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Common sense (Conversations 1975)

Conversations and Morning Walks

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- January 27, 1975, Tokyo:

Prabhupāda: Pramāṇa, there must be evidence. Otherwise... Just like science means simply not to see observation that things are taking place, but experiment. It must be substantiated by experiment. Just like theoretically everyone knows that two chemicals, soda and alkali, mixes together and there is interaction, effervescence. But who is mixing the soda and alkali, er, alkali and acid? There must be. Therefore the answer is there in the Bhagavad-gītā, mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ suyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10). "Under My superintendence." That is God. Under God's superintendence things are coming. Parasya śaktiḥ vividhaiva śruyate. He has got many multi powers and energies, they are working. Just like in nowadays electronic. You type your "a" and thousand miles away another typewriter will strike immediately "a", is it not? It is called, what is called?

Paramahaṁsa: Telex.

Prabhupāda: Telex? Not telex. Telex is also on the same thing.

Devotees: Teletype.

Prabhupāda: Teletype, yes. You push here "a" and the other end the "a" will immediately strike. There is no need of another person typing. But how it is being done? There is electronic arrangement by higher scientist. Not that, ordinary typewriter will not, no. Suppose if you keep one typewriter at your brother's place and you push it here, will it strike there? (laughter) Why? Because there is no arrangement. There is no arrangement. So these are common sense but the rascals will not understand. That without a touch of the living entity nothing can be done. The supreme living entity is Kṛṣṇa. Therefore it is said mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ suyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10). "I am the cause of the material energy working."

Room Conversation with Sanskrit Professor, other Guests and Disciples -- February 12, 1975, Mexico:

Prabhupāda: Sai Baba, he also says, "I am Bhagavān." Therefore he's bogus. How you can say yourself that you are Bhagavān, God? What is your power? What you have shown? And this is cheap. Now, supposing Sai Baba is God. So people accept him God, why? Because he shows some jugglery. He creates little gold. Is it not? So if, by creating gold, he is God, then there is bigger God who has created gold mine. Why shall I go to this tiny god? I must go to the big God who has created gold mine. This is common sense. But foolish people, they have no common sense even. Therefore it is called mūḍhā. Mūḍhā nābhijānāti mām ebhyaḥ param avyayam. Tribhir guṇamayair bhāvair mohita, mūḍhā nābhijānāti. Everything is there in the Bhagavad-gītā.

Room Conversation with Professors -- February 19, 1975, Caracas:

Professor (Hṛdayānanda): He's saying that with his psychology he cannot accept that there should be some clue, some key, that could permit him to accept it.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. That psychology is perfect where there is clue. Otherwise you will speculate all your life.

Professor (Hṛdayānanda): Then he's asking, he's humbly asking you to give him a little bit of the clue.

Prabhupāda: Yes, just like... It is very common sense clue. Kṛṣṇa says the proprietor of the body is within the body. Now, you were a child. So in your child body, you were present there, and in your boyhood body, you were present there. In your youthhood body, you were present there. Now you are middle-aged. You are there. I am old man. I am there. So body, the childhood body, the boyhood body, the youthhood body, they are no more existing, but I am existing. Therefore I am eternal; the body is temporary. This is the clue.

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- March 1, 1975, Atlanta:

Prabhupāda: Just like this wonderful machine, computer. But still, there is operator. But they have no common sense even, that where is the machine that is working without any operator? Where is that machine within their experience? How they suggest that the nature is doing automatically? Nature is wonderful machine, but the operator is Kṛṣṇa.

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- March 1, 1975, Atlanta:

Prabhupāda: Oh, we have got any experience? You have got any experience? Then, why do you say nonsense, this? You have no experience, and you say something nonsense, ludicrous. They say "nature." What is the nature? Nature is a machine only. Just like the harmonium. It is also machine. But if one expert operator is there, it makes very melodious, oh, nice. So will the harmonium play automatically? And bring melodious sound? So they have no common sense even; still, they are scientist. That is our regret. They are less than common sense man. That you have to expose, that these people have not even common sense, and they are passing on as scientist. That you must protest because you are servant of God, you are servant of the scientist. Call them directly rascal. Let them defend that they are not rascal.

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- March 1, 1975, Atlanta:

Prabhupāda: He brought some scientist. I called him, "You are rascal, you are demon. You are everything," (laughs) and he tolerated. That means internally he accepted that he is a rascal. (laughs) Actually they... They have no common sense even. So we are not scientist, but we speak from common sense. That's all. Yesterday or day before yesterday, I was talking on common sense on law points, so Rūpānuga said that "You are bigger than lawyer." I do not know that I am bigger than lawyer, but I was speaking on common sense. The difficulty is they are misleading. So many people are being misled by the so-called politician and scientist and... But Gandhi says... He has written so many nonsense things.

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- March 1, 1975, Atlanta:

Prabhupāda: These rascals are trying to create living entity and spending money and going to hold big, big conference. So where is the question of creation? They are already created. Why this common sense do not come in their brain? Why?

Room Conversation -- March 2, 1975, Atlanta:

Prabhupāda: So in India all these ācāryas, Śaṅkarācārya, Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, Viṣṇu Svāmī, Lord Caitanya, they accept Kṛṣṇa the supreme absolute. Why you should not? Are you more than these ācāryas? Then? That is the defect of modern education, they manufacture education although they're imperfect. They have no the common sense that "I am imperfect, how I am manufacturing education and becoming teacher. My becoming teacher is cheating because I have no perfect knowledge." Knowledge means it must be perfect, not "maybe," "perhaps." This is not knowledge. Definite knowledge.

Interview with a German Girl and Assorted Devotees -- March 30, 1975, Mayapur:

Haṁsadūta: Understand?

Girl: Yes.

Prabhupāda: There is no question of guru. It is a question of common sense.

Haṁsadūta: (German)

Girl: (German)

Prabhupāda: It is very simple thing, that "I am changing my body, and similarly, I'll change this body." This should be understood by my present circumstances of life, and it is confirmed by the greatest authority, Kṛṣṇa. Knowledge by authority and knowledge by experience, both things are there. And still, the rascals do not understand.

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

Prajāpati: No.

Acyutānanda: No one.

Prabhupāda: That is speculation. If you want to study me, so you can do so either by approaching me or through one of my confidential servant. How one can understand me from outside by speculating? Why do they come to see me? Let them remain far away and speculate. But that is not possible in ordinary common sense also. So how they speculate about God? If you cannot understand even a common man, maybe very big in the society, you cannot understand a common man by hearsay, by speculation...

Conversation with Indian Guests -- April 12, 1975, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: You... If you are my confidential friend, then I can take to my family. And if you are outsider, why should you expect to come into my family life? This is common sense. You do not understand Kṛṣṇa, and you want to understand Kṛṣṇa's dealings with Rādhārāṇī. That is very confidential.

Morning Walk -- May 12, 1975, Perth:

Paramahaṁsa: Generally people don't believe it if someone says he is God.

Prabhupāda: The first thing is: what wonderful thing he has done, that he is God? People have no common sense. We accept Kṛṣṇa as God. There are so many wonderful things done by Kṛṣṇa. Now what has he done that we accept that he is God? He has fallen in love with his secretary; any common sweeper also becomes.

Paramahaṁsa: That is his līlā.

Morning Walk -- May 23, 1975, Melbourne:

Australian devotee 2: They feel justified in killing because they say the animal has no soul.

Prabhupāda: Just see how fool they are. Therefore we simply say these are rascals. They have not even the common sense of an uneducated man. And they are scientist. Why there is no soul? What is the proof? What is their argument? Why they say there is no soul? What is the argument?

Morning Walk -- May 23, 1975, Melbourne:

Śrutakīrti: But if we kill the cow without it, while it is healthy, then it is very good to eat the meat.

Prabhupāda: Yes, but the argument is die. As soon as you kill, it is died. As soon as you take the fish out of the water it dies. So how you can say that dead animal is not good? It is dead. For argument's sake, "A dead animal is not good," but you make him dead. Then you eat. Where is the argument that dead animal is bad? You are eating dead. That means they are not even common sense. That is the rascaldom. Rascal means one who has no common sense even.

Morning Walk -- May 23, 1975, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: It is not automatically working, any machine. So how this big machine is operating without any operator? What is this nonsense? They say, "There is no God. Nature, nature." What is the nature? Nature is a machine. Just like this body. This body is machine, and the operator is the soul, and the guide is the Supersoul. As soon as the soul goes away, then the machine does not work. This is common sense. But they have no common sense; therefore they are rascals, so-called scientists and others. They have no common sense.

Morning Walk -- May 23, 1975, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: If you advance in civilization or do not advance in civilization, you will die. That is sure. Then why do you labor so much? Huh? The animals, they do not labor so much. They live peacefully on the condition of the nature. Why do you labor so much? If the result is the same—the animal will die and you will die—then why you are laboring so much for nothing? That means they have no common sense even. Therefore they are rascals.

Radio Interview -- May 25, 1975, Fiji:

Prabhupāda: Just like we are changing our bodies from childhood to babyhood, babyhood to boyhood, boyhood to youthhood, then old age, similarly, when this body will be finished, no more usable, then we'll have to accept another body. But we... The present civilization is so foolish they do not know—even big, big professor; I have talked—that there is life after death. They do not know, although it is very evident. That they have no such knowledge, even common sense.

Morning Walk -- May 27, 1975, Honolulu:

Bali-mardana: Now they will have to agree with you. It's so much trouble. But the thing is that the scientists will lose their jobs if they do not make people want to go to..., useless things.

Prabhupāda: Yes. But one thing is the people in general, they are so rubbish and brainless that they believe. They do not use their common sense. I am also one of the member, but I use my common sense. We have read from the Vedic literature the moon planet is influencing the vegetation in this planet, and there is no vegetation. The moon planet... These are explained that influencing vegetation in this planet.

Morning Walk -- May 27, 1975, Honolulu:

Guru kṛpā: The all-American family. If the moon is illuminating the earth at night, then how come you have brought back dull pieces of rock. They should have also been shining.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is a common sense.

Devotee (2): Did they actually land on the moon, Śrīla Prabhupāda?

Prabhupāda: No, they cannot go there. What is the question of landing? They cannot go there. It is far, far away. What you calculated? 1,600,000 miles away, up the sun planet. 1,600,000 miles above the sun. According to your calculation, the sun is away from this planet by 93,000,000 miles. And above that, 1,600,000 miles. Then you go to the moon.

Morning Walk -- May 28, 1975, Honolulu:

Bali-mardana: Previously the only big building was the church.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Big church or king's royal palace, like that. Ordinary men, they used to live in cottage. That is especially in India. They did not... What is the use? If you are not going to live there... It is a common sense. But they have no idea. They are thinking, "We shall live forever in this house." And Kṛṣṇa says that "I will come as death and take away all your possession." That they cannot understand. They will think that "No, my possession is all. I will die. I will go to hell. Still, it is my possession." This is. He will go to hell; still, his possession. (laughs) This is intelligence.

Morning Walk -- May 28, 1975, Honolulu:

Prabhupāda: Who is coming to become your generation if there is no next life? Hm? "My son, my grandson will..." But who is coming to be your... Because there is no next life, everything is finished with this body, then who is coming to be your son and who is coming to be your grandson? The common sense. But they are so dull, they cannot understand.

Morning Walk -- May 28, 1975, Honolulu:

Bali-mardana: It is simply an accident.

Prabhupāda: So for accident you are spending so much money and energy? All contradictory. There is no even common sense. Still, they will not take the actual fact from the authoritative śāstra. (break) ...nābhijānāti. (break)

Guest (1) (Gentleman): What kind of a sect are you?

Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa conscious.

Guest (1): Christian what?

Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa conscious, just tell him.

Morning Walk -- May 29, 1975, Honolulu:

Prabhupāda: All nonsense. They are professing I am Christian, I am Hindu, I am Muslim, but they are enemies, one another. So where is their religion? Just see, common sense. Even the animals, amongst themselves, they do not say "Keep out." Sit down together. They sit down actually. The birds, beasts of the same position, they keep together. Birds of the same feather flock... But human being, having, professing so many religions-enemies. This is their civilization. They discover better religion, but enemies to the animal, to the man, everyone.

Morning Walk -- July 17, 1975, San Francisco:

Bahulāśva: Sometimes they say, Śrīla Prabhupāda, that these examples are only valid because we're people and therefore we're...

Prabhupāda: So you are people because you are nonsense. Say that, "Because you are nonsense. Why do you say people? You do not have any common sense even, that a mother gives birth to a child without a father."

Morning Walk -- July 18, 1975, San Francisco:

Prabhupāda: Well, anyway, they must be used. There is no doubt about it. Therefore we can say there will be war. It is no astrology. It is natural conclusion.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Common sense.

Paramahaṁsa: That'd mean total destruction.

Prabhupāda: Well, total or partial, that we shall see. But they must be used.

Bahulāśva: Now they like to blow them up in the ground. The scientists like to play by blowing them up in the ground.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Or in the sea.

Bahulāśva: They create big disturbances.

Prabhupāda: Yes. (break) ...can be solved by understanding these three items: God is the proprietor; He is the enjoyer; He is friend of everyone. They are acting just the opposite way: "I am the proprietor; I am the enjoyer; I am the friend. Because I am God."

Morning Walk -- October 7, 1975, Durban:

Harikeśa: Well, God is so great, He...

Prabhupāda: Just like there is sunshine. Immediately we can understand there is fire. Therefore heat and light is there. It is common sense. And the sunshine is there, and "There is no fire. There is no heat"—what is this nonsense? Therefore, they, all of them are rascals and nonsense, who talks foolishly like that.

Harikeśa: Well, God is so great He doesn't require a mouth to speak.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Harikeśa: He is so great, He doesn't require a mouth to speak.

Prabhupāda: He doesn't require? Then where...? But where do you get, you rascal? Where do you get this idea that without mouth one can speak?

Morning Walk -- October 29, 1975, Nairobi:

Prabhupāda: Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā mano-rathenāsato dhāvato bahiḥ (SB 5.18.12). Nondevotees, they are simply pulled on by the mental speculation: "This will be very nice. This will be very nice." Mano rathena on the chariot of mind... Asataḥ, material. Asat means material, "that will not exist." They will be busy in such things. Real, eternal necessity, they'll not be interested. They do not know. "Now, this beautiful city, it is my city, my country. Everything all right." But he has no knowledge that "After fifty years, when I shall die, where will be my city next?" That he does not know. For the time being, I shall be able to live here for twenty-five years or fifty years. That's all right. And next time, where I am going... A commonsense affair.

Morning Walk -- November 1, 1975, Nairobi:

Jñāna: The materialistic scientists, they are saying that matter is energy. So we understand if it's energy there must be an energetic.

Prabhupāda: Yes. So how the energetic is producing, this is common. Gas is forming. Just like you perspire, there is water. So one ounce of water may come from your body. So water is coming from your body, so why not from the gigantic body of Kṛṣṇa, the oceans, millions of oceans, come out? This should be the understanding. We see practically that water is coming out from my body. So it may be one ounce or less than that because my body is very small, but Kṛṣṇa's body is unlimited, so why not unlimited supply of water? This should be the common sense. And this body, this body, what it is? It is earth. When the body will be dead it will be earth. So I am spirit soul, a small particle, so much earth is coming from me, why not Kṛṣṇa, the supreme spirit? This is the explanation.

Morning Walk -- November 11, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: That is very preliminary knowledge. That is not... Just like you can predict that after two months there will be winter. That does not mean that you are very advanced scientist. (laughter) Any child can say. The rascal predicted that there is some comet, and it never appeared. He did. So therefore they are rascals. What is already scheduled, everyone knows. He can say that. (break) ...story about Kali dāsa. Kali dāsa was such a fool. It is a long story. It will take time. So he was sitting on a branch of a tree and cutting. So some intelligent man came, was passing: "Oh, you rascal, you'll fall down." So he did not care. He would go on. And when he actually fell down, he, "Oh, you are so nice astrologer." What is astrology? It is a common sense. If I say, "At six o'clock in the evening there will be no sun," (laughter) is that astrology? Even it is astrology, this astrology is known to everyone. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Morning Walk -- December 23, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Huh? What is that? That means that proving that Śiva is a rascal. He gave permission to kill his devotee. Then what is the use? Then nobody should become Śiva's devotee. That is the conclusion. Because he gives permission to somebody else to kill his devotee. They are trying to prove Lord Śiva is a rascal. What do you think? Huh? If I want your permission, please give me your permission, I shall kill your son, and if you say, "Yes, I give my permission," then are you not a rascal? By this example they are making Lord Śiva a rascal, that he has no common sense even.

Morning Walk -- December 23, 1975, Bombay:

Indian man: Yes.

Prabhupāda: No sane man will become his devotee. All the manufactured foolish statements, just see. Any commonsense man will immediately say, "Then Śiva is a rascal; he cannot give protection to his devotee." What do you think? Huh?

Kīrtanānanda: Of course, Śrīla Prabhupāda, does one have to give protection to their devotee if they break the law? Just like if you have a child, and he murders someone, isn't he supposed to be punished? So if someone goes against the Supreme Personality of Godhead, even if you are a devotee, shouldn't Śiva concur?

Prabhupāda: No, no. That is another thing. This proposal, that because Lord Rāmacandra approached Lord Śiva to kill Rāvaṇa, and he gave permission, although Rāvaṇa was his great devotee. Then what is the use of becoming devotee of Lord Śiva?

Page Title:Common sense (Conversations 1975)
Compiler:Sahadeva, Gopinath
Created:07 of Mar, 2010
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=31, Let=0
No. of Quotes:31