Professor: Yes, I'm an instructor, yes.
Devotee: What subject matter?
Professor: In religious studies.
Prabhupāda: What is your definition of religion?
Professor: My definition of religion? I think religion has mostly to do with the kinds of questions people ask. Religion is the attempt to answer questions about "Who am I? and "Who is God?" and "How do I relate to God?"
Prabhupāda: That is nice. That is the meaning. So do the people in general know what is God?
Professor: People in general... Today most people have an idea, but they don't all agree. So you can't say that they all have an idea of God. But they all believe they do.
Prabhupāda: No, believing is different thing. You can believe anything. But God is one. So God is there, you believe or not believe. Just like the president of your state is there. One may say, "I don't believe in him." That does not mean there is no president. Similarly, a foolish man can say that there is no God, but that does not mean there is no God. There is God. Now who is that God?
Professor: Who is God?
Prabhupāda: Just like in your state, everyone knows there is a president. And one can enquire, "Who is now president?" Is it not natural?
Professor: Is it not...? Everyone knows who the president is.
Prabhupāda: No, knows or not knows. Suppose I am a foreigner. I know...
Professor: Oh, yes.
Prabhupāda: ...that there is a president. Then I can ask, "Who is your president?"
Professor: Right.
Prabhupāda: That is natural. So first of all, the believers, they know that there is God. Now the next question will be "Who is God?" That is advanced knowledge.
Professor: Certainly lots of people have different answers.
Prabhupāda: Why there should be different...? President is one, and everyone knows he is one. Why there be lots... That means they do not know. If there is... Just like now Mr. Ford is president. So nobody can say, "Now Mr. John is president." Mr. Ford is president. You cannot say, "Mr. John is president," "Mr. such and such is president," "I suggest," "I..." "It may be like that." Why may be? Actually Mr. Ford is president. And one who says, "May be like this," he does not know who is the president. As soon as he says, "God may be like this," that means he does not know what is God. So there cannot be different description of God. God is one. One must know who is that God. That is education. Now, we are teaching that, "Here is God, Kṛṣṇa." Now it is up to you to test whether Kṛṣṇa is God or not God. But if you know what is God, then you have to accept Kṛṣṇa.
Professor: If you know who is God, accept it?
Prabhupāda: If you know what is God, then you will accept Kṛṣṇa is God.
Professor: Oh.
Prabhupāda: If you do not know actually what is God, then you will deny. Or if you deny, then present who is God, if you know. Then you will have to say, "I do not know what is God." So anyone who is trying to study religion and God, they should try to understand our philosophy, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Satsvarūpa: The professor says they have the Bhagavad-gītā in his college.
Prabhupāda: Oh. You have got this Bhagavad-gītā As It Is?
Professor: Yes, in the library.
Prabhupāda: You can...? You have read our this Bhagavad-gītā?
Professor: I have read it, yes.
Prabhupāda: According to Vedic understanding, kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). You understand Sanskrit? No. Kṛṣṇa... there are description of the incarnations. There is name of Kṛṣṇa. Then it is summarized. Find out this verse,
- ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ
- kṛṣṇaś tu bhagavān svayam
- indrāri-vyākulaṁ lokaṁ
- mṛḍayanti yuge yuge
- (SB 1.3.28)
Satsvarūpa:
- ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ
- kṛṣṇaś tu bhagavān svayam
- indrāri-vyākulaṁ lokaṁ
- mṛḍayanti yuge yuge
- (SB 1.3.28)
"All of the above-mentioned incarnations are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord. But Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead. All of them appear on planets whenever there is a disturbance created by the atheists. The Lord incarnates to protect the theists."
Prabhupāda: So now the Lord has incarnated in the form of Hare Kṛṣṇa sound to deliver the atheist. The world is full of atheist. Therefore this movement is there.
Professor: It's like the story about the blind men and the elephant, I think. A lot of people know one incarnation and think that that is all of God, and they do not know that that is only one incarnation or is only one manifestation.
Prabhupāda: No, incarnations there are many. Many incarnations. There is a verse there. But Kṛṣṇa is the origin of incarnation. He is the original source of all incarnation. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). So as you are teacher of religion, so you try to understand this Kṛṣṇa philosophy.