Hayagrīva: He felt that faith is the basis of action, not knowledge. He felt that knowledge...
Prabhupāda: So faith is...
Hayagrīva: ...is not sufficient for action.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Faith is there. Just like a child, even animals, we have seen in the park the swan... What is called the children of the swan?
Hari-śauri: Cygnets.
Prabhupāda: Hm?
Hari-śauri: Cygnets.
Prabhupāda: Cygnets?
Hayagrīva: Cygnets.
Prabhupāda: What is the meaning of, the spelling?
Hayagrīva: Baby swans.
Hari-śauri: C-y-g-n-e-t-s. Cygnets.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Cygnets?
Hari-śauri: Yeah.
Prabhupāda: So we have seen it practically, this big swan is moving and the, they are also moving behind. The big one is jumping with water, and they are also jumping. They do not know where we are jumping, but they are jumping. The mother is swimming and they are swimming. This is natural.
Hayagrīva: But in Kṛṣṇa consciousness isn't knowledge rather than faith the basis for action?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). They are giving up everything: "Yes, I give up everything." So it's faith, full faith. "Now I shall have to consider whether I shall give up everything and take to Kṛṣṇa"—that is not faith; that is speculations. Why he should consider? That is explained in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. The faith is described, śraddhā-śabde viśvāsa sudṛḍha niścaya. Faith means believing firmly. And what is that believing firmly? That kṛṣṇe bhakti kaile sarva-karma kṛta haya. Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). If you have got faith, then you believe firmly that "Simply by surrendering to Kṛṣṇa I become perfect." That is faith. If you have still reservation, that is not faith, that is not faith. Here is faith. That faith, how it comes?
- bahūnāṁ janmanām ante
- jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
- vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti
- sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ
- (BG 7.19)
This faith is not so easy. After many, many births, when one actually becomes a wise man, this faith comes in. Therefore it is said, sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ. Such kind of mahātmā is very rare to be seen, for this faith is not so easy. Na janma-koṭibhir labhyate, Rūpa Gosvāmī has said. This faith, sukṛtibhiḥ na janma-koṭibhir labhyate. Those who are pious, they are candidate, that also requires many, many births to come to this faith. Tatra laulyam eka mūlyaṁ na janma-koṭibhir sukṛtibhiḥ labhyate. So the faith is not so easy thing. Kṛṣṇa is, from the battlefield of Kurukṣetra, five thousand years ago, the Bhagavad-gītā is being studied by so many scholars like Gandhi, Dr. Radhakrishnan, Vivekananda, Aurobindo. Where is that faith, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām (BG 18.66)? They are taking advantage of Bhagavad-gītā and pleading their own philosophy. And where is that faith? They never taught that "You surrender unto Kṛṣṇa." Perhaps this is the first time. Of course, the Vaiṣṇava teaching us like that, but we, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, we are teaching this, that "You catch up Kṛṣṇa." They have no faith and they are teaching Bhagavad-gītā. This is their only... They have no faith in Kṛṣṇa and they are preaching about Kṛṣṇa, they are studying Bhagavad-gītā. This nonsense is going on. They have no faith. They do not believe in the words of Kṛṣṇa. Faithless preachers, rascals, and these yogis, swamis, they are preaching Bhagavad-gītā. So this is a nice point, that faith is the beginning, but they have no faith. Then where is the beginning?