View source for Srila Prabhupada, would you comment on opposition to the Hare Krsna movement in this country?

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[[Category:Questions asked to Srila Prabhupada]]
[[Category:Questions asked to SP... 1975]]
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<div id="Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" class="section" sec_index="5" parent="compilation" text="Conversations and Morning Walks"><h2>Conversations and Morning Walks</h2>
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<div id="1975_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" class="sub_section" sec_index="8" parent="Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" text="1975 Conversations and Morning Walks"><h3>1975 Conversations and Morning Walks</h3>
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<div id="PressConferenceJuly161975SanFrancisco_0" class="quote" parent="1975_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" book="Con" index="146" link="Press Conference -- July 16, 1975, San Francisco" link_text="Press Conference -- July 16, 1975, San Francisco">
<div class="heading">No, why they should oppose? What is the reason? If they are Christian or Jewish, religious men, so we are advocating, "You chant the holy name of God," so why there should be objection? Is there any reason for such objection? What is the objection?
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Press Conference -- July 16, 1975, San Francisco|Press Conference -- July 16, 1975, San Francisco]]: </span><div class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Bhaktadāsa: Śrīla Prabhupāda, what effects are the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement having on the Christian-Judaic culture or the traditional religious culture?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: We are speaking of religion. Religion means to know God and to love God. So does the Christian-Jewish religious system deny this? Then where is the difference? If Christian religion is meant for understanding God and try to love Him, the same thing we are preaching. The same thing, Jewish religion may be preaching. And where is that religion who denies the supremacy of God? What is that religion? Is there any religion in the world who denies the supremacy of God? We say, "Religion means the laws given by God." This is our definition. Therefore we must know what is God, what are His orders, and we must carry out the order and what is the end of carrying out such orders. If we try to understand these three or four things, then we are religious. If there is no attempt to understand what is God and what is His order and how we are acting, what is the goal of our life, then where is religion? That is not religion. Religion means these four principles: What is God, what we are, what is our relationship with God, and act accordingly and achieve the goal of life. This is religion. So any religious system which does not consider all these things, that is not religion. That has been explained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, kaitavaḥ. Kaitavaḥ means cheating. Religion means these things, wherever these things are there, that is religion, these enquiries. This is the subject matter of Vedānta-sūtra, where it is said, athāto brahma jijñāsā: "Now the human life is meant for enquiring about the Supreme." So that is religion.</p>
<p>Jayatīrtha: Śrīla Prabhupāda, would you comment on opposition to the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement in this country?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No, why they should oppose? What is the reason? If they are Christian or Jewish, religious men, so we are advocating, "You chant the holy name of God," so why there should be objection? Is there any reason for such objection? What is the objection?</p>
<p>Reporter (1): Some of the objections are that the followers of the Hare Kṛṣṇa sect are, on the streets or in the airports, are bothering people.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: The airport itself is a botheration, so much sound, so much accident. So why this little botheration they cannot tolerate? That means intolerance. It is full of botheration, and because we are chanting, they very much disturbed? We don't chant in the airport, but we ask people that "Here is a very good book. You will benefit. If you like, you can take." So what is the wrong there? Tell me what is the wrong? If I give you something very nice, is that, I mean to say, wrong? You read any book. We have got fifty books. You find out any fault in that. If we are distributing something, bad literature which is against the social welfare, then you can object. But you see. Bring all our books here, and you will see. Any page you open and you will find something good. Why you are denying to distribute such literature for the benefit of the people in general? What is the wrong there?</p>
<p>Reporter (1): One of the things that people say is that the devotees are asking for donations, not just distributing books but asking for money, that that's a bother.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: But he pays. If he feels botheration, why does he pay? One who feels botheration, he does not pay. But one who thinks that "Here is a nice book. All right, let me take it," why you take this botheration? If it is botheration, how they are purchasing? They are paying their money, hard-earned money. Do you think they are bothered at the same time they pay? (laughter)</p>
<p>Reporter (1): Yes. That's a fact.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: These are all manufactured things.</p>
<p>Reporter (2): Could you tell me how much you do derive from the airport solicitations in the United States?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: That I do not know, but we sell, on the whole, about $300,000 worth, books, every month.</p>
<p>Reporter (2): At airports alone?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: I do not know.</p>
<p>Devotees: That's everywhere, all over the world.</p>
<p>Bahulāśva: Here in San Francisco we distribute 1,000 of these magazines per day.</p>
<p>Reporter (2): What is the budget of the movement in the United States annually? How much do you need to operate?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Our program is whatever collection is there, half is spent for our establishment—we have got about more than one hundred centers all over the world—and half we spend for reprinting the books. That's all.</p>
<p>Reporter (2): How many members in the United States? I'm told two thousand. Is that correct approximately?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: That they can say.</p>
<p>Jayatīrtha: Well, our published figure is that worldwide membership is ten thousand. How much of that is in the United States isn't exactly broken down.</p>
<p>Reporter (2): I did a story on this movement five years ago and the figure at that time was two thousand in the United States also.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: It is increasing.</p>
<p>Reporter (2): It is increasing?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. Definitely.</p>
<p>Jayatīrtha: I said that the worldwide figure is ten thousand.</p>
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