Journalist: Is this what Gandhi did?
Prabhupāda: Huh? What Gandhi knew? He was a politician. He did not know anything about this culture.
Journalist: Well, I read that when he was 36 years old he became a celibate, and that was it.
Prabhupāda: That is... Of course, he had some Hindu cultural ideas, yes. That is nice. He began celibacy, that's all right. But Gandhi had no very advanced spiritual ideas. You see. He was more or less politician, statesman. Yes, that's all.
Journalist: Yes. A very courageous man. Well the answer seems very pat, so to speak, and if it's that...
Prabhupāda: Now, if you cooperate, then I can change the whole thing in your country. They will be very happy. Their everything will be very nice. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is so nice. Provided you cooperate. Nobody is cooperating. Simply these boys, they have kindly come to me and cooperating. So my movement is progressing, but very slowly. But if the leaders of the American people, they come and they try to understand and they try to introduce this system, oh, your country will be the nicest country in the world.
Journalist: You... How long have you been involved with this?
Hayagrīva: Two and a half years.
Journalist: Two and a half years? How old are you if I may ask?
Hayagrīva: I'm 28.
Journalist: You're 28. Now, has this sort of turned you around?
Hayagrīva: Ah, considerably. (laughs)
Journalist: From a practical standpoint, how is this sexual thing that the swami was talking about, how has this affected you? Have you found that there is efficacy in that which has been, we were just talking about? 'Cause to me it's a very paramount problem in terms of young people.
Hayagrīva: Well, there are desires, and we have so many desires. And the sexual desire is perhaps one of our strongest desires. So...
Prabhupāda: Yes, yes.
Hayagrīva: So these desires are channelled so to speak. They are redirected and they are directed toward Kṛṣṇa.
Journalist: Well, I understand that, but I'm saying is it efficacious? Does it work?
Hayagrīva: Yes, it works. It works. But you have to stick with it. It can be very difficult, especially at first, but it works. You have to resolve to make it work. You have to want it to work.
Journalist: Now, I want to understand this thoroughly. In other words, it's nothing that you feel that you're giving up.
Hayagrīva: No, it's that when you see something better...
Journalist: That's what I'm... That's what I mean. That's...
Prabhupāda: Yes. You are accepting something better.
Journalist: Better. That's, yes. Not by just biting your tongue or your lip saying, "I won't touch it, I won't touch it." There is a substitute.
Hayagrīva: You have a capacity for enjoyment, and you're not going to give up something... It's very human not to give up something unless you have something better. So the case is that you have to get something better than what you want to give up...
Prabhupāda: Yes.