Reporter lady: And you don't eat meat?
Prabhupāda: No. Because Kṛṣṇa does not eat meat, therefore we do not take.
Reporter lady: And you don't believe in killing flies or ants or anything like that?
Prabhupāda: No. The Christians also ordered not to kill. But they don't obey the order.
Reporter lady: Hmm.
Prabhupāda: The Ten Commandments is there, "Thou shall not kill." But they're very busy in killing now.
Reporter lady: What about vegetables? That's alive.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That we say, that we take Kṛṣṇa prasādam. Kṛṣṇa takes vegetables, so if there is any responsibility, it goes to Kṛṣṇa. We take the remnants of foodstuff left by Kṛṣṇa. Actually vegetable has got also life, but an animal has got also got life. But those animal eaters, they also make some discrimination. They eat other animals, not the animals produced by him. Why? Why this discrimination? He can eat his own children. Why don't you not eat?
Reporter lady: Well, I didn't really understand. You said that you didn't...
Prabhupāda: Ah.
Reporter lady: ...eat... A cow would eat a cow?
Prabhupāda: Well, a cow is an animal, and his childrens are also animal. Why does he not eat his own children?
Reporter lady: I don't know.
Prabhupāda: Eh?
Reporter lady: I don't know.
Prabhupāda: Well, you can guess. Why? Why? Why does he not eat?
Reporter lady: (indistinct)
Prabhupāda: You say, just like you told vegetable has got also life. Similarly, if you want to eat another life, why don't you eat your own children? Why?
Reporter lady: Because it's your own children.
Prabhupāda: Why is this discrimination?
Reporter lady: Because it's your own.
Prabhupāda: Eh?
Reporter lady: It's your own children, that's why, probably.
Prabhupāda: Oh, you mean to say to me it's okay to eat others' children? That is not wrong? Others may eat your children and you eat others' children... That day will come, that is stated. These animal eaters will eat now one another's children.
Just like I heard, in the concentration camps in Germany they ate their own stool out of hunger. Kīrtanānanda might have told me, some (indistinct) also.
Reporter lady: Hmm.
Prabhupāda: So Kṛṣṇa has given you so many nice things, grains, that is for human body. Grains, fruits, flowers, milk, so many nice things Kṛṣṇa has given for the human society. Why they should kill animals?
Animal killing is for tigers, lions, those who live in the jungle. The human society... This is the... The animal society of the dogs, they are not very appreciative of this type of foodstuff.
Reporter lady: (referring to some prasādam she's been given?) Do I put it in here, do I?
Ātreya Ṛṣi: Any way you like.
Prabhupāda: So... And we can prepare hundreds and thousands of nice preparations from grains and fruits, milk and sugar. Hundreds and thousands of nice, palatable dishes. They should learn how to eat. Simply taking a lump of flesh and boil it and with a little black pepper, is that very good idea?
Reporter lady: Take a what?
Prabhupāda: Lump of flesh, boil it and put in little salt and black pepper and eat it. Is that very good eating?
Reporter lady: What?
Ātreya Ṛṣi: It's a lump of flesh.
Reporter lady: Oh.
Ātreya Ṛṣi: A carcass.
Reporter lady: No.
Ātreya Ṛṣi: Boil it with a little salt and pepper.
Prabhupāda: And compared with so many nice foodstuff we prepare.
Reporter lady: What about lettuce and carrots and things like that, that are grown in the ground?
Ātreya Ṛṣi: Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that vegetables also have life, but Kṛṣṇa accepts those foodstuffs.
Prabhupāda: Another point is that after we take these fruits, the tree is not killed.
Reporter lady: Hmm.
Prabhupāda: Actually it is not killing. If you take some vegetables, take some leaves and twigs, but it is not killed.
Reporter lady: You also were talking about meditation, and I didn't understand what you said last night. You said that you don't meditate, that you do not meditate…
Prabhupāda: No, we don't meditate like others, artificially.
Reporter lady: Hmm.
Prabhupāda: We meditate actually. Just like this boy is working, this boy is working—that is meditation. He is working on Kṛṣṇa's tapes, so therefore "Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa" is going on, automatically. They are cooking for Kṛṣṇa, they are worshiping Kṛṣṇa, they are recording for Kṛṣṇa, typing for Kṛṣṇa—everything for Kṛṣṇa. That is the best meditation.
Reporter lady: Hmm.
Prabhupāda: Artificially if we sit down for fifteen minutes and thinking of something and meditating on something, that is artificial. What is the so-called meditation? What? They have no subject matter for meditation. Impersonal. They are concentrating their mind on some color, some change of color, and if you can concentrate your mind on some color, why not on Kṛṣṇa? He is so colorful.
Reporter lady: Hmm.
Prabhupāda: Just see, (laughter) as soon as he is advised to concentrate his meditation on Kṛṣṇa, they will not agree. They will agree to concentrate on some color change. This is their foolishness. And if you are concentrated on some creative color, artificially, so why not see the real color, Kṛṣṇa? That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā.
They are accepting unnecessarily some troubles, that's all. Kleśo 'dhikataras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām (BG 12.5). They are trying to concentrate on something impersonal. That means they are accepting troubles, that's all. Kleśo 'dhikataras. Adhikatara means more troublesome.