740617 - Morning Walk - Germany

Morning Walks by Date, 1974

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

 Listen to a 'Nectar Drop' created from this lecture

740617MW-GERMANY - June 17, 1974 - 18:07 Minutes

Prabhupāda: What is there? He is digging? (break) Just see the fun.

Devotee: Of all the four pillars of sinful activity, is meat-eating the worst?

Prabhupāda: Everything is worst. Sinful is sinful. Disease is disease. This body, either it is living or it is dead, it is not very important thing. Now see. And the whole world is after this body. Kṛṣṇa says: "The body, either dead or alive, it is not a subject matter for serious consideration." Now see. And what the world is going on? Simply for bodily . . . body means senses. It is very difficult to the . . . for the Western people to understand that body is not important thing; the soul is important thing. First of all, they do not know what is soul, and then consideration of importance. This is their position. And if one cannot understand what is soul, what he will understand about God?

Soul is a minute particle of God. If one cannot understand about this minute particle, then what he'll understand of the Supreme? In the laboratory, if you can test a little sample, just like take a little sea water, analyze, you chemically test, then you can understand what is the composition of the sea water. But if you have no knowledge even a small drop of sea water, how you'll understand the sea, what . . . that is their position. They do not understand even the sample of spirit soul, as we are. Simply they are trying to cover it, "There is no soul. There is no soul. Life is generated from matter," although they cannot prove it. A fool's paradise. The fools, rascals, they are explaining the living force in some way, and other fools are accepting.

This is the position of Western countries, Europe and America. It is a fool's paradise. It is paradise, certainly. Very, very, big, big building and advancement, but all rascals and fools. Fool's paradise. (pause) And if you call a fool a fool, he'll be angry. Murkhayopadeṣo hi prokapāya na śāntaye. (pause) (japa)

(break) . . . so many, so much production, but if nature's like it can stop this production, then the question of overpopulation. If the nature likes, it can produce three times, four times this production. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi (BG 3.27). After all, nature is producing. We do not know how to deal with nature. Therefore there is scarcity, and we say "overpopulation." There is no question of overpopulation. There are so many hundred and thousands of birds within this forest, other animal. They have no problem of overpopulation. Eh? (pause) All these men who are living in these villages, so what is their means of livelihood? Agriculture or industry? Or service?

Haṁsadūta: I think mostly they work at some . . . well, some service, yes.

Prabhupāda: Factory.

Haṁsadūta: Employed at some factory, or . . . but very few people actually work on the land. And we can see so much land. No one is working. 'Cause by machine, they can work so quick on the land. (break)

Prabhupāda: This should be exemplary, that our community shall live in this way and save time for spiritual advancement of life. This example should be shown to the whole world that, "Here is a community, they have no problem, and they are simply interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness." This will be the idea. Is it possible?

Haṁsadūta: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Yes. "They do not do any industry. They do not kill cows. They do not go to cinema. They do not have illicit sex. They don't drink. No problems. Simply they're eating very nicely and chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa." Show this example, at least, in this fool's paradise. They are thinking it is paradise, and the paradise is lost every ten years or fifteen years by the bombing—German bombs the France, and France bombs the . . . this is their paradise. So let them understand that, "You are all fools. You are fool's paradise. This is life, what we are doing." Teach them so that the fools will understand what is life. They are manufacturing atom bomb. Russia is hiding himself.

Devotee: Now they've found out, Śrīla Prabhupāda, that India has been, over the past few years, spending crores of rupees to develop the . . .

Prabhupāda: Hmm. And people are starving for want of. There was a cartoon that some public came to some minister: "Sir, we are starving. Give us our food." So the reply was, "Of course, that's a problem, food problem. But I can assure you that from next week you'll have television." (laughter) These rascals are like that. "Next, from next week, you'll have television, atom bomb. Never mind. Starve." (laughter) So that is also becoming fool's paradise. Jaḍa-vidyā jato māyāra vaibhava. In this way, the more we increase sense . . . sense gratification by advancement of material . . . the more we forget Kṛṣṇa. And more we forget Kṛṣṇa, we are more fools. (aside) Don't come so near.

Devotee: In England and America now, more and more there is a big movement for birth control and contraceptives . . .

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Devotee: . . . as their means to conquer over the so-called overpopulation problem.

Prabhupāda: No, it is not overpopulation. They don't want to take care of children. This is their problem. It is not the question of overpopulation. They want to remain free and enjoy life, that's all. No responsibility. That is the hippies. That is the hippie movement.

Devotee: I have seen in all the big colleges and universities in England that I have been to that this . . . amongst the students, the boys and girls, it is becoming so free. It is just like a hippie commune, the universities and colleges.

Prabhupāda: Yes. They are indebted in so many ways. Therefore human being should be responsible. But the modern civilization is teaching to become irresponsible. (break)

Haṁsadūta: . . . there, on the sun.

Prabhupāda: So suppose if your heat increases, what happens to you?

Haṁsadūta: I get sick.

Prabhupāda: That's all. (break) . . . samudvigna, always full of anxiety. Sadā samudvigna-dhiyām. Intelligence is always concerned, "Enemy may not come. Let me discover this, discover this atom bomb. This will save me. This will save me." This is their position. Sadā samudvigna-dhiyām asad-grahāt (SB 7.5.5). Why this anxiety? Because they have accepted something false as truth. Asad-grahāt. They have accepted sense gratification is the truth. Indriyāṇi parāṇy āhuḥ. Indriyāṇi means senses; parā, supreme. This is supreme. And then, if somebody is little advanced, indriyebhyaḥ paraṁ manaḥ. Then the mental speculators, psychologists, philosophers, another, better class of rascals . . . (laughter) This is the third-class rascal, and they are second-class rascal. Indriyāṇi parāṇy āhur indriyebhyaḥ paraṁ manaḥ, manasas tu parā buddhiḥ (BG 3.42). Then the intelligent class. They consider, "What is this nonsense? They are all suffering here." In this way, one who becomes actually intelligent, wise, then he understands, "Kṛṣṇa is everything." Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19).

So that highest position we are giving by Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We are not training them to be first-class fool, second-class fool, third-class . . . no. First-class intelligent. Kṛṣṇa yei bhaje sei baḍa catura. Without being first-class intelligent man, nobody can take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness (break) . . . drink everything. And why they fight? What is the cause? Suppose father gives all necessities of life to the children. Why they should fight? Simply ignorance and foolishness. That's all. Where is the cause of fighting? Just like Pāṇḍavas, to settle up their misunderstanding, Kṛṣṇa said: "All right, they are kṣatriyas. They cannot take up the occupation of vaiśya or śūdra. Give them five villages so that they'll be happy. They'll rule over, each one, on the village." "No, Sir. Not a piece of land holding the tip of the needle can be spared without fighting." This is the world. Huh? The German, German war, First World War, what is the cause? The cause was that the Britishers will not allow the Germans to trade all over the world. They captured everything. And they'll purchase from Germany goods and cheat people . . .

Haṁsadūta: And sell . . .

Prabhupāda: . . . "Made in London," and sell it fifteen times higher than the German. This was their business. And that was the cause of . . . is it not? Those who have studied history, this is the cause. So all this nonsense thing can be solved if we take it, "This is Kṛṣṇa's property." And if you know something, you are manufac . . . that's all right; you do it. I do something else. Or even if I do it, where is the cause of fighting? Because they do not know what is Kṛṣṇa? (end)