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Collect (Conversations 1968 - 1974)

Conversations and Morning Walks

1968 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- October 27, 1968, Montreal, With First Devotees Going to London On Evening of Their Departure:

Prabhupāda: Annapūrṇa is always present wherever I go. (laughing) She is very nice, that she wants to follow me. This morning I was asking her that "After your marriage where you want to stay?" and she said, "Wherever you stay, I stay." "And I am traveling. Then you are married. You must have a place to settle." Anyway, in that church they charged us for meeting, but we collected very nicely. We collected more than hundred dollars. Yes. A very nice meeting.

Janārdana: How many people were there?

Prabhupāda: More than hundred, because we collected hundred dollars, and utmost, they have paid one dollar.

Janārdana: The summer season is very slow in Montreal. The churches cut down their sermon program. The synagogues don't having sermons in the summer very often. So that's why we haven't had so many engagements. But in the month of September things begin to pick up faster. The coldest time of the year is the busiest time of the year here actually. The real busy season is January and February.

Prabhupāda: Yes. I was speaking to Gaurasundara that Janārdana speaks, "The winter season is the busiest season," and you said, "It is dull season"? (chuckles)

Room Conversation -- October 27, 1968, Montreal, With First Devotees Going to London On Evening of Their Departure:

Prabhupāda: Annapūrṇa is always present wherever I go. (laughing) She is very nice, that she wants to follow me. This morning I was asking her that "After your marriage where you want to stay?" and she said, "Wherever you stay, I stay." "And I am traveling. Then you are married. You must have a place to settle." Anyway, in that church they charged us for meeting, but we collected very nicely. We collected more than hundred dollars. Yes. A very nice meeting.

Janārdana: How many people were there?

Room Conversation -- October 27, 1968, Montreal, With First Devotees Going to London On Evening of Their Departure:

Janārdana: How many people were there?

Prabhupāda: More than hundred, because we collected hundred dollars, and utmost, they have paid one dollar.

Janārdana: The summer season is very slow in Montreal. The churches cut down their sermon program. The synagogues don't having sermons in the summer very often. So that's why we haven't had so many engagements. But in the month of September things begin to pick up faster. The coldest time of the year is the busiest time of the year here actually. The real busy season is January and February.

Prabhupāda: Yes. I was speaking to Gaurasundara that Janārdana speaks, "The winter season is the busiest season," and you said, "It is dull season"? (chuckles)

Room Conversation -- October 27, 1968, Montreal, With First Devotees Going to London On Evening of Their Departure:

Prabhupāda: The American atom bomb or the Russian atom bomb will kill the whole material scientists' advancement. You see? So this is the... So, and devotees, they want to decrease the fever. Decrease the fever. Therefore the highest, ideal life, according to Vedic civilization: brāhmaṇas, Vaiṣṇava. They decrease their demands of the body. Minimum demand. You see? There is amongst the brāhmaṇa, not now, in the Vedic system, the uñca-vṛtti. It is called uñca-vṛtti. Uñca-vṛtti means they will go the paddy field, and after the cultivator takes all the paddies, some paddies are thrown away. They will collect those paddies only. Just like birds, they collect. They collect those paddies, and that they will eat, not even beg, ask anybody for any morsel of food. So completely... And in the Bhāgavata, Śukadeva Gosvāmī recommends that "Oh, this open field is your bed, this is your pillow, this is your pot, and the water in river is sufficient water, the tree is full of fruits, and in the cave, there is sufficient apartment. So why should you go, anyone, to ask for your shelter, for your food?" Kasmād bhajanti kavayor dhana-durmadandhān: "Why should you approach the materialistic, puffed-up, monied men to give you some help?"

1969 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- April 11, 1969, New York:

Prabhupāda: "Oh, these boys playing with Kṛṣṇa, they have attained this position, oh, after, I mean to say, accumulating many, many births pious activities." Kṛta-puṇya puñjāḥ. Just like a man collects dollar, dollar, dollar, dollar, dollar, and one time he amasses money, say, millions of dollars. Similarly, Śukadeva Gosvāmī is describing that these boys who are playing with Kṛṣṇa, they have amassed their pious activities for millions and billions of births. Because with whom they are playing? They're playing, itthaṁ brahma-sukhānubhūtya... Satāṁ. The stalwart philosophers who are after brahma-sukha, brāhmaṇanda. So that brahmaṇanda is here, Kṛṣṇa. And dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ para daivatena. And for the devotees, He is the Supreme Lord. And māyāsritanam nara-dārakeṇa. Those who are covered in māyā, for them He is ordinary human boy. And with Him these boys are playing.

Room Conversation -- April 27, 1969, Boston:

Prabhupāda: That's all right. That doesn't matter. You have to take saṅkīrtana party. That should be the main business. And the..., at least sixteen men, four mṛdaṅgas. Practice mṛdaṅga like that. And twelve cymbals, and one chanting and all others responding. Oh, it will be tremendous. Take some flags, "ISKCON, Hare Kṛṣṇa" flag, red flag. You see? And conchshell, mṛdaṅga. In New York they are doing now, and they also one day collected 240 dollars or something like that. What is that?

Puruṣottama: 247.

Prabhupāda: 247. You see? (chuckles)

Haṁsadūta: I'll try in Montreal. We have new devotees now, lot of new boys.

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

Prabhupāda: Yes. You have to select a secluded place. Haṭha-yoga is not practiced in assembly of so many men. Just you go to a haṭha-yoga class. There are hundreds of members practicing, and he is collecting money, five dollars per seat. And you are thinking, "I am practicing." That is useless waste of time and money. Haṭha-yoga is not practiced in that way. You have to practice in a secluded place, alone. Do you do that?

Devotee: Yes. Not... No. I guess I don't.

Prabhupāda: It is very difficult in this age. Then you have to restrain yourself in so many things. Complete free from sex life. You have to eat under certain direction, you have to... So many things there are. These rules are not followed. Simply they have got some bodily gymnastic sitting posture. They are thinking, "I am practicing." No. That is one of the items. So all the items cannot be observed in this age. Therefore it is wasting. (Break) "...yogis, he who always abides in Me with great faith, worshiping Me in transcendental loving service is most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all."

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

Prabhupāda: But it is the mission of human life to come to that point. So at least there must be some center or institution who may give them this idea. It is not that everyone will come. Just like there are many educational department. I know in Calcutta in our boyhood age, at that time Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee was vice-president. So he opened some classes in the university. In each class there were four or five professors, and at that time the professors' salary was 1300 dollar, 1400 dollar. And the fees were collected, at most thirty-six dollar per month. You see? But still the classes were to be maintained because the ideal must be there. So our mission is the intelligent persons of the world may know that this is not, simply seeking after sense gratification is not the aim of human life. Human life is meant by... Just like Bhāgavata says, jīvasya tattva-jijnasa. Vedānta says, athāto brahma jijñāsā.

Meeting with Devotees -- June 9, 1969, New Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: That's all right. That's all right. In the meantime, you prepare the literature. You give me the literature. I'll get it printed somehow or other. You give me the synopsis. Both you consult, make a literature. And as soon as the literature is prepared, you will be out with that. And we have got so many centers. There is no difficulty of staying. He can stay in some center and go and see the important men there. He is educated. He is learned. He has known our philosophy. He can convince people. He can arrange a big meeting of respectable men. They must know what we are doing, the importance of this movement. And your people, your government, is anxious to have something tangible because there are already frustration in so many departments, in so many factions. So this movement, Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, will, I mean to say, smooth everything, pave everything. So they must know. And our process is very simple. We can introduce this process even in factories, even in anywhere, and we make peaceful everything. That is a fact. School, college, university, factory, everywhere. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ (CC Antya 20.12). It is cleansing process. Everything is dirty. So we want to cleanse and make people peaceful and happy. That is our mission. We are not money-collecting mission, that "Give me your money, and let me enjoy."

1970 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- December 12, 1970, Indore:

Prabhupāda: So why not come and live and tour with me? Who forbids you? But it is not possible to pay anything for your family expenditure. That is difficulty. We cannot pay anything but you can live with your family. That responsibility you can take. But I cannot pay you. That's not possible. Because we are maintaining by collecting alms. In that case it is not possible to pay something. There is... (break) It is selling all over Europe. (Hindi)

Guest (4): Mahārāja, could you employ me in some...?

Prabhupāda: Yes, employ, I can employ in any way. But there is no payment.

Guest (4): I am M.A. in English, M.A. in Hindi. I am trying to devote myself to this work...

Prabhupāda: So please come.

Room Conversation -- December 12, 1970, Indore:

Prabhupāda: I have seen in Ahmedabad his temple. He established one deity, a woman shape, and there is no Kṛṣṇa. "Gītā." "Gītā" means a woman. So I don't think he has full understanding of Gītā. He has money; he has spent. That's all. But he does not understand Gītā. Gītā means unless one takes Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead he does not understand anything of Gītā. That is the test. He may advertise himself as scholar or this or that, but our only test is whether he accepts Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). That is the test. Is that person accepting Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead? He himself accepts that "I am God." Is it not? Therefore he's a foolish. He is squandering money, public money. That's all. That is his business. He might have some qualification to collect money, but he does not know what is Kṛṣṇa.

Room Conversation -- December 13, 1970, Indore:

Prabhupāda: No, articles... Daily newspaper means there must be news. News you can purchase from the news collecting company. They will supply it. At very cheap price they'll supply. And you take advertisement. Yes. You'll cover your expenses by getting advertisements and make sufficient profit. Newspaper starting is not a losing business provided you can organize. Just like ordinary newspaper, they give... In daily news... People want to learn daily news, and they supply huge quantity. And those who are advertiser, they are simply concerned how many copies are issued. If you issue 100,000's of copies, then you can charge for each page thousand dollars. They will pay. Two thousand dollars they will pay.

1971 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- February 17, 1971, Gorakhpur:

Prabhupāda: Yes. Kṛṣṇa says, kuruṣva mad-arpaṇam, yat karoṣi. "Whatever you do, the result should be given to Me." Do for it. "Do for for Me." Yat karoṣi yaj juhoṣi yad aśnāsi yat tapasyasi dadāsi yat (BG 9.27). So this requires training, how everything can be molded for Kṛṣṇa. Therefore guidance required, bona fide spiritual master required. Under his guidance, one has to do. Ādau gurvāśrayam. In order to execute Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one has to first of all accept a bona fide spiritual master. Then everything will be done. He is representative of Kṛṣṇa, and to act under his direction means acting under Kṛṣṇa. He knows how to utilize your energy for service of Kṛṣṇa. Ādau gurvāśrayam sad-dharma-pṛcchat sādhu-mārgānugāmanam. Just like Rūpa Gosvāmī, he was prime minister. He had no information of Kṛṣṇa, but since he saw... Of course, Rūpa Gosvāmī is eternally Kṛṣṇa's companion, but superficially he was showing that he was a prime minister and he was engaged in Nawab's service. But when he met Caitanya Mahāprabhu, then he decided that "I shall retire from this service and act Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission." So what did he do? Whatever money he collected by his service—it was huge amount-fifty percent he immediately spent for Kṛṣṇa.

Room Conversation -- London, August 10, 1971:

Śyāmasundara: They, the Indians know how to organize those things better that we do. They know how to collect money from individual Indians in their neighborhood, one, two pounds at a time. They can do that.

Mr. Arnold: We went out to an Indian concert one night at Southall.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Mr. Arnold: This was..., we were very welcome, made very welcome indeed. And they had like a very small television, and they had pictures of the Deities there, and Hare Kṛṣṇa, (indistinct) about the chanting, and they loved it. I should mention there must have been about five hundred people in that hall.

Śyāmasundara: There's no Hindu temples on the West End, West End.

Mr. Arnold: There's one in (indistinct).

Śyāmasundara: Oh, there is?

Mr. Arnold: Sikh.

Śyāmasundara: Sikh, yeah. But I mean Hindu temple.

Dhanañjaya: I don't think the leaders, the leaders of these communities, they're not so willing to raise funds on our behalf.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

1972 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation Including Discussion on SB 4.13.48 to SB 4.14.11 -- January 18, 1972, Jaipur:

Prabhupāda: There is no need to make this propaganda all over the world. But actually, the saintly persons have concern. Just like the other day I told you, Prahlāda Maharaja was concerned that these rascals for temporary so-called... (break) ...people are engaged unnecessarily to work very hard day and night, the capitalist, the worker. Big, big factory, iron factory, in so many factories, unnecessarily. So Prahlāda Maharaja was concerned. He was living, his father was a demon, in the demonic state. So this is natural. If one saintly person do not be disturbed by people's unhappiness, he is not saintly person. He is not saintly person. If he is simply satisfied that "I have got a temple, I am getting good income, let me eat and sleep." My Guru Maharaja condemned this process. He said that to earn livelihood by showing some temple and collecting money and eat and sleep, better to become a sweeper in the street and earn his livelihood instead of earning livelihood in this so-called spiritual way.

Room Conversation Including Discussion on SB 4.13.48 to SB 4.14.11 -- January 18, 1972, Jaipur:

Prabhupāda: My point is that our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not selfish movement. It is the most philanthropic movement. But people in the name of philanthropic movement generally, because they are not actually saintly persons, they collect money and live.

Just like we can say frankly that the Ramakrishna Mission, they are collecting money, huge money from your country, here also, to mitigate the sufferings of the poor people, daridra-Nārāyaṇa seva. But actually you see that how many poverty-stricken people are there in India, and if you go to the Ramakrishna Mission, you will see all the swamis, they are living in royal order. This is going on. But people are still fool that... But your American people now, they are questioning.

Room Conversation Including Discussion on SB 4.13.48 to SB 4.14.11 -- January 18, 1972, Jaipur:

Prabhupāda: This is going on. But people are still fool that... But your American people now, they are questioning. That one swami, Nikhilānanda, he told me personally that the American people now are questioning that "You collect money for feeding the poor, but when we go to India, we see so many people lying down on the street." So they are questioning. Naturally there will be question. So... (aside) Oh, Hare Kṛṣṇa. (chuckles) So our Jaipur party is becoming stronger and stronger. So what news from Delhi? (end)

Talk with Bob Cohen -- February 27-29, 1972, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Yes. He does not know that these are all government property. He takes away. That is stealing. And when he's caught he's arrested and he's punished. So similarly, whatever you are collecting... Suppose you are drinking a glass of water from the river. Is the river your property?

Bob: No.

Prabhupāda: Then? It is stealing. You have not created the river. You do not know who is the proprietor. Therefore it is not your property. So even if you drink a glass of water without the knowledge to whom it belongs you are a thief. So you think, "I'm honest." But factually you are thief. (Speaks to someone in Bengali) Raso 'ham apsu kaunteya (BG 7.8). You must remember Kṛṣṇa that "Kṛṣṇa, it is Your creation, so kindly allow me to drink it." This is honesty. This is honesty. Therefore a devotee always thinks of Kṛṣṇa in all activities. "Oh, it is Kṛṣṇa's." Sarvatra sphuraya tara iṣṭa-deva mūrti. This is honesty. (Speaks to someone in Bengali) So without Kṛṣṇa consciousness everyone is a rascal, is a thief, is a rogue, is a robber, these qualifications. Therefore our conclusion is anyone who does not understand Kṛṣṇa, he has no good qualification.

Room Conversation with Gaurachand Gosvami At the Radha-Damodara Temple (Mostly Bengali) -- March 11, 1972, Vrndavana:

Indian man (2): Yes. That is a great thing against him.

Guru dāsa: How can you doubt the authority?

Indian man (2): I think he has got certain preconceptions in his mind and, you see, he just tries to prove them by collecting all sorts of data that will just fit into his point of view.

Prabhupāda: Just like Gandhi wanted to prove nonviolence from Gītā.

Indian man (2): From Gītā. No, not like that. I would say like Brindarkara(?) wanted to prove that the..., that Kṛṣṇa story and Kṛṣṇa religion had been borrowed from West, you see, and they are a copy of Christ religion. Mandakara has done that.(end)

Room Conversation Vaisnava Calendar Description -- March 11, 1972, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: "No, he does not go anywhere, ask anybody, but he stands on the outside of the kitchen of Jagannātha and whatever rice is thrown from the outlet of that kitchen, while the kitchen is washed, he collects some rice and eats those rice."

So Caitanya Mahāprabhu became very much glad to hear that Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī is practicing so much renunciation. So all of a sudden one day He went to his room, "Raghunātha, I did not see you for so many days." Then He found out in a pot those collected rice were kept and immediately He took it, "Oh, you have got very nice rice here," and began to eat. Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī immediately caught His hand, "Sir, it is not fit for Your eating." "Oh! I am eating so nice, you say it is not fit for Me?" That means Lord Caitanya encouraged him that "Don't be discouraged that this is bad, or this is not fit. I can eat, anyone can eat." In this way Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī was elevated to a very exalted position amongst the Gosvāmīs. He is known as Dāsa Gosvāmī because he belonged to the kāyastha family and other Gosvāmīs, they belonged to brāhmaṇa families.

Room Conversation -- April 20, 1972, Tokyo:

Śyāmasundara: You just informed Tamāla that from now on we would send only books, that we would prefer to send books from this side and let them sell them.

Prabhupāda: No. The thing is that you were collecting something for Māyāpur account?

Karandhara: Yes.

Prabhupāda: So how much it has come?

Karandhara: Thirty thousand.

Prabhupāda: Thirty thousand.

Śyāmasundara: Separate from books?

Room Conversation -- April 2, 1972, Sydney:

Prabhupāda: That is real explanation. Process is there. You cannot say that... It appears like miracle because your brain cannot accommodate how quickly all these things come. You have got poor brain, you cannot accommodate. You are thinking, "If I have to..., I have to paint this, simply painting I have to take so much time."

Just like if a man asks you one thousand dollar, he is thinking, "He has to collect and pay me." But if you write a note, give it to Nanda-kumāra, and he keeps it as check, and Nanda-kumāra pays immediately one thousand dollars. So he will be surprised, "How is that? What is this writing, this immediately one thousand dollars came?" Because he is thinking, "If you want one thousand dollars, it will take one thousand days, and Swamiji wrote like this and immediately." The process is there. One thousand dollar collection, I have to do something and it has come there... But the energy is so quick, energy is so perfect, that simply by giving a note and he gets it. You cannot say the process is not there.

Room Conversation -- June 29, 1972, San Diego:

Prabhupāda: We have got seventy thousand dollar expenditure per month. So this is practical. We don't try for getting any job or any business. Depend on Kṛṣṇa. But our main business is to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness and follow the rules and regulations, chant sixteen rounds, Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. So we are... There is no problem for us. To collect seventy thousand dollars and spend every month, do you think is very easy job? A big government is concerned, or a big company, to collect seventy thousand dollars and distribute it again. It is a big problem. So how... We are increasing our centers. Practically every month, two, one, two. And we have got huge expenditure. But Kṛṣṇa is supplying. So we should see the example, be confident, depend on Kṛṣṇa and then everything is all right. Kṛṣṇa is powerful. He's omnipresent. He knows better than me. Our business is to satisfy Him. Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). So we are preaching this, that "You take to Kṛṣṇa. Surrender to Kṛṣṇa." Kṛṣṇa said.

Room Conversation -- June 30, 1972, San Diego:

Prabhupāda: Wire, that is also lying somewhere. Nobody cares. But one gentleman, he collected all these three things and prepared a string instrument. He joined the bamboo with the dry cover of squash and fitted the string and it began to ting, ting, ting. It is called ektara. There is instrument in India it is called ektara. The example is that so many things individually lying useless. But if somebody knows how to combine them, it becomes an instrument, very sweet. Very sweet to hear. Similarly, in this world, so many things are lying dead and frustrated. But if they are combined together by an expert, it becomes useful. So although this world is dead body, when there is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, it becomes enlivened. That is our movement. We are trying to inject Kṛṣṇa consciousness in everything dead within this world.

Room Conversation -- August 1, 1972, London:

Prabhupāda: Very expert. Not only good, very expert.

Dhanañjaya: They're averaging sixty-seventy pounds a day.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Dhanañjaya: Sixty-seventy pounds a day they're collecting.

Prabhupāda: You are not collecting so much?

Dhanañjaya: What's that?

Prabhupāda: You are not collecting so much?

Dhanañjaya: Here in the temple?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Room Conversation -- August 1, 1972, London:

Dhanañjaya: We are collecting, on Oxford Street, we're collecting about forty, fifty pounds a day, and on travelling saṅkīrtana, sixty, seventy pounds, because they're doing it for more hours. So altogether we're over a hundred pounds a day.

Prabhupāda: Now you are GBC here, you have come, now you make it hundred pounds daily. How to do it, he knows.

Dhanañjaya: But, but there is already hundred pounds coming. Two hundred pounds, then.

Prabhupāda: And his best friend is George. (laughs)

Devotee: I'm going to see him tomorrow.

Devotee (1): Is he in town?

Prabhupāda: He can alone make purchase a good temple. George alone can purchase.

Devotee (2): He says George is in New York.

Room Conversation -- August 1, 1972, London:

Devotee: Should we do that? "Spiritual Master of USA"?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Why not? (laughter)

Devotee: If each of your devotees collected five dollars one day, that's $5,000, more, more than $5,000.

Prabhupāda: That you... And soon as you issue letter, that will come. It is not my (indistinct) And she will carry. Make arrangement with government so that next time when I go to India, I sit on the car. That's all.

Devotee: And Gurudasa... Actually we better do it soon, because it takes two or three months.

Prabhupāda: Yes, so you can do.

Room Conversation -- August 1, 1972, London:

Prabhupāda: Good roads. So we can go by road.

Devotee: So we can begin campaigning right away, collecting funds for the vehicle.

Prabhupāda: And you are a good driver. (laughter) Eighty miles. You once at eighty miles, his father's car. His father gave a very nice car for my driving. His father, mother, sister met me in Portland. Very nice gentleman, mother nice, sister very beautiful.

Devotee: But silent.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Devotee: I have written to her some letters, but silence.

Room Conversation -- August 1, 1972, London:

Prabhupāda: They'll contribute. And if she canvasses, she can collect lakhs.

Devotee: But one thing is, if Giriraja takes advantage and begins preaching in her school daily... She's invited him, open invitation.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Then it will be pleased.

Devotee: Then when she'll see her students improve, then she'll give us all help.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Now we have got land, many people will contribute materials. Materials, we can get materials from many big, big merchants.

Devotee: Yeah, like, ah, Tarachand.

Room Conversation -- August 1, 1972, London:

Prabhupāda: And all my assistants, they are also working in that capacity. If I would have been proprietor, then they would not have been interested.

Devotee: Hm.

Prabhupāda: I would have collected the money and used for my sense gratification. Then nobody would help me.

Devotee: I think the English milk is better than American milk, isn't it?

Prabhupāda: I think so. It is from Holland.

Devotee: Oh. There's some famous islands between England and Holland called the Jersey Islands. There's special milk that comes from Jersey. Jersey milk is best.

Room Conversation -- October 25, 1972, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: I don't think there is any vegetarian, because in the store you will get only meat. There is no vegetable, no fruit. Śyāmasundara had to spend two hours for collecting food. There is no rice, (indistinct), nothing. For vegetarians it is very, very difficult to live in Moscow.

Devotee (2): Just recently the Russians went to the United States and bought huge quantities of grains for Russia.

Prabhupāda: There are no grains.

Devotee (2): They bought some wheat.

Prabhupāda: It is a barren land, icy land, that's all. Huge land icy.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversations with Sannyasis -- March 15, 1974, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: When he is incorrigible. First of all you have to try to correct him and... That is preaching. Our preaching means that people are useless, we have to train them in such a way they may take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is our management. But if he is completely incorrigible, then he will be asked to leave. Otherwise it is not our business that as soon as we see something he is doing wrong..., that he must be trained, by our example, by our teaching, by our word, śānta yaṁ cinvanti kutiḥ (?). By word, by example, he should be corrected. If I cannot correct him by my words and example, that is also my (indistinct). Because they are, they are, you cannot expect that everyone has come here, sādhu. It is not that. We collect from ordinary men, but we have to make him sādhu. That is preaching.

Room Conversation -- March 17, 1973, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: Bombay light, yes. Bombay light, that is during my householder life. I opened an office in Bombay for my business and... The (indistinct) Gauḍīya Maṭha was established by us. I am one of them. Śrīdhara Mahārāja also. And we made two parties for begging, collecting alms. Śrīdhara Mahārāja, myself and Gosvāmī Mahārāja. That time he was Atula, Atulacandra Gosvāmī. So I took them to some of my friends, chemist friends, doctors friends. So I collected about five hundred rupees to this. Śrīdhara Mahārāja would speak, I introduced, and Gosvāmī, at that time Gosvāmī Mahārāja would canvass (laughter). In this way three combined together, in one day or two days we... At that time five hundred rupees was (laughing) big amount.

Room Conversation -- March 17, 1973, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: Big sum, yes. So Gosvāmī Mahārāja very much appreciated, and he began to speak highly about me that "Abhay Babu is so expert, he has got so many friends, he has collected so many... So why does he... He should be the Maṭha in-charge." In this way. "Why should he not live with us? Why he's living separately?" In this way. So Prabhupāda, Mahārāja, Śrīdhara may remember it (laughing), he said, "It is better to live separately from you people, and he will do the necessity in due course of time." So I could not understand what Śrīla Prabhupāda meant by that. So his inclination, blessings, were always upon me although (indistinct), but he was so kind.

Śrīdhara Mahārāja: (indistinct) collecting sufficient funds to come back (indistinct).

Prabhupāda: Yes, he was afraid.

Morning Walk At Cheviot Hills Golf Course -- May 17, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: I am just collecting what Śrīla Prabhupāda explained, the different acintya-śaktis that we observe.

Prabhupāda: Here the acintya-śakti is working, this mist, fog. You have no power to drive it away. Beyond your power. You can explain with some juggling of words...

Passer-by: Good morning.

Prabhupāda: Good morning. ...that "Such chemicals, such molecules, such this, that," there are so many things. But (laughing) you have no power to drive it away.

Room Conversation -- July 9, 1973, London:

Haṁsadūta: It's the same thing I learned in Germany. First I wanted to get my own press and I studied the situation very carefully and I saw it was ridiculous for us to do that, it's so much hard work. It's much easier to collect the money in the street by giving the magazine and then paying someone. They work very hard and do it. Everything is like that. They have so many people that can do everything. The one thing that people can't do is distribute Kṛṣṇa consciousness and for that Kṛṣṇa's giving so much money.

Prabhupāda: Yes, therefore tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovidaḥ. That verse. Only for this purpose one should endeavor.

Haṁsadūta: Yes. Kṛṣṇa (indistinct) paying for that.

Prabhupāda: You cannot purchase Kṛṣṇa consciousness—you can have money—that you have to cultivate.

Room Conversation With David Wynne -- July 9, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: What is the reason to deny it? Past, present, future, that is the time calculation. I had my past, I've now present, and why is my future? They do not care for the future. They're so blind. There must be future. So what I'm doing for the future? Just like in this life we collect some money, keep in the bank balance so that in future, old age, I may not be in difficulty. Similarly, what a human being should do for his future life? That he does not know, although past, present, future is there. So this is foolishness. He doesn't care for the future. So one who is foolish, without any knowledge of the future, whatever he's doing is defeated—in ignorance, because it is ignorance. Just like a boy does not take education, does not think of future. That is not very good. We must be prepared for the future, his next life. Yes, where is that civilization? Where is that education, that people are thinking for future life? Is there any educational system at the present moment? So everything is being defeated.

Room Conversation with Malcolm -- July 18, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: So how such big men, minister, could accept such position of a mendicant and live...? Now, gopī-bhāva-rasāmṛtābdhi-laharī-kallola-magnau... So they got a better thing. They dipped into the ocean of the gopīs' ecstasy. They were always thinking of the gopīs' activities with Kṛṣṇa. Gopī-bhāva-rasāmṛtābdhi-laharī-kallola-magnau muhur, vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau. So unless one gets a better thing, he cannot give up the less important thing. So when, unless one gets that better thing—better humor, better mellow—they cannot give up these material engagements. Therefore, to get that better thing, it is advised that part of your hard labor you offer to Kṛṣṇa. This is called karma-yoga. You remain in your karma, but nirbandha, nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe, be touched with Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and spend at least fifty percent for Kṛṣṇa. Then, gradually, you come to the... Just like the Gosvāmīs came. So this is the policy. Otherwise, for Kṛṣṇa conscious men there is no need. Everything Kṛṣṇa will supply. Mādhavendra Purī installed a Deity. Now, for months, years together, only festival was going on. (pause) And another good example is that if somebody is in business and if he spends for Kṛṣṇa, that is a very good example for the karmīs. Because everyone is not going to stop their karmī mentality. So this will be an example, that "You are engaged in material. Now spend like this." That is another preaching. Loka-saṅgraha. This is called loka-saṅgraha, to collect ordinary men for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Just like Janaka-rāja, he was a king, but great saintly person.

Room Conversation with Lord Brockway -- July 23, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: So that is natu... That is good. Big, big man. Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He was lear... "I am fool number one." And the author of Caitanya-caritāmṛta, he says that "I am lower than the, a worm in the stool." So this is good attitude. Nobody... Sir Isaac Newton also used to say that "What knowledge I have got. I have simply collected..." They're... Every, every big man thinks like that. That is good attitude. But there is comparative study, that "Here is a big man, here is a common man." So our proposition is that it is a great science, great philosophy. So western countries, they are intelligent, especially the Britain, British people. They had very good opportunity. Still they have got opportunity. So my request is that let us study this philosophy and science and if possible introduce it in the human society. That is our proposal.

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

Prabhupāda: (indistinct) Yes. Yes. Greediness. Atyāhāraḥ prayāsaś ca prajalpo niyamāgrahaḥ (NOI 2). Atyāhāra. Atyāhāra means eating more, or collecting more. So they want to eat more, collect more than necessity.

Anna Conan Doyle: That's true. They do not need all the things they have around. It is perfectly...

Prabhupāda: For livelihood, one has to work. That is material world. So you work. And what is that work? If one, one works for three months on the field, he can get his whole years' food. That is economically fact. How many mounds of grains we can produce per acre? Do you know that? We know, in our Indian calculation, we can produce at least ten mounds of grain per bighā. So if one has got ten bighās of land, he can produce hundred mounds of grains. So how much you can eat daily. Just compute it. Utmost two pounds. Utmost. So if you eat two pounds grains per day. In a month, sixty pounds. And eighty-two pounds makes one mound. You are getting one thousand mounds. One thousand mounds. Then? Ten bighās of land...

Room Conversation with Sanskrit Professor -- August 13, 1973, Paris:

Prabhupāda: No, no, daily...

Professor: Lakhs of...

Prabhupāda: Daily we are collecting about thirty, eight hundred... In, in, in Los Angeles we collect about eight hundred dollars daily.

Yogeśvara: More than that.

Prabhupāda: More than that. Eh?

Haṁsadūta: I think it must be about two thousand, about twenty thousand dollars a day, through the society.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Professor: Just by selling books or...?

Room Conversation -- September 19, 1973, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: No, you invite others or not, whether your program was going on?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No, till then it wasn't, Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Then it was simply a joint mess, that you go and collect and come and eat and sleep.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes.

Prabhupāda: That is very dangerous. Then you will all fall down. If you make a joint mess, if you go and collect something and then eat and sleep, then everything will be... Therefore I do not want to keep separate. The temple worship means there will be regulative principles, that you will have to rise early in the morning, you have to attend class, kīrtana... These things, as soon as you give up all these things, zero. Then it will be like karmīs, as they are, hard labor, collecting money, and enjoying senses. That's all. So that is the pitfall everywhere. In the church, temple, as soon as they get some nice income, then in the name of "priest," "sādhu," "sannyāsī," they do the same thing.

Room Conversation -- September 19, 1973, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: There is eyes, oh, beautiful woman, sense enjoyment. Maithunam, sex life, there are eight kinds of sex. If one thinks within the mind about sex enjoyment, that is also sex. So anyway, that is the danger, keeping a separate department for money collecting. Then it will turn: "Collect money, eat nicely and sleep nicely." And to live in the temple, at least, one is forced to rise early in the morning, take bath, to have darśana. They'll get regulated life. Therefore this temple worship is needed because we are so impure. So at least, in temple, by following the regulative principles, we can keep ourself pure. Otherwise simply chanting is sufficient. There is no need of constructing big, big temples. But we are so impure... That is Jīva Gosvāmī's, recommended that as soon as we give up this temple worship method, regulative principles, then we become, in the dress of so-called, we become victim of māyā. Veśopajīvaka.

Room Conversation -- November 4, 1973, Delhi:

Prabhupāda: So much land.

Guest: Quite right. In America, Australia, I have seen.

Guest: (indistinct) so little water. You can put plastic sheets to collect water.

Prabhupāda: There will not be any scarcity of food. (indistinct)

Guest: Yes, if we work hard.

Prabhupāda: Not work hard, everyone should produce. But who's producing. Suppose in Delhi, such a big city. What is the population?

Guest: Yes.

Prabhupāda: What is the population? Tell me.

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

Prabhupāda: No, that... Without your attempt, somebody has become rich, just on his birth. It is due to your help? A man is born immediately millionaire. So it is not your humanity work. He has got it. And similarly, a man is immediately turned into pauper. You cannot save him. So what is the meaning of your humanitism? You cannot do anything. Vivekananda is crying so many. Rascals, they are simply collecting money and eating themselves. Daridra-nārāyaṇa-sevā. And all the daridras are lying on the street. So these are only humbug. It has no meaning. You cannot do anything.

Prajāpati: Actually they are so demoniac, Śrīla Prabhupāda, they are advocating so many birth control, and so many things, and they say this...

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

Satsvarūpa: If I go to some city and hold a program and advertise but only, say, four or five people come and yet they're interested, very interested-should that be considered successful or unsuccessful?

Prabhupāda: It is successful. If one man comes to hear, that is successful. But we have to see that, after spending so much money...

Devotee: Yes.

Prabhupāda: ...better to call a small meeting of the learned scholars and talk with them about our philosophy because even if you advertise common man is not interested. They think, "Oh, what is this?" Even the so-called higher circles. The best thing is to collect some... Just like ordinary meeting it is done. That is better. Why should you spend unnecessarily on advertising. (end)

Morning Walk -- December 29, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: So our astrology is calculated by the position of the stars. By astronomy you calculate the position of the star, and they know, "If the star is in such and such position, the result will be like this." That is astrology.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: This looks like collecting some facts from some experience.

Prabhupāda: No, no. It is calculated by the astral movement. It is a great science. People do not know it now.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: So Wolfe Prabhu was telling me that "So we don't believe in astrology, but when Śrīla Prabhupāda says, then you believe."

Prabhupāda: Huh?

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- January 10, 1974, Los Angeles:

Gurukṛpā: When we were just traveling this last time and collecting, Śrīla Prabhupāda, everyday we were offering some incense to Gaṇeśa, and this prayer in the Brahma-saṁhitā, yat-pāda-pallava...

Prabhupāda: Pallava-yugaṁ vinidhāya kumbha...

Gurukṛpā: We were saying this, saying, "Give us facility to collect nice lakṣmī to use to build the temple in Vṛndāvana."

Yaśodānandana: To build the temple for Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma in Vṛndāvana.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is good. Whatever possible facility is available from any person, we beg for it for Kṛṣṇa's service, not for our personal benefit. (break) ...they forget Kṛṣṇa. They forget Kṛṣṇa. When they go to worship some other demigod, they forget Kṛṣṇa, kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ (BG 7.20), because they have got so strong material desires that they forget Kṛṣṇa. That is harmful. Antavat tu phalaṁ teṣām (BG 7.23). They get some benefit out of the demigod, but that will not stay.

Morning Walk -- January 19, 1974, Hawaii:

Prabhupāda: Coconut, you collect, and each one of you use at least two coconuts daily, drinking water and the pulp. It is very digestive and nutritious. The pulp is very nutritious and digestive. If you simply take the pulp from two sides and drink that water, you don't require to eat anything. It is so nutritious. So better collect, and so long you can get them, use two coconuts daily yourself. (japa) (break) ...purchase that Kṛṣṇa, and when he'll ask this man to "Give me that Kṛṣṇa book, let me read," this "Kṛṣṇa" will give him some benefit, his calling "Kṛṣṇa Book."

Morning Walk -- January 22, 1974, Hawaii:

Satsvarūpa: Fossils, impressions of animals' bodies in the stone that are left there thousands of years. They gather all these... That's what Darwin's work mostly was. He would sail around the world and collect all these fossils, and make conclusions and write books.

Prabhupāda: But where they will get fossils of old intelligent men?

Satsvarūpa: Well, they say that they've found just skulls of very primitive men...

Prabhupāda: No, no, you cannot find because according to Vedic culture, the body's burned into ashes. Where you'll get the bones and fossils?

Room Conversation -- February 13, 1974, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: So I was taking the stock to the booksellers there or some institution or some friend. In this way, sixteen dollars, the full set sixteen dollars. In this way collecting. (break) ...That gentleman who carried me in his car, he is Mr. Kaśinātha Servan(?). (break) ...Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, a large edition, this size, eleven hundred pages.

Dr. Kapoor: I see.

Guru dāsa: We should let Dr. Karan Singh patronize ...

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Morning Walk -- February 17, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Dr. Patel: We must collect some funds and buy some ready-made clothes, keep them ready and present them.

Prabhupāda: So from śānta-rasa we can begin this dāsya-rasa. Yes. Instead of taking care of them, you please kindly take up these poor children.

Dr. Patel: Yes, you see, my wife used to take care of more than hundred children in the schools, giving them fees, giving them notes, pencils and clothing and...

Prabhupāda: A little more, little more.

Morning Walk -- February 17, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: No, it is not the question of you or she. I am just pointing out.

Dr. Patel: No, no, no. I will try. I have taken your, this thing to my heart. I will try to collect some fund and get some clothing, those ready-made ones.

Prabhupāda: So one day a tailors may be brought and take their measurement.

Dr. Patel: But ready-made is there.

Prabhupāda: Or ready-made. Ready made. So in the evening they should come, they should take bath, be cleansed, and give dress. Next day when they come, change the dress. Let them be habituated. They are coming...

Dr. Patel: In cleanliness, you give them impression of cleanliness.

Morning Walk -- February 19, 1974, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: Mat-karmabhiḥ karmāṇi siddhim... (break)

Prabhupāda: Sarva-karma-tyāga. Where is Girirāja? These boys collecting not less than thirty thousand per month, but not a single farthing for him. This is sarva-karma-phala. Is there any man, businessman?

Mr. Sar: Yes, yes. He stays in utter poverty.

Dr. Patel: Sarva-karma-phala-tyāgam eva.

Prabhupāda: He does not care for his body even.

Mr. Sar: Yes, he does not care.

Prabhupāda: I forced him to go to U.S.A. and get...

Morning Walk -- March 6, 1974, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: This is the position. "You wanted to become a sera. All right, you become a sera. Jump over some animal and immediately suck his blood." All facility is—the nails, the teeth-given. But is he happy? But everyone thinking that "If I could become like this, I would have been happy." So Kṛṣṇa gives all chance. "All right, you become this." This is transmigration. This is transmigration. (break) ...yathāndhair upa... We are thinking something like that, and Kṛṣṇa is giving us chance, "All right, you take this chance; you become like this." Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante (BG 4.11). But it will not make you happy. Therefore ultimately says, sarva-dharmān. "You give up all this rascaldom. What I speak, you can accept. That is your dharma." Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇam... (BG 18.66). That will be beneficial for you, the most confidential instruction. There is that story that one old woman, she was suffering. And she had to collect woods from the forest and sell in the market. So one day, how do you say, she was praying to Kṛṣṇa, or God, that "Kindly help me. I am in very poverty-stricken."

Morning Walk -- March 7, 1974, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Everyone will understand. Hare Kṛṣṇa. That is proved. We are going to Africa. We are going to Canada, Europe, America. Everyone chants Hare Kṛṣṇa. That is the language. When a young man and young woman loves one another, there is no question of language. My Guru Mahārāja used to say that "Suppose you are in a foreign country. You do not know the language. But when there is fire, you get friends without any language." You see? In the beginning of British rule, there were not very many English-knowing Indians so a clerk in his office was working. So monkey came and he scattered the office papers. So after the monkey was driven away, he was collecting the papers. In the meantime, his English boss came. "What is this, man?" So he could not say. He began to jump. You see. "Monkey, sir. Monkey, sir. (laughter) Monkey, sir." "All right. All right. That's all right." Simply to inform, without any language, you can jump, "Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa." And he will understand. Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa... (Bengali)

Morning Walk -- March 9, 1974, Mayapura:

Guest (2): I like to save the paths(?) of the temple. And that devotee's not... Up till devotee, but he was a worker, his whole time living in the temple. And I asked Gargamuni, "Your devotee is saying, 'We'll go by car. It is expensive. Because we are collecting money from the different peoples and from the public. And we must not use our money in this way.' "

Prabhupāda: Jaya. For Kṛṣṇa bhakti, yes.

Guest (2): Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda: (Bengali)

Guest (2): (Bengali) (break)

Morning Walk -- March 9, 1974, Mayapura:

Guest (1): Yes. I know that, that story.

Prabhupāda: So for the satisfaction of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, we sometimes do that. But we collect money from them not for our sense gratification, but constructing this temple.

Guest (1): For the general public and...

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Guest (1): ...country and...

Prabhupāda: And unless we have got temple like this, nobody would come. If I sit down here, "Bhaktivedanta Swami is sitting here," nobody will come. (laughter)

Morning Walk -- March 9, 1974, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Āpani ācari prabhu jīve śikhāilā. If you show example how to keep the temple neat and clean, then these foreigners also will learn from you. (break) ...those who are earning money, they should... But we are giving them books. So our books are worth about three thousand rupees. But we are simply collecting eleven hundred.

Guest (4): All that they wanted, I understood from the talk, informatory, informations I mean, in their own dialect.

Prabhupāda: Well, one thing is that at least in Bengal they do not require much information because this Caitanya Movement is their movement. It is simply a plea. Everyone know that Caitanya Mahāprabhu came to distribute the Hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana. This is the essence, and let them help, prāṇair arthair dhiyā vācā, by life, by money, by words. This is the movement. Why they are anxious to get information more?

Morning Walk -- March 14, 1974, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Yeah. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. "I have become now Brahman—stop work. Eat and make your belly..." You see how Māyāvādī sannyāsī... Ah. (Prabhupāda gestures; devotees laugh) They think that "Now I have become Brahman, I have nothing to do. (Prabhupāda laughs) I have become Nārāyaṇa." "If you've got nothing to do, then why you are eating?" And for one cāpāṭi you'll find there are many Māyāvādīs. They're busy simply collecting cāpāṭis. (devotees laugh) So what is time of your starting?

Pañcadraviḍa: We're starting at nine.

Prabhupāda: Nine.

Pañcadraviḍa: Prasādam is being served at eight.

Prabhupāda: Oh. This Christian land is not available?

Morning Walk -- March 15, 1974, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Therefore this example is given: ass. For nothing, not for himself. He'll be given a little grass. The grass is available here. But still, he's engaged. Employment. Ass will reap, eat little grass. Grass is available everywhere. But still, he'll work for others, loading, overloading. This is ass. He has no sense, "So why I have taken so much overload? I can get grass anywhere. Let me remain free." But he has no such sense. Neither he will be allowed. (laughs) This is ass. Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa... (break) ...there are many bābājīs. They are collecting cāpāṭis and smoking bidi, and have one or two women. That's all. It is going on. So they should be drawn: "Come on! Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and take the plough." Not that you become Rūpa Gosvāmī simply by smoking. They are thinking they have become Rūpa Gosvāmī. Rūpa Gosvāmī lived like that. So they think by changing the cloth, loincloth, they have become Rūpa Gosvāmī. And whatever nonsense they like, they can do. (break) ...taken and all these bābājīs should be employed, "Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and draw plough." Then it will be nice.

Room Conversation -- March 20, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Guest: This about propaganda and collecting the signatures in the lakhs will not only take a lot of energy of the devotees, but it will take more time also. It is, in the city of Bombay, it is not practicable. Because people are very busy, and around the clock everybody is counting every second which he spends and more so, it's difficult for people to devote time towards a sat-saṅga or to sign the letter that they had no objection and on the contrary, the action of the police commissioner is condemnable, undesirable. That will take a lot of time. And I think by writing them a letter, by of our reconsidering, we lose nothing.

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Room Conversation -- March 20, 1974, Bombay:

Yaśomatīnandana: So they...

Guest: Then your principle is that "If we do any action, they may throw our boys out of India."

Yaśomatīnandana: But here is agitation. We are...

Guest: (indistinct) ...propaganda of collecting the signatures... (break)

Yaśomatīnandana: So I was also thinking, Prabhupāda, that we can still approach the higher level with...

Prabhupāda: Who is arranging for this higher level? Why it is open? Who is rascal, it is open and it is still open? Who is that rascal? But you do not know. This, you should never close this... (end)

Morning Walk -- March 23, 1974, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: Now, how would it be wrong argument, sir? We are following the same process. We collected those foodstuffs... (break)

Prabhupāda: ...commissioner is not the politician. Why do you mix them?

Dr. Patel: But Kṛṣṇa was never a politician. He was a...

Prabhupāda: No, no, no. That is a wrong theory. This is a wrong theory. You can approach somebody through somebody, but they are two, individual persons. (break) ...He is bhakta, yes.

Dr. Patel: "I am enjoyer of all the yajñas to whom, whatever and to whomever you are doing." How would you accept that...

Prabhupāda: No, no. The king. The king is the proprietor of all taxes. But he's not a tax collector.

Morning Walk -- March 23, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Bhava-bhūti: Also, Prabhupāda, there was one report that the Red Cross, seventy-five percent of the money collected went on advertising.

Prabhupāda: Just see.

Dr. Patel: America is living on advertisement. Right or wrong? I have been studying American, I mean, psychology.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That I understand.

Dr. Patel: Psychology.

Prabhupāda: That I understand.

Morning Walk -- March 25, 1974, Bombay:

Guest (1): ...and when the whole mass comes from, each small particle of honey does not know that he's from a particular tree, like that, he becomes... After the whole thing he gets, what do you call? The deluge.

Prabhupāda: No, no. Those, the collector, they remain individual, after and before. And while on the beehive. Always individual. That is the point. When they begin collecting honey, they're individual. And after collecting, when they make a beehive, they're individual. Or when they're sitting on the beehive, they're individual. Eternal. This is eternal. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). (break) So what is that? Mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ?

Morning Walk -- March 25, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Just like we are printing these books. And as soon as we take the bunch of books to any gentleman, he pays immediately, "Eleven hundred. Take it." Better business. You see. First of all I began business of this, simply by giving the Kṛṣṇa Book.

Dr. Patel: How much money you collected? I am sorry to ask this particular question.

Prabhupāda: How many members we have now?

Bhava-bhūti: Bombay we have...

Prabhupāda: All over India.

Dr. Patel: All over India.

Bhava-bhūti: All over India? Well..., (break)

Morning Walk -- March 31, 1974, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: All your actions and their effects, which are collecting on you... (break)

Guest (5): ...knows the procreating from the first word or some people would exercise their so-called free will and choosing sin, and still He creates them. If He were not to...

Prabhupāda: No, no, no. There is no question of choosing. As soon as you associate some infections disease, it is not the question of disease. You must be diseased. This is the law of nature. If you infect the smallpox disease, then you must be suffering from smallpox. That is law of nature. Not that your father has created small pox disease for you. Try to understand like this. You infect yourself. (break) ...giving him chance.

Morning Walk -- April 2, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Ah. And to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, it does not require any expensive material. If you have nothing to offer, you can offer patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ. He will be satisfied. And performing this yajña and other, oh, you have got to collect so much ghee, so much grain, so much mantras, so many learned brāhmaṇas and this and that. You have nothing to do. Anywhere, any part of the world, universal. Any man, poor man, rich man, can offer Kṛṣṇa whatever He has got. Kṛṣṇa is satisfied.

Dr. Patel: Tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam.

Prabhupāda: Ah. Bhaktya-upahṛtam aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ. Yes. "Because he has offered Me with faith and devotion and love, I accept it." So when Kṛṣṇa eats something from your hand, then what remains? You gain perfection. All perfection is there. If Kṛṣṇa is accepting something from your hand, "Yes, I will eat it." Then?

Morning Walk -- April 8, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: (Hindi) (break) There you see the Sarasvatī. Sarasvatī, she asks anybody, "Do you know Kṛṣṇa?" He will say, "No, I do not know..." "The Supreme Personality of Godhead." (laughter) She... That is preaching. And she'll collect some money and bring it to me. From the very childhood. (break) ...evāsam āgre. That is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. "And when everything will be finished, I'll stay." That is Kṛṣṇa. Janmādyasya yataḥ. The Vedānta-sūtra says that "He is the cause of creation, maintenance and annihilation." Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara. (break) One who takes shelter of that birth, who is not interested in this distress and happiness, he also becomes of this Mad-bhāva. That verse?

Morning Walk -- April 16, 1974, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: ...Mahābhārata. I think produced by, in Baroda.

Prabhupāda: I have got Mahābhārata. Not that published by the Gita Press.

Dr. Patel: They are all, really they have made it... For forty years they collected all the books...

Prabhupāda: Anyway, I have got this Mahābhārata.

Dr. Patel: That is costing about three thousand rupees. (everyone talking) (break) But is it not animal food?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Dr. Patel: That's it.

Prabhupāda: No, no, animal, mother's milk also animal food.

Press Conference -- April 18, 1974, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: Well, people, people have become godless everywhere. It doesn't matter whether he is a Christian or Muhammadan or Hindu. That is a general disease. So actually, everyone is concerned now with material comforts. But these material comforts mean wine and women, that's all. Substance of material comforts. So that they have enjoyed enough. The facility of enjoying woman and getting money, there is no limit. There is no limit. Anyone, the money is thrown in the street. You can simply collect. And similarly, women are available. So actually, they do not get any happiness by these material elements. They are seeking after something, that's a fact.

Guest (7): But isn't the Kṛṣṇa consciousness has not spread in the Arab world?

Prabhupāda: Yes, it is spreading. We have got branch in Iran.

Morning Walk -- April 29, 1974, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: He will pay. You can tell them that "Not a single farthing here. He can spend elsewhere. If you don't pay for the temple, then we shall go on like this. But as he has promised one lakh of rupees, that he will pay. That's all." Others, you have to collect here. That one lakh is promised. That will be paid.

Mahāṁsa: Otherwise we can go on like this. This is very nice. So many people are coming...

Prabhupāda: That's all right. In Bombay also, we can go without Deity or... Things are going on. There is no hindrance. Our members are coming. They are becoming members. You see? There is no difficulty. (break) You know the parliamentary question?

Gargamuni: Yes.

Morning Walk -- April 29, 1974, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: Parliament questioned that "These Americans, they are supposed to be..." What is that? "CIA. CIA." Is there any information to the government? "Besides that, they have got fabulous money. They are spending. Wherefrom they get the money? And if they are CIA, then what steps the government is going to step, take against them?" So the reply was three. First reply was "The government has no information that they are CIA people. Therefore the third question doesn't require to be answered, what steps? And so far their fabulous money, it is understood they collect by selling their literature and public contribution." Yes. Home member replied like this.

Morning Walk -- May 3, 1974, Bombay:

Girirāja: "He told them that they should not be sorry for being refused by the brāhmaṇas. Because that is the way of begging. He convinced them that while one is engaged in collecting or begging, one should not think that he will be successful everywhere. He may be unsuccessful in some places but that should not be cause for disappointment."

Prabhupāda: (break) ...tama dāsa Ṭhākura has said, karma-kāṇḍa jñāna-kāṇḍa, kevala viṣera bhāṇḍa. Bhāṇḍa. It is a pot of poison. Karma-kāṇḍa, karma-kāṇḍa process and the jñāna-kāṇḍa process, karmīs and the jñānīs... Karma-kāṇḍa jñāna-kāṇḍa, kevala viṣera bhāṇḍa: "Both of them are poison pots." Jñāna-kāṇḍa also.

Dr. Patel: But jñāna, you say, bhakti or jñāna automatically comes up.

Morning Walk -- May 9, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: For nothing. No, no, that is not possible. These are for the karmīs, bodily concept of life. If government has got so many hospitals, what is the use of opening a teeny hospital by us? Vivekananda policy—to collect money by school and hospital. So you can tell him that "At the present moment, we are concerned about the sanction of the building and temple. So when the building is there, then we can consider, not at the present moment. We require money. We collect for this purpose. We cannot divert attention for medicine and other things."

Indian Devotee (5): Actually I could gather that he just talked because he also said that we should train up some devotees to do bandage and other things like that.

Prabhupāda: (laughs) No, no, this is not.

Morning Walk -- May 9, 1974, Bombay:

Bhāgavata: That he has opened the clinic.

Prabhupāda: Daridra-nārāyaṇa-sevā. We are not all these false things. Doctor Ghosh is also after daridra-nārāyaṇa-sevā. (break) We will collect medicine. Our... We shall pay for the expenditure. Our men will be engaged for bandaging. (laughs) Nonsense.

Bhāgavata: And the preaching stops.

Prabhupāda: Ah. They cannot understand what is the meaning of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They are such dull headed men. They have no brain to understand. They are coming down again. Just like the dog's tail. Know, dog's tail. You may, however grease it... (laughs) They are hearing about this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The aim is the body, the dog's tail. They are hearing daily about Kṛṣṇa na..., but they cannot understand. It is very difficult.

Room Conversation with Catholic Cardinal and Secretary to the Pope -- May 24, 1974, Rome:

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. Recently some of our preachers, they have collected fifty-thousand dollars from the Japanese people. They wanted to contribute me for my Vṛndāvana temple, but the Japanese government will not allow to let the money go out. He wrote me. And I have seen personally, when I went... I went to Japan three, four times. These Japanese boys and girls, they are as good as these American, Europeans boys. And that is my practical... Or they, they are my students. They offer me respect so much. The Japanese boys, without being my students, they offer the same respect. So I thought that Japan is very good. Everywhere. That I told you already, that the love of Godhead is dormant in everyone. It doesn't matter what he is. It is the process to awaken that love of Godhead: That is first-class religion. The matter is already there. Simply we have to awaken. And now, that process which awakens very quickly, that is first-class religion. That is the first... And besides that, really understanding of God is very rarely found.

Morning Walk -- May 27, 1974, Rome:

Prabhupāda: No, no. Paper you can make from grass, from cotton. So many other fibers. You don't require wood. You grow grass, sufficient quantity, and you make paper. Why should you publish so many rubbish literatures? Just like you were telling. The Times of India, the newspaper. (Sound of cars) This is the difficulty, walking on street. Therefore I wanted to go to the park. This is disturbance. So paper, if we don't produce unnecessary paper, there is no scarcity. From grass. You produce grass, huge quantity of grass, you will get paper. Cotton also. First-class paper. In India also, the rejected paper. From rejected paper you can get another paper also. But they throw it away in your country. Collect this rejected paper and again put it into paper. And why should you publish all rubbish literature? Simply publish Bhāgavata and Bhagavad-gītā, that's all. What is the use of this newspaper, nonsense newspaper, huge, huge quantity? So everything will be nice provided you become ideal. Live in community. Produce your own food. Even you can produce your own paper. You don't require printing of so many books. If there is one book, others can imitate, or copy. There is no need of printing. Formerly they used to do that. Here is the...

Morning Walk -- May 30, 1974, Rome:

Prabhupāda: Why do you get this? Stop these activities. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That they do not know. Da means "that gives." Any type of material body you accept will be kleśada. They have constructed this building. If for few hours there is severe cold, so many people will die, even in this comfortable building. Is it not? So kleśada is there; either you remain in this way or that way, the sufferings will be there. And to take this comfort of this high building, how much kleśada, how much miserable condition, one has to pass. "Sir, I am not doing; the workers are doing." But you have to collect the money to pay them. How much miserable it is to acquire this money to pay another kleśada, laborer. So simply they are captivated by money. Otherwise it is kleśada. Sometimes they fall down and die while constructing. Is it not? Now, I have heard that in New York there are many buildings and there is no tenant. Kleśada. The proprietor of the house, he is also suffering. "I have spent so much money. No tenant." In London I have seen there is, for the last six or seven years, very big building. It is vacant.

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

Prabhupāda: No, no. We have to go everywhere. Wherever there is opportunity to instruct about this spiritual subject matter, we must go there. We should not have such discrimination, that city should be neglected. No. Why? They are also human being. They are misled. So we have to give them a little instruction. Everywhere. In cities there is possibility. Whatever we have collected, our men, that is from city, not from the village. So why should we neglect city? Where is the question? (break) All hobgoblin, the last word which I said, "dressing the dead body, decorating the dead body." The society has no brain; that means dead body. When a man's brain is gone, he is dead body, maybe he is living. He has no use. Just like a madman. He has got life, but what is the use of that life? It is already dead. Because his brain is deranged. Is it not? So if the brain is lost, brain is deranged, therefore it is dead body. That is the distinction between living body and dead body. A living man has got brain. He can work with his brain.

Room Conversation -- June 11, 1974, Paris:

Prabhupāda: And mostly they are made of milk. These people, they do not know. They kill the cows and throw the milk away to the hogs. And they are proud of their civilization. Like jackals and vultures. Actually, Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement will transform these uncivilized men to real civilization. Their civilization is now compact in masonry work, collecting stones and bricks and piling them. This much, their civilization. Actually, apaśyatām ātma-tattvaṁ gṛheṣu gṛha-medhinām (SB 2.1.2). The explanation I gave this morning. They do not know what is ātma-tattvam. Bahir-artha-māninaḥ. The external feature, material nature, they're interested. These scientists, these philosophers, the man, they're simply interested in the external features. Internally, what is important, they do not know.

Morning Walk -- June 12, 1974, Paris:

Prabhupāda: Just like suppose if I do something here in Paris, and if you say, "Sir, as soon as your visa is finished, you'll be kicked out," shall I be interested to create anything? That is intelligence, that "I will be kicked out after two months. Why shall I construct such a big scheme?" That is intelligence. So these rascals know that he'll be kicked out. Still, he works day and night for collecting bricks and stones and he becomes a big man. Mean a foolish rascal, he is considered a big man. Therefore śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-kharaiḥ saṁstutaḥ puruṣaḥ paśuḥ (SB 2.3.19).

Paramahaṁsa: People argue that "God has given us our intelligence and our senses, and therefore we must enjoy."

Morning Walk -- June 13, 1974, Paris:

Paramahaṁsa: Why do they call him "Sun King"?

French Devotee: Because he was very opulent.

Paramahaṁsa: Today, the French people collect millions of dollars every year from the Americans to keep Versailles beautiful.

Prabhupāda: American tourists pay.

Paramahaṁsa: Yes, many hundreds and thousands of American tourists come there every year just to see this opulence.

Yogeśvara: The Americans appreciate opulence. That's why we joined your movement.

Room Conversation with Professor Oliver La Combe Director of the Sorbonne University -- June 14, 1974, Paris:

Bhagavān: Tonight Śrīla Prabhupāda is giving conference at Salle Pleyal.

Professor La Combe: Yes, I know. Tonight. I have seen. This?

Prabhupāda: This is a picture. I do not know wherefrom they have collected. (laughter)

Bhagavān: It is from Yogeśvara.

Prabhupāda: It is supposed that the gopīs are looking to the picture of Kṛṣṇa, is it not?

Professor La Combe: Yes. Very likely.

Prabhupāda: But this picture also appears to be searching out Aniruddha.

Yogeśvara: Uṣā.

Prabhupāda: Uṣā, yes.

Morning Walk -- June 29, 1974, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: Yes, in the beginning there is no love. Let him work on the direction of God's representative. (break) Therefore it has been warned, arcye viṣṇau śilā-dhīr guruṣu nara-matir vaiṣṇave jāti-buddhiḥ. The Deity of Viṣṇu, if one thinks, "This is made of stone; this is made of wood; this is made of metal," and spiritual master as ordinary human being, these are hellish considerations. Arcye viṣṇau śilā-dhīr guruṣu nara-matiḥ. Guruṣu means the spiritual master. Nara-matiḥ, a ordinary human being. And vaiṣṇave jāti-buddhiḥ. And Vaiṣṇava, a devotee—"Oh, he is brāhmaṇa Vaiṣṇava. He is European Vaiṣṇava. He is this Vaiṣṇava, that..." No. These are forbidden. Vaiṣṇava is Vaiṣṇava. Spiritual master... They are all transcendental. In... of course, in this country you are introducing new, but in India... Just like we had been at Tirupati, Tirumala. Many thousands of people were coming, and their daily collection is not less than 100,000 rupees. And do you think these people are coming to offer these 100,000 rupees daily to a stone? And the ācāryas established this temple for bluffing these people? Does it mean, their collecting?

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

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Kṛṣṇa-kānti: They don't have to cultivate seaweed. They just take.

Jayatīrtha: They have to go diving with lungs and tanks to collect it rather than plough the earth.

Rāmeśvara: They consider it a delicacy in the restaurants for the macrobiotic people, the young people who are into health foods. It's a health food. It's a delicacy.

Prabhupāda: This is also eaten. (laughter) Yes. This is eaten by the Japanese. They eat it.

Bali Mardana: They say it contains much iodine, certain minerals.

Prabhupāda: They make some food and it is sold. What is called, that? They make some cakes by soaking in the water.

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

Prabhupāda: Not soybean. They make some foodstuff. In India also they are making now. When I was in Ahmedabad, guest of one Mr. Patel, his business is to collect this. And he's a chemist also. And prepare some food. And he's got good business.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: One of the plans for science in the future is the food from the ocean.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Food from the ocean is already there—fishes.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: No, not only fishes. They're trying to investigate more.

Prabhupāda: Fish is not sufficient?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: No, fish is not enough.

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

Prabhupāda: Especially for devotee, too much eating is very, very bad. Atyāhāraḥ prayāsaś ca prajalpo niyamāgrahaḥ (NOI 2). Too much eating is very bad.

Bali Mardana: They should only take what is necessary.

Prabhupāda: And too much collecting money also. That is also not good.

Kṛṣṇa-kānti: Too much what?

Prabhupāda: Collecting money. (pause)

Svarūpa Dāmodara: We were discussing that in all the living bodies, we have these innumerable cells, living cells. And in these cells... We were just discussing whether the Paramātmā and the jīvātmā is still there even in the living cells.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes.

Page Title:Collect (Conversations 1968 - 1974)
Compiler:Visnu Murti, RupaManjari
Created:21 of Feb, 2012
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=89, Let=0
No. of Quotes:89