Pose (Conversations)

Expressions researched:
"pose" |"posed" |"poses" |"posing"

1969 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 12, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Prabhupāda: Latin is from Sanskrit. Yes. Latin is from Sanskrit. Professor Rowe and Webb of Presidency College in Calcutta, they have got a grammar. They have said the Sanskrit language is mother of all languages. They were big English scholar, professor, Mr. Rowe and Webb. We had to read their grammar in our childhood. They have said that Sanskrit language is the mother of all languages. And in the dictionary you'll find Indo-European language practically all from Sanskrit. The original word mātṛ-śabda—the "mater," no?

Allen Ginsberg: But the question I'm posing still is this. You accept the possibility of a series of Kṛṣṇa consciousness centers in the United States.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Provided a man is not adversely inclined. Otherwise it is very simple.

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 12, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Allen Ginsberg: Did He feel there were other suitable names? Did He feel or did He think that...

Prabhupāda: Yes. He said many thousand millions names there are. But if you are serious about God, then... You may have many names by your friends, but any name will do.

Allen Ginsberg: Okay. So the problem I was posing before is, which I leave open, I don't know. What is the most attractive and suitable name here in this material country?

Prabhupāda: Now, take for example the Muhammadan name Allah. Allah means the greatest. So God is greatest. So that greatest conception is this Brahman conception. And so far Christian, I don't think they have got any particular name. They say God.

Allen Ginsberg: Yes. Lord, God. That is the basic one.

Prabhupāda: Controller. God means controller. Is it not?

Allen Ginsberg: What is the etymology of God? Do you know?

Hayagrīva: I don't know.

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 13, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Prabhupāda: Yes. Very old.

Guest (1): Because I saw the date, the posture of Lord Buddha when he died in a place, in a village, and I saw Buddha 20 feet long, gold Buddha statue, just the way he lied when he was dead.

Allen Ginsberg: Pari nirvāṇa, yes.

Guest (1): Pari nirvāṇa pose, exactly. Twenty-two feet he was, long. And it was made just after his death.

Allen Ginsberg: What I had understood is that like the Jews and the Muslims, the original first few centuries of Buddhist meditation made use of a wheel for the dharma, or a parasol, or a bo tree as the image of Buddha, as at Sanchi. But no, but no...

Guest (1): So long Buddha was living. After that, when Buddha died, they started making his statue, I think.

Prabhupāda: yes. That is the archeological evidence. Archeological evidence is that Buddha's statues were original.

Allen Ginsberg: The museum at Mathurā, I think, had the earliest human statues of Buddha, which are Greek nature.

Guest (1): Because Candragupta's style... (Bengali) And they had many temple...

Prabhupāda: No, Buddha is worshiped by statue. That is historical. That is historical fact. And there are many temples in Burma, China, and in Japan, all these Buddhist countries. But these Buddhist temples began not exactly after Buddha's disappearance. At least, after one thousand years. That is a fact.

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 14, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Prabhupāda: Dośa. In Sanskrit word it is called dvir-ukti-dośa. Dvi means two. Rukti means utterance. And dośa means fault.

Allen Ginsberg: Fault. Yes.

Prabhupāda: Fault. Yes. So dvir-ukti-dośa. So he was conscious. Then he said, "Well, I understand that you are a student of grammar. How do you detect this, this literary discrepancies?" "No. I am student. I am your student. I do not pose. I am not scholar, but I have heard this is told like that. From other scholars I have heard." "How could You remember? I cited one hundred verses and how do You remember the sixty-fourth verses?" "Oh, I can repeat the whole verses."

Allen Ginsberg: (laughs) Uh huh.

Prabhupāda: "How is that, that you can repeat? How is that?" "Oh, that is grace of mother Sarasvatī. Just like you can compose a hundred verses within a few minutes, I can, whatever you say, I can remember immediately." Formerly that was the system of understanding Vedas, śruti, simply by hearing. Once they hear from the spiritual master, they will remember. The memory was so sharp. Therefore this brahmacārī system is so nice. They can enhance their memorizing power, brahmacārī.

1972 Conversations and Morning Walks

Conversation with Dai Nippon -- April 22, 1972, Tokyo:

Photographer: No, sir. (indistinct)

Sudāmā: He is waiting to have a very nice pose of Your Divine Grace. (laughter)

Prabhupāda: Oh, that's nice. So Veda, Veda means knowledge. So every human being should be interested for advancement of knowledge. So our movement is not a religious movement. It is a movement for advancement of knowledge. And this knowledge, God consciousness, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is especially meant for this human body. Because knowledge cannot be given to animals. I cannot speak to the other animals about knowledge because they are imperfect. Their body is imperfect. They are not suitable for receiving knowledge. Only elementary knowledge for maintaining this body, they have got: where to secure food, where to sleep, how to have sexual intercourse, and how to defend. These knowledges are there in animals also. So human being requires further knowledge. That is special prerogative, gift by God, by nature. Whatever you say. So we should utilize this human body for furtherance of knowledge. And the first important knowledge is that we should know that there is life after death. That is the basic principle of knowledge. Unfortunately at the present moment, in no university there is any department of knowledge where this education is given where there is life after death. I am traveling all over the world. There is no such department. They have completely evaded or set aside because they cannot make any solution whether there is... I talked with one Mr. Kotovsky, a Russian professor in Moscow. I was in Moscow.

Conversation with the GBC -- May 25, 1972, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: It is not the question I believe and don't believe, it is a fact. God is there—you believe or not believe—but God must be there. Your believing, not believing, it doesn't matter. If I don't believe there is no president, it does not mean there will be no president. There must be president. I do not know who is president. (indistinct) So people are in misconception that there is no God, God is dead, I am God, you are God, God is not person, so many God theories. But we have no theory, we have got a positive presentation, "Here is God." With that conviction we have to push on. So you must be prepared in that way. There will be so many questions, so many opposing elements. You have to face them by your arguments, by your knowledge. This is required. At least we must have faith in that way. We have to push on. This is the fact. We are Brahmā sampradāya, Lord Brahmā's sampradāya. So, Brahmā sampradāya, Lord Brahmā is giving. Just like last evening we were reading about Brahmā's thought. He is posing, "Yes, here is, You are God." Although He was child, "He appears to be a child, but You are God." That is Brahmā (indistinct). He is giving support on that point. So if you follow Brahmā then there is no question, here is God.

Room Conversation -- July 4, 1972, New York:

Yadurāṇī: Informal.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Yadurāṇī: Informal. That is, Puṣkara painted a picture of you sitting in a very formal position.

Prabhupāda: Ah ha...

Yadurāṇī: Should we stick to formal positions, or is it all right to do informal pose, like just your head and your chest?

Prabhupāda: No, no. Formal.

Yadurāṇī: Formal always?

Prabhupāda: Always. Not like bust, no. Just like guru mahārāja. We won't put all that top, bust form.

Yadurāṇī: Śrīla Prabhupāda? You asked for big, big, paintings to be sent to Māyāpur and Vṛndāvana. When you say "big, big," do you mean like five feet and..., or six feet? That big?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Five, six (indistinct).

Yadurāṇī: And Śrīla Prabhupāda, Śyāmasundara... (break) About fifty people will be initiated.

Prabhupāda: Fifty?

Yadurāṇī: Fifty, nearly fifty, gāyatrī and both.

Devotee (7): Both, gāyatrī and...

Devotee (8): Śrīla Prabhupāda? We want to view the movies in this room.

Prabhupāda: Go ahead. How many beads?

Devotee: Twenty-seven.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- April 29, 1973, Los Angeles:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: They are very doubtful.

Prabhupāda: Doubtful. That means not perfect knowledge. So how they can say that there is no God. They can say: "Yes, there may be or may not be. We do not know." That is a gentleman. How they can say there is no God? And people are misled. "Oh, such and such scientist has said there is no God. Therefore there is no God." He does not know that he's a perfectly foolish. His statement has no value. Yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhaḥ lokas tad anuvartate (BG 3.21), because he has posed himself as a very big man, people follow him blindly and they're misled.

Karandhara: Like the Russians...

Prabhupāda: Oh, they are set of fools.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: They do not believe in God, the Russians?

Prabhupāda: No. They are all rascals. I have studied them in one week.

Karandhara: They struggle so hard, but they still cannot produce enough food.

Prabhupāda: They are simply set of rascals. All people are unhappy there. Unhappy. They cannot speak anything against the government and they have got so many protests to lodge. So many. But they cannot speak. If you speak, immediately he's sent to the concentrated camp. Some... Nobody knows where he has gone. You see the Kruschev, such a big man. Nobody knows where he is. That is their policy.

Morning Walk At Cheviot Hills Golf Course -- May 13, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Yes. That we want to do.

Paramahaṁsa: They don't want to admit their failure.

Prabhupāda: That is another foolishness. If you are a fool and if you want to pose yourself as intelligent, that is another foolishness. You cannot make progress. Stubborn dogs. If you are seeking after knowledge, you must take the right knowledge. That is intelligence. And if you want to remain in ignorance and advertise yourself that "I am man of knowledge," how much cheater you are! You are cheating yourself and cheating others. That is going on. We want to stop this.

Paramahaṁsa: Just like many of our devotees, we experienced when we tried to preach to our parents, because they are much older, to admit that Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the right path in life, means to also admit that they have wasted their entire life.

Prabhupāda: Real knowledge is to be given to the younger section. Older section, it is not possible. They will have to forget first of all, what they have learned. That they cannot. Therefore it is impossible. Therefore knowledge begins from the school children, not from the man who is going to die. (laughing) That is not... Impractical. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja said kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān: (SB 7.6.1) "Kṛṣṇa consciousness should be taught from the very childhood." Not that at the time of death. That is not possible. Therefore our students, they are all young generation, they capture. These rascals, they cannot. Old fools, they cannot. There was a practical examination. One father and one daughter, both appeared for BA examination in India. The daughter passed and the father failed. It was in the newspaper. In old age they cannot take any lessons. They forget.

Conversation with Sridhara Maharaja -- June 27, 1973, Navadvipa:

Prabhupāda: And there was a picture: "Swamiji is playing on harmonium."

Śrīdhara Mahārāja: And Tīrtha Mahārāja is trying a, feed (be?) a pigeon or something like that, and staring... These were the pictures while London preaching. And the money...

Prabhupāda: So our present Tīrtha Mahārāja, Bhakti-Vilāsa-Tīrtha Mahārāja, he's representing Prabhupāda. At least, he tries to pose himself. So Bon Mahārāja's activities, in comparison to that, my activities certainly better. And Bon Mahārāja was given so much reception. But he did not give me any reception. How he can claim to be Prabhupāda's representative?

Śrīdhara Mahārāja: Bon Mahārāja was given reception because Prabhupāda...

Prabhupāda: No, Prabhupāda appreciated anyway.

Śrīdhara Mahārāja: Anyway.

Prabhupāda: But here there is no appreciation.

Conversation with Mr. Wadell -- July 10, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: Then you should not be teacher. Then you should not be teacher. Then you are cheater.

Mr. Wadell: But... No, because knowledge is...

Prabhupāda: That is, that is, that is our... Teacher means... When I approach a teacher, he must be a bona fide teacher. He should not be cheater. If he has no sufficient knowledge, he should not pose himself as a teacher.

Mr. Wadell: Well, I am afraid I would be right out of court cause you see I have often to confess to my pupils that I do not know.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is going on, but that is not the system. If you do not know, you should not become a teacher. That is our proposition. (laughs)

Mr. Wadell: I see, well I am not at all sure that I could accept what you say. (laughs)

Prabhupāda: You must be sure that whatever knowledge you are giving, that is perfect. Then you are teacher.

Mr. Wadell: Well, you see, what you are... In that case, I should have to pretend, you see. I would have to pretend to know something which I did not know at all. Then I should be a cheater, wouldn't I. And that would be wrong. And there must be many things which I do not know.

Prabhupāda: Yes. It is better to become honest. If I do not know anything perfectly I should not be teacher. That is right thing. And if I have got doubtful knowledge, perhaps, maybe, why shall I be teacher. I should, "No, no I cannot teach. The subject is unknown." That is our process.

Room Conversation with Father Tanner and other guests -- July 11, 1973, London:

Father Tanner: But do you specifically have a precept against telling a lie, or against hypocrisy?

Prabhupāda: Well, hypocrisy and other things, they are subsidiary. If one is pure from the very beginning, then there is no chance of becoming hypocrite. Why he should be hypocrite? If he is open, clear, why one should become hypocrite? Hypocrisy, when there is sinful activity, then hypocrisy. If there is no sin, where is the possibility of hypocrisy? A sinful man may pose himself a religious man. That is hypocrisy. But if there is no sin, then where is hypocrisy?

Father Tanner: What I didn't understand is how this is covered by your four pillars, the four...

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Father Tanner: Which of these would cover lying?

Prabhupāda: Lying?

Father Tanner: Yes, telling lies.

Prabhupāda: That I have already explained.

Father Tanner: Yes. But which of those four pillars...?

Prabhupāda: All of them. All of them. Just like one is indulging in intoxication. He may say that "I am very pure." But how one can become pure, he's addicted to intoxicants? So I heard from one of my disciples that there is a hospital in U.S.A., and five thousand priests are there for curing their intoxication habit. Do you know that?

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

Prabhupāda: Samupeta-mṛtyum. So the idea is one should not become spiritual master. Gurur na sa syāt. Then?

Pradyumna: Sva-jano na sa syāt.

Prabhupāda: One should not become his kinsman. This is negative side, going on. One should not become a spiritual master, one should not pose himself as kinsman... Gurur na sa syāt sva-jano na sa syāt. Then?

Pradyumna: Pitā na sa syāt.

Prabhupāda: One should not become a father. And pitā na sa syāt, jananī na sā syāt. One should not claim to become mother. Then?

Pradyumna: Daivaṁ na tat syān.

Prabhupāda: One should not... Because somebody worships some forms of God. So that gods should also not be worshiped. Then? Go on.

Pradyumna: Na pitaś ca sa syān.

Prabhupāda: Na pitā?

Pradyumna: Oh, na patiś ca sa syān.

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.

Morning Walk -- December 2, 1973, Los Angeles:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: They are saying that "We are beginning to learn more and more..."

Prabhupāda: Yes. That means that you are fool. While you are in the process of learning, that means you are fool. Say directly that we are fool. That is gentlemanliness. You do not know; still, you pose, "I am, we are scholar, we are scientist. Give us Nobel Prize." You see. This is going on. We don't want Nobel Prize. We are giving the topmost knowledge. We don't hanker after Nobel Prize. But they give false knowledge and hanker after Nobel Prize. Just see. Their real aim is how to get the Nobel Prize by cheating. That is their real aim. How an educated man, learned man will cheat? So therefore my Guru Mahārāja used to say that "This modern human society, or always, it is a society of the cheaters and the cheated." Somebody is cheating and somebody's cheated, and they have combined together to make a so-called civilization.

Morning Walk -- December 3, 1973, Los Angeles:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: But the scientists are now trying to make the seed.

Prabhupāda: Then kick on their face with boot. With boot, rascal. You are trying. That is rascaldom. We protest against this. "We are trying." What is this nonsense, trying? Do it immediately. Then we shall accept. Trying, everyone is trying. Just like a child is trying to build a house with this sand. So is that very nice proposal, that here will be house? That is childish. Then you accept that you are child in the field of knowledge. Don't pose yourself that you know everything, or your knowledge is everything. That is our protest. "We are trying." Trying, everyone is trying. What is the difference between the scientists and ordinary man?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: They are saying that they are coming very close.

Prabhupāda: Oh! That is also another foolishness. That is called will o' the wisp. The ass. Ass is trying to get the grass, and the washerman is showing only, and the ass is advancing, the grass is advancing. (laughter) You see. This is their thing.

Morning Walk -- December 4, 1973, Los Angeles:

Hṛdayānanda: So regardless of our position, they are not qualified.

Prabhupāda: Ah?

Hṛdayānanda: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Their system is to remain a student and pose as teacher, their system. They're trying to learn it, and still they're posing as teacher. Teacher means one who knows. He does not know; still he poses in the post of a teacher.

Hṛdayānanda: So the system cannot be good because it does not purify their character. They still cheat.

Prabhupāda: No, they're cheating simply. Little knowledge, cheating. Little knowledge.

Yaśomatīnandana: They're simply like neti neti. "Not this, not this."

Prabhupāda: "Not this." Yes. By negation. Definition by negation. Not positive definition. They say "it is not this." But what it is they cannot say.

Morning Walk -- December 4, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: But something is missing. That is accepted by everyone.

Bhakta Dāsa: (laughs) So we both don't know.

Prabhupāda: Ah? No, I know better than you. Because you are a fool, I'm a fool, but you are a fool and still you are posing you know. That is the difference.

Karandhara: They may say, "We don't know, but we're trying to find out."

Prabhupāda: That also... Then why I shall give you better position?

Karandhara: We are also trying to find out.

Prabhupāda: Then why should I give you better position? You're on the same level with me. Why you are posing as "I am scientist"? You are a fool, you admit I am fool, you admit you are a fool. But why you are posing as scientist?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Because they will say that they have a..., they are trying to find out experimental things.

Prabhupāda: You have not found out, that's a fact. As I have not found, therefore you are equally fool like me. Don't pose yourself better than me.

Morning Walk -- December 4, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Sometimes questions are raised saying that how do we know that a bird is more intelligent than a human being.

Prabhupāda: Yes, bird is more intelligent.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: But we are posing that...

Prabhupāda: Just like, just like, here is a bird, as soon as he see so many men are coming, he'll jump over you. You are not intelligent to jump over. Suppose someone is coming to stab you; you cannot jump. Therefore bird is more intelligent.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: How do we know that they're not (indistinct)?

Prabhupāda: Ah? No, they'll know enemy is coming, even if he says, animals they know. As soon as there is enemy, they take protection.

Devotee (2): But they take the hook.

Prabhupāda: Ah?

Devotee (2): But the fish take the hook.

Prabhupāda: Hook?

Devotee (2): When the man is fishing with the hook, the fish that takes the hook...?

Prabhupāda: That ignorance is there, but the hook... Not only out of ignorance, out of greediness. That if you become more greedy, he knows that there is sufficient food in the sea, but the rascal is greedy, he's taking another... Due to his rascaldom, he's dying. Greediness. So similarly, all arrangement is there, God-made. Even for human beings. But because they're rascals, they're greedy. They're greedy. Although their greediness cannot satisfy them, everyone is greedy because the law of nature is equal to everyone. If law of nature can supply food to the birds and beast and everyone, why not to the human beings? What human being has done? But they're rascal, greedy, therefore suffering. More, wants more. There is already food grains, milk, flowers, fruits, immense supply, but he'll cut the throat of another animal. Greedy. And they're suffering, committing sinful activities.

Morning Walk -- December 11, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Topless, bottomless. That is going on. It is a regular policy that girls may remain unmarried, and the drunkards and the meat-eaters may take advantage of the prostitution. This is the policy. They have no sympathy. So many hundreds and thousands of innocent girls, they're like children. And they're exposed to prostitution. They have no shelter. Now these girls who are with us, they're feeling some shelter, you see? That we are giving some shelter. Everything should be reformed, political, social, and be, you American nation—you're favored nation, that I am always speaking; you should utilize the favor of God and be yourself perfect—and be leader of the whole world. Anyone who is not believer in God, he should be punished. Because he's animal. He is animal, and he is posing himself as human being. Cheater. Human life is meant for tapasya, for understanding God. That is human life. This dog's life, cat's life, this is not human life. If you become a very powerful tiger, is that human life? They're thinking like that. "If I become as strong as a tiger, then there we are perfect nation." Then what is the use of tiger? It is simply kill only. What other intelligence he has got? So in your country there are so many things to be done. I give you the idea, now you take the leaders. (break) Rascal. Sentimental. Be yourself leader. (break) ...you give up all this material advancement. But there must be Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Morning Walk -- December 11, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prajāpati: Actually permeate all the media with Kṛṣṇa consciousness propaganda, not simply just writing but actually all aspects of...

Prabhupāda: Yes, you can take advantage of all this media. That we are doing. Just like we are taking advantage of this microphone. We are not rejecting, "Oh, it is material. Why should we take?" Nothing material. Anything used for Kṛṣṇa is spiritual. Material means what is not used for Kṛṣṇa. That is material. You are materialistic when you are not used for Kṛṣṇa. And as soon as you are utilized for Kṛṣṇa, you are spiritualistic. That is the difference. Here we say, "This is material world." This is material world because everyone has forgotten Kṛṣṇa. Therefore it is material world. So if they come into Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then it is spiritual. (break) ...conscious people now challenge this rascal that "We are searching after Kṛṣṇa. We are not searching... We are devotee of Kṛṣṇa, and you are posing yourself as Kṛṣṇa. So show us some Kṛṣṇa's power. We immediately come to you."

Morning Walk -- December 15, 1973, Los Angeles:

Candanācārya: So he'll say the conception which has been presented by the different religions.

Prabhupāda: What is your conception? Why do you go to different religions? You are talking with me. So you say, what do you mean by God? Next question will be this. Don't go to others. Don't fly away. You are atheist. You are posing yourself atheist. Atheist means one who does not believe in God. That's all right. Now what do you mean by God? First of all the thing must be there. Then you believe or not believe next. Just like here is a person. He says, "I believe in him." I say, "I don't believe in him." But the person is there.

Karandhara: Well, he'll say, "God is just an idea."

Prabhupāda: Idea?

Karandhara: Yes. But ideas don't always represent facts.

Prabhupāda: So idea is there. You say that it is not fact, but others say it is a fact. So how it will be mitigated? How it will be settled? "God" word is there. You say that it is an idea.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- March 26, 1974, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: Then if they know māyā, then you call them Māyāvādīs.

Prabhupāda: No, no. Māyāvādī is different.

Dr. Patel: And you call them rascals.

Prabhupāda: Māyāvādī is different. Māyāvādī is different. But those who are completely ignorant, that is another thing. That is another thing. Māyāvādīs, they pose themselves as knowing everything.

Dr. Patel: But I tell you, Śaṅkarācārya was not that Māyāvādī which you call Māyāvādī. He was...

Prabhupāda: I am not talking of Śaṅkarācārya.

Dr. Patel: Śaṅkarācārya's philosophy has been misunderstood, and they are, those are the people who, real Māyāvādīs. Śaṅkarācārya was, I mean, a... (break)

Prabhupāda: (Hindi) (break) There is no mercy. If he says, "No, no. I shall, I shall rub over your belly and it will be cured," is that the means? It must go on, operation, surgical operation. That is treatment. If you become kind, "No, no, no, it is very difficult. I will give him something. It will cure," That is not treatment. (Hindi) (break) Tān ahaṁ dviṣataḥ krūrān kṣipāmy ajasram āsurīṣv eva yoniṣu (BG 16.19). No mercy. "You surrender. Otherwise, if you are envious, then I am sending you to the darkest region of ignorance." (break) (Hindi) (break) ...after, you are quitting?

Morning Walk -- April 5, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: No. They are rascals, simply rascals, not śūṣka Vedāntists. Vedāntist is... His father is also not Vedāntist. They do not know what is Vedānta. Simply rascals. That is our propaganda, that why you accept these rascals as leader?

Indian man (2): Kṛṣṇa is described in the Upaniṣads. Then how can they say there is no Kṛṣṇa?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Still, they say, "There was no Kṛṣṇa." That is the most regrettable incidence, that these people, they do not know what is Bhagavad-gītā, and still, they pose themselves as a knower of Bhagavad-gītā. Yes. That should be protested now. That is our mission. No, you cannot say like that.

Dr. Patel: We are going to read up to the mandir. Because we have not...

Prabhupāda: (break) ...study one line, that is sufficient. It does not mean to go like a storm and do not understand.

Dr. Patel: We don't go like a storm. We go very slowly.

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. Let us go slow but sure.

Girirāja: (finishes synonyms for 11.19) "Translation: You are the origin without beginning, middle or end. You have numberless arms, and the sun and moon are among Your great unlimited eyes. By Your own radiance, You are heating this entire universe."

Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa says that prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ. Now that being exhibited by Kṛṣṇa. Not only Kṛṣṇa said, but He exhibited.

Morning Walk Excerpts -- May 1, 1974, Bombay:

Yadubara: "When Akrūra finished eating..." (break)

Prabhupāda: The guest may be comfortable. Sukham āsīnam. He is seated very nicely, comfortably, then talk. This is the system. Receiving guests and talking. (break) "Beware of dog. Beware of dog. I am living with dog. Don't come here." He poses that "I am friend of... Dog is my best friend, so don't come here." Yes. His overfaithfulness has obliged him to take the body of a dog.

Yadubara: "The Vedic system of receiving a guest was completely observed by Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself to teach all others how..." (break)

Prabhupāda: Even if you receive at home your enemy, you shall treat him in such a way that he is not afraid. Akuto 'bhayam. That "I have come to the house of enemy and he can do me harm at any time," no. He should be received in such a way that he will be completely free from these thoughts, that "I am his enemy."

Room Conversation with Robert Gouiran, Nuclear Physicist from European Center for Nuclear Research -- June 5, 1974, Geneva:

Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: Human society all over the world is divided into four castes and four orders of life. The four castes are the intelligent caste, the martial caste, the productive caste and the laborer caste. These castes are classified in terms of one's work and qualification and not by birth. Then again there are four orders of life, namely the student life, the householder's life, the retired and the devotional life. In the best interest of human society there must be such divisions of life, otherwise no social institution can grow in a healthy state. And in each and every one of the abovementioned divisions of life, the aim must be to please the supreme authority of the Personality of Godhead. This institutional function of human society is known as the system of varṇāśrama-dharma, which is quite natural for the civilized life. The varṇāśrama institution is constructed to enable one to realize the Absolute Truth. It is not for artificial domination of one division over another. When the aim of life, i.e., realization of the Absolute Truth, is missed by too much attachment for indriya-prīti, or sense gratification, as already discussed hereinbefore, the institution of the varṇāśrama is utilized by selfish men to pose an artificial predominance over the weaker section. In the Kali-yuga, or in the age of quarrel, this artificial predominance is already current, but the saner section of the people know it well that the divisions of castes and orders of life are meant for smooth social intercourse and high-thinking self-realization and not for any other purpose.

Herein the statement of Bhāgavatam is that the highest aim of life or the highest perfection of the institution of the varṇāśrama-dharma is to cooperate jointly for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.13).

Robert Gouiran: I have the impression that this translation is not very good because when you define the four states of life and you translate the two last ones by..., mainly the last one, by devotion for sannyāsin. Sannyāsin is not devotion. Sannyāsin is...

Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: I'll read that again. "then again there are four orders of life, namely the student life..."

Robert Gouiran: Yes.

Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: "...the householder's life, the retired and the devotional life."

Robert Gouiran: Oh, yes. Another way of the fourth translation, the fourth one.

Yogeśvara: He says that the word sannyāsin should be translated as renunciation instead of devotion. The stage of renunciation, instead of...

Prabhupāda: What is the meaning of renunciation?

Robert Gouiran: Well, normal meaning.

Morning Walk -- June 11, 1974, Paris:

Prabhupāda: (laughs) Eh? I did not say.

Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: He said that morning "What can we do, Prabhupāda?" He said, "What can we do? If we do not compromise, we will make enemies."

Prabhupāda: No, you'll not compromise; at the same time, you'll not make enemies. That is tactics. If you make enemies, then what is your tactics? You must speak the truth; at the same time he'll not be displeased. That is tactics. If you can defeat him by your argument, then he'll not be displeased. After all, everyone is human being. If you can find out his defect, why he shall be enemy? Therefore, it is said, "You better make a reasonable man an enemy, but don't make a friend fool." You don't make friendship with a fool, but if a man is intelligent, better make him an enemy. Because, because he's intelligent, although he's an enemy, he'll not do any harm. Because intelligent. But a fool, he may pose himself as friend, and he can do anything which is very harmful.

Room Conversation -- June 11, 1974, Paris:

Yogeśvara: Sigmund Freud.

Prabhupāda: The rascal, what is there, philosophy? This philosophy everyone knows. And he's philosophizing.

Yogeśvara: There was an article in this week's newspaper. Sigmund Freud's grand-daughter is now posing for naked pictures in magazines. She is saying, "My grandfather's philosophy was not so good." So now she is posing.

Prabhupāda: He's ad... She's advanced. (laughter) She's more advanced. That's nice. (laughs) This is going on. Animals, simply animals in a different posture. That's all. Fourth-class, fifth-class men. And they are governing, they are leaders. Then what is that? Śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-kharaiḥ.

Nitāi:

śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-kharaiḥ

saṁstutaḥ puruṣaḥ paśuḥ

na yat-karṇa-pathopeto

jātu nāma gadāgrajaḥ

(SB 2.3.19)

"Men who are like dogs, hogs, camels and asses praise those men who never listen to the transcendental pastimes of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the deliverer from evils."

Prabhupāda: Yes. These electors are animals, and they elect animals. Just like Nixon. A big animal, and he was elected by other animals. And now there is struggle. (makes barking sound:) "Gow! Gow! Gow! Gow! Gow!" (laughter.) That's all. Is it not?

Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: It's true.

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

Prabhupāda: But because he has no eyes, he cannot see. Therefore he has to hear. He has to hear. (French)

Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: How can one discriminate what is a real authority and who is a blind person posing as an authority?

Yogeśvara: How can we tell a real authority?

Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: As opposed to someone who is posing as an authority?

Prabhupāda: This authority means just like you follow somebody. You are going to somewhere by aeroplane. You do not know. But others are purchasing ticket and going there, so you have to follow them. That's all. So the authority is if he does not know... Therefore we are giving the chance, the association of the devotee. The devotee, they are practicing something for going back to home, back to Godhead, so you have to mix with the devotees and then gradually understand.

Karandhara: No, what he's saying is: what is the standard of measurement? There are so many people saying they are the authority. How does one individually judge which one is the best or proper?

Prabhupāda: So that he has to judge himself. It is like this: just like if you eat, then you judge yourself whether you are satisfied or not. (French) The process is described. No, no, the process is described. First of all, the thing is that he is inquisitive to know the ultimate goal. That is first qualification, that he is actually searching after the goal of life, the actual. That is first qualification. If he has no such aim, that "I must find out the actual aim of life," then he will remain always in darkness. Then next thing, next process will be that he has to associate with person, those who are also actually the goal of life. And then next process is, as Bhagavān was telling last night, that we have no problem. Then next process will be how we have become free from all problem. Then he will say, "You do like this." Then, acting according to him, one who says that I have no problem, "So let me act like him," when he feels, "Yes, I have no problem," then it is fixed up.

Room Conversation with Professor Oliver La Combe Director of the Sorbonne University -- June 14, 1974, Paris:

Prabhupāda: Oh. We have got Kṛṣṇa. We are not afraid in challenging anyone. I believe on that formula. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). I believe that verse very strongly, that anyone who has not surrendered to Kṛṣṇa or is not Kṛṣṇa conscious, he must be within this list: duṣkṛtina, mūḍha, narādhama, māyayāpahṛta-jñāna, āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritaḥ. That's all. I have explained that verse little elaborately. Read it. It is very interesting. Where is Satsvarūpa?

Bhagavān: He is in the other room. Would you like him to come in?

Nitāi:

na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ

prapadyante narādhamāḥ

māyayāpahṛta-jñānā

āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ

(BG 7.15)

"Those miscreants who are grossly foolish, lowest amongst mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion and who partake of the atheistic nature of demons do not surrender unto Me." It is said in the Bhagavad-gītā that simply by surrendering oneself unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality Kṛṣṇa, one can surmount the stringent laws of material nature. At this point a question rises. How is it that educated philosophers, scientists, businessmen, administrators and all the leaders of ordinary men do not surrender unto the lotus... (break) ...Manu, Vyāsa, Devala, Asita, Janaka, Prahlāda, Bali, and later on, Madhvācārya, Rāmānujācārya, Śrī Caitanya and many others who are faithful philosophers, politicians, educators, and scientists etc. surrendered unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Person, the all-powerful authority. Those who are not actually philosophers, scientists, educators, administrators, etc., but who pose themselves as such for material gain, do not accept the plan or path of the Supreme Lord. They have no idea of God. They simply manufacture their own worldly plans and consequently complicate the problems of material..."

Prabhupāda: Everyone comes, they say, "Why people are suffering?" They are concerned with the people suffering. Actually not. That is a plea only, as if he has taken the task of minimizing the suffering of humanity. He poses himself as very philanthropist. Actually, he cannot do anything.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- May 10, 1975, Perth:

Prabhupāda: Then you do not know. Why he says that Bhagavad-gītā was written five thousand years ago? Why do you say like that? You do not know. It was first spoken forty millions of years ago. Imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham... What kind of realization of Bhagavad-gītā, you do not know? I am accusing you because you are student of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. How you do not know?

Paramahaṁsa: I think he was posing as a materialist.

Prabhupāda: That's all right. But one who does not know, why is he saying that Bhagavad-gītā was written five thousand years ago? He does not know. That is my point. If you had known then you would not have said like that, foolishly, that Bhagavad-gītā was spoken five thousand years ago. It is avyayam, it is eternally there. It is eternally there. Imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam (BG 4.1). Avyayam means which is never under deterioration. It is eternally existing. That is avyayam. Just like ātmā, soul, avyayam. There is no deterioration. It is there. So forty millions of years ago once it was spoken, but in due course of time it is now lost; therefore I am speaking it again to you. You did not read Bhagavad-gītā it is said there? How do you say it was written five thousand years ago? It is already there. It was first spoken forty millions of years ago, now it is lost. The material world is like that. One thing is lost sometimes. Therefore I am speaking to you. And why are you speaking to me? Because you are my devotee. This is the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā. That means only the devotees can understand Bhagavad-gītā, and it is always existing, and because it is now lost... Just like we are putting Bhagavad-gītā, why am I stressing so much? It is lost. By the so-called Gandhis and Dr. Radhakrishnan, they have made it lost. Therefore we are stressing. The thing is there. We are simply trying to revive it again. It is not that it is the beginning. No. It is already there. But these rascals have made it lost. People do not understand it, do not follow it, that is the difficulty. So we are trying to revive it again. It is revival of the whole teaching. Permanent teaching. Permanent beneficial instruction. Now it is lost. Which way shall we go?

Morning Walk -- May 17, 1975, Perth:

Paramahaṁsa: But he would say, "There are many people also like me who... We don't harm anybody. We just live our own life, and..."

Prabhupāda: But you harm yourself. Because you are a rascal you do not know what is your future. You do not harm others, but you are harming yourself. You do not know what you are and how you are harming yourself. You are such a rascal. You pose to be that you do not make any harm to anyone, but you are doing harm to yourself. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). You do not know what is the harm to yourself. You are such a fool. So what is the use of...? Nobody can do any harm to anyone. Everything is going on nature's law. But you are doing yourself harm for your interest. You are such a fool.

Paramahaṁsa: But I feel pretty happy. Everything seems to be... I have a good job.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes, the ass also feels happy, dog also feels happy, so you are like ass, dog, like that. They also feel happy.

Paramahaṁsa: They don't go to cinema.

Prabhupāda: This is not... There are many living entities in the cinema. There are ants, the lizards, rats. So what is the use of being in cinema? So you are also one of them, that's all. There are no rats in the cinema house? (laughter)

Room Conversation with Director of Research of the Dept. of Social Welfare -- May 21, 1975, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: Yes, the welfare department is for that purpose only.

Devotee: And he's the head of the department.

Prabhupāda: He also does the same thing. He does not know how to cure it.

Devotee: He said that "I could not live without illicit sex life."

Prabhupāda: Yes. Mostly the bachelor daddy. They pose themself as bachelor, but they are having at least three times sex with contraceptive method, you see. This is going on. And they are accepted as standard. And if you want to reform it, then it is (indistinct). The whole basic wrong is they have become godless animals, that's all. The only method is this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. There is no other second method. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇāḥ. You cannot raise anybody to high qualities unless he is Kṛṣṇa conscious. That is a subtle fact. And example is there. Because some of them have taken to Kṛṣṇa conscious they are ideal. All others, what is the value? He is a leader, and he says, "Yes, illicit sex is all right. We are enjoying by contraceptive method." If the leaders do something wrong, the others will follow. (to devotee:) I think you should continue as a gṛhastha for the time being.

Devotee: Yes, I think so.

Prabhupāda: Unless you are ripe old age. At least up to fifty years. What is your age now?

Devotee: Um, twenty-eight.

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

Guest 2: But there would be a lot of lawyers to do...

Prabhupāda: No, that is another thing. I am talking of yourself. If one does not know what is good, then how he will do good? The first business is that he must know what is good. Then he can do something good. Otherwise what is the use of jumping like monkey? He must know. Because you are a lawyer you know how to deal with law, you can do good. But a layman who is not a lawyer, how he can do good? So therefore, anyone who is posing himself as leader to do good to the society, he must know first of all what is good.

Guest 2: Would you say that the lawyer can do good whether or not he believes in God?

Prabhupāda: No, no, no. I am saying that if you are not a lawyer, if you have no study of the law, how can you do good?

Guest 2: Well, that's what I was putting. I was hoping to lead you from there to the other situation of no studying or specific training.

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

Guest 1: One thing I wondered about. In our terms sometimes you can find a person that you admire or who you believe does good, but he professes to be an atheist. I'm thinking about a person like Bertrand Russell.

Prabhupāda: No, our ideas are standard. We are not manufacturing any idea. Just like whatever we speak, immediately we give evidence from the śāstra. That is our standard. We accept standard idea, and the standard idea means the ideas given by God. That is standard. There is no mistake. There is no cheating, There is no illusion. Any idea we form, that is prone to these four defects. One defect is that we are prone to commit mistake. We are prone to be illusioned. And our senses are imperfect. So being subjected to mistaken idea, illusioned idea, our senses being imperfect, if we want to give some law, that is cheating.

Guest 1: So the answer to every question is in there.

Prabhupāda: Yes. I do not pose myself that I am perfect. These ideas I am giving, that is perfect.

Guest 1: Is that open to interpretation or is it very... Can two people read...

Prabhupāda: Interpretation... When you do not understand the word, then you can give interpretation. Otherwise there is no chance of interpreting.

Room Conversation -- June 26, 1975, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Anyone, anyone... Why you are going to preach that portion to a professor?

Devotee (1): No. When they read your books, they pose that question to us.

Devotee (2): They read it. They say to us.

Devotee (1): And unless we can answer that question...

Prabhupāda: They ask to only you, but they never ask to us.

Revatīnandana: They have. Sometimes they ask me.

Prabhupāda: That's all right. Let them ask. But you can tell away that(?) but you don't repeat this thing. You can give up that portion. You read other portion.

Devotee (1): But then because so many things they have to accept on faith without knowing, it then weakens their faith as to what they should accept and why should they accept Kṛṣṇa, who they can't see any more than King Ugrasena's four billion bodyguards.

Prabhupāda: Don't accept. Don't accept.

Devotee (2): But we want them to accept. The point is, if we say to a scientific man, "There was four billion," and if our statement is wrong...

Prabhupāda: But our position is that if some portion we cannot understand, it is our incapability.

Room Conversation -- June 26, 1975, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: If my disciples, advanced students, cannot answer, then I am sorry. I cannot answer. I cannot answer.

Devotee (2): That we did not know. That we did not know.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Now you know it. I have appointed so many GBCs because to help me. It is not possible to see everyone, individual. This is not...

Devotee (1): But these are the same questions which they themselves are posing to you.

Revatīnandana: I have never met any other people who asked questions on the level that they are asking questions. I cannot answer many of their questions. I have studied all your books.

Prabhupāda: I cannot. If you cannot, I cannot also. Because you have been taught by me, if you cannot, then it is...

Devotee (2): We have also been taught.

Revatīnandana: I have read your books, and I have heard you lecture. And so many things they are asking, I am, have no capacity to answer them. But you must have the capacity because you know Kṛṣṇa. Therefore they want to ask you personally.

Devotee (1): So that is the...

Prabhupāda: So far I am not so able to answer. I admit my fault.

Morning Walk -- October 21, 1975, Johannesburg:

Harikeśa: They also bring up the insane argument that life...

Prabhupāda: "Insane argument." How we have...? We have no time to hear such insane argument.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: But these demons, Prabhupāda, they pose themselves as being very religious. They pose themselves as being very religious.

Prabhupāda: How they are religious?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: They cite scripture.

Prabhupāda: (laughs) The scripture is also devilish. What is these marks?

Harikeśa: They grow the grass around the outside and when the green inside has some hole in it like there, they plug it up with that.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: The scientists cannot immediately accept authority of the Bhāgavatam, that it will take hundreds of years.

Prabhupāda: Less intelligent. No intelligence. Therefore I was quoting that, sva-vi-varāhoṣṭra-kharai saṁstuta puruṣaḥ paśuḥ. This class of scientists and such, they are eulogized by small rascals. They are rascals, and small rascals... That is actually happening. Just like your President Nixon. How he was being given reception, crowd. Hundreds and thousands of people used to come. And then again get him down, make him humiliated as far as possible. So this is a rascal, Nixon, and the person who elected him, they are rascals. Therefore the Bhāgavata says, sva-vi-varāhoṣṭra-kharai saṁstutaḥ. Here is one big animal, and the small animals voting him. That's all. This is the society, animal society—the small animals praising the big animals. That's all. All of them are animals only.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- January 19, 1976, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: That's utilization. Why they should be paid for nothing?

Indian man: The small farmers who has a few acres of land, they are selling to a party, and they are getting a money. They knew that "After two or three years we will pose our set-up to the government that 'We are landless,' and the government will give us some money."

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Indian man: "We will get the money now and we will also get the land."

Prabhupāda: Just see.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Same way, these people in Madras, the poor people living on the street, so the government gives them the house. Then they take the house and rent it and live...

Prabhupāda: In Bombay also they do that.

Indian man: Still gutter, and charge. When we were looking at land in Kurukṣetra so then I found it. The people there are ready to sell it immediately to get the money. Then they will pose to the government that "We are landless," so the government will give them land again.

Prabhupāda: And then the land which he purchased now, that will take away.

Morning Walk -- March 26, 1976, Delhi:

Prabhupāda: And he has become a servant of a person who does not know Sanskrit.

Dayānanda: Yes, he does not know anything, but he has become servant.

Guru dāsa: (break) ...about some other paṇḍitas who wanted to get Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura out of the town. So two of his students, one posed as a betel seller and one as a potter. And when the men came to take, kick Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura out of the town, they first stopped to get some betel. And the betel seller was quoting Sanskrit verses, and then the potter was also quoting Sanskrit verses. So they thought, "If the betel seller and the potter of this town are such great paṇḍitas, what must Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura be like?" So they left the town immediately. (break) ...Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is the ability in man.

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Guru dāsa: Kṛṣṇa is the ability in man. Kṛṣṇa is the ability...

Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa is everything.

Guru dāsa: Yes. Is it all right to think sometimes when there is some success that it's more due to you than to Kṛṣṇa? Because you've taught us about Kṛṣṇa, you've taught us how to speak, etc. In other words, when there's some success, can we think that it's due to you more than to Kṛṣṇa, or both, or...

Prabhupāda: According to śāstra, both. Guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpāya pāya bhakti-latā-bīja (CC Madhya 19.151). By the grace of Kṛṣṇa one gets guru, and by the grace of guru one gets Kṛṣṇa. If one is sincerely seeking after Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa gives him a guru, and the guru teaches him how to get Kṛṣṇa.

Morning Walk -- May 27, 1976, Honolulu:

Devotee (2): ...revolutionary questions that you're asking because they never stop to ask... They say that you cannot accept any philosophy, why are they giving their philosophy? No one every thought to ask that question.

Prabhupāda: Hm? Everyone is rascal. Therefore I say all rascals. They have no sense. If you want me to pose your philosophy, why shall I not impose my philosophy? I've got the same right. Why should I accept yours?

Devotee (2): Philosophers are saying that there's no philosophy, but they're giving their philosophy.

Prabhupāda: If there's no philosophy, why you rascal propose some philosophy? Stop talking. (everyone laughs)

Devotee (3): No philosophy.

Prabhupāda: That is better. That is better. There is no struggle. So why you trying to pose your philosophy?

Devotee (3): Philosophers think they know what is best for everyone else, but they don't even know what is best for themselves.

Prabhupāda: Yes. (break)...presented by Sanātana Gosvāmī before Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Hari-śauri: Hm.

Prabhupāda: "Everyone says that I am very learned man, but I am so learned that I do not even know what I am. I'm so learned." (Bengali) This is admission of foolishness.

Hari-śauri: His first question was, "Tell... Please tell me who I am."

Prabhupāda: Yes. They do not know who he is, and he's philosophize. Calendar..., calendar? Is criticizing ladle?

Hari-śauri: Oh, colander.

Room Conversation with Reporter -- June 4, 1976, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: There are different groups. I know that. But I do not go in detail to understand them. But our..., we have got a crucial test. That anyone who is..., does not know about Kṛṣṇa, he is put into four different types of categories as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. One category is that he is sinful. Another category is that he is rascal. Another category is that he's lowest of the mankind. Another category is that his so-called knowledge is taken away by illusory energy. So this is our test. That is stated in Bhagavad-gītā, that

na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ

prapadyante narādhamāḥ

māyayāpahṛta-jñānā

āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ

(BG 7.15)

Anyone who is not talking about God, he is either of these group: sinful, rascal, lowest of the mankind, and knowledge taken away by illusion. This is our conclusion, and that's a fact. Because a person who does not know about God, what he is? He is animal. The animal has no knowledge about God. But a human being, if he poses himself to be very learned, then he must have knowledge about God, otherwise what is his knowledge?

Reporter: Do you have any opinion about Ted Patrick, who I guess you've probably heard of?

Prabhupāda: I, I do not care to read these persons. But I have no business, because we are strictly following Kṛṣṇa, our signboard is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So anyone who does not know anything about Kṛṣṇa, we reject him immediately. That's all, simple business.

Morning Walk -- June 4, 1976, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Whatever it may be, we have got something. I may believe it. That's all. You believe your imagination, we believe this. That's all. Finished.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Ours are better.

Prabhupāda: Your imagination is also rascaldom, and if ours, it is rascaldom, that's all right, you are rascal, I am rascal. Why do you pose yourself you are learned?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, that's the point.

Prabhupāda: Don't pose yourself that you are learned.

Rāmeśvara: They say that for thousands and thousands of years man has believed in God, and as a result...

Prabhupāda: That I am speaking daily, you must believe in God, the creator.

Rāmeśvara: They say that before the scientific revolution...

Prabhupāda: There is no scientific. It is all rascal revolution. If you cannot answer these questions that you are created by your father, so why there should be no original creator? You cannot say that you have dropped from the sky.

Morning Walk -- June 7, 1976, Los Angeles:

Devotee: So by his dreaming he, he...

Prabhupāda: Yes, first of all be rich man, then do all things, how you shall kick your wife. This is going on. Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that "My Guru Mahārāja found Me rascal number one; therefore he ordered, 'You cannot study Vedānta. You chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.' " They will not read this portion. That Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He posed Himself as a rascal.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: But they prefer to read about all the ecstatic symptoms on Caitanya Mahāprabhu's body

Prabhupāda: That's all right. That.... Be, first of all bona fide. That is good ambition. But how this good ambition can fulfill when you are a potter, poor man? Actually be rich, and then kick your wife. And without being rich, if you think all this nonsense, you're spoiling time. (japa)

Rāmeśvara: Śrīla Prabhupāda, some devotees, sometimes they feel that in ISKCON we're talking so much about the business of how to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but we're not talking enough about Kṛṣṇa's pastimes, kṛṣṇa-kathā, they say. So that's another reason why they want to read all these pastimes.

Prabhupāda: Then let them read. What kind of kṛṣṇa-kathā? The kṛṣṇa-kathā test is as soon as he'll get the taste, he'll lose this taste. That is the.... What is this nonsense?

Rāmeśvara: Won't it purify them? That's what they say, "It will purify me."

Prabhupāda: What you are purified? You have become a, what is called, putrefied, not purified.

Devotees: Jaya, Prabhupāda.

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 Conversation -- June 20, 1976, Toronto:

Prabhupāda: Because they are not devotee. Paśyanti jñāna-cakṣuṣā. Mām ebhyaḥ param, mūḍhā nābhijānāti mām ebhyaḥ parama-avyayam. Paraṁ bhāvam ajānantaḥ. Paraṁ bhāvam ajānantaḥ. They have no knowledge.

Satsvarūpa: They think that if they follow, they'll still be misled. "Why should I believe? It may not be true."

Prabhupāda: But you are already misled. Why not be second time misled? You are already misled, thousand times. Why not try once more. You are making so much arrangement to live comfortably, but you are kicked out. Are you not misled? Bahir-artha-māninaḥ. You are thinking that by adjustment of this external energy, you will be able to live very happily. Is it possible? You are trying, problem after problem, problem after problem. So you are already misled.

Satsvarūpa: You've said, "Just give this one life to Kṛṣṇa. You've misgambled so many lives. Why not give one to Kṛṣṇa?"

Prabhupāda: You are misled already so many lives. All right, be misled another life. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66).

Hari-śauri: They're taking a photo today for the BTG, so they'd like if you would pose for five minutes.

Prabhupāda: Why not? (end)

Room Conversation -- June 24, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: No. There are so many. Hmm. What is that?

Dhṛṣṭadyumna: Purport? "There are many pseudo meditators who misrepresent themselves as belonging to high parentage, and great professional men who falsely pose that they have sacrificed everything for the sake of advancement in spiritual life. Lord Kṛṣṇa did not want Arjuna to become a pretender, but that he perform his prescribed duties as set forth for kṣatriyas. Arjuna was a householder and a military general, and therefore it was better for him to remain as such and perform his religious duties as prescribed for the householder kṣatriya. Such activities gradually cleanse the heart of a mundane man and free him from material contamination. So-called renunciation for the purpose of maintenance is never approved by the Lord, nor by any religious scripture. After all, one has to maintain one's body and soul together by some work. Work should not be given up capriciously, without purification of materialistic propensities. Anyone who is in the material world is certainly possessed of the impure propensity for lording it over material nature, or, in other words, for sense gratification. Such polluted propensities have to be cleared. Without doing so, through prescribed duties, one should never attempt to become a so-called transcendentalist, renouncing work and living at the cost of others."

Prabhupāda: That is not the right way. Kṛṣṇa never said to Arjuna that "You haven't got to fight. You sit down, I shall do everything." He never said that. "You have to fight." Nimitta-mātraṁ bhava savyaśacin. "And the result is already created by Me, but you have to make a manifestation of fighting." Just like our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Within eight or ten years we have developed so much. Is it humanly possible? It is Kṛṣṇa's plan. But Kṛṣṇa says that "You go and preach. Take the credit." Yes. It is His plan. Actually everything is done by Kṛṣṇa. He gives the credit to His devotee, that's all. You know the history of the Detroit temple (laughs)?

Kīrtanānanda: A little bit, not too much.

Garden Conversation -- June 27, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Devotee (2): There is a so-called spiritual master, Śrīla Prabhupāda, who is giving meditation courses to them.

Prabhupāda: That is another cheating. Meditation... Whatever nonsense they are doing, you don't know, nobody knows. That's all. Bhava satrugna.(?) "If you become dumb, you have no enemy." Tāvac ca śobhate mūrkho yāvat kiñcin na bhāṣate. "A rascal is beautiful so long he does not speak." So better meditation; don't speak. Nobody will detect you. This is going on. If you speak, then you'll be detected what you are. And if you sleep by posing meditation, then nobody will ask "What you are doing, nonsense?" This is meditation. Meditation is another cheating. That Prahlāda Mahārāja has detected. Huh? Find out this verse, Seventh Canto.

Hari-śauri: This Śrī Chinmoy is supposed to be this resident guru at the United Nations.

Prabhupāda: Whatever he may be, but we have got our own formula to understand.

Answers to a Questionnaire from Bhavan's Journal -- June 28, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: The so-called Vedantists are bluffers. They do not know what is Vedānta. But the things are going on that people want to be bluffed and the bluffers take advantage of it, and therefore... Veda means knowledge, and anta means end of knowledge. That is the combination of Vedānta. So in the Vedānta the beginning is, Vedānta-sūtra, athāto brahma jijñāsāḥ. "Now, in the human form of life, they should inquire about the Absolute Truth." That is the Vedānta philosophy. And what is that Absolute Truth? Sūtra means in aphorism, in small words, a big philosophy is given. That is called sūtra. A little link. So Vedānta-sūtra begins when one is inquisitive to understand the Absolute Truth. That is called Vedānta-sūtra. And it is answered, first question is now about brahma-jijñāsa, inquisitive, inquiry about Brahman. So Brahman is, in nutshell, described: "Brahman means the origin of everything." Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). And in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam (BG 15.15). All the Vedas, all the book of knowledge, their business is how to search out God. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15). So the whole Vedānta is description of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But because in this Kali-yuga people will not be able to study Vedānta nicely on account of lack of education, therefore Vyāsadeva personally wrote a commentary on the Vedānta. That commentary is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Bhāṣyaṁ brahma-sūtrānam **. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the real commentary on the Vedānta-sūtra written by the author himself. The Vedānta-sūtra is also given by Vyāsadeva, and under the instruction of Nārada, his spiritual master... Get this light on. He wrote commentary on the Vedānta-sūtra. That is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also begins with the same aphorism, janmādy asya yataḥ anvayād itarataś ca artheṣu abhijñāh sva-rāṭ (SB 1.1.1). So actually, Vedānta-sūtra is explained by the author of the Vedānta in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So some rascals, without understanding Vedānta, without reading the commentary, natural commentary of the Vedānta-sūtra they are posing themselves as Vedantist. That means they are misguiding people. And because people are not educated, they're accepting these rascals as Vedantists. Actually, the so-called Vedantists, they are bluffers. They are not Vedantists. They do not know anything of the Vedānta. That is the difficulty. Otherwise, what is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that is real Vedānta. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said, jīvasya tattva-jijñāsa. That is Vedānta-sutra-bhāṣya.

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

Prabhupāda: Whatever it may be. They are supposed to be great personalities, but not a single person was converted.

Dr. Sukla: (indistinct) ...he was asked who is such a master. He pointed out could not answer who can be such a master. He posed himself as a spiritual master.

Prabhupāda: So here is an opportunity to preach real India's traditional culture. So those who are Indians present here, they should cooperate. They should not mislead further.

Dr. Sukla: We have started teaching your Gītā at Georgetown University, where I teach. Before we had, we have two years course of Sanskrit, and we had some excerpts from Mahābhārata and some Pañca-tantra and so on, but there was no Gītā. So I decided and we were using the entire Gītā for the second year. Your contributions can't be duplicated.

Prabhupāda: Thank you very much.

Dr. Sukla: And same thing with Bhāgavatam. We all know what a great book that is, and what I really appreciate about the whole thing is, number one, that there are no misprints in the book. So that's a great delight. Especially, for people who do not know Sanskrit, for them, there's no difference between the wheat and the germ that comes with it. The translations are very accurate. So it's real scholarship there. And people who were not aware of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they know that if the intellect is so powerful, the spirit must be powerful too. Our library, of course, has several copies, and our bookstore has almost all the...

Prabhupāda: All over the world they have given standing order. (laughter)

Evening Darsana -- July 6, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Guest (2) (Indian man): Swamiji, excuse me for this, I read an article recently. One of my secretaries he brought that article to me, it was written by Dr. Bannerji in India-he's a professor at Calcutta University. And he says that Kṛṣṇa and the Mahābhārata, the Kurukṣetra, that is all a visionation.

Prabhupāda: That is his foolishness. He's a fool. He does not know the facts, and he has posed himself as a learned scholar. That is the difficulty-fools and rascals presenting themselves as scholar and misrepresenting. People are being misguided. Because he is a learned scholar, you are citing his example. But he is a fool. He does not know what is Mahābhārata, what is Kṛṣṇa. And still, he wants to say something, that is his foolishness. He does not know, and still he wants to speak something. That is cheating. The cheating propensity is there for conditioned souls. He does not know one thing, still he wants to speak as an authority. That is cheating. How you can differentiate? If you are actually student of Mahābhārata, then how we can differentiate the speaker in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra and Kṛṣṇa? Kṛṣṇa is accepted there as Bhagavān. Whenever Vyāsadeva writes Kṛṣṇa statements, he writes bhagavān uvāca. He's Bhagavān, as well as He's a historical person in the Mahābhārata. He never writes kṛṣṇa uvāca, he writes bhagavān uvāca. And Arjuna admits, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān puruṣam ādyam (BG 10.12), "You are the Supreme Person." How can you differentiate Kṛṣṇa of Mahābhārata and Kṛṣṇa of Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa...? These are miscalculations.

Room Conversation -- July 6, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: Whatever it may be. Why reflection not come in our Sahara desert? Why you don't see such reflection in the Sahara desert so that the whole world may be illuminated?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: This is also going to be very critical.

Prabhupāda: Which one?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: This moon is farther away than the sun. That brings a whole new concept that poses some problem.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: In speaking (at) colleges and universities. The other day when you spoke there, we were not speaking about astronomy, you were speaking of the origin of life, and these people, outsiders, they already had the concept to raise up that question. So without any connection they brought up. So the question was, "Whatever you present is very nice, fine, but what about the moon? Do you believe that the moon is farther away than the sun?"

Prabhupāda: But they have already...?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yeah, they already studied, they are ready to ask those things, and they say, "Just give me an answer, yes or no."

Prabhupāda: They asked you? They asked you?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes.

Room Conversation -- July 17, 1976, New York:

Indian man: In my class I run into lot of arguments, especially from our Indian people, and this is one of the biggest arguments people pose. They say, "Why are you calling yourselves Vaiṣṇavas and not Kṛṣṇayas?"

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Indian man: If I call Kṛṣṇa, I accept Kṛṣṇa as Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then the question comes to me, "Why are you calling yourself Vaiṣṇavas? Why not Kṛṣṇayas?"

Prabhupāda: That already is explained, that Kṛṣṇa or Rāma, Viṣṇu, Nārāyaṇa, They are all viṣṇu-tattva. Therefore Viṣṇu is the common word for everyone. Just like candle. Everyone is candle, but still, this is first candle, this is second candle, this is third candle, like that. So Godhead means all viṣṇu-tattva. They are not jīva-tattva. So therefore those who are devotee of God, they are called Vaiṣṇava.

Hari-śauri: This specific Vaiṣṇava, that refers to Viṣṇu? Worshipers of Viṣṇu?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Viṣṇu asyra devataḥ iti vaiṣṇavaḥ.(?)

Indian man: Throughout Vedas also, Viṣṇu is the yajñeśvara.

Prabhupāda: The supreme, yes.

Morning Walk -- July 20, 1976, New York:

Prabhupāda: ...difference between a śūdra and brāhmaṇa. A śūdra can be misled at any moment. That is stated in... Strī śūdra. Woman and śūdra on the same class. You can mislead them by high talkings: "Oh, I am coming from Indian prince." They come here, marry some European, and go to India and then engage him (her) for collecting water in bucket. One Muhammadan crewman, a vagabond, he bluffed one girl that "I am coming from Muhammadan prince family." Then she married, and she went to Allahabad, and she was given borakhā and she was living in a hut, and then she was bringing water from the street. She wrote a letter to the Viceroy that "This is my position." Then police came and rescued her and sent her. (break)

Gurudāsa: ...Pañca-tantra about a jackal who poses as a king. He has blue dye on, so they think he's special, but when he heard other jackals, all he could do was howl, and he was exposed. (break)

Prabhupāda: ...Tamāla Kṛṣṇa?

Bali-mardana: He's here, Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Now there should be one rule that unless they are husband-wife, man and woman should not worship together.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: On the altar.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Strictly prohibited.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: On the same altar.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Evening Darsana -- August 12, 1976, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: Purport.

Harikeśa: "The Lord at once took the position of the teacher and chastised the student, calling him, indirectly, a fool. The Lord said, 'You are talking like a learned man, but you do not know that one who is learned—one who knows what is body and what is soul—does not lament for any stage of the body, neither in the living nor in the dead condition.' As it will be explained in later chapters, it will be clear that knowledge means to know matter and spirit and the controller of both. Arjuna argued that religious principles should be given more importance than politics or sociology, but he did not know that knowledge of matter, soul and the Supreme is even more important than religious formularies. And, because he was lacking in that knowledge, he should not have posed himself as a very learned man."

Prabhupāda: Yes. He was posing himself as the body. So he should not consider himself as a learned man. Nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ. Then?

Harikeśa: "As he did not happen to be a very learned man, he was consequently lamenting for something which was unworthy of lamentation. This body is born and is destined to be vanquished today or tomorrow; therefore the body is not as important as the soul. One who knows this is actually learned, and for him there is no cause for lamentation, regardless of the condition of the material body."

Prabhupāda: The people are not aware of these things, neither they are interested to know that the soul is more important than the body. This is the beginning of the Bhagavad-gītā. Still, they are placing themselves as learned scholars in Bhagavad-gītā. But sticking to the body. And one who is sticking to the bodily concept of life, he's no better than sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13). The whole civilization is going on this understanding of body. And then Kṛṣṇa begins that instruction, dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). That is very vividly explained, that the soul is important because it is eternal, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). Don't think by the end of the body the soul is also ended. It will continue, and it accepts another body, tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13). So who is caring for this knowledge? Suppose I have got to... It is fact, we have to change this body. But what body I am going to change, who is considering? He's thinking of this body only, but he has to change. The science is there, but nobody is caring to know it. And still, they are proud of their education. And Kṛṣṇa condemns: nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ. So they are keeping themselves on the bodily concept of life and posing themselves as pandit. A person identifying himself with the body, he's go-kharaḥ, and he's posing himself as paṇḍita. This is the position. The whole education is to realize that "I am not this body, I am soul," ahaṁ brahmāsmi. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā (BG 18.54). Then he'll be happy. Na śocati na kāṅkṣati. Samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām. Everything is there. You cannot become a learned scholar or learned leader from the platform of go-kharaḥ. That is the defect. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ: (BG 2.13) this is the first instruction. Who is thinking that "What next body I'm going to accept?" Nobody's thinking. They say after finishing this body everything is finished. And Gītā says, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). Then what kind of paṇḍita he is? Bhagavad-gītā says, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20), nityam, na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācit. The soul is immortal. Antavanta ime dehāḥ: the śarīra is antavat, perishable. Nityasyoktāḥ śarīrinaḥ. Who is considering? If I am eternal, if I am not going to die even after the annihilation of the body, then the next question would be jijñāsuḥ. Then what will be my next position? What kind of body I am going to get? That is intelligent. But nobody has this intelligence, and he's passing as paṇḍita. Big, big professor, they'll say, "Swamiji, after death, everything is finished." I went to Moscow. There was a big professor, Kotovsky, Indology professor. So we had some talks. So he does not believe transmigration of the soul, and he's a learned scholar. And everywhere you find that. The same atheistic philosophy.

Room Conversation -- August 16, 1976, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Liberated soul never says that "I am liberated." As soon as he says "liberated," he's a rascal. A liberated soul will never say that "I am liberated." That is liberated. Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He is God—guru more mūrkha dekhi' karila śāsan (CC Adi 7.71). "My Guru Mahārāja saw Me a fool number one, and he has chastised Me." He's God. This is the example. If one remains always a servant ever-lastingly of guru, then he is liberated. And as soon as he thinks that he is liberated, he's a rascal. That is the teaching of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Guru more mūrkha dekhi'. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is mūrkha? Why He's posing Himself that mūrkha? "I am fool number one." That means that is liberation. You must be ready always to be chastised by guru. Then he's liberated. And as soon as he thinks that "I am beyond this chastisement, I am liberated," he's a rascal. Why Caitanya Mahāprabhu says guru more mūrkha dekhi' karila śāsan? This is sahajiyā-vāda. He is thinking, "Oh I have become liberated. I don't require any direction of my guru. I'm liberated." Then he's rascal. Why this Gauḍīya Maṭha failed? Because they tried to become more than guru. He, before passing away, he gave all direction and never said that "This man should be the next ācārya." But these people, just after his passing away they began to fight, who shall be ācārya. That is the failure. They never thought, "Why Guru Mahārāja gave us instruction so many things, why he did not say that this man should be ācārya?" They wanted to create artificially somebody ācārya and everything failed. They did not consider even with common sense that if Guru Mahārāja wanted to appoint somebody as ācārya, why did he not say? He said so many things, and this point he missed? The real point? And they insist upon it. They declared some unfit person to become ācārya. Then another man came, then another, ācārya, another ācārya. So better remain a foolish person perpetually to be directed by Guru Mahārāja. That is perfection. And as soon as he learns the Guru Mahārāja is dead, "Now I am so advanced that I can kill my guru and I become guru." Then he's finished.

Room Conversation -- September 11, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Why did you allow? Just see, this is the disease. Rascals they do not know. And although I was...

Dhanañjaya: No, but everyone was listening to him. He was posing himself as the most learned in Deity worship.

Prabhupāda: That he's fond of.

Dhanañjaya: He was introducing Hari-bhakti-vilāsa.

Harikeśa: But it doesn't say in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa that you bathe in water marble Deities. It says you're supposed to have a smaller set for bathing. That's in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa.

Dhanañjaya: His idea was that we would become the most famous temple for bathing big Deities in Vṛndāvana. This was his idea.

Prabhupāda: That bathing is not done on the siṁhāsana. The Deity is taken out. Then it is done. But that is very risky. You cannot do it.

Dhanañjaya: And besides that, the bathing was done by devotees who are not experienced in Deity worship.

Prabhupāda: Don't allow him. This botheration he has gone. He is simply posing himself very learned Sanskrit scholar, above everything. That is his ambition.

Evening Darsana -- December 3, 1976, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: This is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission. He said that "By My order you become a guru." Indians especially are advised to become guru because Indians, however fallen they may be, they still have respect for Kṛṣṇa. Every home, they perform Kṛṣṇa's Janmāṣṭamī. So therefore Indians are fortunate. They recognize Kṛṣṇa. Now, to become little more advanced, let them act as Kṛṣṇa's servant. Kṛṣṇa came to speak this truth, that "I am the Supreme." Mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7). Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇam (BG 18.66). He appeared to speak this philosophy. And if you do the same work, that "Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead," then you are serving the mission of Kṛṣṇa, great service to Kṛṣṇa. The words for which He appeared on this earth, if you simply carry these words door to door, village to village, man to man, then you become a guru, a real guru. Not to pose yourself a guru without any knowledge of Kṛṣṇa. That is cheating. And to accept and understand Kṛṣṇa the Supreme thoroughly and preach these words, that "Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead," is the supreme success of life. What is the difficulty? Is there any difficulty? Why don't you do that? I have to bring all these young men from Europe and America to speak to you this truth. Why our young men is not coming to speak this truth? Hm? What is the difficulty? That means willfully they are denying the success of life. Willfully. Then what can be done? If somebody willfully commits suicide, who can save him? This is our position at the present moment. The Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura sings, jāniyā śuniyā biṣa khāinu: "I have drunk poison knowingly." So if somebody knowingly drinks poison, then who can save him? So we are doing that. Without preaching the gospel of Kṛṣṇa consciousness we are drinking poison willfully. This is our position.

Morning Walk -- December 5, 1976, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: Then? Purport?

Devotee (3): Purport. "There are many pseudo-meditators who misrepresent themselves as belonging to high parentage, and great professional men who falsely pose that they have sacrificed everything for the sake of advancement in spiritual life. Lord Kṛṣṇa did not want Arjuna to become a pretender, but that he perform his prescribed duties as set for kṣatriyas. Arjuna was a householder and a military general, and therefore it was better for him to remain as such and perform his religious duties as prescribed for the householder kṣatriya. Such activities gradually cleanse the heart..."

Prabhupāda: You are following? Go on.

Devotee (3): "...and free him from material contamination. So-called renunciation for the purpose of maintenance is never approved by the Lord, nor by any religious scripture. After all, one has to maintain one's body and soul together by some work. Work should not be given up capriciously, without purification of materialistic propensities. Anyone who is in the material world is certainly possessed of the impure propensity for lording it over material nature, or, in other words, for sense gratification. Such polluted propensities have to be cleared. Without doing so, through prescribed duties, one should never attempt to become a so-called transcendentalist, renouncing work and living at the cost of others."

Prabhupāda: So Bhagavad-gītā is giving you gradual process to the highest point and highest point is to surrender. That is the most confidential part of knowledge. Sarva-guhyatamam. Guhyād guhyataram. Find out this verse, eighteenth chapter. He has given the instruction of karma, yoga, jñāna, everything, but the most confidential instruction is this.

Press Interview -- December 31, 1976, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Tattva-jñānārtha-darśanam. Tattva-jñāna. What is tattva? These things are absent completely from the whole world. But everything is there. Therefore we are presenting Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. If people take it they'll be benefited. This simple mission. We are following Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission. Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said that you become guru. Everyone become guru. So how shall I become guru? Very simple thing.

āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra' ei deśa

yāre dekha, tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa

(CC Madhya 7.128)

Bas. Simply if we repeat what is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, then we become guru. And if you can convince a person, one person, then you get your... But no. They are creating their own manufactured knowledge, manufactured process, and exploiting Bhagavad-gītā. What is said in the Bhagavad-gītā, they'll never say. They'll take a Bhagavad-gītā and pose himself that "I am a great scholar of Bhagavad-gītā. I have got my own interpretation that I go to hell and you go to hell." That's all.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- January 8, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Let them chant and take prasādam. They'll... Everyone will get. Then gradually, as a snake charming, by chanting, chanting, chanting, then they will be subdued. And that is guaranteed process. There is no doubt. Anyone, even a man is like a snake. In material world everyone is a snake, envious. Snake is very envious. You are passing by the side, "Oh! You are passing by my side?" This is snake. No offense. Because he is passing—he has got the poison-he'll utilize it. This is snake. Without offense. If somebody hurts him or tramples him—no. "Oh, you are so daring? You are passing? You do not know I am snake." Sarpaḥ kruraḥ khalaḥ kruraḥ sarpāt krurataraḥ khalaḥ. There are similarly men also. Unnecessarily they are envious, offensive, unnecessary. They cannot tolerate others' opulence. Just like our Godbrothers. They are envious. What I have done to them? I am doing my business, trying to serve my Guru Mahārāja. But they are envious because I am so opulent. I have got so much fame, so many influence, so much influence all over the world. Everyone is praising me about... That is ignorance. And this is regrettable because they are posing themselves as Vaiṣṇava. Ordinary man can do that, but they are dressing like Vaiṣṇava, and they are so envious. That Tīrtha Mahārāja, unnecessarily he was envious, whole life fighting, fighting, fighting in the court and died. Simply planning. So who has gone for the beads? Simply planning. So who has gone for the beads?

Room Conversation with Film Producer about Krsna Lila -- January 22, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: This is described in the śāstra. If one hears of the Yadu-vaṁśa, he becomes purified. And Kṛṣṇa is addressed, Yadupati. Then?

Hari-śauri: "Having taken birth in that family, how could Kṛṣṇa have been induced even by the gopīs? It is concluded therefore that it was not possible for Kṛṣṇa to do anything abominable. But Mahārāja Parīkṣit was in doubt as to why Kṛṣṇa acted in that way. What was the real purpose? Another word Mahārāja Parīkṣit used when he addressed Śukadeva Gosvāmī is suvrata, which means to take a vow to enact pious activities. Śukadeva Gosvāmī was an educated brahmacārī, and under the circumstance it was not possible for him to indulge in sex. This is strictly prohibited for brahmacārīs, and what to speak of a brahmacārī like Śukadeva Gosvāmī. But because the circumstances of the rasa dance were very suspect, Mahārāja Parīkṣit inquired for clarification from Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Śukadeva Gosvāmī immediately replied that transgressions of religious principles by the supreme controller testify to His great power. For example, fire can consume any abominable thing. That is the manifestation of the supremacy of fire. Similarly, the sun can absorb water from urine or from stool, and the sun is not polluted. Rather, due to the influence of sunshine the polluted, contaminated place becomes disinfected and sterilized. One may also argue that since Kṛṣṇa is the supreme authority, His activities should be followed. In answer to this question, Śukadeva Gosvāmī has very clearly said, īśvarāṇām, or the supreme controller, may sometimes violate His instructions, but this is only possible for the controller Himself and not for the followers. Unusual and uncommon activities by the controller can never be imitated. Śukadeva Gosvāmī warns that the conditioned followers who are not actually in control should never even imagine imitating the uncommon activities of the controller. A Māyāvādī philosopher may falsely claim to be God or Kṛṣṇa, but he cannot actually act like Kṛṣṇa. He can persuade his followers to falsely imitate the rasa dance, but he is unable to lift Govardhana Hill. We have many experiences in the past of Māyāvādī rascals deluding their followers by posing themselves as Kṛṣṇa in order to enjoy rasa līlā. In many instances they were checked by the government, arrested and punished. In Orissa, Ṭhākura Bhaktivinoda also punished the so-called incarnation of Viṣṇu who was imitating rasa-līlā with young girls. There were many complaints against him. At that time Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura was a magistrate, and the government deputed him to deal with that rascal, and he punished him very severely. The rasa-līlā dance cannot be imitated by anyone. Śukadeva Gosvāmī warns that one should not even think of imitating it. He specifically mentions that if out of foolishness one tries to imitate Kṛṣṇa's rasa dance he will be killed, just like a person who wants to imitate Lord Śiva's drinking of an ocean of poison. Lord Śiva drank an ocean of poison and kept it within his throat. The poison made his throat turn blue, and therefore Lord Śiva is called nīla-kaṇṭha. But if any ordinary person tries to imitate Lord Śiva by drinking poison or by smoking gañja, he is sure be vanquished and will die within a very short time. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa's dealing with the gopīs was under special circumstances."

Prabhupāda: It is not for public show. That is the idea.

Conversation During Massage -- January 23, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Rāmeśvara: Normally in the age of Kali there is no Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.

Prabhupāda: No. This worldwide movement is a history. People have forgotten Kṛṣṇa or God. Is it not?

Satsvarūpa: Yes.

Prabhupāda: They simply..., a official church and temple, and they have no serious attachment, simply kaitava. Dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo 'tra (SB 1.1.2). That is another kind of cheating. He's not religious, but he's posing himself: "I am Christian," "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim." That's all. He does not know what is religion. This is going on. Religion means direct touch with God. That is religion. So they have no idea of God. How there can be religion? Here is religion. We do not do anything which is not in interest of Kṛṣṇa. That is religion.

Devotees: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda. (break)

Prabhupāda: ...kicked out. They have no religion, simply bogus. There is no religion in the world at the present time. All bogus.

Rāmeśvara: But in past ages there is many... There's history of many Kali-yugas, but this Kṛṣṇa con..., Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, is unique.

Prabhupāda: Yes, it must be unique because it's genuine. It is not cheating.

Room Conversation -- January 24, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: That will happen. Sahajiyā.

Hari-śauri: Posing himself as a big, learned man.

Prabhupāda: My Guru Mahārāja used to say, "When our men will be sahajiyā, he will be more dangerous."

Satsvarūpa: Our own men.

Prabhupāda: Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, he said that "When our men will be sahajiyā, oh, they'll be more dangerous." So our men are becoming, some of them, sahajiyās. This very word he said, that "When our men will be sahajiyās he'll be more dangerous."

Hari-śauri: Without any proper realization, on the basis of being able to read Sanskrit, they delve into all kinds of books, and then they pick fault—"Oh, this rule is not being followed. This is wrong. This is wrong."

Satsvarūpa: "We don't chant sixty-four rounds, so that is very bad. We'll never make any progress."

Prabhupāda: Sahajiyā.

Hari-śauri: No faith in the spiritual master.

Satsvarūpa: So far, though, we have not learned a way to sell standing orders to the common man.

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Satsvarūpa: You say now the standing orders, the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Caitanya-caritāmṛta, after the universities, should be sold in every home. So far, no one has learned how to do that.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Room Conversation -- January 24, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Hari-śauri: ...was refused entry into some temple because of that.

Prabhupāda: Yes. He was such a rascal. He was actually impotent, and he could not have sex with his wife, and he addressed, "Oh, you are my mother." And these rascals took: "Oh, he is so advanced that he could see his wife as mother. Oh, self-realized. By worshiping Kali he has become so perfect, he sees everyone as mother." Such a rascal he was, and he is God. These things are going on. But I am speaking not my manufacture. I heard it from my Guru Mahārāja. He told me that these are these, like that. Not unauthorized. I don't speak anything which I have not heard from my Guru Mahārāja.

Hari-śauri: It's just so difficult to believe how these rascals could do it, I mean, pose themselves like that.

Prabhupāda: And when we were meeting, we had so many talks. One of these talks were that, (laughing) this. He told me that, Guru Mahārāja.

Hari-śauri: Complete loss of intelligence.

Prabhupāda: It is stated clearly, kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ (BG 7.20). Rascals are hṛta-jñānāḥ. They have no knowledge even.

Morning Walk -- January 29, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: Jaya. (break)

Satsvarūpa: You were asking yesterday what are some of the charges that the opposing party makes against us. That's another one, that we follow absolute authority, your authority and also in the temples, that the temple president or leaders, they have authority, and this is not healthy psychology, that we should...

Prabhupāda: Why you come to pose your authority? If authority is not good, then why do you come to instruct your authority? Hm? The same thing, eh, change from one authority to another authority.

Satsvarūpa: But I don't say you have to accept me absolutely as...

Prabhupāda: Then why do you speak nonsense then, if I haven't got to accept you? What is the use of speaking all nonsense? If nobody accepts you, then why do you talk nonsense? Somebody's selling something, and if he says, "Don't purchase it," then what is the use of... (laughs) All contradiction. After all, they are nonsense.

Satsvarūpa: They think that by surrendering to the spiritual master, if many people do this, it will be very dangerous because they won't think for themselves.

Prabhupāda: Yes, that's all right. But you ask to surrender to you, so why shall I not surrender to my spiritual master? What is the use of changing surrendering?

Satsvarūpa: Well, at least if we don't have absolute authority, I may tell you something and if it's not good, you don't have to follow me.

Room Conversation -- April 5, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: That's all. And then go to hell. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). So after jumping, when this body is finished, he is going to accept another body offered by nature. Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya sad-asad-janma-yoniṣu (BG 13.22). Rascals, they do not know how nature is working. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi (BG 3.27). Making plan and wasting time, wasting their valuable life. At least, this institution which we have started to give this enlightenment, they must be maintained in India in a first-class standard, that at least some intelligent persons can take advantage. They are all fools, rascals. They cannot take. All the duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ. That is already described. Narādhamas will not take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But there are persons who are not narādhama. For them there must be. Diamond shop is not for everyone, but there are some persons who can purchase diamonds. Manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu (BG 7.3). It is not meant for everyone. So this is India's culture. At least, these men should be conscientious that "Let this Bhagavad-gītā culture be maintained in pure form." There is cultural department government. They are sending dancing party. You see. Real culture. And to make show they will pose themselves as great student of Bhagavad-gītā. So we are making alone a little tiny effort, but it is being appreciated all over the world. That is our encouragement. Our books, our philosophy, our religion, America has accepted: "Yes, it is Indian. Enough." (?) It is not sentiment.

Room Conversation about Harijanas -- April 10, 1977, Bombay:

Bhakti-caru: "As the nation observes this week the death anniversary of Dr. Amritsar, it behooves our news research to face a challenge 'for the plight of this downtrodden community.' " (break) "The story of the vast quantity of harijana in this ancient and illustrious land is a miserable story of shame and sorrow. Harassment and humiliation, operation and separation, poverty and pity. The harijana problems is not merely a social or religious or economic or political one. It is a complex problem involving many factors. It is, however, the most baffling national problem, posing a great challenge to the leaders, rulers and people of India."

Prabhupāda: On the whole—you read this article—why not say that "We can lead you to the highest perfection of cultural, social, religion." It will be...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: You want us to write a letter to the editor?

Prabhupāda: Not editor. The person who is the leader. Means the harijana movement. They are feeling frustration. Now we can give them the light.

Morning Conversation -- April 11, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "10) The property committee should also be consulted on leases." Up until now, Śrīla Prabhupāda, we have a property committee, consisting of Rāmeśvara Mahārāja, Jayatīrtha Prabhu, Ātreya Ṛṣi and myself. And we have always been consulted on all property purchases. But we now decided that we should also be consulted on property leases. Because leases are also very... They can be very disastrous also if they are improperly entered into. Especially any long-term leases. Of course, they also have to deal through their local GBC, but then they also deal with it practically. "11) It was noted that a total of $630,000 would be available for construction purposes between now and the end of 1977. $300,000 dollars is the minimum required for emergency US loans. This leaves $330,000 dollars for India. Of the $330,000 dollars, $240,000 is required to complete the pledge of one crore to Bombay. The balance should be available for the other projects in India, contingent on the Bombay project staying within its budget. That is $90,000." So this poses a problem which you partly solved already, Śrīla Prabhupāda. Surabhi Swami informed us that the original budget of a million dollars would be not sufficient, but it would reach more like one and a half million dollars. So this means that half a million dollars has to come from somewhere. So Gurukṛpā Mahārāja agreed to send 200,000 dollars. But still there will be a balance of about... Rāmeśvara said there is 100,000 left to send. So still there is going to be a balance of about 200 to 300,000 dollars needed. So we will have to find out where that can come from for finishing this Bombay project. "12) Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja was appointed to oversee the BBT monies sent to India. He will work in collaboration with the Indian GBC." That means when they send money from overseas to be spent here, they wanted me to see that it was properly spent, along with the GBC man of the local temple. "13) It is not the BBT's business to pay for publishing children's books."

Prabhupāda: No, not...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "14) All foreign language editions of BTG will include a section of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam."

Prabhupāda: Hm, that's nice.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "15) Foreign temples will receive records for approximately 75 cents, while North American temples will pay one dollars. All profits made by the BBT for records will go to ISKCON Food Relief. Prices may increase if the costs rise. 16) Harikeśa Mahārāja will take responsibility to prepare the Māyāpur brochure. 17) The BBT Trustees for each division are responsible for setting priorities in each division." That means printing priorities. "18) The US BBT will experiment with importation of books from India as soon as..."

Prabhupāda: What happened to that book, Dialectic Spiritualism?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Spiritual Dialectics?

Prabhupāda: Yes, Dialectic Spiritualism.

Room Conversation with Ratan Singh Rajda M.P. 'Nationalism and Cheating' -- April 15, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: That, everyone says.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: And this, these space flight cheatings, this is for the purpose of giving a few men more tax money or fame. That's another reason for cheating, to get fame.

Prabhupāda: I have got tendency to cheat, so people unnecessarily poses himself as very big man even by ideas that you will consider him very great man, although I am nothing. So many gurus, they are doing that. Our business that we want to speak what Kṛṣṇa has said. If Kṛṣṇa has cheated, then we are cheater. Otherwise honest. If Kṛṣṇa is honest, we are honest. If Kṛṣṇa is cheater, so our position is safe. Yāre dekha tāre kaha kṛṣṇa-upadeśa (CC Madhya 7.128). Other gurus, they are manufacturing how to cheat. That is the difference. We are not speaking anything new. So if Kṛṣṇa has originally cheated you, then I am cheater.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That's a... A big cheating is going on in the form of speculating. Just like the, all of the teachers, professors... I was reading Satsvarūpa's book. Satsvarūpa was presenting that there's three ways of acquiring knowledge, you know. First way is by sense perception. But that's cheating, because...

Prabhupāda: Hm, pratyakṣa, parokṣa aitihya.

Meeting with Mr. Dwivedi -- April 23, 1977, Bombay:

Mr. Dwivedi: It is nobody's religion, what little I know of the few religions, that to advise that "You must take a particular type of flesh and not the other type."

Prabhupāda: No, flesh you can take if you are carnivorous, but not this cow's flesh. That is particularly instructed in Bhagavad-gītā, kṛṣi-go-rakṣya. Kṛṣṇa did not say that "You be non-meat-eater." That is not possible. Jīvo jīvasya jīvanam. Every living entity is living by eating another living entity. That is the laws of nature. But there are different types, so in the human society, if there are persons who want to eat flesh, so they can eat that nonimportant, small animal. But don't touch cow. That is Gītā's instruction. Go-rakṣya, He has particularly said. If you are so mean that you have to eat some flesh, there are hogs, dogs, and... And you can eat. But don't touch cow. Gandhi posed himself as a great student of Bhagavad-gītā, but he did not understand a single line. That is the defect. Gandhi took it, Bhagavad-gītā, as a childish play. Dangerous... Therefore country is ruined. You must take Bhagavad-gītā as it is. Then there is authority. You cannot change it. If you change it, where is the authority? Can you change the simple law, "Keep to the right; keep to the left"? No. It is authority. If the direction is "Keep to the right," you must keep to the right. You cannot say that "What is the wrong if I keep to the left?" Then there is no authority. So Gandhi, Tilak, and Aurobindo and so on, so on, they took Bhagavad-gītā as a childish play. Whatever they want, they interpret that. And Vivekananda supported, yato mata tato patha: "You can have your own opinion." These are all nonsense. Therefore country is ruined. You must take as it is. Then it will be... You cannot change the authority of Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṇa says, kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyaṁ vaiśya... (BG 18.44)..

Second Meeting with Mr. Dwivedi -- April 24, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: (Hindi) If you agree to cooperate with me, you'll see immediately. Because I want to deliver the real thing, therefore in my feeble health I am prepared to go. If one man can understand, that I want to see. I am traveling all over the world to see that at least one man may understand. They have spoiled the whole situation by misinterpreting, by malinterpreting, and by bringing some rascal and pose as leader. The whole world is spoiled. If you want to preach some rascal philosophy, you do. Why you take Bhagavad-gītā? That is cheating.

Mr. Dwivedi: If we can preach something genuine... This life is so small. What...? Why...? Why should we be after something which is adulterated? Why not preach genuine, if at all we preach?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Mr. Dwivedi: And for what purpose? Life itself is too short. For what purpose?

Prabhupāda: (Hindi) "I preach something nonsense, and I take Bhagavad-gītā." Why? Why you take Bhagavad-gītā? You... There are so many rascal philosophers. You also preach your own philosophy. Why do you take Bhagavad-gītā? And where is nonviolence in Bhagavad-gītā?

Indian man: This, I think, they will be very active to know, I think.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Where is nonviolence in Bhagavad-gītā, in politics?

Kārttikeya: Nowhere.

Srila Prabhupada Vigil -- May 27, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: You should be very much determined, strong-minded. Otherwise it will slip. Such huge property...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Actually these properties are the envy of all of India. They're the best properties in each place.

Prabhupāda: Not only property. Our prestige, our position... Everything is envied. Everywhere we are first class.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. There's no rival.

Bhavānanda: There will be men, I know. There will be men who want to try and pose themselves as guru.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That was going on many years ago. Your Godbrothers were thinking like that. Mādhava Mahārāja...

Bhavānanda: Oh, yes. Oh, ready to jump.

Prabhupāda: Very strong management required and vigilant observation. (background whispering, Tamāla Kṛṣṇa and Bhavānanda) So you are foreign...

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Beg your pardon?

Prabhupāda: You are foreign trained up. And you also idea how to protect our interest.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, Śrīla Prabhupāda, I'm always...

Prabhupāda: There is very great undercurrent.

Room Conversation -- October 6, 1977, Vrndavana:

amāla Kṛṣṇa: Can you see it? Shall I sit you up?

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It's a cādara you wear on a cold morning. Very ecstatic pose. It's made of metal. (taps it)

Prabhupāda: Strong?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. And this says, "His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Author of Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Śrī Īśopaniṣad, Nectar of Devotion, Nectar of Instruction, Back to Godhead Magazine, Founder-Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness." This is placed in prominent museums and libraries. There's four different models. This is solid wood, and this will be a bronze plaque, and this is made of bronze, metal. You can feel it. Nice?

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 27, 1977, Vrndavana:

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. And if some Americans find out that ISKCON had this special status, then someone can also pose as an ISKCON devotee and get this visa.

Ātreya Ṛṣi: So we should require that they have GBC authorization and..., with the Embassy.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: No. What we will do I think...

Prabhupāda: Our GBC should select. Not...

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Or the GBC will communicate with India and then India will send a letter.

Ātreya Ṛṣi: Some way...

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. That's what I've been talking to Tamāla. (break) ...for devotee engaging in any antinational activity, then you can send him out. You had told me to say this earlier. So they felt reassured. (break)

Prabhupāda: ...supplied?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja has just given us four lakh rupees' loan. So I have given you a report, which he has. We have twenty-two books in print now in various...

Prabhupāda: "A loan payable when able."

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: "When able." Prabhupāda... (laughter)

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No, I wouldn't agree to that. I'm very strict...

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: We are paying back the loan in time with interest.

Prabhupāda: Ātreya Ṛṣi, this kind of loan is very good.

Ātreya Ṛṣi: Very good.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It's Gopāla's favorite loan.

Prabhupāda: You take loan—"payable when able." (laughter)