MW CHI 1975-07-05 The Rarest Books in the World
ANNOUNCER: The following is a morning walk conversation
with His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda,
recorded on the 5th of July 1975, in Chicago, Illinois.
PRABHUPĀDA: [splice] …māyāra vaibhava
this material advancement the advancement of māyā.
Big, big building, nice road, nice motor car, nice…
Surely it is material advancement, admitted.
But this advancement is advancement of the illusory energy.
So what is the wrong there?
Suppose…
The wrong is there that this material world is temporary.
We have come here temporarily, twenty-five years, fifty years
at most, hundred years.
So we are already illusioned and we become more illusioned.
Then we forget our real business.
Mūḍha, we remain mūḍha.
Supposing if there is next birth,
so who is very much anxious to know what is our next birth?
Nobody is.
Blindly going on.
Māyāra vaibhava. [break]
…very nice church,
but understand what for this church is, what is God, what is God consciousness.
Just cultivate this knowledge.
“No, big church finished.”
Live nice building, nice happy life, but don’t forget Kṛṣṇa.
Then what is the use of this life?
And if you forget Kṛṣṇa, then the result will be crime,
and you will be facing with problems, “Why and now what to do?”
So many problems will be there.
So the problems cannot be solved simply by possessing big, big buildings. [splice]
There are so many churches. [splice]
JAYATĪRTHA: All over America there are very expensive churches.
In India you do not see so many temples.
I was surprised when I went there first.
Because you do not see very many big, gorgeous, temples.
But here everywhere there are big gorgeous churches.
Oh, no, India, in South India…
BRAHMĀNANDA: South India is full.
Oh, South India.
- North India not. - Yes.
You have not seen Jagannātha temple?
No. [splice]
In Vṛndāvana also, that Raṅganātha temple?
Yes.
There are some nice temples in the north.
In south, many.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Prabhu…
These are all university house or private?
Some university and some private. [splice]
All very nice house.
Yes.
Let them, every house, small temple, perform kīrtana.
Then this will be all success.
Do not cook meat.
Nice prasādam.
Everything can be utilized for better purpose.
Now, in the morning, they are sleeping.
nidrāya hriyate naktaṁ vyavayena ca vā vayaḥ [SB 2.1.3]
At night either sleeping or sex, and daytime,
divā carthehaya rājan kutumba-bharaṇena vā [SB 2.1.3]
Daytime, “Where is money?
Where is money?”
Oh, seventy miles’ speed.
“Go there.
There is some money.”
All right, take money.
Then what is your next business?
kutumba-bharaṇena vā [SB 2.1.3]
Just to purchase for the family, finish money.
Again tomorrow.
“But where is the business of your spiritual life?”
“No time.
What can we do?
Night we are busy in this way, and day we are busy.
Where is the time?
Don’t bother us.” [splice]
…try to make them devotees, they will not become?
Not very easily.
bhogaiśvarya-prasaktānāṁ tayāpahṛta-cetasām
vyavasāyātmikā buddhiḥ na vidhīyate [Bg. 2.44]
Therefore too much attachment for material enjoyment,
is disqualification for spiritual life.
So the western world is trained up
for being too much attached to material enjoyment.
Therefore lagging behind in spiritual life.
Vedic civilization is not to encourage too much for material enjoyment.
Minimize.
That is Indian civilization.
They, if they had money they used to spend for constructing big temple,
not for residential house.
Maybe the king only had a big palace.
Common men, they didn’t care for big palace, the palatial building.
Common man would be very glad to live in a cottage,
and a small garden for growing vegetables, fruits, small lake, that’s all.
Not wasting time for big, big buildings, big, big…
- What is called, amenities? - Amenities. [break]
It is good you have done this,
but make this Kṛṣṇa consciousness also one of the paraphernalia.
Then it is very nice.
But they are not inclined.
Hare Kṛṣṇa [break] [splice]
…brāhmaṇas are sensing danger because,
they see that these Europeans are worshiping Deity, temple.
Then gradually there will be no caste brāhmaṇa. [break]
TAMĀLA KṚṢṆA: …Mahāprabhu also had difficulty with the caste brāhmaṇas?
Oh, yes.
They complained to the magistrate that “What kind of religion He is introducing?
It is not our Hindu religion.
So chastise Him.” [break]
…report of the brāhmaṇas, the police came and broke these drums.
It was not the fault of the Mohammedans.
The brāhmaṇas lodged complaint against Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
So he has to take step.
They said, “It is not Hindu religion.
They are disturbing God by chanting so loudly.
Now their God is sleeping and they are disturbing,
‘Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa.’
So stop this.”
So what can he do?
After all, he is public servant.
Therefore he took steps. [break]
GHANAŚYĀMA: I’ve just come back from England, myself and another boy
who were doing library work there.
We went there after India, the festival.
And so many very important schools all around the world,
that are known all around the world are taking your books.
Our last day was one of our most amazing days.
We went to the Indian office library, the British government.
Because they have colonized India, they have so many books on India.
This was the largest library like that in Europe.
And the librarian, he looked at our books and he says,
“Yes, we should have all of these.”
So right on the spot he ordered standing orders, one copy of every book.
That same day—this was just three days ago,
two days ago—we went to the [splice]
…biggest book store in the world.
They’re so big, that they have three blocks.
They take up sort of like three blocks.
And they have three levels, three floors.
So we went to see the manager, the man who owns the whole book store.
And he says, “Well, I only deal with rare books.”
We said, “Well, this is why we’ve come to see you.”
And he says, “I want three copies of every book.”
Very good.
So they have ordered?
Yes.
Very good.
Just in a matter of four, about seven to eight weeks,
over a hundred professors [indistinct] have taken your books there.
Oh.
Standing order?
No, about twelve have taken standing, about ten have taken standing orders,
but others have taken books to use for their courses,
or for their own reading and for their own edification.
Big schools like Cambridge, Oxford,
as soon as they see the books, they really want them.
This is the rarest book.
Not only rare, but rarest.
There is no book throughout the whole world, such book. [break]
…professor, he was reading your Bhagavad-gītā,
it was on his desk when I came into his office.
Ācchā.
Yeah.
He says, “Oh, yes, I know the Bhaktivedanta books.
I have just got this book from one of my colleagues.”
And he says, I showed him the books.
He bought, he wanted the standing order.
He teaches Sanskrit and Indian religions and Indian philosophy.
And he said, “Well, there’s one book I was just reading.
Bhaktivedanta, he mentions it, the Nectar of Devotion.”
He says that “You didn’t show me that.
Do you have that one?”
So I brought the books back to him that same day.
And when I brought them, his students, they were in class,
and they came out of the class and they started looking at the books themselves.
And they really wanted to be showed they could have a chance
to read them in their course.
They were really happy that he was buying them.
They said, “Oh, these are Kṛṣṇa consciousness books.
We’ve read some of these before.
These are really nice.” [break] [splice]
…greater enthusiasm you go on with book distribution.
They will be benefited, and distributors also will be benefited.
Kṛṣṇa says,
ya idaṁ paramaṁ guhyaṁ mad-bhakteṣv abhidhāsyati [Bg 18.68]
na ca tasmān manuṣyeṣu kaścin me priya-kṛttamaḥ [Bg. 18.69]
If you want to become quickly recognized by Kṛṣṇa, then make propaganda,
this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
And once recognized by Kṛṣṇa, then you're going back to home,
back to Godhead, guaranteed. [break] [splice]
Sometimes we have heard that ekādaśī is a inauspicious alignment of the planets
and therefore one has to counteract this inauspiciousness by more chanting.
No, no.
It is the most auspicious.
And chanting is more effective. [break]
I remember you were instructing once that all of your initiated disciples
- should chant twenty-five rounds… - Minimum.
Minimum on this day.
Is that a rule that we should all follow in our temples?
- We are sixteen rounds. - No, I mean on ekādaśī.
Oh yes.
Ekādaśī, simply you should chant.
No other business.
Nirjala.
No preaching work?
Should they go out for preaching?
No, those who are preaching, not for them.
Those who are sitting idle, or they… [break]
…has no other regulation, simply preaching.
A preacher is so exalted.
He hasn’t got to follow any regulation.
But don’t take it.
And actually if one is busy in preaching work,
that is first-class. [break]
…not my manufactured word, my Guru Mahārāja, that the…
That Mādhava Mahārāja, when he was a brahmacārī, his name was Hayagrīva.
So he was to go somewhere.
So but he was sick.
Guru Mahārāja was informed that he was sick and “Today is ekādaśī.
He cannot take his regular meals.”
So Guru Mahārāja said, “No.
Let him take immediately meals and go.”
REVATĪNANDANA: For preaching… [break]
…Mahārāja would sacrifice everything for preaching.
Oh yes. [break]
He was not pleased with Bon Mahārāja,
He could not do anything. [break]
…most pleased with you, Śrīla Prabhupāda.
We, we must be sure of that.
Unless he is pleased, what I am worth?
It is due to his pleasure.
Otherwise what I am worth?
Everyone says, “You have done wonderful.”
What can I do wonderful?
It is by his pleasure it is going on.
…prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ [Śrī Gurv-aṣṭaka 8]
Subtitles by Gopī Kāntā Dāsa, Causelessmercy.com Sponsored by Jitarati Dāsa & Pratyatoṣa Dāsa