Peasants

Expressions researched:
"peasantry" |"peasants"

Festival Lectures

Even the political leaders, the Marx, they also, he was also compassionate by seeing the terrible condition of the Russian peasants, so he started that communist movement. That is the way. Great men, they work for the general mass of people.

His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada's Appearance Day, Lecture -- Los Angeles, February 7, 1969:

Prabhupāda: ...means a broader heart. They are not satisfied simply by his personal comfort. In political history also, you will find so many great leaders. They sacrificed their own comforts. In your country there was George Washington. He sacrificed so many. There were other leaders. In every country, in political field. Similarly, social field also. Even the political leaders, the Marx, they also, he was also compassionate by seeing the terrible condition of the Russian peasants, so he started that communist movement. That is the way. Great men, they work for the general mass of people. They are not... That is their greatness.

General Lectures

So the answer is given in the Bhagavad-gītā, daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama duratyayā (BG 7.14). In this material world the onslaught of the material nature is very, very severe. Nobody can surpass it. In some way or other it will come in a different form.

Lecture at Harvard University -- Boston, December 24, 1969:

Prabhupāda: So do you think that Russia has solved their questions? That their problems, all problems are solved?

Student (2): I would say that in 1917 the state of the Russian peasants was fundamentally better by the revolution.

Prabhupāda: Well, the history will repeat itself again. It will be wars again. So do you think by adopting the Russian method, people have become very happy?

Student (2): No.

Prabhupāda: Then? So we manufacture something. This material world is like that, problematic. That I have already explained. Just like the blazing fire. So the answer is given in the Bhagavad-gītā, daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama duratyayā (BG 7.14). In this material world the onslaught of the material nature is very, very severe. Nobody can surpass it. In some way or other it will come in a different form. The problem will not be solved. The problem can be solved, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te, when one surrenders unto God, Kṛṣṇa. Then he can surpass this onslaught of material nature. So that is the real remedy.

We have no objection. We want to be self-sufficient. That is our point of view. We have no objection with... It is not that we don't touch machine. We don't say like that. But we want to be self-sufficient. That is our point.

Lecture at World Health Organization -- Geneva, June 6, 1974:

Supposing we could transform all the members of the Swiss community into peasants, having their piece of land and living in rural communities, I suppose from what I know that many would starve and would have not sufficiently to eat because conditions here, conditions of climate, etc., are not of the same category of the ones which may exist in Asia or in other countries. The basic problem is that in former centuries most of the male population of that country which population was mainly composed of peasants had to expatriate and become soldiers abroad because there was not enough food. So what do you say about these things?

Yogeśvara: His first question was do we use machines and modern methods on our āśramas and farms.

Prabhupāda: We have no objection. We want to be self-sufficient. That is our point of view. We have no objection with... It is not that we don't touch machine. We don't say like that. But we want to be self-sufficient. That is our point. We have not taken a vow that we shall not touch any machine. No, no. We're not like that.

Guest (6): Well, I think it's an admirable objective. Certainly it can be realized in small rural communities which acquire the necessary surface to have each member in the community to be self-sufficient. Like in the Middle Ages in this country the monks were more or less self-sufficient within the frame of their land. But outside this, the peasants were really always hungry.

Philosophy Discussions

That's it.

Philosophy Discussion on Karl Marx:

Prabhupāda: That's all right. That means brain is required how to give protection. So that is also service. But his theory is unless you give your manual labor in the factory or in the field, you are not doing service. He would simply give credit to the coolies and workers, that's all. But because his basic principle is coolie, coolie philosophy.

Śyāmasundara: Peasants, they're called.

Prabhupāda: That's it.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Yes. They make this propaganda. They take bread to the peasants, and the peasants go to the church, and ask, "O God, give us our daily bread." Then they ask, "Has God given you bread?" So they say, "No sir." "You ask us." "Oh, Mr. Communist, give me bread." "Ah, take as much..." "Who is better?" "You are better." They'll say like that.

Morning Walk -- May 29, 1974, Rome:

Nitāi: So when they talk with the peasants, they are convincing. Because the peasants don't know anything.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Nitāi: They cannot face anybody who knows something.

Prabhupāda: Yes. They make this propaganda. They take bread to the peasants, and the peasants go to the church, and ask, "O God, give us our daily bread." Then they ask, "Has God given you bread?" So they say, "No sir." "You ask us." "Oh, Mr. Communist, give me bread." "Ah, take as much..." "Who is better?" "You are better." They'll say like that. But they have no sense that wherefrom this rascal has brought this bread. If God had, would not have given the wheat, wherefrom he would make the bread? But that, they have no sense. This is going on. If they had sense, they would immediately reply, "You are not giving the bread. God has given this bread." Because he prepared bread from the wheat. And wheat has been given by God. "You cannot prepare food. Therefore God has given."

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

No, no. Poverty is the cause of nonretirement?

Morning Walk -- November 17, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: ...poverty.

Dr. Patel: They have nothing to eat all the time. Ninety percent of the peasantry absolutely, completely wiped out during the Britishers' time. They never looked after them.

Prabhupāda: No, no. Poverty is the cause of nonretirement?

Dr. Patel: They have nothing to eat. They hardly get, I mean, two meals. Not square but even triangle. (laughs) They don't get any food in the mofices(?).

Prabhupāda: What is the question of mofices?(?) I am talking of...

Dr. Patel: India is made up of all villages and mofices(?). Cities are few.

Prabhupāda: So that is the cause of nonretirement.

Dr. Patel: I mean to my mind. It may be another cause also. I don't know. What do you think? Lack of proper education?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Big, big men like Jawaharlal Nehru, Gandhi, they never retired.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

"Shopkeeper's nation." Yes. Naturally they are very poor. They cannot produce anything. It is so cold.

Room Conversation about Mayapura Attack Talk with Vrindavan De -- July 8, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yeah. There was one building that they were constructing, and before finishing the building they were living in it, and you said, "This means this British Empire is finished. They cannot even afford to finish the building before living in it. This is a sign that they are not opulent at all." I remember you said that. They're not very opulent, the British.

Prabhupāda: No. Their opulence finished. Actually they're poor country. Simply by exploiting other countries they became rich. Otherwise they are... Naturally they are poor.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Peasants. Didn't Hitler say something about that?

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I think Hitler said they're...

Prabhupāda: "Shopkeeper's nation." Yes. Naturally they are very poor. They cannot produce anything. It is so cold.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They produce coal.

Prabhupāda: I do not know what is they produce... What is called?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Moss.

Prabhupāda: Moss. When there is moss and waterpot.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Moss.

Prabhupāda: Moss, moss.