Journalist: Basically, what have you to offer that is different than the Christian ethos or the Jewish ethos?
Prabhupāda: Because, as I told you, that none of them are strictly following God's commandment. I simply come that "You follow God's commandment." That is my message.
Journalist: In other words, "You obey those principles."
Prabhupāda: I don't say that "You Christian, you become Hindu or you come to me." I simply say "You obey these commandments." That is my order. I make you better Christian. That is my mission. I don't say that "God is not there, God is here," but I simply say that "You obey God." That is my mission. I don't say that you have to come to this platform and accept Kṛṣṇa as God and no other. No. I don't say. I say, "Please obey God. Please try to love God." That is my mission. And I give the way how to love God very easily. How to love, provided you agree.
Journalist: Well, see, again we get back to this...
Prabhupāda: So practically you follow that I have no difference.
Journalist: Yes, I understand. I appreciate.
Prabhupāda: Yes. You believe in God, I believe in God. I simply say "You try to love God."
Journalist: Well, I... I'm still... It's not that I'm confused. I understand what you're saying...
Prabhupāda: You are confused still?
Journalist: No. I understand what you are saying. What confuses me or makes it... When I say, me, and so many of our readers. ...is why is it...? Let me ask the question again. Let me ask it maybe to become clear in my mind. I don't want to put words in your mouth, but let me say it this way. Are you saying that if your mission and the mission of the Jewish, Christian, western ethic is the same, again let me ask the same question, why is it that the younger people or people in general, are disenchanted, are trying to go towards the eastern-oriented religion if their aim or premise is the same as the western. Why are they going toward the eastern if the premise is the same?
Prabhupāda: Because these Christian people, they are not teaching them practically. I am teaching them practically.
Journalist: In other words, you're teaching them what you feel is a practical, every day, daily method of obtaining this fulfillment of man's spirit.
Prabhupāda: Yes. How to... The love of Godhead is being taught by Bible or Old Testament and Gītā, that is all right. But you are not teaching them how to love God. I am teaching them how to love God. That is the difference. Therefore young people are attracted.
Journalist: All right. So the end is the same. It's the method of getting there.
Prabhupāda: Not method. You are not at all following. Even the method is there. Just as I say, the method is there, "don't kill," and you are killing.
Journalist: I see, but your... The end is the same. Your end...
Prabhupāda: End is the same.
Journalist: Is the same, but it's the way...
Prabhupāda: Method is also same, but they are not teaching people to follow the method. I am teaching them practically how to follow and how to do it.
Journalist: Let me ask you something that we've run into a great deal just recently. We've just started a youth supplement for kids. And one of the most... What should I say? That particular thing which provides perhaps the biggest schism between man's, or at least American man's and woman's love of God or the following of the Ten Commandments, is the problem, how shall I put it, well, the sexual problem. We here in this country are taught, and we have the Puritan background, that sex is a bad thing. And hopefully we're coming out of it, but when young people, a person reaches the age of puberty... Here in this country, I don't know from other countries. He begins to have a terrible, obviously a terrible problem. Now I'm stating something that's obvious. We've all gone through this. But it seems that is has been impossible for the western churches to give to the young people something to hold on to so that they can understand number one that what they're feeling is a normal beautiful thing, and number two, how to cope with it. And there is nothing in western culture that teaches or helps a young person to cope with this thing that is a very, very difficult problem. And I went through it. We all have. Now do you in your message, give the young people something to hold...
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Journalist: ...to hang onto, and if so, what?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes I give.
Journalist: What?
Prabhupāda: I ask all my disciples to get married. I don't allow these boys living with boyfriend, girlfriend. No. You must get yourself married, life like gentlemen, treat your wife as assistant, treat your husband as your provider. In this way, I am teaching them. This boy was married just four days before. He is professor. So I have got so many of my disciples married, and they are living very happily. This girl is married. Formerly, they were living with girlfriend, boyfriend. I don't allow that. I don't allow that.
Journalist: Well, let's... Let me get a little more basic. How about when someone is fourteen, fifteen, sixteen years old?
Prabhupāda: The same thing. Of course, another thing is that we teach our boys to become brahmacārī. Brahmacārī. Brahmacārī means how to lead the life of celibacy.
Journalist: Hm?
Prabhupāda: Just Howard explain brahmacārī life.
Journalist: Yes, I understand.
Hayagrīva: Well, it's control of the senses, and he teaches us how to control the senses. Generally, marriage doesn't take place until a boy is about 22, 23, 25.
Journalist: You mean in his culture.
Prabhupāda: Yes. We select girl, say, about 16, 17 years old, and boys not more than 24 years old. I get them married. You see? And because their attention is diverted to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they have very little interest simply for sex life. You see? They have got better engagement. Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate (BG 2.59). You see? We give substitute. We simply don't say that "You don't do it," but we give something better. You see? Then automatically the "don't" automatically comes. You see?
Journalist: At the right time.
Prabhupāda: Immediately. We give something better engagement.
Journalist: What is this?
Prabhupāda: Just like our boys and girls, they are all engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness business, in temple work, in painting, in typing, in recording, so many things. And they are happy. They are not going to cinema, they are not going to club, they are not drinking, they are not smoking. So practically I am training them how to control. And there is possibility because these boys and girls, they are all Americans. They are not imported from India. Why they have taken to this? The system is so nice that they have liked it. So if you spread this system, everything will be solved.
Journalist: So then it...
Prabhupāda: We don't prohibit that you don't mix with woman or you stop sex life. We don't say that. But we make everything regulated under Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Their aim is higher. These are all secondary platform. So in this way everything is nice.
Journalist: Is this what Gandhi did?
Prabhupāda: Huh? What Gandhi knew? He was a politician. He did not know anything about this culture.
Journalist: Well, I read that when he was 36 years old he became a celibate, and that was it.
Prabhupāda: That is... Of course, he had some Hindu cultural ideas, yes. That is nice. He began celibacy, that's all right. But Gandhi had no very advanced spiritual ideas. You see. He was more or less politician, statesman. Yes, that's all.