740525 - Morning Walk - Rome

Morning Walks by Date, 1974

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

740525MW-ROME - May 25, 1974 - 24:36 Minutes

(At Villa Borghese)

Prabhupāda: Yajña means to satisfy the Supreme Lord. That is yajña. So in the Kali-yuga the yajña is made very easy: chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. So anywhere you go, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, and see that there will be clouds, there will be rainfall, and just work little, you get your food grains, and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Yogeśvara: They won't like that idea.

Prabhupāda: That means their . . . that is their disease. The same thing that, "Why you are sitting here? Come with me, work." "What shall I do by working?" "You get money. Then you'll enjoy." "And I am already enjoying." That they will not do. This is called māyā. Māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān (SB 7.9.43). These rascals, simply for little temporary, so-called benefit, they have created this working civilization, "Work very hard, very hard." That's all. Whole history . . . in this Rome city you can see. There are evidences. These buildings are constructed with hard labor. Now those rascals have gone, and they are maintaining that, "They worked so hard." That's all. Those who worked very hard, they have gone away. Now nobody knows where they are and what they have become. But they are maintaining their bricks. That's all. Brick civilization. (japa) (break)

Yogeśvara: No one goes into the park at night. Too dangerous.

Prabhupāda: Just see. They have created such a civilization.

Yogeśvara: The little boy of President John Kennedy was in Central Park last week, and another boy came and pushed him to the ground and stole his bicycle. The president's son.

Prabhupāda: From the very beginning, stealing and robbing. What is this picture? One horse without any . . .

Yogeśvara: I think it is the horse of the hunter.

Prabhupāda: Oh. (aside) Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Italian devotee: They're the knights that live in the mountains here. It's called Alpina, live in the Alps.

Prabhupāda: Ah. (break) . . . spoken by Kṛṣṇa:

annād bhavanti bhūtāni

parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ

yajñād bhavati parjanyo

yajñaḥ karma-samudbhavaḥ

(BG 3.14)

Satsvarūpa: Prabhupāda, in the Kṛṣṇa Book, Kṛṣṇa Himself argues that you don't need . . . He argues at the time of the Indra sacrifice that you don't need yajña; the rain will come anyway. That's what they say nowadays.

Prabhupāda: That was to irritate Indra. (laughter)

Satsvarūpa: But they take that argument of His. Where is the proof that the rains are controlled by God?

Prabhupāda: No, no. Kṛṣṇa says the rain will come, but Kṛṣṇa never says that without rain you can cultivate. So Kṛṣṇa's purpose was, "Because I am the Supreme Lord, Indra will supply, his father will supply." So that is another thing. Kṛṣṇa never said that, "Without rain, you can cultivate." Never said.

Yogeśvara: Well, what if they argue that, "Whether we perform yajña or not, these rains will go on. They are coming now, and we are not performing yajña."

Prabhupāda: "Because I will order. You are already performing yajña, worshiping Me, loving Me." That is Kṛṣṇa's purpose. Tasmiṁ tuṣṭe jagat tuṣṭa. If you satisfy Kṛṣṇa, Indra's father will be satisfied. Just like if you water on the root of the tree, all the Indras, as branches and leaves and foliage, they will be satisfied. That is the purpose. Kṛṣṇa wanted to impress this, that "You simply love Me, and everything will be supplied."

Devotee lady: Why is it that the rains come in certain parts of the world and in other parts people do not have enough?

Prabhupāda: No, no part of the world is nowadays sufficient rain. Because they are not performing yajña. Sometimes it is seen that over-rain, overflood, not systematic. But if you perform yajña, there will be systematic rainfall, which you can utilize properly. Yajñād bhavati parjanyaḥ (BG 3.14).

Devotee: Kīrtanānanda Swami says that in New Vrindaban the weather is changing every year. It is getting nicer there. Much more sun, and the winter is not so hard.

Ātreya Ṛṣi: In New Vrindaban it's getting better.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Because there are so many devotees. The people are still being maintained on account of our chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.

Devotee: By the grace of pure devotee.

Prabhupāda: Yes. (break) . . . encouraging in our Society to take to agriculture to support this center. I am purchasing land in Vṛndāvana and Māyāpur to become self-sufficient. Whatever production you make, you be satisfied. Little vegetable, little grain and little milk, that is sufficient.

Yogeśvara: In the Vedic culture, was the land divided, in the sense that some people would receive land free or . . .?

Bhagavān: This is nice here, this ground.

Yogeśvara: The land in the Vedic culture, some of it was . . .?

Prabhupāda: Land belongs to the king, and you take land for cultivation, and you pay 25% tax to the king. That's all. All taxes. If you don't produce, then don't pay tax.

Yogeśvara: Oh, it wasn't forced that you had to pay so much.

Prabhupāda: No.

Ātreya Ṛṣi: You pay 25% of what you have produced.

Prabhupāda: What you have produced, that's all. Very simple thing. Everyone was engaged producing. There was no necessity. And here the rascals are advising, "Produce bolts and nuts, tire, and drill petrol." They are not producing food. And the so-called government men, they are levying taxes, and they are enjoying. They haven't got to produce food. They are killing animals, eating, and digesting with wine. And then woman. That's all. This is their business. And food price is increasing daily. They don't mind, because they will print paper, and to the supplier they will give paper. That's all.

Bhagavān: Print more paper.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That's all. This is the civilization—cheating, bluffing, that's all. They don't care for the citizens. And as soon as there is some agitation, they declare war, so that they can be engaged, attention is diverted. This is going on.

Bhagavān: Now with paper money, any country can print any other country's money. (laughs)

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is going on. Therefore inflation. Suppose I am your enemy. I print dollars like that, and distribute. So the inflation is there, and the price is increased. If you get money for nothing, you will be prepared to pay anything. Suppose there is one maund of rice. I have got these printed notes. You are offering ten rupees; I will say twenty rupees.

Ātreya Ṛṣi: That's inflation.

Prabhupāda: That's all. Because I did not earn this money, I have printed, I am prepared to twenty rupees. So he says: "Why shall I pay ten rupees? I must wait for the customer, for twenty rupees, and hoard it." Even there is sufficient stock, he will not sell. Therefore the other man, who is honest, he is suffering. This is going on. So to stop this inflation, the government must stop this paper currency. Then the inflation . . . there will be no more inflation. But that they will not do. They want to cheat people. "In God I trust. Take this paper and pay you be satisfied that you have got thousand dollars." That's all. This cheating is going on. Why should you pay me paper? Give me real dollar, in gold. That they have none. They haven't got. That's all. They will employ laborers and cheat them by paying these papers, and this rascal will think that, "I am getting more money." That's all. Since this world has taken this paper currency, the situation has degraded. Formerly there was barter exchange. That was very good thing. Still in Indian villages, the remote villages, there is barter. Yes. He has produced some grains, paddy. He will bring to the storekeeper. And the storekeeper will take, "For so much oil, you have to give me so much paddy." So he will weigh and keep it and give him oil. So he will arrange to sell the paddy. But for the villagers, he brings the paddy and he takes. They require little salt, little oil, some spices, that's all. Otherwise they have got their own thing. They have got ḍāl, their rice, wheat; everything they have produced. In this way, still there are, Indian villages. There is no question of scarcity.

Bhagavān: The easiest way to manage, then, is to have everything more or less in small villages.

Prabhupāda: Yes, that was Gandhi's philosophy, village organization. These people, they are attracting villagers to work in the factory, and they are exploiting them. Instead of producing food, they are attracted by so-called high salaries to the factory, and they are producing bolts and nuts, motor part. But food is produced somewhere else. So but the food producers, they are working in the factory. Therefore scarcity of foodstuff. But this factory owner, he has got more money. He doesn't care. The poor public, they are suffering. Our philosophy, that you produce your food anywhere. You stay, and keep cows, take milk, produce vegetable, food grains, and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. That's all. This is our philosophy. Make your life successful. By becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious, you become free from all these troubles of material condition. This is our education. Don't be after these motorcars, television, and all nonsense things, sporting, wine, women. Don't be after these. Simply eat sufficiently, keep your health nicely, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, realize Kṛṣṇa, and go back to home. This is our philosophy.

Satsvarūpa: But sometimes, because this materialistic society is so far advanced, you say we cannot actually hope to change it.

Prabhupāda: No, no. That is a fact. We cannot hope to change. But we request everyone to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Yogeśvara: In their factory or wherever they are.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Because it is very difficult to close the factory. That is not possible. So whatever you have done, it is all right, but you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Then things will be adjusted. We are giving chance to everyone—who is degraded or who is not degraded—by the simple method of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. We do not neglect anyone. We do not say: "You are neglected. We don't accept you." No. I accept you and I accept others. What is this? Cemetery? No. It is also part of this park? (break)

Bhagavān: . . . people tolerate such obvious mismanagement.

Prabhupāda: As long as they will not take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they have to tolerate. They must suffer. That is nature's law. That is said in the Bhagavad-gītā, daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā . . . (BG 7.14). You cannot escape all these miserable conditions of . . . mām eva ye prapadyante. If you become Kṛṣṇa conscious, then you escape. What is difficulty to become Kṛṣṇa conscious? Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65): "Simply always think of Me." We have got nice Kṛṣṇa. And attend the temple, and we see. And what is the difficulty to think of Him always? Or chanting, hearing His name? So there is no difficulty in remembering Kṛṣṇa always. Man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ. To become devotee, worship the Lord in the temple, prepare food for Him and take the prasādam—where is the difficulty? The program which we have introduced, where is the difficulty there? But the rascals will not take. That is the difficulty. They will become hippies, but they will not become devotees, although a better position. This is their misfortune. Duṣkṛtina, misfortune. In spite of the things being so easy to perform, they will not take to it, on account of misfortune. Duṣkṛtina. Because they have committed so many sinful activities, it is difficult to accept this. Otherwise, the thing which we are presenting is very easy to be accepted by anyone, even by a child. And actually we see. The children, they are also dancing, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, and very happy, in Dallas. In all schools the children are unhappy, their face. And we see in Dallas, all children, they are so happy. The teacher is happy. The student is happy there. Have you not marked the face in the picture, how they are happy? Did you mark it?

Devotee: Yes.

Bhagavān: To accept our way, though . . . to accept our way, they think, "That means I have been totally wrong." And they have so much pride that they don't want to change it.

Prabhupāda: That is their misfortune. Mūrkhāyopadeśo hi prakopayati na śamyati. A mūrkha, a rascal, when he is given good advice, he becomes angry. He becomes angry. He does not take for solution of the problem, but he becomes angry. Mūrkhāyopadeśo hi. Payaḥ-pānaṁ bhujaṅganaṁ kevalaṁ viṣa-vardhanam (Hitopadeśa 3.4). Because they are miscreants, like snakes, if you give him milk, his poison will increase. Payaḥ-pānaṁ bhujaṅganaṁ kevalaṁ viṣa-vardhanam.

Yogeśvara: When I was at the university, there were two kinds of strikes. One was by the students and the other one was by the professors.

Prabhupāda: (laughing) And what about the clerks? They also strike sometimes.

Yogeśvara: They took advantage of the two.

Prabhupāda: Everyone dissatisfied—that's a fact. This is a bad civilization.

Yogeśvara: Jyotirmayī is giving a course in Paris at one university, and there we can't always have our classes. We are scheduled every week, but we've only had two or three. The whole rest of the time the university has been closed because the students were striking. Practically the whole year.

Bhagavān: (car screeches) So fast, and they go nowhere. (laughs)

Prabhupāda: He is proud that, "How fast I can drive!" Just see. And where you are going? "I am going to hell, that's all. Never mind." That is described in the Bhagavad-gītā. Just like the flies, they are coming very forcefully. Where? In the fire. "Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat! Pat!" They are very busy. And as soon as on the fire, finished. Just see. Very busy. Without inquiring, "Where I am going so forcefully?" but they are going to the fire.

Satsvarūpa: We should go on the walk. The cars are coming on the road. We should go on the walk.

Prabhupāda: So we shall walk?

Bhagavān: Where is the car? (break)

Prabhupāda: . . . containing three passengers, wasting petrol. Similarly, hundreds and thousands and millions of cars and buses are running all over the world, simply wasting petrol.

Bhagavān: When there was the oil crisis in the United States, they were giving reports how some person would go in his car . . . go ten miles in a big car to buy one pack of cigarettes.

Prabhupāda: Stick to your own place and grow your food. There is no question of transport. Little transport is required, that bullock cart. Kṛṣṇa was being carried on bullock cart. There is no use of petrol. Use simply the bull. They are already there. Utilize them. No. The bull should be sent to the slaughterhouse. Petrol should be used.

Ātreya Ṛṣi: They try to solve every problem by transportation—by airplanes, cars. For example, we had this big conference in Montreal. From all over the world came partner. . . (end)