Social construction
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
BG Chapters 7 - 12
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 2
SB Canto 3
Lectures
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
Haṁsadūta: When we came we first noticed everywhere there's a town, all kinds of animals are living. No one is disturbing them.
Prabhupāda: Well, this is land of religion. It is admitted by other parts of the world. Just see. Columbus was searching after India even for trade, hundred of years... People are coming to India for so many: for knowledge, for philosophy, for trade, for money. Why these Britishers came? They came for money. And now, India being exploited for so many thousands of years and their standard of civilization deteriorated, the condition is now... Still, India's position is unique, still, in this fallen condition. Now people are degraded from their high standard of living, from spiritual point of view, material point of view. And still, they stand, previous social construction, their living condition, their feelings of religion. It is still going on. Climate also.Conversations and Morning Walks
1973 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: And the anna, these grains, they are produced from parjanyaḥ, from clouds. Now? Next?
Pradyumna: Yajñād bhavati parjanyo...
Prabhupāda: And yajñād bhavati parjanyaḥ [Bg. 3.14]. And when we regularly perform yajña, then there is regular cloud in the sky. And when there is cloud in the sky, there is regular rainfall, and when there is regular rainfall, there is sufficient production of food grains, fruits and other vegetables so that both the animal and the human beings, they eat sufficiently, they grow strength, they become happy and again perform yajña. And the animals supply, the cow supplies milk. In this way, the whole society becomes happy. These are the prescriptions, or directions, given by the Vedic literature. So if people take advantage of this instruction, as you have mentioned in your article "The Great Seers," so if we follow their instruction, the whole history of the human being can be changed. There is no difficulty. But whether the people will accept or not, that is the business of the leaders of the society. So far I think that British people, they organized very nicely the British Empire, but some way or other, it is now lost. But still, the British prestige can be elevated if actually, according to the Vedic instruction, you try to make your social construction, the political institution and economic development... Every direction is there. So you are all great historians. And there are many politicians. If you take this instruction of the Vedas little seriously, you can make your state an ideal state, and people are still ready to follow you. Then the whole history of the world will change. And if you people agree, then I can help you. I can help.1974 Conversations and Morning Walks
Pañcadraviḍa: What if the person working as śūdra says, "I can do so much. I can...,"
Prabhupāda: First of all, try to understand. A devotee is neither brāhmaṇa nor śūdra. He may act like a śūdra, but he is not śūdra. He may act like a brāhmaṇa; he is not brāhmaṇa. He is Vaiṣṇava. Just like gopīs. The gopīs, they are village cowherds women. They are, according to social construction, they are not very high class. They did not belong to the brāhmaṇa class. But their worship, method of worship, has been taken the highest. Ramyā kācid upāsanā vrajavadhū-vargeṇa. They were village girls, and practically their character was also not good. Because at dead of night they are going to Kṛṣṇa. But why they have been taken as the most topmost devotee of Kṛṣṇa? Because the love was so high class. It is the test, how much one has learned to love Kṛṣṇa. That is wanted. Apparently he may appear as a brāhmaṇa, a śūdra or vaiśya. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. The only business is to see: sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adho... [SB 1.2.6]. Aiye. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Jaya. That is wanted.1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Actually it is very controversial. This... I read an article from the university of Berkeley, Berkeley and some other western campuses, saying that now the theory of this mutation by which the different species are formed is very controversial at this time. Because of the knowledge in our molecular biology, now what they have thought that this mutation is the cause of this variegatedness is a misnomer, being complete mistaken.
Prabhupāda: All mistaken. Where is the difference, then how do you experiment in the biological class by dissecting animal body? What is the difference in the composition of social construction, I er, bodily construction. You have to suffer. That's why I have said, there must be (indistinct). The same principle is there. Otherwise how the mosquito fly like this and...
Svarūpa Dāmodara: They can make a mosquito but they...
Prabhupāda: No, they cannot make mosquito. They can make 747.Rāmeśvara: The city of New York is the most mismanaged city in the United States. The city government has a big debt. They borrow money from the banks and they cannot pay it back. So they..., the banks were closing the debt, the loans, calling for the loan, and they had no money, so they were firing everyone and there was great unemployment, and finally the United States government had to give them a free gift of money to bail them out. It is the worst management of any city in America. One of the big reasons is because of welfare. They give away free money to so many people in New York who don't want to work.
Prabhupāda: Yes, welfare is actually waste of money. But social construction is so bad they have to give welfare. If they take our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, we can stop this welfare money, let them pay.Page Title: | Social construction |
Compiler: | Serene |
Created: | 04 of Dec, 2008 |
Totals by Section: | BG=1, SB=2, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=1, Con=4, Let=0 |
No. of Quotes: | 8 |