Prabhupāda: No. Truth is not relative. Your position is relative. So long you are under the clutches of māyā, your understanding of God is relative. God is not relative. God is absolute. You cannot understand God. Your position is relative. Just like, I will give you a practical example: a man is deaf and he is calling wife, "Mrs. such and such, such and such." She is replying, "Yes. I am coming." But he himself is deaf. He cannot hear the wife is replying. So he is accusing his wife, "Mrs. such and such is very deaf; she cannot hear." She is hearing; she is replying. This rascal cannot hear; therefore she becomes deaf. This is an example. So I cannot understand what is God—therefore there is no God. This is the most rascal position. I cannot see at night the sun-therefore there is no sun. He does not understand that "I am in darkness at night, so there is no possibility of my seeing." He has no such knowledge. But he concludes there is not sun. That is rascaldom.
Śyāmasundara: I think he would say that a belief in God would...
Prabhupāda: It is not belief. You believe or not believe, God is there.
Śyāmasundara: But he would say that...
Prabhupāda: And that word is another nonsense expression. You believe in God, you don't believe, what does it matter for God?
Śyāmasundara: But I think he would say that if everyone who believes in God gets some strength, some happiness, some courage, so that it would benefit everyone to believe in God...
Prabhupāda: But he does not get any strength by it, does it mean God is not there?
Śyāmasundara: But doesn't everyone derive strength?
Prabhupāda: No. Somebody, he thinks, "By drinking I get strength." There are many men in Bowery Street in your country. So, just like, why these drunkards? I'll give you a practical example. When long ago when Mahatma Gandhi came in Calcutta, so some of the Gauḍīya Math men went to invite him, "Mahatma Gandhi, please come to our temple." At that time charka was very prominent.
Śyāmasundara: What is that?
Prabhupāda: Charka, the, what is called? Spinning wheel.
Śyāmasundara: Spinning wheel.
Prabhupāda: Spinning wheel, yes. Gandhi was himself devoting, just like we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, he thought that you spin. So he first of all inquired whether in your temple you spin this charka. They replied, "No, sir. We worship Kṛṣṇa, God, and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. This is our regular routine work." Gandhi replied, "Oh, then I am not going to your temple. My charka is my God." He said that. And actually, for him, charka was God in this sense: by introducing charka the whole Manchester closed. You see? And the British Empire half broken, simply by killing this Manchester industry. So many mills they closed. But later on the, (laughs) Manchester came to Ahmedabad. Now when we are taking supplies from Manchester, we are getting cloth, one rupee 8 annas per pair, now we have to pay twenty-five rupees per pair.
Śyāmasundara: For dhotīs?
Prabhupāda: Dhotīs, yes. In our childhood we have seen that Manchester made cloth, first class. One dhotī was selling (indistinct), that was selling like hotcake, imported by Rally Brothers. Very nice cloth—one rupee 8 annas per pair, two, two pieces. But the same dhotī you have to purchase at twenty-five. So the consumer's money is now going to Ahmedabad. You may say your money is saved in your country, but my pocket is empty. (laughs) It is saved in my country, that's all right—in the state bank. That's all right. But my pocket is empty.
Śyāmasundara: And Mafatlal's pocket is full.
Prabhupāda: That's all. This is going on.
Śyāmasundara: He says that a person's philosophical attitude will depend upon the individual's personality. Different personalities naturally have a different philosophy.
Prabhupāda: Philosophy without any fact is mental speculation. What is the value of such philosophy? He has already practical value. According to person, your mentality, your personality may not agree with me. Then you have got different philosophy. And what is the practical use?
Devotee: This seems to have a similarity to the divisions of faith according to the three guṇas.
Prabhupāda: No. The philosophy is not faith. Faith is a different thing, and fact is different thing. Philosophy must be on the fact, not on faith. Faith may be blind faith. That is different thing.