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Agriculture (Conversations)

Conversations and Morning Walks

1969 Conversations and Morning Walks

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

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.

Allen Ginsberg: The cow.

Prabhupāda: Cow, yes. And in Vedic literature you'll find, a man is... Richness of a man is estimated by the possession of grains and cows. Dhanyena dhanavān. If he has got sufficient quantity grain, then he's to be... Formerly, even still in India, when a daughter is offered to a family, they will go and see how many morais(?) there are. Grain stock. If he sees that he has five, six, big, big grain stock, then he can... "Oh, this is nice house." You see? "They can feed." So in India still, the arrangement is that every family has got at least two years grain in stock. You see? And cow at least one dozen. No economic problem. And actually, that is the fact. You keep cows and have sufficient grains, whole economic problem solved.

1971 Conversations and Morning Walks

Conversation with Prof. Kotovsky -- June 22, 1971, Moscow:

Prof. Kotovsky: But at the same time, something has to be done in India itself. In what line, if you... One may call it Westernization from this introduction of technical revolution in all spheres of Indian life, in agriculture, industry, etc...

Prabhupāda: Now, this picture... This is Viṣvarūpa. It was shown to Arjuna. Now, Arjuna, before understanding Bhagavad-gītā, was a fighter, warrior. And after understanding Bhagavad-gītā, he remained a fighter. So we don't want to change the position. Just like you are a respectable professor, teacher. We don't say that you change your position. We have come to convince you about our philosophy. That's all. So just like the same example: Arjuna, he was denying to fight, "Kṛṣṇa, I do not like to kill my relatives. I don't want this kingdom." But he was taught Bhagavad-gītā. And at the end, when Kṛṣṇa inquired, "What is your decision now?" he said, kariṣye vacanaṁ tava (BG 18.73): "Yes, I shall act accordingly, as You say." That means his consciousness was changed. He remained a fighter. He was a fighter, he remained a fighter, but he changed his consciousness. We want that. We don't want to disturb the present condition of the society. No. But we try to make them understand that "There is a great necessity of you to understand this consciousness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness." That is our goal.

1972 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk Conversation -- September 28, 1972, Los Angeles:

Jayatīrtha: The Indians would never be able to compete on the Britishers' platform.

Prabhupāda: No. Under the British rule, from the childhood they are subjected to the propaganda. We read one book, small book, by M. Ghose. The subject matter was England's work in India. That was a compulsory reading book in the schools. And in that book, it was simply stated that "we are uncivilized, but since the Britishers have come, we are becoming civilized. "This is the subject matter of that book, "England's work in India." So everything Indian... The Jawaharlal is the typical example—everything Indian is bad. That was his philosophy. Gandhi was trying to get the Indians back to village. His philosophy was that these capitalists, they are exploiting these poor men, so all these poor men, they should go back to village and be satisfied with the village economy, not to come out. Actually that's a very nice program. But as soon as Gandhi died, or he was killed, the whole program was changed-industrialization and attract the poor man and let them live in wretched condition of city life. Gandhi's policy was to make them happy by agriculture in the village, produce their own cloth, not in the mill but in charka.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Indian Guests and Devotees -- July 11, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: He has written a big philosophy on sex life. Does it require any education? Anyone knows how to use sex life. And he has written big book. Similarly, defense also: they are making big, big arrangements, atomic bomb. I am making atomic bomb, you are making... Similarly, sleeping: big, big skyscraper building; eating: start thousands of slaughterhouse. Formerly also there were meat-eaters. But did they maintain slaughterhouse? "All right, I want to eat meat. Just go in the forest. Kill one animal. That's all. Pick it up." So this advancement of civilization means advancement of slaughterhouse, advancement of skyscraper building, advancement of atom bomb, advancement of Freud philosophy. This is advancement. The subject matter is the same, which does not require any education. Nobody requires education on this subject matter. Even the birds and beasts, they know what is their eatable. And they eat and they live. Now the advancement... Agricultural institute, a big college, how to improve agriculture. Crude people, they are producing also. Without agricultural college, they are producing sufficiently grain and eating. Still they do so. Do they depend on agricultural education? Real education is how to solve the problems of life, birth, death, old age, and how to go back to home, back to... That is education. This is not education. This is simply waste of time. Because you cannot change your destiny. Now, take for example, there are so many agricultural improvements. Does it mean that there is no person who is needy? There are so many needy persons. But has the agricultural education improved their lot? No. Starving people are still there. Rather, those who can produce, they're producing and throwing into the sea. They'll not part with it for the poor men who are starving. Then where is the advancement of education? You produce more by advanced agricultural process and then throw it into the ocean.

Room Conversation with Dr. Arnold Toynbee, Famous Historian, at his home or office -- July 22, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: The aim of human society should be God realization. That is the distinction between an animal and a human being.

Dr. Arnold Toynbee: Yes.

Prabhupāda: So Bhagavad-gītā recommends that the whole society should be divided into four divisions: the brāhmaṇa, or the most intellectual persons, the kṣatriyas, the administrators, the vaiśyas, the mercantile agriculturists, and the śūdras, ordinary men, laborer or worker. Because this material world is conducted by three modes of nature, goodness, passion and ignorance, so according to the quality of the person, he should be listed in different categories. And it is the duty of the state to see that all these categories, divisions, they are working nicely.

Room Conversation with Dr. Arnold Toynbee, Famous Historian, at his home or office -- July 22, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: There must be ample production of food grains and milk product. Then the whole economic problem solved. And the formula is there. How to get ample agricultural production and milk, everything is there in Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And the examples of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, that is also there. But one... We must be serious to accept this formula for practical application.

Dr. Arnold Toynbee: Yes, yes. You would apply the teachings of the Gītā to all human societies at all times. Yes, yes.

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. Yes, that is my ambition, that let the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā be practically accepted by the human society, and surely they'll be happy. Surely. Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glanīr bhavati bhārata (BG 4.7). That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. So now everything is confused. And in your country, or western countries, they are very organized. So you are not feeling now so much confusion. But it is coming. But in India and countries like that, it is very confusion state. Yes. They have lost their own culture, and they could not assimilate the western type of civilization. So they are lost. They are lost.

Room Conversation with Reporter from Researchers Magazine -- July 24, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: This is government's duty. To see, "Why you are claiming vaiśya? If your industry is to produce food grains, agriculture, give protection to the cows..." So in India ten thousand cows are being killed, and the vaiśyas are big, big (indistinct), big, big zamindars. You see.

Reporter: Sitting quiet. (laughs) Yes.

Prabhupāda: Similarly brāhmaṇas. Nehru. He is brāhmaṇa, but what did he do as a brāhmaṇa? But he was the head of the government. Who will speak against him? Everything is topsy turvy.

Reporter: Hm. When such... When such situation arises where the king is no more representing the Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and the vaiśyas are no more following that duty...

Prabhupāda: This is, this is... This world is material world. And (aside:) Why don't you come here? You can take another pad.

Room Conversation with Reporter from Researchers Magazine -- July 24, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: That, that... Gandhi wanted to solve it, but you rejected. Gandhi wanted it to... Village organization. He started that Wardha Ashram. But you have rejected. What Gandhi can do? That was good proposal—to remain satisfied in one's own place. That was Gandhi's proposal. That "Don't go to the city, town, for so-called better advantage of life. Remain in your own home, produce your food, and be satisfied there." That was Gandhi's policy. The economic problem he wanted to solve by keeping cows, by agriculture, by spinning thread. "You want food, shelter and cloth? Produce here, and remain here. Don't be allured by the capitalists and go to cities and engage in industries." But Jawaharlal Nehru wanted, overnight, to Americanize the whole India. That is the folly.

Room Conversation with Anna Conan Doyle, daughter-in-law of famous author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -- August 10, 1973, Paris:

Prabhupāda: Desert expands. As everything expands and diminishes, desert also... That is nature's course. Desert means less production. So na..., if nature wants, she can make the whole world desert. What your tractors and so many agricultural machines will help? It will turn into desert. There will be no rain. What you can do? And still you are very proud of your scientific advancement. You cannot struggle with nature.

Bhagavān: They have one city in Italy. It's called Venice. And it's built... They say they have conquered the ocean. So they've gone out into the ocean and built it up, and there are so many houses. And you travel through the city on boat. That's the only way you can get... And now the city's sinking.

Prabhupāda: Sinking?

Bhagavān: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Just see. Then what they are doing?

Bhagavān: They are concerned.

Prabhupāda: The indication is already there. Still, they are not alarmed. They have to leave that place. Sinking also Mexico.

Morning Walk -- August 30, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: What, I don't...

Śyāmasundara: In the Jewish tradition, they yearn for a life of living on farms, villages, small communities with cows and agriculture.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Śyāmasundara: Is this also expressed in the Vedas.

Prabhupāda: Oh yes.

David Lawrence: You feel that strongly.

Prabhupāda: Oh yes. That is real life. Real life means you have to minimize your bodily activities so that you can save time and devote for spiritual understanding. That is real life. And the present civilization based on bodily concept of life is animal life. It is not civilized life. Civilized life means athāto brahma jijñāsā. When one is advanced so much so that he inquires about the spirit soul. But there is no such inquiry. Like the cats and dogs, they cannot inquire what is spirit soul. So Vedic life means to become free as much as possible from the bodily disturbances. Therefore, the first education is to become brahmacārī, celibacy. You see? Now, at the present moment, they are trying to make the abortion as law. But these rascals cannot check their sex life. You see? Their philosophy is that you shall go on with sex life unrestrictedly and when there is pregnancy, kill the child.

Conversation at Airport -- October 26, 1973, Bombay:

Pradyumna: I just have the black one.

Prabhupāda: Oh yes. Kāmaṁ vavarṣa parjanyaḥ (SB 1.10.4). During Mahārāja Parīkṣit's time, one black man was attempting to kill a cow. Immediately the king wanted to kill him, immediately: "Oh, who are you?" It is the duty of the vaiśyas. Kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyam vaiśya-karma-svabhāva-jam (BG 18.44). It is the duty of the vaiśyas to protect the cows, to increase agricultural activities and trade. But they are now interested in producing electronic parts. No go-rakṣya, no vāṇijyam, no food production. Cheap profit, and for eating, let there be slaughterhouse and eat meat. And to digest meat, you drink wine. This is being taught. So you create the situation and when you suffer, then why should we lament? We have created this situation, godless civilization, do not follow the direction of the śāstras.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- March 6, 1974, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare Hare Rāma... (break) ...to take evening walk. This part, on the field, agricultural field. (break) ...if you have any land to purchase immediately, then I can ask Mahadevia, He can pay for that. (break) ...Americans without machine, they cannot sleep. They must smell, "Here is a machine." Then they can sleep. There was a fisherman. So at, in the evening... That is still in India. In the evening you can ask shelter from any householder's house. They'll give you shelter. So he came in the evening, "Sir, I want to pass night in your home." "All right, you are welcome." So the fisher basket, fishing basket. "You keep this here, outside, and you sleep inside." So whole day, he was restless. Then whole night, he could not sleep. Then the master said, "You are not sleeping?" "No, sir." "Why?" "Now, because my baskets are kept outside." "What is in the basket?" "No, unless I smell, I cannot sleep." (laughter) So these Americans, unless they smell about machine, they cannot sleep. "Habit is the second nature." For ordinary muscle work, they'll bring so many machines. I have seen. Karandhara was doing. At least that machine must come. (Makes sound like machine:) kat kat kat kat kat kat kat kat. Making hole. That machine is compulsory.

Morning Walk -- March 7, 1974, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: So where are... Where are those boys? That Svarūpānanda?

Jayapatākā: They may have gone back to the temple now. This land... I'm sending... Because land, different land takes different time, so I'm sending both information out for this land here-It goes from this path, this, over to the other side of the barley, right to the river edge, twenty bighās—or this one, ten bighās, whichever is first. This is more fertile. For agriculture, this one...

Prabhupāda: So which one, like you like?

Guest: Whichever one is possible. As he says, "First come, first served."

Prabhupāda: All right. So you arrange. During stay, arrange something.

Morning Walk 'Varnasrama College' -- March 14, 1974, Vrndavana:

Hṛdayānanda: Should they be trained in a particular...?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Those who are not able to preach or to do other things, they must go to the plough department, agriculture.

Hṛdayānanda: Those who cannot preach.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Those who are less educated, not very much expert in preaching, they must be acting as kṣatriya or vaiśya, or as śūdra.

Hṛdayānanda: And sometimes...

Prabhupāda: Not he's śūdra. Always remember that. But he has to act to fulfill the, fill up the gap. Proxy.

Hṛdayānanda: So we should encourage people, young people, young students to come to our college.

Prabhupāda: They'll automatically come if you are ideal. Because they are being forced to poverty. So when there is a question of poverty, they'll come.

Morning Walk -- April 10, 1974, Bombay:

Śrīdhara: "Their wealth was in milk, yogurt, clarified butter and many other milk products. And by trading their agricultural products, they were rich in various kinds of jewelry, ornaments and costly dresses." (break)

Prabhupāda: ...even the richest man, their wife has no bangles. You see? And they are jewelries. Jewelries. Cow, butter, throwing butter like anything, and silk sari and enough food grains. What is more want for material advancement? That is real material ad... You have got everything, material needs. (break) If a man can feed his wife and children, then he is successful. There is no question of charity. There is no question of charity. But here it is said they were also giving in charity. (break) ...stopped to become real brāhmaṇa and give instruction to the society, and they also stopped giving charity to the brāhmaṇas. So therefore the society is so fallen. There is no instruction from the brāhmaṇas and no charity from the kṣatriya and vaiśya. (break) ...proṣita bhārtṛkā. By the dress a woman is recognized. When she does not dress very nicely, it is to be understood that her husband is out of home. When there is the vermillion, that means she is married. When the, what is called, division? Siti. Siti is in this side, then she is prostitute. The dress, when the woman dresses with white dress, they are widow, no husband.

Morning Walk -- April 12, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: He was a great charmer. Yes. Simple, simple life, village life. They were all... Vasudeva said all these things. Vasudeva is kṣatriya. From the political eyesight, he predicted that "This may happen," but he, as a vaiśya, simple agriculturist, he thought that "Oh, Vasudeva is so, foreseer." (break)

Girirāja: Simplicity is not considered a bad quality?

Prabhupāda: No, no. For him it is all right. And anyone, sva-dharma... He is a vaiśya, He should believe like that. A politician should act like that, that... para-dharmabhāvaḥ. One should not imitate. Just like a physician is operating. I should not imitate, to take the knife and operate. That is not my business.

Girirāja: "After this incident, when Yaśodā was once nursing..."

Prabhupāda: But one thing is that Vasudeva was also thinking of Kṛṣṇa and he is also thinking of Kṛṣṇa. As a simple agriculturist, he is also thinking of Kṛṣṇa. And Vasudeva also, when he was asking him, "Go and take care of your children there," that was thinking of Kṛṣṇa. If the thinking of Kṛṣṇa is there, then either kṣatriya or vaiśya or brāhmaṇa, it doesn't matter. Everyone gets the same benefit.

Morning Walk at Villa Borghese -- May 25, 1974, Rome:

Devotee: By the grace of pure devotee.

Prabhupāda: Yes. (break) ...encouraging in our society to take to agriculture to support this center. I am purchasing land in Vṛndāvana and Māyāpur to become self-sufficient. Whatever production you make, you be satisfied. Little vegetable, little grain and little milk. That is sufficient.

Yogeśvara: In the Vedic culture, was the land divided, in the sense that some people would receive land free or...?

Bhagavān: This is nice here, this ground.

Yogeśvara: The land in the Vedic culture, some of it was...?

Prabhupāda: Land belongs to the king, and you take land for cultivation, and you pay 25% tax to the king. That's all. All taxes. If you don't produce, then don't pay tax.

Room Conversation with Mr. C. Hennis of the International Labor Organization of the U.N. -- May 31, 1974, Geneva:

C. Hennis: Well the third-class would be what kind of typical worker?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Third-class men means making provision for the society for eating. That is... It is stated, kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyam (BG 18.44). Kṛṣi means agriculture, and go-rakṣya means cow protection, and vāṇijyam means trade. That means the third-class men, they would give protection to the cows, produce enough food grains, and if there is excess, then it can be traded. So this is the business of the third-class men.

C. Hennis: But that would cover businessmen and tradesmen and farmers.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes. Farmers means... Nowadays especially in the western country, I see the farmer means they are raising cows for being killed. There is no cow protection.

C. Hennis: That may well be the case. That may well be the case. As it is not by any means...

Prabhupāda: I have seen. I have seen in England, I have seen in America, they simply raise the cows for being killed in future. You see? But the duty of the agriculturist, they should give very, very protection to the cows especially.

Room Conversation with Mr. C. Hennis of the International Labor Organization of the U.N. -- May 31, 1974, Geneva:

C. Hennis: You see, my organization represents all the states in the world practically, all the states of any importance in the world, with the exception of a few like Monaco and San Marino and Andorra and that kind of place. And through my organization, the states of the world, and that doesn't only mean governments, express their concern and endeavor to improve the lot of all of the people who are active in some way in the economy and in modern society, these may be professional workers. We don't deal with medical doctors because that is the problems of the World Health Organization. We don't deal with teachers and university professors and philosophers and so on because that is more the problem of UNESCO, and they deal with it very thoroughly. We don't deal by any means fully with the actual production of foodstuffs. This is the FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organization who does it. What we do do, we look after the rewards the people get for the work they do in the ordinary way of life as employees in offices, in banks, in commerce, in shops, trading. We are very interested in developing rural areas and in improving the lot of the rural worker so that the rural worker will no longer be under a disadvantage by comparison with the workers in the towns, so that they will have proper facilities, proper leisure and proper opportunities for self-improvement.

Prabhupāda: I may say in this connection, in America, the laborer class is very highly paid. Anyone, any labor class man can earn $25, $50, daily, very easily. But because there is no direction of the brain, these labor class of men—I have seen—they—especially these Negroes—51%, they are drunkards. They spend their money in drinking. They do not know how to utilize the money. Because the brain is not giving direction. Or they have no brain. "I have got so money. How I shall utilize it?" As soon as he gets money, he use it, he uses it for drinking. You may think that you are sufficiently paying to the labor class, worker class, but because he is not guided by brain, he is misspending the money.

Room Conversation with Mr. C. Hennis of the International Labor Organization of the U.N. -- May 31, 1974, Geneva:

C. Hennis: You have to establish first of all a...

Prabhupāda: No, it is already there. It is already there. Just like in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyam (BG 18.44). Those who are interested in producing means of living, or foodstuff, in the society, say, the mercantile, the agriculturist, they should give protection to the cows. That is very essential, that milk is so important thing. If you get... Now, we have, in your western country, we have introduced such ideas in West Virginia. We have started one community project where we are keeping cows also. The cows are giving more milk than in other farm. They are so jubilant. Even up to eighty pounds milk, they are giving, because they know that "These people will not kill me." They know it. They are very happy. We don't kill their calves. In other farms, as soon as the calf is there, in front of the mother they are killed. You see? So if these things go on without any brain, without any intelligence, you may make hundreds of organization, the society will never be happy. This is our verdict.

Morning Walk -- June 2, 1974, Geneva:

Karandhara: Prabhupāda, in a recent study by U.S. Agricultural officials, they found that it is really uneconomical to eat meat. It takes so much energy and man hours to raise and transport and slaughter the cows that it makes it very wasteful.

Prabhupāda: Wasteful, yes. Therefore I say they have no brain. All, they are rascals. Rascal leaders. A little labor in agriculture will be sufficient to produce the family's food stock for the whole year. You can stock. You work only three months, and you get sufficient food for your whole family. And less nine months, you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. But these rascals will not do that. They will work hard like ass simply for eating. Nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma yad indriya-prītaya āpṛṇoti (SB 5.5.4). They will not accept easy life.

Guru-gaurāṅga: In that agricultural report it said that if they were to eat all the grains that they give to the cows and animals, they could get twenty times more calories than by eating meat.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Wrong civilization, rascal civilization. And this is due to this rascaldom, nationalism, "This is my land." And at any moment he will be kicked out. Still, he claims, "It is my land." Ahaṁ mameti, janasya moho 'yam ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8). This is the illusion.

Morning Walk -- June 3, 1974, Geneva:

Prabhupāda: So why the moon planet is bereft of? Material, anything material, it is combination of earth, water, fire, air, ether. Anything material. It is a combination.

Karandhara: Well, there are probably very minute quantities of moisture on the moon. But they say nothing significant, nothing suitable for agriculture.

Yogeśvara: There are no plants growing on the moon. In the desert we find some plants, but they have not found any vegetation on the moon.

Prabhupāda: That means they have not gone thoroughly. One portion of it.

Room Conversation -- June 11, 1974, Paris:

Jyotirmayī: It's when I asked him. I asked him: "So what are you going to do? Can you make a law against cow-killing?" So he said, "Oh... But there is this actress." Just give it, gave it to someone else to do.

Prabhupāda: No, we have to make this propaganda because we are servant of Kṛṣṇa. And Kṛṣṇa orders, kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyam (BG 18.44). So we must take to agricultural work to produce food and give protection to the cows. And if there is excess product, we trade. This simple thing we must do. Therefore I'm anxious to take outside Paris this center. Our people should live there peacefully, produce food grains, give protection to the cows, and work hard. And if there is excess product, you can make money also. With ghee, you can start so many restaurants. That I have already... I have discussed on this point. We can make good money. We'll not be loser. Kṛṣṇa conscious men, they'll be never loser by following the instruction of Kṛṣṇa. They'll live comfortably without any material want, and tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9), and after leaving this body, go to, directly to God.

Morning Walk -- June 17, 1974, Germany:
Prabhupāda: This is the position of western countries, Europe and America. It is a fool's paradise. It is paradise, certainly. Very, very, big, big building and advancement, but all rascals and fools. Fool's paradise. (pause) And if you call a fool a fool, he'll be angry. Mūrkhāyopadeśo hi prakopayati na śamyati (?). (pause) (break) ...so many, so much production, but if nature's law can stop this production, then the question of over-population. If the nature likes, it can produce three times, four times this production. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi (BG 3.27). After all, nature is producing. We do not know how to deal with nature. Therefore there is scarcity, and we say, "over-population." There is no question of over-population. There are so many hundreds and thousands of birds within this forest, other animals. They have no problems of over-population. Eh? (pause) All these men, who are living in these villages, so what is their means of livelihood? Agriculture or industry? Or service?
Room Conversation with Scientists -- July 2, 1974, Melbourne:

Dr. Harrap: Oh, yes. Yes. Even in cheeses there are probably hundreds of varieties.

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. We make. We actually make. At least ten, twenty kinds of sweet preparation we make from the cheese. Therefore our, as recommended in the Bhagavad-gītā, kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyam (BG 18.44). Kṛṣi-go-rakṣya. People... A class of men should be trained up for agriculture, producing food grain, and cow protection. Cow protection means you get the milk, sufficient quantity, and from milk you get so many nutritious, full of vitamin food.

Morning Walk at Marina del Rey -- July 14, 1974, Los Angeles:

Bali Mardana: So there is one jīvātma who's in control of the body. The others are subservient.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Jīvātma is everywhere. But you have got your own field. Just like for agricultural purpose you have got a big field, but there are so many millions of microbes and...

Bali Mardana: Yes.

Prabhupāda: But it is your field. Not that when you go out of the field one of them becomes you. No, that is not. That is individuality. When you leave, you leave your field. That's all.

Bali Mardana: So when we leave the field, then the other cells in the body also leave their field.

Prabhupāda: Yes, therefore the germs come out as soon as it is proper time. So these nonsense, they do not know that, that the... Creating life, the ingredients... If they say that material combination makes life, so material combination is there already. Why the, that man is not coming? That is... He's individual, and they are also individual. I have got my field. I am individual. I leave it. But because there are so many other microbes, they will come as me. No, that is not possible.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Conversation with Devotees -- April 14, 1975, Hyderabad:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: The whole civilization is becoming expert in killing and dying. That's all.

Prabhupāda: You have got some agricultural experience?

Devotee: Not at all.

Prabhupāda: Not at all. Anyway, that not very difficult.

Devotee: No. I can take advice from the experts. That man with the white beard there, he's supposed to know very much. He's supposed to be very expert, and he speaks English. He's supposed to have agricultural experience.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Yaśodānandana: Jayapatāka had no agricultural experience.

Morning Walk -- May 10, 1975, Perth:
Prabhupāda: The government shouldn't allow you to keep slaughterhouses. If anyone wants to eat meat, let them eat like tigers and others. Individually, kill one animal—a lower animal, not cows. This should be the government law. You can kill one insignificant animal, like pigs or goats. It has not very much use. You kill it in your home, before your children and family, and eat. The government may not have any objection. But why should you maintain slaughterhouses? So the agriculturist and the mercantile men, they should produce enough food, give protection to the cows, and if there is excess, sell it. Where there is not enough food grain produced you can make business. That is the instruction given in Bhagavad-gītā, kṛṣi-go-rakṣya vāṇijyam (BG 18.44). That is really needed. Nobody is interested. Everyone comes to the city, the mercantile class. They are doing business, big, big skyscraper building, and they have artificial money, paper. And instead of eating food grains they are maintaining slaughterhouses. This is not good civilization. Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Room Conversation with Justin Murphy (Geographer) -- May 14, 1975, Perth:

Devotee: He says we have to consider the men who are working the machines to take down the forest for agriculture... Is that what you mean?

Justin Murphy: The point I'm making is that there are so many people in Australia who would have no time. They are too busy making money. They are too busy doing what...

Prabhupāda: But what you will do with money? If there is no grain, then will you eat money? (laughter)

Justin Murphy: Certainly not.

Prabhupāda: That is foolishness. That is foolishness. Money is not required. Required—food grains.

Morning Walk -- June 10, 1975, Honolulu:

Siddha-svarūpa: Yeah, they're making it very difficult. They're going to develop this entire side of the island more and more, and so that they're taking agriculture land, and they'll be building subdivisions and people from the mainland will be moving, living in condominiums on this island.

Prabhupāda: That means for one convenience, they create another inconvenience.

Siddha-svarūpa: Yes.

Prabhupāda: This is the business. In this way they will take three hours to go to the other side.

Siddha-svarūpa: Uh, not three hours, but it'll... (break)

Prabhupāda: ...photo must be there.

Room Conversation with Dr. John Mize -- June 23, 1975, Los Angeles:

Jayatīrtha: 4.13.

cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ
guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ
tasya kartāram api māṁ
viddhy akartāram avyayam
(BG 4.13)

"According to the three modes of material nature and the work ascribed to them, the four divisions of human society were created by Me. And, although I am the creator of this system, you should know that I am yet the non-doer, being unchangeable."

Prabhupāda: Yes, Kṛṣṇa created these four division, brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, but He does not belong to any one of them. He is neither brāhmaṇa nor kṣatriya nor vaiśya nor śūdra. He is transcendental. Similarly, our philosophy—just to make the human society very peaceful and making progress we wish to establish this system. A first-class man, group of men, brāhmaṇas, they will guide the kṣatriyas, and the kṣatriyas, the administrators, they will guide the vaiśya. Vaiśya means agriculture and cow protection and trade.

Room Conversation with Dr. John Mize -- June 23, 1975, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: He is acting on the field. If the field is not acting, the soul is not there. Just like field, agricultural field, when you see the food grains are growing, the grass is there nicely, the paddy is growing nicely, you know, "Somebody is working." And in the jungle, where there is no paddy field, it is simply jungle, you know nobody is working. Where is the difficulty? When these things are in working order, then you know the soul is there. And it is decomposing, lying on the field and birds are coming, eating, dogs are biting—that means the soul is not there. This is distinction. Where is the difficulty? When the motor car is standing on the middle road, you know, "There is no driver. It is left over." Although the big machine, but because there is no driver, it is lying uncared for.

Garden Conversation with Professors -- June 24, 1975, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: So all of a sudden you cannot do that. Just like in your country a young man, he has never learned how to kill and he is drawn in the draft board, "Come on. Go and kill." What he will do? He will hesitate. This is not perfect system. If you want a kṣatriya, you must train them. You must train a class of men as brāhmaṇas. You must train a class of men as kṣatriya and a class of men as agriculturist and cow protection, and balance are workers. That is cātur-varṇyam: brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. But the kṣatriya or the president or the secretary, they are sitting very comfortably at our home and some poor young men—"Come on. Go and fight." What is this? What they will fight? They will die there, that's all. If he does not know how to fight, that energy is lacking, what he will do there?
Room Conversation with Devotees -- August 1, 1975, New Orleans:

Devotee (1): Distributing books?

Prabhupāda: Yes. And the distribution book can be done by the vaiśya, trade. It is a trade. Kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyam (BG 18.44). Kṛṣi, agriculture, giving protection to cows, and distributing or trading. If you have got enough grains you can trade. Make money. If you have got enough vegetables, you can trade. That is the business of vaiśya. So vaiśya does not require any university degree or any... Nobody requires university degree. That is a false thing. And brāhmaṇa should be very highly learned scholar. So the brāhmaṇas will give advice to the kṣatriya how to rule, and the kṣatriya will levy tax, and vaiśyas will produce food. Then the society will be perfect.

Room Conversation with Devotees -- August 1, 1975, New Orleans:

Devotee (1): Just like Nanda Mahārāja, he also had land. Nanda Mahārāja.

Prabhupāda: Yes. He was therefore called king. But he was a vaiśya. He engaged his land for agriculture and cow keeping. And Kṛṣṇa took charge of the cows, the calves, although still calf, He, (indistinct) This is the system. He was going with the calves whole day, playing with the boys and taking care of the cows, in the evening come back. Mother then washes and bathes and gives nice food. And immediately goes to sleep. And Kṛṣṇa is clever. At night He goes to the gopīs. (laughter)

Morning Walk -- September 13, 1975, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: This is called hog life, how to maintain this body. Kaṣṭan kāmān. Kāmān means necessities of life. Very, with great difficulty... (break) ...kāmān. Life can be easily maintained by agriculture and cow protection. No. They will start big, big mills, factories, motor tires, cars, instruments. Kaṣṭan kāmān. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is called ugra-karma, fierce... (aside) Hare Kṛṣṇa. Fierceful activities.

Vraja-vasi: Haribol!

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. Kaṣṭan kāmān. Unnecessarily creating problems. (break) ...one after another, one after another. Formerly paper was used only for Vedic knowledge. Now the paper used for so many useless newspaper, volumes and volumes and jasusi(?), unnecessarily creating agitation of the mind. And if you explain these things they will say, "This is all primitive ideas." Modern ideas means one must work very hard day and night to get a little piece of capati. Hm? What is the answer.

Morning Walk -- September 25, 1975, Ahmedabad:

Prabhupāda: No, as there, in India at least.

Kartikeya: No, here they've got more greenery, more trees. More agriculture is around.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. They're taken care of. (break) This Vasu is a Bengali...

Kartikeya: R. Vasu.

Prabhupāda: What is he?

Kartikeya: He's a municipal commissioner.

Prabhupāda: Oh, I.A... I.A., yes, government officer. (break) ...from government side?

Kartikeya: Government side. There is no mayor in Ahmedabad now.

Prabhupāda: Oh. Why?

Kartikeya: There is some difficulty, so they have abolished the post for the moment.

Prabhupāda: No post is required.

Morning Walk -- October 28, 1975, Nairobi:

Prabhupāda: Then how you are killing the animals? (break) ...eat meat, therefore you are killing poor animals. Why you are interfering others' life? (break) ...the best park here. (break) Here there is no such park.

Brahmānanda: Really?

Prabhupāda: Nice park. (break)

Cyavana: ...agricultural.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. All opulent.

Cyavana: Yes. All fruits...

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Cyavana: ...and flowers.

Jñāna: Śrīla Prabhupāda, in Kenya the great majority of people live in the country rather than the towns.

Prabhupāda: That's nice. "Country is made of God, and city is made by man." That is the remark by poet Cowper.

Morning Walk -- November 29, 1975, Delhi:

Prabhupāda: They are trying for the last fifty years. Why the capitalism is not yet gone? Fifty years at least. They started their movement in 1917. Huh? So how many years? More than fifty. Sixty years. Sixty years. What they have done, progress?

Harikeśa: Well, actually, Russia was the wrong place for communism to go. According to Marx, Russia was the last place that should be communistic, because it was agricultural. But the first place should have been like England,

Prabhupāda: So why they did not do that? Another rascaldom. Why you are taking chance in Russia, the foolish country?

Harikeśa: So that when if a country like England or America would become communistic, that would be very good.

Prabhupāda: Why would become? It is not the dictation of rascal Marx. Why they would? Why he is expecting like a fool like that? Why they would accept that philosophy?

Harikeśa: Well, they will have to accept it.

Prabhupāda: No, when they... That is another thing. Again, "they will have," future. Again rascal.

Morning Walk -- December 14, 1975, New Delhi:

Harikeśa: So in other words he has to look for food, but man has to make a factory in order to look for food...

Prabhupāda: No, he hasn't got to make factory. He has got also food but he... If he does, he is claiming to be more civilized. He has complicated his activities by opening factories. That's all. He has got also food. Let everyone remain in nature's... You take fruit from the trees and drink milk, you are also sufficient. You don't require to cook even. There are fruits. Formerly all the sages they were taking fruits from the trees, and milk from the cows. That's all. They did not even produce food. Like agriculture. No. Whatever nature is supplying, that's all. But you are killing the cows, eating the meat, and producing no food and and making things, complicated. This is your civilization.

Morning Walk -- December 14, 1975, New Delhi:

Prabhupāda: Yes. (chuckles) And I am thinking when making millions of dollars, he may not be lost. (to passerby) Hare Kṛṣṇa, Jaya! (break) ...millions of dollars, I shall do. I have got money. I want one soul saved, that is more than millions of dollars. (break)

Bhāgavata: (describing Māyāpur) All the devotees, some devotees, they live in the main building, and some devotees they work on the weaving, and some devotees work in agriculture, some devotees work in the gośālā. They make competition, that "Who will come to the maṅgala-ārati first, early." Now they are coming one hour before maṅgala-ārati. They're in a competition, and the ones who dance through the ārati, throught the entire ārati without stopping, the ones that come early, they get this stamp, Kṛṣṇa stamp. You get twenty stamps, you get one plate of mahā-prasādam. You get thirty stamps, forty stamps... You get one thousand stamps, you can go to Vṛndāvana for darśana. You get two thousand stamps you can go for opening ceremony in Bombay. Like this he is making program. Everyone is working very hard to come to the maṅgala-ārati first, to chant the..., and to dance. Everyone is working very hard. He has increased the enthusiasm.

Prabhupāda: These are all a school building? Hm? They're extended.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- January 17, 1976, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: That I want, that it must be properly utilized. Otherwise you purchase and there is no utility.

Jayapatāka: But Tapomaya, he says that we need more land to be able to feed all the devotees. And every time we're building more buildings, we're just losing land but we're not gaining so much agricultural land.

Prabhupāda: No, no. We can purchase. First of all think that whether we can utilize.

Jayapatāka: Land is all being utilized. We need more land for grazing the cows also.

Bhavānanda: Definitely the land can be utilized.

Prabhupāda: That's all. Then purchase.

Morning Walk -- March 12, 1976, Mayapur:

Pañcadraviḍa: The gopīs, they didn't like very much being instructed by Uddhava?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes. That was dry for them. They asked Uddhava, "Bring Kṛṣṇa. We don't want you any more..." (break) What is his name? That...? Tapomāyā. Tapa... He never sees whether it is watered. He is in charge of agricultural department? Where is Jayapatāka? He never sees. One man should be in charge to see things are being done.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Each... What was that, Śrīla Prabhupāda?

Prabhupāda: Each flat.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Each floor?

Prabhupāda: Yes, each floor. Yes. But Tapomāyā, he does not see even that the water is... He is in charge of agriculture?

Jayapatāka: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Similarly, it can be understood how he is seeing, he is managing. He does not see.

Morning Walk -- March 15, 1976, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Siddha-svarūpa: And the school who is more for self-sufficiency in agriculture, they also have brought out the.... In the last eight years or so they've brought to the surface more spiritual ideas.

Prabhupāda: Hm. So there is a section who'll support.

Siddha-svarūpa: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Who can support our movement.

Siddha-svarūpa: Yes.

Prabhupāda: So we have to capture them.

Siddha-svarūpa: They are more of a mystic yogi sort of school, I think.

Prabhupāda: Yes, this is also yoga, to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa. That is yoga.

Morning Walk -- March 15, 1976, Mayapura:

Revatīnandana: Another interesting thing about China is because they have such a huge population, in order to feed the population they've had to turn to production of agricultural products rather than meat.

Prabhupāda: Yes, that is the only way. That is the only way. If you want to make them happy.... That we are preaching in the Bhagavad-gītā. Annād bhavanti bhūtāni (BG 3.14). Produce grains. Everyone will eat nicely, and they will be happy.

Revatīnandana: Not only are they increasing grains, but because it's so much more economical to produce grains than to produce animals...

Prabhupāda: Yes, that is natural.

Revatīnandana: ...they are largely vegetarian.

Prabhupāda: That is natural.

Conversation with News Reporters -- March 25, 1976, Delhi:

Prabhupāda: Well, that is.... It is.... It is known to everyone. Kṛṣṇa says, annād bhavanti bhūtāni (BG 3.14). Anna. Anna means food grains, eatables. You must produce sufficient food grains. Why you are producing tire tube instead of food grains? And just entering your Delhi from Vṛndāvana, a big Goodyear factory, very big factory. You are producing tire tube, then iron, Goodyear and this and that. Where is food grain? And both sides, the field is vacant. Nobody is going to grow food grain. Then why you'll not starve? It is your fault. You are producing tire tube and iron instrument. You are neglecting agriculture. Then why you shall not suffer for want of food grain? And you are pleading, "Indians are starving." Well, why shall not starve if they do not follow Bhagavad-gītā? They are thinking, "By increasing industry in America..." They have got industry, at the same time food grains also. But you are taking to industry without taking care of growing food grains.

Morning Walk -- April 5, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: The tank is not with water.

Indian: Yes, they used to have water at both sides of the inside. Now, probably, they are short of water or they have switched on to agriculture. So many they used to have flowers and tulasī and all that. Now they have come to agriculture-wheat, barley.

Prabhupāda: Money. Such a nice tank is vacant.

Indian: I remember my young days. People, young boys, they used to come swim here.

Prabhupāda: Oh. Just see. So you may pay them, say, 150, 200 rupees each. Then it will be all maintained, and that much money you can spend.

Morning Walk -- April 16, 1976, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: ...give you this foolishness that in other countries they have taken to industry and they are also fully engaged in agriculture. Here the men are taken from the village for industrial work, and the agricultural work suffers.

Dr. Patel: Not so in industry. People are idle. It is just like a man having one son, another man having six sons. If the man with six sons works very hard, he is more, I mean, rich than that fellow. But those six boys don't work? Then he goes to hell.

Prabhupāda: No, he works. He sees that "In the village I shall get one rupee per day, and if I go to the town I shall get twenty rupees."

Dr. Patel: Not that, sir, even that, there is no jobs.

Prabhupāda: But he thinks there is job. He leaves.

Morning Walk -- April 16, 1976, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: Yes, they come here in search of job.

Prabhupāda: Yes. They suffer. They live in the huts and very nasty place, still expecting.

Dr. Patel: But the highly advanced countries like the States, United States, the agricultural.... I mean, this industry is completely contracted. A percentage the population is getting less and less in agriculture than before. Now hardly ten percent, people are...

Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa advises...

Dr. Patel: Yes, because agriculture, however...

Prabhupāda: Annād bhavanti bhūtāni (BG 3.14).

Room Conversation -- May 4, 1976, Honolulu:

Prabhupāda: In which way you have surpassed nature? First of all, if you are thinking like that, in which way you have surpassed the nature?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They say, "For example, before we began our agricultural development, there was very poor agricultural produce all over the country due to lack of proper water. Now we have laid huge irrigation systems, and there is no more drought."

Prabhupāda: Therefore that is nature's way. Nature supplies you water. That is nature's way. That means you are making perfect according to the nature's way. But nature give you water; you produce profusely. But if you want to go above the nature, you produce without water.

Garden Conversation -- June 14, 1976, Detroit:

Prabhupāda: And fell and flew away. How quickly they can take. Everyone knows his business. That intelligence there everywhere. Āhāra nidrā bhayam maithunī, for these things, how to eat, how to sleep, how to enjoy sex and how to defend, everyone knows. You do not require to educate them. Only they cannot take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is only possible by the human beings. Otherwise, other necessities of bodily, everyone knows. Tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovidaḥ. Every morning, this place should be washed with water. Then it will be very nice. Then we can sit down and chant all day and night, Hare Kṛṣṇa. What is the wrong there? Kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ (CC Adi 17.31). Haridāsa Ṭhākura was doing that. But don't imitate. But I mean to say, if you do that, where is the problem? (break) ...I think you can acquire some land through the government for agriculture and cow protection. There are so many, so much vacant land. I think they will accept community proposal. Sometimes invite some important government officials; let them see what you are doing.

Prabhupada Visits Palace and Garden -- June 22, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Especially if people are coming for agriculture.

Prabhupāda: Agriculture is the noblest profession. Give him some land, he cuts the wood, makes cottages. The land is clear, now till it, keep cows and grow foodgrains.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Doesn't put any local men out of work.

Prabhupāda: Simple thing. And then live comfortably, eat comfortably, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Comfortably does not mean satisfaction of the senses. Comfortably means we require primary necessities, to eat something, to sleep somewhere or have some sex—this is also bodily need—and to defend, that's all. These are the primary necessities. That can be arranged anywhere. God has given all facilities. Grow your own food, eat, and live anywhere. Just this place was rough like that, now it is handled nicely, it is very attractive. (Bengali) Any damn place, you cleanse it, it becomes home. And any nasty man, you decorate him, he becomes a bridegroom. (laughs)

Room Conversation After Film -- June 28, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Kīrtanānanda: Could have been a little more.

Prabhupāda: No, it is... In nutshell everything is there. Our agriculture, our temple, and food growing, and everything is there. Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa worship. The sum and substance, everything... And you are living practically for the last... Eight years? Here?

Kīrtanānanda: Yes.

Prabhupāda: You have no difficulty. You are happy more and more. Immense land. You can come, hundreds. We can provide. There is food. There is shelter.

Kīrtanānanda: They are worried that by protecting the cow it would not be economic, that they would lose. But actually we have proof—the more we protect cows, the more we gain in opulence.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Room Conversation -- July 6, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: Simply outside arrangement, how to take it.

Rūpānuga: So in other words the tree or the plant in agriculture takes the chemicals from the soil...

Prabhupāda: The seed, as soon as come in touch with the earth, the seed exacts particular chemical and everything from there. This is the arrangement.

Rūpānuga: So that spirit soul in the seed, he is not creating anything; he is taking.

Prabhupāda: Spirit soul, according to his karma, takes shelter of the situation. But the seed, the chemical composition, exacts the desired.

Rūpānuga: All Kṛṣṇa's arrangement.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Evening Darsana -- July 8, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: They should be trained up. Therefore Vedic civilization is training. Some section of the people, they should be very intellectuals, brain, just like to maintain this body we require first of all the brain. If the brain is not order, then other parts, they may be there, but they are also useless. So similarly, in the society, some intellectuals should be maintained. They are called brāhmaṇas, and some of the brāhmaṇas, they are sannyāsīs. They are simply meant for giving good instruction. They should personally become very good and intellectual, and they should give instruction to other people what is the value of life, how to live. This is one section. They should be free from the anxiety of maintaining themselves. The society should treat them as children and give them all necessities, bare necessities, not they are meant for living very luxuriously. No. Simple living. Then the next class, kṣatriyas, the politicians, administrators, they are also required to give protection to the people from injury. Kṣatriya, kṣat means injury, and trāyate, "one who saves people from injury." It is kṣatriya's duty. So kṣatriya should protect all the living entities, including the animals. They are also subjects. So the first, intellectual brāhmaṇas, then kṣatriya. Then vaiśyas, their business is to produce food. Food production you can do by agriculture, kṛṣi, and by giving protection to the cows.

Room Conversation About Mayapura Construction -- August 19, 1976, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: Maintenance, twenty thousand?

Gargamuni: Well, that includes agriculture, the gurukula, everything. It includes everything.

Jayapatākā: Actual maintenance, about eight or ten thousand. Other things, landscaping and other things...

Gargamuni: Landscaping... We built you a very wonderful park, very nice park. We've also put a walkway around the ghāṭa with stairs.

Prabhupāda: Now, what is the position of our big project?

Jayapatākā: That's what I was going to tell you first.

Room Conversation About Mayapura Construction -- August 19, 1976, Hyderabad:

Jayapatākā: Everything is very green and nice, but so far as agriculture is concerned...

Prabhupāda: It requires more rain.

Jayapatākā: It requires more rain and early tide. Right now the river is full, but it is not flooding. It is full. See, Mr. Choudhuri, he was interested. At that time when the Chief Minister wrote that, then he wrote this, that "If you were to see the Chief Minister, then this type of letter could be submitted and he would definitely see you, "although it is not necessary to see him.

Prabhupāda: Do you think it is?

Jayapatākā: No, it's not necessary to personally see him.

Room Conversation About Mayapura Construction -- August 19, 1976, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: Chanting is the main thing. Chanting and distributing prasādam.

Jayapatākā: If we get prasādam, then... I think that they all contribute some grain. They are very poor agricultural people, but there's no theft there. I asked. There's one man who has three acres. Three bighās of land he's giving. So they just grow their rice there and...

Prabhupāda: You can ask that instead of making paraṭā, a light khicuḍi in the morning. That is...

Hari-śauri: Instead of that sabji and everything.

Prabhupāda: No, sabji can make.

Room Conversation About Mayapura Construction -- August 19, 1976, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: Rajastan? Where? Which side.

Gargamuni: It's near Beekanair. It's with agricultural land and a big house. They said they spent about fifteen lacks on it, marble house. The family is not using it. They have no use. We're getting a lot of offers.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Gargamuni: But because of Māyāpur, I have not taken them very seriously, because we already have huge affair in Māyāpur. But if you like, we can see.

Prabhupāda: No, kāca dhun kāca kaphe (?): "If some property is offered, we should take it." That is the... And washed cloth. Kācā dhun kācā kapha (?). If somebody offers you very nicely washed cloth, you should use it. And some property, you must use it. They are... You can utilize this property by inhabiting the persons, if they are inclined to develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They are rotting outside Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They may come to live. We are for everyone. So he... Where does he reside, this gentleman?

Gargamuni: In Calcutta. His businesses are there. He's a wealthy man, very nice man.

Room Conversation -- August 20, 1976, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: Oh, we develop. We shall spend lakhs, two lakhs, three lakhs, as you...

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: So he wants us to give him a proposal...

Saurabha: And it has been... They have been doing agriculture before there, so it's in very good state. You don't have to do much.

Prabhupāda: Oh, then we shall take it. What is use of waiting? He has seen already. Take it.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: No, no, he wanted you to see it.

Prabhupāda: That, we shall go in October. We shall go. So when Saurabha has seen, that is my seeing. You give me a site plan. And we shall take it and develop it.

Room Conversation -- August 20, 1976, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: What do you think will be the expenditure to develop it into a nice place?

Saurabha: For agriculture I can't say, but according to me, it is all level. They have leveled everything out. It's like terrace. It's just... We can start growing anything there—potatoes, grains, strawberries, fruits.

Prabhupāda: Now for residential quarter there is already bungalow.

Saurabha: There is a bungalow with four big... It's a big bungalow. And stone is available there, just like here in Hyderabad. At the back of the land it's like a rocky area. One small portion that is so much stone there available, so you can just build from the stone anything. The land can be used for the cement, instead of cement. So very cheap you can build there.

Prabhupāda: One lakh rupees? No.

Saurabha: Well, it depends how many devotees are going to stay. But for a farm, I think ...

Prabhupāda: Say ten rooms.

Press Interview -- October 16, 1976, Chandigarh:

Interviewer: But we can eat goat's meat, and other animal's meat.

Prabhupāda: Yes. And the thing is that cow is especially recommended in the Bhagavad-gītā, kṛṣi-go-rakṣya vāṇijyaṁ vaiśya-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.44). That you must produce enough food grains by agriculture and give protection to the cows. That means if you have got enough food grains to eat and if you have got enough milk to get fatty substance, then your whole economic question is solved. Annād bhavanti bhūtāni (BG 3.14). If you get sufficient food there is no question of agitation. Everyone is satisfied. Animal and man. So you must produce. That is recommendation in the Bhagavad-gītā.

Press Interview -- October 16, 1976, Chandigarh:

Interviewer: In this age, how has the, you know, instrument of production because of this tractor, mechanization of agriculture.

Prabhupāda: So that is your interpretation. But we are trying to present Bhagavad-gītā as it is. That is our mission. That you produce food grains sufficiently and give protection to the cows so that food grains and milk will give you all benefits of economic question. You'll be satisfied. That's all. Not only that, I have practically seen that by God's arrangement there are so much land on this planet that you can produce ten times food stuff of the whole population. But they are not doing that. They are utilizing land... Just like in Africa I have seen, enough land is there, but what they are doing? They are keeping some cows and bulls, and when they are grown up... They are not given anything to eat. There is enough grass. And as soon as they are fatty, they are taken to the slaughterhouse. Not for their own eating, but exporting. This business is going on. Similar business is going on in Australia and New Zealand. Unnecessarily they are killing these cows, and this shortage of foodstuff and shortage of milk, this is not good arrangement. The recommended process in the Bhagavad-gītā, that annād bhavanti bhūtāni (BG 3.14). If you have sufficient foodstuff, then everyone is satisfied. And it is the duty of the vaiśya class, kṛṣi go-rakṣya vāṇijyam (BG 18.44); go-rakṣya vāṇijyam vaiśya-karma svabhāva-jam. The, according to Bhagavad-gītā, this is the business of the vaiśyas. The brāhmaṇas, they should be very much highly educated, enligthened in spiritual knowledge. The kṣatriyas, they should govern, give protection.

Room Conversation with Dr. Theodore Kneupper -- November 6, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Hm. A vaiśya means he should provide food. So food means agriculture and giving protection to the cows. If you have got sufficient food grains and milk, the whole food question is solved. And these rascals, they are not giving protection to the cows, but they are killing cows. So there is no third-class men even. All fourth-class. So how you can be happy under the control of fourth-class men? There is no first-class men, no second-class men, even no third-class. That means all fourth-class, fifth-class. That's all. This is the human society, combination of fourth, fifth, tenth-class men. Tenth-class. The fourth-class... There are fourth-class men and more than that, fifth-class men, uncivilized. Aborigines, they are fifth class. Kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ (SB 2.4.18). There are so many. In the human civilized... Civilization means there must be first-class men, second-class men, third-class men, fourth-class men. Then rest all fifth-class, up to tenth-class. But at the present moment there is some fourth-class men and all fifth-class, sixth-class, up to tenth-class. So how we can be happy? There is no first-class men, there is no second-class men, not even third-class men. Who is caring for agriculture? They are preparing Goodyear tire. Now eat tires. You rascal, eat tires. How long you'll eat tires? If there is no customer for tire, that means... So that is coming. And I went to Detroit about six months ago. There're factories. They have manufactured the wheels, huge stock. That means they are not selling. And the Goodyear Tire, they advertising, "So many millions tires we are manufacturing." You have been in Detroit? Yes. They're proud that "We have manufactured so many tires, so many wheels." The time will come when there will be no purchaser for tires and wheels, and they'll starve. That is coming. What they will do? If they become hungry there is no food grain. For some time they will eat, killing the cows, and then there will be no food, and what these tire and wheels will do? But there is no first-class brain that "We are wasting time by manufacturing tires and wheels. Without wheels we could live, but how we shall live without food grain?" There is no brain, no first-class men, no second-class men, no third-class men.

Room Conversation -- November 13, 1976, Vrndavana:

Pradyumna: They send Peace Corps... Tejas was in Peace Corps. Tejas was in the Peace Corps. He was sent to India. In Telegu Nagara he was helping with agriculture. He would go to some village, underdeveloped. He would teach them how to plant nicely, fertilize, different things.

Hari-śauri: He knows about that?

Pradyumna: Yes, he knows all about agriculture.

Hari-śauri: Why don't we send him to Hyderabad?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Pradyumna: He worked there for about...

Prabhupāda: Let him go to Hyderabad.

Pradyumna: He knows all about agriculture.

Prabhupāda: Mm.

Hari-śauri: And he speaks the language too.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Room Conversation on Farm Management -- December 10, 1976, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: Make very nice palatable prasādam. We shall spend for that. Why miserly? There is no need of miserly. You are going to earn money by agricultural produce, so how the money will be utilized? It will be utilized for Kṛṣṇa's purpose. By prasādam, by chanting, by drama, somehow or other bring them. That is our mission. Congregational chanting. Always festival, and we shall spend for that. Immediately arrange. If there is scarcity of money, I shall pay, but from... Bring them somehow or other. Tomorrow I want to see at least 500 men. Make arrangement like that. I came here to see that, not to sit down in a room peacefully. So there also we shall inform the meeting that we want to propagate this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement town to town, village to village, by attracting them with musical demonstration of saṅkīrtana, dramatic play, movie, prasādam. Somehow or other they should come to the temple, to the pandal and congregationally chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, hear Bhagavad-gītā, Bhāgavatam. For this purpose, whatever expenditure is required, that you should collect and spend. This is the scheme of Hare Kṛṣṇa movement. You must come here, question, understand, and vigorous propaganda should be inaugurated town to town, village to village. Those who are educated, to them distribution of literature. The school, college, library, institution, university, by scholarly presentation. That is wanted.

Room Conversation on Farm Management -- December 10, 1976, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: Rādhikā with Her friends, they are cooking. And they cook so nicely that parama ānande kṛṣṇa korena bhojana. With great pleasure Kṛṣṇa is eating. And that we have to distribute. Not dog's food. You do not know what is the purpose of this mission. No need. Here is a good chance, don't spoil it. Produce food. Make profit, you spend for Kṛṣṇa. Train all devotees how to cook. All women. Don't distribute dog's eatable things. Kṛṣṇa prasādam.

rādhikāra pakka anna vividha byañjana
parama ānande kṛṣṇa korena bhojana

Kṛṣṇa is taking with great pleasure. That prasādam you have to distribute. Not that dog is rejecting and you have and you distribute that prasādam. Why do you think like that? This prasādam, this so-called, rubbish thing which is rejected by dog and you are offering to the human being. You do it. If you have no money I shall pay. There is no question of scarcity of money. Don't spoil money, but spend for real purpose, that's all. And you arrange for huge agricultural... Whatever is required, water, we shall arrange for that. Labor. Everything. And if you perform yajña, there will be rain. Anyway, I asked you the other day to fill up the tank. What is the difficulty?

Room Conversation on Farm Management -- December 10, 1976, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: Hm. But God is giving hint that if, "Rascal, it is in My hand. I can keep you in starvation to death." The man is dull brain. Anyway, I am anxious to learn, why so many people are suffering? They have become all gray. Throughout whole France I saw. From Paris to Valencay I went. Gray. These people are not lazy, but there was no water. They utilize every inch land for agricultural purpose. At least I saw in France. Then maybe everywhere in Europe. They are not lazy fellow. There is organization, government organization here. People, they... Anyway let us show some example. Immediately make program. You have seen, yes?

Devotee: Yes.

Room Conversation -- December 12, 1976, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: Yes. So how to adjust these things now? Do it.

Mahāṁśa: What I would suggest, Prabhupāda, is that I could stay here, and whatever work we have to do, we sit together in the morning or in the night and we decide, "Tomorrow we have to do so much. We need so much labor for vegetables. We need so much labor for this, this." We make up a whole schedule of work for the next day. And in the morning laborers come and Tejas, who has experience in agriculture, he can show how this has to be done, how that...

Prabhupāda: And he can speak Telegu also.

Mahāṁśa: Yes. And I can be there to see that there is proper communication. And then after ten o'clock, because laborers start work early morning, so at ten o'clock, then I can go to Hyderabad and do official work for the day, see the government people and things like that.

Prabhupāda: So what do you think? Eh?

Haṁsadūta: That's good.

Prabhupāda: That is all right?

Haṁsadūta: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Then it is all right. Do it like that.

Room Conversation with Life Member, Mr. Malhotra -- December 22, 1976, Poona:

Prabhupāda: There is no need. It is simply bogus. The first thing you require... You have got this body. You have to eat and you have to dress yourself. You can get from this land. Keep some cows, grow your agricultural products, also cotton, then all economic problem is solved. And save time and understand what is your relationship with God. That is India. This is Vedic civilization.

Mr. Malhotra: This era happened in the past, in the last five hundred years.

Prabhupāda: India is based on this principle.

Mr. Malhotra: In every era demons and good people must be.

Prabhupāda: That is there.

Morning Walk -- December 27, 1976, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: So anyone's question about this, this misdirected civilization? In India there was no such misguided civilization. Now they have learned how to misguide people, and they have taken this ideal, that "Unless we become like the Europeans and Americans our progress is checked." This is going on. Actually there is no progress. We are condemned. Why they should waste so much energy not for progress. Before British period, India, there were cities, but not like this because their energy was utilized. Cities were constructed especially in pilgrimages, like Mathurā. Mathurā is very old city, but that is a pilgrimage. Dvārakā, that is also very old city. First of all there was no need of big, big cities because there was no industry. They did not know what is industry. And there were ample food-food grains, milk, vegetables. Those who were eating meat, they were eating small, nonimportant animals like goats, hogs, and they never touched cows. Cows are very important animals. Even the stool, urine, is important. In the agricultural field the cows, passing stool, they will also benefit. Natural fertilizing.

Room Conversation -- December 31, 1976, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: No, no. That is agriculture. You cannot take any plant. Not only tulasī. Any plant from India.

Dr. Patel: You may take away the diseases.

Prabhupāda: Whatever it may be. Not only tulasī plant, any plant you cannot take. You cannot take any vegetables. There is agricultural restriction.

Dr. Patel: But I think tulasī can be grown in all the countries. Even in cold.

Prabhupāda: Little cold countries with little care.

Dr. Patel: England?

Prabhupāda: Oh yes. We have got tulasī.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- January 3, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: No Gurukula... When we go to the chuni,(?) in front of...

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Ha, ha, ha. In that direction.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is agricultural land.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Right opposite...

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Hari-śauri: Where that gate is.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Room Conversation -- January 3, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: So if we can get that land, then we can divert our sewer in the land and utilize it for nice agricultural purposes. So instead of spending lakh of rupees for municipality, why not acquire that land?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Acquire or buy? Acquire.

Prabhupāda: Acquire means you have to pay, but government...

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, but acquire usually takes a long time.

Prabhupāda: Not long time. They'll give us, because it is lying vacant.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: On the sewage problem in Vṛndāvana, we'll have to make, do something quickly because even the Gurukula will not be able to open till we can...

Prabhupāda: So you can do it immediately. But go on, purchase. It is lying vacant.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Okay, that's a very good idea. But we'll still have to put a pipe underground coming out.

Prabhupāda: That is not much, a few you, few yards only. And then introduce it and distribute that water, the whole land, and you will get good agricultural produce, very good. You can have very good business.

Hari-śauri: That can be used for agriculture?

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. Oh, yes. This water is very valuable for agricultural purpose. Nature has made in such a way. Aiye. All rejected water, you can utilize for agriculture.

Room Conversation -- January 3, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: So I think you make this point. But best thing is that if you can acquire that land, that is the best solution. We can utilize that land?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, for agriculture. That's very good.

Prabhupāda: It is just in the corner.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: We can have a small gośālā there also.

Prabhupāda: Anything we can do.

Room Conversation -- January 3, 1977, Bombay:

Hari-śauri: I should make it, or Pālikā or...?

Prabhupāda: Yes, Pālikā. (break) ...business, that requires so many other things. But if you take to agriculture you can do it immediately. Kṛṣi-go-rakṣya. That... We are going to do that. Kṛṣi... This is beginning, family life, maintenance, body and soul together. This is the beginning. Business is there when there is excess. Kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyam (BG 18.44). First of all you take care of the cows and engage yourself in agricultural products. Then when there is excess production, you trade, get some money for other purposes. But you... Agriculture means you work for producing food. That is wanted. Why immediately go to trade? Trade is required when there is excess product. Everything is there. Kṛṣi-go-rakṣya. And the kṛṣi you can produce independently. You simply work. You have got your hands and legs. You till the ground and throw some seed, and it will come. One kilo seeds, you'll get one hundred mounds. Then, when the product is excess, you trade. Everything is there. If you produce food grain, you'll eat nicely and you'll be strong. You'll be able to work more. Our point is take Kṛṣṇa's instruction. Everything will be perfect. Not that Kṛṣṇa is advising immediately sarva-dharmān parityajya (BG 18.66). For that stage you are not prepared. That I know. But in your present stage what you'll do, that is perfect.

Room Conversation -- January 3, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Where is the question of leaving? Agriculture... You take to agriculture—that means you leave everything?

Girirāja: Well, what I have now.

Prabhupāda: And what you have got? You are asking that "I require now food." That means you have nothing. You have no food even. (aside:) Oh, you have brought it very quickly. Very nice. All right. (break) Live very comfortably, eat very comfortably and work. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Simply wasting time, the civilization... śrama eva hi kevalam (SB 1.2.8). Working hard and wasting valuable time of... Misguided. Andhā yathāndhair upanīya... When I think of their position... So every Vaiṣṇava should be para-duḥkha-duḥkhī. So you like it?

Hari-śauri: For thirty paisa it's very good. For the price it's very good.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Room Conversation -- January 8, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etat. This is the basic principle of... A man and woman is married; the purpose is sex. Now, when he's married, ataḥ gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair. "Then where shall I enjoy sex? I must have very nice apartment, gṛha. Then I must maintain myself, kṣetra." Formerly agriculture was the source of maintenance. Ataḥ gṛha-kṣetra. "Then I get some children, suta, then some friends." Ataḥ gṛha-kṣetra-suta apta vitta. "Then money." In this way, janasya moho 'yam ahaṁ mameti: (SB 5.5.8) "He increases this paraphernalia, and he becomes entangled:" Ahaṁ mam... "I am the proprietor; I am the father; I am this; I am that." And one day, nature's law comes, gives him a slap: "Get out!" Finished.

Mr. Asnani: All relationship goes away.

Prabhupāda: Mṛtyuḥ ahaṁ sarva-haraś ca. "I take away."

Room Conversation -- January 8, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: So I shall begin again kitri. (Hindi) (break) ...take agriculture, you must keep cows. Both of them are related.

Girirāja: Together.

Prabhupāda: The cow will be subsisting on the grass, and refused things he'll take. And the substance you take. And even if does not give milk, the stool is useful. And you get food grown by the cows and bulls and milk. You subsist. So by mutual cooperation you subsist. You save time. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Why you are bothered?

Girirāja: No bother.

Prabhupāda: This I want to introduce. And it has become successful in the Western countries. They are doing very nicely, New Vrindaban. Very nice. And Philadelphia, New Orleans. Men, they're happy. So why not in India? India is mainly agricultural country. On this principle you can take. There is no objection. I left Haṁsadūta in charge, but he left everything.

Conversation on Train to Allahabad -- January 11, 1977, India:

Rāmeśvara: There must be still education so the people will... Say we are one day...

Prabhupāda: No education, no. Education will be required only for the guiding class: brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, not for anyone, śūdras. They are two only. Others will... What education required? Suppose if you produce... If you..., you are accustomed to agriculture, cow protection, there is no need going to college and schools. If you remain illiterate, still you can do.

Rāmeśvara: But in America...

Prabhupāda: No, no, America is not... I am talking of the (indistinct), the class who will guide the aim of life, brāhmaṇa class, and a class that will give them protection from injuries by others, kṣatriya class. Then the next class, food-producing men, they do not require. Actually only brāhmaṇas, they require education, or all others, they will simply see and learn. So little education required—that you can learn by hearing only, that's all. Suppose a brāhmaṇa class says that "This is good; this is bad." So you hear and accept. It doesn't require to go to school and college. So education will be simplified. (break) It has become very much complicated.

Conversation and Instruction On New Movie -- January 13, 1977, Allahabad:

Prabhupāda: You cannot expect everyone to be brahminical qualification. We are neither brāhmaṇa nor... We do not belong to any sect, but Kṛṣṇa's satisfaction, we can do anything. That, because we are doing some business, we are not vaiśyas. Just like Nanda Mahārāja was agriculturist. So that does not mean he was a Vaiṣṇava. But professionally, externally, he looked like a vaiśya.

Rāmeśvara: I see that in Los Angeles. Not everyone can follow every program. So I'm always telling them, to encourage them, that even something is better than nothing. Blind uncle is better than no uncle. So do whatever you can.

Prabhupāda: Yes, they should be encouraged. They must give some service to the institution. By earning money, that is hard-earned money. (man chanting on loudspeaker in background) So why our men are not chanting? This is...

Rāmeśvara: They're just starting.

Prabhupāda: He's also stressing on chanting, this man, Punjabi. He is stressing that "Mind is restless. Chant. The mind will be controlled."

Room Conversation -- January 31, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: That may be. But this should be our aim. We should not be attracted by the modern city life. Simplified life. Save time and utilize for advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is perfect life. Just like Vṛndāvana. Vṛndāvana life means agriculturist, cowherd boys, uneducated girls, cows and calves, and tree, fruits. This is Vṛndāvana. The center is Kṛṣṇa.

Room Conversation -- February 12, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: So our point is the devotees shall work. So there is no program to pay wages.

Jayapatākā: Gradually, more and more, we're getting more devotees who can work in the agriculture. But to date, most of the people that join are either the handloomers or... We're getting mostly handloomers and to some extent some more learned, more educated boys.

Prabhupāda: Not labor class.

Jayapatākā: Not labor class. But we need them also for translation and other things. So to make up the gap them we had to hire. But that's lessened... Now we're getting also. Some labor class are joining.

Prabhupāda: So hire. That also he can become devotee. He can spare fifty percent of his income. Then he becomes a devotee. Hiring men and working, I don't think that will be very profitable. Then we can purchase from the market.

Room Conversation -- February 12, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Where you have?

Jayapatākā: Where... Just the place would have to be... Their place is a bit irregular. Seeing the ultimate plan, we have to find out one place. It would be in this area somewhere. Now they're keeping records of how much is spent on agriculture, and how much is received. So what is the profit or loss, that can be ascertained. And actually that's not such a threat because I know that many of the things he is doing by contract. If at some time we need outside laborer for, say, harvest time, we need to harvest—so we pay them ten rupees or twenty rupees to harvest one bighā. So there is no question of labor. That is the contract.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Evening Darsana -- February 15, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Similarly, we can develop farm here also. Farm development is Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. Kṛṣṇa is tending cows, and Balarāma is plowing. Therefore the plow and flute, flute for tending cows and plow for agriculture-Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma. In Africa also you have got good opportunity for these farm projects.

Brahmānanda: Yes. Actually one of our members in Mombassa, he wanted to buy us a farm. Unfortunately Cyavana rejected it. Anyway, he went and bought the farm for eighty thousand, and now he's developed it, and it's a wonderful farm. We went there for a program. It's very productive. He has one manager, an Indian manager, and the Africans do all the work. He has cows and mangoes, growing vegetables. He's very thankful to us because we helped...

Prabhupāda: Gave the idea.

Room Conversation -- February 18, 1977, Mayapura:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They'll leave. So we should not encourage that at all. I think it's different than here.

Prabhupāda: No, their attention should be in chanting. And produce their own food, agriculture. And as soon as they get English education, then... Not "as soon as," but not all of them are fit for being educated. It is not possible. They are śūdra class of men. What he will be educated? Śūdra, vaiśya, they should learn how to plow, how to produce food. They are thinking otherwise, that "Plowing is great labor. If we educate our boys in English, they can go to the city. Immediately they get some..."

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "Get more money, work less."

Prabhupāda: Yes. Actually it is not the position, but they're thinking like that. Everyone wants to work less and get more money. That is Marshall's theory of economic impetus. From Germany also there is a bad report.

Room Conversation -- February 21, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: This oil. You produce castor seed oil. You grow castor seed by agricultural.

Bhāgavata: Grow cas...?

Prabhupāda: Castor seed.

Bhāgavata: Castor seed.

Prabhupāda: Yes, and you get sufficient oil.

Bhāgavata: And that was used, castor seed.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Instead of one cand..., one lamp, hundred candlepower, if you want more light you just have hundred castor seed lamps. That's all. It will look beautiful, and there'll be light. You'll find it. If you bring one hundred castor seed lamps, it will look very nice and the light is there.

Room Conversation with GBC members -- March 2-3, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: India's leaders, they are now giving stress on agriculture. So we should very nicely organize the Hyderabad. What you have resolved about that?

Hari-śauri: What have you resolved about Hyderabad?

Rāmeśvara: We resolved that we would send money from the record sales to help develop the food projects there, the farm there and the food distribution.

Prabhupāda: First of all you depute two or three GBCs to go there and see what is their program, how they'll utilize the money.

Room Conversation with GBC members -- March 2-3, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: No, Indian GBC plus other GBC. Four or five men should study.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Prabhupāda's talking about the agricultural program.

Rāmeśvara: But this ties in.

Gargamuni: Agriculture minister.

Prabhupāda: Not only here, but everywhere. The farm project is sound project. So what other things?

Satsvarūpa: There's quite a list of resolutions, yesterday's and today's. Beginning yesterday morning: We finished the last assignments of GBC men, that Jagadīśa will continue as the education minister and that Svarūpa Dāmodara will execute his GBC duties in connection with the Bhaktivedanta Institute, Eastern headquarters in Bombay, Western headquarters Washington, D.C., with Rūpānuga.

Prabhupāda: And Boston also? No.

Room Conversation -- April 19, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: At that time I was ten years old. Or twelve years. Not more than twelve years. But I liked that place very much. They still presented the foodstuff, fresh. I have been many... Not many. In the village so tasteful, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, and they cooked so nicely. Nice milk. Everything very nutritious. That life is gone. What is this nonsense life, hanging in the daily buses, outside. Kṛṣṇa advises to live village life, agriculture, and utilize time for understanding your spiritual life. That is... So we are trying to introduce this, this farm life. (break) Out of so many other living entities, he tried to give me trouble. How you can check?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Adhyātmika, adhibhautika, adhidaivika.

Prabhupāda: So therefore a Kṛṣṇa conscious person, they know the body is the cause of... "Because I have got this body, I am suffering. Therefore partial service to the body, what benefit?" That is... That requires very good brain. Today I have got eye trouble. Tomorrow I have got leg trouble. The other day I have got hand trouble

Evening Darsana -- May 9, 1977, Hrishikesh:

Prabhupāda: So we are trying to imitate the Western way of life, but it is not possible for us to do that. Our constitution is different, spiritual, and their is material. Now they should be combined. Our government, our people, they want Western way of life, say motorcar. So they can purchase motorcar from foreign countries. What is the wrong there? Why we should waste our energy for manufacturing? Similarly, India should produce agricultural products. They want... Just like England. There is no food, food grain. They have... Everything they have to import. Even vegetables, daily vegetables, they have to import. So United Nation on the basis of spiritual understanding... Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). Actually everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa, or God, and we are His sons. Kṛṣṇa never claimed that "Indians are My sons." Kṛṣṇa said, sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya: (BG 14.4) "In every form of life the living entity, their mother is this material nature, and I am the seed-giving father." So on that basis the civilization should be established, and the instruction of Kṛṣṇa should be followed by everyone, and they will be happy. That is the only way. Otherwise they'll suffer continually. They are suffering, and they will continue. (aside:) They have come to disturb. So that philosophy, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we are trying to distribute all over the world, and they are accepting. This is the first time in the history of the world that foreigners, they are becoming devotees of Kṛṣṇa. Now, in the history of the world there was no temple outside India, neither devotee also.

Conversation Pieces -- May 27, 1977, Vrndavana:

Indian devotee (1): So we also gained a farm. We have started cultivating now.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Kṛṣṇa is giving you good chance. Develop farm and have temple. Go on enthusiastically.

Mahāṁśa: This morning I read in the newspapers about the exodus to village soon by the Prime Minister, and there the Prime Minister says that he is eager on developing village programs to establish agriculture facilities and village programs.

Prabhupāda: That is real work. If the Prime Minister has got this thing in his brain, then I can understand that he can do so.

Conversation Pieces -- May 27, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Still you can take advantage of it. What you are doing? Here is this nice statement. Here is the thought.

Yaśomatīnandana: Another, Home Minister, also is saying these same things, discourage the factories and industrialization...

Prabhupāda: This is ruination. Factory means ruination. Factory means destruction. And agriculture means construction. The father is going to the factory, and the children are starving-destruction. Go on reading.

Yaśomatīnandana: "The human being is the elder brother of all other living beings." (break)

Prabhupāda: Satkāra. Now, whatever you...

Yaśomatīnandana: Practical solution for all problems.

Meeting With Governor of Tamil Nadu -- July 31, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Oh. Thank you very much. She is married?

Governor: She is married. She has a husband. She was also an advocate in... This is husband. He's in the government of India agricultural department now.

Prabhupāda: Very good. We are very much interested in agriculture.

Governor: He's a scientist. Very, very great scientist. He is Ph.D. of California University.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Governor: He studied in California, and he's a Ph.D. of California University.

Prabhupāda: I have got two, three Ph.D.s.

Room Conversation -- October 6, 1977, Vrndavana:

Haṁsadūta: Yes, that would be very good there because it's also a very ideal climate. Everything grows there very easily because there's plenty of rain, fertile soil, and there's only one city—that's Colombo. And it's a very small city. People are all agriculturalists. The government is also giving land free to encourage agriculture. Simply that it has to be cleared. It's jungle land; it has to be cleared. Shall we try for something like that?

Prabhupāda: What you can do it easily...

Haṁsadūta: Do.

Prabhupāda: Yes. This Dr. Kovoor affair has given you some position.

Haṁsadūta: Yes.

Prabhupāda: As an atheist... He's an atheist.

Haṁsadūta: Yes.

Prabhupāda: His position is lost.

Room Conversation -- November 6, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Can you... If you are able to... (mic moving) Subscribe within our jurisdiction so much land. Otherwise they will sublet(?) it. Why you have purchased agricultural land?

Jayapatākā: We will purchase in the... We'll get a permit from the government to hold more land. And until that time, then we'll purchase in the name of Gopāla Kṛṣṇa, Svarūpa Dāmodara.

Page Title:Agriculture (Conversations)
Compiler:Rishab, Mayapur
Created:24 of May, 2011
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=96, Let=0
No. of Quotes:96