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Bhagavad-gita As It Is

BG Chapters 7 - 12

BG 8.22, Purport:

To enter Kṛṣṇa's supreme abode or the innumerable Vaikuṇṭha planets is possible only by bhakti, devotional service, as clearly indicated here by the word bhaktyā. No other process can help one attain that supreme abode. The Vedas (Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad 1.21) also describe the supreme abode and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Eko vaśī sarva-gaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ. In that abode there is only one Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose name is Kṛṣṇa. He is the supreme merciful Deity, and although situated there as one He has expanded Himself into millions and millions of plenary expansions. The Vedas compare the Lord to a tree standing still yet bearing many varieties of fruits, flowers and changing leaves. The plenary expansions of the Lord who preside over the Vaikuṇṭha planets are four-armed, and they are known by a variety of names—Puruṣottama, Trivikrama, Keśava, Mādhava, Aniruddha, Hṛṣīkeśa, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna, Śrīdhara, Vāsudeva, Dāmodara, Janārdana, Nārāyaṇa, Vāmana, Padmanābha, etc.

BG Chapters 13 - 18

BG 15.12, Purport:

From this verse we can understand that the sun is illuminating the whole solar system. There are different universes and solar systems, and there are different suns, moons and planets also, but in each universe there is only one sun. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (10.21), the moon is one of the stars (nakṣatrāṇām ahaṁ śaśī). Sunlight is due to the spiritual effulgence in the spiritual sky of the Supreme Lord. With the rise of the sun, the activities of human beings are set up. They set fire to prepare their foodstuff, they set fire to start the factories, etc. So many things are done with the help of fire. Therefore sunrise, fire and moonlight are so pleasing to the living entities. Without their help no living entity can live. So if one can understand that the light and splendor of the sun, moon and fire are emanating from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, then one's Kṛṣṇa consciousness will begin. By the moonshine, all the vegetables are nourished. The moonshine is so pleasing that people can easily understand that they are living by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa.

Srimad-Bhagavatam

SB Canto 1

SB 1.2.27, Purport:

Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, when He was personally present at Vrajadhāma, stopped the worship of the demigod Indra and advised the residents of Vraja to worship by their business and to have faith in God. Worshiping the multidemigods for material gain is practically a perversity of religion. This sort of religious activity has been condemned in the very beginning of the Bhāgavatam as kaitava-dharma. There is only one religion in the world to be followed by one and all, and that is the Bhāgavata-dharma, or the religion which teaches one to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead and no one else.

SB Canto 3

SB 3.5.40, Purport:

Everyone who is conditioned by material existence—whether he be a man or beast or demigod or bird—must suffer from ādhyātmika (bodily or mental) pains, ādhibhautika pains (those offered by living creatures), and ādhidaivika pains (those due to supernatural disturbances). His happiness is nothing but a hard struggle to get free from the miseries of conditional life. But there is only one way he can be rescued, and that is by accepting the shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The argument that unless one has proper knowledge one cannot be freed from material miseries is undoubtedly true. But because the lotus feet of the Lord are full of transcendental knowledge, acceptance of His lotus feet completes that necessity. We have already discussed this point in the First Canto (1.2.7):

SB 3.6.7, Purport:

The conditioned soul is bewildered into various activities for want of pure consciousness. In pure consciousness the activity is one. The consciousness of the individual soul becomes one with the supreme consciousness when there is complete synthesis between the two.

The monist believes that there is only one consciousness, whereas the sātvatas, or the devotees, believe that although there is undoubtedly one consciousness, they are one because there is agreement. The individual consciousness is advised to dovetail with the supreme consciousness, as instructed by the Lord in Bhagavad-gītā (18.66): sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja. The individual consciousness (Arjuna) is advised to dovetail with the supreme consciousness and thus maintain his conscious purity. It is foolish to try to stop the activities of consciousness, but they can be purified when they are dovetailed with the Supreme.

SB 3.15.2, Purport:

It appears from this verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that the sun is the source of light for all the planets in the universe. The modern scientific theory which states that there are many suns in each universe is not supported by this verse. It is understood that in each universe there is only one sun, which supplies light to all the planets. In Bhagavad-gītā the moon is also stated to be one of the stars. There are many stars, and when we see them glittering at night we can understand that they are reflectors of light; just as moonlight is a reflection of sunlight, other planets also reflect sunlight, and there are many other planets which cannot be seen by our naked eyes. The demoniac influence of the sons in the womb of Diti expanded darkness throughout the universe.

SB Canto 4

SB 4.7.44, Purport:

We are attracted by things which will cease to exist. The beginning of such attraction is the temporary body. In this horrible condition of life there is only one way of liberation—to engage in the activities of transcendental chanting and hearing of the holy name of the Supreme Lord: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. The words yuṣmat-kathāmṛta-niṣevakaḥ mean "those who engage in relishing the nectar of the topics of Your Lordship." There are two narrative books which especially concern the words and activities of Kṛṣṇa. Bhagavad-gītā is the instruction given by Kṛṣṇa, and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the book containing topics exclusively about Kṛṣṇa and His devotees. These two books are the special nectar of the words of Kṛṣṇa. For those who engage in the preaching of these two Vedic literatures it is very easy to get out of the illusory conditional life imposed upon us by māyā. The illusion is that the conditioned soul does not try to understand his spiritual identity.

SB 4.8.80, Purport:

This example of Dhruva Mahārāja's closing the holes of his personal body and thereby closing the breathing holes of the total universe clearly indicates that a devotee, by his personal devotional service, can influence all the people of the whole world to become devotees of the Lord. lf there is only one pure devotee in pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he can change the total consciousness of the world into Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is not very difficult to understand if we study the behavior of Dhruva Mahārāja.

SB 4.29.42-44, Purport:

These sages reside in different stars known as the southern stars, which circle the polestar. The polestar, called Dhruvaloka, is the pivot of this universe, and all planets move around this polestar. All the stars are planets, as far as we can see, within this one universe. According to Western theory, all the stars are different suns, but according to Vedic information, there is only one sun within this universe. All the so-called stars are but different planets. Besides this universe, there are many millions of other universes, and each of them contains similar innumerable stars and planets.

SB 4.30.8, Purport:

Disunity between individual souls is so strong within this material world that even in a society of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, members sometimes appear disunited due to their having different opinions and leaning toward material things. Actually, in Kṛṣṇa consciousness there cannot be two opinions. There is only one goal: to serve Kṛṣṇa to one's best ability. If there is some disagreement over service, such disagreement is to be taken as spiritual. Those who are actually engaged in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot be disunited in any circumstance. This makes the Supreme Personality of Godhead very happy and willing to award all kinds of benediction to His devotees, as indicated in this verse. We can see that the Lord is immediately prepared to award all benedictions to the sons of King Prācīnabarhiṣat.

SB Canto 5

SB 5.3.17, Purport:

The learned sages who were priests at Mahārāja Nābhi's sacrifice were not only brāhmaṇas but were so qualified that they were like devas, demigods, or God Himself. If this were not the case, how could they invite Lord Viṣṇu to come to the sacrificial arena? God is one, and God does not belong to this or that religion. In Kali-yuga, different religious sects consider their God to be different from the God of others, but that is not possible. God is one, and He is appreciated according to different angles of vision. In this verse the word kaivalyāt means that God has no competitor. There is only one God. In the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.8) it is said, na tat-samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate: "No one is found to be equal to Him or greater than Him." That is the definition of God.

SB 5.21.11, Purport:

In Bhagavad-gītā (10.21) Kṛṣṇa says, nakṣatrāṇām ahaṁ śaśī: "Of stars I am the moon." This indicates that the moon is similar to the other stars. The Vedic literature informs us that within this universe there is one sun, which is moving. The Western theory that all the luminaries in the sky are different suns is not confirmed in the Vedic literature. Nor can we assume that these luminaries are the suns of other universes, for each universe is covered by various layers of material elements, and therefore although the universes are clustered together, we cannot see from one universe to another. In other words, whatever we see is within this one universe. In each universe there is one Lord Brahmā, and there are other demigods on other planets, but there is only one sun.

SB Canto 6

SB 6.4.34, Purport:

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura comments that this verse is especially meant for the impersonalist, who thinks that he himself is the Supreme because there is no difference between the living being and God. The Māyāvādī philosopher thinks that there is only one Supreme Truth and that he is also that Supreme Truth. Actually this is not knowledge but foolishness, and this verse is especially meant for such fools, whose knowledge has been stolen by illusion (māyayāpahṛta jñānāḥ (BG 7.15)). Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says that such persons, jñāni-māninaḥ, think themselves very advanced, but actually they are unintelligent.

SB 6.5.12, Translation:

(Nārada Muni had said that there is a kingdom where there is only one male. The Haryaśvas realized the purport of this statement.) The only enjoyer is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who observes everything, everywhere. He is full of six opulences and fully independent of everyone else. He is never subject to the three modes of material nature, for He is always transcendental to this material creation. If the members of human society do not understand Him, the Supreme, through their advancement in knowledge and activities, but simply work very hard like cats and dogs all day and night for temporary happiness, what will be the benefit of their activities?

SB 6.5.12, Purport:

Nārada Muni had mentioned a kingdom where there is only one king with no competitor. The complete spiritual world, and specifically the cosmic manifestation, has only one proprietor or enjoyer—the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is beyond this material manifestation. The Lord has therefore been described as turya, existing on the fourth platform. He has also been described as abhava. The word bhava, which means "takes birth," comes from the word bhū, "to be." As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (8.19), bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate: the living entities in the material world must be repeatedly born and destroyed. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, however, is neither bhūtvā nor pralīyate; He is eternal. In other words, He is not obliged to take birth like human beings or animals, which repeatedly take birth and die because of ignorance of the soul. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is not subjected to such changes of body, and one who thinks otherwise is considered a fool (avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam (BG 9.11)). Nārada Muni advises that human beings not waste their time simply jumping like cats and monkeys, without real benefit.

SB Canto 7

SB 7.9.31, Purport:

"O son of Pṛthā, know that I am the original seed of all existences." In the Vedic literature it is said, īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1), yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante and sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma. All this Vedic information indicates that there is only one God and that there is nothing else but Him. The Māyāvādī philosophers explain this in their own way, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead asserts the truth that He is everything and yet is separate from everything. This is the philosophy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, which is called acintya-bhedābheda-tattva. Everything is one, the Supreme Lord, yet everything is separate from the Lord. This is the understanding of oneness and difference.

SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)

SB 11.17.10, Translation:

In the beginning, in Satya-yuga, there is only one social class, called haṁsa, to which all human beings belong. In that age all people are unalloyed devotees of the Lord from birth, and thus learned scholars call this first age Kṛta-yuga, or the age in which all religious duties are perfectly fulfilled.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 18.190, Translation:

“The Koran accepts the fact that ultimately there is only one God. He is full of opulence, and His bodily complexion is blackish.

CC Madhya 24.30, Purport:

The nine varieties of prema-bhakti are rati, prema, sneha, māna, praṇaya, rāga, anurāga, bhāva and mahābhāva—attraction, love, affection, adverse feelings, intimacy, attachment, subattachment, ecstatic love and sublime ecstatic love. For the word sādhana-bhakti there is only one meaning, "the execution of devotional service according to regulative principles."

Other Books by Srila Prabhupada

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

Krsna Book 53:

Meanwhile, inside the palace, Rukmiṇī was expecting Kṛṣṇa to arrive, but when neither He nor the brāhmaṇa who took her message appeared, she was full of anxiety and began to think how unfortunate she was. "There is only one night between today and my marriage day, and still neither the brāhmaṇa nor Śyāmasundara has returned. I cannot ascertain any reason for this." Having little hope, she thought that perhaps Kṛṣṇa had found reason to become dissatisfied and had rejected her fair proposal. As a result, the brāhmaṇa might have become disappointed and not come back. Although she was thinking of various causes for the delay, she expected them both at any moment.

Renunciation Through Wisdom

Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.2:

However, the path to this perfect realization is fraught with hindrances caused by māyā, the insurmountable material energy. In this regard one may ask, "If by serving Lord Kṛṣṇa one can automatically discharge all subsidiary duties, then why doesn't everyone in the world surrender to Lord Kṛṣṇa and worship Him as the supreme absolute being? Almost everyone in the world more or less agrees that there is only one God, not two or more. Yet when that one and only Supreme Personality, Lord Kṛṣṇa, comes personally to declare this truth, why do people still refuse to surrender to Him? Perhaps it is understandable that those who are illiterate and ignorant cannot accept Lord Kṛṣṇa's supremacy and therefore do not surrender to Him. But there are many erudite scholars, philosophers, and leaders of society who extensively discuss the scriptures yet still do not take shelter of Lord Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet. Why?" The Lord Himself answers this question in His Bhagavad-gītā (7.15):

Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.4:

Nowadays especially, everyone is feeling the pinch of poverty. The ordinary man thirsts for money solely to enjoy his senses. Once a person falls into the useless company of sense gratifiers, he spends his wealth on fineries, gold, and women. With more wealth, he seeks adoration and distinction, and along with these he gets mansions, cars, and so on. There is only one interest in this endeavor, and that is to enjoy the senses. Persons whose only goal in life is to gratify the senses were referred to earlier as the less intelligent fruitive workers, or karmīs. If any among them happen to have some piety, then this select group will not merely fritter away all their time in titillating their senses, but will spend some time worshiping the Supreme Lord. Although these elite karmīs do not associate with the pure devotees of the Lord, they call themselves spiritualists. Actually, they harbor the desire to gratify their carnal desires. They fail to comprehend that the Supreme Lord is known as Hṛsīkeśa, "the supreme master of the senses."

Light of the Bhagavata

Light of the Bhagavata 2, Purport:

Therefore the citizens were God conscious and honest in their dealings, and the kings were responsible for the welfare of the state. The same basic principles are accepted in the democratic governments of the present day, for the irresponsible party of the people is always voted out of power and must yield to the responsible party for a better government. In the cosmic administration there is only one party, which consists of the servants of God, and the responsible deities of the various planets maintain the cosmic laws in terms of the orders of the Supreme Lord. But the people suffer on account of their own folly.

And what is that folly? In Bhagavad-gītā it is said that people should perform yajñas, or sacrifices for the satisfaction of the Supreme. The Supreme is all-pervading. Therefore people must learn to perform yajñas to satisfy the all-pervading Supreme Truth. There are different yajñas prescribed for different ages, and in the present age of iron industry the yajña that enlightens the mind of the masses for God consciousness is recommended. This process of yajña is called the saṅkīrtana-yajña, or mass agitation for invoking man's lost spiritual consciousness.

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 1.41-42 -- London, July 29, 1973:

So Arjuna is visualizing all the future calamities. But there is one remedy. It is a fact that jāti-dharma we have lost. No more we can be called strictly following the jāti-dharma. No more can one present himself strictly as a brāhmaṇa or kṣatriya. Everything is lost now, by the influence of Kali-yuga. And varṇa-saṅkara. So there is only one remedy, only one remedy. That is stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Eleventh Canto:

devarṣi-bhūtāpta-nṛṇāṁ pitṟṇāṁ
na kiṅkarā nāyam ṛṇī ca rājan
sarvātmanā yaḥ śaraṇaṁ śaraṇyaṁ
gato mukundaṁ parihṛtya kartam
(SB 11.5.41)

We must admit that we have created hellish condition of society by producing unwanted children, and disobeying the jāti-dharma or kula-dharma. That one has to admit, everyone. So what is the remedy? Only remedy is to surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is canvassing that: "Even you can give up your jāti-dharma, but simply surrender unto Me. I shall give you protection."

Lecture on BG 2.20-25 -- Seattle, October 14, 1968:

That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānām (BG 5.29). Suhṛdam means suhṛt. There are different kinds of friend, but here... In Sanskrit, for different kinds of friend, there are different names. Just like one friend is called bandhu. One is called mitra, one friend is called suhṛt. There are differences. Therefore they are different words. Just like in English language there is only one word "friend." But in Sanskrit, because it is perfect language, friend—what kind of friend. So Kṛṣṇa says that "I am suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānām." Suhṛt, suhṛt means he's such a friend... Just like you have got a friend. Sincerely he wants how you shall be happy. Just like your mother. Mother is also friend. Or wife, devoted wife. She is also friend. So mother, wife, or any such relative, or father. Or there are many persons in our ordinary relationships. So they want actually that "My, this friend be happy." That is real friend, suhṛt. And mitra, social friendship. Bandhu, official friendship. But suhṛt, suhṛt means one who actually desires good of his friend. "Sincere friend" which you describe in English.

Lecture on BG 2.55-56 -- New York, April 19, 1966:

Mind will think something, "Yes, let me do this." Again it will decide, "Oh, better not to do this." Yes. This is called saṅkalpa-vikalpa, deciding and rejecting. And this is due to our unsteady condition in the material platform. But when we decide to act according to the supreme consciousness, at that stage, there is no such duality that "Let me do it" or "Let me not do it." No. There is only one thing, "Let me do it. Let me do it because it is sanctioned by the superior consciousness." The whole Bhagavad-gītā is based on this principle of life.

Now, the beginning. In the beginning of the Bhagavad-gītā, Arjuna, in the battlefield, he was perplexed whether to fight or not to fight. That was his problem. First of all he thought that "My cousin-brothers, they have given me so much trouble. They have usurped my kingdom. So I must fight with them and retake my lost kingdom." That is determination. Again, when actually in the battlefield he saw his brothers and his friends... Because it was a family quarrel, so in both the sides all the friends and relatives, they joined, either to this party or that party. But the beauty is that Arjuna became compassionate, that "Why should I fight simply for the kingdom?

Lecture on BG 6.47 -- Ahmedabad, December 12, 1972:

Question: Is it necessary that God should be worshiped in particular form only?

Prabhupāda: Well, there is only one form, bhakti. There is no other form. It is not a particular. It is the only. Just like there are nine holes in your body. The only one hole will be used for eating. Not other holes. If you pushed your foodstuff in other holes, it will be useless. Similarly God is one, and to understand God the only process is bhakti. That's all. There is no other process.

Question: How may a devotee arrive to this particular form?

Prabhupāda: This is in the śāstras. God says: bhaktyā mām abhijānāti (BG 18.55). Only through devotion one can understand Me. So not the devotee has discovered. God says: "This is the only way." If you want to know God, you must know Him by the process He recommends, Don't discover your own way. Not that yato mata tato patha. You discover all rascal mata and God will be available. No. If you want to know God, then this is the only: bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55). That is the only way. There is no other way. Chant. (end)

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Sydney, February 16, 1973:

In this age it is very difficult to develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or God consciousness. People are so downfallen. But there is only one method: if you can chant the holy name of God it will help you very quickly. So we do not say that, if you think that Kṛṣṇa name is the Hindu name or Indian name, "Why should I chant that?" But if you have got any name, actually must be name of God, not a fiction or an idea. Just like I've already explained this "Kṛṣṇa," Sanskrit word, means "all-attractive." But in the greatest. You say that God is great. Kṛṣṇa means the greatest all-attractive. Unless you become very great, you cannot be attractive. According to our material calculation, if one is very rich, he's attractive. If one is very influential, he's attractive. If one is very wise, he's attractive. If one is very beautiful, he's attractive. In this way, we attract. So God, Kṛṣṇa, has got all the six opulences of attraction; therefore He is called Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on BG 13.1-2 -- Bombay, September 25, 1973:

In all the chapters Kṛṣṇa's answers are there. Especially in the Thirteenth Chapter, Kṛṣṇa is giving the knowledge, the knowable objective, the subject matter, and what is this body, who is the owner of the body. So Kṛṣṇa, here it is said that kṣetrajñaṁ cāpy māṁ viddhi, He is also there.

The Māyāvādī philosopher (says) that there is only one spirit. No, there are two. Kṛṣṇa says ca. Ca means another. "And as the living, individual living soul is the proprietor of this body—not proprietor, he is the occupier—similarly, I also, I have got interest in everybody." Just like a landlord. Landlord has got many houses. I may occupy one of the houses. So I have got only interest in that particular house where I am living. But the landlord has got interest in so many houses. So Kṛṣṇa has got interest not only in my body or your body. He has got interest in each and every body. Because He says, sarva-yoniṣu, "in every species of life."

Lecture on BG 16.1-3 -- Hawaii, January 29, 1975:

When it will be annihilated? Is the time come? Is the time come?" This is called bhayam. Bhayaṁ dvitīyābhinniveṣataḥ syāt. Because I am identifying with this body, therefore there is fearfulness. And if by knowledge I can understand that "I am not this body, I am spirit soul," ahaṁ brahmāsmi, and if you are actually convinced, then there is no fearfulness. In the Western countries there is only one philosopher, Socrates. He was condemned to death because he was speaking that "I am soul. I am eternal." That was his fault. So the judges enquired, "Mr. Socrates, now you are going to die, so what kind of grave you want?" So Socrates replied, "First of all capture me. Then you put me into the grave." That is the fact. "You rascal, you are talking of my this body. So body is already material. You put it in the grave or in the hell. It doesn't matter. But I am eternal. You cannot capture me." So this is knowledge. This abhayam. He was going to be hanged or killed. He is fearless: "But what is this nonsense? He will kill my body. That's all."

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.2.3 -- Rome, May 27, 1974:

Politics, practically it is politics. But it is based on Vedic literature. And the Bhagavad-gītā is introduced in the Mahābhārata. So the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the essence of all Vedic literature. Śruti-sāram ekam. This is the only one. You cannot present another. Ekam. As God is one, similarly, to understand Him, there is only one literature. That is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Bhagavad-gītā is the preliminary study of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Śruti-sāram ekam. Adhyātma-dīpam.

Adhyātma-dīpam means... Just like ātmā, the soul, is within this body, but due to our darkness knowledge, insufficient knowledge, we cannot understand ātmā, Paramātmā. We cannot understand. So in the darkness, as you require a torchlight, similarly, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is just like the torchlight. You can see ātmā and Paramātmā. Adhyātma-dīpam. Dīpam means light, lamp. So why it is required? Atititīrṣatām.

Lecture on SB 5.5.20 -- Vrndavana, November 8, 1976:

And this New Delhi, Hastināpura, was the capital of the world, and there was only one flag, united. There was no need of hundreds of flags, United Nation. We have seen in New York the United Nation organization. The flags are increasing, not under one flag. The culture is lost. In India also the division. Everywhere the division is increasing. In Europe there is only one city. That is also another state. Luxembourg or...? So without the central point, certainly, gradually the division will increase, and in the name of nationalism, the strife and quarrel and fight will increase. Just like in India twenty years before or thirty years before, there was no Pakistan. Now they are divided, and already two big fights have been fought.

Lecture on SB 6.1.6-8 -- New York, July 21, 1971:

Therefore I have no anxiety." There is a confidence. One who is purely in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he's confident that next life he's going to Kṛṣṇa. So if we simply carefully execute our Kṛṣṇa conscious regulative principles, it is sure, actually. In the Bhagavad-gītā that is stated.

Then Prahlāda Mahārāja says, "There is only one anxiety for me." Just see. He has no anxiety for himself, but he has still anxiety. What is that? Śoce tato vimukha-cetasa. "I am anxious. I am anxious for these persons who are not persons..., who are not Kṛṣṇa conscious. That is my anxiety. For me, I have no anxiety. But I am thinking of these persons who are not Kṛṣṇa conscious." Why they are not Kṛṣṇa conscious? Now, māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān: (SB 7.9.43) "These rascals, they have created a civilization, a humbug civilization, (laughter) for temporary happiness."

Lecture on SB 6.1.34-39 -- Surat, December 19, 1970:

Hong Kong. Oh, I see. Oh, our New Vrindaban. (laughs) Very nice. So you have published very nice pictures. So it is not... You can take it to our... This is one picture, and this is one picture. Bring. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Side by side, hell and heaven. One has to select. (break) ...and the spiritual world there is only one class of men. Therefore spiritual world is called absolute. There is no disagreement. The center is Kṛṣṇa, or God, and everyone is engaged in His service in love, not paid servant. Paid servant will always disagree in proportion to the money he receives. But in the Vaikuṇṭha world there is no question of paid servant. Everyone is free. Everyone has got sufficient because, as I told you yesterday, that they are all liberated. They have got equal opulence like God. But still, they serve. That is the superiority(?). Here one serves in need, and there they serve without need. There is no need of service. Everything is there complete. Cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa (Bs. 5.29).

Lecture on SB 7.5.31 -- Mauritius, October 4, 1975:

So we are in the external energy of God. The external energy of God means although we are eternal, we have to accept different types of body according to our desire, according to our tendency to enjoy this material world, and therefore that facility is given in this material world. In the spiritual world there is only one aim—they are all eternal servitors of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They have no other desire. That is spiritual world. So you can transform this material world into spiritual world if you have got only aim to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then it can be transformed into spiritual world, although spiritual world is differently situated. Paras tasmāt tu bhāvo 'nyo 'vyakto 'vyaktāt sanātanaḥ (BG 8.20). There is another nature which is spiritual world. They have no information. But we get information from Bhagavad-gītā and other śāstras that spiritual world is still bigger. This material world is the one-fourth of the God's creation, and the spiritual world is the three-fourth.

Lecture on SB 7.9.12 -- Mayapur, February 19, 1976:

Now he is crying, "Save me, save me, save me." But nature's law is very strict. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). Once you have committed mistake, immediately nature's law reacts, and it is very difficult to come out of it. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā.

But there is only one way. That is anuvarṇitena, repeatedly chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, repeatedly. That is the only way. Harer nāmaiva kevalam. That is recommended by Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet (SB 12.3.51). This is the simple... Kali-yuga... This is the only way. Kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann hy asti eko mahān guṇaḥ. This is the greatest qualification of Kali-yuga. Great personalities, they very much eulogize Kali-yuga that there is simple method and so sublime: Simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, one becomes completely purified. Pūyeta yena hi pumān anuvarṇitena. Anu means repetition, and anu means following the footsteps of authority, spiritual master, anu. Our process is anu. We don't manufacture anything. We simply follow. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ (CC Madhya 17.186). Mahājanas. Great personalities, great authorities, that is our process. Guru-mukha-padma-vākya, cittete kariyā aikya, āra na koriya mane āśa **. This is the process.

Lecture on SB 7.12.5 -- Bombay, April 16, 1976:

There is no such strict principle, and we are constructing very nice palatial building with attached bathroom and everything complete. Still, people are not coming. This is different days. So it is very difficult to introduce the original way of brahmacarya, vānaprastha, sannyāsa, and gṛhastha. Everything has topsy-turvied. But there is only one way. That is there in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that "Although this age is full of faults..." Kalau doṣa-nidhe rājan. The Śukadeva Gosvāmī said, "My dear King, Parīkṣit Mahārāja, I have described so many faults of this age, and you must be perplexed. It is just like the ocean of faults. But there is one benefit. That is specially for this age." What is that? Kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet: (SB 12.3.51) "If simply this system is introduced, Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra..." Kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya. This Hare Kṛṣṇa... Sometimes they come to fight with us that "Why you say 'Hare Kṛṣṇa'? Why you do not say 'Hare Rāma'?" Perhaps you have got experience.

Nectar of Devotion Lectures

The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, October 21, 1972:

The best welfare activity is spreading this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. So it was entrusted to the, to all Indians. Any Indian who has taken birth as human being, it is the duty of him to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But anyway, although there is only one Indian, (laughter) you follow, and, and spread this message extensively. After this ūrjā-vrata, you'll also spread this Kṛṣṇa consciousness move..., message.

The Kṛṣṇa consciousness message is kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). There is no other Bhagavān. Bhagavān means full of six opulences. So Kṛṣṇa is completely, cent percent full of all opulences. Even Nārāyaṇa, He is ninety-six percent. And Lord Śiva is eighty-four percent. And Brahmā is seventy-eight percent. These are calculated by the Gosvāmīs. So Kṛṣṇa is cent percent Bhagavān. And Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat (BG 7.7). Nānyat. Nobody. So simply you have to... Just like our little girl, Sarasvatī, she also preaches. She goes to some friend. She asks, "Do you know what is Kṛṣṇa?" If he says "No, I do not know very much." So she says, "The Supreme Personality of Godhead." That's all. This is preaching.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 7.49-65 -- San Francisco, February 3, 1967:

And those who are atheists, purposely against God, they should be avoided. Therefore there are four kinds of dealings for the person who is in the intermediate position. And those who are in the higher status of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they do not see anyone as against God. Their vision is that everyone is engaged in God's service. So there, there is only one vision, that everyone is engaged in God's service. They have no distinction. That is very higher stage. One should not imitate that stage.

So in the lower stage, these two gentlemen, Tapana Miśra and Candraśekhara, they are hearing the criticism against Lord Caitanya, but they are, I mean to say, placing themselves in the lower status, and they say that "We cannot bear this." Because they haven't got sufficient power to refute the arguments of the other party, therefore they are feeling sorry.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 25.40-50 -- San Francisco, January 24, 1967:

When his disciple was glorifying Lord Caitanya and His process of teaching, his spiritual master, Prakāśānanda, said like this: ācāryera āgraha-advaita-vāda sthāpite. He admitted... Ācārya means Śaṅkarācārya. He means here Śaṅkarācārya. Śaṅkarācārya wanted that there is only one Brahman and we are also Brahman, but he wanted his philosophy of monism. Dualism, God and living entity separate, they do not admit. They admit that God and living entity the same. It is simply for the time being covered, which is called māyā. Māyāvāda philosophy. So the Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī also admitted that because Śaṅkarācārya wanted to establish his philosophy of monism, therefore he had to cover the real meaning of Vedānta-sūtra.

Initiation Lectures

Initiation Lecture -- Los Angeles, July 13, 1971:

Dayānanda: "...considering the Lord and the demigods on the same level or to understand that there are many Gods. There is only one God..."

Prabhupāda: This is a misconception that especially in your country, in the Western countries, it is advertised that the Hindus have many Gods. We are not concerned with the Hindu-Muslim; we are concerned with Kṛṣṇa. So actually in the Vedas accepted one God. Eka brahma dvitīya nāsti. There is no second. God cannot be two. God is one. It is a misconception, there are many Gods. There are Māyāvādī philosophers, they say that "You worship any demigod. It is the same thing." They misinterpret the Bhagavad-gītā śloka, ye yathā māṁ prapadyante: (BG 4.11). "You can worship Me in any way." The Māyāvādī philosophers, there is a great missionary activities in India. They have got their branch here also. They propagate that "You may worship any demigod, goddess Kali or this or that. Everything is all right." No. God is one, and that is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam. That is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān (SB 1.3.28).

General Lectures

Lecture -- Seattle, October 11, 1968:

Young man (3): Isn't there a difference between... When I say Christ consciousness, to get your mind on the same level as the atoms, and on a higher level, beyond the atoms as pure spirit—are these two levels of consciousness in the atoms and...

Prabhupāda: Actually, there is no two levels. There is only one level. Just like there is one sky, but when the sky is overcast with cloud, you divide the sky: "This is friendly sky, and this is nonfriendly sky." Just like the airlines, they advertise, "Fly in friendly sky." Wherefrom this "friendly sky" comes? The sky is one. But the part of the sky which is covered with cloud, that is unfriendly sky. Similarly, sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma. There is... Without exception, everything is spirit. But the portion of spirit which is covered by ignorance, the cloud of ignorance, that is matter. Just like what is material civilization? All activities minus God. This is material. And as soon as all activities plus God, it is spiritual. So all activities minus God means trouble, and all activities plus God is wholesome, is pleasing. So Kṛṣṇa consciousness means all activities plus God. That's all. We are also doing the same thing. The candle is burned here, you also have candles at your home. You have got your apartment; this is also apartment. What is the difference between this apartment, your apartment? Because here is relationship of Kṛṣṇa. So you make everything in relationship with Kṛṣṇa, it is spiritual.

Lecture at Art Gallery -- Auckland, April 16, 1972:

This is the yogi. And out of all those yogis, the Kṛṣṇa form... Kṛṣṇa has got many forms. Advaita acyuta anādi ananta-rūpam ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣaṁ nava-yauvanaṁ ca (Bs. 5.33). Ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣam. Kṛṣṇa has multiforms. He is the Yogeśvara. The yogis, they can also sometimes expand to many-fold forms. There is only one instance in the śāstra. There was a Saubhari Muni. He was a great yogi. He expanded himself to eight forms. So yogis, they can. But if a yogi can expand himself into eight or, say, several forms, how much potency is there in the yogeśvara. Kṛṣṇa is called yoge... Yatra yogeśvaro hariḥ. Yogeśvara (BG 18.78). He is the master of all mystic powers, Yogeśvara. So He can expand Himself in many forms, multiforms. That is explained. Advaita acyuta anādi ananta-rūpam. Ananta-rūpam. Ādyam, but He is the original person. Purāṇa-puruṣam, the oldest person, because He is the original. Nava-yauvanaṁ ca, but He is still young man. You have seen the picture of Kṛṣṇa.

Departure Talks

Departure Lecture -- London, March 12, 1975:

And Bhāgavata declares in the beginning that "All cheating type of religious system is rejected, kicked out." Projjhita. Projjhita means just like you wash your floor or sweep your floor and collect the dust and throw it away, similarly, in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the unwanted so-called religious system, they have been collected and thrown away. Here in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there is only one religious system, which is spoken in the Bhagavad-gītā in the last chapter, Eighteenth Chapter, that sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). If we accept this principle, then we enter into the Bhāgavata-dharma. Otherwise there is no entrance in the Bhāgavata-dharma.

For the Māyāvādī who wants to become one with the Supreme... You can become one. One means the same thing, a small portion of the water. But our philosophy is not to mix up with the water superficially but enter into the water and live there like fish, big, big fish. That is our philosophy.

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz:

Śyāmasundara: It's impossible to conceive of the opposite of that truth. So that is what he would call logically necessary proof, proved by the law of contradiction.

Prabhupāda: My point is that he says that there are two types of truth. No. There cannot be two types of truth. That is my protest. I say there is only one truth. When you think two types of truth, then you are mistaken. Then same thing: when you think that two plus two equals five, then you are mistaken. Two plus two is always four. That is truth. Similarly, snow is white always. That is truth. When you think it is red, it is untruth. But you cannot say it is another type of truth. Mistake cannot be accepted as another type of truth. Mistake is mistake.

Śyāmasundara: I think he says the same things, but the language is different.

Philosophy Discussion on Immanuel Kant:

Hayagrīva: Kant writes, "There is only one true religion, but there can be faiths of several kinds. It is therefore more fitting to say, 'This is..., this man is of this or that faith"—Jewish, Muhammadan, Christian, Catholic, Lutheran-'than he is of this or that religion.' "

Prabhupāda: Yes, that is going on. Actually, religion means obedience to God. So religion does not mean some sect. They are trying to understand God some way, but that is not actually religion. That is a method of understanding God. But religion begins when one has actually understood God and giving Him, rendering Him service. That is religion.

Hayagrīva: For Kant, the true religion is the divine ethical state. He is..., he was fond of quoting the Christian Bible. When Christ was demanded of the Pharisees when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation. Neither shall they say, 'Lo here' or 'Lo there,' for behold, the kingdom of God is within you." Now Kant footnotes this passage by saying, "Here a kingdom of God is represented not according to a particular covenant, but moral, knowable through assisted reason."

Philosophy Discussion on Hegel:

Prabhupāda: That we say. Just like the sun is expressed by the sunshine, by the heat and light. We understand sun through all spreading heat and light. Similarly, we understand God, Kṛṣṇa, by His two energies. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, the material energy and the spiritual energy, two energies. The spiritual energy is described as superior energy, and material energy is described as inferior energy. Superior, inferior, that is in our consideration because we cannot understand. Therefore Kṛṣṇa has said. Otherwise there is only one energy, the superior spiritual energy. When the spiritual energy is covered by ignorance, then it is called material energy. Just like the sky, in the sky naturally it is clear but when there is cloud, we cannot see the sun. So sun is there. When we cannot see Kṛṣṇa, cannot understand Kṛṣṇa, that is material. Otherwise there is nothing material. Everything is spiritual.

Philosophy Discussion on Hegel:

Prabhupāda: Yes, but spirit is, according to our philosophy, the spirit is realized in three phases, brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (SB 1.2.11). The supreme spirit is realized in three phases. An example is given, just like you see from a distant place the mountain, you see just like a hazy cloud. You go forward, you will see something, substance, green, and if you enter it you'll see so many trees, so many animals. So you are seeing the same object but according to your understanding, somebody is saying, "Oh, it is a cloud." Somebody is saying, "It is some green (indistinct)," and somebody is saying, "No, it is very nice place." It is a question of where he is standing, to understand God. So those who are standing in distant place, for them imperson. Just like we are seeing the sunshine imperson, and the sun globe localized, and if you have got capacity to enter into the sun globe, you'll see sun god. Similarly, God is realized in three capacities, brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (SB 1.2.11). Either impersonal Brahman, or localized Paramātmā, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But if you somehow or other approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it is Kṛṣṇa. Then you understand the other two things. And Kṛṣṇa is explaining, brahmaṇo ahaṁ pratiṣṭhā. "I am the resting place of brahmajyoti." Brahmā-saṁhitā says, yasya prabha (Bs. 5.40), this brahmajyoti, impersonal brahmajyoti is the bodily rays of Kṛṣṇa. Similarly, Paramātmā, īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna (BG 18.61), that is another feature of Kṛṣṇa. He is sitting in everyone's heart. Just like the sun is reflected in thousands and millions of (indistinct). There are no so many suns, there is only one sun. How you will (indistinct)? So God is one but according to realization, one who has seen the (indistinct), he says, "Oh, there are millions of suns." And one who has not seen the (indistinct), he has seen only sunshine, "Sun is impersonal." It is a question of (indistinct) person who is realizing. But actually God is a person, sat-cit-ānanda-vigraha. That is (indistinct). We have got clear conception of God, sat-cit-ānanda-vigraha, Kṛṣṇa.

Philosophy Discussion on Soren Aabye Kierkegaard:

Hayagrīva: As far as defining love, what is love—people speak of love—he says, "If someone asks what is love, Paul answers, 'It is the fulfillment of the law.' Love is a matter of conscience, and hence it is not a matter of impulse and inclination, nor is it a matter of emotion, nor a matter for intellectual calculation. There is only one kind of love." And he says that is spiritual love.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Love in the material world is impossible. In the material world everyone is interested for his own sense gratification. The love between man and woman, young boy and young girl, that is not love, that is lust, because both the parties are interested in sense gratification. But that is not love. Love means the parties, they will not think of his own sense gratification but the sense gratification of the beloved. That is pure love. That is not possible in the material world, but we see the example of love in the picture of Vṛndāvana. In the Vṛndāvana village, everyone—man, animals and fruits, flowers, water, everything—they are only for loving Kṛṣṇa. They do not want any return from Kṛṣṇa. That is real love, anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Brs. 1.1.11). If one loves God with some motive, that is material love. Pure love is simply to satisfy the desires of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore in the material world the love, word "love," is misused.

Philosophy Discussion on Ludwig Wittgenstein:

Devotee: (indistinct) twelve o'clock.

Śyāmasundara: Earlier in his philosophy he said that there is only one language of terms which portray reality. In other words, there is only one definite set of language terms that portray reality.

Prabhupāda: That is brahma, brahma-sattva. Paraṁ satyaṁ dhīmahi. That is reality.

Śyāmasundara: Later he said that it's the way in which a word is used, not its meaning as a name for some object, which gives a language a statement for validity. In other words, the way we use words, not that words in themselves have absolute meaning, but the way we use them.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Just like when you use one word, it has got some meaning. When you say "Brahman," it has got some meaning. "Brahman" means nothing is greater than Brahman. When you use the word Brahman it means nothing is greater that Brahman.

Conversations and Morning Walks

1970 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- December 12, 1970, Indore:

Prabhupāda: Everywhere there is Gītā Mandir. Here there is also big Gītā Mandir.

Guest (6): No, there... Here they have mixture of many gods. Not like that. There is only one Gītā, and all, the whole temple, belongs to Gītā and nothing else.

Prabhupāda: So if they invite, I can go. Why don't you ask them to invite us? Then we can go immediately.

Guest (6): Whole temple there is a pracāra(?) Gītā.

Prabhupāda: But how many preachers they have produced?

Guest (6): You must be knowing that Vidyananda, Swami Vidyananda.

Prabhupāda: Oh, he's a great nonsense.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- April 29, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Hmmm?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: The two types of causes, the relative...

Prabhupāda: There is only one cause. Only one cause. But they are manifested in two, material and spiritual. Cause is one. But they are manifested in two; one is material, one is spiritual.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: So the instrumental is the spiritual?

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: The instrumental cause...?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Efficient cause. Maybe. Which is actually acting.

Morning Walk -- May 14, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Karandhara: They have to have a human body in order to enjoy that philosophy.

Prabhupāda: Their philosophy is that there is only one-God. So cats and dogs, that is God's līlā. That is their rascal philo... God is making pastimes, līlā, by becoming a dog. That is their rascal philosophy. Daridra-nārāyaṇa. Vivekananda's philosophy. Nārāyaṇa has become daridra, poor. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (pause) So with chemists we have no quarrel if they begin from light. They're beginning from darkness. That is our contention. We say, "Begin from light." And they say, "No, begin from darkness." Because they're in darkness. One who is in the darkness, from darkness, if he goes to light, he thinks that the darkness is the beginning.

Paramahaṁsa: In comparison, they always compare.

Room Conversation with Krishna Tiwari -- May 22, 1973, New York:

Prabhupāda: Why you are giving so much importance to your method of understanding?

Krishna Tiwari: (laughs) Because there is only one each of us can do.

Prabhupāda: That is (indistinct). So if you give so much importance to your method of understanding, why don't you give importance to our method of understanding?

Krishna Tiwari: Well, I haven't seen the results of...

Prabhupāda: Your method is imperfect. I have seen.

Krishna Tiwari: But others is more imperfect.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Room Conversation with Guest -- July 11, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: (laughs) That is, from argument, it is all right. Yes. Why one should see Brahman and not-Brahman? Yes.

Guest: There is only one God.

Prabhupāda: There is only one God.

Guest: Eko brahma dvitīyo nāsti.

Prabhupāda: Nāsti. So...

Guest: Only one God dwells everywhere.

Prabhupāda: And Kṛṣṇa says that sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya mūrtayaḥ sambha...ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā (BG 14.4). He's the original seed-giving father of all living entities, in any form. So not only human beings, but also animals, birds, beasts. Kṛṣṇa is the original father. Jīvera... Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). And Kṛṣṇa also: mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ (BG 15.7).

Guest: Jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ (BG 15.7).

Room Conversation with British Man -- August 31, 1973, London:

Haṁsadūta: And similarly religion is one. Because God is one, His religion, because religion means law of God. Whatever He speaks, it must be the same everywhere. Either in the Bible, Koran or the Bhagavad-gītā. Unfortunately we are making so many differentiations or distinctions or contradictions. But actually on principle, there is only one religion. If we actually understand religion, the word of God, law of God, there can't be two religions. Just like mathematics is one.

Guest (1): I do feel that. It's because I do feel that so very strongly, I cannot feel impelled to give allegiance to any sect at all. It's repugnant to me.

Haṁsadūta: Sectarianism is the great enemy of...

Guest (1): It is, it's a dreadful thing.

Prabhupāda: From practical life, just like world's principal religion, Christianism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Mohammedanism also, the principle of not killing is there, every religion. Buddhism, they're completely for not killing. No circumstances, at any circumstances killing is not allowed. Similarly, in Vedic religion, killing is not allowed, but at circumstances, it is allowed. Similarly Christianity, they also say, "Thou shall not kill."

Morning Walk -- December 2, 1973, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: It is līlā. Then you have to accept that Brahman is a person.

Karandhara: Well, they say there is only one person. There's no varieties of persons.

Prabhupāda: That's all right. But you have to accept the origin, the person. That is our philosophy. Then you accept our philosophy.

Karandhara: Then they say, "Well it's not exactly a person, it's inconceivable."

Prabhupāda: Therefore you cannot say that He is not a person, because He is inconceivable. You cannot say whether He is person or not person, because you are illusioned, and inconceivable... But why you are thinking that because you cannot say perfectly, everyone cannot say perfectly? You are thinking like that. Just like we have got experience: one body cannot say something, but the other can say. Practical experience. Just like this child cannot say something but the father can say.

Bali Mardana: It's their envious attitude. They are envious.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- February 17, 1974, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: No, but by, by, by saṁskāras, birth. Our saṁskāra, Vaiṣṇava-saṁskāra. Whole community of us. (pause)

Prabhupāda: So why you are becoming ex-community?

Dr. Patel: I am... No. That is not... There is only one community and that is also many people. All of us one. The animal communities are there.

Prabhupāda: So that is also another community. If you take simply humanity, that is another community.

Dr. Patel: Then all communities are including...

Prabhupāda: Why you should neglect the animal community?

Dr. Patel: That's right. That is right.

Prabhupāda: That is also community.

Morning Walk -- March 25, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Dr. Patel: If he does not... (Sanskrit)

Prabhupāda: Eh? No...

Dr. Patel: There is only one ākāśa. There cannot be multiple ākāśas.

Prabhupāda: No, no, no.

Dr. Patel: Even in the pot or anywhere.

Prabhupāda: That I... That you cannot compare. Therefore I say that everyone is individual.

Guest (1): As long as ghaṭa is there, there is a ghaṭākāśa.

Morning Walk -- April 3, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: But just like Kṛṣṇa says, "They are just like moon." Just see. Nakṣatrāṇām ahaṁ śaśi. So śaśi means the moon. Moon is like one of the stars. So if you say the stars are sūrya, then there is contradiction. How the moon and the sun can be equal? But actually, that is not. According to our Vedic astronomy, there is one sun only in one universe, although there are millions of universes, we cannot count. So there are millions of suns. That is another thing. But within the universe there is only one sun, and by the brilliance of sunshine, all these stars and moons are glittering. Just like moon shining, being reflected by the sun, similarly, all the stars they are glittering, being reflected by the sun, not that all of them are different suns. This theory is refuted.

Morning Walk -- June 1, 1974, Geneva:

Bhagavān: So I hope there is still time.

Prabhupāda: He is Prime Minister of France?

Bhagavān: He just became the Prime Minister of France.

Prabhupāda: Hm. Young man?

Bhagavān: Forty? (break) (now they are walking)

Prabhupāda: Still they are doing this. You see? Padaṁ padam means every step. There are some fruits in this tree? No. Oh, here is eucalyptus? No. (break) ...you can by children, their living. There is only one offspring.

Room Conversation with Biochemist, Dr. Sallaz -- June 4, 1974, Geneva:

Dr. Sallaz: Our aim. We are looking about. The state of the world is going down since thirty years, I said. With pollution, with strengths, with power, with everything, the world is going down, going to the catastrophe. And there is only one possibility to save it. It is a question of spiritual revolution. Without a spiritual revolution, between twenty, twenty-five years, the world is finished, all the world of which people are so proud.

Prabhupāda: Very good.

Dr. Sallaz: And this we are doing everything in our power to prepare and to do what we can to prepare this spiritual revolution. It is the thing we have to do today to save the world. Without spiritual revolution, there is no possibility to save the world. It is going down definitely. For this earth, yes.

Prabhupāda: So we have started this movement, spiritual revolution, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So why don't you cooperate with us?

Room Conversation with devotees about Twelfth Canto Kali-yuga, and Conversation with Guest -- June 15, 1974, Paris:

Yogeśvara: "Do you think that in the future all religions and all these spiritual groups will come together and form one group."

Prabhupāda: There is no "all religion." There is only one religion. One who deviates, he creates another religion. Religion means there is God and we should be obedient to God. This is religion.

Madame Devi: (French)

Jyotirmayī: She says, "Therefore is not necessary to go by one's special path?"

Prabhupāda: No, there is no special path. There is only one path, that "God is there, God is great, and we are all subordinate to God." That's all. No, if you... They accept this?

American Man: I think that each man finds his own way, and that some people, because of the blood they have and because of who they have been before, can go...

Prabhupāda: No, no, do you accept this principle, that "God is great, and we are all subordinate to Him"?

Room Conversation with Professor Durckheim German Spiritual Writer -- June 19, 1974, Germany:

Professor Durckheim: There is only one way toward peace, through self-realization of those who are responsible.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Self-realization, that is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, that one should understand that "I am not enjoyer. Nobody is enjoyer." That is false. They are trying, endeavor, for enjoying this world, and that is false. Real enjoyer is the Supreme Lord. We are trying to occupy this land, that land. "This is Germany. This is England. This is France. This is India. This is my land, worshipable. Land is worshipable. It is my land." But he should know that no land belongs to us. Everything belongs to God. And this is a fact. The land is not created by us. The ocean is not created by us. Then why should we claim, "This is German ocean, and this is English ocean"? This is all false imagination. So when it comes to this understanding, that "Nothing belongs to us..." The United Nations, they are fighting for the last twenty years, but they are fighting on the false ground because everyone is thinking, "This land is mine. I must protect it." So they have no self-realization, and there is no peace.

Reporters Interview -- June 29, 1974, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Guest (3): Śrīla Prabhupāda, what about other religions such as Christianity and...

Prabhupāda: There is no second religion. There is only one religion. That is God consciousness. Now, as soon as you designate, "Christian," "Hindu," "Muslim," that is upādhi, designated religion. Just like you are here and you are in black coat. So if I say, "Black Mr. such and such," so to say, "Black Mr. such and such," there is no need. "Mr. such and such" is sufficient. But we have been accustomed to say like that, "Black Mr. such and such, white Mr. such and such." Similarly, religion is one, but due to our sophisticated mind, we call it "Christian religion," "Hindu religion," "Muslim religion." Why don't you come in? Why are you outside?

Devotee: I have my working clothes on, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Professors -- February 19, 1975, Caracas:

Prabhupāda: You hear. Because you imperfect, you have so many things. But we hear differently.

Professor: I know that there is only one God.

Prabhupāda: We say that God is one. Whether you accept it or not? Unless God is one, there cannot be God. God cannot be many. God means, in the dictionary it is said, "Supreme Being." The Supreme Being can be one. If there is competition of Supreme Being, then he is not Supreme Being. That is the philosophy. That is the philosophy. Then we have to find out who is that Supreme Being. You cannot say... You find somebody who has got little power. You cannot say, "Now here is God." The supreme power, that is God. Just like money, that is also one of the qualification of God. But money, He has got all the money. You may have got some money, some millions dollars. I may have got little more than that. But nobody can say, "I have got all the money." Or one can say that "I have got all the money," then He is God.

Guests: (Spanish)

Hṛdayānanda: They want to hear the translation.

Room Conversation with Yoga Student -- March 14, 1975, Iran:

Prabhupāda: Oh, all right. Jaya. Jaya.

Guest: So I think what we have in Islam is... They say that the road, the way towards God, the ways are many, as many as the human beings, that is said. So in the number of human beings you have ways towards God. So everybody, each person, has his own way towards God. And it's really hard for me, difficult for me to believe that there's only one way and there is only one book and one school, one way of teaching.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Guest: And when Muhammad said that God is great, he simply said God is great, and he adds nothing to it for somebody who is well acquainted with Islam culture and he who knows well about Koran's teachings, it cannot be understood and accepted. It is the same with somebody who is well acquainted with Christianity and the truth spoken through Christianity. It is the same with the Buddhism or other ways which are designed, which are...

Conversation with Indian Guests -- April 12, 1975, Hyderabad:

Mahāṁsa: Everything is sweet in Bhagavad-gītā.

Guest: ...the other part is there. (indistinct) ...that other part, that meaning be...

Prabhupāda: No. Other part, there is no other part. There is only one part. Just like Kṛṣṇa says that

na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ
prapadyante narādhamāḥ
māyayāpahṛta-jñānā
āsuriṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ
(BG 7.15)

So there is no other part. It is direct meaning. If anyone who has not surrendered to Kṛṣṇa, he is either duṣkṛtinaḥ, mūḍhāḥ, narādhamāḥ, māyayāpahṛta-jñānā, asuriṁ bhāvam.

Guest: (indistinct) Don't attack the part of death. (indistinct)

Mahāṁsa: He was going to (indistinct) ślokas. He said he will not accept ślokas which are, we can accept, those which we cannot accept we will...

Prabhupāda: Reject.

Mahāṁsa: We will go for the next one.

Prabhupāda: Just see.

Room Conversation with Kim Cornish -- May 8, 1975, Perth:

Kim: The ātman, there is one to a person, or there is only one ātman?

Prabhupāda: You are ātmā, I am ātmā, we are not one. You are individual, I am individual. I don't agree with you, you don't agree with me. So how one?

Kim: I beg your pardon?

Prabhupāda: How it is one?

Amogha: He says that you are individual and he is individual, so how can they be one?

Kim: How can they be one? I see. Yes. I was wondering how the ātman is associated with each individual. Is it the... Isn't it right to say the person is the ātman?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Kim: The person is the ātman. And to each person there is one ātman associated.

Prabhupāda: You are a person and I am a person. You are changing bodies and I am changing bodies.

Morning Walk -- May 29, 1975, Honolulu:

Prabhupāda: So how this chunk came here? Hmm? The scientists say...

Gurukṛpa: There is only one answer.

Prabhupāda: What is that?

Gurukṛpa: Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda: No, that is your answer. What the scientists will say?

Gurukṛpa: Well, it came from a volcano in the earth.

Prabhupāda: It is stone. (so?) It is not separate piece. It is attached to a big...

Gurukṛpa: Big lava came, and now it's here. Actually, it's all false. It doesn't exist. It's just like a dream. We're just dreaming these things. But when you wake up and you're out of the dream, then you actually come to the Brahman. It's just false.

Prabhupāda: But when this chunk is thrown over your head, that is not false. If it is thrown over your head, then you protest, "No, no, don't do it. Don't do it."

Morning Walk -- July 14, 1975, Philadelphia:

Prabhupāda: Because he desired. Kṛṣṇa bhuliya jīva bhoga vañchā kare. When he wants to enjoy this material world... In the spiritual world there is only one enjoyer. And in the material world everyone is a enjoyer. He is planning in his own way how to enjoy. That is material world. In the spiritual world the enj..., is Kṛṣṇa, and all others is helping in His enjoyment. But in material world everyone is thinking, "I am enjoyer," and he is planning in his own way.

Devotee (1): Śrīla Prabhupāda, modern philosophy is teaching that the forces of greed and lust and these things are greater than man, that actually... This concept that we are eternal, full of knowledge and bliss, they cannot accept that or understand that. They're thinking that the powers of evil are much greater, and we're just controlled by these things.

Morning Walk -- August 25, 1975, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: So this building for the board of...

Devotee (1): These are for studying science, politics, geography, economics, and so on. It's just like any other college. There is no oriental philosophy being studied. There is only one student who is actually studying philosophy in the whole college, Vaiṣṇava philosophy. (break)

Prabhupāda: ...Fogel āśrama?

Gurṇārṇava: Fogel āśrama is further down, Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: What is this āśrama?

Dhanañjaya: This is no āśrama, Śrīla Prabhupāda. It's just houses.

Gurṇārṇava: Just houses.

Morning Walk -- November 8, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: ...I am in Bombay, but how many Gujaratis are my chela? There is only one Gujarati.

Dr. Patel: One is sufficient. He represents the whole Gujaratis.

Prabhupāda: That's all right. (laughter)

Brahmānanda: And Prabhupāda had to rescue him from America. (laughter)

Prabhupāda: That is the difficulty. I will have to preach, bringing men from America and Europe. Nobody is coming here. Everyone is talking big, big.

Indian man (3): God has to go to burden this one also?

Prabhupāda: Eh? No, no. This is the difficulty, that whatever I am doing... Therefore I am very much in anxiety when the government says, "Now you go away. Your visa is finished."

Morning Walk -- November 18, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: There is no multiple ways. That is...

Dr. Patel: There may be any number of ways, but I feel that there is what greatness of God. That's all.

Prabhupāda: That is... We protest. There is no many number. There is only one.

Dr. Patel: That depends on his own way.

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. Jaya.

Dr. Patel: But you must be benevolent to these people, at least to an extent, to the scientists, that all scientists are wrong, are they? All scientists are not gadhas. Some of them are good (Hindi) and some of them evolve into man even.

Prabhupāda: But we say... If somebody says that "I have got my own way to understand," he is not scientist.

Morning Walk -- November 21, 1975, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Then we reject them. At once we reject it. Yes. These Māyāvādīs, they know that if they accept Bhagavad-gītā as it is, then their Māyāvādī philosophy is finished.

Mahāṁsa: And those of the Vivekananda or Ramakrishna āśrama, there is only one senior devotee that they have now, he is the president of the Hyderabad branch. His name is Ranganath.

Prabhupāda: Oh, Ranganath, yes.

Mahāṁsa: And one day one of our regular devotees, he went to see him and said, "What about in America there are so many people, they are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa?" So he says, "In America also there are many fools." So he is blaspheming like this, how can we cooperate with such people?

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Interview with Kathy Kerr Reporter from The Star -- June 17, 1976, Toronto:

Prabhupāda: There is only one way. Just like the spirit soul is within you and within me. Your skin may be white, my skin may be colored, but within, the spirit soul, what is there in you, that is in me also. There is not change on account of the body. Therefore to understand that spirit soul, there is only one way. There is no second way. Because it is not experimental; it is already there. If it is based on experiment and observation, then my experiment, your experiment may be different. But it is a fact that the soul is there, and as soon as the soul is gone from the body, the body is a dead lump of matter. That you have to understand. And any gentleman, any sensible man can understand it, that soul is there although we are changing body. Just like you were a child. That's a fact. But where is that child's body? Now your body's different. Is it not a fact? What do you think? So where is that body, your child's body?

Kathy Kerr: It's material, I would say.

Room Conversation With Scientists -- July 6, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: Earth is the reservoir of all elements. As you go from earth to water, one is minus. From water, you go to fire, one is again minus. In this way, when you go up, ether, there is only one. And earth contains all the five.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: All the five gross elements.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: So actually we can use just from earth all these ninety-two elements, like silver, gold...

Prabhupāda: Yes, that is in the earth. So many varieties of mixture.

Rūpānuga: Now is there an atom for each? Is there a copper atom?

Room Conversation -- July 6, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: Many. Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi-vibhūti-bhinnam (Bs. 5.40). Aśeṣa. We cannot count.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: The description is also that there is only one star in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The description is that there is only one star in this universe. One star.

Prabhupāda: One star?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, only one star.

Devotee: One sun.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: I'm sorry, one sun.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Room Conversation -- July 17, 1976, New York:

Indian man: And that's why I try to show the difference to people, that "Please follow Prabhupāda's Gītā. And please make sure that when you read, you read Gītā As It Is." This is why I'm trying to show the differences to people. Personally there is only one question I have, and that is, throughout all the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatams that you have translated so far, I see all the time any, like Kardama Muni or other, all other great sages, whenever they do tapasya, every time Mahā-Viṣṇu comes down. Now I know that throughout other, even Back to Godhead, you have considered Mahā-Viṣṇu as an expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, yet Mahā-Viṣṇu is coming every time as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So what is the subtle position here?

Prabhupāda: There is no difference between... Just like... It has been explained in the Brahma-saṁhitā. Just like one candle, then you kindle another candle, then you kindle another, another, another, another. So you say, "This is first, this is second, this is third, this is fourth..." But so far candle power is concerned, they are all the same. Either you take first or the second or the third, so far the candle power is concerned, that is all the same. Still, you have to say, "This is first, this is second, that is third, this is fourth..."

Conversation with George Harrison -- July 26, 1976, London:

Gurudāsa: In New York they had one island of refuse floated in to shore. For years they were building up island of refuse, and it floated in, and now no one can go to the beaches.

Prabhupāda: Samosa. Where is samosa? There is only one left?

George Harrison: I'm okay, actually.

Devotee (2): There is sour cream.

George Harrison: I've got plenty, thanks.

Prabhupāda: Prasada, we can eat up to the neck. (laughter) There is no harm. You'll never get indigestion. You have got some fruits?

George Harrison: Yes.

Room Conversation -- August 2, 1976, New Mayapur (French farm):

Prabhupāda: Oh, give them this garland. (break) ...he begins with surrender. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). So anyone who voluntarily offers obeisances, immediately he becomes fifty percent advanced. Because.... Who is talking? This material world means nobody wants to surrender. Everyone wants to become master: "I am the monarch of all I survey." Everyone is planning how to become a master. Therefore the struggle for existence. Nobody wants to become a servant. You know very well in European history, Napoleon wanted to become the master of all Europe. Hitler wanted also. Similarly, there were so many leaders, sometimes Roman leaders, sometimes Greek leaders, sometimes French leaders, sometimes German leaders, English leader. The whole European history is full of fighting, war. The basic idea is that everyone wanted to become master. That is the material disease. We are now discussing Bali Mahārāja. He also wanted to become master of the whole universe. So that is the material disease. Actually, master is one, Kṛṣṇa. There cannot be two masters. There is only one master, that is Kṛṣṇa, or God. But in the material world, because we have forgotten the real master, every one of us is trying to become master. This is material disease. Not only in one life, but life after life. The cats and dogs, they also want to be master. The dog, if he finds another dog coming, he immediately begins barking very loudly, "Why you are coming here?"

Evening Darsana -- August 11, 1976, Tehran:

Prabhupāda: And there is no father. And he has no father, the rascal who is talking? He has no father? Immediately beat him with shoes. (laughter) The rascal, you are talking, you have got your father. Beat him with shoes immediately on his mouth.

Jñānagamya: They say for a plant, ground is necessary, water is necessary, seed is necessary, air is necessary, so why is it that there is only one cause?

Prabhupāda: From the one everything is coming.

Jñānagamya: Why isn't it coming from several sources? Instead of one source, why not several sources?

Prabhupāda: That, he has no intelligence. Just like government has so many departments. But original is the king. The departments are only facilities for functioning. But the origin is the king, government. Because there are different departments, there is no king. This is rascaldom. They are rascals, simply rascals. There is no solid argument against.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- January 21, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Rāmeśvara: And the government is so much afraid of offending one religion, so they have become secular. But there only is one religion. There is only one religion.

Prabhupāda: Yes. One religion, this is sarva-dharmān parityajya (BG 18.66), to become surrendered to God. That is religion. And they're useless. That is our religion. We are teaching surrender to God, but they have no idea that there is God. They have forgotten that "There is God, and He can talk with me. I can talk with Him." They cannot believe all these things. "Even if God is there, He cannot talk. He has no mouth, He has no leg. Nirākāra, impersonal." This is their position.

Rāmeśvara: In America there are surveys, public opinion surveys.

Room Conversation Meeting with Dr. Sharma (from Russia) -- April 17, 1977, Bombay:

Dr. Sharma: No, that's a different. Because Harrison is more popular in Europe and West than Lata Mangeskar. Raj Kapoor they know. They know, I think more than George Harrison(?), Raj Kapoor is a most popular man in Soviet Union because of his films. And second is Jawaharlal Nehru. So they can make anybody popular or unpopular. Because there is only one paper. They write whatever they want. Unfortunately, the whole thing is in the hands of those (indistinct). They publish whatever they want. So this type of popularity is not real popularity. You cannot take the face value popularity. So I think this type of creating a drama or taking a film for educating about God, and then there will be some sort of a scientific discourse as if intellectual level that...

Prabhupāda: Scientific research...

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: How about that new film that Yadubara has just made? That's presenting everything as seemingly unreligious way. What is it called? "A Spark of Life" it's called. A new film. Are you going to be showing it here tonight, Yadubara?

Yadubara: Yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Maybe we could see it. That would be nice.

Short Dissertations -- May 24-25, 1977, Vrndavana:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Śiṣya. So how to judge how much electricity is used by us and how much electricity is being used or taken by the Kalachand Goswami? How to know how much he is using and how much we are using? If there is only one meter...

Guest (2): (Hindi)

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Now there's no meter. There's only one meter for whole thing. For whole site there's only one meter. Water meter. But there are two parties. One is the Kalachand, and one we are.

Guest (1): So you install meter in your room?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Ha, ha. Yes. They want to put extra meter in the room.

Guest (2): We have to have extra meter.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: To determine that we should only...

Guest (1): (Hindi)

Jayapatākā: (Hindi or Bengali) (Hindi conversation with scattered English about water and electricity meters)

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: So he's saying that 'cause...

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Correspondence

1968 Correspondence

Letter to Jadurani -- San Francisco 8 April, 1968:

So far the 9 blocks are concerned, I do not mind a long walk, if it is flat land and not hills. Here I am walking at least 2 miles daily voluntarily, so if the house is nice, you can keep it. If a car is available, from New York, then that will be very nice, otherwise, I can walk. So far as devotees are concerned, if there is only one toilet room, then not more than 2 devotees can remain with me. I must have a separate silent place; if there was no noise, all the six rooms could be filled up with devotees. For my personal service I require only one. So you can make arrangements in that way.

Whenever there is need of my lecture, I am always prepared to serve; it doesn't matter whether big or small. Probably as you are making fine arrangements, many will come to the Temple to hear me, so in that case, I must come. Best thing will be to see people in the class, not in my private apartment. Lecturing or meeting must be done in the classroom, that's all.

Letter to Rupanuga -- Montreal 30 August, 1968:

What do the Saivite-like tilakas on His arms signify? And to whom was this form revealed?" The forked stick is a symbol of ekadandi. The Mayavadi sannyasis, they carry ekadanda, one stick. As we Vaisnava sannyasis carry 3 danda, or three sticks, combined together. The one stick is the symbol of understanding oneness. The monists only accept chin matra, there is only one spirit soul; they do not understand the varieties of the spiritual world. And so far our three sticks are concerned, we take it for granted that we have dedicated our life, for Krishna's service in 3 ways, namely, in our body, in our mind, and in our words. Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura has sung in a poetry that my mind, my body, and my home is surrendered unto You. So a Grhastha or householder like you, you are also tridandi. Because you have sacrificed everything, your life, your home, and your child, so you are a tridandi sannyasi, in fact.

Letter to Saradia -- Los Angeles 12 December, 1968:

Just like Krishna is always in the spiritual world, so similarly He is always in the material world and His Pastimes are going on there also. In the material world, Krishna also has eternal associates, such as Arjuna and Kunti Devi. There is a difference between the body and soul of Arjuna and Kunti Devi. But although Arjuna is with Krishna in innumerable different material universes at one time, still there is only one spirit soul who is Arjuna. This spirit soul expands into many different bodies and thus you can understand that there are also incarnations of devotees as well as incarnations of Krishna. This is the power of the spirit soul, that it is unlimited. Such conception cannot be understood while one is still in the conditioned state.

Regarding your third question, both incidents are correct. I hope these shall answer your questions. Please convey my blessings to Satsvarupa, Jadurani, Devananda, Rukmini and all others.

1969 Correspondence

Letter to Charles McCollough -- Los Angeles 12 February, 1969:

The sun can be located as the sun disc, yet it also has its impersonal, all-pervading aspect, or the sunshine. So the sun is manifest, and the sunshine is non-manifest. Manifest means where there is variety and non-manifest means where there is only one. When you go to a planet within the sunshine there are many varieties found, but in the sunshine itself there is simply one—the sunlight.

Regarding your question about time, time is eternal, but in the spiritual world, there is no influence of time. In the material world there is the influence of past, present and future, and this past, present and future is a relative truth. This is because the past of one man is not the past of another; past, present and future are relative to the person, and there are different grades of persons.

Letter to Brahmananda -- Hawaii 23 March, 1969:

Henceforward, we shall very much be cautious to accept bona fide advertisement, if we do accept it at all.

Regarding Brijbasi printing our books: I do not think they can compete with the Japanese people, at least in the matter of make-up. Because I know there is only one or two presses in India who can actually do very nice work, and I do not expect any first class work at least for books, in the Brijbasi press. Besides that, from our past dealings with them it is our experience that they took too long to supply our pictures, more than a year. This means the management is not very efficient. I think therefore the proposal is not practical. If the Japanese people do not agree to print on our terms then the next step is to start our own press without any controversy.

Yes, we must set up our society as a school as best we can—I have already sent you letter. Please formulate the whole curriculum because we have to immediately submit to the Draft department and if this is accepted that will be great gain for our society. "Bhakti-sastri" is awarded after extensive study of Bhagavad-gita, Easy Journey, and Nectar of Devotion.

1970 Correspondence

Letter to Nevatiaji -- Los Angeles 16 July, 1970:

Regarding Swamis and "Swaminies," you have been misinformed. Among my disciples there is only one Swami or Sannyasi, but there is no "Swaminie." Woman is never offered Sannyasa in the Vedic culture. Up to Vanaprastha stage the woman may remain with her husband as assistant or friend without any sex relation, and when a man takes Sannyasa the woman has no connection with him. I am very sorry to inform you that there are some Indian "Swamis" in this country who are living with so-called "Swaminies," but so far we are concerned we follow strictly the Vedic principles. All our students are following the regulative principles as mentioned in Section 3, paragraph 2.

1971 Correspondence

Letter to Yogesvara -- Bombay 28 December, 1971:

Just try to increase more and more our output of such books and magazines in many languages—otherwise how will preaching go on in these places? Though we have been settled in European countries for many years now, only now you are printing the first book in French language, and there is only one book done in German language. So the record has not been good, therefore our preaching work in these countries has not been going very well, and I think now things are not going too well in France and Germany centers. So if somehow or other you can produce profuse books for these places, spend your all time translating, organizing, printing and distributing such books in foreign languages, then I think you will be able to improve the situation there. If there are amply books, everything else will succeed. Practically our Society is built on books.

1972 Correspondence

Letter to Kirtiraja -- Bombay 2 January, 1972:

In the spiritual world the competition is how to satisfy Krishna. There the center is one. If you draw innumerable circles they will not overlap. But here the circles will overlap. Even a small circle can overlap a large circle. This is because in the material world there are many centers, whereas in the spiritual world there is only one center. In the spiritual world whether the circles are big or small they will never overlap. In the spiritual world similarly, whatever or whoever is rendering the service, there is never competition of maliciousness.

Letter to Madhudvisa -- Tokyo 26 April, 1972:

Here, Sudama is taking sannyasa to overhaul the whole of Japan. I see these Japanese as better than the Americans, they offered me their obeisances immediately.

One thing, if you take any kholes to Australia, be sure the heads are of special pre-tanned leather, not rawhide, or they will be not allowed entry. There is only one khole in Australia, so these are very much needed, but how to get them past the customs? Correspond with Mohanananda on this point.

Letter to Gurudasa -- London 1 August, 1972:

Why he should not donate his services? Sometimes in the past months you have told me that Mr. Suri would be donating his services. We shall not pay fees for such things. Now in Vrindaban the financial situation is being conducted nicely by Gargamuni Maharaja, but the work is not going on. In so many months, there is only one fence one small hut, and a well. So I think it will be to the advantage, on the whole, to invite our Tamala Krsna Goswami to come to Vrindaban and bring one of his qualified engineer friends from Calcutta to do the work in Vrindaban. He has got good experience, and he can organize everything and begin the work immediately. His visa was denied for Bangladesh, and he has trained up Yasodanandana Maharaja to lead this sankirtana party, so practically he is free to come to Vrindaban for some weeks to begin the work there. What do you think?

1975 Correspondence

Letter to Deoji Punja -- Vrindaban 4 September, 1975:

It is meant for storing the Deity paraphernalia, making flower garlands, etc. No toilets should be on this floor. Water taps will be needed however for washing the Deity utensils and prasadam plates of the Deity. Also on the Ground Floor on the first plan there were living quarters, but on the second plan there is only one big Library. Where will our men live? Living should be on the Ground Floor.

Regarding the adjacent piece of land, if you can donate, then the adjacent land owner can also donate. The management of affairs should be in the hands of my devotees. Your program for making Life Members is approved by me. You should work under the supervision of the GBC.

Letter to Mr. Himtsinh J. Bhatia, Mrs. Manjula H. Bhatia -- Bombay 23 November, 1975:

In this way everyone is expected to become guru. But how to be a guru? It is said that one simply has to repeat the instructions that Krsna has given. If he repeats without adding or subtracting anything, then he is qualified as guru. Actually there is only one guru—Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So those who simply repeat His words, they also become guru. But of course a guru never thinks himself as being God. He only thinks himself as the servant of the servant of the servant: gopi bhrtya pada-kamalayo das dasanudasa (CC Madhya 13.80).

Recently I visited Africa and I could see that the management was not going on properly. So now I have given Nava Yogendra sannyasa order and am sending him back to Africa. He will be the president of the Mombassa temple, so please help him to make our mission there very solid.

Page Title:There is only one...
Compiler:Visnu Murti, RupaManjari
Created:29 of Sep, 2012
Totals by Section:BG=2, SB=15, CC=2, OB=4, Lec=27, Con=35, Let=12
No. of Quotes:97