Tamil

Expressions researched:
"tamil" |"tamila" |"tamils"

Notes from the compiler: It is not needed to compile "Tamil Nadu" as that is a province, or Tamil the country

1972 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- February 12, 1972, Madras:

Prabhupāda: No. The thing is, when there is detachment, there must be another attachment.

Guest: Yes. To God.

Prabhupāda: Yes. But that is required.

Guest: Huh?

Prabhupāda: That is required. Just like...

Guest: Yes. Attachment to... There is a Tamil, Kurul. You have heard of the name Kurul? Tamil (indistinct), makes this point very clear.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Guest: If you wish to live without detachment, attach yourself to God.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Guest: That will be the...

Prabhupāda: Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate (BG 2.59).

Guest: Yes.

Prabhupāda: After getting good attachment, one gives up the inferior attachment.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Cardinal Danielou -- August 9, 1973, Paris:

Bhagavān: Your brother, he has acquired a little philosophy from India.

Cardinal Danielou: Yes, yes, very acquainted with Indian philosophy and religion. He read very well Sanskrit and...

Prabhupāda: Oh, he knows Sanskrit?

Cardinal Danielou: Oh, yes, oh yes. He knows very, very well, oh, very well. He speaks Indian modern language, Hindi, Bengali, and Tamil.

Prabhupāda: Bengali?

Cardinal Danielou: Tamil.

Prabhupāda: I am Bengali.

Cardinal Danielou: It is...

Prabhupāda: He's a linguist scholar.

Cardinal Danielou: Yes, very scholar. It is first time you visit France?

Prabhupāda: This is the third time.

Bhagavān: Third time, trois.

Cardinal Danielou: Trois fois, trois fois, trois fois.

Yogeśvara: Our spiritual master was very interested when I informed him that you have had several meetings with political leaders of France as well, that you have, that your interests extend into government and politics as well as religion.

Cardinal Danielou: Yes, yes.

Prabhupāda: So our Vedic conception of politics. The king is the representative of God.

Cardinal Danielou: Yes.

Prabhupāda: King.

Cardinal Danielou: King, yes.

Room Conversation with Sanskrit Professor, Dr. Suneson -- September 5, 1973, Stockholm:

Prabhupāda: Oh, thank you.

Professor: Yes. Sanskrit and Hindi and Bengali and Tamil.

Prabhupāda: Oh, oh, that's nice.

Professor: So I read lot of the Tamil bhakti scriptures.

Prabhupāda: Oh, I see.

Professor: The Alwars and the Nayanas.

Prabhupāda: I see. Just a..., immediately he came, Dāmodara, the Ambassador. He came just now.

Professor: Yes. Oh, he came just now?

Room Conversation with Sanskrit Professor, Dr. Suneson -- September 5, 1973, Stockholm:

Prabhupāda: Yes, that's nice.

Professor: Also in Tamil. I'm partic... I'm doing also comparative studies between those in the Sanskrit and Tamil. Do you know Tamil?

Prabhupāda: No.

Professor: No. They also have a big collection.

Prabhupāda: I don't know anything. (laughter)

Professor: What? What? (pause) Do you have this, the Tenth Canto of the Bhāgavatam?

Prabhupāda: Oh yes.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- August 29, 1975, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: No. We must have quality. Our Godbrothers, they publish tenth-quality papers. Nobody... Nobody cares.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: In Madras we are printing a big Tamil Īśopaniṣad, and one Sindi man, he has donated eight thousand towards the cost. The total cost is eleven thousand, and he has donated about eight thousand. If we can get this... One way we can reduce our cost is by getting advertisements.

Prabhupāda: No, no.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: But that you wish not to do. You'd rather...

Brahmānanda: Just like this other man has agreed to subsidize the Arabic book?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: He will pay for the whole thing, not just subsidize.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- December 29, 1976, Bombay:

Guest (2): In India? Indian languages.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Oriya, Bengali, Gujarati. Every major Indian language.

Guest (1): Can you tell us the different subjects covered by the...?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: It's Vedic subjects, the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Prabhupāda: We are stressing especially on Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Guest (3) (Indian man): Do you have special on each chapter of Gītā?

Prabhupāda: Oh yes. Each word. You can show Bhagavad-gītā.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Arrival of Devotees -- February 24, 1977, Mayapura:

Rādhā-vallabha: Sixth is Portuguese, 835,000. Seventh, Dutch, 593,000. Eighth, Italian, 448,000. Ninth, Hindi, 315,000. Tenth, Bengali, 305,000. Eleventh is Telegu, 115,000. Twelfth is Swahili... This is also another estimate, 110,000. Fourteenth is Chinese... Thirteenth is Gujarati, 90,000. Fourteenth is Chinese, 55,000. Fifteenth is Marathi, 25,000. Korean, 20,000. Yugoslavian, 20,000. Oriya, 20,000. Polish 10,000. Hungarian, 10,000. Czechoslovakian, 10,000. Tamil, 10,000. Russian 5,000. And the total is 55,314,000.

Prabhupāda: (laughs) Russian is last. Yes.

Rāmeśvara: It's the most difficult.

Prabhupāda: But something is better than nothing. Kānā māmā. ("Blind Uncle")

Room Conversation -- July 19, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: And nobody is going to disturb you there. Make your own field and continue to become ṛttvik and act on my charge. People are becoming sympathetic there. The place is very nice.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yeah. He says, "The introduction of Bhagavad-gītā has been translated into Tamil, and I will have the second chapter done next. Then publish a small booklet for immediate distribution."

Prabhupāda: Very good.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He says, "I have also found a young man to translate Singhalese language."

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "This coming weekend we have a two-day festival in Colombo. We expect about two thousand people per night."

Room Conversation -- July 27-28, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Very nice.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Plus, Śrīla Prabhupāda, we're getting ready to print the Gujarati, Hindi and Tamil Gītās. We're going to do the color plates together.

Prabhupāda: Next you make Gujarati.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, we're doing the Gujarati Gītā. We have five books ready, and London has already ordered five thousand copies.

Prabhupāda: So why not print?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: We are.

Yaśomatīnandana: Just we have to... The titles are being printed in Bombay.

Prabhupāda: That's all right. (indistinct) And Bombay is not far away.

Room Conversations Bangladesh Preaching/Prabhavisnu Articles by Hamsaduta -- August 11, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: So why a child is bereft of senses and why the others not? Who controls it?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He says, "A child born deaf will neither be a Singhalese nor a Tamil, because it will not be able to speak the languages of either communities. It will be a dumb child."

Prabhupāda: That means another... That means he's born half-dead. But can you give life? You are scientist. You give him.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Well, now he's speaking about a different subject.

Prabhupāda: No, first of all, if a child is born bereft of all the senses, can you give him?

Room Conversations Bangladesh Preaching/Prabhavisnu Articles by Hamsaduta -- August 11, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: So maintain the branch by local devotee.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He says, "Shree Lanka is definitely a first-class field for preaching, and we are being accepted by Sindhis, Gujaratis, Tamils, and Singhalese, Christians and Buddhists alike. All kinds of people are becoming attracted to the movement. It is very encouraging. Only the government policies are a nuisance. We now have twenty-five life members." Why can't he just go out and get a visa and go back in there? Just like we go out and come right back, why can't he come to..., get a visa and then go right back in?

Gargamuni: He can do it in two days.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: If he can do that, is that best?

Prabhupāda: That would be very nice. Yes.

Room Conversations Bangladesh Preaching/Prabhavisnu Articles by Hamsaduta -- August 11, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: He can come and go.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yeah. "The Singhalese and Tamil translations are going on slowly but surely. Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement will be a tremendous success here. Simply books are required." He says, "To be swami is all right, but I also want to be a qualified gosvāmī some day. Is it possible for me?"

Prabhupāda: Yes, you are already. You are doing very nice.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He says, "P.S.: When is the scientific conference led by Svarūpa Dāmodara? We have also called for a meeting on the 20th August in the biggest hall in Colombo and challenged Dr. Kovoor to be present and produce life from chemicals. I doubt, however, that he will show up. But the audience will be tremendous, at least twenty-five hundred people to be sure. At all our programs we distribute halavā profusely. People here have never tasted such a thing. They love it. Halavā beats chemicals any time." So I can read you more later on, Śrīla Prabhupāda. (break) What, Śrīla Prabhupāda?

Prabhupāda: On the whole, they ...

Room Conversation -- October 3, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: What about the Tamils?

Haṁsadūta: Well, the Tamils are in a very bad position. They've all fled to the Jafna area, the north area.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Why are they so against the Tamils?

Haṁsadūta: Well, the government, the politicians, they incite the people to create trouble, and in this way they try to assume office. They just take advantage of the people in this way, stir them up.

Prabhupāda: Tamils are poor men?

Haṁsadūta: Tamils? No, the Tamils were all the business centers.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That's the reason.

Room Conversation -- October 3, 1977, Vrndavana:

Haṁsadūta: Tamils? No, the Tamils were all the business centers.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That's the reason.

Haṁsadūta: It was actually the Tamils who agitated for the British to get out, and once the British got out, then the Singhalese pushed out the Tamils because they're a minority. About three million Tamils to eleven million Singhalese. The economic and political situation is very, very deteriorated in that country.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: What kind of preaching can you do now?

Haṁsadūta: We can preach because we're not identified as Tamils or Hindus, because we are white, so that still attracts the people. We preach in public halls, rent hall...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: So they lifted the curfew.

Haṁsadūta: The curfew's over now.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Do the Singhalese take interest as much as the Tamils?

Haṁsadūta: Yes, they do actually. Actually the Tamils in Śrī Lanka, they're all demigod worshipers. They worship Durgā and Gaṇeśa and Śiva. There's practically not a single Kṛṣṇa temple on the whole island. I was really surprised. Well, that's the situation. They're all demigod worshipers.

Prabhupāda: Demigod worship means followers of Vedas.

Room Conversation -- October 6, 1977, Vrndavana:

Haṁsadūta: It's forty feet wide by maybe three hundred feet long. It's ten minutes from the center of the city. That particular piece of land is worth about two lakhs. There's another man, very rich man. He saw the Bombay project, and he promised to give us a piece of land right on the beach for which he already had zoning permission to build a hotel. It's also a very nice area. But the most important thing is we're trying to get some books published in Tamil and Singhalese languages. And we do a lot of preaching. Is there something special you want me to do there, Prabhupāda? Do you have some...

Prabhupāda: No. There is every chance of making it successful, and the... As Kīrtanānanda has developed New Vrindaban, similarly you can do.

Haṁsadūta: Something along that line?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Room Conversation -- October 13, 1977, Vrndavana:

Purī Mahārāja: Yes. He's a Singhalese. I don't think he's a Singhalese.

Haṁsadūta: No. He's a Tamil.

Purī Mahārāja: His name...

Haṁsadūta: He's a Tamil from South India.

Purī Mahārāja: Christian.

Haṁsadūta: His father was a minister.

Purī Mahārāja: Yes. Proper dose you have given. Kṛṣṇa must bless him.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Then he gave him big challenge. "Rupees five lakhs' challenge to Dr. Kovoor."

Purī Mahārāja: (laughs) Dr. Kovoor. He cannot be called as "doctor." How could he be a doctor?

Haṁsadūta: Quack. Quack doctor.

Prabhupāda: There is a story. A bridegroom was selected. So, the other party, bride's party, they inquired how the bridegroom was quite qualified. So they said, "He's a doctor." Then they inquired, "What kind of doctor? Doctor of philosophy, doctor of medicine or...?"

1970 Correspondence

Letter to Upendra -- Amritsar 26 October, 1970:

Regarding worship of demigods, the whole Hindu society is absorbed in this business, so unless our preaching work is very vigorous it is very difficult to stop them.

As soon as I return to Bombay I shall send you the tape as you desire. I shall be returning to Bombay by the 31st October. So far the literatures in Hindi, Gugrati and Tamil are concerned, it shall take some time because we have no ready made such literatures. But we are getting Hindi "Back to Godhead" very soon as Tamala has informed me.

1971 Correspondence

Letter to Bali-mardana -- Bombay April 27, 1971:

So far as a Trust Body for seeing to the correct publicity and distribution of my books, we shall discuss on this matter upon my arrival. It is also encouraging to note that one educated boy is wanting to translate some of our literature into Tamil language, so encourage him. Yes, when I come I shall bring slides, as there are many here.