Yogeśvara: We'll be leaving tonight.
Prabhupāda: Where?
Yogeśvara: To France via Bangkok.
Prabhupāda: Oh.
Yogeśvara: We just came to make the report to you, and we were in Vṛndāvana.
Prabhupāda: So you will not stay here up to...? No.
Hari-śauri: Festival?
Yogeśvara: There is work for us, service waiting in France.
Prabhupāda: So what is the report in France? Paris atmosphere is all right?
Yogeśvara: Paris? Paris, there is good enthusiasm because there is saṅkīrtana party. It is more difficult at the farm, because there is no saṅkīrtana.
Prabhupāda: Why? There are so many men. There is no saṅkīrtana?
Yogeśvara: Yes. It is far from the nearest city.
Prabhupāda: But within the farm there is no saṅkīrtana?
Yogeśvara: Regular temple activities are going on.
Prabhupāda: Saṅkīrtana is there.
Yogeśvara: There is once a week a party going out.
Prabhupāda: No, not going out. I mean to say in the temple.
Yogeśvara: Inside the temple. Oh, yes. Inside the temple regular programs are there.
Prabhupāda: So why outside? There is no sufficient men? But when I was there I saw so many men.
Yogeśvara: Wherever you go, thousands of people will follow.
Hari-śauri: They were not all from the farm. They were from everywhere.
Prabhupāda: Then not many devotees are there in the farm?
Yogeśvara: There are maybe thirty-five devotees traveling, saṅkīrtana devotees, and then...
Prabhupāda: Centering that farm?
Yogeśvara: Centered at the farm. They come back maybe once every two months. And then there are about eighty devotees at the farm, of which forty are children. Of those children, twenty or twenty-two are Gurukula children. The others are too small.
Prabhupāda: So nobody is engaged in production, fruit, flowers, grains, milk?
Yogeśvara: There are not many full-time devotees doing production, maybe four full time.
Prabhupāda: And why part time?
Yogeśvara: Part time, everyone is trying to do an hour a day.
Prabhupāda: So what they do, others?
Yogeśvara: Well, from the other forty devotees left there is the staff of pūjārīs, press, temple maintenance. So not so many are left for doing full-time work on the land.
Prabhupāda: You are not getting new devotees to join?
Yogeśvara: In Paris.
Prabhupāda: Yes. From Paris or here... In Paris... From Paris you can bring in the farm.
Yogeśvara: Well, at the farm there is not as much of a new bhakta program as in Paris. So the new men are encouraged to stay in Paris to get fixed up first.
Prabhupāda: So new... When they are trained up, they can come, live, especially gṛhasthas. My point is whether the farm is attractive. Not very much.
Yogeśvara: The potential is wonderful.
Prabhupāda: And therefore I'm asking. Potential is wonderful, so why they are not attracted to live in the farm and be self-independent and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa? That is our farm project. Our farm project is they should be satisfied with simple living. That is nice living. If you get milk, if you get fruit, if you get grain and open air, it is very healthy life. Why they should not be attracted?
Yogeśvara: It is still the beginning, and because it's the beginning, it is a little difficult sometimes.
Prabhupāda: That may be. But this should be our aim. We should not be attracted by the modern city life. Simplified life. Save time and utilize for advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is perfect life. Just like Vṛndāvana. Vṛndāvana life means agriculturist, cowherd boys, uneducated girls, cows and calves, and tree, fruits. This is Vṛndāvana. The center is Kṛṣṇa.
Yogeśvara: Simple living.
Prabhupāda: But they are the topmost devotees. These (chuckling) uneducated, without any town life, cow-men, they are Kṛṣṇa's best friend. Unsophisticated, no education, but love intense—that is perfect. That attracted Kṛṣṇa more. Vṛndāvanaṁ parityajya na padam ekaṁ (sic:) na kartavya... Kṛṣṇa is so much attached to Vṛndāvana that He goes nowhere... What is that? They are not educated girls, up-to-date fashion, (indistinct) or nothing. Crude. As soon as there was blowing of the flute, immediately they began to run towards Kṛṣṇa. Somebody is taking care of children, somebody is engaged in boiling milk, and somebody was even lying down with her husband. Still, immediately... Very crude, unsophisticated, but intense love for Kṛṣṇa—that is Vṛndāvana. We want to introduce this farm project means intense love for Kṛṣṇa. And other things—very simple: little milk, little food grain, little vegetable, that's all. And that is very nice. If you get fresh vegetable, fresh milk, and food grain, what do you want more? And from milk you can prepare so many nice preparations, unlimited number, all very palatable, sweet. This civilization we want to introduce, not so-called rascal civilization and become implicated in this cycle of birth and death. This is not civilization. This is killing civilization. Human being got the opportunity to get out of these clutches of birth and death. They do not understand. They're so rascal, they do not understand how they are implicated in this cycle of birth and death, nor they do take it seriously, that this is the problem, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). They are so blind rascals, they do not see that this is real suffering. They do not know it. Simply theorizing, making plan, and they do not know what is the suffering. Such a rascal civilization. So we have to introduce real civilization. Therefore we are struggling so hard. So make in such a way. That's a very nice place, center of Europe and very nice place. What is the condition of rainfall?
Yogeśvara: Last summer was dry, but it was not so much dangerous for us. And now it is steady.
Prabhupāda: So there must be rainfall. And if we become Kṛṣṇa conscious, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, there will be rainfall.