Room Conversation
with His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
April 30, 1976, Fiji

Prabhupada: …therefore he very intelligently appointed Krsna as his spiritual master. Because everyone is in perplexity about the problem of life. So this very thing happened to Arjuna, and he wanted to go to spiritual master for solution. And the supreme spiritual master was present before him; therefore he submitted: sisyas te ’ham sadhi mam tvam prapannam. Karpanya-dosopahata-svabhavah…

Pusta Krsna: Prcchami tvam dharma-sammudha-cetah, yac chreyah syan niscitam bruhi tan me.

Prabhupada: Yac chreyah syat, yac chreyah syat tat bruhi me niscitam. So the spiritual master’s duty is how to benefit the disciple, sreyah. What is the translation?

Pusta Krsna: “Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me clearly what is best for me.”

Prabhupada: Yes. That is the beginning of Bhagavad-gita. So because he accepted discipleship, so He immediately chastised him that “You rascal, you are talking like a very learned man, but you are on the platform of bodily conception of life, the platform of the animals.” Yasyatma-buddhih kunape tri-dhatuke [SB 10.84.13]. Anyone who accepts this body as self, he’s animal. He’s not even a human being. So the whole world is on this bodily concept of life. That is going on. “American,” “European,” “Hindu,” “Muslim,” “black,” “white,” this, that. They do not know what is education. That is the first education, that “You rascal, you are not this body. You are within the body.” So who understands this? And they’re declaring that “We are student of Bhagavad-gita. We have studied Bhagavad-gita.” Hmm? Even Gandhi, he takes photograph with Bhagavad-gita, but his fighting is for nationalism. The others are doing that. So what is the use of taking Bhagavad-gita? The Pakistanis are also doing that. But you have taken Bhagavad-gita, you are doing the same work. So what is your credit? This is going on. So nobody is learning Bhagavad-gita. It is first time that we are teaching Bhagavad-gita as it is. Otherwise, everyone is misled. The subject matter is that the soul is different from this body.

Pusta Krsna: The karmis will argue that “I am not ready to hear this yet.”

Prabhupada: Huh?

Pusta Krsna: The karmis will argue, “I am not ready to hear this yet.” Many people, they come and they hear this philosophy, they say, “Very nice. But I am not ready for it yet.”

Prabhupada: But why you have come here, to hear Bhagavad-gita? Why you have come?

Pusta Krsna: Generally, they come to take nice prasadam.

Prabhupada: All right, that is also krsna-prasadam. Prasadam means we offer the foodstuff to Krsna; then it is prasadam. So you have not come, but you have to come to take prasadam. This, it has got connection with Krsna. So therefore we welcome you that at least for eating, you are coming to Krsna. Gradually, you’ll understand Krsna, by eating only. Krsna is not so easy to be understood, but we are giving you facility to eat krsna-prasadam so that one day you can understand this movement. This is the policy. Actually, that is the policy. We are not poor-feeding. That is not our philosophy. Like Vivekananda. Daridra-narayana-seva. No, we are not after that. We are giving you prasadam. And that is fact, that by eating, eating, eating, eating, you one day will become Krsna conscious. Simply by eating. Because you are so dull, you cannot understand the philosophy. You know the belly like the animals. So therefore we are giving facility, “All right, fill up your belly, fill up your belly. And you’ll be infected.” As you take foodstuff from a infected area, you become infected with some disease, so this is Krsna infected, prasadam. You take it, and one day you’ll be diseased with Krsna consciousness. And that is a fact. Some way or other, let him come in contact with Krsna. He’ll be benefited. Some way or other, let him come to the light. May be dim light or very big light. Light is light. So if anyone understands that there is a soul which is conducting the business of this body, then he can very easily understand that there is a Supersoul who is conducting the business of the whole material manifested world. Mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram [Bg. 9.10]. If you convince that the body is useless, a lump of matter only, but the soul is the prime factor, similarly, he’ll very easily understand that there is huge, gigantic material body of earth, water, air, fire, sky; they are working so wonderfully on account of the Supersoul. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gita: athava bahunaitena kim jnatena tavarjuna. Find out this verse.

Guru-krpa: Chapter 10, verse 42. No? (devotee takes a long time to find verse)

Prabhupada: One should practice to open this very quickly.

Pusta Krsna:

athava bahunaitena kim jnatena tavarjuna vistabhyaham idam krtsnam ekamsena sthito jagat

“But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge? With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire universe.”

Prabhupada: Read it carefully. As the small soul has entered…. Dehino ’smin yatha dehe [Bg. 2.13]. This is also a small universe. The same elements are working, but the soul is the prime factor. Similarly, this gigantic body. Athava bahunaitena kim jnatena…. Vistabhya aham idam krtsnam. “The krtsnam, the total material energy, millions of universes like that, that is being maintained by Me because I have entered in it in My fragmental portion.” Same principle. As I, the individual soul, I am…. because I have entered this body, the body is working so nicely. It looks beautiful; it looks fresh. It is machine. The machine is working very nicely so long the pilot or the driver is there. Similarly, where is the difficulty to understand this universal affair? If we accept the same principle, that “I am a small fragmental portion of Krsna. I have entered this body. This body is working so nicely…. Similarly, because Krsna has entered as Maha-Visnu, Garbhodakasayi Visnu, Ksirodakasayi Visnu, therefore it is working.”

Guru-krpa: Krsna also says, gam avisya ca bhutani.

Prabhupada: Yes. There are so many verses. Another verse is mayadhyaksena prakrtih [Bg. 9.10]. “The prakrti is not important. Material energy is not important. My supervision is important.” Yasyajnaya bhramati sambhrta-kala-cakrah. The sun is rising and setting by whose order? Govindam adi-purusam tam aham… This is to be understood. And if one understands that because the soul is there within the body, therefore the body is working so wonderfully, then he can very easily understand there must be a soul of this universe. How he can deny it? How he can say that it is working automatically? There is no such experience, working automatically. I have given several times the example: the 747, wonderful aeroplane machine, but that is not important. The important is the pilot who is pushing the button and it is, in such big sky, it will stay balanced; in balance it is flying in six hundred miles speed, onh-onh-onh-onhh. (imitates sound of plane flying). And as soon a little…. Finished. So it is a fact. Why the security checking? Because sometimes these, what is that, hi…. hi…?

Devotee: Highjackers.

Prabhupada: Highjacks, they attack the pilot. They’re not attacking the passengers. (end)