No importance
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Madhya-lila
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Nectar of Devotion
Lectures
General Lectures
Philosophy Discussions
Śyāmasundara: Because it's one thing now, and then it will change.
Prabhupāda: It will change. That's all right. I am here, I may be next moment down. But I am the same, either here or down, and therefore I am important, and the active principle is important. The changing existence has no importance. At one time the external feature of the active principle may be a mountain, and next, the external feature of the active principle may be a small ant, but the active principle which is becoming sometimes mountain life and the ant life, that is important.Conversations and Morning Walks
1972 Conversations and Morning Walks
1974 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: The soul is different from the body.
Vedavyāsa: Yes, but at the same time, he says there must be a very intimate connection of, actually a oneness of body and soul. That is what is now.
Prabhupāda: No, no.
Dr. P. J. Saher: As long as we are alive.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is not oneness. Just like this room is important so long I am living. Otherwise it has no importance. (German) [break] ...soul is gone from the body, even the body is very dear, I throw it away. (German)
Vedavyāsa: He doesn't want to separate.
Prabhupāda: But you must separate. (laughter) As soon as your death comes, your body will be kicked out by your relatives.
Professor Durckheim: I think the difference is now just one, that Sir Fox (?) spoke about our lifetime, that during our lifetime there is an intimate unity between life and soul, as we experience it, and he now has no doubt that the soul is something different of the body, and when soul goes out, there is no life anymore.
Prof. Pater Porsch (Indian man): May I please add one thing. Perhaps it makes a difference if the person thinks "I am the spirit. I have a body." or he thinks, "I am a body, and I possess a soul." That is an important point.
Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. That is his mistake, that he is body and he possesses soul. But not that. He is soul; he is covered by this body. Another example. Just like your coat. So long you use it, it is important. And if you don't use it, it has no importance. But if he takes coat is very important... Important, it is important, so long you use it. But if you don't use it—it is torn—you throw it away. You take another coat. (German)
Prof. Pater Porsch: Can we not also say that self and not self must separate, either in death involuntarily, or through destiny.
Prabhupāda: Must separate, must separate.
Prof. Pater Porsch: Either through death or destiny.
Prabhupāda: Yes, that is called death. You separate from this body; you accept another body. This period is called death. (German) So the body which you occupied previously, that is false now. Now the body which you have occupied now, that is important now. So you are giving stress on the body which I am changing after few years. That is the problem, misunderstanding.1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: The actual war will be between America and Russia.
Rūpānuga: What about British devotees, British citizens? Would the British be asked to leave, British citizens? Commonwealth citizens?
Prabhupāda: Britishers are now finished. They have no importance.
Pañcadraviḍa: He means if British devotees came to India, would they be asked to leave.
Prabhupāda: No, no, I mean to say... I am speaking of politics. Devotees are the same... Oh, British citizens...? They may...
Rūpānuga: You say the Americans might have to leave. What about the British?
Prabhupāda: But they, generally, during wartime...
Viṣṇujana: Everyone.
Prabhupāda: ...they ask all foreigners.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Oh, I see.1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Rāmeśvara: That's what you said yesterday in discussing that philosopher Skinner. He said first we control nature, then we can control ourselves. And you replied, if you can't control yourself, how you can control such a big thing like nature?
Prabhupāda: That is the defect. They are tiny, insignificant creature and talking big, big things. This is the defect of modern civilization.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Like a child trying to catch the moon.
Prabhupāda: He has no importance, and he's talking big, big things. The same philosophy. Hele data bai nakhe yuce.(?) He cannot catch even nonpoisonous snake, and he's saying, "I'll catch up a cobra."Devotee (3): They'll ask what should be killed and what shouldn't be killed for eating? Where do we draw the line?
Prabhupāda: No, you, we are speaking go-rakṣya. That is not point of view of killing. There are other animals. We do not say that you stop. If you want to eat some meat, at least don't kill cow. You can kill other insignificant animals which has no importance. Cow has got special importance because it supplies milk, and milk is very essential food that is... From the childhood, a child lives on milk, and there are many saintly persons, they also live by drinking milk. Milk is very important item in the human society, and it supplies all vitamins. Even if you say that "Meat-eating is essential for me," you can eat other animals, but don't kill cows. That is our proposal. Give protection to the cows. Kṛṣṇa mentioned specifically, go-rakṣya. He does not say that you don't kill, but you give protection to the cows. And if you want to eat meat, you can kill other animals. On the whole, paśu-hiṁsā, any animal killing, is not good for spiritual life. And so far vegetable is concerned, everyone has to eat something. So if you can eat vegetables, that does not mean because somebody is killing vegetables, he should kill his own father and mother on that plea. So cow is mother because we are drinking her milk. So you cannot put any argument in favor of killing mother.Interviewer: What is your opinion of what this movement should be doing in terms of world activities and world affairs that it isn't doing now? Are there some new areas that you may try to influence?
Prabhupāda: No, we are pushing on this movement all over the world. It is not that this particular place is important, but our interest is that Western people... They are so intelligent. They are very systematically making improvement in material condition of life. They should know also that spiritual life is more important than material life. Because, for example, we are combination of matter and spirit. So long the spirit soul is there, our body is very important. Otherwise, without spirit, the body has no importance. Everyone can understand. Similarly, all this material advancement of civilization is very good, provided there is spiritual understanding also. Otherwise it is decoration of the dead body. A dead body decorated has no value, but when there is life, then the body is valuable. So material advancement of material civilization means decoration of the dead body. But when there is spiritual understanding, then there is importance of everything.Interviewer: It takes both, the car and the driver.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Car is important so long it is moving and if it is not moving it has no importance, it is lump of matter. So the car in both the condition, while moving and not moving, it is lump of matter.
Interviewer: Well does that mean that the world, the general world's activities are like a non-moving car? A lump of matter?
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Interviewer: And that's why the Kṛṣṇa movement is separate, separate.
Prabhupāda: Appears to be different.Prabhupāda: I saw in London... Near London there is a village, Chelmsford, and he is Lord Chelmsford. We thought Chelmsford, the big state. (laughter) We were under the impression, Thames River is four times bigger than Ganges and (laughter) it is a canal. When I saw it, it is nothing but a canal. But they advertise this river, very big river. And underneath the water, men are going, and upper and wonderful. Big Ben, that Big Ben advertisement.
Haṁsadūta: Yeah.
Prabhupāda: Parliament. All photograph (laughter) actually. Downing Street, 10 Downing Street, Prime Minister's office and so on. And actually it's all (chuckles) no importance. Parliament, big, big advertisement. People are still going, they are paying fees to see.1977 Conversations and Morning Walks
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, I find almost everybody appreciates Śrīla Prabhupāda so much, especially in Bombay. Anybody who knows about Śrīla Prabhupāda, they highly appreciate, especially these scholars. But in Delhi it is very different. People are very close-minded.
Prabhupāda: And government servant. After all, they are servants. In Bombay, they are in big, big business. They are limited. The government servants, they are limited. They are important so long they are on the post. Otherwise, they have no importance.Correspondence
1971 Correspondence
1974 Correspondence
Page Title: | No importance |
Compiler: | Visnu Murti, Archana |
Created: | 19 of Nov, 2008 |
Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=1, OB=1, Lec=2, Con=9, Let=2 |
No. of Quotes: | 15 |