Prabhupāda: Many religions. God is one. Religion is one. If you do not know God, then you do not know religion. (break)
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: . . . possible, Śrīla Prabhupāda, that for some reason or another, in the Old Testament, God would have said that because of the circumstances you live in, you should eat cows. Because this is what we find in the Bible.
Prabhupāda: Hmm?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Is it possible that somehow or another at that particular time and place, God would have said: "Eat cows"? Because in Bhagavad-gītā we find Kṛṣṇa clearly says go-rakṣya, cow protection. And that instruction would also be eternal.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Go-rakṣya, the point is that cow's milk is very important. Therefore specifically mentioned go-rakṣya. Kṛṣṇa does not say that "Don't eat meat." It is not clearly said that meat-eating is forbidden. But meat-eating is tāmasika, prāmedya. But He's speaking of go-rakṣya for our special material benefit, that if we protect the cows, we can have the facility of drinking milk, which will help us in keeping our health in order and developing very nice brain tissues to understand spiritual subject matter. Fish-eaters, they're all dull. They cannot understand finer philosophy of life. Meat-eating, not good. But the śūdras and the less than śūdras, they eat, but for them there's lower animals, not cows.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: These people, they think that if someone is inspired by God, then their word is the word of God. Therefore they can write all kinds of things, and they put the label on it that, "This was spoken by God through me."
Prabhupāda: Hearing directly from Him. Which one is better? Directly hearing from Him, or by some inspiration?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Hearing directly, naturally.
Prabhupāda: Yes. It is true. By sentiment you can say: "I am inspired." But hear directly, then there is no question.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: People sometimes ask, "If Bhagavad-gītā was spoken by Kṛṣṇa and it was recorded by Vyāsadeva in the Mahābhārata, was Vyāsadeva actually present there on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, or did he see it by revelation?"
Prabhupāda: No. He could hear. Just like something's happening ten thousand miles away, you can record it by modern machine. (break)
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: . . . mercy he was able to . . . (break)
Prabhupāda: Three millions miles, sun is, eh?
Hari-śauri: That's what they say.
Prabhupāda: So from so far distant place the heat is coming, and there is no brain behind it?
Hayagrīva: It takes five minutes for the sunlight to reach us.
Prabhupāda: Yes and light travels at, what, 193,000 miles a second?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: 197.
Hayagrīva: Something like that. I don't know. Whatever it is.
Prabhupāda: Whatever it may be, such a wonderful things is there, and there is no brain behind it? Is it very reasonable proposal? It has come automatically. There is a chunk. Childish.