Prabhupāda: That is for blood pressure medicine. Blood pressure medicine. That is different thing. But he was eating very little. His secretaries, his grandson and granddaughter-in-law and some other girls, they were assisting. So he would, even in the jail . . . Government, when imprisoned him, he will take his goat. (chuckles)
A great politician—he would not accept government-supplied food. Goat must be milked before him, and the milk is made hot and given to him. He would not allow any other food. Then he will starve. He will fast. So government was obliged to give him whatever he wanted, his food.
So Gandhi was not sleeping very much. Even ordinary, Subash Bose, he was not sleeping very much. And Napoleon Bonaparte, he also was not sleeping very much. So there were many instances, even the karmī. That means when one is engaged in some serious business, he sleeps more . . . less. When I was in your country and was not attacked by the heart, so at night I was taping, and I was taping still two tapes. Two tapes. Therefore I was able to write so many books. Yes.
So one should be engaged in serious business; then sleeping will be less. If there is no . . . if we become lazy, if we have no sufficient engagement, then sleeping will come. And if no sufficient engagement, but sufficient eating, then the next result is sleeping. So we have to adjust things. We should not sleep more than seven hours. Six hours at night and one hour, that is sufficient.
From medical point of view, they say six hours' sleeping is sufficient. Six hours. So suppose if we sleep seven to eight hours, one hour more, then out of twenty-four hours we sleep eight hours. Then sixteen hours. And chanting, two hours. Ten hours. And for taking bath and dressing, another two hours. Then eight hours and four hours, twelve hours. So . . .
Devotee (1): Then eating.
Prabhupāda: No. I have taken that—two hours for taking bath and eating, and eight hours for sleeping—ten hours. And two hours for chanting—twelve hours. And still we have got twelve hours for Kṛṣṇa's service. Is there any mistake? Just calculate. Why there should be, "Oh, I work so hard. I have no . . . therefore I am sleeping more," to find out an excuse. "I was dysentery."
Why you dysentery? Why there should be dysentery unless you eat more? This way, personally we have to adjust things, not that by dictation or by rules and regulation. Personal affairs cannot be adjusted by rules and regulation. It can be adjusted by oneself. And then everything will be all right.
- saṅkhyā-pūrvaka-nāma-gāna-natibhiḥ kālāvasānī-kṛtau
- nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau cātyanta-dīnau ca yau
- rādhā-kṛṣṇa-padāravinda-bhajanānandena mattālikau
They save time in this way, and rādhā-kṛṣṇa-padāravinda-bhajanānandena mattālikau, be jolly in the service of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, bhajanānanda. That should be the basis of jolly, jollyness. And this should be adjusted or minimized according to . . . our real pleasure should be in bhajanānandena. Rādhā-kṛṣṇa-padāravinda-bhajanānandena.
In this way we have taken very serious job. In this life we want to finish this material existence for good. That should be the responsibility that, "We are going to finish this material existence for good. No more coming." Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9). If you take responsibility in that way, then everything will be adjusted. Serious.
My Guru Mahārāja, he used to say like that, that "Finish this business in this life. Don't delay for the next life." He was telling also that: "Don't give me trouble again to come here to deliver you." That is the responsibility of spiritual master. Spiritual master responsibility is to take the disciple to Kṛṣṇa, until he is able to do—to help him, to help him, to help him. That is the verdict of the śāstras. Just like Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura. His spiritual master delivered him, taking the shape of a prostitute.
So these, I mean to say, stories are there. We have to take responsibility. The first thing is that we have taken very, very responsible task, to finish this so-called lording over this material nature. The material life means everyone is trying to lord over the material nature, bhoga. And we cannot do that. That is not possible. Therefore we are in trouble. This very mentality, that "I shall lord it over . . ."
Everyone in the material world . . . and so long this, "I shall serve Kṛṣṇa, not lord it over . . ." Just the opposite. This is material mentality: "I shall lord it over." The whole world is struggling. Everyone is thinking, "I will lord it over. I shall be over everyone. My votes shall be the largest number. I shall become . . ." And our business is not to lord it over but to serve Kṛṣṇa.