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You're all vegetarians, are you?

Conversations and Morning Walks

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Oh, yes, because Kṛṣṇa is vegetarian. Kṛṣṇa says... Kṛṣṇa can eat anything because He is God, but He recommends, "Give Me vegetable." Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26). He never said, "You give Me meat or wine or this," no.
Room Conversation with Bill Faill (reporter) -- October 8, 1975, Durban:

Faill: Do you think we're going to come right, then? Is that a possible question? Or is it just far too many people now who are purely in the body and in the world of the senses? Is the world going to come around?

Prabhupāda: They are in darkness. Therefore this movement is very important to take the civilized man from the darkness because everyone is thinking, "I am this body." So long we are in this bodily conception of our life, we are no better than animal. The animal, they keep themselves always in bodily conception: "I am dog," "I am cat," "I am cow," "I am this." If we also keep in that platform, then where is the difference between dog and me?

Faill: There is none then.

Prabhupāda: The dog is barking. He is thinking, "I am dog. I am appointed here as watchman, watchdog, and as soon as somebody is passing, 'Yow! Gow! Gow!' " So, and similarly, if I keep myself in the dog mentality and act like that—"Why you have come to this country? Why you have come to my jurisdiction?" the same dog mentality.

Faill: Is it vital to follow certain eating habits? I mean...

Prabhupāda: Yes. The whole process is how to purify ourself. So by... according to eating, the purification also... I think Mr. Bernard Shaw, he wrote one book that "You Are What You Eat." And that's a fact. We constitute our bodily atmosphere and mental atmosphere according to eating. So our Kṛṣṇa conscious movement recommends... Not the movement recommends. It is recommended in the śāstra that to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, you eat the remnants of foodstuff left by Kṛṣṇa. Just like opposite way: if a tuberculosis patient eats something and if you eat the remnants, then you will be infected with the tuberculosis bacillus. Is it not? So similarly, if you eat kṛṣṇa-prasādam, then you infect Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is our process. We don't take anything directly. We offer to Kṛṣṇa. Then we take kṛṣṇa-prasādam. That helps us. We do not take anything... We cannot take anything from the restaurant or from the shop. No. We prepare everything, offer to Kṛṣṇa. Then we take.

Faill: You're all vegetarians, are you?

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes, because Kṛṣṇa is vegetarian. Kṛṣṇa says... Kṛṣṇa can eat anything because He is God, but He recommends, "Give Me vegetable." Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26). He never said, "You give Me meat or wine or this," no.

Faill: Those are all out. They have to be. And tobacco is...

Prabhupāda: Tobacco is also intoxication. We are already intoxicated in the bodily conception of life, and if we put more intoxication, then we are lost.

Faill: You mean these things just reinforce body consciousness.

Prabhupāda: Yes. So if you want to be treated, then we have to follow the instruction of the physician. He says "Don't take this. Don't take that. You eat only this." So we have got such prescription.

Faill: Well, I think I have got quite a lot down now. I'll have to go and work it out.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Faill: I'll look up some reference books on the history of the movement and that sort of thing.

Prabhupāda: History, it is not a new movement. You have seen this book. You read that book thoroughly. You will get full knowledge. This movement is very, very old and standard. It is never changed. As soon as you change it, then the potency of the movement is lost.

Faill: Sorry, what was that?

Prabhupāda: Potency. Just like electricity. There is standard regulation: "This is negative; this is positive. You must act like this. You must fix like..." You cannot do whimsically: "No, why not this way? Why not that way?" Then it is lost. Then there will be no electricity. Similarly, there is standard method how to understand this philosophy, how to get it, I mean to say, what is called, authoritatively. Then it will act.

Faill: Then you could go to a book, read a book...

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. That is the book of, what is called, guidance. If you follow the guide and do this according, then it will be effective. And if you don't follow the guide, you do in your whims... That is another dangerous disease of the modern man. Everyone wants to do according to his own whim. Nobody wants to follow any standard way. Therefore they are failure.

Faill: I think that's fine. I'll just take that and do what I can with it. I've spoken to them, and they're quite happy if I can get a feature out of it. You wouldn't know what time the planes leave yet on Monday?

Harikeśa: I can find out.

Faill: I was thinking we might try and get a photographer out and get the group leaving, if that would be all right.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes. That can be done.

Faill: Have they modernized this at all, in that they've explained some of the...

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. There it is very lucidly explained.

Faill: May I have another one of them?

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes, yes. You just read one big professor's remark here. You see?

Faill: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Professor Dimmock of Chicago University.

Faill: "A new and living interpretation." This is you, is it?

Prabhupāda: This is...? Yes.

Faill: That's you.

Prabhupāda: Yes. If you read these books and write regular articles on the basis of my talk with you, it will be actually great benefit to the public.

Faill: Well, I'm about the only person in Durban, I think, who tries to write about this at all.

Prabhupāda: Yes. It is the duty of the journalist to give real knowledge to the public. That is the duty of the journalist, not to give some hodgepodge idea without any effect.

Faill: I can't be bothered with profit (indistinct). I do a weekly science column, but it's more mysticism than science. I try and cover everything. Anyway, I won't keep you any longer.

Harikeśa: We're leaving at 9:45 A.M. on Tuesday.

Faill: 9:45.

Harikeśa: A.M. on Tuesday morning.

Faill: That's fine. Well, I'll try and get a photographer out and just get the group with you when you're catching the plane.

Prabhupāda: Thank you. Yes.

Faill: The plane is at 9:45.

Harikeśa: Yes. It's leaving at 9:45.

Faill: You'll have to be there about 9:15, I think. Good. Well, thank you very much.

Prabhupāda: Now, now... So we are leaving this place at nine?

Harikeśa: No, no. We are leaving this place maybe nine o'clock.

Prabhupāda: "Maybe." You do not know. But where they will come, here or in the...?

Harikeśa: You mean you will meet at the airport?

Faill: Oh, we'll meet you. We'll have somebody out at the airport.

Prabhupāda: Then that's all right. So the airplane leaves this port at 9:45. So you can come, according to the time.

Faill: Yes. You'll have to leave here about 8:30 actually. It's about three quarters of an hour's drive there.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Faill: Good. Thank you.

Prabhupāda: Give him some prasāda. (end)

Page Title:You're all vegetarians, are you?
Compiler:MadhuGopaldas, Rishab
Created:18 of Jul, 2011
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=1, Let=0
No. of Quotes:1