So he was agitating in the school amongst his classfellows to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. So he's preaching. Just in the tiffin hour, in the recess hour, as soon as the teacher's gone, he took the opportunity and stood up on the bench and began to agitate his friends, "My dear friends," kaumāra ācaret prājñā, "now we should become Kṛṣṇa conscious from this childhood. Don't wait for your old age." Generally, people think that "When we shall become old, we shall take care of becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious or God conscious or go to the church or temple. At present, let us play and enjoy life." So Prahlāda Mahārāja says, "No." Kaumāra ācaret prājñā. Prājñā means intelligent. Intelligent means who does not waste time. Time is very valuable. You are American people. You know very well how to utilize time. But time is very valuable is also accepted in Vedic civilization. There is a very nice verse in Cāṇakya śloka. You just see how much time was considered as valuable. By this verse, you will know. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita says Cāṇakya Paṇḍita was a great politician. He was sometimes prime minister of the emperor of India. So he says, āyuṣaḥ kṣaṇa eko 'pi na labhya svarṇa-koṭibhiḥ. He says that "A moment's time of your duration of life, moment..." Not to speak of hours and days, but moments. He was considering moment to moment. Just like today, 15th March, 1968, now it is half past seven or past seven, thirty-five. Now this 1968, 7:35, gone, as soon as it is 7:36, you cannot bring back that 1968, 15th March, evening, 7:35, again. Even if you pay millions of dollars, "Please come back again," no, finished. So Cāṇakya Paṇḍita says that "Time is so valuable that if you pay millions of golden coins, you cannot get back even a moment." What is lost is lost for good. Na cen nirarthakaṁ nītiḥ: "If you such valuable time spoil for nothing, without any profit," na ca hānis tato 'dhikā, "just imagine how much you are losing, how greatly you are loser." The thing which you cannot get back by paying millions of dollars, if that is lost for nothing, how much you are losing, just imagine.
Recess
Lectures
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
Arrival Addresses and Talks
Just like when a man becomes sick, he has to purify himself by regulative principle, by diet, by medicine, similarly, we have got this material disease, covered by the material body, and the symptom of miseries are birth, death, old age and disease. So one who is serious about getting out of this material bondage and free from birth, death, old age and disease, so he must take to this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It is very simple and easy. If you do not know, if you are not educated, if you have no asset, you can simply chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, and if you are educated, logician, philosopher, you can read our books, which are already in fifty in number. There will be about seventy-five books of four hundred pages to convince the philosopher, scientist, educationist what is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It is published in English as well as in other European languages. Take advantage of it. Along with the Deity worship in this temple, hold classes at least five hours. As in the schools and colleges there are regular classes, forty-five minutes' class, then five or ten minutes' recess, again forty-five minutes' class, in this way, so we have got enough subject matter to study, and if we study all these books, to finish them it will take at least twenty-five years. So you are all young men. I request you to engage your time in reading books, in chanting, in Deity worshiping, in going to preach, selling books. Don't be lazy. Always remain engaged. Then that is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
General Lectures
Just a moment before, we were dancing and chanting equally, the boys, the girls, the men, the women. So there is no distinction. Even if we do not understand the language, what is the meaning of Hare Kṛṣṇa, but because it is transcendental, because it is spiritual, from the spiritual platform, everything is equal. We forget that we are American, or we are Indian, we are child, we are youth, or man, or woman, because in the spiritual platform there is no such bodily distinction. So our request to all the guardians of the boys and girls present here, or the teachers, that they should teach from the very beginning this Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or God consciousness. Otherwise the future of the world is not very bright. It is recommended in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. We are having our class in our temple: the instruction of Prahlāda Mahārāja. Prahlāda Mahārāja was a five-years-old boy, and he was agitating this Kṛṣṇa conscious movement in his school. The schoolteacher would not allow him to speak about God, but as soon as there was some recess and the child, the boy, five-years-old boy, he would take the opportunity, call his friends and speak on Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And he said, kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān iha (SB 7.6.1). The Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or God consciousness, should be taught from the very beginning of education. This is the greatest drawback of modern education, that not only in your country or any country they have completely neglected what is meant by God. And in India, they are especially... Now, as soon as there is any question of God, they see phobia: "Oh, this is all nonsense." They have become so clever.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1973 Conversations and Morning Walks
Śyāmasundara: What? Prabhupāda: Tiffin hour. Śyāmasundara: Tiffin hour. (laughter) Prabhupāda: What is... Śyāmasundara: Oh. Prabhupāda: Recess. When the teachers gone and students are free to move. So he was calling his class friends and other, and he was preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Śyāmasundara: Tiffin hour. Prabhupāda: So... We call "tiffin hour" in India. Because we, we take some tiffin in the school, and we eat during that...
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Just after taking prasādam?
Jagadīśa: Yes. Fifteen minutes after.
Prabhupāda: Hm. What begins?
Jagadīśa: English class, that goes for one and a half hours. Then there's math class which goes for forty-five minutes.
Prabhupāda: Not continually. They should be given a recess ten minutes. Then again come to the class. And a class should not be more than forty-five minutes. One class should not be continued more than forty-five minutes, then ten minutes recess, then begin another class.
Jagadīśa: For the English program it is required, in order for them to have enough time to read and write, then they would require an hour and half, so they would have two classes.
Prabhupāda: In the meantime, one and a half? You give ten minutes recess.
Jagadīśa: And during the recess what should they do?
Prabhupāda: Nothing. They'll be free. Nothing to do. Recess means nothing to do. That is brain, I mean to say, rest. All continually you cannot do that. That is not good. Utmost, forty minutes or forty-five minutes. Then give them ten minutes' freedom. Then begin another. Not more than forty to forty-five minutes at a time, reading, writing.
Jagadīśa: After class, then, by 12:30 they bathe again, second time.
Prabhupāda: They take prasādam first and then bathe?
Jagadīśa: They bathe... They take prasādam at 9:00 in the morning, 9:30. Then they have class. Then after class is finished, then they bathe.
Prabhupāda: After class they bathe?
Jagadīśa: Around 12:30.
Page Title: | Recess |
Compiler: | Visnu Murti, Serene |
Created: | 30 of Oct, 2012 |
Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=3, Con=3, Let=0 |
No. of Quotes: | 6 |