Prabhupāda: ...one has to study grammar for twelve years.
Dr. Patel: How much?
Prabhupāda: Twelve years.
Dr. Patel: Twelve years.
Prabhupāda: And as soon as one has his mastership on the grammar, he can study all other books.
Dr. Patel: No, he can be a poet then. The Sanskrit language is poetic in a way.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes, yes.
Dr. Patel: So if you study grammar properly, and then you can, you can just compose poetry. (break)
Prabhupāda: Therefore Lord Brahmā is called Ādi-kavi. Ādi-kavi. Yes.
Dr. Patel: Sanskrit is poetic. You can just compose poetry.
Prabhupāda: Whole Sanskrit language in poetry. Bhagavad-gītā is in poetry. Bhāgavata in poetry. Mahābhārata in poetry.
Dr. Patel: Ninety percent of the Sanskrit literature is in poetry.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Why ninety? It may be ninety-nine.
Dr. Patel: No, but some of the... Kālidāsa, and, you know... They're also composing the ślokas in the... But...
Prabhupāda: Kālidāsa also in poetry.
Dr. Patel: No, that is certain... Not all. Abhijñāna-śakuntalā is not in poetry.
Prabhupāda: Asti himālaya-nāma nakhadi-rāja... Asti uttana-sana-desi (?) himālaya-nāma na-gadi-raja (?).
Dr. Patel: What is that? Raghu-vaṁśa.
Prabhupāda: Raghu-vaṁśa. It is Raghu-vaṁśa.
Dr. Patel: I studied his...
Prabhupāda: Raghu-vaṁśa and Kumāra-sambhava. We studied some portion.
Dr. Patel: I studied in my college days... (break)
Prabhupāda: Motikama (?) is grammar. Poetry for grammar.
Dr. Patel: Meghadūta I studied. (Sanskrit) (break)
Prabhupāda: ...for materialistic persons.
Dr. Patel: No, but they're also... In several places he had entered into high philosophy. It's not only the... Kavidhara (?)... There can never be a kavi without philosophy in him.
Prabhupāda: Philosophy. Yes, yes.
Dr. Patel: All, even the modern kavis.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Dr. Patel: Philosophy is the very soul of kavi.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Dr. Patel: Kavitā.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Dr. Patel: I have found it out.
Prabhupāda: Compact in thought.
Dr. Patel: I am regularly reading these poetry. There also, in English poetry, you'll see so many... (break)
Prabhupāda: One line, two inch, and another line, six inch.
Dr. Patel: And they, they recite poetry in the prosaic way.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Dr. Patel: I have actually...
Guest (1): Walt Whitman. Whitman, Whitman. Walt Whitman.
Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. He's a great poet, American. Our Hayagrīva is very much fond of him. You are also?
Satsvarūpa: Not so much.
Guest (1): Yes, we must have some poets in this, our congregation.
Prabhupāda: Everyone is poet. (laughter) (break) Without being kavi, one cannot become devotee. There are twenty-six qualifications of a devotee. One of them is to become kavi.
Dr. Patel: Kavi means the one who knows present, past and future. Is it not?
Prabhupāda: A man of knowledge.
Dr. Patel: And knowledge means this knowledge.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Dr. Patel: Yesterday only you said that in the course, this thing.
Prabhupāda: That is perfect knowledge. Harer nāma harer nāma... (CC Adi 17.21).
Dr. Patel: These are, these are joking him, hearing (?) this, you know. Tāny aham... Uh. Not. What is that? What is the word of that śloka? (break)
Prabhupāda: ...janma paraṁ janma vivasvataḥ. Katham etad vijānīyām. (break) ...May, June.
Dr. Patel: (laughs) Yes, May. Mirage in May and also in June. They want to report the... May, June, he has... (break)