View source for Do you think if all men, let's say, all the religions could try to come together...?

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[[Category:Questions asked to Srila Prabhupada]]
[[Category:Questions asked to SP... 1976]]
[[Category:Questions On... Other Religions, Religion in General]]
[[Category:Questions From... Academics]]
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<div id="Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" class="section" sec_index="5" parent="compilation" text="Conversations and Morning Walks"><h2>Conversations and Morning Walks</h2>
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<div id="1976_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" class="sub_section" sec_index="9" parent="Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" text="1976 Conversations and Morning Walks"><h3>1976 Conversations and Morning Walks</h3>
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<div id="RoomConversationwithDrTheodoreKneupperNovember61976Vrndavana_0" class="quote" parent="1976_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" book="Con" index="329" link="Room Conversation with Dr. Theodore Kneupper -- November 6, 1976, Vrndavana" link_text="Room Conversation with Dr. Theodore Kneupper -- November 6, 1976, Vrndavana">
<div class="heading">Religion means to understand God and to follow God's order. That is religion. Just like government and government law. So if the citizen understands what is the law of the government and abides by it, then he's a good citizen. Similarly, any person who understands God and abides by the order of God, then he is religious.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Room Conversation with Dr. Theodore Kneupper -- November 6, 1976, Vrndavana|Room Conversation with Dr. Theodore Kneupper -- November 6, 1976, Vrndavana]]: </span><div class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Prabhupāda: So these foolish rascals, because they have improved little, they are denying, "Oh, now there is no need of God. That is opiate." What is that? Opiate?</p>
<p>Jagadīśa: Opiate of the people.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: "They make the man foolish, God consciousness," and so on, so on. These scientists, they declare, "What is God? This is all superstition."</p>
<p>Dr. Kneupper: But in the world there seem to be many different religions, many different faiths.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Religion you may have. Religion means to try to understand God. Any religion—you take Christian religion or Hindu religion or Mohammedan religion—there is little attempt to understand God. So any religion which gives you knowledge of God and you understand what is relation with God, that is perfect religion. We have no quarrel.</p>
<p>Dr. Kneupper: Do you think if all men, let's say, all the religions could try to come together...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Religion means to understand God and to follow God's order. That is religion. Just like government and government law. So if the citizen understands what is the law of the government and abides by it, then he's a good citizen. Similarly, any person who understands God and abides by the order of God, then he is religious. Why do you stand? You may be Christian; I may be Hindu; he may be Mohammedan. It doesn't matter. Everyone should understand God and the relationship with God and act accordingly. Then it is perfect religion. And if there is no conception of God, no carrying out order of the God, that is not religion. That is cheating. But generally they do not accept God—still, he is stamping himself that "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am Christian." He has no idea what is God, how to abide by His order, and they are fighting that "I am Christian and you are Hindu. Therefore we must fight." This is going on. Nobody understands what is God. Pseudo religion. Practically there is no religion. If there is no government—you make your law; I make my law—then how there will be peace? That is the position. They do not understand what is God, and "I am Christian" or "Hindu" or "Mohammedan, so let us fight." That's all.</p>
<p>Dr. Kneupper: Do you think that there is a special way that Hinduism looks upon man's place in the universe?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: The Hindu religion is a vague term. It is a vague term. It is not clear. It is not clear. Real term is, it is called, Vedic principle. Vedic principle. And in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said: Vedic knowledge means to understand God. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam ([[Vanisource:BG 15.15 (1972)|BG 15.15]]). So anyone who tries to understand God, he is in the Vedic line. Veda means knowledge, so as you get the stock of knowledge, that is called Vedas. But as soon as we say Vedas, they think it is Hindu. Mathematics is a science. So any scientific man will accept mathematics. Where is the question of Hindu mathematics? Gold is gold. If it is in the hand of Hindu, it is Hindu gold? Hindu, Muslim gold? Gold is gold. When we give the Vedic knowledge, they think it is Hindu idea.</p>
<p>Dr. Kneupper: Are you saying that this knowledge has appeared in many forms?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Eh?</p>
<p>Dr. Kneupper: Does it appear also in, let's say, Christianity, in Muslim, Mohammedanism?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No, no, I say that every religion, there is an attempt to understand God. Why do they not understand God, what is God? Then everything will be solved. But they are decrying, "There is no God. God is dead," and "There is no need of God, now we have got science." In every step they are trying to kill God. That's all.</p>
<p>Dr. Kneupper: That's true of certain people, but there are also many...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Majority, they do not understand what is God.</p>
<p>Dr. Kneupper: There are many sincere seekers, I think, in Christians and Moslems. At least I have met.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes. That must be. There must be some sincere men. That can be admitted. But still the sincere man also does not understand clearly what is the meaning of God. "I believe in God." "I believe in God," they say. Just like in America they say, "We trust in God." But what is God, he does not know. So what is the meaning of this, "I trust in God"? That is a phobia.</p>
<p>Dr. Kneupper: It probably means many things.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: If I say, "What do you mean by God," they cannot give any clear definition. And our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is, "Here is God. Take Him." But they have no knowledge. They will say, "They are presenting some Hindu god," and then they do not accept Him.</p>
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