Room Conversation with Two Indian Guests
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
January 27, 1977, Jagannatha Puri

Prabhupada: Politics means always fight between the ksatriya and ksatriya.

Guest (1) (Indian man): Still, actually, with this nonviolence method, could get them, I mean, get the Britishers out from India.

Prabhupada: No, you are not… Violence method. It is the Subash Bose’s organization.

Guest (1): Said… That has got some…

Prabhupada: No, it is circumstantial. Circumstantially means the Britishers were not at all concerned about the non… They knew that “We…”

Guest (1): Had to go.

Prabhupada: Yes. No. They knew that “We are not going. So long the nonviolence is there, we are safe.” They were occasionally calling Gandhi and patting him: “Sir, why you are doing this? Let us compromise,” because he knew that “So long nonviolence will continue, we are safe.” But Subash Bose’s protest was that “If you don’t take to violence, then these people are never going.” That was the difference of opinion between Subash Bose and… So when he was taking the Congress in hand, Gandhi became so angry that Subash Bose, being elected President, Gandhi did not attend the Congress. So other workers, he requested Subash Bose that “You resign. Otherwise Gandhi will not.”(?) So he resigned. He done right. And then he thought that “Unless I go out of India, I cannot do anything.” Then he managed to go out of India, and Singapore, he… Indians with their help and Hitler’s intervention, he organized this INA. And when the Britisher’s saw that “Now the soldiers are joining national movement, then we cannot rule over,” then they decided, “Let us make some compromise, and as much possible, do harm. Divide this India, Pakistan and India, and go away.” This is fact.

Guest (1): Actually…

Prabhupada: So they decided that because without soldiers and police, how they can rule over? And that, when they saw the soldiers are now joining Subash Bose and they are planning to come to India from Imphal, so they saw, “Now it is impossible.” They are politicians. They could understand. So therefore the conclusion is: It is not Gandhi’s nonviolence. It is Subash Bose’s INA which compelled them to go away.

Guest (1): Bose had impact. Subash Bose had a great impact because, you see…

Prabhupada: No, no, I mean to say, violent. When they were threatened with violence… They are not philosophers, that nonviolence will drive away. They are politicians. “You go on with your nonviolence movement.” Gandhi did it for twenty years in Urban. What is that?

Pradyumna: Durban, South Africa?

Prabhupada: Durban, Durban. No conclusion. The Indians are still segregated. I had been in South Africa. So from… What is that? Johannesburg. Johannesburg city, that Indian quarter, at least ten to fifteen miles away in a jungle. And there they have kept slaughterhouse.

Guest (1): Oh, near the Indian quarters.

Prabhupada: Yes. And Indians, whole night they are hearing the screaming of the animals. Means, purposefully they have created this disturbance, and Indians have got some sentiment of cow killing. And that screaming is going on whole night.

Guest (1): Whole night.

Prabhupada: So that they may go away. This policy is still going on.

Guest (1): Accha? South Africa.

Prabhupada: Yes. And any quarter, the Indians, they organize, and they say, “You go away now, that quarter.” Still going on.

Guest (1): Still going on… (Hindi)

Prabhupada: This is the position of Indian. So that part, Gandhi’s movement there, that was a failure. No concession was given, still now. So these people they don’t care about this nonviolence, satyagraha.

Guest (1): But still, in America Martin Luther King saw nonviolence so greatly.

Prabhupada: (Bengali) That is also failure.

Pradyumna: I think they were more scared of the violence.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Pradyumna: The blacks started groups in terrorism.

Prabhupada: And then, then… (Bengali) It may be taken as a… Who cares.

Guest (1): This nonviolence is just put in the head of the others.

Prabhupada: No, nobody cares for this non… [break] That is not, that India has no ksatriya spirit. Very good ksatriya spirit. But it was not organized. That is the difference of opinion between Gandhi and Subash. He wanted to organize it.

Guest (1): That’s… But Gandhiji knew actually it’s not possible to organize this violence in India, because the people are not of that nature.

Prabhupada: No, everything has got. Just like Subash Bose organized outside.

Guest (1): Subash Bose was a very great organizer and a great politician.

Prabhupada: He organized. He made compromise, some he made, this Hitler and Tojo, that “Whoever, Indian soldiers surrendered, you…”

Guest (1): They should go to INA.

Prabhupada: INA. He made this… And the soldiers were voluntarily surrendering.

Guest (1): (Prabhupada chuckling) Ah, many. No, Subash was, had got a great personality.

Prabhupada: When the Britishers saw, “Now the soldiers are coming in national movement. There is no hope. Better break this and go peacefully so that our business may not be disturbed, our relation may not be disturbed. Make a Commonwealth and so on, so on, hodgepodge. And do as much harm as possible dividing Pakistan and Hindustan, all the food in Pakistan, East Bengal and West Pakistan, gehun(?) and rice.” And this Hindustan in starvation, because they were getting gehun(?) from Punjab and rice from East Bengal, and that is stopped. They very clever. Greatest harm they did. And in politics made in such a way that these two people, Hindustan and Pakistan, always fight. So they have gained. You have not gained. Gandhi wanted Hindu-Muslim unity. They made so bitter relationship that they will perpetually fight. That is Gandhi’s qualification. They are so great diplomats that “This man wants Hindu-Muslim unity, so make such arrangement that this… They fight will continuous. And give all the food to the Pakistani, so they will starve. Let them eat coal.” The Hindustan has got coal mine. “So they will suffer for industrial supply, and they will suffer for food. And they will fight.” British diplomats are very clever. Gandhi even offered that “Don’t divide India. You better give it to Jhinna.” But this commission, this Patita Lalan(?). “No, no,” said, “It is… Otherwise, there will be conflagration of always fight. Let it be settled.” Gandhi went to this point, that “If you think that without division India will be chaos, so you better give it to Jhinna in the hand. Don’t give it to me.” But they wanted division.

Guest (1): That is a British policy.

Prabhupada: They wanted this division.

Pradyumna: Gandhi was very much against division.

Prabhupada: Yes. Division means that what remains India? Formerly India was India, Burma, Ceylon. They never divided, divided. They wanted that “Divide, divide, divide, and let this rascal have a small plot of land.”

Guest (1): No, even they made it, all the states, independent.

Prabhupada: Yes, to make their choice: “You can join either Pakistan or India.”

Guest (1): Or remain independent also.

Prabhupada: They wanted to make nil India. The Hyderabad state was given choice. Kashmir was given choice, whichever, Hindustan or Pakistan. That is still going on, the Kashmir.

Guest (1): Even in Orissa, small states just like Mariwan(?) and Venkana(?), they were independent before that time, till Sardar Patel(?) came in and asked them to…

Prabhupada: Simply divide, divide, divide. Divide and rule, and divide and break. They have done always like that.

Guest (1): That proviso was the written rule. They made completely… Without that they cannot do it actually. They made such a big empire, they cannot do actually without divide-and-rule policy.

Prabhupada: Bheda, bheda, bheda policy. This is called sandhyam bheda. There are four policies.

Guest (1): That is Canakya’s niti also.

Prabhupada: Yes. This is bheda policy. That is going on in politics.

Guest (1): In America (Bengali) movement (Bengali) government (Bengali) support?

Prabhupada: (Bengali) Government nei, public.

Guest (1): (Bengali)

Prabhupada: (Bengali) Theoretically, if our principles are adopted by the American people in general, as my disciples have done, then their whole industrial structure will be broken.

Guest (1): Not actually. Don’t affect so much because all are not going to be… Even in India it is not.

Prabhupada: This is one thing. This is one thing, that… No, they are taking seriously. And another thing is that if the public opinion becomes in favor of Krsna consciousness, then they will get vote and they’ll capture government, because it is republic. That is another point, another. The most important point is: these boys who come to me, they forget forever their families or father, mother. No family. That is their great shock.

Guest (2) (Indian man): No, what is that? That is nothing. We see…

Prabhupada: No, no. This is the principle, why they are opposing it. They are not these transcendental meditator that here going and coming home, and they are doing all same, because they have no restriction. But my students, as soon as they come to this, they are not, no more going home. They will not touch any food, yes, because they have seen there is a (indistinct).

Guest (1): (Bengali)

Prabhupada: (Bengali) Practically begin. Any boy who comes to me, he’s lost forever to his family. In other religion there is no such thing.

Guest (1): No, they go back again and…

Prabhupada: Yes. Go back, they do everything. They remain the same thing, simply rubberstamp. That’s all. (Bengali) …an actual fact. So they are seeing it is dangerous. They say, “It is epidemic. Brainwash.” (Bengali) …that once gone, this camp, Hare Krsna camp, never return. Finished. (Bengali) …compromise nei… Individually, family-wise, when the boy goes, he’s gone forever. (Bengali) Hari- sauri! (Bengali) (Bengali) Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam [Bg. 18.66].

Guest (1): But without that, it is just like Hindu question.

Prabhupada: They go to other temples also.

Guest (1): Many.

Prabhupada: But pure Vaisnava, they worship only Krsna. But the Hindu dharma, they worship anyone—Ganesa, Devi, and Lord Siva and Surya. At least Sankaracarya limited within these five. Now their descendants, they say, “If you worship stool, that is also God.” They say like that. You know that? Eh?

Pradyumna: Yeah, I’ve heard that.

Prabhupada: They have gone so down, that “Even with your faith if your worship stool, that is God realization.” (Bengali) Just become Prahlada Maharaja. Just go, persecution like Prahlada Maharaja. Then you talk of. You are not Prahlada Maharaja. You are ordinary person. Your business is mam ekam saranam vraja. Krsna never said, “He Prahlada Maharaja, God kambha(?), so you also worship kambha(?).” Never said, Krsna. Krsna says, mam ekam. That is Gita.

Guest (1): That’s right, but Krsna…

Prabhupada: But Prahlada Maharaja never worshiped kambha.(?) But he knew that Krsna is everywhere. So that vision is possible by Prahlada Maharaja, not by you or me.

Guest (1): No, that is, mean… Krsna is everywhere.

Prabhupada: We cannot bring Prahlada Maharaja in ordinary thing.

Guest (1): No, that’s true. That theory is: Krsna is everywhere.

Prabhupada: Prahlada Maharaja underwent so much persecution. He was never disturbed, because he was confident that “Krsna will give me protection. Never mind.” That is another position. Maha-bhagavata. We are kanistha-adhikaris. We have to worship Deity.

arcayam eva haraye pujam yah sraddhayehate na tad-bhaktesu canyesu sa bhaktah prakrtah smrtah

We are in the prakrta stage. We cannot go to the stage of Prahlada Maharaja.

Guest (1): No, that is very difficult. That is very, very difficult.

Prabhupada: Not difficult, but it requires elevation. So we should not imitate.

Guest (1): No, I mean desires… Just like your idol worship. Idol worship is not actually fruitless or anything. It’s only to imagine God in it and just to have the concentration.

Prabhupada: No, but idol worship is… These atheists, they say “idol worship,” but we do not say. The… Here is Saksi-Gopala. You know the story, Saksi-Gopala? Two brahmanas? So he never saw that He is idol. He saw Krsna. So he said, “Krsna, before You this man has promised. Now he’s declining. So please come and give witness.” And that is Saksi-Gopala. So for a devotee, no. There is no idol.

Guest (1): No idol. No, that idol is actually, they are planned to…

Prabhupada: No, no, that is actually happened. The so-called idol, He went to be witness. He came from Vrndavana to Cuttack. So “idol worship” is they say. But devotee… Just like people are coming by thousands to see Jagannatha. Do they come to see idol? Wooden Jagannatha? They come to see real Jagannatha, Bhagavan Krsna. Otherwise why they will spend so much money and take so much trouble and come here? The atheists may say, “How foolish they are. They are coming here to see a wooden figure and spending so much money.” That is the statement of the atheist. But a devotee comes to see—“Krsna is here.” Just like Caitanya Mahaprabhu saw— immediately fainted. So there are two visions. Therefore it is forbidden. Arcye visnau sila-dhir gurusu nara-matir vaisnave jati-buddhih. So the atheist class, they see, “Here is a wooden… Oh, what is the Jagannatha made of? Wood or stone?” They’re seeing wood and stone. Similarly, Vaisnavas also they’re seeing, “a American,” “European.” They are blind. They have no capacity to… Therefore sastra says, “Don’t think like that, naraki. If you think like that, then you become hellish.” Because he has no vision, he’s warned only, that “Don’t do this. It is very dangerous.” Arcye visnau sila-dhir gurusu nara-matir vaisnave jati-buddhih. “Don’t do it.” Because he cannot see as it is, he has not elevation, but he is warned, “Don’t think like that.” Kanistha-adhikari, he has no such vision. Therefore he’s warned, “Do not do this.” Just like a child. He does not know that to touch fire is dangerous. He’s warned, “Do not do it. It will be…” So similarly, this is warning, “Don’t do this.” Therefore sastra is there. Yah sastra-vidhim utsrjya vartate: “Without sastra, if one does anything,” na sa siddhim avapno…, “he’ll never be perfect.” So sastra-vidhi we have to follow. Then we come to perfection. (aside) Hm. So that is I think scorching heat.

Hari-sauri: It’s fairly hot, yes.

Prabhupada: So better you… So give him little prasada. So I am very glad to see you. (Bengali)

Guest (1): We’re very glad actually. We’re very obliged and very grateful to have your darsana.

Prabhupada: You kindly… You are little interested. Organize public opinion: “Why these people are doing this injustice?”

Guest (1): No, that I’ll do. (end)