Technical (Conversations)

Expressions researched:
"technical" |"technicalities" |"technician" |"technicians" |"technicolor"

1968 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- October 27, 1968, Montreal, With First Devotees Going to London On Evening of Their Departure:

Prabhupāda: If anybody calls for meeting and lecturing, we must charge. Yes. And if they want to hear free, they may come to our temple. Don't become cheap. You see? My Guru Mahārāja used to say that, photar kathara sei usane na(?): "If somebody becomes cheap, then nobody hears him." Especially in this country. If you become free speaker, then he's not taken into very seriously. So we must charge. In Boston, all the lectures Satsvarupa arranged, they paid hundred dollars, at least fifty dollars.

Janārdana: If they pay, then they will have to get something out of it. They will force themselves to get something out of it.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Everyone paid. The Massachusetts Technical College and Eastern University.

Room Conversation -- October 27, 1968, Montreal, With First Devotees Going to London On Evening of Their Departure:

Janārdana: "Nobody is allowed to smoke in here, and they have to take off their shoes, so how can you say it's a restaurant?"

Prabhupāda: Yes. These are technical. (break) ...description, what is called restaurant, that "Wherever foodstuff is prepared and sold, that is called restaurant," then it will come to that category. Whenever they make some law, they give definition of each word, what do you mean by restaurant.

1971 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- February 14, 1971, Gorakhpur:

Prabhupāda: (laughs) The servant was crying, "Oh! I am dying, I am dying, I am dying." So I immediately called ambulance and took her to the hospital. Then, when I went there, there were so many neophyte doctors. They experimented, and they said, "Immediate operation is required." "Why?" They gave us some technical terms. Then their leader doctor came. He said, "All right. Let us see this night. Then, next morning, we shall operate." So I asked him, "I can go? He may remain in your charge?" "Yes." So I went, came back. And when I was absent, another servant of the neighbor, he told to my wife, that "Babuji..." Babuji means master. "...it is unnecessarily he has taken to hospital. He was drunk, and he was crying like that. (laughter) He drank." So my wife told that he was drunk, and he was therefore crying like that. "No, no. Doctor says that it is a serious case (laughter) and it is to be operated." And the next morning the servant came back. "And why you come back? You were to be operated?" "Oh, thik hai. It is now all right." Just see. The rascals were going to operate.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- July 9, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: The Marwaris in India, they don't educate their son. Just like Birla. They say, "We can purchase these rascals, why we should waste our time. (laughter) So-called technicians, so-called expert computer, these are... We can purchase, why we shall waste our time."

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk 'Varnasrama College' -- March 14, 1974, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Business means if you have got extra grains or extra foodstuff, you can sell where there is necessity, there is want. That is business. We are not going to open mills and factories and... No. We are not going to do that. That is śūdra business. The real business is that you produce enough food grains, as much as possible, and you eat and distribute. That's all. This is business. He does not require any so high technical education. Anyone can till the ground and grow food. Is it difficult? This is the business. The first thing is that everyone, man and animal, especially the cows, they must be properly fed so become very stout and strong. Cows will supply milk, and man will work hard, without being suffered by dysentery. He must work hard. Any capacity. Work as a teacher or work as a kṣatriya, work as a ploughman. Or work as general assistant. He must work. Everyone should be employed. And his employment will be provided from any of these groups, according to his capacity. Either as a brāhmaṇa, or as a kṣatriya, or as a vaiśya, or as a śūdra.

Morning Walk 'Varnasrama College' -- March 14, 1974, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Little arts and crafts can be trained up to the śūdras. They, at the present moment, they have given too much stress on the arts and crafts.

Yaduvara: Hm. Yes.

Prabhupāda: Therefore the whole people, population, is śūdra.

Hṛdayānanda: It is a fact.

Prabhupāda: That is a... That is the difficulty. All people are being drawn by giving them, I mean to say, attraction for high salary, and they are taking so-called technical education, and all of them working in the factory. Nobody's working on the field. They are śūdras.

Morning Walk -- March 15, 1974, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Everything is already arranged, but you must work. That is wanted. Otherwise, why Arjuna was induced to fight. Kṛṣṇa has already arranged. And Arjuna also: "Yes." Kariṣye vacanaṁ tava (BG 18.73). "Whatever you say..." This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. (break) ...politician, Balavanta? He's not here. So let him preach that "We shall, if you take our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, there will be no unemployment." He can at least give this manifesto to the..., "There will be no more unemployment." People will be very nice, very glad to hear. Now this machine, this machine nonsense means unemployment. One machine will work for hundred men. So hundred men becomes unemployed, and one technician, he gets all the salaries.

Morning Walk -- April 20, 1974, Hyderabad:

Prabhupāda: Any book of engineering, medical, technical, they are all in English. And for writing those books in Hindi means he will have to manufacture some words which nobody will understand.

Indian man (2): English in the West is the international language.

Prabhupāda: They are fanatics, those who are after Hindi, fanatics. Practical point of view, without English there is no exchange.

Room Conversation with Monsieur Roost, Hatha-yogi -- May 31, 1974, Geneva:

Guru-gaurāṅga: Science and knowledge for man, and it is a manual. And he has an āśrama here. And this is our spiritual master, His Divine Grace Bhaktivedanta Swami. Monsieur Roost does not speak English, so...

M. Roost: I understand a little, but I cannot speak easily.

Prabhupāda: That doesn't matter.

M. Roost: But I want to know from...

Prabhupāda: It is a little technical subject, so translation. We... Our Bhagavad-gītā, there is yoga practice also. So we approve this yoga practice. There is no doubt. And in the Vedic literature it is said, dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yoginaḥ (SB 12.13.1). The yogis, they also sees the Absolute Truth by meditation within the mind. So this process is approved process, and there are divisions.

Reporters Interview -- June 29, 1974, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: You do not know what is God realization. Then why do you put this question? You do not know yourself. If I say,"Yes," how you'll understand that I am right? Therefore you should not put all these questions. It has no value. You do not know yourself what is God realization. Now, just like a medical man, if he asks another man, medical man, so if he says, "Yes," then medical man will understand him by technical terms whether he is medical man. So unless one is medical man, what is the use of asking another man, "Are you medical man?" Unless you are prepared to take the answer whatever I give.

Room Conversation with Devotees -- July 2, 1974, Melbourne:

Cāru: They only work two days in a week now in England.

Madhudviṣa: That's finished now. During the petrol shortage they had to cut themselves down to two days a week.

Prabhupāda: Now they have got Australia. Australia is English possession?

Madhudviṣa: No.

Prabhupāda: No, no more.

Cāru: Not any more.

Prabhupāda: But I know, all educated and advanced educated Englishmen, they were coming to Australia for good job. Therefore most of the technical posts, they are occupied by Indians in London. As soon as one is highly qualified medical man, he comes to Australia. So who will take care of them? So therefore they imported some brain from India. Anyway, our time should be saved for self-realization. That is perfect civilization. And not for creating unnecessary necessity of life. That will increase problem.

Morning Walk at Marine del Rey -- July 13, 1974, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: They have seen that the movement is growing more important. So this is discrimination. In England the Church is very strong. They have organized like this. You quote the publication, "There is no alarm." Of course, it is on the plea of police protest, police objection. The police objection means one's religious ceremony should be stopped? What is this? Simply for some technical mistake, now they can warn that "You must do it. Otherwise it will be stopped." How is that? No. That means this is police government? Does it mean it is police government?

Bali Mardana: Police state.

Prabhupāda: Police state? And why they are declaring Commonwealth and, British Commonwealth. So if it is governed by the police, how it is Commonwealth? There should be very strong agitation.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk Through the BBT Warehouse -- February 10, 1975, Los Angeles:

Rāmeśvara: Kṛṣṇa-kānti has moved to Santa Cruz. He has a house there. Navadvīpa Prabhu is now managing Golden Avatar.

Prabhupāda: He is technical.

Rāmeśvara: Yes. This is the man. His name is Robin.

Prabhupāda: He is...

Rāmeśvara: Very expert. And this is the duplicating machine. How fast can it make copies?

Room Conversation with Svarupa Damodara -- March 1, 1975, Atlanta:

Prabhupāda: A painter is not a man of knowledge. Man of knowledge means he knows how things are being done. That is man of knowledge. Painter imitates some painting, that's all. He may be a good painter, but a painter is never taken as man of knowledge. I think, therefore, two departments, art and science. So this knowledge, this technical knowledge... Suppose one man has created an aeroplane. That is an art; that is not knowledge.

Morning Walk -- May 10, 1975, Perth:

Prabhupāda: All right. You have made some technical advancement. That does not mean you are civilized. Civilized means the Aryans. They know what is the soul. That is civilization.

Morning Walk -- May 21, 1975, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: In Bhagavad-gītā it is said that "These material elements, they are also My energy." So how Kṛṣṇa's energy can be material? Bhinna, separated, a little separated, that's all. Separated means as soon as you separate Kṛṣṇa from anything, that is material. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So you have to dovetail everything with Kṛṣṇa. Then it will be spiritual. As soon as you say these demons they separate Kṛṣṇa, "What is Kṛṣṇa? What is God? We are scientist, we are technicians and so on, so on. We create our own thing." That means they don't dovetail with Kṛṣṇa. Therefore they are materialist. When we want to enjoy life without Kṛṣṇa, that is material. And Kṛṣṇa gives chance, "All right, you enjoy without Me." And when he is disgusted, then Kṛṣṇa comes once, "Now you have experienced. You haven't got happiness. Now give up this attitude to enjoy without Me."

Radio Interview -- May 25, 1975, Fiji:

Interviewer: Where is the right balance in this modern world?

Prabhupāda: Balance is that you should be reciprocal exchange. What you haven't got, you give me; what I haven't got, I give you. This should be the process of exchange. Then the world will be united. When there is exchange of gifts. But our India followed the principle for begging. "Give me men. Give me money. Give me wheat. Give me rice. Give me war materials." Simply begging. So we must give something. This is the first time we are giving something. Otherwise, India was a beggar simply to the western countries. For their technical education they are going to the western countries, and when there is war, they are asking America, "Please give us war materials."

Room Conversation with the Mayor of Evanston -- July 4, 1975, Chicago:

Mayor: I know about the article on the crime and I have it at home, but I have not read it as yet. But we certainly know that it's a tremendous problem in the United States, perhaps throughout the world and certainly here.

Prabhupāda: It is not a problem. Just like there is disease, and there is remedy also. And as much as the disease is chronic, the remedy is also costly. So in the western countries—do not mind—they are not trying to educate first-class men, and that is the difficulty. This advancement, technical knowledge, to have nice motor cars or big, big buildings, highways, this is very good, but this is not the aim of life.

Conversation on Roof -- December 26, 1975, Sanand:

Prabhupāda: So then the next question will be that how to become enjoyable, or how to enjoy? The next question is.... There may be different thesis. So our thesis is that we are trying to enjoy life by covering ourself. The crude example.... Just like sometimes before, the.... It may be nowadays also current. The contraceptive method was by using one cover. Do you know that?

Harikeśa: Hmh.

Prabhupāda: What is called?

Harikeśa: Prophylactic.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Harikeśa: A prophylactic.

Prabhupāda: Not prophylactic. Technical name. So, but that was not enjoyable. So then they discovered pills. So covered enjoyment is not enjoyment. It is not complete enjoyment. The same.... The real enjoyment in this material world is sex. Now if we want to enjoy sex, covered with coats and pants, is that enjoyment is pleasing?

Harikeśa: No.

Prabhupāda: Therefore actually when they want to enjoy sex in the private room, they become naked. So they are seeking enjoyment with this material body, but they are not able to enjoy on account of being covered. This is the thesis.

Harikeśa: Hmmm. This is the Kṛṣṇa conscious thesis.

Prabhupāda: Well, why do you come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness immediately? From practical point of view. So why they want to enjoy sex life being naked? That means covered enjoyment is not enjoyment. It is hampered enjoyment. Therefore we living entities, or, say, human beings, we want enjoyment. That's all right. But we are not able to enjoy fully because we are covered by something. This is the thesis. This is the thesis. But these rascals, or the ignorant persons, they do not know that "I am covered by something. Therefore my enjoyment is not complete." This is the thesis. So you answer this. Our enjoyment is not being completed on account of being covered by this material body. This is the thesis.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- May 25, 1976, Honolulu:

Prabhupāda: Moon that is far away from the sun, 1,600,000. (indistinct) fire in the sea, varuṇāgni. (indistinct) You know there is sometimes fire in the sea?

Devotee: In what way? Volcano? Like that?

Prabhupāda: Volcano eruption. Is there any technical term? Varuṇāgni. (aside:) Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Hari-śauri: You mean like when there's an eruption from below? Say when an island's formed, or...

Prabhupāda: It is called varuṇāgni, fire in the water.

Room Conversation with Reporter -- June 3, 1976, Los Angeles:

Devotee (1): You asked earlier about our program for educating society, are you still interested in this?

Prabhupāda: This education is all explained.

Devotee (2): I think he was interested also techniques by which we go about educating society. We have some techniques which...

Prabhupāda: Technical knowledge is not education.

Room Conversation -- June 17, 1976, Toronto:

Prabhupāda: Knowledge is spiritual knowledge. Tattva-jñānārtha-darśanam. Now, of course, social conditions have changed. There are so many factories, and they require technical knowledge. But we are not going to the factories. That is sure and certain. Neither we are going to start any factory. That is not our business. Our factory at most, cut cut, hut hut, that's all. We don't want to start factory or Ford factory and make a hell out of life, the hell.

Room Conversation -- June 24, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: Our real business is how to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. So simply for improving the condition of life, the necessities of life, if I forget my real business, is that intelligence? Therefore it is said duṣkṛtinaḥ. Kṛti means merit. But merit is being utilized for sinful activities. Take for example the meat-eaters. When man was... The uncivilized man is still there. In the uncivilized way they are living in the jungle. They require to eat something. So they stone over an animal going, and the animal dies, and then they eat. Now instead of killing the animal by stoning, if you have discovered scientific machine in the slaughterhouse to kill the animal, is that improvement? If you think this is advancement, "Now we have discovered very technical machine. Instead of stoning one animal killing, it takes so much time, hundreds and thousands of animals you can kill in one hour," do you think that is improvement? That is going on.

Interview with Newsweek -- July 14, 1976, New York:

Interviewer: Do you think there's a difference between the various peoples of the world? In other words, do you think that Indians as opposed to Europeans have more of a tendency or are more likely to adhere to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness?

Prabhupāda: No, any intelligent man can become Kṛṣṇa conscious. That I have already explained, that unless one is very intelligent, he cannot take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So it is open for everyone. But there are different grades of intelligence. In Europe, America, they are intelligent, but their intelligence is utilized for material purposes. And in India their intelligence is utilized for spiritual purpose. Therefore you find so many highly spiritual standard of life, books, literature. Just like Vyāsadeva. Vyāsadeva was also in householder life, but he was living in the forest, and see his contribution of literature. Nobody can dream even. So by literary contribution, one's intelligence is tested. All big, big men of the material world, scientists, philosophers, even technicians, they are recognized by their writings, by their contribution, not by their gigantic body.

Radio Interview -- July 27, 1976, London:

Prabhupāda: Now suppose somebody has infected some smallpox disease. After seven days it develops. What is that called, that period?

Mike Robinson: Incubation? Is that the word?

Prabhupāda: Ah, incubation, no, another technical, yes, that after some time, the disease comes. There is a technical name. Anyway, so you cannot avoid it. If you have infected some disease, it will develop by nature's law. It is not possible to avoid it. Similarly, during our this life, we are in association with different modes of material nature, and that will decide what kind of body we are going to get next life. That is strictly under the laws of nature. Everything is under the laws of nature. You have no control over it; you are completely dependent, but people, on account of dull brain, they think that they are free. They are not free. They are imagining they are free. They're completely under the laws of nature.

Room Conversation -- July 27, 1976, London:

Prabhupāda: If you have got money, then you are big man. Never mind what you are. Therefore people are after money. Who is going to be brāhmaṇa? If you become a perfect brāhmaṇa, who will care for you? Nobody is interested to become a brāhmaṇa. "Why we shall become brāhmaṇa? Starve? For starvation?" Nowadays the colleges, they're not interested in art, philosophy, English literature. No, they.... Nobody.... They go for technical, how they will get more money. They do not want. Some of the doctor, professor, they came to request us to give our student. They are not getting student. And after few years they'll be all dismissed. Who will pay them? Hayagriva told me. He's not getting any job.

Room Conversation -- September 6, 1976, Vrndavana:

Hari-śauri: Sydney has bridges like that. These big towers like Eiffel Tower in Paris, they have big fences along the top so that no one can...

Prabhupāda: This practice is there in Vedic system. Not Vedic system, (indistinct), fall down. There is technical name. Fall down from the mountain. This is easier than other type of suicide. Because you simply once jump, but as soon as you fall, you forget everything. Suicide itself is very bad.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- January 21, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Gargamuni: They have no budget to purchase religious books. They only want technical books. But when they see our books, they cannot say no. That has been the response.

Hari-śauri: Spiritual potency.

Prabhupāda: Technical books... (chuckles) Now that, my nephew Govinda, he's a watch repair.

Gargamuni: Oh, yes. He fixes our watches.

Prabhupāda: Ah, ah.

Gargamuni: We go to him.

Prabhupāda: Yes. (laughing) So he has written one book about his experience, and it is selling like anything, because it is technical. Yes, he gets for every edition three thousand, five thousand, like that. That is his extra income. But because it is technical, people purchase it.

Room Conversation -- January 21, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: What is the use of philosophizing? Even that Professor O'Connell? He came to me, that "Why don't you give some students?" Means he's going to be dismissed very soon. But he has no students.

Hari-śauri: He came and asked Prabhupāda why don't we send our men to the university for Ph.D's.

Prabhupāda: I could understand his position. Now he's going to be dismissed.

Rāmeśvara: No, it's a fact that people go to college in America, but they cannot get good jobs when they graduate. If they have not taken specialized training in engineering or something...

Prabhupāda: That is technical, technology.

Room Conversation -- January 26, 1977, Puri:

Prabhupāda: So actually the man is serving his own senses, uṣṭra. He's eating his own blood and thinking, "Thorn very palatable." He's eating thorn. What is his palatable? Cutting the tongue and blood is coming out, and when the thorn's chewed with this blood, it makes little taste. Blood has got taste. And he's thinking, "Thorn is very nice." Therefore they have been called as uṣṭra. Uṣṭra eats own, drinks or eats his own blood, and takes the thorn as very good. Śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-khara. These animals have been specially mentioned: dog; viḍ-varāha, means hog; uṣṭra; and khara means ass. How Bhāgavata has selected. (laughs) Śva means dog. Dog, after technical education, if he does not get a post where he can use this computer and other big, big..., he's a dog. He goes to a bank, "Sir, I am expert in this machine work. Can you give me a job?" "No, no. There is no vacancy." Then again he puts his tail, goes another, another. What is use, this? The big, big technologists, unless they get a suitable job, they're just like dog. Dog is loitering in the street, no food. So these men with all this high technological knowledge, if they do not get a proper master, they are nothing but dog.

Room Conversation -- January 29, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: These poor Japanese, in two, three wars they attempted to expand. They are very poor in their land. Practically they have no place, very poor. Only by some technical knowledge they are maintaining. Otherwise they have no food, no shelter. Very poor country. I have studied. The Dai Nippon directors, they are living in a thatched house. And their system is: big company, they supply everything—food, cloth, medicine, children's education, and little salary. So people do not leave the post.

Room Conversation -- February 17, 1977, Mayapura:

Prabhupāda: "Who are you? What is your identification? That you do not know. Rather, we are teaching that identifying yourself with this body, you have lost your identity. That is brain. (pause) If you say 'beyond our intelligence,' that means you have no brain. And we can explain. Therefore we have got brain. (pause) You have so many technical insti..." That I challenged in the M.T. (M.I.T.), that "Where is your..., that technology that when a dead man is stopped, you can replace life by technology? Where is that department?" They could not answer.

Room Conversation -- March 27, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: I never agreed to be misguide by these rascals. Perhaps I am the first man who protested against these authorized scientists.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Oh, yes. Very strongly. Everybody is afraid except Śrīla Prabhupāda. (Prabhupāda chuckles) Frankly speaking, I never knew that the problem is this serious before I met Śrīla Prabhupāda. I never thought about this.

Prabhupāda: Therefore I took it so seriously. Every morning walk, I was, "Where is the scientist?" I thought "Here I have got an opportunity to impress that will fructify in fruition." That was my aim. Therefore I was bothering you in so ways.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: It is your incredible mercy, Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Because I cannot use the technical words, and he can do that. So he should be trained up.

Room Conversation with Ratan Singh Rajda M.P. 'Nationalism and Cheating' -- April 15, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: At least keep an ideal institution. Just like for technical knowledge, if there is a good medical college any part of the world, people go there without any consideration of nationality or anything. Similarly let there be an ideal institution in India so that the whole world will come in there.

Room Conversation with Ratan Singh Rajda M.P. 'Nationalism and Cheating' -- April 15, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: The smugglers get with money, printed money. Who can check it?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: So printed money should have gold behind it.

Prabhupāda: Yes, that is the theory. What is the rate of economy?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: What is the idea...

Prabhupāda: That is called...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Gold standard.

Prabhupāda: Not gold standard, but there is a technical name. That means if you print notes, currency note, immediately you have to keep stock of gold in the reserve bank.

Evening Darsana -- May 12, 1977, Hrishikesh:

Indian man (3): Sir, do you not consider it advisable to get the judgment that the Americans have translated into Indian so we can look?

Prabhupāda: Yes. That... We require an expert lawyer. There are some technical terms. Ordinary man cannot translate. If amongst yourselves there is a lawyer, if he helps us translate, we can publish it. There are so many legal... The judgment is wonderful judgment.

Srila Prabhupada Vigil -- May 27, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: We have owned one case, very important case, in the Supreme Court of New York. I have translated into Hindi.

Guest (1): The case has been decided in your favor.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Guest (1): Yes, that he told me and he...

Prabhupāda: No, I, by... A very learned judge has translated it. Because there are so many technical... And the Indian...

Guest (3): (Bengali)

Prabhupāda: (Bengali) For this.

Guest (3): He is the greatest guru of the age.

Letter from Yugoslavia--'Books!' -- June 30, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: In Canada all big, big professors in university, they are Indians. In the education they are expert. That means they have got brain.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Oh, the Indians have the best brain.

Prabhupāda: And these shoe-makers, dentists, (indistinct) them. Technician, that's all. Phalena paricīyate. What class of work he is engaged?

Śatadhanya: The Japanese, they're good at technology.

Prabhupāda: Yes. They are... They are good technician. There is no doubt. Sony. They can produce these things.