Room Conversation
with Indian Guests and Devotees
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
July 11, 1973, London

Prabhupada: …accepted in that group.

Guest (1): Suppose if somebody is absolutely ignorant about…

Prabhupada: So therefore there should be education. Why the sastras are there? Why guru is there? Tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet [MU 1.2.12]. You must accept guru and learn. Why should you remain ignorant?

Guest (1): How one should start when he’s completely ignorant of all these things?

Prabhupada: He should go… Tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet.

Guest (1): Tad viddhi pranipatena… [Bg. 4.34].

Prabhupada: Pariprasnena sevaya. He should become a disciple of a bona fide guru. Otherwise how he can learn. If you are uneducated, you should go to school.

Guest (1): You want to ask anything? (pause)

Prabhupada: (Hindi) It is very difficult to, to guru, but when guru comes, they also do not accept him. What can be done? They are so fallen. Only fortunate. Ei rupe brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva [Cc. Madhya 19.151]. So to go to guru, to Krsna, that requires fortune. Kona bhagyavan jiva. Some fortunate person. Guru-krsna-krpaya paya bhakti-lata-bija [Cc. Madhya 19.151]. By the mercy of guru and Krsna, he gets the seed of this bhakti. Bhaktya mam abhijanati [Bg. 18.55]. And when he’s a bhakta, then he can understand what is God. (To disciple:) Get the light. Bhaktya mam abhijana… No, there. That’s all right.

Guest (2): (Hindi)

Prabhupada: (Hindi for some time, a few English words) [break] (Hindi for some time) [break] When the destiny of the people are to be controlled, there must be very, very intelligent man. That is Vedic civilization. There is standard aims and objects on which the people should be trained up. That is varnasrama-dharma. Visnur aradhanam. Worshiping Visnu. This is the ultimate aim. So the whole society is divided into brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra, and brahmacari, grhastha, vanaprastha, sannyasa—departmental—and they are trained up. But the aim is visnur aradhanam. But they have no idea at the present moment. Visnur aradhanam, he has no knowledge. But the civilization begins on this point. Human being means he’s meant for visnur aradhanam. Otherwise what is the difference between dogs and human beings? The western people, they do not know. They simply think that dog lies down on the floor, on the road… “We have got nice, best apartment. Therefore we are civilized.” So that is their defect. They are trying to improve the condition of sleeping, eating. That’s all. That is advancement of civilization. But that is not advancement of civilization. Advancement of civilization means to understand Visnu, how to please Him, how to go back to Him, go to the spiritual world. This is advancement of civilization. Yad gatva na nivartante tad dhama paramam mama [Bg. 15.6]. They do not know all these things. Therefore they have been described as sva-vid-varahostra-kharaih samstutah purusah pasuh. All these men are exactly like dogs, hogs, camel and asses. So by their vote, by the votes of dogs, hogs, camel and asses, another big ass, big dog, will be on the government. So what does he know, how to govern? Do you think if you make a dog king, it will be good government. Or a camel king, it will be good government? So it is happening so. The dogs, hogs, camels and asses, they are voting. Another big camel, another big dog is on the governmental head. How can you expect good government? After all, he’s a dog, hog and camel. How can you expect good government from him? Instead of a petty dog, if you enthrone a very big dog… What is the big dog? Does it mean the condition will improve? That is the position now. Just like what is this Nixon? He’s a big dog. That’s all. And therefore now people are accusing him. What is the condition now?

Satsvarupa: It’s just dragging, dragging on. Now he’s become sick. He’s ill. He’s in the hospital.

Prabhupada: He must be. So many attacks. How he can tolerate. He’s in the post. This is happening.

Krsna-bhamini: This idea of democracy came at a time in French history called the Period of Enlightenment, and it was introduced by…

Prabhupada: Hm? Democracy?

Hamsaduta: Democracy was first introduced in an age which they call the Age of Enlightenment in French history.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Krsna-bhamini: The idea was that everyone should be pleased, that everyone should take…

Prabhupada: No, where is the… In France, everyone is pleased? That is the imagination. You see. Vox populi, peoples’ government. People, generally, general people, they are fools and rascals. How a government of fools and rascals can improve? It’s not possible. They’re ignorant. Abodha-jata. They have no knowledge. The knowledge of eating, sleeping, mating, defending, that is animal knowledge. Everyone knows it. How to eat, nobody requires any education. How to sleep, nobody requires and any education. How to have sex life, nobody requires any education. How to defend, nobody requires education. They are not subject matter of education. Everyone knows it, how to do it. The modern education means they are on this subject matter. Just like that rascal, Freud?

Hamsaduta: Freud.

Prabhupada: He has written a big philosophy on sex life. Does it require any education? Anyone knows how to use sex life. And he has written big book. Similarly, defense also: they are making big, big arrangements, atomic bomb. I am making atomic bomb, you are making… Similarly, sleeping: big, big skyscraper building; eating: start thousands of slaughterhouse. Formerly also there were meat- eaters. But did they maintain slaughterhouse? “All right, I want to eat meat. Just go in the forest. Kill one animal. That’s all. Pick it up.” So this advancement of civilization means advancement of slaughterhouse, advancement of skyscraper building, advancement of atom bomb, advancement of Freud philosophy. This is advancement. The subject matter is the same, which does not require any education. Nobody requires education on this subject matter. Even the birds and beasts, they know what is their eatable. And they eat and they live. Now the advancement… Agricultural institute, a big college, how to improve agriculture. Crude people, they are producing also. Without agricultural college, they are producing sufficiently grain and eating. Still they do so. Do they depend on agricultural education? Real education is how to solve the problems of life, birth, death, old age, and how to go back to home, back to… That is education. This is not education. This is simply waste of time. Because you cannot change your destiny. Now, take for example, there are so many agricultural improvements. Does it mean that there is no person who is needy? There are so many needy persons. But has the agricultural education improved their lot? No. Starving people are still there. Rather, those who can produce, they’re producing and throwing into the sea. They’ll not part with it for the poor men who are starving. Then where is the advancement of education? You produce more by advanced agricultural process and then throw it into the ocean. Real purpose was to produce more to see that nobody’s hungry. That is not being done. There is no sympathy. This is not civilization. This is a hodge- podge. Simply wasting labor. That’s all. Now here, the Parliament, now what is the use of Parliament? They have lost their empire. What is the use of Parliament? Formerly they had to rule all over the world. So representative, Parliament… Now they have got… What they have got? But still they have got the Parliament, the bodyguard, the King, Queen. Show only. Without Krsna consciousness, this so- called advancement of civilization has no meaning. Simply waste of time.

tasyaiva hetoh prayateta kovido na labhyate yad bhramatam upary adhah tal labhyate duhkhavad anyatah sukham kalena sarvatra gabhira-ramhasa

Everything is explained in Srimad Bhagavatam. I can stop. (end)