Śyāmasundara: We're discussing this German philosopher, Fichte. Last... We had discussed the whole philosophy then we lost the last half of the tape so I'll just start where we left off. Just to review slightly...
Prabhupāda: Then why don't you, whatever you have got, you get it transcribed and send it to Hayagrīva Prabhu.
Śyāmasundara: Well, I'm pretty much going to have to edit this because...
Prabhupāda: Then we'll edit. All right.
Śyāmasundara: Fichte's idea is that the world is a rational unified system which is directed toward a purpose and that the self-consciousness...
Prabhupāda: It is opposite to that philosophy. He said there is no purpose.
Śyāmasundara: Yes.
Prabhupāda: He said there is a purpose.
Śyāmasundara: This man is coming about 1800, 1820. Sartre's contemporary. In those times...
Prabhupāda: Before him.
Śyāmasundara: Much before him, about 150 years ago. He takes as the absolute first principle the self-consciousness or the evil(?), "I am", the awareness that I exist as an absolute a priori first principle.
Prabhupāda: That is Vedānta. We are studying what I am. That is Vedānta philosophy, to study what I am. And the answer is given by us, Vaiṣṇava philosophers, that you are eternal servant of God. This is Vedānta. Everyone is searching what I am, we are giving the answer: "You are eternal servant of God." Now let them refute this that he's not servant, he's absolute(?). Our answer is there. Athāto brahma jijñāsā, to inquire about Brahman, the spirit soul. What is this spirit soul, what I am. What is the supreme. So, Caitanya Mahāprabhu's answer is already there, jīvera svarūpa haya nitya kṛṣṇa dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). The real identity of the living entity is that he's eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa.