Poet (Conversations)

Expressions researched:
"poet" |"poets"

1968 Conversations and Morning Walks

Interview -- March 9, 1968, San Francisco:

Prabhupāda: People should come to us to understand. We have got literature. We have got philosophy. Everything we have got. It is not a blind, imposing thing, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. So everyone who actually wants to give some service to the society, to the humanity, they must study this philosophy and get prepared to meet anyone, scientists, philosopher, poet, talk with them, and he can give answer to all their questions. But our method is very simple. We call everyone, even to the child, "Come, sit down, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa." And then gradually he realizes.

1969 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 11, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Hayagrīva: We just got a horse. We had bad experience with a rotary tiller. We got rid of it.

Kīrtanānanda: West Virginia. We gave it away.

Allen Ginsberg: So we're also going through a coovy(?) āśrama for poets. A little farm for poets.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Farming, agriculture, that is nice. There is a proverb: agriculture is the noblest profession. Is it not said? Agriculture is noblest, and Kṛṣṇa was farmer, His father.

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 11, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Allen Ginsberg: Yes. Let's check the pitch of the harmoniums tomorrow. I've been learning to write music. My kavi guru was a poet named William Blake. Do you know Blake?

Prabhupāda: Oh. Yes, yes, I have heard his name.

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 11, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Allen Ginsberg: Who wrote this?

Prabhupāda: This is Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, a great poet and devotee.

Allen Ginsberg: Who?

Prabhupāda: Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura.

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 12, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Allen Ginsberg: I mean, everything you say is beautiful, but...

Prabhupāda: No. You are very intelligent boy. Why not you are intelligent? You are recognized poet, you are popular poet. Why you... I take you are intelligent. You are first-class intelligent. You are chanting.

Allen Ginsberg: But that's almost a physical body movement, the chanting rather than a...

Prabhupāda: Maybe, but your intelligence is sufficient. That is... If that standard of intelligent men I get, that is my fortune. You see. Now, at least I request you, you try to understand this Kṛṣṇa consciousness philosophy. It is not sentiment. It is not bluffing. It is not a money-making business that I give you some...

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 13, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Allen Ginsberg: Sūradāsa, the poet.

Prabhupāda: Yes. He is known as Sūradāsa.

Allen Ginsberg: Teacher of Tulasī Dāsa, or student of Tulasī Dāsa.

Prabhupāda: He may be different, but Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura, he was also blind. He made himself blind. You know the story of Bilvamaṅgala?

Allen Ginsberg: No.

Prabhupāda: Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura, in his previous life, he elevated himself to the loving stage of Kṛṣṇa.

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 13, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Prabhupāda: No. Fourteenth century, not Bilvamaṅgala. Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura, some time before(?).

Guest (1): Bilvamaṅgala.

Allen Ginsberg: Bilvamaṅgala. Bilvamaṅgala. No, I didn't know the name.

Prabhupāda: Yes. There are many poets. He was great poet. If you read this Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta poetry, ah, you'll find...

Guest (1): Vaiṣṇava, (Bengali) ...Vidyāpati, Candidāsa.

Prabhupāda: Vidyāpati, Candidāsa, Jayadeva.

Allen Ginsberg: Jayadeva, I know.

Guest (1): Jayadeva is a great Vaiṣṇava.

Prabhupāda: There are many nice poets.

Allen Ginsberg: I know some of the Baul poetry in English.

Prabhupāda: You just try to read this Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura especially.

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 13, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Prabhupāda: That song you were reading last night, Nitāi pada kamala? That is Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura's song. For the Vaiṣṇava, to become poet is another qualification. Vaiṣṇava has twenty-six qualifications. I think it is written there.

Allen Ginsberg: And one of them is to become poet also.

Prabhupāda: Poet. He must be poet. All the Vaiṣṇavas, they are poet.

Guest (1): Because they are so deep in love with God.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Poetry comes out in deep love with something.

Allen Ginsberg: Is that published somewhere?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 13, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Prabhupāda: He is impersonalist on the whole. He is impersonalist, whole, and he has got some Vaiṣṇava thought. That's all, perverted thoughts. Perverted thoughts.

Allen Ginsberg: So who is the most perfect of the Vaiṣṇava poets? That would be Mīrā?

Guest (1): Mīrā was a devotee. She was a Vaiṣṇava.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Devotee means...

Guest (1): Vaiṣṇava. She was, Mīrā, Kṛṣṇa devotee. Oh, her songs has called me.

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 13, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Allen Ginsberg: Into English. Good translations. Good translations. They were published in the Bhakti-vidya-bhavan series. In that series. They have four or five books.

Prabhupāda: Oh. They have five books they have written?

Allen Ginsberg: One Sufis, Yogis, Saints, poets like Muktesvara. And then another of Mīrā. Two volumes of Mīrā with a life of Mīrā. And then one on the Kumbhamela, a book on the Kumbhamela.

Prabhupāda: They are good scholars.

Allen Ginsberg: Yes. Good scholars. They know Blake also. They know English.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- May 3, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: So all the population without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they have been described as dogs, hogs, camel and ass. So when they vote for another animal, big animal, so this is their position. They are big animal, praised by the dogs, hogs, camel and ass. They are not praised by any intelligent man. That is stated in the Bhāgavata. Śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-kharaiḥ saṁstutaḥ puruṣaḥ paśuḥ. They are animals. These animals, they do not know the actual fact, and they are passing on as leaders, professors, scientists. Why they should be allowed? There must be some protest against these men. They have no real knowledge. They say, "I do not know," and still, they are passing as poet, er, scientist laureate. Why this should be allowed? Think over this matter seriously. You cannot tolerate this misleading. People are innocent.

Room Conversation with Krishna Tiwari -- May 22, 1973, New York:

Prabhupāda: So as so far the differences, there is no difference, because just like this body: the body has got different parts—the fingers, the hands, the eyes, the legs, so many different—but the whole purpose is to serve the body. Either with the finger or eyes or hands or legs, the whole purpose is centered on the soul of the complete whole body. Similarly, Bhāgavata says that whatever you may—you may be scientist, you may be philosopher, you may be an engineer, you may be a poet, you may be sociologist, politician, whatever you may be-their purpose should be avicyutaḥ arthaḥ. Avicyutaḥ means infallible purpose. Avicyutaḥ arthaḥ kavibhih nirūpitaḥ. "It has been decided by great learned scholar," says "all of them should be engaged in glorifying the Supreme." Avicyuto 'rthaḥ kavibhir nirūpito yad-uttamaśloka-guṇānuvarṇanam.

Room Conversation with Mister Popworth and E. F. Schumacher -- July 26, 1973, London:

Vicitravīrya: This is Dr. Schumacher.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Thank you very much for your coming. I have read some of your ideas. So from your writing it appears you are nice, thoughtful man. Muni, the Sanskrit word is muni. Just like Nārada Muni. They are very thoughtful. So I have read one description of, "Crisis of Increasing Motor Cars," in this paper. Actually, we are creating a crisis. This advancement of modern civilization is simply creating crisis. One Vaiṣṇava poet, he has sung: sat-saṅga chāḍi kainu asatye vilāsa. Sat-saṅga means spiritual association. So we have given up spiritual association, and asatye vilāsa, we have taken to material enjoyment. So sat-saṅga chāḍi kainu... There are two things, material and spiritual. So sat-saṅga chāḍi kainu asatye... "I have given up spiritual association, and I have taken to material association. Therefore I have become entangled." Sei karaṇe lāgilā mora karma-bandha-phāṅsā. We are becoming more and more entangled in material activities. We are trying to solve one problem, and creating another big problem.

Room Conversation with Cardinal Danielou -- August 9, 1973, Paris:

Prabhupāda: When, when the living entity forgets love of God, he's given this material world.

Cardinal Danielou: Yes yes, I agree. Christianity agrees with this.

Prabhupāda: The exact word, in Bengali, there is a poet,

kṛṣṇa-bhuliyā-jīva bhoga vāñchā kare

pāśate māyāra tare jāpaṭiyā dhare

As soon as the living entity forgets his position as eternal servant of God, and he wants to imitate God to enjoy, at that time, māyā, illusion, or Satan captures him, captures him.