After organizing the military strength of the monkeys and going with them to the shore of the sea, the Lord awaited the arrival of Samudra, the ocean personified, but when Samudra did not come, the Lord, the master of Samudra, became angry. Then Samudra came to the Lord with great haste and surrendered to Him, wanting to help Him in every way. The Lord then attempted to bridge the ocean, and, with the help of advice from Vibhīṣaṇa, He attacked Rāvaṇa's capital, Laṅkā. Previously, Hanumān, the eternal servant of the Lord, had set fire to Laṅkā, and now, with the help of Lakṣmaṇa, the forces of Lord Rāmacandra killed all the Rākṣasa soldiers. Then Lord Rāmacandra personally killed Rāvaṇa.
Bridge
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
SB 1.3.22, Purport:
Because Lord Rāmacandra was the Personality of Godhead, He exhibited superhuman activities which no human being, including the materially advanced Rāvaṇa, could perform. Lord Rāmacandra prepared a royal road on the Indian Ocean with stones that floated on the water. The modern scientists have done research in the area of weightlessness, but it is not possible to bring in weightlessness anywhere and everywhere. But because weightlessness is the creation of the Lord by which He can make the gigantic planets fly and float in the air, He made the stones even within this earth to be weightless and prepared a stone bridge on the sea without any supporting pillar. That is the display of the power of God.
SB 1.10.25, Purport:
When He descends, He exhibits superhuman acts just to prove His supreme right, and materialists like Rāvaṇa, Hiraṇyakaśipu and Kaṁsa are sufficiently punished. He acts in a manner which no one can imitate. For example, the Lord, when He appeared as Rāma, bridged the Indian Ocean. When He appeared as Kṛṣṇa, from His very childhood He showed superhuman activities by killing Pūtanā, Aghāsura, Śakaṭāsura, Kāliya, etc., and then His maternal uncle Kaṁsa. When He was at Dvārakā He married 16,108 queens, and all of them were blessed with a sufficient number of children. The sum total of His personal family members amounted to about ten million, popularly known as the Yadu-vaṁśa. And again, during His lifetime, He managed to vanquish them all. He is famous as the Govardhana-dhārī Hari because He lifted at the age of only seven the hill known as Govardhana. The Lord killed many undesirable kings in His time, and as a kṣatriya He fought chivalrously. He is famous as the asamaurdhva, unparalleled. No one is equal to or greater than Him.
SB 1.12.19, Purport:
After His marriage He accepted exile in the forest for fourteen years by the order of His father, Mahārāja Daśaratha. To help the administration of the demigods, He killed fourteen thousand demons, and by the intrigues of the demons, His wife, Sītādevī, was kidnapped by Rāvaṇa. He made friendship with Sugrīva, who was helped by the Lord to kill Vāli, brother of Sugrīva. By the help of Lord Rāma, Sugrīva became the king of the Vāṇaras (a race of gorillas). The Lord built a floating bridge of stones on the Indian Ocean and reached Laṅkā, the kingdom of Rāvaṇa, who had kidnapped Sītā. Later on Rāvaṇa was killed by Him, and Rāvaṇa's brother Vibhīṣaṇa was installed on the throne of Laṅkā.
SB Canto 2
SB 2.4.10, Purport:
Mahārāja Parīkṣit admitted in the previous verse that the Lord is inconceivable even for the greatest learned scholars. Why then should he again request Śukadeva Gosvāmī to clarify his insufficient knowledge about the Lord? The reason is clear. Not only was Śukadeva Gosvāmī vastly learned in the Vedic literatures, but he was also a great self-realized soul and a powerful devotee of the Lord. A powerful devotee of the Lord is, by the grace of the Lord, more than the Lord Himself. The Personality of Godhead Śrī Rāmacandra attempted to bridge the Indian Ocean to reach the island of Laṅkā, but Śrī Hanumānjī, the unalloyed devotee of the Personality of Godhead, could cross the ocean simply by jumping over it.
SB 2.9.30, Purport:
That is the version of the Bhagavad-gītā. Brahmājī, although eternally related with the Lord in the transcendental humor of friendship, and although entrusted with the most exalted post of creating different grades of living entities, is still conscious of his position, that he is neither the Supreme Lord nor supremely powerful. It is possible that some extremely powerful personality, within or without the universe, may sometimes show more power than the Lord Himself. Still the pure devotee knows that this power is a vibhūti delegated by the Lord, and such a delegated powerful living entity is never independent. Śrī Hanumānjī crossed the Indian Ocean by jumping over the sea, and Lord Śrī Rāmacandra engaged Himself in marching over the bridge, but this does not mean that Hanumānjī was more powerful than the Lord.
SB Canto 4
SB 4.2.31, Purport:
In the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is established, tene brahma hṛdā: the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, instructed Brahmā in the Vedic knowledge through his heart. Therefore the evidence that Vedic knowledge is free from the defects of mistakes, illusions, cheating and imperfection is that it is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Janārdana, and has thus been followed from time immemorial, beginning from Brahmā. The Vedic religion or the principles of the Vedas have been followed by the highly cultured population of India since time immemorial; no one can trace out the history of Vedic religion. Therefore it is sanātana, and any blasphemy against the Vedas is calculated to be atheism. The Vedas are described as setu, which means "a bridge." If one wants to attain his spiritual existence, one has to cross an ocean of nescience. The Vedas are the bridge by which to cross such a great ocean.
SB Canto 5
SB 5.1.37, Purport:
When we think about this example of Mahārāja Priyavrata, we can just consider how degraded is the modern civilization of materialistic advancement. Modern so-called scientists and other materialists are very satisfied because they can construct great bridges, roads and machines, but such activities are nothing comparable to those of Mahārāja Priyavrata. If Mahārāja Priyavrata could condemn himself in spite of his wonderful activities, how condemned we are in our so-called advancement of material civilization.
SB Canto 7
SB 7.2.15, Translation:
Some of the demons took digging instruments and broke down the bridges, the protective walls and the gates (gopuras) of the cities. Some took axes and began cutting the important trees that produced mango, jackfruit and other sources of food. Some of the demons took firebrands and set fire to the residential quarters of the citizens.
SB Canto 9
SB 9.10.4, Translation:
To keep the promise of His father intact, Lord Rāmacandra immediately gave up the position of king and, accompanied by His wife, mother Sītā, wandered from one forest to another on His lotus feet, which were so delicate that they were unable to bear even the touch of Sītā's palms. The Lord was also accompanied by Hanumān (or by another monkey, Sugrīva), king of the monkeys, and by His own younger brother Lord Lakṣmaṇa, both of whom gave Him relief from the fatigue of wandering in the forest. Having cut off the nose and ears of Śūrpaṇakhā, thus disfiguring her, the Lord was separated from mother Sītā. He therefore became angry, moving His eyebrows and thus frightening the ocean, who then allowed the Lord to construct a bridge to cross the ocean. Subsequently, the Lord entered the kingdom of Rāvaṇa to kill him, like a fire devouring a forest. May that Supreme Lord, Rāmacandra, give us all protection.
SB 9.10.15, Translation:
My Lord, You may use my water as You like. Indeed, You may cross it and go to the abode of Rāvaṇa, who is the great source of disturbance and crying for the three worlds. He is the son of Viśravā, but is condemned like urine. Please go kill him and thus regain Your wife, Sītādevī. O great hero, although my water presents no impediment to Your going to Laṅkā, please construct a bridge over it to spread Your transcendental fame. Upon seeing this wonderfully uncommon deed of Your Lordship, all the great heroes and kings in the future will glorify You.
SB 9.10.15, Purport:
One feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Rāmacandra is omnipotence. The Lord can act without regard to material impediments or inconveniences, but to prove that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and was not merely advertised as Godhead or elected by popular vote, He constructed a wonderful bridge over the ocean. Nowadays it has become fashionable to create some artificial God who performs no uncommon activities; a little magic will bewilder a foolish person into selecting an artificial God because he does not understand how powerful God is. Lord Rāmacandra, however, constructed a bridge over the water with stone by making the stone float. This is proof of God's uncommonly wonderful power. Why should someone be accepted as God without displaying extraordinary potency by doing something never to be done by any common man? We accept Lord Rāmacandra as the Supreme Personality of Godhead because He constructed this bridge, and we accept Lord Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead because He lifted Govardhana Hill when He was only seven years old.
SB 9.10.16, Translation:
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: After constructing a bridge over the ocean by throwing into the water the peaks of mountains whose trees and other vegetation had been shaken by the hands of great monkeys, Lord Rāmacandra went to Laṅkā to release Sītādevī from the clutches of Rāvaṇa. With the direction and help of Vibhīṣaṇa, Rāvaṇa's brother, the Lord, along with the monkey soldiers, headed by Sugrīva, Nīla and Hanumān, entered Rāvaṇa's kingdom, Laṅkā, which had previously been burnt by Hanumān.
SB 9.10.16, Purport:
Describing how material nature works, the Brahma-saṁhitā says that the sun moves as desired by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Consequently, for Lord Rāmacandra to construct a bridge over the Indian Ocean with the help of monkey soldiers who threw great mountain peaks into the water is not at all wonderful; it is wonderful only in the sense that it has kept the name and fame of Lord Rāmacandra eternally celebrated.
SB 9.11.20, Translation:
Lord Rāmacandra's reputation for having killed Rāvaṇa with showers of arrows at the request of the demigods and for having built a bridge over the ocean does not constitute the factual glory of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Rāmacandra, whose spiritual body is always engaged in various pastimes. Lord Rāmacandra has no equal or superior, and therefore He had no need to take help from the monkeys to gain victory over Rāvaṇa.
SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13
SB 10.3.50, Translation:
Because of constant rain sent by the demigod Indra, the River Yamunā was filled with deep water, foaming about with fiercely whirling waves. But as the great Indian Ocean had formerly given way to Lord Rāmacandra by allowing Him to construct a bridge, the River Yamunā gave way to Vasudeva and allowed him to cross.
SB 10.6.15-17, Translation:
The Rākṣasī's mouth was full of teeth, each resembling the front of a plow, her nostrils were deep like mountain caves, and her breasts resembled big slabs of stone fallen from a hill. Her scattered hair was the color of copper. The sockets of her eyes appeared like deep blind wells, her fearful thighs resembled the banks of a river, her arms, legs and feet seemed like big bridges, and her abdomen appeared like a dried-up lake. The hearts, ears and heads of the cowherd men and women were already shocked by the Rākṣasī's screaming, and when they saw the fierce wonder of her body, they were even more frightened.
SB 10.11.59, Translation:
In this way Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma passed Their childhood age in Vrajabhūmi by engaging in activities of childish play, such as playing hide-and-seek, constructing a make-believe bridge on the ocean, and jumping here and there like monkeys.
SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)
SB 10.14.61, Translation:
In this way the boys spent their childhood in the land of Vṛndāvana playing hide-and-go-seek, building play bridges, jumping about like monkeys and engaging in many other such games.
SB 10.56.28, Translation:
You are He who impelled the ocean to give way when His sidelong glances, slightly manifesting His anger, disturbed the crocodiles and timiṅgila fish within the watery depths. You are He who built a great bridge to establish His fame, who burned down the city of Laṅkā, and whose arrows severed the heads of Rāvaṇa, which then fell to the ground.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Madhya-lila
CC Madhya 5.147, Translation:
At the entrance to Jagannātha Purī is a bridge with eighteen arches called Āṭhāranālā.
CC Madhya 9.199, Purport:
In this area there are twenty-four different holy places, one of which is Dhanus-tīrtha, located about twelve miles southeast of Rāmeśvara. It is near the last station of the South Indian Railway, a station called Ramnad. It is said that here, on the request of Rāvaṇa's younger brother Vibhīṣaṇa, Lord Rāmacandra destroyed the bridge to Laṅkā with His bow while returning to His capital. It is also said that one who visits Dhanus-tīrtha is liberated from the cycle of birth and death, and that one who bathes there gets all the fruitive results of performing the yajña known as Agniṣṭoma.
CC Antya-lila
CC Antya 1.155, Translation:
""O Lord Kṛṣṇa, You are just like an ocean. The river of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī has reached You from a long distance—leaving far behind the tree of Her husband, breaking through the bridge of social convention, and forcibly crossing the hills of elder relatives. Coming here because of fresh feelings of love for You, that river has now received Your shelter, but now You are trying to turn Her back by the waves of unfavorable words. How is it that You are spreading this attitude?""
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
Krsna Book 6:
Her fallen body extended up to twelve miles and smashed all the trees to pieces, and everyone was struck with wonder upon seeing this gigantic body. Her teeth appeared just like plows, and her nostrils appeared just like mountain caves. Her breasts appeared like small hills, and her hair was a vast reddish bush. Her eye sockets appeared like blind wells, and her two thighs appeared like two banks of a river. Her two hands appeared like two strongly constructed bridges, and her abdomen seemed like a dried-up lake. All the cowherd men and women became struck with awe and wonder upon seeing this. And the tumultuous sound of her falling shocked their brains and ears and made their hearts beat strongly.
Krsna Book 11:
Thus Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa enjoyed Their childhood pastimes, imitating Lord Rāmacandra's monkeys, who constructed the bridge over the ocean, and Hanumān, who jumped over the water to Ceylon. They used to imitate such pastimes among Their friends and so happily passed Their childhood life.
Krsna Book 56:
By studying all factors in the right perspective, one can see that You are the supreme controller and Lord of everything. My dear Lord, I can therefore understand that You are the same Supreme Personality of Godhead whom I worship as Lord Rāmacandra. My Lord Rāmacandra wanted to construct a bridge over the ocean, and I saw personally how the ocean became agitated simply by my Lord's glancing over it. And when the whole ocean became agitated, the living entities like whales, alligators and timiṅgila fish all became perturbed. (The timiṅgila fish in the ocean can swallow big aquatics like whales in one gulp.) In this way the ocean was forced to give way and allow Rāmacandra to cross to the island known as Laṅkā. (This island is now said to be Ceylon. Lord Rāmacandra's construction of a bridge over the ocean from Cape Comorin to Ceylon is still well known to everyone.) After the construction of the bridge, a fire was set all over the kingdom of Rāvaṇa. During the fighting with Rāvaṇa, every part of his limbs was slashed to pieces by Your sharp arrows, and his heads fell to the face of the earth.
Krsna Book 79:
After visiting Raṅgakṣetra, Lord Balarāma gradually proceeded toward Madurai, commonly known as the Mathurā of southern India. After visiting this place, He gradually proceeded toward Setubandha, the place where Lord Rāmacandra constructed the stone bridge from India to Laṅkā (Ceylon). In this particularly holy place, Lord Balarāma distributed ten thousand cows to the local brāhmaṇa priests. It is the Vedic custom that when a rich visitor goes to any place of pilgrimage he gives the local priests houses, cows, ornaments and garments as gifts of charity. This system of visiting places of pilgrimage and providing the local brāhmaṇa priests with all necessities of life has greatly deteriorated in this Age of Kali.
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Lecture on BG 7.1-3 -- London, August 4, 1971:
Well, Rāmacandra also, I mean to say, constructed a bridge over the ocean. Can you do that? So why do you bring Rāmacandra? He can do anything He likes. He's God. You cannot do. God is so kind, sometimes He worships His devotees.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
Lecture on SB 1.3.22 -- Los Angeles, September 27, 1972:
So here is also, Lord Rāmacandra appeared. The main business was to kill Rāvaṇa. Not main business. Main business is to satisfy the devotee, side by side, to kill Rāvaṇa. And Rāvaṇa was on the other side of Indian Ocean. So Hanumān, a devotee of Rāmacandra, he jumped over the ocean simply by chanting "Jaya Rāma." You see? But Rāmacandra thought Himself that He is unable to jump over. He had to construct a bridge. You see? But what kind of bridge? Bridge, a stone bridge that was floating on the sea.
Lecture on SB 1.3.22 -- Los Angeles, September 27, 1972:
Pradyumna: "He wanted a staircase to be built up directly reaching the heavenly planet so that people might not be required to undergo the routine of pious work necessary to enter that planet. He also wanted to perform other acts against the established rule of the Lord. He even challenged the authority of Śrī Rāma, the Personality of Godhead, and kidnapped His wife, Sītā. Of course, Lord Rāma came to chastise the atheists, answering the prayer and desire of the demigods. He therefore took up the challenge of Rāvaṇa, and the complete activity is the subject matter of the Rāmāyaṇa. Because Lord Rāmacandra was the Personality of Godhead, He exhibited superhuman activities which no human being, including the materially advanced Rāvaṇa, could perform. Lord Rāmacandra prepared a royal road on the Indian ocean with stones that floated on the water. The modern scientists have done research in the area of weightlessness, but it is not possible to bring in weightlessness anywhere and everywhere. But because weightlessness is the creation of the Lord by which He can make the gigantic planets fly and float in the air, He made the stones even within this earth to be weightless, and prepared a stone bridge on the sea without any supporting pillar. That is the display of the power of God."
Prabhupāda: So incarnation, in the śāstras... Here in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, some of the incarnations are described. But all incarnations are described in the śāstra. We should not be blind to accept any rascal and rogue as incarnation of God. Incarnation of God is not so cheap. That we should understand.
Lecture on SB 1.16.12 -- Los Angeles, January 9, 1974:
The aim was... All the fights in Mahābhārata or in Rāmāyaṇa, it was meant for chastising the godless, godless. Just like Rāmacandra. Rāmacandra, Lord Rāmacandra, chastised Rāvaṇa. So he went to Laṅkā—they call Ceylon—and crossed the sea by making bridge. But what was the idea? The idea was that "This rascal demon is a godless person; so therefore he must be punished." He was punished not alone. Anyone who joined with him, everyone was punished. But Lord Rāmacandra did not occupy the land for His kingdom. He installed his brother Vibhīṣaṇa, who was a devotee in the place of Rāvaṇa. Just like Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa was taking part in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra and inducing Arjuna that "You fight." Arjuna was not willing to fight, but He was inducing to fight.
So what is the purpose? Because the other party represented thieves, rogues, and demons. So Kṛṣṇa wants therefore that somebody must be king who is His representative, devotee. That is the whole plan.
Lecture on SB 2.3.20-21 -- Los Angeles, June 17, 1972:
He was a great devotee of Lord Śiva. And by the blessings of Lord Śiva, he got so much opulences. And he became so powerful that he dared to kidnap the wife of Rāmacandra. So such a powerful demon was killed by Rāmacandra. And He approached his kingdom on a stone bridge. And the stones were floating on the water. Where is the law of gravitation? The law of gravitation, the so-called scientists' imagination, does not act when Urukrama, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, acts. He wanted, "There should be no law of gravitation. Let the stones float on the water." This is called urukrama.
So we accept Lord Rāmacandra as God, Lord Kṛṣṇa as God, not these petty dogs and cats.
Lecture on SB 3.26.19 -- Bombay, December 28, 1974:
Recently one of our life members—he is a big industrialist—he has jumped from the, what is called, that Daksinasvara(?) Bridge, down to the Ganges. No, Wellington Bridge, I think. So committed suicide. In Western countries also, because there is no end of greediness: "More, more, more, more, more." Ask him that "What will be satisfaction for you?" Oh, there is no such limit. This is rajas and tamas. And some people, they are śūdras. So some political party, by agitation, by propaganda, makes them convinced to accept some way, and they do it. Another party will do another... They have no their own discretion.
Lecture on SB 3.28.21 -- Nairobi, November 1, 1975:
So those who have no information of the spiritual world, they stick to this material world as everything is here. But those who have got knowledge, mahātmā, whose ātmā is very great, who can understand the greatness of God and His great knowledge and take knowledge from Him, he is perfect. So here is the knowledge. Everything is there. He is giving... We... Not that back to home, back to Godhead, is our imagination. No, not imagination. Just like if somebody gives you information of America, that "America is very rich city. There are so many big, big bridges and road and motor cars." So naturally you become inclined: "Why not see once America, how it is?" So similarly, here is the information about the spiritual world, and why don't you try to go back to home, back to Godhead?
Lecture on SB 6.2.11 -- Allahabad, January 16, 1971:
Really, originally, the, I mean to say regulator of religious principle is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is sometimes addressed as dharma-setu. Setu means bridge. We have to cross over. The whole plan is that we have to cross over the ocean of nescience in which we are now fallen. The material existence means it is ocean of ignorance and nescience, and one has to cross over it. Then he gets the real life. This is not real life.
Lecture on SB 7.6.1 -- Montreal, June 10, 1968:
Now at the present moment in a godless civilization, if some great scientist proves... Just like Professor Einstein, he also said that as we are making advance in science we find that there is a big brain behind this cosmic manifestation. That is acceptance of God. What is that big brain? That big brain is God. The Vedānta-sūtra says janmady asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). Just like when you see a wonderful bridge or wonderful engineering work, you must think that there is a brain behind it. This nice construction, there is a brain behind it. Similarly, those who are sane men, they'll see that with this cosmic, in this cosmic manifestation, so wonderfully working. The sun is rising in due time, the moon is rising in due time, the seasons are being changed in due course, the rain is there, the produce is there, the fruit is there, everything is nicely arranged. So don't you think that there is a brain behind it? Must be. The Bhagavad-gītā says mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10). Don't think that this material nature is working automatically or independently. There is a brain behind it.
Lecture on SB 7.9.8 -- Mayapur, February 15, 1976:
Ugra-jāteḥ. Ugra-jāteḥ, just like in Europe and America, we see, they are very much fond of ugra-karma, just like big, big factories, big, big bridges, wonderful. Long, long ago when the Britishers came here, they constructed big, big bridges, railway line. People thought, "It is wonderful." There is a song composed in Bihar. So when the Calcutta, the floating bridge made of wood, wooden bridge, floating bridge was constructed, connected Calcutta proper and Howrah, so there was big, wonderful song: ki apana banaylay sahat campani (?). There is song, ki apana banaylay sahat campani upara me ami cale, and..., just like that, nīche me pāni (?).
Lecture on SB 7.9.9 -- Montreal, July 6, 1968:
When you say that God created, one can understand that God is... If a man can create such nice things, skyscraper buildings, very complicated bridge, engineering work, so God is great, He may have greater brain, so He has created this cosmic manifestation. There is a, I mean to say, standard to believe. But how the scientists believe that there was a chunk? And what is the explanation? I cannot understand. From the chunk everything come out. And who made the chunk? The next question should be that "Wherefrom this chunk came?" There is no answer. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja says that all these material qualification cannot satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Lecture on SB 7.9.42 -- Mayapur, March 22, 1976:
So Lord Rāmacandra wanted information of Sītādevi. So he did not consider, "How I shall go to the other side of the sea, Laṅka?" He simply, believing in Lord Rāmacandra, "Jaya Rāma," jumped over it. Rāmacandra had to construct a bridge. Of course, that bridge is also wonderful because these monkeys were bringing stone and they are throwing on the sea, but the stone was floating. So where is your law of gravitation? Eh? Stone floats on the water. It cannot be done by the scientists, yes. But Lord Rāmacandra desired; a stone became floating. Otherwise how many stones we shall throw in the sea that it will come to the level of becoming a bridge? Oh, it was not possible. It was possible, everything was possible, but Rāmacandra, Lord Rāmacandra, wanted, "Let it be simplified.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
Lecture on CC Adi-lila 3.87-88 -- New York, December 27, 1966:
So tvāṁ śīla-rūpa-caritaiḥ parama-prakṛṣṭaiḥ. Parama means highest class superiority which is not possible for ordinary men. They take it as miracle or something, a story or allegory. But actually it is not. Just like when Lord Rāmacandra appeared, He made a bridge between India and Ceylon. There is no history in the world that one has made bridge over the ocean, Indian Ocean. And how the bridge was made? Not in the present, modern way, that making concrete on the ground and then pillars and then... No. The stones were floating.
Sri Isopanisad Lectures
Lecture on Sri Isopanisad, Mantra 3 -- Los Angeles, May 5, 1970:
Redwood. No. There is some wood, I forget. Crossing bridge. Anyway, they told me that this tree is standing for seven thousand years. So the trees are also living, and you are also living. You are trying to live. Whenever there is question of death, you resist. That means you do not want to die. That is natural sequence. So here it is said that why should you live? Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, ke lāgi āche, āchi...: "Why I am living? I could not achieve love of Godhead. Then what is the use of my living?" He's lamenting. Narottama dāsa kena na lāgilā māriyā. Kena vā ahcaya prāṇa kichuka lāgiyā (?). He said, "Why I am living? What is the purpose of my living? What is the ultimate happiness?"
Festival Lectures
Conversations and Morning Walks
1972 Conversations and Morning Walks
Room Conversation -- April 2, 1972, Sydney:
Prabhupāda: Vicious civilization. Simply increasing, increasing, increasing. And the government taking tax; therefore, he has to prepare roads. So in your country, the more the motorcar increasing, the more flying over, more bridges...
Śyāmasundara: More problems.
Prabhupāda: More problems. Just like in Madras we saw, they are also imitating.
Morning Walk -- June 30, 1972, San Diego:
Prabhupāda: Oh, bridge we are not going to cross? All right.
1973 Conversations and Morning Walks
Morning Walk At Cheviot Hills Golf Course -- May 17, 1973, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: We accept Rāma—inconceivable power. Not so cheaply. One rascal comes and says, "I am incarnation of God." Another rascal accepts. It is not like that. "Ramakrishna is God." We do not accept. We must see the inconceivable mystic power. Just like Kṛṣṇa, as a child, lifted a hill. This is inconceivable mystic power. Rāmacandra, He constructed a bridge of stone without pillar. The stone began to float: "Come on." So that is an inconceivable power. And because you cannot adjust this inconceivable power, when they are described, you say, "Oh, these are all stories." What is called? Mythology. But these great, great sages, Vālmīki and Vyāsadeva and other ācāryas, they simply wasted their time in writing mythology? Such learned scholars? And they have not interpreted that it is mythology. They have accepted it as actual fact.
Morning Walk -- December 17, 1973, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: So anyway, there are so many laws. If the laws are fulfilled, then your so-called gravitation works. So who made the laws? That is the point. Under certain law, condition, it will not act, and under certain condition it will act. So who made the condition? That is the question. You cannot make finalize the laws of gravitation. It is also under condition. Who makes this condition? That is the point. (break) ...Lord Rāmacandra constructed the bridge with stone on the ocean, it began to float. So He is the condition-maker. He made the condition. He changed the condition, "Now these stones will float." That's all. Therefore God is supreme. (break) Law of gravitation did not work when Kṛṣṇa lifted the Govardhana Hill. (break) So that is nice. The scientific discoveries act under relative condition. That is not absolute, final. If such and such conditions are there, then the so-called scientific laws will act. Otherwise it will not act. (break) ...see. But you cannot see even so many things. Now you cannot see there, what is there. So what is that seeing power?
1974 Conversations and Morning Walks
Morning Walk -- April 10, 1974, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: Yes. (break) ...yogino 'nante satyānande cid-ātmani, iti rāma-padenāsau paraṁ brahma ity abhidhīyate. So so long one chants Rāma Kṛṣṇa, who can kill him? Yes. That is the point. (break) When he constructed bridge on the ocean, the stones were floating. Where is the law of gravitation go on? So He can do that. He withdrew the law of gravitation. (break) ...position of the demons. Although he is not learned, he will give instruction.
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Room Conversation with Press Representative -- March 21, 1975, Calcutta:
Prabhupāda: (Speaks in Bengali) Caitanya Mahāprabhu ordered,
- bhārata-bhūmite manuṣya-janma haila yāra
- janma sārthaka kari' kara para-upakāra
- (CC Adi 9.41)
This is para-upakāra. So what is this nonsense para-upakāra, creating an atom bomb? Is that para-upakāra? Of course, it has got its utilization, but it is not for para-upakāra. (Bengali) Paricaryātmakaṁ karma śūdra-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.44). (Bengali) Śūdra is the cātur division, that is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Cātur-varnyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). Now in India mostly they are śūdras, 99.9. They are not interested that satya śamo damas titikṣa arjavaḥ, jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.42). (Bengali) They are captivated by the śūdras. This, during the British period the śūdra activities, developing the country by railway, by factory, by bridge—these people are innocent. They thought that "Oh, here is the actual civilization. The Britishers have brought." They lost their own civilization.
Morning Walk -- April 3, 1975, Mayapur:
Prabhupāda: Certainly. And they are being accountable. If they become so dull-headed, then God's power will make him a tree: "Stand here. Stand up here for three thousand years. That's all. You are so dull-headed that you have no sense, so become a tree so that even if you are cut, you cannot protest. You have no sense, senses." That is the punishment. "If you don't eat prasādam, then eat stool." This is the arrangement. So they are being punished. But they are so dull-headed, they cannot understand.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: With their science, they've been able to build so many buildings and roads and bridges and so many things which they consider wonderful.
Prabhupāda: And what you'll do with the buildings? You'll be kicked out. Your building will remain there. Your spoiling labor will remain there, but you will be kicked out. You cannot live there. Who is managing these affairs? "So you have constructed a building? All right, I kick you out. Get out!" Then what is the purpose of building? If you know that "I am constructing this high building, and tomorrow somebody will kick me out," then what is the use? Have you made it insured that you'll not be kicked out?
Morning Walk -- June 2, 1975, Honolulu:
Prabhupāda: Ah, yes. (laughter) Just see, route. Pan American, yes. They sold so many tickets. Such fools there are.
Bali-mardana: In New York sometimes people sell new immigrants the Brooklyn Bridge.
Prabhupāda: And Moscow Sea. They pitched one flag in the moon planet and named Moscow Sea.
Morning Walk -- July 28, 1975, San Diego:
Prabhupāda: Everyone was there, but they do not know. (chuckles) The Pacific and Atlantic Ocean is mentioned in Kalidāsa Kavi's book, Kumāra-sambhava. Toya-nidhim avagahya sthitaḥ pṛthivyām iva māna-daṇḍaḥ. They are all mentioned, Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean. These fools do not know anything. And they say, therefore, "First man to come," as if before him there was no man. Just see. "There was no man. There was no civilization," these rascals' version. What is that bridge? Is that bridge?
Jayatīrtha: It's a bridge that goes to one island. (break)
Prabhupāda: ...explain; therefore they bring this theory of chance. But we don't find any such chance in practical life. "There was a fool and he became high-court judge." Is there any? "There was a fool. He became a high-court judge." Is there any evidence like that? "There was ape. It became human, human being." I am simply surprised how this kind of argument is accepted by other fools.
Morning Walk -- September 15, 1975, Vrndavana:
Prabhupāda: There are many. I saw in Detroit, I think. The bridge is covered?
Brahmānanda: San Francisco. The Golden Gate Bridge they have put...
Prabhupāda: Not Golden Gate. That San Diego, I think. We crossed one bridge to go to the...
Brahmānanda: Oh, yes, San Diego also. They have these fences so when people jump off they are caught by the fences. (laughter)
Prabhupāda: And I think in Berkeley? The tower?
Brahmānanda: Oh, yes. In the college university they have a big clock tower...
Prabhupāda: These are the signs how they are disappointed. They are always ready to commit suicide. So where is success?
Morning Walk -- September 27, 1975, Ahmedabad:
Prabhupāda: Ācchā. (Hindi)
- tṛṇād api sunīcena
- taror api sahiṣṇunā
- amāninā mānadena
- kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
- (CC Adi 17.31)
(Hindi) To become humble, this is a qualification. (Hindi) This humbleness is a good qualification. (Hindi conversation) Detroit, I saw that bridge. There is barrier?
Brahmānanda: Oh, yes.
Prabhupāda: San Diego.
Morning Walk -- October 6, 1975, Durban:
Prabhupāda: ...keepers are mostly Indians?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Indian. All here are Indian. And just the other side of the bridge, all is Indian. This building here, Prabhupāda, this big building is built by one of our life members. All of our life members, they are competing who can build bigger building.
Prabhupāda: Ācchā. (laughing)
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: And they are putting nightclubs on the top of their buildings. So foolish.
Prabhupāda: Lakhani. This is Indian building.
Morning Walk -- Durban, October 13, 1975 :
Prabhupāda: Yes. That "Later on, after the death of husband in some places the wife was forced to go to the fire, so the Britishers stopped it. And they introduced railway for going to the pilgrims and so many, and they constructed bridges to make easy to go from one country to another." And people took it very seriously, that British government is very nice. And they were publishing in outside country that "India is uncivilized. We are making them civilized. And as soon as they are civilized, then we hand over the charge to them. That is our noble mission." And they were exploiting. All raw materials was being taken away and the necessities of India, especially cloth, was being supplied. And the local weavers, their hands cut off. So many thing they, tainting… And everything bad. Just like Jawaharlal Nehru. He became a first-class victim.
Morning Walk -- November 30, 1975, Delhi:
Prabhupāda: They do not believe in the transmigration of the soul and they are "Awake." Just see these rascals. They have no preliminary knowledge even, and they are writing books, Awake.
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: They have a very big press in New York, Jehovah Witness, Brooklyn Bridge.
Harikeśa: They say the world is going to end next year.
Prabhupāda: Ācchā?
Morning Walk -- December 4, 1975, Vrndavana:
Prabhupāda: Rāmacandra can eat you and the whole universe. (laughter) Can you do that? By... Even Rāmacandra used to eat meat, so you can simply imitate for meat-eating. But why don't you imitate how to construct a bridge over the ocean? Why don't you say that Rāmacandra constructed a bridge on the ocean. Can you do that?
Akṣayānanda: No.
Prabhupāda: Then you are rascal.
Morning Walk -- December 4, 1975, Vrndavana:
Prabhupāda: Everyone is referred, but whatever Rāmacandra says, you should do that. You should not imitate. There are two words: following and imitating. Imitation is not good. Following is good. Yad yad ācarati zreṣ... You can... That I have already explained. Can you construct a bridge on the ocean? You are claiming, yad yad acarati. Can you do this? Then why do you say like that? You cannot imitate. You can follow only. "Because Rāmacandra ate meat, so I am eating meat. I become Rāmacandra." And why don't you construct a bridge on the ocean?
Akṣayānanda: So actually, perfect kings, they may have eaten meat? Perfect kings...
Prabhupāda: No, perfect king must follow the Vedic injunction.
Morning Walk -- December 19, 1975, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭan kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). This is instruction. Where is culture? Culture is lost. So therefore there is no value of education. And besides that, education means spiritual education. Brahma-vidyā. This education how to make aeroplane or a nice bridge or a machine, this is called kalā-vidyā. This is not vidyā.
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Morning Walk -- January 19, 1976, Mayapur:
Prabhupāda: No. As soon as atom bomb is..., everything is finished. There will be no opportunity. That is their thinking, "Who will drop the atom bomb first, he will be winner." That's all. In Russia they are adopting this means. They are releasing all the soldiers for other work. What is the use of keeping so many men idle without any work and maintain them, high salary, occupy big, big cantonment camps?
Harikesa: In America the army builds roads and bridges and things.
Prabhupāda: That's utilization. Why they should be paid for nothing?
Morning Walk -- February 9, 1976, Mayapura:
Prabhupāda: So it was not based on varṇāśrama-dharma, no, because the whole movement is spiritual. It starts from the spiritual platform, ahaṁ brahmāsmi. Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). Samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaṁ mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ, bhavāmbudhir vatsa-padaṁ param. Now just like here is a gap. So you can go by the bridge, and if you can jump over, that is also going. That is also going. So to become Kṛṣṇa conscious means to jump over to the spiritual platform immediately. And this varṇāśrama-dharma, sannyāsa, varṇa-tyāga, karma-tyāga, these are different steps only. But if you become Kṛṣṇa conscious seriously, then you jump over all these steps; you go immediately. That lift and the staircase. By staircase you go step by step. By lift you can go immediately, faster.
Morning Walk -- March 21, 1976, Mayapura:
Prabhupāda: All right, we can do that. Then we shall go by the nice...
Jayapatākā: Oh, yes. The nice. There's only one little bridge. Other than that, everything is all right.
Prabhupāda: Eh?
Jayapatākā: There's one bridge like we went over yesterday. That's a little.... Otherwise, everywhere...
Prabhupāda: No, no, bridge, it is in good condition or not? Sometimes it is.... Last time we went, that injured.... It made some damage.
Morning Walk -- June 13, 1976, Detroit:
Prabhupāda: Up to this?
Devotee (1): No, only up to that bridge. I can show you on the way back.
Ambarīṣa: We've got some pictures we can show you later.
Prabhupāda: (break) ...bicycle also?
Ambarīṣa: Made where?
Prabhupāda: Bicycle? Cycle?
Ambarīṣa: Do the car companies make bicycles?
Prabhupāda: No, some companies.
Morning Walk -- June 13, 1976, Detroit:
Ambarīṣa: Yes, Detroit River, Prabhupāda.
Prabhupāda: Big, big ships, they pass under this bridge?
Ambarīṣa: No, on the other side of this island, there's a channel, a freighter channel. That's Canada over there, and this is a small island, Belle Isle.
Morning Walk -- June 13, 1976, Detroit:
Hari-śauri: (indistinct) generibus. Some Latin inscription on the bridge.
Ambarīṣa: It means to increase their happiness they have built this park. Melior means increased happiness.
Prabhupāda: (break) ...Kṛṣṇa there is no happiness. All imagination.
Arrival Comments in Car to Temple -- July 9, 1976, New York:
Prabhupāda: Yes. Manage nicely. Kṛṣṇa is giving us everything, there is no scarcity. If we simply sincerely work, Kṛṣṇa will give us intelligence, everything. By His mercy everything is available. That is Kṛṣṇa—He can give you anything. That Brooklyn Bridge, I think? That iron bridge?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, there is a Brooklyn Bridge, but we're not going over it.
Prabhupāda: Sometimes I was coming there and sitting down near the bridge.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Near the water? You were sitting near the water?
Prabhupāda: Yes, that river.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That's a famous bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge. It's the biggest expansion-type bridge.
Prabhupāda: Because I was on that Bowery Street, it is not very far away. So I was coming, walking there, and sitting under the bridge. And thinking, "Whether I shall return to India?"
Arrival Comments in Car to Temple -- July 9, 1976, New York:
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: This bridge we're going on is called the Tri-borough Bridge.
Prabhupāda: Oh. This is over New York?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, it goes over the East River.
Prabhupāda: That Hudson Street?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Hudson River is on the other side. This is going on the east side of the city.
Prabhupāda: That subway that goes to the city office? There are so many bridges.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: So many, yes, many, many bridges. Every day about seven million people come into this island of Manhattan from the other boroughs, and they go back. From your room, our building is very close to the Empire State Building, so from your room you have a very nice view of it.
Prabhupāda: Oh. So Los Angeles everything is going nice?
Room Conversation -- July 10, 1976, New York:
Prabhupāda: Women wear saris, the men dhotis; both may wear shawls. The men shave their heads except for single lock of hair at the back. (See the article, "The Kṛṣṇa Cut.") The lock, called a śikhā, identifies the followers of Kṛṣṇa." Actually no one can imitate us because no one wants to give up their hair, so no one will try to make believe they are devotees. "Shaving the head announces renunciation of material pleasures. The tilaka is a mark made with clay-two narrow vertical stripes on the forehead meeting in a triangular swatch on the bridge of the nose. It identifies the body as a temple to be used only in the service of God. Full-time students follow a rigorously monastic life.
Morning Walk -- August 11, 1976, Tehran:
Ātreya Ṛṣi: In Koran it is described that there is a very dangerous bridge that one has to pass.
Prabhupāda: This is described in the Vedas, Vaitaraṇī, cross from the material to the spiritual world.
Room Conversation -- August 12, 1976, Tehran:
Prabhupāda: Yes. They're one of the oldest aristocratic families of Calcutta, Mulliks. The whole, from Howrah Bridge up to that street, all belongs to their property. Very rich men.
Hari-śauri: Now they don't own so much.
Prabhupāda: No, the Deity has got income. So they have got terms for worshiping the Deity. So one who gets the term for worshiping, he takes the income.
Evening Darsana -- August 14, 1976, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: Yes. They will fall down. This is their gain of life. We have discussed this point. Why the green apple does not fall down? So this is their concoction. And why the other planets do not fall down? With so many rocks. Millions. They do not fall down. Where is the law of gravity acting? That means, law means it is made by somebody. And the maker, if He likes, it will act. If He does not like, it will not act. Just like Lord Rāmacandra, all the stones He threw over the sea and they began to float. Not that when He made that bridge with stones, they are solidified. No, they began to float. And all the monkeys went over them. So the lawmaker is Lord Rāmacandra. If He likes, the stone will go down. If He doesn't like, it will float. The lawmaker is fact, not the law. Just like in the state law, today it is law, tomorrow it is no law. It depends on the lawmaker. (break) ...there is the Govardhana Hill. What law is there?
Room Conversation -- September 6, 1976, Vrndavana:
Prabhupāda: Yes. Tower. From the bridge.
Hari-śauri: They have to put big wire screens up to stop people from jumping off.
Prabhupāda: Yes, I have seen.
Harikeśa: Berkeley.
Prabhupāda: Berkeley, yes.
Hari-śauri: Everywhere. Sydney has bridges like that. These big towers like Eiffel Tower in Paris, they have big fences along the top so that no one can...
Prabhupāda: This practice is there in Vedic system. Not Vedic system, (indistinct), fall down. There is technical name. Fall down from the mountain. This is easier than other type of suicide. Because you simply once jump, but as soon as you fall, you forget everything. Suicide itself is very bad. This fall down, serotan (?) it is called.
Room Conversation with Life Member, Mr. Malhotra -- December 22, 1976, Poona:
Prabhupāda: No, we understand. But we do not accept it. What is the difficulty to understand? God is superior. Everyone knows it. But I will not accept, he will not accept. Unless one is superior, how He can be God? (break) ...sevayā. Therefore you have to find out somebody who knows Him. Otherwise you will be in darkness. (break)
Mr. Malhotra: (Hindi) Over bridge. But where we are going, Ambleswar (?), from there Kṛṣṇā-nadī starts.
Prabhupāda: Oh. Kṛṣṇā-nadī is for us.
Morning Walk and Room Conversation -- December 26, 1976, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: Yes. This Kumbha-mela we had every year.
Guest (5): First of all, you see, we have taken just near Yamunā bridge. As soon as the pilgrims come from various parts of the country we have got a...
Prabhupāda: Yamunā bridge, there are two bridges.
Guest (5): Just near Yamunā bridge there is an institution which belongs to Bombay and that institution is reserved for us just to give a shelter first to people who come by rail.
Prabhupāda: So take all these notes. We'll save so much money.
1977 Conversations and Morning Walks
Conversation with Yogi Amrit Desai of Kripalu Ashram (PA USA) -- January 2, 1977, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: It is actually a religious conference. All the different groups, they gather in that holy place, and they propagate their philosophy, discussion, like that. India is country of religion. They know how spiritual life more important than this material life. That is India. Now they are diverting their attention to the material; otherwise whole India, they are for spiritual life. They don't care for material ... This material life is brought from Western countries, these railways, these..., so many things, bridges and so on, so on.
Conversation with Yogi Amrit Desai of Kripalu Ashram (PA USA) -- January 2, 1977, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: Factories and industry and export and import and then slaughterhouse, drinking, prostitute—these are all British contribution. In India, before that, they did not know, although there was Muhammadan kingdom. Muhammadans were happy as ruler. They did not... They thought that "Let them execute their own religion, and let us our religion." That was the relation. And Hindus, they took it that "Somebody must be government..." (break) ...policy that "If the Indians remain as Indian, it will be impossible to govern. Give them education and condemn everything Indian." And they engaged their own men, engaged our men, and gradually they developed the industry. Naturally people became very much astonished: "Oh, they are making such a nice bridge. We have now laid down the railway. We have got facilities, so on, so on..." They gave them, for developing these enterprises, a little knowledge in English, ABCD, they would get good job. In this way they established. Money and export, import... This business enterprise and industry, these..., all these things, were introduced. There was not a single factory before British days. Industry idea is completely Western. And tea garden.
Roof Conversation -- January 5, 1977, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: Hmm. That's nice.
Dr. Patel: How far Naini is from Allahabad?
Mr. Gupta: Naini, railway stationwise is five miles from Allahabad, but people want to go to Sangamner just at the bridge at the bank of the river... (break)
Prabhupāda: It is not far away from the Sam... It is nearer. Rather, Allahabad main station is far away.
Room Conversation -- January 8, 1977, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: Three miles means one and a half hour? So go one and a half hour and come one and a half hour-three hours.
Guest (5): No, where is our camp then?
Prabhupāda: We have got our camp underneath the bridge.
Morning Discussion about Kumbhamela -- January 8, 1977, Bombay:
Gurudāsa: And there's another slight defect, which is that it's underneath a railway bridge.
Prabhupāda: Railway bridge?
Gurudāsa: But with all the things that are going on, you can't even hear the trains. Now everyone's starting with... And we have the biggest microphones in the whole Mela. Everyone's got microphones this big. And speakers? Speakers? Ours is this big. We've got the biggest ones, six of them, to point in all directions. So that... We thought we would make up for the distance. I thought I would make up by big speakers. We told Kamalapati Tripati that, "Yes, we are living underneath one of your railway bridges," and he laughed.
Prabhupāda: Ah, he's railway member. So railway bridge there is sound.
Morning Discussion about Kumbhamela -- January 8, 1977, Bombay:
Gurudāsa: Electricity, he wanted to know. The thing is there's also sound with bicycles going. Bicycles also go across that bridge. So there's some sound. Not during the high afternoon, because people don't go out. And not during very early morning, but during the day there is. What do you think?
Prabhupāda: How can I think unless I see? (break)
Hari-śauri: If it's not suitable at the camp, Prabhupāda can go to the house at night and the camp in the day.
Gurudāsa: Yes. Even during the day he doesn't have to go except for darśana.
Prabhupāda: All right. Whatever you say.
Gurudāsa: Your area is completely enclosed, though, from the rest. (break)
Prabhupāda: Where is this? One and a half hour?
Gurudāsa: One and a half hours. It is on the edge of Jushi, past, way past the first pontoon bridge.
Prabhupāda: Pontoon bridge.
Gurudāsa: But they put up some more pontoon bridges also this year. Very far off. Actually, there's not very much near there. He wanted to be far off because they don't do any preaching. And we wanted to be right in the middle.
Prabhupāda: Yes. What is their purpose?
Room Conversation -- January 15, 1977, Allahabad:
Prabhupāda: Yes. No Englishmens were allowed to domicile in India. No. Strictly. But if... As soon as they make home, it will be America. The Americans made their home in America, so a war of independence was... They have experienced that, so did not allow the Englishmen to make India home. "You come here, work and take your payment. Can't come down."(?) This was the policy, Home Bill. And India's gold was kept in London. So gradually all the gold finished. Very, very crooked policy they followed. They... They... In Muhammadan period there was no such peaceful exploitation. These Muhammadans, they wanted to become lumma, kukum(?). Bas. That's all. They were satisfied. But their princely expenditure was done in India. When Shah Jahan constructed the Taj Mahal, heavy expenditure, but the payment was received by the Indians. And here a railway, very smart railway bridge is constructed that... The payment was paid in England. This was the policy. Every even screw, iron screw, was imported from England.
Morning Walk -- January 24, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:
Prabhupāda: Qualified, that is not very difficult. For the girl, find out a boy who is hard worker or a little educated. Bas. That's all. That was the selection. Then fortune. You give a daughter under the care of the boy who can work hard. That's all. They then will earn their livelihood. Even there is no education, a hard worker will do. A boy, as soon as has got the sense that "I have got a wife to maintain," he'll work. That is impetus to give him to work for the family. And if a boy gets wife or woman without any hard working, they why he should marry? And if he has got responsibility that "I have to maintain my wife; then I can enjoy," then he becomes responsible. Wooden bridge?
Gurukṛpa: That is like Australia. That is Australia.
Prabhupāda: Australia?
Gurukṛpa: Yes, the whole country is...
Prabhupāda: Wooden bridge.
Room Conversation -- January 31, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:
Prabhupāda: On the plane?
Svarūpa Dāmodara: On the plane. When I went also, we were in the same plane, because he was making a bridge in Manipur. So he invited me to come to his place in Calcutta, in Balliganj. When also I came back we were in the same plane. It just happened. So he started talking to me that he lost about forty thousand rupees because bridge was broken, and so he said he was feeling very bad, very sad. He was telling me all stories about "Whether I should prepare my life for the future, or whether I should wind up, as he is. Then I started talking about that we always want to be happy, but somehow we misunderstand about our basic position, what position we shall take up, whether... He said he has great difficulty in making decisions, "Whether I shall decide this," so many problems, not knowing what to decide. So we started talking about the real nature of knowledge. The real knowledge is to understand the real difference between this life and matter, the fundamental principle of knowledge.
Prabhupāda: This is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā.
- mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke
- jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ
- manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi
- prakṛti-sthāni karṣati
- (BG 15.7)
Room Conversation -- January 31, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:
Prabhupāda: Why don't you ask him to come? He's rich. Ask him to come, live with us in Māyāpur, and rest of the life let him become happy. Why he's after money?
Svarūpa Dāmodara: His aim is to make as many bridges as possible. He's thinks that's some sort of philanthropic work.
Prabhupāda: This is māyā. This is māyā. What he can do? He will die. This is called māyā. Therefore our system is because you are rascal, do all rascaldom up to fiftieth year. Then give it up. All kinds of rascaldom you can continue. Pañcāśordhvaṁ vanaṁ vrajet. Then you retire from all this rascal work.
Evening Darsana -- February 15, 1977, Mayapura:
Prabhupāda: Some were, not all. And the Muhammadans, the could not convert any gentleman to Muhammadanism. Maybe one or two, say. Very... And similarly, Christian also. No high-class man became Christian. One or two. That is for some other purpose. Just like in Scottish Churches College, the Christian Indians were given more preference. There was one Mr. Raya. He would not speak in Bengali. Even if some Bengali student would like to talk with him Bengali, he would answer in English. (laughs) He was so sharp. (Bengali) (Hindi) You understand Hindi any of you? There is a song in the Howrah Bridge, pontoon bridge. So when this Howrah Bridge..., not this bridge. Up to 1900... When my daughter was married, in 1941, up to that time there was a bridge connecting Howrah and Calcutta, pontoon bridge. That we were seeing from childhood, from our birth. So this was an astonishment in India. They wrote song, (Hindi), that "How wonderful bridge this sāheb company...," because India was being governed by East Indian Company... After mutiny, Queen Victoria took charge. Otherwise the British government was known as Company Raja Sahib, East India Company. So the East India Company, they constructed this temple, er, bridge. So there is a song, (Hindi), like that. So this East India Company... Therefore this railway was known, "East India Railway." That is the first beginning of railway, from Calcutta to Burdwan, beginning of Ind... There was no railway in India.
Conversations -- May 31, 1977, Vrndavana:
Prabhupāda: Seminar.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Seminar. Conference. Yeah, we'll bridge the gap. And I think that would be quite appropriate. It will be quite appropriate, so that we can start propagating the message. Then I will... They're making a pamphlet for tomorrow. Dr. Sharma is going to print it in Delhi. So we can do some nice program in Bombay. And in a little time most of the schools in India are closed, so we can have nice conference in Vṛndāvana and have slide shows and... I'm going to see that film tomorrow. Messages that we have... And I proposed that we have nice form so that we present nice slide show and specific objects.
Prabhupāda: That will be very nice. Good idea.
Room Conversation With Son (Vrindavan De) -- July 5, 1977, Vrndavana:
Prabhupāda: We have seen many persons... The other day, he was our member. One Mr. Agarwal? Very rich man. He committed suicide falling down from the bridge to the Ganges. What is that? Very rich man. The happiness cannot be attained in that way. Happiness is in Kṛṣṇa. It is so sublime that... Dhruva Mahārāja went for kingdom, and he performed austerities. When he saw Kṛṣṇa he said, "I don't want anything." Svāmin kṛtārtho 'smi varaṁ na yāce: (CC Madhya 22.42) "I came to ask You something, but I am now fully satisfied." That is happiness. Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir... yayātmā supra... (SB 1.2.6). You want to satisfy your ātmā. So that can be satisfied when you are fully devoted to Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise simply by material wealth, increasing your economic position, that is not... They do not know it.
Correspondence
1970 Correspondence
Letter to Jayapataka -- Tokyo 26 August, 1970:
And serve the Lord He left His home
And His children too
Two children lost some thousands gained,
Krishna's mercy received in
Party splint a stumbling block
With world God-Consciousness
The aim His Divine Grace bridges
The gap to bless the world with Gauraprema,
Jayapataka's life is not his own
It's Prabhupada's to do with as His own"
1972 Correspondence
Letter to Hamsaduta -- Tokyo 2 May, 1972:
Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 21 April, 1972, along with photos of busses. I do not know about these things, but I think a double-decker bus may not pass all the road obstacles such as bridges and tunnels between Germany and India, so I think a single-decker bus may be more practical for driving there. So far Germany, you can purchase one bus and let us develop that program gradually, if we see it is successful. You can report to me how the bus is running, and you may correspond with Kirtanananda Maharaja in Boston as he has got many such busses. He can give you best advice.
Letter to Rupanuga -- Tokyo 3 May, 1972:
Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letters dated April 11 and April 26, 1972, along with tape of three "revelations." The tape is nice, a good advertisement. Now similar tapes should be made. Another revelation is that the needle, when put into the water, it goes down quickly to the bottom. But a big, big log, weighing one ton, does not go down. Who has made this law? If the law of gravity is there, why does it not apply to the big log? We can understand that Lord Ramacandra was able to make a bridge by causing the big stones to float n the water, so counteracting the law of gravitation is the law of the Supreme. Gravitation is caused by the Supreme Lord, so He is also able to remove that law or do anything and everything at His will. If you know something like swimming, then the law of gravitation will not work, and who knows better than Krishna how to do everything, so Krishna can change anything, therefore we worship Him as the greatest Scientist.
1974 Correspondence
Letter to Ramesvara -- West Bengal 25 October, 1974:
When informed that the government here will pay 2/3 of the cost for road and bridge development if 1/3 is put up locally, Prabhupada said we should immediately inform them that he will put up 1 crore (dollars 1 million), and they can give 2 crores to develop the entire Mayapur area. He wants roads parks, gardens, like the descriptions of Dvaraka in the Krishna Book. Prabhupada personally surveyed the sites for a large lake as well as the second residential building. He called for a wall with a large front gate to be built.
| Page Title: | Bridge |
| Compiler: | Rishab, Mayapur |
| Created: | 18 of Jan, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=20, CC=3, OB=4, Lec=15, Con=45, Let=4 |
| No. of Quotes: | 91 |