720918 - Morning Walk - Los Angeles

Morning Walks by Date, 1972

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

720918MW-LOS ANGELES - September 18, 1972 - 18:28 Minutes

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Śrīla Prabhupāda's morning walk talk, September 18, Monday 1972. Los Angeles.

Prabhupāda: First-generation. But what provision was made by our past generation?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Materially no.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: No significant value in the material sense but.

Devotee: Everything's here.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Devotee: They made no provision but everything was here.

Prabhupāda: So, so why they are anxious to make provision for the future generation?

Karāndhara: Because the . . . what we are enjoying now is due to their work, the telephone was invented and developed and the aeroplanes.

Prabhupāda: That's all right, so these provisions were not made by our past forefathers. We have done it, is it not?

Karāndhara: Oh well they were . . . (indistinct) . . . and developed.

Prabhupāda: When this was done? When it was to be done?

Karāndhara: Well say eighty or ninety years ago.

Prabhupāda: Eighty ninety years so two hundred years ago there was no provision?

Karāndhara: Well two hundred years ago they had the revolution in this United States and they formed a separate country and a government and wrote a constitution.

Prabhupāda: And before that there was no revolution? People are making their own arrangements just like we present history of India, thousands of millions of years. There was no revolution how the Vedic civilisation in India was being conducted?

Still, the Vedic civilisation there was enough gold, enough jewels, enough silk, enough milk, grains everything. We don't find in the Vedic history where people are making scientific research. But they do not accept the history of the Vedic civilisation. Eh? Then, then there was no human being? Say five thousand, ten thousand years ago that is their version?

Karāndhara: Well they say there was some civilisation but nothing so developed as our information of the Vedic culture.

Prabhupāda: Well where from these literatures came? If there was no culture.

Karāndhara: They say they were produced later on.

Prabhupāda: When?

Karāndhara: I think most of the anthropologist they say the Vedas were produced within the last four thousand years.

Prabhupāda: So that was only in India why not in Europe? Where is such literature in Europe? Such intelligent literature, philosophies, mathematics, calculations, information of the planets, everything is there.

Karāndhara: Well their theory is that civilisation began around India and Iran, Tigris and Euphrates and Egypt, Babylonia.

Prabhupāda: How many years ago?

Karāndhara: Say between three and five thousand years.

Prabhupāda: Vedic civilisation is by record, history literatures, so why is such literatures is lacking in these countries? There is no such literature in the world.

Karāndhara: They don't even appreciate the quality of the Vedas.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Karāndhara: They don't appreciate the quality of the Vedas. The take it mostly as folklore, primitive.

Prabhupāda: We do not take, the philosophical side is not primitive then why they are reading Bhagavad-gītā and Vedas there are many scholars they appreciate. German people appreciate. Hitler was too much fond of Vedic civilisation he therefore marked his flag swastika. Why mark is there? That is appreciation. And still by comparison the idea of modern civilisation and the ideal presented there, one must have appreciation.

The social structure of Vedic civilisation, brāhmin, kṣatriya, vaiśya, it is very scientific. If it is not scientific then why modern young men they are accepting it as nice? So by accepting Kṛṣṇa consciousness you're going back to primitive stage? Or making advancement?

Karāndhara: Well so far as. If we consider dismantling the industrial pathological . . . (indistinct) . . . the advancement? They are convinced they must have a newer newer machines, newer newer technology, newer newer medicines, more and more research. They considered this as manifest . . . (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: More and more researching means whatever you are doing that is imperfect. And with their ideas not everyone agrees. And why the section known as hippies they are not taking part in it? They are also born in this country.

The western tendency is always not to accept Vedic authorities. And imitating them Indians are also now declining to accept the Vedas. Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement are based on Vedic authorities. If people do not accept Vedic authorities then our movement has no sound foundation.

Devotee: (indistinct) . . . very difficult.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Devotee: To accept another authority other than your own, the process involved is very difficult.

Prabhupāda: No we have to accept in consideration of facilities or. Good and better, which is better?

Devotee: Wouldn't a person have to be . . . (indistinct) . . . process before he could accept the process of Vedic authority at all?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Devotee: Well already people are doing that.

Prabhupāda: At least one who is accepting . . . (indistinct) . . . the Vedic authorities.

Karāndhara: One of the main reasonings would be, why should we accept ancient Indian or Vedic history when look what has happened to India?

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Karāndhara: They'll say look what's happened to India.

Prabhupāda: Yes, you're actually looking, your generation are going there, looking something better in India. Everywhere, Europe and America they want to go to India. Your forefathers also wanted to go to India, Columbus, why? Why they were . . . (indistinct) . . . big big authors write that if you want to know philosophy, religion you must go to India but still they write.

Karāndhara: Those who are not so interested in philosophy they go to India and they say look how much poverty there is. If this is the result of the culture why should we follow this culture?

Prabhupāda: (laughs) actually they do not go to see the poverty. They go to see Indian culture but when they go at the present moment they see, they are poverty stricken. That is the position, actually they go for to see something better. Poverty stricken, there are many other countries less than India. Why do they not go there? Why do they not go Africa? Why do they go to India?

Karāndhara: Well either one, they'll say, just like why should we accept the African culture?

Prabhupāda: Africans they have no culture. In Africa they go to see the animals, not for culture. But they go to India for . . . (indistinct) . . . our that God brother in Germany when he first came to India, so he said that I have come to India for understanding God, he said. I'm speaking to 40 years ago.

Devotee: India is also very insanitary, materially . . . (indistinct) . . . so people are not so inclined . . . (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: Well materially India is not advanced like the Western countries.

Karāndhara: Most scientists aren't so. Aren't very philosophically disposed. We tell them of the super excellency of the Vedic culture and they will say: "well look at India now".

Prabhupāda: India now, means they have given up Vedic culture. For the last one thousand years being foreign dominated they have lost their culture. They have been taught. Britishers especially from the very beginning they schooled. They used to teach that you had no civilisation after the Britishers came here you are becoming civilised. That was their propaganda. And they became victim to this propaganda. The higher circles began to drink wine, hunt after prostitutes, regularly it was propaganda.

There was a grocer's shop in Waterloo Street in Calcutta that was formerly known as Rāṇī Mūḍhāni's lane because Rāṇī Mūḍhāni was supplying English wines. He was supplying free to the aristocratic section. I know in our childhood days there was biggest propaganda for drinking tea otherwise Indians did not know how to drink tea. Smoking cigarettes, these were taught to them. Similarly anything Indian, ah that is useless. Just like our Jawaharlal Nehru he was made in London and he thought anything Indian, that is useless.

Devotee: They would say that indicates that, that culture wasn't strong because it became dominated.

Prabhupāda: It was the best culture, you rascal demons took advantage of it because they are so simple, anyone was welcome but they welcomed some pickpockets, rogues and therefore they have no culture. There were; gṛhe śatrum api prāptaṁ viśvastam akutobhayam, (Even if your enemy comes to your home, you should receive him in such a way that he'll forget that you are his enemy). India was . . . (break) (end)