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Blasphemy (Conversations)

Conversations and Morning Walks

1967 Conversations and Morning Walks

Discourse on Lord Caitanya Play Between Srila Prabhupada and Hayagriva -- April 5-6, 1967, San Francisco:

Hayagrīva: Yes. Does she give Him her blessing finally?

Prabhupāda: No. Of course, mother's blessings are always there. But the scene was that mother was crying and He was falling on the feet and His mother was very sorry that He had very beautiful hair. Now it is all cut off. In this way, the scene is very pathetic. So in this way, after remaining at Advaita's house, His mother was asking Him through Advaita, "Let Him remain for some time." Then He consulted "Mother, now just you think over that I have taken sannyāsa. And if I remain in this way, leaving My own family, and if I leave another family, do you think this is very nice for a sannyāsī? So give Me permission to go away." Then mother agreed and other friends like Advaita and Śrīnivāsa requested His mother that "You give Him permission." Then (s)he said, "Yes, I have to give Him permission because He has already accept sannyāsa. If somebody blames Him, blasphemy, that is also not good. So my last request is that He may make His headquarter at Jagannātha Purī so that... Because people generally go to Jagannātha Purī, so I shall be able at least to know about Him, how He is faring there. That is my last request." So Caitanya Mahāprabhu at once accepted. "My dear mother, I shall always stay in Jagannātha Purī, and sometimes I may come to Bengal also to take bath in the Ganges. So there will be meeting. Now let Me go." So in this way they departed and Caitanya Mahāprabhu for the last time saw His friends and mother.

1968 Conversations and Morning Walks

Interview -- February 1, 1968, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is offering respect. The whole, our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, is to ask people to surrender to God. They have rebelled against God. Somebody says, "There is no God." Somebody says that "I am God." These nonsense things are to be eradicated from human society. So they should be trained to submit. So the submission is symbolized by bowing down: "Yes, you are great; I am humble." This should be taught. Otherwise, whimsically somebody is thinking that "I am God." They do not know what is God. It is most foolish proposal if somebody claims that he is God. He is dog. We very much hate this proposal, when a man claims that he is God. It is most blasphemous.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk At Cheviot Hills Golf Course -- May 15, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: For giving them opportunity to kill? And where is the opportunity? The Lord said, "Thou shalt not kill." Where do they get the opportunity of killing? That is another blaspheme. Where do they get this opportunity? They manufacture.

Śukadeva: In Seattle not only do they eat cows, but they run out of cows and they start eating horses. It is very famous now to buy horsemeat. They have horse steaks instead of cow steaks. It has become so degraded now that they are eating horses.

Prabhupāda: Why?

Paramahaṁsa: They ran out of cows. Cows cost too much.

Śukadeva: So now they are killing horses.

Prabhupāda: So now they will eat their old father. Yes. No price. Home made. (laughter) Home made concession.

Conversation with Sridhara Maharaja -- June 27, 1973, Navadvipa:

Śrīdhara Mahārāja: He wanted election of Vāsudeva Prabhu, Gaura Mahārāja and that Bhagavānānanda, but Paraśurāma. But anyhow, he escaped and he came to Tīrtha Mahārāja, his former relative, old Tīrtha Mahārāja, former relative. Then Tīrtha Mahārāja told him that "What about my guru?" "Well, if your guru on one side, another bullock in another side. And if you can plow and produce some crops, and that can be offered to Mahāprabhu, then your guru may have a path of relish." (laughs) See what Tīrtha Mahārāja says, "This is blasphemy." "No, it is true, but this is very cruel. But this is truth."

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Śrīdhara Mahārāja: If he's presently the pakka Māyāvādī, if he's used passively by a great man then only in that way he can come this side. Not in front walking. Not by front walking. Only by back drawing, he can be taken to this side only. It is quite true. That... So Cinmayānanda. Now Gaura Mahārāja, he knows me better, and he, he's a paid Goswami of those Patrikā persons.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Śrīdhara Mahārāja: And they are exploiting him. He's exploiting them.

Prabhupāda: This time, in their meeting, they made me chief guest. But I did not attend.

Morning Walk -- December 8, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Yaśomatīnandana: These Christians are very blasphemous.

Prajāpati: Very blasphemous.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Karandhara: Party spirit.

Prabhupāda: No no, what is their value? When they are sanctioning abortion, homosex, now they are finished. They have no value.

Karandhara: Well, most or a greater proportion of the traditional Christians condemn homosex and abortion. A good quantity of the traditional Christians, they condemn abortion and homosex.

Prabhupāda: Yes, they are good, but mostly, as you were telling me that, that Pope is disgusted... Yes. Nobody cares for the Bible or the Pope. That is everywhere, not only Christian. Actually there is no religion at the present moment. All animals. We don't blame only the Christians. The Hindus, Muslim, everyone. They have lost all religion.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- April 12, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: It is true because it is spoken by Vyāsadeva. How you say it is false? You cannot say that. That is blasphemy.

Indian man (1): In olden days there used to be the ghosts and all these things, but now that is gradually...

Prabhupāda: But gradually... That does not mean you have improved very much. Because you do not believe in the ghost...

Indian man (1): Our mental condition has improved.

Prabhupāda: No, that does not mean... There are ghosts. Ghost means subtle life. It is not gross. So people know and has got some idea of the ghost, but they have no descriptive idea. Here is a descriptive idea. That is śāstra. Just like less than the śūdras, it is called pañcamas. How many pañcamas are there, that is described in the Bhāgavata. Kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā ābhīra-śumbhā yavanaḥ khasādayaḥ (SB 2.4.18). That is śāstra. Gives full explanation, full knowledge. Śāstra cakṣuṣā. We have to accept through the śāstra. Not that "Because I have not seen, therefore it is false." No. Vyāsadeva has no business to tell you something false.

Morning Walk -- April 20, 1974, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: You said that one gentleman, his name is Adhyātma?

Indian man (1): He was blaspheming our society. It was a (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: I can understand that he is not very favorable. But still, you said that we hate Hindi. You have said like that. Don't say like that because there may be one... Because preaching means we have to preach amongst the rascals but you do not become rascal. He may be... (break) "...Who will read Hindi? You do not... Who will read Hindi? You can read Hindi, that's all. But who will read outside Hindi? Therefore, Guru Mahārāja..." This should have been the reply. "If there is good customers for Hindi reading, then we can write Hindi books. But nobody will read Hindi." That should have been the reply. Therefore we write in English. "Why Jawaharlal Nehru read his books in English? Why Dr. Radhakrishnan writes his books in English? He has not written a single book in Hindi. Why? Why he was president? Why he was prime minister? Why did you not criticize him?" That should have been replied, that "As soon as a book is written in English, it is for world reading. And if it is written in Hindi, who is going to read except a few people like you?

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Conversation with Devotees on Theology -- April 1, 1975, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: This is nonsense. If you know somebody, why should you say, "His name should not be explained"?

Brahmānanda: They say that God's name is so pure and we are so impure that to utter His name is to make it impure.

Ravīndra-svarūpa: Is blasphemy.

Acyutānanda: No, I heard the explanation that a nonbeliever should not know it.

Prabhupāda: That is all right.

Acyutānanda: So they don't say it out loud.

Prabhupāda: No, when we come to argument that... We are supposed to be all believers in God. We are not nonbelievers. We simply want to ascertain who is that God. We are not nonbelievers. Then some persons who believe in God come together so to ascertain who is God. So just like when we come to a meeting to elect a president, so they are not nonbelievers. They are not nonbelievers.

Morning Walk -- June 30, 1975, Denver:

Prabhupāda: He is a rascal, rascal.

Satsvarūpa: He told one professor that our devotees in general, they're not tolerant when someone speaks something.

Prabhupāda: (To Bon:) "You are also not tolerant. Why you have come here? Because you are envious. You are the most intolerant. You are blaspheming."

Satsvarūpa: Yes. He also said that on the altar in Toronto... It's an altar just like in all our temples. He said, "Lord Caitanya should not be there with Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa." They have them separated like...

Prabhupāda: Why? My Guru Mahārāja have so many Māyāpur temples, Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Brahmānanda: All the Gauḍīya temples, they all have...

Bhāvānanda: Yogapīṭha has.

Prabhupāda: Everywhere.

Room Conversation with Mr. & Mrs. Wax, Writer and Editing Manager of Playboy Magazine -- July 5, 1975, Chicago:

Jayatīrtha: They tear off the neckbeads and tear up your pictures in front of the devotees, try to force them to eat meat, so many things.

Devotee: Blasphemy.

Jayatīrtha: Recently we got a conviction against him. He got six months in prison. In Los Angeles we got to convict him for this kind of activity. So he is being stopped.

Guest (Indian man): Also he can't come to Canada any more, can't cross the border.

Jayatīrtha: Oh, he's been barred.

Guest: He is barred from coming to Canada.

Brahmānanda: He was put into the Denver county jail also when we were in Denver. He's out on bail now.

Mrs. Wax: Not only kidnapping devotees, Kṛṣṇa devotees, but all religious movements. He can't stand them.

Prabhupāda: And the parents are taking help from him.

Morning Walk -- September 15, 1975, Vrndavana:

Brahmānanda: They say it is blasphemy.

Prabhupāda: No. Yes, we also say. Although everything is expansion of the energy of Kṛṣṇa, not that everything is Kṛṣṇa. That is the difference between Māyāvāda philosophy and Vaiṣṇava philosophy. Vaiṣṇava philosophy takes everything as expansion of Kṛṣṇa's energy. Parāsya brāhmaṇa śaktiḥ. (Aside:) Jaya. Sarvedam akhilaṁ jagat. Everything is expansion of the energy of the Supreme Brahman. Kṛṣṇa confirms it, mayā tatam idaṁ sarvam. Without Kṛṣṇa, there is no existence. But that does not mean anything existentional is Kṛṣṇa. That is Māyāvāda philosophy.

Brahmānanda: These religions even say that it is offensive to say the name of God.

Prabhupāda: So what can I do? (laughter) If the rascal says something, so what can I do?

Morning Walk -- October 7, 1975, Durban:

Prabhupāda: They were formerly Hindus. All Muslims were Hindus formerly.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: They have an Islamic propagation center here, and I went there. I was walking by one day. They invited me in. So they began to blaspheme this and that. So I asked them, "What is your conception of God?" He said, "God is beyond conception." So I told him that "Therefore you cannot say that Kṛṣṇa is God and you cannot say that Kṛṣṇa is not God, because you don't know what God is."

Prabhupāda: Then what did he say?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: He couldn't reply.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Because you have no conception of God, how can you deny or accept? Remain fool, that's all. That is the difficulty. When you ask them, whole world, "What is the conception of God?" they'll not be able to answer. Still, they will say there is no God. This is the foolishness going on all over the world. Actually they are not concerned with God. They accept the idea of God or so-called God for their material facilities. "O God, give us our daily bread.

Morning Walk -- November 21, 1975, Bombay:

Mahāṁsa: And one day one of our regular devotees, he went to see him and said, "What about in America there are so many people, they are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa?" So he says, "In America also there are many fools." So he is blaspheming like this, how can we cooperate with such people?

Prabhupāda: No, we cannot cooperate. But if there is meeting we can prove them that they are fools. (laughter) That's all. (aside:) Hare Kṛṣṇa. Jaya. Jaya.

Indian devotee: That is required. Actually, that is the potency of your teaching is so powerful. I have seen that every time someone makes this poor excuses in front of people... Just like yesterday I was in the train, and one guy was saying exactly the same thing, that "I believe in the Bhagavad-gītā in my own way." So I opened up Bhagavad-gītā and I showed to four people, "Look here, just see what Kṛṣṇa is saying here." And all of them agreed. They said, "Yes, yes. You are right and he is wrong." All of them. He said that "I believe in Bhagavad-gītā in my own way." I said, "Are you the controller of the sun and the moon and the stars and the planets?"

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- February 6, 1976, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Frozen. Frozen ocean. Means they are defeated; they are coming down. By the sun they are defeated. They were high. "Now go down." Now it will be finished.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Burnt off. (break) What is the way to draw the line between the following three things: blasphemy, fault-finding, and calling a spade a spade?

Prabhupāda: A spade a spade... Just like I am saying that "What you are? You are small fig only." That is reality. And what is the other?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: The other is fault-finding and...

Prabhupāda: Fault-finding, that is another fault, that... vraṇam icchanti, makṣikā vraṇam icchanti, madhum icchanti(?) Just like the flies, they are finding out where is sore, and the bees, they are finding out where there is honey. So two animals, they have got two business: fault-finding and collecting the good things. These are two... Just like creature. They are two classes. Similarly, there are many rascals who are simply fault-finding.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: And blasphemy?

Prabhupāda: Blasphemy means you have good qualities, but still, I am defaming you.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: So the saintly person tends to overlook the bad qualities and see the good ones.

Morning Walk -- June 5, 1976, Los Angeles:

Rāmeśvara: When we printed that Kṛṣṇa Consciousness is Authorized, that little booklet, we gave the names of professors who appreciated our movement, and their school, their college. So there are some demons in America who.... Well, like we gave the name and address of the professor in that book. So some demons in America got a hold of that book, and wrote all the professors letters blaspheming our movement and Your Divine Grace and telling them that "Professor, you should withdraw your name. You are giving your support to a horrible movement." So we have many enemies.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Did the professors write back?

Rāmeśvara: Dr. Judah got a copy of one such letter, and he mailed it to Jayādvaita, so I've seen it. Very, very blasphemous, poisonous, but it was written by a very educated person. I could tell by the style of writing that the person who wrote that letter was very literate.

Prabhupāda: He did not disclose his name?

Morning Walk -- June 5, 1976, Los Angeles:

Rāmeśvara: So we have got our lawyer to start a lawsuit against him, because in that book they are blaspheming us like anything. And this very big publisher, who published the book, has spent lots of money in advertising. And the advertising always uses our name, because it's controversial. They always try to get people to buy the book, saying "Now you can read about the dangerous Hare Kṛṣṇa people."

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: (laughs) It's a good propaganda, I think.

Rāmeśvara: But we're trying to stop that.

Prabhupāda: America is feeling the strength of Hare Kṛṣṇa movement.

Morning Walk -- June 18, 1976, Toronto:

Satsvarūpa: And their discussion is very blasphemous. This Dr. Dimmock, he's made much investigation on the Six Gosvāmīs, and he's read all manuscripts, and he's always going to India and studying Rūpa Gosvāmī and Lord Caitanya, but everything is extremely blasphemous that he writes. So in both ways, in their habits and whatever they write. The Library Party men, they become friendly to these professors, but only to use them more or less, that they'll accept our books, despite themselves.

Prabhupāda: Yes, that we must do. (break) ...policy is when we go to a, what is called, a bad character, we don't go to associate with him, but to give him our association. Therefore we must be strong and very pure, so that your association, they will be benefited. For the preachers, īśvare tad-adhīneṣu bāliśeṣu dviṣatsu, the four behavior. Īśvara, tad-adhīneṣu, devotees, bāliśeṣu, innocent, and dviṣatsu, those who are envious. So a devotee, those who are preachers, they, prema, loving God, making friendship with devotee, and those who are innocent, to deliver. And those who are envious, reject.

Conversation in Airport and Car -- June 21, 1976, Toronto:

Prabhupāda: Yes. It is by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa only you are saved. Otherwise, our Bombay construction was rejected by the police constable, that kīrtana is nuisance. Public servant, he can say, blaspheme a religious system, Bhagavad-gītā, in the same country, Bhagavad-gītā. And India is condemning now, government men: "Kīrtana is nuisance."

Hari-śauri: Temporarily, at least, it seems the demons are very powerful.

Prabhupāda: They will become powerful. And people will be less intelligent—means less God conscious. Just like when the king is weak, thieves and rogues, they flourish.

Hari-śauri: So we just have to be very strong and uncompromising.

Prabhupāda: How you can compromise with thieves and rogues? Boarding time?

Room Conversation -- July 7, 1976, Baltimore:

Prabhupāda: And as soon as you say that you are equal or greater, then you are rascal. We must expose you, that you are a rascal. This is our business. Because we are servants of God. We cannot see anything blasphemy against God. That is not our business. We must chastise immediately.

Rūpānuga: In that way we can help the people in general.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Actually, that is the fact. If you are actually scientist, then prove that there is God. That is your success of education. Idaṁ hi puṁsas tapasaḥ śrutasya vā sviṣṭasya sūktasya ca buddhi-dattayoḥ avicyuto 'rthaḥ kavibhir nirūpito... (SB 1.5.22). Your education has meaning when by your education, by your scientific knowledge, you'll prove that there is God, He is so glorified. Then you are welcome. Then you are really scientist. And if you become a rascal, then you say "Oh, there is no need of God.

Room Conversation -- August 11, 1976, Tehran:

Jñānagamya: It is the highest blasphemy.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Jñānagamya: It is the highest blasphemy, isn't it? If one says, "I am God."

Prabhupāda: No, highest ignorance, highest rascaldom. (laughter) Yes. How one can become God? If one can become God, that means the such-and-such, he was God. Then how he has become dog? That is another rascaldom, ambition.

Jñānagamya: A devotee is only supposed to want service, and sometimes he very much wants to be liberated to be finished with all this difficulty, isn't it?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Room Conversation -- August 21, 1976, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: That Chicago Address was the worst. He is defying, "Why you give credit to God?" This is the... We have seen that Chicago Address. Now they are eliminating. Most blasphemous. One Christian priest, he was surprised, "What kind of nonsense these Indians are..." He asked him, "How you are speaking in this way, 'Why you are giving credit to God?' " He said like that, "You are working, why you are giving credit to God?" This is Vivekananda's realization. And he created God, a illiterate priest, he become God. Because he said, "I am God." That is the proof.

Jayapatākā: Because he said?

Prabhupāda: "I am God. I am the same Rāma, same Kṛṣṇa." Therefore his name is Ramakrishna. He was Gadadhar Chatterji, and he said to his disciple, Vivekananda, first-class rogue, that, "I am the same Rāma, same Kṛṣṇa." So he took it. This is evidence. Because Kṛṣṇa says "I am the Supreme." So he said, "I am the same Rāma, same Kṛṣṇa." This is the evidence. If Kṛṣṇa can say, he can say also. This institution is the most harmful institution for Vedic culture.

Letter to Sai Baba -- September 13, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: But you cannot show the full magic, as Kṛṣṇa displayed or Lord Rāmacandra displayed. Therefore your claim as a full power is completely false and blasphemous.

Pradyumna: "Therefore your claim for full power is completely false..."

Prabhupāda: And blasphemous. In this way find out.

Pradyumna: Completely Māyāvādī.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Pradyumna: Completely.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

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

Prabhupāda: No, at least it is expected they will read: "What is this book I have purchased? Let me see." Reading, of course, meant for intelligent class.

Hari-śauri: Well, just like this radio show, there were so many things said, but at the end, even the man who was blaspheming said, "Well, I guess we'll just have to read your books and find out what it's about." So if people hear a (sic:) controvity and we're arguing one way, they argue another way, then if the book's there, they'll naturally want to read it just to see actually what's the fact.

Rāmeśvara: We are starting a new radio show again in America. Formerly we had a show called "The Kṛṣṇa Show." So we're starting it again, and it will be nationwide. And there will be a lot of controversy.

Prabhupāda: Yes. We have to take advantage of the modern medium of publicity.

Room Conversation -- January 19, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: Yes. Just like Sītā was put into the fire and she came out unburned. Sītā was blasphemed, that "This woman was kidnapped by Rāvaṇa, and Rāmacandra is so henpecked that He has again picked up her and living with her." So Rāmacandra put him (her) in the fire and she came unharmed.

Rāmeśvara: You were asking me what is the use of, say, if you came to America, if you were on television. But actually people are very interested in this issue, so they will listen. They are listening to see us, hoping that we will be exposed.

Prabhupāda: Now, Hari-śauri was (saying) that there are many fanatics. They may attack me: "He's the man who has started this movement."

Conversation on Roof -- February 14, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: ... Son begotten by Lord Śiva in the womb of Pārvatī, he'll be able to conquer over the demons. Kārttikeya. You have heard the name of Kārttikeya? So the, wife of Lord Śiva, Dākṣāyaṇī, committed suicide in the Dakṣa-yajña. She heard blaspheming (of) her husband so immediately she gave up her body: "My father, you have given this body; therefore you are claiming so much from me. I give up this body." So he (she) gave up his (her) body, and the next birth she was born as the daughter of Himalaya king, Pārvatī. And after her death as the daughter of Dakṣa Mahārāja, Lord Śiva was engaged in meditation, very deep meditation. Now the problem was how to wake up Lord Śiva from meditation and engage him again with Pārvatī. Nobody dared. So the Pārvatī was engaged to worship the genital of Lord Śiva. He was in meditation, and he could not be awakened. Kālīdāsa Kavi is giving remark that "Here is dhīra. Here is dhīra, a young girl touching the genital of Lord Śiva and he is not agitated." Adhīra. Dhīra means there is cause of agitation, but one is not agitated.

Room Conversation -- February 17, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: How...? What does he say about our books?

Satsvarūpa: One time I heard he challenged a devotee, "Where is your Lord Nṛsiṁha-deva now to save you?" And also, "We have heard that if the Lord is blasphemed, you're supposed to either give up your life or leave the place, so why don't you do? Or cut out the..., cut out your tongue. So why don't you do that now?"

Ādi-keśava: They used that as one legal argument. They said that one of our devotees should be put in the mental hospital for his own protection, because otherwise he would go and kill himself. And the court said, "Why is that?" They said, "Well, because in their books it says that if a devotee hears someone blaspheming the spiritual master or Kṛṣṇa, then they have to commit suicide."

Prabhupāda: No, they will argue on so many things.

Room Conversation about BTG the Moon -- February 18, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "You have blasphemed our society and our president all over the papers." Oh, our movement has suffered. We can claim damages for sure. A perfect example, we had a man working for us in charge of our boiler room. So as soon as this case came out, he quit the job. He had been working in the building for thirty-four years. He quit the job because he did not want to be associated with our society due to the bad publicity. So in this way so many people, we can argue, have stopped coming to our temple. So many things we have suffered. Lawsuit.

Prabhupāda: Same position.

Page Title:Blasphemy (Conversations)
Compiler:Visnu Murti, RupaManjari
Created:03 of Aug, 2011
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=27, Let=0
No. of Quotes:27