A fortunate child in the womb of his mother prayed to Kṛṣṇa as follows: "O enemy of Kaṁsa, I am suffering so much because of this material body. Now I am trapped within a mess of blood, urine and liquid stool, within the womb of my mother. Because I am living in such a condition, I am suffering great pangs. Therefore, O divine ocean of mercy, please be kind to me. I have no ability to engage in Your loving devotional service, but please save me!" There is a similar statement by a person fallen in a hellish condition of life. He addressed the Supreme Lord thus: "My dear Lord, Yamarāja has placed me in a situation which is full of filthy and obnoxious smells. There are so many insects and worms, surrounded by the stools left by different kinds of diseased persons. And after seeing this horrible scene, my eyes have become sore, and I am becoming nearly blind. I therefore pray, O my Lord, O deliverer from the hellish conditions of life. I have fallen into this hell, but I shall try to remember Your holy name always, and in this way I shall try to keep my body and soul together." This is another instance of ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa in an abominable situation.
Mess
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Nectar of Devotion
Lectures
Nectar of Devotion Lectures
So the Gosvāmīs used to spend their time by using... Haridāsa Ṭhākura. Haridāsa... Nāmācārya Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura, he was using his tongue: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. That's all. Very simple thing. But it is difficult also. So gradually... We should not imitate, but follow the footprints of great saintly persons, ācāryas. Then gradually, we shall be practiced. Tādera caraṇa-sevi-bhakta-sane vāsa. This society, Kṛṣṇa consciousness society, is made just to create some devotees so that people, by the association of the devotees and following the footprints of the Gosvāmīs, they'll be automatically elevated to the transcendental platform. This is the meaning of Kṛṣṇa consciousness society. It is not a joint mess, that "You bring something, I bring something, and let us cook together, and eat and sleep." It is not that society. We should always be engaged. Always we shall use our tongue.
General Lectures
Indian man (4): With the present state of the world as it is—it seems to be in a pretty mess—what would you say we are actually advancing spiritually?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: "With the present state of the world, in the present mess that it's in today, would you say that we are advancing spiritually?"
Prabhupāda: No. Practically, the present state of the world means without any spiritual knowledge. We are blind; therefore it is very dangerous position. The spiritual knowledge we must have; otherwise we are doomed.
Indian man (5): Master, I wish to inquire. From the ancient Vedic scripture of the Vedas, we learn that God is and He cannot be seen. However, in the Bhagavad-gītā we learn that Lord Kṛṣṇa is born as a human. Now, does this not work conflict to the ancient scriptures of the Vedic religion?
Prabhupāda: Therefore, in the Bhagavad-gītā you will find that you have to understand Kṛṣṇa in truth. Janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ (BG 4.9).
Conversations and Morning Walks
1969 Conversations and Morning Walks
Paramānanda: It's not enough time because..., that is, if the morning, the entire morning, is to be allotted to the major tasks. 'Cause the thing is, I find, that there are many, many time-consuming little chores to be done, that without which New Vrindaban would be a mess. There are so many little tasks to be done. (break)
Hayagrīva: I'm president.
Prabhupāda: You are the president. And who is secretary?
Hayagrīva: Śyāma dāsī is secretary.
Prabhupāda: Huh?
Hayagrīva: Śyāma dāsī.
Prabhupāda: Śyāma dāsī, secretary. And who is treasurer?
1973 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Office means their business is office. But your business is begging. Your business is not office. Your business is not... They have to direct so many things from there. That we can do. Besides that... Anyway, even they have got office, they come from in Bombay, Calcutta, even from hundred miles away. So if there is no such program, Deity worship, regulative principles, then it will be a joint mess. Hotel. Transcendental hotel. And transcendental fraud. This will go on. The business will be transcendental fraud, and life will be transcendental hotel. (Break) ...twenty, twenty-five. So these women devotees, they are given cāpāṭis by the bābājīs. Kṣurasya dhārā. Actually it is like that. A sharpened razor, A little inattention, immediately blood. Kṣurasya dhārā niśitā duratyayā durgaṁ pathas tat kavayo vadanti (?). That is the risk. Nowadays modern civilization, as we are accepting, there is jeep, there is telephone, everything is there. One can conduct his activities from anywhere.
Prabhupāda: Then it was simply a joint mess, that you go and collect and come and eat and sleep.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes.
Prabhupāda: That is very dangerous. Then you will all fall down. If you make a joint mess, if you go and collect something and then eat and sleep, then everything will be... Therefore I do not want to keep separate. The temple worship means there will be regulative principles, that you will have to rise early in the morning, you have to attend class, kīrtana... These things, as soon as you give up all these things, zero. Then it will be like karmīs, as they are, hard labor, collecting money, and enjoying senses. That's all. So that is the pitfall everywhere. In the church, temple, as soon as they get some nice income, then in the name of "priest," "sādhu," "sannyāsī," they do the same thing. Therefore Gosvāmīs, they left everything. That is the danger of viṣaya, viṣaya touch. Viṣaya chāḍiyā se rase majiyā.
Prabhupāda: Office means their business is office. But your business is begging. Your business is not office. Your business is not... They have to direct so many things from there. That we can do. Besides that... Anyway, even they have got office, they come from in Bombay, Calcutta, even from hundred miles away. So if there is no such program, Deity worship, regulative principles, then it will be a joint mess. Hotel. Transcendental hotel. And transcendental fraud. This will go on. The business will be transcendental fraud, and life will be transcendental hotel. (Break) ...twenty, twenty-five. So these women devotees, they are given cāpāṭis by the bābājīs. Kṣurasya dhārā. Actually it is like that. A sharpened razor, A little inattention, immediately blood. Kṣurasya dhārā niśitā duratyayā durgaṁ pathas tat kavayo vadanti (?). That is the risk. Nowadays modern civilization, as we are accepting, there is jeep, there is telephone, everything is there. One can conduct his activities from anywhere.
Prabhupāda: "In association with pure devotees." So if you are karmīs, then where is the..., What is the value of this association? Sat-saṅga. Sat-saṅga means assembly, discussion. Bodhayantaḥ parasparam, tuṣyanti ca ramanti ca. If you are not interested in association, discussion, then you are finished. So... karmīs, they are fools and rascals. When you have got this center, it is not that you should be engaged from morning till you go to bed for sense gratification. That is not life. That is karmī's life. You have no time for sat-saṅga, for association. You cannot make any progress by this sort of karmī's life. We have to work for organization, but not that whole day and night engaged and no sat-saṅga. That is a misguided policy, and it will spoil the whole structure. In Los Angeles, they regularly assemble during ārati and class. If this regulative principle is lost, then you are karmīs. They must come back by six o'clock, suspending all other duties, and assemble by seven o'clock. Joint mess program is not good. "You bring some money, you bring some money and spend us jointly for eating, sleeping." That is called joint mess. You know the joint mess? This word? What is that, meaning?
Prabhupāda: So if you make that association, that will not help you. Joint mess, dormitory. Or joint family. Just like in India. There are five brothers. They're earning. Father and mother is the leader. They're handing over the money, and the father, mother managing. That is Indian system, a joint family. So joint family or joint mess, the same thing. So if you make like that, a center, then it is no good. You must get spiritual strength. Karmī strength will not help you. What they are doing in Babar(?) Road, these girls?
Guru dāsa: They're preparing some śṛṅgāra for Deity.
Prabhupāda: Why not here? Why go to Babar Road, spend twenty rupees?
Guru dāsa: According to them, that sometimes they have to go in the center of town.
Prabhupāda: Nobody has intelligence. It will not, it will not stay. It will be spoiled.
Prabhupāda: Nobody has intelligence. It will not, it will not stay. It will be spoiled. Joint mess organization. In Los Angeles, they're also doing business. They're going to sell books. But regulative principle is observed. Huge expenditure they have got. No center is so improved as Los Angeles. We have purchased six houses. And I wanted immediately two lakhs, immediately sent. You cannot pay. You simply want to take. In India, nobody can pay. If I want two lakhs, nobody can pay. But all this money have been taken from U.S.A. I asked Bali Mardana, I asked Karandhara. They paid me for this Bombay affair, sixteen, eighteen lakhs. (break) ...and breathing also does not stop. It goes very slow. Therefore he cannot be immortal. And Bhagavad-gītā proposes, that is wonderful thing, if you can stop death. And whole spiritual life means how to stop death. That is Bhāgavata's instruction, "Don't accept guru, don't accept father, don't accept, or don't be father, don't be mother, don't be, if you cannot stop death." Either you don't accept, or don't become. Just like they want guru. So don't accept a guru who cannot stop your death.
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Devotee (2): They are claiming we make too much mess on the streets after the festival, too many flowers on the streets.
Prabhupāda: So it is a festival. There must be crowd. You have no festival? Unfortunate.
Guru-kṛpā: They have festival, and it's beer cans, not flowers.
Prabhupāda: So you must fight to the court. How they can stop? It is our religious function. (pause) (break) ...to curb down this movement. In Europe, America, Australia...
Devotees: Jaya Prabhupāda. (break)
Devotee (2): They are claiming we make too much mess on the streets after the festival, too many flowers on the streets.
Prabhupāda: So it is a festival. There must be crowd. You have no festival? Unfortunate.
Guru-kṛpā: They have festival, and it's beer cans, not flowers.
Prabhupāda: So you must fight to the court. How they can stop? It is our religious function. (pause) (break) ...to curb down this movement. In Europe, America, Australia...
Devotees: Jaya Prabhupāda. (break)
Prabhupāda: (in car) ...overeating.
Guest (3): Well, flies leave mess.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Actually, it was painful to see the flies.
Devotee (4): That's why they have the whisk you see. We try to whisk the flies away.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: You can try as much as possible...
Prabhupāda: It is very good reason that, "Because the flies cannot be checked, and the crows should be allowed to pass stool?" At least you stop the crows. If you cannot stop the flies, but you can stop the crows. We have done that. We don't allow the crows to come.
Guest (2): That's good. That's very good. We have taken a lot of your time, Your Grace, and we are very honored and thank you very much.
Prabhupāda: No, we are talking frankly. That's nice. Our point is that.... That is our philosophy, that if we want to be God conscious, we must abide by His order, just like here it is very nicely written. I very much appreciate this thing. But we must practically do that. And what is that? "Again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God." Now, it is conditional. "You have come to the knowledge of the glory of..." Now, what is that knowledge, glory of God?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: But our forefathers have done, and just see the mess we are in because of it.
Prabhupāda: Forefathers ate ghee, so lick up your hand. My forefathers ate ghee.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: All you have is dalda now,
Prabhupāda: (laughs) Why dalda? Your forefathers had ghee. You enjoy it now.
Rāmeśvara: Actually, if we introduce ghee in America, we'll be very famous. That will make us very popular.
Prabhupāda: Yes, do it. You have got enough milk, you can do it.
Rāmeśvara: I was thinking yesterday, Śrīla Prabhupāda, that as our movement becomes greater and greater, then taking Kṛṣṇa prasādam at a restaurant or at our Sunday feast will be like a national pastime.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It says here, "On the second floor there is a store which attracts many visitors who want to buy Indian costumes, jewelry and the movement's books. Prasādam is served in the basement restaurant. Visitors eat at tables in the same area where monks had breakfast on the floor. The prasādam features Hindu dishes served in the compartments of plasticized paper mess trays." Then it goes on. Now there's another article about you. Why are they holding a kīrtana now?
Ādi-keśava: They're getting a kīrtana party together to go out on hari-nāma down at Times Square (indistinct).
Prabhupāda: Hmm. What does he say?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "Prabhupāda, ācārya-founder, born Abhay Caran De in India in 1895, the founder, future founder-ācārya, spiritual leader of ISKCON, came under the spiritual direction of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja, ascetic scholar and preacher who had devoted his life to the spread of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Bali-mardana: They cannot afford to pay the garbage men to clean up the mess.
Prabhupāda: Why he's going there?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: There's another lake over there. So we are checking for tomorrow's walk, if it is also a good path. That's a natural, not natural, a little more natural lake.
Prabhupāda: Well, this is good lake. People are becoming dishonest. They'll take money and do nothing.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I'm seeing down at Dalhousie Square area that the government employees, they are constantly taking tea break. They come late to work...
Prabhupāda: I have seen in New Delhi, I was going to sell my Back to Godhead, so they were all sitting and gossiping, and files are piled up. If you want some file it will take six months. Doing nothing. Sixty percent of the employees are simply wasting time.
Prabhupāda: So this must be stopped immediately. We cannot pay more than five thousand. You stop. We cannot pay. (Hindi) My Guru Mahārāja used to say, (Bengali) "Joint mess." This is not possible. That we have to maintain a big bundle of burden. What is this?
Akṣayānanda: But still, we have to welcome anyone who comes.
Prabhupāda: Twenty-five thousand, thirty-thousand per month? What is this? Where is that temple in Vṛndāvana who is spending twenty-five thousand, thirty thousand? Can you say any temple?
Indian man: Not more than five thousand.
Prabhupāda: That's it. So we cannot pay more than five thousand.
Akṣayānanda: For eating?
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Hari-śauri: The mṛdaṅgas are in there all day long. Any karmī that comes in, they beat the drum and mess around. The little kids go in and they do the same thing. I've seen them. You should take them out of the temple. Let them be there for kīrtana and then take them away and store them in your room. There's no kartālas now either because everybody steals them.
Prabhupāda: These two rooms can be used for keeping.
Akśayananda: Kartālas are locked away every time and the drums were done... That was done until they were broken.
Hari-śauri: Or you can just put them in that tourist room. Or in the pūjārī room.
Akśayananda: Yeah, I'll arrange for that.
Prabhupāda: Everything depends on organized management. Give some.
Prabhupāda: Sesame, yes. That is very small. So these seeds, sesame seed, is called tila. Tila lava, and they make it tāla. Instead of tila, it becomes tāla, and then big mess. Tilake tāla. The fact was tila, but they called it tāla.
Mahāṁśa: So that was happening. Then the other thing is that these people, they are very innocent people and they are very superstitious also. So when they see foreigners, they immediately become a little afraid. And there is some kind of a complex that comes on them and it makes it very difficult for the foreigners to communicate with these people. This is what I have seen happening. It is very difficult to commu... Now this is what I have experienced since last two, three days also. When Tejas was trying to get this garden around here done, but the laborers could not get the message across. They were doing something else and then the blame was coming on me. I never instructed them at all for doing anything. I never took them away from the work at all. I was amazed and I was surprised to hear that I was accused of taking away the laborers from Tejas and put them on some other work which I had no concern at all.
1977 Conversations and Morning Walks
Jagadīśa: He is a big mess.
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Cyavana? Cyavana Swami? (break) I think they're going to have war in Africa pretty soon. They're going to have war.
Prabhupāda: War. Civil war?
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: No, between... Not where Kenya is but between Rhodesia and Zambia, in that area.
Hari-śauri: Whites and blacks.
Prabhupāda: That is inevitable. The whites cannot...
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Rhodesia has rejected...
Prabhupāda: ...cannot kill them, repress any more. That is not possible. The other blacks will join.
Prabhupāda: Hm, that's right. He is sincere devotee and he's... But as soon as you give something to manage, he'll make a mess. (laughs) I have told him that "I shall pay you. You continue this prasāda distribution, kīrtana program." They are coming, up to two hundred. And now he has finished it.
Rāmeśvara: Two hundred people were coming every day.
Prabhupāda: Every day. And that is little, simple prasāda. Little kittri would satisfy them. They're village people.
Rāmeśvara: So they have to regular source of income.
Prabhupāda: Yes. And so long there is no income, I shall supply food or money.
Rāmeśvara: This year I think I can spend some time developing this record. I'm sure we can make money.
Prabhupāda: Yes, make money.
Prabhupāda: That's it. That they actually do. With this festival, they collect. Whatever they collect, they spend twenty-five percent for the festival, and seventy-five percent they keep it for eating whole year. This is their business. That's a fact, they admit it. And they have no other source.
Hari-śauri: They're not very well supported now either.
Prabhupāda: Who knows them? Why they will be support it? My Guru Mahārāja used to, (Bengali): "A pandemonium of eating and sleeping. Joint mess." Joint mess, just without any Deity, nobody will pay. Therefore... Not for preaching. So make this program immediately. Bring huge quantity of books and distribute. And see that books are not wasted, not stolen, neglected. This is our life and soul property. Jaya.
Prabhupāda: Then you'll not be effective. You can cheat, but it will not be effective. Just see our Gauḍīya Maṭha. Everyone wanted to become guru, and a small temple and "guru." What kind of guru? No publication, no preaching, simply bring some foodstuff... My Guru Mahārāja used to say, "Joint mess," a place for eating and sleeping. Amar amar ara takana (?)(Bengali): "Joint mess." He said this.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That word "mess," by that word he meant eating, messing, eating?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Messing, there is a system. Some clerks, they make a small cooperative hotel. In India there are many.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That I see in South India sometimes... In places like hotels I see.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Men who work, they all come...
Prabhupāda: Cooperative effort.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: So he called that a joint mess, and he said that some of the disciples were doing that.
Prabhupāda: He knew that. What is the use? Tīrtha Mahārāja's defense was that. "These people..." They were fighting with Tīrtha Mahārāja in the court that "Tīrtha Mahārāja was not good." Tīrtha Mahārāja's only defense was "All right, you want to combine to make a guru. All right, why don't you combine yourself for preaching?"
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: What was his defense?
Prabhupāda: That "You want to work jointly, so why you do not work jointly? You are jointly working to harass me. Why not preach jointly?"
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: What was their reply?
Prabhupāda: No reply.
Prabhupāda: ...the mess. He has paid only one hundred rupees from his pocket, and he's everything, and he has squandered so much.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Who?
Prabhupāda: The Sanjay Gandhi.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That, I haven't read that yet. Is he going to be put in prison for...?
Prabhupāda: I think so.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: What about her?
Prabhupāda: Hm?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: What about his mother?
Prabhupāda: Well, mother, personally what did she do, I do not know.
Puṣkara: I made the mess. (laughs)
Prabhupāda: He'll do something wonderful in arts. Kṛṣṇa will be... No complaint. All right. Jaya.
Devotees: (obeisances)
Prabhupāda: Vedic planetarium.
Bhakti-Prema: Next step will be planetary system.
Prabhupāda: All right.
Bhakti-Prema: The third planetary system, above Mount Meru.
Prabhupāda: Jaya. You have taken lunch?
Upendra: Yes, Prabhupāda. (break)
Prabhupāda: ...there is sun, and above that, there is moon. And they are going to moon. They are going nowhere, simply taking laboratory photo, studio photo, and cheating. Why this cheating can go on? You do not know. That's all. Who is insisting that "We must know"?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yeah, rākṣasa. And, of course, there's lots of coconut trees. Coconuts. That is a special feature of Florida especially. Many people... The thing is... Like mangoes, for example. The people, they don't want the mangoes or the coconuts or the avocados. In fact, you can go to people's home and say, "Sir, can I have these?" They say, "Yes, please take them away. They're creating a mess." They want you to take these things.
Prabhupāda: Hawaii also.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Same thing. And now in Florida they have developed a tree. It is a coconut tree without the coconuts.
Prabhupāda: Why not make mango industry?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Mango industry.
Prabhupāda: Mango is such a fruit, when it is not ripe, the green from that, up to the full ripe you can have.
Correspondence
1971 Correspondence
You have written to say that the accounts are being kept by our men in India not in a very proper way. That I admit because most of them were not accountants previously, neither they were very much responsible to their family or country. Somehow or other on account of their previous pious activities, they have come to Krishna Consciousness. So we should very sympathetically treat amongst ourselves so that our missionary activities may go on without being hampered. You are experienced in business dealings as well as accounting, so I am confident that by your introduction of system of accounting and business sight dealings will be very much helpful and in all our branches in India they will follow the system and the whole mess that is already done will be cleared up. My only point is that we are dealing with the public. They are paying us money and we should handle them so carefully so that they may think of us as spotless.
1976 Correspondence
I am in due receipt of your letter dated 21st Sept. 1976 and have noted the contents. I have received and approved Ramesvara's report from Fiji. I am awaiting your report on Africa. You see what is the situation in Africa, it appears to be a little mess. Yes, that's a fact, New York is the most important city in the world, and our Temple is situated in the most important center. Jayatirtha may act as GBC for South Africa as you have proposed.
| Page Title: | Mess |
| Compiler: | Mangalavati, Rajiv, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 09 of May, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=1, Lec=2, Con=24, Let=2 |
| No. of Quotes: | 29 |