Kern: Are you speaking specifically about all animal killing, Your Excellency? Or, how do you speak of animal killing? In other words, vegetarian living, is that what you're speaking of?
Prabhupāda: No, animal means the four-legged animals. Vegetables are not called animals, even in dictionary.
Kern: Does the group live a vegetarian life, without any meat? Is that what you're saying?
Scheverman: I see. That's a basic principle of your way of life, is not eating any meat, any flesh.
Prabhupāda: The verse..., I think there is no Bhāgavata here. The Second Canto, I think, it is said,
- nivṛtta-tarṣair upagīyamānād
- bhavauṣadhāc chrotra-mano-'bhirāmāt
- ka uttamaśloka guṇānuvādāt
- pumān virajyeta vinā paśu-ghnāt
- (SB 10.1.4)
The glorification of the Lord is done by the liberated persons. It is so nice, glorification of the Lord. So who can refrain from the glorification of the Lord unless he is animal killer? It is said there.
Kern: The origin of the group, where...? Who was the original founder, Your Excellency? The original founder of the group?
Prabhupāda: Which group?
Kern: This group, your group, Kṛṣṇa movement.
Prabhupāda: I am the founder, I am the founder.
Kern: You founded it.
Prabhupāda: In 1966.
Scheverman: 1966. And you utilized the traditions of oriental, especially Indian origin.
Prabhupāda: This book, this book. We are presenting Bhagavad-gītā as it is.
Scheverman: So this is a collection of the ancient writings as well as modern writings that reflect the way of life.
Prabhupāda: This is the summary of all Vedic literature.
Kern: Of what kind of literature?
Prabhupāda: Vedic.
Scheverman: Vedic, oh, yeah.
Rakṣaṇa: Vedas means knowledge.
Scheverman: This comes out of a Hindu record.
Prabhupāda: So, here in this Bhagavad-gītā, it is ordered that the human society must be divided into four divisions, and they should cooperate for understanding God. Just like in our body there is the head, there is the arm, there is the belly and there is the leg. So they are all cooperating for maintaining the body. Although head is very important than the leg, but leg is also required. Simply head will not be able to keep the body in good condition.
Scheverman: Yes, our Saint Paul uses that very imagery in his Epistle to the Corinthians, Tenth Chapter. Yes.
Prabhupāda: So that is mentioned in this book. So head means first-class intelligent. A class of men.
Kern: How about people who aren't first-class intelligence, people, as you mentioned, the foolish. What message...?
Prabhupāda: No, they should be trained up. The foolish man.... Just like a foolish child can be trained up to be very nicely educated to pass M.A. examination. Child is..., all children are foolish. That is accepted. But by training him, we can make him the first-class intelligent man.