Prabhupāda: Now you all together make this Vedic planetarium very nice, so that people will come and see. From the description of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, you prepare this Vedic planetarium. How do you like this idea, Vedic planetarium?
Ambarīṣa: It seems like a very nice idea.
Prabhupāda: You also like? So finance this project. (laughter) Vedic planetarium.
Ambarīṣa: Where will this be?
Prabhupāda: Māyāpur. My idea is to attract people of the whole world to Māyāpur. So we are just trying to acquire three hundred fifty acres of land from the government. It is going on under consideration. Some men are against and some are in favor. But those who are against, they have counted ninety?
Hari-śauri: Ninety against, two thousand for.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: In Māyāpur itself.
Hari-śauri: The local farmers.
Prabhupāda: So all of you now make a complete idea how to make Vedic planetary, planetarium. Another question: Why in every map the northern side is accepted up? (laughter) Can anyone answer this? North, south. South is considered down. East, west. Why not other ways? I can make east on that side. Why it is north only up side? Can anyone answer?
Ambarīṣa: It might have something to do with the magnetic poles. The magnetic force is always pulling to the north.
Prabhupāda: That is the polestar. Yes. That is the up side of the universe. And that we have described in the Bhāgavatam. That is the pivot, and the whole planetary system is moving twenty-four hours.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: That's factual also. Because they see that all of these stars and constellations are going around the North Star.
Prabhupāda: But the modern astronomy, they do not say like that.
Jayādvaita: No. They don't say that it is moving around. They don't say that it's moving around the polestar. They have some other explanation.
Prabhupāda: That means they're imperfect.
Mādhavānanda: They say that it's fixed. They say the polestar is fixed, but it doesn't revolve around. They say everything moves, but the polestar is...
Prabhupāda: Polestar is fixed, that is fact. And all... It is like pivot. Everyone round, round. Ūrdhva-mūlam adhah-śākham (BG 15.1). This tree is spread downwards. The root is upward.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: The scientists also say all of the stars are moving around. But they don't see the earth as moving around.
Prabhupāda: Why not? What is this nonsense? If all the stars can move, what is the earth? That is their nonsense. Only earth is populated; everywhere is vacant. (laughter) In the Bhāgavata it is said every planet is full of living entities. Jana-pūrṇa. Perhaps I have explained in my recent..., jana-kīrṇa. Jana-kīrṇa means full of living entities.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Last chapter of the Seventh Canto.
Prabhupāda: Yes. And these rascals say there is no life in other... Moon planet is accepted as the heavenly planet, and these rascals say, "It is sand. And we have brought the sand." It is one of the heavenly planets.
Jayādvaita: Some scientists have started a project. They are beaming radio messages into space because they think perhaps there is someone intelligent there, and they will beam back something.
Prabhupāda: Their knowledge is "perhaps." It is nonsense. They have no definite knowledge. "Perhaps." "Perhaps" is not knowledge.