Prabhupāda: So we are not politicians, but we give some idea. Is it not good?
Kīrtanānanda: We have political philosophy.
Prabhupāda: Yes. This is our movement: Take instruction of God, follow it, and you'll be happy. What is this?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: This is the end of that article, then the magazine goes on.
Prabhupāda: They have not replied even. (break) "Simple Living, High Thinking." "Then and Now: the Right to Distribute the American Dream." Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So instead of giving books to the members, they can read the books in the magazines. One magazine should be given free always to the members.
Kīrtanānanda: Life members.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Not books. "ISKCON-Ten Years of Spreading Kṛṣṇa Consciousness."
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Won't it help, though, to have the books in the members' homes, that perhaps their generations will read them?
Prabhupāda: Hmm?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Won't it help to have your books in their homes though? And maybe future generations will, you know, be benefited, they'll read your books?
Prabhupāda: Let the parent, present generation read first of all. (laughs) Then talk of future generations.
Hari-śauri: At least they're still inclined to read the Bhagavad-gītā. So if they have yours, then they can be correct, they can correct their misunderstandings.
Prabhupāda: What is this article? Ah. "Kṛṣṇa Consciousness-The Spirit of '76." "Curing the Crimes of a Lifetime." Vibhavatī. "Curing the Crimes"—read it.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: (reads) "Adapted from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, translation and commentary by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda." In the middle there is a picture of Arjuna piercing the target, and Draupadī. "With the recent disgrace of an American president still fresh in our minds, it is interesting to read of a similar case in ancient times. Five thousand years ago a blind king named Dhṛtarāṣṭra dishonored his high post and caused the death of millions. This story is of special importance even today, because he found an antidote to the crimes of a lifetime and in his old age became self-realized. King Dhṛtarāṣṭra was the acting monarch of Hastināpura, the capital of the Vedic kingdom of Bhārata, which five thousand years ago, according to the Vedic literature, spread over most of the planet. Hastināpura was on the banks of the Yamunā River at the present-day site..., at the site of present day Delhi. As its name indicates-hasti means elephant—it was a city full of opulently decorated elephants. Noble men rode elaborate chariots past marble palaces inlaid with glittering jewels. The sweet smell of incense drifted out of lattice windows. Trees bearing fruits and flowers lined the wide streets, which were sprinkled with scented water. There was no hint of poverty or distress. Hastināpura was the crown jewel of the abundant Vedic civilization. From the beginning, Dhṛtarāṣṭra's position as king was never legal, for he was blind, and Vedic law ruled that a blind man cannot be king. Thus the throne went to his younger brother Pāṇḍu. But when Pāṇḍu died in his young manhood, Dhṛtarāṣṭra began ruling on behalf of Pāṇḍu's five sons, who were still children. In an age of great and honorable kings, Dhṛtarāṣṭra was an exception. Swayed by his eldest son Duryodhana's ruthless lust for power, Dhṛtarāṣṭra began to abuse the guardianship of the Pāṇḍavas by closing his already blind eyes to the planned and purposeful efforts of Duryodhana to destroy the boys. As the descendant of a great royal dynasty, Dhṛtarāṣṭra had the lineage and rearing of a proper monarch, but it seemed that he was as blind spiritually as he was physically. Although he admired and even loved the five fatherless princes, he began to contemplate taking away their kingdom, and even their lives."
Prabhupāda: At seven o'clock we shall go there?
Kīrtanānanda: Yes.