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Interesting (Conversations)

Conversations and Morning Walks

1968 Conversations and Morning Walks

Interview -- March 9, 1968, San Francisco:

This is the first stage, out of inquisitiveness or some faith, that "These people are teaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We have heard it is very nice. Let us see what it is." This is the first stage. This is the first stage. One should be inquisitive and have little faith or little respect for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. "It is very nice, they are speaking, doing nice work." This is the first stage. The second stage is that in the first stage, if you find it, it is interesting, then the second stage is to associate with us, to understand more. Just like we are having our classes three days in a week. We are having class morning daily, but for public we are holding classes in the evening from seven to nine in our temple. Perhaps you know. You have been yesterday there? So we are holding classes there and discussing on this book, having kīrtana, distribution of prasādam. So it is very nice.

1969 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 11, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Hayagrīva: That's for sure. But there've been... See what you think of various melodies. We play various melodies and see how we can come out. Another thing, do you want to have responsive chanting?

Prabhupāda: Responsive chanting must be there.

Allen Ginsberg: That would be interesting, yes.

Prabhupāda: Otherwise everyone will become tired and that will be chaotic. Response. That's nice. Then the audience will respond.

Allen Ginsberg: We got into some responsive chanting last time.

Kīrtanānanda: Why don't you lead?

Prabhupāda: Huh? I can lead.

Allen Ginsberg: That's a good idea.

Prabhupāda: I can lead.

Room Conversation With John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and George Harrison -- September 11, 1969, London, At Tittenhurst:

Yoko Ono: But you said about if the milk goes through a serpent's mouth it will produce poison, and, for instance, George just told us about a week ago a very interesting story about a man who had a face of Christ, and in twenty years' time he had a face of Judah. And the Catholic Church and all those churches first probably had good words, and now it's deteriorating. Now, how would you decide, really, that brāhmaṇas are always in a pure state that you speak of, that they would never turn into serpents?

Prabhupāda: That you have to become a serious student.

Yoko Ono: Well, I mean, what do you mean by serious student? Maybe everybody, all of us are serious anyway. I mean, we're born serious or born, you know, unserious.

Prabhupāda: Then you must know what is distinction between Brahman, Paramātmā, and Bhagavān, if you are serious student.

1970 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- November 4, 1970, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Oh, oh, yes, yes. I remember. She is envious, that "Why two page advertisement, publicity has been..." That's all.

Haṁsadūta: There's another letter. It says, "Your leading article on the Kṛṣṇa cult makes interesting reading. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, the Indian founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, ISKCON, and his American disciples repeatedly told K.R. Sundarajan, the author of the article in the Times Weekly, November 8th, 1970, during their brief stay in Bombay that theirs was not strictly a Hindu movement. They explained to him that Kṛṣṇa was above all religions, the universal teacher, the supreme man, the purification of the Absolute Truth. If it is so, then why can't they go to Pakistan and China for chanting of Kṛṣṇa's name and ask them to vacate aggression? The soil of this land where the great master was born..."

Prabhupāda: Now, now, we have to serve the political, politicians. Eh? Because they cannot do, so they are asking us.

1971 Conversations and Morning Walks

Conversation with Prof. Kotovsky -- June 22, 1971, Moscow:

Prof. Kotovsky: Yes, you know, what is interesting... As it is here in our country, with our great interest in the history of old, old god, from this point of view our institute translated into Russian and published many, I may say, literary monuments of great Indian culture. I will have a pleasure to present you a copy of a booklet which was written here by me and my colleagues. It's account of Soviet studies of India. And here there is chapter, chapter second, "Studies of Ancient Indian Texts in the U.S.S.R..." You'll be interested to discover, we published not all but some, some in exceptions, Purāṇas. We published most of them, then some parts of Rāmāyaṇa, eight volumes in Russian, Mahābhārata... We have also second edition of Mahābhārata, translated by different people. Kabukare Artha-śāstra(?) also was translated in full and published. Manu-smṛti also translated in full and published with Sanskrit commentaries. And such a great interest... I think that all these publications was sold in a week. Now quite completely out of stock, this... It was impossible to get them in book market after month, such a great interest among reading people here in Moscow and the U.S.S.R. towards ancient Indian culture. And from this point of view we published, I must say, a lot of things, a lot of things.

Prabhupāda: Now, amongst these Purāṇas, the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is called the Mahā-purāṇa.

Prof. Kotovsky: Mahā-purāṇa.

Prabhupāda: Yes. So we have translated in English the full, with the original Sanskrit text, its transliteration, an English equivalent for each word, then translation, and then purport, explanation of the verse. In this way there are 18,000's of verses in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And the ācāryas, the great saintly sages who are the preachers of this Bhāgavatam throughout India, their opinion is that it is the ripened fruit of the Vedic desire tree. Nigama-kalpa-taror galitaṁ phalaṁ idam (SB 1.1.3). And it is accepted by all, I mean, Indian scholars, and especially Lord Caitanya, He preached this Bhāgavata. So we have got that, complete in English translation. If you want to see some of them, we can show you.

Conversation with Prof. Kotovsky -- June 22, 1971, Moscow:

Prof. Kotovsky: But you know what is interesting to... It is the opinion of some European and old, old Russian scholars, this varṇāśrama system...

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Prof. Kotovsky:...is a bit late creation. If you would trace the old sūtras, texts, of Vedic literature, you would find much more simple and egalitarian society. And there is an opinion that this varṇāśrama system was introduced into Indian society on the late stage of Vedic era but not from the beginning, about... If you would analyze scientifically the old texts, you'll find that... (break)...human estimations. (laughs) As many brains, as many estimations...

Prabhupāda: (laughs) That's it.

Conversation with Prof. Kotovsky -- June 22, 1971, Moscow:

Prabhupāda: I'm not...

Prof. Kotovsky: 'Cause to stay in a hotel, old style hotel like National, is not interesting. Not many people to see. And you are leaving day after tomorrow?

Prabhupāda: That is my program. Day after tomorrow...

Prof. Kotovsky: From here you are going to...?

Prabhupāda: Day after tomorrow or...?

Śyāmasundara: Wednesday.

Devotee:: Today is 22nd. We leave 25th, morning.

Śyāmasundara: 25th.

Devotee: Morning.

Prof. Kotovsky: And you are leaving for United States or for Europe?

Prabhupāda: Yes, for Europe.

Conversation with Prof. Kotovsky -- June 22, 1971, Moscow:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Prof. Kotovsky: ...that car, very interesting piece of car.

Prabhupāda: That has been introduced in the Western countries, in London and San Francisco. And gradually, maybe, we will introduce in other countries also.

Prof. Kotovsky: In London among Indian community...

Prabhupāda: No, no.

Prof. Kotovsky: ...among the different(?) peoples of Indian community.

Prabhupāda: This is organized by the Englishmen and the Americans. Indian communities in London and San Francisco, they are trying to become sahib. You know the word sahib?

Prof. Kotovsky: (laughs) Westernized.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Westernized.

Conversation with Prof. Kotovsky -- June 22, 1971, Moscow:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Prof. Kotovsky: I agree with him that a very interesting... Two processes. The process of Westernization among brāhmaṇa mainly and upper castes and so-called Sanskritization he calls the process of adopting some brāhmaṇa rituals, etc., by so-called low castes, even untouchables. Very interesting processes in India just now.

Prabhupāda: Now one thing... The other day I was speaking to some... Where I was? In Bombay, I think, I was speaking some respectable gentlemen that "Kṛṣṇa says:

māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya
ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ
striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdrās
te 'pi yānti parāṁ gatim
(BG 9.32)

Kṛṣṇa says, 'Even those who are low-born, pāpa-yoni—the striya, vaiśya and śūdra, they are also included—but by accepting Me, accepting my shelter, they are also elevated to the transcendental position.' Now, why the higher class of Hindu society, they neglected this injunction of Bhagavad-gītā? Suppose one is pāpa-yoni. Kṛṣṇa says that 'They can be elevated to the transcendental position if they accept Me.' Why this propaganda was not done by the higher class people so that the so-called pāpa-yoni could be elevated? Why you rejected them? The result was that the Mohammedans... Instead of accepting them, you rejected them, and they have partitioned, and they have gone away, and they have become eternal enemy of India." You see? So this is the first time that we are trying to elevate to the highest position of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, even one is in the pāpa-yoni. It doesn't matter because soul is pure. Asaṅgo 'yaṁ puruṣaḥ. The Vedas says, "The soul is untouched by any material contamination." Simply, temporarily, he is covered. This covering should be opened. Then he becomes pure. That is the mission of human life, to uncover ourselves from this material envelopment and come to the spiritual understanding, surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Life is perfect.

Conversation with Prof. Kotovsky -- June 22, 1971, Moscow:

Prabhupāda: I asked... Because I could not contact him, therefore I asked the ambassador. But unfortunately they said that "We did not receive any letter like that." So you can note down if you like.

Prof. Kotovsky: Yes, it is interesting to read also your text of your lectures. But it is not here? It is...? Kṛṣṇa consciousness...

Prabhupāda: No, it is Easy Journey to Other Planets. No? No, what is this? Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the Topmost Yoga System.

Śyāmasundara: See, the Swamiji is only going to be here two more days, so if there's any possibility, people can take advantage to have him speak in public or in groups. Do you think it's possible?

Prof. Kotovsky: It's... It's... I can't help because I am leaving tomorrow very early for the South, and I shall be here only on the 1st of July. Yes. So from this point it will be difficult, yes. Probably... My advice would be through an ambassador you can come in contact with this, our religious organization. That would be very interesting to have some lecture in group, lecture in group, and some discussion of all this. That would be... That would be very possible, a little. So he can come back if... I would say tomorrow, but I can't manage it myself, but..., as I am leaving at six, leaving, plane is leaving at 8:15 tomorrow morning.

Prabhupāda: You mean to say that some ambassador's men should see you.

Conversation with Prof. Kotovsky -- June 22, 1971, Moscow:

Prabhupāda: You mean to say that some ambassador's men should see you.

Prof. Kotovsky: Yes, it seems to me that your ambassador's men can come in contact with special, our religious organizations and can organize for you both meetings and conferences. There's no difficulty for some men. That would be interesting.

Prabhupāda: So you can say. We shall arrange.

Prof. Kotovsky: Hm hm. That you can. That you can... (end)

Conversation with Journalists -- August 18, 1971, London:

Journalist (1): Do you need to have a name and address and occupation for God?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes. Just like when you come, I ask you what you are: "What is your name? What is your address? What is occupation?" This is the first introduction. If I do not know your name, address, occupation, then what is the use of talking with you?

Journalist (1): Well, I would... Again, its a very interesting concept because often in Western civilization God is defined more as an idea than as a, something...

Prabhupāda: No. That is nonsense. God is fact. God is a person like you and me. You can talk with Him, you can see Him. That is God. Not idea. We are talking with Kṛṣṇa. We are taking His instruction and abiding by His order. It is not an idea. It is fact. That is God.

Journalist (1): That's a difficult thing for people...

Prabhupāda: Not difficult thing. If you do not take it is difficult. If you accept, there is no difficulty. They are accepting. There is no difficulty. They have also belonged to Western country. They are happy. And ask him.

Room Conversation with Dr. Weir of the Mensa Society -- September 5, 1971, London:

Dr. Weir: That's very interesting. To my mind the nearest approach in the Christian religion is the Unitarian position, which I don't know if you studied.

Prabhupāda: Christian religion is practically, from the name it appears-Christian and "Kṛṣṇian". Original word of this "Christ" comes from the Greek word "Christo".

Dr. Weir: Anointed.

Prabhupāda: Yes. This "Christa" is Kṛṣṇa.

Dr. Weir: From the Sanskrit?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Kṛṣṭa is the popular word for Kṛṣṇa. And Kṛṣṇa is always anointed with tilaka. We follow this tilaka, Kṛṣṇa, anointed, with this sandal pulp. So, so far I think, there is some very nearest relationship with this Christian and "Kṛṣṇia". Kṛṣṭa means love, love of Godhead or love. We are preaching also the same philosophy. Try to... Not try. The love of Kṛṣṇa is there in everyone's heart, but it is covered. And being covered, it is misplaced. We are loving our society, loving this body, loving our family, loving our kinsmen, or loving internationally human society. But this love is actually perverted reflection of real love of God. Because the love is not placed in the real place. Therefore we are being frustrated in love. Just like in our country Mahatma Gandhi, he loved his country very much. But at the last moment the countrymen shot him down. He was shot down by his own countrymen. The love was paid by (sic:) shooting him and he lost his life. There are many instances.

Room Conversation with Dr. Weir of the Mensa Society -- September 5, 1971, London:

Dr. Weir: I must say that's very interesting.

Mensa Member: Can I ask one last question? The Bhagavad-gītā—do you accept that as it's historically an historical fact?

Prabhupāda: Truth is historical fact is.

Śyāmasundara: Bhagavad-gītā-did it take place? There was a battlefield of Kurukṣetra.

Prabhupāda: Yes. It is historical. Mahābhārata. Mahābhārata means the history of Greater India. Mahābhārata.

Dr. Weir: Mahābhārata.

Prabhupāda: This Mahābhārata means, mahā means greater. Formerly 5,000 years ago, the whole planet was called Bhārata, India. India it is now called. Actually the name is Bhārata. Bhārata is the name given after the reign of Mahārāja, one King Bhārata. He was the ruler, emperor, of the whole world. After his reign this planet is called Bhārata, this whole planet, Mahābhārata. Mahābhārata is Greater India or Greater Bhārata. The headquarter was in India but it was greater, according to Mahābhārata history and this Bhagavad-gītā is given there in the Mahābhārata. Therefore it is history. And actually it is historical because the battlefield is still existing...

Room Conversation with Dr. Weir of the Mensa Society -- September 5, 1971, London:

Dr. Weir: Indeed, I think that would be very... and also it would be very interesting if you would care to take our test.

Śyāmasundara: Test?

Dr. Weir: Yes. The entrance qualification.

Śyāmasundara: (laughs) What kind of questions? Is it scientific?

Dr. Weir: No. Just simple intelligence, that's all.

Mensa Member: (indistinct) an I.Q. test.

Dr. Weir: ...that's all. Call it test, but it's something, we've got nothing better at the moment.

Prabhupāda: We think our activities above intelligence. Spiritual. Spiritual.

Dr. Weir: That's quite different.

Prabhupāda: Because above the mind, above the body there is mind; above the mind there is intelligence; and above the intelligence there is soul; and above the soul there is God. So we are talking of relationship between God and the soul. It is above body, mind and intelligence.

Room Conversation with Dr. Weir of the Mensa Society -- September 5, 1971, London:

Prabhupāda: The conclusion comes in this way, that to remain animals, scientific animals, that's all. The propensities are the same, sense gratification, but the man is trying to make it scientific. That means to remain animal but become scientific, that's all, scientific animal.

Dr. Weir: But at the same time he's a spiritual animal. It's interesting to find that in this twentieth century, science is rather replacing the spirituality. You know people in the past gave religion an enormous importance and science was practically unknown. Now they're going the other way around.

Prabhupāda: That scientific spirituality, that is advancement more than the animals. Otherwise if you simply remain on the (indistinct) eating, sleeping, mating and defending scientifically, you remain animal. But when that scientific research goes to the spiritual thing that is special prerogative of the human.

Room Conversation with Dr. Weir of the Mensa Society -- September 5, 1971, London:

Mensa Member: The soul is a very interesting concept, the soul as well, the fact that the soul is quantifiable, that it exists in a smaller part in the larger animals, and a higher part in a higher animals.

Śyāmasundara: No. It's the same size in all entities.

Mensa Member: Oh, it is, is it? But when we reach a point when we don't know whether there are living things or not, you know, the amino acids, and things like that or...

Dr. Weir: Well, I would take up that straight away, fundamentally, that it's perfectly correct to say it's the same size in every (indistinct) has no size.

Prabhupāda: No. It has size. We cannot measure it.

Dr. Weir: That's what I mean. Therefore the word size is a misconception.

Prabhupāda: But that is not a scientific statement. Because you have no measuring instrument you cannot say it has no size.

Room Conversation with Dr. Weir of the Mensa Society -- September 5, 1971, London:

Prabhupāda: I'm going to Mombassa.

Dr. Weir: Really. That should be interesting. One of my greatest pleasures was to be able to entertain the Dalai Llama's secretary in the luncheon hall in the (indistinct) just near here.

Śyāmasundara: We went walking there one morning, Lincoln's Inn.

Mensa Member: (indistinct)

Dr. Weir: Yes. I've always wanted to go there. We've got four Tibetans over studying (indistinct) part of the college estate of Hampstead. And I've always liked, the idea of their going up into those wonderful mountains and... Although you may say, you know, one mustn't overvalue material things, as far as their diet is concerned, they must be very much like you followers. You know, they have... because they have to learn (indistinct) perfect (indistinct) They have nothing wrong with their gums or their teeth. It must be about the only place in the world...

Śyāmasundara: Prabhupāda has all his teeth too he is nearly eighty.

Prabhupāda: Yes. I've got my natural teeth.

Room Conversation with Dr. Karan Singh, -- November 25, 1971, Delhi:

Prabhupāda: Why ecstasy? That is a misconception. It is a material... That spiritual ecstasy is very, very above all these things. First Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the example of Arjuna. Arjuna decided not to fight. But after understanding Bhagavad-gītā, when he became Kṛṣṇa conscious, he fought. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness: to act under the direction of Kṛṣṇa.

Dr. Singh: An interesting thing struck me the other day, Swamiji, about the Bhagavad-gītā, that whether Arjuna would have fought or not, the war would nevertheless have taken place.

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Dr. Singh: Whether Arjuna fought or not, the war would nevertheless have taken place, because both the armies were there, the conches had been sounded. So Arjuna's decision was not whether there should be war or whether there should not be war. Arjuna's decision was only whether he should fight or he should not fight.

Prabhupāda: Yes, that...

Dr. Singh: But the more difficult decision is whether there should be war, whether there should not be war. Because Arjuna only came into it, if you consider it, only at the time when everything had already been decided, the armies had been brought.

Prabhupāda: Everything was done by Kṛṣṇa.

Room Conversation with Dr. Karan Singh, -- November 25, 1971, Delhi:

Prabhupāda: Yes, kīrtana.

Dr. Singh: Before dinner, before food.

Prabhupāda: So it is very interesting, scientific. So I would like all intelligent men to come and join this movement.

Dr. Singh: It is a great knowledge, it is a great thunderbolt, it is a great gift. (Sanskrit)

Prabhupāda: Yes. We can answer any philosophy.

Śyāmasundara: We have a...

Prabhupāda: Nīhāram iva bhāskaraḥ, kecit... There is a verse that there are many means and ways to rectify the world situation. But simply by accepting this bhakti cult, everything can be solved. The example is given, nīhāram iva bhāskaraḥ. Just like there is fog, if there is sunlight, immediately dissipated. You cannot dissipate it in any other way. You may some scientific process that this way and that way...

1972 Conversations and Morning Walks

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

Prabhupāda: No, that is cheating. That is not teaching, that is cheating. Just like the scientists said, "There was a chunk, and the creation took place, perhaps..." What is this? Simply cheating. It is not teaching, it is cheating.

Bob: Let me say what else you said this morning that was interesting. I asked him about miracles, and Prabhupāda said that only a fool would believe in miracles because... Let us say you are a child and an adult lifts this table. That's a miracle. Or you're a chemist, and you combine acid and base and make smoke, an explosion or whatever. To somebody ignorant, that's a miracle. And for everything there's a process. And so when you see a miracle, it's just ignorance of the process. So that only a fool would believe in miracles, and, you correct me if I say wrong...

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes.

Bob: ...that when Jesus came, the people then were somewhat more ignorant and needed miracles as aid. Was that... I wasn't sure if that's quite what you said.

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes, yes. Miracle means ignorant.

Room Conversation -- July 4, 1972, New York:

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Devotee (4): He's been to Russia several times, and uh, it would be very nice...

Prabhupāda: This, this kind of question and interview is very interesting.

Ātreya Ṛṣi: Good.

Prabhupāda: So ordinary men, why these people are..., why you are making this statement when you came, what is the benefit of such a thing?

Ātreya Ṛṣi: Jaya Prabhupāda, jaya!

Prabhupāda: They do not know...

Devotee: So...

Prabhupāda: Now, the Russian scholar, he will, theologian, he can describe about God, what is the nature of God.

Room Conversation -- August 1, 1972, London:

Prabhupāda: Because Lord Macauley(?) gave them in this study, they said that if you keep the Indians in their original culture, then they cannot be broken. Gandhi took that state: noncooperation. Don't cooperate with them. And then kill them. Devotee: This man who wrote this book made an interesting comment. He said that after..., or before the First World War, when the British were entering the First World War, they made a promise to the Indians that "If you help us fight this war, then we will give you freedom afterwards."

Prabhupāda: They did not.

Devotee: They helped, but they didn't give them freedom. So Gandhi or the others, they took that asat. "They have broken their promise, so now we can break ours, noncooperation."

Prabhupāda: Yes. They actually expanded their empire all over the (indistinct) world by Indian cooperation. Therefore these big men like Attlee, when they thought that "India is going out of our hands," so don't (indistinct) up our empire. Forget it. They voluntarily (indistinct).

Room Conversation with Kenneth Keating, U.S. Ambassador to India -- October 14, 1972, New Delhi:

Prabhupāda: Just so. Spirit soul individual. He is passing through the evolutionary process. Evolutionary process means as he is desiring, nature is supplying a particular type of body.

Mrs. Keating: That's very interesting. I believe in the transmigration of the soul.

Prabhupāda: Yes. It is a fact.

Mrs. Keating: It's very interesting.

Prabhupāda: It is a fact. Just like this child is transmigrating from one body, one kind of body to another body. So in the same way, when I give up this body I transmigrate to another body. This is the science. Unfortunately, there is no university, no education, no culture of this great science. Therefore according to Bhāgavatam, the knowledge is imperfect. The knowledge which are imparting from universities, they are not perfect knowledge. And this human form of body is the opportunity to understand the position of the soul and how he is transmigrating from one body to another, what is happening next. In this way, in this human form of body, we can understand this science, science of soul. Unfortunately, no education is there to understand this science. So in other words, it may be taken that the modern civilization is killing the prerogative of the human being. He has got a chance to understand himself and to stop. He can stop this repetition of birth and death. He can remain in a spiritual form in the spiritual kingdom or with God, but these things are unknown to him, because there is no discussion in any university or any institution of knowledge. Although the Vedic literature gives us ample information of this—in the the Bhagavad-gītā, that is the preliminary study of all Vedic literature—but there is no chance for the people to understand.

Room Conversation with Kenneth Keating, U.S. Ambassador to India -- October 14, 1972, New Delhi:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Ambassador: Isn't that interesting.

Śyāmasundara: We've got a lot of Vietnam veterans too, join up.

Ambassador: Really.

Śyāmasundara: One boy in London, he was on his way back from Vietnam, and he was completely shattered, and he found refuge in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He was a machine-gunner.

Ambassador: Where are you living?

Śyāmasundara: Well, we've been living in London last two years.

Ambassador: But here you're all living in the Delhi area, but you're going down to... What's the name of that place south of here?

Guru dāsa: Vṛndāvana?

Ambassador: Yeah.

Guru dāsa: We went.

Ambassador: Oh, you went?

Guru dāsa: Very nice.

Prabhupāda: Where?

Guru dāsa: They inquired about our Vṛndāvana trip.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes.

Room Conversation with Kenneth Keating, U.S. Ambassador to India -- October 14, 1972, New Delhi:

Prabhupāda: I am not very much well known to him, but sometimes I met him.

Ambassador: He was in here, and I asked him the definition, his definition of God, and he described, he thought a minute and said, "Well, I would say God in the thread which links one good person to another." I thought that was an interesting definition.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Ambassador: I thought that was a very interesting definition.

Prabhupāda: No. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā.

Ambassador: Hm.

Prabhupāda: Sūtre maṇi-gaṇā iva. Just like you have got pearl necklace, and if it is woven in a thread. So all the pearls, they are resting on that thread. There is no question of good or bad. Everything is resting in God. There is no question of good or bad. Not that all good men simply rest on that thread. Whatever we see within our experience, everything is resting on God. There is another verse in the Bhagavad-gītā, māyā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ jagad avyakta-mūrtinā: (BG 9.4) "In the impersonal form, I am spread all over the manifestation, cosmic manifestation, and everything is resting on Me, but it is not necessarily I am in everything." That is the statement there. The definition of God, first of all, if you take this definition, as the root of everything, as the source of everything, however you like. It is the definition given by the Vedānta-sūtra, janmādy asya yataḥ: (SB 1.1.1) the origin or birth or emanation of everything. Now you take anything and find out where is the original cause, then you come to God. Take anything on this table. Your self, your body. Everything you take, if you go on searching, searching, searching, what is, where is the origin, then you come to God. That is the perfect definition of God, janmādy asya yataḥ: (SB 1.1.1) the origin or source of everything.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk At Cheviot Hills Golf Course -- May 13, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is called nirvāṇa. And with the chemicals you can build another house. Buddhists they do not give any information of the soul. That is Buddhism. What...? Oh, wet? (the ground?)

Svarūpa Dāmodara: No, it's dry.

Paramahaṁsa: There's another very interesting factor that scientists, they state that matter is, or that there is, they dispute the fact that there's one soul within the body. There's a special kind of worm, it's an earthworm, that if you cut it in half, both parts will live.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Paramahaṁsa: So they wonder how is it possible that if there is soul, that there could be two souls within one body?

Prabhupāda: Yes, why not. Souls takes the opportunity.

Paramahaṁsa: Oh, it takes the opportunity of the other body, the fertile...

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes.

Room Conversation With David Lawrence -- July 12, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: So Kṛṣṇa's instruction is there. It is open to everyone. It is not only open to us. Everyone. Bhagavad-gītā. It is widely-read literature in the world. But unfortunately, they have been misinterpreted.

David Lawrence: It was very interesting to read one of the very western versions, that of Professor Zeiner of Oxford. And on one or two points of contention between yourself and other translators of the Bhagavad-gītā, in fact, he, nearly always, went with you. Now, he's reckoned to be one of the foremost western Sanskrit scholars. And he every time emphasized the devotional tone of your translation. Nearly every time. I was very impressed by that.

Śyāmasundara: We talked with Professor Zeiner (Zayner?), and he may come. He's trying... He's going to see...

Prabhupāda: That is only interpretation. Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna. Kṛṣṇa is speaking to Arjuna. He is plainly speaking that "I am speaking to you this Bhagavad-gītā because You are My devotee." Bhakto 'si priyo 'si me rahasyaṁ hy etad uttamam (BG 4.3). So first condition to understand Bhagavad-gītā is to become a devotee of Kṛṣṇa. So in the Bhagavad-gītā, the only talk is about devotion. There is no other talk. There are other talks, but they are subordinate. They are not principal talks. The principal talk is to understand Kṛṣṇa through bhakti-yoga. Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55). You understand Sanskrit? You...?

David Lawrence: Yes, yes, I'm there.

Room Conversation With David Lawrence -- July 12, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: Here?

David Lawrence: Yes. Well, no, in the Bury Place. And they were thrilled to bits. We had one or two who made the usual silly comments, you know, which you'd expect. But they were embarrassed, you know. Everything that came over, which was interesting, was that they found that all the devotees were very kind, very loving and very sincere. This, this came from even really the most secular of boys with a very, very low intelligence. He could see and perceive and understand that this was how it was.

Prabhupāda: That is our general certificate, everywhere. Even the Americans, they are surprised. They inquire, "Are you Americans?" (laughter.)

David Lawrence: Yes.

Prabhupāda: The, the priest also, he's surprised, that "They are our boys. They did not come to church, never cared for religion. And now they are after God, mad after God. What is this?" They are surprised.

Room Conversation With David Lawrence -- July 12, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: You just work little, produce your food, eat, and save time, and try to understand Kṛṣṇa. This is the nature's arrangement. Anywhere, any part of the world, you can produce your food. Simply you require a little land and some cows. Everything is complete. You take milk from the cows and just till the field and get some food grains. That is sufficient. Whole economic question solved. And save time for developing Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is the arrangement.

David Lawrence: It was interesting to see a recent television program in this country...

Prabhupāda: Yes.

David Lawrence: ...on farming, and it was talking about the so-called modern methods of farming which have destroyed the earth in this country, really, in great areas. And it showed an Englishman and his son who believe in the old methods with cows on the land. And he is not only doing better economically, but he was so happy, the two men were so happy.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

David Lawrence: They were just working with nature, not against nature.

Prabhupāda: Just like so much field is there. You, if you take the all village people, you can produce enough food for them in this village. So much land is lying there. Simply you keep cows and till ground, get your food grains. Enough. And if you take the whole planet as it is, you can feed ten times population. There is so much prospect. Australia, Africa. So much vacant land. You can produce enough quantity of milk and food grains.

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

Prabhupāda: And we have directly called him fool, rascal.

Śyāmasundara: Other people are also criticizing. They find other things in his argument that are not... They say he has to realize Bhagavad-gītā before he can criticize anything.

Prabhupāda: Yes. He does not realize. He does not know anything. You can read this letter. It is very interesting.

Śyāmasundara: To Zaner this one? Or to...

Prabhupāda: General, general. Reply.

Mukunda: We've also invited him to come here.

Śyāmasundara: No one defended him in the newspaper, Observer.

Prabhupāda: So other protests have been published in the paper?

Śyāmasundara: Yes. I'll bring them up to you. (end)

Garden Conversation with Mahadeva's Mother and Jesuit Priest -- July 25, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: Then you become pure. You become pure.

Revatīnandana: Yes. Yes.

Jesuit Priest: That's very interesting.

Revatīnandana: I just met a gentleman who told me exactly that. Just a few min... He's a businessman here in London. He's about forty years old. And three months ago, he decided, because he learned, heard this from us, he decided to become a vegetarian. And a few weeks later, I talked to him. He said, "You know, it's amazing the difference in my consciousness." He says, "I have become a completely different man." Yeah, he told me that.

Prabhupāda: Well, yes...

Revatīnandana: And he's a very intelligent man. He's in the Mensa Society.

Prabhupāda: In the Vedic literature it is said the animal killers cannot understand God.

Mother: Well, this is very good, sir, that you find this, and I say, this is not my argument... Yes. Hmmm.

Prabhupāda: No, no. Not practical also. I have seen the animal killers. They do not understand what is God. That is a fact. Neither they have got brain to understand it.

Room Conversation with Mister Popworth and E. F. Schumacher -- July 26, 1973, London:

Revatīnandana: But... Just that this is interesting, that the solution is there...

Schumacher: But you haven't heard the problem yet.

Revatīnandana: But the problem is that people cannot understand the solution. They cannot understand.

Prabhupāda: But one thing...

Revatīnandana: Why they cannot understand?

Prabhupāda: Mister, yes... I forgot your name.

Popworth: John.

Prabhupāda: John, Mr. John. That we follow strictly the Vedic injunctions, and unless we become God conscious, there cannot be any reformation in this world.

Popworth: I agree with that.

Prabhupāda: That's all. And that God consciousness cannot be achieved without being pure. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān (BG 10.12). God is the supreme pure. You cannot approach God, you cannot understand God, in impure condition. And without God consciousness, there cannot be any purification. You try to understand this simple fact, that without God consciousness, you may prescribe so many things—they will be all failure, all failure. And God consciousness cannot be achieved without being pure. This is the problem. Now you can think over it.

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

Prabhupāda: You open the Fourth Chapter.

Professor: Do you think that your mission is successful?

Prabhupāda: That is to be judged by you.

Professor: Oh! That's interesting.

Yogeśvara: This is the verse here?

Professor: Yeah, Yes this is the verse. People told me that you have some two or three thousand disciples in the Western world?

Prabhupāda: Two...?

Yogeśvara: Two or three thousand disciples.

Prabhupāda: More than that.

Professor: More than that?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Morning Walk -- August 30, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: (laughs) Yes.

David Lawrence: One day it's in, and the next day it's out. And while it's in, everybody claps and applauds. One or two other points, perhaps I can raise one or two of them. Some of them are longer in fact. An interesting thing that came out of my study of the Christian, or certainly the Jewish tradition, and I wondered, really, on your views on this, whether it relates at all to the Indian one. It seems when you get to the really high spot of Jewish religion, which many people consider the prophets of Judah...,

Prabhupāda: What is their high spot?

David Lawrence: Well, exactly,(laughs) that is, in inverted commas.

Prabhupāda: They are rotting in the lowest spot, still. What is their high spot?

David Lawrence: Let's think, somebody like, perhaps Isaiaḥ or somebody like this who was a universalist and uh...

Prabhupāda: Somebody, somebody says so many things...

David Lawrence: Yes, that's right. Oh yes, I mean if you take them, they all differ in their views. But one of the things, one of the themes that comes through is the idea that...

Prabhupāda: Therefore the gentleman the other day was asking, "How is that you say electricity?" Oh you were not present that time? Because we have translated there is no need of sun, there is no need of moon, there is no need of electricity in the spiritual world. So when he heard the word electricity, he became astonished.

Morning Walk -- August 30, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: Yes, it is already there. When we speak of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa is already there. When we speak of Vṛndāvana, Vṛndāvana is already there. It is not that we have manufactured some picture, imagination, no. They take it like that. The rascals take it like that, that it is a kind of imagination of the poet. The Māyāvādī philosophers also take like that. But that's not the fact. It is actually presentation of the spiritual facts and as the spiritual activities are quite different from material activities, they misunderstand. They misunderstand.

David Lawrence: Yes. It's one of the interesting features was, of this little bit about Lord Caitanya was in fact that he claimed Him to be pathological.

Prabhupāda: Just like...

David Lawrence: You know the manifestations obviously of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and kīrtana and so on. Seems to be obviously you regard as a scurrilous or wrong-headed or a dull-headed field of people who regard His manifestations of God consciousness as verging on madness, or temporary madness. What would you say about that. Obviously you would reject it.

Prabhupāda: When a man is himself mad, he'll find others mad.

Room Conversation with Officer Harry Edwards, the Village Policeman -- August 30, 1973, Bhaktivedanta Manor, London:

Prabhupāda: No, Baul is different.

Harry: In this country... It's rather interesting.

Prabhupāda: Gypsies are all over the world.

Śyāmasundara: Rajasthan, they come, many gypsies.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Harry: Romeos, Romanic gypsies.

Prabhupāda: Nomadic.

Room Conversation with British Man -- August 31, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Guest (1): We've got to live here of course. It seems to me almost daily that the next processes in life are the much more interesting and exciting ones. But when I hear you speak of Bhagavad-gītā and so on, I know nothing about these people. So now where do I start?

Prabhupāda: You have to start from Bhagavad-gītā.

Guest (1): That's this one.

Prabhupāda: Yes. First of all, we have to understand what is that force which is moving this body. Then we come to the spiritual platform. As you understand, the nature of the soul, that is very elaborately explained in different way, negative, positive way, what is the soul. This morning, every morning I speak on this Bhagavad-gītā, if you find time you can come. At quarter past seven, I'm beginning, for one hour.

Morning Walk -- December 16, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prajāpati: But Kṛṣṇa's disappearance, about having a māyā body that He left behind. A māyā body. Is that anything to do with Māyāvādī?

Prabhupāda: Yes, Māyāvādī means those who are in māyā, those who are thinking Kṛṣṇa as one of the human beings, for them, to delude them, He left the body. But actually He departed in His own body. There is no question of... Here is another... But just like this is also, this material world... This is also Kṛṣṇa's body. But this is interesting to the Māyāvādīs, the so-called scientists, so-called philosophers. But it is not interesting to the devotees. They are thinking, "This is all." Is not that? The scientists, the philosophers, they are thinking, "This is all. There is nothing beyond this." This is illusion. This is only reflection of the reality.

Viśvareta: Scientists, they have their mental process, but what is our process to understand this knowledge?

Prabhupāda: Ascending. Ah, descending, not ascending. We have to take knowledge from superior. We should not try ourself to know. That will be imperfect. Avaroha-patha. Just like we're receiving knowledge from Kṛṣṇa. We are not researching. Those who are researching, they cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. They understand Kṛṣṇa as ordinary human being, maybe little learned. That's all. The Dr. Frog's calculation of Atlantic Ocean. That's all. Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhāḥ (BG 9.11). (break) ...automatically. You see? But he does not know that behind this automation there is brain. He'll see, "Oh, how nice." That's all. Similarly, child-like scientist, they will say, "Everything is going on automatically." (break) ...but there is brain behind that.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

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

Prabhupāda: Here is my foreword by Professor Dimock.

Yogeśvara: This is a professor from Chicago University who wrote the foreword to this edition. He makes an interesting comment.

Prabhupāda: You read, read it.

Dhanañjaya: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Professor Dimock's.

Cardinal Pignedoli: It's very strange and famous. That's the gospel.

Prabhupāda: Read it.

Dhanañjaya: (reading) "Swami Bhaktivedanta comments upon the Gita from this point of view. And that is legitimate."

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is legitimate.

Room Conversation with Monsieur Roost, Hatha-yogi -- May 31, 1974, Geneva:

M. Roost: I was always interested by Buddhist Zen. I think it's a way, very strong, with a technique which is a little different as yoga. For example, one practical way is les arts martiaux, like aikido, judo, and kendo. I think the approach is very, very interesting, but very difficult to understand.

Prabhupāda: What is that?

M. Roost: It's to go through death by stop one from this sentence that people is afraid of death and is a fast program how to transcend human life, how to transcend la mort.

Guru-gaurāṅga: To transcend death.

M. Roost: How to transcend death. And technically, by practice, kumbha (?), the kumbha, fighting, two persons are fighting, master and disciple...

Prabhupāda: (coughing) Water, little.

M. Roost: To make the problem very, very clear and by fight with arm, sword, is to see what people is able to do in front of the death. Master is coming with an assam, (a sword) and he makes like he will kill the disciple, and disciple must learn to be calm in front of the death. It is so... We can say it's a practice, a psychological practice to...

Prabhupāda: No, why the master will kill the disciple? What is this practice?

M. Roost: No, he don't kill, but he makes like he will kill, but he don't kill. Of course not.

Prabhupāda: That is another...

M. Roost: But it's like a game, we can say, to learn little by little to be the master of our ego, and finally to go through the ego. And I think it's a way, very interesting. But...

Prabhupāda: That is automatically taught in bhakti-yoga. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ **. It is said, "If you can keep your master pleased, then God will be pleased." Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ **. And if you make your master displeased, then you are nowhere. These are the teachings of bhakti-yoga. But if the master is such a rascal that if he asks the disciple that "You please me with sex life," then what kind of master he is? Sex life is so strong. In the school, colleges, the teachers having sex life with the students. And yogic process, aṣṭāṅga-yoga, first is saṁyama. Yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, samādhi, like that. This is against this principle of yama, niyama.

Room Conversation with Robert Gouiran, Nuclear Physicist from European Center for Nuclear Research -- June 5, 1974, Geneva:

Prabhupāda: Then why does he not observe himself, that "What I am?" "Am I this body? Or what I am? Why I am full of anxieties?"

Robert Gouiran: (French)

Yogeśvara: Yes. But actually that's a very interesting way of approaching the problem of spirituality, you see. We are learning that actually everything has some relationship with Kṛṣṇa, or God. So you are a physicist, if I have understood,...

Robert Gouiran: Yes.

Yogeśvara: ...a nuclear physicist. So you have a very highly specialized field of knowledge. So it would be valuable to see also what is the contact of nuclear physics with the...

Guru-gaurāṅga: Spiritual physics.

Prabhupāda: The spiritual physics is... (laughter)

Robert Gouiran: Spiritual physics.

Prabhupāda: Yes, "spiritual physics" can be said.

Room Conversation with Roger Maria leading writer of communist literature -- June 12, 1974, Paris:

Prabhupāda: (aside:) Hmm, open.

Paramahaṁsa: (to devotees outside room) ...Prabhupāda is very tired. He's just finished a long evening.

Prabhupāda: So when there is discussion, you should all be present. It is very interesting. Those who are our men, GBC men, they must know.

Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: They come in like Keśī demon, and they go out with prasādam in their mouth.

Prabhupāda: They are escaping. We are not escaping. We want to capture everyone. (laughter) He has no clear idea what is the aim of life.

Yogeśvara: He likes to see people engaged in work that is humanitarian, that will resolve the problems of the world.

Prabhupāda: That everyone says. All rascals says like that. Humanitarian. He does not know what is humanitarian. And then killing one capitalist or communist and this and that. Sophistry. Fascist and communist. This is their humanitarian work.

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

Prabhupāda: Oh. We have got Kṛṣṇa. We are not afraid in challenging anyone. I believe on that formula. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). I believe that verse very strongly, that anyone who has not surrendered to Kṛṣṇa or is not Kṛṣṇa conscious, he must be within this list: duṣkṛtina, mūḍha, narādhama, māyayāpahṛta-jñāna, āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritaḥ. That's all. I have explained that verse little elaborately. Read it. It is very interesting. Where is Satsvarūpa?

Bhagavān: He is in the other room. Would you like him to come in?

Nitāi:

na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ
prapadyante narādhamāḥ
māyayāpahṛta-jñānā
āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ
(BG 7.15)

"Those miscreants who are grossly foolish, lowest amongst mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion and who partake of the atheistic nature of demons do not surrender unto Me." It is said in the Bhagavad-gītā that simply by surrendering oneself unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality Kṛṣṇa, one can surmount the stringent laws of material nature. At this point a question rises. How is it that educated philosophers, scientists, businessmen, administrators and all the leaders of ordinary men do not surrender unto the lotus... (break) ...Manu, Vyāsa, Devala, Asita, Janaka, Prahlāda, Bali, and later on, Madhvācārya, Rāmānujācārya, Śrī Caitanya and many others who are faithful philosophers, politicians, educators, and scientists etc. surrendered unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Person, the all-powerful authority. Those who are not actually philosophers, scientists, educators, administrators, etc., but who pose themselves as such for material gain, do not accept the plan or path of the Supreme Lord. They have no idea of God. They simply manufacture their own worldly plans and consequently complicate the problems of material..."

Prabhupāda: Everyone comes, they say, "Why people are suffering?" They are concerned with the people suffering. Actually not. That is a plea only, as if he has taken the task of minimizing the suffering of humanity. He poses himself as very philanthropist. Actually, he cannot do anything.

Room Conversation with devotees about Twelfth Canto Kali-yuga, and Conversation with Guest -- June 15, 1974, Paris:

Prabhupāda: So they are all nice gentlemen and ladies. It is...

Jyotirmayī: And very interesting too, that the first question, one of the first questions that Pere Fransad asked me, was: "Do you believe in love of God, and that God is a person? Some people say that God is not a person, and we say God is a person."

Bhagavān: So you can translate in French so that they can understand.

Prabhupāda: At least Christians cannot believe in impersonal God.

Jyotirmayī: What?

Prabhupāda: Christians, they cannot say that God is impersonal. (French) Because, because Christ is son of God. So the son is person. How the Father can be imperson? And in the Bible it is said, "There was word in the beginning." That is God's word. So if one has a word, then He's a person. Word comes from the tongue and mouth. As soon as there is word, background is tongue and mouth. And then... The Christians pray in the church, "Oh, God, give us our daily bread." So God has got ear so that He will hear and supply. But His personality, His word, His hearing, they're all transcendental, nonmaterial.

Room Conversation with devotees about Twelfth Canto Kali-yuga, and Conversation with Guest -- June 15, 1974, Paris:

Yogeśvara: He says that's very good that so many stayed to find out more information, to ask, to discuss.

Prabhupāda: Yes, any reasonable man will find subject matter interesting. There is a statement of Caitanya-caritāmṛta, śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-dayā karaha vicāra: (CC Adi 8.15) "Just consider and then give your judgement after studying the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu." It is never recommended to take it blindly. Karaha vicāra: "Just judge with reason and argument." And vicāra karile citte pābe camatkāra: "If you consider it with logic and judgement, then you'll find it is sublime." (French)

Bhagavān: So an interpretation of a scripture, whether it be Bible or Bhagavad-gītā, cannot simply be an opinion, but it must be based on logic and reason.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Just like in the Bible it is said, "There was only word in the beginning." So in the beginning, there was word. That means that word is not the word of this material creation.

Morning Walk -- June 20, 1974, Germany:

Satsvarūpa: They say, "Well, that's the way you think in the East. It is very interesting."

Prabhupāda: And why don't you think? That means you are fool. You cannot think, just like dog cannot think. So you are equal to dog. Tell them like that. It is not the question of East and West. It is the question of understanding. In the East also there are many rascals, and in the West there are many intelligent. If it is the East and West question, how the Western boys and girls taking this philosophy? It is not the East and West. It is the question of the rascal and intelligent. One who is intelligent, either he is East and West, he can understand. And one is a rascal, either he is East and West, he cannot understand. This is the real problem. Just like this cemetery. What is the use of keeping this cemetery, occupying unnecessarily so much land? And they are worshiping. They will not go to worship Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, but they will worship stone, bhūtejya, offer flower, kneel down. And where the man has gone, he does not know. Bhūtejya. And we saw in the Geneva. A big plot of land is occupied.

Room Conversation with Pater Emmanuel (A Benedictine Monk) -- June 22, 1974, Germany:

Prabhupāda: Oh, I see. So this Christo is the broken version of Kṛṣṇa.

Pater Emmanuel: Ah, yes, I see. Very good, very interesting.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Because in India still, when calling for Kṛṣṇa, one says Kṛṣṭa. And Kṛṣṭa means the attractor, the Sanskrit meaning, attractor, one who draws, draws everyone nearer. That is the meaning of Kṛṣṇa. And that all-attractive drawer is God.

Pater Emmanuel: Yes, I think so too.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Therefore God's name is Kṛṣṭa. So when Christ said that "My father, the Lord, hallowed be Thy name," that name is Kṛṣṭa or Kṛṣṇa. How do you think of it?

Pater Emmanuel: Yes, I think that Christ, (German)

German devotee: He says that Jesus as the son of God has revealed the name of God, yes, and his opinion is that we call name of God... The name of God is Christ.

Prabhupāda: The name of God is Christ. That Christ is another form of pronouncing Kṛṣṭa. And Kṛṣṭa is another form of pronouncing Kṛṣṇa. Therefore God's name is Kṛṣṇa. So Christ said to glorify the name of God, but somebody says in Christian that there is no name of God. Why?

Room Conversation with Reverend Gordon Powell, Head of Scots Church -- June 28, 1974, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: So these things can be overcome by Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Reverend Powell: Umm... Yes, I see. On the point of reading... In this very interesting magazine and this...

Prabhupāda: You find out this verse of Bhagavad-gītā.

Reverend Powell: There was a reference to something you said about plants having a feeling. Some years ago I carried out an experiment at the request of one of our magazines in praying for plants and seeds growing and so on, and there seemed to be a relationship between these prayers for the plants and the opposite, in a negative way, against the plants. And I didn't have an opportunity to carry it out too far, much, but in two experiments, there was apparently a clear indication that the plants responded to prayer. And the peas and the beans in particular, (laughs) there was a significant, a very significant increase in the plants that were...

Prabhupāda: Hmmm. Find out. Jarā-maraṇa-mokṣāya.

Room Conversation with Scientists -- July 2, 1974, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: (aside:) Have you got our picture, Kṛṣṇa stealing butter?

Dr. Harrap: And we are doing some quite interesting work at the dairy research laboratory aimed at making ruminants' milk, cow's milk, much more like human milk in this way by a special feeding techniques to the cows.

Prabhupāda: Yes, milk means cow's milk. Milk means cow's milk because you find in this book that kṛṣi-go-rakṣya. Go means cow. Cow protection, cow's milk is important, not other animal's milk.

Dr. Harrap: Yes, what about human milk?

Prabhupāda: Human milk is natural.

Dr. Harrap: Yes, but then that's very different to cow's milk.

Guest (2): It's very obvious that His Grace isn't suffering from cholestrol. (laughter) Cholestrol is no problem for you.

Dr. Harrap: But we've had very close connections with India in the dairy research laboratory in that Dr. Chulak... Yes, you know him? One of our staff members some years ago spent several months in India developing methods of making cheese from buffaloes' milk.

Prabhupāda: No, India's position is different now. India has practically no milk, and no food. Due to our leaders' mismanagement, there is no milk. India is depending on your milk powder sent by Australia or by Europe. There is no milk. But milk is very important because Kṛṣṇa said that kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyaṁ vaiśya-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.44). Find out that verse. You do not have that Kṛṣṇa Book?

Room Conversation with Scientists -- July 2, 1974, Melbourne:

Dr. Muncing: Well, I'm not sure that I could call it the social theme of science. I'm concerned with building research. We came to realize three or four years ago that whilst we had got a long way in understanding the material things that go to make up houses and cities, we were a long way from knowing what people wanted the thing that gets called quality of life. We have been beginning to look at this subject, commencing in the first place in northwestern Australia where there are a lot of mining activity, and there people go for a short time. They go to fairly small settlements, and we were interested in how important the housing was in the total. We've got a long way to go, and this looks to be a fairly interesting area. Unless you want to ask about that, I think I'd be interested in what further things Australia should be helping Asia with. We've spoken about milk things already, and I hope before we finish you can tell us what things we should be learning of Asia that we haven't learned in the past.

Madhudviṣa: He wants... He would like to know what you think that Australia should help Asia with as far as making people more comfortable to live in this world and what Australia can imbibe from Asia as far as teaching in science as well as general living.

Prabhupāda: Yes. So far I have studied, not only Australia, but also America and Africa, there are immense land uncultivated. So I think all these countries... The population increased in India, China, and similar other places. They should allow to come them, come here and produce food grains. If you cannot manage the over-populated countries, they should come. If the government allows, they would immediately come and utilize the vast land for producing food grains. And in the Bhagavad-gītā we have the statement-find out, annād bhavanti bhūtāni. Find out this verse. Annād bhavanti bhūtāni.

Room Conversation with Scientists -- July 2, 1974, Melbourne:

Dr. Muncing: Well, this has been most interesting.

Dr. Harrap: Oh, yes. Public relations for dairy research.

Madhudviṣa: One thing that we would like to mention, as our spiritual master says, there is a definite, according to the Vedic scripture, there is a definite link between consumption of milk and development of fine brain tissues. And if your department of knowledge has some research in that area, we think it would be a great service to mankind if they can be informed how they can develop fine brain tissues. Fine brain tissues which are needed for coping with the problems of this day and age. Not that simply if I disagree with you we'll just fight. There has to be fine brain tissues in order to say, "Let us sit down and talk about this together." And we say, not we, but according to the scripture, there is a definite link between the consumption of milk products, not just milk, but cheese and all different milk products, the consumption of milk products and development of the necessary intellect. This is why, as our spiritual master said, the highly intelligent people of India have lived predominantly, not just drinking milk, but everything they ate was cooked in milk products. The vegetables, rice, even if rice was boiled, milk was put on, ghee was put on the rice. So that is like an unavoidable essential in their diet, not simply from the palatable standpoint, but actually from the relationship between the physical and the metaphysical progress.

Prabhupāda: And thousands of tons of ghee, clarified butter, was offered in the yajña. The smoke created a kind of cloud which is very good for cultivation.

Guest (2): Well, thank you...

Prabhupāda: Thank you very much. (end)

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk Through the BBT Warehouse -- February 10, 1975, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Oh, that's nice. But make them devotees. That is the real father and mother, who begets children and make him devotee. That is real father and mother. Otherwise cats and dogs. A Tulasī dāsa, he has written one poetry that "A son and the urine comes from the same way." Son... Son means it is born out of the semina. That also comes through the genital, and the urine also comes through the genital. So he is giving this example that "Putra and Mutra..." Mutra, means urine, and putra means son, comes from the same passage. So if the son is a devotee, then he's putra; otherwise he's mutra. (laughter) Otherwise he's urine. Very nice. Yes. Putra and mutra come from the same channel. If he's a devotee, then he's putra, otherwise he's mutra. (break) ...miseries are compared with the heat and cold. Mātrā sparśās tu kaunteya śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ (BG 2.14). Śīta and uṣṇa. Uṣṇa means hot, and śīta means cold. They are pleasing and miserable in circumstances. Cold is very pleasing in the summer, and heat is very pleasing in winter. But same heat in summer is not pleasing, and same cold in winter, it is not pleasing. So what is the actual position of cold and heat? It is simply transforming as pleasure and pain according to circumstances. Otherwise it is neither painful, neither pleasing. Harer nāma harer nāma harer nāma iva kevalam (CC Adi 17.21). (break) ...has given me hundreds of such places but His order is "You cannot stay." (laughter) I'll tell you one humorous story in this connection. It is a little long. I don't wish to divert your attention. Very interesting story. That is also mentioned in the Bhagavad..., aniketa. One may have many nice places to live; still, he should think that "I have no place to live." That is one of the spiritual items.

Room Conversation with Tripurari -- March 2, 1975, Atlanta:

Doug: Actually, it's interesting about that, because he finished the whole Bhagavad-gītā, and he put out these first six chapters in a really a boggling word, way, the first six chapters. He was writing in a way that people could still enjoy material sense enjoyment and still do his technique of meditation. But I had a chance to hear the rest of the Bhagavad-gītā that he had translated. And we asked him... We heard that he had it. We asked him why he didn't put it out, and he said that the people of the Western world weren't ready to hear what he had to present. But actually what he had to say was... It's very authentic. What I read was very close with what you have to say, Śrīla Prabhupāda, that Kṛṣṇa says surrender all your senses unto Him. And I have hopes that maybe someday... Balavanta suggested the idea that I should write him a letter and ask him to have a meeting with you. And maybe some conciliation could be made, and maybe he could come to his senses or something that he could propagate this Kṛṣṇa consciousness also, because he has so many followers. And I think that there must be some sincerity in him, else I wouldn't have spent so long with him. He must have some sincerity. And I think that he obviously feels that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord, and I noticed that on his pūjā table he always had a picture of Kṛṣṇa protecting the cows.

Prabhupāda: Instead of asking him to preach, you preach. He has already enunciated a type of formula, and it is very difficult for him to change it. He does not say that he is Bhagavān?

Doug: No, he does not say he is God.

Prabhupāda: That is good.

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

Prajāpati: Actually a very interesting thing, in terms of this point, is that this Paul, Saul, was in conflict with the direct disciplic succession from Jesus in many points. Those who were his, Jesus's, direct disciples, Paul disagreed with them and cut out many of their teachings or the teachings that were coming down in direct disciplic succession to make it more palatable to the outlying areas.

Pañcadraviḍa: The government.

Prajāpati: Yes. So at that moment there, the disciplic succession was broken.

Ravīndra-svarūpa: What is the time difference between Paul and Jesus' (?) disciples?

Prajāpati: He was here at the same time. Peter, James... He was a contemporary, but he had never had any personal contact with Jesus while Jesus was in Gospel. (?)

Pañcadraviḍa: In fact, he lived... He... In the beginning, he was against Christianity. He was antithetical to it. And then he experienced...

Acyutānanda: He was a professional religionist who made it popular to the...

Pañcadraviḍa: And then he experienced a so-called conversion, isn't it?

Prajāpati: Yes.

Acyutānanda: He fell off his horse and saw...

Prajāpati: He heard a voice, fell off his horse, and he was blinded, and his eyesight would only be restored when he would approach a certain man in Jerusalem who was part of the Christian fold, and when he approached that man then his sight would be returned.

Acyutānanda: This story...

Prabhupāda: Now, another question, that we say that God's name and God-all-powerful. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktis tatrārpitā: "In the name of God, all God's potencies are there." So have you got any name like that? That means if you chant that name, you get immediately contact with God.

Morning Walk -- May 9, 1975, Perth:

Prabhupāda: That is very good.

Amogha: And in the schools they have comparative religion courses, and they usually write us a letter saying, "Can you please tell us, for our comparative religions class, what you believe and what is behind your movement?" And things like this. And if they are close enough we usually go there, or if not we write them and send them some literature. Everyone in the classes I find in the schools, everyone is bored with the ideas they are teaching. Everyone has heard it all, and they are bored. But when we come, they become very interested. Just like at one school. We had one hour. We showed the film, then we talked and answered questions for one hour, and then the bell rang. It was time for their next class. So the teacher said, "Students, shall we go to the next class or stay here?" And they said, "Oh, let's stay here. This is much better." So they stayed for one more hour. Their teaching is so dry, but we handed out mahā-prasādam, and it was very interesting. Usually in each class there are three or four students who are especially pious, and they come, they stay afterwards and ask many questions. We can also see that they are more affected by the understanding than the other students.

Prabhupāda: This road is good. There is no traffic.

Room Conversation with Justin Murphy (Geographer) -- May 14, 1975, Perth:

Prabhupāda: Similarly, if in the society, if we don't create first-class men, that society is dead. That society is dead. So at the present moment there is no first-class men according to this word. Therefore there is chaotic condition, problems, and so on, so on, so on. So unless you create at least a few percentage of the people first-class men according to this standard, there cannot be any progress. This is my last word to you.

Justin Murphy: Thank you. I wish you all well, and maybe I should think along those lines myself. It's been most interesting talking to you.

Prabhupāda: Yes. It is necessary to create a class of men first class, ideal. And if you all create fourth-class men, then there cannot be peace. It is not possible.

Justin Murphy: Thank you.

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Justin Murphy: Excellent talking to you. Thank you very much and I wish you well in Melbourne and then in Hawaii?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Fiji and Hawaii. You can keep his address. He may talk with you.

Room Conversation with Two Lawyers and Guest -- May 22, 1975, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: No, I... I know that. That is not...

Guest 3: I can only operate with the tools that I have.

Guest 1: But even if you are a church, if you are a church-goer it makes it very interesting because you're subject to that church law.

Guest 3:. Well, I'm a church-going person.

Guest 1: What happens in the situation where somebody has committed a murder?

Guest 3: Nothing. It's... Look...

Guest 1: It's a matter of church conscience.

Guest 3: It's nothing. It's got nothing to do... I'm not there to judge...

Guest 1: This was the example given.

Guest 3: I'm not there to judge. All I'm there to do is to do a job. Someone else has got the unfortunate task of having to judge people. I don't have to do that, so I don't decide.

Prabhupāda: No, we can judge from the standard laws. India still, if one has very good garden and flowers, if somebody goes, "Sir, I want to take some flowers from your garden for worshiping God," "Yes, you can take." They will be very glad.

Morning Walk -- May 28, 1975, Honolulu:

Prabhupāda: India.

Guest (1): India. Well, I'll tell you. It's sort of interesting. I hope you don't feel any affront. And what are you doing now, sort of a meditation?

Prabhupāda: We are chanting. Chanting the holy name of God.

Guest (1): Uh huh.

Devotee: Our whole purpose is to serve God and to revive our love for God.

Guest (1): Sure. That's right. I understand that, and, you know, I'm very broad-minded. I always have said... You know, one time in our Methodist church we had a professor that was giving all religions of the world. And this is rather putting it simply and fast, but it was interesting because of all the different religions, even though they all didn't believe in the divine being, Christ being the son of God, in some cases-there's Buddha and so forth—but they all were preaching about going to the same place, so to speak. And it's peculiar. They all had more or less the Ten Commandments. In other words they all believed in doing the same thing. So that was interesting...

Prabhupāda: But I don't think Christians believe.

Guest (1): So I know you people are good, just as good as I am. Bless you all, and I wish I and all of us were better.

Prabhupāda: Do you think Christians believe in the Ten Commandments?

Morning Walk -- May 28, 1975, Honolulu:

Prabhupāda: You can come. We have got very good place. You can stay there. We have got very good, nice building in Bombay in...

Guest (2): Could be very interesting, you know? I wouldn't mind going. But right now I can't...

Prabhupāda: Try to understand the philosophy. Your life will be successful. Yes.

Guest (2): Um hm. I've heard a lot about it. I've read in the books too. Some of those books I have.

Prabhupāda: Thank you.

Guest (1): I'm just fascinated. My business is catamaran. I own one catamaran business, yes.

Bali-mardana: Boats.

Prabhupāda: Boats.

Guest (1): Yeah. Take tourists. That's my business.

Guest (2): You know, we are pretty well the first people to see you really, you know. We've all seen you in the books.

Prabhupāda: Thank you.

Guest (2): Bye bye.

Śrutakīrti: You have more admirers here than in Juhu Beach.

Prabhupāda: (laughs) Yes, they are also admirer, provided... Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Room Conversation with Dr. John Mize -- June 23, 1975, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: The publisher is there.

Jayatīrtha: As soon as possible.

Bahulāśva: That will be very interesting.

John Mize: I look forward to seeing it.

Bahulāśva: Śrīla Prabhupāda, did you speak about Kant's philosophy in that book also? Yes? He is very popular.

Prabhupāda: Yes, Kant is very popular. I was also a student of philosophy. In my student life my professors were all Europeans. I was student of Scottish Church's College in Calcutta. So one professor, Dr. W.S. Urquhart, he was our professor for psychology, metaphysics. Later on, he became the vice-chancellor of Calcutta University. A very nice gentleman.

Room Conversation with Dr. John Mize -- June 23, 1975, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Yes. The same three guṇas. If you contact with tamo-guṇa, then your consciousness is tamo-guṇa. Tamo-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, sattva-guṇa, and if your consciousness is always with Kṛṣṇa, then Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

John Mize: James had a very interesting view of consciousness. The brain doesn't cause the consciousness, he felt. It does not originate it. It only receives it like a radio receiver is receiving transmissions.

Prabhupāda: That is the...

John Mize: He felt that the source of consciousness was divine. James was a religious man.

Bahulāśva: Sometimes also he would have a material view also.

John Mize: That matter can give rise to consciousness.

Bahulāśva: Yes. He would take both sides.

John Mize: His final stand on it was theistic, that the brain simply gives transmission of the consciousness through it. It does not produce it, whereas in the Soviet philosophy, that is, that matter gives rise to consciousness.

Jayatīrtha: Where do they have any example that matter has given rise...

John Mize: This. They point to us. They deny a soul. There is simply matter, the brain, that generates consciousness.

Brahmānanda: Śrīla Prabhupāda, Rāmeśvara would like to show you some paintings. They are bringing the book to the printer this evening.

Prabhupāda: All right. I am coming.

Garden Conversation with Professors -- June 24, 1975, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Not important. He can have dhotī, you can have pant, you can have... It doesn't matter.

Dr. Pore: It's part of the beauty of the world. It's interesting, it's fun, it's enjoyable, and I see no reason for denial.

Prabhupāda: There are so many thing enjoyable, but who is enjoying? That is the question. The real enjoyer and sufferer is the soul, not this body. When the soul is out of this body the body is no more enjoyer or sufferer; it is a lump of matter. The sense of enjoyment and suffering is there so long the soul is there. Therefore the soul is important. And if you can study the soul then you can understand what is God.

Peter: How do you know there's a soul?

Prabhupāda: Because you are speaking. Because you are inquiring, I know the soul. Because you are soul, therefore you are inquiring. As soon as the soul is out of your body, you cannot inquire anymore. Inquiry finished.

Morning Walk -- June 25, 1975, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Yes, everyone rises at three o'clock.

Dr. Judah: I had an interesting dream last night, and after dreaming it, I woke up and stayed awake until I got up, until I was called at five. The dream was... It seems to be a mixture of the events that occurred last night. I was in a temple and doing kīrtana with a number of devotees, and in the middle of the kīrtana, a little child crawled in on the floor into the temple, and we all stopped and talked to the little child. And I'm reminded... And I thought, "Now what does this mean?" And I remember then. I was talking with Dharma just before I went to bed, and there was this little child that came in from next door there, and so he, we gave him some prasādam, and so I feel that this all got mixed together in this dream.

Prabhupāda: Dream means some mixed ideas.

Dr. Judah: Yeah. Yes. An interesting mixture of things.

Jayatīrtha: Prabhupāda gives the example that during the day you may see gold and you may see a mountain. So at night you dream of a golden mountain. (break)

Dr. Judah: ...devotees, I think a long time, haven't you?

Jayatīrtha: Yes, Brahmānanda was one of the original...

Dr. Judah: I've seen his picture so often times in the Back to God magazine playing the mṛdaṅga drum.

Jayatīrtha: What is it, ten years, Brahmānanda? Or nine years?

Brahmānanda: Well, '66. August '66.

Dr. Judah: August '66. You are one of the very earliest.

Prabhupāda: Actually, I began this movement from July '66. I came in '65 but I could not do anything. I was loitering here and there. Actually, I began my preaching work from '66, June, July, I think, yes.

Room Conversation with Professor Olivier -- October 10, 1975, Durban:

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Prof. Olivier: I have a program in the car. Perhaps I could give you the program and you could have a look. All kinds of interesting topics.

Prabhupāda: For interesting topic, the gentleman, he was introducing himself, "I am God." So what topics we can have with them? (chuckles)

Prof. Olivier: Yes.

Prabhupāda: He said that "I am God." I do not know what kind of topics they are.

Prof. Olivier: Well, the one was the regeneration of the Hindu spirit. I don't know what is meant by that.

Prabhupāda: They do not belong to the Hindu. They are described in the Bhagavad-gītā. Find out, veda-vāda-ratā pārtha nānyad astīti vādinaḥ.

Room Conversation with Professor Olivier -- October 10, 1975, Durban:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Nectar of Devotion and the Śrī Īśopaniṣad. These books are actually being used in undergraduate courses. These are some of the recommendations, see, offered as an undergraduate course. Mostly... This book is very, very interesting, this, "the complete science of bhakti-yoga." This explains scientifically the science of devotional service to God. That devotional service which is not practiced with reference to the Vedic literatures is simply a disturbance, just as if some chemist walked into an English laboratory or some foreign language laboratory and tried to do something, and he had no knowledge. So the same way, we should try to understand the science of devotional service from the authorities, so that it's not just...it doesn't become simply a disturbance in society. People lose faith in God that way. Śrī Īśopaniṣad also has the same format once again. The Sanskrit, transliteration, word for word. This is a very nice entrance book into Vedic understanding. This is the most important of the Upaniṣads. Many other books we have like that, paperbacks and hardbound. This is being used in many universities in America.

Prabhupāda: Temple University, it is a study book.

Morning Walk -- October 19, 1975, Johannesburg:

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: That's a very interesting view.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Where is the change of understanding? It is natural. If you treat me as enemy, I treat you as enemy. That is natural. But brahma-jñāna means samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu, that no distinction, "Everyone is Brahman." That is brahma-jñāna. What was the movement here of Mahatma Gandhi?

Indian man (1): There was a movement.

Prabhupāda: Yes. What is that movement?

Indian man (1): They used to call it...

Indian man (2): Satyagraha movement.

Indian man (1): Nonviolence.

Indian man (2): Fighting for the truth.

Prabhupāda: What was the truth?

Indian man (1): There was discriminatory laws against the Indians, trying to let them carry certain documents to identify that they are foreigners and all that type of things, not allowed to go in certain places where other people were allowed to go, and all those kind of laws, discriminatory laws, especially for the Indians. So he fought against them for the truth that everybody is equal in the eyes of God.

Prabhupāda: So? But it was not successful.

Morning Walk -- November 30, 1975, Delhi:

Prabhupāda: That means mismanagement. (break)

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: They do this all over the world. They change... Like in America, President Ford just dropped the Defense Secretary just like that. So that created such a big controversy.

Haṁsadūta: I read a very interesting article, and the theme was that once a month, every month at least, one government is now collapsing or being overthrown. That was the theme of the article.

Indian man (1): In U.P. they change the government after every two, three months. Yesterday also they make authorization to rule in U.P. from yesterday. They change the government like that after every few months.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Now Dr. Channa Reddy must have become busy because when the presidents rule then the governor has to do some work. Otherwise in India the governors, they do no work.

Indian man (1): He takes instruction from president.

Haṁsadūta: In America in the upcoming elections in 1976, one of the biggest candidates is a movie actor, Ronald Reagan. Yes.

Prabhupāda: For presidentship?

Haṁsadūta: For presidentship. And he stands a very good chance of winning.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: He's governor of California. (break) The movie stars are entering into politics now. (break)

Prabhupāda: ...the government will be incompetent, the more the citizens will be exploited. Ultimately the citizens will suffer. Because they will want money and plunder the citizens, they will be disgusted. Āchinna-dāra-draviṇ gacchanti giri-kānanam.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- January 19, 1976, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: They can file some complaint inducing something.

Bhavānanda: Śrīla Prabhupāda, it was very interesting. Last night that complaint, my lawyer was this man who was sitting right here last night, this old man, Nandulal? He was my lawyer.

Prabhupāda: Ācchā.

Bhavānanda: And he is the one who asked me, "Who is behind this case?" He asked me when we brought him from Krishnanagar. Because he is considered the best lawyer in Nadia, so we brought him in, and as we were leaving, after the first time I appeared, he said, "There is someone... This man is a farmer, laborer. Who has put him up to this? There is someone behind this." So he asked me, "Was it Śrīdhara? Someone of the Gauḍīya Maṭha is behind this." But he came last night with them, this lawyer, old man, he came with them. So they were definitely the ones behind it.

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Bhavānanda: They were definitely the ones behind that case. They somehow got their hands on that man and had him bring charges, even though the whole thing was dropped.

Prabhupāda: Who was behind them?

Bhavānanda: Well, this man, he mentioned Śrīdhara Mahārāja's name. He said, "Some Gauḍīya Maṭha person."

Prabhupāda: He's a very good lawyer.

Morning Walk -- February 4, 1976, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: (break) ...again mūḍha.

Sudāmā: (break) ...speaking about how they are complaining that we are waking them up. A very interesting story... In Hawaii for one year every day this one man living next door to us every morning would call the police force at guru-pūjā. So many cars would come, three, four police cars. So finally, after one or two weeks' coming, they would come very happily, and they would take prasāda. So they came because he called, they had to follow his complaint, but they told me personally, "We are coming not to arrest you or complain. We like your activities. Please give us some prasādam."

Hṛdayānanda: Also in Caracas many, many police cars come to the temple for prasādam.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Morning Walk -- March 15, 1976, Mayapura:

Siddha-svarūpa: If their main leader, Mao Tse Tung.... He's more of that school, but there are.... They call them revisionists. They say they're like the Russians, and that they're just.... They're always attacking them for wanting to copy the West. It's their same attack. They attack the Russians for becoming capitalists. They're puritan. They're trying to have pure communism. They have very great ideals, and the other school wants.... They think that they want to get in on the action of the trade and industrialization. But they are actually about equal in power. It's interesting. Right now, actually, it's very hard to get into China because there's a new feud that has come to the surface. There's top leaders that have been taken through the streets, denounced as being materialists, and they've taken their clothes from their wives' closets with mink coats and fancy clothes...

Prabhupāda: No, first of all.... We shall first of all try to sell our books without any discussion. "As trade..., as trade representative, we have come. See our book." Go to the professors, go to the.... "We have got this support," like that.

Morning Walk -- March 15, 1976, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: It is not our policy that the whole country will be on our side. That is not.... At least some of them may be interested. That's all.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yaśodānandana Mahārāja says that the Chinese Bhagavad-gītā is ready for publication.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: It's at the printer. It will be ready in two weeks.

Revatīnandana: Another interesting thing about China is because they have such a huge population, in order to feed the population they've had to turn to production of agricultural products rather than meat.

Prabhupāda: Yes, that is the only way. That is the only way. If you want to make them happy.... That we are preaching in the Bhagavad-gītā. Annād bhavanti bhūtāni (BG 3.14). Produce grains. Everyone will eat nicely, and they will be happy.

Revatīnandana: Not only are they increasing grains, but because it's so much more economical to produce grains than to produce animals...

Prabhupāda: Yes, that is natural.

Revatīnandana: ...they are largely vegetarian.

Prabhupāda: That is natural.

Meeting with Bankers -- April 6, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Very good.

Indian (1): So if about the bankers, if you permit me, I'll give you another interesting story. There was a man who was very ill in America and he had a heart trouble. In fact he had no heart, I would say. So, you know, they can replace the hearts nowadays. He went to a hospital, and the doctor offered him two or three hearts, "Which one would you like? One is of the general, the other is of a big businessman, and the third is of a banker. What would you like?" So he thought, "Let me have the heart of a..."

Prabhupāda: Banker.

Indian (1): "...banker." (laughter) So the doctor said, "Why do you want to have the heart of a banker?" He thought, "Because I'm sure it has never been used." (laughter)

Prabhupāda: I'll recite another very nice story...(break)

Room Conversation -- April 23, 1976, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: Yes. And quote from Bhagavad-gītā. Show pictures.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Would you like to take your massage now, Śrīla Prabhupāda? (break)

Guest (2): ...interesting. I see Elder Forester(?) in myself. We feel that we're called to God through a living prophet ourselves. And our feeling is in our own hearts we feel that we have a living feeling in what we call a testimony of Christ. And we feel that he is our savior and that he did atone for the sins of the world. And we were wondering what your feelings were about this.

Prabhupāda: Our feeling is direct, carrying the orders of God. The direct orders are there, and we have to carry. Ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanam (CC Madhya 19.167), favorably to carry out the order of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa means God.

Guest (2): Kṛṣṇa means God.

Prabhupāda: So favorably. What God says, "You do it"—we have to do.

Guest (2): Great. Okay, supposing when you die, how will there.... Will there be another man of your sort who people would look to, like these here?

Prabhupāda: Many. Anyone who will carry out the order, he'll be prominent.

Guest (2): Oh, I see. So you just carry the order out fully.

Prabhupāda: And I teach my students to carry out. So anyone who will carry out the orders strictly, he will be perfect.

Room Conversation -- April 23, 1976, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: To surrender to Him.

Devotee (4): Surrender.

Guest (2): Surrender, oh. I think you're.... I believe that. It's interesting. Our prophet, when he passes on, we believe that another prophet will be called in his place by God to carry on.

Prabhupāda: "By God" means.... Anyone who will carry out the order of God without any change, he is prophet.

Guest (3): I have a question. Do you know much of Mormonism?

Prabhupāda: No.

Morning Walk -- May 26, 1976, Honolulu:

Prabhupāda: No, here the American policy, the Western policy, that if the people get easily food, they'll not come to work in the industry. That is their policy. If they get cheap food, then they won't work. That is human nature.

Devotee (5): That is very interesting.

Prabhupāda: Ha?

Devotee (5): That's very interesting.

Prabhupāda: Yes. So they want to keep them starving or in want, so they'll come and produce and make the capitalists rich. This is the system. (break) ...idea, but...

Devotee (5): It's (indistinct).

Prabhupāda: I think in here, in Hawaii, they set fire to the huts. Poor beggars, they are living in cottages, the government set fire so that they may be without home and come to work. Do you know that? Yes? You know that?

Garden Conversation -- June 9, 1976, Los Angeles:

Arnold Weiss: So that small, miniscule amount of independence we have represents our free will in making decisions and choices towards either returning toward God or trying to go on our own way, which is the origin of our original position, being in this material world. Very interesting.

Prabhupāda: So therefore Kṛṣṇa said that "The most confidential part of knowledge I am giving you, Arjuna, because you are My very intimate friend, that you give up your nonsense plans." Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: (BG 18.66) "You just surrender to Me. This is the most confidential knowledge. You can misuse your independence, but I am instructing you most confidentially because you are My intimate. Don't make plans like rascals. You just surrender to Me. This is confidential." Or in other words, "Don't foolishly try to become God. You remain a servant. Surrender to..." This is the ultimate instruction. Find out in the Eighteenth Chapter, sarva-guhyatamam. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru.

Garden Conversation -- June 14, 1976, Detroit:

Prabhupāda: And still we save expenditure. You hypnotize by drinking. (laughter) We haven't got to pay for that, whiskey bottle. That is also hypnotizing. You want to forget all day's labor by drinking. That is also hypnotizing. Or by gambling. So we also hypnotize. Better hypnotizing method.

Jayādvaita: In New York, you argued that it may be hypnotizing, but by this hypnosis we get people to give up gambling, intoxication, meat-eating and illicit sex. So it should be adopted.

Śrutakīrti:( break) ...some very interesting statistics this morning about drinkers in this country.

Dhṛṣṭadyumna: My father, he's the president of this liquor company, and they study the charts to see who is drinking the most. And they have discovered that the biggest drinkers in the world are the politicians in Washington, D.C., that they drink more liquor than anyone.

Prabhupāda: Yes. They have got so many anxieties. So many anxieties.

Prabhupada Inspects New BTG -- June 24, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: What is this article? Ah. "Kṛṣṇa Consciousness-The Spirit of '76." "Curing the Crimes of a Lifetime." Vibhavatī. "Curing the Crimes"—read it.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: (reads) "Adapted from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, translation and commentary by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda." In the middle there is a picture of Arjuna piercing the target, and Draupadī. "With the recent disgrace of an American president still fresh in our minds, it is interesting to read of a similar case in ancient times. Five thousand years ago a blind king named Dhṛtarāṣṭra dishonored his high post and caused the death of millions. This story is of special importance even today, because he found an antidote to the crimes of a lifetime and in his old age became self-realized. King Dhṛtarāṣṭra was the acting monarch of Hastināpura, the capital of the Vedic kingdom of Bhārata, which five thousand years ago, according to the Vedic literature, spread over most of the planet. Hastināpura was on the banks of the Yamunā River at the present-day site..., at the site of present day Delhi. As its name indicates-hasti means elephant—it was a city full of opulently decorated elephants. Noble men rode elaborate chariots past marble palaces inlaid with glittering jewels. The sweet smell of incense drifted out of lattice windows. Trees bearing fruits and flowers lined the wide streets, which were sprinkled with scented water. There was no hint of poverty or distress. Hastināpura was the crown jewel of the abundant Vedic civilization. From the beginning, Dhṛtarāṣṭra's position as king was never legal, for he was blind, and Vedic law ruled that a blind man cannot be king. Thus the throne went to his younger brother Pāṇḍu. But when Pāṇḍu died in his young manhood, Dhṛtarāṣṭra began ruling on behalf of Pāṇḍu's five sons, who were still children. In an age of great and honorable kings, Dhṛtarāṣṭra was an exception. Swayed by his eldest son Duryodhana's ruthless lust for power, Dhṛtarāṣṭra began to abuse the guardianship of the Pāṇḍavas by closing his already blind eyes to the planned and purposeful efforts of Duryodhana to destroy the boys. As the descendant of a great royal dynasty, Dhṛtarāṣṭra had the lineage and rearing of a proper monarch, but it seemed that he was as blind spiritually as he was physically. Although he admired and even loved the five fatherless princes, he began to contemplate taking away their kingdom, and even their lives."

Prabhupāda: At seven o'clock we shall go there?

Kīrtanānanda: Yes.

Garden Discussion on Bhagavad-gita Sixteenth Chapter -- June 26, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: Therefore they support this accident theory. Nowadays they have got the accident theory. Because ordinarily there is no good. There is no possibility. But by accident if some good comes, that's all. Otherwise, jagato 'hitāḥ, it is only fault. They are... But accidentally means good comes. Accidentally, Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement came. (laughs) Although it was going on in India. Nobody called Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the scientists, the philosophers, the politicians. But accidentally came. Accidentally, we got result. You cannot explain God, therefore you take it as accident.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: This is very interesting, very interesting. In a Vedic community everything is very ordered, and goodness prevails, therefore God consciousness seems very natural.

Prabhupāda: Go on.

Answers to a Questionnaire from Bhavan's Journal -- June 28, 1976, Vrndavana:

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: This next question is rather interesting. Question sixteen. "Is it not possible for all sections of Hindus, be they Advaitans, Dvaitans, or viṣiṣṭādvaitans, to come together instead of remaining isolated as warring factions?"

Prabhupāda: Yes. Dvaita and advaita. This is the process of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, to bring all the dvaitas and advaitas in one platform. To understand that he is essentially servant of God. The Advaitas, they are wrongly thinking that he is God himself. That is wrong, or not the proper way of thinking. How you can become God? God is ṣaḍ-aiśvarya-pūrṇam, full with six opulences, all-powerful, all-strength, all-beauty, all opulent. So this is artificial, to think to become God. And... This is Advaita. And Dvaitas, they think that one is different from God, God is separate from the living entity. But actually, from the Bhagavad-gītā we understand that God is always the Supreme and the living entities, they are subordinate. And in the Vedas also it is said, nityo nityānaṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). Both of them are living entities, but God is the chief. The difference between the two, that God maintains other living entities. Eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. That is a fact. We are maintained and God is the maintainer. We are predominated, we are not independent, and God is predominator. But because the predominated living entities, they are part and parcel of God, therefore in quality they are one. This is acintya-bhedābheda, one and different. The living entity is one in the sense because he is part and parcel of God.

Arrival Room Conversation -- July 2, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: Cold water.

Hari-śauri: They are bringing some hot milk, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Vipina: Also something interesting about this water, Prabhupāda. It's all natural spring water, it's not city water. Underground water, fresh water.

Rūpānuga: It's quiet here.

Prabhupāda: Nice.

Vṛṣākapi: There's a swimming pool here, Prabhupāda. You have a garden by the pool; you can take your massage there.

Prabhupāda: This is your own house? What you have paid for it?

Rūpānuga: Well, now we are leasing with option to buy. We have ten-year lease, we can purchase anytime before ten years.

Prabhupāda: Price is fixed?

Rūpānuga: Six hundred fifty thousand. But all money paid for rent goes toward purchase.

Prabhupāda: That's nice.

'Life Comes From Life' Slideshow Discussions -- July 3, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: Just see. I'm immediately going to become a dog, and I have to wait for millions of years. Just see. This is their nonsense. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13), as soon as you give up this body, you get another body. The greatest scientist, Kṛṣṇa, says. And he says "Wait for millions of years." So shall I take Kṛṣṇa or the scientist? Kṛṣṇa says "Immediately," and you haven't got to wait for millions of years for a boy to become a young man. It takes few years. Does it require millions of years for a boy to grow as young man? By nature's way, it is immediately, a few years. Every moment, the body is changing. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā (BG 2.13). Anyway, fight with this ignorance. Kṛṣṇa consciousness means fighting with ignorance. That's it. Mūḍho 'yaṁ nābhijānāti loko mām ajam avyayam (BG 7.25). What is the next verse? You read it? That is very interesting chapter. You read the purport.

'Life Comes From Life' Slideshow Discussions -- July 3, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: Distribute this prasādam. (break) Janayaty āśu vairāgyaṁ jñānaṁ ca yad ahaitukam (SB 1.2.7). Vairāgya and jñāna, both thing will develop, Vāsudeva. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Take prasādam. Give him twice, he has worked very hard. (laughter) Double, you should give double. So Kṛṣṇa will bless you. So push this scientific movement, go to every university, every college. How they are receiving now in the college circles?

Sadāpūta: We gave a lecture a couple of days ago in Gainesville, and it was interesting. We actually gave a couple of TV interviews.

Prabhupāda: How they received it?

Sadāpūta: Well in the class, at first the professor said "That's completely fallacious." But he quieted down.

Prabhupāda: Yes, they will say like that, "fallacious," but you have to make them down. (laughter)

Svarūpa Dāmodara: In the TV it was very favorable. The interview was just a professor at the University of Florida, and he's a professor of religion and history. We were speaking how life comes from life from a philosophical and scientific point of view, and he received very well and asked questions also.

Prabhupāda: All right.

Room Conversation -- July 4, 1976, Washington D.C.:

Prabhupāda: Therefore I say...

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: There was an article in the newspaper about that today. Very interesting. It said in the newspaper that if women stop breast feeding their children they will have to increase the population of dairy cows tremendously. A very small percentage do now.

Prabhupāda: They have to increase?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: More and more cows to produce enough milk to feed children.

Prabhupāda: And therefore we are killing children. There is no problem, we shall kill our.... Why do you call? Let us kill, wholesale. And go to ball dance.

Hari-śauri: The whole civilization is complete crazy.

Prabhupāda: Kartikeya told me. After many years he went to see his mother, and mother was going to ball dance. And mother said, "Wait, I am coming back." And he was surprised. He told me. Son has come home after many years, and she could not talk with him. She was going to ball dance.

Conversation with Prof. Saligram and Dr. Sukla -- July 5, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: Yes, that petrol. But what was the purpose? The purpose was little sense gratification, "I shall see something illuminating." What was other purpose? No purpose. Simply to satisfy the eyes, to see something illuminating. That is one sense, eyes. Then there are other senses. They also want satisfaction. There are hands, there are legs, there are tongue, eyes, ears, nose. So every one, every one of these senses, they are engaged for sense satisfaction. So this is the life. But that sense satisfaction is differently exhibited for different bodies. Just like this firework, it was interesting to the human being. Human being has got a particular type of body, so it is interested to see the firework. But the cats and dogs, they are not interested. They do not know what is fireworks. They, while we are interested to see the firework, a hog may be interested to eat stool. If he gets some stool somewhere, he'll be interested, than to see the firework. So because he has got a different body, he's interested differently. We are human beings, we are interested differently. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja rightly said, deha-yogena dehinām. This sense gratification, varieties, according to the varieties of the body. Deha-yogena dehinām. But this is arranged, this different process of sense gratification is arranged daivāt, by the superior arrangement. Daivāt. Sukham aindriyakaṁ daityā deha-yogena dehinām, sarvatra labhyate daivāt. By the superior arrangement everywhere it is available. Either you become Lord Brahmā or you become a small ant, the process of sense gratification, arrangement is there. (aside) You can come forward.

Conversation with Prof. Saligram and Dr. Sukla -- July 5, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: So, what is the difference if a dog is thinking that "I am dog," on account of his body, and if I am thinking I'm an Indian on account of this body. Then where is the difference between this dog and me? He is working under the impression that he's dog, and I am working under the impression I am Indian or American. Then where is difference? Yesterday you observed this great festival under this impression that "I am American. I must observe this independence." Is it not? What was the meaning of this festival? It was interesting to the Americans. Other nations, they are not interested. They are not observing this independence festival. But the Americans are observing. Why? Under this impression that "I am American." This yesterday...

Mr. Loomis: Under the impression that what?

Prabhupāda: Everyone is thinking that "I am American." So if a human being is thinking "I am American," "Indian," or something like that, and if a dog is thinking "I am dog," then where is the difference between the mentalities?

Dr. Sukla: Of course, both, perhaps, are victim of some kind of illusion.

Prabhupāda: Yes, it is illusion. That we are trying to describe. But this is going on. As the dog is thinking, "I am dog," the human being is also thinking that "I am American," "I am Indian," or...

Room Conversation -- July 6, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: Everything is coming from the earth.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: That is..., Sadāpūta has an interesting point in science itself, that somebody tried to show that in the living body, when life is within matter, the ah, it doesn't follow the conservation of matter. Science, one of the basic principles of science is that...

Prabhupāda: No, no. All the living conditions are there in the matter, provided there is the living being, that's all. Just like a dead body, it is not that the living condition is finished, no. The living conditions are there. That particular soul has left that body. But the dead body is also full of ingredients of living condition. So many germs are coming out when the body is decomposed. You say decomposition, but even in that decomposed condition there is living condition. So the living conditions are already there, matter in any form. So how these rascals say there is no life in the moon planet? That is not possible. The living conditions are always there in the matter. This is the example. Now, a decomposed body, the living being has left, now it is dead matter, but still, the living beings are coming out. How it is? That means matter has always the potency to give shelter to the living entity. So it is impossible that there is no living being in the moon planet. It is bogus. We cannot accept it. Any condition there is provision for the living beings. We see actually, in the earth, in the air, in the water, in the fire, these five elements. Whatever you take, these five elements in different proportions. So the living..., just like from perspiration living entities come out. It is impossible there is no living entities. That is bogus complete. You can challenge like that.

Evening Darsana -- July 7, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: Open the fan.

Carl Warentz: I find it interesting.

Vṛṣākapi: You like this speed, Śrīla Prabhupāda? Should we turn this on for you?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Āp? (Hindi, "You?")

Dr. Sharma: I'm professor at Berkeley, California. And I was Regents Professor at UCLA, University of California, Los Angeles.

Prabhupāda: Ācchā. In Los Angeles we have our mandira, we have... You sometimes go to our temple?

Dr. Sharma: Yes, I go to the temple in Berkeley. I was at Berkeley about a week ago. I'm in London now, at the Royal Institute of Chemistry. I was born in Haridwar.

Prabhupāda: Haridwar. (laughs) Bhagavān ka deśa hari. Hari, Hari means the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and dvāra means the door, the doorway to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There is a place in India, Haridwar, people go there for pilgrimage, very famous place.

Dr. Sharma: I grew up with yogis and sannyāsīs in Hrishikesh. My father is a recluse.

Prabhupāda: Oh, your father is also recluse.

Room Conversation -- July 7, 1976, Baltimore:

Prabhupāda: Yes, that is nice. We invite, "All right, come on."

Devotee: "Criticize, and we will defeat you."

Prabhupāda: Yes, it is fighting.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: That will be very good.

Devotee: Yes, it will be more interesting. The more fight, the more people like it.

Prabhupāda: So, we shall have to go now?

Rūpānuga: I think it's best if we would drive back now to Washington.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. Let us go.

Devotees: Thank you, Śrīla Prabhupāda. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. (offer obeisances)

Prabhupāda: Try your best, Kṛṣṇa will give you intelligence. I started this fight alone, now Kṛṣṇa is... (end)

Room Conversation with Scientists -- July 8, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: It will be very interesting if we can throw some mathematics. (laughs)

Prabhupāda: No, you can challenge them with this, that "Why don't you prepare a chemical egg and give it to the incubator and let life come? If you cannot do that, then don't talk nonsense." This is simple thing. Analyze, take a sparrow's egg, small, analyze what chemicals there are, and combine in the same way. Why they do not do that?

Rūpānuga: It's too hard.

Prabhupāda: Then why do they talk nonsense? You stress on this point. If they say "Yes, we shall do after millions of years," then he should be challenged that "You give up your title, 'Doctor' let the sparrow take it. He's doing. You give up, nonsense, your title. Don't talk nonsense. The sparrow, without taking any doctorate title, he's doing that. So what is the value of your doctorate title?" Challenge him. Seriously challenge. This point you present, they cannot do it, it is certain. It is not possible to be done like that. Spirit soul is different complete from the matter. They have to acknowledge it.

Room Conversation with Scientists -- July 8, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: So how it is fact? You cannot do. So what is the fact?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: They are cheating. There is also a big man in Bombay who is working on this line. He's a member of this International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life. Now they call... In fact, they use a Sanskrit word for this life coming from chemicals, they call jīvana particles of life. So they are also catching this idea that life is nothing but molecules. So along with this article, they are also writing from Bombay. So actually it is worldwide, all over, this concept. In India I think a little more interesting to give seminars along these lines. In India in the universities, the reaction of the... My feeling is that it will be different.

Prabhupāda: Hmm. So do it.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Just like that Dr. Sharma, who came yesterday, he's very much along our thought.

Prabhupāda: Who wrote the book?

Rūpānuga: No, no, an Indian gentleman. He has several degrees in science area, and he has an important post.

Prabhupāda: Dr. Sharma?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Who came yesterday. Sanskrit, he knows Sanskrit well? From Hardwar?

Prabhupāda: Oh. So why don't you take him?

Room Conversation -- July 19, 1976, New York:

Prabhupāda: "Fifth Avenue, Where East Meets West." Very good idea. Very good idea. Very nice.

Bali-mardana: The other pictures, I think some are from the Olympics.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Very prominent. The center section is, next to the front page, the center section is very..., the most popular page in the paper, because it has interesting pictures.

Prabhupāda: You can send one, this cutting, to Mr. Bhajaj, "Fifth Avenue, Where East Meets West." Very good.

Hari-śauri: Send one to Māyāpur as well?

Prabhupāda: Huh? You can send to many place, but this title is very nice. This is the point, this is the point. East, as I say always, the lame man meets the blind man. Together they do wonderful. And different they cannot do anything. He is blind, he is lame. But they join together, Indian culture and American money, they will save the whole world. Here is the... Money required. (laughter)

Interview with Religion Editor of The Observer -- July 23, 1976, London:

Prabhupāda: How did you like?

Cline Cross: Oh, it was very interesting. Again it taught me a lot that I did not previously know.

Prabhupāda: We are trying to give real life. The present civilization is... (to someone else): Hare Kṛṣṇa, but... How are you? (converses in Hindi) So you are religious observer. What is your idea of religion?

Cline Cross: I would say much the same as yours, from what I've seen in your writings—that there's an underlying truth behind all religion. Would you agree with that?

Prabhupāda: Religion, as it is explained in the dictionary, "accepting a supreme controller." Is it not? So do the people accept a supreme controller? Do they accept? There are so many system of religions, but do they actually know who is the supreme controller? That is my question. What do you think? Just like, this is British government, and we know that the Queen is the supreme controller. Similarly, of all creation, cosmic manifestation, there is a supreme controller, and who is that supreme controller? Do they know it? That is my question.

Radio Interview -- July 27, 1976, London:

Prabhupāda: The important so far—not all-important. Not all-important.

Mike Robinson: I see. Can I come back to a question that is interesting me, and that is when we were differing a few minutes ago, you were saying don't bother, you know, don't bring the scriptures in, use common sense. But what part do the scriptures have in your religion? How important are they?

Prabhupāda: Our religion is science. As we, when we speak, that a child grows a boy, it is science, it is not religion. Every child grows to become a boy. Where is the question of religion? Every man dies. Where is the question of religion? And when a man dies, the body is useless. So where is the question of religion? It is science, it is science. Either you Christian or Hindu or Muslim, when you die your body's useless. This is science. You cannot say that "We are Christian. Now the body is dead. Now we don't consider it as dead. We believe it is not dead." No, it is dead. Either you are Christian or Hindu or Muslim, it is dead, it is useless. So when we speak, we speak on this basis, that the body is important—it doesn't matter whether it is Christian body or Hindu body or Muslim body—so long the soul is there. When the soul is not there, it is useless. It is applicable to everyone.

Room Conversation with Professor Francois Chenique -- August 5, 1976, New Mayapur (French farm):

Prabhupāda: It would be very nice.

Bhūgarbha: He says it is very interesting, very important that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam be translated in the same way as the Gītā. The Bhagavad-gītā has been translated many times into French, but the Bhāgavatam was only translated once, and that also in the last century.

Prabhupāda: This is our translation?

Bhūgarbha: No, it's another one. In 1800 it was translated.

Prabhupāda: And they simply translation, or elaborately like we are doing?

Yogeśvara: Just translation. Sanskrit on the left-hand page, French on the right-hand page, but no commentaries.

Prabhupāda: That is difficult to understand.

Evening Darsan -- August 10, 1976, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: This Indira Gandhi?

Atreya Ṛṣi: No, Mahatma Gandhi. When I was in America three months ago, this was in a magazine, a new study. And it was very interesting because it showed that how subconsciously this man was very much, very much affected by sex, influenced. After I read it, I understood your comments a lot better, because it was a very frank study of details of his life and...

Prabhupāda: You sit down, I'll show you.

Nava-yauvana: I should sit in front here.

Atreya Ṛṣi: No, you stand and do it. Do it but do it strongly. Or you can do it like this, just comfortable. Comfortable. He was used to getting massage from woman.

Prabhupāda: Acchā?

Atreya Ṛṣi: Yes, this is known. He used to have women devotees who...

Prabhupāda: No, it was known to everyone. And that was remarked that his granddaughter, I mean granddaughter-in-law, he was always accompanied, resting his head on their shoulder, he was walking. That was remarked by...

Room Conversation About Blitz News Clipping -- August 21, 1976, Hyderabad:

Pradyumna: The courts can take it up also. In Allahabad when they were doing about the Congress Party having the cow, they said this is of the nature... They were discussing what is God in the court to make a decision. Something, what is God, what is religion. We can bring it up in the court. That will make a case celebre. Case celebre, they call it, affaire celebre.

Prabhupāda: Yes. This case must be brought. Challenge them, "What do you know about God?" Explain. And we can prove God consciousness from every page of our books. That will be very interesting case. And we shall continue this unless this man is sufficiently fined.

Hari-śauri: This is a... That bit about... Some of it, there's the front page also. Thought you might like to read.

Prabhupāda: "Evidence of fraud"? No?

Hari-śauri: That's Sai Baba.

Pradyumna: One man is trying to prove Sai Baba is fraud. One professor.

Hari-śauri: He's a scientist. He says he can prove that Sai Baba's making things appear and disappear is just a trick.

Prabhupāda: He is a fraud. What is this paper?

Hari-śauri: This is the same issue.

Room Conversation About Blitz News Clipping -- August 21, 1976, Hyderabad:

Pradyumna: But there's something very interesting. When he manifests something, he gives evidence, he says, "This cannot be a creation, because to be a creation, to be God you must be creator. To be creator you must produce something which is uniquely not made by anyone else." So he said he's only making things that are already created by someone else—a watch. So he is...

Hari-śauri: He's producing a watch, then it's a watch that's made by some manufacturer. It's not made by Sai Baba. Like that. So there was a comment that even if he has some... He may have some supernatural power, but he's not God.

Pradyumna: He has some yogic siddhi, but he cannot be God because he does not create.

Prabhupāda: So this paper is against Sai Baba also?

Pradyumna: No. On the front page it says... Because he is doing a lot of educational... He has made all these universities and health centers and everything. So it says that he is doing good to the people. So for that reason they said, "We don't want to see him criticized."

Hari-śauri: They're supporting him.

Prabhupāda: So the case is already in the court?

Room Conversation with U.N. Doctor -- September 29, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: No, especially of the water. Kṛṣṇa is everything, but specifically he mentions, "The taste of the water I am." So you remember this.

Doctor: That's very interesting. So every time you drink water...

Prabhupāda: You can remember Kṛṣṇa. What is the wrong and what is the loss there? But you follow Kṛṣṇa's instruction. Yes, sit down. There is no difficulty to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. (microphone moves)

Doctor: Why do you tape record?

Hari-śauri: Everything Prabhupāda speaks we tape record and then everyone in the world can listen.

Doctor: Someone said that the word om is given to sannyāsīs and it...

Prabhupāda: No, Kṛṣṇa does not say.

Doctor: It's not so.

Prabhupāda: "Someone," we don't take authority. "Someone." There are so many "someones." We don't care for them. What Kṛṣṇa says we accept. That's all.

Morning Walk -- October 2, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: ...up and down. If we keep the temple clean, then our heart will be cleansed. This is the process. (break) ...should be engaged in flower business, in dress business, light and interesting to them. They should not be given any heavy work. Cooking, helping cooking, cutting the vegetables. (break) ...woman should be engaged in something. That is wanted. (break) And to paint these panels also.

Haṁsadūta: Yes, outside. So it will be painted. These decorations. Oh, the panels here?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Haṁsadūta: You mean the panels. Yes, inside and outside.

Prabhupāda: There are so many pictures. And what is that boy?

Hari-śauri: Viṣṇu Das.

Prabhupāda: He can do every panel in three days.

Room Conversation with Dr. Theodore Kneupper -- November 6, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: That is not very important.

Dr. Kneupper: Well, it's been most interesting to meet you and hear you. I... Unfortunately I have to go to Agra this evening. So I really want to thank you and I will remember this and I will read your writings and think very deeply on what you...

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Dr. Kneupper: ...said to me and (indistinct) this...

Prabhupāda: Therefore I recited also (indistinct). It is the real utilization of every education.

Dr. Kneupper: Right. But the Bhagavad-gītā is very wonder... It's... Since I first read it it's been one of my favorite...

Prabhupāda: You are reading?

Dr. Kneupper: Yes, I... I try to read it frequently, because it gives me some real spiritual...

Prabhupāda: And if you want to know further, you can write to me.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- January 8, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-samvido bhavanti hṛt-karṇa-rasāyanāḥ kathāḥ (SB 3.25.25). Rasāyanāḥ kathāḥ. Unless you discuss Bhāgavata, Bhagavad-gītā, with sat-saṅga, devotees, it does not become relishable. Therefore he's not attached. Tad-vāg-visargo janatāgha-viplavaḥ. In another verse.... Na yad vacaś citra-padaṁ harer yaśo pragṛṇīta karhicit (SB 1.5.10). He may read one literature very decoratively written, very interesting, but there is no discussion about the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Yad vacaḥ citra-padam, very decorative. Na yad vacaś citra-padaṁ harer yaśo pragṛṇīta karhicit: (SB 1.5.10) "But there is no glorification of the Lord." Tad vāyasaṁ tīrtham: "Such kind of literature is enjoyable by such persons who are like crows."

Dr. Patel: Why?

Prabhupāda: Crows.

Dr. Patel: Why crows?

Prabhupāda: Crows will never come to a nice place. They'll go to the filthy place, where everything rubbish is thrown out. The crow will take advantage of it: "Oh, here is enjoyable thing." Tad vāyasaṁ tīrtham. So we have been educated to become vāyasa, crows, useless black bird. There are other birds also, but these... Amongst the birds, these crows are most disliked by everyone. So our present literature and taste of literature is like that, crows. "Ka, ka, ka, ka." Even amongst the birds, they'll find swan, white swan. And they're black crows. Nature's division is so nice. Na yad vacaś citra-padaṁ harer yaśo pragṛṇīta karhicit tad vāyasaṁ tīrtham uśanti mānasā (SB 1.5.10). That is rejected by the mānasā. Mānasā means the birds who live in the māna-sarovara, just like ducks and swans.

Room Conversation -- January 8, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Somehow or other it is interesting.

Hari-śauri: Yes. It's so full of...

Prabhupāda: (laughs) Otherwise why people take it? When I was... I thought that I am giving my imagination, who will take it? It is my imagination. Of course with reference to the modern politics, sociology, everything. Whenever possible I touch.

Hari-śauri: But your preaching is so practical. These other men when they speak, it just comes out... It's just not practical or they don't know how to translate it into action.

Prabhupāda: Yes. I try to write. I explained in that verse, kāmaṁ vavarṣa parjanyaḥ (SB 1.10.4). I've touched all the points in the modern...

Girirāja: It has a very nice purport.

Prabhupāda: Find out that. Kāmaṁ vavarṣa parjanyaḥ (SB 1.10.4). Parjanyaḥ...

Pradyumna: Oh, I know.

Prabhupāda: I've touched the slaughterhouse, brothel...

Morning Darsana and Room Conversation Ramkrishna Bajaj and friends -- January 9, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: When I went to your MIT, I challenged that "Where is that technological department where a dead man can be brought into life?" It was interesting speech. The students gathered. This body is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā as machine. Do you know that? This body is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā as machine. Yantrārūḍhāni māyayā.

īśvaraḥ sarva bhūtānāṁ
hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati
bhrāmāyan sarva bhūtāni
yantrārūḍhāni māyayā
(BG 18.61)

Just like you make a tour by driving a motorcar, similarly, the jīvātmā is touring all over the universe riding on this machine. This is machine. So... Aiye aiye. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (guest enters) (Hindi) Aiye. We have arranged for your prasāda. Yantrārūḍhāni māyayā. This is machine. This body is machine made by the material energy, as all other machine are made by the kṣitir-āp-tejo marud-vyoma, earth, water, air, fire. These are the ingredients, any machine. Suppose it is made of iron. So iron is another form of earth. So as all other machines are made with these material elements, similarly, this body is also made with the material elements, and it is yantra. It is particularly mentioned. But this yantra is not ordinary yantra. You cannot make it. But it is yantra. It is made by somebody, and the ingredients are the material elements.

Room Conversation on 1976 Book Scores -- January 16, 1977, Calcutta:

Prabhupāda: Oh. So then bring him. That's all right.

Rāmeśvara: So I can read this and summarize it...

Prabhupāda: Later on.

Rāmeśvara: ...if there is anything interesting. But this is something that's nice. (break) ...this one first. This is the total sales.

Prabhupāda: (Bengali)

Rāmeśvara: For the year 1976. It lists... The first section lists all the Caitanya-caritāmṛtas title by title, all seventeen volumes. So last year we sold 55,000 copies of Caitanya-caritāmṛta.

Prabhupāda: All parts.

Room Conversation -- January 21, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: That is everywhere.

Rāmeśvara: But it's very interesting that they are saying that so many millions of people are practicing yoga or interested in meditation or the Eastern religions or mysticism-millions of Americans. And formerly, I remember, in the 1960's, it was a new thing. Actually when you came, that was the beginning. Before you came to America there was a little bit of interest in some concoction which they call Zen Buddhism.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Rāmeśvara: Little bit of concoction. But practically no one had every heard of yoga or anything. It was just beginning to get popular when you came to America. It coincided with your visit. So it seems that there must be some...

Hari-śauri: Some kind of a bug there, an ant.

Prabhupāda: (indistinct)

Rāmeśvara: So it seems that there must be some...

Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa's plan.

Room Conversation -- January 21, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Rāmeśvara: Now this is also interesting.

Prabhupāda: Now, this, this is fact, that when this body is no more working, the subtle body carries the soul to another gross body. That they cannot see, but it acts. This science they do not know. Seeing is always not competent, material eye. Just like the example is given that flavor is carried by the air. It is being carried, but I cannot see. But it is being carried. That is transmigration of the soul. The soul is carried by the subtle body to another particular body, and according to his karma under superior examination, the soul, a very small particle, one ten-thousandth part of the hair, he is put into the semina of the particular father, and he injects. So the soul takes place in the womb of the mother. She supplies the material to develop the next body. This is the process, transmigration. Then, when the body is complete to come out, then another body works. Another chapter begins: tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). So this is development.

Room Conversation with Sannyasis -- January 22, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: So how they can...?

Rāmeśvara: Read it out loud.

Satsvarūpa: He wants that you... He said, "The translator frequently adds comments containing information from other Vedic scriptures, for instance, ancient astronomical calculations referred to by Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura. It would be highly interesting to have a compilation of such astronomical texts translated into English. One can only hope that the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust endeavors to do this to the great benefit of the historians of science."

Prabhupāda: We shall do it. I am searching after some astronomer.

Rāmeśvara: There is also a review from one Indian professor, how this science...

Prabhupāda: Anyway, they have become interested in our literature.

Satsvarūpa: Yes. Whether he completely agrees or not, he's fascinated by it.

Prabhupāda: That is another thing. But...

Rāmeśvara: From Dr. Jagadish Sharma. He wrote that "This edition of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam will go a long way to help the scientists in rediscovering phenomena of the universe which is yet to be discovered."

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Room Conversation -- January 30, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: That is good the first, beginning, let them come. Let them sit down, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, and take prasāda. In Iran we are doing that. Gradually it is becoming interesting. You had been in our Iran, Tehran?

Pṛthu-putra: I went there also some time, long time ago. But Iran is a different concept. They're not so strict about following the Koran. For example, these Arabic countries like Algeria, Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia, they don't recognize Iran like being part of them. Iran and Turkey and Afghanistan they think is another Muslim world. For example, in Iran there is much more Sufis, the different... But in these Arabic countries like Egypt, they're really conservative. They're very strict.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Conservative means fanatical.

Pṛthu-putra: Fanatical, yes, that's the word. So my idea, when I went there... Because I have an Arabic boy who is translating. So I have one Śrī Īśopaniṣad completely translated into Arabic which can be printed.

Prabhupāda: So print.

Pṛthu-putra: But it's a very specific work. So my idea was to print something more like Topmost Yoga System for a first try, or Easy Journey to Other Planets for a first try.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- January 30, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Oh, I have many pictures. I gave a lecture, seminar, just before I came here at the university, about the nature of the Absolute Truth in terms of science and in terms of Bhagavad-gītā, a comparative study of the concept of the Absolute Truth. And there were many professors from physics, chemistry, mathematics, from philosophy, from biology, and from sociology. It was... Balavanta Prabhu was also there, and a few other devotees. It was quite interesting. And there was a slide show.

Prabhupāda: Balavanta was in Manipur?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: No. This is in the United States.

Prabhupāda: United States.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: America. Just before I came. So we made several slides and these, called transparencies. We are going to make all these things as illustrations in our book as well as in the journal. These are some samples that we have.

Prabhupāda: So what these big, big scientists said?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: The chairman gave me a nice letter saying that this is the first type of seminar that he has ever heard in his life.

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- January 30, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: Now some person...

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Oh, yes. It's very interesting that science says that those equations at the bottom are the... Those are the ultimate truth, the modern science, about these mathematical equations. So if we analyze this on the analytical basis, they are like this—those mathematical equations. So this is the concept of Absolute Truth in terms of science. And these are atoms and molecules or, we call it, fundamental particles. And so the spring between the two is some sort of electromagnetic force in the different..., among different particles. So this is the concept of Absolute Truth in terms of science. And we analyzed this in terms of our practical experience, from our day-to-day experience, and we gave some nice examples like this. This is a crocodile from... It's a male crocodile from South Africa in Scientific American a few months ago. There he's trying to break an egg just to come out, that little young one, the small baby crocodile. And what he does is...

Prabhupāda: They come out from egg?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes. They lay eggs.

Prabhupāda: Oh. How big it is?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: I don't know how big it is.

Prabhupāda: Not very big.

Morning Walk -- February 1, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Very interesting and very strange.

Prabhupāda: It is quite logical that without father, nobody is born. So I do not know who is my father, but the mother is the evidence. That's all. You cannot make this theory that "I was born without father." That is not possible. That is not the laws of nature. But there must be father. You can say, "I have not him." And that is not proof that there is no father. One who has seen, go. Tattva-darśinaḥ. Therefore Bhagavad-gītā says,

tad viddhi praṇipātena
paripraśnena sevayā
upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ
jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ
(BG 4.34)

Go to mother who has seen your father. That is only proof. Tattva-darśinaḥ. She has seen your father. So you submit, praṇipātena, to mother. "Mother, tell me who is my father." And she'll say, "Yes, he is." Tattva... She has seen. Tattva-darśinaḥ. It is not that mother is blindly indicating somebody as father. She has seen, and you have to learn from your mother by submission. That's all. There is no other way.

Evening Darsana -- February 15, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: And kill him.

Brahmānanda: And they give..., practically kill him. So they're saying now the same thing is happening in America.

Bhavānanda: It's interesting, Śrīla Prabhupāda, though, that the devotees didn't want to mention Kṛṣṇa's name.

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Bhavānanda: The devotees...

Prabhupāda: Being afraid of.

Hari-śauri: That's like when you first made it International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes. So they have taken it very seriously, to stop.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Oh, yes. Because their own young children, the future of the country, are joining these cults.

Brahmānanda: Two states have now passed laws making this deprogramming legal, and also they have given tax exemption. That means the government is giving...

Prabhupāda: Support.

Room Conversation -- February 17, 1977, Mayapura:

Ādi-keśava: So that proves there must be something beyond the gross plane.

Prabhupāda: Yes. But your conclusion—"I cannot see"—that is brainless. That is brainless proposal. You depend on your seeing, but you cannot see. So many things are happening. That, your proposal, is brainless. That means you have no sufficient brain to see things as they are. Take this point and consider. Place in the court. It will be very interesting. Case will prolong, and we can disclose our all philosophy. Is it not?

Tripurāri: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Do that. Think deeply, over and over again, and fight. What is your seeing? Useless. What you can see? You cannot see beyond this wall. Does it mean there is nothing? Why you depend on your seeing, rascal? That means brainless. So I take it, it is good opportunity for describing our whole philosophy.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Kṛṣṇa's arrangement.

Prabhupāda: You don't take it otherwise. Rather, prove yourself efficient in this subject matter. This is a trial examination for this knowledge.

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- February 28, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: He had grants, money coming from the United States to support his research. So he was on opposite side, but we had a very interesting discussion. And he told me later on that he was a keen follower of Śaṅkarācārya. I said, "Why?" because I was speaking, "There are innumerable lives." I was giving examples that we are not as one, but there are innumerable forms of life depending on the level of consciousness, giving examples. scientific examples. So he answered that traditionally his forefathers, his parents, his grandfathers, became followers of Śaṅkarācārya, so he became some sort of addicted to it, but he said he's not one hundred percent follower of Śaṅkarācārya.

Prabhupāda: Individual. Where there is question of mixing? Śaṅkarācārya's mistake is that the spirit is a mixture, and in māyā state, they're divided. Is it not? So when the division is finished, then it is spirit. But Kṛṣṇa does not say that. He says in the past we are individual, at present we are individual, and in future we shall continue to be individual.

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- February 28, 1977, Mayapura:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Seems that we have a good field in medicine, speaking with doctors. It's very interesting. And because they deal with life, so my first question is "What is life?" I just ask them, "What is your concept of life?" And they become very...

Prabhupāda: Concept of life is clear in the Bhagavad-gītā. That is also one of the elements, but superior element. The gross earth, water, air, fire, ether, even mind, intelligence, ego, they are inferior. And there is another superior item. That is living entity. It is clearly said. Jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho (BG 7.5). And that is important because that living entity is handling this inferior. Very clear. Just like a good machine. That machine as it is, it is not important. A living entity has handled it. By handling, the machine is prepared, and by handling it is important. So who is superior, this matter or the person who is handling? And it's clear—yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat (BG 7.5). Jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho yayedaṁ dhāryate. It is clear. And similarly, whole machine must be handled by a living creature. Mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carāca... (BG 9.10). Clear. How you can deny it? Taking this whole cosmic manifestation as machine... It is machine. We admit that. But it is being handled by a living being, the supreme living being. That is God. But they have no intelligence to understand, such a rascal civilization. Practically we are seeing. Mūḍhaḥ nābhijānāti mām ebhyaḥ param avyayam. (bird chirping loudly) Stop.

Morning Talk -- April 5, 1977, Bombay:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It will be a very interesting meeting, to see if he is actually willing to take some action. He'll hear and he may agree, but whether he will act, that we will see.

Prabhupāda: He may not act. That will be (indistinct).

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: One thing I am already doing is I am starting to compile a list of those that we want permanent residence for. I told Bhavānanda this morning already that he should tell me the names of those people in Bengal who he feels are qualified to remain permanently. So that way if suddenly we get some opportunity, I'll have the list all ready to submit. To me, of course, I am a little bit, tend towards pessimism, but I think that that is something we could actually hope for from this government. It won't be difficult...

Prabhupāda: Let me work with these foreigners, because you have taught Indian independence, and they are not coming. Therefore these foreign boys, they are helping me. So let them remain. What harm they are doing? Let them have permanent residence helping me. Their life, money, everything, why don't you allow me? Unnecessarily they have to go away and come again.

Room Conversation with Ram Jethmalani (Parliament Member) -- April 16, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: You take. We are speaking from the authoritative statements of Bhagavad-gītā. We are not manufacturing anything. That is not our business.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Śrīla Prabhupāda, we just received a letter from Pakistan. I thought you might be interested to hear along with Mr. Jethmalani. It describes some very interesting preaching that went on there. It is just a short paragraph if I could read it.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It's from your disciple Ātreya Ṛṣi.

Prabhupāda: Hm. He went there?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, Śrīla Prabhupāda. Śrīla Prabhupāda has a disciple by the name of...

Prabhupāda: He is Muhammadan. He was Attanya. So I have given him the name Ātreya Ṛṣi. There are many like that. In Iran we have got center, Tehran. We have got many Muhammadan disciples there, prosecuting our method. And he is the head there. Just see. Ātreya Ṛṣi. What he has said?

Talk with Svarupa Damodara -- April 18, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Not forcibly.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Well, they are coming voluntarily, but, I mean, the parents are resisting. But here the parents are agreeing.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: I found very interesting in the villages. I thought... I was planning to make programs very extensively in the week, but because of rain, it was...

Prabhupāda: In Manipur also there is rain.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Oh, rained so much. But anyway, the rain stopped in the last few days, so I made a few shows in the village. So they didn't even have electricity, so they hired this generator, and then I showed the white screen, and all the villages, nineteen villages, they came in no time. So I had about nine hundred, nine hundred in two shows. And they wanted to see more, the movies. And then they very appreciated. They wanted to join.

Prabhupāda: So let them join.

Talk with Svarupa Damodara -- April 18, 1977, Bombay:

Dr. Sharma: Yes, I did. The commentations of Professor Trieste(?) is very interesting. But I liked one particular aspect of it. But the West has been almost ridiculing the evils of praising (indistinct) animal cult(?). For example it is ordinary or else it is extraordinary. There is a lot of difference in the (indistinct).

Prabhupāda: They do not know the value of the animals.

Dr. Sharma: Yes. They do not know. The real principle behind the praying to a tree or praying to stones or praying to idol worship, it signifies how grateful we are to the nature that is going around in praise of the Lord. Even to go (indistinct) the tree, the tree which happens to give the leaf, the shelter, the fruits, the roots, the bark of the tree—it has got so bulk of the nature created by God. And we are grateful to these things, and it shows how grateful we are to things, it shows a lot of gratitude we have. But that aspect of it is not being appreciated.

Prabhupāda: They have not been educated. Therefore, actually speaking, there is no real knowledge outside India. Mūḍha.

Talk with Svarupa Damodara -- April 18, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Scientific Basis of...

Dr. Sharma: Yes. It's very interesting. I liked it.

Prabhupāda: So if you translate some of these small books, we can publish.

Dr. Sharma: Knowledgewise, I am a big man. I am myself that mūḍha still. But still I've made up my mind. I'll do my most.

Prabhupāda: Yes, that is very good qualification, to remain humble and try to do something.

Dr. Sharma: And I've made this statement because knowing the word modesty. I do not know what it is.

Prabhupāda: Tṛṇād api sunīcena... Caitanya Mahāprabhu has given this slogan, tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā, amāninā mānadena. One should not claim honor for himself, but he should give honor to everyone. Amāninā mānadena kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ (CC Adi 17.31). So that book, small book, Easy Journey to..., is it interesting?

Dr. Sharma: It is interesting. It has been very well received.

Prabhupāda: Ācchā.

Dr. Sharma: It's a very well written book.

Prabhupāda: Then that translation you have to...

Dr. Sharma: (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: So encourage him to translate more books. (background conversation with Dr. Sharma) In Russia, if they allow us to speak, then we can convert many. There is no doubt about it. But they have restriction for outsider. Now, here is a scientific man. They'll not hear?

Morning Conversation -- April 19, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Yes. Indians... And Manipur, there are many men from Bangladesh.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes. Sylhet.

Prabhupāda: From Sylhet. Sylhet is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's place. There is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's forefathers' house, Sylhet. So what talk you had with that doctor?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, his name is Dr. Sir M. S. Thakur, and we had a very interesting talk yesterday, and he's willing to come and stay in the temple for at least a week. He's going to come and stay here for at least a week.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: He wanted to learn more about Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Prabhupāda: Very good. Let him come. Give him good place, and we shall talk.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Girirāja Prabhu was also present.

Prabhupāda: Oh, you were also present?

Girirāja: Yes.

Conversations with Kirtana Groups -- May 29, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: The rainfall. With the rainfall, those who are fallen souls, they are coming down. Then takes shelter within the atom. Then again grows.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: It's interesting that science says also that in the beginning there was only hydrogen. So actually water is... Its main composition of two parts of hydrogen...

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: One part of oxygen. So if the soul is coming through this water, through rain from higher planetary system...

Prabhupāda: Kṣīṇe puṇye punar martya-lokaṁ viśanti. They elevate, again fall down. This is going on. Mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani (BG 9.3). Yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama (BG 15.6). But when they go to Kṛṣṇaloka, then they are... (break)

Svarūpa Dāmodara: That also corresponds with another theory, a scientific theory, is that the origin of life comes from other planets. That is one theory, not Darwin. This is not Darwin.

Prabhupāda: Darwin... Grand rascal. All speculation. Transportation I told.

Conversations with Kirtana Groups -- May 29, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Darwin... Grand rascal. All speculation. Transportation I told.

kabhu svarge uṭhāya kabhu narake ḍubāya
daṇḍya-jane rājā yena nadīte cubāya

Just try to explain to them. (break) ...interesting. I can give you the ideas. You put in the scientific way. But whatever idea I give, that's a fact. They have stopped making propaganda about going to Mars?

Brahmānanda: Going to Mars? They've stopped propaganda?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yeah, they are a little silent.

Prabhupāda: (chuckles) Hoax. First hoax was little successful. Now they say it will not be very successful.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: One aspect in science that they're worried more nowadays is called biomedical ethics. That means they are worrying about so-called this genetic engineering. They say by this engineering they can develop some small insects or microbes that will be great harmful. It will be very harmful to the society. So these big, big schools like M.I.T. and Harvard, they are... Some of the leading scientists in this field, they're very much concerned about this new development. (end)

Discussions with Devotees and Conversation with Dr. Ghosh -- June 1, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: They are simply making false propaganda to keep their prestige. Useless. Now here is a scientist. He'll confirm it. What do you think?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Er... I think it's going to be very interesting. We are prepared for it, and it will be a great challenging, challenging field, if all the scientists and all over...

Prabhupāda: We have got some background. They have no background.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, we have Bhagavad-gītā and Prabhupāda, Kṛṣṇa. We are very prominent.

Prabhupāda: But they have no background. They are simply speculating. In the first place they have no background. Child. Doesn't know what... Do you think they are knowing?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: I saw just little hint. I met an Indian physicist in Emory University. He's quite well known physicist, and he actually liked the idea that we wrote on. He said it's very genuine and very scientific. We have developed this the laws of consciousness from trying ātmā and Paramātmā. The Paramātmā, we say, is the source of all these laws of nature.

Prabhupāda: That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca (BG 15.15). Jaya. (Bengali) Or if you like, you can travel with him, but your translation must be main work. If you like, you can go to the foreign countries along with him. (Bengali) So that program you planned, he can come.

Talk with Svarupa Damodara -- June 20, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Woman? Woman?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: No, no, Amrtabal Singh is the name. And he told me he didn't have time to talk with me because, he said, he had a meeting. So I told him that I just came to see the director, but since the director is not there I just want to let him know that "We want to hold a conference on life sciences and Kṛṣṇa consciousness, so if you are interested, I'd like to invite you because you're a leading scientist. And the Bose Institute is quite well known. So I'd like you to participate in our conference." Then he asked me, "What is that conference?" Then I started describing about the way modern science is going at this time. "Science says that everything is molecules. So what do you think as a scientist? Now, the way we communicate... I talk with you, and you talk to me, but the way we communicate, science say that these are just chemical reactions. You talk because of some chemical reactions. And so what do you think about this modern philosophy?" Then I started talking about the very unsatisfactory explanations of these ideas according to modern science and trying to introduce concept of Bhagavad-gītā, that "Life is nonchemical and nonphysical. It is spiritual. When we study physics, chemistry and mathematics, we simply study matter, but actually we don't really study life. But modern science says that life is nothing but chemicals. So we are determined to show to the people, especially to the leading scientists, that the knowledge that we have is all wrong. There must be something beyond that we just know so far." Then he started taking great interest, and I talked with him for a little more than an hour. He... And even he was thinking of postponing that... He had a meeting, and he telephoned. He said... He said he started discussing with me, and the talk became so interesting that he postponed the meeting. He even said. (laughs) So he was very nice, actually. He said that he agrees that in the Western..., especially in the United States, the leading scientists are taking too much for granted. They're saying too much, very unscientific, saying that life started from molecules. He said it's all unknown. These are all stories. So he said that it's a little too much. Science doesn't know these things. He agreed to that point very clearly. I said, "Do you think scientists like...? It is your responsibility, especially from this land, to show that the concept..."

Prabhupāda: We know.

Talk with Svarupa Damodara -- June 20, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Yes. Cheating.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: I saw a newsletter issued by the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life from Chemicals. They just had an international meeting in Japan this April, and I am a member, so they send me a newsletter, national newsletter. They have interesting schemes. The next meeting is in 1981 in Israel. I was actually thinking of presenting a paper in the last meeting, but time was little short for us. So we are thinking of presenting papers in that international meeting. It is a whole scientific community all over. So I thought it will be very interesting to present our viewpoint and make it very strong. We are very small in number, but our thoughts will be very challenging to all of them, especially mathematics and physical chemistry together. They also have a journal, the Journal of the Origin of Life, and there the write only about chemicals. Everything is just like a story. So we make it a fairy tale, the molecular fairy tale, and it's very appropriate. All are stories.

Prabhupāda: They invented stories for going to the moon planet.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yeah, they're making stories about everything.

Prabhupāda: A small toy sputnik, background, a big picture, and photograph.

Talk with Svarupa Damodara -- June 20, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: (laughs) You have fatally...(?)

Svarūpa Dāmodara: So he became very interested. That's why he took me in an hour. About five minutes he gave me. Then he extended about an hour to a very interesting talk. And he became very impressed with the ideas about Bhagavad-gītā. And Dr. Kunja(?) asked me, "What śloka are you using from Bhagavad-gītā?" Then I was describing about nainaṁ chindanti śāstrāṇi nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ (BG 2.23). "We're developing that on a scientific language." And he was very impressed with our presentation for the nature of consciousness and quantum physics. So they thought that this is very unique, and they never thought that this could be done. They have great respect for Śrīla Prabhupāda also. Said that they have read Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. And they actually accepted and developed lot of scientific thoughts, appropriating with our current scientific frame from Bhagavad-gītā. So once they have that feeling developed properly...

Prabhupāda: It will further develop.

Talk with Svarupa Damodara -- June 20, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Johnny Walker. (laughter)

Svarūpa Dāmodara: And it was very interesting, that book. That was... This is the Origin of Species. That was Darwin's book. This was the modern version of Darwin's book. It's about this big, and it's full of nice colors with all molecules, DNA and all these nice, modern-looking molecules, and then they say... They start... It starts like this, "In the beginning there was a big blank." (Prabhupāda laughs)

Prabhupāda: "There was..."?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: "There was a blank. There was a void." Everything was blank. And the way he started, the foreword was given by a scientist called Crick, Watson and Crick. Crick is in Cambridge, and Watson is in Harvard. So these two men were the men who discovered the structure of the DNA molecule that they thought that may be life. And they got Nobel Prize for this. And Crick was writing in the first page, saying that "This is the way we have understood about life." But "Everything was started like that, from blank and a blank, blank. And somehow all these molecules get together and then it became Johnny later on." (laughter) And we can make a nice story out of it.

Prabhupāda: No.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: They make such a story that sometime they make the little children believe and thought that it might be the fact.

Prabhupāda: Fairy tales.

Talk with Svarupa Damodara -- June 20, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: (laughs) King Kong. They are producing chemical laboratory, yes, studio, and the monkey played...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yeah, they showed him going up and down the Empire State Building in a movie.

Prabhupāda: And it was so interesting, it gathered so many public to see.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Now they have another one, "King Kong Returns." Still it's very popular.

Prabhupāda: So they can do these things.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They made another one where they go into the human body. They make the man very small, and then they send him on a trip through the human body, and he's fighting with germs. He gets attacked by germs, and the whole thing is very believable.

Prabhupāda: That Frankenstein?

Devotees: Frankenstein.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: We gave a lecture in Gainesville, Florida. It was last year. So Amarendra made a nice poster about our lecture. I don't exactly remember, "Frankenstein or Einstein," describing a little about our talk, that life cannot come from matter. And he made a nice poster all over the campuses.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Many people came?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yeah, some came in the temple. We also gave university, in the physics class, called "Physics for Skeptics," the title of the class. It was very interesting.

Prabhupāda: Now it is clearing. You can go inside.

Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- June 21, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Why not stress that life comes from life, not otherwise?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, that will be the theme: life comes from life. Just like "Scientific Conference on Life Comes From Life"?

Prabhupāda: That will be very nice.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yeah, I think that will be... That will be an interesting title to...

Prabhupāda: That will be nice.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: So we'll title that. We'll make nice posters.

Prabhupāda: (Bengali) (indistinct) Hm. You have to attract these men.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Organized by Bhaktivedanta... Write.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Institute...

Prabhupāda: Institute.

Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- June 21, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Is that all right?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes.

Prabhupāda: (Bengali) So saba scientists, they respond to this?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes. I think it will be very interesting.

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: It will be very interesting to Indian scientists, because some of them have already taken the idea that what is said in the West is correct.

Prabhupāda: That is correct. Sarasvatī jñāna-khale yathā satī. (Bengali) Fire. Blazing fire subdued by covering with...

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Water.

Prabhupāda: ...ashes. This is going on. Hm? (Bengali)

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Oh, this will be for everybody because just starting here. But especially I like to attack the Japan and the United States, 'cause Japan and the United States, they are pretty much the leading bars, very...

Prabhupāda: Stubborn.

Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- June 21, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Bahir-artha-māninaḥ. Bahir-artha-māninaḥ. Bahir artha. Just like the body is the external feature of my life. So this is bahiḥ. Bahiḥ means external. The vairuddhi(?). The external feature is visible. Therefore it is called dṛśya-guṇa, visible modes of nature. This body... (break)

Svarūpa Dāmodara: ...is visible part.

Prabhupāda: No, life is not visible to him. He is simply saying, the combination of the modes of nature visible.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: There's a very interesting remark by one of the Nobel Prize-winning chemists. His name is St. Georgi(?). He got Nobel Prize for discovering Vitamin C. And he said he was looking for life for last twenty years or so, but, he said, he wound up with the electrons and protons, which don't have any life. He said, somehow life has escaped through his fingers.

Prabhupāda: (laughs) Yes.

Conversation with Surendra Kumar and O.B.L. Kapoor -- June 26, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Ghanaśyāma. About his activities?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: You want me to read it?

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes, it is very interesting, how they are fighting against odds to introduce our movement. There is a written description.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: There's one Negro devotee of Prabhupāda. They're distributing books in communist countries. So he has written a report how they are fighting against odds.

Surendra Kumar: Oh, yes, I... Quite right.

Dr. Kumar: Ghanaśyāma came here last year.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. That Negro boy.

Surendra Kumar: I told him that "These people will form the hard core, and that, our organization will be organized and then..." He also said that so many temples are dying out.

Prabhupāda: It will develop. (Hindi conversation) Thakur has become a source of income.

Letter from Yugoslavia--'Books!' -- June 30, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Hm. Hm.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "Seeing that the... Lord Caitanya did not let them escape so easily, seeing that the books would be very interesting, he requested both standing orders and several small books. Before leaving the city, I went to two international book shops. One book shop bought several books, and the other shop, an enterprise, wanted to translate two of your books into Yugoslavian language."

Prabhupāda: Eh? What is that?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "One bookshop bought several books, and the other shop, an enterprise, wanted to translate two of your books into Yugoslavian language."

Prabhupāda: What is that book?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "Gugalana(?), one of the few cities which had a theological seminary, was overpowered..." He doesn't say which one.

Prabhupāda: So make arrangement immediately. We shall allow them to translate and publish.

Bhu-mandala Diagram Discussion -- July 2, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Take one room in the gurukula building.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It will be very interesting. They can use this for teaching.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Explain there in bold and this picture.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yeah, explanation can be... This book is the explanation.

Prabhupāda: Hm.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It's amazing how Kṛṣṇa has made each universe. It's just like all the fruits. When you get a fruit, it's protected by a skin. This universe is very much protected, first by uninhabited land, then by huge mountain, then by golden land. And then only in the center of these dvīpas there are all the inhabitants and all the activities are going on, very much protected.

Prabhupāda: And they are going to the moon. (devotees laugh) I... So far I remember, the moon is also like the sun, that it is fire blazing, but it is surrounded by a cool atmosphere. Therefore it is soothing. I think there is such description.

Room Conversation With Son (Vrindavan De) -- July 5, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He says, "Actually in America, when you criticize someone who is highly regarded, people are very interested to read it. That is the American spirit. So I think by purposely singling out historical figures who are considered good welfare workers and showing that actually their welfare platform failed, it will make interesting reading and will help to establish the real platform of welfare in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. I also want very much to write this book on men..." And then it says here, he says, "I... We decided on a number of historical figures. Because they lacked Kṛṣṇa in their philosophy and activities, their program for welfare failed. I want to deal with the figure of Mahatma Gandhi and also with the daridra-nārāyaṇa philosophy which was taught before his time by Ramakrishna and Vivekananda." He says, "When viewed in the light of Bhāgavata philosophy, these personalities will have to be criticized for their failure to put Kṛṣṇa in their teachings. My question is whether there is any objection on your part to a book which will criticize Ramakrishna and Vivekananda."

Prabhupāda: I think that is not good. You should go positively instead of attacking some particular person. They will never admit that they have been failure.

Room Conversation Mayapura attack -- July 15, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa men. They want Bengal completely godless.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It's interesting to see how the Chief Minister Basu, he concentrates on only one point—"They have entered India illegally, which means now they must be asked to leave." That's the only thing he's pointed on, this one point. It's like it indicates his whole motive: "Get them out somehow." Oh, it's a very clever plan. They knew we would defend, and then on the pretext that we're taking the offense, arresting. And they knew already that we were entering with these passports changed. They already knew. Very clever plan. The thing is that this is very, very much harmful to our preaching work for the time being in Bengal.

Prabhupāda: No.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I don't think any village will receive us nicely now. They'll think that we're...

Prabhupāda: No. It will be in our favor.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: In the long run.

Prabhupāda: No. Very easily.

Room Conversation Arrival of Jayatirtha and Harikesa -- October 8, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: What meeting going on?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Oh, very interesting meeting. Paramānanda, Vāmanadeva, Tripurāri Mahārāja, Ādi-keśava Mahārāja and myself discussing our Gītā-nagarī community and talking about varṇāśrama. Very, very... We were trying to reflect on all of the teachings in your books and what we had read about Kṛṣṇa's life and Nanda Mahārāja's community.

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: How the vaiśya community lives, how the different varṇas and āśramas function together, and what their responsibilities are to each other. We're trying to set up our Gītā-nagarī community based upon the teachings which you've given in your books. It is very enlivening and stimulating meeting. Dhṛṣṭadyumna Mahārāja will be coming tomorrow with his brother. And he has designed the very ideal plan for all of the varṇas and āśramas to live together.

Prabhupāda: Hm. Do it.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Jaya.

Prabhupāda: So go on.

Room Conversation -- October 11, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: On the whole, the nature of the conference, how do you like?

Brahmānanda: How do you like, on the whole, the nature of the conference?

Dr. Kapoor: It's a good idea. It should be... The conference should be interesting at least. (laughs)

Brahmānanda: You're coming?

Dr. Kapoor: I'll try to come. My wife has been ailing, so I'll try to find time and come.

Brahmānanda: Begins on Friday in the morning.

Dr. Kapoor: Friday in the morning. No, three days perhaps.

Brahmānanda: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Rūpānuga: Ten-thirty Friday, it begins. About 10:30 in the morning.

Prabhupāda: All bona fide scientists.

Dr. Kapoor: Yes. It should be a very representative gathering if they all come.

Brahmānanda: He's expecting ninety to come.

Dr. Kapoor: Ninety to come, oh. Then it will be a grand success.

Prabhupāda: (Bengali) ...theory, they are doing nonsense. Vivekananda's theory, Darwin's theory... Who is that Ram? Ramakrishna's theory. Another. What is that Ram?

Room Conversation -- October 11, 1977, Vrndavana:

Dr. Kapoor: Anyway, it's going to be an interesting thing, the first of its kind in Vṛndāvana.

Brahmānanda: This is the first conference you've had?

Mādhava: Yes.

Brahmānanda: It's the first in the world.

Rūpānuga: First time.

Dr. Kapoor: First in the world. (laughs)

Brahmānanda: All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. (break) Ātreya Ṛṣi and Parivrājakācārya Swami are here.

Hari-śauri: They brought you a big plate of fruits and things, from Tehran.

Prabhupāda: Hm.

Ātreya Ṛṣi: This is sweet lemon.

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Ātreya Ṛṣi: It is sweet lemon. The juice is very sweet.

Prabhupāda: Now give me.

Room Conversation -- October 14, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: So I am thinking now to lay down. (break) Meeting is going on here, and you have gone to Bhagatji?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Well, I haven't gone yet. I was in the conference for a little while. The scientists took prasādam at about 11:30. The conference was supposed to start at ten, but it didn't start till about nearly noon. And at the same time, Bhagatji has apparently arranged a program of prasādam and kīrtana at his house, and it was to be the same time when ordinarily the conference would have halted for lunch. So as the conference began two hours late, now that has upset things a little. Not very much. I was in the conference for a while and all the guests are there, scientists are there. Svarūpa Dāmodara Prabhu is giving a lecture. There weren't very many GBC or sannyāsīs there, but I think it was on account of the fact that the conference started so late today. There is another conference this afternoon, as far as I know. And then two more tomorrow and again the next day, and I'm pretty sure everybody will be attending. I found it very interesting. The only reason I left was that I wanted to know whether I should attend Bhagatji's lunch or not. He invited everyone and made big arrangement. But I'm your secretary, so I don't want to go unless it's proper to go.

Prabhupāda: How you have accepted invitation today?

Room Conversation -- October 14, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: So? How things are going on?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Things are going nicely, though we didn't have too many guests today, Śrīla Prabhupāda. A little more than fifty came. Most of them will be coming tomorrow, and Sunday will be all full. 'Cause today is still Friday, and in Delhi all the schools are still open. But we came, quite a few interesting scientists from Delhi. And one had only one question. Otherwise nobody had anything. I spoke for about two hours on the difference between life and matter, and we showed that the science, modern science, actually does not study life. They only study inanimate matter, atoms and molecules. So they think that life could also be just atoms and molecules. But we showed that that is wrong, and they shouldn't propagate this false idea. Especially in India, I especially made a request to all the scholars, saying that "You should take this very seriously, and should try to expose this in genuine spirit of knowledge all over the world, because the Western science and technology, we tend to think that everything is the absolute truth because science is coming from the West, but we're saying that that is too narrow-minded. We should be a little broad-minded and we should also consider other possible alternatives." And we demonstrated that modern science actually cannot explain about the nature of life. So we requested that in the coming two days we'll establish this on a more scientific basis, that this is not just religious dogma; it is based on complete, genuine, scientific knowledge.

Prabhupāda: So where they are staying?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: They're staying all in the guesthouse.

Prabhupāda: And their food?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes.

Room Conversation -- October 14, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Why not immediately?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Well, right in the middle of the conference... They can do it for the evening one. They can probably change it by five-thirty. Another thing is that these men, these scientists of ours, they are just beginning to practice speaking. Just like our sannyāsīs, we get to speak in the temples practically all the time. But these men are new at lecturing. So they require further practice in their presentation to make it very interesting—which they will get automatically by doing what they are doing. Another really important thing, I feel, is that I think it would be much more interesting if someone with an opposing opinion were to speak first, say, some other scientist we could invite who would speak on the same subject but from a different point of view. Then our man would speak from the Kṛṣṇa conscious point of view. Then people could ask questions. Because the audience I think very much appreciates when there's a little bit of, er, a dialogue. Debate.

Mādhava: They have such a speaker in physics. He's going to speak that life comes from matter.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Okay. That's good. Because otherwise... I looked at the audience this afternoon. First of all, there weren't that many. There was only about fifteen men attending this afternoon's lecture.

Gurukṛpā: Scientists, fifteen.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, Fifteen scientists. There were devotees. Our sannyāsīs, GBC men were there. And I looked at them, and some of them weren't that interested, mainly because it's just... It's just too one-sided, I think. There's not enough action going on to keep their attention. I'm going to speak... I haven't spoken to Svarūpa Dāmodara yet. I'm going to right now. I spoke to Rūpānuga, who was in the back, because he's helping to organize. I think it's very good, because gradually, as we hold more conferences, they'll learn to improve their presentation. This is why Svarūpa Dāmodara wanted to begin in India, so that when he finally got to the West he'd be very strong and it would be very good. Here it's a little easier.

Prabhupāda: So not all the doctors who...

Room Conversation -- October 14, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: No, you are making point, but there is no reaction from the other side?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Not so many.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Most of them actually agreed to what we say. On Sunday we may have some interesting... First somebody is going to speak against us. There's one Dr. Malvia(?) from Agra. He's a biochemist. He's going to speak against us. Also Dr. Mishra from All-India Institute Medical Sciences, he's going to speak. He's not exactly against, but he's heavily Māyāvādī oriented. Also he tries to compromise the modern scientific concept with the Vedic ideas, which is actually not what we're trying to do. So on Sunday also I'm planning to have about an hour and half as discussion, completely open to all the participants. So on Sunday we expect a little lively discussion.

Room Conversation With Svarupa Damodara -- October 15, 1977, Vrndavana:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes. We'll go all over India. In Calcutta will be very interesting because there are so many people,

Bhāgavata: Yesterday you took ḍāl and ruṭi?

Abhirāma: Just tasted.

Bhāgavata: Oh. Just tasted.

Prabhupāda: Simply touch.

Bhāgavata: How was it tasting?

Prabhupāda: It was very tasteful, but my tongue has no taste. Maybe gradually by stimulating the body...

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Vṛndāvana is so beautiful at this time, Śrīla Prabhupāda. Everyone's... The sky is so clear, the stars are so bright, and also the weather is so beautiful. We have a nice decoration of the hall. Last night one of the professors from Agra told me that he wants to have us organize this conference next year. He said this should be an annual feature, a science conference in Vṛndāvana every year.

Prabhupāda: Let them make advance in scientific research, but still they cannot capture the real thing.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes.

Room Conversation About 10th Canto -- October 16, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Then it will be nice purport.

Pradyumna: And there's one interesting note, Vīrarāghavācārya. He says in the verse there is svayaiva māyayā. So he says, svayaiva māyayā iti anena sva-śarīraka paramātmā māyayā iti vivakṣitam.(?) Paramātmā, in his own body, had...

Prabhupāda: Upendra can give me little honey in my mouth.

Abhirāma: Śrīla Prabhupāda? I can give you the honey?

Prabhupāda: That's... Yes. Avirāma, "always working."

Pradyumna: Śrīla Prabhupāda, would you like to do the next verse?

Prabhupāda: If you like. Otherwise, make this verse correctly. Then take up the next.

Pradyumna: Yes. Everything was very nicely explained, Śrīla Prabhupāda, very...

Prabhupāda: Pick up the words? Set up in right place. It will be nice. In this way, slow but sure. Then, even in this condition, I can help you. There is no question of hurrying. Finish one verse, husband and wife, one day. And make it everything clear. Eh?

Pradyumna: Yes, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Room Conversation -- October 27, 1977, Vrndavana:

Guest (1): Yes, he was every time, I think. When he was there, three, four hundred minimum crowd used to be there, and they used to take interest in question-answers. And it had become a lively, interesting...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Good speaker has to be there.

Guest (1): Yes, good speaker, or... Or on this Caitanya philosophy daily, if some lectures are arranged and discourse is arranged. If you can permit, Prabhupāda, there's Bhāgavatam discourse in the daytime, and all of this kono(?) Hindi fluently on Caitanya philosophy... Yesterday I saw this rāsa-līlā also. If suppose some rāsa arrangement also is made.

Prabhupāda: Who?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He says that there should be good speaker in Hindi. But Acyutānanda could not speak Hindi.

Page Title:Interesting (Conversations)
Compiler:Mayapur
Created:08 of Oct, 2011
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=149, Let=0
No. of Quotes:149