Expressions researched:
"That is Our Philosophy"
|"This is Our Philosophy"
Rūpa Gosvāmī has advised in his Upadeśāmṛta,
If you want to advance in spiritual consciousness—because that is the only objective of life—then you should not eat more, atyāhāraḥ, or collect more. Atyāhāraḥ prayāsaś ca prajalpo niyamagrahaḥ. That is our philosophy.
Our philosophy is that we prepare nice foodstuff and we offer to Kṛṣṇa, and after He has eaten, then we take it. That is our philosophy. We don't take anything which is not offered to Kṛṣṇa. So we are saying God as the supreme enjoyer. We are not enjoyer. We are all subordinate. So bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram (BG 5.29).
We say that everything is emanating from the Supreme. Yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante. Everything is emanating from Brahman, the Supreme Absolute Truth. So that cannot be false. Because Absolute Truth, how from truth, false will come? This is our philosophy. The matter may be temporary, but it is not false. The Vedic injunction is mā asataḥ. Mā asato sad gamaya. Don't try to be entangled with the asat. Sad asat. But try to come to the platform of sat.
Even if you get nice position, you have to flatter. Even if you get a president, become president of the country, you have to flatter your countrymen: "Please give me vote. Please... I shall give you so many facilities." So you have to flatter. That is a fact. You may be very big man. But you have to flatter somebody. You have to accept some master. Why not accept Kṛṣṇa, the supreme master? Where is the difficulty? "No. I shall accept thousands of masters except Kṛṣṇa." This is our philosophy. "I shall accept thousands of teachers except Kṛṣṇa. This is my determination." Then how you can be happy? The happiness can be achieved only by accepting Kṛṣṇa.
Ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12), we are, by nature, we want blissfulness. But we do not know how to become actually happy and blissful. That is ignorance. In the material world, they also want to enjoy, everyone. They are thinking that this wine, woman, meat-eating, gambling, intoxication, these things will give me pleasure. So ātyantika-duḥkha-nivṛtti. The Bhāgavata says that ātyantika-duḥkha-nivṛtti, means ultimate solution of miserable condition, is in the fact that we realize God and we go back to home, back to Godhead. This is our philosophy.
Vaiṣṇava philosophy never says that this world is false. Why it is false? It is not false. As the Māyāvādī philosopher says that brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. No. Why jagan mithyā? Just like this temple is constructed. If somebody says, "Yes, it is very nicely constructed, but it is all false," shall I be happy? No. And actually, why it is false? It is not false. It is Kṛṣṇa's energy, the bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ. What is this temple? This temple is combination of this bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ (BG 7.4). Tejo-vāri-mṛdāṁ vinimayaḥ. This brick, what is this brick? Brick means you take earth, mix with water and put into the fire—it becomes brick. And there is air. So it is Kṛṣṇa's energy. It is not material. It is Kṛṣṇa's energy. Because the philosophy is that Kṛṣṇa's energy should be used for Kṛṣṇa's purpose. Then it is spiritual. That is our philosophy.
So we are teaching people how to love the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That means one who has surpassed the realm of Brahman and Paramātmā, they can realize, they can understand what is the process of loving God. If they have no idea of God, then whom to love? You cannot love air or sky. You must have form. But they have no idea what is the form of God. Therefore śāstra says, "Here is form." Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Vigraha means form. Without form, how we can love? So to come to that perfectional stage, how to love God, this is our philosophy. How to love God. Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje (SB 1.2.6). That is first-class religious system which helps the followers to come to the point to love God. That is first-class religion.
So there are many conception of God. But there is a conception of God: to accept God as son. That is only in Vaiṣṇava philosophy, because we are eternal servants of God. That is our philosophy. Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). The living entity, his real constitutional position is to serve God. We have several times explained this fact, that the part and parcel of God must be engaged in the service of the Lord. Just like this finger is part and parcel of my body. Its duty is to serve the body. It has no other duty. The finger cannot go elsewhere and serve something else; it must serve my body. Therefore, it is part and parcel. Similarly, if I am part and parcel of God, then my only duty is to serve God. This is Vaiṣṇava philosophy. So therefore, in Vaiṣṇava philosophy, everything in relationship with God is service.
So to become too much materially opulent means that is another danger. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has said therefore, jaḍa-vidyā jato māyāra vaibhava. The expansion of material advancement... Material advancement means expanding the sense gratificatory process. That is material. The more you expand how to satisfy your senses, that is material. And the more we expand how to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, that is spiritual. That is the difference between material and spiritual. It does not mean that material stone, material, and spiritual means it becomes zero. They are thinking like that. Śūnyavādi. They think spiritual means just the opposite number of material. "So material, we have got variegated experience, solid experience, so make it zero." That is not spiritual. That is simply negation. That philosophy is the Buddha philosophy, that "You are suffering from some disease painful, so I cut your throat. That's all. Everything finished. No more suffering. Zero. Make it zero." No. The process should be, if you are diseased, if you are suffering, the suffering should be stopped. Not that to kill you to stop the suffering. No. That is our philosophy.
So God is great. We have to understand how great He is. Not that simply sophistically, "God is great, and I do everything. God cannot see. Let me commit all kinds of sin." But God is great; He will see. "No, no, God cannot see. I can cheat God, although He is great." That is our philosophy. "God is great, but I am so great that I can cheat God." That is Hiraṇyakaśipu's philosophy. But He proved, God proved, "Yes, you have cheated Brahmā in so many ways with the idea that you will live forever. Now see. I am here. How great I am." So that is the appreciation of the greatness of God. If we read śāstras and see scrutinizingly, we can understand, "Yes, God is great." Not theoretically. Practically we can see how God is great.
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is meant for the swan class of men. Not for the crow class of men. No. But we can convert the crows into swans. That is our philosophy. One who was crow is now swimming like swan. That we can do. That is the benefit of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So when the swans become crows, that is material world. That is Kṛṣṇa says: yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati (BG 4.7). The living entity is encaged in this material body and he's trying to gratify the senses, one body after another, one body after another, one body, after another. This is the position. And dharma means to gradually turn the crows into swans. That is dharma.
So our intelligence is, if we have to work for others and sacrifice this body for others, why not for Kṛṣṇa? That is our philosophy. If I am whole time, whole duration of life, I am working for others... Others means, ultimately, my senses. The senses are others. Kāmādīnāṁ kati na katidhā pālitā durnideśāḥ. My senses dictating, "You stick to this woman and go to hell." "Yes, I am ready. Yes." Kāma, lust. So I am servant of the lust. Neither I am servant of the woman or servant of this man or that man. I am servant of my lust. And the lust is dictating that "You do this nonsense." "Yes, I'll do. Yes, I'll do." So in this way, we are actually servant of our senses and the dictation of the senses.
He is present everywhere. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā.
Mayā tatam idaṁ sarvam. Kṛṣṇa says, "By My impersonal feature, I am spread everywhere, everywhere." Everywhere is Kṛṣṇa. Mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni: "Everything is resting on Me." This is the fact. Just like in this material world everything resting on the sunshine. That is scientific. Is is not scientist, the sunshine? The planets, they are rotating on account of this heat and sunshine. It is not a theory?
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes.
Prabhupāda: Yes. So now what do we mean by "everything"? Just like this planet. Everything with this planet—the trees, the rivers, the mountains, the cities, the cars—everything within this planet, that is an unit. So this is one planet. And there are millions and millions, trillions of planets. But how they are existing? Existing on the sunshine. So wherefrom the sunshine comes? The sunshine comes from God, or the sun comes from God. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). Everything is born, everything is emanating form the Absolute. Therefore, indirectly, everything is depending on Kṛṣṇa's potency. Mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni: (BG 9.4) "Everything is resting on My potency." Na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ: "But I am not there." This is the acintya-bhedābheda-tattva, simultaneously one and different. This is our philosophy.
So how to become very dear to God? Don't try to see God. Even if you see... You can find God everywhere if you have got eyes to see. But the real business is not to see. God wants to see you, what you are working for God. That He wants to see. To see God is not very difficult business. Anyone with eyes to see, he can see God. But to be seen by God, do something by which you can draw the attention of God and He can see you, "Oh, here is My devotee," that is wanted. Let God see you! Don't try to see God. That is foolishness. Let God see you. This is our philosophy. My Guru Mahārāja used to say that, that "Don't try to see God, but try to do something so that God can see you." This is the philosophy. And whom God will see? As soon as... Just like any business firm, any man who is working very sincerely, it comes to the notice of the master, "Oh, this man is doing very nice." That is wanted. That is wanted. So a devotee is not very much anxious to see God. God is there.
So naturally, in our original position we have got all the good qualities of God. Now, due to the material contamination, the godly qualities are now covered. The godly qualities are there, but it is covered. That covering is possible due to our very minuteness, very small quantity. Therefore we are fallible, but Kṛṣṇa is not fallible.
Another example: big fire and the spark. The spark is also fire, but it has got the potency to become extinguished. Suppose a spark falls down from the original fire, down. It is extinguished. But the big fire does not extinguish. Therefore the big fire, or Kṛṣṇa, is infallible. His name is Acyuta, infallible. The Māyāvāda philosopher says that "We are in māyā, and as soon as the māyā is taken away, we are God." So we are not God, but we manifest our godly qualities when māyā is taken away. So long we are covered by māyā, our godly qualities are not manifest, but we are not God. Or you are God, but not that God, that big God, but you are a particle of. You can say, "I am God," but you are not that original, chief God. That you are not. This is our philosophy. And that is very genuine. How can I be God? If I am God, then why I have lost my godly qualities? Or why my godly qualities are now covered? This is very common sense. The godly qualities are there. Just like a small particle of the spark, it is carbon. When it comes out of the fire, then it is extinguished. But if you put again to the fire, it is carbon, again bright, brightened. Similarly, we are part and parcel of God, but if we fall down from the association of God, then we become..., appearing like material. But we are not material. It appears that extinguished. This is simultaneously... Acintya-bhedābheda-tattva. We are simultaneously one and different. As part and parcel in quality, we are one; but in quantity God is great, we are small particle.
If one is actually advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you'll not find any fault in him. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā. If one has got unflinching faith and devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead... Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇaiḥ, all the good qualities. These are the good qualities, mentioned here: satyaṁ śaucam, śamo damaḥ santoṣa ārjavam, sāmyam, so many, twenty-six good qualities of Vaiṣṇava. These good qualities will be manifest. Then we understand, "Oh, here is actually a pure devotee." A pure devotee cannot be contaminated, just like God cannot be contaminated. But we are part and parcel, a small God. We can say, "God, I am God," but if you have got sense, you will say that "I am not the great God, but I am small God." That is sense. Because you have got the God qualities, you are not the Supreme. That is not possible. Supreme is Supreme. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). That is the Vedic injunction, that He is the chief of the eternals. We are all eternal. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). We are not lost or dead on account of our annihilation of this body. That is not possible. Nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). As God is eternal, we are also eternal. As God is śāśvata, we are also śāśvata, but small, acintya-bhedābheda. This is our philosophy.
So Parīkṣit Mahārāja could give up the attachment within a few days. Not abruptly, but he was prepared. His training was there. Nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe. That is our philosophy, Rūpa Gosvāmī's definition.
Anāsaktasya viṣayān. Viṣaya means necessities of the body: eating, sleeping, mating, and defense. So one should understand that "I am this body. I am not this body, but because I am now encaged within this body, so I must maintain the body also, without being attached." Just like you have got a nice car. You require it for movement. But you should, you know very well that "I am not this car. I am taking service from the car. The car should be maintained to give me regular service, not that I shall identify with this car." Similarly, this body is just like car, mechanical car. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni yantrārūḍhāni māyayā (BG 18.61).
Because I am in this material world. How can I say it is false? I must eat. How can I say eating false? That is not our business. But we must eat something which will help me in my real philosophy. But we must eat something which will help me in my real business. My real business is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore I must eat kṛṣṇa-prasādam. That will maintain my body and help my business. This is our philosophy. Thank you very much.
So guru means repeatedly his business is to enlighten the disciple how to become detached to this material world. Simply detachment will not help you. The other philosophy, Śūnyavādi, that you make zero this material detachment... No. That is not possible. We have got... Because we are ānandamaya, we want ānanda, sac-cid-ānanda. Actually, we are searching after eternal life, sat. That is sat, eternal life. And cit means knowledge. And ānanda... Sac-cid-ānanda. We are seeking that. Partially, if we simply understand eternity, that will not help us. We must have blissful knowledge. So the Māyāvādīs, those who are impersonalists, they want to make these material varieties of life zero. Because they are very much disgusted with this material life. So jagan mithyā. They say, "This is mithyā. This is false."
But we say that it is not mithyā. It is... Mithyā means false. It is not false. It is truth, but you are using it in a false way. That is our philosophy. This is the expansion of energy of Kṛṣṇa. So this energy, you are not utilizing for Kṛṣṇa, but you are utilizing the energy for your sense gratification. That is mistake. But otherwise, how it can be false? It is not false. It is creation of God.
So in order to become God conscious, you have to follow some rules and regulations. We do not give any credit to the vegetarians than the meat-eaters. Because one has to eat. But our proposal is, Kṛṣṇa conscious men, that we shall eat remnants of foodstuff offered to Kṛṣṇa. That is our philosophy. And Kṛṣṇa says, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26), that Kṛṣṇa says that "Anyone who offers Me a little fruit, a little water, and little leaf with devotion and love, I accept it." Kṛṣṇa is not hungry that He is begging some food from us. No. He is trying to create loving transaction: "You love Me; I love you." Kṛṣṇa is God. Kṛṣṇa, practically by His energy everything is produced. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). So why He should beg for, from me, a little leaf and little fruit and little water? He has no business. But if we offer a little fruit and little leaf and little water with love—"Kṛṣṇa, I am so poor that I cannot secure anything. I have secured this little fruit and little flowers and a leaf. Kindly accept it"—Kṛṣṇa is very glad. Yes. And if He eats, offered by you, your life is successful. You make friendship with Kṛṣṇa. That is our preaching.
There is no secrecy. We worship Kṛṣṇa, we think of Kṛṣṇa, we work for Kṛṣṇa, we glorify Kṛṣṇa, we chant for Kṛṣṇa, we dedicate our life for Kṛṣṇa. That's all. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). Mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etām... This is our philosophy. We think of Kṛṣṇa, as Kṛṣṇa says, we are devotees of Kṛṣṇa, man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ, we worship Kṛṣṇa, mad-yājī, we offer our obeisance to Kṛṣṇa, māṁ namaskuru, this is our... Sarva-dharmān parityajya, we have no other religion, we don't approve any other religion except Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is our philosophy.
When one becomes devotee. Manye tad-arpita-mano-vaca. One who has given everything to Kṛṣṇa, the, our sannyāsa, tri-daṇḍa, that is tad-arpita-mano-vaca. Tri-daṇḍa means "I am accepting, my Lord, three kinds of chastisement from You, that I dedicate my body, my mind and my vaca, my words." This is called tri-daṇḍa. You should understand, those who are sannyāsīs, tri-daṇḍa-sannyāsī. The Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, they take one daṇḍa. Eka brahma dvitīya nāsti. That is their philosophy, that "Only Brahman is there, and nothing else. So I am Brahman; you are Brahman"—one, monism. That is their philosophy. Of course, that is our philosophy also, because everything is Kṛṣṇa. There is nothing except Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa said in the Bhagavad..., mayā tatam idaṁ sarvam: "Everything I am." But their mistake is that because everything is Kṛṣṇa, er, Kṛṣṇa is everything, therefore everything is Kṛṣṇa. No, that is mistake. That Kṛṣṇa explains, that:
This is the mistake committed by the Māyāvādīs, that "If everything is Brahman, then whatever I worship, that is all right." That is nonsense. Kṛṣṇa says, nāhaṁ teṣu avasthitaḥ.
So, of course, sometimes we require car. But we should not forget Kṛṣṇa simply for the manfacturing and riding car. This is foolishness. This is foolish. We can utilize everything for Kṛṣṇa's service. Just like we have got so many cars... Not here. Here also we have got many, eight to ten buses and cars. In the foreign countries each temple has got more than dozen cars. So, but these cars are used for spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness, to make the best use of a bad bargain. So we never use car for sense gratification. Nirbandhe kṛṣṇa sambandhe yukta-vairāgyam ucyate, prāpañcikatayā buddhyā hari... A sannyāsī is supposed to walk. But if somebody criticizes, "Sir, why you are flying on airplane?" no, that is our not principle. The Jain sannyāsīs, they never use cars. Now they have begun. Because I am traveling all over the world, now the Jains, they are also. (laughter) But our philosophy is different. We are preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Suppose I have to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness in Europe or America. So because a sannyāsī has to walk, therefore I shall walk throughout the whole life to go to America? This is foolishness. If I can go to America within fifteen hours for preaching facility, why shall not I use the aeroplane? Why shall I stick... It is called niyamāgraha, "without any profit," to follow the regulative principle without any profit. No. If we get opportunity, preaching facilities for going on car, on airplane, using typewriter, dictaphone, microphone, we must use it. Because this is Kṛṣṇa's property, it must be used for Kṛṣṇa. This is our philosophy. This microphone is Kṛṣṇa's. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). So when it is used for Kṛṣṇa it is not material; it is spiritual.
Yukta-vairāgyam ucyate. Anāsaktasya viṣayān yathārham upayuñjate. Just like we are using this microphone. This is material, scientific advancement. Sometimes they criticize that "You are not materialistic. Why you are using the modern appliances? Why you are flying on the aeroplane?" So practically, our vision is that everything is Kṛṣṇa's and everything must be utilized for Kṛṣṇa's service. That is, that is our philosophy. Actually, it is so. This microphone is manufactured by Kṛṣṇa's energy. Bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca, prakṛti bhinnā me aṣṭadhā (BG 7.4). So this metal portion, or the rubber portion, or any portion of this microphone is made of the five elements, earth, water, fire, air. So Kṛṣṇa says, "They are My separated energy." So although separated energy, we are dovetailing with the service of Kṛṣṇa. That, we do not see that this matter is separate from Kṛṣṇa. Actually it is not so. When we see the matter is separate from Kṛṣṇa, that is materialism. When we see the matter is energy of Kṛṣṇa, that is not materialism. That is spiritualism. So it is our intellect how we can utilize everything with Kṛṣṇa.
So our philosophy is that once going into the ocean, no more coming back. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya (BG 4.9). That is our philosophy. If we once go in the spiritual world, we do not like to come back. We stay with Kṛṣṇa and dance with Him, or play with Him, or serve with, serve Him as tree, as plant, as water, as cows, as land, as cowherd boys, as father, mother, or as gopīs. This is our philosophy. Once we go to Kṛṣṇa, we live forever with Him in either of these capacities. Let me live at Vṛndāvana in any capacity. It doesn't matter. But live there. Therefore he says that "He further prays that by residing in that ocean of nectar he may always feel eternally continually, without any cessation..." Ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). To remain ānadamaya. That is the principle of Vaiṣṇava philosophy.
So jagat is not mithyā, but it is temporary. We do not say mithyā. Vaiṣṇava philosophers, they do not accept the jagat as mithyā. Why? If it is emanation from the Absolute Truth, it must be true. It is not mithyā, but we accept it as temporary. We do not accept as permanent. The permanent jagat is the spiritual world. Paras tasmāt tu bhāvaḥ anyaḥ (BG 8.20). There is another spiritual world; that is sanātana, that is permanent. This world is not permanent. So even though it is not permanent, it can be utilized for the service of the Lord. Nirbandhe kṛṣṇa-sambandhe yukta-vairāgyam ucyate. That is our philosophy. We don't take the jagat as mithyā; we take it as fact, because it is emanation from the supreme fact. So just like gold earring is also gold—that is not iron—similarly, the, this material world is made of the external energy of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore we do not find anything here wrong. We try to dovetail everything in the service of Kṛṣṇa, because it is Kṛṣṇa's. Just like one's property must be enjoyed by the proprietor. Kṛṣṇa says that bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram (BG 5.29). He's the proprietor of this world. Therefore everything dovetailed in His service for His satisfaction, that is devotional service. That is the professional (perfectional?) stage of serving Kṛṣṇa. So we don't take the world as mithyā.
The individuality's there, but individuality sacrificed, full agreement. Full agreement. That is oneness. Just like in our Society, I am the head. So everyone is in agreement with me. That is oneness. Not that my disciples, my students, have lost their individuality. They're using their individuality to improve the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement—but sanctioned by me. That is oneness. That is oneness. Similarly, our devotional service is like that. We, varieties of work we are doing, but we must see whether Kṛṣṇa is satisfied. That's all. Svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam (SB 1.2.13). This is our philosophy. Svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya. Everyone has got individual capacity to do something, but we must see whether that is satisfactory to Kṛṣṇa or His representative. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo **. Just (like) in the office, the clerks are working. The office master, superintendent, if he's pleased, then the proprietor is pleased. The clerk hasn't got to show a separate endeavor for pleasing the proprietor. If the man in charge is pleased, then proprietor is pleased.
Everything has got some connection with the Supreme Lord. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). Everything is in connection or has relationship with the Supreme Lord. That is our philosophy. We don't say that this speaker, microphone, is false. Why it is false? The microphone is produced out of the energy of Kṛṣṇa. This matter, this iron, or this wood, that is a production of Kṛṣṇa's energy. If Kṛṣṇa is true, Absolute Truth, then His energy is also true. And anything produced of His energy, that is also truth. But as the energy is utilized for the energetic, similarly anything produced by Kṛṣṇa's energy should be utilized for Kṛṣṇa. That is our philosophy. So we don't say that false. We say reality. Therefore in Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement we accept everything, but accept everything for service of Kṛṣṇa. Nothing for my sense gratification. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We do not say that "This world is false. Give up." Why? The, our ācāryas, Rūpa Gosvāmī says,
You should not be attached with Kṛṣṇa's property. The karmīs are attached to the Kṛṣṇa's property. They are trying to steal, unlawfully enjoy, Kṛṣṇa's property. That is karmī. And the jñānīs, so-called jñānīs, out of ignorance trying to renounce Kṛṣṇa's property. The jñānīs, they are very much proud that they are advanced in knowledge and renouncing, but if somebody asks, "Sir, what you are renouncing?" "This world." "All right. When this world became your property that you are renouncing? When this world became your property?" You renounce something which you possess, but if you do not possess something, what is the meaning of your renouncement? You came here empty-handed, you live here for some time and go away. So in the beginning you are not proprietor, and when you go away you are not proprietor. Then what is the meaning of your renouncement? That is the defect. So we don't renounce. We think, we see that everything is given by Kṛṣṇa to us. Tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā (ISO 1).
So anyone who comes before Rādhārāṇī to serve Kṛṣṇa, oh, She becomes so pleased, "Oh, here is a devotee of Kṛṣṇa." She immediately recommends, "Kṛṣṇa, oh, here is a devotee. He is better than Me." This is Rādhārāṇī. I may be a, not devotee. I may be most fallen rascal. But if I try to reach Kṛṣṇa through Rādhārāṇī, then my business is successful. Therefore we should worship Rādhārāṇī first. That is our business. Instead of offering directly one flower to Kṛṣṇa, you just put it in the hands of Rādhārāṇī: "My mother Rādhārāṇī, Jagan-mātā, if you kindly take this flower and offer it to Kṛṣṇa." "Oh," Rādhārāṇī says, "Oh, you have brought a flower?" Kṛṣṇa said, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26), but don't try to offer Kṛṣṇa directly. Just offer through Rādhārāṇī. It will be very much appreciated by Rādhārāṇī.
So this is our philosophy, to please Kṛṣṇa through Rādhārāṇī, and just today is the auspicious day of Rādhārāṇī appearance. So we should offer puṣpāñjali and pray to Rādhārāṇī that "Rādhārāṇī, kindly be merciful and tell about me to Your Kṛṣṇa. To Your Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is Yours." Kṛṣṇa, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is not independent. Kṛṣṇa is Rādhārāṇī's property. So you have to approach Kṛṣṇa through Rādhārāṇī. That is, today is the auspicious day. Worship Rādhārāṇī very nicely and be happy.
"The bhaktas, the Vaiṣṇavas, they have got slave mentality." Some so-called philosopher remarked like that. But that is not slave mentality. That is the actual position. That we get information from Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya kṛṣṇa-dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). We are eternally servant of Kṛṣṇa. And mukti means svarūpenāvasthitiḥ. When you are situated as servant of Kṛṣṇa, that is mukti. And so long you are falsely claiming that "I am enjoyer, I am proprietor," that is māyā. That is our philosophy. And Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is meant for that
Reporter: Mr. Billy Graham makes people God conscious in a different way. Can you tell me what you think of him?
Prabhupāda: I do not know what is Billy Graham, but I am following the Vedic principle, Bhagavad-gītā as it is. Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). God says that "You give up all nonsense occupation, simply surrender unto Me, and I take charge of you and give you protection." This is our philosophy.
Kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān iha (SB 7.6.1). That is Prahlāda Mahārāja's instruction, that you produce children as much as you can train them to become eternally family members of Kṛṣṇa. That is spiritual contraceptive. Don't produce children like cats and dogs. This is our philosophy. If you can produce Kṛṣṇa conscious children, produce one hundred children. There is no objection. But if you cannot do that, then either don't produce children or produce children as much as you can manage. This is Kṛṣṇa philosophy. Our philosophy is not simply a negation. It is positive.
Student: How does Kṛṣṇa consciousness relate to Advaita philosophy?
Student: Yeah. Total nonbeing.
Prabhupāda: Advaita philosophy means nondifferent from God. Have you studied Advaita philosophy? Yes. The basic principle of Advaita philosophy is nondifference from God. That is a fact. We are nondifferent from God. Just like the president of your country, he is American; you are also American. So there is no difference so far "American" is concerned. You are nondifferent. But at the same time, you are not the president. Because you are American it does not mean that you are on the equal level with the president. Is it not a fact? Similarly, we are qualitatively one with God. Qualitatively means that whatever you have got as spirit soul, the same thing is also in God. There is no difference in quality. Just like you take a drop of water from the vast Atlantic sea and you chemically analyze the ingredients. The composition of the drop of water is equal to the composition of the vast Atlantic water. Drop of water is equal to the vast mass of water in the Atlantic Ocean. Similarly, you are a spark of the Supreme Spirit Soul. You have got all the chemical qualities or composition as God has. But God is great; you are minute. He is infinite; you are infinitesimal. Qualitatively one, but quantitatively different. So those who are simply accepting the feature of being qualitatively one, they are called Advaitavādis. They are mistaking that quantitatively they cannot be equal. If quantitatively the living entity is equal to God, then why he is fallen in this conditional life of material existence? That means being his constitutional position very infinitesimal, he is prone to be caught up by the influence of māyā. And if you say that you are also the Supreme, then how you are caught by the māyā? Then māyā becomes great; God is not great. These things are to be considered. So our philosophy, the Vedānta philosophy, acintya-bhedābheda: we support the philosophy of simultaneously being one and different from God. Simultaneously. We are qualitatively one with God, but quantitatively we are different. That is our philosophy. That is Vaiṣṇava philosophy. So advaitavāda and dvaitavāda, they are facts. Dvaitavāda means different, and advaitavāda means nondifferent. So we are both nondifferent in quality, different in quantity. That is perfect philosophy. Is that clear to you?
Actually, Kṛṣṇa was the hero, but He gave position to His devotee: "You become the hero, I shall become your charioteer." That's all. Don't you see how Arjuna has become more than Kṛṣṇa? Kṛṣṇa says, "Arjuna, you are hesitating to fight, but you know that all these person who have assembled in this battlefield, they are not going back. They are already killed. That is My plan. You simply take the credit that you have killed them. That's all." (laughter) That He wants. Just like a father wants a son to see him more than himself. If a father is an M.A., he wants to see his son M.A., Ph.D., or something more. He's satisfied. He'll not tolerate anybody to become more than him, but he'll tolerate if his son becomes more than him. I'm giving you a crude example. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa, or the Lord, wants to see His devotee more than Himself. That is His pleasure. He takes pleasure in that. So to become a devotee is not ordinary thing. You see. He has got the chance to become more than God. Why equal with God, one with God? No. More than God. Yes. That is our philosophy.
You won't find a single philosopher whose opinion is not different from the previous philosopher, or muni. Muni means thinker, thoughtful man, muni, from mind. Nāsāv munir yasya mataṁ na bhinnam, dharmasya tattvaṁ nihitaṁ guhāyām.
Therefore to understand the Absolute Truth, it is very difficult to find out how to have it. But the only one way recommended in the Vedic scripture, that mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ... (CC Madhya 17.186). Mahājana. Mahājana means great personality. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ. That is the real path, if you follow the great personality. Now, there is a difference of great personalities also. You think that he is great personality; he thinks another great personality. But there is a definition of great personality. That definition is given in the Bhagavad-gītā, that,
"After many, many transmigration, or changing the body..." We should always remember that our, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness begins from the fact that we living entities, we are not material product. We are part and parcel of God. We are qualitatively one with God but quantitatively different from Him. That is our philosophy. Living entity and God, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, they are qualitatively one. God is also a living entity like you and me, but He is qualitatively unlimitedly powerful. That is the difference.
So long you are in this material world, you have to fight because this material world is called avidyā-karma-samjña anyā tṛtīyā śaktir iṣyate. This energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, material energy, it is called avidyā-karma-samjña. Here the position is everyone is ignorant and he has to work for his maintenance. Even a small ant which requires a grain of sugar, he has to work also very hard. And the elephant who eats hundred pounds at a time, he has also to work. Even a rich man, he has also to work, and a very poor man, he has also to work. Therefore this material energy is called avidyā-karma-samjña anya. So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness philosophy is that we have to work, but we should work for the best bargain. That is our philosophy. And that is taught in Bhagavad-gītā. There are, according to Vedānta philosophy, there are five kinds of interest, or arthas, pañcārtha. What is that? God, first of all to know what is God. Next, to understand what is jīva, or the living entity. Then, what is this material nature, or what is that spiritual nature. Īśvara, jīva, prakṛti. And then time—what is the time factor, past, present, and future. And then there is karma, activities. These five things, primary principles of philosophical speculation or philosophical understanding, are very clearly stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: īśvara, jīva, prakṛti, kāla, and activities. So out of these five, īśvara, the Lord, the jīva, the living entities, the nature, prakṛti, and the time factor, as well as the..., they are eternal. They are not temporary. But the material energy is temporary. Actually, what is the difference between material energy and spiritual energy? The difference is material energy, the consciousness is different, and in the spiritual energy, the consciousness is Kṛṣṇa. That is the difference.
In the Vedas it is stated that nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām eko bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān: (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13) "God is the supreme living being amongst all living beings." Nityo nityanam: "And He's the supreme eternal amongst all the eternals." We are also eternal. Because we are part and parcel of God, we have got all the qualities of God, but because we are minute part and particle of God, therefore all the qualities of God are there in minute particle. The example is just like the ocean. Ocean water is vast, and drop of ocean water, you analyze chemically, you will find all the chemical ingredients in that drop of water as there is in the water. The difference is of quantity. In the drop of water there is salt, and in the vast mass water in the ocean there is also salt. But the salt containing in the ocean water is very, very big quantity than the salt containing in the drop of water. And another example can be given. These are Vedic examples. Just like the fire and the sparks of the fire. We have seen, experienced. When there is fire, sometimes there is some sound, "Phut!" immediately hundreds and thousands of sparks coming out. Now these sparks, they are also fire, but not as big as the original fire. But they are fire. Therefore our philosophy, we, following the footsteps of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu: acintya bhedābheda-tattva. The difference is simultaneously we are one with God and different from God. One in quality. God is spirit; we are also spirit. He is Supersoul; we are individual. But God is great, and we are minute fragment. That is difference. Therefore, simultaneously we are one and different, one in quality but different in quantity. You accept also, "God is great." And we say that nobody can be greater than God, neither anyone can be equal to God. That is our philosophy. Asama urdhva. Asama. Sama means equal. Nobody can be equal to God. That is not possible. God is one. You may have some understanding that in the Vedic literature there is mention of many demigods. But the demigods, they are also living entities, a little more powerful than the human beings. That's all. Just like here, in this world also, we find somebody is more powerful than others. But that does not mean he is God.
Any scientist will understand that this whole cosmic manifestation is creation of heat and light, two energies. The two energies are coming from the sun, and the material world is creation of the sunshine, heat and light. Similarly there are two energies of God, heat and light. So one is called material energy, another is called spiritual energy, although both of them coming from the supreme spirit, exactly like heat and light is coming from the sun. But heat is not light; light is not heat. There is distinction. This is called inconceivable one and difference simultaneously. Acintya-bhedābheda tattva. This is our philosophy. Nothing is different from God, but not that everything is God. Simultaneous one and different. So two energies are working, material and spiritual. The spiritual energy is called superior, and the material energy is called inferior.
Guest: Can't the (indistinct) attain through any other religion? (indistinct)
Prabhupāda: Everyone. Don't you see it is practically? They were all Christians, Jews, Mohammedans. How they are coming to Kṛṣṇa consciousness?
Guest: So is Kṛṣṇa consciousness the only method?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Kṛṣṇa conscious... You... Maybe it in otherwise. But the aim is that there is God. We are part and parcel of God. Somehow or other, we are now separated. We must be united again. That is the life's business.
Guest: So any other religion also can give...
Prabhupāda: Oh yes. Why not? Any religion. We do not way that "You practice this religion or that religion." We say "Just try to go back to home, back to Godhead." That is our philosophy.
If you want really happiness then you follow such principles by which you can develop your love for God. So it does not mean... If you can do it in Christianity, that's all right. If you can do it by Muhammadan religion, that's all right. But the aim should be to go back to home, back to Godhead. That is our philosophy.
So if you depend on Kṛṣṇa, because He's the supreme father, fully, then all your needs... He's already supplying you all the needs of your life. Eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. That is the distinction between God and ordinary being. There are... God is also a living being like you and me. He's also a person, as you are person, I am person. But the difference is that one person is providing all the necessities of unlimited persons. And we unlimited persons, we are dependent on God. This is our philosophy. Another philosophy is that everything belongs to God; nothing belongs to us. That's a fact. Therefore as sons of God, everyone has got the right to use father's property. But he should not take more than he needs. That is our philosophy. If one takes more than what he needs, then he becomes a criminal. So similarly, we can live very comfortably on this planet, because this planet belongs to God. We should not designate ourself as "Englishman," as "American," as "Indian," as "African," and fight amongst themselves. We should always know that we are all sons of God. The property is God's. We can use whatever we need by the grace of God—the supply is there; there is no question of scarcity—and thus save your time, be peaceful, and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Anything engaged in the service of God, that is spiritual. This is a hall. It can be utilized for selling wine and it can be utilized for speaking about God. So the place is the same, but when it is utilized for God's purpose, then it is spiritual. And (if) it is utilized for my sense gratification, that is material. That requires little guidance. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). Everything belongs to God, but it becomes material and spiritual according to the purpose it is being utilized. So if you convert your life, everything for God-speaking for God, eating for God, sleeping for God, mating for God—then it is spiritualized. We have got four kinds of engagements: eating, sleeping, mating and defending. Defending for God also. So actually everything belongs to God. Now we have to learn it, how to utilize it for God. That is our philosophy.
For the Māyāvādī who wants to become one with the Supreme... You can become one. One means the same thing, a small portion of the water. But our philosophy is not to mix up with the water superficially but enter into the water and live there like fish, big, big fish. That is our philosophy. What is the use of becoming one with the water? Go within the water and live there like a whale fish, perpetually. That is our philosophy. So that is secure philosophy, because as soon as actually you become a big fish within the water, there is no question of evaporation. But if you live, remain superficially on the water, then you will be evaporated again and again thrown outside, then again come as river. So your coming and going, repetition of birth and death, will not stop.
Śyāmasundara: Today we are discussing philosopher David Hume. He is probably the most famous of the British philosophers. He was very skeptical about achieving certain knowledge, so he came to the conclusion that the only knowledge we can possess is a mere sequence of ideas, none of which can be proved to be true. In other words, we can only derive any knowledge from our senses, but even that knowledge is mere assumption.
Prabhupāda: Yes. We say also, because our senses are imperfect, so there is no possibility of achieving perfect knowledge by sense exercise. It is not possible. That is our philosophy.
Prabhupāda: So God, or Kṛṣṇa, has two features, rather three features, brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (SB 1.2.11), impersonal feature, localized feature and personal feature. So unless we come to understand this science, tattva, it is very difficult to come to the conclusion what is the right form of the absolute truth. So one who cannot go, one who is not so competent, with poor fund of knowledge, they come to the conclusion, nira, void, but actually it is not so.
Śyāmasundara: But he wanted to reverse this trend, from abstraction to concretion. He believed that every phenomenal object had its relationship with the whole and that the whole is reality. So in order to understand reality one had to examine every object and relate it to the whole, and to each other, then he would understand what is the truth.
Prabhupāda: Yes, that we are doing. The whole is Kṛṣṇa. And just like, take this material example. The whole is sun. The sunshine expanding, that is also in relation with this whole, and similarly Kṛṣṇa is the whole and everything is relative to Kṛṣṇa. That is our philosophy. We see everything related with Kṛṣṇa and because everything is in relationship with Kṛṣṇa that I do not give up anything. We try to utilize everything for service of Kṛṣṇa.
Prabhupāda: When we cannot see Kṛṣṇa, cannot understand Kṛṣṇa, that is material. Otherwise there is nothing material. Everything is spiritual.
Śyāmasundara: But there is a distinction between what Hegel is saying. Hegel is saying that the objects themselves are the spirit expressing itself whereas Kant says the spirit expresses itself through the object. There's a distinction being made between the spirit within the object expressing itself or the spirit as the object.
Prabhupāda: (indistinct)
Śyāmasundara: What is the distinction?
Prabhupāda: Object as it is, it is spirit.
Śyāmasundara: It is spirit, as it is.
Prabhupāda: As it is. Because, just like sunshine. Sunshine is not sun, in one sense, but it is sun because in the sunshine there is heat and light and in the sun there is heat and light. So there is no difference. But still sunshine is not the sun. Therefore that is our philosophy, acintya bhedābheda, simultaneously one and different.
Śyāmasundara: So in a sense this is spirit.
Prabhupāda: Yes. It is spirit actually. But because I have no sense of Kṛṣṇa, I am taking it as matter.
Prabhupāda: Just like sometimes people criticize that "You are spiritualists, you hate materialism, why you are using this table, why you are using this typewriter, microphone." But our reply is that it is not matter, it is spirit. But when you use it for your sense gratification then it is material. Just like prasādam—the people will say "What is this nonsense, prasādam, we are taking also dahl, rice, capātī, how it becomes spiritual?" They can argue like that and sometimes they do that. But, they do not know that we are accepting this dahl, rice, capātī in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Actually it belongs to Kṛṣṇa. They, you cannot produce dahl, rice, it is Kṛṣṇa's production; everything is Kṛṣṇa's production. But when you forget Kṛṣṇa, his relationship with Kṛṣṇa, then it is material. Therefore you revive the relationship with Kṛṣṇa, you offer to Kṛṣṇa, then you understand Kṛṣṇa has eaten, now let us take. Therefore it is spiritual. The consciousness is spiritual.
This is our philosophy, Rūpa Gosvāmī's philosophy. That hari-sambandhi-vastunaḥ; everything has relation with Kṛṣṇa and those who are giving it up, "No, no it is matter, brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā, this is false," Rūpa Gosvāmī says, phalgu-vairāgya, that kind of renunciation is insufficient or, phalgu means false, false renunciation. So our renunciation means renounce things for sense gratification. That's all.
Śyāmasundara: I observe in nature that everything is killing something else for eating so it seems only rational that I should be able to eat animals.
Prabhupāda: Well, that also accepted in the Vedic philosophy, jīvo jīvasya jīvanam. One life is, one living being is food for another living being. But that does not mean that you shall kill your son and eat, and it will be supported by the society. That is discrimination, that is conscience. You can say that "I must eat some, another living entity. That is by nature's law. So I produce my children and I kill them and I eat them so that the population problem will be solved." You can say that. Will you be accepted? So therefore there must be discrimination. That you have to eat another living being, that is nature's law, but if you eat fruit, you don't kill the tree. You take the fruit. If you eat vegetables, you take, still it is growing, and that is a factually not killing. But if you eat animals, you are killing. Actually he is being dead. So things should be done intelligently so that... The word is to make the best use of a bad bargain. So our philosophy is that although you can take that, although it is not killing, it is taking fruits, flowers and vegetables, it is taking from him, it is not killing, and we are offering to Kṛṣṇa and so if there is any responsibility, it is Kṛṣṇa's responsibility. We take the prasāda. Therefore we have no such responsibility and that is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, bhuñjate te tv agham pāpā ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt (BG 3.13). Anyone who is cooking for himself, he is taking all responsibility for sinful activity even if he is a vegetarian, it doesn't matter. Yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ. But if he takes the remnants of yajña—we are offering Kṛṣṇa daily—this is performing yajña. So we are taking the remnants of yajña. This is our philosophy. We are not taking directly. If I take directly, either a vegetarian or non-vegetarian, then I become responsible. Sinful. This is our philosophy. The law is there, but we have to tackle things very intelligently.
Śyāmasundara: He says that it makes for progress to be in conflict. Competition, conflict, this creates progress.
Prabhupāda: Competition, that is another thing. But if you say that war settles up morality, ethical law, then... Without any aim. We say yes, war may be there or must be there, but the party who has got Kṛṣṇa's support, they are victorious, they are right party. This is our philosophy. We don't say that war should be stopped, war must be there, because this world is material world, there must be war, opposite elements. Now, the party who has got Kṛṣṇa's support, that party... That is the battlefield of Kurukṣetra. We don't say stop war, but we say if you fight, fight on behalf of Kṛṣṇa.
Śyāmasundara: He says that God is the sum total of all concrete phenomenon.
Prabhupāda: That's all right but that means he has no clear knowledge. That's all. So therefore we can say they are rascals. And one who does not know God, he is rascal. Following, that is our philosophy(?). But because knowledge means to understand God. The animals, they do not understand God. Therefore they are called animal.
Śyāmasundara: So he says that these two things are opposing, idea and substance, they are thesis and antithesis but the spirit contains both of them so it is the synthesis.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That we agree. Viruddha (Sanskrit), viruddha, contradictory thing can be adjusted in Kṛṣṇa. Because what is viruddha, opposite, that is also coming from Kṛṣṇa, and what is substance, that is also coming from Kṛṣṇa. We are thinking viruddha. Just like this same example, cooler and heater. They are opposite but they are coming from electricity. Therefore in electricity power, both can be adjusted(?). You can say, "Electricity can be cooler, electricity can be heater." That is called viruddha (Sanskrit). Contradictory things adjusted in Kṛṣṇa. Inconceivable, therefore we say inconceivable. Simultaneously one and different. That is our philosophy. Simultaneously we are all equal, one with God, and different. In our..., this material world, it is impossible to think like that, therefore it is called inconceivable.
Śyāmasundara: But his idea is to find or to utilize those principles of life which give qualitatively and quantitatively the most pleasure to the most people. That means, he says, by quality he means... Like, for instance, he makes the statement, "It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied. It is better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied."
Prabhupāda: But how many Socrates will you find? Then again he comes to the minimum. You cannot find Socrates on the street, loitering.
Śyāmasundara: But he says that that standard of pleasure...
Prabhupāda: Then where is the question of maximum men? A Socrates you will find in millions, one.
Śyāmasundara: But he says that that standard of pleasure that Socrates...
Prabhupāda: Then there is no question of maximum people. The number of Socrates is not maximum. That is minimum. That is minimum. If you come to the question of quality, the quality philosophy, quality understanding, that is for the minimum. Just like Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye: (BG 7.3) "Out of millions and millions of persons, one person is trying to become perfect." And yatatām api siddhānāṁ kaścid vetthi māṁ tattvataḥ: (BG 7.3) "Out of millions of such perfect men, one may understand Me, Kṛṣṇa." That is not quantity, that is quality. That is quality.
Śyāmasundara: He says that the highest quality pleasure, such as Socrates would enjoy, the high intelligence...
Prabhupāda: That is not for mass of men, not for the greatest number of men. That is the minimum. That philosophy is understood by minimum number.
Śyāmasundara: But he says that this standard should be applied to all men, that all men should be trained to find pleasure in this standard.
Prabhupāda: That is another thing. That means quality pleasure should be introduced to the... What, at the beginning you said maximum pleasure?
Śyāmasundara: Maximum number. He wants to find out something that will give them maximum pleasure. The purpose of government, politics, social and ethical life is to provide the greatest pleasure for the greatest number. Now to...
Prabhupāda: Greatest pleasure to the greatest number.
Śyāmasundara: ...find out what is the greatest pleasure, we look for the greatest quality, which we find in someone like Socrates, he says. And then we introduce that as the standard for the greatest quantity.
Prabhupāda: But that is not acceptable by the greatest number. That is to be accepted by the smallest number.
Śyāmasundara: Yes. But he says that should be the standard.
Prabhupāda: That is not meant for mass of people, the greatest number. The mass of people, abodha-jāta, they are fools and rascals. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement cannot be understood by mass of people. A selected number of men who are fortunate, they can understand.
Śyāmasundara: He advises that the state or the ...
Prabhupāda: Just like ekaś candra tamo hanti. Moon, you will find one in the sky, but stars, millions. But moon is wanted, not the stars, to drive away the darkness. That is our philosophy. You cannot say that there may be many moons. No. That is not possible. Many stars, maybe, which have no utility. They are glittering only. What is called? Peeping?
Śyāmasundara: Twinkling.
Prabhupāda: Twinkling. But they cannot drive away darkness. That is not possible. Glowworms. As soon as you come to the quality, that is the lowest number, minimum.
Śyāmasundara: He is trying to find out the standard of pleasure that is most desirable.
Prabhupāda: That he does not know. That he has to learn from us. He may be a big philosopher in the Western countries, but our utility of pleasure he does not know. Our pleasure is... (break) ...incessant. It will not stop.
Śyāmasundara: He says that a small amount of a higher type of pleasure is better than a great amount of a lower type of pleasure.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is our philosophy. What is that..., small?
Śyāmasundara: A small amount, a small quantity of a high quality pleasure...
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Śyāmasundara: ...is better than a great quantity of low quality pleasure.
Prabhupāda: That is right. In Bhagavad-gītā: svalpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt. If one executes devotional service a little, he can be delivered from the greatest danger. In another place it is said that if anyone by sentiment accepts Kṛṣṇa consciousness, without any much understanding... Sometimes we are led by the majority, "Oh, so many people are chanting. Let me also chant." Even in that way, by sentiment if one accepts Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and because he did not accept Kṛṣṇa consciousness very diligently, or he was not very strong, later on he may fall down—still he is gainer. Still he is gainer. While on the other hand, a person who is very intelligent, karmī, "Oh, what is this nonsense Kṛṣṇa consciousness? Let us do our duty. We have got our duty to serve our country, to our family, we must earn money," and so many things, that is called varṇāśrama. According to varṇa and āśrama we are working. They think to execute the duties of varṇāśrama is first class. They do not take to devotional service. For such persons, Bhāgavata says, "What do they gain?" What do they gain? That is our philosophy. That Kṛṣṇa consciousness qualitatively, it is so great that even taking to Kṛṣṇa consciousness even for a few days, just like this boy, what is his name? He has come back...
Śyāmasundara: Hari-vilāsa.
Prabhupāda: He has come back. He is frank enough. Rayarāma, he is coming, but he wants to put some condition, but we say "No. No conditions." You see? Puruṣottama is writing me letter, "Excuse me." You see? The other boy, what is his name? No, no. Kauśalyā's husband?
Śyāmasundara: Durlabha.
Prabhupāda: Durlabha. He is also coming. They cannot go. They cannot go. Svalpam apy asya, even for a few days they have mixed with us, it is very difficult for them to give it up. The quality is so nice.
Śyāmasundara: Just like to be a devotee, even though I may be dissatisfied a little, still, but it's better than to be like a pig satisfied.
Prabhupāda: Dissatisfaction is a good thing if it is for better advancement. That is wanted. Dissatisfaction. Just like the karmīs, they are also dissatisfied with 100,000 of dollars. That means they want to make one million thousands of dollars. So that kind of dissatisfaction for the karmī is good, because he can increase further assets. Similarly, if I am dissatisfied spiritually or I am not making advance, I am still on the material platform. That is good. That dissatisfaction is... Socrates also. Yes. And ass, cats, dogs, they are satisfied with a morsel of grass, that's all. You see? A little stool, what is the value of that satisfaction? What is the value of that? That is our philosophy.
Prabhupāda: John Stuart, he may be able, but it is not possible for ordinary man to know what is duty. The child plays, he does not know that his duty is to study. So parents teach him that "This is your duty. You must go to school. You must learn." So duty is not created by the rascals and fools. Duty is created by higher authority.
Śyāmasundara: He would agree with that also, but here he says that the higher authorities who determine what is duty, that their rationale or their guiding principles should be what is the greatest good for the greatest number, and that should be our duty.
Prabhupāda: Then how he suggests that a man should know his duty, like that? Then he has to approach that greatest authority. Tad vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). That is our philosophy. In order to know our duty, in order to know what is knowledge, we must approach a guru. Gurum evābhigacchet. We must, eva, certainly.
Śyāmasundara: He says if God were good then everything would be good.
Prabhupāda: Everything is good! That is our philosophy. When the God kills the demons, immediately flowers are showered upon Him from the sky. You have not read in...? He is good. He is always good. He has no idea of God, and still he poses himself as philosopher. God is good. Kṛṣṇa chanted, danced with others' wives at dead of night. Any man who does it, he is immediately a debauch, licentious. But still we worship that rasa-līlā. We worship that rasa-līlā. We keep the picture of God's dancing with others' wives. That is God. In all circumstances, God is good. That is worshipable. That is idea of God. Not that I put Him under my judgment: "Oh, yes, you are good, but not so good." Then I am a fool. I create my own God. "I am better than God. I can create God." No. God creates you. You cannot create God.
Śyāmasundara: Yesterday we were discussing that Schopenhauer's idea that the world is basically an evil place. So he says that there are three means of salvation from this basically evil world. The first means he calls aesthetic salvation, or contemplation of higher ideas which transport us above passion, just like poetry, music, art. By contemplating these higher ideas, you become absent of desire. Desire drops away, and you become transported to a higher plane of not willing, above our will.
Prabhupāda: That is mentioned in Bhagavad-gītā. It is not a new thing. It is called paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate (BG 9.59), and actually it is happening. Just like my students, so their former life and this life. They have given up their former abominable life because they have got better life, better thoughts, better philosophy, better eating, everything better. So mind can accommodate something. If you always fill up the mind with Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, so there is no chance of the mind being filled up with any other nonsense. That is our philosophy.
Śyāmasundara: He says that that is the essence of existence, that we can become something which we choose, of our own choosing.
Prabhupāda: That means he is talking of this existence. According to him, the existence finishes after death. That is poor fund of knowledge.
Śyāmasundara: No. He doesn't make that judgment. He simply says that the living entities are motivated by that feeling, that they will die. He doesn't say whether there is life or death.
Prabhupāda: That means he has no knowledge. We say that he does not die, he exists eternally. That is our philosophy.
Prabhupāda: Ocean has no consciousness. It is matter.
Śyāmasundara: Well, as a symbol...
Prabhupāda: Oh.
Śyāmasundara: ...of the unconscious state. They are often represented as an ocean or as a figure of what he called the anima.
Prabhupāda: He mentions animals?
Devotee: No. He called it anima. It's a Greek word for the female aspect of nature.
Prabhupāda: Oh.
Śyāmasundara: And the male aspect is often represented by the sun or (indistinct) sky or the father, called the animus, the father aspect of nature.
Prabhupāda: Yes. We also compare sun as the (indistinct) knowledge. Just like we compare Kṛṣṇa with sun and māyā with darkness.
Śyāmasundara: And māyā is a woman.
Prabhupāda: Māyā is woman. You can compare like that, darkness. Kṛṣṇa sūrya-sama māyā andhakāra (CC Madhya 22.31). So as soon as there is sunshine, there is no more darkness. Similarly, when, as soon as there is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there is no more that state of unconsciousness or dreaming. (indistinct) conscious.
Śyāmasundara: He says that all human entities have a mixture of divine and demonic tendencies.
Prabhupāda: Yes. He is divine by nature. He is covered by nondivine, by māyā. That is our philosophy. He's in a (indistinct). Just like this same example: the man is living, there is breathing, but he has no consciousness. Just like you put electric in that (indistinct), how you call, (indistinct). So similarly, by the influence of māyā, we have forgotten ourself, our spiritual nature.
Śyāmasundara: For instance, he says that all male personalities, in their shadow personality, there is a bit of the female, and in all females there is a bit of the male propensity. So often we cover these up and become repressed and we do not understand our actions.
Prabhupāda: That is our philosophy, because every living entity is by nature a female, prakṛti. I was discussing this morning, parā prakṛti, living entity, but it is prakṛti. Prakṛti means female and puruṣa means male. So here in this material world, although we are prakṛti, we are (indistinct) ourselves as puruṣa. This male-female dress, that is immaterial. Our consciousness is now male consciousness. A female, the so-called female, here, she also wants to enjoy a male, and the male also, he also wants to enjoy the female. Both of them have the same propensity of enjoying. So this enjoying propensity is for male. Therefore jīvātmā is sometimes described as puruṣa. But actually the jīvātmā, the living entities, they are puruṣa, he's prakṛti. Prakṛti means predominated, and puruṣa means predominator. So we are all predominated. And the (indistinct) predominator is Kṛṣṇa. Therefore originally, by constitution, we are all females.
Śyāmasundara: He has an optimistic side to his philosophy in that he says the fate of the world depends upon man's decision. Obviously, if men decide to do things properly, the world would be a better place.
Prabhupāda: Yes. We agree with that. We are trying to do that by introducing this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, to make the world Vaikuṇṭha. That is our philosophy. Anyone can come to this Kṛṣṇa consciousness and become happy. But that is not a blind decision. We take decision from higher authority; therefore it is perfect. We are taking decision from the ācārya, Kṛṣṇa.
Śyāmasundara: But because he doesn't see any purpose in the universe, then he thinks that...
Prabhupāda: That is his blindness. He has no sufficient knowledge; he has no sufficient seeing power. There is a plan. That is stated in the Sixteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, asatyam apratiṣṭham, that the word is there is no truth, there is no creator. These are the decisions of the demons. We don't say. We say janmādy asya yataḥ: (SB 1.1.1) the Supreme. Not that everything that we want to try to understand is the truth. That is our philosophy. This philosophy is demon philosophy—there is no plan, there is no truth, everything is happening accidentally. This is demon's philosophy.
Śyāmasundara: He says this is man's fundamental orientation, that he wants to become God.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That we confirm in this way, that because he is part and parcel of God, so he wants to be united with God. Because he is now detached from God, so therefore, just like a man who is for long, long years out of home, so he wants to go home again.
Śyāmasundara: He says that this desire to be God is bound to fail.
Prabhupāda: Because he is not God. If he is God at all, then how will he fail to become non-God?
Śyāmasundara: What was that?
Prabhupāda: He is desiring to be God, that means he is not God at the present moment. So if he is God, how did he become non-God? Therefore he cannot become God, but he can become godly. That is our philosophy. Just like I am in darkness, I want light, so I can come into the sunshine. That does not mean I become sun. But when I come to the sunshine, I come to the light. Similarly, when you come to perfect knowledge, that is godly. But you cannot become God. If you are God, then there is no question of becoming non-God. Therefore Kṛṣṇa's name is Acyuta. Acyuta means He never becomes non-God. He is God always. When He is three months old on the lap of His mother He is God. When He is seven years old, lifting the hill, He is God. And when He is marrying 16,000 wives He is God. When He is dancing with the gopīs He is God. That is God. God is always God. Not that I am non-God now and I shall become God by some means, mystic factory. No.
Śyāmasundara: He says that this is an impossible project, to become absolute.
Prabhupāda: Not absolute, but to be the right relationship. Just like I am existing now, but not in right relationship. I am trying to exist as the Lord or master. But when I live as servant, that is my right relationship. I am trying to exist as the Lord or master, but when I live as a servant, that is my right relationship.
Śyāmasundara: His idea is that we all want to become God. That is hopeless.
Prabhupāda: No. That is hopeless. That you cannot. That is wrong. We cannot become God. The only answer is that how we can become God? If you are God, then how did you become non-God? God cannot become non-God at any stage.
Śyāmasundara: I think he looks at it that we are not God. We know we are not God, but we are trying to become God.
Prabhupāda: That is Māyāvādī philosophy.
Śyāmasundara: But he says it's impossible to become God.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That's nice. That is our philosophy.
Śyāmasundara: Well their idea is that if you put a man in a factory and you get him to identify with the state, the production, the scientific achievement, say...
Prabhupāda: That cannot be, that is our philosophy. Because he has got the basic disease. He is saying that I am working so hard, but the profit is not coming to me, he will be immediately slackened. Just like there is a proverb, proprietorship turns sand into gold. But as soon there is lacking of the sense that I am not proprietor, the gold becomes sand. That is position of Russia. They are not happy, they are not rich, in comparison to other European countries. Of course, no European country is as good, or as rich as America, that is a fact. That I have practically seen. But still, in Russia, they are poorer than other countries.
Śyāmasundara: His idea is that in this higher state of consciousness, rather than just enjoying objects, that one is able to contemplate them as they are, to understand them as they are. One is able to understand objects, things, as they are. Most people are on the level... On the mental level, we are capable of enjoying objects; they give us pleasure, but we are unable to understand them as they are. But in this higher level, he says that people will be able to understand things as they are, as well as enjoy them.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is our philosophy. Just like common man is seeing a rose flower, but a devotee is studying that rose flower, "How God's energy is acting that through His energy such a nice thing has come out. Therefore it should be offered to Kṛṣṇa. It is Kṛṣṇa's property." Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). "It is Kṛṣṇa's production, it is Kṛṣṇa's property. So it should be offered to Kṛṣṇa." And devotee, after offering it to Kṛṣṇa, then, as prasādam, he smells. This is higher consciousness. In the lower consciousness: "Oh, here is a beautiful flower. Let me take it and enjoy it."
Śyāmasundara: And he says that everything should be seen in relation to that what ought to be (indistinct).
Prabhupāda: Yes, that is our philosophy. If it is approved and Rūpa Gosvāmī says, ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-śīlanaṁ (CC Madhya 19.167), our ought to be is what is Kṛṣṇa approves or His representative approves. That is ought to be. Our standard. Otherwise it is not, not ought to be. Therefore we accept our guidance (indistint). Tad vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). Therefore Vedas say that one must approach a bona fide spiritual master, in order to be fully in knowledge. Ācāryavān puruṣo veda. These are Vedic injunctions. One who has accepted a bona fide spiritual master, he knows everything. Ācāryavān puruṣo veda. Veda means in knowledge. So ācāryavān, one who has accepted ācārya. Therefore our principle is to follow the ācārya. In Bhagavad-gītā also it is said, ācārya upāsanam, one must worship ācārya, to go to the right knowledge. So that is our philosophy.
Śyāmasundara: But his idea is that dropping of this does not cause it to be necessary that there is noise, but that because the world purpose is unfolding...
Prabhupāda: Where is that... Causeless means... There are two kinds of causes, efficient(?) cause and (indistinct) So it may be (indistinct) cause where there are many remote causes. But ultimate cause is Kṛṣṇa. Sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam (Bs. 5.1).
Śyāmasundara: That's his idea. He's looking at the ultimate cause, there is a motivation for everything. It's not accidental, that nothing is, no event is...
Prabhupāda: That we say, there is no such thing as accident.
Śyāmasundara: In other words if I perform some act with the expectation that something will result, it's not necessary that that act, that will result. There's no necessity for that.
Prabhupāda: That is our philosophy, that let Kṛṣṇa sanction. There cannot be (indistinct).
Śyāmasundara: Whatever caused this person's death is the ultimate cause.
Prabhupāda: Therefore the ultimate cause is Kṛṣṇa. If Kṛṣṇa does not sanction your so-called first-class medicine, physician, place, and everything will be spoiled. And if he sanctions, even you don't appoint any physician, he will (indistinct). Rakhe kṛṣṇa mareke mare kṛṣṇa rakheke. If Kṛṣṇa kills nobody can save him, and if Kṛṣṇa saves, nobody can kill. Just like Rāvaṇa, Hiraṇyakaśipu. They made plans that they'll never die, but Kṛṣṇa killed them. No condition will be (indistinct). That is our philosophy.
Śyāmasundara: That's it. He says here, of all things the ego is uncaused, the spontaneous self-consciousness...
Prabhupāda: Yes. Because I am living force, the ego must be there. I am. And that I am may be misplaced: "I am this body or this mind." Real I am, I am servant of Kṛṣṇa, that is real I am.
Śyāmasundara: So the I am is not caused by anything.
Prabhupāda: No, I am is eternal, Kṛṣṇa is eternal, and I (am) also eternal.
Śyāmasundara: So he says that the noncaused ego posits the nonego, or it gives them meaning, existence. It gives...
Prabhupāda: That is our philosophy, nonego means although I have got my identification, I am, still I have sacrificed everything for Kṛṣṇa. If Kṛṣṇa says "You do this," I don't say, "I will not do." I don't impose my will. I sacrifice my individuality. Kṛṣṇa says, I must do. Therefore my ego is not there.
Śyāmasundara: He says that all of nature as we see it is only illusory sense material reflecting the ongoing moral necessity of reality of the universe.
Prabhupāda: That is our philosophy. Mirage, sometimes mirage, if you see in front of the water in the desert. Actually there is no water in the desert, but you see under illusion. But you know, you are human being, you know that there is no water, you don't go after it. But the animal will go after it and he'll lose his life because (indistinct). He wants to take that water, and the water also goes ahead. In this way when he's too thirsty in the midst of desert he becomes dead. So that is the difference between man and animal. So the human consciousness, when it is developed, you come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then you become detached with this material mirage. He does not run after the false water. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Others may go after the false water. That is called māyā, or illusion.
Hayagrīva: But he rejects God's transcendental nature, and when you...
Prabhupāda: That thing is that everything is God, just I have given the example. The floor is God, the table is God. Now which you can reject?
Hayagrīva: He wouldn't disagree with that.
Prabhupāda: Then where is the rejection of God?
Hayagrīva: He would reject the transcendental personality.
Prabhupāda: Then as soon as you accept that everything is God, what you can reject?
Hayagrīva: The transcendental personality separate from the creation.
Prabhupāda: Transcendental also God. As soon as you say everything is God, then that, what you call transcendental, and not transcendental, that is also God. Then how you can reject? If everything is God, how you can reject anything? Sarvaṁ khalu idaṁ brahma. There is no question of... The same example: if everything is made of earth, then where is the question of? My body is also earth. So what you can reject? That is our philosophy. We don't reject. We see God in everything. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). That is intelligence. And Rūpa Goswami said that prāpañcikatayā buddhyā hari-sambandhi-vastunaḥ, that there is everything is related with God. If we think, "This is matter, this is spirit," that is my speculation. That we have to see how God is there and how everything... Material means when you forget God. That is material.
Hayagrīva: This is Plotinus. Plotinus lived from 204-269 A.D. He was not Christian. He took... He's what's called a neo-Platonist, a new Platonist. Much of his philosophy comes from Plato. But he believed in the theory of emanation, that the soul emanates from the intelligence, what Aristotle called the nous, or the intelligence, and the intelligence emanates from the One, what he calls the One, who is omnipresent, transcendental, the cause of all multiplicities, the Lord of all. So there's a hierarchy in Plotinus of the One, the intelligence, and the individual souls.
Prabhupāda: The One is Vedic conception, ekaṁ brahma dvitīyaṁ nāsti, Supreme Truth, Absolute Truth, advaya-jñāna. So this is our philosophy, that these living entities, soul, they are of the same quality as the one Supreme, but they are fragmental parts, emanation from Him. He has got the same intelligence, same mind, but limited jurisdiction. God is... That One is omnipresent, but we are not omnipresent, but we are present. Omniscient; but we are not omniscient, but we are (sic:) sentient, not that dull matter. In this way, that One has got all spiritual qualities in fullness; we have got spiritual qualities in minute quantity. That is our constitutional position. But we are like sparks, and the Supreme One is like big fire. When we leave the association of the big fire, as sparks we become extinguished, means our illumination stops. That is called māyā, māyā andhakāra, darkness. That we can revive also, again be put with the One and revive our illuminating power, spiritual power, and live with the Supreme One peacefully, eternal life of bliss.
Prabhupāda: Those who have got hands, they eat the animals without hands, only four legs, and the four-legged animals eats the animals which cannot move—that means plants and vegetables. Similarly, the weak is the food for the strong. In this way there is natural law that one living entity is food for another living entity. But our philosophy, Kṛṣṇa consciousness philosophy, is not based on this platform, that plant life is not sensitive and animal life is more sensitive or human life is more sensitive. We take all of them as life, either human being or animal or plants or fish, it doesn't matter. That is inevitable. Either you eat animal or vegetable, you eat some living entity. That is inevitable. You cannot avoid. Now it it the question of selection. That, of course, is there. But apart from this vegetarian or nonvegetarian diet, we are concerned with Kṛṣṇa prasādam. Kṛṣṇa, whatever..., our philosophy is whatever Kṛṣṇa eats, we take the remnants of His foodstuff. So Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, "You give Me food, and prepared from patraṁ phalaṁ toyam, vegetation." So if by killing vegetable or plant there is any sin, that, that is Kṛṣṇa's. We simply eat after His eating. This is our philosophy. We are not after vegetarian diet or nonvegetarian diet. Whatever Kṛṣṇa eats, we take the remnants of food.
Allen Ginsberg: Well, then how would you adapt the Kṛṣṇa chanting to Christianity? By seeing Kṛṣṇa as Christ or Christ as Kṛṣṇa and sounding Christ's image in Kṛṣṇa's name?
Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa, Christ... Of course, this question was several times put to me. Christ says that "I am son of God." And Kṛṣṇa says "I am God." So there is no difference. Son of God and God, we respect everyone. If I respect your father, I respect you also. Do you mean to say if I disrespect your father, you'll be pleased upon me? No. That is our philosophy. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that I am servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of Kṛṣṇa (CC Madhya 13.80). So if anyone loves Kṛṣṇa, he must love Lord Jesus Christ also. And if one perfectly loves Jesus Christ he must love Kṛṣṇa. If he says, "Why shall I love Kṛṣṇa? I shall love Jesus Christ," then he has no knowledge. And if one says, "Why shall I love Jesus Christ? I shall love...", then he has also no knowledge. If one understands Kṛṣṇa, then he will understand Jesus Christ. If one understands Jesus Christ, you'll understand Kṛṣṇa.
Prabhupāda: Actually, we don't possess anything. Everything is Kṛṣṇa's. What we possess, so-called possession, that is illegal. Because I cannot possess your property. I can possess your property by stealing. Not by fair dealings.
Guest (2): So it's a voluntary thing, really?
Guest (1): I can possess it if you give it to me.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is nice. So that is our philosophy. Tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā (ISO 1). Whatever God has given you, you possess. Don't try to possess other's property. Mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam. Everything belongs to God, so whatever God gives me, you enjoy it. I take it. I don't encroach upon other's property.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Wherever we shall go, we cannot go without God. So if we get a palatial house, immediately make a very gorgeous, nice temple, and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and dance. That's all. We can utilize anything. Because everything is belonging to God. So as soon as we get something, we utilize it for God. That is our philosophy.
Guest (1): Who controls, if one of the members becomes grasping, wants things for himself...?
Prabhupāda: No, what... We are therefore teaching. We are therefore teaching. Members are gradually learning how to sacrifice for God. So when he is completely trained up, he knows that nothing belongs to Him. Everything belongs to God. Therefore, whatever he possesses, it must be utilized for God's purposes. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or God consciousness. We take it for granted, and that is a fact. Everything belongs to God. God, whatever God has given me for my use, so I must use it, first of all expressing my gratitude to God, "O God, You are so kind that You have given me this. So first of all you taste it. Then I'll eat." This is our philosophy.
Journalist (1): And you think there's enough food.
Prabhupāda: There is enough provisions. But we have made artificial divisions. "This is America." The Americans, they went from Europe, and they illegally occupied that place. Now they won't allow anyone to come there. Similarly, the Australians, they won't allow to come there. New Zealand, Africa. Why? Our philosophy: Everything belongs to God, and we are all sons of God. Everyone has got the right to live at the cost of God. This is our philosophy.
Bob: So this earth and all is made out of Kṛṣṇa, but is not Kṛṣṇa?
Prabhupāda: It is not Kṛṣṇa. Or you can say, Kṛṣṇa and not Kṛṣṇa simultaneously. That is our philosophy. One and different. You cannot say different because these things without Kṛṣṇa has no existence. At the same time you cannot say, "Then let me worship water. Why Kṛṣṇa?" That the pantheists, they say, that "Because everything is God, so whatever I take, that is God worship." The Rama-Krishna Mission says like that. But that's wrong.
Prabhupāda: māyā means energy.
Bob: It means energy.
Prabhupāda: Yes. māyā, another meaning: illusion. So foolish persons, the energy is accepted as the energetic. That is māyā. Just like sunshine. Sunshine enters your room. Sunshine is the energy of the sun. But because the sunshine has entered in your room you cannot say the sun has entered. If sun enters, then your room and yourself, everything will be finished immediately. (laughter) You'll not have the leisure to understand that sun has entered. Is it not?
Bob: It is so.
Prabhupāda: But you cannot say that sunshine is not sun. But without sun, where is the sunshine? So you cannot say sunshine is not sun. But at the same time it is not sun. It is sun and not sun, both. That is our philosophy. Acintya-bhedābheda, inconceivable. In the material science you cannot conceive that a thing simultaneously positive and negative. That you cannot think. That is inconceivable energy. And because everything is Kṛṣṇa's energy, Kṛṣṇa can manifest Himself from any energy, and act. Therefore, when we worship Kṛṣṇa made of something of earth, water, or something like that, that is Kṛṣṇa, that is not Kṛṣṇ... You cannot say it is not Kṛṣṇa. When you worship this metal form of Kṛṣṇa, that is Kṛṣṇa. That's a fact. Because metal is energy of Kṛṣṇa.
Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa says, God says, that this place is duḥkhālayam, it is a place of miseries. And that also aśāśvatam. You cannot make a compromise, "All right, let it be miserable. I shall remain as American or Indian." No. That you also cannot do. You cannot remain as American. You may think that you are born in America, you are very happy. But you cannot remain as American for long. You'll have to be kicked out of the place, and next life you do not know. Therefore it is duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (BG 8.15). That is our philosophy.
Prabhupāda: We are all priests because we are preaching. All my students and myself, we are preaching. We are on the priestly level. So our philosophy is ataḥ pumbhir dvija-śreṣṭhā varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ, svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam (SB 1.2.13). Everyone has got some professional or occupational duty. Just like you are printer. We are preachers. Somebody is something else. Everyone has got different occupational duty. So our philosophy is that it doesn't matter what business you are doing, but see that your life is successful. That is our philosophy. And how our life can become successful? Varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ, svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam (SB 1.2.13). If you can preach Lord Buddha or Kṛṣṇa, it doesn't matter. I have already explained Lord Buddha is expansion of Kṛṣṇa. So if Lord Buddha is satisfied, then your life is successful. It doesn't matter what you are doing, but by your action Lord Buddha must be satisfied. Just like your assistants. Their business is to satisfy you. Whatever they may do, it doesn't matter. If you are satisfied, their business is successful.
Guest (2): ...everything is destined, then we are probably as well destined to be Kṛṣṇa conscious or to be non-Kṛṣṇa conscious, you know.
Prabhupāda: No. That destiny can change. Śāstra says... Destined means so far you're... Suppose you are to get, say, one thousand dollars per month. That you'll get. You try for it or don't try for it, you'll get. Therefore we should not waste our time for getting one thousand dollars. We should utilize the time for developing our Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is our philosophy.
Just like nobody tries for becoming unhappy, but unhappiness comes. Nobody tries, that "Let me become unhappy." But people become unhappy. Why? He does not try for it. Similarly, that happiness also, even if you don't try for it, it will come. So śāstra says, "You don't bother yourself for worldly happiness or unhappiness. Whatever you are destined, you'll get it. You try for develop your Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which in other life, in the animal life, you could not do." In the animal... (break) ...advised... If the animal is advised that, "You become Kṛṣṇa conscious," he cannot do it. He has no power. But a man can do it. Therefore the man's main business should be how to develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness, not for so-called economic development. Economic development will come automatically, what you are destined to have. This is our philosophy. We don't try for any economic development.
Guest (1): The problem, of course, is that you don't want man to somehow get lost in it all, but still I, yeah, where I am, I think that you would say..., to agree with what you say...
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Guest (1): ...the universalism of it's very appealing.
Prabhupāda: No, we are not manufacturing this idea. That it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya sambhavanti mūrtayaḥ: (BG 14.4) in every species of life, whatever forms are there. And besides that, we take this body as dress. Just like your white shirt is not you. You are different from the white shirt. Similarly, one may have a body white or black, but he, as spirit soul, is different from the body. We are taking account of the person who is possessing the dress—not the dress, but the person. Just like I am talking with you, I am not talking with your shirt. I don't look to your shirt, whether you have put on a white shirt or black shirt. That is not my concern. I am concerned with you as a living being. This is our philosophy. We don't take account of the outward shirt and coat.
Prabhupāda: Anything which can be engaged in the service of the Lord should not be given up. This is our philosophy. Should not be given up. We do not say, "Oh, money is material. I do not touch. My hand becomes turned up." No. We don't say all these nonsense philosophy. (laughs) We know that money, lakṣmī, is Kṛṣṇa's property, so it should be engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service. Why money should not be touched? Money is Kṛṣṇa's. It must be touched and used for Kṛṣṇa. We don't try to (indistinct) that pseudo renouncement. What I have got that I shall renouncement? Everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa. Our renouncement means we renounce our personal sense gratification, that's all. That is renouncement.
Prabhupāda: Our duty is Kṛṣṇa consciousness; that is our philosophy, and that is an actual fact. These seasonal changes may come and go in life; sometimes they may please us, and sometimes they may pinch us, but our duty in human life is to understand God. We shouldn't care for all these catastrophes that come and go. We should have no concern, for their nature is like that—sometimes pleasing and sometimes not pleasing. Despite all this, we have to do our duty, understand God.
Prabhupāda: So every department can be utilized for Kṛṣṇa's satisfaction. And if Kṛṣṇa is satisfied, then your talent in the particular department of knowledge is perfect. Then it attains perfection. Saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam (SB 1.2.13). Saṁsiddhi means perfection. And what is that perfection? That Kṛṣṇa will be pleased: "Yes, you are very good engineer." "You are very good business administrator." "You are very good chemist." So this is our philosophy, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We do not say, "This is bad. This is good." Everything is good, provided it is utilized for Kṛṣṇa's service. This is our philosophy. So as Kṛṣṇa is all-pervading, our philosophy is also all-embracing. But as soon as one comes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness platform, he must be free from sinful activities.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: So long as the future is there they have a voice to say...
Prabhupāda: Future we cannot trust. Trust no future however pleasant. This is our philosophy. Everyone says that. Trust no future, however pleasant. You may talk that future is very bright, but we don't believe in that. Why future? If you are advanced, immediately...
Svarūpa Dāmodara: So when you take Kṛṣṇa prasādam, the living entities which are within our body, they're also taking prasādam?
Prabhupāda: Yes. You are very benevolent. You take Kṛṣṇa prasādam for others.
Brahmānanda: Welfare work.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That you can do without taking Kṛṣṇa prasādam. Because you have got stool and urine within your body, and there are many germs. They're eating that. You need not make a separate endeavor to feed them. (pause) The individual soul is never lost. That is our philosophy. Dehino 'smin. He's simply changing different body under different circumstances. That's all. The soul, individual soul, is never lost. Neither he takes birth, neither he dies. He's simply changing the garments. This is perfect theory.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: In physical sciences, there's a branch called thermodynamics that deals with the transfer of heat and energy in different forms. So their three laws is called first law, second law and the third law. First law deals with the conservation of energy in different forms. And the second law, it is stated that the energy of the universe is constant. Just like the, in the Śrī Īśopaniṣad, the Invocation, pūrṇa...
Prabhupāda: Yes. Pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate, pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate (Iso Invocation).
Svarūpa Dāmodara: On the other hand the second law says that the, the entropy, that means the randomness of the all natural, spontaneously occurring natural processes, always increase. The randomness...
Prabhupāda: But... Thing is that they are studying the laws very nicely. That's good. But they should appreciate that who has made this law? That is their defect. They are studying how the laws of nature is working. That's nice. But they should appreciate at the same time: Who made such subtle laws that they are working so nicely? That is our philosophy. We do not only study the laws and appreciate it, but we study the law-maker also. That is the difference between ourself and the so-called scientists. They are left, poor fund of knowledge. They cannot appreciate that there is a law-maker of these subtle laws. That is their defect. That is called poor fund of knowledge. And as soon as we accept law-maker, we have to accept that He's a person, He has got brain. Therefore He can make laws.
Prabhupāda: Our proposition is: "If you are selecting somebody to worship, why not the perfect? Why you select the imperfect?" That is our Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You have to do it. You have to select somebody as your leader. You cannot do without it. So the answer is that if you are selecting somebody to worship, Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā: mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat (BG 7.7). "There is nobody superior than Me." Then why not go to the best person? Why should we go to the inferior?
Karandhara: For all the six opulences, they will choose someone.
Prabhupāda: Eh? Eh?
Karandhara: For all the six opulences, they'll choose someone, someone very beautiful...
Prabhupāda: Yes. But there is none complete. Except Kṛṣṇa. Nobody's complete. Our pro, philosophy is that we have to select if we... That we must have to. Otherwise, there is no life. Just like you scientists, you quote so many leaders, scientific leaders. Without this, there is no life. So... Just like in the Bengali there is a proverb that if I to, if I have to steal and become a thief, why not plunder the government treasury? Why pickpocketing? If I have to be punished as criminal, as thief, let me plunder the government treasury and then let me go to jail. So this is our policy. So if we have to submit to somebody, why not the best and perfect? That is our philosophy. You cannot avoid submission. That is not possible. Who is there who does not submit to anyone? Find out anyone. If you, if a man has nobody to submit, he brings a dog and submits to him. The dog is passing stool. He's standing. He's submitted to the dog. The dog is passing urine, he's submitting: "Yes sir, you pass your urine. I take care of you." This is the nature. If you do not submit to God, then ultimately you have to submit to the dog. This is nature. You cannot avoid it. You have to submit. There is no other way. Because your position is like that. Without submitting to one, you cannot live. Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). This is the philosophy given by Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Prabhupāda: Darwin is a rascal. What is his theory? We kick on your face. That's all. That is our philosophy. The more we kick on Darwin's face, the more advanced in spiritual consciousness. He has killed the whole civilization, rascal.
Prabhupāda: So to remain dependent on God is our healthy state. As soon as we declare independent of God, that is our unhealthy state. This is our philosophy. And your philosophy also. To remain there. That is the Vedic injunction, that nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām, eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). What is the difference between God and ourself? God is also a living entity like us, but He's the chief living entity. He's maintaining all others. Therefore we have to ask God, "Give us our daily bread." He's the maintainer; we are maintained. Just like in a family, the father is the maintainer, and the mother and the children and the servants, they are maintained, similarly the whole universe, whole creation, it is maintained by God, and we living entities, within this universe or within this creation, we are maintained. So as we are maintained, it is better to remain dependent on God than to declare our freedom.
Prabhupāda: At least, you follow the leadership of Buddha.
Buddhist Monk (1): Leadership, that's correct.
Prabhupāda: So that is, I am pointing out. Leadership,... God means "the leader." According to Vedic injunction, God means "the supreme leader." Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). He is the chief living entity. Mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10). God means the Supreme Leader. So leader you have to accept. That is the conception of God. Either you select Buddha or Lenin or somebody else, you have to accept one leader and follow. That is your business. So our philosophy is that Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, He's the Supreme Leader. And we are to obey His orders. This is our philosophy. So if you do not obey the orders of Kṛṣṇa, if you obey the orders of Lord Buddha, or somebody obeys the orders of Lenin, the principle is there that you have to follow the orders of somebody. Now, you select Lenin, Kṛṣṇa or Buddha or Gandhi or anyone. That is a different thing. But the principle—to accept one leader and follow his leadership—is there everywhere. That nobody can change. That is not possible. So the professor could not give me any satisfactory answer, you see. The leadership you have to accept. You cannot do anything independently. You have to accept. That is our constitutional position, that we have to follow somebody. Now you select whom you shall follow. If you are following the most perfect, then you become perfect. And if you are following less perfect or imperfect, then you are imperfect. This is our philosophy. You have to follow some leader. If your leader is perfect, then you are perfect. If your leader is not perfect, then you are also not perfect.
Prabhupāda: But we see everything has got Kṛṣṇa connection. Therefore we utilize it for Kṛṣṇa. Just like you're talking about Kṛṣṇa, it is being recorded. So it is useful for Kṛṣṇa's service. Why should I give it up? Because the airplane is there, therefore my preaching has been easier. Every year I'm wandering all over the world, twice, thrice. Because if you use airplane. So why shall I give it up? It is giving me facility to preach my Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, why shall I give it up? It is mithyā. Just like the Jains, they do not ride on car, but if by going in a car I can go and preach, very swiftly, and come back again, why shall I give up this car? So our philosophy is not like that. Nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe yuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyate. It is yukta-vairāgya. We have no attachment for all these things. We are sitting in this palatial building, that's all right. But you can talk things under the tree. But if I sit down underneath a tree nobody will come to me. (everyone laughs) So why shall I do that? This is our philosophy.
Jesuit Priest: Would you say that because we—and I talk about myself—because I have meat and bacon and so on, I am a, does that make me sinful? If I didn't eat those, I would be less sinful?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes. That is our philosophy.
Jesuit Priest: So if I give up eating meat and bacon and sausages and things, I'll suddenly become a different person.
Prabhupāda: Then you become pure. You become pure.
Revatīnandana: Yes. Yes.
Jesuit Priest: That's very interesting.
Śrīla Prabhupāda: But death is compelling me to die. There is no science, no philosophy, no hero to conquer over this death. This is our philosophy: how to conquer over the race between life and death. Now you find out that verse,
This is Sanskrit language.
Śyāmasundara: "One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not upon leaving the body take his birth again in this material world."
Prabhupāda: "Does not take his birth again."
Śyāmasundara: "But attains My eternal abode."
Prabhupāda: Yes, this is the winning over death. What is that process?
Śyāmasundara: Ah, "One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities."
Prabhupāda: Simply if you know what is Kṛṣṇa, why He comes, what are His activities. These things, if you try to understand, then you conquer over death.
Graham Hill: And anyone who, I mean, you know the (indictinct) and you are telling your followers.
Prabhupāda: Yes, this is our philosophy. We are spreading this philosophy. That conquer over death and go back to home, back to Godhead. Therefore our name of the paper is Back to Godhead. Winning over the race between life and death and get your eternal life and go back to home, back to Godhead. This is our philosophy.
Professor: But, of course, in Sweden, most people, they don't, they don't follow anybody. So it's... I mean...
Prabhupāda: No, they follow. At least, one follows himself. Is it not? "Don't follow anyone" means he follows himself. He has got a particular philosophy, and he's the leader.
Professor: Well, naturally, everybody has some kind of ideas, I mean, how to lead his life.
Prabhupāda: But that will not help us.
Professor: But, uh...
Prabhupāda: Unless we accept the real leader, a perfect personality who can give us perfect knowledge, there is no success. That is our philosophy.
We have to approach a person who has seen the truth in reality. Then our life is success. That is the Vedic injunction. And that is fact. Unless we are... Just like you are teacher, a professor. So therefore people are coming to you to learn. How can you say that he can follow his own philosophy? He's coming to school, college. He's taking lesson from the teacher. One has to follow. The selection may be right or wrong; that is another thing. But one has to select.
Prabhupāda: Yes, Carnegie's name I know.
Banker: He was one of the number one advocates of this philosophy, that if you are holy, then the money should be in your hands, because you can use it for better purposes.
Prabhupāda: That is a good philosophy.
Banker: Therefore, then he started building libraries all over the country and everything else, besides his steel company. But this has been a big fight. It still is a big fight. Today you have the people who support welfare and those who oppose it.
Prabhupāda: No. We don't oppose wealth.
Banker: Welfare. Payment to people who don't work.
Prabhupāda: No, everyone should work. Our Vedic philosophy is that everyone must work. But there must be division of work. Just like in your body there are different parts. The head department, the arms department, the belly department, and the legs department. These are different parts. So all these departments must work for the total benefit of the body. That is our philosophy. Nobody should sit idle. But he must work according to his capacity. Brain must work for giving direction. Hand must work for giving protection. Belly must work for supplying food, energy.
Karandhara: Some of them say that Brahman creates illusion to forget that he is Brahman. They say that Brahman, the one, creates illusion to forget that he's Brahman. That's his līlā.
Prabhupāda: It is līlā. Then you have to accept that Brahman is a person.
Karandhara: Well, they say there is only one person. There's no varieties of persons.
Prabhupāda: That's all right. But you have to accept the origin, the person. That is our philosophy. Then you accept our philosophy.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: So in due course if they create these amino acids, there are 20 amino acids which are necessary for the body, for the material body.
Prabhupāda: But it is already created. What is your credit?
Svarūpa Dāmodara: But they want to do it themselves.
Prabhupāda: You may do, but already... Just like there is a soap factory. You start another soap factory. So what is your credit? It is already there.
Yaśomatīnandana: The big, big soap factory.
Prabhupāda: Yes. What is your credit? Yes. You can imitation, make an imitation. And you want to take credit, all credit, for the original creator, simply by imitating. You are so foolish. Why shall I give you the credit? I shall give credit to the origin. That is our philosophy.
Prajāpati: But sometimes they might hit their thumb with a hammer or something and they will start swearing, calling on God's name, but in a very bad way.
Prabhupāda: That's all right. God's name. God's... In every respect, these materialists, they want to use God for their sense gratification. That is the prime fact. Our philosophy is that "God is not agent for your sense gratification, but you are agent for God's satisfaction." That is our philosophy, just the opposite. Even so-called religionists, they also take God as the agent of their sense gratification. They go to church to order God, "Supply our bread." Actually, He is doing. God is supplying bread. But they go for ordering, that "Give us our..." The rascal does not know, God is already supplying.
Viṣṇujana: They want dog's life. They think dog's life is good life. They have to work hard and the dog stays at home all day and enjoys in their nice big house. So they think, "I would be better to be the dog."
Prabhupāda: So they have become. But when he becomes street dog? That means he has to depend on good master. Big apartment for dog means he belongs to the master. So he has to find out a good master. But if he fails to find out a good master, then he's street dog. Dog's life is good, provided he gets a good master. So therefore we have decided to become dog of Kṛṣṇa, (laughter) the best master. And the master says, ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ: (BG 18.66) "I will give you protection." So why not become dog of Kṛṣṇa?
Prajāpati: He will be flea a on Kṛṣṇa's dog.
Prabhupāda: Yes, everyone will be fleas. Therefore Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sings, vaiṣṇava ṭhākura, tomāra kukura, boliyā jānaha more. "O Vaiṣṇava, please accept me as your dog." Because to become Kṛṣṇa's dog, one has to become the dog of a Vaiṣṇava. Then he will be admitted as Kṛṣṇa's dog. Vaiṣṇava ṭhākura, tomāra kukura, boliyā jānaha more.
Boy passer-by: Hare Kṛṣṇa. (yells out loudly)
Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. (laughter)
Bahulāśva: Advancement.
Prabhupāda: So why don't you answer them, "Yes, you become a dog, but you become a dog of a good master." What is the use of becoming dog of another dog? Then what profit will be there? Is it not? We are... Actually every one of us is dog. And we are trying to satisfy so many masters. The masters are our senses. We are already dog, everyone, because everyone is servant of the senses, kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mātsarya. So everyone is dog. Now he has to remain a dog, but by becoming dog of these senses, he is not happy. Find out a good master, and become a dog. You become happy. This is our philosophy. And the best master is Kṛṣṇa. We are also trying to be dog, but not of another dog, but real master. That is our philosophy. What is the use of becoming a dog of another dog? That is not proper. Here the material world is that "I am dog, I have got a master, and the master has got another master. He has got another master, he has got another master." Nobody can say that "I am Absolute." Nobody can say. That is not possible. You must have a master. Therefore everyone is a dog. So why don't you find out the Absolute master, the biggest master? And that is God. "God is great." Capture Him, master. Then you will be happy. That is intelligence.
Prabhupāda: The original teacher is Kṛṣṇa and from Him the sun-god, Vivasvān, learned it. He spoke to his son, Manu. Manu spoke to his son, Ikṣvāku. In this way the paramparā system is coming. And that is bona fide. This is our philosophy, to accept knowledge from the perfect person or his bona fide representative.
Prabhupāda: We are all sons of Kṛṣṇa. Let us live peacefully and utilize Kṛṣṇa's property." This is the best philosophy. But the so-called politicians and leaders, they are saying "No, you cannot enter here," immigration. America has got enough place to produce food. But they will, although they have gone to the United Nation, UNESCO, they could not find out any solution. Although there is possibility of producing ten times of the requisites of the whole population of the world, they will not allow. They will not allow. On God's side, this unit, this planet, pūrṇam idaṁ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate (Īśopaniṣad, Invocation)—everything is complete. You require water. They save three times water than the land. And the water is distributed over the land, parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ so there will be sufficient food grains. And annād bhavanti bhūtāni (BG 3.14). And if there is sufficient to eat, have sufficient eatables to the animals and to the men, then everything is prosperous. So where is that arrangement? There is enough land, enough possibility, enough water. Now utilize them and produce food grain, eat nicely and live peacefully and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and go back to home, back to Godhead. This is our philosophy. Why there should be industry?
Bhagavān: The easiest way to manage, then, is to have everything more or less in small villages.
Prabhupāda: Yes, that was Gandhi's philosophy, village organization. These people, they are attracting villagers to work in the factory, and they are exploiting them. Instead of producing food, they are attracted by so-called high salaries, to the factory, and they are producing bolts and nuts, motor parts. But food is produced somewhere else. But the food producers, they are working in the factory. Therefore scarcity of foodstuff. But this factory owner, he has got more money. He doesn't care. The poor public, they are suffering. Our philosophy is that you produce your food anywhere. You stay, and keep cows, take milk, produce vegetables, food grains, and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. That's all. This is our philosophy. Make your life successful. By becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious, you become free from all these troubles of material condition. This is our education. Don't be after these motorcars, television, and all nonsense things, sporting, wine, women. Don't be after these. Simply eat sufficiently, keep your health nicely, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, realize Kṛṣṇa, and go back to home. This is our philosophy.
Prabhupāda: :Yes, but our philosophy, Kṛṣṇa says, "You rascal, give up everything. Just surrender unto Me." This is our philosophy. "You rascal, you give up everything and surrender unto Me." This is our philosophy.
Devotee: Haribol.
Prabhupāda: Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam (BG 18.66). He's decrying this Vivekananda philosophy. Rascal philosophy. There was a suggestion when I (indistinct) international, I was going to register, they suggested, "Why don't you make God conscious? Why you make Kṛṣṇa conscious?" And if I had made God conscious so many rascals will bring so many Gods. Therefore specifically only Kṛṣṇa God. That's all. That is authorized. If you like, you take other's God. But this is our philosophy, mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja. Was it not wise conclusion?
Yogeśvara: If one is a full-time disciple...
Prabhupāda: He's dedicated disciple.
Yogeśvara: Does that mean he must give up his family, and come and live here?
Prabhupāda: No, he can live with his family. It is to take up the cause, not to give up the family. We don't believe in giving up. We believe in engaging them properly. That is our philosophy. (French)
Prabhupāda: Why we should maintain slaughterhouse? If we want to eat the flesh, let us wait till the death. And there will be death. There is no doubt about it. So why they should maintain slaughterhouse? And this is most cruelty. A animal which is giving milk, so important foodstuff, and that is being killed, it does not suit any moral sense of any human being. On the contrary, according to Vedic system, there are seven mothers. And cow is accepted one of them. Because she gives milk, and we take her milk, therefore she's our mother. So this is our philosophy.
Karandhara: The Zen school is a liberalization of the old Buddhist doctrines. Previously, hundreds of years ago, to completely follow the Buddhist path one had to renounce all activity. He had to go away from civilization and live in hermitage. Zen...
Prabhupāda: Nirvāṇa. Finish everything.
Karandhara: Yes. Zen allows a man... According to the precepts of Zen, you can act within the world. You can be a businessman, you can be a soldier, you can be anything, and still attain the same state of perfection by acting without desire, by acting unattached to the results.
Prabhupāda: So that is our philosophy. We... Arjuna acted as soldier, and still, he was recognized as devotee.
The tiger will never eat grass. But we human being, we eat grass, goat, cows and everything. Because advanced, so-called advanced. But our foodstuff is to accept the remnants of foodstuff which is eaten by Kṛṣṇa. That is our philosophy. Kṛṣṇa-prasāda. Just like in this temple, we don't eat anything. Neither we eat grass, neither we eat animals. We eat kṛṣṇa-prasāda. So Kṛṣṇa says that "You give Me these foodstuffs." Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26). So we are not eating on the material platform. We are eating on the spiritual platform. Because we are eating, if there is anything sinful, that is Kṛṣṇa's. We are taking His remnants of foodstuff. So this is our philosophy. We don't advocate vegetarianism or nonvegetarianism. We advocate, "Eat Kṛṣṇa's prasādam, the remnants of foodstuff which is offered to Kṛṣṇa." This is our philosophy.
Prabhupāda: Rāma and Kṛṣṇa, they are the name of God. And Harā is the energy of God. So we are chanting Kṛṣṇa, or God, along with His energy. He has got two energies, spiritual energy and material energy. So at the present moment we are under the jurisdiction of material energy. So we are praying to Kṛṣṇa, "Kindly transfer me from the service of material energy to the service of spiritual energy." This is our whole philosophy. Hare Kṛṣṇa movement means, "O the energy of God and O God, Kṛṣṇa, please engage me in your service." Because our constitutional position is to give service. Some way or other, we have been put in the service of the material energy. So this service can be transferred to the spiritual energy. Then our life is successful. That is our philosophy, bhakti-mārga, bhakti-yoga. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam (CC Madhya 19.170).
Prabhupāda: One and different, that is our philosophy. Just like the one small screw is in the machine. So the whole is one, but the small screw is not equal to the whole machine. But the screw cannot be called the whole machine.
Yoga student: There is a tradition, and there's a body of forty traditions, which are called the sacred traditions, one of which says that these are the words of God as enunciated through Muhammad, one of them saying that "The more you strive towards Me, the more you love Me, the closer I come to you."
Prabhupāda: Oh, that's it. Then the ultimate goal is how to love God.
Yoga student: Yes.
Prabhupāda: That is very good. That is our philosophy. Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje (SB 1.2.6). Premā pumārtho mahān. This is the highest goal of life, how one has developed his love for God.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Sometimes the argument is put forward that in places where's there is not sufficient food and shelter and things like this, these problems should be solved first before the problem of spiritual life.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Why don't you solve? There are so many land. Come here and grow food. Grow fruit. That is... That is the desire of Kṛṣṇa. Annād bhavanti bhūtāni (BG 3.14). Produce food and eat in sufficiently, be strong, and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. That is our philosophy. Why you are producing bolts and nuts, tire and tubes? Eat. Rascal. They do not know that first of all you must eat.
Paramahaṁsa: As he walked out the door he said, "Now I have to go back and lead my fourth-class life." (laughter)
Amogha: Yes, he said that.
Prabhupāda: (laughing) Then he has understood. Yes, it is all fourth-class men. He is considered a first-class man in the society. We say to him that "You are a fourth-class man." On what strength we can say like that? And he has to admit. That is our philosophy. Any first-class man, so-called first-class man, we can also say that "You are a fourth-class man," and he will agree. And if he admits, then he becomes first-class man. Then he can make progress. "I am living, a fourth-class man. I must be a first-class man." That is knowledge. So he was asking you, "Are you living first-class now?"
Prabhupāda: Yes, spirit is important. But God is fully spirit, He has no material quality. Yes. We have got, in this material condition, difference between the matter and spirit, but God has not so, such thing. He is whole spirit. That is the difference between God...
Jesuit: And also, as a result, the human, you, I, all these, we're all persons separate from one another, distinct from one another, and distinct from God, who is a separate person.
Prabhupāda: Yes, yes, we admit that.
Jesuit: It's that I haven't understood. Sometimes you get pantheists who talk as though God is made up of a sum total of...
Prabhupāda: That is a theory, that is a theory, that is not fact.
Jesuit: No, it's a false theory because it goes against all logic and philosophy.
Prabhupāda: But no, theory in this form that God is everywhere, by His potency but everything is not God. This is our philosophy. God is everywhere. Just like the sunshine. Sunshine is spread everywhere but that does not mean that everything is sun.
Prabhupāda: So from here we understand the material energy and the spiritual energy. So spiritual energy is predominating over the material energy.
Jesuit: Yes, I understand that. It's the spirit of God
Prabhupāda: Therefore it is superior energy, and the material energy, inferior energy. Just like in your body there are some inferior parts and some superior parts. But they are body, parts of the body. This part is superior part, and the rectum is inferior part. But that does not mean it does not form the constitution parts of your body. Otherwise how you become whole? Whole means comprising everything, superior, inferior. But comparatively, there is superior part, inferior part. So the material energy is also God's energy. And spiritual energy is also God's energy, but the spiritual energy is described here as superior energy, and the material energy is described here as inferior energy. But altogether, they are energies. So those who are expert devotees of God, they can utilize inferior energy for the purpose of superior energy. That is the proper utilization. Just like the same brick and stone is required for constructing an ordinary house, and the same brick and stone can be used for constructing a church.
That is superior.
Jesuit: Yes, I understand that.
Prabhupāda: Yes. The material is not different. The ordinary house is constructed with the same bricks and stone, and church is also made of that. But why it is superior? Because it is specially, only meant for God's purpose. So anything utilized for God's purpose, it becomes spiritual. This is our philosophy.
Prabhupāda: There was a great devotee in South India. He was a treasury officer. So he took money from the treasury and constructed very nice temple. (laughter) Yes. Later on, he was caught, and he was put into jail by the Nawab. At that time the Mohammedan king, Nawab, he saw in dream that two boys, very beautiful, they have come to the Nawab: "Sir, what money he has taken, you can take from me and release him." So the Nawab said, "If I get my money, I can release him." Then, when his dream broke, he saw the money on the floor, and nobody was there. Then he could understand that he is great devotee. He called him immediately, that "You are released, and you take this money also. Whatever you have already taken, that's all right. And now this money also you take. You spend as you like." So devotees sometimes do like that. Actually nothing is private property. That is our philosophy. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam: (ISO 1) "Everything belongs to God." That's a fact. Under the influence of māyā we are thinking that "This is my property."
Prabhupāda: What is this nonsense scientific? That is... We reject immediately. What is scientific? A tiny brain, what is their science? Phene bare dhake nate ute. A snake catcher... There is a kind of snake which has no poison. So he cannot catch even that non-poisonous snake, and he's trying to catch one cobra. So these scientists, what is their value? What they have done anything contribution to the world for the benefit of the human society? They could not give any relief from the disease, relief from old age, relief from death or birth. These are the real problems. So what is their contribution? They have given some horseless carriage. Again there is problem of power. What is actually benefit they have done, that this is the benefit from the scientists? Anything they have done, there is counter disadvantage. This is simply waste of time. Our... We consider our human life is very valuable, and before the next death we should prepare ourself go back to home, back to Godhead. This is our philosophy. We cannot waste a minute time before the next death comes. That is our philosophy. So why should we waste our time, "Where is the moon? Where is sun?" Just have it gist idea, that's all. (break) ...no profit. Suppose the position of the moon is correct according to Bhāgavata or according to the scientist, what benefit we shall get out of it? Whichever may be correct or wrong.
Prabhupāda: Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9). A Kṛṣṇa conscious person, after giving up this material, he is not coming any more with this material body. This is our philosophy.
Prabhupāda: Our endeavor is just to become a dog of a Vaiṣṇava, not to become an animal like lion. We remain a dog, but of a Vaiṣṇava. And we refuse to become a big animal like lion. This is our philosophy.
Prabhupāda: So God was there and God's word was there. That is the beginning, our beginning. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). Aham evāsam agre. And Bhagavad-gītā, ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate (BG 10.8). This is our philosophy, "Everything begins from God." Now you can say, "Wherefrom God came?" But that is God. God existing, He is not caused by any other cause, He is the original cause. Anādir ādiḥ: "He has no beginning, but He is the beginning of everything." This is conception of God. Anādir ādir govindaḥ (Bs. 5.1). That ādi is Govinda, person, Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says, aham ādir hi devānām (Bg 10.2). We find from the history. Brahmā is the beginning. He is deva, one of the demigods. Kṛṣṇa says, aham ādir hi devānām. So He is the cause of Brahmā also. So this is our philosophy. We don't begin from zero or accident. This is not our philosophy.
Paramahaṁsa: But what of our efforts to conquer cancer and tuberculosis?
Prabhupāda: No. Because we are conquering to... We are trying to avoid death. Then it is... Everything is cured. Cancer, cancer's father, grandfather, everything is cured. So we are trying for that. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9). That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that "If you simply understand Me..." Janma karma ca divyaṁ me yo jānāti tattvataḥ. Simply if you understand what is Kṛṣṇa, why He comes, what is the purpose, then you become conqueror over death. That is our philosophy. Simply by understanding Kṛṣṇa. That is our progress, how much we have understood Kṛṣṇa. And when one understands fully Kṛṣṇa-fully it is not possible; at least partially—he is conquering over death. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9). That is real human life, how to conquer over death.
Prabhupāda: You are not the great. God is great; you are small. So claim a small credit, don't claim as good as God. That is your foolishness. Because we are part and parcel of God, we have got capacity to do part and parcel, not the whole. So remain small, don't try to become big. Remain servant of God. Don't try to become God, that is foolishness. That is our philosophy. Tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā. Remain humble and meek. You will understand God. (end)
Prabhupāda: So this is our mission. We are propagating this. Do you think it is all right?
Mr. Surface: Do I think it's all right? Well, it's a point of view.
Prabhupāda: No, what we are doing... We are teaching people that "Don't bother about your economic condition of life. It will come automatically, what you are destined to obtain. You better utilize your energy how to get out of this condition of life, birth, death, old age and disease."
Mr. Surface: Isn't there room for both?
Prabhupāda: This is our philosophy. We are preaching that.
Prabhupāda: Eating is required, but you don't eat like the lower animals. You take Kṛṣṇa prasādam. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati: (BG 9.26) "Anyone who is offering Me with devotion and love leaves, vegetables, fruits, flowers, milk, that I take." So we take Kṛṣṇa prasādam, the remnants of foodstuff left by Kṛṣṇa. So that is our philosophy—we take Kṛṣṇa prasādam.
Prabhupāda: Center is Kṛṣṇa. That I (indistinct) to say. Bring one, the zeros will have value. And if you get out the one, all zeros. This is our philosophy.
Prabhupāda: Suppose I was dependent on British rule, and now I have become free. So will this help me to get freedom from janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi? Then where is my freedom? What are major questions, they have set aside. "Don't discuss all these things, and bother your head with trifle things." And our philosophy is that "Don't bother with these trifle things. Just seriously think of the major problems." This is our philosophy. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (break)
Prabhupāda: The same principle, that "You are seeing. Now kill yourself: you don't see." That's all. The same philosophy. You are seeing and feeling disturbance—better kill yourself; you'll not see, then all problems solved. This is their advise. Kill yourself. So who will agree to that?
Dr. Patel: Yes, philosophically kill yourself, and get yourself transferred to a different life.
Prabhupāda: No, no...
Dr. Patel: I mean not physically, I mean as a philosophical point...
Prabhupāda: "Kill" means you finish yourself, no more seeing...
Dr. Patel: Finish your present ego...
Prabhupāda: That is your interpretation. Killing means finish everything. Killing does not mean that you will again see. There is not killing.
Harikesa: But you'll just go in another body...
Prabhupāda: That is curing. Killing and curing. If you kill yourself, then whole thing is finished. But if you cure yourself, then you see rightly. So we advise cure, not kill. That is our philosophy.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, we agree to spread communism all over the world, and we'll give everyone equal rights.
Prabhupāda: That's all right. So equal rights, why not to the animals?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Well, they're not as important, they'll argue. They'll say that they're not as important. They're not so intelligent. They're just animals.
Prabhupāda: Animals, but it appears to me that there are many men like animals, so why you are giving facility to them?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Because they can be elevated to the point of being men again.
Prabhupāda: So elevate them to the right point. Elevate them. You are elevating them only on the platform of eating, sleeping, mating. That is there in the animal. So you have to talk this philosophy. Our philosophy is that expanded—not only human being but animals also. Our philosophy is, if there is one lizard in your room, I should see that he is not starving. This is our philosophy. Not only human being but animals, even an insect. We supply little sugar in the holes of the ant. That is our philosophy. We take any living being is the..., has the same propensity for eating, sleeping. So your economic problem is that "Supply sufficient eating, sleeping." So why not these animals? We have to speak on that platform, that our philosophy is so perfect that we do not neglect even an ant. Make this philosophy. "Why you are limiting within a country or within the human society? Expand it."
Pañca-draviḍa: Prabhupāda, the Chinese don't neglect ants either. They eat them. The Chinese don't neglect the ants either. They eat everything.
Revatīnandana: If you say that your leader is perfect and you do not change your leader, we see that in India... This is where Kṛṣṇa came. He is your leader, but they do not follow Kṛṣṇa any more and India is in trouble.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is the right thing.
Revatīnandana: But why do they not follow if He is perfect leader?
Prabhupāda: That is their misfortune.
Revatīnandana: They argue like that.
Prabhupāda: That is their misfortune. Just like father says, "Child do this," but he does not do. Father says, "Don't touch fire;" he touches, so he'll suffer.
Madhudviṣa: They can also say that about their leader. They can say that according to Marx, if everyone followed Marx purely, then the Communist system would be running on...
Prabhupāda: No, no, what is the purity?
Madhudviṣa: Well, the pure Communist philosophy.
Prabhupāda: What is that pure Communist philosophy? State. We state, "This is our philosophy." What is the Marx philosophy?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Ultimately, they say there should be no leader. Everything will work automatically.
Prabhupāda: But you have leader, rascal. Why do you say no leader? Immediately take shoes and beat with them.
Mahendra: They say that in the future there will be no leaders.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: So they are changing leaders one after another because they think that the present leader will satisfy their present desires more.
Prabhupāda: The leader, perfect leader, is God. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānāṁ (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). That nitya and cetana, all living entities, we are eternal, and we are conscious. And He is the supreme conscious. Therefore God means Supreme Being. You take His leadership. Then He'll properly guide you. That is our philosophy.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: The food that we take is first offered to Kṛṣṇa in the temple, so Kṛṣṇa is the first to eat. And Kṛṣṇa demands that "You offer Me this particular source of foodstuff." So one becomes free from all sinful reactions by first offering to Kṛṣṇa the foodstuff. Not only are you eating, but also you become free from sinful reaction.
Guest: I see.
Prabhupāda: Don't think we are vegetarian. We can become anything, provided it is eaten from the remnants of foodstuff left by Kṛṣṇa. This is our.... To become vegetarian.... There are many animals who are vegetarians. The monkeys are vegetarian; the goats are vegetarian; the cows are vegetarian. So that is not a good qualification, to become vegetarian and become an animal. Or to become lion, tiger, dog. So either you are vegetarian or meat-eater, there are many animals. So we are not going to be animals. We are going to become human being. This is our philosophy. Grouping ourself to the vegetarian kingdom or nonvege.... The animals.... The tiger is a great nonvegetarian. Fresh blood they want to eat, drink.
Guest (4): Okay, here is some of my good sense. You've got your statues in your temple, and I notice there were a lot of flies in there the other night crawling all over it and doing their, whatever they do.
Prabhupāda: So do you mean a fly coming and crow passing stool is the same thing? Very good sense.
Guest (3): Well, flies leave mess.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Actually, it was painful to see the flies.
Devotee (4): That's why they have the whisk you see. We try to whisk the flies away.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: You can try as much as possible...
Prabhupāda: It is very good reason that, "Because the flies cannot be checked, and the crows should be allowed to pass stool?" At least you stop the crows. If you cannot stop the flies, but you can stop the crows. We have done that. We don't allow the crows to come.
Guest (2): That's good. That's very good. We have taken a lot of your time, Your Grace, and we are very honored and thank you very much.
Prabhupāda: No, we are talking frankly. That's nice. Our point is that.... That is our philosophy, that if we want to be God conscious, we must abide by His order, just like here it is very nicely written. I very much appreciate this thing. But we must practically do that. And what is that? "Again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God." Now, it is conditional. "You have come to the knowledge of the glory of..." Now, what is that knowledge, glory of God?
Guest (2): Well, that is to know that He lives and that He loves you, and that one day you can live with Him again.
Prabhupāda: That's nice. Very good.
Prabhupāda: So instead of giving service in so many ways—social, political, philosophical, cultural, this way, that way—if you simply learn how to serve God, then everything will be done. So that is our philosophy, and we are laboring for this purpose, that you understand God and give service to Him, then the whole society will be perfect, peaceful.
Prabhupāda: Why a section of people is rotting in a place and devising some means how to fight with the others and get land? Why? There is no meaning. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). This is our philosophy, everything belongs to God, and everyone is a son of God; therefore the son of God has the right.
Prabhupāda: Generalize the divisions, that's all. But none of the divisions are spiritual. Our aim is to come to the spiritual platform. Traiguṇya-viṣayā vedā nistraiguṇyo bhavārjuna. Not that to increase goodness and keep a less quantity passion and ignorance. Be completely free from all the three qualities, that is required.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, that is our philosophy, but...
Prabhupāda: So some other living entity who is prominent in this quality, prominent that, it does not make much difference. So long he is in the material qualities, he's entrapped. So get him out of this condition and put him into the spiritual platform. That is the solution. Nistraiguṇyo bhavārjuna. In the material world if you think that the quantity of goodness is now big than the other modes of nature, that does not make a solution. Next moment the passion will be prominent, next moment the ignorance will be prominent. You cannot check it or fix him up in one quality. It is not possible. That is not possible. The best thing is to bring him to the unconditional stage, transcendental stage. Sa guṇān... Keep him engaged in devotional service, he is free from influence of all these qualities. That is wanted.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Translation: "Endeavors merely for sense gratification or material happiness through economic development are not to be performed, for they result only in a loss of time and energy, with no actual profit. If one's endeavors are directed towards Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one can surely attain the spiritual platform of self-realization. There is no such benefit from engaging oneself in economic development."
Prabhupāda: This is our philosophy, and the whole world is engaged in economic development. So which is better? (laughs) Here it is said tat-prayāso na kartavyo. We see, especially in the Western country, they are very busy for economic development, and unless one is engaged... I think that Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, they questioned that in India, people being fatalist...
Hari-śauri: In the evening Śrīla Prabhupāda goes to bed at ten o'clock and gets up at eleven-thirty to begin translating.
Interviewer: You just sleep a couple of hours, then?
Prabhupāda: No, one and a half hour.
Interviewer: That's it?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Of course in daytime I take rest two hours. So in this way altogether about three to four hours. Our philosophy is not that you sit idly and God will send everything, no, not like that. We know God will send everything, still we work. Without God's sanction nothing can come. But we must be qualified to receive the favor of God. That is our philosophy.
Ali: What I'm practicing now is that I'm battling against my nafs—the commanding self, as it's known in dervishism. And it amazes me, the way it acts, so mischievous, so dishonest, so many faces that I can only catch out very few, very few. It's always a bit late, after anger, I recognize the presence of anger.
Prabhupāda: Yes, any process you adopt, it doesn't matter, provided it helps you to the platform of loving God, that is approved. Because without coming to the platform of loving God, you cannot be satisfied. That is not possible. So you can adopt any process, it doesn't matter. If it brings you to the platform of loving God, then you'll be happy. We do not say that this process is bona fide, that process is not bona fide. We say any process you adopt, it doesn't matter, if it helps you to bring to the platform of loving God.
Ali: True, because the road is the same, the goal is the same.
Prabhupāda: Yes, that is our philosophy. Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhakti... (SB 1.2.6). Because unless you come to the platform of loving God, then you cannot be happy. And so long we have got the tendency to love something other than God, then we shall not be happy. That is the test.
Guest: I think the temples are increasing, particularly in Germany, England, and I suppose in America as well.
Prabhupāda: Yes, in America we have got forty branches. Our philosophy is simple. We educate people to understand that there is God. This is a godless civilization. So we say that there is God. Try to understand, and love Him, that's all. This is our philosophy. Then you'll be happy. And so long you do not love God, you simply love dog, you'll never be happy. That is our philosophy.
Prabhupāda: So we have got some loving propensity. If we love... That is our natural position. If we love God, then our love for others will automatically be done. And on account of loving God, our life will be perfect. What do you think of this philosophy? What do you think of this philosophy?
Guest: I think it's the supreme philosophy. It is basic philosophy which has been spoken, and unfortunately no practice, but it's a very good thought. It's a very big part and inject it again and revive it.
Prabhupāda: Love God.
Guest: That's right.
Prabhupāda: Premā pumartho mahān. Love of God is the highest perfection of life. This is our philosophy. (end)
Prabhupāda: So we shall follow strictly. Here is God. Take. Because if you are serious after God, here is God, take Kṛṣṇa. This is our philosophy. Hm? What is the answer? If he's serious about God. I think this paper wrote that, that Village? "We thought God is dead."
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: We should not think that if we are Indians we can have a special access to you.
Prabhupāda: So do, do. What is that? Ta...
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, we can do it outside instead of troubling you. We can sit down... Actually, I've already told them since I've been here yesterday that whatever problems they have, we can solve it ourselves.
Prabhupāda: So go and settle up in that lungi.(?)
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: We can settle it ourselves instead of bringing it to Prabhupāda.
Akṣayānanda: I don't think there's any great difficulty, Prabhupāda.
Devotee (1): Actually, we've been speaking the last few days and these problems can be solved.
Prabhupāda: No, it is Kṛṣṇa's service. Everyone is offering voluntary service. So not that anybody's paid and if he cannot, dismiss or... Yes. This bureaucracy is not... Train him. Train him. If he does not know, train him. But things must be done very nicely by cooperation. That is wanted. Everyone should remember that we are serving Kṛṣṇa, and everyone should remember, "The other person is serving Kṛṣṇa. And because he is serving Kṛṣṇa, he is not my servant; he is my master." That should be always in view. Therefore we address, prabhu: "You are my master." We never address, "You are my servant." We are trained up to say my brother, that "prabhu," "such and such prabhu." Prabhu means master. Nobody think himself that he is master. He should always think that everyone is his master because he's serving the master. This is our philosophy. So in this way... Now you have got good arrangement and they're all intelligent persons, young persons.
Dr. Patel: Sir, Śaṅkarācārya has made so many abstructs (obstructs?) for this bhakti. And I mean to follow it...
Prabhupāda: No, no, I'm talking of Kṛṣṇa. There are many other talkers. We are concerned because we are Kṛṣṇa conscious. Kṛṣṇa conscious means whatever Kṛṣṇa says, we accept. That is our philosophy.
Prabhupāda: Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45). This material world means this sex. That is happiness. And we are saying, "Don't enjoy this happiness like hogs." Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). "This kind of happiness available in the hog's life, dog's life. Why you are anxious for this happiness?" This is our philosophy.
Prabhupāda: Your world is your father, mother, and two sisters, that's all. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tridhātuke svā-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu. That is your world. A little family, a little community, that is your world. We do not think in that way. We include even the animals, trees, plants-brothers. That is our philosophy. We feel. When you cut a tree unnecessarily, we feel. This is our feeling.
Prabhupāda: Jesus Christ was crucified. He didn't mind. So if you are unnecessarily prosecuting us, we don't mind. We must go on with our duty. We cannot give it up. That's all. It is not possible. What to..., you are prosecuting? If you kill us, we shall not. We have taken this daṇḍa. This is our determination. You cannot stop us. That's it. "Because we know this is the only welfare activity to the human society. You make talk, madmen. We don't care for it. To be imprisoned with this material body—the greatest suffering... You are trying to mitigate suffering, temporary, this way and that, but you do not know how." That you can show from the Bhagavad... Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānu... (BG 13.9). "This is real suffering. Why the eternal soul should be subjected to birth, death, old age and disease? We are seeing to this. You are thinking that 'If I can place myself in a very high skyscraper building and motorcar,' your business is finished. We are not so fool. We know that 'Any moment, I shall be kicked out of the skyscraper building and motorcar by the laws of nature.' " That's a fact. But fools cannot understand. They think, "This is my permanent..." That is not permanent, but you are permanent. "Where is my permanent situation?"—we are seeking after that. So we are not so fools. We are taking that "I am permanent. Why I should be encapped or entangled in this nonpermanent." This is our philosophy.
Your attitude of humbleness is praiseworthy. A devotee should always remain humble and meek especially to the authorities and devotees. Lord Caitanya's philosophy is not to become God, but to become servant, servant, servant of God. The more one becomes the lower grade servant of the Lord, the more he is devoted nearer to the Lord. This is our philosophy. I have all my hearty blessings upon you, please do your duties nicely, and Krishna will be pleased to shower His Blessings upon you. He is very kind to sincere souls, and He gives intelligence from within to sincere devotees. We require only to become sincere in the service of the Lord, then everything is there ready for our convenience.
Regarding lecturing by woman devotees: I have informed you that in the service of the Lord there is no distinction of caste or creed, color, or sex. In the Bhagavad-gita, the Lord especially mentions that even a woman who has taken seriously is also destined to reach Him. We require a person who is in the knowledge of Krishna, that is the only qualification of a person speaking. It doesn't matter what he is. Materially a woman may be less intelligent than a man, but spiritually there is no such distinction. Because spiritually everyone is pure soul. In the absolute plane there is no such gradation of higher and lower. If a woman can lecture nicely and to the point, we should hear her carefully. That is our philosophy. But if a man can speak better than a woman, the man should be given first preference. But even though a woman is less intelligent, a sincere soul should be given proper chance to speak, because we want so many preachers, both men and women.
As you are a very nice, good soul, Krishna will certainly bless you with all benedictions. It doesn't matter whether or not you remain in this part of the world or in India. Wherever you remain you chant Hare Krishna regularly, and your example may be followed by others. The world needs this benefit, and when you return to India there are so many ways you can convince your parents that to take to Krishna Consciousness does not mean one has to give up his worldly affairs. I know in India there are many foolish persons who think that by reading Bhagavad-gita one is apt to renounce this world. This is completely foolishness. Arjuna was a family man, a soldier, and he was directly taught the principles of Bhagavad-gita, but he never renounced the world nor the battlefield. I do not know why there are certain crazy men who think like that, that if a man becomes devotee, he will have no more interest in worldly affairs. We are not Mayavadi; we do not state that the world is false. We say that if Krishna is truth, the world is also truth because the world is a manifestation of Krishna's energy. So if Krishna is true, how His energy can be false? The Mayavadis preach so-called monism, but they always distinguish brahma and maya. They say brahma is true, maya is false. We say maya is true, and because it is Krishna's energy, she must be employed in Krishna's service. That is our philosophy.
mfortably and all other translations must be checked and edited and approved by him, with grammatical corrections. It is not that we may present anything crude translation and that is acceptable. No, even though the transcendental subject matter of Vedic literature is still spiritually potent despite the crudest translation, still, because we have got facility to make it perfect, that is our philosophy. When I translated Srimad-Bhagavatam I had not the facility so you may notice grammatical discrepancies. But because Mandali Bhadra is now Head of the translating department you have got all facility to translate our books in perfect German language.
I am in due receipt of your letter dated December 28, 1971, and with pleasure I have noted that your translation work is going on. This I want, that you shall from now on be the Head of the translating department in German language for all ISKCON literatures. You translate yourself as it is comfortable, but all other translations in German language by other translators must be checked by you, edited, and corrected very strictly for grammar and proper use of German language. It is not our philosophy to print errors. Of course, our spiritual subject matter is transcendental and therefore it remains potent despite mistakes in grammar, spelling, etc. But this type of translation may only be allowed if there is no other way to correct it, then it is all right. But if you know the correct order, then you must make it perfect. That is our philosophy: everything perfect for Krishna.
You are having difficulty with police-force, that is to be expected. This material world is so full of danger, even from our so-called "protectors." But we have got the best Protector, Krishna, so do not worry about anything police or other envious persons. In one stroke Krishna can finish them all. But you may get some relief in this connection if you can approach very carefully some leading members of the city government, or big, big men of the town, and convince them by your words and behavior that our devotees are not in any way unworthy persons, that in fact they have left their lives of criminals to try to turn others away from being criminals, and that if simply we get a little facility we can render immense service to the cause of law and order. Like that, if you are sincere and cool-headed, they will appreciate after some time—and if only one of such big, big leaders understands the real fact, that is sufficient to stop all further cases of police attacks. But one thing is, we have not got anything to gain by "fighting the demons in the streets and courts." No, our process of solving the matter is simple, why should we unnecessarily take botheration for fighting? Only after exhausting every possibility of peaceful solution shall we fight anyone. Just like Krishna. He did not call for fighting until after every chance for settlement failed. So we shall try to overcome our opponents by, first, our words and our behavior, and all means of friendly approach we shall attempt by sober planning, and only later, all else failing, shall we actually fight. That is our philosophy.
I was extremely pleased to hear your report from your travelling buses. It sounds as if your program is very very wonderful and I am very encouraged to hear that such a program is coming along so nicely. I am glad that you have understood the importance of my books, therefore I am stressing it so much. Let everyone take these books. If he simply reads one page then he is getting something substantial, a real eternal benefit. Or if he hands it over to his friend and he reads one page the same result is there. So continue these festivals constantly and make them all Krsna Conscious. Overflood the whole country by this preaching work. Let the whole United States become Vaisnavas, then everyone else in the whole world will follow. That is my real ambition. Therefore your program is very glorious. This is really preaching. Your intelligence is being properly utilized. In the beginning you took up the distribution of BTG's and you sold the most. Now you have taken up this van program and you will also be successful in the same way. This preaching spirit will make you recognized by Krsna. There is so much wonderful potential in USA for this type of program. So organize hundreds of such parties. This is fulfilling the mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. I am very glad to hear that not only you are maintaining such program but that you want to expand it. Yes, this is our philosophy; anandambuddhi vardhanam. It means to expand or to increase.
| Page Title: | That is our philosophy |
| Compiler: | Sharmila, MadhuGopaldas |
| Created: | 10 of Dec, 2008 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=72, Con=75, Let=7 |
| No. of Quotes: | 154 |