Devotee: Śrīla Prabhupāda, you said that the songs written by the great ācāryas are expansions of the holy name. Could you explain that?
Prabhupāda: What is that?
Madhudviṣa: The songs written by the great ācāryas are said to be expansions of the holy name.
Prabhupāda: Yes, glorified. (break) Trees live for thousands of years—five thousand, six thousand. Fig tree and banyan tree, they do not die.
Madhudviṣa: They must be especially sinful. They get five thousand years as a tree.
Prabhupāda: No, they are most pious. Because you want to live more by science, so they are also living more years. What is the use of such living, like tree? Therefore Bhāgavata says, taravo kiṁ na jīvanti (SB 2.3.18). You are trying to live more years by scientific advancement, but do the trees not live for many, many years? What you will gain by that? Suppose you live for three thousand years, what you will gain if you remain ignorant? Better live for a few years and understand that "This material world is worse. I have to go to the spiritual world and meet Kṛṣṇa." That knowledge will help you. You live for ten years, but get this knowledge, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is perfect life. And what is the use of living like this tree for many thousands of years without any knowledge? (break) . . . cars, they have come to botanical garden? No.
Madhudviṣa: No, they go . . . they park their car here and they walk into town.
Prabhupāda: Ah. Why?
Madhudviṣa: They don't like to pay money for parking space. So they park out here and they walk into their different office buildings. (break)
Prabhupāda: It is said, garīb manuṣ (Bengali) jaya. A villager, very poor man, he says, "I am very poor man. I live on eating the grasshoppers."
Madhudviṣa: Grasshoppers.
Prabhupāda: Yes. "I have no money. But when I go to pass stool, I ride on a horse." They cannot pay parking fare, but they still they keep a carriage. (laughs) Garīb manuṣ (Bengali) jaya. Because the villagers go to the field for passing stool, so this garīb man, this poor man, goes on a horse. (sound of walking through leaves) Leaves can be also utilized as fire, but they do not know that. In India they collect, poor man, and use as fuel, they cook food. All this dry twigs and this, that can be used as fuel, at the same time this ground will be cleansed.