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Within this world (Conversations)

Conversations and Morning Walks

1968 Conversations and Morning Walks

Radio Interview -- March 12, 1968, San Francisco:

Interviewer: Do you still live in, quote, the rest of the world, the outside world, or is your whole life within the Kṛṣṇa consciousness?

Subāla: My whole life is within Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but yet, at the same time, I function within the world at large.

Interviewer: We have a lot of people who have some questions here, and caller, you're on the air on KGO with the Swami. Hello.

Caller: Hello?

Interviewer: Go ahead, sir.

Caller: Is this Swami?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Caller: What is God?

Prabhupāda: What is God? That's your question?

1972 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- June 30, 1972, San Diego:

Prabhupāda: Wire, that is also lying somewhere. Nobody cares. But one gentleman, he collected all these three things and prepared a string instrument. He joined the bamboo with the dry cover of squash and fitted the string and it began to ting, ting, ting. It is called ektara. There is instrument in India it is called ektara. The example is that so many things individually lying useless. But if somebody knows how to combine them, it becomes an instrument, very sweet. Very sweet to hear. Similarly, in this world, so many things are lying dead and frustrated. But if they are combined together by an expert, it becomes useful. So although this world is dead body, when there is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, it becomes enlivened. That is our movement. We are trying to inject Kṛṣṇa consciousness in everything dead within this world. (Prabhupāda drinks) Now just see all these ingredients, strawberry and..., what is that?

Conversation with Bajaj and Bhusan -- September 11, 1972, Arlington, Texas, At Their Home:

Prabhupāda: Similarly, when Kṛṣṇa will reveal, being pleased with your service and love, you will see Kṛṣṇa, you will see yourself, you will see the whole world. So simply you have to... Just like one man is suffering from cataract. So by surgical operation make the eyes free from the cataract disease—he will see everything. Similarly, the cataract of your present eyes, material eyes, can be, I mean to say, relieved by Kṛṣṇa prema. Then you will see Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommended, premā pum-artho mahān. If anything has to be achieved within this world, that is Kṛṣṇa prema. That we should engage our life, how to achieve Kṛṣṇa prema. But we are not interested in Kṛṣṇa prema. So that is illusion. Human life is meant for achieving that stage, Kṛṣṇa prema, love of Kṛṣṇa. Then life is successful.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk At Cheviot Hills Golf Course -- May 15, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: He's working foolishly like animal. He does not know what is soul, what he is, nothing of the sort. He is working hard day and night and he is thinking, "I am becoming victorious." This is called māyā. What victory? Have you won victory over birth, death, the real problem? "No. We have won victory. We can now, without horse, we can go with a car." So what is that? With a horse or without horse, you cannot go anywhere else. You will be here within this world. That's all. Just like these rascals, now they have invented car. You know that? Formerly they were walking.

Karandhara: Yes. Now he is pulling car.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk Excerpts -- May 2, 1974, Bombay:

Girirāja: "O Lord, You have descended especially for the purpose of annihilating all kinds of disturbing elements within the world, and because You are the Absolute Truth, there is no difference between Your mercy and punishment." (break)

Prabhupāda: ...surgical operation is there, the knife is being used on the body, that means he is getting relief. It is not punishment. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (Hindi) (break)

Girirāja: Is that benefit coming in all suffering or only when it is given by Kṛṣṇa?

Prabhupāda: Yes. When there is suffering given by Kṛṣṇa... Therefore a devotee does not take seriously suffering. Tat te 'nukampāṁ susumīkṣamāṇaḥ (SB 10.14.8). A devotee thinks, "It is the favor of Kṛṣṇa that he has put me into suffering." They never see suffering as suffering. It is favor of Kṛṣṇa. That is devotee's vision. (break) It is exactly like a son who knows his father well. If the father slaps, the son never protests. He knows that "It is good for me." Similarly, a devotee is never disturbed when there is suffering given by Kṛṣṇa. (break)

Room Conversation with Prof. Regamay, Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Lausanne -- June 4, 1974, Geneva:

Prabhupāda: No, that is another. Yasya niśvasita-kālam avalambya. Mahā-Viṣṇu is breathing. So taking advantage of that breathing, innumerable universes are generating. And each universe, there is a superintending deity who is called Brahmā. Yasya hi niśvasita-kālam. Kālam atha avalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ. Many hundreds and millions of Brahmās there are. They live, only taking advantage of the breathing period of Mahā-Viṣṇu. (break) Mahā-Viṣṇu is sub-plenary portion. First Kṛṣṇa, then Balarāma, then Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna, Aniruddha, Vāsudeva. Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa. Then, from Saṅkarṣaṇa, Nārāyaṇa. Then, from Nārāyaṇa, again catur-vyūha, second Saṅkarṣaṇa, Vāsudeva, Aniruddha. And from the second Saṅkarṣaṇa is Mahā-Viṣṇu. And from Mahā-Viṣṇu, Kāraṇodakaśāyī-Viṣṇu. And from Kāraṇodakaśāyī-Viṣṇu, Kṣīrodakaśāyī-Viṣṇu. The Kṣīrodakaśāyī-Viṣṇu is in each universe. He is the Supersoul. And when any incarnation comes within this world, He comes through Kṣīrodakaśāyī-Viṣṇu. In that way, Kṛṣṇa comes through Kṣīrodakaśāyī-Viṣṇu. But this Kṣīrodakaśāyī-Viṣṇu is the expansion of the expansion of Kṛṣṇa.

Room Conversation with Mr. Deshimaru -- June 13, 1974, Paris:

Prabhupāda: Nirvāṇa. Finish everything.

Karandhara: Yes. Zen allows a man... According to the precepts of Zen, you can act within the world. You can be a businessman, you can be a soldier, you can be anything, and still attain the same state of perfection by acting without desire, by acting unattached to the results.

Prabhupāda: So that is our philosophy. We... Arjuna acted as soldier, and still, he was recognized as devotee. (French)

Bhagavān: What is the use of practice, if you practice or you don't practice you still get the same result?

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Reporter -- March 9, 1975, London:

Prabhupāda: We are going to have the next body. That's a fact. So Bhagavad-gītā says that how you can have the next body.

yānti deva-vratā devān
pitṟn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ
bhūtejyā yānti bhūtāni
mad-yājino 'pi yānti mām
(BG 9.25)

"So you can go to the higher planetary system. Prepare yourself in that way. You can go to the pitṛloka. You can remain within this world. And you can come to Me also." So if I have to prepare myself for the next life, why not go back to home, back to Godhead? Why unnecessarily go to the other planets or to the dogs and cats? Prepare in such a way that tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9). No more material body. You go back to home, back... That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the best. After all, you have to prepare yourself for the next body. So why not prepare yourself for the next body as good as Kṛṣṇa's? Sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). It is very intelligent movement. Any intelligent man should take it very seriously. If I have to prepare for my next life, why not prepare next life—just we are talking with you, you can go and talk with Kṛṣṇa. You can dance with Kṛṣṇa. You can eat with Kṛṣṇa. You can play with Kṛṣṇa. If there is such possibility, why should we waste our time in different way? That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Professor Francois Chenique -- August 5, 1976, New Mayapur (French farm):

Bhūgarbha: He said do we have to completely leave the world? We cannot stay within the world and sanctify ourselves?

Prabhupāda: You have to leave, you cannot stay. You do not want to leave, that's a fact, but you'll be kicked out. When Napoleon fought for France, he did not like to leave, but he was kicked out. I have seen in one park, there is a Napoleon Bonaparte there, France and Napoleon identified. But France is there, Napoleon is kicked out. (laughter)

Bhūgarbha: He's asking that in view of that, is it possible to live a household life and at the same time a spiritual life?

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. Arjuna, Arjuna is a householder, he's a military man, but the greatest devotee of Kṛṣṇa.

Bhūgarbha: He wants you to mention something about the translations. He wants to express his opinion about the translations that the French translators are doing of your books.

Prabhupāda: He is doing?

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- April 13, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: It is a dangerous civilization. You... You should... (pause) Dangerous civilization that labdhvā su-durlabham idaṁ bahu-sambhavānte. After many, many millions of years one gets the chance of becoming a human being, especially civilized and especially in India. They will bring the same. And Kṛṣṇa personally says that if this chance is missed and a person does not become God realized, then he again returns back to the..., to the... Today I am a prime minister. Tomorrow, if I become a dog... What is this civilization? And they will have to become. Nature's law we cannot avoid. And there is no question, "Why you are touching me? I am prime minister." Who cares for you? You have to take account of your activities, karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1). So human life is so important, and we are simply wasting this valuable life with this temporary adjustment of so-called happiness or distress, big, big plans. Simply bluffing. Indira Gandhi, one daridrāṇaṁ hata(?): "Poverty drive away." Now she is poverty-stricken. "Oh, you want to drive away poverty? Now drive away your own poverty. Where is your position? How you can drive away? You do not dare to come out." Twelve nights. Within one day. Who has made this? This is possible for everyone. Why do they not care, this important knowledge? This knowledge is India's knowledge, and India government is callous. They are not interested in distributing this knowledge. Sarasvatī jñāna-khale yathā satī. Just like a person who has got enough knowledge, but he does not give it to others, it is to check the flame. Such a risky civilization... The knowledge is there, and people are kept in darkness. What is this? Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). So we are the only friends, within this world, of the human society.

Page Title:Within this world (Conversations)
Compiler:Visnu Murti, RupaManjari
Created:21 of May, 2012
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=10, Let=0
No. of Quotes:10