Movies

Expressions researched:
"movie" |"movies"

Renunciation Through Wisdom

Renunciation Through Wisdom 4.5:

With concerted, strong preaching, the devotees of the Lord must inform such foolish men that their so-called plans will surely be undermined because the platform they have chosen to build their dream houses on is factually a mirage—a movie only. Reality is elsewhere. The information needed to transport one to that realm of reality and truth is available in the magazine called Back to Godhead.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 2.1.2-5 -- Montreal, October 23, 1968:

Devotee (3): Swamiji, Indian literature and movies, they're... The subject is quite often romantic love. But in the literature of Indian religion, it seems to me that there's no place for romantic love. It's either divine love or it's, as you say, "cats and dogs." Do you find a place for romantic love within...?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Devotee (3): What is it?

Prabhupāda: That is in spiritual world, not in this material... In the material world there is no love. It is lust. We are making business under the name of love. In the material world there cannot be love because... Suppose a girl loves a boy or a boy loves a girl. Both of them are actuated by sense gratification. So that is not love. That is not love. When there is question of sense gratification, that is not love.

1968 Conversations and Morning Walks

Questions and Answers -- Montreal, August 26, 1968:

Prabhupāda: And perhaps in the theatrical performances, stage, that was introduced by Lord Caitanya, drama. But His dramatical performances were limited within the devotees. He will not allow to take part in the performance who is not a devotee. So if our devotees... That movie was very nice. That's a good example. If we play, train our devotees to present some dramatical performances or movie, I think it will be very successful, because they will play from transcendental sentiment, not for trade purpose. So that will come out very successful. Yes.

1969 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- April 11, 1969, New York:

Prabhupāda: The impersonalists, they think that in the material varieties there are so many abominable inebrieties, therefore in the spiritual world all these things should be minus, void. That is their material calculation. They cannot think that in the spiritual world also there is love. Because here, in this world, the so-called love or lust is frustrated and followed by so many calamities that therefore they cannot conceive that in the spiritual world also there is love. Their idea, in one sense, is right, that how these nonsensical things can exist in the spiritual world? Therefore they make it altogether minus. No variety. Impersonal. That is less intelligence. They cannot understand that photograph is the reflection of the actual person. There is everything in detail. A movie. Actually, the same man is laughing, walking, dress, everything, but it is all false. That they cannot understand. Therefore the Vaiṣṇavas say they are less intelligent. The real understanding should be that if in the real person all these features are not present, how they can be reflected in the photograph?

1972 Conversations and Morning Walks

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

Prabhupāda: What is that?

Ātreya Ṛṣi: He has a camera. He's making a movie.

Prabhupāda: Oh. Why it is fixed up?

Ātreya Ṛṣi: (to devotee) What are you doing?

Devotee (3): Oh, I was watching the boys' faces... Watching them.

Ātreya Ṛṣi: You're not shooting yet?

Devotee (3): No. At any time I can shoot, yes.

Ātreya Ṛṣi: Yes. (to Prabhupāda) He's adjusting the camera.

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

Devotee (8): Śrīla Prabhupāda? We want to view the movies in this room.

Prabhupāda: Go ahead.

Room Conversation -- August 1, 1972, London:

Prabhupāda: They say that Charlie Chaplin is the student of Max Linder. He learned this funny play from Max Linder. So I knew Charlie Chaplin is an Englishman.

Devotee: Yes, he is.

Prabhupāda: He is Englishman.

Devotee (2): He went to America and then he made all these films.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Devotee: He went to America and he made a lot of money there.

Indian: As far as I know, Prabhupāda, he was Jew, but he used to live in east of London, or south of London. There is an autobiography about it.

Prabhupāda: Max Linder, ah, Charlie Chaplin? Yes. He was a London man.

Devotee: But that movie was filmed in Los Angeles, the one we saw last night. In Hollywood. All the palm trees and the (indistinct) behind.

Indian (Ksirodaksayi?): One of the elder sons, he's still living in Hampstead Heath.

Prabhupāda: Oh, his eldest son. And where he is, Charlie Chaplin?

Devotee: In America.

Prabhupāda: In America?

Devotee: He's in Switzerland.

Indian: No, no, he lives in Europe somewhere. Switzerland, most... Sometimes coming in Hampstead Heath.

Prabhupāda: He has got a big family?

Devotee: Yes.

Morning Walk Conversation -- September 28, 1972, Los Angeles:

Jayatīrtha: They're probably going to be taping some movie here, so they're bringing portable units for dressing and so on.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Most karmīs here, they have mobile homes, Śrīla Prabhupāda. They drive with the car on, and they... (break)

Prabhupāda: (indistinct)

Devotee (1): So that's how it goes back into the body of Mahā-Viṣṇu?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Just like football.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- December 18, 1973, Los Angeles:

Devotee: They made a movie like that, Śrīla Prabhupāda, about people... They give up their lives and they are sent to this place where they are mashed up and made into meat, and the people eat them.

Prabhupāda: Yes. They do that in many hotels. They, it was in India done. The childcatcher? What is called?

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- April 20, 1974, Hyderabad:

Pañcadraviḍa: Even we went on an engagement in Bengal to a movie theater. They were showing our slides. There they had one Russian movie. It was in English. Russian movie was in English.

Indian man (1): There are so many books Russians put out in English only. In India so many Russian books are there. They're publishing. All books are in English. They're using this language for their own purpose.

Prabhupāda: Any book of engineering, medical, technical, they are all in English. And for writing those books in Hindi means he will have to manufacture some words which nobody will understand.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- April 2, 1975, Mayapur:

Pañcadraviḍa: Well, a hundred years ago we couldn't make this movie camera either. But now they are producing easily.

Prabhupāda: That's all right. But you cannot do this business. This is an art. Hundred years ago, people could not produce electricity by mixing two wire.

Morning Walk -- May 9, 1975, Perth:

Amogha: So actually many people like to see the chanting now. When we go downtown with a big party on Friday and Saturday nights, when they have late-night shopping and movies, many people clap, and they dance a little bit. Sometimes mocking, but also one can see they're affected. And usually if we stop in front of a cinema and chant there, fifty or more people they just stop and they stare, and they can't think of anything else. They just watch and watch and watch. They seem to be fascinated by the sound of Kṛṣṇa's name.

Prabhupāda: There is a natural tendency to hear. Artificially they stopped. Nitya siddha kṛṣṇa bhakti. Appeals to the heart immediately. Unless he is too much sinful it will appeal immediately.

Morning Walk -- June 10, 1975, Honolulu:

Harikeśa: Also 2001 was very expertly made like that. There is one movie, 2001, which looked even better than the moon shots.

Devotee: Someone was arguing with me that if, like Russia and America both are enemies, if Russia achieves something great like going to the moon, America will immediately try to expose it. But on the contrary, America accepted all those things. And because...

Prabhupāda: Then there is also... Both of them are thieves, they have made agreement, "Don't expose me. I'll not expose you."

Morning Walk -- June 10, 1975, Honolulu:

Siddha-svarūpa: There's no bars in the city of Salt Lake. There's no drinking establishments or pornographic movies and these things.

Prabhupāda: So when they started?

Morning Walk -- June 10, 1975, Honolulu:

Ambarīṣa: Bali and I were discussing that the other day. Bali-mardana and I. Maybe when I come back here to live, maybe after Christmas, he and I, we'll see if we can work out... He knows some people that are in the movie business.

Siddha-svarūpa: Which actors?

Prabhupāda: Actors, we shall play. They haven't got to pay for us.

Ambarīṣa: He was thinking also maybe to make it an epic picture of Bhagavad-gītā.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Siddha-svarūpa: That would be most popular, I believe.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Kṛṣṇa-līlā also. That will be also popular. From Bhāgavatam we can have so many.

Morning Walk -- June 10, 1975, Honolulu:

Prabhupāda: ...not professional. (break) ...men can be trained up—that is possible—to play. We require professional director. Money may be spent by the movie company. And we give our men an idea. (break)

Siddha-svarūpa: ...always looking for new movies, new ideas, the companies.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Ambarīṣa: 'Cause they have made many great religious pictures, big epics about Jesus and stuff like that. So maybe they would be open to the idea of doing the Bhagavad-gītā. That would be nice. (break)

Siddha-svarūpa: I mentioned to you something about making a movie of Bhagavad-gītā. You said it would be very difficult to find fifty thousand elephants. (laughs) There will be some... (break) ...Kṛṣṇa-līlā will be easier. He can be fighting one demon or dancing with the gopīs. Bhagavad-gītā is... (break)

Prabhupāda: ...do not understand the existence of soul, then why do they say, "My head, my hand"? Why not say, "I head." What is their answer? Why do you say, "My head"?

Siddha-svarūpa: They have no answer. (break) ...very much to know about this.

Prabhupāda: That is the folly.

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

Bahulāśva: Last night in the movie?

Brahmānanda: The donkey was carrying that big heavy load.

Dr. Judah: Oh yes, yes.

Prabhupāda: So they are heavily loaded, and they agree. So these rascals are asses. They are simply heavily loaded, but they do not know why he should agree to bear so much load. That is ass. (laughter) They take great responsibility. You see? So they are asses. The ass does not know, "Why I am taking so much load? And the master will give me little grass. So grass I can get anywhere. Why I agree to take his load?" Therefore this example, ass, is given. He does not know his real interest. Mūḍha. If you bear some load, you must have some interest in it, but he has no interest, and he is carrying the load. Therefore ass.

Morning Walk -- June 29, 1975, Denver:

Prabhupāda: The karmīs, they work hard because they are asses. The ass example is given. Just like the picture you have seen, ass?

Brahmānanda: In the movie, yes.

Prabhupāda: There? You see? He is loading so much, and what he is eating? Little grass. So the ass does not know, "The grass is available here. Why shall I work for him?" That is ass. He is working so hard for a few morsel of grass, and the grass is all over the world, but he will take the load. That is ass. My problem is eating, sleeping, mating, so I can arrange for these things very easily. Anywhere, I till the ground and get some food. I keep some cows and I have got land, then my whole economic question is solved. Why shall I make this bambhārambha-bharam udvahato vimūḍhān, big, big...? You do it, but why should you forget your real business? That is the defect, that you are so foolish that only for this maintaining body, you have forgotten your real business.

Morning Walk -- July 2, 1975, Denver:

Prabhupāda: As soon as you want another machine, immediately it is... Svābhāvikī bala-kriyā ca parāsya śaktir vividhaiva. His potencies, his merit, is acting. Not his merit, means the nature's merit, prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni (BG 3.27), it is working so swiftly. You cannot see. The same example as I give always, that the movies spool, each is a different picture, but when it is put into the projector, you cannot understand. But actually on the background there are different pictures. So if ordinary cinematograph, cinema picture, we can make like that, how much nicely and subtle machine is there, it is being done—that you do not know. But each body, each second, you are being supplied a different body.

Morning Walk -- November 18, 1975, Bombay:

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: (break)...from Hong Kong yesterday, and there's one Chinese producer who's making a Chinese movie and he wants our devotees to be in it for some time.

Prabhupāda: To make some money out of all...

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: It shows how a girl is going to different spiritual gurus for guidance. So they are sending the script first for approval.

Prabhupāda: All right.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: They're going to show how Vaiṣṇavas live.

Prabhupāda: That's nice.

Morning Walk -- November 18, 1975, Bombay:

Jayapataka: In Los Angeles they went in some movies. They got two, three thousand dollars. (break) ...buy kilos when they're that big. So many of them.

Prabhupāda: That's nice. That will keep the water clean.

Morning Walk -- November 30, 1975, Delhi:

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. (break)

Morning Walk -- December 14, 1975, New Delhi:

Harikeśa: It's a lot of fun to drive fast cars and have sex and see movies and... This is fun you know. It's the only way to enjoy!

Prabhupāda: Yes. Enjoyment is there in the cats and dogs. When you enjoy sex in palace and the dog enjoys sex on the street, the value is the same. The taste does not increase or decrease. But you are thinking to enjoy sex in big palace is advancement. That is your foolishness. Actually sex enjoyment in the palace or on the street is the same. It has no difference of taste.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- January 9, 1976, Madras:

Acyutānanda: There is one actor who always plays Kṛṣṇa, N.T. Ramaram. So once he came on the street and everyone came following him and touching his feet.

Prabhupāda: Acchā?

Acyutānanda: Because they thought he was Kṛṣṇa. Because they saw him playing Kṛṣṇa in every movie. So he had hundreds of people following him.

Prabhupāda: (break) ...yata āyur-vyayaḥ param. Prahlāda Mahārāja said, tat prayāsaṁ na kartavyam: "This kind of endeavor you should not do, exploitation." Not exploitation. I mean to say, unnecessarily trying for developing economic condition. The modern civilization is: "Exploit nature and materially be opulent."

Morning Walk -- January 13, 1976, Calcutta:

Jayapatāka: I never had time to go. Bhāvananda knows. (break) ...the Bengali language also. We have one copy at Māyāpur. If we have a festival here in Calcutta with a Bengali film, many people can appreciate it. Of course, English they also.... That first paṇḍāl, we didn't have any movie then.

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Jayapatāka: Those first paṇḍāls we never had a cinema.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes.

Jayapatāka: Only kīrtana.

Morning Walk -- January 19, 1976, Mayapur:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: This morning Jayapatāka Mahārāja was talking to me. On the boat program they're having? They want to show that Bengali movie, "Hare Kṛṣṇa People." They have no projector, so he wanted to know whether the money that I want to give him can be used for purchasing a projector rather than the land purchase.

Prabhupāda: Yes, projector is necessary.

Morning Walk -- June 4, 1976, Los Angeles:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Colossal hoax.

Mahendra: ...pictures are like the King Kong movie.

Prabhupāda: Yes. In King Kong movie they made cotton as cloud. (laughs). They can do everything in the laboratory.

Yadubara: They are making that movie again, Śrīla Prabhupāda. Spending millions to make it again.

Prabhupāda: Which movie?

Yadubara: King Kong.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Rāmeśvara: They have got some gigantic King Kong figure. It moves like a gigantic doll. Actually, to make a movie now they spend maybe ten, fifteen million dollars for one movie. (break)

Prabhupāda: They cannot cleanse nowadays?

Hari-śauri: They made a movie called "2001," and in that they had shots of men on different planets. It looked just like the moon shots. It was very..., just the same.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Prabhupāda, it is very difficult to convince the people that they have not gone to the moon. I mean, that's a good logic, but they'll think that's very childish for us to say "Sunday first, Monday."

Prabhupāda: Well, let them remain as child.

Morning Walk -- June 5, 1976, Los Angeles:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: So we should do that. Whenever we preach to anyone and we tell them, I tell them that I have not gone to the movie house for ten years, they say "Oh, how horrible! Inhuman!" (laughter)

Rādhāvallabha: If we tell them not to read the newspapers, they'll think we're telling them to stop breathing.

Prabhupāda: They..., don't read, you say "I am not reading any other literatures." Just like you say that "I have not gone to cinema house." It is another way of saying that "Don't go to cinema."

Morning Walk -- June 9, 1976, Los Angeles:

Rāmeśvara: (in car:) He wanted to come and be here when you see the movie.

Prabhupāda: (sings) Śrī kṛṣṇa caitanya prabhu, dayā koro more...

Rāmeśvara: Śrīla Prabhupāda, sometime today the new copies of the second volume of Seventh Canto are coming from the printer today. That's the volume with the section about Lord Nṛsiṁha-deva killing Hiraṇyakaśipu and Prahlāda's prayers.

Prabhupāda: Ah.

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

Prabhupāda: Just like in the, what is called, movie spool....

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Film strip.

Prabhupāda: Film, yes. There are hundreds of bodies in the film, and when they are played, it seems that it's the same—one man is moving—but actually, in the film there are hundreds of bodies, but it is changing so swiftly it appears one.

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

Hṛdayānanda: Śrīla Prabhupāda, I think we're supposed to go for the movie.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Hṛdayānanda: I think we're supposed to go for the movie.

Prabhupāda: Oh, when?

Morning Walk -- June 10, 1976, Los Angeles:

Rāmeśvara: There is one famous movie or a book called Frankenstein, and in that...

Candanācārya: (break) ...correction house, they go and they spend their term, and they come out and they again commit a crime.

Prabhupāda: Punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām (SB 7.5.30). Again and again chewing the chewed. Durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ, andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās te 'pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ (SB 7.5.31).

Candanācārya: Prisoners, they spend so much of their life in the prisonhouse that when they are given an opportunity to leave, they refuse. (Prabhupāda laughs) They say, "No, I'm so accustomed to stay here, I'd rather just stay in prison." So they beg the governor to let them stay in prison.

Prabhupāda: If he comes out, he faces unemployment. Better to remain here.

Room Conversation -- June 10, 1976, Los Angeles:

Rāmeśvara: I showed Richard the "Hare Kṛṣṇa People" movie that Yadubara made, and Yamunā mātājī made some prasādam for him to taste. So he's gotten some introduction already.

Richard: OK. You came here not too many years ago. Did you ever expect that it would grow into what it has over the years?

Prabhupāda: We came in 1965.

Richard: Eleven years ago. And in a relatively short period of time you've managed to gather around you a great number of people. Has it surprised you or...

Prabhupāda: Yes, I did not expect. When I came here I did not expect, because we have got so many strictures, so I did not expect that here the people will accept my proposal.

Morning Walk -- June 11, 1976, Los Angeles:

Rāmeśvara: Movie company. This is that park where we sometimes go. When they have this war it will reduce everything, just finish off all the industries and factories. So everything will be reduced to a primitive stage.

Prabhupāda: No, they will again repair.

Rāmeśvara: Again rebuild everything.

Prabhupāda: In Germany.... Just like Germany was finished. The American planes bombed in such a way that Germany was finished, very heavily bombed. One lady in Hamburg, she was showing me one wall, big wall building dismantled, and it has become black on account of bombing. She was showing me how far injustice they have been done.

Conversation in Airport and Car -- June 21, 1976, Toronto:

Kīrtanānanda: It was too short. In the movie? It was too short how to prepare it?

Prabhupāda: Yes. How from milk in different stages you get this foodstuff, kacuris, śṛṅgāra,(?) sandeśa, rābṛi. And this chānā, if fried, if you prepare nicely with little hing and ginger, then it will exactly taste like meat. They'll forget. If you give them without telling them, they will think that they're eating meat.

Garden Conversation -- June 23, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Kulādri: You saw the Rādhā-kuṇḍa in the movie, in the film.

Devotee (1): Śrīla Prabhupāda, when one returns to his svarūpa, his natural form, how does...

Prabhupāda: First of all, anartha-nivṛtti. You are accustomed to so many bad habits. First of all try to rectify it, then talk of svarūpa. Where is your svarūpa? Simply wasting time. A man is diseased, he's thinking, "When I shall be cured I shall eat, go to this hotel, I shall eat like this." First of all cure, then talk of eating this and that. Svarūpa, when you are cured, that is svarūpa. So long you are not cured, what is the use of talking svarūpa? First business is cure yourself. Anartha-nivṛtti, that is anartha-nivṛtti. Then svarūpa will come. That is the bābājīs. In Vṛndāvana, you have seen? Siddha-praṇālī.

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

Rūpānuga: I agree. I think it was all like a movie set.

Prabhupāda: That's all. They are not going. Arizona is there, only accept. Why they are taking Arizona? That means they are in Arizona. Just like one man was stealing from the room, and there were some sounds, and the master of the house said "Who is there? What is that sound?" The man said, "No, I am not stealing. No, no I am not stealing." It is like that.

Morning Walk -- July 11, 1976, New York:

Prabhupāda: It is dangerous to die here.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Not as dangerous as in Africa. I saw one movie, and there's one tribe, that when a man becomes very old...

Prabhupāda: Yes, I've heard of that.

Comments on Bhagavad-gita Play -- July 12, 1976, New York:

Prabhupāda: Along with it, if you, the same thing, more demonstrative, if you put some movies...

Bali-mardana: Slides.

Prabhupāda: Slide or movie, that will be...

Sudāmā: Mixed media. That is also very much appealing to the public. Our future projection plan is to work on the advent of Lord Kṛṣṇa for Janmāṣṭamī, which is about an hour production, to an hour and a half. And then we were planning to work on the Rāmāyaṇa, if it was suiting or agreeable by Your Divine Grace.

Prabhupāda: The whole basic principle is this, that people should understand, as I was explaining this morning, the sat and asat. So at the present moment we are living in the way that is asat. But there is another life, sat. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is an educational movement to raise a person from the asat platform to the sat. Under illusion they are, what is called, amock? They (laughs) have gone amock. So it is a humble attempt to stop their, this suicidal policy. They are practically committing suicide. They do not know what is the value of life and how they are spoiling it, this valuable life. Bahir-artha-māninaḥ. Durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ. They are trying to adjust things by the arrangement of external energy. That is not possible. Whatever adjustment they are making, so many big, big leaders, politicians, they came. Napoleon, Hitler, Gandhi, this, that, by the waves of material nature everything is driven away. In that way there is no possibility of adjustment. It is not... Kathacaturamanam mali mali javanam(?) How many, caturānana. Caturānana means Brahmā. They come and go, come and go. And there is no permanent life, it is all asat. So they should come to the sat platform, that is perfect. The more you remain strong in your spiritual life, then more it will be impressed, it will act. And if it actually is not spiritual life but theatrical performance, then it will not help.

Morning Walk -- July 13, 1976, New York:

ten, twelve stories at the most.

Rādhāvallabha: (break) The big ones in New York, they build in such a way that it's very difficult to evacuate them in case of a fire, and this movie company did a movie of the two buildings burning up. So after that no one would move into them. They were half empty. So the city had to move all of its government offices into the buildings just to fill them. (dog barking) The Russian dogs are the largest dogs in the world.

Bali-mardana: Dogs to hunt wolves. These dogs are used to hunt wolves in Russia. (break)

Prabhupāda: (in car) ...saṅge calo, ei mātra bhikhā cāi. "Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and come with us," that's all. We don't want any more. No fees. We don't say, "First of all pay so many dollars." There is no condition. "Simply chant and come here. We shall arrange for your food, we shall arrange for your shelter, everything." Still they will not come. They will go and pay fees and chant nonsense.

Morning Walk -- July 14, 1976, New York:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Well, we have to do some positive, very subtle positive preaching. I suggested that—if you recall—I suggested that a cultural center should be opened there on the basis of showing dolls, showing movies, restaurant,

Prabhupāda: Books.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Books.

Prabhupāda: Literature.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: But very vague.

Rāmeśvara: He's printing Japanese Gītā this year he says.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: But very vague, not dressed as devotees, strictly cultural.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Cultural. They should... Deity worship one of the items. Otherwise it is called bhāgavata and pañcarātra.

Morning Walk -- July 19, 1976, New York:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: And they had..., you know that little portable movie screen, you may have seen, it comes in an attache case.

Hari-śauri: Like Gargamuni's, he showed you in Māyāpur.

Prabhupāda: Ah.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: So we had three of these set up, and many people were sitting in chairs watching the different movies.

Bali-mardana: It was amazing that one little generator was supplying all the power. This one little gasoline generator was supplying the power for all the sound and the various electricity things.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, there was no electrical hook-up; we did that with a gas generator.

Prabhupāda: Oh. And there was no sound, cutcutcutcutcut.

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

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They have very big program, and the reporters-Dhṛṣṭadyumna was watching—he said that the reporters through the whole news, they were very grim, and then they, because they read what they say, and suddenly their faces lit up, and they said "And Hare Kṛṣṇa had a parade today!" And they described the whole parade. And they loved it, they said it was very well received. CBS reported, ABC reported, NBC reported, Channel Five gave big coverage, all the television networks gave a big coverage. It was very well publicized, with a lot of coverage and photos. They were showing movies of the parade, of you lecturing, of the crowds that were gathered taking prasādam.

Prabhupāda: Somebody should send this clipping, not our men, to...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: To your Godbrothers.

Prabhupāda: To Indira Gandhi.

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

Jayatīrtha: We showed him the movie,

Prabhupāda: Your paper is Observer. Why did you not observe for the last seven years? (laughter)

Mukunda: We just showed him our film.

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?

Room Conversation -- August 3, 1976, New Mayapur (French farm):

Bhagavān: They are spending so much money for entertainment in material life, but no one is becoming enlivened. But this kind of discussion is so fresh. For a show they pay five dollars, to go to one movie for one hour, two hours.

Prabhupāda: That is another artificial agitation of the mind. It has, there is no practical benefit. Just see how many varieties of flowers, colorful. Can they make such colorful? "Yes, we're trying to overcome nature. Wait millions of years." And what about not? "Now you sleep." (laughter) These rascals are misleading other rascals. And they are, "Oh, a scientist!" Very misleading civilization. We shall appreciate in every flower the craftsmanship of Kṛṣṇa, how He has done nicely. Unnecessarily puffed up by so-called advancement of knowledge, misleading themselves and misleading others. Who is that old man comes? Some old man?

Room Conversation -- August 10, 1976, Tehran:

Jñānagamya: But if we make a film to go in the movie houses all over the world, the big movie houses, not just for little schools or little groups, not just for the temple.

Prabhupāda: What kind of film?

Jñānagamya: A film that would show activities of devotees. And have some story...

Prabhupāda: But you said they do not like it.

Evening Darsana -- August 12, 1976, Tehran:

Hari-śauri: They got one of those movie projectors—the ones in the small suitcase? With all the films. We were just testing it. They were just testing it downstairs.

Ātreya Ṛṣi: We were planning to have..., to show one movie tonight for the guests, that new movie that is made about New Vrindaban. When our other guests arrive we will show it at about eight o'clock. Would you like also to see it again, Śrīla Prabhupāda?

Prabhupāda: I have no objection. Where it will be shown?

Evening Darsana -- August 12, 1976, Tehran:

Ātreya Ṛṣi: Śrīla Prabhupāda, maybe we could show that movie now?

Prabhupāda: Eh? Yes. Which side you'll show? This side.

Dayānanda: I want to show it (indistinct), Prabhupāda, then everyone can sit here on the inside so you can see.

Prabhupāda: All right. That's nice. What is that? Again?

Ātreya Ṛṣi: Yes. (movie dialogue—break) Would you like to see another, Śrīla Prabhupāda?

Prabhupāda: Yes, why not?

Morning Walk -- August 12, 1976, Tehran:

Hari-śauri: Well, sometimes we want to sit in a garden like this and sometimes we like to be inside, and other times we like to go out to the movies.

Prabhupāda: I don't go out. We do not go to the movies or to the restaurant. It is different taste. Therefore it is calculated three kinds of men-sāttvika, rājasika, tāmasika-their tendencies are different.

Evening Darsana -- August 14, 1976, Bombay:

Yaśomatīnandana: I think generally people are more attracted to our society by the behavior of devotees rather than philosophy, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa's pastimes. Philosophy is there but generally when they see the devotees, and by association, purification comes. As you say, there are so many books about... If the movie is made, just like our Hare Kṛṣṇa People movie, this is showing the practical example of how one can live Kṛṣṇa consciously and solve all the problems of the day-to-day life. Such a movie can attract people to become devotees.

Guest (1): For the students it is good idea.

Yaśomatīnandana: For everyone. I mean...

Prabhupāda: Those who cannot read the book, they are still better. Those who can read the book, they are still more dangerous.

Room Conversation -- August 21, 1976, Hyderabad:

Jayapatākā: Yes. That's a good movie because it simply shows how you are doing so many books.

Gargamuni: We also showed that to that Atul Krishna Goswami. He came to Māyāpur. When he saw that he was so..., that movie, they had never seen such a thing, the process of printing the books.

Prabhupāda: He has good idea about...

Gargamuni: Oh, yes.

Jayapatākā: He has translated Caitanya-caritāmṛta in Hindi, they say.

Prabhupāda: He presented me one.

Room Conversation -- November 13, 1976, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: His mother? Oh. Then at least he has got some good thinking.

Surabhi: He said... There's a movie star in Bombay, and he is, he's a friend of this Carter. So Jagat Puruṣa is going to approach him. He's a very good friend of..., because his mother, she was working in India and she knew this family. So they have a lot of friends in India.

Prabhupāda: At least let them understand the philosophy. Balavanta may see and explain the philosophy.

Room Conversation on Farm Management -- December 10, 1976, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: Make very nice palatable prasādam. We shall spend for that. Why miserly? There is no need of miserly. You are going to earn money by agricultural produce, so how the money will be utilized? It will be utilized for Kṛṣṇa's purpose. By prasādam, by chanting, by drama, somehow or other bring them. That is our mission. Congregational chanting. Always festival, and we shall spend for that. Immediately arrange. If there is scarcity of money, I shall pay, but from... Bring them somehow or other. Tomorrow I want to see at least 500 men. Make arrangement like that. I came here to see that, not to sit down in a room peacefully. So there also we shall inform the meeting that we want to propagate this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement town to town, village to village, by attracting them with musical demonstration of saṅkīrtana, dramatic play, movie, prasādam. Somehow or other they should come to the temple, to the pandal and congregationally chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, hear Bhagavad-gītā, Bhāgavatam. For this purpose, whatever expenditure is required, that you should collect and spend. This is the scheme of Hare Kṛṣṇa movement. You must come here, question, understand, and vigorous propaganda should be inaugurated town to town, village to village. Those who are educated, to them distribution of literature. The school, college, library, institution, university, by scholarly presentation. That is wanted.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with C.I.D. Chief -- January 3, 1977, Bombay:

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: There's one big movie star... Not very big. Sanjaya Khan. He's Muslim, but he wears a pendant of Kṛṣṇa always. He's our member. He's promised us a donation of ten thousand rupees after his picture is released. Many Muslims we have members now.

Prabhupāda: No, he's Indian Muslim. We have got Iranian Muslims. They are our devotees, many there.

Evening Darsana -- January 7, 1977, Bombay:

Jagadīśa: (reading letter) "Enclosed please find a clipping showing a press interview with California Governor Jerry Brown, who is a potential presidential candidate in the next election, asking the Hare Kṛṣṇa followers to help humanize conditions in the state mental institutes. He recognized that what is needed is for religious leaders to come in and to give these patients new life. And he recognized us as religious leaders. This is a great credit for us, and we immediately called the five biggest state institutes and got permission to visit their patients. We sent fifty devotees with gift-wrapped 'Krishnas' presents of prasāda, Bhagavad-gītās and Kṛṣṇa books, calendars, records, and so on. And all of the doctors were so appreciative that they invited us back to show movies, put on plays, and continue helping their patients."

Prabhupāda: (Hindi) Aiye.

Guest (1) (Indian man): Humanity is hungry for love of father Śrī Kṛṣṇa, devotion, yes.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is the only...

Guest (1): That is only medicine. That is only remedy.

Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Room Conversation -- January 8, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Kīrtana can be performed. So the movie, how long it is?

Bhavabhūtī: It's a one and a half hour movie, and we're in about eight minutes of it.

Prabhupāda: That's nice. Eight minutes. Showing our books? That I want. Let them read our books. Then they'll understand what we are.

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

Girirāja: Actually we could show the book movie. I don't think anyone here has seen it.

Prabhupāda: Ah. Yes.

Girirāja: (aside:) You didn't see that. Okay I'll get that. It's a very short movie, fifteen minutes. Very inspiring.

Prabhupāda: (Hindi) The real purport of Bhagavad-gītā is to surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Then it is successful. (Hindi) If you take Bhagavad-gītā, the speaker of Bhagavad-gītā says this is the purpose: man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam (BG 18.66). Duṣkṛtino narādhamāḥ. That... Na māṁ prapadyante mūḍhā duṣkṛtino narādhamāḥ. "One who does not do that, he is sinful, duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ. And fool, rascal, narādhamāḥ, lowest of the mankind." He is chastising like that. So if you have got other purpose, that means you come to this group. Duṣkṛtino mūḍhā narādhamāḥ.

Guest (7): So about (Hindi) Ramakrishna Mission.

Prabhupāda: (Hindi) But why do you take Bhagavad-gītā? You are free to do whatever you like. That freedom is given. Kṛṣṇa has given. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante (BG 4.11). That you have got. But when you speak of Bhagavad-gītā, then you speak what Kṛṣṇa wants.

Guest (7): You should take Bhagavad-gītā as it is. You explain it but not interpret it.

Prabhupāda: There is no need of interpretation.

Conversation and Instruction On New Movie -- January 13, 1977, Allahabad:

Rāmeśvara: So I have been thinking for some time... I have discussed this idea with Yadubara, because you wrote in your letter to Tamāla Kṛṣṇa that we should use movies also to convince them. So I had this idea to have a movie photographing India at different places...

Prabhupāda: In movie there is chanting, dancing.

Conversation and Instruction On New Movie -- January 13, 1977, Allahabad:

Rāmeśvara: There are temples all over India, and... A movie about Vaisnavism, not so much just Hare Kṛṣṇa, but Vaisnavism in general. Now, in the colleges in America they are always eager to have movies about Hinduism, Muhammadanism, Buddhism, for showing to their students, but whenever they have a movie about Hinduism, it is all bogus, many gods, many demigod worship, nature worship. And the people who make these movies for college classes have no conception. So I was thinking, if we make a scholarly movie about Vaisnavism...

Prabhupāda: Yes. Do. You can do.

Conversation and Instruction On New Movie -- January 13, 1977, Allahabad:

Rāmeśvara: One thing they will like to see in this movie is many different temples, beautiful temples from South India, and also Vaiṣṇava festivals.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Conversation and Instruction On New Movie -- January 13, 1977, Allahabad:

Rāmeśvara: This will show, this movie will show, that Vaiṣṇava is very authorized.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes.

Rāmeśvara: Chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa is widespread. Because that... They are criticizing.

Prabhupāda: No, no, this, this, this śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ, this śloka, was cited just little after the creation. That means millions and millions of years ago. Now, not recently. Many millions and billions of years ago. That is the oldest. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam (SB 7.5.23). Whichever item you take, it is very, very... Just like this Parīkṣit Mahārāja. That is at least five thousand years ago. So where is the history of the human society in the Western countries? They cannot give history more than three thousand years.

Conversation and Instruction On New Movie -- January 13, 1977, Allahabad:

Rāmeśvara: Prehistoric. They call it pre—history, living in caves, monkey men. Also I was thinking, in the movie they can take the testimonial of different scholars and professors in India about your books and about chanting as a process for awakening the mind, because they are accusing us that "By chanting, you are killing your brain." So if we take...

Prabhupāda: That, it is acting, rascal, on brain. We are teaching or giving them process. That you cannot understand. But our mantra is so strong that it is acting on the brain. So why don't you take this side, that "If we are simply chanting and it is acting on the brain, even from your side, that it is so strong that we are giving up everything for this process. So how much this chanting is strong, why don't you see to that?"

Rāmeśvara: We can even take testimony from some scientists...

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Conversation and Instruction On New Movie -- January 13, 1977, Allahabad:

Rāmeśvara: So far, the movies that Yadubara has made, the colleges will not use them in their religion classes so much because they are... They seem to be just religious propaganda for Hare Kṛṣṇa movement. So if this movie is made in a more scholarly way, the field is very good. They will use it in every college class all over the country.

Prabhupāda: Which movie?

Rāmeśvara: The one I'm thinking of having Yadubara make, shooting in India professors' and scientists' testimony plus Vaiṣṇava festivals and Vaiṣṇava temples.

Prabhupāda: No, that... And you'll see Tirupati, how they are standing for hours together.

Rāmeśvara: Yes, like that. And also, if the movie is made very well, then we can make an excerpt...

Prabhupāda: How they are contributing their hard-earned money, how it is, the are collecting money, huge amount.

Conversation and Instruction On New Movie -- January 13, 1977, Allahabad:

Rāmeśvara: If this movie is made properly...

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Conversation and Instruction On New Movie -- January 13, 1977, Allahabad:

Rāmeśvara: Our movies so far cannot be on television because they are too much Hare Kṛṣṇa propaganda. But if this is done in a way, they will not know that it is the Hare Kṛṣṇa propaganda, but it will be there anyway... It will be like a very scholarly, academic movie. And then they'll show it on television. They're eager. Because it's such a controversy about chanting and meditation, whether it is brainwashing or not, so if we make this movie, they'll put it on nationwide television.

Prabhupāda: And what you can do? You can show some temples or you can show some meeting of Bhāgavata recital. That's it, two things.

Morning Walk -- January 21, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Rāmeśvara: But now, suppose there is some businessman, and he knows that everybody is wanting this sex. So he is making movie or writing a book describing these things.

Prabhupāda: These things were formerly restricted-censor board.

Rāmeśvara: So there must be censorship...

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Room Conversation -- January 21, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Rāmeśvara: Actually there is a new movie in America which shows that Jesus was not even religious. He was a political revolutionary trying to overthrow the Roman government, and his followers created the myth. And this is becoming a popular idea.

Hari-śauri: That is another concoction too.

Gargamuni: Nobody knows, because there's no disciplic ācārya.

Rāmeśvara: The real point of that movie is there's no way to know anymore. Any theory now can be presented.

Hari-śauri: But at least if you look at what's there, in most of the Bibles anyway, the beginnings of Christ's movement are just like our own movement. All these men gave up all their material possessions. They went out and preached. And that was his general teaching too, that they should not worry for anything because God is supplying to everyone, even the birds and beasts. So why should they worry? Just go out and preach. That was his basic teaching to his twelve apostles.

Prabhupāda: That is faithfulness in God. Why a preacher should be bothered about maintaining himself?

Room Conversation -- January 21, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Hari-śauri: All the movies are becoming increasingly more violent. And on TV.

Rāmeśvara: Yes, actually there is... I was just told. There is one movie now which is breaking all the records for attendance. It is called "The Omen," and it is about a prophecy in the Bible called the Antichrist. This idea is that the Devil comes from hell to the planet earth, and he impregnates one woman, and then his son is born. So the son is called Antichrist, son of the Devil. And he is very powerful with mystic power, very evil, and he takes over the whole world. So there's a movie now about this, and it's breaking all the sales records. And in the movie they have all sorts of ghastly things happening. This is what people like to see. They like to be scared. Horror movies are also very popular. People go to the movie, and they come out, and they have nightmares for a week. It is so frightening with special effects, and that is... They are paying money to be frightened.

Prabhupāda: While sometimes the movies that are demonstrated in the plane, I close my eyes. I do not like to see them because that impression carries. It is a very disturbing fact to me.

Room Conversation -- January 21, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Rāmeśvara: Even this movie that we have just been involved with called "Audrey Rose," about reincarnation, in order to make it popular, they have made it very, very frightening. In order to get people to come, they have to have that element of terror.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Rāmeśvara: So they concoct different arrangements. Because people are willing to spend money to torture their own minds. No one is happy. They are very disturbed when they leave the movie theater. They are frightened. And at night they cannot sleep peacefully after seeing such movies. And they are paying money to go to these things.

Prabhupāda: And again they will take tranquilizer. Just see (laughing) how thankless task. Create something disturbing and again try to... Yesterday some men came, the Communistic temple.

Room Conversation -- February 17, 1977, Mayapura:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That's what Balavanta told them. He said, "You have your ideas, and we have ours. We're not stopping you from having yours, so why do you stop us from having ours? As far as we're concerned, we have as much evidence as you. Your authorities say you went, and our authorities say you didn't go. And anybody can make a movie to show that you went to Jupiter or Saturn or any other planet. Movies..., they can make King Kong. So we don't accept it, but we don't stop you from having your beliefs. But don't force us to say, 'Yes, you went to the moon.' " He answered nicely.

Prabhupāda: No, actually when there is some news about the moon planet, I personally did not go with him. So how shall I believe him? Come to practical point of view. I did not go. You publish something, news. Why I accept it? If you say that "I did not go," er, "I did not see," that is everything. We believe some paper, that's all. So why shall we not believe the Vedic literature?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Look at the difference of the writers. The writer of the newspaper is a fool.

Prabhupāda: Vedic literature is so authoritative. It has been accepted by the ācāryas.

Arrival of Devotees -- February 24, 1977, Mayapura:

Gargamuni: We're going to have... At the Calcutta Book Fair we finished decorating our pandal. It promises to be very successful. We're just opposite the Americans, who have spent fifty thousand rupees, the American Embassy. And next door to us is the German Embassy, and on the other side is the British Embassy. So we're in a very good spot, and we'll have all our books. We'll have the displays as well as the movie, the BBT movie, and we have our men there, who will take orders and sell books. It starts tomorrow afternoon. And we'll have a press conference also and release these figures.

Prabhupāda: That's nice.

Room Conversation -- March 1, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: Canvassing.

Gargamuni: Yes. There were thousands watching the movies and coming in, streaming out. And all the other stalls, they were half empty.

Prabhupāda: That's good. They will understand what is their position. Now, what is the signboard, our?

Gargamuni: It says... A big signboard with lights around, it says, "The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust," and "Founder of the Trust, Founder-Chairman, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda. The largest book publisher of India's culture in the world," And then "Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare, Hare Rāma..."

Prabhupāda: Ah. Very good. (chuckling)

Room Conversation -- March 22, 1977, Bombay:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Our preaching has to be so strong, it will counteract the government's preaching, the movies and all these other Kali-yuga things.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. All influences.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I wanted to know how... Last night were you having any difficulty? Feeling any difficulty?

Prabhupāda: No.

Room Conversation -- March 26, 1977, Bombay:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Two would be good, I think. You could invite them by one for prasādam. They could take for an hour or so. You could show them the movies, and then by two they could see Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Yes, you invite them at one.

Girirāja: Okay, that's good.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That will be nice. One o'clock to one thirty, prasāda; one thirty to two, movies; two, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Girirāja: We can take them on a tour also.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yeah. He can give them a tour of Hare Kṛṣṇa Land. I think the more publicity we can get now of these temple and towers, that will get the people's anticipation all over Bombay very keen, so when it finally opens, millions of people will come.

Prabhupāda: And if Morarji Desai comes to Bombay.

Room Conversation -- April 5, 1977, Bombay:

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: It's not far. This evening Girirāja and myself saw Jaya Prakash Narayan in his hospital. I gave him your Hindi Bhāgavatam and Kṛṣṇa Conscious Movement and your Gītā Girirāja gave. He liked it very much. He inquired how much Bhāgavatam you have translated. He inquired where our temple is. We said Juhu. He said he would come here. Of course, he is very, very sick. And I asked him for an appointment that we could come and show him our movie. And he has agreed to even see our movie. So in one or two days we will show him the movie in the morning. And in the evening there were hundreds of people, so we only saw him for three or four minutes. He has agreed to see us again. And he wants to meet you, he said. So when he is okay he will come to see you.

Prabhupāda: Girirāja said that the Prime Minister also.

Room Conversation -- April 5, 1977, Bombay:

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: So our goal is next time we'll see him again, show him the movie, and then try to get a letter of introduction from him to Morarji Desai and the home minister, because if he gives a letter, then nobody will say no to anything.

Prabhupāda: Why?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Morarji Desai has already said that he wants to see Prabhupāda.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yeah, or the home minister.

Guest (1): Everybody will come now.

Prabhupāda: If Morarji Desai comes, others will do.

Morning Conversation -- April 11, 1977, Bombay:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: We are going to meet a lot of them. They were telling me yesterday, some of Gargamuni's men had been in Kashmir and Srinagar. They said that now is the time coming up, all of the big movie stars, everybody goes to Srinagar, very popular. Most popular resort place in all of India.

Prabhupāda: Our this philosophy will not appeal to these rascals.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No, I was thinking that also.

Prabhupāda: They want to be bluffed.

Room Conversation -- April 13, 1977, Bombay:

Girirāja: ...and show movie and...

Prabhupāda: Make that.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: What date?

Girirāja: Day after tomorrow.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Very good.

Prabhupāda: I am sitting here whole day and night, so they will come according... They are busy men. They must have program according to their convenience.

Conversation with Yadubara (after seeing film) -- April 17, 1977, Bombay:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: The movie should be given out with also a copy of Bhagavad-gītā along with it. To be a part of the film.

Prabhupāda: You can give in this course(?) Bhagavad-gītā, Sanskrit, dehino 'smin yathā dehe (BG 2.13). Or the English translation. You have got that abridged edition?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No, we don't have a copy of it here.

Prabhupāda: How is that you don't have copy? Find out...

Yadubara: To show that on the film? At the end?

Prabhupāda: It is best to impress them: "You read this book; you get all information."

Conversation with Yadubara (after seeing film) -- April 17, 1977, Bombay:

Girirāja: Mr. Jethmalani. I said I would come and meet him. I also wanted to show him the movie. So he said that "I would prefer to come back here, because it is so nice." Actually, when he was... After he washed his hands, he looked out of the balcony, and he said that just from this atmosphere, one can feel a sense of ecstasy.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Those baṛā, would you like them, Śrīla Prabhupāda?

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes, I have taken two, more than two. I could have taken...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: More. You had a good taste for them.

Prabhupāda: But I did not try it. Very nice.

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

Svarūpa Dāmodara: I'm going to request him today. I made a little preaching in Manipur. I took a Fairchild, our movies, all the Hare Kṛṣṇa movies, from Calcutta. I borrowed for a week.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He took that little Fairchild projector.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Took the projector. And it has been raining so much, from Calcutta, Assam, and Manipur, it's almost flooded for the last three weeks, almost continuous rain.

Prabhupāda: Ācchā?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Looks like the rainy season has come, but very untimely, a little too early. But it has been almost flooded.

Prabhupāda: It is cool now.

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

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:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: And the Chief Minister, the Chief Minister, they heard that I have brought this machine from... So they came personally and wanted to see. Especially his wife. His wife came. The Chief Minister's wife came, and she heard that I have brought this machine, so they wanted to see the Hare Kṛṣṇa movie. So I had to make two shows that night, one in the village, one in the Chief Minister's house. And a life member, he took special interest in showing these things. So I told him, "When I come back I bring one Fairchild from Manipur and all the movies, so that you can go..."

Prabhupāda: Your Manipur is being intimately connected with our movement.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Oh, yes.

Prabhupāda: That's nice.

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

Svarūpa Dāmodara: So next time, when I come back, I have a plan to go to all the villages with the slide show, or with the movies...

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: ...and I'm going to request...

Prabhupāda: Each family...

Svarūpa Dāmodara: ...to give one family, one member.

Prabhupāda: That's it. Very nice.

Morning Conversation -- April 19, 1977, Bombay:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: He also saw the movie that Yadubara had. We also presented a movie, and Mr. Thakur, Professor Thakur, was also watching.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yadubara's movie.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: That new one.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: How did he like it?

Girirāja: He missed it. He missed the whole thing.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Well, he, er... A little...

Prabhupāda: No, you make some movie.

Morning Conversation -- April 19, 1977, Bombay:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, that was what I was discussing with Yadubara. That movie seems to be little too dilute.

Prabhupāda: No, it is not made by scientific men. Layman-made. (laughs)

Svarūpa Dāmodara: We discussed some point before he made movie, but we made very good point, but he didn't include any of those, what we suggested. At the beginning he has started. Then everything was some sort of a popularization of...

Girirāja: I thought it was like the new style of Back to Godhead.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Morning Conversation -- April 19, 1977, Bombay:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Just if you tell him that he should start this movie over again.

Prabhupāda: He should not produce such thing without consulting the scientific men.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Actually I suggest that we make another movie.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Conversation with Tamala Krsna about Yadubara -- April 22, 1977, Bombay:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: His reason for coming to India this time was to give you that film and to now make a film about India. He proposes to travel to holy places and festivals to show people engaged in the nine processes of devotional service. "My first immediate trip," he says, "would be to Trichur, Kerala, to show the Puram Festival, where thousands of people join in a procession through the streets. A Deity of Kṛṣṇa is carried on an elephant. At some of these big festivals there may be many non-Vaiṣṇavas. Is it all right to show these people? Or should we only show Vaiṣṇavas in this movie?"

Prabhupāda: No, no. But what will be the benefit of our taking photograph of other procession? There are so many processions like that. So what will be benefit?

Conversation with Tamala Krsna about Yadubara -- April 22, 1977, Bombay:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He says, at the end he would like to get "a short statement by Your Divine Grace in the movie on the importance of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement in the world today. This film could, hopefully, be distributed to schools and colleges, showing that India is full of transcendental knowledge and that this knowledge is meant for the entire world for the benefit of all humanity."

Prabhupāda: That I am speaking of, that this, that this knowledge should not be kept locked up. That is my mission.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I think this is an important movie to make, Śrīla Prabhupāda, the way he described it. He says in regard... He says, many people are approaching him with ideas for other films and he doesn't want to get misdirected, so he's mentioning to you. He says...

Prabhupāda: Whose idea is this?

Conversation with Tamala Krsna about Yadubara -- April 22, 1977, Bombay:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Right. And slide show accompanying. He says slides are good, but a movie may be too...

Prabhupāda: No, no.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He says, "I feel that these points should be carefully considered before taking on a subject..."

Prabhupāda: No, no, don't make film. Let them have slide...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Very good. He says, "One last thing, about three years ago Your Divine Grace asked Viśākhā Prabhu to write a book based on the movie 'The Hare Krishna People.' The book would present the basic idea of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement to people in general."

Prabhupāda: Book we... Others are writing. They may not bother.

Morning Talk -- June 19, 1977, Vrndavana:

be convinced.

Upendra: They... The karmīs, they made one movie where the whole world was monkeys, "Planet of the Apes," and one human being came...

Prabhupāda: Rascal, they were monkeys. Now they have become human being, that change of position.

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

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.

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

Prabhupāda: Just see. This is our triumph.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "...for the most attractive booth. And a plaque was awarded to our representative, Śeṣa dāsa." He was called up in front of all of the gathering of librarians. They awarded him a plaque. "He had the booth arranged with a portable movie projector showing one of the ISKCON films. Incense was burning, Indian sweets were distributed, and all your books were displayed as well as tapes. So it was nice that such a big organization recognized Kṛṣṇa was all-attractive."

Prabhupāda: That's the kind of propaganda.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Four hundred booths competed, four hundred publishers.

Prabhupāda: And we became first.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: We were first.

Prabhupāda: Just see. This is triumph.

Room Conversation -- October 14, 1977, Vrndavana:

Upendra: Yes. Movies.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Upendra: (to Tamāla:) He just wanted to know where you were.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I'm here, Śrīla Prabhupāda. I've been in this building all day. It's nice weather now. In the evenings it's very comfortable. You can feel. Not too hot or humid. Bhavānanda's a little... He has a little stomach pain. That's why he's not here tonight. But he said if there's any urgent thing, we should wake him up or immediately bring him. I mean if there's anything that you want him for at any time, he can immediately be called.

Prabhupāda: No.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Śrīla Prabhupāda? Do you like to turn on one side?

Prabhupāda: Hm. Turn me.

Room Conversation -- October 14, 1977, Vrndavana:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: After the prasādam we are going to show movies on the "Spiritual Frontier" in the hall on our Fairchild.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Why not on a big screen?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, we can also do it on a big scale.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: 'Cause when you have a big...

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, actually we can do that. Dr. Kapoor spoke for about five minutes...

Prabhupāda: Māyāvādī?

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

Svarūpa Dāmodara: ...and we finished the showing of the movies, and they were very appreciative. They expressed that there is an atmosphere of purity here, cleanliness. They highly commended our temple activities. Some of them were in the ārati. They also wanted to see the ārati in the morning today. So it seems to me that most of them are devotees.

Bhāgavata: This is a big success, Śrīla Prabhupāda. The scientists are all stonehearted men, but you have melted their hearts. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so nice, and you have simply melted their hearts. This is all by your grace, Śrīla Prabhupāda, that even the scientists are now being delivered.

Prabhupāda: Try and vibrate...

Bhāgavata: These scientists never would have come to Vṛndāvana.

Prabhupāda: They hate to come.

Room Conversation -- October 30, 1977, Vrndavana:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Oh, I also gave a lecture on the life in its origin. In Mathurā there is one veterinary college, the biggest in Asia, about two hundred scholars. We also showed "Hare Kṛṣṇa Frontier," "Spiritual Frontier" movies. They liked very much. And we're having another lecture Thursday to be given by Thompson in All-India Institute of Medical Sciences. There will be about some two hundred, three hundred scholars from around Delhi. We'll be discussing about life in its origin. And also we are planning to give several lecture in Delhi University, in the mathematics, biology and physics departments.

Prabhupāda: (Bengali)

Svarūpa Dāmodara: We have also written books like this. This is a... (Bengali) This is our worldwide preaching program.

Prabhupāda: (Bengali) No sentiment—"Come on"—scientific challenge. (Bengali) No theory. (Bengali-Prabhupāda telling about Dr. Kapoor and scientific conference, Fiji, etc.) (Bengali) Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Here is Kṛṣṇa-kāliya, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Room Conversation -- October 31, 1977, Vrndavana:

Bhavānanda: In Krishnanagar. The magistrate who is hearing the case is a real gentleman, very kind, understanding. He had been to Māyāpur about three or four months before this incident. He came with his wife and children. We gave him very nice prasādam and showed him the movie "Hare Kṛṣṇa People." And on the 25th of November, that's Rāsa-pūrṇimā festival, and that is big day at Māyāpur. In three days probably over half million people will come to the temple. We sell so many books, magazines. It never used to be like that, Śrīla Prabhupāda, until you built this center. Now the Rāsa-pūrṇimā festival has turned into a big, big event in Bengal. Everyone comes to Māyāpur on pilgrimage, just like Dol-pūrṇimā. Thousands and thousands of people, they come.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, in Vṛndāvana, it's... (break)

Prabhupāda: (conversation with Ānanda Mahārāja-Bengali) (break) Who is here?

Upendra: Śrīla Prabhupāda?

Prabhupāda: (Bengali)

Upendra: Huh, Śrīla Prabhupāda? In English?

Prabhupāda: Hm? Oh. Give him some fruits.

Room Conversation -- November 6, 1977, Vrndavana:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: They also asked me to bring a film from the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement. So I'm going to show the "Spiritual Frontier" just after the lecture. So I'll go with the Fairchild, the movie projector.

Prabhupāda: Very good. When you have to go?

1967 Correspondence

Letter to Mukunda -- New York 5 May, 1967:

I am very glad to learn that you have got a technicolor movie and it is very nice that it has sound added of our voices. I duly received the photos and immigration material, but neither the photos could be offset printed, nor could I use the immigration material as sent by you. Mr. Ypslantin the lawyer is going in his own way, so he does not take this material formerly I offered, so let the matter be done in his own; there is no other way than to depend on the lawyer. Similarly in Montreal also, Janis our student, Janardana is trying for a Canadian visa. Let me see what is done.

Letter to Kirtanananda -- New York 5 May, 1967:

I am in due receipt of your letter dated May 1st 1967 and I am very pleased to go through it. Please accept my blessings. You are doing very nice alone, and Krishna will help you more and more. As you are managing our Montreal center, similarly, Mukunda and Haridasa and Syamasundara are also very nicely managing the center in San Francisco. I have received also one letter from Mukunda of the same date, May 1st, 1967 and he writes as follows: "I am happy to report that many more people are attending kirtana. Someone has made a beautiful technicolor movie (our first in Golden Gate Park) called 'Hare Krishna.' It has sound, our voices." I am sorry that you have no good mrdanga, but if you send me a hundred dollars as I have already written to Pradyumna I can get a mrdanga and good harmonium for you so that you can have your kirtana very nicely.

1968 Correspondence

Letter to Brahmananda -- Los Angeles 1 February, 1968:

Please accept my blessings. I thank you very much for your letter of 1/29/68. Yes, I very much approve of Mr. Kallman's idea for the book on "Transcendental Meditation." Rayarama has begun work on it already, and probably he will bring it back to N.Y. with him. Mukunda talked to Ravi Sankara and he said he is too busy with recordings and movies, etc.

1970 Correspondence

Letter to Tamala Krsna, Syamasundara -- Amritsar 23 October, 1970:

There was one manual typewriter left at Seksaria's house which was used for typing up the letters for inviting the press to the conference—please see that this machine is with you or ask Mr. Seksaria for it. Gurudasa has left the Movie projector with you at Mr. Lalan's house and also there were several silver bowls and one set of clothes for the Deities as well as their jewelry which was not packed up by Malati when I left Lalan's with Gurudasa. Please be sure that all these things are with you.

Letter to Damodara -- Bombay, India 12 November, 1970:

I think so many men will be glad to receive our books, so please utilize this opportunity. Simply it requires determination and imagination. Maybe you can get the Indian Ambassador and his wife to hold a meeting at which many important men can be invited. If he and his wife are favorably impressed, certainly they can hold a nice meeting one evening. At that meeting you can speak and explain what our movement is and show slides and movies. Make a book table and display all of our books. Never mind if they also like to read from Ramakrishna. If you give them our KRSNA book to read, very soon all other tastes will go away.

Letter to Bhagavan -- Bombay 24 November, 1970:

Krishna has said in Bhagavad-gita that "whoever explains my transcendental glories to others is most dear to me in this world and never will there be one more dear to me than he". So go on with your organization for distribution of my books through press and other modern media and Krishna will certainly be pleased upon you. We can use everything—television, radio, movies, or whatever there may be—to tell about Krishna and outside of devotional service all these modern paraphernalia are just so much rubbish. It is very nice that you are opening another center in Cleveland, Ohio. Please do it very thoughtfully.

1971 Correspondence

Letter to Jadurani -- Bombay 1 April, 1971:

Another picture shows the many pictures on the spool of movie film. Although there are actually many, many different pictures, when projected in continuous sequence on the screen the image appears as one. Ordinarily we see a man as localized, but every moment the picture is changing without the notice of the viewer. The soul within the heart does not change however, it remains the same. Again, you may illustrate the verse how the soul takes on new bodies as new dress and when the dress is worn out as at the time of death, he takes on new body. I know you are all intelligent devotees of the Lord and I feel confidence in you that you can all illustrate the philosophical instructions of the Lord and this will be a great boon to the people at large.

1972 Correspondence

Letter to Bhavananda -- Bombay 4 January, 1972:

Here in Bombay there is a big program planned for the 10th January for which they are selling tickets for admission, and again on the 22nd January the premier showing of the movie "Hare Rama Hare Krishna" has been donated to us. So both are good opportunities to raise funds. In between these two functions I am most likely going to Jaipur for a seven day pandal program.

Letter to Hariprasada -- Bombay 23 December, 1972:

Now I want that you become the Treasurer of our branch at Hyderabad, so I have sent one letter of Resolution to Subala in that connection. Kesava will be President and Subala will be Secretary. So far the movie-projector, etc., those things you should arrange locally with co-operation of others, and you may order films from our Los Angeles centre for some cost-price only.

1973 Correspondence

Letter to Cyavana -- Calcutta 6 March, 1973:

I am very glad to hear that the film "Hare Rama" was defeated there, it is Krsna's grace. This man is a very bad man for our movement's sake, that movie is a great insulting to us. I think there was bribe by the government who does not want this movement. Anyway, the dogs may bark but the caravan passes.

1974 Correspondence

Letter to Caruhasa -- New Vrindaban 20 July, 1974:

About trying to have karmis make a movie on Krsna Book.

1975 Correspondence

Letter to Mr. Richard Cohen -- Honolulu 26 May, 1975:

Please accept my greetings. I am in due receipt of your letter April 10, 1975 and have noted the contents. I am happy to hear that you are attracted to the Krishna Consciousness movement. Your talents for making movies can be engaged very nicely in Krishna's service. I think in this connection, you may contact Sriman Yadubara dasa adhikari, 3764 Watseka Ave., Los Angeles, Ca. 90034. He is very experienced at making Krishna Conscious movies. He may be able to give you some good advice.

Letter to Nalinikanta -- Bombay 21 November, 1975:

I have read the clipping and you have also mentioned of the women wearing karmi clothes and going into sex movies and bars late at night for collecting. So this kind of canvassing should be immediately stopped.

Upon your recommendation I am accepting the following two brahmacaris as my initiated disciples. And their names are Malcolm Perey is Yamunapata das and Monte Flynn is Kalatita das. It is your responsibility since you are recommending them that they follow strictly the rules and regulations and remain strong in Krsna consciousness. They must attend the mangala aroti and the Srimad-Bhagavatam class and Bhagavad-gita class and chant 16 rounds minimum daily and also follow the four rules and regulations.

1976 Correspondence

Letter to Jnanagamya -- Mayapur 27 January, 1976:

Regarding making a movie to help people become Krishna Conscious. If we show such devotional activities as worshiping the Deity, the karmis will think it is some sentiment, people worshiping a statue. Unless they hear from devotees and then practically perform devotional service themselves, what benefit will there be? As far as your point that those who say movies about Hitler identified with him and followed him, Hitler was still finished despite so much propaganda. Napoleon, Mussolini, Churchill—they all made so much propaganda—but the French, Italian, British, and German empires are all lost now. Our real propaganda is to chant the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra, and let the mass of people chant and dance with us. If this movie induces people to chant and dance it is O.K. If it aids our cause then it is welcome. The best thing is for you to give this subject matter to your GBC for discussion at this year's GBC meeting in March.

Letter to Ramesvara -- Vrindaban 29 October, 1976:

It is a fact that we are different from all bogus groups. Now we should present our movement very nicely so that people will be able to understand. We are trying to raise the animal-like humans to real human status.

Yes, this book distribution movie should be excluded. Why has this been taken. Even if there is some bad dealing in the family, it should not be exposed.

Letter to Tamala Krsna -- Vrindaban 30 October, 1976:

They are now feeling the weight of this movement. Formerly they thought these people come and go, but now they see we are staying. Now we have set fire. It will go on, it cannot be stopped. You can bring big, big fire brigades but the fire will act. The brainwash books are already there. Even if they stop externally, internally it will go on. Our first class campaign is book distribution. Go house to house. The real fighting is now. Krsna will give you all protection. So, chant Hare Krsna and fight. One movie expert has opined there are so many ideas in our movement. Try to get our ideas into movies.