Tremendous (Conversations)

Expressions researched:
"tremendous" |"tremendously"

1968 Conversations and Morning Walks

Interview -- September 24, 1968, Seattle:

Interviewer: What do you offer to Kṛṣṇa? That is, do you offer money in the sense of an offering in a Christian church or do you burn anything, for example, incense or could you explain this?

Prabhupāda: Yes. The flowers, incense, and fruits, the same thing. I have already explained that whatever He has described in the Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṇa says that "Anyone offering Me these things in devotion..." So we follow the same principle. So it is very nice thing. If the students follow, they can follow it individually. Even in his own apartment he can keep a picture of Kṛṣṇa and offer a lamp, a candle, and one, I mean to say, incense. He will feel tremendously spiritually advanced. And if he reads these books, his life will be changed completely. That is a fact. (break) And two boys, Kṛṣṇānanda and one German boy, is going there very soon. So, of course, we do not expect to sell English books in Germany very much, but maybe... (end)

1969 Conversations and Morning Walks

Prabhupada Listening to Recording of His Own Room Conversation with Students -- April 25, 1969, Boston:

Student (1): My question, that one child (inaudible)...Kṛṣṇa conscious... (Break) ...I don't know...

Prabhupāda: I told you that I do not expect that everyone will be Kṛṣṇa conscious. That is not possible. But if there is one moon in the sky, that is sufficient to eradicate the darkness. You don't require many stars. Ekaś candras tamo hanti na ca tārā sahasraśaḥ. If one man understands perfectly what is this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is, he can do tremendous benefit to the other people. So you are all intelligent boys and girls. You try to understand this Kṛṣṇa consciousness philosophy with all your reason or argument. But try to understand it seriously. Don't make it a farce. That is the object of life.

Room Conversation -- April 27, 1969, Boston:

Satsvarūpa: Well, the temple room is maybe even smaller than the present temple room, but then there's another large, very large room for a kitchen and then another space where bunks could be for sleeping. So there's actually three different spaces. The thing is that the main temple hall is not too large.

Prabhupāda: That's all right. That doesn't matter. You have to take saṅkīrtana party. That should be the main business. And the..., at least sixteen men, four mṛdaṅgas. Practice mṛdaṅga like that. And twelve cymbals, and one chanting and all others responding. Oh, it will be tremendous. Take some flags, "ISKCON, Hare Kṛṣṇa" flag, red flag. You see? And conchshell, mṛdaṅga. In New York they are doing now, and they also one day collected 240 dollars or something like that. What is that?

Puruṣottama: 247.

Prabhupāda: 247. You see? (chuckles)

Haṁsadūta: I'll try in Montreal. We have new devotees now, lot of new boys.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Oh, you will get devotees. You just begin saṅkīrtana party. You will get many devotees. You see? In Los Angeles, daily the devotees, new devotees, are coming, and very nice boys. We are now searching after a bigger place. Yes. That temple is not sufficient, although that is the biggest center of all our centers. It has got compound. It has got parking place. It has got two big halls, one big room, one big kitchen, and three, four, five small rooms. It is a nice situation, you see, just suitable for our purpose. And they decorate Jagannātha very nicely. Yes. So increase centers. And what is the name of the boy who went to... Nanda-rūpa(?). He wants to open Toronto?

Haṁsadūta: In Toronto. Toronto is a very good place to go.

Prabhupāda: So let him open.

Meeting with Devotees -- June 9, 1969, New Vrindaban:

Kīrtanānanda: I've never been able to figure that out, Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Kīrtanānanda: The Hindus, they think it is such a tremendous thing to give up meat-eating, and here we have been raised with meat-eating, and we have no problem whatever. To us it is nothing to give up...

Prabhupāda: No. There is no problem for Vaiṣṇava here in America. They are not trained. They are simply... Just like there are so many Christians. Practically they are not following. Similarly, these Hindus at the present moment, they are in name. Either Hindus, Muslim, or..., they are in name only.

Kīrtanānanda: There's no real substance.

Prabhupāda: No.

Kīrtanānanda: When one starts tasting the real substance then there is no problem giving up any of the...

Prabhupāda: Yes. When he gives importance to Kṛṣṇa he can sacrifice everything for Kṛṣṇa. That is another state. That is not ordinary stage. That is transcendental state. Yes.

1970 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- December 21, 1970, Surat:

Śyāmasundara: They make such a tremendous sound that they break windows and everything else.

Prabhupāda: Now we are with Sambhu in Bombay. As soon as the aeroplane would come on top of the house it is just like thunderbolt. Yes. At least I was feeling like that. Vajrapa. You see? So this is called illusion. We are creating a civilization which is so much painful, but we are thinking that we are advanced. This is illusion. We are creating simply problems, and still, we are thinking that we are advanced. And Bhāgavata says that there is no problem. Tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido na labhyate yad bhramatām upary adhaḥ (SB 1.5.18). You simply try for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And then how I shall live? That, the answer, is tal labhyate duḥkhavad anyataḥ sukham. Just like you don't aspire for miseries, but it comes upon you, it is forced upon you, similarly, happiness also will be forced upon you, whatever you are destined to receive. So don't try for happiness or discarding distress. That will go on. You simply try for Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which, without your trying, it will never be fulfilled. You have to voluntarily try for Kṛṣṇa consciousness, revive it. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). You do it—because you have to do it. Kṛṣṇa can force you to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. But He doesn't do that. He doesn't interfere with your independence. He says, "Do it." Therefore you have to try for it, not for other things. Other things, already there are. For the birds and beasts there is no problem for eating. Why your problem should be? Just like a prisoner. He has no problem for eating. The government supplies. He has only problem that he should not be criminal. That is his problem. He should try for that: "No more I shall become a criminal." That is the real activity. But he thinks... If in the prisonhouse you say, "What shall I eat?" no, eating is already there. Even you are a prisoner, the government has supplied his eating. Similarly, God has supplied everyone, cats and dogs, for eating. Why not for you? You have created your own problem. Real problem is how to develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido na labhyate yad bhramatām upary adhaḥ (SB 1.5.18). Kṛṣṇa consciousness is that.

1971 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Dr. Karan Singh, -- November 25, 1971, Delhi:

Dr. Singh: Handed down.

Prabhupāda: That I have spoken. Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (BG 4.2). So this knowledge were being studied by the king, because it is the responsibility of the king to see that the citizens are happy in every all respects.

Dr. Singh: Sretaketu(?) also went to the king to ask him. Your movement has spread with tremendous rapidity.

Prabhupāda: Because it is genuine.

Dr. Singh: And the sheep are very hungry. (laughs)

Prabhupāda: I want to revive brāhmaṇa-ism, kṣatriya-ism. Unless you do that, there cannot be any peace. Dharma. Dharma means this classification dharma. There are two kinds of dharmas. One, material dharma, and another, spiritual dharma. Actually, dharma means spiritual. But so long we do not come to the standard platform of spiritual dharma, we have to regulate our life in such a way that we may come ultimately to the spiritual platform. So that material dharma is that, as Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13).

Room Conversation with Dr. Karan Singh, -- November 25, 1971, Delhi:

Dr. Singh: Really? In fact, we must get Swamiji to sign your books. I have got all your books.

Prabhupāda: So some of the points... What was the points?

Śyāmasundara: That every statement of Hinduism in the context of the nuclear age assumes tremendous importance.

Prabhupāda: Yes. So that we are doing.

Dr. Singh: Yes.

Prabhupāda: We are giving shape to your philosophy. Just like it was the conception that in India there are brāhmaṇas only. Amongst the Hindus, there are brāhmaṇas.

Dr. Singh: (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: Is it not? Now we are creating brāhmaṇas from America, from Australia. Is it not re-creation of (indistinct)?

Dr. Singh: Restatement of Hinduism.

Śyāmasundara: He has always been open to creative reinterpretation.

Prabhupāda: This is creative reinterpretation. We are accepting brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas—especially brāhmaṇas—from every community.

1972 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- May 4, 1972, Mexico:

Devotee: I'd like to ask what do the scientists explain is the origin of life? Do they have any explanation how life is caused?

Martin: Oh, scientists concern themselves with the process, not the reason. Right now, scientists are spending a tremendous amount of time duplicating this process, trying to be able to produce life in the laboratory. This now, they are saying that thus they will be able to say that this is how life started at the beginning of the world. It does not take... Scientists don't concern themselves with why life started, just how, what method.

Devotee: What do they think, how it started?

Martin: Oh, they think life started by the effect of the atmosphere...

Prabhupāda: Then the atmosphere is the cause. Then next question is, Who created the atmosphere? (break)

Martin: This doesn't... This is why I feel science... I don't feel...

Prabhupāda: They have not found out the ultimate cause. They take a process which is going in the middle way; therefore their science is imperfect. But our science is perfect. We have found out the ultimate cause.

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

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Same thing when they discovered atomic bomb, they did not know what's going to happen. This Einstein proposed the equation that a small mass can be converted to a tremendous amount of energy, like his equation that energy is equal to the mass times the square of the velocity of light. So he from his theory found that this is happening, this is a physical law. So if we have a small amount of mass, and if we subject to this equation, then there will be a tremendous amount of energy. But later on it happened that they used the knowledge in the wrong direction. So many people got killed. And at the moment, the so-called genetic engineering...

Prabhupāda: That also they do not understand properly, because they do not see the spiritual energy. Just like we know that within this body there is a small bit of spiritual energy, spark, which is ten thousand part of the tip of the hair. How small it is. But due to its presence within the body, the body is working so nicely. We know that, that how a small particle of spiritual energy can work so wonderfully. They do not know it.

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

Svarūpa Dāmodara: So nowadays the scientists are also thinking that there have been so many mistakes, so...

Prabhupāda: They will find out.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: So they say that this atomic energy, this bombing, was a tremendous mistake on the part of the... They say this mostly responsible by politicians, not on the part of scientists, the scientists say. But on the other hand, the public say, people say, the scientists are responsible because they discovered the...

Prabhupāda: Yes, they are responsible. If you give a sharpened razor in the hands of a child, the child will cut here and there. So who is responsible: the parent or the child?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Parent.

Prabhupāda: So the rascal scientist is responsible for giving such things in the hands of the rascals. Politicians are the most rascal; the most scoundrel, they go to politics. Politician means a tenth-class man. No first-class man goes to politics. Suppose if somebody says to me that "You come and become president." Why shall I go there? What can I do there? I know I shall not be able to do anything, so why shall I take the post?

Jayatīrtha: They just like to lord it over.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- May 1, 1973, Los Angeles:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: From sand?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: There is a compound that is called silicon carbide. That is, I think, it is very hard, as hard as diamond They make silicon carbide. I'm not sure but silicon carbide or tungsten carbide. They are used for cutting diamond. They are harder than diamond. Very strong, very hard. They combine this with carbon. It requires tremendous amounts of force to do this, high temperature, high pressure. (pause)

Prabhupāda: Anything eatables?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: (Laughs) No, not so far.

Brahmānanda: Future.

Prabhupāda: "In future." But God creates so many eatables from sand. Do you know?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: The smaller birds, they are eating something from sand?

Prabhupāda: No, even for man. The cantaloupe, watermelon, they are produced in sand in large quantity. Kharmuja. (Bengali)

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Lemons also.

Prabhupāda: Not lemon. Watermelon. These are the products of the desert, as well as dates. Just like these date trees can grow in sand.

Room Conversation With David Lawrence -- July 12, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: If you keep the students as English boys or American boys, then it will be difficult. Then the, the cultural question will come up.

David Lawrence: Yes, yes. We try to bring in as much... In fact, now we have a new course... This is the sort of thing that's happening. (Break) ...the Jewish-Christian scriptures which do not, you know, just don't lend themselves in any way to the right sort of feelings being created and the right sort of experience being created. We found that this year's course-it's the first year-has been tremendously helpful. We brought the boys... I can't think anybody was here, but we brought the boys up to the London temple, and...

Prabhupāda: Here?

David Lawrence: Yes. Well, no, in the Bury Place. And they were thrilled to bits. We had one or two who made the usual silly comments, you know, which you'd expect. But they were embarrassed, you know. Everything that came over, which was interesting, was that they found that all the devotees were very kind, very loving and very sincere. This, this came from even really the most secular of boys with a very, very low intelligence. He could see and perceive and understand that this was how it was.

Prabhupāda: That is our general certificate, everywhere. Even the Americans, they are surprised. They inquire, "Are you Americans?" (laughter.)

Room Conversation With David Lawrence -- July 12, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

David Lawrence: It was tremendous. In fact, one boy we found listening to the George Harrison record. You can tell George this if you like. He was listening to the record quietly in the music room that we have at our school with the big speakers, you know. Lots of noise. And he was reading these words. And he put the words down. And I was watching him...

Prabhupāda: "I am in material world."

David Lawrence: Yes. "Living in the material world."

Prabhupāda: That is a very nice song.

David Lawrence: And he sat there, and he was praying. And I didn't interfere. And he came out of the room after having turned the record player off. I said, "Well, you know, what were you doing in there?" And he said, "This, this record has been a complete experience to me." And that, if George could know that... It was tremendous, really tremendous to see this happening. George's record is so devotional, you know. It's really beautiful.

Prabhupāda: I talked with him about this material world in his house... When?

Śyāmasundara: Oh, it was last August, I think. Or July.

Prabhupāda: Last... I went to his house at Henley on the Thames.

Room Conversation With David Lawrence -- July 12, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: Ah, na patiḥ. And one should not become husband also. Because husband is supposed to be instructor to the wife. Husband is the guardian of the wife. So he's responsible for her spiritual advancement. As much as the father is responsible for the spiritual advancement of his child, the spiritual master is responsible... Anyone who is claiming to be superior, he should be responsible for the inferior's spiritual advancement of life. So the conclusion is that they should not claim to become such and such unless they are able to save the subordinate from the imminent danger of death. Because death is there so long one is not spiritually advanced. As soon as one is spiritually advanced, he goes to the spiritual world, transferred. Mad-yājino 'pi yānti mām (BG 9.25). Spiritually advancement means to be transferred to the spiritual world. So this is the main business of the father, of the husband, of the spiritual master, of the king, of the guardian, of kinsmen. Everyone should be alert: "Whether I am helping my subordinate in the spiritual advancement of life." Because that will save him from the repetition of birth and death. And otherwise, what benefit you can do? If he's under the laws of karma, if he's going to become a cat or dog in next life, what help you have given to him? If he's under the laws of karma, then your help is no use. Your help is no use.

David Lawrence: It's a tremendous responsibility.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Tremendous responsibility. So everyone should be responsible to save his subordinate from the laws of karma. So laws of karma can be broken. Karmāṇi nirdahati ca bhakti-bhājām (Bs. 5.54). One who has taken to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, bhakti, devo..., bhakti-yoga, he's no longer under the laws of karma. And that is also... Take Bhagavad-gītā.

Garden Conversation with Mahadeva's Mother and Jesuit Priest -- July 25, 1973, London:

Mother: Who gave you the talent, father?

Prabhupāda: No, I'm asking that what is the best part of education? So far my school, college education is concerned, that is not being used here.

Mother: Oh, but you're cultured. You in your old age are getting tremendous comfort from being able to read and understand what the world is doing, the goodness of your books, and you have..., you're able to understand the spiritual way of life.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That...

Mother: If you couldn't, if you hadn't been educated, father, well, how would you be able to have...?

Prabhupāda: No, education is required.

Mother: Now, I, I, I don't... I am so happy that my son is happy, truthfully. But I am very distressed... And little boys, don't laugh because this is serious. Um. I am very distressed that none of these boys continue their education. What is going to happen to them when they are like you, when they're older, they have no talents?

Prabhupāda: But your educational system, in the western countries, the, you have got big, big universities. Why the university students becoming hippies?

Mother: Oh, well, there're always a certain amount becoming hippies, in America, anywhere. But we must...

Prabhupāda: No...

Mother: But we must develop...

Prabhupāda: I think the college students university students, they're all hippies.

Garden Conversation with Mahadeva's Mother and Jesuit Priest -- July 25, 1973, London:

Mother: Well, I think... No, well, I don't think we're really worried about whether we kill or you...

Prabhupāda: So similarly, if I take milk from the cows, that is also cow's blood, but I don't kill it. So if I can live in such nice way, without killing, I get the fruits and flowers and the milk and the grains, why should I kill the animals?

Mother: There're a tremendous number of people being vegetarians today.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Mother: You're not the only people. I mean, a lot of people just have, yes, they do...

Prabhupāda: That is nice. That is nice, very nice. They should be vegetarian.

Mother: ...but we don't condemn people who do.

Prabhupāda: That will make them less sinful. And that will qualify them to go back to home, back to Godhead. If they remain sinful, they cannot go.

Garden Conversation with Mahadeva's Mother and Jesuit Priest -- July 25, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: That is my duty.

Mother: You've helped them tremendously, and I can see this, but I am so sad that you can't help them to further their education. That's all my, my problem is...

Mahādeva: Prabhupāda was making the point that the purpose of education is to know God.

Mother: Yes, I know. I know. Yes, he has, and I've seen that point.

Prabhupāda: Don't you think this is education?

Mother: Well...

Prabhupāda: This translator work?

Mother: Yes.

Prabhupāda: If we are teaching our boys...

Mother: But you know what I me...

Prabhupāda: ...Sanskrit and English to translate the original Vedic lit..., is it not education?

Mother: Yes, I agree with you. That is education. But I mean a fuller education.

Prabhupāda: You are trying to induce our students to become technologists, medical men. You want that.

Mother: Yes, because the world must have them.

Morning Walk -- August 30, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: What is this?

Śyāmasundara: It's a sentry post for watchguards.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

David Lawrence: Once again, many thanks for your tremendous cooperation and as I say I hope it won't put you to too much work. Obviously some of these things have already been met. To a certain extent we've done some of the work already, haven't we?

Prabhupāda: Some of our students may read. If it is presented, if it is misrepresented then it is useless to publish.

David Lawrence: I don't want that to happen, you see. This is why I'm so anxious that at every stage it be seen.

Prabhupāda: So you read it and find out.

David Lawrence: Will you?

Śyāmasundara: Sure, sure, sure.

David Lawrence: That will be... I've said to the publishers, as far as I'm concerned, they've given me a date at the end of September, but I've said if the people in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement do not accept what I've put forward as a representative view of their own, then the date's going to go back. I've said that. So that's an accepted idea.

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Room Conversation with Indian Ambassador -- September 5, 1973, Stockholm:

Prabhupāda: But, uh, no, this is Bhāgavatam.

Ambassador: Śrī Bhāgavatam.

Prabhupāda: Similar, another fifty-four volumes is to be published.

Ambassador: Oh, it's a tremendous undertaking.

Prabhupāda: Oh yes.

Ambassador: Whatever might be the difference of opinion about the, you know, the subtleties, you see, this itself is very great.

Prabhupāda: And we have given each meaning of... You can see the Sanskrit verse, how we have explained. Here and in America especially, as soon as they see, they purchase the whole set. Six copies. See.

Ambassador: Beautiful. Very, very elegant English also. (Reads Sanskrit verse:) Brahmaṇe darśayan rūpam avyalīka-vratādṛtaḥ. And then you, you make it easy. Actually, it's...

Prabhupāda: Transliteration also.

Ambassador: ...It's for students also.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Transliteration.

Room Conversation with Indian Ambassador -- September 5, 1973, Stockholm:

Ambassador: Oh, only?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Ambassador: That's tremendous.

Prabhupāda: Now it is all over.

Ambassador: Yes.

Prabhupāda: All over the world. From this Sweden to Australia, New Zealand, North and South. And all round the world.

Ambassador: What about Germany also?

Prabhupāda: Yes. He's in charge of this zone.

Ambassador: The Germans are very...

Haṁsadūta: Yes, we have a temple in Berlin, and Munchen, and Hamburg and Heidelberg.

Prabhupāda: No, we are not discouraged. We are not discouraged. But sometimes we are sorry that such a nice movement...

Ambassador: Is not supported. I mean, I... We have this dilemma. I'm being very honest with you. First, we have got the dilemma of choosing the right thing, you know, because so many people claim to speak about reviving Hinduism.

Prabhupāda: But, as, as you find out... Just like you issue license to medical practitioner. Registered medical... Why don't you see that which movement is genuine? That is the duty of the government. But the government is also, they're unaware about which one is actually... (Devotees bring in prasāda.)

Room Conversation -- November 2, 1973, New Delhi:

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Śyāmasundara: Big post.

Prabhupāda: Well, these politicians are politicians. Anyway, we...

Śyāmasundara: At least, if they come, everything will be successful.

Prabhupāda: Indira, simply Indira Gandhi comes, it will be tremendous success.

Śyāmasundara: Yes. Crowds will come. People will donate money for the pandala.

Prabhupāda: So when the pandala will be erected?

Tejas: It will begin on the fourth, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Devotee: It will begin on the fourth.

Prabhupāda: That place is nice, but it is not as public as the L.I.C.

Tejas: We need some... For that reason, we need some very good chief guest and some good publicity.

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Christian Priest -- June 9, 1974, Paris:

Bhagavān: This is one of our other specialties.

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. Prasāde sarva-duḥkhānāṁ hānir asya upajāyate.

Devotee: This is also a translation of the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. It's a description of the activities of Lord Kṛṣṇa. That's in two volumes.

Priest: It's a tremendous work.

Prabhupāda: Our books are selling very nice. Last year we have sold four million copies throughout the whole world.

Devotee: This is Nectar of Devotion by a chief disciple of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He quotes from all different scriptures, the Purāṇas, and he supports devotional service.

Priest: This is what you use for your devotional service?

Devotee: They're a model.

Garden Conversation Excerpt -- July 11, 1974, Los Angeles:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Atomic bomb normally acts as, ah, what happened is the particles floating in the atmosphere, like chemicals, chemicals, what happened is this explosion offers this, ah, fundamental particles like neutrons, electrons, they bombard further atoms which are already in the atmosphere. So one by one they knock out these smaller particles called electrons. They move very high velocity. There is a very tremendous energy, amount of energy released. So one... So suppose first atomic bomb, ah, the, ah, the energy-bringing substance like electron, neutron, hits another atom, and then it knocks out several of that sort, and then it makes a chain reaction, not stopping because..., and thereby several atoms they will knock each other, one by one, without stopping. Small particles, so much energy has got. But in the sun planet, where it is so hot, it is already probably more powerful that the atomic bomb itself.

Prabhupāda: Therefore this example. (laughs) What it will act, the atomic bomb, in the sun planet? Similarly, Brahmā might have possessed some power, but what is that power in comparison to Kṛṣṇa? Every power is derived from Him; so Brahmā's mystic power cannot act on Kṛṣṇa. (end)

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

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

Prabhupāda: Make it suitable. Hm. All right.

Madhudviṣa: They don't want to go.

Prabhupāda: All right. (laughter) (break)

Madhudviṣa: ...one of our very dear friends, Raymond Lopez. He is a barrister and a visitor who has helped us out tremendously with some of the legal dealings that we've had here in Melbourne. And also this is Mr. Wally Strobes(?), he has also helped us out and given us good guidance. And this is Bob Bourne(?), he is a photographer who has... He has taken that nice picture of the Deities that I have brought to Māyāpur festival.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes.

Madhudviṣa: Very nice. So he has taken many photographs for us. And we are particularly indebted to Wally and Raymond for giving us a lot of good guidance in our dealings with the police. And one time we had one incident about three years ago, when some of the boys were a little enthusiastic about Ratha-yātrā festival, and they went out and they picked many flowers illegally. So they were caught.

Prabhupāda: Illegally? Where? In the park?

Madhudviṣa: No. In one flower-growing nursery.

Room Conversation with the Mayor of Evanston -- July 4, 1975, Chicago:

Prabhupāda: ...magazine?

Mayor: No. I know about the article on the crime and I have it at home, but I have not read it as yet. But we certainly know that it's a tremendous problem in the United States, perhaps throughout the world and certainly here.

Prabhupāda: It is not a problem. Just like there is disease, and there is remedy also. And as much as the disease is chronic, the remedy is also costly. So in the western countries—do not mind—they are not trying to educate first-class men, and that is the difficulty. This advancement, technical knowledge, to have nice motor cars or big, big buildings, highways, this is very good, but this is not the aim of life.

Mayor: No, material things should not be.

Prabhupāda: They are missing the aim of life. That is the... The aim of life is, an..., not according to Vedic, but anyone, the aim of life is how to realize God. That is aim. In the animal life or in other lives less important than the human being there is no question of God realization. In the human life, the civilized human life, there is religion. It doesn't matter whether one is Christian or a Hindu or a Muslim or a Buddhist. These are the principle religions of the world. So any civilized man must be inquisitive to know what is the original source of everything. That philosophy is there.

Room Conversation with Lt. Mozee, Policeman -- July 5, 1975, Chicago:

Prabhupāda: Yes. That I have already in the beginning said, that give us facilities, the authorities, to chant the holy name of God and distribute prasādam. Prasādam means...

Lt. Mozee: Yes, I understand.

Prabhupāda: ...some refreshment as remnants of foodstuff of God. Then it will make tremendous change. I came from India alone; now I have got so many followers. So what did I do? I did the same thing. I asked them to sit down, and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, and distribute them little prasādam. This should be done in a mass scale, and then things will become very peaceful. It is fact. So I want little cooperation of the authorities to give me the facility, how I can call many men together, chant together Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, and I supply them little refreshment, that's all.

Morning Walk -- October 25, 1975, Mauritius:

Prabhupāda: Waking tablets and so on, so on. Tranquilization tablet.

Brahmānanda: They had one tablet for pregnant mothers, and that tablet was used very much in Europe, and that tablet proved to be very harmful to the children that were born. They created terrible deformities amongst many, many children. So there was a tremendous lawsuit against the company. I think it was a German company.

Prabhupāda: What for the tablet was used?

Brahmānanda: Some vitamin for the pregnant mothers.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Thalidomide, yes?

Brahmānanda: Yes.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: The babies they came out with no arms. Just hands like this coming from their shoulder. Flippers.

Prabhupāda: Just see. This is their cheating. (break) ...everything had been experimented, and they were defeated; still, "science." This is their foolishness. (break) ...telling me that fifty thousand people died by motor accident?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: I was telling you that. In America they used to have...

Prabhupāda: One city is finished.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- April 20, 1976, Melbourne:

particularly throughout Australia?

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

Mike Barron: What is the biggest obstacle for people to overcome?

Prabhupāda: Their dullness. They are not being educated, but they are putting into the darkness of ignorance more and more. That is going on in the name of education.

Mike Barron: But some people are confused by the number of false gurus.

Prabhupāda: So why you bring guru? You try to understand yourself. If you are fool, then what guru will do?

Mike Barron: But there are people...

Prabhupāda: You should be intelligent. You should know that what is the subject matter of knowledge. Why do you accept so many fools and rascals as guru? First of all you know what is the subject matter of knowledge. Just like if you want to become a carpenter, you should go to an expert carpenter. If you want to be a medical man, here, if you want to become medical man, you must approach the medical college. So first of all, what do you want? You do not know what you want. Therefore you get so many cheaters. You do not know what you want.

Room Conversation -- April 23, 1976, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: But you are now claiming it is your land. The Africans, they are claiming. So much land, you can produce ten times food grains for as many population as there are. Ten times milk is required, food grain is required. That is the instruction of Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyaṁ vaiśya-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.44).

Mr. Dixon: If we produced all of the foods that we could produce and we literally gave them away to other countries that need them, we'd produce a tremendous disincentive in those countries for their own production. I don't think it's as easy, the world...

Prabhupāda: Production.... You take the total land as God's property, and all the population, they are sons of God. Then whole problem solved. Everything solved. If economic problem is solved, then social, political, religious, philosophical, everything is solved.

Mr. Dixon: If there was exchange for that money, I think you'd be right.

Prabhupāda: No money required. No money required. Simply one is required to work to produce food grain. That's all. No money required. And God has given us so much land that we can produce food grain and we can keep cows' milk, and from milk we derive so many rich, nutritious, full of vitamins foodstuff that the whole economic question solved immediately. But we are producing.... Instead of food grain, we are producing tobacco for smoking cigarette. We are producing coffee for going to hell. So how you can expect social reformation? In Africa I have seen. Instead of producing grain, they are producing coffee, tea, and keeping the cows for killing, making business to sell meat to other countries.

Morning Walk -- June 5, 1976, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: That is very easy. If you increase the number of your devotees, government hears you(?). That is not very difficult thing. Simply you have to increase our supporters; then the government is there.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Actually, although the actual number of initiated devotees is still few, there is a growing, ever-growing number of sympathizers.

Prabhupāda: Supporters, yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Tremendous number, Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: So you make good supporter, then government is yours.

Rāmeśvara: Then it's all based on selling your books more and more.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Oh, yes.

Rāmeśvara: That is the principal way to increase our supporters and thus deliver the whole world.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: When people ask me, "How many members do you have, how many people?" I don't answer any more "Five thousand," or something like that. Now I tell them many millions. Because the thing is when they ask, when you ask someone how many Christians are there in America, of such and such sect, they don't mean priests, they mean also the people who are coming.

Rāmeśvara: Congregation.

Prabhupāda: Congregation.

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

Prabhupāda: No, no culture. There is no culture. There is no standard social life. Simply hodgepodge. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is the only hope to bring everything in proper order. Everything is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. So America is the leading nation of the world. If you work on the principle of Bhagavad-gītā and train up your people, it will be ideal state and example for the whole world. At least a certain section of the American population should be ideal. That will also do. Not that..., we cannot expect cent percent will take Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is not needed. But if there is one section of the people ideal, that will be followed. We want to create that section, our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.

Stansky: May I pose a question, Your Grace? It's less than two weeks that I'm asking you for the second time to instruct me. You gave me some very general instructions in my last audience, and I'm very grateful. Many things have transpired since then. I'm now here in Detroit; we'll be going on to Toronto very shortly. From Toronto to Chicago, and then I'm not sure what the agenda is. I'm tremendously pleased because it's giving me an opportunity to work in the area that you said I should be working in. In addition to which I have ample time to study. And I have the assistance of Satsvarūpa with my studies. Now I have a question. I would like to keep a log of my daily activities and start preparing an outline of a book. Now the book very basically won't.... I won't be starting on the book for at least a year, but I would like to start keeping a log.

Prabhupāda: You can keep record.

Morning Walk -- June 17, 1976, Toronto:

Prabhupāda: I do not know.

Bhakta Gene: You didn't meet with him? He was supposedly the most prominent mystical writer within the Catholic Church in the past one hundred years. His writings gained tremendous prominence in the past..., oh, the past twenty-five years.

Prabhupāda: Prominence amongst whom?

Bhakta Gene: Uh, amongst Christians. And non-Christians as well. He made a trip to the East. He had an accident in the East and was electrocuted. Oh, this is some ten years ago now.

Jayādvaita: He wrote that original introduction for your first Bhagavad-gītā published by Macmillan.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Bhakta Gene: Well, this raises a question in my mind, Your Grace. Within Christianity there has been a history of mysticism from 100 A.D. to the present. Now there have been some prominent mystics, a few prominent mystics, and a great many not so prominent. Now how do you classify these men, these Christian mystics, Protestant as well as Catholic?

Prabhupāda: It is some yogic mysticism. It has nothing to do with spiritual life. They want to see some miracles, generally, ordinary public. So this mystic power, show some miracles and make them astonished. That's all. It has nothing to do with spiritual life.

Room Conversation -- July 4, 1976, Washington D.C.:

Prabhupāda: Therefore I say...

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: There was an article in the newspaper about that today. Very interesting. It said in the newspaper that if women stop breast feeding their children they will have to increase the population of dairy cows tremendously. A very small percentage do now.

Prabhupāda: They have to increase?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: More and more cows to produce enough milk to feed children.

Prabhupāda: And therefore we are killing children. There is no problem, we shall kill our.... Why do you call? Let us kill, wholesale. And go to ball dance.

Hari-śauri: The whole civilization is complete crazy.

Prabhupāda: Kartikeya told me. After many years he went to see his mother, and mother was going to ball dance. And mother said, "Wait, I am coming back." And he was surprised. He told me. Son has come home after many years, and she could not talk with him. She was going to ball dance.

Conversation with Prof. Saligram and Dr. Sukla -- July 5, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Dr. Sukla: Therefore you are doing so with tremendous success.

Prabhupāda: Yes, people say that "Swamiji, you have done wonder, you have..." so on, so on, so on. But I do not know what is wonder. I know it is certain that I have not adulterated. That much I know. But I do not know how to play wonders. That I do not know. But I am certain that I have not adulterated what Kṛṣṇa has said. That's all. And I study everything by the crucial test of Kṛṣṇa's teaching. That's all. Kṛṣṇa says:

na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ

prapadyante narādhamāḥ

māyayāpahṛta jñānā

āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ

(BG 7.15)

As soon as we see that somebody is not Kṛṣṇa conscious or Kṛṣṇa's devotee, I take them immediately he's a duṣkṛtina, he's a mūḍha, he's a narādhama. "Oh, he's educated!" māyāyapahṛta-jñānā. Finish. Our study finish. We take it immediately that here is a māyayāpahṛta-jñānā. That's all. Āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ. Because he denies to accept Kṛṣṇa, he must be within this group. Duṣkṛtina, mūḍha, narādhama, māyayāpahṛta-jñānā. So people will be sorry or happy, we take them like that, that "Here is a duṣkṛtina," that's all.

Evening Darsana -- September 1, 1976, Delhi:

Indian man (3): After that you don't know. After that where you go, you don't know.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Indian man (3): Well, this is God's work, Lord Kṛṣṇa's work. I am trying (indistinct) to cooperate with you because nobody can do.

Prabhupāda: No, you have done tremendous work.

Indian man (3): No, but which is very little considering the situation, the condition, problem (in the) country. I am at a lower level than your level than your work (indistinct).

Prabhupāda: The one encouraging thing in this movement is that our books are being very much appreciated. In all universities, foreign and Indian, libraries, professors, learned scholars.

Indian man (3): Yes, they'll branch out and... It's a great service.

Prabhupāda: We are selling books to the extent of sixty thousand dollars daily. That is our only hope, that we shall not be financially in difficulty. People are taking our books very nicely. People are accepting our literature.

Press Interview -- October 16, 1976, Chandigarh:

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Could we just take two minutes of your time? This is a review from Śrī Baradraj, Principle of Government College for Men, Chandigarh. He says, "Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is one of the great classics of India. This commentary is a significant contribution to the religious literature of this country. Many of the conflicting views on certain ślokas have been beautifully resolved by Swamiji. I congratulate the members of the Society for bringing out this wonderful work in such a lucid form. I shall be looking forward to the other publications." This is a review from Dr. Varsneya (?), senior professor and Head of Hindi Department, Dean and Curator of Arts, honorary librarian, Allahabad University, Allahabad. "Śrī A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda has really done a great service to Indian philosophy, religion and culture by translating Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam into English, with learned commentaries, and has thus provided source material to the Western world. Other philosophical and religious works published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust also present a golden opportunity to the Western philosophers and scholars to drink deep at the celestial fountain of ancient Indian philosophy and spiritual wisdom." I'm just reading a few very quick ones. There's one from a leading professor in Chandigarh who you must be knowing. Dr. Jagadish Sharma, M.A., (indistinct) Delhi? He's from Punjab University. Author of nineteen books including Encyclopedia of India. So here is what Dr. Sharma says. "India's contribution towards the revivalism of the Hindu civilization culture by way of printing the Harvard Oriental Series was tremendous. But the work done by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda is unsurpassable." He says it's even greater. "His Holiness has done a great service to the Indian culture by re-interpreting the concepts enshrined in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. This edition of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam will go a long way to help the scientists in rediscovering phenomena of the universe which is yet to be discovered. The printing and the get up of this book is excellent. The thoughts of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam radiate to anyone who sees it. This book helps to brighten the gloomy and dark clouds which are covered by the nuclear fear and apprehension of society."

Prabhupāda: Where is that book, Scientific Basis of Kṛṣṇa Consciousness? Some of my students, they are Ph.Ds in science. They have written this book, Scientific Basis of Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. And we are going to publish another book, Life Comes From Life.

Morning Walk and Room Conversation -- December 7, 1976, Hyderabad:

Mahāṁśa: ...a trench and a hedge, which has been planted here so that people and animals... Animals is the main problem. They come and they eat up the plants which we grow. So by having this trench we avoid animals from getting in and a hedge also. There'll be a lot of... One big problem that the Badrukas faced was that there was tremendous pilferage. These village people, they live on this land. They used to cut all the wood here for fire, they used to take whatever grows here, maize, and they used to steal in the night everything. Many times...

Prabhupāda: So ask them to chant and take prasādam. They will be rectified. Make them friends, family members. Just we organize, everything is there.

Devotee (2): Yesterday this truck came.

Mahāṁśa: Yes, I told Prabhupāda. (break)

Prabhupāda: It is full of dust, and we have to believe this.

Indian man: No.

Prabhupāda: Just see, a rascal scientist, "Full of dust."

Morning Walk -- December 30, 1976, Bombay:

Devotee: Even they got road, in the road so many nonsense going on.

Prabhupāda: That every road is there. We have no such thing. (Hindi) But he's not recognized in... Wherefrom he has got the advertisement that in America he has done tremendous work. What they have done?

Girirāja: The government may like to popularize him because he preached the cult of "work hard."

Prabhupāda: What "work hard" he has... (indistinct)

Devotee: Other day one man was telling me they bought two of your Bhāgavatams, Ramakrishna Mission. He said that one Ranganath Swami from South India, from Hyderabad was lecturing there but he was... When he was lecturing he had your Bhāgavatam, First Canto, Part One in his hand and he was speaking from there. (laughter) I said it is very good.

Prabhupāda: (Hindi) Give him prasāda. (Hindi)

Devotee: Many ācāryas, they imitate you. They read your books and take some of this part and what is useful for them they use on their lecture. How we should stop them? (break)

Hari-śauri: At least part of the lecture's going to be all right.

Prabhupāda: They cannot utilize my writing in their favor.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- January 3, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: If they decide that... There are many other court judgments in our favor. Then we must adopt civil disobedience. There is no other, second way. "Capriciously you cannot impose anything against the law, against the judgment. If you do, then we shall also disobey." That should be the last resolve.

Hari-śauri: I remember when we were first beginning in Melbourne we were harassed very tremendously by the Council.

Prabhupāda: Yes, I know that.

Hari-śauri: And they were putting us in jail and everything. And actually every court decision was against us too. But somehow or another, we just went out on saṅkīrtana, every day distributing. We were getting booked, then fined. Then we wouldn't pay the fines, so they would come and they would raid the temple at two o'clock in the morning and try and take us away to jail. And... It went on for months. And then in the end there was so much publicity about it... When we went to jail we were fasting. So there was so much publicity that the Council became very embarrassed that they couldn't get rid of these boys and girls. They became so embarrassed that they stopped their harassment, and we carried on with our saṅkīrtana activities. So actually, if we just determine just to stick with it, then there's nothing they can do. What can they do to us unless they kill us? I don't think they can do that.

Prabhupāda: So your wife came... (break) This is Indian attitude. They do not care for the modern, civilized way of life, wasting time reading some nonsense book or going to the bars, the cinema, talking unnecessarily. They do not like. Those who are old style, they do not.

Room Conversation with C.I.D. Chief -- January 3, 1977, Bombay:

CID Chief: It has gained tremendous and spontaneous response, and people, all people... It has... The strength has shown me that people have taken liking from their soul. Not just...

Prabhupāda: No, these young men, they have taken seriously. Otherwise what business they have got to join me? They have taken it seriously. And with their help I am little able to push on this movement. But they are taking it seriously. And big, big learned scholars, they have opined that this movement is not going to die.

CID Chief: I saw the photograph yesterday, Vinoda Bhave, meeting with Vinoda Bhave.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: They're showing the pictures of our Walda (?) meeting. I just showed him pictures of our Walda meeting.

CID Chief: Vinoda Bhave.

Prabhupāda: Vinoda Bhave is also... He has issued some statement.

Roof Conversation -- January 5, 1977, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: That means you must have blind faith in guru. If a guru says that "You jump in the well," and you can jump in the well, then you get the goal. That is why that man went with ten cows and came back after twelve years making them thousand. Otherwise he becomes a cowherd. "What will I get knowledge by doing caros, gaus(?) in the jungle?" No. But if he has faith, faith...

Prabhupāda: How much progress is being made?

Girirāja: Tremendous.

Trivikrama: That's what I was saying. I heard a tape two years ago, but I didn't...

Prabhupāda: No, no. I mean to say this construction.

Girirāja: Oh, I thought...

Dr. Patel: You thought for me! (laughs)

Girirāja: I thought he was improving. Well, the construction is, you know, going at the same rate. I spoke to the marble... There's two marble contractors. The one who's doing the floor, he's going very quickly. All the guestrooms are finished and half of the bathrooms are finished. The temple room is mostly finished. Main problem is the columns and arches. And it seems that that contractor has a bad reputation for taking money and then wasting time.

Prabhupāda: Oh. He has taken money?

Girirāja: It seems he has taken lot of money.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Room Conversation -- January 19, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Rāmeśvara: There'll be some relief.

Hari-śauri: At least when you go to Hawaii you always get a good rest and there's no visitors, and it's very... Your translation work increases tremendously. It's very nice there.

Prabhupāda: Our immediately problem is toward my health. I am not digesting food, so therefore there is some swelling in the hands and the legs.

Rāmeśvara: That's due to the kidney?

Prabhupāda: Kidney or whatever it may be.

Rāmeśvara: So is it affecting your translation work?

Prabhupāda: That is not affected. That is going on. I have translated today seventeen volumes (verses?). That does not affect.

Rāmeśvara: So what to do? (Prabhupāda turns on dictaphone, then off. On again-reading verse) This is the twenty-fourth chapter, Śrīla Prabhupāda?

Prabhupāda: Hmm.

Rāmeśvara: Text five. How many verses are there in this chapter? You know, Hari-śauri? It's very exciting, because it's just about to begin the Tenth Canto.

Prabhupāda: Good number.

Room Conversation -- January 21, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Gargamuni: Just like Gaura-Govinda, he's bringing many villagers here.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. He's good preacher.

Hari-śauri: Yes, he's doing nicely.

Gargamuni: And there's 500,000 such villages all over India. And they're more pious. In Sundarban, when Bhavānanda went to the Sundarban jungle, they had tremendous reception.

Prabhupāda: Just see.

Hari-śauri: Very good reception.

Prabhupāda: Everywhere.

Gargamuni: And yet there is no roads. There's no lights there. Nothing is there.

Prabhupāda: India is good field. Yes. India is good field.

Gargamuni: At least, we can use one hundred travel... You once told me and Tamāla that we should have a hundred jeeps and send them all over India, one hundred jeeps.

Prabhupāda: Hm. Now you are seeing that there is possibility of preaching. And even if he cannot speak local language, still he'll be received.

Room Conversation -- February 19, 1977, Mayapura:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Double.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: At least every year.

Prabhupāda: Yes. It doesn't matter how they are opposing.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I think the book sales will tremendously increase this year in India especially.

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. Yes. And India, if we are popular, oh, then government will see.

Hari-śauri: There's tremendous potential for book distribution in India.

Prabhupāda: Therefore I say, take five lakhs and print and distribute. All languages.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Someone was giving me the report today that in Delhi the boys go out, and each man sells eighty to a hundred rupees' worth of books.

Prabhupāda: Just see.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They go out in a party, just like in America.

Prabhupāda: Now we have got Hindi books we can sell very nice.

Room Conversation -- February 19, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Hm. But major triumph is there in our side. He was harassing not to allow the temple. That has been baffled. Similarly, the other building also will be done. Try. Go on.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Always.

Prabhupāda: India, we have got tremendous business. Village to village, distribute these books and saṅkīrtana. You don't require language. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and distribute the-bas. And prasāda. distribution. It doesn't matter who is doing.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: The real future, then, will be done if we can make many local people devotees.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That will be nice.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Because importing is impossible.

Prabhupāda: No, that is not possible.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Therefore this Māyāpur has great importance because we're making so many devotees.

Prabhupāda: Local.

Room Conversation with GBC members -- March 2-3, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Yes. So the real legal thing is: some way or other, introduce books. Therefore... And it will be beneficial in the long time let us see. Read it.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "We're very happy to see that by your divine mercy the whole world is flooded with Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Just by printing and distributing your books the whole world will change. We can see the tremendous effect that your books already caused in the Communist countries of Eastern Europe. The people are mad after your books. Many of them can see that this is the only solution to get out from the miseries that are caused by the materialistic way of life and Communism. Please let me quote from a recent letter sent by a boy in Hungary." The boy's name is Yedi Peta. " 'According to the advices now, I am chanting daily on beads I made at home. I also have purchased the Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, although I can only speak Hungarian. Now I do not give any more importance for the evidences from chemistry, physics, mathematics, etc. Rather, I appreciate A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda much more than any scientist or philosopher.' "

Devotees: Jaya!

Rāmeśvara: Haribol!

Pañcadraviḍa: Intelligent.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: " 'There have been many others also in the past... There maybe have been others also in the past who were pure, but to my person, Śrīla Prabhupāda is the nearest and dearest. I feel the importance of living in the association of devotees and of accepting the guru. However, at the present there is no temple here, so I neither can associate with devotees, nor can I be accepted...' "

Prabhupāda: So it is not possible to start a temple there?

Bali-mardana: Budapest?

Prabhupāda: Who is taking care of that side?

Devotees: Harikeśa.

Prabhupāda: So, if possible, try.

Conversation with disciples of Chinmayananda and Shivananda Ashram -- April 22, 1977, Bombay:

Indian man (3): No, Swamiji, we know Swamiji's tremendous work going on around the world.

Prabhupāda: So if I can teach them, who did not know what is Kṛṣṇa, I cannot teach you? I can teach you. But you won't take the teaching. That is the difficulty. Stubborn. That is difficulty.

Indian man (1): Swamiji, we have thrown ourself on his lap, Swamiji. There is... (indistinct) We have thrown ourselves, performed everything. We have left our home, everything.

Prabhupāda: But what for?

Indian man (1): And he's our bread, and he's our... He'll look after us. That's all.

Prabhupāda: What for? Śrama eva hi kevalam.

Indian man (1): Everything...

Prabhupāda: It is śrama eva hi kevalam.

Gurukula Inspection -- June 26, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It'll be warm in the winter.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They'll get warmth from it.

Prabhupāda: Morning sunlight.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Tremendous building.

Prabhupāda: Hm. I think there is no other building in Vṛndāvana.

Guṇārṇava: It's the biggest building in Vṛndāvana.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: You've done it again, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Yes, I gave the ideas to Saurabha: "Make a design."

Guṇārṇava: It's very protected, too, Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Hm.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: People will compare this to a fort.

Prabhupāda: Yes. All right.

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

Prabhupāda: Oh?

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

Prabhupāda: I introduced that.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They are doing. They give for free.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: But the thing is, you know... I feel like some people, they... Oh, yeah. They sell and they give. Selling is in a nice cup. You can buy mahā-prasādam. And beyond that, they also give to anyone who wants.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Room Conversation-Recent Mail -- July 14, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: No, that's all right.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I haven't seen what this is yet. It's from Gargamuni Mahārāja. It's "To all India GBC and temple presidents: Dear Mahārājas and Prabhus, please accept my humble obeisances. Enclosed please find our newly established Encyclopedia of Vedic Knowledge program. This is the beginning of the major big book distribution program in India. Our library party has already received tremendous success in this program, and Śrīla Prabhupāda has greatly encouraged us to sell these all over India. The profit only amounts to Rs. 10 per book, but it will allow everyone to regularly read our books and refer to it as an authentic encyclopedia. Our aim is to replace this encyclopedia against all other encyclopedias, which are meant to take the people to the hellish planets. When our representatives come to your area, please be good enough to assist them in making possible that Śrīla Prabhupāda's books be distributed to leading educational, intellectual persons all over India." Here's what he's published, Śrīla Prabhupāda. It's called "The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust Library Encyclopedia of Vedic Knowledge." I think I should read it to you, because it's got mostly words in it.

Prabhupāda: Read the covering.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That's pretty much the whole thing.

Prabhupāda: Oh. Pamphlet.

Room Conversation-Recent Mail -- July 14, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "Now we are going to all the district towns." That means not very big cities. "Now we are going to all the district towns in Maharastra, and almost one thousand standing orders have been taken all over India so far. Since we have started the encyclopedia program many persons have ordered every single book you have published. Nearly twenty encyclopedia orders have been taken so far." This means every book. Not just one standing order. Complete.

Prabhupāda: May Kṛṣṇa bless him. You are doing very tremendous job.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Says, "First week, July, three of our men are opening a BBT Library office in Bangkok."

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "They have a mission to develop this whole area, Southeast Asia, for book distribution." He sent a team of three men to develop Southeast Asia, and they've opened an office in Bangkok. "Their program includes: 1) government recognition of our books, 2) sales to universities and colleges, 3) acceptance of our books by leading scholars, and 4) sales of encyclopedias to Hindus. All of Southeast Asia will be developed for book distribution. We pray for your blessings in this..."

Prabhupāda: Yes, Kṛṣṇa's blessings are there upon you. He is dictating the organizing capacity. Do it very nicely.

Room Conversation-Recent Mail -- July 14, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They're tremendous. Here is a letter from the member of the advisory board of the Sāhitya Academy. You know what that is Śrīla Prabhupāda? Sāhitya Academy? I think it's a literary academy. " 'No earthly writer today can match the vast outpouring of pure verse which our ancient sages, particularly the great Vyāsadeva, have left to the world. Motivated by a deep desire to give moral, cultural, and educational upliftment to all people irrespective of caste, creed or nationality, they have taught us the higher values of life through the medium of historical narrations, biographies, the lives of great men, and simple instructive stories. The unlimited wealth which they have left behind in the Devanāgarī script is sheer ecstasy to read for the poet, the student and the common man. Since dialectic differences began to splinter men into smaller groups, the original language, Sanskrit, was gradually forgotten. It is special grace upon the denizens of this world today that His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda has done such a tremendous job of meticulously translating into so many languages the sacred books of our heritage. Swamiji's most noteworthy achievement is his Encyclopedia of Vedic Education, the multivolume presentation of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Caitanya-caritāmṛta.' " One thing, Śrīla Prabhupāda, that this calling it the Encyclopedia of Vedic..., as he's doing...Everyone has always known the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, but fewer people knew Caitanya-caritāmṛta, and now these two are lumped together as equally very important works.

Prabhupāda: Complete.

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

Prabhupāda: And it has gone to the Central Government?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: You said that. I guess you must have got that information from the newspaper. I didn't know that. I mean just see. Fifty of them together stealing the grass. That's organized. Two hundred fifty people waiting in the bushes, knowing that we will try to stop them from stealing, and suddenly they all rush into the gate, destroy the gate, cut the wires, cut the telephone line, destroy the waterpumps. Every one of these things is criminal. We did not do anything wrong, no wrong in any case. And yet they arrest us. The American government... Actually this should be pushed from the American government. That will have tremendous effect. We should let the American government defend us.

Prabhupāda: Is the Consulate has come?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. The Consulate went to Māyāpur.

Prabhupāda: We already said that this is a Communist plan.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They stripped a woman naked. Look at how these Muslims behaved. And after all these years of our distributing prasādam, and still they act like this.

Prabhupāda: They are Communist group. Muslims are not so bad, but the Communists... They are... Communists are creating as Hindu-Muslim or like that, religious group. He has written something about Communists?

Room Conversation about Grhasthas -- July 17, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: In New York. (break)

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Paramānanda's the president of the farm, and he's the sannyāsī there. And he's also in charge of the Rādhā-Dāmodara office. While Tripurāri Mahārāja travels in the field, he heads up the office. And the office is in a city right near the farm. So he goes half the week to the farm, half the week to the office to manage. Remember I mentioned, Dhṛṣṭadyumna's brother is an architect. So they're planning the farm for building it. It's called a model community. They're going to make it New Varṣāṇā Model Community. Everything will be planned out ahead of time—where the cows will be living—from the point of Vedic conception. It won't be hodgepodge. And they feel that it will gain tremendous interest amongst the prominent persons of America who want to visit a model community. Many universities and schools will send groups of students to visit and see. That's their idea.

Prabhupāda: Very good.

Room Conversation about Grhasthas -- July 17, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Anywhere. Bombay is the best city. He has got facility to stay there. For business Bombay is the best city.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: In India.

Prabhupāda: In India. No, world. It is a very important city. Export, import, local. Tremendous business possibility there. Many poor men goes and becomes very rich men. Bombay is very important center. You have to get a place by giving bribe, fifty thousand, sixty thousand, to stay there.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They call that huṇḍi.

Prabhupāda: Not huṇḍi.

Bhakti-caru: Pagri.(?)

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Pagri, I mean.

Prabhupāda: Pagri, yes. To get a place there... Bombay is so important that if you want to get a place you have to pay no less, fifty thousand, lakh of rupees to stand. Then do business. Very important. Anything you do, you must have land first of all to stand. Otherwise what you'll do? To stand in Bombay you have to pay lakh of... Don't you see—we drive away the tenants—how much we recompense. We pay compensation.

Room Conversation -- August 10, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhaviṣṇu: Yes. Then we can export the books also into West Bengal.

Prabhupāda: Yes. In this way organize these two places with the courage of an Englishman and the heart of a Bengali mother. And we should ventilate in the papers that this Indian investment of American money is not American money. It is my money. I have written books, laboring whole night. The American boys have cooperated with me by printing, by distributing, and the money was received by selling the books. So the books are mine. I have given to the society. So I have done business, regular, in foreign countries. I have earned money and spending the same money in my country. It is not American money. It is my money. I have done business. That's all. It is a credit for Indian son so to do such tremendous business and bring money for investing in his own country, from the national point of view... Why the...? The Americans are not claiming that this is their money. They are my disciples; they are cooperating with me. Actually it is a business. I have done business, I have earned money and brought it at home to spend. Everyone does. They should not misunderstand that I have stolen money from America and brought it. It is fair business. That's all. Ventilate this. They are under impression that the American government is supplying, the World Bank is supplying. Nobody is supplying. I am earning money by business, by my hard labor. Hm?

Devotee: Yes. That is fact.

Prabhupāda: Ventilate this.

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

Prabhupāda: He can come and go.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yeah. "The Singhalese and Tamil translations are going on slowly but surely. Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement will be a tremendous success here. Simply books are required." He says, "To be swami is all right, but I also want to be a qualified gosvāmī some day. Is it possible for me?"

Prabhupāda: Yes, you are already. You are doing very nice.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He says, "P.S.: When is the scientific conference led by Svarūpa Dāmodara? We have also called for a meeting on the 20th August in the biggest hall in Colombo and challenged Dr. Kovoor to be present and produce life from chemicals. I doubt, however, that he will show up. But the audience will be tremendous, at least twenty-five hundred people to be sure. At all our programs we distribute halavā profusely. People here have never tasted such a thing. They love it. Halavā beats chemicals any time." So I can read you more later on, Śrīla Prabhupāda. (break) What, Śrīla Prabhupāda?

Prabhupāda: On the whole, they ...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Come out very nice.

Gurukṛpa: Yes. This is very nice. Big, too. Thick.

Room Conversation -- October 6, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Very nice.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I think it's very beautiful. Very artistic. Very feeling... It shows a tremendous amount of feeling. It also advertises all of your books, so they place it in libraries. Libraries like to have it because you're a very..., most prominent author. People usually have a book display.

Prabhupāda: Very nice. (discussion amongst disciples about where in the room to put it)

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Bhakti-prema Swami came. Gopāla brought him. Shaved his head. He was growing his hairs a little, but now he looks the same as before. Gopāla wants to encourage him. Maybe when you see him, if you encourage him to continue Bhāgavatam, tell him everyone has praised his translating... I thought after you finish bathing and you have tilaka on, I'll bring him. He's brought a gong for you.

Hari-śauri: (changing mattress?) It's a special kind of mattress that helps prevent sores.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: A little more spacious, yes. Same palanquin. Simply they have increased the size. (break)

Bhakti-prema: ...chanting every morning. It came in my mind all the time.

Prabhupāda: Live comfortably. We have got nice place, and whatever comfort you want, you'll get. These Americans, Europeans... When I was in London, I was thinking of getting you there. Anyway, by Kṛṣṇa's grace you have come. Good for us, good for you.

Room Conversation -- October 9, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Everyone, if one is actually gentleman. So we have this Gurukula, good chance for teaching future preacher. Here is Yaśodā-nandana Mahārāja and others. You can do. Prepare, send. Prepare and send.

Brahmānanda: "Prepare and send," Prabhupāda said. Prepare them and send them.

Prabhupāda: How much tremendous work we have to do.

Brahmānanda: The whole world, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Hari-śauri: It's unlimited.

Prabhupāda: Eh? Unlimited.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: And you have to lead us, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Yes. I am prepared, provided Kṛṣṇa allows me.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Today you said Kṛṣṇa is giving you the choice.

Hari-śauri: In the Bhāgavatam you mentioned that Nārada Muni has the free will to travel anywhere within the universe-spiritual or material. So you must also have the same ability.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Today we were discussing how nice a devotee you are, Śrīla Prabhupāda, that you are so faithful servant and devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa that He allows you to do whatever you want, because He knows that you'll do everything for Him.

Prabhupāda: Viṣaya means material activity. One side is viṣaya chāṛiyā, se rase majiyā. One has to give up material activities and engage himself in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is one side. Another side, my Guru Mahārāja said, kṛṣṇa sevāi, yāṅhā kahe anukūla, viṣaya boliyā tāṅha haya bhula. Anything which is favorable for kṛṣṇa-sevā, if we give up that business as viṣaya, that is mistake.

Room Conversation -- October 14, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Yes. We shall do.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: And also I took darśana of Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma, and Lord Balarāma's club looks like it will destroy anyone (Prabhupāda chuckles) who dares to interfere with Kṛṣṇa's plan. He has a very big club, silver, all silver. And many people were coming, many pilgrims. Just you were asking me whether there's many people coming as when we were previously here. There are as many. The temple was very much crowded with people having darśana. I could tell that some of the people were pāṇḍās, the guides. They have to bring everyone to this temple, because the people want to see Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma Mandir. People were making a lot of expressions of joy to see Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. They were very surprised to see how beautiful They were appearing. And also Rādhā-Śyāmasundara is very big attraction, because that boy dresses Them very beautifully. All the Deities look very nice today. They look especially happy about this science conference, I think. If we do this in Bombay, also Śrīla Prabhupāda, it will be tremendous success. I think that Kṛṣṇa postponed...

Prabhupāda: Bhakti-caru? (Bengali with Bhakti-caru)

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It might be that Kṛṣṇa postponed the opening of Bombay to get you..., so that you could have enough time to get a little health. It could be.

Prabhupāda: (Bengali) He has arranged alone.

Room Conversation -- October 22, 1977, Vrndavana:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Fresh air.

Prabhupāda: Fresh air.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Māyāpur is wonderful at the winter season.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: You get the benefit of the winter sun, which is tremendously healing in its effect.

Prabhupāda: In November, December, January, February.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I think you once said to us that if one sits for some time in the winter sun, he'll never get sick.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Room Conversation -- November 2, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Otherwise what you will do?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Well, originally you had intended that that hall would be used for Svarūpa Dāmodara's scientists and for our theater group and things like that.

Prabhupāda: That's all right, but are you going to have every day?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No, I know that they won't. They cannot do that. I mean practically they won't.

Bhavānanda: It's possible, but...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Well, it would have to take a tremendous endeavor on the part of our movement, and our movement is not... We're not geared to do that.

Prabhupāda: It is like tenant house. So whoever pays to your satisfaction, you give him for one day.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Is that all right with you, Śrīla Prabhupāda?

Prabhupāda: I don't think it is wrong.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Okay. Well, then that makes it very easy.

Prabhupāda: Because it will be a source of income.

Room Conversation -- November 2, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Hm.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: The future of this movement? Page 88. "The future of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement can save the world. 'Kirāta, hūṇāndhra, pulinda, pulkaśa, ābhīra, śumbha, yavana (SB 2.4.18) and the khasa races, and even others who are addicted to sinful acts, can be purified by taking shelter of the devotees of the Lord, due to His being the supreme power. I beg to offer my respectful obeisances unto Him.' Purport: 'The above-mentioned historical names are different nations of the world. Even those who are constantly engaged in sinful acts are all corrigible to the standard of perfect human beings if they take shelter of the devotees of the Lord. Jesus Christ and Hajrat Muhammad, two powerful devotees of the Lord, have done tremendous service on the behalf of the Lord on the surface of the globe. And from the version of Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī, it appears that instead of running a godless civilization in the present context of the world situation, if the leadership of world affairs is entrusted to the devotees of the Lord, for which a worldwide organization under the name and style of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness has already been started, then by the grace of the Almighty Lord there can be a thorough change of heart in human beings all over the world, because the devotees of the Lord are able authorities to effect such a change by purifying the dust-worn minds of the people in general.' " Then it gives so many other quotes. "Kṛṣṇa consciousness will spread all over the world." Then it quotes from the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. " 'The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement will inundate the entire world and drown everyone, whether one be a gentleman, a rogue or even lame, invalid or blind. When the five members of the Pañca-tattva saw the entire world drowned in love of Godhead and the seed of material enjoyment in the living entities completely destroyed, they all became exceedingly happy. The more the five members of the Pañca-tattva caused the rains of love of Godhead to fall, the more the inundation increases and spreads all over the world.' " (break)

Prabhupāda: Jaya.

Room Conversation -- November 3, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: How many rooms?

Girirāja: About nine big rooms. And they do street saṅkīrtana every day in the main street, and they distribute literature. And the Society is not yet registered there, but I went with Prabhaviṣṇu to a lawyer, and we've set up the formalities for getting registered, but the government is presently reviewing the registration law, so it might take a few weeks before they accept our case.

Prabhupāda: On the whole, it is favorable. Hm?

Girirāja: Oh, yes. There is a tremendous scope. And the royal family is very powerful. They run the whole country, and, of course, they're Hindus. So I also went with Prabhaviṣṇu to meet one relation of the Queen Mother, and this lady was very enthusiastic about our activities. So I discussed with Prabhaviṣṇu the strategy how to approach the royal family, and... It's a Hindu state. They don't claim to be secular, like in India, so...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Hopeful.