760802 - Conversation B - New Mayapur

Conversations by Date, 1976

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Listen to a 'Nectar Drop' created from this Conversation

760802R2-NEW MAYAPUR - August 02, 1976 - 37:48 Minutes

Prabhupāda: Jaya. (devotees offers obeisances) So Aniruddha, you are going to stay here? You are going to stay? That's nice. He's a big devotee. He says: "I am big devotee." Hmm.

(pause)

Prabhupāda: So chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda: (aside to Hari-śauri) You can cut this into pieces and boil, four times water.

Hari-śauri: Boil?

Prabhupāda: With four times water. And when it is one . . .

Hari-śauri: All boiled down.

Prabhupāda: . . . then squeeze it.

Hari-śauri: When do you want it? Now?

Prabhupāda: If possible.

Come on. (distributes cookies) So distribute to the fathers and mothers. Give him one more. He has here. All right, give them first. Come on.

Devotee (1): They came from London, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Devotee (1): They came to Paris to see you, and when they learned that you were here, they came all the way here to the . . . (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: Oh, give them this garland. (break) . . . he begins with surrender. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). So anyone who voluntarily offers obeisances, immediately he becomes fifty percent advanced. Because . . . (child murmuring) Who is talking? This material world means nobody wants to surrender. Everyone wants to become master: "I am the monarch of all I survey." Everyone is planning how to become a master. There is therefore the struggle for existence. Nobody wants to become a servant. You know very well in European history, Napoleon wanted to become the master of all Europe. Hitler wanted also. Similarly, there were so many leaders, sometimes Roman leaders, sometimes Greek leaders, sometimes French leaders, sometimes German leaders, English leader. The whole European history is full of fighting, war. The basic idea is that everyone wanted to become master. That is the material disease. We are now discussing Bali Mahārāja. He also wanted to become master of the whole universe. So that is the material disease. Actually, master is one: Kṛṣṇa. There cannot be two masters. There is only one master: that is Kṛṣṇa, or God. But in the material world, because we have forgotten the real master, every one of us is trying to become master. This is material disease. Not only in one life, but life after life. The cats and dog, they also want to be master. The dog, if he finds another dog coming, he immediately begins barking very loudly, "Why you are coming here?"

So this mastership competition is going on life after life, sometimes as human being, sometimes as animal, sometimes as fish, aquatics, sometimes as demigod, bird. This is the whole material situation. And the difficulty is that we cannot become master, but on account of our false ambition that, "I shall become master," we are becoming servants of material nature. We are acting in a certain way to become master, creating a situation, mentality, and at the time of death, when this body finishes, the mind absorbed in that mastership idea takes me to another body according to my ambition. So I become again manifest in different body to exhibit my mastership, another chapter begins. So they do not know how these subtle laws of material nature is working to give us opportunity to become master according to our idea, false idea. And we are actually suffering, sometimes as human being, sometimes as animal, sometimes as trees, sometimes as dog. So the mastership cannot be attained. That is not possible. In the false idea to become master we are becoming slaves of the laws of material nature. This is real position, and that is suffering.

So when one comes to this understanding, that we are not master, we are servant . . . bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19): after many, many births, if by chance one gets the association of the servant of the Lord, then he understands that he is not master, he's servant of Kṛṣṇa, and then he surrenders. Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ. Such great soul who has understood that, "I am eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa," he's a very great soul. Sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ. Very, very rare to be found. But that is the fact. The sooner we learn that, "We cannot become master, we are eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. Let us surrender to Kṛṣṇa and remain in our own position as servant," then it is perfection of life. Therefore one who surrenders, one who offers . . . this is the beginning, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). Namaskuru. Kṛṣṇa says namaskuru. Namaskuru means "Just offer your obeisances unto Me." So in the absence of . . . Kṛṣṇa is everywhere, but Kṛṣṇa sends His representative. So if we begin, offer namaskuru to the representative, it goes to Kṛṣṇa, and then gradually, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, one becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious and becomes situated in his own original consciousness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and that is perfection of life.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda! Haribol!

Bhagavān: So let us pay our obeisances. (devotees offer obeisances)

Prabhupāda: So what is this?

Hari-śauri: What is it? (child whispers "It's a hat") It's a hat.

Prabhupāda: Oh? You are just now coming? You have got, Mālatī?

Mālatī: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Eisob kore ki labh? (What is the benefit of doing all this?)

Mālatī: Kichu, na ami to . . . dupurei cole yabo ami . . . thaktei hobe besi din . . . (Nothing, I just . . . I will go at noon . . . I have to stay many days . . .)

Prabhupāda: Ekhaneo thakte paro, ei khane to sob royeche. (You can also stay here, everything is present here.)

Mālatī: Na! Babaro bayes hoye geche . . . (No. My father is now getting old . . .)

Prabhupāda: Baba ki kore? (What does your father do?)

Mālatī: Baba ei lau er byabsa . . . (My father has a business of selling gourds . . .)

Prabhupāda: Calcuttar kache? (Near Calcutta?)

Mālatī: Na, amader . . . (indistinct) . . . kache. (No, near . . . (indistinct) . . . our.)

Prabhupāda: Khailepurer lok? (Is he a resident of Khailepur?)

Mālatī: Hya. (Yes.)

(pause)

Prabhupāda: So what is the news of Ams . . . Amster . . . what is it?

Hari-śauri: Amsterdam.

Prabhupāda: Amsterdam.

Mālatī: It is very nice. They are preparing for installation of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa on September 1st, and otherwise the saṅkīrtana is distributing Bhagavad-gītās, about fifteen hundred a week.

Prabhupāda: Ācchā.

Mālatī: Between Holland and Belgium . . . they both speak the same language, so the books are distributed between these two countries.

Prabhupāda: Holland and . . .?

Mālatī: Belgium. Parts of Belgium speaks Dutch, and the other half speaks French. So in the Belgium . . . in the half that speaks Dutch, they are taking many Bhagavad-gītās. Appreciating very much. And one library, the head of all the libraries, he has taken an interest in your books.

Prabhupāda: (to Annadā) How's your father?

Annadā: Um, not as well as you, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Annadā: He's not as well as yourself.

Prabhupāda: He's suffering?

Annadā: Very much.

Prabhupāda: What is the disease?

Annadā: He's looking after roses in his garden.

Hari-śauri: The disease. What the disease is.

Annadā: Oh, um . . .

Prabhupāda: But your father is young man. What is his age?

Annadā: He's sixty years old.

Prabhupāda: Sixty is just like my son. (laughter) Yes, twenty years difference, father and son. I am eighty, so anyone who is sixty must be like my son. Of course, my first son was born when I was twenty-four, but twenty years' age, there are many, father. And mother and son, twelve years, thirteen years' difference, there are many. So you have come here. Very nice. Stay here. Where is your husband? Huh? Bhūgarbha is here?

Bhagavān: He's in Germany.

Prabhupāda: He has gone Germany?

Bhagavān: To buy some trucks. To buy trucks for traveling.

Prabhupāda: He's good preacher. He's now distributing books very nicely. You are also good distributor, books. Huh? In the beginning she was distributing nicely. So preaching is our life. The more we preach, the more we are successful. Yāre dekha tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa. This is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's preaching.

āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra' ei deśa

yāre dekha, tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa'

(CC Madhya 7.128)

This is Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Every one of you become guru and deliver the residents of your neighborhood. Ei deśa. Wherever you are living, just deliver them, becoming their guru. How to become guru? It is not difficult. Yāre dekha tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa (CC Madhya 7.128). What Kṛṣṇa has said, instruct them. You simply repeat it, that's all. You become guru. So this should be preached all over the world. You learn from Bhagavad-gītā and repeat. You simply say, "Kṛṣṇa said four things there: man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). 'Just always think of Me,' Kṛṣṇa said: 'And just become My devotee. Just worship Me and offer obeisances.' Kindly do these things." So if you can induce one person to do these four things, you become guru. Is there any difficulty? Then you become a devotee of Kṛṣṇa. How? "Always think of Kṛṣṇa. Worship Kṛṣṇa and offer obeisances. Here is our temple, please come, offer obeisances. Offer little flower if you can secure. Otherwise, obeisances sufficient. And chant Hare Kṛṣṇa." You become guru. To inform this message is difficult? Not at all. You may carry the message. If he's fortunate, he'll do it. Even he does not do it, you are carrying the message, you become recognized by Kṛṣṇa. Na ca tasmān manuṣyeṣu kaścin me priya-kṛttamaḥ (BG 18.69). You are doing sincerely, then you are recognized by Kṛṣṇa.

Just like a canvasser, salesman, goes to the market, tries his best to secure some business. The master sees the report how he has worked. Even though he has not secured a single paisa business, but he has tried to introduce the goods, then he's bona fide. He's bona fide. Similarly, we have to simply carry the message of Kṛṣṇa and try to convince people. If one is convinced, it is good; if not, doesn't matter, I am not . . . going . . . then you are recognized by Kṛṣṇa. Recognition means you become the dearest servant of Kṛṣṇa. Then what do you want more? If Kṛṣṇa recognizes that, "You are My most dear servant," then what do you want more? Yāre dekha tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa (CC Madhya 7.128). So this message was to be carried by all Indians. That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's desire.

bhārata-bhūmite haila manuṣya-janma yāra

janma sārthaka kari' kara para-upakāra

(CC Adi 9.41)

This is para-upakāra. So all Indians should take up this mission and do welfare activity. That is India's special function.

How many devotees are there in Amsterdam?

Mālatī: Fifty.

Prabhupāda: Building is very big?

Bhagavān: Yes. Nice building.

Mālatī: There's two buildings: one for the gṛhasthas behind the temple, and then the āśrama for the brahmacārīs.

Prabhupāda: Rented or purchased?

Mālatī: We own the gṛhastha āśrama, and the temple is rented. It's to our advantage to rent it, for some reason, so they are renting it.

(pause)

Hari-śauri: You were thinking about walking? It's about 6:15, so this would be a good time if you want to go down.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Bhagavān: Everything is ready. All glories to Prabhupāda.

Devotees: Haribol! (end)