The difficulty is... (Conversations 1976 - 1977)

Expressions researched:
"the difficulty is"

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- February 19, 1976, Mayapura:

Guru-kṛpā: With their land-ceiling, they are banning all the..., more than twenty acres.

Acyutānanda: They have a law. If you have the high, dry land, you can have fifty acres per person. And if you have wet land, rice growing, irrigated, you can only have twenty-five acres. So I said, "Suppose you have dry land, and then you irrigate..."

Prabhupāda: The difficulty is that they have no standard idea, their. So they can do anything. And because they are in power, they can pass law whimsically, whatever he likes. (break) ...that bābu candra mantrī. (?) You know this?

Acyutānanda: "Many kings and many..."

Prabhupāda: No, no. Bābu candra rāya. It is a sarcastic word, bābu, bābu candra. Mean a foolish...

Acyutānanda: Foolish king.

Prabhupāda: And bābu candra mantrī. Another foolish mantrī. One, one foolish, king; another foolish is ministers. So that is going on. All the rascals, they are getting vote. One is becoming president, another is becoming the prime minister. But both of them are rascals.

Acyutānanda: The, the law they are passing now is that the president and prime minister under no case can be brought in court.

Prabhupāda: That is all right. That is good.

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

Prabhupāda: They have become overintelligent. Not simple intelligent but overintelligent. That is.... They are not overintelligent. That is the facility for them. We are preaching Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord. That is in the śāstra and the Vedas, in everywhere. But you won't believe it. You'll say, "Why Kṛṣṇa Supreme God? Another.... Here is God. Here is God." Hundreds and thousands of Gods you'll bring. That is the difficulty.

Reporter (5): No, do you plan to propagate your message in India?

Prabhupāda: Yes, certainly I plan, but the difficulty is that who is going to accept? The philosophy is already there. Bhagavad-gītā is already, but who is caring to take it? Even if I speak, I shall speak, "Read Bhagavad-gītā," but who will take it? That is the difficulty. They will bring another competition.

Devotee: What probably he's asking is do we have any positive plans...

Reporter (5): For spreading the movement in India.

Prabhupāda: We have got. We have already planned.

Devotee: That has been seen in Māyāpur. That has been...In Bombay there's a very big temple, we are building, with a center. In (indistinct), Vṛndāvana,...

Prabhupāda: My point is that what I am speaking, it is not unknown to India, but they are so misfortunate that they don't take it. That is the difficulty. So so unfortunate they have become that they don't take it. What shall I speak in India? The same thing.

Morning Walk -- April 8, 1976, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: Yes. (aside:) You have got this card.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: In the Western countries they would call this primitive.

Prabhupāda: They do not know what is civilization, that is there. The difficulty is they have no education about human civilization. Bahir-artha-māninā. They are simply captivated by the external energy, bodily conception of life. They do not know what is the aim of life. This is Western civilization. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). This is not Western, this is the demonic civilization. They do not know what is the aim of life. Our..., the material atmosphere, they're not happy, they're failing always, missing the real point.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: The people that live in the cities think that the farmers work so hard.

Prabhupāda: And these rascals rise early in the morning and start their car to go to the office, five hours coming and going, and eight hours working there...

Lokanātha: Again in the evening they have to drive back. (break)

Pañcadraviḍa: ...I saw that these big men, they were taking so many pep pills during the day to do their work, and in the evening they had to take tranquilizers to go to sleep.

Prabhupāda: Yes, I have seen so, so many advertisements. One has to take at least five to six types of.

Pañcadraviḍa: No peace of mind.

Room Conversation -- April 22, 1976, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: Then we discuss other things. This is the primary education of spiritual life. First of all you have to understand that you are not this body. You are living entity, different from the body. Just like you are different from the shirt-coat. But the difficulty is, the person who is in a different type of shirt-coat, he is identifying with the shirt-coat, and they are fighting. You have got black coat. You have got white coat. You have got yellow coat. But they do not understand, none of us belong to the coat. We are different from the coat. That is ignorance. The whole world is going on under this impression that "I am this body." So how there will be peace? That kind of thinking is there in the dogs, in the cats. So our point is that if you remain like cats and dogs, how you can attain peace? You are endeavoring for peace. It is not possible. First of all you understand yourself. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati (BG 18.54). These things are discussed there.

Brian Singer: It is good to work towards understanding of God and Kṛṣṇa consciousness. How do you know.... How does the individual person know.... If he makes decision every day.... But we must make decisions on certain things...

Prabhupāda: No, in ignorance, whatever decision you make, that is foolishness.

Brian Singer: Any?

Prabhupāda: Any decision. If you are on the wrong platform, whatever decision you make, that is foolishness. And therefore we are being baffled. Every time we are making decision, and next time it is found useless, another decision, because on the wrong platform, the basic principle being wrong, whatever decision you make, this is all foolishness. What is the value of the children's decision? Is there any value? Because he's not in proper understanding, what is the meaning of his decision? So one child makes one decision. Another child makes another decision. There is fight. The dog also do that.

Morning Walk -- May 27, 1976, Honolulu:

Prabhupāda: Knowledge means misguiding knowledge. That's all. That is not knowledge. That is going on. In the name of knowledge, all rascaldom is going on. That is the misfortune of the present world. In the name of knowledge, all rascal isms going. That's all. If we accept after all somebody else is the Supreme Lord, so He's the father. Why don't you accept that? What is the difficulty?

Devotee (2): The difficulty is that they feel that there's no one that we have to answer to.

Prabhupāda: Ha?

Devotee (2): They feel that there's actually no, there, there's no... First of all, there's no laws, there's no natural laws we have to follow.

Prabhupāda: Hm. Then why you are dictating laws, philosophy? That is the (indistinct) no laws. Why you are dictating your laws, that we should be communistic, this will be capitalistic, this will be socialistic? Why you are dictating? Let there be no law, as the uncivilized man does.

Hari-śauri: Well, there should be law, but that law is dictated by man.

Prabhupāda: Ha?

Hari-śauri: That law is decided by man in accordance with his...

Interview with Kathy Kerr Reporter from The Star -- June 17, 1976, Toronto:

Prabhupāda: It is not possible that, because, at the present moment the number of educated persons, there are many. Many Ph.D.'s, D.H.C.'s but nobody understands it. You cannot expect a fair number of persons understanding it. It requires little higher brain. But even some percent of the population understands this philosophy, then there will be peace and prosperity. Not that everyone. Just like in my body, not that every part of my body is brain. But if the brain is in order, then other parts of the body will act nicely. The leg is not brain, but if the brain is in order, the leg will move nicely. The difficulty is there is no brain. So without brain, without head, when the body moves it is ghost. So it is ghostly civilization. All ghosts. There is a kind of ghost, perhaps you know, that without head. If a man is chopped of his head, and if he has got attraction, then he becomes a ghost without head. So at the present moment, all these so-called educated civilized men are ghosts without head. You now this, there is some ghosts without head?

Jayādvaita: I hadn't heard about them.

Prabhupāda: No, in India they know. And I have described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Hari-śauri: They're depicted like that quite often in Europe, because they used to have the guillotine chopping the head off.

Prabhupāda: A ghost without head, yes, there is a ghost. So at the present moment, without head ghost. A civilization of ghosts, without brain. It is something revolutionary. Something revolutionary, but this is a fact.

Kathy Kerr: Are you doing anything to try and contact people, the educated men, to...

Garden Conversation -- June 23, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Kulādri: Today we had three calves born, all female heifers.

Prabhupāda: Yes, go on.

Devotee (4): The difficulty is that we cannot understand, we cannot feel what pleases Kṛṣṇa now, yet we can feel what pleases us, and that is the difficulty?

Prabhupāda: You have no feeling, that everyone knows. Therefore you have to carry out the order of spiritual master, that's all.

Devotee (1) : If we try to please Kṛṣṇa with all of our service and activities, that automatically brings pleasure to the self?

Prabhupāda: You cannot please Kṛṣṇa directly. You please your spiritual master, Kṛṣṇa will be pleased. If you want to please directly Kṛṣṇa, that is not possible. That is concoction You cannot please. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ **. You have to please your spiritual master, then Kṛṣṇa will be pleased. Don't jump. Guru-mukha-padma-vākya, cittete koriyā aikya **. What is that song you daily sing? What is that?

Pradyumna: By the words of the spiritual master our mind becomes conclusive from...

Prabhupāda: Āra nā koriha mane āśā. Don't concoct. Don't you sing daily? Āra nā koriha mane āśā. Don't manufacture ideas. That is dangerous. Caitanya Mahāprabhu teaches by His example. Guru more mūrkha dekhi' karilā śāsana (CC Adi 7.71). Caitanya Mahāprabhu said to Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī that "My spiritual master saw Me fool number one, so he has chastised Me, that 'Don't try to read Vedānta; chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.' So I'm doing." (motorcycle in background) Just hear. He has come to this turn. This sound is purposefully created? (motorbike going back and forth through much of the tape)

Kulādri: Yes, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Just to show that he has a motorcycle? Or what is purpose?

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

Prabhupāda: But it cannot be done. This is another foolishness. Because Kṛṣṇa says, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). But the difficulty is the caste system is coming on account of false notion that a brāhmaṇa is the son of a brāhmaṇa. That is caste system. But Kṛṣṇa does not say. He says, "By quality and work." He never says, "By birth." So this so-called castism in India that is a false notion of cātur-varṇyaṁ. Real cātur-varṇyaṁ means guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ. One must be qualified. And how one is qualified? That is also described. Satya śamo damo titikṣva ārjava jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyam. So there must be education. It is not that to abolish the caste system which is contaminated by false conception, or birth right conception. This wrong caste system should be abolished and training centers should be opened how to train a person to become brāhmaṇa or to become kṣatriya. Guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ. So you cannot avoid it, but because you have misconceived the caste system, that should be abolished, and the system recommended by Kṛṣṇa, that should be taken. Otherwise you cannot avoid it. Caste system will remain. Just like truthfulness. So all over the world you'll find somebody who is truthful. Why do you take it: "His father was truthful, therefore he is truthful."? This is nonsense. This is nonsense. Kṛṣṇa never said that. The father may be Hiranyakasipu, but his son is Prahlāda. Or a son... Not that the, one has to become exactly like the father. It may be. There is every possibility, but it is not a fact that the son becomes like the father. It is not fact. So similarly, the first class man is truthful. Now, wherever you find a truthful man, you classify him as brāhmaṇa. That is wanted. Why do you take that "Here is a son of truthful man; therefore he is brāhmaṇa"? That is misconception. You have to pick up the truthful men all over the world and classify them as brāhmaṇa. That we are doing. "If you follow these principles, no illicit sex, no intoxication, no gambling, no meat-eating, you are brāhmaṇa. Come on." His father may be meat-eater or gambler or drunkard, but he is agreeing, "All right, come on, this come. You are welcome."

'Life Comes From Life' Slideshow Discussions -- July 3, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: That is explained. Vāsudeva is higher. Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti (BG 7.19).

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: The difficulty is that they compare Vāsudeva to themselves. They think that "I am so unintelligent and tiny, I can't even create anything, but how can one person create all of these things, down to the tiniest atom?" Such an extraordinary...

Prabhupāda: Therefore He is God. He's not dog like you, barking only and doing nothing. (Prabhupāda knocks on table or flooring) What is this stone?

Hari-śauri: Marble. It's a type of Italian marble, I think. They call it terrazzo. Something like that.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: It's very soft underneath.

Hari-śauri: They often put this on the facings of buildings, big buildings.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Comes off on the fingers, very soft stone.

Hari-śauri: In Detroit temple, that stairway that goes up, this is the same marble, marble steps.

Prabhupāda: Move this.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Would you like this fan on at all, Śrīla Prabhupāda?

Prabhupāda: Yes. (end)

Evening Darsana -- July 6, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: You can take Arjuna as guru. Kṛṣṇa spoke to Arjuna, evaṁ paramparā-prāptam (BG 4.2). He directly listened to Him. And he's guru therefore, because the guru is by the paramparā. So he understood Kṛṣṇa. So you take Arjuna's instruction. Make Arjuna your guru. What does he say? He accepts Kṛṣṇa, Param Brahman. So we accept Kṛṣṇa as Param Brahma. Where is the difficulty? Arjuna, by his direct experience talking with Kṛṣṇa, he understood Him that "Kṛṣṇa, you are Param Brahman." So you take the words of Arjuna and accept Him as Param Brahman. Where is the difficulty? Just like the same example, one lawyer giving example, the judgment of other court. That is accepted. So Arjuna is accepting Kṛṣṇa as Param Brahman. So why don't you accept? Where is the difficulty? You accept Arjuna as your guru, and whatever he says, you accept it. The difficulty is that we do not accept guru. That is the difficulty. Otherwise where is difficulty? Five thousand years, Kṛṣṇa spoke to Arjuna, but what Arjuna understood, that is there. So you accept it. What we are doing? We are accepting. That's all. Kṛṣṇa said mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat (BG 7.7), "There is no more superior truth beyond Me." We are accepting, that's all. Where is the difficulty? But if you do not accept, who can make you to accept? It is not possible. Kṛṣṇa therefore said mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja. "You do it." He never forces him. He's God, He can force, "You must do it." No, he doesn't say "You do it." Not only that, He says yathecchasi tathā kuru (BG 18.63), "Whatever you like, you do." What is that verse?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Iti te jñānam...

Prabhupāda: Iti te jñānam, huh?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Ākhyātam.

Evening Darsana -- July 13, 1976, New York:

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Everyone is exchanging love in this world, we see that practically, that husband and wife are exchanging love, children and parents are exchanging love, friend and friend are exchanging love. There are so many different relationships in which we exchange love. Even animals like a dog; a cat/dog is exchanging love. It's been analyzed, experiments have been done that even a plant is more productive when he knows that the person who is taking care of the plant is a friend. They speak about the green thumb. So even plants respond. They are sensitive. In a sense they are also exchanging love in a simple way. So this loving propensity is natural. The difficulty is that due to ignorance, we're exchanging love on the bodily platform, which is asat, temporary. And therefore everyone is frustrated. Everyone is frustrated. It's a false platform of love. So the real platform of love is when we come to the soul platform. Kṛṣṇa speaks about this in the Bhagavad-gītā:

brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā

na śocati na kāṅkṣati

samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu

mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām

(BG 18.54)

That when you come to the soul platform, it's also called brahma-bhūta stage or platform of the soul, then mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām: that bhakti, bhakti means transcendental love and service to God.

Prabhupāda: Bhakti means yes, exchange of love between God and the individual soul.

Interview with Religious Editor Of the Associated Press -- July 16, 1976, New York:

Prabhupāda: Yes. But they have misunderstood.

Interviewer: That is true?

Prabhupāda: Misunderstood.

Interviewer: Misunderstood.

Prabhupāda: The difficulty is they do not understand on which platform we are working.

Interviewer: How would you describe that platform?

Prabhupāda: Just like you or me or anyone, this living condition is one platform and when I or you, we are dead, that is another platform. So generally people are working on the bodily concept of platform.

Interviewer: What kind of?

Prabhupāda: Bodily.

Interviewer: Oh, bodily, walking on the, yes yes.

Prabhupāda: And we are working on the spiritual platform. Just like what is the distinction between a dead man and a living man? There is some distinction.

Interviewer: Right.

Prabhupāda: So those who are working on the bodily platform, they are working on the dead platform.

Conversation at House of Ksirodakasayi dasa -- July 25, 1976, London:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Kṣīrodakaśāyī: Duplicate it and keep one copy with me here and one copy send off, and they can publish in the Back to Godhead here.

Prabhupāda: The difficulty is that in India, in different parts of India different standard. Somebody says, "This standard is good"; somebody says, "This standard is good."

Kṣīrodakaśāyī: Well, we are not worried about the criticism.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Kṣīrodakaśāyī: We are not worried about the criticism, anybody say. What you say we'll take that one line, the guide line.

Prabhupāda: No, I am not authority in Hindi, but this Hindi, different parts of India, a different standard.

Kṣīrodakaśāyī: Yes, that's true. That is why I had not depend on myself. It going from the four people different, one after another, and they are qualified Sanskrit and Hindi scholars.

Prabhupāda: That's all right. Let it be published.

Kṣīrodakaśāyī: Complete corrections also. It's not going by...

Prabhupāda: So you can show me some samples which you have completed. Yes, you can show me some.

Room Conversation -- August 2, 1976, New Mayapur (French farm):

Prabhupāda: Oh, give them this garland. (break) ...he begins with surrender. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). So anyone who voluntarily offers obeisances, immediately he becomes fifty percent advanced. Because.... Who is talking? This material world means nobody wants to surrender. Everyone wants to become master: "I am the monarch of all I survey." Everyone is planning how to become a master. Therefore the struggle for existence. Nobody wants to become a servant. You know very well in European history, Napoleon wanted to become the master of all Europe. Hitler wanted also. Similarly, there were so many leaders, sometimes Roman leaders, sometimes Greek leaders, sometimes French leaders, sometimes German leaders, English leader. The whole European history is full of fighting, war. The basic idea is that everyone wanted to become master. That is the material disease. We are now discussing Bali Mahārāja. He also wanted to become master of the whole universe. So that is the material disease. Actually, master is one, Kṛṣṇa. There cannot be two masters. There is only one master, that is Kṛṣṇa, or God. But in the material world, because we have forgotten the real master, every one of us is trying to become master. This is material disease. Not only in one life, but life after life. The cats and dogs, they also want to be master. The dog, if he finds another dog coming, he immediately begins barking very loudly, "Why you are coming here?" So this mastership competition is going on life after life, sometimes as human being, sometimes as animal, sometimes as fish, aquatic, sometimes as demigod, bird. This is the whole material situation. And the difficulty is that we cannot become master, but on account of our false ambition that "I shall become master," we are becoming servants of material nature. We are acting in a certain way to become master, creating a situation, mentality, and at the time of death, when this body finishes, the mind absorbed in that mastership idea takes me to another body according to my ambition, so I become again manifest in different body to exhibit my mastership.

Room Conversation With French Commander -- August 3, 1976, New Mayapur (French farm):

Prabhupāda: That, here is the society. You train them. You have got all children. You train them in that way, so that... Whatever is done is done. Now you can make very good society, Kṛṣṇa conscious society. Not that one mistake has been done, you should continue. Rectify it. The difficulty is the modern society, the leaders, they do not know the aim of life. They are blindly doing everything like animals. Their philosophy is like the animals. Eat, drink, be merry and enjoy, that's all. This is the philosophy of the animals. And human philosophy is to understand first of all what I am. I am this body or something else? That is human life. But nobody questions this, there is no institution to teach this science, therefore the whole human society is misguided. Just like if I want to train my boy to become a medical man, then I teach him biology, botany, similar... So if... Because I know I shall make my boy a medical man. Similarly, we should know what is the aim of human life. Then we have to construct the social political, everything, favorable to that end. But they do not know what is the aim of life. That is the whole mistake. I think that in Bible there is a story, prodigal son? So we are prodigal son. We are all sons of God, now we have become prodigal sons. What is the meaning of prodigal? "Without any responsibility," is it not? Do whatever you like.

Translator: Run away from the protection of the family.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is our position, that we are sons of God, we have given up protection of God. God is protecting in all circumstances.

Hari-śauri: It says "Prodigal: recklessly wasteful."

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

Prabhupāda: Then there is no more God. God cannot be servant of anyone. God is master. As soon as He becomes servant, He's no more God. Then you are God. Then you do not know what is the meaning of God. Therefore you are rascal. You do not know the meaning of God and you are trying to explain God. Therefore you are a rascal. The difficulty is at the present moment, rascals are leading the human society. No sane man, only rascals. Their philosophy, their science, their politics, their sociology, because they are guided by the rascals, everything is bad.

Nava-yauvana: They are the biggest cheaters, so everyone becomes cheater.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Difficulty is there is no education. Mūḍha. There is no education, there is no check, therefore people remain duṣkṛtina, sinful, mūḍha, rascal, lowest of the men, narādhama, and their so-called education has no value, there is no real knowledge, therefore they are suffering. Why the government keeps police department? To check these sinful activities. But they do not know what is sinful activity. They are allowed to continue sinful activity.

Dayānanda: They judge everything on the basis of what is good for humanity.

Prabhupāda: But they do not know what is good because they are uneducated rascals. What do they know what is good for humanity?

Dayānanda: Whatever gives pleasure to the greatest number of people.

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

Prabhupāda: They have become thieves because their guardians did not care for them. This is going on paramparā. The paramparā is that God's instructions should be distributed. Evaṁ paramparā. But there is no followers of God's instruction. Therefore the fool's, rascal's paramparā is there. The father is a rogue and the son is rogue. The grandson is a rogue. What is wrong? The paramparā is rogue. And if they follow God's paramparā, then everything is all right. In the beginning, imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam: (BG 4.1) "I said." That is perfect instruction. God is all perfect, He is speaking. Now you follow that speaking, then you become perfect. And if you follow Satan, then you become a rogue, thief. The difficulty is they are not following the words of God. And religion means the words of God. It doesn't matter what kind of religion it is. If they actually follow the words of God, they become good. Just like in the Ten Commandments, the good instructions are there. So what is the wrong there? You follow, you become a good man. Similarly, in Koran also, there are good instruction. You follow, you become a good man. After all, religion means to try to understand God. So if you sincerely want to understand God and follow His instruction, any religion, it doesn't matter, you become a good man. Comparatively, according to the time, circumstances may be... Just like, who told me? You told me that they cut throat of the lamb. There is a... Suppose that the blood goes to the Mecca side, still there is sense of God. A sense of God. Similarly, if they follow strictly the words of God, so everything is all right.

Dayānanda: But, Śrīla Prabhupāda, nowadays when people follow this so-called religion, they...

Prabhupāda: No, no, we are talking of religion, not so-called religion. So-called religion is finished. That is not religion.

Dayānanda: Then it is very difficult to find out what is real religion.

Prabhupāda: Why not? Why the original, any religious scripture you can see.

Evening Darsan -- August 10, 1976, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: That is conditional. But He wants unconditional surrender. That is religion. Of course, if you cannot surrender unconditionally, then you at least practice. That is also instructed. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). At least think of Kṛṣṇa, man-manā. What is the difficulty if you think of Kṛṣṇa, man-manā. What is the difficulty if you think of Kṛṣṇa? What is the difficulty? Is there any difficulty?

Mrs. Sahani: You first have to surrender to God.

Prabhupāda: Eh? No difficulty. If you chant Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, where is the difficulty? That is mana-manā. Apply your mind to Kṛṣṇa. Where is the difficulty? The difficulty is that we'll not do it. That is our determination. We shall do everything, but not this. That is the difficulty. Otherwise, there is no difficulty. Everyone will teach about Bhagavad-gītā, so many things they will speak, but nobody speaks that you surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Rather, they will say Kṛṣṇa is fictitious, there was no Kṛṣṇa, there was no... They mislead, that's all. And he becomes a big scholar. The more he deviates you, misguides you, he become a big scholar. This is going on. Is it not? There are so many scholars, politicians, philosophers, they are talking of Bhagavad-gītā. Nobody is talking that Kṛṣṇa, surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Am I right or wrong? They'll say "We have got different meaning of Kṛṣṇa" All the sages, all the saintly persons, they have accepted Kṛṣṇa. Just like Arjuna, when he understood Bhagavad-gītā, he immediately accepted Kṛṣṇa: paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān (BG 10.12). This is understanding of Kṛṣṇa. Sarvam etad ṛtaṁ manye yan māṁ vadasi keśava (BG 10.14). "Keśava, whatever You have spoken, I take it altogether as it is." Sarvam etad ṛtaṁ manye (BG 10.14). All fact. And they are manufacturing some meaning. How they'll understand Kṛṣṇa? This is going on. And our, this movement has become little successful.... People give me such credit, "Swamiji, you have done wonderful." But I do not know what wonderful. I do not know any magic. I simply say that you accept Kṛṣṇa or Bhagavad-gītā as it is. That's all. That is my magic. And they are accepting it. They are accepting Bhagavad-gītā as it is.

Evening Darsan -- August 10, 1976, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Mr. Sharma: Preaching and this and that.

Prabhupāda: Yes, just like we are doing. Kṛṣṇa said, "Surrender unto Me." And what we are preaching? We are preaching, "Sir, you surrender to Kṛṣṇa." So what is the difficulty? Is there any difficulty? Kṛṣṇa said "Surrender unto Me." And if I go to you "Mr. Sharma, you surrender to Kṛṣṇa." So what is my difficulty?

Mr. Sharma: Suppose I want to surrender to God, to Kṛṣṇa. How I will do it?

Prabhupāda: No, no, first of all my position, because I am working on behalf of Kṛṣṇa. So Kṛṣṇa says, "You surrender unto Me." So if I say that "Sir, you surrender to Kṛṣṇa," so where is my difficulty?

Mr. Sharma: You see, yes, I say I surrender to Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda: You surrender, not surrender, that is you business. But my business is that I am requesting you that you surrender to Kṛṣṇa. So where is my difficulty? You surrender, not, that is your business. But my business is to canvass, "Sir, you surrender to Kṛṣṇa." So I am representing. And Kṛṣṇa says, na ca tasmān manuṣyeṣu kaścin me priya-kṛttamaḥ (BG 18.69). I have to be recognized by Kṛṣṇa. That is my business. So if I do agree, then I become recognized by Kṛṣṇa. You do or not do, that is your business. My only business is to request you.

Mr. Sharma: That I should surrender.

Evening Darsana -- August 14, 1976, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: ...for this good land, now it is coming nice.

Kartikeya Mahadevia: What is the amount of money you would like to spend on land? Because we have seen another bungalow we can talk about it. Very good land is available, 2,400 square yards.

Prabhupāda: Nobody is interested to retire from family life. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). The difficulty is they do not know their own self-interest. Svārtha-gatim. Everyone says "My self-interest first." But he does not know what is his self-interest. Na te viduḥ. Actually that is the..., because he does not know self. (Hindi) Beginning of education in Bhagavad-gītā, self-interest. Kṛṣṇa giving first lesson: aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ prajñā-vādān (BG 2.11). "You are talking like a very learned man, but your action is not like learned." Gatāsūn agatāsūṁś ca nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ. The subject matter, he was lamenting that "If I kill my brothers, my sister-in-laws will become widows and will become prostitute, and varṇa-saṅkara." "You are talking just like learned man, but on the basis of bodily relationship." So this is not the business of paṇḍita. Nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ. So this is the position. People are unaware of self-interest. Simply on bodily concept of life they are working day and..., whole day and night. He does not know dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). His body will change and the soul will have to accept another body. He does not know what kind of body he's going to accept. (aside:) Ask him not to talk. This is ignorance. Everywhere, all over the... Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). And there is no other institution perhaps, throughout the whole world, who is teaching about this self-interest. That is a fact. Because they do not know. What they'll teach? They do not know. Apaśyatām ātma-tattvaṁ gṛheṣu gṛha-medhinām (SB 2.1.2). This is Śukadeva Gosvāmī's first instruction to Mahārāja Parīkṣit. When he asked "Now I am on the verge of death. What is my duty? What shall I do? What shall I hear? What shall I...?" So he eulogized him that "You are anxious to hear." Varīyān eṣa te praśnaḥ (SB 2.1.1). Find out this verse, Second Canto, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

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

Jayapatākā: Maṅgala-ārati and morning class.

Gargamuni: But some of these men are workers. They're not...

Prabhupāda: No, our cloth necessities are supplied by ourselves? The cloth?

Jayapatākā: The difficulty is right now we have twenty thousand rupees worth of cloth in stock. That is all profit. We only are three thousand rupees in debt. But we have all the cloth. We have no customers.

Prabhupāda: Why?

Gargamuni: There's no customers. We have a huge stock...

Prabhupāda: You send immediately to America. They will pay.

Gargamuni: we sent a newsletter to get people to buy cloth the cloth because we have a huge stock of it.

Prabhupāda: Now, you ask Bhagavān. He is very clever. He's expert.

Jayapatākā: We are worried that now we're getting good men to join, they're doing good work, then how...

Prabhupāda: I think if you prepare according to the order of our foreign centers, then you won't be... They will all give. You can make fine cloth?

Jayapatākā: We can make up to eighty count. Eighty count we can make now.

Prabhupāda: They are purchasing cloth, shirt, and everything.

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

Prabhupāda: You can bring so many men and keep everyone in charge of such places, and it will develop. Money, there is no scarcity. But the difficulty is as soon as we establish, the immigration, "You go away." This is... What is this? You say the MLA and this Tarun Kanti." This is our difficulty. Otherwise there is no difficulty. We can take all the charge and develop them very nicely." So if one man is kept in charge, and after few months he's advised, "Go away," then all his training goes to hell and we have to spend another ten thousand rupees. This is the difficulty. What... We are not... Not a single case there is that we have taken any part in politics. So give us some facility. We can take charge of everything. Tell them that actually that is fact, that there is no scarcity of money. We can bring money from America and develop. There is no difficulty at all. The difficulty is the immigration department. You can say that "Prabhupāda has put this philosophy, andha..." What is that? Paṅgu. Andha-paṅgu-nyāya. Blind and... Depends on this... Blind and... I think you have already know. Blind man, lame man. One man is blind, another man is lame. Both of them are useless. But when they combine, the blind man takes the lame man on his shoulder, and the lame man gives direction to the blind man, "Go this way. Go this way." So he walks. So both of them are benefited. So America has got money but blind. And India has got culture but lame. So let us combine. Then things will be done very nice. Andha-paṅgu-nyāya. Just like I am the same man. I was finding difficulty to start this mission in India, very, very difficult. With great hardship I published three books. But as soon as I went America, the andha-paṅgu-nyāya became successful. So this is the the position. So instead of becoming envious from political... We have nothing to do with... To the Americans unnecessarily thinking that "CIA, CIA..."

Room Conversation -- September 26, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: That was being done.

Akṣayānanda: Yes, I had it being done once a week.

Prabhupāda: So nobody knows what is being done or... (break) So one was to control horses. So he became very much anxious, "What kind of whip I shall have to keep?"

Haṁsadūta: First he has to get a horse.

Prabhupāda: "Then, first of all, rascal, where is your horse?" (laughs) He became very much anxious, "What kind of whip?"

Haṁsadūta: O.K. I'll get the horses.

Prabhupāda: And anyone who can purchase a horse, he can very easily purchase any whip. Not that we shall be very much anxious for the whip first. First of all, let us have a horse. The difficulty is that no horses coming. That is the difficulty. Attract horse, and you'll find so many.

Haṁsadūta: O.K. (end)

Room Conversation with U.N. Doctor -- September 29, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: The difficulty is that we consider Kṛṣṇa is different from oṁkāra.

Doctor: That is a mistake.

Prabhupāda: That is a mistake.

Doctor: But then Kṛṣṇa is not different from Brahman.

Prabhupāda: If you take this oṁkāra as Kṛṣṇa's sound representation, then it is all right.

Doctor: Then it is as good as chanting Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Doctor: But it does not give...

Prabhupāda: But because Kṛṣṇa is remembered, if you take oṁkāra as Kṛṣṇa's sound representation then Kṛṣṇa is remembered.

Doctor: But Kṛṣṇa is three letters. Om is one.

Prabhupāda: That doesn't matter.

Evening Darsana -- December 3, 1976, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: "The Supreme Personality of Godhead is Kṛṣṇa." Where is the difficulty? It is authorized. Kṛṣṇa says and we simply carry the words. So where is difficulty? So simply by carrying these words that "Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He wants that you surrender unto Him." So any child can carry these words. Any foolish man can carry these words. And if you do that, Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, then you become guru, simply by carrying these words. Āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra' ei deśa (CC Madhya 7.128). Even in your village, in your home, you can say to your wife, to your children. They will accept you that "Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Then you become guru at home. Where is the difficulty? Is there any difficulty? But people will not do that. This truth they will not say. What is the reason? Say what is the reason why they do not carry this message, simply to say everyone, whomever you meet. You are meeting daily with your wife, your children, your friends. If you simply do this missionary work and say that "Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme," then you become a great devotee. You become a guru. Why people do not do so? It is not very difficult task. This is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission. He said that "By My order you become a guru." Indians especially are advised to become guru because Indians, however fallen they may be, they still have respect for Kṛṣṇa. Every home, they perform Kṛṣṇa's Janmāṣṭamī. So therefore Indians are fortunate. They recognize Kṛṣṇa. Now, to become little more advanced, let them act as Kṛṣṇa's servant. Kṛṣṇa came to speak this truth, that "I am the Supreme." Mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7). Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇam (BG 18.66). He appeared to speak this philosophy. And if you do the same work, that "Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead," then you are serving the mission of Kṛṣṇa, great service to Kṛṣṇa. The words for which He appeared on this earth, if you simply carry these words door to door, village to village, man to man, then you become a guru, a real guru. Not to pose yourself a guru without any knowledge of Kṛṣṇa. That is cheating. And to accept and understand Kṛṣṇa the Supreme thoroughly and preach these words, that "Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead," is the supreme success of life. What is the difficulty? Is there any difficulty? Why don't you do that?

Room Conversation on Farm Management -- December 10, 1976, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: That is not very difficult task.

Mahāṁśa: Because they are all very anxious to see you, because the...

Prabhupāda: All right, I shall go. What is that? The difficulty is I would gone very gladly, but they do not understand my language, neither Hindi, nor English.

Mahāṁśa: It can be translated in Telugu.

Prabhupāda: Then I am shall go. I shall go.

Mahāṁśa: Yes.

Prabhupāda: I shall go. I shall speak. Give them very nice food. From tomorrow I will... If there are rascals, you'll bring. I will pay nice cook. Make varieties, very palatable food. Kichranna,(?) puṣpānna, rice, there are so many preparations. Paramānna. You do not make paramānna, kichranna,(?) puṣpānna. There are varieties of rice preparation. They know, the southern people, with curd, yogurt...

Mahāṁśa: Tamarind.

Room Conversation -- December 26, 1976, Bombay:

Indian man: Either defective machine or defective maintenance.

Prabhupāda: Maybe. But the difficulty is there. (sneezes) (pause)

Indian man: (Hindi)

Prabhupāda: (Hindi) ...31st to go for Bhuvaneśvara. Then come to Kumbha-mela.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Or you can stay here and go to Kumbha-mela straight?

Prabhupāda: That can be also done. I am waiting for one letter from Gaura-Govinda Swami.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Then from Kumbha-mela you can go to Orissa, from Orissa to Māyāpur. Then you have go to Kodekana.

Prabhupāda: Kodekana, have you been ever? I have to inquire whether it is zigzag.

Indian man: Oh, Kodekana. That is very famous place.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Is it zigzag or is it straight?

Indian man: No, zigzag. In the mountain side.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: No that is not good.

Prabhupāda: OK, then it is...

Indian man: Kodekana is outside (indistinct).

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: I mean, is there a train station or airplane, airport?

Indian man: Railway may be going, but even that will be zigzag.

Prabhupāda: Simla, er, Darjeeling is not so zigzag but big, big loops (?).

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- January 8, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Guru is there. Kṛṣṇa. Why don't you find? Why you are blind? Kṛṣṇa says, yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata (BG 4.7). Paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya (BG 4.8). He has come. Why don't you take Him? Why do you go to a cheater? Because you want to be cheated. Guru is there. Śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ prapannam (BG 2.7), Arjuna said. Why don't you surrender to Kṛṣṇa? That means I don't want guru. I want somebody, my order supplier. So how you can be... Because you want to be cheated, you'll get cheater. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmi (BG 4.11). Why don't you accept Kṛṣṇa as guru? What is the difficulty? Is there anybody greater than Kṛṣṇa? Do you think like that? What is your idea?

Guest (2): He is the ultimate. There's nothing more.

Prabhupāda: He is the supreme guru. Mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat (BG 7.7). He's the supreme person. So why don't you accept Him as guru? That means you do not want. Then you must be cheated. If gold is available in a gold shop, purchase there. Why do you go to a pan-wala to purchase gold? Will you not be cheated? You do not know where to purchase gold, and still you are..., "Where is guru?" Go there, where gold is sold. And if you do not know even there, then you must be cheated. You do not know where is gold is available. Unfortunately you go to a pan-wala: "Have you got gold?" He'll give you some gold leaf, that's all: "Here is gold." The real thing is that guru is there, Kṛṣṇa is there. And we are presenting. We are not manufacturing. I do not say that I am guru. Our business is to present what Kṛṣṇa has said. That's all. Therefore I'm guru. Guru is he who speaks Kṛṣṇa's word. That is guru. And if he manufactures, then he is a cheater.

Room Conversation -- January 30, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: Gradually they'll be more interested. So handle them with little care.

Pṛthu-putra: Yes. Has to be handled with very much care actually. But I went in this dhoti even and they were not so...

Prabhupāda: Happy.

Pṛthu-putra: ...surprised. No, no, they were not so surprised. They were wondering how can I wear such a dress. So, but the difficulty is they immediately associate with the idea that I was a religious man, being in such a dress.

Prabhupāda: Yes. No, in Muhammadan country also, there is dress like this. They are called peet.(?)

Pṛthu-putra: Yes. They have these big robes. When they go to the mosque, they put on the robes. In Cairo there is ten thousand mosques. It's incredible. Ten thousand mosques.

Prabhupāda: They're religious.

Pṛthu-putra: Yes. And they come in for the prayer five times a day. They give up immediately whatever they are doing. I saw myself in barber shop, one barber he was getting... (break)

Prabhupāda: To present your case. Comparative study means impartially make comparison. There is no knowledge of God in there. They're all bogus. You cannot say that. But actually they... What do they know about God? They have simply a vague idea. So what is the use of comparison. Then you have to give your judgment—"It is all bogus." That they will not like to hear. But actually that is the position. What complain? What do they know about God? Simply they have got some idea, the Christianity, Muhammadanism, Hind..., everyone. Even Hinduism, they do not know. Therefore they worship so many demigods and ultimately they make nirākāra. Nobody knows God. This is the, perhaps, first time in the history of the world that we are presenting, "Here is God." Here is God. Nobody presented, neither they know it.

Room Conversation -- January 31, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: Yes. Gītā says, but what you say? Recently I went to Wardha, Mahatma Gandhi's āśrama. Nobody is there. And they are worshiping Mahatma's lantern, and Mahatma's cādara. Not a single picture of Kṛṣṇa. (chuckles) There is not a single picture of Kṛṣṇa. And here it is said, bhajate mām ananya-bhāk. This is going on. So read Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. Learn. Everything is there. Make your life successful. That is our proposal. Come here. We have developed this center in good quarter. Discuss Bhagavad-gītā and try to do what Kṛṣṇa says. Make your life perfect. (Hindi) We are misguided. Misguided... (Hindi) Everything is there in the Bhagavad-gītā: "This mahātmā; this is God; this is function; this you have to do." Do it. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). Four things anyone can do. A child can do.

yoginām api sarveṣāṁ

mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā

śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ

sa me yuktatamo mataḥ

(BG 6.47)

First-class yogi—one who is thinking of Kṛṣṇa. (Hindi) There is no difficulty. Take Bhagavān prasāda; chant Bhagavān's name; read Bhagavad-gītā; try to understand. Very easy. What is the difficulty? Is there any difficulty? Hm? Do you think is there any difficulty? (break) ...Hindi.

Guest (7): (Hindi)

Room Conversations -- February 20, 1977, Mayapura:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Nobody has such a distribution force. So here in India the only problem I can see towards actually doing big-scale book distribution is that we don't have so many devotees. And those who we have, have to maintain...

Prabhupāda: The difficulty is, in your country you are not poverty-stricken.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No. We are making devotees.

Prabhupāda: And here they are poverty-stricken. Generally they come, join this institution, those who are poverty-stricken, not willingly, "Oh, here is a good institution. We should join." That is very rarely.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: So what I think is that... But their children will be able to. Like these young boys here.

Prabhupāda: (Bengali) The father-mother cannot maintain them, so entrust them Gauḍīya Maṭha.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Oh. That's what's happening here. That's how we're getting all these boys.

Prabhupāda: Not that willingly they're coming, "Oh, it is good institution." That they do not. One or two, that way they are coming. Otherwise...

Jayapatākā: But the others who are giving the children here, they are seeing that here the child can benefit.

Prabhupāda: Yes, their fathers realize. But generally all helpless people, no caretaking at home, "So let me go to..."

Room Conversations -- February 20, 1977, Mayapura:

Jayapatākā: We'll have four traveling parties.

Prabhupāda: Just like this Gītār Gān. Wherever we are going, selling.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Imagine... All I'm trying to say is if we had more men, the distribution would increase tenfold, hundredfold.

Prabhupāda: Men will come by distribution.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Okay. I was just trying to raise that point.

Jayapatākā: But the difficulty is that the men that are coming, they're not suitable for leading the party. We don't have any men coming, but theoretically when they come, the better class, they could distribute. But for leading would take several years. But their party leaders...

Prabhupāda: It doesn't matter. Let them be leader.

Jayapatākā: There are some distributors in the West that are very... They've been distributing five or six years, and they're very weak, and they want to come to India.

Room Conversation -- February 27, 1977, Mayapura:

Rādhā-vallabha: Yes. That's the actual problem.

Prabhupāda: If they stick to have one husband and one wife, it is very good. Or even the man can marry more than one wife. That is allowed in the Vedic system. The difficulty is nobody remains as wife, nobody remains husband. It is very dangerous. That is against Vedic. Otherwise man can have more than one wife, but woman cannot marry more than one husband. But the system—the boys and girls intermingle so freely, and in your country there is no restriction—naturally it becomes adulterated. That is the danger.

Rādhā-vallabha: So he wanted to know that...

Prabhupāda: Knowing or no knowing, they'll not do with him. So what is the use of consulting me? They'll break. They'll promise and they'll break. How you can make them standardized? They will break.

Rādhā-vallabha: They have to be responsible people.

Prabhupāda: They'll never become. That is my experience. So what is the use of consulting me? They'll never become. Almost impossible. They'll not keep standardized.

Rādhā-vallabha: So it should just be up to them.

Prabhupāda: What is the use of consulting? They'll promise and they'll break.

Room Conversation with Ratan Singh Rajda (Member of Parliament) -- March 27, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: The material adjustment... Just like we felt little danger under the regime of Indira Gandhi. Now we have another feeling. This is material adjustment. Material adjustment may be temporary beneficial, but that is not permanent beneficial.

Mr. Rajda: Unless there is adhyātmika adjustment, there cannot be lasting benefit.

Prabhupāda: The difficulty is... That we do not know. Just like you take a fish from the water and put it on the land. It will never become happy. Again you throw him in the water, he will feel happy. So the living entity is different from prakṛti. In Bhagavad-gītā it is clearly stated, apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakṛtim. These material elements, earth, water, air, fire, ether, mind, intelligence, ego, these are gross and subtle material elements. And the living being, jīva-bhūta, is superior than the inferior material elements. Apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakṛtiṁ parām. Parā-prakṛti, it is part and parcel of God. Unless we understand this fact, which is very nicely explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, this material adjustment will never make us happy.

Mr. Rajda: As far as this change is concerned, the basic difference is formerly there was no moral code observed by the rulers.

Prabhupāda: It can deteriorate at any moment.

Mr. Rajda: That interpretation is there, that is there.

Prabhupāda: You cannot say...

Mr. Rajda: If the rulers, they have got faith in dharma...

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

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. We can take them. Why one hundred million? Whole universe we can take. It is Kṛṣṇa ... Method is simple: you have to follow Caitanya Mahāprabhu and speak Bhagavad-gītā. Bas. Where is the difficulty? Why one hundred million? All, whole universe we can take, provided they are prepared. Our business is not difficult. What Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said we have to execute and speak Bhagavad-gītā. Bas. What I am doing? These two things are. Not at all. But these rascal will not take. They will manufacture their own way of life. That is the... That is dog's obstinacy. Therefore Ṛṣabhadeva says, "Don't become hog and dog here." Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujām. The difficulty is that you can preach nice thing, but they will not accept.

Girirāja: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Then what can be done? A man has fallen in the dark well, crying. You give him one rope: "Catch it." But he'll not catch. Then how you can deliver? Let him suffer. So he had asked him to go to the municipal...?

Girirāja: Yes, 3:30 on Monday. These M.P.'s are just here for a few days, and they have very busy schedule. So I have arranged for one man to come tomorrow. He can see you... (break)

Prabhupāda: So? Now, this nationalism idea, so you have trace out the whole history. By introducing this nationalism, what improvement gave? Nationalism, the leader, it began in Europe, the Romans. They wanted to spread. Where are the Romans now? Carthagian, old history, Egyptian, Grecian, then, later on, Moguls or then British. So where are these groups? "Combined together, exploit others." That was, that means, a gang of rogues. Rogues and thieves, they... And by doing that, what they have actually done? The Romans, now their broken buildings are there. And people go to see the fun, how they used to enjoy. What is that called?

Room Conversation Meeting with Dr. Sharma (from Russia) -- April 17, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Caitanya-līlā can be played very nicely.

Guest (1): And it is maintained at a very remarkable level standard. Performance is very good. This could definitely go in as an Indo-Soviet cultural group, and it would be really educating the masses in no time. It is almost as good as showing them a film show or a cinema.

Prabhupāda: The difficulty is the government has got the cultural department. So they will patronize Lata Mangeskar, but they will not give us money to go there.

Guest (1): That is I am telling. And the associated with ISKCON's...

Prabhupāda: No, I will say, not Lata Mangeskar, any dancing party, they will patronize. But if we go for preaching Bhagavad-gītā...

Dr. Sharma: No, we have to do it in a way that it has (Hindi) We have to take the (Hindi).

Prabhupāda: Yes. If they understand, they can do it.

Dr. Sharma: And we are going to teach something good to somebody.

Prabhupāda: But still, even government does not help, we can spend for it. So what is to be done, if you can arrange, we can send it.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Will you be returning to Russia just now? Or what is your program?

Conversation with Vedic Astronomer -- April 30, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: No, no question of when you met. This was the purpose.

Patita Uddhāraṇa: Can we not begin the chart immediately?

Prabhupāda: I wanted to make it before me.

Indian Astronomer: The difficulty is, we never studied in this way Bhāgavatam, so it is not easy to paint a diagram immediately. It will take time. Studying Bhāgavata, simply what is the text...

Prabhupāda: So you have no practical idea?

Indian Astronomer: Eh?

Prabhupāda: You have no practical idea?

Indian Astronomer: No, have so many ideas, vague, not practical. This is here in five days(?).

Prabhupāda: No, no, vague idea is not good. You for some days stay here and do it here.

Indian Astronomer: I am told that Arka-somayaji is also coming here.

Patita Uddhāraṇa: No, he's not. I never said he was coming.

Prabhupāda: What is the difficulty? The śāstra is there. You have to make drawing according to śāstra. That's all.

Indian Astronomer: You see, everything is separate author. Preparing diagram is separate author.

Prabhupāda: Why separate au...? If you understand clearly, you can make it.

Evening Darsana -- May 9, 1977, Hrishikesh:

Prabhupāda: And big, big leaders, they are utilizing Bhagavad-gītā for so-called nationalism. Why? There is not a single word as "nationalism." As Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya (BG 14.4). Where is nationalism? There is no question of nationalism. So the difficulty is they do not understand even a line of Bhagavad-gītā, and still, the so-called scholars, philosophers, politicians, they are advertising that "I am student." They do not understand even a line of... This is my challenge. What do you think? They do not understand. Even Gandhi did not understand, not a single line.

Indian man (1): Gandhi did believe in trusteeship theory.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Indian man (1): Gandhiji believed in trusteeship theory of Īśopaniṣad.

Prabhupāda: Trusteeship... Trustee... Who will be trustee? Who is trustworthy? All thieves and rogues? Who is trustworthy? Trustee is Kṛṣṇa.

Indian man (1): Or He's the owner.

Prabhupāda: Yes. So He's the owner, and if you follow Kṛṣṇa, then you become trustee. You do not follow Kṛṣṇa; you are unworthy of trusteeship. You interpret in a different way Kṛṣṇa. Even sometimes you say that "Kṛṣṇa is fictitious." Do you not do? Don't you say like that?

Indian man (1): No, not...

Indian man (2): Very passing reference he made once.

Prabhupāda: Why? That means he does not know what is Kṛṣṇa.

Evening Darsana -- May 9, 1977, Hrishikesh:

Prabhupāda: It is already there. It is already there. You kindly take it.

Indian man (3): How to intimate in our daily life...?

Prabhupāda: You understand. The difficulty is you do not understand even a line of Bhagavad-gītā. Still, you say that you are student of Bhagavad-gītā. This is difficulty.

Indian man (3): I see. Then how to understand it?

Prabhupāda: It is there already. But you are blind. You are cheater. You see things, one thing, and you speak another thing. You are cheating. Now, in the beginning of the Bhagavad-gītā, when Arjuna surrendered to Kṛṣṇa as a student-śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ prapannam: (BG 2.7) "Kṛṣṇa, there will be no utility by arguing. I know that I am not doing my duty. I am kṣatriya. I am in the active field, and I am declining to fight. This is not good for me." Kārpaṇya-doṣopahata-svabhāvaḥ: "So I can understand that I am puzzled that how I can kill such enemies who are my family members? This is my problem." (aside:) Here is a monkey. (Hindi)

Indian man (3): There are two.

Prabhupāda: (Hindi) (laughter) And we want to be happy. Tri-tāpa-yantana,(?) three types of miseries, are always there. So Kṛṣṇa, when took charge of teaching him, the first lesson was that "Arjuna, you have talked like a very learned man, but you are not learned."

Conversation, 'Rascal Editors,' and Morning Talk -- June 22, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: No, there is stoppage of change of body when you...

Devotee (3): How so?

Prabhupāda: How you... How you know? You are a rascal. What do you know? You learn it. You are rascal. What you know? You become intelligent. Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). You are a rascal. What do you know? The difficulty is that you are rascal; you want to take the position of a learned man. And that is your fault. You do not accept your position, that you are a rascal.

Devotee (3): So first we must...

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Devotee (3): They must become a little humble.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā (BG 4.34).

Svarūpa Dāmodara: They must know that every knowledge-acquiring process requires certain conditions to be fulfilled in order to understand it, that those conditions have to be acquired. Otherwise it's not possible.

Prabhupāda: So that is the difficulty at the present... A rascal is arguing. What is the meaning of his argument? He's a rascal. It has no meaning.

Devotee (3): All procrastination.

Conversation, 'Rascal Editors,' and Morning Talk -- June 22, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: So that is the difficulty at the present... A rascal is arguing. What is the meaning of his argument? He's a rascal. It has no meaning.

Devotee (3): All procrastination.

Prabhupāda: So read Bhāgavatam very seriously. Then your rascaldom will go. Lokasyājānato vidvāṁś cakre sātvata... All rascals, for their knowledge the Bhāgavata was written. Mūḍho nābhijānāti, mohito nābhijānāti. The difficulty is a rascal is thinking himself as very advanced in knowledge. That is the difficulty.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: That is the trouble with the scientists.

Prabhupāda: Yes. And they are creating greatest trouble.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: They think that the destiny of man lies in their hands. Sometimes they say like that.

Prabhupāda: That is yes. A rascal can become intelligent man. That's good. But without becoming intelligent, remaining rascal, they are living. Otherwise there is no hindrance. I may be rascal, but in future, I may be intelligent by education, by... That is not checked. But the difficulty is that he remains a rascal and claims to be intelligent. That is the difficulty. That is the difficulty. We don't say that "Because you are rascal, you shall continue to remain a rascal." No. You become intelligent. Take advantage of intelligent person. But you remain a rascal and claim to be intelligent, and that is... They are doing. Little learning is dangerous. We say that don't remain rascal. Tamaso mā: "Don't remain in darkness." We say; we are canvassing. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is for that purpose, that "You are rascal, but don't remain a rascal. Come to the light." Tamaso mā jyotir gama. That is our business. But this rascal, he'll remain in rascaldom, and he will claim that "I am not." That is the difficulty. Take enlightenment. Bhāgavata is there. Bhagavad-gītā is there. And become intelligent. But don't claim to be intelligent while you are on the rascal platform. That is not good. That is suicidal. So very carefully read Bhāgavatam. Don't continue to remain rascal. Then life is successful. This is the Western obstinacy. They want to remain in the rascal platform, and still they claim. Is it not?

Room Conversations Bangladesh Preaching/Prabhavisnu Articles by Hamsaduta -- August 11, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Believe. "I believe." You can say also, "I believe." You can say, "I believe." Where is the standard?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda: This is their life. "I believe." Whatever he believes, that's all right. This is going on.

Gurukṛpā: The difficulty is they have no intelligence to understand what they are doing. But if... By mass prasādam distribution they will get intelligence to see the serious sins they are doing.

Prabhupāda: Whole thing is "I believe," "Unless I believe..." Anyone can believe something. Is that knowledge?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No, it's not knowledge. Opinion. Opinion of a drunkard, as you said the other day.

Prabhupāda: Drunkard believes

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: The madman in the mental institution, when you go in there, each one of them is speaking so many things.

Prabhupāda: He believes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Would you like the fan on, Śrīla Prabhupāda?

Gurukṛpā: You mentioned in one of your books that everyone in this material world is considered mad, and a madman speaks all sorts of things. Whatever they speak is to be considered nonsense, because they're all mad.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Some nice mail today, Śrīla Prabhupāda. (break) (end)

Room Conversation With Sri Narayana and Rama-Krsna Bajaj -- October 31, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: The Ayurvedic science is very perfect. But the difficulty is that until now we could not find a doctor who understood the science.

Kavirāja: (Hindi)

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: What did he say?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: He said that the difficulty is to make the medicine. It takes time.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, that's...

Kavirāja: Kidney, it is special.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: It is for kidney, special.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Whew. What is it made from? Śrīla Prabhupāda, Shastriji has made very nice medicine for you, very, very nice. What is that from?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Twenty-two ingredients.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Distilled. No one will take the time anymore these days. How is it given? How is this given?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Drink. One once, one dose.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Whew. This is the science. This is real medicine. It took him seven, eight hours, twenty-two ingredients distilled. He has to distill the water first. Twenty-two ingredients.

Kavirāja: (Hindi) (Prabhupāda drinks medicine)

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: This is for the kidneys?

Kavirāja: (Hindi) Vṛkka-sañjīvanī. (Hindi)

Bhakti-caru: Vṛkka. V-ṛ-k-k-a. Kidney. The Sanskrit name for kidney is vṛkka. Araka(?) means extract, and sañjīva...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: What does that mean? Extractive.

Bhakti-caru: Yes. Extract, to revitalize the kidney. No, our medicine for revitalizing the kidney.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Śrīla Prabhupāda, would you like a little soft kīrtana?

Prabhupāda: No. Now let me take rest.

Room Conversation -- November 3, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: The difficulty is on the, this road.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, it's very bad.

Prabhupāda: What is the condition?

Śatadhanya: I came by train just now.

Bhavānanda: Kavirāja said, Śrīla Prabhupāda, that under no condition should you go on that road.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It's lucky that the car didn't arrive in time, Śrīla Prabhupāda. He said under no circumstances can you be taken over that road.

Śatadhanya: It must have been Kṛṣṇa's arrangement to protect Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Śrīla Prabhupāda knew it.

Śatadhanya: The weather in Bengal is very nice, very warm and very nice weather.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: You saw Mr. Shastri? Kavirāja?

Śatadhanya: No, I left that night he was to arrive.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Adri had gotten back?

Śatadhanya: Not when I left.

Bhavānanda: He left the night I left.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: How did he come? By plane?