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In 1965 His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda,
A vedic scholar and holy man in the renounced order of life left India
for America to transform a bold vision into a historical reality of global dimension.
To fulfill the desire of generations of Indian saints who wished to see India’s
timeless spiritual culture benefit the entire world
Śrīla Prabhupāda left India and sailed to the United States.
When he arrived by freighter he was practically penniless.
But after nearly a year of struggle he established
the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in July of 1966.
In the years that followed the society grew rapidly
and Hare Kṛṣṇa became familiar to millions of people.
Śrīla Prabhupāda became the focal point for the public’s interest in the Hare Kṛṣṇa Movement
but he was never too busy to carefully answer any question
and with each and every encounter he would
open the doors to the ancient philosophical and spiritual knowledge of India.
An Ācārya is one who teaches by example.
By his personal example Śrīla Prabhupāda demonstrated that the soul, the self
is naturally eternal, full of knowledge and full of transcendental bliss.
When a living being is awakened to his original constitutional position of
Kṛṣṇa consciousness he becomes filled with sublime
exalted spiritual emotions that have no material counterpart.
As a great self-realized and God-conscious saint Śrīla Prabhupāda
often exhibited the spiritual happiness that Kṛṣṇa describes in the Bhagavad-gītā.
That sacred and ancient fountainhead of wisdom has this to say
about the final state of human perfection.
“In that joyous state one is situated in boundless transcendental happiness
and enjoys himself through transcendental senses.
Established thus, one never departs from the truth,
and upon gaining this he knows there is no greater gain.”
Welcome.
Thank you very much.
You founded the Hare Kṛṣṇa Movement some seven years ago in 1967, did you not.
Yes.
In a capsule what is the movement?
Movement is to awaken God consciousness of the human being.
The human being is distinguished from the animals
in that the animals cannot understand what is God.
And if the human being also does not understand what is God, then he is animal.
I see. So your movement is to bring about an understand of God among human beings.
Yes.
And “Hare Kṛṣṇa” means what?
“Hare Kṛṣṇa” means addressing the energy of God.
“Hare” means the energy of God and “Kṛṣṇa” means God.
OK. You were here yesterday to attend your annual festival.
That was held in Golden Gate Park and we were there too.
And in fact here it is.
A few thousand people came out to hear it.
How many people are now disciples of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement?
Dedicated life, about ten thousand, in the Western world.
Your Grace, is there any significance at all in the shaved head?
Why are heads shaved?
We keep ourselves very clean, that’s all.
Oh, it’s just a cleanliness thing.
Yes.
Is there any significance in the color of the robes.
At least at the present moment people think that by keeping long hair it becomes very beautiful.
I see.
But we are against that.
Just as simple as that. Is there any significance in the yellow robes?
Yellow robe is the dress of those who are dedicated.
It could very well have been a blue robe?
This saffron…
Your Grace, why do you feel that so many people are pulling away from the
traditional religions in this country such as Christianity and so forth
and going for trying to understand the Eastern religions.
We hear a lot of Swamis and Gurus and other types of Yogi and so forth.
Why do you feel that people are pulling away from the traditional Christian standards here.
Because we see that the Christian churches, especially I have seen in London, mostly closed.
People are not interested or the Christian leaders, they cannot make them interested.
Why? Did Christianity fail the people which is why they are turning to other things?
I think so.
You say that Hare Kṛṣṇa consciousness pretty much takes the absolute truths from
the Bible, the Koran, the Tora and the Vedic.
Yes. Everywhere. Religion means to understand God.
I understand but do you feel that in getting truths from various places like the Bible,
the Koran and so forth, don’t you run into conflicts at all
or contradictions in those particular philosophies.
No. I don’t find any conflict because the ultimate goal is God.
So you have to understand God and try to love Him.
So you can go through any religious process.
If the goal is attained, that you understand what is God and you try to love Him then your life is perfect.
Why do we so many of your followers chanting, almost all the time.
Chanting means to keep association with God, always.
So you have to audibly chant “Hare Kṛṣṇa.”
Yes, yes.
This is transcendental vibration.
Just like a radio message.
If you keep contact with the radio message they you will know everything what is going on outside.
Similarly this transcendental sound, “Hare Kṛṣṇa,”
if you chant then you keep connection with God directly.
Thank you very much, your Divine Grace, its been our privilege to talk with you
and to meet you and hope that we can see you again, when you return.
We’ll be back with more news in just a moment.
I’m very much happy because these American boys are helping me.
It is due to their cooperation that the movement is spread all over the world.
Where will you go from here?
In America?
What is the date I entered in Hawaii?
She is asking where you will go after Dallas.
Oh, from Dallas I’ll go to West Virginia.
And from there I shall go to London.
Are you pleased with the Kṛṣṇa Movement in the United States? Do you think it’s growing?
What do you think?
I think it is and this pleases you.
It is growing very fast. Not only growing, but growing very fast.
And the flowers of your country, the young generation, they are taking it very seriously.
These boys, these girls, they have taken it very seriously.
Do you think that the children you see here will carry on?
And we are creating another generation, Kṛṣṇa conscious.
So it will continue.
What does Kṛṣṇa offer that some of the other religions of the world…
Kṛṣṇa is God.
So other religions who follow God, God consciousness, so there is no difference.
It may be difference of name but religion means God consciousness.
Without God consciousness, there is no religion.
And what does worshipping in your way, is it any better than worshipping in another way?
Is it more direct contact with Kṛṣṇa?
Well every way is nice provided the followers are nice.
Unfortunately, the principles are not followed.
Just like in Christian religion. It is said “thou shall not kill.”
But killing is very good thing here, in the Christian world, so many slaughterhouses.
That is not Christian religion. But followers, they do not follow the rules and regulations.
That is regulation. Otherwise it is very nice.
Ours also, the principle is “no meat eating.”
That means there is no killing of animals.
Every religion says like that, but the followers do not follow.
The Kṛṣṇa religion teaches that women are to be subservient to men always, why?
The Kṛṣṇa religion teaches that women should be subservient,
should be subordinate to men, she is asking, why
Well, not should be, they are by nature.
What do you think, your position?
I don’t believe in that, of course, I disagree.
But you voluntarily become subservient to a man. That is the nature.
They are seeking to become subservient.
Attracting man, “take me as subservient.”
That is natural.
Even psychologically it is analyzed that the brain of man, they have seen up to 64 ounce,
whereas the brain of women they have not found more than 36 ounce.
But women live longer than men.
Not necessarily.
My grandmother lived about hundred years.
So sometimes it happens.
It is not restricted amongst women. There are men also.
How old is the movement?
From historical point of view it is about five thousand years.
Why has it just begun to really catch on in the Western world?
I mean just recently, recent years has it begun to sweep the Western world.
Why is this?
The Western world, the younger generation were being frustrated, the hippie movement.
So, when they saw something tangible, they accepted it.
What things, if everyone in the United States believed in Kṛṣṇa and to the extent that you do,
what would happen to this country and how would it be transformed?
They will be very happy and peaceful.
There will be no more hippies.
What would you describe as a hippie?
You know better than me. Something extraordinary.
How should people who follow your beliefs respond to other people
criticizing them for the way they…
This criticism. You criticize me, I criticize you. That is going on.
Even there is no change of dress.
It is mans nature to become envious, to criticize others. That is material nature.
So you think they are envious because they are criticizing you?
Yes.
Because of the happiness the people have?
Certainly. Sometimes they enquire, “Are you Americans?”
Because they have never saw Americans so peaceful.
Even the priests also, they very much appreciate.
In Melbourne, the Bishop of Melbourne and the head of the Scottish Church,
many Church people, they very much appreciated.
They invited me to talk at the society of Saint Francis.
Hundreds of fathers, the meeting was attended, and I spoke for one hour,
they very much appreciated, applauded for ten minutes,
and they have accepted the principal, Hare Kṛṣṇa.
And Reverend Powel, he gave declaration that we have no alarm from the Kṛṣṇa Movement.
This is your third visit to Dallas, is that correct.
Yes.
Why was Dallas selected as the point to establish the school.
I believe this is the first school, isn’t it, in the United States to be established?
Why was Dallas particularly chosen for the school?
It was Kṛṣṇa’s choice.
Kṛṣṇa’s choice, He chose Dallas?
Yes. We got a nice house and we accepted it. So it was Kṛṣṇa’s choice.
Where does the international Kṛṣṇa organization get its funds? From simply donations?
They have been criticizes occasionally for being very wealthy.
Yes, that is our reputation.
Even in Indian parliament this question was raised. “These Hare Kṛṣṇa people…
…are fabulously rich, where they are getting money?”
Somebody suspected we are getting bribes from American government, what is that, CIA?
So if you are theologicians then you must know what is God and abide by God.
What do you think, Dr. Judah, this proposition?
Yes. I think you are quite right. Certainly in our day and age many of us don’t really know God.
Then he is not theologist, he is theosophist.
We know about God, but we do not know God, I would agree.
That is theosophist. Theosophist, they are thinking there is something superior,
but who is that superior, they are searching out.
The same thing, a boy, he knows “I have a father.”
But who is that father, he doesn’t know.
For that you have to ask your mother. Alone he can not understand.
So our proposition is that if you do not know God, and here is God, Kṛṣṇa,
why don’t you accept.
You do not know, first of all. And if I present, “Here is God,” then why don’t you accept it.
What is the answer?
We are presenting God, “Here is God.”
And big, big ācāryas have accepted. Rāmānujācārya, Mādhavācārya, Viṣṇuswami, Lord Caitanya.
In our disciplic succession my guru mahārāja and I am preaching
I’m not presenting a God whimsically.
I am presenting a God who is recognized. So why don’t you accept?
What is the difficulty?
I suppose one of the difficulties for certainly many in the older generation
is that we follow certain patterns of life and it is difficult to change. This is the great problem.
You are not serious. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says:
sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
You have to give up. And if you are not prepared to give up then you cannot accept God.
I think you are being a little unfair to Dr. Crossley.
I think what you say is true, that the most important thing we can do is to seek and know God.
But I don’t think it is right to say that it’s a bad thing to study how other people, or how man is…
No, I don’t say bad thing. I say if you’re serious about God, now “Here is God.”
…that’s what a university, in part, is for.
To study about how people have thought on different matters.
No. If you are seeking after something, if you get that something,
why don’t you accept it?
Do you believe that Christ said that Kṛṣṇa was his father.
The name may be different. Just like in our country we say this flower something
you say something… but subject matter must be the same.
Name is not.
You can say in a different way according as you understand. But God is one. God cannot be two.
You may give Him different names, that is different thing, but God is one, God cannot be two.
You pay tax to the government and the tax is distributed to so many departments.
So it is not your business to go every department and pay tax.
Pay to the treasury of the government it will be distributed.
This is intelligence.
And if you say that, “Why should I pay to the treasury house?”
“I shall pay this department, that department, that department, that department.”
You can go on, but it will never be sufficient.
Neither complete.
So you may love humanity but because you do not love Kṛṣṇa
therefore you do not love the cows, send them to slaughter.
So your love will remain defective, it will never be complete.
And if you love Kṛṣṇa, then you will love even a small ant.
He is not interested even to kill an ant.
That is real love.
I agree with you that we love very badly and we slaughter the animals…
Badly love is not love.
..but is the converse true,
that we chant very well and can love Kṛṣṇa even when we cannot love our fellow…
Chanting… We are also working.
It is not that we are simply sitting down and chanting.
Because we are chanting therefore we are loving everyone.
That is a fact.
These Hare Kṛṣṇa chanters, they’ll never agree to kill any animal, even a plant.
Because they know everything is part and parcel of God.
Why unnecessarily one should be killed?
That is love.
Love means never killing?
There are so many things. It is one of the items.
Yes. Do you kill your own son?
Why? Because you love him.
Could you explain the other side of it.
The fact that of course the Bhagavad-gītā has its setting on a battlefield in which Kṛṣṇa enjoins Arjuna…
That killing and poor animal who is supplying milk.
You are drinking milk, your mother.
And you are killing.
This killing and that killing is not the same thing.
According to Vedic civilization the cow is to be given a special protection.
Why it is recommended for the cow?
He does not say of other animals.
Śrīla Prabhupāda you are aware that they advance the argument of mesmerisation against chanting.
That’s good. If you can mesmerise… That Dr. Judah has admitted.
If you can mesmerise the drug-addicted hippies and engage them in understanding Kṛṣṇa,
it is a great achievement.
Dr. Judah has admitted.
So if mesmerisation is for good, why not accept it?
If it is for bad then it is another thing.
If it is doing good why not accept it.
What do you think?
I don’t know how to react. I think I agree with you.
If it is good… Everything good should be accepted.
One problem, I keep wondering how you are so sure you know what good is.
Particularly when it comes to war.
I would be a little more worried I think.
What is that war?
Well, you were telling that sometimes war is necessary.
I should think that it…
Now necessary means that you can not expect in this material world all saintly persons.
There are bad elements.
So if the bad elements come to attack you is it not your duty to fight?
It just may be though that mine are the bad elements and
I keep thinking that other people are the bad elements.
No. Even God has got this discrimination.
He says paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām, there are bad elements.
In God’s mind there is good elements, bad elements.
So we are part and parcel of God. We must also have the same subject.
We cannot avoid it.
The body is not God?
Yes.
No. He’s saying that when we say everything is part of God, he says the body is an exception.
No, why. The body is also part of God.
No, why. The body is also part of God.
Yes. It is another energy.
I see.
Everything is God’s energy. So body is also God’s energy.
The best use of the body is God’s energy should be utilized for God.
Then it is, body spiritualized.
Body is also God’s energy and if it is engaged in God’s service.
Then the body is no more a bad bargain, it is a good bargain.