High culture

Expressions researched:
"high culture"

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.110-111 -- Bombay, November 17, 1975: Actually this morning we were talking, one dog sees another dog: "Oh, he is coming from another neighborhood." He immediately begins to bark. Immigration department: "Why you are coming in this neighborhood? All right, you can stay here for three days. Then you must have to go out." The dog barking. So we have opened so many branches, but the basic principle is sa eva go-kharaḥ [SB 10.84.13]. All of them are on the platform of animal consciousness. This is the modern civilization. India was never meant for that. Paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ. This high culture we have lost now. Paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ. They never distin... Vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini, śuni caiva śva-pāke... [Bg. 5.18]. Because there was no bodily concept of life. This is India's prerogative. But now we are also developing the bodily concept of life and becoming one of the animals.

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on Charles Darwin:

Śyāmasundara: Practically, until now, no one except you has brought Indian culture out.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Śyāmasundara: No one has known before that they had high culture.

Prabhupāda: No. Because regular propaganda. And all the swamis and yogis, they also rascals, they brought some yoga system, exercises, like that.

Śyāmasundara: No philosophy...

Prabhupāda: No philosophy, no culture. As we are touching now everything: sociology, politics, religion, culture, philosophy, everything, completely. Just like we are discussing now this Pṛthu Mahārāja's kingdom, how nice it is.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Christian Priest -- June 9, 1974, Paris: If somebody says, "Oh, it is a very great thing to understand God and to love Him," they are thinking it is not possible. No. The answer is ahaituky apratihatā. It can be learned by anyone. It is not checked by any material condition. If one wants to know what is God and to love Him, the path is open for everyone. It does not require high intelligence, high education, high culture. No. Anyone. The process is śravaṇam, the beginning. One has to hear. One may be fool number one, it doesn't matter. No education, it doesn't matter. Poor, doesn't matter. Black, doesn't matter. White, doesn't matter.

1947 to 1965 Correspondence

Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru -- Allahabad 20 January, 1952: The Vedas, the Bible or the Koran would ask the human being to make proper use of his conserved energy in the transcendental service of God and unsophisticated men in the old days would follow such instruction unhesitatingly for realizing the Absolute Truth. Such temples, mosques were therefore centres of high culture to provide real food to human consciousness. But in the present age in the absence of such high culture there is hardly any difference between the temples, mosques and cathedrals and the high commercial buildings in a busy city.