Morning Walk Conversation Prabhupada: (in car) …samsare mayara janeiya, moha janeiya, jiva ke karaye gadha. This mayara vaibhava, this material advancement is advancement of maya. 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, say twenty-five years, fifty years or at most, hundred years. So we are already illusioned and we become more illusioned. Then we forget our real business. Mudha, we remain mudha. Supposing if there is next birth, so who is very much anxious to know what is our next birth? Nobody is. Blindly going on. mayara 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 Krsna. Then what is the use of this life? And if you forget Krsna, 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. Jagadisa: Shall we get out and walk, Srila Prabhupada? Prabhupada: Any way. Jagadisa: Do you want to walk. Prabhupada: Yes. But how we will walk if it is dripping? Brahmananda: It’s raining. We can ride along the beach… [break] Prabhupada: …samsare, moha janmeiva, jiva ke karaye gadha. There are so many churches. Jayatirtha: This is a special area, Jagadisa? There are so many churches. 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. Prabhupada: Oh, no, India, in South India… Brahmananda: South India is full. Jayatirtha: Oh, South India. North India not. Prabhupada: Yes. You have not seen Jagannatha temple? Jayatirtha: No. Prabhupada: Beginning from Madras, very big, big temples. In Vrndavana also, that Ranganatha temple? Jayatirtha: Yes. There are some nice temples in the north. Prabhupada: In south, many. (sings:) Sri Krsna Caitanya Prabhu… These are all university house or private? Jagadisa: Some university and some private. After here, these are private homes. Prabhupada: All very nice house. Brahmananda: Yes. Prabhupada: Let them, every house, small temple, perform kirtana. Then this will be all success. Do not cook meat. Nice prasadam. Everything can be utilized for better purpose. Now, in the morning, they are sleeping. Nidraya hriyate naktam vyavayena ca va vayah [SB 2.1.3]. At night either sleeping or sex, and daytime, diva carthehaya rajan kutumba-bharanena va [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-bharanena va. 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.” (laughs) Diva carthehaya rajan kutumba-bharanena va [SB 2.1.3]. [break] …try to make them devotees, they will not become? Jayatirtha: Not very easily. Prabhupada: bhogaisvarya-prasaktanam tayapahrta-cetasam vyavasayatmika buddhih (samadhau) na vidhiyate 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? Jayatirtha: Amenities. [break] Prabhupada: It is good you have done this, but make this Krsna consciousness also one of the paraphernalia. Then it is very nice. But they are not inclined. Hare Krsna. [break] Jagadisa: …newspaper there were pictures only. Brahmananda: So do you have the clippings? Jagadisa: Yeah, it’s posted. Prabhupada: Every house, however poor he may be… Tamala Krsna: Go along the north shore, where the Bahai temple is. That’s very… [break] Jayatirtha: About, a big town has got maybe ten television stations. [break] …means of enjoyment are available. Prabhupada: Center variety is crime. Jayatirtha: (laughs) That’s becoming very popular. Prabhupada: Yes. Brahmananda: In Time magazine they say that by the time the child is fifteen years old he will have seen eleven thousand murders on television. Jayatirtha: In Detroit one out of every thousand people gets murdered every year. Prabhupada: Huh? Jayatirtha: In Detroit—that’s the biggest crime city in America—one out of every thousand people gets murdered every year. If you live there for fifty years, you have one chance in twenty of being murdered. [break] Prabhupada: Prosperous. The business is slaughterhouse. All butchers. (laughs) Brahmananda: The butcher community. Jagadisa: Srila Prabhupada, we were recently looking at a very big house in Detroit. It’s a mansion. It’s got much already onyx, marble. They say to build it again today would cost six million dollars. They are just asking for 350,000 dollars. It has… Prabhupada: Why? Jagadisa: Why? Because it’s such a huge place and it’s not in a very exclusive neighborhood. It’s surrounded by a six foot high stone wall. It’s on four acres of land. And in the room that… Prabhupada: Six million? Jagadisa: To rebuild it because of all the onyx, marble. There is $100,000 worth of gold leafing work throughout the house. Brahmananda: What was it used as? Jagadisa: It was the Fisher Mansion. Fisher, you know, “Body by Fisher.” And the man was a little eccentric. It’s a Moorish style. Prabhupada: Now it is not raining. We can go. Brahmananda: Yes, we can go. Stop here. [break] Prabhupada: …price there are? Jagadisa: 350,000. Prabhupada: So it is very cheap. Brahmananda: Yes. What is the neighborhood? Jagadisa: It is just south of… Jayatirtha: It has a big stone fence, though. Jagadisa: …the wealthiest neighborhood. It’s about six blocks away. Brahmananda: Is it a crime place? Jagadisa: No. Jayatirtha: In Detroit… [break] Prabhupada: …also, there is threatening of life. Some brahmana boys who were living with us, so they were threatened, “You are living with these mlecchas. If you don’t give up, then your life is in danger.” So they have gone to Mayapur. Tamala Krsna: Who? Jayatirtha: The Sastris. Prabhupada: Some brahmana boys, they came and joined. Tamala Krsna: Oh, yeah, those boys. Oh. And the other brahmanas threatened. Prabhupada: Yes, they threatened. Tamala Krsna: You got a report? Prabhupada: Yes. [break] Tamala Krsna: …happy that we’re taking to Krsna consciousness. Prabhupada: Yes. [break] …brahmanas. are sensing danger because they see that these Europeans are worshiping Deity, temple. Then gradually there will be no caste brahmana. [break] Tamala Krsna: …Mahaprabhu also had difficulty with the caste brahmanas? Prabhupada: 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 brahmanas, the police came and broke these drums. It was not the fault of the Mohammedans. The brahmanas lodged complaint against Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So he has to take step. They said, “It is not Hindu religion. They are disturbing God by chanting so loudly. (laughter) Now the God is sleeping and they are disturbing, ‘Hare Krsna Hare Krsna.’ So stop this.” So what can he do? After all, he is public servant. Therefore he took steps. [break] Ghanasyama (Bhakti-tirtha): I’ve just come back from England, myself and another boy who was 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 big… Prabhupada: That is Aldridge, Aldridge? Ghanasyama: Yes. This was another one. Aldridge, yes. You have seen that letter? Yes. Prabhupada: No, I have not seen any letter. Ghanasyama: But you know Aldridge? Prabhupada: Yes, I went to see the ambassador. Ghanasyama: Yes, he is very favorable. The biggest book store in the world. They’re so big, 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 says, “Well, this is why we’ve come to see you.” And he says, “I want three copies of every book.” Prabhupada: Very good. So they have ordered? Ghanasyama: Yes. Prabhupada: Very good. Ghanasyama: Just in a matter of four, about seven to eight weeks over a hundred professors have taken your books there. Prabhupada: Oh. Standing order? Ghanasyama: No, 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. Prabhupada: This is the rarest book. Not only rare, but rarest. There is no book throughout the whole world, such book. [break] Ghanasyama: …professor, he was reading your Bhagavad-gita, it was on his desk when I came into his office. Prabhupada: Accha. Ghanasyama: 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 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 the Nectar of Devotion.” He says that “You didn’t show me that. Do you have that one?” (Prabhupada laughs) 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 the Krsna consciousness books. We’ve read some of these before. These are really nice.” [break] Prabhupada: …Krsna, his all sinful reactions stopped. Krsneti varna-dvayam. Rupa Gosvami says, “What nectar is there in these two alphabets, krs-na!” Krsneti varna-dvayam. [break] …greater enthusiasm you go on with book distribution. They will be benefited, and distributors also will be benefited. Krsna says, ya idam paramam guhyam mad-bhaktesv abhidhasyati [Bg 18.68]. Na ca tasman manusyesu kascin me priya-krttamah [Bg. 18.69] If you want to become quickly recognized by Krsna, then make propaganda, this Krsna consciousness movement. And once recognized by Krsna, then your going back to home, back to Godhead, guaranteed. [break] …took from London to here come? Ghanasyama: How many hours? Prabhupada: Yes. Ghanasyama: One the plane it took about ten hours. Prabhupada: Ten hours. From London to Chicago. Not much, ten hours. [break] …staying at Bhaktivedanta Manor? No. Ghanasyama: We stayed there most of the time. And the first two weeks we stayed at Bury Place because there are about six schools that are in walking distance from the Bury Place temple. Prabhupada: So everything is going right? Ghanasyama: Oh, yes, cultivating very nice. The president there, he is taking out the sankirtana party himself, and the whole temple has become very enthused by this. Bury Place. Prabhupada: How many devotees are there? Ghanasyama: Bury Place, there’s about… There are three traveling sankirtana parties. There are about maybe thirty devotees there. Prabhupada: Accha. And Bhaktivedanta Manor? Ghanasyama: I think about maybe thirty-five. Some of the boys go to Scotland frequently. So they sort of share the devotees with the three temples. Prabhupada: Edinburgh. So you have been in Edinburgh University? Ghanasyama: No. I don’t know. Prabhupada, they have a program there with the Indians. The Indians are supporting the temple there now. Prabhupada: Hmm? Ghanasyama: The Indians, they’re paying for the devotees’ prasadam and supporting the temple. Prabhupada: Ah, yes. Anna-dana. Ghanasyama: They make vows to give a certain amount to help the devotees out every week. They have a big chart. One Indian might make a vow that he will pay for all the wheat or all the breakfast prasada for the devotees for that month, and he’ll give that much money. (Prabhupada laughs) It’s very nice. They kind of compete with each other to see who’s doing the most. They go out and make life members. They make, sometimes, five, six life members in one day. Prabhupada: So we shall go further? Our time is up. Tamala Krsna: 6:30 now. Prabhupada: Oh, then we must go. [break] Hm. Tamala Krsna: Sometimes we have heard that ekadasi is a inauspicious alignment of the planets and therefore one has to counteract this inauspiciousness by more chanting. Prabhupada: (laughs) No, no. It is the most auspicious. And chanting is more effective. [break] Yes. Tamala Krsna: I remember you were instructing once that all of your initiated disciples should chant twenty-five rounds… Prabhupada: Minimum. Tamala Krsna: Minimum on this day. Is that a rule that we should all follow in our temples? Prabhupada: We are sixteen rounds. Tamala Krsna: No, I mean on ekadasi. Prabhupada: Oh yes. Ekadasi, simply you should chant. No other business. Nirjala. Tamala Krsna: No preaching work? Should they go out for preaching? Prabhupada: No, those who are preaching, not for them. Those who are sitting idle, or they… (laughter) [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. (laughter) And actually if one is busy in preaching work, that is first-class. [break] …not my manufactured word, my Guru Maharaja, that the… That Madhava Maharaja, when he was a brahmacari, his name was Hayagriva. So he was to go somewhere. So but he was sick. Guru Maharaja was informed that he was sick and “Today is ekadasi. He cannot take his regular meals.” So Guru Maharaja said, “No. Let him take immediately meals and go.” Revatinandana: For preaching. [break] Tamala Krsna: …Maharaja would sacrifice everything for preaching. Prabhupada: Oh yes. [break] He was not pleased with Bon Maharaja, He could not do anything. [break] Tamala Krsna: …most pleased with you, Srila Prabhupada. We must be sure of that. Prabhupada: 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. Yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasadah **. [break] Bon Maharaja has written that, last line? Brahmananda: That your accomplishment has been very great. He had to admit. (Prabhupada laughs) Tamala Krsna: He admitted it publicly. Prabhupada: (laughs) No. He has written me a letter. I invited him. [break] Now, he has returned. Tamala Krsna: Oh, he has returned. (end)
with His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
July 5, 1975, Chicago