Go to Vanipedia | Go to Vanisource | Go to Vanimedia


Vaniquotes - the compiled essence of Vedic knowledge


Phenomena (Conversations and Letters)

Conversations and Morning Walks

1971 Conversations and Morning Walks

Conversation with Prof. Kotovsky -- June 22, 1971, Moscow:

Prabhupāda: I'm talking of science and philosophy.

Prof. Kotovsky: Yes, yes.

Prabhupāda: That is...

Prof. Kotovsky: If we can... So science and philosophy. But another...

Prabhupāda: One religion may accept. One may... That is not our purpose. We are talking on the point of that if the owner of the body is permanent in spite of different change of the body, then what is the difficulty to understand that when this body will be changed, the owner of the body will have another body?

Prof. Kotovsky: But another approach is that there is no separate own..., there is no separate..., no two phenomena, owner of the body and body.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Prof. Kotovsky: The body and owner of the body is the same.

Prabhupāda: No.

Prof. Kotovsky: When body dies, the owner also dies.

Prabhupāda: No.

Prof. Kotovsky: There is no separate...

Prabhupāda: That... Why? Why there is no department of knowledge in university to study this fact scientifically? That is my proposition.

Prof. Kotovsky: Yes.

Prabhupāda: So that means they are lacking. It may be as you say, or it may be as I say, but there must be a department of knowledge, what is the...

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Krishna Tiwari -- May 22, 1973, New York:

Prabhupāda: No, there cannot be difference.

Krishna Tiwari: Yes. And the only difference is that where the scientist deals with the phenomena of nature and wants to show it to others. In a strict sense he can tell how he (indistinct) better; others can go and say it. Sometimes it is very hard, I think, for all these reasons, for the religious leaders to do that.

Prabhupāda: So as so far the differences, there is no difference, because just like this body: the body has got different parts—the fingers, the hands, the eyes, the legs, so many different—but the whole purpose is to serve the body. Either with the finger or eyes or hands or legs, the whole purpose is centered on the soul of the complete whole body. Similarly, Bhāgavata says that whatever you may—you may be scientist, you may be philosopher, you may be an engineer, you may be a poet, you may be sociologist, politician, whatever you may be-their purpose should be avicyutaḥ arthaḥ. Avicyutaḥ means infallible purpose. Avicyutaḥ arthaḥ kavibhih nirūpitaḥ. "It has been decided by great learned scholar," says "all of them should be engaged in glorifying the Supreme." Avicyuto 'rthaḥ kavibhir nirūpito yad-uttamaśloka-guṇānuvarṇanam. The scientists, from their angle of vision, should describe the glory of the Lord: how this biology is working by the manipulation of the Supreme Lord. Similarly chemists, physicists, engineers, politicians, there are different departments, but all of them should join together, congregation, and from their different scientific point, angle of vision, they should glorify the Supreme Lord.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Mr. Deshimaru -- June 13, 1974, Paris:

Pṛthu Putra: He says we have one body, we have the soul, and these two things cannot be separated.

Prabhupāda: How the man becomes dead? (French)

Pṛthu Putra: He says the man is like a phenomenon. He appears and he disappears. And when he disappears, he merge in this cosmic force.

Yogeśvara: Like anything. Like a flower that grows and dies and merges again into the earth.

Prabhupāda: Merges?

Yogeśvara: Just like a flower grows from the earth...

Prabhupāda: They do not believe in the reincarnation, next birth? (French)

Pṛthu Putra: He says there is no personal reincarnation of the soul. When the body dies... (break) (French) He says, himself, he has no answer, but the Zen philosophy has one answer.

Prabhupāda: Zen philosophy answer? (French)

Yogeśvara: He was that cosmic force. Before birth, man was the universality of everything.

Prabhupāda: And what you are now?

Yogeśvara: And now he is himself. Now he is different.

Prabhupāda: So how you became from zero?

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

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

Prabhupāda: No, you have got that mentality, I know that. But because you are president or chairman of that center... What is that? Union.

Dr. Judah: I'm chairman of the department of the history and phenomenology of religion.

Prabhupāda: So who is the chairman of this union?

Dr. Judah: I'm just the chairman of this one department of the history and phenomenology of religion.

Prabhupāda: That's... Then you are also important officer. So you can induce them, that "Here is God."

Dr. Judah: Well, I'm going to try to do what I can to..., as I told you to...

Prabhupāda: (laughing) No, no, if they do not take, refuse to take, so what kind of theologians they are? That is my... Here is the knowledge. Why one should refuse to take it?

Conversation with Professor Hopkins -- July 13, 1975, Philadelphia:

Prabhupāda: Unless He is eternally there, then how the devotee will eternally, nitya-yukta upāsana, whom to worship? Nitya-yukta upāsana. Unless Puruṣottama is everlasting Puruṣottama then where is the question of worship everlasting? So the Māyāvādīs, they do not understand.

Prof. Hopkins: Well, would you... Do you equate then the impersonalists and the Māyāvādīs? Are they the same?

Prabhupāda: Almost the same.

Prof. Hopkins: At some point I guess they would have to be almost.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Prof. Hopkins: At some point I suppose they would almost have to be because to be an impersonalist you would have to deny the ultimate reality of phenomenon, which would make you a Māyāvādī.

Prabhupāda: They accept this form of God as māyā. Therefore we call them Māyāvādī.

Morning Walk -- August 28, 1975, Vrndavana:

Dhanañjaya: The seed must have been deposited in the bark and then taken root.

Prabhupāda: Because they are different seed, different tree.

Brahmānanda: Individual.

Prabhupāda: Huh? Individual. And the specific individuality is there in the seed. Even if you grow together they will come differently.

Brahmānanda: Same earth is there, same water, everything same. But the seed is different.

Prabhupāda: But they will say "by chance." Chance. (aside:) Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Harikeśa: There is also that phenomenon, they say, "identical twins." When two brothers are born together they say "identical twins."

Dhanañjaya: Why does that happen, if there are two brothers who are identically looking the same in features?

Prabhupāda: That is not difficult. In the same tree, the same semen.

Morning Walk -- November 18, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Anything which is really scientific, you cannot do in your own way. Two plus two equal to four is applicable everywhere. You cannot say, "Two plus two equal to five. It is my own way." This is rascaldom. Scientific means "two plus two—four." It is accepted everywhere. You cannot say, "Two plus two equal to three. That is my own way."

Dr. Patel: So many phenomenas which are...

Prabhupāda: No, no. This is rascaldom. That is rascaldom.

Dr. Patel: We are not able to explaining...

Prabhupāda: Scientific means there cannot be two opinions. The same, that is scientific.

Morning Walk -- December 24, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa! ( to passerby) (Hindi ) Are you all right?

Dr. Patel: All these sciences, mathematics, chemistry, physics, they have really been advanced by experimentation only. Because we did not know what the truth is behind all these natural phenomena, and we tried to find out the real, how the natural phenomena are, I mean, happening, and that is what the experimentation of the human race was searching out the truth...

Prabhupāda: That is explained in Bhagavad-gītā, tattva-jñānārtha-darśanam. Tattva-jñānārtha-darśana.

Morning Walk -- December 24, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Yes, he is concentrated. Just like our bhakti. Bhakti means we know, "Here is God: kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28)." So there is no question of experimenting. Now we are known, we are concentrating how to satisfy. There is no question of experimentation.

Dr. Patel: But the physical scientists' method, chemistry, biology, is, I mean, this physics, they have to experiment in their.... They are nothing but the finding out the truth behind the phenomena, the material phenomena. That is what I mean.

Prabhupāda: Phenomena is changeable, always changing. Just like this samudra—sometimes here, sometimes there.

Dr. Patel: Yes, right, sir. But why the samudra changes? We go into there, into deep depth of that...

Prabhupāda: That is truth. That is truth. By the yasyājñayā bhramati sambhṛta-kāla-cakro, that is truth. Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi **. That is truth. The phenomena, that is changing. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19).

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- April 17, 1976, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: Everything happening is.... By Kṛṣṇa's grace he's surrendering to...

Prabhupāda: Not mental. No mental concoction. Factual. Factual.

Dr. Patel: That is factual. That everything is...

Prabhupāda: No, mental concoction is not factual.

Dr. Patel: Sir, but I am.... You don't let me speak. I say that everything which is happening, a phenomena, is nothing but by the grace of God or by Kṛṣṇa's own order, and if that...

Prabhupāda: And you have no responsibility.

Evening Darsana -- July 7, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: So you should not remain under the laws of material nature. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). It is very difficult.

Bill Sauer: In one of the cover letters that went out to some of the people in the American Institute of the Aeronautics and Astronautics, I referred to mankind as a biological phenomenon to solve one of nature's big problems. And a man wrote back, "Anyone who calls man a biological phenomenon shouldn't try and talk to me." So I don't know what he thinks we are, but...

Prabhupāda: Biological phenomenon...

Bill Sauer: It is nature, it is governed by the laws of nature, exactly.

Prabhupāda: So you can get out of it as it is advised, daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). It is very difficult. But mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te. If you surrender to God, then you can get out of this biological problem. Otherwise it is not possible.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Sannyasis -- January 22, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: We shall do it. I am searching after some astronomer.

Rāmeśvara: There is also a review from one Indian professor, how this science...

Prabhupāda: Anyway, they have become interested in our literature.

Satsvarūpa: Yes. Whether he completely agrees or not, he's fascinated by it.

Prabhupāda: That is another thing. But...

Rāmeśvara: From Dr. Jagadish Sharma. He wrote that "This edition of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam will go a long way to help the scientists in rediscovering phenomena of the universe which is yet to be discovered."

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Rāmeśvara: He's the university librarian, cum professor of Library Science at Punjab University. And he's the author of nineteen books, including Encyclopedia Indica.

Correspondence

1968 Correspondence

Letter to Jayapataka -- Los Angeles 1 December, 1968:

So far the phenomenon which you have questioned me about, I think that it is all Krishna's Grace because you are sincerely working for spreading His Cause. You needn't disclose this phenomenon to everyone, you have disclosed to me and that is sufficient. But you may know that it is a good sign. Continue to work sincerely and you shall be blessed in this life, there is no doubt.

1971 Correspondence

Letter to Jayadvaita -- Bombay 17 March, 1971:

Independent of Krsna consciousness, the cultivation of knowledge, work, meditation and renunciation are of no value or the proud achievements of the atheist or less intelligent class of men. In this connection, the term "knowledge" is mental speculative theorizing up to the stage of brahmajnana or impersonal conception of the Absolute Truth. Especially such knowledge as it is concerned with various views of the causal and effective material phenomena is of no importance in the matter of spiritual realization or God-consciousness which is transcendental to the realm of sensual, mental and intellectual activities. So the order of supercession of these various indirect processes for approaching the Absolute Truth is not as much important as fixed understanding of the exalted position of devotional service rendered directly to Krsna.

Page Title:Phenomena (Conversations and Letters)
Compiler:Rishab, Serene
Created:18 of May, 2011
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=12, Let=2
No. of Quotes:14