Morning Walk , Māyāpur , 1976-03-13

Prabhupāda: ...to eat yourself, sufficiently, and if there is excess, then question of trade, vāṇījyam. Otherwise, if there is no excess, where is the question of vāṇījya? You are starving. [break] Then we shall. There is no excess. [break] ...will spoil everything everywhere. [break] "The government men will take up the policy of plunderers and rogues," that is stated. Dasyu-dharma. Dasyu means plunderer. He catches = "What you have got, give me." This will be government. "What you have got, give me." Bās. You cannot say anything. "Law." Plundering is law. Then where is your government? If killing is law, plundering is law, then what is this government? Government means to give security to the property and life. So when the government will make law, "I can take your life whenever I like, and I can plunder your property as I like," then where is the law?

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: The government's duty, then, is to protect.

Prabhupāda: Yes, that is government. That is kṣatriya. Kṣat trāyate iti kṣatriya. Kṣat means injury, and one who gives protection from injury, he is kṣatriya. Just like Parīkṣit Mahārāja. As soon as he saw a cow is attempted..., immediately he said, "Who are you, rascal? You are trying to kill this cow in my kingdom?" That is kṣatriya. And nowadays, even if I kill you, the police will see from there; he'll not come. This is government. And when the finished killing, then he will say, "Who is this man?" He'll note down, "What is this? A man is killed." And then inquiry, and then finished. Who is the man killed and what is happened---nothing of the sort. Inquiry and finish. Big commission report.

Madhudviṣa: They have made a survey in America. They have made a survey that nine out of every ten crimes never gets a victim.

Prabhupāda: Hmm?

Madhudviṣa: Never gets solved. Nine out of every ten crimes never gets solved in America.

Prabhupāda: No, it cannot be solved.

Pañcadraviḍa: It's more than that, probably.

Madhudviṣa: So the criminal is very much encouraged, because he has only one chance in ten of getting caught whether he robs a bank or steals or rapes or something like that.

Prabhupāda: But for this purpose they are maintaining huge police force, and you are earning money and tax, that's all.

Rāmeśvara: The police all accept bribes.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Rāmeśvara: They all accept bribes, or they do some illegal business themselves with the criminals they capture.

Prabhupāda: Yes, regular... Every criminal has got organization to bribe the police. And the police does not take directly, and some in-between man, agent, he collects from the criminal and gives to the police. In India this is going on. I know that. A via-media man, he makes fortune. Yes. Whatever is collected, ten percent he takes, and balance is given to the police. There is a confectioner in Delhi. He is selling jalebī. You know jalebī?

Devotees: Yes.

Prabhupāda: He has got ten lakhs of rupees because he collects the bribe from others and pay to the police. Everyone knows. There was one Mullik, now, on that Mahātmā Gandhi Road. His business was that. He was collecting. That quarter, our quarter, was full of pocket..., pickpockets, guṇḍās. Pickpockets, guṇḍās, in our childhood they were our neighborhood. [laughs] I remember when I was child I was coming, and the pickpocket was pickpocketing, and he was... [gestures] He was doing like that = "Don't speak. Don't talk." I have seen all this. And whenever there was any riot, so we were accustomed to see everything. When there was Hindu-Muslim riot, one boy friend told me, "Oh, don't go to your house. It is... A great riot is..." I thought, "Riot is going on daily," it was the same thing. [break] ...quarter. Induriya prakāra[?].

Bhāgavata: In New York, one policeman admitted that when the police would capture the thieves with the stolen goods, then they would confiscate the goods and keep it privately in their homes and sell the stolen goods and get the money for themselves. They would not return it to the owner, but they would utilize it for making money. So they are also thieves.

Prabhupāda: So if this is the practice in a country which is so opulent, just imagine what is there in India.

Pañcadraviḍa: I had experience, because when I was younger I was stealing, and I was taking to the hock shop one typewriter, and while I was taking to the hock shop this typewriter, the police came and showed me his badge and took this typewriter and one French horn from... He took the money, and he said, "I am going to check to see if this is stolen." So one week later I was worried. I called him. I said, "What is happening?" He said, "That typewriter was reported one year ago stolen from the school." But he said, "Because I think you're a good boy, I'm not going to arrest you, because I don't think you did it. If I thought for a moment that you did it, I would immediately come and take you." So I said, "That's all right. What about the French horn? When can I have my money back?" He said, "You just forget about this. You leave it to me." He says, er...

Prabhupāda: To keep you honest. [laughter] To keep you honest, you just don't hope your money.

Gurukṛpā: Their practice is that they watch our saṅkīrtana devotees collect all day, and they know when he has good pocketful of money. Then they arrest him...

Prabhupāda: In Germany they have done this.

Gurukṛpā: ...take to jail, and then they say... Actually the boy collected two hundred dollars. They say, "Oh, he only collected thirty dollars," and then the others, they split.

Prabhupāda: Where it is done?

Gurukṛpā: This happened in Chicago to us.

Prabhupāda: Then? What action is taken?

Gurukṛpā: Nothing we can do.

Pañcadraviḍa: That is their business. They take from the thieves because they are the biggest thieves, and then they split. This is regular practice.

Gurukṛpā: We had... There's one devotee who was in the Detroit temple who used to be on the police force, and he told us everything about how they are all cheaters.

Mahendra: In America also sometimes they'll arrest someone who is selling illegal drugs. Then they'll arrest him, then they'll seize the drugs, then they'll take the drugs home and they'll sell them to make money.

Yaśodānandana: Sometimes they'll use it themselves.

Mahendra: Sometimes they use it, right.

Madhudviṣa: In New York there was a big scandal. There was ten millions dollars' worth of drugs confiscated from a boat, and they put it in the police lockup, and then it was gone.

Prabhupāda: In Navadvīpa... You have heard the name of Vamsidāsa Bābājī. So sometimes, when his things were stolen, the disciples will cry that "It is stolen." So he said, "Why you are bothering? One thief gives; another thief takes. That's all. Who gave the money, he is also thief; and who has taken away, he is also thief. So why you are bothering?" One thief gives; another thief takes.

Bhāgavata: He learned that the policeman was selling the stolen goods because one morning in New York they passed by the temple, and they said, "We have many cartons of paper towel. You want to buy?"

Prabhupāda: Hmm?

Bhāgavata: They came by our temple. They said, "We have many cartons of paper towel."

Prabhupāda: Paper towel?

Bhāgavata: Paper towels, yes. And they asked if we wanted to buy. "Very cheap," they said, "cheaper than in the supermarket." So then we could understand where they had gotten... [break]

Prabhupāda: ...deal with such men. This material world is so corrupt. [break] ...we are not going to get that land, eh? That land? I don't think we are going.

Mahāṁsa: Well, we'll know in one, two weeks. By end of the month we'll know exac...

Prabhupāda: No, no, you'll know, but for the time being, by the situation...

Mahāṁsa: Now it is still under litigation. We are not sure. But we have waited one year now under suspense. Now it has come to an end.

Yaśodānandana: Yeah, but they don't know...

Mahāṁsa: Yes, Prabhupāda, even if they take away... Even if they take away 600 acres, they have a right on 250 acres, so we will get the 250 acres. So minimum we'll get. We won't get... Maybe we won't get the full 600 acres, but we'll get 250 acres. Because even if they come under the Ceiling Act, then 250... They can keep the rest they will get. Then they can give, they can sell, they can do anything. [break]

Prabhupāda: ...they can get?

Mahāṁsa: Yes, as soon as they can... Either one decision is that "Yes, you can keep the whole 600 acres." And the other decision is "No, you have to... We will confiscate. You can only keep 250." As soon as that decision is made, I will get the document for transferring the trust deeds.

Yaśodānandana: One advantage of the land there, of the soil in Andhra Pradesh, that it's very good for the sugarcane, and that fruit called sita phal grows very nicely in that area.

Mahāṁsa: It grows wild there. And out of the 600 acres, there's about 200 acres which is very fertile, and the other area is kind of dry. So it is fertile. So we would have to invest a lot of money on cultivating all year round. So if we get the 250 acres, then we'll get the good area.

Yadubara: We can choose our own land?

Madhudviṣa: Yes. [break]

Yaśodānandana: ...library party [indistinct] one year.

Prabhupāda: So that...

Rādhāvallabha: There will be a second rail on this other side, Śrīla Prabhupāda. We will put that up today. [break]

Prabhupāda: ...now the visitors?

Rādhāvallabha: Just a few. Their sign just got up last night, so no one has seen the sign yet. Mostly devotees are coming to see it so far. [break]

Madhudviṣa: That's the library party.

Rādhāvallabha: In this place we're going to put a large board and put all your books on the board. [break]

Rāmeśvara: "...a standing order to begin with volume one of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, then please enter standing order to begin with volume one for Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam." This is their standing order, the order they send us in the mail.

Prabhupāda: What is the...? [reading] "No work in all Indian literature is more quoted. Because none is better loved in the West than the Bhagavad-gītā. Translation of such work demands not only knowledge of Sanskrit but an inward sympathy with the theme and a verbal..." What is called?

Devotees: Artistry.

Prabhupāda: "Artistry. But the poem is a symphony in which God is seen in all things. His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda is, of course, profoundly sympathetic to the theme. He brings to it a special interpretative insight. Here we have a powerful and persuasive presentation in the bhakti tradition of this dearly beloved poem. The Swami's introduction makes clear at once where he stands as a leading exponent of Kṛṣṇa consciousness." That is my actual...

Satsvarūpa: He is one of the most distinguished Sanskrit professors. [break]

Devotee (1): ...not only have your books there in the New York Public Library, but the head librarian of that Oriental division did the review also.

Prabhupāda: "...government of postgraduate college..." Oh, O.B.L. Kapoor. [break] "It is an exhaustive plan of original Sanskrit text in Devanāgarī, then a translation, English synonym... What practitioner of philosophy cannot but be attracted to this serious student and scholar of Sanskrit language and Hindu religion and philosophy? The viewpoint of a devotee-cum-scholar has the advantage of making the philosophy meaningful to any practical-minded person."

Devotees: Jaya.

Rādhāvallabha: Śrīla Prabhupāda, this professor calls you "uncompromising." He said that you are "uncompromising."

Prabhupāda: Hmm. That is my philosophy. Read it. Read it somebody.

Satsvarūpa: "Ever since 1893, when Swami Vivekananda proclaimed monism and tolerance to the World's Parliament of Religions at Chicago, nonspecialists in America have pictured Hinduism as an easy-going phantasmagoria of smiling faces disappearing like dewdrops into the shining sea. The Nectar of Devotion should bring them up sharp. [laughter] His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, whose shorn, orange-clad disciples have brought the inseparable twins of bhajana and baksheesh to the streets of America, has no doubt that such impersonalism is nothing less than rascaldom."

Devotees: Jaya!

Satsvarūpa: "With all the books on Vedānta and bland neo-transcendentalism that are at present available to the English-speaking public, it is good to have on the popular market such an uncompromising statement of an opposing view from the pen of one who is as firmly rooted in a disciplic tradition, guru-paramparā, as Bhaktivedanta Swami."

Devotees: Haribol!

Ghanaśyāma: At this school, Śrīla Prabhupāda, they ordered two orders, they were so favorable---for their Theology Department Library and also for the main library, because there were so many professors like this one who were favorable, so they wanted your books to be very easily accessible.

Devotee (1): This is the largest professor in Sanskrit in the whole United States, from Harvard University.

Satsvarūpa: Most distinguished of all men.

Ghanaśyāma: He never writes reviews for anyone, Śrīla Prabhupāda, but he wrote for you. He just refuses. He hides himself, you know.

Prabhupāda: What? Tell me. What does he say?

Satsvarūpa: "I can recommend Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta as a source of rich insights for every serious student of consciousness."

Prabhupāda: Allen Ginsberg.

Satsvarūpa: Sometimes there are professors of English, all different departments, appreciating.

Devotee (1): This man was selected to the World Council of Churches for the representative of Hinduism in their large meeting, and he just recently did a review on your Bhāgavatam.

Prabhupāda: What he says?

Satsvarūpa: "Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the Indian classic par excellence on bhakti-yoga, attributed to Vyāsa, is one of the most important and influential religio-philosophical works within the Vedic tradition. Thanks to the devoted and scholarly endeavors of Śrī A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, the entire work of twelve cantos will be available in a superb English edition for the benefit of the English-reading peoples. In his impeccable style the author presents each verse in original Sanskrit, followed by roman transliteration, English equivalents, translation and elaborate commentary. The lucid and cogent exegesis brings into relief the theory and practice of Bhāgavata philosophy in relation to contemporary man and his problems of life. I have read the first volume, containing First Canto, Part One, Chapter 1–7, with pleasure and profit. A brief account of the life of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu included in this volume illustrates the central theme of the entire text = the loving service of God. A glossary and index to Sanskrit verses and a general index have been added for the convenience of scholars. This monumental work is immensely valuable alike to historians of religion, linguistic scholars, cultural anthropologists, pious devotees, as well as to the general reader interested in spiritual matters. I recommend it highly to every student of Indian philosophy, culture and religion."

Devotee (1): Then he ordered two standing orders for the library, and they took it. [break]

Prabhupāda: Oh, that Australian...? [break]

Satsvarūpa: "It is a work to be treasured. The opportunity to receive the profound teachings of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in the West has been made possible by the devoted labor of Śrīla Prabhupāda. The clarity and precision of his commentaries on the text have rarely been equaled. No one of whatever faith or philosophical persuasion who reads this book with an open mind can fail to be both moved and impressed. The spirit of its message shines brightly from the pages."

Devotees: Jaya!

Ghanaśyāma: And he's a psychologist. Usually psychologists, they're very much sort of against spiritual life. Śrīla Prabhupāda, this one here, this is one of the biggest linguistic schools in the world, and this gentleman was the chairman of the department, so he's known all over the world for his studies in different kinds of languages.

Prabhupāda: Hmm. What does he say?

Satsvarūpa: "It is axiomatic that no book can be expected entirely to satisfy all its potential readers. Here is one, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, however, which can be said to come remarkably close to that ideal. Clearly this book is intended mainly for those who are interested in, or may become so, transcendental science and, more specifically, in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. For them it could hardly be bettered, since the elaborate purports attached to each text explain elegantly and lucidly and in every possible detail the underlying meaning of the Sanskrit verses and their relevance to this increasingly popular philosophical outlook. The work is at the same time no less impressive to one who is a layman in the context of transcendental science. A student of Sanskrit or a general linguist with only a smattering of the language would gain much from going through this book and others in the set. That this is so is the result of the way the texts are presented. Each text in Devanāgarī is followed by an exact roman transliteration, this in turn followed by an English transliteration of each separate word. After this comes a translation in flowing English. The result is that with only a modest amount of effort one can succeed in reading and understanding the Sanskrit verses, and the experience is very rewarding. At the end of the book is appended a goodly amount of further helpful material. There is a glossary of important Sanskrit terms, a Sanskrit pronunciation guide, an index of Sanskrit verses in the whole of the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and a general index to the First Canto. In other words, we have here the ideal of what an edition of a Sanskrit text for a Western audience should be."

Devotees: Jaya! Haribol! [break]

Devotee (1): ...in Mexico, and he's been asked to actually take charge of the Oriental Studies, specifically on Hinduism. And he's done a review on the Spanish Bhagavad-gītā As It Is.

Prabhupāda: This is Spanish language?

Devotee (1): No, English.

Rāmeśvara: Printed in the Spanish Gītā.

Satsvarūpa: Shall I read it?

Rādhāvallabha: It's very nice.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Satsvarūpa: "As a native of India now living in the West, it has given me much grief to see so many of my fellow countrymen coming to the West in the role of gurus and spiritual leaders. Just as any ordinary man in the West becomes conscious of Christian culture from his very birth, any ordinary man in India becomes familiar with the principles of meditation and yoga from his very birth. Unfortunately, many unscrupulous persons come from India, exhibit their imperfect and ordinary knowledge of yoga, cheat the people with their wares consisting of mantras, and present themselves as incarnations of God. So many of these cheaters have come, convincing their foolish followers to accept them as God, that those who are actually well versed and learned in Indian culture have become very concerned and troubled. For this reason I am very excited..."

Prabhupāda: Send this copy to Indira Gandhi.

Devotee (2): Indira Gandhi.

Prabhupāda: Yes, and request him stop, to send..., give passport to all these nonsense. Do this. Yes.

Satsvarūpa: "For this reason I am very excited to see the publication of Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, by Śrī A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda. Śrīla Prabhupāda, from his very birth, was trained in the strict practice of bhakti-yoga, and he appears in a succession of gurus that traces back to the original speaking of Bhagavad-gītā by Śrī Kṛṣṇa. His knowledge of Sanskrit is impeccable. His penetration into the inner meaning of the text is befitting only a fully realized soul who has indeed perfectly understood the meaning of Bhagavad-gītā. Personally, I intend to use this book in the courses which I am directing by invitation of the Mexican government on the language, culture and philosophy of India. This authorized edition of the Gītā will serve a double purpose in Spanish-speaking countries. One, it will help to stop the terrible cheating of false and unauthorized gurus and yogīs; and two, it will give an opportunity to Spanish-speaking people to understand the actual meaning of Oriental culture."

Devotees: Jaya!

Ghanaśyāma: Sometimes... [break] ...they say the exact things, you know. It's so nice that people...

Prabhupāda: Sometimes I myself read my reviews. [laughter]

Devotee (1): This man here, Śrīla Prabhupāda, he has just recently---Dr. Bardwell Smith; he's a professor---he has just recently written a letter to us that he's going to bring his students. He's in charge of an India tour program for students in India. He's going to bring his students on a regular scheduled program to Vṛndāvana.

Prabhupāda: Yes, invite them.

Rādhāvallabha: Madhudviṣa Mahārāja, if you can keep everyone from banging into those. They can break very easily.

Prabhupāda: So why not make a small booklet of all these, thin paper, so that we can send?

Rādhāvallabha: We need very much also a permanent display building in Māyāpur. This exhibit cost almost four thousand dollars.

Prabhupāda: Yes, have immediately.

Rādhāvallabha: Jaya.

Prabhupāda: Immediately ask them to construct a house.

Ghanaśyāma: We could make a museum.

Prabhupāda: Who is here from Māyāpur, in-charge? Nobody is here?

Yadubara: Jayapatāka went on parikramā.

Yaśodānandana: I think maybe that along with that commentary from the professor from the University of Mexico to send to Mrs. Indira Gandhi, if all of these quotations are sent, she will understand that you are being appreciated by everyone.

Prabhupāda: No, you can send all the quotations, not only one. [aside:] Hare Kṛṣṇa. [break] ...very enlivening, encouraging. Very good. And especially from the Western countries. All classes of academic leaders. It is very good.

Madhudviṣa: I think they should be displayed in all our temples all over the world.

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes, oh, yes. Oh, yes.

Madhudviṣa: Anybody who comes, they will see how authorized your books are.

Rāmeśvara: That's our idea, that we can mass produce these, and any temple can order the quotes from any school of their choice.

Rādhāvallabha: We can make an announcement to the temple presidents, and they can explain what the...

Rāmeśvara: Every temple can have a room for receiving guests with all the prominent quotes on the wall. [sound of approaching kīrtana party] [break]

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: All they have to do is hear the party.[?]

Devotee (3): Hawaii.

Prabhupāda: Oh. Come on.

Devotee (3): Jaya.

Gurukṛpā: This boy leads kīrtana for two or three hours nonstop by himself, playing the drum.

Prabhupāda: Oh. So parikramā party has not come back?

Madhudviṣa: No, they didn't show up yet.

Prabhupāda: Oh, that is not good. The class must be attended.

Madhudviṣa: They'll be back by the time class starts, I think, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Then they should not go in the morning. They must attend class. That is very important.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: You once gave the example of your spiritual master also, how people were invited on parikramā and you stayed back to hear.

Prabhupāda: I never went. [break] Otherwise they should not go in the morning. [loud kīrtana] [end]