Prajāpati: An article appeared about the Vedānta Society here, and they mentioned us to say that we are not them. They said that, "Those Hare Kṛṣṇas, they are fundamentalists." Just like there are fundamentalist Christians, we are fundamentalist followers of Kṛṣṇa. So it is very nice, actually, because it is fundamental to believe everything that Kṛṣṇa says.
Prabhupāda: And what is the Vedānta?
Hṛdayānanda: Speculation. They are speculators. They mostly have very elderly members, and they sit around in the evening and discuss.
Prabhupāda: A few. Not even a dozen.
Karandhara: In their āśrama they say they have eight or ten people living there.
Prabhupāda: No young men.
Karandhara: No, all old ladies and men. The only reason they are allowed to live there is because they have given huge sums as donations. (break)
Prabhupāda: . . . last almost one hundred years, eighty, eighty-five years. So how many followers they have got?
Karandhara: They have made no significant impression on anyone.
Prabhupāda: No. (break) "Ramakrishna is God." "Kālī is God." And they offer prasādam, what is that? Chicken . . .
Karandhara: Chicken, turkey, even meat.
Prabhupāda: Just see.
Karandhara: Trivikrama Svāmī went to their monastery in Laguna Beach. So they were serving meat. Trivikrama said: "Why do you eat meat?" And they said: "That doesn't matter. What does it matter what you eat?"
Prabhupāda: Why don't you eat stool? This question was raised by Mālatī. One man said like that. She said: "Why don't you eat stool? Why you discriminate?" (break) Ramakrishna Mission has done the greatest harm to the Vedic culture.
(break) . . . said: "Why you are afraid of God?" He said like that, "Why you are afraid of God?" One Christian padre, priest, he said: "You are coming from India? How you are speaking like this?" He was astonished. But this rascal spoke like that: "Why do you believe that you are sinners? There is no sin." (break)
Prajāpati: . . . the greatest sin is to think of ourselves as sinners.
Prabhupāda: Ācchā. (break)
Prajāpati: . . . Yogananda.
Prabhupāda: Ah. Because he was a rascal number one sinner.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: That is just like Śrīla Prabhupāda's example that the rabbits closing their eyes thinking that the danger is over when there is danger.
Prabhupāda: Yes. (break)
Hṛdayānanda: . . . Shivananda I gave a lecture at an āśrama where his disciple was teaching, Vishnu Devananda. So he told a story how Shivananda, he would find out the lowest class of people, and he would go and garland them and worship them just like the Deity. And so his argument was that in Bhagavad-gītā it says, paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ (BG 5.18).
Prabhupāda: Why he is to the lower class? Sama-darśinaḥ means he is equal to higher or lower. Why he is going to the lower?
Hṛdayānanda: He would say that he . . .
Prabhupāda: He could not answer this? Sama-darśinaḥ, equal. Then he must be equal to the lower and the higher. So why he is particularly to the lower class? Then he is not sama-darśinaḥ.
Hṛdayānanda: His argument would be that he is trying to teach a lesson that the higher . . .
Prabhupāda: No, no, no. He may say nonsense. The fact is this, that if he is sama-darśinaḥ, equal, then why he is particularly aiming to the lower class? That means he is not sama-darśinaḥ. He has not come to the stage. He is simply talking nonsense. Sama-darśinaḥ means he is equal to everyone. That is sama-darśinaḥ. Sama-darśinaḥ does not mean to get a cheap adoration, popularity, I go to the poor. That is their Ramakrishna Mission. They also are doing that same thing, daridra-nārāyaṇa-sevā, like that. Why daridra? Why not real Nārāyaṇa? Just like this morning we read nārāyaṇa-pade. Never said daridra-nārāyaṇa-pade. "To the great." Surrender does not mean to the lower. Does it mean, surrender? Surrender, this relationship means that to whom I surrender, he is greater than me.