Should be careful (Conversations)

Expressions researched:
"should be careful"

1968 Conversations and Morning Walks

We should be careful not being infected. And that how you can become free from infection? These four rules. "Don't have this, don't have this, don't have this, don't have this." Then you are free from infection.

Room Conversation -- July 16, 1968, Montreal:

Śivānanda(?): When do we become attracted? When do we begin to become attracted?

Prabhupāda: Forget that. You are attracted. That you take account of. When you become diseased, that is useless. You are diseased. Take medicine. There is no necessity of asking when you became diseased. You are diseased. Take medicine. That's all. What is the use of tracing the history? Everything has his history, that's all right. But my immediate necessity is that "I am diseased. I want to be cured. Give me some medicine." But there is history. The history is this. Just like disease. You have fallen victim of disease. That means you have given chance to the infection. That's all. That is the sum and substance of disease. You are infected with some disease. That means you have given chance for that infection. There was a story in a medical journal. "Typhoid Mary." Typhoid Mary... One girl, whenever she was present everyone was being infected with typhoid. Then she was examined, that she is full of typhoid germs. But she was immune. But she infected wherever she went. The medical journal reported. So we should be careful not being infected. And that how you can become free from infection? These four rules. "Don't have this, don't have this, don't have this, don't have this." Then you are free from infection. So you should be careful from being infected. There is no use tracing out the history when you become infected. You should not be infected. That should be your business. And as you are now infected, you try to avoid the causes of infection and take the medicine; you become cured.

1969 Conversations and Morning Walks

So Deity should be very nicely dressed. That is the temple worship. At the same time should be careful also.

Talk Before Lecture -- January 20, 1969, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: ...ornament Kṛṣṇa, the more you become rich. The reflection, Kṛṣṇa being richly dressed, richly fed, it will be reflected on you. Kṛṣṇa is not in necessity, but we should dress Kṛṣṇa with the first quality ornaments. In India the Deities, They are given very, very valuable jewelry. The Mohammedans were attracted for these jewelries, and they came to India to plunder the temples to get the jewelries. Still, temples have millions of dollars of jewelries. Any such temple. In Jagannātha temple there is a valuable jewel. Just here, it is kept here, in a pocket. So Deity should be very nicely dressed. That is the temple worship. At the same time should be careful also.

Accidental mistake is not dangerous. Willful mistake is dangerous. That we should be careful. We should be very careful always so that accidental mistakes also may not take place. But if it takes place, it is excused.

Room Conversation -- May 10, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Janārdana: Prabhupāda, often when we'll be performing, doing some activity during our day, and so many things will go wrong, and we become frustrated...

Prabhupāda: Well, when one is a professional, there may be something wrong. That doesn't matter. But you try to discharge your duties, rightly, whatever you are prescribed to do. Then everything will come to the right point. Your only business is to follow the four principles of regulative life and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa sixteen rounds. So there may be sometimes mistake. That will be corrected automatically. Because we are coming from a different platform, so it may be. And that is also said in the Bha... Api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk, sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ: (BG 9.30) "If one is found doing mistake or doing something wrong, but because he is sticking to this principle of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he is sādhu." Sādhu means a holy man. He is holy. He is not doing any wrong consciously. But due to habit... Suppose just like most of you were, in your former life, you were smoking or taking intoxication. But by some influence, if you sometimes take to it, yes, if you are conscious, "Oh, I have done wrong," but that is excused if you have done unconscious. But if you think that "Now I am Kṛṣṇa conscious. Whatever I do, it is right," then it is great sin. But accidentally it happens—that is excused. Never mind. So accidental mistake is not dangerous. Willful mistake is dangerous. That we should be careful. We should be very careful always so that accidental mistakes also may not take place. But if it takes place, it is excused.

The policy should be that the people may not understand gopīs like ordinary girls or like that. You should be careful to present the gopīs.

Discussion with BTG Staff -- December 24, 1969, Boston:

Prabhupāda: And so far the article Hayagrīva written, it is very nice. It should be published. Yes. I have seen it.

Satsvarūpa: That means that we can make reference to the gopīs.

Prabhupāda: Oh, it is done. Gopīs are boycotted.

Satsvarūpa: No, gopīs are not boycotted.

Prabhupāda: The policy should be that the people may not understand gopīs like ordinary girls or like that. You should be careful to present the gopīs. It does not mean that "We shall not utter even the name of gopīs. We have taken vow to boycott the gopīs." No. They are our worshipable devotees. How we can avoid them?

Satsvarūpa: What about writing down "kissing the lips of Kṛṣṇa"?

Prabhupāda: No. That we should avoid. That we should avoid. But that is not abominable. According to time and circumstances... That thing I have described. The fact is fact. Just like when I am describing Kṛṣṇa's līlā—I writing Kṛṣṇa's life—so I cannot give up that portion of His life, when Kṛṣṇa is actually kissing the gopīs in rasa dance.

Satsvarūpa: But that's in the books. Not in the public...

Prabhupāda: Yes. So in such circumstances, of course, we can give. But as far as possible, very cautiously and very rarely we shall present.

1972 Conversations and Morning Walks

We do not know, next life what kind of body we are going to get. People should be careful about this.

Room Conversation -- April 18, 1972, Hong Kong:

We do not die. We simply change bodies. Just like these children, they are changing bodies from babyhood to childhood, from childhood to youthhood, the changing bodies. The final change is called death. That means, final change means, giving up this body, we accept again another babyhood body, again begin. This is going on. And this is called māyār bośe, jāccho bhese. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). We are being washed away by the waves of māyā. We are forced to accept a certain type of body, again give it up, again forced to, under 8,400,000 species of life. We do not know, next life what kind of body we are going to get. People should be careful about this. But they are simply interested with this short duration of life, say fifty years or hundred years. But they do not... There is no education, there is no university, that "Everyone is eternal. He should not be engaged only the changing phases of life. One should be interested in the eternal interest of life." This is our mission, Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

You should be careful. Why should you commit mistake? But if unconsciously, by mistake it is done, that is another thing.

Morning Walk -- August 27, 1975, Vrndavana:

French devotee (2): If a devotee step on a ant by mistake, the ant...

Prabhupāda: You should be careful. Why should you commit mistake? But if unconsciously, by mistake it is done, that is another thing.

Brahmānanda: He wants to know does the ant receive benefit?

Prabhupāda: No. Then he will be lenient to kill them to give them benefit. (laughter) He'll be so...

Brahmānanda: Like they say "mercy killing," that "This is good for you. I will kill you and it is good for you."

Prabhupāda: Yes. You should always think that you are responsible for its killing. But it may be Kṛṣṇa may excuse you. That is another thing. Consciously you cannot kill.