Prabhupāda: Yes. One has to take information from the authority. That knowledge is perfect. And these rascals, philosophical, scientific speculation, all useless waste of time.
New devotee: I live in Long Beach, and I will be going to school soon, but I'm . . .
Prabhupāda: Hmm. We don't accept any speculative knowledge. We want final conclusion of the experienced person. Nṛpa-nirṇītaḥ, this word is used. Nṛpa-nirṇītaḥ, "it is concluded." Kavibhir nirūpitaḥ. Idaṁ hi puṁsas śrutas . . . tapasaḥ śrutasya vā, avicyuto 'rthaḥ kavibhir nirūpitaḥ (SB 1.5.22). Nirṇītaḥ. These words are . . . it is already concluded. There is no question of argument. In the Vedic literature, these words are used, nṛpa-nirṇītaḥ, nirūpitaḥ. New devotee: I should abandon . . .
Prabhupāda: Nāsato vidyate bhāvo. Na asataḥ vidyate bhāvaḥ (BG 2.16).
(aside) What is the next line?
So, we take things which is conclusive. The scientists, they are making experiment, where is the beginning of life. Misled. They are thinking life is from matter. They have no experience. Still, the rascal Darwin gave a theory; they are persisting on it. They have no practical experience that life is coming from matter. That is called vṛścika-taṇḍula-nyāya. You have no experience in your country. We have got. Sometimes you'll find scorpion is coming out from the stack of rice. You have seen it?
Karandhara: I haven't seen it, but I have heard of the example.
Prabhupāda: Yes. So they are thinking the rice is . . . rice is producing the scorpion. It is called taṇḍula-vṛścika-nyāya. But rice cannot produce a life. The real fact is a scorpion lays down the egg within the rice, and by the fermentation it comes out, just like eggs, and the small creature comes out. And foolish creatures, they think it that the rice is producing scorpion. That is not possible. So they are putting forward this evolution theory that man is coming from monkey. But no monkey is producing a man. Nobody has seen. There are so many things. They put forward some theory, but it is not fact.
New devotee: The quickest way to knowledge . . .
Prabhupāda: Quickest way to knowledge . . . that I told you: take the knowledge from the authority. The example I have already given, that you cannot make research, search out who is your father. But if you go to the authority, mother, immediately you understand. This is the quickest way.
New devotee: The thing that's tearing me apart is, um . . .
Prabhupāda: But just try to understand this. The principle is that if you receive knowledge from the real authority, that is perfect and quick. And if with your imperfect senses you want to acquire knowledge by searching out, it will never be successful. The modern method is to search out the truth by their imperfect senses. All these scientists, philosophers, they are doing that. They admit that their senses are imperfect. Still, they are trying to go to the perfect by the imperfect senses. This is their defect. They are hoping that, "Our imperfectness will be perfect by this research work." That is not possible. Imperfectness will remain ever imperfect.