Solid (Conversations)

Expressions researched:
"solid" |"solidification" |"solidified" |"solidifies" |"solidify" |"solidifying" |"solidity" |"solids"

1968 Conversations and Morning Walks

Press Interview -- December 30, 1968, Los Angeles:

Journalist: You go for a prescribed course of study?

Prabhupāda: Yes, prescribed course of study, these two, three books, that's all. Anyone can read. Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Caitanya-caritāmṛta. You'll learn everything. You haven't got to learn so many huge volumes of books. Because Bhagavad-gītā is such nice book, if you can understand one line, you advance hundred years. You see? So, I mean to say, meaningful and so solid. Therefore we have published this Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. Let your people read it, let them question, and try to understand what is this movement.

1969 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 12, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Allen Ginsberg: In San Francisco, was it? Yes. ...have all been thinking what form of religious practice, what form of simple meditation exercises could be set forth in America that could be adopted by a great, great, great, great many people on a large scale. We haven't solved the problem. One thing I've noticed is that the Kṛṣṇa temples have spread and are firmly rooted and solidly based. There are a number of them now. So that really is a very solid root. So I think that will continue.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 12, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Allen Ginsberg: Well, the orthodox Jews have a very heavy, complicated, moment by moment ritual daily existence in that, for that same purpose. It was to keep them conscious of their religious nature. And that has maintained a small group of Jews over the centuries as an integral unit, but has tended to disappear in the later generations now simply because modern life does not allow that much Kṛṣṇa consciousness or Jewish consciousness or religious consciousness and attention, act by act throughout the day. So my question is how far can total Kṛṣṇa devotion, act by act all day, spread? How many people can that encompass in a place like America? Or are you intending only to get a few devotees, like several hundred or a thousand who will be solid and permanent.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes. That is my program. Because Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not possible for everyone. Because in the Bhagavad-gītā we learn, bahūnāṁ janmanām ante (BG 7.19).

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 12, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Prabhupāda: Simply we have to administer. We have got authoritative scripture, description, answers, everything is there. It is not blind following. It is not religious fanaticism. It is actually solid ground. Simply one has to understand nicely. That's all. And there is no difficulty. So simple. Now, this... Our recommendation is simply, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. So far the Sanskrit word is, that is not a problem. Everyone is chanting. So what is the difficulty? Bring any religious principle. You cannot find so easy. We don't recommend the ritualistic. That is... That is not very important thing. We are giving, say, simply chant. Ritualistic performance a little more helping. That's all. It is helping. It is not required.

1970 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- December 17, 1970, Surat:

Prabhupāda: They are very successful. They are standing: "We don't want this." But they must stand. So they could not give the standing. But here is... Oh, here is standing. Therefore this movement is successful. They want some standing. And where is the standing? (Hindi) So unless you get a solid ground you cannot stand. You'll fall down.

Guest (2) (Indian man): (Hindi)

1972 Conversations and Morning Walks

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

Prabhupāda: Well, that is also depends on goodness and passion and ignorance. That example I was giving, that a doctor has forbidden that "This patient should not take any solid food." But if you make charity, "Oh, he..." And he's asking "Give me some solid..." Sometime patient asks. And if you give him solid food, then you are not doing good to him. That is ignorance.

Bob: Are the devotees beyond accumulating karma? Have they... Does a devotee, these devotees, do they feel karma? Do they work in these modes? Are they in the mode of goodness?

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Conversation with the GBC -- May 25, 1972, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Yes, we must expand, we must expand. Now the framework of expansion is done by me, but this, they should be solidified. Just like your skyscraper building. The framework is done then they are made nicely air-conditioned and covered by glass (indistinct). It makes a nice house. Similarly, so far the framework is done. I have done with your help. Now we have to push this movement. It is very important movement. It is not a farce. It is actually for the benefit of the human society. They are kept in darkness about God. And we are delivering God, "Here is God." So that must be pushed. What is your opinion?

Room Conversation -- June 29, 1972, San Diego:

Ātreya Ṛṣi: Yes. That's the difference between Your Divine Grace and all these other bhogis. They make it according to the taste of the people. They change. That's why this movement is so solid: no compromise.

Prabhupāda: No. Why compromise? My Guru Mahārāja never made any compromise.

Ātreya Ṛṣi: Compromise means you have some material attachment.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversations with Sannyasis -- March 15, 1974, Vrndavana:

Devotee (2): And it goes up very quickly because the people are automatically attracted. And then you teach them, you train them. So less Americans and just one or two people who want to manage and then start with the people here, the Indian people. And as they develop and become strong, then develop a center. It may take a long time but it will be solid. It will be more solid then. Just bring a bunch of Americans here and then the whole thing just falls to pieces. And then we ruin our reputation in that particular area where we want to open a...

Prabhupāda: Then what is your suggestion?

Room Conversations with Sannyasis -- March 15, 1974, Vrndavana:

Pañcadraviḍa: As far as the men since I think a lot are even, some cases they are sending problem cases to India, people they can't manage in the states. I think maybe if you divide, if you actually, since in the states you've divided the states into territories and certain men have certain territories. If you maybe appoint certain people in charge of territories of India and ask them which men they want, then they will tell you who they want, and the rest they can send away or send somewhere else. Then you'll have solid centers because the men will actually be desired.

Śyāmasundara: That's a good idea.

Prabhupāda: That's good. So you make like that.

Morning Walk -- April 28, 1973, Los Angeles:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: So the, the background is not solid.

Prabhupāda: No. Just like the one strata is like that. After an hour, it will be different. So what is the use of your studying this strata? Therefore it is called jagat. Jagat means always changing. The material world is always changing. Your body. This body will stay, say, for fifty years, hundred years. Then you get another body. That's all. Another body. Jagat means changing. Now this color is there. Say, after one hour it will be white. You see. Then you study this black color. Again you study the white color. Again this black color. Punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām (SB 7.5.30).

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

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Because there is no solid background.

Prabhupāda: No. (pause, japa) You and Dr. Rao just make a combination, world-touring. I shall give you all expenditure. And go to the universities, scientists, and talk with them. Our kīrtana party also will go. We challenge all scientists, "Come on." We shall pay all expenditure. Ask Dr. Rao to come and join. Just like in Calcutta University, all the students... No, one leader student, he came. He talked about economic development, and he said that "Our students did not derive any faith by your theological statement."

Room Conversation with Lord Brockway -- July 23, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: ...what kind of service we shall give? I can give you one example. I have seen it practically, that in Calcutta one neighbor, neighboring gentleman, he is (has) a daughter-in-law, he (she) was beating her young son. So I inquired, "Why that daughter-in-law...?" Because her father-in-law was of my age, little older. "So why daughter-in-law is punishing her son? What is the fault?" Naturally, young, a small child. So the report came that the, one of the child, one of the boy, was suffering from typhoid, fever, and another boy stole from the kitchen some parāṭā and gave him to eat. And when the mother came into knowledge, she was punishing, that "Why you have given this parāṭā?" Because in typhoid, no solid food is taken. So he cannot... But the suffering child was thinking that "Mother is not giving me food." So he requested his younger brother, "You give me some food."

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- January 15, 1974, Hawaii:

Prabhupāda: Simply they're rascals and who are bewildered by rascals, they are also rascals. Śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-kharaiḥ saṁstutaḥ puruṣaḥ paśuḥ (SB 2.3.19). He's an animal, and their work is appreciated by another animal. The so-called scientists' advancement of knowledge is appreciated by another rascal, not any intelligent man. We can appreciate, but when they're godless, we kick him out. Just see. This is the... Now, this is a solid thing. How it grows and how the water comes? Now it will not grow. Because (it is) detached. But if it remains attached, it will grow. So wherefrom the water is coming?

Room Conversation -- March 20, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Then that... No, Indian citizen we have got. Just like here. He is Indian man. Or to the... But in proportion, they are not even one percent. That is the difficulty. And if the government likes that if they make it without... Just like I was refused entrance in Africa, Nairobi. So if the government says that... There, they understand that these Americans making this satyagrama (?), or as you have proposed, then immediately, within twenty-four hours, they will be deported. Then I do not know who will manage my, so many establishment. Therefore if the Hindus and the Vaiṣṇavas, they combine together that "This is an important proposal," they go to the court, they give their signature, they come here, that will be nice. It may be long time. That doesn't matter. But that will be solid thing.

Room Conversation -- March 20, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: But the thing is I want to do something solid.

Guest: No, but what I say is my...

Prabhupāda: Even if you write, they'll not take care very much.

Guest: No, but, uh, I am hopeful.

Prabhupāda: You are hopeful, but I am thinking in otherwise, that...

Guest: Unless they have got some...

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Morning Walk -- May 29, 1974, Rome:

Prabhupāda: Everything is there. When they were building this costly skyscraper, they forgot that this skyscraper will be the same fate as there were big, big Roman buildings two thousand years ago. Because I will have to leave. Although the building is very solid, it will not be destroyed within five thousand years, but you are not going to live here for five thousand years. You can live for fifty years sir. Then go away. Then it will be relic. That's all. So why don't you make guarantee, that "I have made this strong building to stand for five thousand... Let me live also." Where is your that knowledge? This is illusion. They know it, that "I shall not be able to live in this house. I shall not get the duration of life as big as this building will have. Then why am I wasting my energy in this way?

Room Conversation with Russian Orthodox Church Representative -- June 13, 1974, Paris:

Karandhara: In the West also, in the past ten years there's been a resurgence of what's called fundamentalism. For so long the Christian liturgy, the Christian doctrine, got so hodge-podge and so wishy-washy that people were leaving because there was simply nothing there solid for them to grasp onto. Now fundamentalism, or the very basic principles that God is the Almighty and that we are sinners and if we don't repent, God's going to strike us down with wrath and anger, that basic principle of fear of God, that is receiving new support. Many people are coming back to that because even though it's a very vague thing, still it's something definite. "God is there, and if I do something wrong, He's going to cut me down," rather than, "Well, nothing's wrong, nothing's right," it's all hodge-podge, wish wash. People can't grasp onto that. There's nothing for them to...

Prabhupāda: That is Māyāvāda, "nothing wrong, nothing right. Everything is all right," Vivekananda's philosophy.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- May 17, 1975, Perth:

Prabhupāda: They... You do not take the right information. Right information is with us. That you refuse to take. Your information is zero. Compiling of zeros does not make any value. It is all zero. Take information from us. Then it will be beneficial. You are taking information from all universe except our this solid information given by Kṛṣṇa. That is your policy. Mūḍho nābhijānāti mām ebhyaḥ param avyayam. You have read this verse? "The mūḍha, rascal, he does not know the ultimate background is I am." That he does not know. What is the use of his information? And in the Vedas it is said yam eva viditvā sarvam idam... There is a mantra, that "Only understanding Kṛṣṇa, you understand everything." Yam eva viditvā sarvam idaṁ vedituṁ bhavanti.

Morning Walk -- May 21, 1975, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: Well, there are many verses. When one is qualified, he is no longer demon. (break) ...big, big sannyāsīs. So I was a gṛhastha, they are now saying, "How this gṛhastha is doing? He was a gṛhastha. He never lived with us." They are saying in that way. (break) Tree has spread the roots solid standing. Just see how carefully.

Madhudviṣa: In the courtyard back at the temple I would like to grow one nim tree. Would that be nice?

Prabhupāda: Nim tree, how you can get?

Morning Walk -- May 29, 1975, Honolulu:

Gurukṛpa: They have this type of gas now that they freeze it, and it shrinks five hundred times. And they put it in these big tanks, and they bring it across the ocean, and then when they get it to port, they again heat it up into the big tanks and it expands. So they freeze it and it becomes smaller and they can export more.

Prabhupāda: Oh, it becomes solid?

Devotee: Just like liquid oxygen, they cool it and yes, it comes to the liquid state.

Prabhupāda: There are so many living entities living within this sand, and on unfortunate moon there is no living entities. And we have to believe it. Hm? What is that?

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

Bahulāśva: Built very solid.

Jayatīrtha: Made of bricks.

Prabhupāda: So all the churches we are purchasing. (laughter)

Bahulāśva: They are all going out of business.

Prabhupāda: (break) ...worm and the sun. When the sun is arisen, the glowworms, automatically finished. (break) ...motto, "Kṛṣṇa is sun." You know it? Kṛṣṇa sūrya-sama. So when Kṛṣṇa sun is there, all these glowworms' lightening will be finished. (break) ...this sun always shining. Then these glowworms will be finished. (break) ...that Sikh, Bhajan? What is that?

Morning Walk -- July 11, 1975, Chicago:

Prabhupāda: So that is foolishness. You are making, (imitates piledrivers sound) "Dung! Dung!" very solid, but you are not going to live. The "Dung! Dung!" but that's all. This is called foolishness.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I think there was one great personality—I forget his name—he was going to live as long as how many millions of years that he had hairs in his head. What is that story?

Brahmānanda: The story of the man who was on the beach...

Morning Walk -- July 14, 1975, Philadelphia:

Prabhupāda: Knowledge must be solid. There is no question "of maybe," no. Just like if you touch fire, there is no question of "maybe." It must burn you. You may think, "It may not burn," but that is your foolishness.

Ravīndra-svarūpa: So they think that they can enjoy material nature but not be implicated.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Not implicated. He is already implicated. There is no question of maybe. Must.

Morning Walk -- October 26, 1975, Mauritius:

Harikeśa: He had to put the dust somewhere. That's one of the theories, that all of the gas... In the beginning all the gas was circulating around and it solidified into different planets.

Prabhupāda: So why this planet is full of living entities? Why not others? What is that gas? What particular gas was circulating this planet? So take this gas, circulate over here, and get living entities there and live there. Why don't you do that, you scientists? Why you are disappointed? You are going to Venus. Just see. This rascaldom we have to believe.

Morning Walk -- December 7, 1975, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Don't write anything nonsense. It must be very solid. Otherwise, you'll be laughing stock. What you'll say, it must...

Alanath: No, just the talks you make. Just your conversations.

Aksayānanda: Your lectures only.

Prabhupāda: Oh. That's all right. One must be confident before challenging others. Not that theoretical. Challenge is no good. In all stages he must be able to defend himself from the opposing elements. Then such challenge is all right. (break) We are confident that this soul cannot be manufactured by any material combination. Therefore we can challenge. And I can defend ourself in any stage. (break) Cānā, cānā?

Morning Walk -- December 24, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Hm? That advancement is not very solid. But there is advancement; but that is not very solid.

Śrīdhara: Without sex pleasure a man and a woman would not be attracted to one another.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Attraction means that sex. There is no other. Yan maithunādi gṛhamedī sukhaṁ hi tuccham. Why they are working so hard day and night? Only for that sex pleasure. That is the psychology. There is no other happiness. Yan maithunādi gṛhamedhī sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45). Their happiness is based on the center of sex pleasure.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- January 16, 1976, Mayapur:

Jayapatāka: That's solid wood with mingo(?) top or turta(?) top.

Bhavānanda: (break) ...stay here.

Prabhupāda: How many boys to stay in one room?

Bhavānanda: Two boys to three boys, depending on their size. Little ones, three and four, and the bigger boys, ten, twelve years old, two.

Prabhupāda: (break) ...rooms.

Bhavānanda: These are the remnants of old dioramas that we had.

Morning Walk -- February 4, 1976, Mayapura:

You want air, water, light? Everything is there. Pūrṇam idam. Pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate, pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya. So you are using so much water, so much light; still, it is perfect. Just like the cultivation. Every year you are taking so much production. Still, again you can take. This is pūrṇam idam, perfectly done. That is God's creation. This is body, you see. You have to capture something. You require some solid thing here. It is there. If it is..., it was soft, only skin, then you could not catch this. How perfectly it is done. It is required here, not the whole finger. This is called perfect creation. The sensation of sex is in a particular position, not everywhere, because if that sensation were not there, then nobody would feel sex, and there would be no creation.

Conversation with News Reporters -- March 25, 1976, Delhi:

Prabhupāda: No solidified.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Amongst housewives.

Hṛdayānanda: No. Now it is going down, and the followers, they have..., they will not follow any regulative principles. They will not surrender. Simply.... They have no actual disciples who are following principles.

Devotee: Are we going to compare because of the larger following? Do you compare the relative and the unrelative? This is the...

Reporter (5): I didn't meant to compare Swamiji's teachings with that of Mahesh Yogi's, but I...

Garden Conversation -- June 10, 1976, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Just like old man like me, eighty years, suppose another twenty years I may live, but I am invalid, I cannot do any solid work. So twenty years in the beginning as child, as young man, in sporting, jumping, twenty years passed. And last twenty years, simply old man's home, invalid home. So forty years gone out of hundred years. Then?

Garden Conversation -- June 14, 1976, Detroit:

Prabhupāda: Winter eight months? No. In winter this water becomes solid. You know that?

Satsvarūpa: Sometimes in Detroit there's three foot of snow, and the winter is, it's a very deep winter here, but the summer is nice.

Prabhupāda: You convince your countrymen that "It is a great sinful activity that you are killing your mother. You stop this. If you want to eat meat, you can eat some other, nonimportant animals. There are so many." The Chinese they are eating rats also. Cats, rats, everything.

Room Conversation with Ambarisa and Catholic Priest -- June 14, 1976, Detroit:

Prabhupāda: So it is framework or solid building?

Ambarīṣa: The building? It's stone, brownstone.

Prabhupāda: Oh, then it's nice.

Ambarīṣa: Very sound.

Śrutikīrti: It's in a very nice area in Boston. Commonwealth Avenue was the most aristocratic street in Boston. The temple is right there, just one block from downtown.

Room Conversation -- June 15, 1976, Detroit:

Prabhupāda: Svarūpa Dāmodara must be the best candidate. Others, what they'll know about it? All other Ph.D.s, they are simply rubber stamped. Actually they have no knowledge. Svarūpa Dāmodara has solid knowledge. He has learned from us. Therefore he's writing all these books. He has rejected his so-called scientific knowledge. He has completely understood that so-called scientific knowledge is bogus, it has no solid background. Now he's writing books on this. Now this morning, last night also, I got hint from Bhāgavatam, I told you in the morning? The sun planet is first. And nobody can reply this, that "Why Sunday first?" Nobody has replied this point. Sunday, Monday.... First of all Sunday, then Monday. Why not Monday, Sunday?

Room Conversation -- June 17, 1976, Toronto:

Hari-śauri: I used to work on them, same thing. I was working where they pour the metal into ingots, into casings, and then when it solidifies they take a chunk of iron out, it's still white hot, and then they put it in ovens. And then after a while, when they need them, they take them out with big cranes and they put them on a series of rollers, and then it goes through a mill, what they call a mill. It's like a big mangling machine, and it crushes the steel ingot into plates, big plates. Then it goes along and it's cut and sent out. It cools down on big banks and it's sent out. So my job was, I was doing maintenance fitting on all those machines. On the rollers and on the cranes and on the big mills, like that. It was terrible. We used to work from two o'clock in the afternoon until ten o'clock at night, one shift, then from ten until six, and then from six until two.

Prabhupāda: Eight hours. Without any recreation?

Prabhupada Visits Palace and Garden -- June 22, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: No, while constructing, filling up this, what is called, column, in Bombay, they're putting air so that they become solid stone. You have seen in Bombay? Big engineer, they are giving some pumping air so that while the cement is filled up, it becomes solid.

Hari-śauri: Oh, vibrators.

Kīrtanānanda: We also do that.

Prabhupāda: You have got some machine?

Prabhupada Visits Palace and Garden -- June 22, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: That makes solidified.

Kīrtanānanda: No voids.

Prabhupāda: Ah, no. I see, but.... It appears there is no vacancy. Everything is there, engineering. Engineering process is (indistinct).

Kīrtanānanda: Yes. And we'll take you down to the gray house down here, we'll show you a few more things, how it's being finished. It is just rough here.

Prabhupāda: What are these pipes?

Room Conversation With Scientists -- July 6, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Rūpānuga: They think this is so simplistic, you know, mythological-type breakdown, oversimplification. So he used different words, fire he said "radiant energy," water he said "liquidity." What did he say for earth? "Solid matter" he said for earth, and air, "gas." And what did he say for ether? "Space." So we thought, we were wondering if these were acceptable terms to use.

Prabhupāda: That you can do.

Arrival Comments in Car to Temple -- July 9, 1976, New York:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No. Our building is also an old building, it's seventy years old. But it's made of solid stone and concrete, brick.

Prabhupāda: Then it will never get old.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No, it's extremely...

Prabhupāda: You have to simply change the plastering.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, painting, plastering.

Prabhupāda: Then it will continue new for hundreds of years.

Room Conversation -- July 18, 1976, New York:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They worked for two months in a row, solid. The carts were very good, I think.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes, very nice, very strong.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Because you gave him that warning. When he heard that, oh, he became very... "I must do it right." We told him, "Now you will have to be replaced. Prabhupāda has said that 'Jayānanda's wheels will never hold up.' So we have to find a replacement for you." So he took no chances.

Prabhupāda: San Francisco it also happened.

Morning Walk -- July 20, 1976, New York:

Prabhupāda: ...the solid stone, and still, life is coming, and they say there is no life. (break) In the moon planet there is sand, but wherefrom the sand came? Without water, where is the experience of sand?

Ātreya Ṛṣi: Sand, yes.

Prabhupāda: Sand. We get sand from the water. So unless there was water, how there is sand? Who will answer this?

Conversation with George Harrison -- July 26, 1976, London:

Hari-śauri: Fifty years old. It's very solid, though, very good condition as well.

Prabhupāda: And on the house on bottom, there is river. Not directly, but an offshoot of river. People come, rowing. A very nice situation, and because it is black quarter, nobody was purchasing. So I said that "For us, what is black or white? Purchase it." So we got very cheap. At that time I paid them hundred and fifty thousand, and (indistinct). So we purchased.

Room Conversation -- July 27, 1976, London:

Prabhupāda: Yes. Our program is solid, but if we have to argue with animals, that is a different thing. Otherwise any human being, they will accept. But the modern civilization means to keep the people in general in animal platform, that's all, and cheat them.

Bhagavān: Most of the people who..., they are becoming attracted to this communist philosophy. They have no idea how to practically apply it. All they are saying is "It is an opportunity to take from the rich and give me to enjoy." But they are not seeing any scope of community cooperation. This is all impractical. They are saying, "I will get money from my boss. I will take his wealth and distribute." They are simply materialists.

Evening Darsana -- August 9, 1976, Tehran:

Hari-śauri: Your understanding of God tends to remain somewhat theoretical until one actually does something practical. Then it actually manifests as something solid, as a reality.

Prabhupāda: Theoretical and practical. Scientific knowledge means both, theoretical and practical. (someone enters) If you like, you can sit down there. I have no objection if you sit down.

Morning Walk and Room Conversation -- August 9, 1976, Tehran:

Hari-śauri: Gas and then it liquifies and then it solidifies.

Prabhupāda: Liquid means water. So as soon as there is water, there is vegetation. You'll find everywhere. Water dries up, vegetable comes.

Parivrājakācārya: Today they are exploring Mars, and they are saying that they're finding water on Mars.

Prabhupāda: Water's there. Everything must be there. Pañca-bhūta, mahā-bhūta. Ether, then fire, then water, then land. Everything is described in the Bhāgavatam. They cannot speak nonsense. They can speak nonsense through the other literatures, but we cannot speak. Without water, how there is possibility of sand? Sand means it is salt.

Morning Walk and Room Conversation -- August 9, 1976, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: The water, sea, as it becomes solidified, the outer surface, by sunshine, they become, it is called sodium silicate. Salt is sodium chloride. So from sodium chloride, the sodium silicate. So cover(?) of the sea they can solidify by the sodium silicate. But underneath there is water. Just like our, this skin, bone, coming from where? We are eating liquid and or some vegetables or some whatever, they are becoming liquidified. And first transformation is blood.

Morning Walk and Room Conversation -- August 9, 1976, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: The muscle is coming, the bone is coming. The more the liquid portion becomes solidified by air, gas, then these things coming. The formation of this body beginning the liquid semina, liquid ovum, mix together. From liquid. Then they form pealike solid thing, from that liquid. And then the body forms. Wherefrom the solid body forms? The man injects liquid. Liquid inject, everything is coming. So wherefrom the solid molecules? By chemical composition the body forms, from liquid to solid. So as soon as you see some solid thing, you must know that it has come from liquid.

Morning Walk and Room Conversation -- August 9, 1976, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: Whatever it may be. Yes, liquid. The discharge of semina is liquid. It is not solid. So how this body comes? You cannot bluff that a solid has come all of a sudden. There was liquid, or there is liquid.

Hari-śauri: Well, they'll accept that there was liquid.

Prabhupāda: Yes, then there must have been vegetables. As soon as there is liquid there is vegetation.

Hari-śauri: Their argument is that because there's no atmosphere then there's no vegetation.

Evening Darsana -- August 11, 1976, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: That, he has no intelligence. Just like government has so many departments. But original is the king. The departments are only facilities for functioning. But the origin is the king, government. Because there are different departments, there is no king. This is rascaldom. They are rascals, simply rascals. There is no solid argument against.

Parivrājakācārya: When they say there is no God, sometimes we say, "How do you know?"

Evening Darsana -- August 12, 1976, Tehran:

Jñānagamya: You are the greatest teacher in recorded history, Prabhupāda, because your movement is so well founded in these books, more so than any religious teacher-Muhammad, Buddha, Jesus Christ. Your movement is perfectly founded even during your own lifetime. All your books are perfectly edited by you. It is truly Lord Caitanya's mercy.

Prabhupāda: Books means solid ground. What we want to preach, it is recorded, not any concocted ideas. There is direction by Rūpa Gosvāmī:

Evening Darsana -- August 12, 1976, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: Even Kṛṣṇa, He's God Himself, He's speaking, He's giving reference to the Vedānta-sūtra: brahma-sūtra-padaiś caiva hetumadbhir viniścitaiḥ (BG 13.5). So without reference to the Vedic literature, anything you speak, it has no ground. Śruti-pramāṇa, this is Vedic culture, śruti-pramāṇa. It must be supported by śruti. In Caitanya-caritāmṛta you'll find whenever Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, He gives immediately Vedic evidence, śruti-pramāṇa. Then it is solid. So we are trying to present this movement with śruti-pramāṇa. Our Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam will be finished in sixty volumes, and Caitanya-caritāmṛta is already finished in seventeen volumes. So altogether at least we'll have hundred volumes of books, small and big, to give śruti-pramāṇa. This is the example.

Evening Darsana -- August 14, 1976, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Yes. They will fall down. This is their gain of life. We have discussed this point. Why the green apple does not fall down? So this is their concoction. And why the other planets do not fall down? With so many rocks. Millions. They do not fall down. Where is the law of gravity acting? That means, law means it is made by somebody. And the maker, if He likes, it will act. If He does not like, it will not act. Just like Lord Rāmacandra, all the stones He threw over the sea and they began to float. Not that when He made that bridge with stones, they are solidified. No, they began to float. And all the monkeys went over them. So the lawmaker is Lord Rāmacandra. If He likes, the stone will go down. If He doesn't like, it will float. The lawmaker is fact, not the law. Just like in the state law, today it is law, tomorrow it is no law. It depends on the lawmaker. (break) ...there is the Govardhana Hill. What law is there?

Room Conversation About Blitz News Clipping -- August 21, 1976, Hyderabad:

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: "Which was later on solidified..."

Prabhupāda: Ahh!

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: "...by my eternal father."

Prabhupāda: "The ideas given by my father were solidified by..."

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: That's what you said.

Prabhupāda: Read it.

Room Conversation About Blitz News Clipping -- August 21, 1976, Hyderabad:

Gargamuni: "To my father, Gour Mohan De, 1849-1930, pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa, who raised me as a Kṛṣṇa conscious child from the beginning of my life. In my boyhood ages he instructed me how to play the mṛdaṅga. He gave me Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa vigraha to worship and he gave me Jagannātha Ratha to duly observe the festival as my childhood play. He was kind to me, and I imbibed from him the ideas later on solidified by my spiritual master, the eternal father."

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Very beautifully written.

Gargamuni: Yes, very poetic.

Prabhupāda: That is a fact. I got good father and good spiritual master. That's all.

Room Conversation -- September 9, 1976, Vrndavana:

Hari-śauri: When they're very young and they can't eat solids.

Prabhupāda: With hot water.

Hari-śauri: Yes, they have instant meals for children. All different kinds of things.

Prabhupāda: So Gopal was very much pleased that he could get some Indian cāpāṭis, like this.

Hari-śauri: So he had you cook for him. You took your cooker with you? Is that the same one?

Room Conversation on New York court case -- November 2, 1976, Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: Yes, many thousands and thousands of important Indians, very rich men there are. In London there are very rich Indians. They can form immediately a solid association. They should present that this Kṛṣṇa is our God. In every Indian home we observe Kṛṣṇa Janmāṣṭamī. Even though one does not follow Kṛṣṇa cult, still if he is Hindu he follows the Janmāṣṭamī. Inevitably, everywhere. So this Kṛṣṇa cult is genuine, Vedic, based on Bhagavad-gītā which was spoken long, long years ago before any religion, any religious literature in the world. The Buddha literature or the Christian literature and Jewish literature, they cannot be counted more than two thousand years. A little more than that.

Room Conversation on New York court case -- November 2, 1976, Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: How they can defeat us? We have got so solid ground. How they can defeat, these rascals? We consider them simply rascals and fools. And we call them rascals and fools. What do they know of religion? What do they know of God? They know slaughterhouse and killing and illicit sex, and killing the fetus. That's all. What do they know? They are not even civilized. We have come to make them civilized. They should understand. They are not civilized. They do not (know) how to eat even. The first principle of life is eating.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- January 3, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Kick out the West. We are doing here, in India. The municipality is doing that also in Vṛndāvana. Everywhere it is. In Calcutta there is called dhāpāra māṭha. Dhāpāra māṭha, formerly, anything produced in dhāpāra māṭha, that was not used for Deity. The superstition that "These vegetables are grown in filthy water, nasty..." But the vegetables were-cauliflower so big, so big. Everything, very luxuriantly, very tasteful and solid and big... Dhāpāra māṭhera (Bengali). They used to take. In Bengal, generally, the land is very fertile to produce vegetables. But this, the more the filthy things of the city were thrown there, and the cultivator used to grow very nice... That is utilization of this filthy water where there was sewer ditches formerly.

Morning Walk -- January 6, 1976, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: It must be, because there is no solid program. There is no solid program, simply imagination.

Dr. Patel: No. Because the followers...

Prabhupāda: How there will be followers? If there is some program, then there will be followers.

Dr. Patel: He wanted to defend the commoners. He wanted to defend the order (indistinct). But he unfortunately died.

Room Conversation -- January 10, 1977, Bombay:

Rāmeśvara: This is a good opportunity for us to have a very solid relationship with the printer.

Prabhupāda: Hm. That's nice.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Also if we can give these Bhāgavatams for a dollar to America, they can import it from here also, and as I told Rāmeśvara Mahārāja, we can give a plastic cover plus two or three ribbons. Insured, it will cost nothing extra.

Prabhupāda: You decide for (indistinct) why not.

Room Conversation -- January 20, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: Why so much? Few lakhs?

Gargamuni: Well, it's a huge thing. It's made of solid teak wood. It's a huge thing.

Rāmeśvara: It's dangerous, going on the sea.

Gargamuni: No, not if you have proper navigation. And this sea is not so... It's not a rough sea.

Prabhupāda: Bay of Bengal is rough.

Room Conversation -- January 21, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Rāmeśvara: He doesn't know what to call this state, so he considers it similar to a spiritual body. But anyway, it appears to be a subtle body. He says that "People find themselves when they're out of their physical bodies, that although they may try to communicate to others, no one seems to hear them, that they are also invisible to others, and that they lack solidity. People were walking..." Here's a description of one man who was in a car accident. "People were walking up from all directions to get to the car accident. As they came by, they wouldn't seem to notice me. They would just keep walking with their eyes straight ahead. As they came very close, I would try to get out of their way, but they would walk right through me."

Prabhupāda: Car accident? He is lying down?

Room Conversation with Sannyasis -- January 22, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: Yes. People heard that Indian philosophy is Māyāvāda. Māyāvādam asac chāstraṁ pracchanaṁ bauddhaṁ ucyate. Caitanya Mahāprabhu repeatedly said, māyāvāda bhāṣya śunile haya sarva nāśa: "He is doomed." Māyāvādī haya kṛṣṇe aparādhi. These are the direct charges against the Māyāvāda. My Guru Mahārāja also, a staunch enemy of the Māyāvāda philosophy. And you are also singing, nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādī. The śūnyavādī are the Buddhist, and nirviśeṣavādī are the Māyāvādīs. Paścatya-deśa, they are embarassed with this śūnyavādī and nirviśeṣavādī. Now we are trying to give them solid personification of the Absolute Truth.

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

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Not only books, but good solid presentation, to make...

Prabhupāda: That is... That you are. In our Institute you lecture.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: I think our journal, the Sa-Vijñānam, will be...

Prabhupāda: Able to...

Svarūpa Dāmodara: By Prabhupāda's mercy, I think, it will be very useful in making contact with the...

Prabhupāda: Yes. So when you are going to publish?

Morning Room Conversation -- February 16, 1977, Mayapura:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Just like I notice that this building is actually first class. The construction is very first class. It's very solid.

Prabhupāda: Hm. Very solid.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: We should not sacrifice the quality.

Prabhupāda: No, no. We have appointed there first-class engi...

Room Conversation about BTG the Moon -- February 18, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Eh? It is gas. Then you have not gone.

Hari-śauri: No. It was gas. Now it's solidified. Millions of years.

Prabhupāda: What nonsense. (laughter)

Hari-śauri: Then the bang came and all the little chunks flew off...

Prabhupāda: Everything came; only life did not. (laughter)

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: On earth it came, though.

Prabhupāda: This, they are sure.(?) (laughter)

Room Conversation about BTG the Moon -- February 18, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: What you have done? You could not go and live there. You say the atmosphere is different. We deny this. Atmosphere cannot be different. It is within this material world. We can see. Why atmosphere should be different? If the atmosphere is different, how you can see a solid, very bright thing? I can see. Why there is a bright thing? Why it should be different?

Hari-śauri: Well, it's just got no atmosphere, that's all.

Room Conversation -- March 31, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Ten thousand dollars means one lakh of rupees. So we shall save from that luxury department. And this is solid work, yes. It must be done. Without any hesitation, without any impediment. That will increase our prestige of the movement. And go in good dress because people...

Svarūpa Dāmodara: In suits.

Prabhupāda: In suit, yes. You get first dress, then address. (laughter) But tilaka must be there. You dress like up-to-date gentlemen, but tilaka must be there. That is our trademark.

Room Conversation -- April 2, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Now they are atheists. They will become first-class theists. I think that there is... Just like Jagāi and Mādhāi. Jagāi and Mādhāi became great devotees. Vālmīki. Vālmīki was a dacoit. He became a... There are so many cases. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu's movement is so superexcellent that we can turn the whole Russia to devotee. That is possible. They are searching after something solid and factual. They are harassed with this so-called Christian religion, Pope, and... That is a fact. They do not want anything humbug. But when they very critically read our literature, they will become devotee.

Room Conversation with Ram Jethmalani (Parliament Member) -- April 16, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Pakistan we have got a friend. You go and he will receive. So what is the conclusion of Ātreya Ṛṣi? (break) Read it. (break) ...have been introduced in the world. That's a fact. All hodge-podge nonsense, philosophy nonsense, everything, speculation. No solid instruction about the necessity or goal of life. Do you accept this or not?

Devotee: Fortunate.

Prabhupāda: Yes. You must be convinced. Otherwise you cannot convince others.

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

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

Girirāja: That's a very good idea.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Downstairs will be utilized in a solid way.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: You wanted that Mr. Acarya to move to your...?

Prabhupāda: No, no.

Girirāja: No, the same building...

Prabhupāda: Same building.

Talk with Svarupa Damodara -- June 20, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: But I dared to approach them because I am confident that what I am presenting, it is solid. There is no mistake. It is solid. I never said, "May be, may not be." No. Life cannot come from matter. Never. And the knowledge distribution takes some time. They have distributed ignorance by taking time. We have to distribute knowledge by taking time. False knowledge... Simply promise, future hope... Durāśayā. Punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām (SB 7.5.30). Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum durāśayā bahir-artha-māninaḥ, andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānā... (SB 7.5.31). The society remains in darkness, misled by blind men. We want to save the human society from this catastrophe.

Letter from Yugoslavia--'Books!' -- June 30, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Oh, every night it's packed solid. And all high-class people. There's no low-class people there. And they all listen very attentively. And he's lecturing. He gives lecture seven nights a week. Then there's ārati, and the people flock. Even more people come for the ārati, because they love to see the Westerners jumping up and down, and they love to see the ārati. Both things are big attraction. And then there's an English lecture. Then people leave by then, because by then it's 7:45. Everyone has to go home. So the devotees are there for English class, Bhagavad-gītā class. This temple has a tremendous life already. It's really very successful. I was wondering that isn't there some kind of system where we can give everyone who comes some prasādam?

Prabhupāda: I introduced that.

Room Conversation Gaurasundara, Dr. Kapoor -- July 26, 1977, Vrndavana:

Dr. Kapoor: This is solid work.

Prabhupāda: Now we are going to hold Bhaktivedanta Institute scientific meeting. What is that? Where is that paper? Bombay. Scientifically presenting, among the scientists.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It's called "The First International Scientific Conference on 'Life Comes From Life,' sponsored by Bhaktivedanta Institute, Founder-Ācārya His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda." Should I read this?

Prabhupāda: Hm.

Room Conversation -- October 4, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That was sent by the devotees in London, Śrīla Prabhupāda, who you were with. You went to them for two weeks, and they developed so much attachment, they all went out all the time to distribute books for one solid week. They distributed over seventy thousand different types of books in one week's time, the London devotees. They said this was their way of petitioning Lord Kṛṣṇa to please cure you.

Prabhupāda: Where is Upendra?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Upendra? He went out. (aside:) You want to get Upendra? There are more telegrams. That was a telegram. Should I read the others?

Room Conversation -- October 6, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. And this says, "His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Author of Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Śrī Īśopaniṣad, Nectar of Devotion, Nectar of Instruction, Back to Godhead Magazine, Founder-Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness." This is placed in prominent museums and libraries. There's four different models. This is solid wood, and this will be a bronze plaque, and this is made of bronze, metal. You can feel it. Nice?

Prabhupāda: Very nice.

Room Conversation -- October 10, 1977, Vrndavana:

Hari-śauri: Yes. I know from personal experience that vegetable juice has very potent effect on the body. We had one boy who was almost crippled, but by following a very strict diet of vegetable juices he completely cleansed his body of disease, and he became very fit and strong. He was not eating anything solid.

Prabhupāda: So where is she?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: She is here. She can start cooking right away. We'll have to get her the ingredients.

Prabhupāda: Let her come here.

Room Conversation -- October 14, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Hari-śauri: Is there any difficulty from the solid food?

Prabhupāda: No taste.

Hari-śauri: No taste. But at least it may give some strength back.

Prabhupāda: How it can if it cannot enter into the system?

Room Conversation With Dr. Ghosh -- October 16, 1977, Vrndavana:

Dr. Ghosh: (Bengali) ...chānā, solid chānā... (Bengali) Massage upwards towards the heart. (Bengali) ...preferably on the left side, like this. This is an ideal position for him. I would like to go and see the doctor who will examine his urine tomorrow. (Bengali)

Prabhupāda: (Bengali)

Dr. Ghosh: (Bengali) Don't worry about me. He asked me whether I have brought my wife with me or not. (laughs) I have come running, leaving everything.

Prabhupāda: Gāḍi? Car?

Room Conversation About 10th Canto -- October 16, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Let us try for that. (takes honey) Hm... Therefore I said "Upendra," (laughter) because it is solidified.

Abhirāma: I'll bring liquid. Most of that honey is solidified.

Prabhupāda: Why? He knows how to liquify.

Jayādvaita: You were saying that we should do one verse in one day, Śrīla Prabhupāda? And do it thoroughly?

Prabhupāda: Then I think you can do it very nicely. Yes.

Room Conversation -- October 27, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Okay. Can't read it? Okay. Is there a flashlight? The heading, Śrīla Prabhupāda, says, "The nonphysical view on the origin of species." Nonphysical view. "Materialists and men of faith continue to disagree over the origins of life. According to the first group, life is derived from atoms and molecules. The Russian scientist Dr. A. I. Oparin has been propagating this view since 1957. But the challengers demand 'really solid examples of life arising from matter.' " The challengers don't accept it, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It says here the challengers want some solid proof that life comes from matter. They're not willing to be duped simply by this man's statement. They want to see some real examples.

Room Conversation -- October 28, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Rice I cannot touch even. If I hear about rice, any solid food, immediately...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Vomiting tendency. Hm. Then fasting?

Prabhupāda: What can be done?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: The bowels should become tighter after a day or two. It shouldn't remain loose for so many days. I mean, surely it must get tighter. The medicine caused it to become like this.

Room Conversation -- November 3, 1977, Vrndavana:

Bhakti-caru: Yes, there won't be any solid thing.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That's good. I think liquids are easier for you, Śrīla Prabhupāda. The kavirāja also said that, that for now, liquids are best. That will be nice. Avocados you can take.

Bhakti-caru: Next we'll give you at 12:30, so after two hours we'll give you some barley water, barley milk and some avocado, like yesterday, Śrīla Prabhupāda. Jaya.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Should I go on reading, Śrīla Prabhupāda? He says that book distribution is doubling there also. He says, "On the farm we are doing spring planting, and this year seven acres is being put into crops, an increase over last year, since the population has grown. The farm is now famous throughout the country as..."

Prabhupāda: If you give me some rest, I can sit down.