Prabhupāda: And mass of people, they are very morose, unhappy.
Haṁsadūta: Yes.
Prabhupāda: In the street you will see there is no happiness in their face.
Haṁsadūta: Silent.
Prabhupāda: Hmm. Means terrorism. If they do anything against, then (snaps fingers) finished.
Hari-śauri: Subdued.
Prabhupāda: Very miserable.
Haṁsadūta: All these Communist countries are like that. I was in many of these countries. People are all depressed.
Prabhupāda: There is no taxi. You cannot get taxi on call. And the taxi drivers, they want something more.
Haṁsadūta: Yes, they . . .
Prabhupāda: Hmm?
Haṁsadūta: They do that.
Prabhupāda: Very bad country, the Communist country.
Haṁsadūta: I was asking this boy that was here a few days ago from South India, from Kerala—he was in Russia. I asked him. "What did you eat there? What did you . . . you stayed for one year?"
Prabhupāda: He must be eating meat.
Haṁsadūta: No, he said, "I was able to get frozen vegetables from the south of Russia. They freeze it and then they sell it," he said, "but it is very expensive, very costly." He was getting frozen.
Prabhupāda: That is also nasty. Frozen means nasty. I never take frozen. In the beginning I thought, "Oh, it is very nice. You can get fresh vegetable." But they are not at all fresh.
Haṁsadūta: No.
Prabhupāda: All rotten. Rather the same vegetable, as we have got in India practice, we dry it and keep it. That is tasteful. In season time—suppose this season there is huge quantity of vegetables—so here the system is they cut into pieces during the season and dry it in the sun and keep it. And during out of season it is soaked in water, it revives the old taste, then you can cook. (Hindi or Bengali)
Bhagatjī: Tastes as though it is different. The fresh vegetable the taste is very good.
Prabhupāda: Fresh vegetable must be, but still there is some taste. But this frozen, it has no taste.
Hari-śauri: No.
Prabhupāda: Sometimes gobhi . . .(Hindi) Even they have, Indians, those who are fish eaters, they keep this dry fish.
Haṁsadūta: Yeah, dried fish.
Prabhupāda: They, fresh fish, they smear with turmeric and salt and keep it in the sunshine, and they dry it. And of course this fish, it has no . . . what is it, taste. (laughter) But they keep it. (aside:) Bring me little water. (Bengali and Hindi) This I want to introduce: let them be satisfied whatever they can produce themselves locally. What is that—little cloth, little food? Anyone can produce these things. There is no difficulty at all. They must agree to this simple life. Otherwise, everywhere you can produce your own food and cloth and cottage. If possible you can construct big buildings. There is no need. And they should be satisfied, happy with Kṛṣṇa. Then life is successful. This I want to introduce now, anywhere. And it is practical. It is not something bogus. It is . . . We have already experimented. By God's grace we can produce everything from the lands, sarva-kāma-dughā mahī. Sarva-kāma-dughā mahī. You can get everything. If they are satisfied with this simple life, then they save time for Kṛṣṇa consciousness and happy life. In India they don't require even cottage. One katiya (wooden cot) is sufficient, keeping in one place and lay down. Eight months, at least six months, it is very nice. At night, even in daytime it is very hot, night it is cool. So you have got very good sleep, soothing, then you become refreshed in the morning. If you have got good sleep at night, then you become refreshed, your health is regained. Hmm? If I . . . (indistinct) . . . take morning snāna and cāpāṭi. And during very hot season they don't take even cāpāṭi. They take some fruits, guava and this . . . What is called that? (Hindi)
Devotee (2): That? Melon.
Prabhupāda: Melon, yes. During hot season you get watermelon, this other melon.
Hari-śauri: Honeydew melon.
Prabhupāda: Honeydew melon, oh, very nice. In the up-countries still in the village, during daytime they don't eat. And during daytime they take some fruits, and at night when it is cool, the cool, ah, refreshing air, they make some cāpāṭi. One time, is it not?
Devotee (2): (Hindi)
Prabhupāda: Eh, (Hindi) . . . in that night, because in daytime it is so hot, it is embarrassing to cook and to digest also. Better take food, ah, fruit, this melon, and at night they take three or four cāpāṭis according to the . . . And good sleep. Very happy life it was, all over India. There was no question of poverty. People did not know what is poverty, and now it is poverty. They do not get even sufficient food.
Hari-śauri: Industrialization.
Prabhupāda: Ugra-karma. I don't like industrialism.
Devotees: Hare Kṛṣṇa. (end).