Prabhupāda: That is going on. When I meet you I say: "Yes, sir." You say, "Yes, sir." That is all right. That is social etiquette. But real unity is on the platform of spirit soul. Paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ (BG 5.18). Paṇḍita, he is sama-darśina. So paṇḍitāḥ means:
- vidyā-vinaya-sampanne
- brāhmaṇe gavi hastini
- śuni caiva śva-pāke ca
- paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ
- (BG 5.18)
"A very learned brāhmaṇa and a dog and an elephant, a cow, a caṇḍāla—all of them, to a paṇḍita, really learned person, sama-darśinaḥ." You see? So now how a learned scholar brāhmaṇa and a dog can be seen on equal level? But it can be seen. Paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ. It is on the spiritual platform, that every one of us is spirit soul. We are, by different karma, we are covered with different material dress. A dog is also a soul, and a learned Brāhmiṇ is also a soul. But he is covered with different body, and he is covered with different body. So one who does not see the body, he can see on the same level. But one who sees the body, he cannot see. This is the basic principle of equality. I am seeing you are Sikh, you are seeing I am Hindu, he is seeing he is Christian, he is Muhammadan, and so on, so on. And nobody is seeing that nobody is Brāhmiṇ. Nobody is seeing nobody is Hindu, nobody is Christian—he is pure soul. So that vision, unless one attains, how there can be equality? There is no possibility.
Yogi Bhajan: Yeah, that's agreed. But . . .
Prabhupāda: So that requires education. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kā . . . samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu (BG 18.54). When one is Brahman realized, then he can see equally. But that requires education, how to become brahma-bhūtaḥ. But everyone is śarīra-bhūtaḥ. Everyone is thinking, "I am this body." So how it can be possible? So we may attempt, but it is not possible.
Yogi Bhajan: There are a lot of misunderstanding and misconceptions given against each other.
Prabhupāda: No, no. Misconception . . . just like you have got a body; I have got a body. If I say, "No, I don't like you", if I say: "I don't like you" . . . naturally, when we see superficially, then this tendency will go on. When you see inside, introspectively, then there will be equality. That requires education. So. . .
Yogi Bhajan: All right, come and educate.
Prabhupāda: (chuckling) But that education is there, the beginning, in the Bhagavad-gītā.
Yogi Bhajan: No, you are shy.
Prabhupāda: Bhagavad-gītā and the education is there, that, immediately Kṛṣṇa said, dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). Asmin dehe, there is the soul. This is the beginning of education. But there are many learned scholars, they do not believe in the soul. That is the difficulty. They do not believe. A big, big professor—I have been in Moscow—Professor Kotovsky, he said, "No, there is no soul. After this finishing of the body, everything is finished."
Yogi Bhajan: But they don't have experience.
Prabhupāda: Therefore . . . so if you assemble some not-experienced men, then how there will be unity?
Yogi Bhajan: No, granted. What we are trying to do is we are giving out a call to all learned, the unlearned . . . but basic fact is: there is a desire somewhere in the ether that everybody wants to feel each other. And they have not done anything good by negating each other or talking negatively. They have not gained anything. They have realized it now. Otherwise . . .
Prabhupāda: Now, what will be the basic principle of unity? That is the point.
Yogi Bhajan: The point of basic unity is respect for each other.
Prabhupāda: But that is going on. Suppose you have come here. I welcome you. If I go to your place, you welcome me. That respect is going on.
Yogi Bhajan: Yeah, that's right. That is between two individuals.
Prabhupāda: Similarly, whenever we come in a big assembly, we respect each one, gentlemen. There is no harm.
Yogi Bhajan: No, no, but people do not understand why we are like this, why they wear like this. They don't get a chance to explain. At Interreligious Council, I am a member. They never knew. They think we are the most weird people from the Mars, perhaps. They don't understand a bit. And now our legal services are helping them, and all sorts of things have happened, and they are trying to understand. And when the last president left the office, he said, in his words of departure, he said: "I am only limited by the Christ. I never understood anything else. But I do feel from that limit that God is unlimited and it is in everybody." Asking a fanatic Christian to make that statement to the general assembly, it took us about two years.
Prabhupāda: Hmm. You find so many fanatics. How you will unite them?
Yogi Bhajan: Gradually, one by one, one by one, they will understand. Love is the winning point. That's why they don't understand. When they find love from you, they will find love from me, they will love from people, they will love from everybody else. You know, you can take a mango stick and beat somebody, but you can take mango off it and eat. Effort has to be made somehow. And now . . .
Prabhupāda: Effort is being made, but the platform, the world where you are staying, that effort is very difficult to fulfill.