckingham Palace is office. Actually for residential palace, the Windsor Palace. Windsor Palace?

Gurudāsa: Windsor, yes.

Prabhupāda: That Palace we see in passing.

Gurudāsa: Yes, large palace.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Gurudāsa: Windsor.

Prabhupāda: Berkshire Palace is also nearby.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

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

Prabhupāda: Ah. Physical is my outward dress. Just like your coat, if it becomes old enough, there is no more possibility to use it. You have to throw it away. You have to take another coat. Similarly, physically, I am spirit soul. When my physical body is old enough, useless, then I will have to give it up. I will have to accept another new body. But the question is that I am eternal; why I am forced to accept a body which will be useless after some time? That is the problem. I am eternal, as spirit soul. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). I do not die after the annihilation of this body. But why I am forced to accept another body, which will be annihilated? This technology is unknown all over the world. And still they are proud of becoming very advanced in science. (Aside:) Open this. Let them come. Keep it open. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānu... (BG 13.9). Come forward. (break) ...technology, although it is a problem. But we can supply this technology, to solve this problem. Jarā-maraṇa-mokṣāya mām... Jarā-maraṇa-mokṣāya. (break) ...modern technologist, scientists, they do not know what is the perfection of life. Now, they are thinking that having a big building, possessing big building, and possessing a few cars and nice bank balance, that is perfection of life. But suppose you get a very nice home, very nice big bank balance, and other amenities. But there is every possibility that as soon as you prepare all these things, you have to go away immediately, death. There is no guarantee that "After finishing this job, I shall be able to enjoy these things." At any moment you can be asked, "Get out." So this labor, so much labor for creating nice residential quarters, bank balance, and others, that is my futile labor because I could not enjoy it.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- March 9, 1974, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: So this, this is combination of paramāṇu, atom. So how we can walk? People may question like that, that "In, within the paramāṇu, there is Kṛṣṇa. How we are walking on this road?" So this question you should all understand very... You know that upon the mandira, we do not stay. Just like our Vṛndāvana mandira is being constructed. There is no residential quarter upon the mandira. Similarly, when the mandira will be constructed, we are not so fool that we'll show, we'll go and stay upon the mandira. But mandira is not constructed yet. So what shall we do?

Guest (1): Worship should go on.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Therefore we have temporary situated mandira in the same building. We cannot stop our worship. That is not possible. Because one cannot go upon the mandira, because the Lord is now being worshiped within the residence, it does not mean we can stop His worship. Worship must continue in any condition, apratihatā, without being impeded by any rules and regulations. This is called rāga-mārga. Vidhi-mārga, and there is rāga-mārga. Vidhi-mārga means under rules and regulations, and rāga-mārga means out of love. That is another thing. There is another instance. Govinda was personal servant of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. So after His dinner, Govinda used to give Him massage on the leg. So one day Caitanya Mahāprabhu fell down on the ground and began to sleep on the door. So Govinda was to give massage to His leg. So he crossed Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and began to...

Morning Walk -- March 9, 1974, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: You have yet to see what is temple. "Temple will be constructed. This is not temple." I wanted to stay in the dharmaśālā of Tīrtha Mahārāja, to construct the temple. I requested him that "Some of my men will stay in the dharmaśālā." He refused. Then how can I construct temple? Therefore I have first constructed residential quarters. And unless my men live here, how can I construct temple? So this is residential quarter. This is not the temple. The temple has yet to be done. So suppose we have no regularly constructed temple, do you think we shall give up worship of the Lord?

Guest (1): No.

Prabhupāda: Then?

Guest (1): We must continue it.

Morning Walk -- April 16, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Yes. (break) ...a little doubtful that Kṛṣṇa is the Lakṣmī-pati, Nārāyaṇa, and those who are devotees of Kṛṣṇa, they become poorer. And Lord Śiva, who has no even a residential house, he lives under the tree, and the devotees of Lord Śiva they become opulent. So what is the reason? So this was questioned by Mahārāja Yudhisthira to Kṛṣṇa. So Kṛṣṇa first answered that yasyaham anughrnami harisye tad-dhanam sanaiḥ: "This is the first installment of My mercy." (break)

Dr. Patel: ...Mahābhārata. I think produced by, in Baroda.

Prabhupāda: I have got Mahābhārata. Not that published by the Gita Press.

Dr. Patel: They are all, really they have made it... For forty years they collected all the books...

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

Prabhupāda: No, all three are one. But it is the angle of vision only. Just like a mountain—somebody from distant place looking, hazy clouds, something. The mountain is the same, but from long distance one realizes as hazy cloud. Little more nearer, they realize something green. And if somebody goes in the mountain, he realizes the mountain and the animals and the residential place, everything. The objective is the same, but the angle of vision different. So in India or everywhere, some realizing the Absolute Truth as impersonal, without any variegatedness.

Professor Durckheim: As Buddhists do.

Prabhupāda: Buddhists, they, I think, they... Yes, you are right, impersonal. But their philosophy is to stop all kinds of realization, nirvāṇa. Realization they do not want. They want to stop realization, to become zero. Is it not that?

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

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

Prabhupāda: Yes. This is experience. You will find many healthy persons in India subsisting only on these foodstuffs, and they have good brain also. India is still, I think, eighty percent people are strictly vegetarian. Not to speak of the higher class, but the lower class also. The higher class, brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya and vaiśya. Vaiśya is via media, between higher and lower. And the śūdras and less that the śūdras, caṇḍālas, they are lower class. So meat-eating is current among these lower class of men, śūdras and caṇḍālas. The caṇḍālas, they have no discrimination, they eat everything, and śūdras, they eat meat, but under restriction. Some of them do not; some of them do, but under restriction, and that is restricted with the goat animal. Less than the śūdras-caṇḍālas, pañcama, fifth grade—they eat everything. Especially they eat—because cow protection in India is very strict—so these caṇḍālas, fifth grade men, they eat generally pigs. Pigs they eat. Outside the village, they have their residential quarters, and they fry live pigs. And they make... Not daily; sometimes. But they eat pigs, and amongst them, there is a class—they are cobblers—they eat this cows' flesh when the animal is dead, not living and we'll kill.

Morning Walk -- May 20, 1975, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: Yes, he is given in charge. Just like we have got different GBC's for different jobs. Similarly, they are doing their duty nicely. All these planets are the different residential quarter of different demigods. They are controlling the whole universal affairs. In comparison to them, this human being is nothing. We are controlled; we are not controller. That they do not realize. The modern civilization they do not realize, although they are being controlled they do not recognize it. That is the defect. This way?

Devotee (2): Yeah.

Hari-śauri: Śrīla Prabhupāda, if the human form is insignificant compared to demigods, but still, it is very much desired, this human form of life, even by the demigods?

Prabhupāda: Yes, because very good chance of realizing God in the human form of life. Just like difference between Western countries and India. India, a very quick chance of realization of God. The atmosphere is so nice. So this planet is good for God realization, and the best place is in India.

Morning Walk -- July 5, 1975, Chicago:

Prabhupāda: Therefore too much attachment for material enjoyment is disqualification for spiritual life. So the western world is trained up for being too much attached to material enjoyment. Therefore lagging behind in spiritual life. Vedic civilization is not to encourage too much for material enjoyment. Minimize. That is Indian civilization. They, if they had money they used to spend for constructing big temple, not for residential house. Maybe the king only had a big palace. Common men, they didn't care for big palace, the palatial building. Common man would be very glad to live in a cottage, and a small garden for growing vegetables, fruits, small lake, that's all. Not wasting time for big, big buildings, big, big... What is called, amenities?

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- March 11, 1976, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: Hm. Yes. Make it more.... Therefore I wanted first of all this house, not the temple, because where they'll stay? They'll come to the temple. Where they will stay? If you get staying place, then you can act your brain and improve. And if you are harassed—no place—then brain will not work. Therefore I wanted first of all the residential place. And they criticize me, "Oh, you did not construct temple first." And a temple of the devotees is first, our temple. Then God. God will come if there are devotees. Tatra tiṣṭhāmi nārada yatra gāyantī mad-bhaktāḥ. Unless there is devotee, where is God? God is not a stone. Any stone is God? Unless there is devotees, there's no God. Therefore, without devotee: the idol, this is idol worship. That is not worship. Therefore they cannot understand what is the form, what is the distinction between form of the Lord and idol. They do not know how to worship in devotion. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante (BG 4.11).

Room Conversation With Radha-Damodara Sankirtana Party -- March 16, 1976, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: You know, if Kṛṣṇa is virāḍ-rūpa, so big mouth, so big belly, that, whatever you give, that is not sufficient. So here we are spreading Kṛṣṇa's mouth very widespread. Here is the plan for Māyāpura temple. This is the.... This is only residential quarter. Real temple is not yet constructed. It will occupy 350 acres of land. So you are the pillars of this construction work. We are doing all your construction work on your contribution. So go on preaching and distributing books. If we get the.... We are.... Books are.... As your pushing on the sale is very nice, then the customers are also there. These are American Express? No, no.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Barclay's Bank.

Prabhupāda: Now everyone is issuing these traveler's check.

Morning Walk -- April 13, 1976, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: We have already constructed for our residential quarters. That is already there, very big. Such a big building is not there in that district.

Indian man (1): (Hindi)

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Actually, Prabhupāda is doing everything. We are simply like puppets. He tells us what to do. Transcendental management.

Indian man (2): Śrīla Prabhupāda? Just in Bombay, what you are constructing, the gate, are they going to be like another Indian temples, only gates? Will they look like a big temple?

Dr. Patel: You mean those.... (Hindi) In south we have got those temples, gates. That is only common in southern India but not anywhere else. Gopurams.

Prabhupāda: Gopurams.

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

Prabhupāda: When they heard in the hell there is no newspaper, then came to the idea, "Oh, it is horrible." Otherwise, cold, dark, "Oh, this is our custom. We are already accustomed to these habits, we are working in the mine. So don't make any distinction between hell and our present residential quarters. But if there is no newspaper, certainly that is hell."

Pradyumna:

naiṣkarmyam apy acyuta-bhāva-varjitaṁ
na śobhate jñānam alaṁ nirañjanam
kutaḥ punaḥ śaśvad abhadram īśvare
na cārpitaṁ karma yad apy akāraṇam

"Knowledge of self-realization, even though freed from all material affinity, does not look well if devoid of a conception of the infallible God. What then is the use of fruitive activities, which are naturally painful from the very beginning and transient by nature if they are not utilized for the devotional service of the Lord?" Purport. "As referred to above, not only ordinary literatures devoid of the transcendental glorification of the Lord are condemned, but also Vedic literatures and speculation on the subject of impersonal Brahman when they are devoid of devotional service.

Answers to a Questionnaire from Bhavan's Journal -- June 28, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: For your direct whims you have to spend so much money? The people are so befooled they do not challenge them. Yes. Everyone knows, suppose one is coming to the western country, Europe and America, we knew it, that it is cold country, we must take proper dress. And we have come and we are staying. So this is knowledge. So if you do not know what is the atmosphere there, what do you spend so much money? And again you are going to the Mars. Are you fixed up what is the position there? Then you'll again bring something, some dust and rock. (laughter) This business will go on at the expense of the... You can do. You have got money. You can do that. But we are Indians, we are coming from poor country. If you spend so much money for nothing, that is very, not very palatable for us. If one tenth of the expenditure you would have given to us for spreading this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement... No. Not a single paisa they will give. And they'll spoil money for going to the moon planet and bring some dust. That's ... Kīrtanānanda Mahārāja is struggling to construct a small residential quarter here, and he has to beg, he has to collect, he has done... Why the government does not pay?

Evening Darsana -- August 14, 1976, Bombay:

Indian man (3): I had written to you, and I think Mr. Saurabha had forwarded my letter to you, to which I got a reply, and I was asked to come and meet you today. I just require to is it the right program of the right place or right tell you what I had in mind or perhaps have in mind? I have about thirty acres of land at Udaipur, in Rajasthan. I was trying to make a campus with studios, laboratories, and residential places for these producers, stars, casts, and things. When discussing with Mr. Saurabha I was amazed that some spare land which we had thought of utilizing for horticulture, we could better utilize it for cowherds to have say one hundred cows. I have been thinking, apart from this cowherd business, I have been thinking about this campus for some time back. And when I met Girirāja and we started getting more close together, association, I thought that why not should we have a temple of Lord Kṛṣṇa as the center from where we start the activities?

Prabhupāda: That's nice. We must have Kṛṣṇa, that's a fact. What is the next proposal? We have got experience. Caitanya Mahāprabhu also introduced this dramatic play, but the play was performed by a great devotee. So unless devotees are trained, this play will not be effective.

Room Conversation -- August 20, 1976, Hyderabad:

Saurabha: For agriculture I can't say, but according to me, it is all level. They have leveled everything out. It's like terrace. It's just... We can start growing anything there—potatoes, grains, strawberries, fruits.

Prabhupāda: Now for residential quarter there is already bungalow.

Saurabha: There is a bungalow with four big... It's a big bungalow. And stone is available there, just like here in Hyderabad. At the back of the land it's like a rocky area. One small portion that is so much stone there available, so you can just build from the stone anything. The land can be used for the cement, instead of cement. So very cheap you can build there.

Prabhupāda: One lakh rupees? No.

Saurabha: Well, it depends how many devotees are going to stay. But for a farm, I think ...

Prabhupāda: Say ten rooms.

Room Conversation -- November 15, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: You can take help from Detroit. He knows very well. That was rezoned. You did it.

Jagadīśa: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Yes. He knows everything. That was a residential quarter. Now we have made it a temple.

Devotee: So we...

Prabhupāda: What is the process?

Jagadīśa: Well we had, because we were dealing with a Ford, the grandson of Henry Ford, because he was wealthy, he had a lawyer friend who had a connection in the zoning board so...

Prabhupāda: Influence.

Room Conversation -- November 15, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: No, what's...

Devotee: See, at the present moment the San Diego temple, they used to have two buildings and they have been more or less evicted from the main building and they had to move the Deities to the residential quarters and they had to move all the brahmacārīnis out to another building.

Prabhupāda: Oh, they have left that building?

Devotee: Yeah, they left that building, the main building and now the Deities are in the one over, the which used to be the residential quarters and it's just a little small room and it's very...

Prabhupāda: Inconvenient.

Devotee: Very inconvenient.

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

Prabhupāda: Mad-bhakta-pūjābhyadhika (SB 11.19.21). Kṛṣṇa is pleased when His devotee is worshiped. (Hindi)

Mr. Malhotra: When I went to Dvārakā Purī, so there is Bheda Dvārakā in the sea. One is Dvārakā Purī, then about I think 10, 12 miles away there is Bheda Dvārakā. At Bheda Dvārakā, that is the residential palace of Lord Kṛṣṇa. And seven rāṇīs of Lord Kṛṣṇa. They show each building, their whole building. So what was that?

Prabhupāda: He had 16,108 queens.

Mr. Malhotra: 16,108 queens. But there they show I think only 8 or 7.

Prabhupāda: All are described, that he had 16,000 palaces. And Nārada Muni came to see Him, what He is doing actually. He saw different activities, and Kṛṣṇa expanded Himself to 16,108. Each rāṇī had 10 sons, and they had sons also. In this way the Yadu-vaṁśa was crores.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Conversation with Patita-pavana -- April 20, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Here there is no difficulty with lift.

Patita-pāvana: With the lift, yes. Fine.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yeah, but they're... I mean, there's no problem for getting them here to see you. The problem is whether they can..., where they will live, their residential quarters.

Girirāja: I was thinking of the Chand Society.

Prabhupāda: That's nice, Chand Society. There are three rooms. That is very nice.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They occupied or...?

Girirāja: Well, they could have one room and the kitchen.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yeah, and the other gentleman...

Girirāja: Well, if we... Yeah.

Conversation with Patita-pavana -- April 20, 1977, Bombay:

Girirāja: Well, they could have one room and the kitchen.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yeah, and the other gentleman...

Girirāja: Well, if we... Yeah.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: There's no problem. So there's residential quarter.

Prabhupāda: Why not request Mr. Acarya to exchange? They may go to his...

Girirāja: Okay.

Prabhupāda: That "We have kept your request."

Girirāja: Yeah, we obliged him by making him the tenant.

Prabhupāda: "So, if you kindly go up there, as we have been a little convenient..."

Girirāja: That's a very good idea.

Conversation: Animals' Expertise -- April 28, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: There are many, many experts from the lower-grade creatures. Ant hill. You are spending so much money for skyscraper building. The ant, they construct big hill as their residential quarters. Where they get their food? Where they get their...? But they are living. This is nature's study. Now you can... So what is this? Āhāra-nidrā. For eating. So for these four principles—eating, sleeping, sex, and defense—everyone knows. But the human society, they have made it a problem. These small ants, they also require those things, but they have no problem. For defense they don't require atomic weapon. They know in their own way how to defend. Cats, dogs, animals—everyone knows. Struggling. Our human society, advanced, means they are perplexed with these problems. The human life was meant for self-realization. That problem left, they have created some problems which the animals can solve in their own way. This is the present society. This political struggle and..., what is their aim, objective? To solve these problems. Nothing more. Nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma (SB 5.5.4), indriya-prītaye, these four principles, sense gratification. The ant is also struggling. They wanted to enjoy the little sugar in the here. We have driven him. That's a problem. They have to find out somewhere else.

Page Title:Residential quarters (Conversations)
Compiler:Visnu Murti, RupaManjari
Created:19 of Jul, 2012
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=1, Con=25, Let=0
No. of Quotes:26