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Interv LON 1976-07-23 Press--Lon. Observer Sentiment --etc

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ANNOUNCER: The following
is a newspaper interview,

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between His Divine Grace
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

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and the London Observer, recorded
July 23rd, 1976, in London, England.

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PRABHUPĀDA: So you’re
observing our movement?

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CLINE CROSS: Yes, really for
the first time at close quarters.

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First time?

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We are here for the
last seven years.

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I know a little about you, but it’s only in
the last hour that I’ve really begun to learn.

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JAYATĪRTHA: We showed him the movie…
- Your paper is <i>Observer</i>.

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Why did you not observe
for the last seven years?

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MUKUNDA: We just showed him the film.
- Huh?

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MUKUNDA: We just
showed him our film.

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How did you like?

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Oh, it was very interesting.

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Again it taught me a lot [that]
I did not previously know.

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We are trying to
give real life. [splice]

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You are religious observer.

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What is your idea of religion?

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I would say much the same as yours,
from what I’ve seen in your writings:

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that there’s an underlying
truth behind all religion.

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- Would you agree with that?
- Ahh.

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Religion, as it is explained
in the dictionary:

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“Accepting a supreme controller.”

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Is it not?

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- Hmm.
- Hmm.

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So do the people accept
a supreme controller?

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Do they accept?

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There are so many
system of religions,

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but do they actually know who
is the supreme controller?

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That is my question.

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What do you think?

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Just like: This is
British government:

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And, we know that the Queen
is the supreme controller.

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Similarly, of all creation—
cosmic manifestation—

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there is a supreme controller, and
who is that supreme controller?

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Do they know it?

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That is my question.

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I mean, what is your attitude
towards Christianity?

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Don’t come to Christianity; I’m talking
on religion: The science of religion.

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The religion… When
we speak of religion,

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there is no question of
Christianity or Muslim or Hindu.

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Just like when you speak of
gold: Gold is gold everywhere.

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Gold cannot be Muslim gold or
Hindu gold or Christian gold.

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Try… Try… Ah… We are
concerned with gold,

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not the country where
the gold is produced.

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That is not very important thing.

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Whether it is gold:
That is our business.

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I mean, would you count
Jesus Christ as gold?

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Yes, why not?

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He’s speaking about the
supreme controller: God.

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So why should we not? [splice]

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Religion without science
or philosophy is sentiment.

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And philosophy without religion
is mental spec… speculation.

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So they must be
combined together.

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So far the controller is concerned,
this is scientific understanding.

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Just like the father… We consider…

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Why we? Everyone.

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Either he is Christian or
Muhammadan or Hindu,

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the conception of God is generally
accepted as the supreme father.

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That is the fact.

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- It is fact.
- Yes.

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Because—just like anything—creation means
the mother, the father and the children.

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That is ah… our
practical experience.

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Without mother, we are nowhere.

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We are given birth by the mother.

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So the material
nature is the mother.

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From the material nature—material
elements—everything is coming.

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From the water, the
fishes are coming.

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From the land: the grass, the
worms, and then human being.

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They are coming.

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From the air also, living
entities are coming.

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So, therefore material
nature is the mother,

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and we have come out of the material
nature; therefore we are children.

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There… there must be father.

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Because without father, simply
mother cannot give birth.

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This is science.

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You cannot deny the existence of
God simply by a false argument.

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This is real argument.

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The mother is there—material
nature, and we are children there.

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There must be father.

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In England, the Christian Church
in recent years or recent decades

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has been doing very
badly and losing support.

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Your teaching could
perhaps provide

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a substitute for the more traditional
type of Christian teaching.

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Yes, this is the science.

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Therefore I say religion with… without
scientific idea: That is sentiment.

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It has no value.

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This… This is basic
principle of religion:

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That the mother is there; the children
are there: There must be father.

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If you say “I do not see what
is God,” it doesn’t matter.

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Sometimes the child after
birth does not see his father.

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Oh that does not mean
that he has no father.

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Because without father there is
no possibility of his existence.

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What impelled you personally, when
you, at a fairly late stage in life,

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to come to the West
and teach? What…

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That… I must be
prepared to teach.

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Teaching is not so easy thing.

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I was ordered to teach at the age of
twenty-five years by my Guru Mahārāja.

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But I was finding out the opportunity:
How to take up the work.

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So it took me so many years, so that at
seventy years I came out for teaching.

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Why particularly in the West?

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Because my Guru
Mahārāja ordered:

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That “You go and teach this
gospel in the Western world.”

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- His teacher instructed him to do this.
- Yes.

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And are you surprised at the
great success you’ve had?

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That is my Guru
Mahārāja’s blessing.

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He ordered me; I tried my best,
so there is [a] little success.

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When I see so many boys
and hundreds of centers:

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They are living very peaceful… peacefully
in a nice house, getting good <i>prasādam</i>,

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having good knowledge in the
books, and reforming their character,

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and getting some good
home: Ah, that is my success.

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Otherwise, they are loitering: No
home, no character, no peace of mind.

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So at least this is my success; I
have given so many boys a life.

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That is my success.

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I’m very honored to have met you.

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I’ve read some of your
work; I intend to read more.

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Yes.

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So, we are trying to give the best
service to the humanity—human society,

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and this is the only service.

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People should come forward
and cooperate with us.

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It is not a sectarian,
sentimental religious system.

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It is [a] scientific understanding
of the value of life.

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Well, thank you very
much indeed, sir.

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- Thank you; Hare Kṛṣṇa.
- Hare Kṛṣṇa.

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<i>Jaya</i>.

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Subtitles by Pratyatoṣa Dāsa, Causelessmercy.com