760218 - Morning Walk - Mayapur

Morning Walks by Date, 1976

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

760218MW-MAYAPUR - February 18, 1976 - 9:37 Minutes

Acyutānanda: . . . ācāryas and paṇḍitas of all the sampradāyas.

Yaśodānandana: One of the leading paṇḍitas of the Rāmānuja-sampradāya has endorsed us as being bona fide Vaiṣṇavas, and also one of the main Aṣṭamaṭhas in Uḍupi, the place of Madhvācārya, has given a letter to define that "The disciple of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, His Divine Grace, is doing very good work for the sanātana dharma, and they are bona fide Vaiṣṇavas." So these letters are very good for our preaching work.

Acyutānanda: Śrī Raṅgam.

Yaśodānandana: Also in Śrī Raṅgam, the leading paṇḍita, the leading priest of the Śrī Raṅgam temple, that big Viṣṇu temple . . . we had a program there, and he's very much impressed by your work.

Acyutānanda: He's the descendant of Veṅkata Bhaṭṭa.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Acyutānanda: And that is . . . His house is called Mahāprabhu Śālā. So Lord Caitanya stayed in this house.

Yaśodānandana: He also gave a very nice letter.

Prabhupāda: He's Gauḍīya-sampradāya.

Yaśodānandana: Rāmānuja.

Prabhupāda: No, this Veṅkata Bhaṭṭa, because Bhaṭṭa, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa. Gopāla Bhaṭṭa was Caitanya Mahāprabhu's disciple. Śrī-rūpa sanātana bhaṭṭa-raghunātha, śrī-jīva gopāla-bhaṭṭa dāsa-raghunātha. They were direct disciples of Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Acyutānanda: There's a big sign in the Śrī Raṅgam temple: "Only Hindus allowed."

Prabhupāda: Ācchā?

Acyutānanda: So we took a photograph of ourselves standing next to him with the sign in the picture. So we can use that, in case anybody tries to check us.

Prabhupāda: So one thing, if you can do, that India, at the present moment, that Swami Chinmayananda is prominent.

Acyutānanda: Yes.

Hari-śauri: He's very big. Especially in the South.

Prabhupāda: (laughs) So if you can subdue him.

Yaśodānandana: We'll take care of that, Prabhupāda.

Acyutānanda: All right.

Prabhupāda: That will be great triumph. He's a nonsense. That's . . . but he's very popular at the same time.

Acyutānanda: Yes, because . . .

Prabhupāda: He is like Vivekananda.

Acyutānanda: He tells some jokes.

Yaśodānandana: He always tells nonsense jokes during his lectures. Therefore children and elderly widows are very much attracted to him for his flowery language and joking. But he has no substantial philosophy like yours.

Acyutānanda: We went to his program and sold books to the crowd.

Prabhupāda: Ah.

Yaśodānandana: But some way or other, he has some respect for you, Prabhupāda, for the great work you have done, Chinmayananda Swami. He has some respect for you. He knows . . .

Prabhupāda: But he . . . he wants to keep his prestigious position. (laughs)

Acyutānanda: Oh, yes.

Yaśodānandana: Yes. On your order, we shall try to hamper that.

Prabhupāda: No, tactfully.

Acyutānanda: Yes. By preaching your books.

Prabhupāda: Keep him as friend. He's friendly. So don't irritate him.

Acyutānanda: All right.

Yaśodānandana: I think the best way would be to out-preach him.

Prabhupāda: Out-preach him. Yes. (break)

Acyutānanda: . . . letter for our authorization to enter temples.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Acyutānanda: You . . . you sent him a letter for him to copy, and he did that on his letterhead, and Vishwa Hindu Parishad. He is favorable.

Prabhupāda: Yes, he's . . .

Acyutānanda: I met him once. He is addicted to snuff very, very much.

Prabhupāda: Constantly.

Acyutānanda: Even during his lectures he makes gestures so that he can take snuff without anybody knowing.

Yaśodānandana: And one of his favorite styles is that whenever he goes to a city, he always stays with elderly widows, very rich elderly widows, in their houses. Very strange.

Acyutānanda: I think the people know that he is bogus, but they just go for some entertainment, because he is so . . . (Prabhupāda laughs) Yes, they just go for that. Some people go just because they want to hear some nice English, to improve their English knowledge.

Prabhupāda: He speaks good English?

Acyutānanda: Very . . . He's an orator.

Prabhupāda: He's M.A. in English. I know. He's . . .

Acyutānanda: He used to be, I heard, a journalist.

Prabhupāda: Yes, journalist.

Acyutānanda: But he got into some big embarrassment.

Prabhupāda: Journalists, they write very good English. Every journalist, they learn how to write good English.

Acyutānanda: He got into some big embarrassment. I don't know how. Then he went to the Himalayas.

Prabhupāda: He was in, several times, in embarrassment. One friend in Delhi, Mr. Gupta, he told many things about him. He was patronizing him. In those days, when he was not very rich, he had . . . he gave him 25,000 rupees, that Mr. Gupta. (break) Ācchā?

Acyutānanda: I felt uncomfortable. He was clicking his teeth and moving his hands and talking very quickly. It was very uncomfortable just to be in his presence. He was very nervous. He actually contradicted himself. I was saying we should be respected in all Hindu temples. He says, "Yes, you are Hindus." He says, "Jains and Buddhists, they are also Hindus." I said, "How is that?" He says, "Who is Buddha?" I said, "He is incarnation of Kṛṣṇa." He says, "No, aside from that, he is the son of a kṣatriya." I said, "Then you are bringing it back to birth again." And then he started groping for words and avoiding me. They want to make a unity of Hindus so that they can always sway elections, so that Muhammadan and Christians do not change the election.

Prabhupāda: And we want to make Muhammadans Hindus.

Acyutānanda: Yes. They also do that. They try and . . . mainly they try and reconvert the Christians. They get some results. And they pander to the tribal castes so that they don't convert to Christianity. The Muhammedans and Christians have refused to use birth control, so they think that their population will soon outnumber the Hindus. So they are afraid that the Muhammadan and Christian block will sway elections in the future. (break)

Jayapatākā: Brahmacārīs don't like to take the instructions from the elder devotees, and then they want to take sannyāsa, so they think they can be independent and give orders themself and not listen.

Prabhupāda: Therefore not to be given all of a sudden. (break) . . . to become sevaka. Everyone wants to become sevya.

Jayapatākā: Served.

Prabhupāda: Yes. And ultimately God. Se pasha pasha pasha bo . . . when everything failure, then to become God.

Jayapatākā: That's why Lord Caitanya said that "I am not a sannyāsī or a . . ."

Prabhupāda: Yes. Gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa . . . (CC Madhya 13.80).

Yaśodānandana: Nāhaṁ vipro na ca nara-patir nāpi vaiśyo . . .

Prabhupāda: Bhṛtyasya-bhṛtya (CC Madhya 13.80), servant of the servant. Everyone, if he wants to become a master, that is materialism. (end)