Bernard Manischewitz: There seems to be a determination on the part of most of the devotees to eliminate from their lives all news except that dealing with Kṛṣṇa. It seems..., it seems to me if they are to bring Kṛṣṇa to the world that it would be an important thing for them to have news, to know, to be able to communicate with people. Is there some actual prohibition against (indistinct)?
Prabhupāda: No, we know... It is useless. It is useless. Because what you will find in the newspaper? The material activities within this item-eating, sleeping, sex and defense. All the politicians will speak, "Now we are arranging eating process like this, we are making this plan, we are..., economic." Uhh? (aside:) Thank you. Very good. You have written? Aiye. The repetition of the same news. It has no good news. "There was a burglary, there was a theft, and this man cheated, and this man was rogue." What is the use of this news? Let everyone know that the whole world is full of such rubbish things. The politicians, they are talking in their own way, that's all. (indistinct) Even Gandhi, such an exalted man, he says that "I have no belief. I do not believe that there was any person as Kṛṣṇa ever living." Just see. All the big, big ācāryas of India who are practically controlling the destiny of the Hindu civilization or Vedic civilization, they all believe. Gandhi became more than them. Who made him, that is another thing. But he thinks like that, and because Gandhi thinks, just imagine how many millions of people have been misled. Similarly big, big scholars like Dr. Radhakrishnan, he says when Kṛṣṇa says man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65), he said, "This is not to the person Kṛṣṇa." Just see. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, clearly it is stated, bhagavān uvāca Find out this verse. Please, you find out, somebody. Bhagavad-gītā here. Find out.
Devotee: Eighteenth Chapter.
Prabhupāda: Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī, Ninth Chapter.
Devotee: Ninth Chapter. Also Eighteenth.
Prabhupāda: He directly says that, that "Just become My devotee, always think of Me, offer your respectful obeisances unto Me, and I guarantee that you will come back to Me." Read it.
Devotee:
- man-manā bhava mad-bhakto
- mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
- mam evaiṣyasi yuktvaivam
- ātmānaṁ mat-parāyaṇaḥ
- (BG 9.34)
"Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, offer obeisances and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me."
Prabhupāda: Now, Radhakrishnan says "Not to Kṛṣṇa." So there are so many wrong directions by big, big men, taking Bhagavad-gītā. This is going on. And we are poor fellows. We are neither big scholar nor politician. We simply teach our disciple the same thing in Kṛṣṇa's service. Kṛṣṇa says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto; we are teaching, "You just become devotee of Kṛṣṇa." That's all. No addition, no interpretation. And people are coming. And for the last two hundred years the so-called scholars and politicians published their books, and it is widely read, and not a single devotee of Kṛṣṇa. Not a single. Just see practically. We have no magic. We don't play any magic, prepare gold or jugglery. We simply say that you become devotee of Kṛṣṇa, and these young men have become devotee of Kṛṣṇa.
Bernard Manischewitz: I see. Well, thank you very much.
Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Bernard Manischewitz: Hare Kṛṣṇa. (devotees pay obeisances)
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: This is Mr. Bosca Patel, our life member.
Prabhupāda: Aiye, aiye.
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: And that's Professor Chawla and his family. They've been coming very regularly for years and years.
Prabhupāda: Oh, very nice. (indistinct) (end)