Room Conversation with Mayor
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
New Delhi, November 10, 1971

Prabhupada: So only you have got only mrdanga? Why?

Tamala Krsna: I think more are coming from Calcutta. Syamasundara called me.

Prabhupada: At least four khols you want to have. Four khols and sixteen men, that is party. Yes. And one leading singer and one dancer. That makes complete party. Twenty, twenty-two men. So where is Syamasundara?

Devotee: I didn’t find him.

Prabhupada: Huh?

Devotee: I didn’t find him anywhere.

Prabhupada: He is not here? Huh? Resting? (background discussion among devotees) He went to bed very late last night?

Devotee (2): (indistinct)

Prabhupada: Hm.

Devotee (2): He was trying to finish the Mayapur thing.

Prabhupada: Oh, oh, that’s all right. Let him remain. So you can speak some discussion from our books? You can see he is very great speaker, Visala prabhu.

Visala: Me?

Prabhupada: Yes.

Visala: I cannot speak. (laughter)

Prabhupada: Yes.

Visala: I’ve been reading the Brahma-samhita, and uh, by His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, and he mentions that to receive the mercy of…, Krsna’s mercy, one has to be free of all mundane desires, and also he has to receive the grace of God at the same time. So it’s all, it’s like the son, he mentions. He doesn’t know how wealthy his father is, but by the grace of his father, he says, “My dear son, I have a lot of money and I…, you will be in my will, and you will have this all and I will give you all these instructions.’’ So similarly, by finally gradually becoming free of all mundane desires and completely being influenced by the cit potency, by the superior cognitive energy of Lord Krsna, one will receive the mercy of Radha and Krsna. But the most important thing is to receive the mercy of the spiritual master, because only by the guru’s mercy can one be blessed by God. So that means we have… [break]

Tamala Krsna: He’s been reading your Srimad-Bhagavatam every morning, Srila Prabhupada.

Prabhupada: Yes. Huh?

Tamala Krsna: We’ve been reading Srila…, Srimad-Bhagavatam.

Prabhupada: Yes, read.

Tamala Krsna: Should I get a copy of that?

Prabhupada: Yes. So here is microphone. You did not know? Srimati has brought two microphones.

Tamala Krsna: Oh, yours?

Prabhupada: Yes, just see.

Devotee (2): There’s tapes also.

Prabhupada: Huh?

Devotee (2): Some tapes.

Prabhupada: Oh, that’s nice. Yes. Whenever somebody comes from there, something must be brought, because these things are not available. [break] …Indian, you cannot excel in mechanical knowledge the Europeans, American. That is not possible. We will always remain hundred years back. Everyone has got some special talent given by God. We should cooperate. That’s it. The hand can work in this way. We cannot walk with hands. That is the business of the hand. Similarly, I cannot cut the papers with leg. So all living entities are endowed with special… We should cooperate. The hand and leg should cooperate for maintaining the whole body. Similarly, everyone should use his talent for satisfaction of Krsna. That is perfection. Not compete with one another. That is mistake.

Devotee (2): (unwrapping package) It’s not the microphone.

Prabhupada: Huh?

Devotee (2): I don’t think it’s the microphone. [break]

Prabhupada: They never reply.

Devotee (2): It’s such a big company, they…

Prabhupada: I do not know what kind of big company, and their publication we do not get in India. Why? (indistinct) We cannot get in Macmillan Company. Sometimes somebody inquires, the reply, “They…, we have not published this book, this, here.’’ They have no information.

Devotee (1): We can show that one copy of that letter, and what can they do to us?

Prabhupada: Huh?

Devotee (1): If they try to stop us from printing, we can show them the copy of that letter that says they do not publish, and then what can they do? We have a copy of…

Prabhupada: I think we can publish all books here, because the agreement is made in USA. They have nothing to do within India. Indian law is different.

Syamasundara: I think it’s a world copyright, or else we could publish in Japan also.

Prabhupada: Huh?

Syamasundara: I think this is a world copyright, or else we would be able to publish in Japan, in…

Prabhupada: So Japan is out of world?

Syamasundara: It’s out of U.S.

Prabhupada: Huh?

Syamasundara: It’s out of the U.S.A.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Syamasundara: Like India.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Syamasundara: I think their copyright…

Prabhupada: No, no, no.

Syamasundara: …is binding around the world.

Prabhupada: If they want to publish, let them publish.

Syamasundara: Yes.

Prabhupada: That I offered them, that “We are going to publish.” So there was no reply.

Syamasundara: Oh.

Prabhupada: They did not comment and…

Syamasundara: You already offered.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Tamala Krsna: Prabhupada?

Prabhupada: Hum?

Tamala Krsna: Should we go chant our rounds now?

Prabhupada: Yes. [break] But one thing is that all right, he can go as my relative, because as visitor if he goes, then he cannot be admitted in school.

Guest: That’s right.

Prabhupada: But if he goes as my unmarried grandson…

Guest: Yes.

Prabhupada: Then he can get. So that will be done. (Hindi) So your sons are very good sons. I have got all blessings for them. (Hindi)

Guest: (Hindi) You have so many grandsons, but I am the one erratic son, bad son.

Prabhupada: (laughs) What is that problem?

Guest: Material problems. (Hindi)

Prabhupada: (Hindi) I never told you that you give up your family life, but in family life you just chant Hare Krsna. (Hindi conversation) There, there is a similar case in Lord Caitanya’s time. The son became first a great devotee. So when the father came, then Caitanya Mahaprabhu, (indistinct). Then father said, “No. He is my father.’’ (laughs) So (Hindi conversation) Political economics and…

Guest: Indian literature.

Prabhupada: Indian Literature. That’s nice. So their work is proposed to…

Guest: I think he should go there to study something, earn some money. That’s all. (Hindi)

Prabhupada: Huh?

Guest: (Hindi conversation)

Prabhupada: Yasyatma-buddhih kunape tridhatuke sva-dhih kalatradisu bhauma ijya-dhih. Bhauma ijya-dhih. These are nationality, ye bhauma ijya-dhih, the conception of worshiping the land, bhauma. Bhauma means land, bhumi. Ijya, ijya means worshipable. So one who thinks that bhauma, bhumi, anything made of bhumi, earth, worshipable…

Guest: I don’t call it worshipable, Prabhupada, but I have, I have more (indistinct) with this name, because…

Prabhupada: (Hindi) This is all illusion. This janani janma bhumi, huh?

Devotee: I’m going for Guru dasa.

Prabhupada: Accha. This ijya-dhih, to worship the land of birth, but bharata-bhumi has special, it is puja

Guest: That is my contention.

Prabhupada: Not, not as nationality.

Guest: Not as nationality. There are more…

Prabhupada: But the land where Lord Krsna came, Lord Rama came, Lord Caitanya came, that land is certainly worshipable. That is another thing. In that way…

Guest: In that way I was saying that we talk more of spiritualism here. I don’t know whether they talk it in other countries or not. But we do here more.

Prabhupada: No, no. Other countries all they have got high respect for India as spiritual land. But we are killing, our present government and so-called leaders, killing that state. This is regrettable. They could hold this Bharata-varsa to the topmost summit all over the India if after independence they would have organizedly preached Bhagavad-gita and the Vedic culture. That is my mission. Now whatever you may think of Bharata-varsa, outside, India is known as a poor, poorest country, because our ministers go there to beg.

Guest (2): Prabhupada, you have said that, really, what I read this morning, that if (indistinct) comes, we have to fight. Did you say to the people…

Prabhupada: Yes. They asked me; I said.

Guest (2): That’s what we want to hear now, you know.

Prabhupada: So these messages are very nice?

Devotee (3): What did you say to them, Srila Prabhupada?

Prabhupada: What was the language?

Guest (2): When the war comes, Krsna also said, asked Arjuna to fight.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Guest (2): If it’s a just war, you have to fight.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Guest (2): So that if it’s a just war we are going to fight. And the war is coming, Prabhupada.

Prabhupada: So that’s all right. Why should we be afraid of fighting?

Guest (2): We are not afraid!

Prabhupada: We never… The Bhagavad-gita never says that when enemy attacks, you become nonviolent. No, no. Never. Rather, Gandhi said that “Yes, I shall…’’ Somebody asked Gandhi that “If in your presence your wife or your daughter is ravaged, what you will do?’’ That question was there, actually. But he said that “I say nonviolence upon…”

Guest (2): No, no, no. Another part. Then he said, “I’ll hit him back.’’ On that condition. He said, “If that comes all right, hit him back.”

Prabhupada: He said that.

Guest (2): He said, “If a dusta does that to you, you hit her back.”

Prabhupada: Yes. That is our policy. Our atatayinah, the sastra atatayinah. Atatayinah means a person who usurps my property.

Guest (2): A tyrant.

Prabhupada: Huh?

Guest (2): A tyrant, atatayinah.

Prabhupada: Aggressor, aggressor.

Guest (2): Aggressor.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Guest (2): Atatayinah.

Prabhupada: Who sets fire in my home and who wants to kill me, they’re called atatayinah. So they should be immediately killed. There’s no question of nonviolent. And if the Vaisnava is insulted, he should be killed immediately. That is also, Caitanya Mahaprabhu who advised that we should be humbler than the grass, but practically when Nityananda Prabhu was insulted, He immediately wanted to kill Jagai and Madhai. So these messages…

Guest: This has touched people.

Prabhupada: Ha, ha.

Guest (2): This is what they’re worried about. Did you know last time there were these signals practicing black-out and all that sort of thing? So now whole country is full of it.

Prabhupada: Lord Ramacandra’s father, Dasaratha Maharaja, about him it is written, samula vartham nava dhrt arimsca(?). There are many qualifications. Out of that, one qualification was samula avartham nava dhrt harims ca.(?) Enemy will come, then he will uproot the whole generation. Samula vartham nava dhrt harims ca(?).

Guest: After the festival, Prabhupada, are you going to Vrndavana?

Prabhupada: Yes, I am thinking of. I have not gone for many years.

Guest: Your room is very well kept there. I have been to that place myself.

Prabhupada: Oh.

Guest: We have seen that your room is kept well.

Prabhupada: Yes. Guru dasa is keeping? So I can go and live in my room. The difficulty is that whenever I go, at least another half-a- dozen or dozen will go.

Devotee: The entourage.

Prabhupada: (laughs) So what shall I do? Therefore, otherwise I liked Radha-Damodara temple, but…

Guest: We can find a place for them.

Prabhupada: Huh?

Guest: We can just go and arrange it if you allow us.

Prabhupada: Ah.

Guest: We go while the festival is on. We can arrange for your place for you and for devotees…

Prabhupada: Yes.

Guest: …to stay. I can do that.

Prabhupada: That’s all right.

Guest: I’m going a couple of days earlier anyway.

Prabhupada: All right. So (Hindi).

Guest: Rohita.

Prabhupada: Huh?

Guest: Rohita.

Prabhupada: Rohita, yes, I remember.

Guest: (Hindi)

Prabhupada: Rohita. Rohita was the son of…

Guest: Hariscandra.

Prabhupada: Hariscandra, yes. And daughters?

Guest: Daughters they will be bringing with them this evening also, the two daughters.

Prabhupada: Oh. So how old they are?

Guest: One is about seventeen.

Prabhupada: One I think ten years.

Guest: Yesterday the two younger ones came. Of the two elder ones, we’ll bring this evening. They are eighteen…, seventeen and eighteen.

Prabhupada: So…

Guest: One is studying to be…

Prabhupada: You are trying to find out some groom? Not yet.

Guest: Not yet. I have not done anything.

Prabhupada: I think you can get them married if you find out good boy.

Guest: (Hindi)

Prabhupada: Working.

Guest: (Hindi)

Prabhupada: Good health and working. Never mind rich or poor.

Guest: (indistinct)

Prabhupada: You should see that he is good health and working. That’s all. Not idle. So in your community I… (end)