Shoot (Conversations)

Expressions researched:
"shoot" |"shooted" |"shooting" |"shoots" |"shot" |"shotgun" |"shots"

1968 Conversations and Morning Walks

Talk Before Class -- November 29, 1968, Los Angeles:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: The typewriter was mine. I'd just... Puruṣottama had just brought it from New York from my parents to me. So less than a week and they both are gone.

Prabhupāda: New typewriter?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Well, it was practically new. It was a very good typewriter.

Prabhupāda: What is the maker?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Olivetti. It's the portable.

Prabhupāda: Olivetti portable.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. A good one. But the sewing machine is very expensive. It may be 150 dollars. 163 dollars. Very good.

Prabhupāda: So we have to take care. What can be done? Now you should be very careful, and somebody must remain there always.

Govinda: We live in a very good quarter though. They live by Watts and that's the... They live by Watts district, and Watts district is very notorious. There were seven-day riots of shooting and Negro revolts there about two years ago, three years ago. We live in a very nice quarter, but where they're living is in a very bad place.

Prabhupāda: So you will continue to live there?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, it's in La Palma. It's not directly in the worst area. It's not in Watts county. It's in a different area, but still... Where you live is very good though. I don't think there would be any theft. More safe.

Prabhupāda: Yes. It appears very respectable quarter. All right. Read. (end)

1971 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Dr. Weir of the Mensa Society -- September 5, 1971, London:

Dr. Weir: From the Sanskrit?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Kṛṣṭa is the popular word for Kṛṣṇa. And Kṛṣṇa is always anointed with tilaka. We follow this tilaka, Kṛṣṇa, anointed, with this sandal pulp. So, so far I think, there is some very nearest relationship with this Christian and "Kṛṣṇia". Kṛṣṭa means love, love of Godhead or love. We are preaching also the same philosophy. Try to... Not try. The love of Kṛṣṇa is there in everyone's heart, but it is covered. And being covered, it is misplaced. We are loving our society, loving this body, loving our family, loving our kinsmen, or loving internationally human society. But this love is actually perverted reflection of real love of God. Because the love is not placed in the real place. Therefore we are being frustrated in love. Just like in our country Mahatma Gandhi, he loved his country very much. But at the last moment the countrymen shot him down. He was shot down by his own countrymen. The love was paid by (sic:) shooting him and he lost his life. There are many instances.

1972 Conversations and Morning Walks

Talk with Bob Cohen -- February 27-29, 1972, Mayapura:

Bob: I have a sweater here if you like.

Prabhupāda: No. So good karma means performance of the yajñas as they are prescribed in the Vedic literature. And this purpose of this yajña is to satisfy the Supreme Lord. Just like good citizen means one who satisfies the government. Law-abiding. Good citizen. Similarly, good karma means who satisfies Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Lord. Unfortunately, the modern civilization, they do not know what is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and what to speak of satisfying Him. They do not know. They are simply busy in material activities. Therefore, all of them are doing only bad karma, and therefore they are suffering. They are blind men and leading some other blind men. And both of them are expanding the path to hell by bad karma. Bad karma, you suffer. That is very easy to understand. If you do something criminal, you'll suffer. If you do something benevolent for the state, for the people, then you are rewarded, you are recognized, you are given title. Sometimes shot. This is good and bad karma. So... (microphone noise) ...some material happiness, and bad karma means you suffer from material distress. By good karma you get birth in good family, janma. You get riches, good money. Then you become learned scholar, you become beautiful also. Sit down. There is some trouble with your leg? What is that?

Devotee: There is an infection in this ankle.

Room Conversation -- April 20, 1972, Tokyo:

Prabhupāda: So you keep it in this envelope. Then I shall see.

Śyāmasundara: They have purchased $8,000 worth of equipment for recording your voice.

Prabhupāda: Oh. That will be very nice. So I can give lectures daily? No. What is the arrangement?

Karandhara: Yes. As soon as you come, Śrīla Prabhupāda, we're going to shoot the first TV show.

Śyāmasundara: You have a video tape machine here?

Prabhupāda: Now, if I explain some of... Just like I explain one verse. In this way, if I do explain one verse, do you think it will be all right? No.

Śyāmasundara: Each day explain one verse.

Prabhupāda: Each day or as you like. Or what is your program?

Karandhara: Well, as far as this recording, we have a studio right there in the temple. You could record...

Prabhupāda: You distribute that prasādam, little, everyone.

Room Conversation -- April 20, 1972, Tokyo:

Prabhupāda: You distribute that prasādam, little, everyone.

Devotee (1): This lugdu?

Prabhupāda: Yes. I will also take little. Distribute. What is your program?

Karandhara: Well, we thought we could do both because we have a recording studio for sound. So you can come into the recording studio and record as much as you wanted, all day long. The shooting for the TV show... We worked out a program of shooting each week forty minutes.

Prabhupāda: Oh, you take more. Why little, little? Give more. Give me also little more.

Trivikrama: Jaya.

Prabhupāda: Mm. It is very nice.

Devotee (1): Prabhupāda distributes mercy to the world.

Prabhupāda: Who has made it?

Karandhara: Dhruvānanda.

Prabhupāda: Oh. He is good cook?

Karandhara: Yes.

Room Conversations -- April 22, 1972, Japan:

Prabhupāda: Temple must have. Even ordinary gṛhastha. That is Vedic civilization, not that we cook for ourself, for my husband, for my wife and children, eat it sumptuously and go to bed. No. Even gṛhastha, he should be always prepared to receive guest. Yes. And even a guest comes, your enemy, you should receive him in such a nice way that he will forget that you are all enemies. Gṛhe śatrum api prāptaṁ viśvastam akutobhayam. This is Vedic civilization, not that "Beware of dog. Please don't enter here. You are forbidden to come here. And if you come, I shall shoot you." Sometimes they do that. This is not human civilization. It is cats' and dogs' civilization. So actually we are teaching what is human civilization. But we must be also like human being, not cats and dogs. Otherwise how can you teach? If I am like cats and dogs, I cannot criticize others as cats and dogs. I must be first of all human being. Then I shall teach others how to become human being. I must become first of all devotee. Then I shall request others to become devotee. Āpani ācari jīve śikhāilā bhakti. First behave yourself perfectly; then teach others to become perfect. That is preacher. Now we are selling The Process of Creation but if I do not know what is the process of creation, we do not read, if you go to sell some book, then if he says, "What is the process of creation? You explain," and if you say, "All right, let me consult my book..." Kuto gata vedyaḥ para-hasta-gataṁ dhānam. Para-hasta-gataṁ dhānam means, "I have got enough wealth."

Morning Walk -- June 14, 1972, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: They're going to be cats and dogs and trees. They don't believe that there is life after death, so they think that "Whatever we have got now, let us enjoy sense." And the university education is giving them facility, "Yes, take education and gratify your senses from the age of twelve years." And at the last stage they think that "I would have liked that one would have shot me down on my head." What that old lady was talking?

Pañcadraviḍa(?): Oh, yes. (laughs)

Devotee (2): She said if someone else didn't shoot her, she would. She'd just do herself in.

Prabhupāda: Hopeless life. Māyā-sukhāya. Because they waste their time simply for flickering happiness, in future everything is zero. Śūnyavādī, nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi. Śūnyavādī means whose ultimate goal is zero. Pāścātya-deśa, Western countries. Nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi. (chants japa) Every one of you should take this movement very seriously and save your country. Misguided. Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānas (SB 7.5.31). (laughs) Blind men. This Nixon is a rascal number one, and he's the president. Just see. They have no other selection. All the people are rascals, and they must select one rascal to become their guider, another big rascal. (devotees chant japa) (break) ...from Māyāpur?

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

Ātreya Ṛṣi: He has a camera. He's making a movie.

Prabhupāda: Oh. Why it is fixed up?

Ātreya Ṛṣi: (to devotee) What are you doing?

Devotee (3): Oh, I was watching the boys' faces... Watching them.

Ātreya Ṛṣi: You're not shooting yet?

Devotee (3): No. At any time I can shoot, yes.

Ātreya Ṛṣi: Yes. (to Prabhupāda) He's adjusting the camera.

Devotee child (2): How come you don't you carry your tridaṇḍa with you?

Prabhupāda: Hmm?

Devotee child (2): Why don't you carry your tridaṇḍa with you?

Prabhupāda: (indistinct)

Devotee child (1): Śrīla Prabhupāda, when you drink like that, that's śuci, right?

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Devotee child (1): When you drink like that, that's śuci.

Prabhupāda: Śuci? Yes.

Interview -- July 5, 1972, New York:

Prabhupāda: Yes. Certainly. It is saved already. Why? It is not future, it is present, practical.

Guest (2): Thank you very much Your Holiness. Good luck.

Prabhupāda: So, religion, very simple—I am talking with that man over there—religion means the laws of God. Simple definition. And one who follows the laws of God, he is religious. It doesn't matter whether he is Christian, whether he is Hindu, whether he is Muslim. It doesn't matter. Take, for example, your Christian religion. Lord Jesus Christ says "Thou shalt not kill", but I think cent percent of the Christian people, they are very much engaged in killing. So there are, I mean, disobeying the laws of God. Don't you think? What is..., what is the value? And if you disobey the laws of God, then what is your religion? It is simply show. God says, or God's representative, God's son, Jesus Christ says, that "Thou shalt not kill," but the whole Christian world, the killing art is very much favored. Maintaining slaughterhouse, shooting in sports, and creating (indistinct), and so many things, simply killing. And any film shown, when it is killing film as is very much popular. Shooting film is very popular. I see in your park the soldiers killing. This, this park I was passing. What is that park?

Devotee: Prospect Park.

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

Jayatīrtha: They're so corrupt.

Prabhupāda: So corrupt. (indistinct) Even one wants to do... just like President Kennedy, he wanted to do something good—he was shot down. Gandhi wanted to do something—he was shot down. So the politics is so corrupted that as soon as you are prepared to do something actually, you will be killed.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: So seeing that mistake also, now the scientists, they are proposing that they should make a governing body, not the politicians, so when they discover something the result can be completely controlled by this group of...

Prabhupāda: That is another foolishness. That is another foolishness. They will be bribed and they will vote. They will get money, that's all.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Another thing that is coming up is genetic engineering, which they are afraid about, just like they say remember like atomic bomb incident. The politicians will utilize the...

Prabhupāda: So why they discover all these nonsense and waste their time? Why do they not discover something which will stop all problems of life—no death, no disease. Why do they do not know? They are also rascals, combination of rascals. Why do they expend their energy and intelligence for this nonsense purpose? (break) ...which will be reduced.

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

Jayatīrtha: Why was it the programs failed?

Prabhupāda: Because his disciples, they had a different program. They wanted politics like the Western countries. They did not want... Just like all the politicians, they do not want anything good for the people. They simply want to make some money for their (indistinct), that's all. This is the whole policy of the modern diplomats and politicians. They do not know, you go to hell. Other way, in your country you see so many young men are frustrated. So what government is doing actually? They are not serious. They have made this policy that catch them and send them, keep the Vietnam going on and kill them, all these useless boys should be killed. That is their policy. That is the Western policy: if you don't like anyone, shoot. So if your fathers and grandfathers they could not make you right, then send them to Vietnam to be killed. This is going on. Suicidal policy. If when a good man becomes too much frustrated, he commits suicide. That is also very current in your country. But the same suicidal policy, these boys, hippies, they could not reform them-kill them, that's all.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- April 26, 1973, Los Angeles:

Brahmānanda: Sanātana Gosvāmī also asked that question to Caitanya Mahāprabhu...

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is, that is the question of human life, that: "I want to enjoy. Why there is obstruction of my enjoyment?" Then the next question will be then what I am and what is this nature? These are intelligent questions. That is called brahma-jijñāsā. Where shall I eat? Where shall I sleep? These are very minor questions. They are questions for animals. For the human being, this is the question, that "I want to enjoy life. Why there are so many obstructions?" This is human question. The animals, they do not question. They submit. Just like when you slay one animal, it submits. But a human being, there is law because human being is intelligent. So you cannot kill any other human being, you cannot murder. Then you'll be hanged. But they cannot make law. They're lower grade animals. They submit, somebody killing. But the objection is there, both by the human beings and the animals, that the: "Why you are killing me?" But he's helpless. The man has invented some means. So they have made their laws. But both of them are objecting. In your, in America somewhere, when I first came, there was some incidence that in a live store, they got some opportunity to flee away. Then all the cows were fleeing away. And they were shot down. They were stopped. They knew that: "We are stocked here for being killed." So they got some opportunity, going away. And there is always miserable condition. Just like why you have covered so much? Why you have spent for covering? This is also miserable condition. Miserable condition. In some other place, they are...

Brahmānanda: It's too hot.

Morning Walk -- April 29, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Not Lenin. Stalin.

Karandhara: Stalin.

Prabhupāda: Stalin. He's estimated to be the greatest criminal in the world. As soon as he'll suspect you... You may be a great friend. Next day you are finished. He'll ask his friend: "Now, here is poison and here is revolver. What do you want? If you want to die yourself, take this poison, and die. Otherwise, you'll be shot." So what he will select? He will take poison. Finish. This was his business. As soon as little suspicion. He'll call him: "Now here is poison. Here is revolver. What do you want?" Yes.

Karandhara: Their scientists are very proud.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Karandhara: The Russian scientists are very proud in their working, and they're atheistical. But still they're not able to produce enough food. Every year, there's not enough food.

Prabhupāda: No. There's not enough food. Yes. I have experienced it. You cannot get food as you like. What government supplies, you have to accept. That's all. And that is rubbish, all rubbish. Generally, they supply meat. No fruit, no vegetable, no rice, no, nothing. You cannot get. You simply eat meat. That's all. And milk is available. This is their arrangement. And in all store, lines. You have to ask, even if you want to take meat only, you cannot go and immediately purchase. You have to wait for three hours, control. This is their position. No bank. No motor car. No taxicab. Simply... There are simply symbolic. And people are poverty-stricken so much that one taxi driver, he was trying to cheat us. They have no sufficient money. So they saw us, that: "Here is a foreigner, Indian and American. Let me cheat." This is their position. Just like India. India, being poverty-stricken, they also cheat. Of course, cheating is a disease. But especially those who are poverty-stricken, generally, they cheat, they steal. No character. And all women are engaged for sweeping, fat, fat women.

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

Paramahaṁsa: Scientists, they have proven the truth that the world is round. Therefore scientists...

Prabhupāda: Yes. That must be, therefore the scriptures must be transcendental. Nonsense scripture, and people become nonsense. So except Vedic literature, all nonsense scripture. They are not scripture. Manufactured. This Bible was manufactured by the saint, this saint, that, according to their imagination. It was not spoken by Lord Jesus Christ. What was spoken by Jesus Christ, that they ignore: "Thou shalt not kill." They kill. Nobody is following Christian principle; neither Bible is perfect. But that, if we say, we will be shot. (laughter)

Paramahaṁsa: That is what they do now in the Vietnam. For God they are killing.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Paramahaṁsa: One of the reasons that the Vietnamese war was beginning was because Communists, being atheists, it was a fight between the theists and the atheists. This was an excuse given.

Prabhupāda: Yes. But that is quite all right. We also prepare to kill atheists.

Morning Walk At Cheviot Hills Golf Course -- May 17, 1973, Los Angeles:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: It is just like milk. Milk looks white, but it is just water. They call it, it's a colloidal suspension of proteins, these caseins, in water. So similarly, this fog is just a colloidal suspension of water in the air.

Prabhupāda: Yes. So you create some fire. It will be immediately driven away. Water can be driven away by fire. So you create. That you cannot. You just shot one bomb. There will be some heat, and all the mist will go away. Do it.

Karandhara: That would blow up the planet. (laughter)

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. Water can be counteracted by fire or air. Everyone knows it. So you do it, suspension. So this is for you mystic power. You can talk all nonsense, but you cannot act against it. Therefore it is mystic power. So similarly, there are so many things. That is acintya-śakti. You cannot think of even. By nature's way, immediately the sun rises—no more mist. All finished. A little temperature increase of the sun, all finished. Nīhāram iva bhāskaraḥ. This example is given in the Bhāgavata. Nīhāra, this is called nīhāra. Just like nīhāra is immediately dissipated by bhāskara, by the sun, similarly, if one can awaken his dormant devotion, then all finished, all his reaction of sinful activities, finished. Nīhāram iva bhāskaraḥ. You just create... You calculate sun is composition of this chemical, that chemical. Just create one sun and throw it. Simply theoretical future, bluff and juggling of words, that's not good.

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

David Wynne: It must be so. Yes.

Prabhupāda: Yes. How a human being can kill another human being or another animal unnecessarily? And if you kill, there is law, life for life. But they have made laws for human beings. When an animal is killed, he's not criminal. But in the God laws you cannot avoid that. If you have killed an ant, you must be shot. That is God's law. You can avoid man-made law, but you cannot avoid God-made law. That you cannot do. You must be responsible. If you kill an ant even without knowledge, you are responsible. Such subtle laws are there. So we must know our responsibility. Without knowledge, if we kill, we are responsible. And with knowledge, there is no question. Where is that culture? They advertise, "Live and let live." What is that? Do they do that? Actually? They want to live at the expense of others. Why not let live others? Where is that culture?

Śyāmasundara: Now there is a famous cinema being shown called "Live and Let Die."

Prabhupāda: That is good culture. Yes.

Śyāmasundara: Favorite. Everyone likes it.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Let others die; you live.

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

Śyāmasundara: Like the Vietnam, you mean?

Prabhupāda: Any, any war. They create whimsical... Anything you do whimsically, you are responsible. Anything you do. Why fighting? Anything.

Śyāmasundara: Yeah. It's funny that that John F. Kennedy, he started that Vietnam war, and he was shot down later.

Prabhupāda: He started that war?

Śyāmasundara: Yeah.

Prabhupāda: What is the position now? Nixon? He's going to be impeached? Yes.

Śyāmasundara: Practically, he is, without...

Prabhupāda: He's cornered now.

Room Conversation -- August 11, 1973, Paris:

Guru-gaurāṅga: So real independence means to surrender then.

Prabhupāda: Yes. To authority. Because you have to surrender. If you don't surrender to God, then you have to surrender to māyā. Just like you don't surrender to government, then you have to surrender to the superintendent of jail. That's all. If you misuse your independence, you'll not be happy. This is the fact. But you have got the independence. You can misuse it. That is your prerogative. That is your freedom. Freedom means you must have independence. But because you are not absolutely independent, so you suffer. The Absolute Independent is God, Kṛṣṇa. Just like government. The government orders: let this crowd be shot. Let there be bullet shot. Hundreds of men die. But government is not responsible for such death. But if you kill one man, you'll be responsible. So your independence is subordinate independence. Similarly, all living entities, they have been given independence by God, but his independence is subordinate to the independence of God. This is our position, jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109).

Room Conversation with Officer Harry Edwards, the Village Policeman -- August 30, 1973, Bhaktivedanta Manor, London:

Harry: Yeah. And how would you defend by? Yeah. (laughs) Yes, that's it, how would they defend?

Revatīnandana: That's where you come in. (laughter)

Harry: 'Cause that's right, you were the one who said that we could move in with a gun and shoot them, didn't you?

Revatīnandana: No, I didn't say that. I'm the one who hit him with a big piece of wood. Yeah.

Harry: Oh, you are? Well, they said they'd, "Why... Shoot them?" I said, "This is England, not America." (laughter) That was the cows, you know. Remember the cows?

Śyāmasundara: Well, in America, we're used to shooting rustlers, you know.

Harry: Yeah, but, uh...

Śyāmasundara: String him off the nearest tree.

Revatīnandana: Lynchings.

Harry: But what are you going to do about your security? Can I talk to this about this, you know?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Morning Walk -- December 12, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: That is the defect, that the government itself is imperfect. How they can check?

Umāpati: Well, they're so foolish. There was an article in the paper the other day about this shot going to Jupiter and the scientists were described, the scientists that everybody is supposed to depend upon, they were described as biting their fingernails in the hopes that everything would come out all right.

Prabhupāda: What is that?

Yaśomatīnandana: They said that they were simply taking chances that it might come out all right. They were not sure themselves.

Prabhupāda: That everyone is taking chance. A poor man is taking chance to become rich man. So what is the difference between the poor man taking chance and the scientist? (break)

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- April 23, 1974, Hyderabad:

Mahāṁsa: Mahatma Gandhi worked so hard for his country and his own countrymen shot him.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Still, these fools, they do not know what is service, what is country, what is... They do not know this is māyā. (break) By nature's mercy, they got this nice human form of body, civilized. There is sufficient food, supplied by nature. You eat and be Kṛṣṇa conscious. Take advantage of the śāstras, lessons left by Kṛṣṇa and His devotees. Live peacefully, happily, and go back wherefrom you have come. But whole thing is spoiled by these misleaders. "Do your duty to your country." (laughs) What is that duty? I am working under the influence of material nature, and what is my duty? My only duty is to come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is my duty. (break) ...because we are prescribing so many duties, and there is no God. That's all.

Morning Walk -- April 23, 1974, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: They are all śūdras. Not will be. All, everyone is śūdras. This movement is to promote the śūdras to the highest class, Vaiṣṇava, more than brāhmaṇa. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Everyone is rascal, śūdra. (break) ...śūdras should be elevated, elevated, but when even a śūdra is engaged in the service of the Lord, he becomes transcendental, above brāhmaṇa. (break)

Akṣayānanda: It said that eight people were shot in Aurangabad with student riots, and the police got their guns and they started to shoot all the people. The same thing is happening in Gaya. The students are protesting against this and that. It said that they were protesting against degradation.

Prabhupāda: Degradation?

Akṣayānanda: Yes. That is supposed to be the reason for their rebellion. They are protesting against corruption and degradation.

Prabhupāda: But the rascals, why they themselves do not, be not reformed? Protesting against degradation. Why you are degraded? What is that protest? You are degraded. You reform yourself. That they will not do. Protest against degradation. Are you not degraded? Are you pure? So what is the use of protesting? You reform yourself. They can protest in this way that our guardians, our government, they have degraded ourselves. But that's all right. But guardian is a fool, your father is a fool. But why you are remaining as a fool? That they will not an... If we say, "Now you come to us. We shall raise you from degradation," that they will not do. That they will not agree. Now go to them, all these students, that "You are thinking that you are degraded. So why you should be, mean dog...? Come on, we shall reform you. We shall give you the highest post, brahminical post. Give up these four principles." That they will not do. Will they do?

Akṣayānanda: No. One may come out of a thousand.

Morning Walk -- April 23, 1974, Hyderabad:

Akṣayānanda: They get shot. The police come and shoot them.

Prabhupāda: That's all. And tax you and get fat salary. That's all. This is government. They will degrade you and take your money and enjoy themselves. That's all. (break) ...revolution in India. Yes. Because people are hungry. There is no food. A very great revolution. So long they were under Vedic culture, they were suffering. Suffering in this way-tolerating. Now that culture is gone. Now they will be violent. Just like in other countries. If you pinch somebody on and on, there will be a violent protest. In the beginning you may tolerate. But if you go on pinching, pinching, pinching, how long you will tolerate? This is India's condition. Britishers, when they were ruling, had some responsibility. Although they were exploiting, but they were arranging for sufficient food and other things. But these people are irresponsib..., simply personal. "Whatever money I can get, that's all." This is going on. All these so-called ministers, they come to the post for taking money, as much as possible. (break) It must have been belonging to some Nawab, Nizam. It is aristocratic building, not ordinary building.

Morning Walk -- June 19, 1974, Germany:

Prabhupāda: We shall go straight or right?

Haṁsadūta: Right. (break) He has taken safety place, and from safety place he is killing other poor animals. That is not shooting. The kṣatriyas, they will shoot tiger face to face. Previously Jaipur Mahārāja, he used to go to the forest, and so he would simply fight with the tiger with a sword.

Haṁsadūta: That doesn't happen anymore today.

Prabhupāda: See the tiger has got its nails and teeth and jaw. So there was no firearm. He will challenge the tiger with a..., and he will take a sword and kill him. And then the tiger would be brought in procession, giving all honor, military honor.

Haṁsadūta: To the tiger.

Prabhupāda: That was the kṣatriya's practice, how to combat his enemies. Fighting should be on the equal level, not that "I take all shelter, and you are open to be killed by enemy." (break) ...understood the process of transmigration.

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

Professor Durckheim: As soon two, two men who are realized, there is no war. There is a very wonderful story. When the Emperor of Japan took over the leadership again after having been for six hundred years only the High Priest. Now he wanted to be again the emperor. And he was submitting one dainu (?) after the other one. Only one resisted in Tokyo. General of Tokyo did not submit to the emperor and didn't allow anybody to come in to negotiate. So the emperor was very troubled. He said, "Should I burn down Tokyo? I wouldn't like to do it." And then his young sword (?) master asked him—he was a realized man—"Do you permit me to just ride in this town and see the great general?" And he said, "Yes, you know the guards do not permit." "Let me do." He sat on horseback and just rode through. The guards, like this, let him pass. He announced himself to the great general. General said, "Yes, with him I am going to talk." And the general himself, being a self-realized man said, "Well, all right." In twenty minutes things were in order, and they submitted gently, and without a single shot, peace was established. Because two men of a high level of self-realization met.

Prabhupāda: Yes. So that is our point, that if we understand, every one of us realize that we are all servant of God or sons of God, that everything belongs to God, so we can use our father's property for our maintenance as much as we require, not more than that, so if we think like that, that is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and there will be no more war, everything peaceful.

Morning Walk -- June 22, 1974, Germany:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Guest (1): And I think a very, very good example for the people around.

Prabhupāda: But the advanced human beings, they come to shoot here.

Guest (1): Yes.

Haṁsadūta: (translates to German)

Guest (1): And then it will be finished. And later it will be finished.

Prabhupāda: The animals, they are living in their own atmosphere, and these people, they come to kill them. Killing business has become very prominent at the present moment, and therefore they are being killed in the womb of the mother, abortion and killing child. That they do not know. Nature will not excuse you. You are killing; you'll be killed within your mothers' womb. You'll never see the light of the sun. You go on being killed, one after another, as many animals you have killed. They do not know. And time will come in this age when there will be no food and man will kill man and eat. That time is coming. Yes. They are now killing animal, but animal lives on this grass and grains. When there will be no grass, no grains, where they will get animal? They'll kill their own son and eat. That time is coming. Nature's law is that you grow your own food. But they are not interested in growing food. They are interested in manufacturing bolts and nuts.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- May 8, 1975, Perth:

Prabhupāda: Yes, they are revolting, but they are now so much suppressed they cannot... Sometimes there is revolt. Sometimes there is upheaval.

Paramahaṁsa: Not a big upheaval because they are terrorized. They are afraid that if they revolt, then they...

Prabhupāda: They will be killed.

Paramahaṁsa: Yeah, the government will come out and just shoot them all.

Prabhupāda: Yes, all the Leninists and Stalinists, they kill. It is a country of terrorism. That's all. The government men, they are simply terrorists. That's all.

Paramahaṁsa: Just like in Cambodia they just, the new Communist government, they executed tens and thousands of people just recently.

Prabhupāda: Just see.

Paramahaṁsa: People who were working for the old government. They just killed them all. So this what the people are afraid of.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Terrorism. This Communism means terrorism. (aside:) Thank you.

Morning Walk -- May 9, 1975, Perth:

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.

Amogha: It seems that step by step, in the law courts and the judges, everyone is step by step accepting more and more degradation, and makind it legal, everything.

Room Conversation with Two Lawyers and Guest -- May 22, 1975, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: Injustice.

Madhudviṣa: ...he cannot shoot a man if he gets off his chariot. And Kṛṣṇa said, "There was no mercy with Abhimanyu, so therefore there will be no mercy now."

Prabhupāda: Tit for tat. (laughter)

Guest 1: But where was the generosity then?

Prabhupāda: That is happening, tit for tat.

Guest 1: Was that generosity, or...? Where was the generosity?

Prabhupāda: No. That is war tactics. That is war tactics. Sometimes we have to use war tactics because we have to own victory. But they were generous because in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra they would fight like anything, like enemies, but at night they were friends. The one man is going. Just like sportsman. They fight during the play, but after that, they are friends, talking together, drinking together, like that.

Morning Walk -- June 2, 1975, Honolulu:

Prabhupāda: Yes. First of all my conviction: they have gone nowhere. They have simply stayed in their laboratory, that's all.

Indian man: Anyone can do that, bring some pictures and bring a rock.

Paramahaṁsa: Śrīla Prabhupāda, I think somebody might have told you before, but there was a big scandal right after the moon shot when they said they went to the moon and..., that it was all staged in the desert of Arizona, that they...

Prabhupāda: Yes, that is the fact.

Bali-mardana: When Puruṣottama heard that, he blooped. (Devotees continue laughing.)

Prabhupāda: Yes. In 1968 I was questioned by the reporters, "What is your opinion about this moon?" "It is simply a waste of time and energy, that's all. It is all false propaganda." I told to the reporter.

Harikeśa: Actually, these scientists and philosophers, they become very famous and popular by coming up with some brand new theories. So why don't we widely publicize our theories?

Devotee (3): (break) ...real information about the moon from the Bhāgavatam?

Prabhupāda: Veda. Veda means knowledge. What is this? Some animal?

Morning Walk -- June 10, 1975, Honolulu:

Prabhupāda: King Kong. It was made in laboratory.

Bali-mardana: Yes.

Harikeśa: Also 2001 was very expertly made like that. There is one movie, 2001, which looked even better than the moon shots.

Devotee: Someone was arguing with me that if, like Russia and America both are enemies, if Russia achieves something great like going to the moon, America will immediately try to expose it. But on the contrary, America accepted all those things. And because...

Prabhupāda: Then there is also... Both of them are thieves, they have made agreement, "Don't expose me. I'll not expose you."

Devotee: So that is their agree... But they are enemies...

Prabhupāda: No, no, enemies, they are not enemies. They are simply rogues and thieves, that's all.

Morning Walk -- July 2, 1975, Denver:

Prabhupāda: Just see.

Brahmānanda: He said the tendency is when you have a job is that you try to find some shortcut.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Brahmānanda: So everyone is looking for that some shortcut, how to do it quicker, faster.

Prabhupāda: (break) ...working sincerely? Nobody. In the material world they cannot work sincerely. (break) ...experienced when any enterprise goes under government supervision, it immediately spoiled. Nobody work sincerely. When it is a private concern, one is sincere because it is his business. If it goes wrong, he will suffer. But when it is government concern, they become irresponsible. That is the experience. Immediately, "Oh, my service is secure. I cannot be kicked out suddenly. So I may do or not do." This is going on.

Ambarīṣa: In Russia they will shoot you if you do not do it.

Prabhupāda: Well, but there is the tendency, "Do not do." Therefore there is shooting. (laughter) How can you check it? (end)

Morning Walk -- July 10, 1975, Chicago:

Brahmānanda: What would be your advice to her?

Prabhupāda: My first step will be to capture all the hoarders and distribute the grains free. Immediately public will be obliged to... There are immense food grains; they are simply hoarded. They are not selling without good price. This is going on. Immediately she can capture the public. And some of the hoarders should be hanged, yes, so that in future nobody will hoard. People are hungry. And she says she has got some program, garivi hatta(?), "Drive away the poverty." This is the point. If she can supply all consumer goods for the time being free to the poor, then immediately the whole population will be after her. And the hoarders should be exemplary punished. Shoot them, that's all. Then nobody will hoard. But to remain the dictator she requires spiritual knowledge. Otherwise it will be another disaster. If she wants to remain the dictator, then she must be a spiritual man. She must become a Vaiṣṇavī. (end)

Morning Walk -- July 12, 1975, Philadelphia:

Kīrtanānanda: ...quotation from William Penn to the Indians.

Prabhupāda: "I have great love and regard toward you and I desire to win and gain your love and friendship by a kind, just and peaceable life. And the people I send are of the same mind. And I shall in all things behave." And what about the shooting? (laughter) (break) ...shooting?

Ravīndra-svarūpa: It was a lie.

Kīrtanānanda: They made up a saying, "The only good Indian was a dead Indian." (break)

Prabhupāda: ...nation or... So? Dancing?

Jayatīrtha: But it says in the Declaration of Independence—this is part of it here—it says that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights." So they admitted that there was God.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Jayatīrtha: The founders of the nation admitted that there was God, but now they won't admit. (break)

Prabhupāda: ...already very much attraction for this material world. That is called māyā. And when we are involved with these things, material prosperity, then we become more involved. On account of our material attachment, we are getting repetition of birth and death in different forms of life, and these attractions are making us more and more involved. māyāra vaibhava. People are becoming illusioned, "I am American. My country is so rich. I shall live here." But you cannot live. He is preparing for another body. So therefore Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says, anitya soṁsāre, moha janamiya, jība ke karaye gadha. Anityad means we shall not be able to stay. Unnecessarily, we are becoming involved in this material world. Now, those who built up this nation, where they have gone, nobody can say. Because after this body is fallen, where he is being carried, nobody knows. He is carried by his work, fruitive activities. Therefore they do not believe next life. Finished. (break) ...gentleman, he was very well known, brother of Rabindranath Tagore. Rabindranath Tagore was poet, and he was artist, Abanindranath Tagore. In our childhood, in a meeting, he said that "Why should we bother about the next life? Let us enjoy this life." I remember that. Most people think like that. Carvāka Muni advised like that. Ṛṇaṁ kṛtvā ghṛtaṁ pibet. "Just enjoy life." "I have no money to enjoy." "Beg, borrow or steal. Bring money. Purchase ghee." "I will have to pay." "Ah! Why do you think like that?" "Then next life I will suffer." "Don't think like that. Your body will be finished. Who is coming here again?" What is that tower?

Morning Walk -- July 12, 1975, Philadelphia:

Prabhupāda: Working, that's all right. You have seen that so many people are dying. That's all right. But I am challenging that you have not seen the next man who does not die. That you cannot answer.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: For example, they find the laws of motion, Newton's laws of motion. They utilize that concept in shooting rockets. And they use exactly some mathematical formula and apply it.

Prabhupāda: That's all right, but sometimes the shooting of the rocket missing.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: No, what we are saying is that the law that they find out by their own effort is working...

Prabhupāda: So you effort is limited. How you can conclude?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: So inductive knowledge is true to a certain limit.

Prabhupāda: Certain extent, that's all. It is not conclusion.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: But to a devotee, though, there is nothing like inductive knowledge because knowledge gives by Kṛṣṇa. So it must be deductive.

Prabhupāda: Deductive always. And that is easier. Kṛṣṇa says that "I come as death and take away everything." So we know that nobody can be immortal; everyone must die. Simple conclusion.

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

Bahulāśva: They create big disturbances.

Prabhupāda: Yes. (break) ...can be solved by understanding these three items: God is the proprietor; He is the enjoyer; He is friend of everyone. They are acting just the opposite way: "I am the proprietor; I am the enjoyer; I am the friend. Because I am God." This is their... Everyone is becoming friend—ultimately proves to be enemy of the country because he is not friend. President Nixon took votes by pretending friendship, and later on, he proved enemy. This is going on. Everyone knows. Gandhi pretended to become friend, but he proved to become an enemy. Otherwise why he was shot down? Unless one thought him as enemy, why he was shot down? This is going on. Nobody can become friend except Kṛṣṇa.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: But a pure devotee is a friend to all.

Prabhupāda: Because he carries the message of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is friend, and he is carrying the friendly message. Therefore he is friend. If there is a nice friend and if somebody gives information of that nice friend, he is also friend. Therefore nobody can become friend except Kṛṣṇa's representative. The material world is: "I am your enemy, and you are my enemy." This is the whole construction of the material world. So how the enemy can become friend? It is pretension, cheating.

Morning Walk -- August 5, 1975, Detroit:

Prabhupāda: ...thinks of woman at the time of death, he becomes woman. And if a woman thinks of man at the time of death, she becomes man. (break) ...afraid of men?

Ambarīṣa: I don't think that they will let you go too close, but I don't know... Someone told me yesterday that people come out here and shoot them with bows and arrows and take them home and eat them. So they are not safe even here. (break)

Brahmānanda: ...interested to see us.

Prabhupāda: Hm? (break)

Brahmānanda: ...deer. They are just off the road.

Prabhupāda: Oh. "No standing"?

Brahmānanda: For the cars. The cars should not remain here.

Prabhupāda: Car is "parking," they say? Or "standing"?

Brahmānanda: "Standing" means if the person remains inside. (break)

Ādi-keśava: I spoke to Tamāla Kṛṣṇa on the phone the other day, and he asked me to tell you that we're sending 64,000 to your book fund for this month. And he said also he promises you 100,000 per month by the end of the year.

Prabhupāda: Very good news. (aside:) Good morning.

Morning Walk -- September 1, 1975, Vrndavana:

Brahmānanda: We have one devotee. He escaped from Communist Hungary, and he was telling me all the story, how on the borders how much they keep the people from trying to escape. Even in Berlin, in Germany...

Prabhupāda: They shoot.

Brahmānanda: They have a system, automatic shooting, that if you cross a certain line, they have these rays of light, and if you break the ray of light, then automatically all machine guns start firing in the whole area. It's all done...

Prabhupāda: This is their scientific advancement.

Brahmānanda: They've made such a nice place that they're afraid the people will escape from it.

Prabhupāda: And they are thinking, "This system is for happiness."

Brahmānanda: If it's for happiness, then why prevent people from leaving?

Prabhupāda: "Why?"—that you are asking. They think it is happiness. That is called māyā. It is not happiness; still, if somebody is thinking happiness, that is called māyā.

Morning Walk -- September 18, 1975, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: So why they are not printed?

Indian man (1): They will be good sale of photos, I think. (Hindi) It may be supplied in that book shop.

Dhanañjaya: So Bhargava has taken many good shots of the Deities on color film, and Gopāla Kṛṣṇa informed me that we should print postcard-size photos of the Deities and sell them for fifty paisas each. So that, Gopāla Kṛṣṇa is arranging for. (break) ...demand for prasādam will go on increasing because one doctor came to our temple and informed us that at Bankebihari Mandir, because they have been giving out old prasādam, selling old prasādam, which is not in accordance with the health safety rules, they are going to take away that privilege of selling prasādam from Bankebihari temple.

Prabhupāda: So you don't do that. You prepare and sell fresh. Don't prepare more what is required. You have brought that pulleys?

Dhanañjaya: Yes. And he got two.

Prabhupāda: You have fixed up?

Morning Walk -- September 27, 1975, Ahmedabad:

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes, certainly. Then you will be sukhī. (Hindi) This is the first instruction: dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). (Hindi) This is the first instruction. (Hindi) This is the first to be given up in order to understand spiritual knowledge. (Hindi) So how you can expect tranquillity and peacefulness if the society is conducted by go-khara? This is the defect. (Hindi) This is the rule, nature's law. And if it is a fact... It is a fact. You believe or not believe; that is a different thing. (Hindi) Professor Kotovsky... (break) "Swamiji, after death, everything is finished." He said like that. And he is a big professor of Indology. (Hindi) ...sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13). He is a professor. (Hindi) Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (break)

harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam

kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā

(CC Adi 17.21)

(Hindi) You cannot do anything. You cannot be educated at home. You must go to the teacher. (Hindi) And they are being eulogized. (Hindi)

Kartikeya: Now their own president is not free from danger. Every day shooting is going on. (end)

Room Conversation -- October 4, 1975, Mauritius:

Prabhupāda: Enjoy. What is that enjoyment if you are going to die?

Harikeśa: It's so incredible how crazy everything is.

Brahmānanda: Well, at least before I die, I can get as much pleasure as I can.

Prabhupāda: Nobody can, if he is actually afraid of death. Suppose if you are given a beautiful woman—"Enjoy, and as soon as you come out I will shoot you." (laughter) Will you enjoy?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: That's a great example. That example would change the world.

Prabhupāda: That is the difference between a man of knowledge and a fool. Man of knowledge, that is that he knows he has to die. "But I don't wish to die. So what is the solution?" That is man of knowledge.

Harikeśa: Sometimes they say "Well, why worry about death? It's gotta happen anyway, so why should we worry?"

Prabhupāda: But you... You... Because you are rascal number one, you don't worry, but that is the psychology. This is the example.

Harikeśa: But I want to enjoy right now.

Prabhupāda: Suppose that you enjoy this woman for few minutes. Then you will be shot down. Then will you be able to enjoy?

Morning Walk -- October 7, 1975, Durban:

Prabhupāda: Soul, your... It will take many millions of years to understand soul, but this is your position; you understand it, that you'll be kicked out at any moment. Why don't you understand this? There is no question of understanding soul. That is far away. (break)

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Sometimes over pay, that they're not getting enough money, they will riot. And the white policemen, they come and shoot them.

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Yes. Simply shoot them.

Prabhupāda: Shoot.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Kill them.

Prabhupāda: Hm. They are keeping them in control. That is the way they should be kept in control, śūdras. (break)

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: ...very anti-Communist. They have an anti-Communist terrorism act. Anyone who is too much leading in their Communist ideas, they put them away. They have an island called Robert's Island. They simply detain them there indefinitely. (break) Very stable. Very stable.

Prabhupāda: That's nice. That is nice.

Morning Walk -- October 7, 1975, Durban:

Prabhupāda: Where is that fort?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: It's supposed to be some kind of museum over here. I don't think the fort is still standing.

Prabhupāda: And where are the fort makers? (laughter) Where they have gone?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: They were shot out of the cannon.

Prabhupāda: So what is the meaning of this fort? If the fort makers are themselves finished, then what is the use of making fort?

Devotee (2): "Why should we live anymore? We're not getting any pleasure out of life. There's no future. Why should..." People are happy to die these days, because there is no pleasure.

Prabhupāda: There is no... Who said there is no pleasure?

Devotee (2): Well, in this world. I mean, this world is more or less suffering.

Prabhupāda: No, they say, "There is no pleasure," so then why you are wasting your time for pleasure?

Devotee (2): Yes, but they are confused.

Room Conversation -- October 14, 1975, Johannesburg:

Prabhupāda: Dangerous, huh? That is CIA? The CIA is maintained by government?

Harikeśa: Oh, yes. That's why everybody is very afraid.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Sometimes they think that the government is maintained by the CIA. (laughing)

Harikeśa: The CIA even has laser beam guns where they can shoot somebody with this laser beam gun and they disintegrate completely, like they never existed. They shoot light out of a gun and it just goes-tssh-completely finished. (break)

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Photo?

Prabhupāda: Gram.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Photogram. Photogram.

Harikeśa: That's out here?

Prabhupāda: We saw one advertisement. So we are remaining these three, four only?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: There's three of us. We're flying, and then Rūpa and Gokulendra will drive the gray car back to Johannesburg. One devotee will drive to the airport, Vapu.

Harikeśa: I'm almost finished.

Prabhupāda: They are making so many wonderful things, but they cannot stop death.

Morning Walk -- October 25, 1975, Mauritius:

Prabhupāda: The rascals will be proved that they're really rascals.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: They're saying, "To make human being." First let them make an ant or an egg.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Just see. Then? (Bengali) "You cannot catch even nonpoisonous snake, and you are telling that 'I shall now catch cobra.' "

Harikeśa: Isn't that "shooting the rhinoceros"?

Prabhupāda: Shooting?

Harikeśa: The rhinoceros or hippopotamus or some... You're trying to shoot some big animal, and if you can't do it everybody will say, "Oh, he could never do it anyway." And if he does it they all praise?

Prabhupāda: No, no, to kill animal is not very heroic. Nonsense. Innocent animal wandering and you kill. "Oh, very great hero." Again he deserves to be kicked on the face. All action, they are simply rewarded with kicking on the face. Why should you kill animal? Ātmavat sarva-bhūteṣu. If you are killed, you feel pain. Why should you kill others unnecessarily? (break) ...here?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Not here, I don't think. A golf course is not a private place.

Prabhupāda: So we shall return? No?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: If you like.

Room Conversation -- October 29, 1975, Nairobi:

Brahmānanda: And it just happened recently, one political opposition leader, he was brought to some place near Nairobi and he was... His genitals were cut off, his eyes were...

Prabhupāda: Plucked out.

Cyavana: Then he was shot.

Brahmānanda: Then he was shot.

Prabhupāda: African?

Brahmānanda: There was a big scandal because the police were implicated.

Prabhupāda: This parking plan are made by them?

Brahmānanda: I don't know.

Cyavana: The park itself?

Prahupada: Yes.

Morning Walk -- November 17, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Yes. So, but why, if the movement is regular, then the earth come regularly.

Dr. Patel: But there are several movements also. The movement of the earth, sun, and moon.

Prabhupāda: That means again escaping.

Dr. Patel: All harmonic motions...

Devotee (5): Many shooting stars...

Dr. Patel: Things should be thought scientifically.

Prabhupāda: What is the scientifically if you cannot say how many movements are there?

Dr. Patel: All the movements that the heavenly stars and other things are going on in a particular way.

Prabhupāda: No, you do not know what are the movements. You therefore say there are several movements, but you do not know what are these movements. That is not scientific. To avoid the explanation, if the scientist says that there are several movements... But you explain what is that movement? According to our śāstra there is no individual movement. The whole system is moving, making center the polestar. That we can see at night. They have... Star and planet, they have no separate movement. They are fixed up. Just like this tree. There are so many leaves. The tree is moving, so the leaves and twigs, they are moving, not that the leaf is moving.

Morning Walk -- December 10, 1975, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Therefore the hunter is...

Indian man: "Kṛṣṇa Passes Away," the heading of his chapter.

Harikeśa: You said about a couple of years ago that "What ordinary man would be killed if he was shot in the arrow by a heel," I mean, "shot in the heel by an arrow?" No ordinary man dies that way.

Prabhupāda: So who reads Raja Gopalācārya's Mahābhārata? (laughter) They are rotting at Bharatiya Vidyabhavan.

Akṣayānanda: They're rotting in the bookshelves and the insects are eating.

Indian man: But in Somanath... I went last year there when I was in Gujarat. The people, they don't believe, the people of Somanath, that he was killed by... like that. So these philosophers, simply for their name, they put some kind of theories so that people can, "Oh!" They can understand all this nonsense. (break)

Prabhupāda: These pastimes of Kṛṣṇa is to make the fools more fool. One who is thinking of Kṛṣṇa as ordinary man, Kṛṣṇa is playing this part to show them, "Yes, see. I am dying, this. You see."

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- January 3, 1976, Nellore:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No.

Prabhupāda: Sir Philip Sydney, a great commander, during the fighting time, when he was shot, he asked for water, and the water was not supplied and he died. Now, he was very generous man. He was the commander. Water was brought, and at the same time another soldier was being carried. He was also going to die. He was looking for the water. So immediately he said, "This water give him. Give him," and he died. He was very generous. He knew that "I am going to die. If he can be saved, give him this water." So that Sydney, Sir Philip Sydney, his name. Melbourne, it is also named after great soldier. So where is your independence? If you are thinking independently and doing things independently, then is it not foolishness? Hm? Why don't you answer? You don't want to be foolish? Suppose within the prison walls, if you want to do things independently, is it possible?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No, you're always dependent.

Prabhupāda: You'll be put into further sufferings as soon as you violate the rules and regulation of the jail. You'll be put to a further term of suffering. Just like they are independently trying to avoid pregnancy, and the same man who has killed his own child, or same mother, he is being killed within the womb. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni (BG 3.27). Nature will not tolerate this. In India still these things are not happening because they are not so advanced to use all these contraceptive method. But in Europe, America, it has become a common affair to kill the child within the womb.

Morning Walk -- January 6, 1976, Nellore:

Prabhupāda: Laḍḍu, you prepare laḍḍu? They prepare so many things. The main ingredient is this: besan, āttā, ghee, sugar. That's all. (break) ...also they eat rice more.

Mahāmṣa: (break) ...left in Mysore.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: But Bengal tiger.

Acyutānanda: That's.... They've all been shot.

Prabhupāda: (break) First of all understand what is meditation. Do you understand what is meditation? Do you understand?

Indian man: (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: What is meditation?

Indian man (2): Giving all thoughts.... Coming to pure silence of the mind.

Prabhupāda: So how you can be silent? Is it possible?

Indian man (2): No, just by some sādhana.

Prabhupāda: Silent is also.... (dog barking) The stones are silent. Does it mean meditation?

Indian man (2): But mind cannot be silent. The mind must be made to (indistinct).

Morning Walk -- January 19, 1976, Mayapur:

Harikesa: We need the soldiers to start.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Harikesa: The soldiers, they start the war. One stands on one side, the other stands on the other side, and there's one shot, one shot, ten shots, ten shots, then mortars, then tanks, then atom bombs.

Prabhupāda: No, why this is? If you have improved scientifically, let two, three scientists keep flying and the handy atom bomb. As soon as war starts, "plum," finished.

Harikesa: They have that also.

Prabhupāda: Then.... Why also? That should be the only. It is waste of time. What kind of scientists they are? If you have actually improved in science for killing others by atom bomb, so keep one atom bomb very carefully. Fly in the sky. And as soon as the war-world, "plum." Finished.

Harikesa: Well, then the other will just send some boats over, and all the men will get out while they're flying in the sky, and they'll just take over the country by manual soldiers.

Prabhupāda: No. As soon as atom bomb is..., everything is finished. There will be no opportunity. That is their thinking, "Who will drop the atom bomb first, he will be winner." That's all. In Russia they are adopting this means. They are releasing all the soldiers for other work. What is the use of keeping so many men idle without any work and maintain them, high salary, occupy big, big cantonment camps?

Morning Walk -- February 9, 1976, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Boy, Prabhupāda, the people will pay... Everyone will pay a rupee to go in and see that. One rupee for that, one rupee to ride the escalator.

Prabhupāda: And there will be escalator to take them to different planetary system. Mention there.

Bhavānanda: My father... In those planetariums, they use a machine in the center that shoots out light. My father helped to invent that, so we could probably...

Prabhupāda: So bring your father. Father and son, both together. He is... Where he is?

Bhavānanda: In America.

Prabhupāda: So call him. He'll not come?

Bhavānanda: I don't think so, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Demon?

Bhavānanda: No, no. He reads your Bhagavad-gītā every night.

Prabhupāda: Then? Then why he'll not come?

Bhavānanda: I think he's too much attached to my mother.

Prabhupāda: (laughs) Your mother is not old enough? What is the age of your mother?

Bhavānanda: Sixty-eight.

Prabhupāda: Oh, still she is attractive? (laughs) A girl of sixty-eight? That's nice. Very good husband. And what is your father's age?

Morning Walk -- February 12, 1976, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: To save money. Machine means unemployment for many. Tractor, they're using, they're unemployment for bulls and plowmen and then they, bulls have to be killed. This is going on. Unemployment, then kill them. Vietnam, send all the men to fight and kill them. As soon as there is overpopulation, they declare war so that people may be killed.

Hṛdayānanda: Sometimes the soldiers became so disgusted that they would shoot their own officers.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Hṛdayānanda: But they would do it in such a way so it appeared to be accidents. Sometimes they would take little bomb and throw it into the tent of the officers and they would all be killed.

Prabhupāda: What was the reason?

Hṛdayānanda: Well, because the officers, they were not qualified. They were simply foolish. They were directing them in such a way that they were all in danger.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Morning Walk -- February 12, 1976, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Hṛdayānanda: And they could not understand why they were there. It was a foreign... They were used to America and so they had to go to the jungle but they were, they could not see the point of fighting...

Prabhupāda: Mm. (indistinct)

Hṛdayānanda: So many times they would become so disgusted they would simply kill their own officers, shoot them or throw a bomb. Also in Vietnam, the majority of the soldiers were fighting intoxicated, marijuana and different drugs.

Dayānanda: Also I think people have no respect for authority any more.

Prabhupāda: No.

Dayānanda: There's... All over the world people are not respecting any kind of authorities.

Prabhupāda: No.

Dayānanda: There are so many false...

Prabhupāda: Especially the students. That means chaotic condition. (break) ...type of civilization, this material world.

Room Conversation -- April 4, 1976, Vrndavana:

Jagat-guru: We will invite him to come to our Durban festival. And also I've suggested that they also arrange something big, festival, because there are 600,000 Indians there, and that some of our men can go to the island and give them association.

Prabhupāda: So they'll give visa? Me?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: For you? Oh, yes. I think we have to make a chest x-ray again and take several shots for you, (laughter) no problem.

Prabhupāda: So when you are going back? Tomorrow?

Jagat-guru: Yes.

Prabhupāda: When? Early in the morning?

Devotee: Yes. We're making the arrangement tomorrow to go. We're getting tickets and some books. Then Jagat-guru will follow a few days later.

Prabhupāda: Make vigorous propaganda all over the world. From South Africa, Australia, there is direct service.

Morning Walk -- April 15, 1976, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: You hand over the steer of your...

Prabhupāda: Yes. The next line is mārobi rākhobi, yo icchā tohārā. (Hindi) This is surrender.

Dr. Patel: Yes, sir, that reminds me of a story that I read that one man, one English lord, had gone on a pigeon shooting. I told once this story. And he had got lot of pigeons in a gunny bag, and he would allow one pigeon to go and shoot. One pigeon, instead of flying, fell down at his feet. He could not shoot it. Like that. And this reminds me, this story, always reminds me, this complete surrender. He could not shoot that.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Dr. Patel: So God will not mara na(?). He will never maro, cannot maro, because you are at His very feet.

Prabhupāda: (Hindi) Eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. He is supplying everything without any surrendering. (Hindi) But that care and outside-the-jail care, there is little difference. In the prison house, even one is very highly qualified, and if he applies for some good post, he will not be given. He'll not be given. But outside the prison? "Yes, you are qualified. Come on." The same government, the same man, but so long one is criminal, there is no consideration. (break) Yes, regularly I get at one o'clock.

Room Conversation -- April 20, 1976, Melbourne:

Cameraman(?): Somebody move up.

Mike Barron: Yes. Do you have a two-shot, or do you want to get that afterwards?

Cameraman: Yeah, I'll get to that. You're going to have to keep my front out as much as you can. Don't.... (talks about filming)

Mike Barron: Can you tell us a little bit about Kṛṣṇa consciousness, what it does mean?

Prabhupāda: Just like the living force within the body, that is the most important thing, similarly, throughout this creation, cosmic manifestation, Kṛṣṇa is the most important thing.

Mike Barron: Are you happy with the way the Kṛṣṇa movement is progressing throughout the world and particularly throughout Australia?

Prabhupāda: Well, we are progressing very slow because the subject matter is so difficult that even big, big scientists, big, big professors, they are puzzled. So you cannot expect. But those who are fortunate and.... They are understanding. So this progress, we cannot expect a mass people will understand immediately, but if one person understands, he can act very tremendously to educate the people on this matter. Just like the example is that to illuminate the sky it does not require millions of stars. One moon is sufficient.

Morning Walk -- April 21, 1976, Melbourne:

Guru-kṛpā: We are walking across everyone's field to go the river, and they are saying, "Haribol!"

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Guru-kṛpā: Here they are coming with dogs.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Fences.

Guru-kṛpā: Especially if it's a devotee, they'll be more eager to shoot.

Prabhupāda: (break) ...foreign or this, a small river. (break)

Devotee (2): 1717. Captain Cook.

Guru-kṛpā: He's the same one that went to Hawaii.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Guru-kṛpā: You know, and they never saw a white man there before. So the natives there in Hawaii were very enamored to see such a big white man, so they took him as God, and they were worshiping him. And one day...

Prabhupāda: Captain Cook?

Room Conversation -- Honolulu, May 20, 1976 :

Devotee (3): One, one man once said that to carry, to glorify the cross is like they..., glorifying the revolver.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Devotee (3): If the husband is shot, then you take the gun, and you worship the gun.

Prabhupāda: That is.... Yes. Very good example. Are you, are you going to some church (indistinct).

Woman: (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: So, the same picture, that Jesus Christ is carrying his cross, and falling. (indistinct) and you go enjoy. (long pause) In Māyāpur you have seen Yoga-pīṭha, Caitanya Mahāprabhu birthplace? Yoga-pīṭha.

Devotee (2): Yes.

Prabhupāda: That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu...

Devotee (2): Oh.

Prabhupāda: ...and two sides, his two wives. Not that Caitanya Mahāprabhu is worshiped as a sannyāsī.

Morning Walk -- June 4, 1976, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Rāmeśvara: They have got some gigantic King Kong figure. It moves like a gigantic doll. Actually, to make a movie now they spend maybe ten, fifteen million dollars for one movie. (break)

Prabhupāda: They cannot cleanse nowadays?

Hari-śauri: They made a movie called "2001," and in that they had shots of men on different planets. It looked just like the moon shots. It was very..., just the same.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Prabhupāda, it is very difficult to convince the people that they have not gone to the moon. I mean, that's a good logic, but they'll think that's very childish for us to say "Sunday first, Monday."

Prabhupāda: Well, let them remain as child.

Candanācārya: Śrīla Prabhupāda once said that if the moon is dirt and dust, how is it that it reflects the light of the sun so much that it lights up the whole planet?

Prabhupāda: Yes. The common sense. They have lost their common sense.

Candanācārya: It's so shiny that it lights up the whole earth planet at night.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes.

Garden Conversation -- June 14, 1976, Detroit:

Hari-śauri: But they say if they kill it in a healthy condition then the meat they eat is good.

Prabhupāda: No, no, just like lobsters, they are very fond of lobster. Lobster is never bought living. It is dead and rotten, decomposed, and they eat. They cannot say that by killing we get fresh. You are eating so many rotten things, decomposed. Actually, I have seen. It has become like puss, and still they are eating.

Hari-śauri: In England they had a system, the gentry, when it was pheasant shooting season, they used to kill the pheasants and they would hang them up in the outhouses. And then, after a few days, it would begin to rot. And when they were able to pull the skin off just in one piece, when it was just hanging off, they could just pull it off, then it was good for eating. That's when they would eat the flesh.

Prabhupāda: Just see. And another, they are digging the pig? You said?

Hari-śauri: Oh, Śukadeva was saying in Hawaii. They bury the pig, and when it becomes completely rotten they dig it up and eat it.

Prabhupāda: So similarly, when the cow is dead, you dig, or put it within the.... Or take it. No, nobody will object. In India, that is the system. When the cow is dead, there is a class, they are called cobblers, camar(?). They are informed and they'll come. They'll take it. And they'll eat the flesh and take the skin, and tan it in their own method, and then prepare shoes. They sell it in the market. So without any price, they get the skin, they eat the flesh. So nobody is harmed. But there is a class.... (break) ...they are not going to starve. From economic point of view, it is very good. So why you are killing and maintaining so big, big slaughterhouse? Let everyone maintain the cows for taking milk. And when it dies, you take it, you meat-eaters. Make that arrangement.

Garden Discussion on Bhagavad-gita Sixteenth Chapter -- June 26, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja recommends from the beginning of student life, kaumāra ācaret prajño dharmān bhāgavatān iha (SB 7.6.1), they should be trained up in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That Prahlāda Mahārāja recommends. Now from the very beginning of student life, because there is no education, he is trained up as demon. What can be done? So many things have to be reformed by pushing on Kṛṣṇa consciousness. These are Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, whatever is described in the Bhagavad-gītā that is within the jurisdiction of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So we have to do all this. Water.

Dhṛṣṭadyumna:

daivī sampad vimokṣāya

nibandhāyāsurī matā

mā śucaḥ sampadaṁ daivīm

abhijāto 'si pāṇḍava

(BG 16.5)

"The transcendental qualities are conducive to liberation, whereas the demonic qualities make for bondage. Do not worry, O son of Pāṇḍu, for you are born with the divine qualities." (purport) "Lord Kṛṣṇa encouraged Arjuna by telling him that he was not born with demoniac qualities. His involvement in the fight was not demoniac, because he was considering the pro's and con's. He was considering whether respectable persons such as Bhīṣma and Droṇa should be killed or not, so he was not acting under the influence of anger, false prestige, or harshness. Therefore he was not of the quality of the demons. For a kṣatriya, a military man, shooting arrows at the enemy is considered transcendental, and refraining from such a duty is demoniac. Therefore, there was no cause for Arjuna to lament. Anyone who performs the regulated principles of the different orders of life is transcendentally situated."

Prabhupāda: Discuss on this point.

Marble Shop Visit -- June 26, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Kīrtanānanda: This is a cutting table Śrīla Prabhupāda, here's is a diamond saw. When you cut marble you have to use water, so it automatically shoots water out.

Devotee: You can make the cut if you want to.

Prabhupāda: This is the marble? No.

Kīrtanānanda: This is a marble base, this is what they cut on. Just to make it flat, it has to be a perfectly flat table. This is part of the floor for your study room.

Prabhupāda: Oh. This is marble?

Kīrtanānanda: Yes, this is all marble, but it is glued together in little pieces. Like inlaid. And this is the polishing room. (break) Take the rough marble and make it shine.

Prabhupāda: You have spent so much money. What is the price of this machine?

Kīrtanānanda: Well, there was a man, he was going out of business in Pittsburg, and I got a great deal of marble and all the machinery and everything for nine thousand dollars. It is very cheap.

Prabhupāda: Oh. Do you know how to work? No. (devotees laugh)

Room Conversation -- June 29, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Hari-śauri: When it starts to fall apart, that's when they consider it's the best.

Prabhupāda: Hmm?

Hari-śauri: When it starts to fall apart, that's when they think it's the best. I think I mentioned before, in England, the gentry, the British gentry, when they used to go hunting, shooting pheasants and partridges, afterwards they would get the dead birds and hang them in a shed outside, and then after some days, when all the skin and feathers were literally falling off, that's when they would eat it. That's when it was considered rich.

Prabhupāda: There are so many kadarya things. In Burma, they have got a system, Burmese family. In the door, there is a pot, a big pot. So whatever animal dies, put it in there and cover it. So in this way, after some years, they're decomposed, and it becomes liquid, and then it is so decomposed that if you open it, within three miles they smell. So that is mature. Then they take out the liquid and keep it in bottles. That is called naphi. And they stock it, and when there is some feast at home they'll give little that naphi, and they'll relish it.

Evening Darsana -- July 11, 1976, New York:

Indian man (3): I said that, as an Indian, suppose I try to speak about Gītā or philosophy of Hinduism to people in the neighborhood, either in the office or elsewhere, especially with the Europeans, it becomes a point for discussion where it becomes difficult to convince as to why a person should take action without knowing the consequences or even with knowing that the consequences are going to be bad. For instance, Arjuna had to kill his relatives. If he knows that if he's going to do it, or if somebody, for instance, in a war, he knows that his friends are on the other side, he may find it hard to shoot at them...

Prabhupāda: So why Arjuna did later on?

Indian man (3): Because I think he took God's...

Prabhupāda: Because he was fool in the beginning, and after understanding Bhagavad-gītā he became intelligent. Why don't you take in that way? In the beginning, he was rascal. Therefore he needed instruction of Bhagavad-gītā. And when he understood Bhagavad-gītā, what did he say? Naṣṭo mohaḥ smṛtir labdhā. Find out this verse. Naṣṭo mohaḥ, "Now my illusion is over." Smṛtir labdhā tvat prasādān madhusūdana.

Interview with Newsday Newspaper -- July 14, 1976, New York:

Rāmeśvara: In other words, some of our members are sannyāsa at an earlier age.

Prabhupāda: No, if... The purpose is to train a person in brahmacārī, not to enter into the entanglement of this material life. That is Vedic system. Basic principle is that don't be entangled with this material energy. So at the early age, up to twenty-five, he's trained up. If he can, he can continue as brahmacārī. He directly can take sannyāsa. But if he's unable, so let him go by step by step. Let him become a family, householder life, then retired life, then... But sannyāsa at the end, that is compulsory, not that unless he is shot down by somebody, he's not going to give up family life. That is not Vedic system.

Interviewer: But young men don't tend to be wise, do they?

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Interviewer: Young men do not generally possess a great deal of wisdom.

Prabhupāda: No, if he's trained up. Just like here we have got so many young men. They are trained up. So there is no prohibition that a young man cannot become a sannyāsa. If he's able, he can take sannyāsa from the very beginning. But if he's not able, let him enter into household life and then remain as householder up to fiftieth year, then retire, then take sannyāsa. It is not an enforcement. A gradual process. But the ultimate end is to become free from all material attachment and completely devote life for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the ultimate end. Because human life is meant for that purpose, self-realization or spiritual realization, that opportunity must be given to all human beings. Unfortunately at the present moment the civilization has no scope for spiritual realization. They live like other animals, eating, sleeping, mating and defending. That's all. They do not know there is another life, spiritual life, and neither there is any education or institution to educate them. Now we are trying for that purpose.

Room Conversation About Mayapura Construction -- August 19, 1976, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Jayapatākā: He talked personally with Bhaktisiddhānta, I heard, in Sanskrit many years ago. He's a disciple.

Prabhupāda: He's Indian or...?

Jayapatākā: Well, it's an unusual story that that man was a pilot in the World War, and he was flying over Himalayas or something, and he saw Kṛṣṇa in his mind's eye or something, and then, then he was shot down, he saw Kṛṣṇa, and then, when he landed, he searched out who he saw, and he came to Vṛndāvana or something and saw the Deity of Kṛṣṇa, and he became initiated at Rādhā-Rāmaṇa temple.

Prabhupāda: Rādhā-Rāmaṇa

Jayapatākā: This is that guru story. Now he only made a few disciples, and he always was chanting. Also Panditji, he knew more. I don't know so much about his guru but I've heard a little bit that his foreigner became a guru or became a Vaiṣṇava.

Prabhupāda: Nixon?

Jayapatākā: His previous name is Nixton, he initiated name was Krishna Prem.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. He was in Almora.

Garden Conversation -- September 3, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Formerly I used to see three, four, more than four flies going together. Nowadays I do not see.

Caraṇāravindam: Flies.

Prabhupāda: No, aeroplanes. During wartime when they used to come to bombard they used to come in four, five together because the enemies, they used to shot down. So if one is shot down the other will be bombing.

Caraṇāravindam: You wrote in the Bhāgavatam, Śrīla Prabhupāda, that in outer space there are those giant birds like eagle. Very, very big. Giant size. Enormous.

Prabhupāda: They go from one planet to another.

Caraṇāravindam: It is like a big plane. Bigger than jet.

Prabhupāda: And while flying they lay down eggs. And the eggs, while falling down, they become birds. By the, what is called?

Hari-śauri: Friction?

Prabhupāda: No, no. When they, what it is called. Velocity of falling down, it becomes fomented, and then the birds come out. Just like parasites. No? Parachute?

Garden Conversation -- September 7, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: That is destructive. They do not know.

Caraṇāravindam: They sit there eating them.

Prabhupāda: Because they do not get anything they make mischief. They're very mischievous. If they do not get any eatables they will cause mischief.

Caraṇāravindam: They sometimes come if a new shoot in the banana. The inside shoot, they break and take that. They seem to enjoy. I've seen them. They break it and eat it.

Hari-śauri: Do monkeys have any use? (laughs)

Prabhupāda: They have only use, their fat is very good medicine for burns. Some portion is burned, monkey fat is very good medicine. The Chinese eat their brains.

Caraṇāravindam: The Japanese also do that. They drink it. They drink it through straws.

Prabhupāda: Monkey brain?

Caraṇāravindam: Yes. They cut the skull off a live monkey. They cut the skull off like egg and drink the brain through straw. I read in magazine how they do this. It's very common practice now.

Prabhupāda: Where they get this monkeys?

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- January 3, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Anything we can do.

Setterji: Gurujī, one night at the Pakistan front we stay in one place, and forty, fifty men came there, Kuraris and Kundasas. And another fellow which was with me, he was asked to be one of them. So when they came we recognized and we were ready with the revolvers and... The men came and they want to kill us, and we shoot them, five men dead, that time, and the rest ran away. And I took my child, this Brijmohan. He was five days old only. And I took my wife on the back...

Prabhupāda: Five days?

Setterji: Five days. And I took my wife on the back and child in my hand, and the way was so difficult, and the darkness. And then we... Six miles...

Prabhupāda: What about your other children and daughters?

Setterji: They were also with us.

Prabhupāda: But they were grown up.

Morning Walk -- January 6, 1976, Bombay:

Devotee: There are millions...

Prabhupāda: Shooting, one man. (laughter) At least 50 cents stories (indistinct).

Girirāja: They could see stories of Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda: Mm? Mythology.

Girirāja: That is mythology.

Prabhupāda: And here is fact. So one side is: people are no more interested. (indistinct). This is our business. I think western countries the young men, they're joining this successfully. Adānta gobhir viśataṁ tamisraṁ punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām (SB 7.5.30). (indistinct) first part. Find out this matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā. Matir na kṛṣṇe. This is our law book.

Evening Darsana -- January 7, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Jñānī murkha. (break) (Hindi)

Guest (1): I have been to Poona where there were some lectures on this Swami Sradhananda. It was fifty years past to his death. So there were some lectures.

Prabhupāda: Sraddhananda, they're Arya-samājis.

Guest (1): Arya-samājis he was, follower of Swami Vivekananda. He was shot down in Delhi, and so... Forty years and there was some ceremony, all these things.

Prabhupāda: (Hindi) How it will be fortune? Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā (BG 9.11). (Hindi)

Guest (1): They think like this. (Hindi) So they'll end in the same way.

Trivikrama: So how are we going to change?

Guest (1): How? Mām anusmara yuddhya ca (BG 8.7). Taking the name, believing in full in the name of the Almighty. And we have to try our level best to uplift the society, to make them educate, to guide them, provide them, to bring them on the right path. This is only way.

Trivikrama: Bhagavad-gītā says we need the guru.

Guest (1): Yes, sir, that is right, no doubt. That is correct. So they should understand on where they wanted to go, what is their goal.

Prabhupāda: There is no goal. They think after this body everything is finished.

Arrival of BBT Manager -- January 9, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: (Hindi)

Rāmeśvara: These are pictures of the inside as we are beginning to fill it up with books.

Prabhupāda: It is not yet filled up.

Rāmeśvara: It will be, very soon. This is part of it. We just moved in as I was leaving for India, so I had them shoot these pictures very quickly.

Prabhupāda: (Hindi)

Rāmeśvara: And the former warehouse... We now need more space for the dioramas. We're going to start manufacturing them for all the temples. So we're going to use the former warehouse, that you once visited, for Bharadrāja. He needs that much space because he's going to be making the dolls, then making a mold. Then once you have the mold, you can mass produce.

Prabhupāda: So that we can show in every center.

Conversation and Instruction On New Movie -- January 13, 1977, Allahabad:

Prabhupāda: Which movie?

Rāmeśvara: The one I'm thinking of having Yadubara make, shooting in India professors' and scientists' testimony plus Vaiṣṇava festivals and Vaiṣṇava temples.

Prabhupāda: No, that... And you'll see Tirupati, how they are standing for hours together.

Rāmeśvara: Yes, like that. And also, if the movie is made very well, then we can make an excerpt...

Prabhupāda: How they are contributing their hard-earned money, how it is, the are collecting money, huge amount.

Rāmeśvara: Yes, they'll interview very wealthy people also. Good idea.

Prabhupāda: They're not all wealthy. Wealthies are giving more, and poor men also give.

Rāmeśvara: But in America, if they see that a wealthy man is also worshiping Kṛṣṇa...

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Room Conversation -- January 19, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: So you can give me that.

Gargamuni: My father, he also used to get swelling, but this was due to diabetes.

Prabhupāda: I have got diabetes also.

Gargamuni: He was getting swelling in his legs and hands. But he had to take this insulin, and this kept the swelling nil by taking insulin. Every morning he would give himself a shot. But he had no more swelling.

Hari-śauri: He'd just stick a needle in his arm every morning.

Prabhupāda: There are many gentlemen who take insulin twice, at least once.

Rāmeśvara: The diabetics. They have diabetes. Very common. We have a devotee who does that. This boy in New York whose parents have kidnapped him many times. He is actually... That's their charge against us, that "Oh, my son is diabetic, and you are not spending $25,000 on doctors. You are not taking care of him." That is their charge against us. Then Ādi-keśava Mahārāja said, "All right, if you want him to have such excellent medical treatment, you give us the money and we'll spend it on it." So then the parents say, "Just see! Blackmail." That is a big charge in the paper. It's called extortion. Ādi-keśava Mahārāja was indicted for kidnapping and for extortion.

Hari-śauri: He's that Ed Shapiro.

Rāmeśvara: Yes. The parents cheated again. They said, "Just see, blackmail."

Hari-śauri: That's how that charge came up.

Rāmeśvara: Yes. They lie and say, "This president, he said, 'If you do not give us this money, we will let your son die.' "

Prabhupāda: In a different way.

Room Conversation -- January 19, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: Dead.

Gargamuni: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Just see the policy.

Gargamuni: But they, I think annihilated all of the... Anyone who had any education... Just like that boy. He was translating your books? They shot him in front of firing squad. One boy. I printed one book there in Bengali, I think, three thousand copies: The Peace Formula and Who is Crazy, I think. It was about fifteen pages. They gave me some donation. Even the Gopāla... His name was Gopāla Kṛṣṇa Brahmacārī. He also gave me from his pocket. And I printed... We had it translated in Bengali, but then...

Prabhupāda: He was killed?

Gargamuni: Yes, for translating. He was shot in... Not him but this other brahmacārī, young boy, very nice boy. His name was Karuṇāmayī.

Rāmeśvara: For translating it they did it.

Gargamuni: Yes, for translating. They wanted to annihilate anyone who had any literary talent. That was their idea. Or anyone who had any education. So that after they left the country there wouldn't be anything. Because they knew they had to leave one day because of the revolutionary spirit. So they thought, "Let us ravage the whole country and then leave." And that's what they did. Their main attack was the university. When I was there that was their first attack 'cause that university was a very old one and...

Prabhupāda: Yes, Dacca University next to Calcutta University. Just see how human beings are becoming less than ferocious animals.

Room Conversation -- January 19, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: Yes, Dacca University next to Calcutta University. Just see how human beings are becoming less than ferocious animals.

Gargamuni: Even one man, he was making a plaque in your name in thankfulness for preaching this Vaiṣṇava-dharma. He was making a wooden plaque, and he was a doctor of physics at the university. And one night they came in and shot him and his whole family, this man. He was very helpful to us while we were there.

Prabhupāda: Only fault that he was making some...

Gargamuni: No, his fault was that he had some education. Anyone who was doing anything... This one boy who was translating your books, he was a very educated person. He was about thirty years old.

Prabhupāda: Hindu.

Gargamuni: Hindu. Yes. He was brahmacārī there at the āśrama. He was the chief pūjārī. But he joined us. We toured a few areas, and he came with us and arranged for everything. And he joined us, and he was translating.

Prabhupāda: (aside:) Now take this.

Room Conversation -- January 19, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Guest (1): Sir, what is the way to serve the Supreme?

Prabhupāda: That is another thing. Just like a servant, when he is not pleased, somehow or other, with the master, he seeks another service. Is it not? Similarly, the service in this material world will never please us, neither the master. Take for example Gandhi. He gave so much service to his country, to his countrymen, but what was the result? He was shot dead. So who can please more than Gandhi? So we should take lesson from this, that if you are engaged in rendering service to the material world, neither you'll be happy nor the master will be happy. It is simply waste of time.

Guest (3): Waste of time.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Guest (3): No, those who are fighting for the country...

Prabhupāda: Eh! Any way, any way, material service is simply waste of time.

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- January 30, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: In fact, Rūpānuga Prabhu abandoned completely the idea of this Santa Claus in Washington while we were having our meeting. Stayed about a few days. And then he had this telephone call from distance, from outside saying that "Tomorrow I'll shoot you. I'll kill you," things like that. They get this telephone call in the temple from outsiders, "If you come like that, in Santa Claus, we'll give you a bullet," like that. So Rūpānuga completely abandoned this idea. So he said, "Tell what we are, be honest, and do as we have been doing." And in fact, devotees are doing, and they got more the next morning, got more books sold just going as Hare Kṛṣṇa, in Hare Kṛṣṇa dress, instead of going as Santa Claus. So I think...

Prabhupāda: So now it is stopped.

Hari-śauri: That was just Christmas time.

Gargamuni: That Santa Claus is only used for two weeks.

Prabhupāda: So from next year we shall not do that.

Hari-śauri: No, if it becomes controversial then there's no point.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Oh, there's many, especially in the newspaper.

Nanda-kumāra: Terrible publicity in the newspapers.

Gargamuni: It came in the Calcutta newspaper, but it was not bad. It was not bad article. It was good article.

Prabhupāda: And what is the...? "Do you believe that the Hare Kṛṣṇas, they are in...?"

Hari-śauri: "Would you believe three Hare Kṛṣṇas dressed in Santa Claus suits?"

Prabhupāda: "...in Santa Claus?"

Evening Darsana -- February 15, 1977, Mayapura:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No? Recently, about a month ago... This will give you an indication of the nature of how many people are becoming in America, and especially the authorities are becoming very unjust. One man had a son in Texas and the boy was smoking marijuana. He was smoking for about a month or two. So for two weeks, when his father came to know, his father was telling him, "You should stop this smoking of marijuana," but the boy continued to smoke it. So one night the father came into the boy's room, took out a gun and shot his brains, killed him.

Prabhupāda: Killed him?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Killed his own son because he was smoking marijuana. He couldn't stand that the boy was smoking marijuana. Then after killing him he went to the police and turned himself in. So he came before the judge, woman judge, and he said that "I could not help it. This boy is my son, and look what he was doing. It is abominable. I had to kill him." And the judge said, "Yes, I can understand your feelings. It was intolerable." And she let the man go without one day jail sentence. No reprimand even. So this is the thing that is starting to happen now, that they are lobbying in the Congress in the United States to pass laws that if someone is abnormal, then the parents should have the right to commit him to psychological treatments. Even the child may be fifty years old and the parent may be seventy years old, if the parents think that child is not sane, then they have the right to get the child committed. So this is being passed in a couple of states, and already in California...

Prabhupāda: This is very dangerous.

Evening Darsana -- February 15, 1977, Mayapura:

Brahmānanda: But there has been some reports in the newspapers that Argentina is now a military dictatorship, and it's very bad place. Many people are being taken and shot regularly.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Now... But also in Venezuela, there, now the government wants to audit the accounts. They are asking for a public auditing of our books.

Prabhupāda: Public property?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Audit. Audit.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Brahmānanda: They want to check our books, how we are, where we are collecting and how we are spending.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: We have to be very cautious in dealing in these countries. We talked with Hṛdayānanda Mahārāja, and he said that now they are changing their tactic a little bit. They are becoming more cautious, because before they were too bold. Just like Brahmānanda was describing, when he first went to Africa, they had the van...

Brahmānanda: With loudspeakers and... We were very ambitious. So the people, they'd never seen anything like this, and so they accepted it. But then after a while, they resented. If you become too much... Actually, the governments feel very threatened. That was one of the reasons why you were not permitted to land in Kenya, because it was so much advertised, they put banners across the main avenue and radio, TV announcement, posters. They saw this as a..., something that will eclipse their government, their own president. You were more famous. (Prabhupāda laughs) Therefore they tried to say, "No, I am more famous." So therefore they didn't want you to come.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: So it's better in some cases to be a little cautious, low key. Better to go slowly sometimes than very...

Prabhupāda: Yes. Not become aggressive.

Evening Darsana -- February 15, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Like Russia.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Even in some ways worse, because it is not at all stable. There's nothing set. It's just chaotic.

Brahmānanda: Open murders. They have squads going around and taking people and just...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Shooting. Very dangerous.

Brahmānanda: Many prominent Argentine people are fleeing the country, going to Mexico and other places. So now they have just uncovered a big plot where the Argentines were sending assassins to other countries to kill the Argentine...

Prabhupāda: Refugees.

Brahmānanda: So they have just uncovered a list of names. It was put in the paper. The economy of Argentina is almost ninety percent on beef production, animal slaughter.

Hari-śauri: The biggest beef country in the world.

Prabhupāda: They eat beef only.

Evening Darsana -- February 24, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Hṛdayānanda: Now every day they are killing so many people. It's become a very dangerous place. In the streets every day they are shooting so many people.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Here's Jayatīrtha.

Pañcadraviḍa: Actually, though, we are learning something. We have to work with these kind of people more and more in different countries.

Prabhupāda: Yes. So this is very fine, but there is no Bhāgavata?

Jayatīrtha: Śrīla Prabhupāda, it's only being published quarterly...

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Jayatīrtha: ...and we thought to publish one section every three months, people would lose the track of the thing. That's why we... The British economy is so bad that we had to give fairly inexpensive literature. So it's either a question of printing sixteen pages color and eight page Bhāgavata, or twenty-four pages color. We couldn't do twenty-four pages color and eight pages Bhāgavata. We thought that since it is quarterly...

Prabhupāda: That's all right. So you have printed one...

Jayatīrtha: One hundred thousand.

Prabhupāda: It is going on? Hm?

Jayatīrtha: Nicely.

Room Conversation -- February 25, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: You were saying the cows, when they know there is something there, they stay away.

Prabhupāda: No. They can understand that "These people are going to kill us. These people will not kill us." They can understand. You know that when I was in America some incident took place, that some slaughterhouse livestock, the..., somehow or other, it was open, and they were fleeing away, going away. Something happened. They were going up on the slaughterhouse, and some of them were shooted.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: The cows were running away?

Prabhupāda: Hm. Unless they could understand that "We are kept here for being slaughtered," why they were running away?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They speak of peace, such nonsense. How can they expect peace when they're slaughtering?

Prabhupāda: All do. It is very, very demons', the Western civilization. No social structure, no mercy. All good qualities devoid. Simply animals in good dress. That's all. (end)

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- February 28, 1977, Mayapura:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: I've taken all the parts of the picture of the temple because I want to show to Manipur ministers, so that...

Prabhupāda: So, first thing make your headquarter in Bombay, and make Manipur a Vaiṣṇava state. And recruit all scientists. And then attack these rascals, big animals. Shoot them, big animals.

Hari-śauri: Like a scientific safari.

Prabhupāda: Therefore they are opposing. Intelligent men, they are seeing that This movement will finish our civilization. They are afraid. They have already said, "It is increasing like epidemic, and if we don't check them, within ten years they'll take the government."

Hari-śauri: A government official in Houston said it on the TV.

Bali-mardana: They are afraid for their lives.

Prabhupāda: So I am very much attached to that palace.

Room Conversation with Ratan Singh Rajda M.P. 'Nationalism and Cheating' -- April 15, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Simply fighting. They are not peaceful. That's all. Where is peace? You'll be surprised. During gas scarcity the gas was being supplied in Honolulu. This was in our presence. So the gas supply, whatever they had, distributed, and they had one sign board, "No more gas." So next man was so angry that he shot him dead. Just see. He had no more gas; he cannot supply. He became so much infuriated that he shot him dead. This is the result of this modern motorcar civilization. He thought that "Gas will not be supplied. Then I am gone. I am finished. So kill this man." This is education. (Hindi) Provided we train at least some ideal men, everything can be done. Everything is there. There is no scarcity of knowledge in India. We have to simply take it and practically apply it, bas. (Hindi) We are not sentimental (laughs) religious group. Everything practical. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not like that, sentiment. Everything scientific, practical, for the good of the whole human society. Therefore I require that this must be pushed on for the whole human society, and naturally India also. (aside:) The prasādam arrangement is...? You give each item, one each... No, no, give me, give me, give... This is... Each item, you give one. I have got this ambition that Indian culture should be spread, and otherwise what can I do wherever...?

Room Conversation with Ratan Singh Rajda M.P. 'Nationalism and Cheating' -- April 15, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Mr. Rajda: ...desire, I put it.

Prabhupāda: They'll be happy. They're suffering. (Hindi) Is that civilization? "You could not supply me petrol. I shot you." What is this? How much animalistic a human being can be. (aside:) Wake up. Kāma eṣa krodha eṣaḥ. The people are being educated to become too much lusty, and as soon as their lust is not fulfilled, they'll be angry. Kāma eṣa krodha eṣa rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ. And the krodha was, anger was so intense that he killed another person. No consideration that "What he can do? The petrol is finished." He simply says, "Now my stock is finished." So therefore he should be killed?

Mr. Rajda: Now this information will.... I shall be interested to read from it.

Prabhupāda: So where is that note? Bring. (Hindi) Those who are assisting me, let them have permanent visa so that I can work this way.

Mr. Rajda: Correct.

Prabhupāda: And I am unnecessarily spending five to six lakhs of rupees.

Morning Conversation -- April 23, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: He has given very good reasoning.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Everything is reasonable. But so were your reasons. Just like when you met with the reporter from Los Angeles Times, I remember last year... When this question comes up they, inside they are laughing. When they hear our opinion they think it is a joke. They cannot conceive that the whole thing could be a hoax. We were discussing that actually, that the nation is more dear to most people than their family is, because one will get divorced from his family, but who will give up citizenship? Very rarely does anyone give up his citizenship. But people divorce again and again. So to... The nation is something very strong, that affection, and nation, in America, means this moon shot, all of these things, the truthfulness of the leaders. So this is too shocking. Probably the American people could not swallow it.

Prabhupāda: Yes. (indistinct) Lie.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Right. Why no other newspaper carried the story?

Prabhupāda: It is only because I disbelieved, he disagreed. (referring to Puruṣottama?) He disagreed with me from that moment. He thought me foolish that I do not believe scientific research.

Morning Conversation -- April 30, 1977, Bombay:

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Śrīla Prabhupāda? I told you that we have improved the quality of the composing. So this is a new style of composing. It is about... They have a new alphabet, cleaner. They are using better art paper. And I have shown it to our production manager. He also says the reproduction of it would be much better. I have improved the quality of art paper on which they are doing the art proofs. So I just got this one made, and I wanted to show it to you. We are experimenting with two types of composing. Now, this takes in more words, but what we will do at the time of printing, we will shoot it and it will become small, like the regular book, and this way we can get in more space. And this...

Prabhupāda: How many lines?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: This is about... Three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty, twenty... Thirty-three. But it's also little broader. It's a little broader than the others, thirty-three lines.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Still looks like there's a lot space.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: No, that's okay because when it is shot it will be reduced even further. This is... You shouldn't go by the space. It's already bigger than a normal size page. But when it is... It'll be shot by the camera and reduced.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: But relatively, it looks like there's a lot of space here.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. You can make it even more, but then it's going to become very small. It is all done proportionately. This is another sample. This is about thirty-five lines. One, two, three, four, five, six...

Prabhupāda: This is better composition than the former.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. I've improved it now. Seventeen, eighteen, twenty... This is thirty-six lines.

Prabhupāda: So this is good.

Room Conversation about Mayapura Attack Talk with Vrindavan De -- July 8, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Three hundred dacoits attacked our temple, and there was fighting, and five of the devotees were in the hospital. Bhavānanda Mahārāja, he was arrested 'cause he fired a gun. He shot two of them and put them in the hospital, so they arrested him. And that's all he told me. Three hundred dacoits attacked. He said Jayapatākā is now there. Jayapatākā wasn't there. He was traveling and preaching. So he's there now. He's sending a report to you, a more detailed report. And they want... Jayapatākā Mahārāja wants Śatadhanya Mahārāja to go immediately there because Bhavānanda is in jail, arrested. And they want Prabhāsa to come, because the gun, the gun that Bhavānanda Mahārāja used is in the name of Prabhāsa. And Gopāla Kṛṣṇa is going there tomorrow. He's also going there.

Prabhupāda: So why attacked?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Well, the only thing we could guess is that now the government is Communist. So it may be that these were Communist-inspired dacoits. I mean, three hundred, if there was actually... It must have been quite a huge number. That means they were organized. It's not some ordinary village dacoits to have such a huge number of them. So the Communists, maybe they did this. It's hard to understand until we get the report from Jayapatākā. He said he's sending it.

Prabhupāda: And police did not help?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Well, it was in the middle of the night.

Room Conversation about Mayapura Attack Talk with Vrindavan De -- July 8, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: That does not...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Sometimes, you know, when a person is arrested, it doesn't mean he's guilty, but they have to arrest him. Then, later on, it's taken up in court whether or not he's guilty.

Prabhupāda: Gun is kept for protection.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Anyway, it will come up in court. That's a formality, that when you shoot someone they arrest you. Whether you're right or wrong, they have to take you to court. Probably the dacoits pressed some charge also. Who knows? Jayapatākā's report will be coming with..., more fully... Actually I would have waited to tell you, but because Śatadhanya will have to... They want him to go, so... They want Prabhāsa there right away. It may be that they want to say that Prabhāsa was there.

Prabhupāda: So both of them are going?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Well, Gopāla... His point... He said Jayapatākā wants Śatadhanya Mahārāja and Prabhāsa to go.

Prabhupāda: Then let them go.

Room Conversation about Mayapura Attack Talk with Vrindavan De -- July 8, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: So some of the dacoits are arrested or not?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He didn't say. I'm certain that some of them must have been arrested. They couldn't have all gotten away. I mean, some of them are in the hospital. The ones that Bhavānanda shot are in the hospital.

Prabhupāda: So one is in the hospital.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Two.

Prabhupāda: Two.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Bhavānanda shot down two of them.

Prabhupāda: No, no. From their? Dacoits?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yeah, two. Bhavānanda shot with a gun two dacoits, and they're in the hospital.

Prabhupāda: So then there is clue. Then others should be arrested.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Actually... I'm actually speculating... Gopāla said Bhavānanda shot two of them, and he's in jail for shooting two of them. I'm saying that they're in the hospital. Maybe they're not. He's arrested for shooting two of them.

Prabhupāda: Unless they are in hospital...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: How could he be arrested? Right.

Prabhupāda: Bengal has become ruined.

Room Conversation about Mayapura Attack Talk with Vrindavan De -- July 8, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: They must be doing something.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Oh, there's no doubt. With Jayapatākā Mahārāja there...

Prabhupāda: (Bengali)

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, there was shooting. Bhavānanda Mahārāja was shooting. There was shooting. I don't know if they were also shooting, the dacoits, but we had, our boys... This has happened before in small scale, so Jayapatākā knows. We've been attacked enough times so that they know that we're going to make full reports and complaints and get action. The main thing immediately is to get protection of the police so that this doesn't reoccur.

Vrindavan De: You can forward a copy to (indistinct).

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Then we should go... It should be taken to the Central Government.

Vrindavan De: The Chief Secretary.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Another help you can get is from the embassies. American Embassy has to give protection to its citizens. All foreign embassies have to give full protection. Actually that's a very good road to take, because if the foreign embassies put in complaints, then it becomes international thing. Then the Central Government will get very upset and direct the West Bengal Government to stop this from reoccuring "Because we are getting complaints from foreign governments now that we can't give protection to foreigners who are here in this country."

Prabhupāda: So give them the instruction.

Room Conversation during lunchtime -- July 8, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Delhi.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Ah. The heading is "Eleven Krishna Devotees Held for Firing." "Five Indian and six foreign Vaiṣṇava devotees were arrested from Māyāpur maṭha of ISKCON, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, in Nabadwip last night when shots fired from inside the celebrated temple injured fifteen persons, most of them milkmen. A double-barreled gun was seized from the maṭha, it is reported. Police pickets have been posted since there is considerable tension in the nearby villages. Among those arrested is Swami Bhavānanda, an American in charge of the maṭha. Some time ago he was forced to leave the country after the expiry of his visa, but he returned later. The incident occurred at about 5 p.m. on Friday. Some boys were grazing their cattle on the fields outside the maṭha when some cows strayed into its compound. The cattle were beaten up by the inmates and driven out." It doesn't sound like our devotees. Beat up cows? "Angry milkmen from a nearby village crowded outside the maṭha. Shots were then fired from inside the maṭha, it is reported, injuring fifteen persons, two of them seriously. The police arrived on the scene within an hour. Among the six foreigners arrested are a Romanian, an Italian, and some Americans. The founder of the maṭha, Prabhupāda A.C. Bhaktivedanta, was not present." This is called slanted reporting. I mean, first of all, our devotees don't beat up the cows. We worship the cow. We don't beat cows. I can't take this as very factual account. So many statements here say, "It was reported," "It was reported." This is from a... It was published in Delhi, but it's datelined Calcutta, and the event happened in Māyāpur. So by the time it got to Delhi it seems to have taken a strange shape. I thought you'd want to...

Prabhupāda: These goyālas are very aggressive.

Room Conversation -- July 10, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: No, no, no. This is not to...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They should first of all send a report before we tell them anything, because we should get the actual facts from them.

Indian man (1): (Bengali)

Prabhupāda: We did not go to shoot them at their house.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They attacked us.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Three hundred of them. And nobody got seriously injured.

Indian man (1): No. This also came in the paper. Everybody says they know. Nobody sees. It is also coming. He was also telling us.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It seems like another opportunity of Lord Kṛṣṇa's to make us prominent.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Room Conversation Mayapura attack -- July 15, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Government published this. The Statesman, therefore, has not given any description.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I didn't notice. Here's a little news clipping. It's probably the same. You probably have seen this already. This is from Indian Express. "Why Krishna Mandir Men Fired Salvo." By a... "An attack on the devotees and destruction of the premises of ISKCON Māyāpur Chandrodaya Mandir, West Bengal, led to the shooting incident, according to Mr. Gopāla Kṛṣṇa Dāsa, Secretary, Bombay center of the organization. Mr. Dāsa, in his statement issued on Monday, said the news from their sources in Bengal stated that on July 8th about fifty miscreants were found encroaching on our agricultural field and stealing our crops. When a devotee requested them to stop, they became angry and beat him up, fracturing his skull. Nearly 250 supporters of the miscreants..." Notice how they're not going to use "Muslims." They say "miscreants." They don't say "Muslims." Probably the paper wants to avoid. This is a hot issue. No one wants to write "Hindu-Muslim." "Nearly 250 supporters of the miscreants armed with sticks and spears suddenly appeared from behind the bushes and all of them entered the temple area. Mr. Dāsa said the miscreants beat several more devotees, including the Gurukula school headmaster, whose both hands and skull were broken. They also stripped naked a female disciple. They cut off electrical connections, telephone lines and water pipes. The police did not come for two hours, and meanwhile the group destroyed the gate, broke windows and stole two bulls. According to ISKCON Secretary, as a final resort, one ran for a gun, appropriately licensed and registered with the government, and fired a shot in the air. As the group persisted, he fired again into the ground which injured eleven of the miscreants. All of those injured have been discharged from the hospital." They're not injured seriously at all. "Mr. Dāsa said the police advised the devotees to go to the Krishnanagar police station to report the incident, and when they did go there they were arrested. Two devotees in critical condition were also detained in the jail hospital. Asked why our men have been kept in jail, the police replied, 'As a precaution.' "

Prabhupāda: This report is already there.

Room Conversation -- October 10, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Give me little detail.

Bhavānanda: The Show Cause, our Show Cause, has been submitted, and the hearing was set on the seventh, last Friday, but the ADM cancelled it until next month on the 18th. And all of us who were involved in this shooting case, we also appeared in court on Friday, and the judge magistrate released us for traveling in India and preaching. Before that we had been restricted to Nadia district. We hadn't been allowed to leave Nadia. The magistrate said that we are free to travel within India for preaching work, which was good. And the next date has been set for the 29th of December, and on that date we'll most likely be discharged from the case.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Hm. Discharged. The case will be dropped.

Bhavānanda: The case against us will be dropped and case will be brought against the Muhammadans for attacking the temple.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: In other words, it seems that it's reversed.

Bhavānanda: It's reversing.

Prabhupāda: Rākhe kṛṣṇa māre ke.