Pradyumna: Balam.
Prabhupāda: And bodily strength. Bodily strength... In India we, in our childhood, I have seen when British rule was there, all the Europeans were coming, very tall and stout and strong. Now such Europeans are not coming. Even bodily strength reduced. Then?
Pradyumna: Smṛtiḥ.
Prabhupāda: And memory. It will reduce. Just see, compare everything, religiosity and the power of mercifulness, pardoning, truthfulness, cleanliness, bodily strength, duration of life—they're all reduced. Now who can say it is not reduced? Can you say? This is called tri-kala-jñā. Tatas, what is that? Cānu-dinaṁ rājan?
Pradyumna:
- tataś cānu-dinaṁ dharmaḥ
- satyaṁ śaucaṁ kṣamā dayā
- kālena balinā rājan
- naṅkṣyaty āyur balaṁ smṛtiḥ
Prabhupāda: Kālena, in due course of time, all these items, there are eight items it will be reducing, reducing, reducing, reducing, reducing so much. So what is that?
Devotee (2): They say that men are living longer now compared to five hundred or six hundred years ago.
Prabhupāda: Huh?
Devotee (2): They say that men are living longer now. The scientists, they say that there's less disease. They say that a hundred years ago people had more disease than...
Prabhupāda: That these rascals say, we do not say. We have seen in our childhood that my grandmother, she died at the age of ninety-six years. There was no disease. The scientists say that there was disease, now there is no disease?
Devotee (2): They say there is less disease now.
Prabhupāda: Less disease, everyone suffering from cancer.
Dhṛṣṭadyumna: They are building more hospitals.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Dhṛṣṭadyumna: Not less.
Prabhupāda: Just see. They're increasing number of hospitals, and there is no disease?
Devotee (2): They say that a child has more of a chance of living now than...
Prabhupāda: "They say," but what is the practical? They say all, as I repeatedly, pagale ke na bole chakole ke na khai (indistinct). A madman, what does he not say, and a goat, what does he not eat? So they are all madmen. (laughter) They can say all everything.
Devotee (1): They are experimenting, Śrīla Prabhupāda, with genes now.
Prabhupāda: Hmm?
Devotee (1): You say that we are losing the qualities of memory, strength, but they are experimenting where they can isolate genes of persons who have those qualities and put on...