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Story (Conversations 1976)

Conversations and Morning Walks

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- January 2, 1976, Madras:

Prabhupāda: There is a story that a grocer's son was doing business, and when he was given a five-rupees' note, so he was giving four rupees. So the customer said, "Why you are giving me four rupees?" "No, I do not know what is the exchange." "No, it is six rupees." So "No, father will be angry." (laughter) Means he knows perfectly well what is five rupees, but he is innocent when he was giving four rupees. And when the customer wanted six rupees, he, "No, my father will be angry." (break) ...created a havoc by misinterpreting Bhagavad-gītā, all people. According to their wish, "Five-rupees note means four rupees," by imagination. They have created havoc all over the world. Otherwise everything is there. Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhāḥ (BG 9.11). If we take Kṛṣṇa's instruction, then whole world becomes immediately happy. But they will not take it. They will manufacture their own, two plus two equal to five or three, not exactly the four.

Morning Walk -- January 6, 1976, Nellore:

Prabhupāda: "They" not. What I am talking with you. They are all foolish. We call them mūḍhas, duṣkṛtino mūḍhas. So their demand is not legitimate. If a mūḍha... If your small child says, "Father, give me a bidi, cigarette," would you give him? Because he is mūḍha. So the father is intelligent—"No." So similarly, the mūḍhas may demand that "Open this hospital." But we are not going to do that. We know.... Of course, hospital required so far the body is concerned, but there are so many hospitals. The real hospital which is not existing, we are starting. That is our mission, which is not possible for the so-called leaders and politicians. Try to clear this.

Yaśodānandana: Once you mentioned the story that when you were young you saw a mother running across the street in Calcutta beating her child because his brother had typhoid fever and he fed him the paratha.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Morning Walk -- January 9, 1976, Madras:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Is that bona fide, Prabhupāda?

Prabhupāda: Yes. I don't find any fault.

Acyutānanda: It's not rasābhāsa?

Prabhupāda: Huh? Not rasābhāsa. But it is not mentioned in anywhere. This is mental.... They should not have done like that. Several times He requested the gopīs, I think, that "You come to Dvārakā," but they refused.

Acyutānanda: The gopī-candana comes from the lake where they say the gopīs drowned themselves, and that is near Dvārakā. Is that a true story?

Prabhupāda: Maybe they might have gone. (break) ...these houses.

Indian man (1): These private houses given by the government. (end)

Morning Walk -- January 17, 1976, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That will immediately silence them. Big crane rolling in that can be seen. The crane will be bigger than any other temple that's already built here. (break) ...engineer from Larson and Tubro who came to meet you in Bombay? He says that they've built one building now, the tallest building in India. It's a thirty-five-story building. It's over three hundred foot high.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Madhudviṣa: Where is that? Bombay?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes.

Madhudviṣa: Air India building?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Maybe that's the one. What is the size of the Caitanya Matha? That's the biggest one here? The biggest in Bengal? The Caitanya Matha temple, a hundred and ten foot, is the biggest temple in Bengal. There's not many big temples here... But that church is bigger in Chowringhee. I think that church that the British built...

Prabhupāda: Chowringhee?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Near Victoria Memorial, that church?

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. St. Paul's Cathedral.

Morning Walk -- January 19, 1976, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: With those small little buildings all around it will look very nice.

Jayapatāka: What small little buildings?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: We're planning to build them, one-story buildings.

Jayapatāka: (break) ...we should have a mosaic floor or a colored cement floor? What standard that should be?

Prabhupāda: Mosaic.

Trivikrama: Good standard.

Prabhupāda: (break) You can get mosaic tiles.

Jayapatāka: It is no cheaper. We make the mosaic ourselves. We manufacture here.

Prabhupāda: So digging must begin today? The men are there for digging? So Saurabha, you give one site plan immediately. Yes. And order bricks, that's all. Cement and sand we have got. (break) ...any living entity having a material body, he has got soul. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). Now preach this movement. (break) Begin also building there, like this.

Morning Walk -- January 19, 1976, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: He is not a devotee. Mad-bhaktya... There is a verse. Kṛṣṇa says that "Worship of My devotee is greater worship than to Me."

Śāstrījī: Mad bhaktyā yānti mām.(?)

Prabhupāda: And Lord Śiva, he advises Parvati when she was questioning.... Oh, there is no stair from inside? You have to go like this?

Bhavānanda: No, ladder, there is outside stair that has to be fixed yet. It is just now finished in two stories.

Prabhupāda: Outside?

Bhavānanda: Outside stairs.

Prabhupāda: How?

Bhavānanda: Metal stairs.

Prabhupāda: Where to do it within?

Bhavānanda: No. Outside will be fixed.

Prabhupāda: How you can? Outside how it can be fixed?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Where is it going to go from?

Bhavānanda: There are ladders up to these rooms and then stairs on an angle up to those rooms.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Ladder where? Where is there a ladder going to be?

Bhavānanda: Going up this way. I'm not exactly sure how the engineering works. Jayapatāka designed it.

Prabhupāda: It has been a mistake. The staircase should have been from this, within this.... Why it has not done, that? What is this nonsense, a ladder? (break) ...going to.... Yes.

Morning Walk -- January 21, 1976, Mayapura:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Like Ajāmila. Ajāmila.

Prabhupāda: Yes. He had very good wife, young wife, and he became a victim to a prostitute and lost all brahminical culture. So if you create prostitute in the society, where is the hope of brahminical culture? There is a story that a gentleman... Not gentleman, a rascal. He was rich, and he was going to the prostitute. So the wife inquired that "What is wanting in me that you are going to the prostitute?" You know that story? "No, I go there because she dances, sings." So she learned dancing. So in this way, one after another, drinking, dancing, this, that. Still, he was going. The wife learned everything. Then when she said, "Now I have learned whatever you wanted. Still why you are...?" "No, one thing. I cannot express that." "What is that?" "You do not abuse my father and mother. That you cannot do." These prostitutes, they abuse the father and mother. In Bengal it is known, rakta kedara vega.(?) They address like that. Then she said, "All right. Stop. I am no more your wife. I cannot abuse your father and mother. That is not possible. I have learned everything for your satisfaction, but I cannot learn this thing." The prostitute will not only abuse the paramour but his father, mother, family, everything, culture.

Morning Walks -- January 22-23, 1976, Mayapura:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Even if ugly.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That... One, our Sanskrit professor used to... "My dear boys, even there is beauty amongst the negroes." He used to say. And it is my... It is one's eye that she is very beautiful. It does not recommend others' recommendation. Yar saṅge ye morje man kibari ki vardana(?). It doesn't matter whether she low caste or high caste; if she is attractive, then it is all right. Therefore rūpavatī bhāryā śatruḥ. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita's instruction are very, very nice. You know my story? My father's instruction? Yes.

Harikeśa: What was that?

Prabhupāda: (chuckles) My wife was never beautiful to my sight, so I wanted to marry again, and my father advised, "Don't do it. She is your friend, that you don't like her." (laughs) Just see.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: But still, Prabhupāda, you said that your school work was a little impeded...

Prabhupāda: Huh? No, that is natural. In young time, when there is young girl... That is also said, yauvane kukkarī sundarī. When woman is in full youth, even she is like dog, she is beautiful. (laughs) Yauvane kukkarī sundarī.

Morning Walks -- January 22-23, 1976, Mayapura:

Harikeśa: Pigs don't like to live in a clean house.

Prabhupāda: Yes. There is a story in Bhāgavata that Indra was cursed to become a pig. So after some time there was mismanagement in the heavenly kingdom. Brahmā personally came, "Indra, anyway, you became pig. Now you come with me." "Huh? How can I go? I have got so much responsibility." Then he was killed and took to heaven. So any life, any abominable condition, everyone is thinking, "I am perfect." This is called māyā. Any abominable condition, he is thinking, everyone is thinking, that "I am perfect. I have nothing to advance." This is called māyā. They do not know what is perfection. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). The ideal perfection they do not know. They are trying that "We shall make this pig life adjusted to civilized life." Is it possible? Pig life and adjusting to civilized life? Hare Kṛṣṇa. So we shall get down? (break) Nobody will accept. But if you explain that "You are no better than pigs and hogs and asses," then they will accept. So we have to take the idea from Bhāgavata and explain it for their understanding. That is wanted. (break) People are working so hard. Is it pleasure? But why they are working? They are working with the only hope that "Night, I shall go home, eat nicely and have sex with my wife." That's all. Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45). Otherwise why they will work so hard? Hare Kṛṣṇa. (break) ...Los Angeles we have got a plant like this next to my window. That land for others, but it comes to my window.

Morning Walk -- February 4, 1976, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: (break) ...again mūḍha.

Sudāmā: (break) ...speaking about how they are complaining that we are waking them up. A very interesting story... In Hawaii for one year every day this one man living next door to us every morning would call the police force at guru-pūjā. So many cars would come, three, four police cars. So finally, after one or two weeks' coming, they would come very happily, and they would take prasāda. So they came because he called, they had to follow his complaint, but they told me personally, "We are coming not to arrest you or complain. We like your activities. Please give us some prasādam."

Hṛdayānanda: Also in Caracas many, many police cars come to the temple for prasādam.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Morning Walk -- February 10, 1976, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: "He's a saintly person. We cannot agree to that." Everyone knows police takes bribe. They admit, "Yes, we take bribe, but not in such cases." This was told by Guru Mahārāja, Bhaktisi..., to me. He was talking many things confidential.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Prabhupāda, what is that story that one time Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī was invited to... He wanted to get invitation or he was invited to speak and they put so many conditions on his speaking. It was some place.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They said, "Now you cannot speak on such and such subject." He agreed, "All right."

Prabhupāda: I think there was a Vaiṣṇava meeting inaugurated by Mahārāja Maṇīndrānandī. You are referring to that. (break) When I was visiting, I used to sit on his couch. Yes, like... Guru Mahārāja was sitting on the couch, so I took him as ordinary gentleman. So then nobody asked me that, that "You are sitting? Get down." No. Nobody asked me. Then I was seeing that all other big, big disciples, they are sitting down. So then I began to sit down. Neither Guru Mahārāja told me, neither anybody told me.

Morning Walk -- February 19, 1976, Mayapura:

Acyutānanda: "He should make me..."

Prabhupāda: Yes. Just see.

Acyutānanda: There's a story I tell.

Prabhupāda: Just see.

Acyutānanda: So there was a man. "Oh, when he wills me to surrender, I'll surrender, and..."

Prabhupāda: But He is directly saying, "You surrender." Still, He has to will? Just see the argument.

Guru-kṛpā: He already willed five thousand years ago.

Hṛdayānanda: Cheating.

Acyutānanda: No, there was a story like that, that a cow ate a man's grasses. So the man beat the cow and the cow died. So Yamarāja came. And he was saying, "Oh, Kṛṣṇa willed me, and I killed the cow. It is all Kṛṣṇa's kārya. I did not kill him." So Yamarāja said, "Well, who, who planted this rice?" He says, "I did." "And who purchased this land?" He says, "I did." "And who purchased, who raised that land?" "I did." "Who did that?" "I did. I did. I did." "Now, who killed the cow?" (Prabhupāda laughs) So they want to take credit...

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Morning Walk -- February 27, 1976, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Yes. They'll imitate.

Devotee (1): When the prime minister of Canada, when he was, when he first began running, he was a young bachelor, very good looking, long hair. And he sent around girls in mini-skirts, kissing men on the cheeks, giving them a little candy for his campaign, and he, he almost got all the votes, became the prime minister.

Dayānanda: We were talking yesterday how nice this story of Prahlāda Mahārāja is, because no matter how great a demon becomes, still, he cannot vanquish the devotees, even if the devotee is a very insignificant little boy, only five years old. These demons seem so...

Hari-śauri: Powerful.

Dayānanda: ...horrible. The society is so degraded. (break)

Hari-śauri: 6:20.

Prabhupāda: Eh? The idea of reincarnation. That is horrible for them.

Hari-śauri: If they understood that they would have to pay later for what they're doing now, they wouldn't be able to do it.

Prabhupāda: Oh. So, what is the report?

Jayapatākā: Er... The printing?

Prabhupāda: Eh? Our. (?) Fifty thousand.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: We're doing that, printing fifty...

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Morning Walk -- March 12, 1976, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: ...clean. That also we sometimes neglect. (break)...means rūpena jāyate iti prajā. Everything which is born, that is prajā. (break) ...children, our grandmother used to engage us for watering work, these pots. And that water was brought from down, two, three stories down, and we used to bring and put. That is good exercise and sport also, competition between children. (break) ...karma jyāyo hy akarmaṇaḥ. Everyone should be engaged. That is supervision. (break) ...are also engaged in serving Kṛṣṇa. They give flower, and they're offering: "Take this flower. Offer to Kṛṣṇa." This is service, dedicating. This is explained by Kṛṣṇa to Balarāma while going through the Vṛndāvana forest, that "Just see how the trees are welcoming You, how the birds..." You have got that picture?

Hrdayananda: Yes.

Morning Walk -- March 14, 1976, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: No, no, if you are in knowledge, you can predict. But if you are fool, you cannot say. If I see that in July there will be rain, and if you are a fool, you'll protest. That is your foolishness. It is natural sequence, one after another.

Madhudviṣa: When is the natural sequence...?

Prabhupāda: Natural sequence.... Just like you are infected, some contaminous disease. You'll suffer. There is a story that one fool was sitting on a branch of a tree and he was cutting off. And somebody said, "You'll fall down." "Ha, fall down." But when he fell down he said, "Oh, you are a great astrologer." So who goes to the astrologer? Only fools and rascal. No sane man goes. They know that what is.... Yad bhavyantam tad bhavata.(?) What is to happen, that will happen. Why shall I go to astrologer?

Gurukṛpā: I can prepare myself to make change.

Prabhupāda: Yes. My only business is to serve Kṛṣṇa. I don't mind what will happen next.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: That desire to serve Kṛṣṇa, though, that Kṛṣṇa....

Prabhupāda: Don't talk like foolish. That desire everyone has. He is serving. He is serving so many things, but he doesn't want to serve Kṛṣṇa. That is his foolishness. He is serving māyā; still, he denies to serve Kṛṣṇa. That is his misfortune. Ei rūpe brahmāṇḍa bhramite kono bhāgyavān jīva (CC Madhya 19.151). So unless one is very fortunate, he does not agree to serve Kṛṣṇa.

Room Conversation With Radha-Damodara Sankirtana Party -- March 16, 1976, Mayapur:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. And Ādi-keśava Mahārāja is very expert, and Madhudviṣa Swami will be helping them.

Prabhupāda: A devotee's one qualification is dakṣa, dakṣa, expert. Out of the twenty-six qualifications, a devotee is always very expert in dealing. It is not that because they have left anything material, they do not know how to deal with material things. Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī did it. Perhaps you know the story. Political. Although he had nothing to do with material things, when there was a political game (gain?) he tackled it very nicely when he was young man. But devotee, although not interested in material things, but for Kṛṣṇa's sake they deal with material things very expertly. That should be the qualification of a devotee, expert. Not that "I have nothing to do with these material things." No.

prāpañcikatayā buddhyā
hari-sambandhi-vastunaḥ
mumukṣubhiḥ parityāgo
vairāgyaṁ phalgu kathyate

The devotee's vision is: in everything there is Kṛṣṇa. That is a fact. Just like we are using this dictaphone and tape record. It is material things. Sometimes they accuse that "You are against material things. Why you are using these material advantages?" Do they not? You do not meet such men?

Ādi-keśava: Yes.

Morning Walk -- March 17, 1976, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: And it's.... This building, including the grounds...

Jayapatākā: So this, at least two buildings.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: This building, including the grounds...

Prabhupāda: But it is not going to be four stories.

Jayapatākā: No. But five times as long, and two story. That means ten sides. On this, they got eight sides.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: This, this building actually only has three floors.

Jayapatākā: Yeah.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Not four floors.

Jayapatākā: So in that way, it's...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That one has two.

Guru-kṛpā: Half of it's kitchen.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: This one has three.

Prabhupāda: No, there are floors, ground floors.

Morning Walk -- March 17, 1976, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: This is the punishment, yes. Punishment there is always. But they are so stubborn fools still.

Dharmādhyakṣa: Prabhupāda, the one great brain researcher, he spent nineteen years searching for the memory in the brain.

Prabhupāda: There is a story that two friends talking that, on the point that "How this was cut, separated?" So one friend said, "It is by knife." And the other friend said, "No, it was by scissor." So they went on.... One said, "No! It is knife." He said, "No! It is scissor." So the knife man was very strong. So he took him to the water, that "You say it is knife. Otherwise I shall drown you." (laughter) So he said, "I'll never say." Then he said.... When he was drowning, he was doing like this, (Prabhupāda gesticulates) (laughter) "Scissor, scissor." When he was actually drowned and he had no other means to say, then he was doing like this: "It is scissor. It is scissor." This is their argument. However punished they may be, they'll do this. (laughter)

Morning Walk -- March 17, 1976, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: No, you have no money. You have not money. Therefore you are working on my order. You have no money. You have no money.

Madhudviṣa: I know.

Prabhupāda: I know it.

Rādhāvallabha: Śrīla Prabhupāda, there was one story in the magazine National Geographic of a valuable diamond, the Hope Diamond, the most valuable in the world, that was stolen from a deity of Sītā-devī. So every single person that has ever gotten the diamond has been killed.

Prabhupāda: Sītā-devī?

Rādhāvallabha: Yes, a deity of Sītā-devī. They stole the diamond from this deity in India.

Prabhupāda: When?

Rādhāvallabha: Many years ago.

Morning Walk -- March 21, 1976, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: You cannot explain. You, you rascal scientists, from so much distant, you have calculated, "This is thi..." This is all wrong. Yasyājñayā bhramati sambhṛta-kāla-cakraḥ. They are carrying order of Kṛṣṇa, not your order. Yasyājñayā. "By the order of Govinda," not your order. Yasyājñayā bhramati sambhṛta-kāla-cakraḥ.

Pañca-draviḍa: (break) "There may be a God, but all these stories..."

Prabhupāda: "There may be." That is rascaldom.

Pañca-draviḍa: All these stories about Him...

Prabhupāda: Anyone who says "maybe," he's not scientist. He's a rascal. Then why shall I hear him? Rascal. Why shall I waste my time? I am not going to waste my time to hear a rascal. How can I? I have got value of my time. As soon as he says "Maybe there is God," he's a rascal.

Pañca-draviḍa: Then, if he says...

Prabhupāda: Now, just like if somebody says, "Maybe there is a president," he's a rascal. He does not know what is the history, what is the constitution. He does not know. So why a gentleman should waste a time with such a rascal who says, "There may be a president"? Immediately he becomes a rascal.

Morning Walk -- March 21, 1976, Mayapura:

Pañca-draviḍa: Then he says, "There is a God, but all these stories about Him and His activities, they are just imaginations."

Prabhupāda: That's right. You do not know what is God, after all. "There may be." Then who is going to hear you? You do not know. Your statement is also another story.

Pañca-draviḍa: I am not a scientist.

Prabhupāda: No, no. The scientists, if they say "There may be God," that means he's a rascal. Scientist means, whatever he will say, that is accurate. That is scientist. What is the difference between a layman and scientist? That is the difference. The scientist will say what is actual fact. That is scientist.

Pañca-draviḍa: They only accept...

Prabhupāda: That is not scientist, that he..., "maybe, perhaps..." That is not scientist.

Pañca-draviḍa: Well, they only accept what they can confirm by experimentation.

Prabhupāda: That means their experiment is not perfect. Their observation is not perfect-vague idea. So how he can become a scientist? That is no scientist.

Pañca-draviḍa: What is the position of one who accepts God, that there is.... (break) (end)

Meeting with Bankers -- April 6, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Anyway, so he was the father of the Yakṣas, this Kuvera. So Dhruva Mahārāja was a great devotee. You have heard the name of Dhruva Mahārāja. He was insulted by his stepmother. When he was young, very young child, so his father had two wives. So the junior wife was very pet to the husband, and the senior wife was not so much pet. But both of them had two sons. So the junior wife's son was sitting on the lap, a small child. So Dhruva Mahārāja was the son of the senior wife. As a child, he was also trying to sit down on the lap of the father. The other brother, he does not know stepbrother is brother. But the junior wife, she said, "My dear son, you cannot sit down on the lap of your father because you are not born in my womb. And that boy, the other boy, he is sitting on the lap of your father because he is born in my womb." So it was sarcastic remark, but Dhruva Mahārāja, although he was a child, four or five years old, he took it very seriously. A kṣatri..., kṣatriya... (Hindi) He became very angry. So he immediately left the place and went to his own mother, that "Stepmother has insulted me like this." He began to cry, and the mother said, "My dear son, what can I do? Your father does not treat me even as a maidservant, so I cannot take any step." "So how I can take revenge on it?" She said, "If Kṛṣṇa likes, then you can take revenge. Otherwise there is no possibility." "Where is Kṛṣṇa? I want to see Him." Child.... (Hindi) She said, "I have heard that Kṛṣṇa is in the forest. Big, big saintly persons go there and meet Him, so far I know, my dear son." "So I'll go there." So this four-year, five-years-old boy went to the forest, and he saw Kṛṣṇa within, Viṣṇu, within six months by his austerity, by meditating and observing austerity, living on water, on folio (foliage?), air, in this way, six months, he got the opportunity of seeing Viṣṇu directly. And there is a big story. Later on he was enthroned on the father's seat. He became very big king. But his younger brother, the same brother, was killed by the Yakṣas in the fight.

Meeting with Bankers -- April 6, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Indian (1): Now Mahārājajī has told you the story about the Kuvera of the old days. I will tell you the story of the Kuveras of the today. That is us. In fact, it was in a paper. There was a cartoon. A bank manager, means today's Kuvera, was sitting in an office, and he received a call, such and such big Dalmiya or Birla, "We want two lakhs of rupees just now." He said, "Yes, come along. Here is our Swamiji. He'll pay you two lakhs." Then there was another call. There was some industrialist or a small-scale industrialist man. He said, "I want to start an industry. Could I get a lakh of rupees as a loan from you?" He said, "Yes, yes. Please do come along and we'll make some arrangements." Then he also. And ultimately the third picture in the cartoon, that the manager—that is today's Kuvera—he goes out of the bank. He is standing on the gate, and he says to that caukidāra, (Hindi punchline-laughter). It is today's Kuvera is not in any position to give anything. He also wants your blessings, you see, in fact.

Prabhupāda: Very good.

Meeting with Bankers -- April 6, 1976, Vrndavana:

Indian (1): So if about the bankers, if you permit me, I'll give you another interesting story. There was a man who was very ill in America and he had a heart trouble. In fact he had no heart, I would say. So, you know, they can replace the hearts nowadays. He went to a hospital, and the doctor offered him two or three hearts, "Which one would you like? One is of the general, the other is of a big businessman, and the third is of a banker. What would you like?" So he thought, "Let me have the heart of a..."

Prabhupāda: Banker.

Indian (1): "...banker." (laughter) So the doctor said, "Why do you want to have the heart of a banker?" He thought, "Because I'm sure it has never been used." (laughter)

Prabhupāda: I'll recite another very nice story...(break)

Indian (2): (Hindi—about opening a branch of the bank)

Indian (3): (Hindi)

Indian (1): There seem to be little misunderstanding, not that we are short of any space or any accommodation or anything for which we can't open, but there's a little technical thing that bank license does not permit, and we are immediately taking or mending the license, and as soon as it is, we'll start. We have no problem of this.

Guru dāsa: Prabhupāda, did you want to tell another story?

Indian (1): But I had only two. I won't be able to...

Prabhupāda: (laughter) The story is that one poor man was informed by his friend that "Money draws money." That's a fact. If you have got money, you can draw money. So he went to the bank, and the cashier was counting huge amount of money, and he threw his coin on the cash..., (laughs) and he was waiting: "When the whole money will come to me?" Then the cashier saw this man is standing: "What is the...? Why you are standing?" "Sir, I heard that money draws money, so I had one coin. I have dropped with your money. I am waiting when it will come to me." So he said, "No, no. The fact is that, money draws.... Now my money has drawn your money." (laughter)

Morning Walk -- April 10, 1976, Vrndavana:

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: For dhātun?(?)

Prabhupāda: No, the crow, the crow and the tāla fruit. Somebody said this; somebody said this. Then what is that important thing? Crow and a tāla. You know the kāka-tālīya-nyāya?

Yaśodānandana: I never heard that story.

Prabhupāda: There was a tree, tāla tree, and.... tāla tree. So one crow was there, and the tāla fruit fell down. Two paṇḍitas, they began, "Whether the tāla fruit fell down.... Because the crow sat down on it, therefore fell down." The other said, "No, the tāla fruit was falling down, and the crow could not sit on it." And they began to fight: "No, this." He said, "No this, no this," go on.

Akṣayānanda: Or maybe the crow tried to eat it.

Yaśodānandana: I think in this case it was just a question that they never knew actually what was the actual position. But if Your Divine Grace does not wish anything to be published regarding that place, then we will not do.

Prabhupāda: As soon as there is some controversy, avoid it. That's all. Tāla fruit and crow. You worship Nṛsiṁha-deva. Ito nṛsiṁhaḥ parato, yato yato yāmi tato nṛsiṁhaḥ. Nṛsiṁha-deva is everywhere.

Morning Walk -- April 12, 1976, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: That will be here also. I have been to Ceylon, sir. And in Colombo they are giving free ration to the people. I mean, the rice.

Prabhupāda: There is a story in Bengal. (Bengali) The woman had seven sons. The mother requested first son, "My dear boy, now I am going to die. Take me to the Ganges side." He said, "Why? You have got so many other sons, why you are requesting me?"

Dr. Patel: She was calling every one, and nobody took her.

Prabhupāda: And then second son, third.... Everyone said like that, and she died without Gaṅgā. Agar mā gaṅgā.(?) So this.... And everyone has to work. And he thinks that "Why I shall work? Let him work. No work today."

Guru dāsa: You tell the story about a man beating with a stick, and then the police constable came and said, "You have beaten him." "No, no, no. It was the stick that beat him, not me." (laughter) No responsibility.

Dr. Patel: No, but, you see, the sense of possession in human society is more important, because they have no sense of possession.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Dr. Patel: Even with all our philosophic and all our learning we have the sense of possession of this body which can't leave the moha in it. With all that, sir, then how can they do it?

Prabhupāda: No, higher than that, the sense that everything is possessed by God, that is perfection.

Morning Walk -- April 14, 1976, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: Good.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Also it is the appearance day of Śyāmānanda Gosvāmī and Vaṁśī-vadana Gosvāmī.

Prabhupāda: How many stories still remain?

Saurabha: Three. Three on top. The towers.

Viśāla: Prabhupāda ki jaya!

Prabhupāda: How are you?

Viśāla: Fine, thank you.

Prabhupāda: Wherefrom you are coming?

Viśāla: From Rome and Paris.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Viśāla: Bhagavān took real good care of us.

Prabhupāda: Where is your wife?

Viśāla: She is here, Your Divine Grace.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: He's going to Vṛndāvana.

Prabhupāda: That's nice. He is very good boy. (break) ...that these people are coming for Indian culture, and government is restricting, "Don't come here. Don't come here." We are so degraded.

Morning Walk -- April 14, 1976, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: But, sir, there are some beggars here in Bombay who have got one and two lakh rupees. You have read the railway(?) story about couple of beggars. They rounded up, and they had money.

Prabhupāda: No, I am also a beggar. I am also beggar.

Dr. Patel: That is not.... You are a rich beggar.

Prabhupāda: Millions of dollars.

Dr. Patel: Sannyāsīs don't touch money.

Prabhupāda: Yes, I don't touch money. They pass check. (laughter) I simply sign check. All these accounts in Bombay, they are being managed by them. I do not touch even. Lakhs and lakhs of rupees they are spending.

Dr. Patel: Begging is prohibited, so they rounded up the beggars sometime back.

Prabhupāda: Therefore I tell him this way. Just give books. Transcendental fraud, that we give, say, fifty rupees' worth book, and we draw 2222. Buddhir yasya balaṁ tasya nirbuddhes tu balaṁ kutaḥ.(?)Hare Kṛṣṇa. Jaya. You know that story? Eh? You know that story, buddhir yasya balaṁ tasya?

Dr. Patel: "The man who has got the buddhi is a strong man."

Prabhupāda: Yes. No. Paśya siṁho madonmataḥ śaśaḥ kena nipatitaḥ.(?) This is Hitopadeśa story. You know this?

Dr. Patel: No, I don't know this.

Morning Walk -- April 14, 1976, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: The Hitopadeśa was written by Viṣṇu-śarmā. (break)

Dr. Patel: ...Upaniṣad, in sixth or seventh chapter, he says that even bala is.... I mean buddhi is not stronger than bala. He described like that. (Hindi) Strong man is like that, they have described. That is what.... That is there in Chāndogya Upaniṣad. It was just sort of a story

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Śrīla Prabhupāda?

Prabhupāda: Hm.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Concerning the gurukula system, after a child attains a certain age...

Prabhupāda: No age. As soon as he is able to walk, he can be admitted. What is the wrong there? If he comes to the sea and takes bath and jumps, it doesn't require any age. Any four-year, five-year-old child can do that.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: When he becomes, say, twenty years old, though, when he becomes older...

Prabhupāda: First of all begin. Then we shall think of old. But.... At least when he is older, he will not become a nonsense. That.... We want to save him from becoming a nonsense. That is our duty. (aside:) Hare Kṛṣṇa. Jaya. Brahmacārī gurukule vasan dāntaḥ. When the brahmacārī is residing in gurukula, he must be trained up how to control senses. That is the first education. People are spoiled because they are not trained up to become controller. That is the defect of the modern age. And when one is unable to control senses, he will do all nonsense.

Morning Walk -- April 15, 1976, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: You hand over the steer of your...

Prabhupāda: Yes. The next line is mārobi rākhobi, yo icchā tohārā. (Hindi) This is surrender.

Dr. Patel: Yes, sir, that reminds me of a story that I read that one man, one English lord, had gone on a pigeon shooting. I told once this story. And he had got lot of pigeons in a gunny bag, and he would allow one pigeon to go and shoot. One pigeon, instead of flying, fell down at his feet. He could not shoot it. Like that. And this reminds me, this story, always reminds me, this complete surrender. He could not shoot that.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Dr. Patel: So God will not mara na(?). He will never maro, cannot maro, because you are at His very feet.

Prabhupāda: (Hindi) Eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. He is supplying everything without any surrendering. (Hindi) But that care and outside-the-jail care, there is little difference. In the prison house, even one is very highly qualified, and if he applies for some good post, he will not be given. He'll not be given. But outside the prison? "Yes, you are qualified. Come on." The same government, the same man, but so long one is criminal, there is no consideration. (break) Yes, regularly I get at one o'clock.

Morning Walk -- April 21, 1976, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: Whatever you may call, there are thieves, rogues and thieves. That's all.

Devotee (3): Exploiting.

Guru-kṛpā: Now they're dividing up the booty, fighting over it.

Prabhupāda: That story, that some thieves stolen. Now, when they are dividing, they say, "Please honestly, religious divide." The things are stolen, and now it is to be divided religiously. The foundation of the thing is stealing, and they are dividing in.... Now they are making laws, morality.

Devotee (1): They have a saying, "Honor among thieves."

Prabhupāda: Yes. (break) This has been named by father, kaitava, simply cheating. Dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo 'tra (SB 1.1.2). The duplicity, hypocrisy, is there completely rejected.

Guru-kṛpā: Kṛṣṇa is a better cheater, though. He will cheat them in the end.

Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa is not cheater. The Kṛṣṇa's energy is so powerful that anyone who is a cheater, he will be cheated, that's all, automatically. (break) If you infect some disease, you'll have to suffer, automatically. It is not that the disease has to be injected. No. Because you have infected, you'll suffer. The same law is there. You have done this sinful. You'll suffer that. That is the cycle of birth and death. You have created mentality. You'll become the same animal, and you suffer. Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya (BG 13.22). (break) ...we have. We have seen this cloud, extraordinary.

Morning Walk -- April 24, 1976, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: Fell down. Yes.

Guru-kṛpā: One has to admit that he is fallen.

Prabhupāda: This is the land you wanted to purchase?

Devotee (1): Yes, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: So, it is still unsold?

Devotee (1): No one can do anything with it now.

Prabhupāda: Why?

Devotee (1): This neighborhood here, they will not allow any more than three stories to be built, no high rise.

Prabhupāda: Oh. There cannot be any skyscraper building, so no capitalist will purchase.

Devotee (1): And no developer will use it just to make three-story flats because the land is too expensive. (end)

Room Conversation -- May 4, 1976, Honolulu:

Dhṛṣṭadyumna: Their goal is not so broad. They just want to control the...

Prabhupāda: That means the little children's policy. Children, just like imagining so many things, "I shall do that. I shall do." The potter's imagination. You know that? Potter's imagination? You do not know the story? One potter is selling earthen pots, and he is saying that "Now, these two paisā, it has cost me one paisā. I shall make one paisā profit. Then I can make such profit. I shall invest again. I shall make another profit, another profit. In this way I shall become millionaire. Then I shall marry, and my wife shall be very obedient. And if (s)he does not become obedient, I shall give him a kick like this." And he, what was.... One pot was there. He kicked that pot and broke. (laughter) It broke. "Oh, again I am poor man." So this is going on, imagination. Imagination.... "I shall become so great that I shall kick Kṛṣṇa's law," and whatever pot he had-broken. That's all. Rascals, simply rascals. If anyone thinks like that, that "I shall surpass the laws of nature," then he's madman. He's madman. So what is the use of dealing with madmen? And as soon as you challenge them that "Show us that you have surpassed the laws of nature," "Yes, we are trying. In future we shall do." That's all. This is their reply. So it is better to avoid such men. But if you peacefully you can introduce, "All right, you will do. You are wonderful men, so kindly if you read some pages of this, it is not very costly. You can keep. At leisure hour you can read," in this way, imploring, then they will be benefited. That much we can do to any rascal. He sādhavaḥ sakalam eva vihāya dūrāt caitanya-candra-caraṇe: "Oh, you are so nice. Therefore I am flattering you. I humbly obeisance. Kindly hear one thing. Keep some books. It is not very costly." Bas. This much you can do. And let them become puffed up by their false notions. But if they keep some books, sometimes they will read or their sons will read. That's all.

Room Conversation -- Honolulu, May 20, 1976 :

Prabhupāda: It is the only process to save yourself.

Devotee (3): You..., you told a story once about, there was one, the devotee of Lord Caitanya, where he had never met Lord Caitanya, but he had some water sprinkled on him from a Muslim, Muhammadan, and that, that astrologer told him to pour..., to drink lead, hot lead. And he said, I was (indistinct)...

Prabhupāda: Buddhimanta Khān.

Devotee (3): Yeah, Buddhimanta Khān. (pause) You've also said in the past that there is no reality of this material world save for, save Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, save...

Prabhupāda: Yes, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura (says), nāma vinā kichu nāhika āra, cauddha-bhuvana-majhe. (pause)

Devotee (3): Kṛṣṇa is our only insurance, and you are the, you are the insurance representative.

Prabhupāda: People are so intelligent that when the representative of Kṛṣṇa speaks, they (indistinct) enemies, and sometimes they crucify, kill. So people are so kind that they are not killing. Otherwise, why Christ, (indistinct) was killed? What fault? What is his fault? Just see. Was there any fault in his words? He advised, "Don't kill," and he was crucified. We have to deal with such rascals. I may be representative, but he is directly son of God. People are so rascal that they did not believe even the son of God, what to speak of His representative. What is that? Why Jesus Christ was killed? What was his fault? People are (indistinct). What the Christians will ask? Therefore we are (indistinct) and not only that, they have been giving this idea that "For our sinful reaction Christ has taken contract, so let him suffer being killed(?)." Cow-killing is very, very sin, "That's all right; don't mind. Christ will suffer." How easy understanding they have.

Morning Walk -- May 26, 1976, Honolulu:

Prabhupāda: Their policy is "High living and poor thinking." They live in skyscraper but don't care for where they are going to next life, as a cat and dog. Never mind. Now live in skyscraper. Poor thinking. High living, poor thinking (laughter). No, that "Now I am living in the skyscraper building on the twenty-fifth story, and next life I'm going to be cockroaches here." (everyone laughs) They don't know that. He doesn't inquire, "Wherefrom the cockroaches coming?" (everyone laughs) He has got attachment for this twenty-fourth story, so, but he's working so that he'll become a cockroach. So Kṛṣṇa has given chance, "All right. You live in the twenty-fourth story as cockroach." And then you'll be again killed by some.... What is called?

Devotee (5): Tenants. Exterminator?

Prabhupāda: Yea. That he does not know. Therefore poor thinking. He's thinking that "I shall perpetually live here." And when the death will come, "Get out!" (everyone laughs) "Become a cockroach." What he'll do? What he'll do? What power you have got? Nature is the same, that he'll come. Mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham (BG 10.34). "Now everything finished. Get out and become a cockroach." How the scientists can stop it?

Morning Walk -- May 26, 1976, Honolulu:

Devotee (5): ...are so dull that if you give them the proposition...

Prabhupāda: Therefore I say poor thinking. High living, poor thinking. He doesn't know what he's got. They think this motorcar and twenty-fifth-story living will continue.

Devotee (2): It's not even a peaceful condition to live by.

Prabhupāda: Whatever it may be. Supposing it is good. But he does not think "How I shall live in this way and next time I may be cats and dogs and cockroaches. What I'm doing for them?" Therefore they will evade: "No, no. There is no next life." Because it is horrible for them.

Devotee (2): Most of the karmīs think that if you believe in the law of karma, it applies to you, but if you do not believe...

Prabhupāda: Hmm?

Devotee (2): Most of them think that if you believe in the law of karma, it applies to you.

Prabhupāda: When it is law, you believe or not believe, rascal, it will be effective, if it is a law. You believe, I don't believe, if I commit theft I'll not be punished. So what is your belief? As soon as you commit theft, you'll be punished. You believe or not believe. That is law. What is the value of your belief? Rascal may believe that "I'm not going to be old man. I shall remain young man." Believe or not believe, must become old man. What is the value of your belief? Trust no future. You believe or not believe, there is future. What is value of your belief? Where do you.... You have complete control? Here the law is "Keep to the right." You don't believe. Now "Why shall I keep to the right? I shall go to the left." Immediately you'll be punished. You have to believe. I'll do wrong way, see the result. Immediately there's ticket. So what is the value of your belief? The law is law.

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

Hari-śauri: Because, originally, it was built up as a big thing between Russia and America, who would get to the moon first.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Now they are shaking hands, and none of them has gone. "I thank you."

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It's like the emperor's new clothes.

Prabhupāda: "You failed, my dear sir. I failed also. Come on."

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: There's a story, "The Emperor's Clothes," "The Emperor's New Clothes." There were these tailors, and they made believe that they were making clothes for the emperor, but actually they were doing nothing, but they were making the motions. So they, everybody was saying what nice clothes and finally...

Candanācārya: No, they said, any intelligent, only intelligent people will see the clothes.

Hṛdayānanda: And someone who's a fool, he cannot see it.

Rāmeśvara: Magic cloth.

Candanācārya: So they were getting much money for making nothing.

Hṛdayānanda: The emperor went out naked in the street, and everyone was afraid to admit that there was no clothes.

Rāmeśvara: Because they would be labeled fool. So finally one boy said, "But the emperor has no clothes."

Prabhupāda: Yes, there is a nice story in this connection. There was one Gopal Ban. So he was very cunning fellow. In the Muhammadan period in Bengal. So the Mohammedan Nawab asked him, "Gopal Ban, can you prepare a Mahābhārata in my name?" "Oh, yes!" So, "I'll engage so many paṇḍitas, and they will make a Mahābhārata, your activities, your glories, everything. So give me one hundred thousand rupees, just begin." He was taking money, taking money, "Yes, it is going on, going on." "Then when it will be published?" "Yes, just last few days more. Now, sir, everything is prepared. So the one thing is, you have to give me information how many husbands you have got, your wife, huh? How many husbands your wife has got?" That is very insulting. "What, you nonsense, you take." "No, that is the main feature of Mahābhārata. Draupadī had five husbands, so how many husbands your wife has got? Tell me that." Then, "No, no, I don't want that. I am the only husband." "Then how can you write Mahābhārata?" (laughter) "I don't want." "All right. If you want Mahābhārata you must tell how many your wife has got husbands." That he cannot say. So Mahābhārata finished.

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

Prabhupāda: But why? Your imagination. You have not gone throughout the whole universe. You cannot say. You are imperfect.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: But they say neither you have gone, so how can you know...

Prabhupāda: No, I have got authority, you have got no authority.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Well, simply some story books, they say.

Prabhupāda: That's all right. Whatever it may be, I can present some literature, but you have nothing. You rascal. (laughs) Whatever it may be, I have got something, but you have nothing.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I remember studying in college about this, that we were studying Indian art, and they showed pictures of people on other planets and all these things, the demigods, and the teacher said "These are mythologies of India."

Rāmeśvara: Just like the Greek mythologies.

Prabhupāda: Whatever it may be, we have got books, and these books are authorized, they are accepted by authorities, but what you have got?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They have their fairy tales, they call it, imaginary tales.

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.

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

Prabhupāda: First of all, I started the book. That is, by Kṛṣṇa's grace, it is becoming successful. Then diorama. Then I shall give next idea.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: This diorama is a major idea.

Prabhupāda: (laughs)

Rāmeśvara: I brought the Time magazine people to see it. They were so impressed they wanted to come when the museum is open, to make a story.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes.

Rāmeśvara: They never saw anything like it.

Prabhupāda: Deal with them very nicely. We get publicity.

Rāmeśvara: It's very costly.

Prabhupāda: Never mind. Cost, Kṛṣṇa will send money.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: This project here will cost, how much? About seventy...

Rāmeśvara: The actual project, without considering how much the devotees live on, forty thousand dollars.

Prabhupāda: Never mind.

Rāmeśvara: That's the budget for the project, not counting the devotee maintenance.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: More than that.

Prabhupāda: Never mind. You can you can raise that four times price.

Morning Walk -- June 5, 1976, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Good patient. (laughter) And then after? He revived?

Hari-śauri: No. He was still in a coma. It was just an article that he'd been in a coma for so long, and there was no hope that he would revive or anything.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That description you give in the Bhāgavatam, Śrīla Prabhupāda, at the time of death.... It's in the Fourth Canto. It's very, very graphic. During that Purañjana, the story of Purañjana, how the fire starts to build, an attack is given on the kingdom. Oh, boy, anyone who reads that will become very much...

Rāmeśvara: Sober.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: ...sobered up. These books are a real slap. They make you awake very quickly. We always.... I used to lecture from that to the new men to bring them out of their māyā quickly. People don't like to think of death. They try to forget it. It's so fearful to them. And that brings all of the horrors of death very graphically in front of them. You describe how the soul is kept.... The body is burning like a big fire, and the soul is trying to get out, but all of the holes are blocked. Just like a man in a house that's burning and he can't get out. Fearful condition.

Rāmeśvara: (break) ...numbers of men, big temples, it is all due to our books, to your books. So I was thinking that if one day this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement becomes so powerful that even it is giving instruction to governments, that will also be because of...

Prabhupāda: That is very easy. If you increase the number of your devotees, government hears you(?). That is not very difficult thing. Simply you have to increase our supporters; then the government is there.

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

Prabhupāda: A patient is thinking, "How shall I dance when I become healthy?" First of all, rascal, become healthy, then talk of all this. The rascals are thinking like that. You are patient; first of all cure your disease, material disease. Then talk of all this. Utopian. "When I will get rich, how I shall treat.... I shall.... Then my wife is disobedient and I shall kick her like this," (laughter) and as soon as he kicked on the earthen pots, all broken. Then he, "Oh, then my.... All prospects have gone." You know this story?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: What was in the pot?

Prabhupāda: That.... A potter, potter boy, he had got some earthen pots selling. So he was dreaming, that "By selling this earthen pot, I'll make so much profit. Then I shall purchase another batch, I shall make profit. In this way, I shall be millionaire. Then I shall marry, and my wife must be very obedient. Otherwise I shall kick." So in this way, he kicked over the pots and (laughs) all of them broken.

Rāmeśvara: And in the end, nothing.

Prabhupāda: That's all.

Morning Walk -- June 9, 1976, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: One young man in Tokyo or some airport, very nice young man. He came. I was sitting. "Swamiji, can I talk with you?" "Yes." So, "I have seen your photograph. Where you have got so much vast knowledge?" (laughs) And I..., "It is not my knowledge; it is Vyāsadeva's knowledge." So his first question was, intelligent boy.

Hari-śauri: He'd obviously read fair amounts of your books.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Here is a house, four-story?

Hari-śauri: That one's three-story.

Prabhupāda: Three? And down, motor garage.

Hari-śauri: Right.

Rāmeśvara: That is the biggest, but I discussed with Karandhara, and he said they will not give permission for more than two stories. He has already inquired.

Prabhupāda: Why?

Rāmeśvara: They have some crazy reason. They make very strict laws regarding housing. It is a problem everywhere in the United States, so many things you have to comply with. Just like in Dallas there were so many things they wanted us to do for housing. (end)

Morning Walk -- June 10, 1976, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: That reporter wanted to talk more?

Rāmeśvara: Yes. He spoke with me for another one hour, very interested. And he writes for many different magazines also, not just one magazine. He's called "free-lance writer."

Prabhupāda: (break) ...our philosophy.

Rāmeśvara: He understands our philosophy, but he is not ready to surrender. He very much appreciated the dioramas that Bharadvāja is working on. We took him over to see them. Every one of the newspapermen was anxious to get a story on the opening of the museum.

Hṛdayānanda: Very prestigious, "Hare Kṛṣṇa Museum."

Prabhupāda: In everywhere, every center.

Hṛdayānanda: Museum, library...

Rāmeśvara: Then, eventually, Bharadvāja wants to have big museum in the city, not necessarily in our building, because the building may not have enough space. Śrīla Prabhupāda, I think it will be more prestigious if we use the art paintings to be displayed in museums or art galleries.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Morning Walk -- June 11, 1976, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Full of skyscraper buildings. Now they are thinking this is opulence, skyscraper building. When you are giving it up, no more skyscraper building, the others are imitating. Just like in this quarter you cannot construct skyscraper building. They don't want it. Now others are imitating: "Let us have skyscraper building like America." (japa)

Rāmeśvara: This building is only two stories, even though it has three windows.

Prabhupāda: No, no, why two story? There is ground floor, first floor, second floor, third floor.

Rāmeśvara: One of the floors has two windows, top and bottom. But it's just one floor. Someone went inside and looked.

Prabhupāda: Oh. Oh, that is not floor. There is no ceiling.

Rāmeśvara: No, just three steps up.

Prabhupāda: Anyway...

Rāmeśvara: All the instructions for the future-like you said that one day even we will have the government—how to run the government, everything is explained in your books.

Prabhupāda: Yes. I think like that. (laughs) Is there mention, "The slaughterhouse must stopped"?

Rāmeśvara: You've given all the major policies for the future government, Kṛṣṇa consciousness government.

Prabhupāda: Let us hope. (end)

Garden Conversation -- June 14, 1976, Detroit:

Hari-śauri: Envy.

Prabhupāda: Just see. There is story like that. One saintly person was sitting, and some karmīs came, that: "You are escaping, you are not working." So he said, "Why shall I work?" "You'll get money." "So what shall I do with the money?" "Then you can live peacefully." "I am living peacefully. Why shall I work?" (laughs) So they want to earn money, keep a good bank balance, and at the end of the life they want to live very peacefully, without any working. But if somebody is living peacefully without working, they will criticize him. Envious. They will accuse him, "You are escaping." If the end is this, and I shall live peacefully without any work—I am doing that in my own standard—why you are bothering me?

Garden Conversation -- June 14, 1976, Detroit:

Prabhupāda: What was the point?

Jayādvaita: He was trying to show somehow that these foolish fish were speculating something just to make some story that would sound..., that this is a ridiculous thing to think. But it was a very sensible thing to think.

Prabhupāda: What is that sensible thing?

Jayādvaita: That the environment is being controlled by someone, not by us. So there is someone superior. So I just said that to his students, "So your professor is giving a good example."

Prabhupāda: In our favor.

Jayādvaita: In our favor.

Prabhupāda: That's a fact. The fish may be swimming in the water, but a sensible fish must inquire that "Who has created this water?" He is enjoying in the water, or in the land, so the enquiry should be, "Who's land it is?" We are demarkating this land "mine," he has demarkated this land "mine," but originally, who is the owner of this land? Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). Everything is God's property. That is natural. And God said, bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram (BG 5.29). Somebody must be proprietor. I am proprietor of this land. Who is the proprietor of this water? That is natural question. If somebody is proprietor of this land, then somebody must be proprietor of that water.

Garden Conversation -- June 14, 1976, Detroit:

Satsvarūpa: The Sunday newspaper here a month ago did a very big story, the whole front cover. And it was called "Kṛṣṇa Consciousness: Salvation or Slavery."

Hari-śauri: That was that article that you saw in Honolulu.

Mādhavānanda: These are our two biggest book distributors of the women-Lekhaśravantī and mother Jagadhātrī.

Prabhupāda: Hmm.

Mādhavānanda: They claim that when we chant, we hypnotize ourselves.

Prabhupāda: And still we save expenditure. You hypnotize by drinking. (laughter) We haven't got to pay for that, whiskey bottle. That is also hypnotizing. You want to forget all day's labor by drinking. That is also hypnotizing. Or by gambling. So we also hypnotize. Better hypnotizing method.

Garden Conversation -- June 14, 1976, Detroit:

Dhṛṣṭadyumna: One big lawyer, he is fighting us for not going to the airports. He is working for the airlines. So he was going on a pleasure trip to Las Vegas from New York. So his friend gave him five dollars and said, "When you come to a good charity, give this—it will give you good luck." So he took the five dollars, got on the plane, went to Las Vegas, gets off the plane, goes into the terminal, and a young man comes up to him, says, "We are doing very good work. Please give a donation." He said, "Oh, my friend has given me five dollars, so here is a good cause." Gives the five dollars to the boy, he said: "Oh, here, take this book also." So he, "All right." He goes and sits in the car, opens the book, he said, "Oh, no! It is the Hare Kṛṣṇas! I have been tricked." This story was told by Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja's parents. Their friend was the lawyer. So Kṛṣṇa is benedicting everyone, even the enemies. (break)

Mādhavānanda: Sometimes the karmī salesmen, they stand around to watch us distribute books. Because they are so amazed at our techniques of sale and distribution, they want to learn.

Jayādvaita: They become very respectful. They don't know anything about our philosophy, but they see how nicely we...

Prabhupāda: Good salesmen.

Mādhavānanda: Yes. And sometimes they even offer jobs to the devotee, that "You come and work for me. You will be salesman for my..."

Prabhupāda: "And what nonsense book you have got? (laughter) We are going to stop your sales." Tell them. "And we are going to stop your sales. Instead of helping you for selling your books, we are going to stop all these nonsense books. That is our mission." Tad vāyasaṁ tīrtham. That is explained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Na yad vacaś citra-padaṁ harer yaśo jagat-pavitraṁ pragṛṇīta karhicit, tad vāyasaṁ tīrtham uśanti mānasāḥ (SB 1.5.10). That verse, that however nicely it is written with..., what is called, metaphor, poetic ornaments and very good language, grammatical set-up, and so on, so on. So that, although it is very nicely written from literary point of view, but because it does not contain any glorification of Kṛṣṇa, it is just like the spot where the crows take pleasure. Crows. The crows means they go the nasty place where all nasty things are thrown. They take pleasure there. So all these other literatures, they are meant for the crows. And this literature is meant for the swan, paramahaṁsa, white swans. So it is not the bodily color. It means those who are advanced in their development of life, consciousness, it is meant for them. It is not for the crows, who are still eating all nasty things in the garbage. Crows, they do that. They take pleasure where there are garbage, all nasty things and.... And the big swans, they will like water like this, garden like this. That is.... Even in the lower animals, there is difference between the crow's society and swan's society. (police car sounds) What is this?

Room Conversation with Ambarisa and Catholic Priest -- June 14, 1976, Detroit:

Prabhupāda: Kitchen is within the building?

Śrutikīrti and Ambarīṣa: Yes.

Prabhupāda: So one-story building also included?

Ambarīṣa: Yes, there's a kitchen and dish-washing room and office, storage...

Śrutikīrti: All inside.

Prabhupāda: Nice.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Did you explain that it was being built for someone who was going to start a restaurant, but they didn't?

Śrutikīrti: Yes. They ran out of money, these people, and there were so many restrictions at this location because of these buildings here. People live there, and they didn't want anyone in there who was going to cook meat. And they didn't want anyone who was going to serve intoxication. So practically we're the only people that don't serve meat and intoxication. So actually they're very glad.

Ambarīṣa: The man who owns it says he gets fifty phone calls every day from people who want that space. It's such a good space that fifty people a day call.

Prabhupāda: Fifty?

Śrutikīrti: People are very interested, the location is excellent. It's on one of the most important streets in all of Boston.

Ambarīṣa: Once we get open we'll be able to serve a thousand people a day.

Prabhupāda: Oh. And what you are charging?

Room Conversation with Ambarisa and Catholic Priest -- June 14, 1976, Detroit:

Prabhupāda: (Hindi to Indian girl)

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: So how long can this civilization go on, simply producing automobiles, like this? So the situation is that the people are always in a state of poverty. Just like the black people here in Detroit. Even they are making sufficient money, still they are always in a state of poverty because they don't know how to live. Prabhupāda related one story that the capitalist and the worker, both of them, they went to the goddess of fortune appealing for a benediction. So the capitalist asked, "Give me such money that I will be able to work one day and it will last me for six months." And then the worker, he went and he said, "Give me one thousand dollars I have every day to spend."

Prabhupāda: No, he said that "Give me the same money as the capitalist will spend in six months. I shall spend every day. I shall get that money every day and I shall spend it." So this worker class, there is no culture. You may pay them heavy amount of money, but they will spend it and remain a poor man. Because he has no culture.

Room Conversation -- June 15, 1976, Detroit:

Prabhupāda: Their knowledge is "perhaps." It is nonsense. They have no definite knowledge. "Perhaps." Perhaps is not knowledge.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: We had one CIA agent. Previously, he was a CIA agent. I was told this story, I don't know. Anyway, might as well relate it. So they were doing an experiment in the Bahama Islands off Florida. They were all very high intellects. They were developing a certain radio beam to measure the beams which are given off from other planets, thinking that maybe these intelligent beings, they are sending some message out. So they developed this way of sensoring the beams which were coming from the North Star. Anyway, he said—and he was serious, I was told this; he's in India now, one of our devotees there—he said that when they focused on the North Star and they got the beam back, when they translated it, it came out to be the mahā-mantra.

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Interview with Professors O'Connell, Motilal and Shivaram -- June 18, 1976, Toronto:

Prof. O'Connell: The human children often play with their fathers. Is playfulness the proper attitude for...

Prabhupāda: No, no. That is not play, that is real love. Just like father sometimes becomes a horse, and the child rides over, and father enjoys. There is a story about Prime Minister Gladstone. He was prime minister, so many people come to him. So one man came and the doorman said, "He is now busy. Wait." So he was waiting for one hour. Then he became impatient; he wanted to see what this gentleman is doing. So he saw that he has become a horse, and his grandchild is driving him. So why the prime minister had become a horse to take back his grandchild on the back and enjoy? Is it a horse? This is out of love, enjoying. He was not wasting time. The other visitors were waiting. This is love. So to revive that natural life is the opportunity in human life. We have distributed our love in so many material things. Therefore Kṛṣṇa comes and directly speaks that "You withdraw all these nonsense activities." Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam (BG 18.66). "Try to love Me. Then your life is successful." This is āśliṣya. Personally requested that "Why you are rotting in this material world of birth and death and manufacturing so many ways of life? You give up all this nonsense. Just surrender to Me, you'll be happy." This is natural.

Morning Walk Conversation -- June 20, 1976, Toronto:

Prabhupāda: (break) ...their achievement, no more death? As soon as you ask this question, matte kara heṭ. Baḍo baḍo baḍo badora(?) baro baro pet laṅkā diṅgaya matte karo heṭ. "Big, big monkey, big, big, belly, Ceylon jumping, melancholy." What scientific advancement? Do you think there will be no more death? Matte kore heṭ: (?)"Yes, we are trying." Answer them, "What is your achievement?" All achievement will be, remain in your back and you'll have to die. So what you have done, insurance, that you'll enjoy this? You'll be kicked out of the scene at any moment. What you have done for this? What is the answer? Mattaḥ kore heṭ "Yes, we are trying." (laughter) Nonsense, you are trying. And we have to see this nonsense. We are not so fool. And if they say, "What you are doing?" "Yes, we are doing that. How to conquer over death." Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti, mām eti (BG 4.9). That is we are trying. That is real scientific. And what is method? Very simple: man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru mām evaiśyasi asaṁśayaḥ (BG 18.68). "Without any doubt, he comes to Me." This is science. Why shall I waste time? Svarūpa Dāmodara challenged one scientist in California that "If I give you the chemicals, can you manufacture life?" He said, "That I cannot say." What you have spoken all this nonsense? Mattaḥ kore heṭ. And when there is challenge, mattaḥ kore heṭ. Otherwise, baro baro bagara, baro baro phet, big, big monkey, big, big belly. And when the real question is there, mattaḥ kore het. Ceylon jumping, melancholy. Hanumān jumped over the ocean, so other monkeys, they also become very proud: "I am..., Hanumān is our leader, we can...," "Can you jump over Ceylon?" Mattaḥ het. (break) ...speak all these things, Indian villagers, they will immediately believe. One cobbler.... I think I narrated this story. Nārada Muni was going to Vaikuṇṭha.

Morning Walk Conversation -- June 20, 1976, Toronto:

Hari-śauri: I think this story's in Rāja-vidyā, that small book. The one about the brāhmaṇa and the cobbler?

Prabhupāda: (laughs) Yes. Cobbler immediately believed when he was informed by Nārada Muni that "I saw God is pulling one elephant through the hole of a needle, this side and again this side." The brāhmaṇa did not believe it. And as soon as the cobbler, he was also devotee, oh, he began to pray, "Oh, my Lord can do anything." Nārada Muni, "You believed it?" "Yes, why not?" "How do you believe it?" "I am daily seeing. I am underneath the tree, and so many figs are dropping, and each fig has got thousands of seeds, and in each seed there is another tree. Why should I not believe it?" He did not believe it blindly. With reason, and he gave immediately reason: "When I see this fig tree, big fig tree, and there are millions of figs dropping, and in each fig there are millions of seeds, and each seed there is.... Why shall I not believe it?" God, nothing is impossible by God, everything.

Conversation in Airport and Car -- June 21, 1976, Toronto:

Prabhupāda: Twenty-four. Half-finished, half-finished, Eighth Canto.

Kīrtanānanda: What is Eighth Canto like? What does Eighth Canto contain?

Prabhupāda: Eighth Canto? Churning of the ocean and producing nectar, and the demons they did not receive the nectar. There was fight.

Hari-śauri: And the story of Gajendra as well?

Prabhupāda: Gajendra, that is I think Seventh Canto, no?

Hari-śauri: Beginning of the Eighth.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Gajendra also.

Hari-śauri: That means four parts. That means four books for the Eighth Canto.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Kīrtanānanda: Each volume is more wonderful. Each volume...

Prabhupāda: Aḥ? Oh, yes. There is no comparison of this literature.

Prabhupada Visits Palace and Garden -- June 22, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Kīrtanānanda: No.

Prabhupāda: His palace will be different.

Kīrtanānanda: His palace will be where the building is now. We're planning to move Him into the new building next to the present temple, the four-story building. He will occupy the fourth floor for now. Then we will take down that old building and put up a nice big temple.

Prabhupāda: So why you dismantle, construct another?

Kīrtanānanda: The building is not in such good condition.

Prabhupāda: That's all right. As soon as the new temple is, move it; or you want to dismantle it.

Kīrtanānanda: The site is good.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes, site is good.

Kīrtanānanda: It will make a nice complex in relationship with the other buildings.

Prabhupāda: That will.... Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare.

Prabhupada Inspects New BTG -- June 24, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: What is this article? Ah. "Kṛṣṇa Consciousness-The Spirit of '76." "Curing the Crimes of a Lifetime." Vibhavatī. "Curing the Crimes"—read it.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: (reads) "Adapted from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, translation and commentary by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda." In the middle there is a picture of Arjuna piercing the target, and Draupadī. "With the recent disgrace of an American president still fresh in our minds, it is interesting to read of a similar case in ancient times. Five thousand years ago a blind king named Dhṛtarāṣṭra dishonored his high post and caused the death of millions. This story is of special importance even today, because he found an antidote to the crimes of a lifetime and in his old age became self-realized. King Dhṛtarāṣṭra was the acting monarch of Hastināpura, the capital of the Vedic kingdom of Bhārata, which five thousand years ago, according to the Vedic literature, spread over most of the planet. Hastināpura was on the banks of the Yamunā River at the present-day site..., at the site of present day Delhi. As its name indicates-hasti means elephant—it was a city full of opulently decorated elephants. Noble men rode elaborate chariots past marble palaces inlaid with glittering jewels. The sweet smell of incense drifted out of lattice windows. Trees bearing fruits and flowers lined the wide streets, which were sprinkled with scented water. There was no hint of poverty or distress. Hastināpura was the crown jewel of the abundant Vedic civilization. From the beginning, Dhṛtarāṣṭra's position as king was never legal, for he was blind, and Vedic law ruled that a blind man cannot be king. Thus the throne went to his younger brother Pāṇḍu. But when Pāṇḍu died in his young manhood, Dhṛtarāṣṭra began ruling on behalf of Pāṇḍu's five sons, who were still children. In an age of great and honorable kings, Dhṛtarāṣṭra was an exception. Swayed by his eldest son Duryodhana's ruthless lust for power, Dhṛtarāṣṭra began to abuse the guardianship of the Pāṇḍavas by closing his already blind eyes to the planned and purposeful efforts of Duryodhana to destroy the boys. As the descendant of a great royal dynasty, Dhṛtarāṣṭra had the lineage and rearing of a proper monarch, but it seemed that he was as blind spiritually as he was physically. Although he admired and even loved the five fatherless princes, he began to contemplate taking away their kingdom, and even their lives."

Prabhupāda: At seven o'clock we shall go there?

Kīrtanānanda: Yes.

Room Conversation and Reading from Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 1 and 12 -- June 25, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: So what other literatures say? There is not one. In our society we do not read even newspaper, is it not? Do we? Huh?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Only in context to our preaching work.

Prabhupāda: That is another thing, but generally. We do not derive any benefit from those. People read it, especially in the Western counties. If there is no newspaper it is hell. I told you this story? Yes. You can repeat that.

Dhṛṣṭadyumna: The preacher was preaching to the coal miners that if they were not good, they would go to hell, and in hell it was very cold. So they were thinking, "So it is very cold in the mine." Then he was saying that it is very dark in hell. "But it is very dark in the mine." Then he said "And there are no newspapers." "Oh, how horrible, what a horrible place that must be."

Prabhupāda: When they heard in the hell there is no newspaper, then came to the idea, "Oh, it is horrible." Otherwise, cold, dark, "Oh, this is our custom. We are already accustomed to these habits, we are working in the mine. So don't make any distinction between hell and our present residential quarters. But if there is no newspaper, certainly that is hell."

Garden Discussion on Bhagavad-gita Sixteenth Chapter -- June 26, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: Christian conception... Mass of people, they do not know what is hell because they are living in the hell already. That was the story. When hell was described, he was undisturbed, but when he was informed that there was no newspaper in hell then he became... "Horrible. How one can live there without newspaper?" So so far hellish condition is there now... Pradyumna, where is Pradyumna Mahārāja?

Kuladri: He is showering.

Prabhupāda: He was describing about that factory. So they are working in the factory, what do they care for hell? Even if we go to hell, they will get some good salary, that's all. Money required, then I can drink nicely. The standard is there. Now this qualification, abhayaṁ sattva-saṁśuddhir, what is that? It does not strike them at all, these qualities are high qualities. Is it not? This is the... What is the translation?

Dhṛṣṭadyumna: "Fearlessness, purification of one's existence."

Prabhupāda: And who is fearless? Everyone is fearful. And fearlessness is good quality, who understands it? Ahara-nidra-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca, this is animal life. To eat, sleep, sex and become fearful, that is animal life. And one has to become fearless. So who cares for it? They are thinking to become fearless means to keep gun. That is also one way. Then, fearlessness and...?

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

Dhrstadyumna: Yesterday we read, Śrīla Prabhupāda, that these are the qualities of the demon, that arrogance and pride, and their philosophy is there is no God in control. Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā.

Devotee (1): Śrīla Prabhupāda, in that story, the cobbler actually was more advanced than the brāhmaṇa, and yet in Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa explains that "Anyone can approach Me, even the strī śūdra dvija bandhu," they can all approach the supreme destination. Then in the next verse he says "How much greater, then, are the brāhmaṇas, the righteous, the devotees, the saintly kings." I was wondering how are they greater?

Prabhupāda: You do not understand it?

Devotee (1): I do not understand how they are greater than the lower person who surrenders.

Prabhupāda: Suppose you have got your spiritual master and you, if somebody says that you can come into the..., any one of you can come in this car. So spiritual master goes, you also go. Does it mean that spiritual master is not greater than you? Do you think like that?

Devotee (1): No.

Prabhupāda: Then? It is the same thing. Suppose Kīrtanānanda Mahārāja has brought this car, so he says, "All of you can come." So I go, you go, does it mean that you and your spiritual master is equal? Do you think like that? It is same thing. Everyone can go to Godhead, there is no doubt, but still there is difference between brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, śūdras. So far going into the car, the equal right is there, but it does not mean that your spiritual master or the next group, they are not greater than you. Don't think like that. The same car, Kīrtanānanda Mahārāja is driving, I am also there, you are also there. Does it mean that we are all equal? There must be gradation. The right is given to everyone. It does not mean that immediately they become all one. It is Kṛṣṇa's mercy that He accepted everyone, "Come on." But the distinction is there. We are inviting everyone to partake Kṛṣṇa prasādam.

Garden Conversation -- June 28, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: Just see. One attempt has already failed; again they are making attempt and spending like any...

Rādhāvallabha: Isn't it impossible for them to reach Mars because it is a hellish planet?

Prabhupāda: Who says it is hellish planet?

Rādhāvallabha: In Bhāgavatam. It is described as inauspicious in Third Canto in the story of Varāha.

Prabhupāda: Maybe. So first of all let them go. They cannot go. According to our calculation, Vedic calculation, the moon is above sun planet, and the Mars is above moon planet.

Rādhāvallabha: Oh. Then they would have to go past the sun.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Rādhāvallabha: Then they would have to go past the sun.

Prabhupāda: No, no. First of all, according to their calculation, 93,000,000's miles... So the moon is above 1,600,000 miles. And again 1,600,000. So another three million miles above the sun, it becomes sixteen million miles. So if they cannot go to the sun planet, how they can go to the Mars? All bogus.

Garden Conversation -- June 28, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: They went, but what is the benefit? What for they went?

Rādhāvallabha: For scientific exploration. They consider that very noble.

Prabhupāda: Scientific exploration at the expense of these taxpayer?

Rādhāvallabha: They consider it a very noble cause to increase knowledge.

Prabhupāda: That... The same story, that some frogs were there, and children was throwing stone. Then the frogs appealed, "Sir, why you are throwing stone upon us?" "No, we are playing." "So what is play for you, it is death to us." So these rascals are playing, and we have to pay heavy tax for that. This is going on. We are playing, making some scientific research, and who will pay for that? You. You work hard in the factory and pay tax. This is civilization. "You pay tax, and we spend it as we like." Frivolity(?). This is going on. This is the government of Kali-yuga. What can you do?

Devotee (2): "In God We Trust."

Prabhupāda: "What is play to you is death to us." And "Never mind. You die. We play." They have already spent so much money, moon exploration. And that has stopped now, no benefit. They brought some sand and some rock, satisfied. Again the same thing with Mars. But we can say from our poor knowledge that as they have failed in the moon planet, they will fail also in the Mars. Take it down. Note now. Do you know this is all bluff?

Room Conversation -- June 28, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Best would be, then, to rest, perhaps up until at least until Washington and see, because in Washington there may be a very suitable situation. It's hard to walk on these roads also. They are very rough, and the altitude is high.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That we will do. Yes.

Rādhāvallabha: This is the story of King Indradyumna, when Agastya Muni cursed him to take birth as an elephant.

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Rādhāvallabha: When King Indradyumna was meditating and Agastya Muni came, and so he cursed him to take birth as an elephant.

Prabhupāda: He became an elephant.

Rādhāvallabha: Yes, Gajendra. So the artists want to know if it is okay to show him outside in front of a cottage like that.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Very good.

Arrival Room Conversation -- July 2, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: In Russia, that Kruschev, he was... Now, where he has gone, nobody knows. Finished. Nobody knows.

Hari-śauri: They retired him. They gave him a small place just outside Moscow.

Prabhupāda: You know that?

Hari-śauri: Yes, there was a story about five years after he got kicked out of office. He was just doing nothing, living by himself.

Prabhupāda: And what he has done? Nothing, and what he has done?

Vṛṣākapi: They want to worship Kṛṣṇa, but they don't know how.

Prabhupāda: They don't want to worship anyone. They want to worship their senses. That's all. Sense gratification. What is dictated by the senses, they agree to worship. Servant of the senses. In the material world nobody worships nobody. Everyone serves his own senses: "I like it." That's all. There is a Bengali song, yoke yadi lage phala kena dag botai(?). "If it satisfies my eyes, why shall I not see? I shall see." This is the sum-substance of... Yoke yadi lage phala kena dag bhajai.(?) Everyone wants sense gratification, to be servant of the senses. If the senses want "Do this," he will do it. And our movement is that we shall not hear the dictation of the senses; we shall do what Kṛṣṇa says. That is just opposite. So long I am carrying out the orders of the senses, then I am involved in this material birth, death, transmigration. Today I am running on this nice car. Next I can stand up here as a tree. Who can check it? After death you are completely under the... You are... Your life also completely under the laws of nature. So there is no discussion, no understanding, no knowledge about this. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). We have to change our body. What kind of body we are going to get, nobody knows. This life is everything. This body is everything. Very risky. They do not inquire even wherefrom this body has come. They are also coming. They are also living. They are also eating. The trees, they are also eating water.

Room Conversation -- July 5, 1976, Washington D.C.:

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: We call upon Kṛṣṇa to become free from māyā because Kṛṣṇa is the master of māyā. Mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ (BG 9.10).

Devotee (3): (indistinct) can be cured by the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. But if it's necessary that the senses be controlled and the mind be controlled to understand spiritual subject matter, how is it that a person whose mind is completely out of his control, by chanting the holy name of the Lord can become spiritually advanced? (break)

Devotee (4): We will go on ten thousands years and they are celebrating two hundred years' anniversary. Maybe they'll go on another hundred years, maybe. Already there is a big decline in their civilization. We are just coming alive, being born. We have a great future. For the Bicentennial they made a big cake five building stories high, and they brought it in big trucks.

Prabhupāda: Cake?

Devotee (4): Big cake, birthday cake for America. And then the health department came and condemned it after people had been standing three, four hours in line to get a piece, because it had gone stale. (break)

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

Prabhupāda: No. He is correct in the study. Because his mission was to stop atheism. At that time India was full of Buddhistic philosophy. Atheism. So his preaching was to stop Buddhism. Therefore, the Buddhists are śūnyavādis. So he said, "No, it is not śūnya. That is Brahman. This material world is false, (indistinct)." Lord Buddha said everything is false. He said, "No, the material world is false, Brahman is false, brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. But he did not give any further information of Brahman. But at last he said brahma me govindaṁ brahmate bhaja govindam.

Guest: There's a very nice story about this illusion. That once he was walking and someone who knew that Śaṅkarācārya preached this illusion business, was riding on an elephant, so he asked his driver, "Chase Śaṅkarācārya." And of course he did and Śaṅkarācārya started running. So this man said, "Why are you running, since this is illusion?" And he said, "So is my running." (laughter) He said, "So is my running, that's also an illusion."

Prabhupāda: That's nice.

Rūpānuga: But sometimes the impersonalists, they say, Prabhupāda, that this Kṛṣṇa consciousness is just the beginning platform, that after Kṛṣṇa consciousness then one can come to impersonal realization. They say that in the scriptures only Bhagavad-gītā and a few scriptures teach about Kṛṣṇa but the rest of the Vedas don't even talk about Kṛṣṇa's name. So, therefore, this impersonalism is higher realization, but one comes to it, after bhakti.

Prabhupāda: No. There are Vedas, there are so many names described. Kṛṣṇa says, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam (BG 15.15). If one has not understood Kṛṣṇa by studying Vedas, then he has not studied Vedas. It is very confidential. Otherwise, why Kṛṣṇa says vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam (BG 15.15)? If one has studied Veda, but has not understood Kṛṣṇa, then his labor is useless. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19). If one is actually jñānavān, then he (indistinct). Śaṅkarācārya said bhaja govindam, bhaja govindam. That is real knowledge. But if one says that in the Vedas, you don't find Kṛṣṇa's name, then he has not studied Veda. Because Kṛṣṇa says, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam (BG 15.15). The actual purpose of studying Vedas means to understand Kṛṣṇa. If one has not understood Kṛṣṇa, then śrama eva hi kevalam (SB 1.2.8). They have simply labored for nothing.

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

Yadubara: It's all based on that. Because if you don't speculate mentally, you don't get a degree.

Prabhupāda: That's another thing. A fool is accepted by another fool. That is another thing. They're getting Nobel Prize and so on and so on. That is different thing. Fool's paradise. All of them are fools. And they have created their own paradise. Do you know that story? That one was drinking, so his friend said, "Oh, you are drinking, you'll go to hell." "No, why? My father drinks." "Well, he'll also go to hell." "Oh, by brother drinks." "So he'll also go to hell." "My brother..." In this way, the whole list was (indistinct). Then he said, everyone will go to hell. Then where is hell? It is paradise! If father is going, then mother is going, then I am going, then brother is going, then where is hell?" It is like that. They're all fools, then where is fool? Everyone is intelligent. That is (indistinct). There's no question of fool. If everyone, all of us are fool, then where is the question of intelligent? "Hey, we are intelligent." (indistinct) This is their conclusion. We can give credit to something, just like I can see up to this wall. But if I say, "Now I am seeing beyond this world, everything, the forest and everything, I know everything." That is going on. Cheating.

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

Prabhupāda: Yes, in this way they're cheating.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Our brain is a little too small, so we want to do it a little bigger, so that we can think more and utilize more ideas.

Prabhupāda: Where is brain? There is no question. That story, that potter?

Hari-śauri: Oh, the one that was dreaming?

Prabhupāda: Yeah. You know the potter's story?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: No.

Hari-śauri: There was a potter and he had one or two pots, and he started to think, he was dreaming, "Oh, now I've got one or two pots. When I sell these pots then I'll make so much money. Then I'll make some more pots, then I'll make more money, like this. Then when I got some, enough money I'll get a wife, and I'll have a family, like this, and I'll have a nice house." In this way he was carried away with his dreaming and he was thinking, "If my wife doesn't do what I say, I'll kick her like this." And he kicked out, smashed all his pots. (laughter)

Prabhupāda: All the two, three pots he had were broken. Then he "Ohhh."

Svarūpa Dāmodara: That is called to make castles in the air?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

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

Svarūpa Dāmodara: So that mentality has to be changed.

Prabhupāda: Yes. So if even two, three, points we can prove that they're all rascals, then they will change. Simply cheating people and take high salary. This is common sense. Suppose in the laboratory you make one living being. So what is credit to them? The living entities are coming, many millions...

Devotee: (2): You gave the story about the dog...

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Devotee (2): ...barking?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Devotee (2): And the man he is imitating the dog barking...

Prabhupāda: And he'll sell ticket. That "I shall bark like the dog." And people will come, "Oh, let us see." This is going on. What is the credit to bark like a dog? There are so many dogs barking, but people are so fool they'll go and purchase the ticket, "How this man barks like a dog." This is cheating. That is the qualification of conditioned soul, he can very scientifically cheat. This is cheating, "I can bark like dog."

Morning Walk -- July 10, 1976, New York:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Take photographs where?

Hari-śauri: In Arizona. There's an article, and it showed a picture of Mars and it compared, there's supposed to be this canyon four miles deep. So they said it compares to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, like that. So Prabhupāda said that by even mentioning Arizona they've revealed themselves. And he told one story about, there's a man, he heard a noise in his room, and he said, "Ah, who is that?" And immediately the reply came, "Oh, I'm not stealing." So even without asking, they've revealed themselves by saying Arizona, even mentioning Arizona.

Prabhupāda: Why these rascals compare it with Arizona? As if there is no other place in the world. Everything they are doing in Arizona. All photograph in this place. Now they have been caught. I was always protesting, "These rascals have never gone." For the last ten years I've protested. Whenever they asked me, I say straightly, "It is all childish. They have never gone, neither they'll be able to go." That has been proof available. Now they do not talk about it. That is finished, all propaganda, finished. Now they have taken another...

Morning Walk -- July 10, 1976, New York:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Everyone but the wife.

Prabhupāda: No, no, why one should not call a wife a mother? Is that very great advancement? But this rascal was impotent, he had no other alternative, so he manufactured some idea and people thought, "Oh, he's so devotee of goddess of Kālī that he sees even his wife as mother." This story he told me by Guru Mahārāja personally. He was talking with me privately somewhere, although I was a bad householder. (laughs) He was very kind upon me. And whatever is being done by his blessing, that's all.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Prabhupāda, what time do you take your bath? Because I can get hot..., you know we have a big heater in this building. So for hot water...

Hari-śauri: Sometimes between quarter to one.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Should I make sure there's hot water at that time?

Hari-śauri: You can put it through the pipe system? Anytime from twelve-thirty on. (in car)

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: When the devotees heard about your idea for a neon sign on the top of the building, they all went "Jaya!" They like that idea.

Prabhupāda: What is this street?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Ninth Avenue. Sometime I'd like to show you the garage.

Prabhupāda: On Ninth Avenue there are many grocery shops.

Morning Walk -- July 11, 1976, New York:

Prabhupāda: Ācchā? Why upset? It has no soul. Kill it.

Hari-śauri: They cannot explain it.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: There was one story that this family came, they were touring the world, and they came to Hong Kong, and they were carrying their pet dog with them also. So they went to one restaurant and they left their dog tied up on a leash outside the restaurant, because that is the custom in America. So they told the man at the door, the doorman, they pointed to the dog, just to take care of the dog. So anyway, then they went in and they had their dinner and they came out, and the dog was gone. They said (laughter) "Where's my dog?" And the man said, "Well, you pointed to him, we have prepared him for you."

Prabhupāda: Yes, they do that. He thought that he has pointed out this dog.

Morning Walk -- July 12, 1976, New York:

Prabhupāda: Yes, it is a form of their imagination, that's all. Not standard form, but it is a form. They want to make everything formless with form. That means they cannot avoid form.

Devotees: Oh, jaya.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: (break) ...political satires. Critic of the government put the criticism in the form of a children's story, but indirectly was criticizing the government.

Prabhupāda: (break) ...reason they cannot keep this park neat and clean? In other cities they keep.

Ādi-keśava: They cannot pay the workers.

Prabhupāda: How is that? In America, city, New York, they cannot pay?

Hari-śauri: New York almost went bankrupt.

Devotee (1): They have mismanaged the whole thing.

Hari-śauri: They had big strikes last year or early this year. They wouldn't clear the garbage away, and the whole city was piled up with garbage everywhere.

Devotee (2): Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam says in this Kali-yuga they are all lazy, misguided.

Prabhupāda: So much drinking, they must be lazy.

Morning Walk -- July 13, 1976, New York:

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: The fish eat up the algae, keep it clean.

Prabhupāda: Yes. (break) ...skyscraper building, how many stories they can build? Is there any estimation?

Rādhāvallabha: Over a hundred.

Prabhupāda: Now, how many?

Bali-mardana: There is no exact figure; they are always making higher. Now I think a hundred and thirty.

Rāmeśvara: No, it's more than that.

Bali-mardana: A hundred thirty, a hundred forty.

Prabhupāda: And when they'll fall?

Bali-mardana: When the earthquake comes, boom, everything finished.

Morning Walk -- July 13, 1976, New York:

Jayādvaita: As far as I know, they think that they can make them bigger and bigger without any limit.

Devotee: Four hundred stories (break)

Prabhupāda: And fell down later on.

Bali-mardana: There is a story in the Bible how they were trying to build this big building, the Tower of Babel, and then the whole thing... Because they were so proud, God made them all speak different languages so they could not communicate with one another, and the whole project was finished. They were trying to build a huge building.

Rādhāvallabha: They were actually trying to reach God.

Bali-mardana: Yes. To reach heaven. That is how the Christians, in Christianity, explain that people speak different languages.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: In Japan they never build big buildings because they know the earthquakes will come. They have maybe ten, twelve stories at the most.

Rādhāvallabha: (break) The big ones in New York, they build in such a way that it's very difficult to evacuate them in case of a fire, and this movie company did a movie of the two buildings burning up. So after that no one would move into them. They were half empty. So the city had to move all of its government offices into the buildings just to fill them. (dog barking) The Russian dogs are the largest dogs in the world.

Bali-mardana: Dogs to hunt wolves. These dogs are used to hunt wolves in Russia. (break)

Prabhupāda: (in car) ...saṅge calo, ei mātra bhikhā cāi. "Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and come with us," that's all. We don't want any more. No fees. We don't say, "First of all pay so many dollars." There is no condition. "Simply chant and come here. We shall arrange for your food, we shall arrange for your shelter, everything." Still they will not come. They will go and pay fees and chant nonsense.

Morning Walk -- July 18, 1976, New York:

Prabhupāda: Bali Mahārāja was asked for three feet of land. "Very good. You speak so nicely, such intelligent, but You are boy, You do not know how to ask. I can give You a big island." "No, I must be satisfied as I require. I don't want more. Only three feet, that's all."

Rāmeśvara: That story is in the Eighth Canto, Śrīla Prabhupāda?

Prabhupāda: Hmm. I'm going now with that story. (break) "Rascal, if you give like that, where you will stay? He'll take everything!" Smārta brāhmaṇa. Simply considering "How I shall live?" (laughs)

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Materialist.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: What did Bali Mahārāja reply?

Prabhupāda: He rejected guru. "You are not guru."

Rāmeśvara: Śukrācārya.

Satsvarūpa: But that guru told him to worship Viṣṇu officially.

Prabhupāda: No, he was by nature Viṣṇu, Vaiṣṇava, like the grandfather, Prahlāda Mahārāja.

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

Rādhāvallabha: They tried to find the bottom of the deepest part of the ocean, and their submarine snapped in half and they all died. There's too much pressure. (break)

Prabhupāda: How life is coming by force? And they say there is no soul.

Hari-śauri: You made the point the other day during massage that even though our building is twelve stories high and it's made of steel and concrete, still, there's small plants growing straight out of the cement.

Prabhupāda: Yes. (break) They do not go to the sun planet. What is the reason?

Tripurāri: They say that no life there.

Prabhupāda: Again life, no life.

Tripurāri: They think it's too hot for life to exist there.

Prabhupāda: So how Kṛṣṇa was there?

Rādhāvallabha: They don't believe that.

Prabhupāda: So how can I believe you? If you don't believe Kṛṣṇa, shall I have to believe you?

Room Conversation -- July 26, 1976, London:

Jayatīrtha: What is the latest news from the Mars planet, do you know?

Bhagavān: Mars planet. No. They are taking samples of the soil.

Prabhupāda: That's all. Same story.

Bhagavān: In the moon, when they finished, after they concluded there was no life, they dropped a bomb.

Jayatīrtha: Dropped a bomb?

Bhagavān: Yes, they made an explosion, just to see what would happen.

Prabhupāda: You can drop many bombs in the Sahara desert. Who cares? Who cares for that? (laughter)

Jayatīrtha: Prabhupāda said they were actually in Arizona. This Mars capsule has landed in Arizona.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Why bomb? "Grapes are sour."

Bhagavān: To measure something.

Prabhupāda: Whatever they measure, they are useless. What they'll gain by dropping a bomb?

Jayatīrtha: Just another foolishness.

Conversation with George Harrison -- July 26, 1976, London:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Mukunda: There's some books that came out since I brought those last books.

George Harrison: There's also somebody, I think it was a guy who was trying to get his wife back or something. (laughs) I know it was in California, and he was saying "They've stolen my wife." These stories kill me, I mean it's so funny because the way...

Prabhupāda: Find out this verse, brahmacārī gurukule.

Hari-śauri: I think that's in Seven, Two.

Harikeśa: Sixteenth Chapter, first verse, I think. It's the first verse, brahmacārī gurukule.

Jayatīrtha: One man came to the temple, he heard that his daughter had participated in one of our fire sacrifices, and he was afraid that...

George Harrison: Fire sacrifices?

Jayatīrtha: When we have initiations we have a fire sacrifice. He was afraid that she had been sacrificed. (laughter)

Conversation with George Harrison -- July 26, 1976, London:

Prabhupāda: So in your next record, you can give this. (laughter)

George Harrison: (break) ...this little girl, he had a baby girl and was trying to think of a name, so I told him to call it Dhara, you know? 'Cause from Rādhā-rādhārādhārādhā—it becomes dhārā. So he called his girl that name.

Jayatīrtha: There's a story of Valmiki, you know that story?

Gurudāsa: Maramaramaramaramaramara.

Jayatīrtha: Valmiki was a murderer, or a dacoit, thief. So he was met by Nārada Muni, I think.

Prabhupāda: Yes, Valmiki.

Jayatīrtha: And he was advised by Nārada Muni to please chant the holy name of the Lord and give up this thievery. So he wouldn't. So instead Nārada Muni said, "You chant mara." Mara means death. So he agreed.

Prabhupāda: Maramara, rāma.

Room Conversation -- July 31, 1976, New Mayapur (French farm):

Jyotirmāyī: I also thought of a way to help the children remember the Kṛṣṇa book stories easier. It was... You started that long time ago with Madhupuri, you asked her to make the Kṛṣṇa book into a poem. That was a long time ago in New York, then she didn't do it...

Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa book is not difficult to be understood by...

Jyotirmāyī: I was thinking if we make into poem and put music and they sing it, then they can remember...

Prabhupāda: That you can do, to make it understandable easily. It is already easy. If you want to make more easy, then do that.

Jyotirmāyī: Okay. You also allowed... You said that some parents can keep their children with them and teach themselves.

Prabhupāda: You follow that, brahmacārī gurukula, that I've already explained. That should be done. Don't bring any new thing, imported ideas. That will not be helpful. It will be encumbrance. "My experiment with truth"—Gandhi's movement. Truth is truth. "Experiment" means you do not know what is truth. It is a way of life, everything is stated there, try to train them. Simple thing. We are not going to teach biology or chemistry. They are not going to... Our students are not going to... Our students should be fit for teaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness. By their character, by their behavior, by their knowledge, that is wanted. Biology, chemists, physicists, and mathematician there are hundreds and thousands. We are not going to waste our time that Gurukula should produce a great grammarian, a great geologist, biologist, don't want that. There are many other educational institutions. If you can get a good driver of your car, so what is the use of wasting your time to learn driving? Is it not? If you have got important business, you can do that. Why should you waste your time to learn driving? Better employ one driver, pay him some fare.

Room Conversation -- August 2, 1976, New Mayapur (French farm):

Harikeśa: Kālacānda means black, very black. Gaura means fair.

Prabhupāda: When Gauracand was called, a black negro came. So if Kalacand is called, who will come then? (laughter)

Harikeśa: There seems to be such an amazing repertoire of stories and analogies in the Bengali language, isn't there? So many.

Prabhupāda: In Bengal the, just like here, so many, black mixed up with white. In Bengal and Madras, so many Dravidian have been mixed up with the Āryan. Therefore in Bengal and Madras you'll find many black.

Hari-śauri: Dravidian?

Prabhupāda: Dravidian culture. Dravida. They are non-Āryans. Just like these Africans, they are not Āryans. Now they are mixing up with Europeans and Americans. In India, it was, one from the higher section, brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, they will be fair complexion. Śūdras, black. So if a brāhmaṇa becomes black, then he's not accepted as brāhmaṇa. Kāla bahu (?). And if a śūdra becomes fair, then he's to be know that he's not pure śūdra. Although we do not take very, but, this brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, by birth, but still, we have seen, those who are coming purely from high caste family, their behavior and śūdras behavior is different. The family culture. And the spiritual culture lost, still, the family culture keeps them separate.

Room Conversation -- August 2, 1976, New Mayapur (French farm):

Prabhupāda: And still, our landlord in 26 Second Avenue, if there is anything wrong in the apartment, he would personally do it. He could spare money to call a worker. He was alone. I don't think he had any dog, but he was always seeing the television, and when there was some complaint, he would come and work on it. He's landlord. And so many tenant, there is complaint always. Old house. That house was not very good, very old house.

Hari-śauri: There was many stories?

Prabhupāda: I think five, six stories.

Hari-śauri: Oh. You just had the shop at the bottom.

Prabhupāda: Bottom shop and the first floor, I took my...

Harikeśa: With a garden.

Prabhupāda: Not a garden, but there was some vegetables.

Hari-śauri: Few plants.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Not bad. For me, it was very convenient, come down immediately to my down storefront. And some boys were living in the storefront. There was a sink in the storefront, and for toilet I allowed them sometimes in my bathroom. Not some, only two or one. So he was washing my dishes also. In this way, I was living.

Room Conversation -- August 2, 1976, New Mayapur (French farm):

Prabhupāda: So in my childhood, when I was one and one-half years old, I suffered from typhoid, and the Dr. Karttika Candra Bose, he said that he, "Please give him chicken juice." So my father refused: "No, no, we cannot." "No, no he has to be given. Now he has become very weak." "No, no, I cannot allow." "Don't mind, I shall prepare in my own house and send. You simply..." So it was sent from his house, and when it was given to me, immediately I began to vomit. And my father threw it away, and when the doctor asked that this was the... "No, no, then don't bother." This story I heard. This allopathetic system of medicine introduced all these things in India. Otherwise they did not know.

Hari-śauri: What system?

Prabhupāda: This meat-eating, chicken juice, tea, these things are unknown to India. No, why India? By nature, you say that you refused meat. Although you were born of a father and mother meat-eaters, still. What a horrible civilization they have made. He's human being born. Making him animal by culture. Instead of making him more cultured towards the spiritual life, making him redirected again to animal life. This is the civilization, Western civilization.

Room Conversation With French Commander -- August 3, 1976, New Mayapur (French farm):

Prabhupāda: That, here is the society. You train them. You have got all children. You train them in that way, so that... Whatever is done is done. Now you can make very good society, Kṛṣṇa conscious society. Not that one mistake has been done, you should continue. Rectify it. The difficulty is the modern society, the leaders, they do not know the aim of life. They are blindly doing everything like animals. Their philosophy is like the animals. Eat, drink, be merry and enjoy, that's all. This is the philosophy of the animals. And human philosophy is to understand first of all what I am. I am this body or something else? That is human life. But nobody questions this, there is no institution to teach this science, therefore the whole human society is misguided. Just like if I want to train my boy to become a medical man, then I teach him biology, botany, similar... So if... Because I know I shall make my boy a medical man. Similarly, we should know what is the aim of human life. Then we have to construct the social political, everything, favorable to that end. But they do not know what is the aim of life. That is the whole mistake. I think that in Bible there is a story, prodigal son? So we are prodigal son. We are all sons of God, now we have become prodigal sons. What is the meaning of prodigal? "Without any responsibility," is it not? Do whatever you like.

Room Conversation With French Commander -- August 3, 1976, New Mayapur (French farm):
Prabhupāda: The laws of nature must work in its own way. You care for it or do not care for it, that is your business, but the laws of nature will work. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). But these rascals, they do not know how the laws of nature will work. They are endeavoring artificially for, foolishly, to overcome the laws of nature. This is science, rascal's science, which is impossible, but they are trying. This is called rascaldom. Stupidity. Do the scientists not say like that? "We are trying to overcome." Rascal, you'll never be able to do that. But this rascaldom is going on. And they're applauding, "Oh, very good, very good, very good." "Oh, you are going to the moon planet." But after all endeavor, the grapes are sour: "It is not useful." That's all. You know the story? The jackal? He tried for the grapes, jumping, jumping, jumping. When it was failure, he said, "Oh, it is useless. It is sour, no use." (laughter) So they are doing like that. The jackals are jumping, that's all. And we can see how these rascals are jumping uselessly. (laughter) So we are warning people not to follow these silly jackals. Be prudent and be Kṛṣṇa conscious. That will make your life successful.
Room Conversation with Professor Francois Chenique -- August 5, 1976, New Mayapur (French farm):

Prabhupāda: That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission,

pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma
sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma
(CB Antya-khaṇḍa 4.126)

He has to preach in every village and every town on the surface of the globe about this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So our business is... Just this example I have given, that there is fire. I do not know the language. Still, I have to call and take help. So I am doing like that. There is a story. In Calcutta when the Britishers were establishing themselves, so one clerk was working in the office and some monkey came and scattered the office files and everything. So his boss came, he asked him, "What is this, why you?" So he cannot explain, so he began to jump like monkey, that on account of the monkey coming within the room. So when the language is unknown we have to jump and show that the monkey came.

Evening Darsan -- August 10, 1976, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: That is theory. That is not fact. (break) That is given by nature or God, whatever you say. That is not in your intelligence.

Hari-śauri: God may have given us all the basic things, but it's taken man's intelligence to make the...

Prabhupāda: That is all right, but if God has given you so many basic things, then you can use your intelligence. Otherwise, your intelligence... There is a story that one man was asked by his friend, "Have you got intelligence?" He began to search out here. So, "What is this?" He said, "Intelligence means when there is money here. Otherwise, I am even though I have got intelligence, useless." You can utilize your intelligence provided you have got the means. Intelligence also you cannot utilize properly if there is no supply.

Hari-śauri: Actually, Svarūpa Dāmodara pointed out when we were in Washington that most of these big, big men, they admit that they don't know where their inspiration comes from; it just comes. Just like that Mozart or one of those composers. He just used to write the music, but he had no idea where it was coming from. He did not think it out.

Prabhupāda: And that is answered in the Bhagavad-gītā: mattaḥ, mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca (BG 15.15). So intelligence comes from God. Mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca.

Evening Darsan -- August 10, 1976, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: No long time, I say a moment. Kṛṣṇa says sarva dharmān parityajya mām ekam (BG 18.66). You do it. You can do it in a moment, but you'll not do it. That is the difficulty.

Mrs. Sahani: Yes, we are doing that.

Prabhupāda: You can do it immediately, but unfortunately you'll not do it. What can be done? There is a story, I may narrate it. One poor man was begging on the street, and Lord Śiva and Pārvatī was passing as ordinary man. So Pārvatī requested Lord Śiva that this poor man, he's asking, he's begging, so requested him, "Why don't you give him something?" And Lord Śiva replied, "Even if I give, he'll not be able to enjoy it. He's so unfortunate." "Oh, that we shall see. Why don't you give?" So Lord Śiva, in a watermelon, gave him, say, one thousand dollars. "You take this watermelon." So he thanked him, and after that he thought "What I shall do with this watermelon?" So another man came, "Sir, if you take this watermelon and give me one anna." So he gave one anna and he took it. Because he had no good fortune to take that money within the watermelon. Our fortune is like that. Kṛṣṇa is giving us the final benefit, but we are not taking care of. This is our misfortune.

Room Conversation -- August 10, 1976, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: What kind of film?

Jñānagamya: A film that would show activities of devotees. And have some story...

Prabhupāda: But you said they do not like it.

Jñānagamya: No, I never said they do not like it.

Prabhupāda: You said that sense gratification. How they'll appreciate?

Jñānagamya: They will appreciate, it is something new, it is very different, it is very beautiful and attractive.

Prabhupāda: Of course, I cannot understand. What is the favorable condition of film?

Ātreya Ṛṣi: Jñānagamya prabhu is interested in making a very big film.

Prabhupāda: What is the subject matter?

Ātreya Ṛṣi: The subject matter is devotees in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. How they learn, how they study, how they go on saṅkīrtana.

Prabhupāda: They are seeing already.

Room Conversation -- August 10, 1976, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: No, I hear this sound always somewhere. No, they keep the lambs for killing, eh? But before killing, do they not supply any food? They starve?

Ātreya Ṛṣi: They're very cruel. They don't have any human qualification.

Prabhupāda: Human qualification there is no, otherwise how they are killing? Killing means they have no human qualification, animal qualification. I want you to eat, huh? You know that Aesop's fable story?

Ātreya Ṛṣi: Funny story?

Prabhupāda: There was a lake. So one small lamb was drinking water on the other side, and this side another tiger. The tiger challenged that, "Why you are muddying the water." So he said, "Sir, I am here, long away, I am not muddying." So anyway, he picked up some quarrel and killed him. So the idea was to kill him, but he picked up some, find out some fault. So anyone finding out. This man who wants to kill somebody else, he's not man, he's animal. Give the dog a bad name and hang it. That English proverb? You try to discuss on this point, how people can refuse the proprietorship of God. That is a very good point for preaching. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam. Everything belongs to God. That's a fact. Sleeping? Meditating? Either sleeping or meditating, what is the real fact? Meditating or sleeping?

Hari-śauri: I'm not feeling sleepy anyway.

Room Conversation -- August 11, 1976, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: Hm. I have seen it, one rupee, four annas, the price goes nineteen (ninety?).

Jñānagamya: There is a story about a man who made some perfect cloth that would never get dirty, never get torn. So he made a suit out of it and he was trying to market it. So he went to the capitalists and said, "Now I have made some perfect cloth." And they did not like it because they could not sell more cloth after they sold this. No one would want anything else. And the workers, they did not like it either because they would lose their jobs. No one would buy.

Prabhupāda: What is that?

Jñānagamya: They tried to kill him.

Prabhupāda: What is that?

Devotee: He's telling a story.

Prabhupāda: A story.

Jñānagamya: The story is about perfect cloth.

Prabhupāda: Perfect?

Devotee: Perfect cloth.

Prabhupāda: Cloth.

Evening Darsana -- August 11, 1976, Tehran:

Shahrezad: I believe in philosophy that the Creator must exist, but I don't know about the stories and details that I hear from...

Prabhupāda: No, that you shall understand. First of all you must accept that there is creator. Then we study what is the nature of that creator. Just like these rascals, they are trying to prove that creation begins from stone, matter. Whether that is fact, whether creation begins from stone or from life, these things are to be studied. Creation they are accepting, but they are trying to prove that creation is from matter. Our proposition is "No, creation is from life." There are two things, life and matter. These are subject matters for further studies. First of all, we must know there is a creator. The atheists, they say there is no creator but there is creation, do they not? There is creation.

Nava-yauvana: By chance.

Prabhupāda: Anyway, by chance or by arrangement, but there is beginning, creation. Yes, they say "By chance." Their argument is that prakṛti-puruṣa. Just like young man, young woman meets by chance, and the woman becomes pregnant. So this pregnancy is by chance. That is the argument. Is it not? There was no arrangement, but by chance they met and there is pregnancy. Is not that their argument? What is that chance argument?

Evening Darsana -- August 11, 1976, Tehran:

Hari-śauri: They get a bit confused because God has to... Like that man last night was saying not even a blade of grass can move without God's sanction. So they think because God sanctions...

Prabhupāda: Yes, that is so many times explained. Just like a child wants to do something. The father says, "Don't do it," I have said several times. Reluctantly, "All right, do it." I have given this example of my practical experience in 1925 or '26 when my son was two years old. There was a table fan, "I would like to touch it." And I said, "No, no, don't touch." This is child. So but it's a child. He again tried to touch it. So there was a friend, he said, "Just slow the speed and let him touch." So I did it, slowed the speed and he touched-tung! Then he would not touch. You see. So this sanction was given, "Touch it," reluctantly. Now when he gets experience and I ask him, "Touch again?" "No." So this sanction. All of us who have come to this material world, it is like that. Reluctantly. Therefore God comes again to inform these rascals that "Now you have tried so much, better give up this, come to Me again." Sarva-dharmān parityajya (BG 18.66). Sanction was given, certainly, and he has experience, very bitter, but still he won't... This is obstinacy. Dog's mentality. The father has come personally. Now we have experimented everything—karma, jñāna, yoga, this, that, all nonsense. "Now I say..." It is said most confidential. Sarva-guhyatamam. "Better give up this job. Surrender to Me, come back to Me." So sanction was there, certainly. Without sanction they cannot do it. God created this. That is sanction. You wanted material world to enjoy. "All right, do it, here is material world. Take as much petrol as you like and drive motorcar and create accident, do, go on. But now I am giving you good advice, that give up this business, come back to Me." This is sanction. Reluctant, the same example. I did not like that child to touch the fan, but he would insist. "All right, make an experiment." And when he got the experience, next time, ask him, "Now do it?" "No." This is going on. The sanction, without sanction there is no possibility. Mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanam—that is mattaḥ, "from Me." But he's insisting, so therefore sanction—"All right, let him experiment." That independence God never touches. So he has got independence. Yathecchasi tathā kuru (BG 18.63). So he is creating problem. Still, Kṛṣṇa coming, that "You have created simply problems. What you have gained? Better give up this all nonsense, come to Me." This is the instruction of Bhagavad-gītā. Those who are intelligent, they are taking up. And those who are still remaining rascal, they are going on. That is our choice, if we want to be intelligent or rascal. Practically. What we have gained by this so-called material advancement? They have created problem, different problems. That's all. But still, we think that it is progress. And this is going on. Without God's sanction you cannot do anything, that's a fact. But what kind of sanction it is, that you have to understand. God is creator, God is giving sanction, everything is God. Otherwise how He is God? But He has to do. There is a story like that, that the thief is praying to God, "My Lord, give me the chance I can make some stealing in that house." And the householder also praying to God, "My Lord, please save my house, my things may not be stolen." Now God has to adjust, God has to please the thief and the householder. And both of them are prayers. So God has so intelligence, He can do that. He can give the sanction to the thief and He can give protection to the householder. That is God's position. Because both of them prayers, praying, "Give me the facility." And īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). And He is situated in everyone's heart and there are so many petitions, and He has to deal with them. That is God. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Morning Walk -- August 12, 1976, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: Therefore I charge.

Ātreya Ṛṣi: So we put you in a room with a lot of lust and you create a baby.

Harikeśa: No, that will happen automatically, you just, the ingredients come together automatically.

Prabhupāda: Obstinate rascals. Not only rascal, but obstinate rascal. Their only remedy is shoe. That's all. Obstinacy. There is a story about obstinacy. Two friends were talking. One friend said, "This is cut by a scissor." So another friend says, "No, it is cut by the knife." So then there was fight. So the friend who was talking of the knife, he was strong enough. So he captured him: "You accept it is scissor, otherwise I'll throw you in the water." So other, "No, it is scissor," so he threw him in the water. So when he was dying, he was doing like this. (Prabhupāda makes a hand motion like scissor) (laughter) So he is obstinate rascal. It is as good as that garden here. Rather, here there is no disturbance of outsiders, and there there are so many disturbances. It is better. Our theory is... Not theory, fact-daiva-netreṇa. These things are arranged by superior management.

Jñānagamya: Actually, Prabhupāda, that lust is a perverted expression of love. Kṛṣṇa is creating out of love, and in the material world it becomes perverted. So in the material world lust is the cause.

Prabhupāda: Yes. In the spiritual world, what is love, that is in the material world lust.

Morning Walk -- August 12, 1976, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: Why should you work? If you have to forget, why should you take such nonsense things that you have to forget again? Why not chant Hare Kṛṣṇa? Even the child does not forget. He's chanting. Take such things that you'll enjoy. The more you do not forget, you more enjoy. Why should you take up something that you have to forget? This is rascal.

Nava-yauvana: Karmīs cannot understand.

Prabhupāda: There is a story like this. A man is sitting. His friend came, "Why you are sitting idly?" "What shall I do?" "Work." "Why shall I work?" "You'll get money." "What shall I do with the money?" "Then you'll be able to sit peacefully and eat." "I'm doing that. I'm already doing that." I'm peacefully sitting and eating. Why shall I go and work? If that is the ultimate end, that I shall peacefully sit down and eat, I am doing that. Why shall I go and work?

Harikeśa: What about when it gets cold?

Prabhupāda: That you again "if." You are bringing some condition. For the present time, sitting very peacefully and haven't got to work. Why you are insisting me to work? If this is the goal, to sit peacefully and eat, I'm doing that.

Evening Darsana -- August 14, 1976, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: In America, in New York, they have got a very...

Kartikeya Mahadevia: Very good temple. Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Goswami wrote to me, my friend was also there. Mr. Patetas has met you I think.

Prabhupāda: It is twelve...

Kartikeya Mahadevia: Twelve stories.

Prabhupāda: In the middle of downtown.

Kartikeya Mahadevia: Manhattan.

Prabhupāda: That Empire State Building...

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: "Bhaktivedanta Book Trust tentative printing schedule: Vyāsa-pūjā." This is first the title, then the printer and the delivery date. "July: 2,000 copies, very early August. Nectar of Instruction goes to the printer in late July, 100,000 copies to be ready by early September. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, First Canto, Part 2, reprint, goes to the printer in late July: 50,000 copies ready by September. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Eighth Canto, Part 1, goes to the printer in August: 20,000 copies ready by late September. Bhagavad-gītā reprint goes to the printer in August: 500,000 copies ready by late September. Then there's a book by one of Prabhupāda's disciples, Satsvarūpa Goswami, goes to the printer in late August. Kṛṣṇa trilogy paperback goes to the printer early September: 100,000 copies each and ready by late September. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, First Canto, Part 3, being reprinted, goes to the printer in early September: 50,000 copies ready by late October. And three catalogues go to the printer early September: 55,000 copies ready early October. There's another new book by Prabhupāda: Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers, goes to the printer in September: 100,000 copies ready late October. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Eighth Canto, Part 2, goes to the printer late September: 20,000 copies ready early November. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Second Canto, Part 2, reprint, goes to the printer late September: 20,000 copies ready November. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam First Canto, Part 1, reprint, goes to the printer in early September: 50,000 copies ready in November. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Eighth Canto, Part 3, goes to the printer in late October, ready early December: 20,000 copies. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Second Canto, Part 1, reprint, goes to the printer early November: 50,000 copies ready early December. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Ninth Canto, Part 1, goes to the printer in late November: 20,000 copies ready early January. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Ninth Canto, Part 2, goes to the printer early January: 20,000 copies ready late February. Kṛṣṇa book, hard-bound, Volume 1, reprint, goes to the printer early January: 100,000 copies ready late February. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Ninth Canto, Part 3, goes to the printer early February: 20,000 copies ready late March. Kṛṣṇa book, hardbound, Volume 2, reprint, goes to the printer in February: 100,000 copies ready early April. Kṛṣṇa book, Volume 3, reprint, goes to the printer in February: 100,000 copies ready early April."

Prabhupāda: We are the biggest publisher in the world about religious and philosophical.

Morning Walk -- August 14, 1976, Bombay:

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: ...decide where your apartment will be.

Prabhupāda: That roof is the fifth story?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Sixth.

Prabhupāda: Sixth. So we are finishing fifth only?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: We are finished will be six stories. Pardon?

Prabhupāda: Only fifth, up floors?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, you can't go more than that. This is near the airport. Now they've introduced a new law that you can't go even below this. What we did is the new law has just come into effect, and so we did the slabs in the night.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: There's a new law which reduces the height even further. You can't have any big buildings in Bombay now.

Prabhupāda: Why?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: I don't know the reason, but apparently Indira Gandhi doesn't like big buildings. So actually according to the new law we have already built more than what the legal limit is. So what we did...

Prabhupāda: No, we have got some assetship(?) for the road? We have left over? Where is Saurabha?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Saurabha is in the front. Shall I call him?

Prabhupāda: Yes. (break) ...quite nice place for walking. Why it is drying? The leaf?

Morning Walk -- August 14, 1976, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: One special room like this? No.

Saurabha: That is the lift room. But next to that, the similar room, the same size. It is not done. Because that we have to do later on. We're not allowed to do that now. There's a new law passed in Bombay that no one can build higher than six stories, nowhere in Bombay. So we had to rush for this, otherwise they would have stopped us.

Prabhupāda: So why you are not rushing?

Saurabha: No, this is finished. We have reached the highest. That point is the highest. It's only for the slab. Afterwards, they don't mind. (break)

Prabhupāda: ...from this light.

Hari-śauri: The switch is just in front of Prabhupāda's door.

Prabhupāda: There was a seat? Where is gone, that seat?

Hari-śauri: They probably took it in because of the rain. (break)

Prabhupāda: ...rainy season these leaves should have been very green, but it is not green.

Morning Walk -- August 14, 1976, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: ...rainy season these leaves should have been very green, but it is not green. Huh?

Saurabha: It's also the sea wind that kills a lot of trees. Not so much here, but if one goes down to the sea, all trees they have no leaves. There's some type of salt or something in the air that destroys plants. Here it's all right, but close to the sea it's all... That must affect them. (break)

Prabhupāda: ...saptāha, it is not authorized.

Acyutānanda: No. But in some editions of Bhāgavatam they have a Bhāgavata-māhātmyam, and there's a story about bhakti and jñāna and vairāgya and Nārada Muni.

Prabhupāda: That no ācārya has mentioned.

Harikeśa: That's Gītā Press again. That's Gītā Press.

Acyutānanda: They say how this is the instructions for how Bhāgavata should be read in seven days up to this canto.

Prabhupāda: Gītā Press was Māyāvādī.

Room Conversation -- August 16, 1976, Bombay:

Acyutānanda: Some of the devotees, they said that it is for liberated souls. So they said, "Well, we are all liberated."

Prabhupāda: Yes. Liberated for going to hell.

Devotee: In your Kṛṣṇa book, Śrīla Prabhupāda, you've given such clear explanations along with the stories of Kṛṣṇa that it's very difficult to misinterpret, because you use such clear explanation.

Prabhupāda: No, you read all the books first of all. Then you'll be able to understand.

Yaśomatīnandana: Even theoretical understanding that Kṛṣṇa is transcendental will not help unless one...

Prabhupāda: Because Kṛṣṇa will lift, samaste, Kṛṣṇa lifted the hill. Now how you can become equal with Kṛṣṇa?

Devotee: Śrīla Prabhupāda, what about if some devotees, I know they want to come to Vṛndāvana...

Prabhupāda: Every devotee, they must follow the rules and regulations, that's all.

Room Conversation About Mayapura Construction -- August 19, 1976, Hyderabad:

Jayapatākā: He talked personally with Bhaktisiddhānta, I heard, in Sanskrit many years ago. He's a disciple.

Prabhupāda: He's Indian or...?

Jayapatākā: Well, it's an unusual story that that man was a pilot in the World War, and he was flying over Himalayas or something, and he saw Kṛṣṇa in his mind's eye or something, and then, then he was shot down, he saw Kṛṣṇa, and then, when he landed, he searched out who he saw, and he came to Vṛndāvana or something and saw the Deity of Kṛṣṇa, and he became initiated at Rādhā-Rāmaṇa temple.

Prabhupāda: Rādhā-Rāmaṇa

Jayapatākā: This is that guru story. Now he only made a few disciples, and he always was chanting. Also Panditji, he knew more. I don't know so much about his guru but I've heard a little bit that his foreigner became a guru or became a Vaiṣṇava.

Prabhupāda: Nixon?

Jayapatākā: His previous name is Nixton, he initiated name was Krishna Prem.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. He was in Almora.

Jayapatākā: Almora, yes. I don't know exactly where Almora is.

Prabhupāda: Almora is a hilly station, Himalaya. If... Almora, one goes from Lucknow.

Morning Walk Conversation About Bombay -- August 29, 1976, Delhi:

Prabhupāda: No, no, there is no...

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: The Delhi man who wrote the story, this editor told me he's an outright Communist.

Prabhupāda: Sit down.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Actually an outright Communist.

Girirāja: The other point that people felt that nobody will take it seriously because everyone knows that it's just junk.

Prabhupāda: Third-class paper. (Child speaking in background.)

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: It has a wide circulation in India. (break)

Prabhupāda: ...leave this boy in the park and we shall go. Let them come, walking. You come walking? Live here? No. Cannot walk? He can walk. Leave him here.

Meeting With Member of Parliament, Mr. Krishna Modi -- August 31, 1976, Delhi:

Prabhupāda: That is our books are being printed.

Krishna Modi: A very big thing it is. It is marvelous that you have done such a thing. It is proud of India that...

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: New York devotees just got a twelve story building right in the center and I know the local Hindus they are trying to build a small temple since twenty years and they're not succeeding. And right in the center of New York we have a twelve story building. Now all the Hindus are coming to us.

Prabhupāda: You have got that picture New York temple?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: The Ratha-yātrā picture? Ratha-yātrā, the New York paper. New York Times, Newsweek, all the Indians came. They said, "East Meets West."

Prabhupāda: Now who has converted so many of... This is one party. (refers to kīrtana going on nearby) Hundreds of parties like this, they are engaged in kīrtana. India government is sending so many professional dancers by paying them from the cultural department and what I am getting? Not a single farthing. And still I am bringing.

Garden Conversation -- September 3, 1976, Vrndavana:

Hari-śauri: Yes, there was that article in the Blitz the other day.

Prabhupāda: So formerly, by simply desire of very exalted person like Lord Śiva and others, they could turn a man into woman, woman into man.

Hari-śauri: I heard a story, Viśvāmitra once he grew people from trees. Is that correct?

Prabhupāda: Everything is possible by Kṛṣṇa's inconceivable energy. Everything is possible. That is inconceivable. It is called therefore "inconceivable." You, we cannot conceive how it is done. Our intelligence is very little. We cannot conceive. Therefore we say, "Oh, this is all mythology." Because we cannot conceive of it. Whatever we cannot conceive we take it as mythology. Nothing is mythology. Everything is possible. That is inconceivable. But they cannot understand what is inconceivable. Unless it is conceivable by them, they do not accept. That is their foolishness. We can see at night worms or flies so small Just like if you divide one grain of rice into one hundred divisions one division—such a small fly. They are independently walking, flying. Freedom. Now just imagine how their anatomic physiology is manufactured within that small (indistinct) of life. But he's exactly doing everything just like a big fly. How it is doing? Therefore I said in that, my interview.

Room Conversation -- September 4, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Underneath a tree I was sitting and speaking. That's all. And when I would come back from the park to my apartment, at least two dozen people will come with me.

Hari-śauri: Like a Pied Piper.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Hari-śauri: There's a story in the West about a man called the Pied Piper. He went to one place and played the flute and all the children followed him away from the village. You're like the Pied Piper who went to the West, took all the children.

Prabhupāda: If you know French language you can read it.

Harikeśa: He knows French.

Prabhupāda: Ah, you know. What is written there?

Hari-śauri: The article is by Hayagrīva, and the heading, it says, "Are you from India?" That was when he met you on the street.

Prabhupāda: Yes, he first of all met me on the street and asked me this question. And I brought him, "Yes, I have taken one apartment here. You come here with me." Then I came back to show him the apartment. And from the next day they began to come, Kīrtanānanda and Hayagrīva.

Room Conversation -- September 9, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: It is a question of culture. Culture. She was king's daughter, royal, and married her with a muni, old, rotten. Older than me. All the skin has become slackened. But still she was serving him just like worshipable lord. The age difference is great-grandfather and great-granddaughter. You'll find in Bhāgavatam. Lord Śiva, he could not construct even a house. He was living underneath a tree. And his wife, Durgā, sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana-śaktir ekā (Bs. 5.44). She can create a new world, so powerful, Durgā. She's living with her husband underneath a tree. Never claims, "My dear husband, if you cannot, I can make one." There is a story about that. That, "People criticize us. All right, let us have some house." So Lord Śiva, Durgā, both of them capable to do anything. So they constructed a very nice gold house. "Now we shall live." So there is new house entering ceremony. So one Gargamuni was invited as brāhmaṇa. Many other brāhmaṇas. So they began to eat so much... That story I'm now forgetting. Then whatever stock they have finished, when, after eating, when they wanted, "Give us dakṣiṇā." Because after eating there is... So Lord Śiva, where shall I get everything? I have finished." Then they became puzzled what to do. So Lord Śiva said, "All right, you take this house." Again they became underneath a tree. (laughs) "All right, as dakṣiṇā you take this house. Don't bother." Their house entrance ceremony was there. As a result of that ceremony they became again underneath a tree. (About someone else:) What they're doing? (end)

Room Conversation -- September 11, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: The rascal.

Hari-śauri: This is... And then the next part's even worse. "For the doubting or confused minority, to which section I then belonged, Swamiji has this message. "Those who want to secure pearls from the sea have to dive deep to fetch them. It does not help them to dabble among the shallow waves near the shore and say that the sea has no pearls and that all stories about them are false. Likewise, if a person wants to secure the love and grace of the avatāra he must also dive deep and get submerged in Sai Baba. Then only will he become one with me and carry me in his innermost heart."

Prabhupāda: Everyone can say like that. What you have done as God? God is an Indian. Making things very complicated.

Hari-śauri: Yes, and this man goes on to describe the aura. He goes on to describe how spiritual his presence is. They chant oṁkāra. They chant oṁkāra.

Prabhupāda: So, anything about us? He criticized "God is an Indian," that is a criticism.

Hari-śauri: No, no. This is a glorification. He's a nationalist; so he's saying God is an Indian. 'Cause it's supposed to be very good.

Prabhupāda: How God can be Indian? Then how he's God? God must be for everyone. An Indian God.

Room Conversation -- October 26, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Yes, two lines is sufficient.

Dhanañjaya: Punar muṣaka bhava. Punar muṣaka bhava.

Prabhupāda: Yes. This is exactly the same case. Punar muṣaka bhava, you know the whole story? A muṣaka, a mouse, was made a tiger, and the tiger wanted to eat the saintly person who made him. First of all he was mouse. So he came to the saintly person. "Sir, I am troubled. Give me some benediction." "What do you want?" "Now, the cat always chases." "All right, you become cat so that you'll not be attacked." Then after some time he came. "I am being chased by the dog." "All right, you become a dog." From cat to dog, from mouse to... Then again he came. "Still, they are chasing me. Fox." And then in this way, and ultimately he made a tiger. And after becoming a tiger, he began to look, staring on the... "What do you mean by this?" "I shall eat you." "Oh? You become again a mouse." (laughter) Again he became mouse. That's all.

Room Conversation -- November 3, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: There is no need of education. He knows it. And these rascals, they are presenting Freud's philosophy, sex. Just see how they are wasting time.

Hari-śauri: They have so many books now on so-called sex education, so many of them.

Prabhupāda: Simply wasting time. There is a story about this. One man was canvassing, hawking. Hawker?

Hari-śauri: Yes, hawker.

Prabhupāda: So he was, "Here is a book of cow protection, cow protection." He has written one book to take care of the cows. So one old man called him, "What you are selling?" Now, "I am selling this book." "What is that book?" "Maintaining the cow." So, "Why you are selling? First of all give this book to your mother because you are no better than cow, so she will learn how to give you protection." That means he wanted to impress upon him that "Cow protection doesn't require any education. You have written a book? So you are such a rascal, cow intelligence. Better give this book to your mother. She will maintain you. Don't sell it. Everyone knows how to give cow protection." So similarly, this sex literature, there is no need of sex literature. Sex literature is there in Sanskrit also. That is how to restrict sex. For what purpose one should indulge in sex, that is called Kāma-śāstra. I have seen this Freud philosophy became so prominent that sometimes in the year... 1940's maybe. So one young woman was traveling, and another young man was traveling. So they began to discuss about sex very openly. And both of them unknown. Still, they engaged themselves in discussing the sex literature, without any shame.

Room Conversation with Dr. Theodore Kneupper -- November 6, 1976, Vrndavana:

Dr. Kneupper: I see. Was the place Slippery Rock, was that the first college...?

Prabhupāda: No, the place was Butler.

Dr. Kneupper: You were in Butler, right?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Dr. Kneupper: And then you spoke at a college.

Prabhupāda: In the college, yes.

Dr. Kneupper: Every time I go to that hall I remember the story that you spoke there.

Prabhupāda: Oh, they still say.

Dr. Kneupper: Yes. You must have left some kind of blessing upon it. It has a nice atmosphere.

Prabhupāda: That was in 1965.

Room Conversation with Dr. Theodore Kneupper -- November 6, 1976, Vrndavana:

Dr. Kneupper: The growth, the temple here, beautiful. On my next trip to India...

Prabhupāda: Yes, you can come and stay here or in Bombay, we have got...

Dr. Kneupper: But I want to see the one, the city when it's constructed. That would be really...

Prabhupāda: Oh, that is... Yes.

Dr. Kneupper: I hope that is... Calcutta will be a success story.

Prabhupāda: You have got the contemplative man with you. (indistinct)

Indian man: Yes sir.

Dr. Kneupper: This will be over 300 acres if it's...

Prabhupāda: Three hundred fifty acres.

Dr. Kneupper: It's a large city. Fifty thousand, did you say? People? How many people were there?

Jagadīśa: Fifty thousand.

Dr. Kneupper: Fifty thousand.

Prabhupāda: Expecting fifty thousand.

Room Conversation with Life Member, Mr. Malhotra -- December 22, 1976, Poona:

Prabhupāda: All are described, that he had 16,000 palaces. And Nārada Muni came to see Him, what He is doing actually. He saw different activities, and Kṛṣṇa expanded Himself to 16,108. Each rāṇī had 10 sons, and they had sons also. In this way the Yadu-vaṁśa was crores.

Mr. Malhotra: There was one story that Lord Kṛṣṇa was going en route and then He had to be at the place of—at Virāṭa because of some śraddhā of some muni. That is (Hindi) (break) So we get frustrated, but where the first apple came. Where is seed of first apple planted on this earth planet?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Bījo 'haṁ sarva-bhūtānām (Bg 7.10). Kṛṣṇa answers this question. Bījo 'haṁ sarva-bhūtānām. I am the original seed of everything.

Mr. Malhotra: Otherwise, it is very difficult, that wherefrom the very first seed came.

Prabhupāda: And He says another place.

Room Conversation -- December 31, 1976, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: He has expanded his āsakti from family to the whole nation. Expanded āsakti is not anāsakti. I'm thinking only of my family, and if I think of the whole nation, that does not mean anāsakti. That means āsakti expanded. I am a pickpocket. If I become a great plunderer, that does not mean I am not a thief. You cannot say pickpocket is thief and a great plunderer is a hero. The quality is there.

Hari-śauri: There's that story about Alexander and the thief.

Prabhupāda: Ah, Alexander and the thief. The thief convinced him, "Alexander, what is the difference between you and me? I'm a small thief, you are a big thief, that's all."

Dr. Patel: I will drive the car for today.

Prabhupāda: All right. No, no, why you (indistinct). Young man... (break) ...the world... (break) (laughs) So similarly, if one is giving very important service, then even if there is some faulty thing, excuse. Service is so important. So in the Western country the woman can give very good service. Api cet sudarācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ (BG 9.30). This, our book distribution is the most important task in our society. Therefore I am giving so much stress and I am working so hard on this. Because this is my life and soul according to the order of my Guru Mahārāja. And by his grace it is to some extent successful. And I took it seriously. I take it seriously still now. That is my life and soul. I never tried in India to construct big temples or even in your country we didn't. I never tried. But I was selling personally books. That is the history. Sometimes they are criticizing, "What kind of sannyāsī? He is doing book business." (laughs) The other day that, what is his name? Bachu Hai came. Bachu Hai Dresswalla.

Page Title:Story (Conversations 1976)
Compiler:Visnu Murti, Mayapur
Created:23 of Mar, 2012
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=114, Let=0
No. of Quotes:114