750806 - Morning Walk - Detroit

Morning Walks by Date, 1975

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

 Listen to a 'Nectar Drop' created from this lecture

750806MW-DETROIT - August 06, 1975 - 31:37 Minutes

Brahmānanda:. . . (indistinct). . .

Prabhupāda: What is his mentality? (break). . . there is tiger. (break). . . interior village in Bengal, there are tigers. Orissa also.

Brahmānanda: In Los Angeles city they have coyotes, like a wolf, and they go around eating the pet cats and dogs.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Brahmānanda: People are very upset.

Prabhupāda: In the city?

Brahmānanda: Yes. In the residential areas especially. (break)

Prabhupāda:. . .hiding?

Brahmānanda: Yes. But they are becoming even more and more bold. Even during the day now they are coming, and they'll go in someone's . . . On the lawn there will be a dog playing or a cat, and . . . (laughter)

Prabhupāda: Those animals sometimes kill children also, small children. (break). . . padaṁ yad vipadam (SB 10.14.58): "Every step there is danger." This is the place. (break)

Ādi-keśava: Here in this city they are not so much worried about the wild animals.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Ādi-keśava: They are not so much worried in this city about the wild animals, but more about their neighbors, because here more people are killed every day than anywhere else in this country.

Prabhupāda: By the neighbors.

Ādi-keśava: Yes. (break)

Brahmānanda:. . . heard one report that the mayor of this city, he prevented a race riot. He personally prevented there being a race riot. Recently one white man killed a black man. So the blacks then were attacking his shop, and the mayor personally came and subdued the crowd. He was able to prevent the riot.

Prabhupāda: Recently?

Brahmānanda: Yes. (break)

Ādi-keśava:. . . see that, in those deer up there, that the one with antlers, with horns coming out of his head, he is the male. He thinks he is in charge of all of the others, all of the females. He will fight anyone who comes after them, any other deer who comes after them. And he thinks, "I am so strong. I am so brave." He tries to protect them all and chase them away. That one in the center there.

Devotee (1): It looks like they've all assembled to see you.

Prabhupāda: There's a big. (break)

Brahmānanda:. . . used to go hunting these, with big guns, that innocent animal.

Prabhupāda: Hero. Big hero. (laughter) (break). . . was telling that here also people come and . . .

Brahmānanda: With bow and arrow, he was saying.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is allowed?

Ambarīṣa: No. It is against the law.

Ādi-keśava: When we were coming over here, we were discussing how in this whole park, there is this big, huge park, and only two or three men maintain the whole park because they don't have enough money to pay them. Yet if you go to the street not so far down from the temple, there are so many men just sitting in the street doing nothing all day long. And yet they say there is a shortage of men to work in this place to make it nice.

Prabhupāda: It is defective training; bad civilization. They cannot employ everyone. (break). . . religion stresses that everyone should be engaged. No one should remain idle. That is the government's duty. Bad government.

Ādi-keśava: But the government says it is every man's freedom to work or not to work.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is his irresponsible government: "It is man's freedom—he may eat or may not eat." It is saying like that.

Ambarīṣa: They would rather not work if they don't have to.

Prabhupāda: Why we are working? Huh? Why we are not for that freedom, that "We shall not work"? Why we have engaged ourself for working?

Ādi-keśava: For Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda: So therefore must be the real center. Nobody is paying us any salary, superficially. But why we are working? (break) Therefore the slavery was there—"You must work." Those who are śūdras will not work. Therefore the slavery was there. (break)

Ādi-keśava: In this country, when they had the slavery, there was no . . . The masters were not qualified either.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is the defect. That is the defect. Either the master is defective or the servant is defective or the system is defective. That is material world. Doṣa-catuḥsthānī, four faults: mistake, illusion, cheating and imperfectness. (break). . . the struggle for existence—one mistake after one mistake; one illusion after one; one imperfectness after another. Like that, it is going on. (break)

Mādhavānanda: It's our duty in society to show everyone how to work for Kṛṣṇa and become happy in life.

Prabhupāda: That is yajña. To work for Kṛṣṇa means yajña. Yajñarthe karma: "For yajña, performing yajña, one has to work." To work for Kṛṣṇa means yajña. That is performance of yajña. (break). . .communistic idea is borrowing this idea from . . . But because they are imperfect, they have made center state. And because it is imperfect, it is not successful. They have made center the state. (break) Tamo-guṇa means laziness and sleep. The śūdras, they are in laziness and sleep. So if they have got something to eat, they will not work. Laziness. Or eat more and sleep. This is tamo-guṇa. And rajo-guṇa means they are working for sense gratification. That is also useless. Tamo-guṇa is laziness and sleeping, and rajo-guṇa means working foolishly or for sense gratification. And sattva-guṇa means they know how to work. And therefore above this sattva-guṇa they become devotee, work for Kṛṣṇa. So without working for Kṛṣṇa, everyone is under the spell of these modes of material nature. And there is no training how to work for Kṛṣṇa. That is the defect of modern civilization.

Ādi-keśava: Sometimes people criticize us, saying that we are teaching everyone how to do nothing; that we are teaching them about God, but how are we going to teach anyone to practically survive in the world? Sometimes they say like that, that we don't have any practical instruction as well.

Prabhupāda: Practical?

Ādi-keśava: Yes.

Prabhupāda: What is not practical? We are not eating? We are not sleeping?

Ādi-keśava: Yes, they are saying, "Oh, when will you learn to do a trade? When will you learn to perform business, or when will you learn to become a doctor, if you are always studying, talking about . . ."

Prabhupāda: But you are doctor already. Why shall I become doctor? You serve me. We serve you by giving you Kṛṣṇa consciousness; you serve me as a doctor. What is the wrong there? Parasparārtham. I am for you; you are for me. Division of labor, that is accepted universally. So ask them, "Do you think that everyone should become doctor? Then where is the patient?" Eh? Everything is required. Similarly, you require our help also. It is cooperation. You know medical science; we know spiritual science. So let us exchange and be happy. Why you are envious of us? Why there is division in the body—head, arms, leg, belly? Why not everything head or everything leg? Why there is divided? That is natural. It is required. (pause) Why this road is neglected?

Mādhavānanda: It's mismanagement.

Ādi-keśava: Even they are saying that, that we don't know how to. . . we're not teaching anything practical.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Ādi-keśava: Even sometimes they are saying we're not teaching anything practical.

Prabhupāda: What does he mean by practical?

Ādi-keśava: Practical? They're thinking we don't know how to operate in the material world.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Ādi-keśava: They're thinking we don't know how to manage things.

Prabhupāda: We are not managing things? Hmm? Brahmānanda? You are not managing?

Brahmānanda: We manage all day long. (laughing)

Ādi-keśava: Even my father is a big businessman, he said to me, "Who is this person that taught you to manage like this?" He said, "I wish I could get him to teach all my men."

Prabhupāda: So why don't you ask your father to join for management? (laughter) Eh?

Brahmānanda: So you are managing one of the buses, isn't it?

Ādi-keśava: Yes.

Brahmānanda: He is managing one of the Rādhā-Dāmodara . . . that big bus.

Prabhupāda: Oh. He is with us?

Brahmānanda: No. Ādi-keśa. Your name is Ādi-keśa?

Harikeśa: His father is a big scholar.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Ādi-keśava: He's a big rascal. (laughter)

Prabhupāda: In what subject he is scholar?

Ādi-keśava: Well, he's a businessman, but also he is a big philosopher. He thinks that by working very hard that God will give you the result—karma-mīmāṁsā philosophy.

Prabhupāda: Hmm. Karma-mīmāṁsā.

Ādi-keśava: He thinks simply by doing your work in the world, then God will become satisfied, and you do not need to offer any sacrifice.

Prabhupāda: The ass is working also. So why God is not satisfied with him? He is working very hard. Why he is meant for carrying load for the washerman? Why do they think that we are not working? Eh?

Harikeśa: They only see us chanting and dancing and eating prasādam.

Ambarīṣa: They wonder how we can buy such a big house when we are not working.

Prabhupāda: That . . . They do not see Kṛṣṇa's mercy. Just like yesterday we purchased one house, and according to Indian exchange, twenty-four lakhs. So I had no money, but I have purchased. (laughter) That is . . . They do not understand what is Kṛṣṇa's mercy.

Ādi-keśava: In Boston when we bought the big temple there, they said . . . They asked us, "We saw you dancing and chanting in the street right in front of there the other day, and now we see you going into a house on the richest block in the whole city."

Prabhupāda: So why don't you say, "We have pleased Kṛṣṇa; He has sent money"? That is our business. Why should we work like an ass and dog? We simply please Kṛṣṇa, and He sends money. That's all. You see practically. Yesterday I went to see the house. I had no money, but I purchased, twenty-four lakhs. Wherefrom the money comes? That is intelligence, that you please one person and you'll get everything. And you rascal, you please so many others; still, you are not happy. That is intelligence. You are going to water the trees and leaves and the twigs and . . . but we put water in the root. It reaches everywhere. Yathā taror mūla-niṣecaṇena tṛpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopasakhaḥ (SB 4.31.14). If I pour water on the root, all the branches will be pleased and they will give me fruits, flowers, everything. They do not know this science.

Harikeśa: They can't even see the root.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is their blindness. Andhā.

Brahmānanda: 'Cause they can't see it, they think it's not there.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Brahmānanda: Because they can't see the root, they think it's not there.

Prabhupāda: Yes. (break)

(in car). . .house for the last four years. And I went for half an hour; I purchased—without any money. Still, they are so blind, they cannot see the mercy of God. One should imagine that "Yes, there is mercy of God. Otherwise how it is possible?" If they have no eyes to see, they should imagine at least.

Harikeśa: That's why the government thinks that we are being supported. In India they think we are being supported by the . . .

Prabhupāda: CIA.

Harikeśa: Yes. Because we have so many nice things. Where else could we . . .

Brahmānanda: They think it is the mercy of the CIA.

Prabhupāda: My Godbrother says—Tīrtha Mahārāja—that American government has given me two crores of rupees. They are supposed to be spiritually advanced, and they are so rascal. And he is the head of Caitanya Maṭha. Kṛṣṇa said, yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham (BG 9.22): "I take the responsibility of his expenditure." Kṛṣṇa says, and they are preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and they are thinking, "American government is doing, not Kṛṣṇa." Such fools and rascals, they are head of . . . a spiritual head. Karmīs, jñānīs—everyone is envious of our . . . And they are trying to speculate how to admit: "Where he gets money? Where he gets money?"

Harikeśa: That man in San Francisco? The photographer? He was always trying to take pictures of your rings and always trying to take pictures of all the rich things on the altar. He was trying to make a story like that. They try to show that you are enjoying.

Prabhupāda: Hmm?

Harikeśa: They are trying to show that you are enjoying.

Brahmānanda: Even in Chicago the one . . . the woman who wrote the article, the 34-ounce? She said how you looked at your gold watch. That was in the article, such an important thing.

Prabhupāda: Nityānanda Prabhu used to decorate Himself with very costly ornaments. (pause) Your teeth does not look very clean. Why?

Harikeśa: They never get white. They are yellow all the time.

Prabhupāda: You wash daily?

Harikeśa: Every day.

Ambarīṣa: Did you try baking soda?

Harikeśa: Yes. (break)

Satsvarūpa: The karmīs are also envious that we are very happy, that we are looking forward to a next life. They. . . Because they don't have that faith. . .

Prabhupāda: They have no hope.

Satsvarūpa: They are envious.

Prabhupāda: Actually they have no hope, because they are going to degenerate to become dog, cats, trees, then lost.

Satsvarūpa: So they try to tell us, "Oh, that is just mythology, what you are following," because they are envious.

Brahmānanda: In Dr. Judah's book he gives interviews with the devotees, and they tell so many instances of how our devotees were so depressed and hopeless, and then they became Kṛṣṇa conscious, and oh, their whole lives have been transformed, and how happy and . . . Why don't they see that? They somehow discount it as being not very substantial, being fanatical or something religious. But it's a fact. He asked a question . . . He took a survey of "What was the thing that attracted you to the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement?" So the majority, about 53%, they said it was the sound of the mantra, Hare Kṛṣṇa. And another, about 48%, they said it was the friendliness of the devotees.

Prabhupāda: And that one, what is called? Draft? Draft man came to inquire that "What is the allurement here in this Society that they try to avoid that. . ." What do you call? Draft?

Brahmānanda: Draft Board.

Prabhupāda: " . . . Draft Board and come to this Society? What is the facility?" So when he studied: "There is no facility; still harder. They have to give up so many things." He remarked like that, "Still harder."

Brahmānanda: Than the army.

Prabhupāda: Yes. And actually that is so. Wherever you go, nobody will ask you that "You give up this, give up this, give up this, give up this." And we ask that "If you want to join, then you have to give up these things." So they have sacrificed everything; still they are happy. Therefore they have been described as mūḍha, no knowledge. Mūḍha nābhijānāti mām ebhyaḥ param avyayam (BG 7.13). (end)