Schumacher: I think if there is any difficulty... Well, I happen to be a vegetarian.
Revatīnandana: Yes.
Schumacher: But I would hesitate a long, long time before I would make meat-eating the touchstone on which I would judge a Jesuit. I don't think I could see such a central position. And the evils that are going on that have to be fought are, in comparison with meat-eating, gigantic. And therefore, to refuse to accept that even a meat-eating Jesuit may be a far better man than a vegetarian who is engaged in all sorts of nefarious practices, I think one should be a bit careful. If you come out of a civilization where this has been customary all, all throughout history...
Haṁsadūta: Therefore all throughout history...
Schumacher: Yes, I know. I haven't...
Haṁsadūta: ...you haven't... Why hasn't there been peace in our civilization? Because we're practicing these four things: meat..., animal killing, intoxication, illicit sex life and gambling. According to Vedic scripture, these four activities are the sum and substance of sinful life, and sinful life means...
Prabhupāda: Pollution.
Haṁsadūta: Pollution. Or reaction. You're getting... Just like you make an automobile; you get the reaction-air pollution. So if you kill animals, you will be killed.
Popworth: You think like this?
Haṁsadūta: And intoxication itself means that you are polluted. Toxic means poison. Poison means pollution. So if you indulge in intoxication, everything you do, say and think will be polluted. If you kill animals, the result is you're polluting nature's... There are laws of nature. Animal is part of nature. You're part of nature. So if you disturb nature, that means you're polluting the nature. And you are living in that nature. So you are suffering the reaction.
Schumacher: The Buddhists have got a good, a good formula on this, and...
Haṁsadūta: It's common sense. That's all.
Prabhupāda: It is not the question of Buddhist, Christian or Hindu. It is common sense philosophy.
Schumacher: The Buddhists have a good compromise on this. They say you can eat meat...
Prabhupāda: No, no strict Buddhist will say.
Schumacher: ...but because you're not allowed to kill animals for eating meat.
Prabhupāda: What is this?
Schumacher: So they let the Muslims kill the animals.
Revatīnandana: Let the Muslims kill, and if I take... If the Muslims kill the animal, and I take the meat, I become animal-killer.
Schumacher: Well, that is...
Revatīnandana: If I sell the meat if I cook the meat, if I distribute the meat if I eat the meat I'm the same as the man who slaughters the animal. This is Vedic... There's a Vedic verse that explains it.
Vicitravīrya: As a matter of course.
Prabhupāda: Eight kinds of criminals. In killing animals, there are eight kinds of criminals. That he has explained. One who is killing, one who is ordering, one who is purchasing, one who is eating, one who is cooking, in this way... Just like if a man is killed. If a man is killed and there are so many persons implicated, it does not mean that only one who has killed, he becomes criminal. All others who are implicated in that killing business, they are criminals. This is pollution.
Revatīnandana: This, this...
Schumacher: Let me make myself clear. I happen to be a vegetarian.
Revatīnandana: That's all right. We understand that. We're talking about the matter, the issue.
Schumacher: But you know, if one lives here in this society, even the elimination of these four things doesn't do it.
Revatīnandana: Oh, it changes everything immediately.
Schumacher: I mean a fellow who builds himself a huge house when we have twenty-thousand actually, actually homeless people without a roof over their head in London... Now I would like those things to be raised into real spiritual problems.
Haṁsadūta: Yes, let them come here. We will...
Schumacher: And not to get satisfaction out of making idealistic...
Haṁsadūta: Yes, we have such a big place, but why they are not coming? We have temples all over the world, but people are not coming.
Prabhupāda: Because there are restriction.
Schumacher: That is not, that is not... That doesn't meet my point. My point is...
Haṁsadūta: Why not? If they have no place to live, let them come and live here. We are conv