Umāpati: . . . I think that we were discussing the political possibilities of putting devotees into office, and we came up with the astounding discovery that we almost represent everything that is against Western values. We represent austerity. We represent God consciousness. We represent restriction of sexual freedom, intoxication. All the four regulative principles are almost totally in opposite to Western desires.
Prabhupāda: That means Western people are all demons.
Umāpati: So the problem is trying to get into office under those circumstances.
Prabhupāda: Eh?
Umāpati: The problem is trying to get into office under those circumstances, to make that known that, "We stand for this," and to have anybody vote for you.
Prabhupāda: (laughs) Nobody may vote, but we must go on preaching. That I have already explained, some of the university. The whole country is illiterate. Does this mean university should be stopped? University must be there. One who is fortunate will come and take education. It is not an argument that, "People are illiterate. They don't care for it. Therefore let the university be closed." This is no argument.
Yaśomatīnandana: Gradually they will develop attraction.
Prabhupāda: Yes. We have to work. That is preaching. You don't think preaching is so easy going—eating, sleeping, and sometimes chanting "Haribol," that's all. (laughs) That is not preaching. We must be ready to implant Kṛṣṇa consciousness ideas throughout the whole world.
Umāpati: That probably won't happen overnight, though.
Prabhupāda: The Deity worship program is meant for us to keep us safe. If we neglect Deity worship, we shall also fall. But that is not the all duty finished. Arcāyām eva haraye yaḥ pūjāṁ śraddhayehate (SB 11.2.47). Arcā means Deity. If anyone is worshiping the Deity very nicely, but na tad-bhakteṣu cānyeṣu, but he does not know anything more—who is devotee, who is nondevotee, what is the duty to the world—sa bhaktaḥ prākṛtaḥ smṛtaḥ, he is material devotee. He is material devotee. So we have to take the responsibility to understand who is actually a pure devotee and what is our duty to the people in general, and then you make advancement.
Then you become madhyama-adhikārī, madhyama-adhikārī, advanced devotee. Just like these people, either in India or here, they remain simply Churchianity, going to the church without any understanding. Therefore it is failing. It is now . . . Churches are being closed. Similarly, if you do not keep yourself fit to preach, then your temples will all be closed in due course of time. Without preaching, you'll not feel enthused to continue the temple worship. And without temple worship, you cannot keep yourself pure and clean. The two things must go on, parallel. Then there is success. In modern time, either Hindus, Muslim or Christian, because in these places there is no teaching of philosophy, therefore they are closing, either mosque or temple or church. They will close.
Prajāpati: They can show no good result for their activities.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is preaching. Therefore we are writing so many books. Unless we take care of the books and preach and read ourself, understand the philosophy, this Hare Kṛṣṇa will be finished within few years. Because there will be no life. How long one can artificially go on, "Hare Kṛṣṇa! Haribol!" That will be artificial. No life.
Yaśomatīnandana: That's right, Prabhupāda. We are so foolish, we never realize anything you tell us like that. Without the preaching . . .
Prabhupāda: Without preaching, without understanding philosophy, you cannot keep your strength. Everyone should be thoroughly well conversed with the philosophy which we are putting . . . that means you must read thoroughly every day. So many books we have got. And Bhāgavata is so perfect that any verse you read, you get a new enlightenment. It is so nice. Either Bhagavad-gītā or Bhāgavata. But it is not ordinary writing.
Umāpati: I have tried to put your Bhagavad-gītā into some schools, and they say: "Well," some of them, if they do have a Bhagavad-gītā, they say: "Well, we have a Bhagavad-gītā." I say: "This is an entirely different understanding of the Bhagavad-gītā," and they say: "Well, it's just somebody else's opinion, and we don't have that much interest in a variety of opinions on the same book."
Prabhupāda: It is not the opinion. We are placing the . . . as it is, without opinion.
Umāpati: Well. Those are those terms. It is very difficult to overcome those . . .
Prabhupāda: So preaching is always difficult. That I have repeatedly saying. You cannot take preaching very easy-going. Preaching must be fight. Do you mean to say fighting is easy thing? Fighting is not easy thing. Whenever there is fight, there is danger, there is responsibility. So preaching means . . . what is the preaching? Because people are ignorant, we have to enlighten them. That is preaching.
Nara-nārāyaṇa: When you came to the Western world, no one anywhere believed that it would be successful, I think. But actually it has become very successful, by preaching.
Prabhupāda: I myself did not believe I shall be successful, (laughs) what to speak of others. But because I did in the proper line, so it has become successful.