View source for Is it because the Indians think that they know much about Bhagavad-gita (now all Indians, they should take Bhagavad-gita as it is and make their life fruitful. The Europeans and Americans, they are taking. Why Indians are not taking?)?

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{{terms|"Is it because the Indians think that they know much about Bhagavad-gita"|"now all Indians, they should take Bhagavad-gita as it is and make their life fruitful. The Europeans and Americans, they are taking. Why Indians are not taking"}}
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{{compiler|MadhuGopaldas|Rishab}}
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[[Category:Questions asked to Srila Prabhupada]]
[[Category:Questions asked to SP... 1976]]
[[Category:Questions On... Bhagavad-gita]]
[[Category:Questions On... Ethnicity, Nationality]]
[[Category:Questions On... Eastern, Western]]
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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="1976_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" class="sub_section" sec_index="9" parent="Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" text="1976 Conversations and Morning Walks"><h3>1976 Conversations and Morning Walks</h3>
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<div id="EveningDarsanaJuly111976NewYork_0" class="quote" parent="1976_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" book="Con" index="205" link="Evening Darsana -- July 11, 1976, New York" link_text="Evening Darsana -- July 11, 1976, New York">
<div class="heading">But if he knows everything, he does not know Kṛṣṇa? How he knows everything if he does not know Kṛṣṇa? If you think that you know everything, then you must know Kṛṣṇa. But if you do not know Kṛṣṇa, then what do you know? Yasmin vijñāte sarvam idaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati. If you simply know Kṛṣṇa, then you know everything. And if you know everything and you do not know Kṛṣṇa, then you are rascal, that's all. Mūḍha.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Evening Darsana -- July 11, 1976, New York|Evening Darsana -- July 11, 1976, New York]]: </span><div class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Guest (1): Śrīla Prabhupāda? Which is the most important chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Every word is important.</p>
<p>Devotee: Jaya.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Every word. Beginning from dharma-kṣetre kuru-kṣetre samavetā yuyutsavaḥ ([[Vanisource:BG 1.1 (1972)|BG 1.1]]), every word.</p>
<p>Guest (1): Every one.</p>
<p>Bali-mardana: Every word.</p>
<p>Guest (1): Every word.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: And that will give you guidance. Read Bhagavad-gītā as it is, word for word. But don't misinterpret and spoil. The rascals misinterpret and spoil the whole Bhagavad-gītā. That is the difficulty(?). You cannot misinterpret Bhagavad-gītā. Then it will be spoiled. If you get Bhagavad-gītā as it is, you are benefited. And if you misinterpret, then you spoil. So generally they misinterpret. Everyone speaks on Bhagavad-gītā, but he misinterprets.</p>
<p>Guest (1): You've made it very clear, Prabhupāda. I want to thank you for that. I like your purports as much as Kṛṣṇa's actual words, because now I can understand it.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Therefore we are presenting Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. Otherwise, for the last so many years—I am speaking in Western countries—so many swamis, so many yogis come, they speak on Bhagavad-gītā but misinterpret. So not a single devotee was there. And now Bhagavad-gītā is presented as it is, and so many devotees are coming.</p>
<p>Guest (1): Now we can understand it.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: You could understand long ago, but difficulty is we accept this misinterpretation, spoiled understanding of Bhagavad-gītā. Just like this gentleman was speaking he did not like Kṛṣṇa, he told me.</p>
<p>Bali-mardana: He did not like Kṛṣṇa.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: They'll read Bhagavad-gītā, and they'll not like Kṛṣṇa. This is their reading of Bhagavad-gītā.</p>
<p>Indian man (2): They don't want to read it yet.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: (Hindi) Now all Indians, they should take Bhagavad-gītā as it is and make their life fruitful. The Europeans and Americans, they are taking. Why Indians are not taking?</p>
<p>Indian lady: Is it because the Indians think that they know much about Bhagavad-gītā? Being born a Hindu, they might think they know the religion, but not very much. They are not Kṛṣṇa conscious at all.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: But if he knows everything, he does not know Kṛṣṇa? How he knows everything if he does not know Kṛṣṇa? If you think that you know everything, then you must know Kṛṣṇa. But if you do not know Kṛṣṇa, then what do you know? Yasmin vijñāte sarvam idaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati. If you simply know Kṛṣṇa, then you know everything. And if you know everything and you do not know Kṛṣṇa, then you are rascal, that's all. Mūḍha. That is the test. If you know everything but do not know Kṛṣṇa, then you are a rascal. And if you know Kṛṣṇa, then you know everything automatically.</p>
<p>Indian lady: I think they think they know it, but I'm sure they are not aware of it.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: If they know Kṛṣṇa, why they do not come to the Kṛṣṇa's temple?</p>
<p>Indian man (2): Quite a number of them come here. I remember the days when I used to be the only Indian in the temple, seven, eight years ago.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Even though they are not coming, they should now come, and we can open many other temples if you come. We can maintain many other temples. You come and take advantage of it. Why you are losing your own culture? That is foolishness. You are Indians and you do not know Kṛṣṇa. That is not a very good credit.</p>
<p>Indian man (2): Remember when we were building our altar? Remember last year when I talked to you? We were building altar, and actually I went to every Indian, and myself and the president of that temple, we begged everything we can do possible... And we wanted to collect almost ten thousand dollars, we couldn't even collect five thousand dollars, and most of them were making between fifteen and thirty thousand dollars. Some of them in fact gave us pennies.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Just see.</p>
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