View source for You have had so much to do with bringing the dharma to the West. What is your idea? What is your mission? It seems to me, in many ways there is a transfer of the essential spirit going West, because the interest is there

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{{terms|"It seems to me, in many ways there is a transfer of the essential spirit going West, because the interest is there"|"What is your idea"|"What is your mission"|"You have had so much to do with bringing the dharma to the West"}}
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[[Category:What is the Mission]]
[[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="RoomConversationwithCanadianAmbassadortoIranMarch131975Iran_0" class="quote" parent="1975_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" book="Con" index="29" link="Room Conversation with Canadian Ambassador to Iran -- March 13, 1975, Iran" link_text="Room Conversation with Canadian Ambassador to Iran -- March 13, 1975, Iran">
<div class="heading">Yes... Oh, yes. In Western countries they are now fed up with this materialistic way of life. And I think it will very soon collapse, the Western way of life. And naturally the next enquiry is spiritual.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Room Conversation with Canadian Ambassador to Iran -- March 13, 1975, Iran|Room Conversation with Canadian Ambassador to Iran -- March 13, 1975, Iran]]: </span><div class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Ambassador: Germans especially. But now may I ask you while I have the chance? You have had so much to do with bringing the dharma to the West. What is your idea? What is your mission? It seems to me, in many ways there is a transfer of the essential spirit going West, because the interest is there.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes.</p>
<p>Ambassador: And what is left in the East is so often just the materialism imitated from the West among many young people now.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Where, in the East? Yes.</p>
<p>Ambassador: In the East. So there's been a crossover taking place.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Hm, yes.</p>
<p>Ambassador: Do you see it like that?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. In Western countries they are now fed up with this materialistic way of life. And I think it will very soon collapse, the Western way of life. And naturally the next enquiry is spiritual.</p>
<p>Ambassador: Yes, it's already beginning.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. The material life means animal life.</p>
<p>Ambassador: Yes.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: So when the animal comes to higher consciousness, that is spiritual consciousness. We are combined at the present moment. We are actually spiritual, but some way or other, we have come in contact with matter, and we are covered by the material body, and... But we cannot become happy with this material interest. That's a fact. Just like the fish cannot be happy on the land. The example is: just like the other day we saw one crocodile. One or two... two, three?</p>
<p>Paramahaṁsa: Two or three.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: In where?</p>
<p>Paramahaṁsa: Caracas.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Caracas, yes. So one of the crocodile was on the land, and two were in the water. So in the water they were very living, alive. But in the land it was like dead.</p>
<p>Ambassador: I had two crocodiles in my bath in Delhi for a month.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Oh, ācchā. You like them very much?</p>
<p>Ambassador: Given by the chief minister of Rajastan, and I had to get them to Canada.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes.</p>
<p>Ambassador: I never managed to love them. I can love most things, but not crocodiles.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No, they are also God's creature, but covered by the body. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ ([[Vanisource:BG 5.18 (1972)|BG 5.18]]). Those who are spiritually advanced, they see equally because they know that within the body the spirit soul is there. The spirit soul is part and parcel of God. He is encaged somehow or other in a particular type of body. So a devotee of God is very kind to everyone. Brahma-bhutaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na ka..., samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu ([[Vanisource:BG 18.54 (1972)|BG 18.54]]). Samaḥ sarveṣu..., mad-bhakti labhate param. That is the stage of making advance in devotional life—equality. That equality is possible when we are on the platform of spiritual understanding. Otherwise not possible. The United Nation will never be able to unite the nation. That is not possible.</p>
<p>Ambassador: Of course.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Not possible. If they unite, if they try to unite on Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then it is possible. Otherwise not possible. But we are all part and parcel of God. Accidentally, or somehow or other, we are now all differently dressed although we are one. They have to come to this understanding. Upādhi, designation. Now just like you are Canadian; I am Indian. Then I was just... In the noon I was thinking about the, what is called, goo goo, dodo? Do? The bird? Do? What is called? There is one class of bird, do?</p>
<p>Atreya Ṛṣi: Doves, doves.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: So there are doves, there are pigeons, there are sparrows, there are crows. Now Iran, the same doves, same... Why they are not called "Iranian sparrow"? Why they are called only sparrow?</p>
<p>Ambassador: (chuckles) It's only people.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: So simply we have designated, "Iranian," "Indian," and "Canadian," "German," this, that. So we have to give up this designation. Then there will be unity. Otherwise not. But they are very much proud of this designation. Therefore bhakti means sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ ([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 19.170|CC Madhya 19.170]]), when one is completely free from designation. The designation is material. It has nothing to do with spiritual life. And the whole world is being ruled by designation. "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am this," "I am that," "I am that." Ahaṁ mameti ([[Vanisource:SB 5.5.8|SB 5.5.8]]), this is.</p>
<p>Ambassador: There is a hierarchy of consciousness, of course. But it's not...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: So that consciousness should be without designation. If I try to develop my consciousness with designation, it will not be effective. It will not be effective at least in the matter of advancing spiritual consciousness. That we have to give up. Now in our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement we have got men from all parts of the world, but they are not thinking in terms of their original national designation. They are not thinking. They do not think that they are American or they are Indian or Canadian or African or Hindu, brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vai..., nothing of the sort.</p>
<p>Ambassador: Of course, there can be ambition that is essentially ego attached to an idea of achieving consciousness also.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: That consciousness will not help him. That will rather check him.</p>
<p>Ambassador: Yes, exactly.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Because in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran loke tyajaty ante kalevaram ([[Vanisource:BG 8.6 (1972)|BG 8.6]]). At the time of death, if I die with designation, then I will have to accept again the body. So the mind is the criterion, contamination. We get different types of body on account of mind being contaminated.</p>
<p>Ambassador: Contaminated.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes. Just like if you contaminate some disease, then you must develop that disease. Similarly, if your mind is contaminated with some material designation, then you have to accept similar body, by nature's way. Kāranaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya ([[Vanisource:BG 13.22 (1972)|BG 13.22]]). Because the mind associated with a particular type of the modes of material nature, he got this body. There are three qualities: sattva-guṇa, raja-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. Now you mix up. By first mixing it becomes nine, and again mixing up, it becomes eighty-one. And each quality, there are thousands and thousands of variety. And that means by mixing up these qualities there are 8,400,000 species of forms of life. So it is very... God's law, nature's law, they take account of the particular color and awards the body accordingly. It is not man-made law, that there may be some mistake. There is no mistake. If you have contaminated this disease, either smallpox or cholera or this or that, you must develop that disease. Therefore we should be desireless. Desireless means material desire. That material desire begins with the designation. That... The child, he has got a childish body, and he plays like a child. The same child, when he will get a youthful body, he will do like that. The soul is the same. But on account of different type of body he is acting differently. That is practical. A small child, in the childhood he will talk like nonsense. People will enjoy it. But the same child, when he is grown up and he talks like nonsense, people will call him nonsense, rascal. Why? The body has changed. The circumstance has changed. This is the real education, that we are changing body, and according to our bodily situation we are acting differently. That they do not understand. There is no school, college or education about the soul and the soul's changing different position of different body, and in this way he remains materially entangled. And the real relief is to get him out of this bodily concept of life and advance in spiritual concept of...</p>
<p>Ambassador: So bhakti is really a process of decontaminating the mind.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes. Right you are. You are intelligent and... Yes. That is the real education. And all this rascal education will not help because all this education will keep him within this material body. And his real relief is how to get out of this material body. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti ([[Vanisource:BG 4.9 (1972)|BG 4.9]]). This is required, in Bhagavad-gītā. After giving up this body no more acceptance of this material body. That is real education. And Bhāgavata says, pitā na sa syāj jananī na sā syāt, gurur na sā syāt, na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum. There is no need of becoming father unless you train up your child to accept no more this material body. The child should be trained up by the father. The guru should train up the disciple in such a way that the disciple or the child or the student will not have to accept any more this material body. That is education. And the whole Vedic education is meant for this purpose. (break) ...in his original spiritual life, that is mukti. So Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means that—to educate people how to achieve his original consciousness. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.</p>
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