760905 - Conversation B - Vrndavana

Conversations by Date, 1976

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

760905R2-VRNDAVAN - September 05, 1976 - 17.54 Minutes

Prabhupāda: . . . they're reading now. Here, although we have got books, nobody reads. But there they are reading. Otherwise, nobody is . . . (microphone moving) That means they are concentrating with so many books. There are other books also. Why they cannot sell so many books? Unless public is interested . . . if one has read one part of Bhāgavatam, he has got some impression, and actually that is the . . . (break) . . . I think it is in Japan. One young gentleman came, I do not know where, he simply asked me, "Swāmījī, can I talk with you?" "Yes, sit down." His first appreciation was, "Swāmījī, where you have got so vast knowledge?" I have already told some of you. So these people, these Americans and Europeans, they are intelligent. They are seeing that here are some ideas which is not to be found throughout the whole world. Therefore they are purchasing. Actually, it is right here. Every verse, every śloka is so sublime, and if it is properly explained, people must appreciate. There is no doubt about it. And they are doing that. In our country, due to the loss of our own culture and poverty, we have now taken, "Money is everything." (someone enters) Aiye. Wherefrom you are coming?

Rūpa-vilāsa: Gurukula.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: He's in charge of gurukula. He's here for the last six months. Jagadīśa left him here. (break)

Prabhupāda: . . . he has got?

Devotee: What taste does he have?

Rūpa-vilāsa: He seems to have a taste more for studying, but not too much for teaching.

Prabhupāda: Study is not to teach. What is that study?

Rūpa-vilāsa: I mean to say he likes very much studying languages and writing and being . . . he's a good scholar, but . . .

Prabhupāda: Has he written anything?

Rūpa-vilāsa: In the classroom with the children he is not so expert.

Prabhupāda: No, no. Has he written anything? You say that he likes to read and write. So has he written anything?

Rūpa-vilāsa: Just as far as I know, some articles for Back to Godhead.

Prabhupāda: So why does he not write? If he has got a taste for something particular, he can do that. But nobody knows where he is.

Rūpa-vilāsa: What I came to ask was that . . .

Prabhupāda: He's not fixed up. He wanted to take charge of the Deity worship, then he went away.

Indian devotee:' He has got a visa.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: He has left Bombay long ago. Fifteen days ago.

Harikeśa: With four thousand rupees. (devotees talking in background)

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: He's in Rādhā-kuṇḍa, he says.

Prabhupāda: Just see.

Harikeśa: Really? He's in Rādhā-kuṇḍa?

Indian devotee:' One boy came from Bombay, he told me, "If I leave, I have to go."

Prabhupāda: When did he say?

Indian devotee:' . . . (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: Then he's Rādhā-kuṇḍa.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: In Bombay you . . .

Prabhupāda: He has taken four thousand rupees and gone to Rādhā-kuṇḍa.

Devotee: Yogānanda is in Govardhana?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: No. Yogānanda is in Delhi. He's going to come here.

Prabhupāda: This is his taste. Sit idly, and become famous as very good scholar.

Rūpa-vilāsa: He did not come to class so often. He did not even come to teach so often. Śrīla Prabhupāda, when Dayānanda prabhu was teaching the children he was a very good teacher, and he liked very much to teach. Now I know that he is in Tehran upon your order, but still he was very effective as a teacher of Bhagavad-gītā to the children.

Prabhupāda: Restless, that's all. Mind not fixed up. Restless. Now what he'll do with that four thousand rupees? It is very good program. If I get some thousands of rupees and sit down in Rādhā-kuṇḍa and eat, that is very good idea.

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: I think we can find him. We know where he is.

Prabhupāda: You can find him, that is not difficult, but what is his mentality? Why he has gone to Rādhā-kuṇḍa if he was teaching here? You cannot rely upon him. When he'll go Rādhārāṇī . . . (indistinct) . . . Rādhā-kuṇḍa, Rādhārāṇī's place, if anyone thinks that it is very easy to remain in Rādhā-kuṇḍa, the topmost place . . . Rūpa Gosvāmī has spoken—he must speak about Rādhā-kuṇḍa. But what he has spoken about other things?

atyāhāraḥ prayāsaś ca

prajalpo niyamāgrahaḥ

(devotees prompt)

jana-saṅgaś ca laulyaṁ ca

ṣaḍbhir bhaktir vinaśyati

(NOI 2)

Rādhā-kuṇḍa . . . who will live Rādhā-kuṇḍa? One is topmost devotee, and if he mixes with third-class devotee, how he is fit for living in Rādhā-kuṇḍa? There is no difference between Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Rādhārāṇī. So how you can jump over Rādhārāṇī? Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Rādhārāṇī, nondifferent. How you can enjoy Rādhā-kuṇḍa by swimming in it? You cannot touch with your feet even Rādhā-kuṇḍa. You can take little water and keep it on the head. That is respectful to Rādhā-kuṇḍa. Of course, things are going on like that, but strictly speaking, Rādhā-kuṇḍa should be respected as Rādhārāṇī herself. That is Rādhā-kuṇḍa consciousness, highest Rādhā-kuṇḍa consciousness. And if you want to live in Rādhā-kuṇḍa, then why he has taken four thousand rupees from Girirāja?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Actually, Girirāja gave him that money to buy books for our library of our new temple, for the library . . .

Prabhupāda: So why should he take? Why should he take the responsibility for purchasing if he's interested in Rādhā-kuṇḍa?

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, that's not right. He had his own money also. He just got a lot of money from his wife—three, four hundred dollars, he told me.

Prabhupāda: That's all right. Money is not the strength for understanding Rādhārāṇī. If you have got some money, by the strength of money you'll understand Rādhārāṇī—that is another bogus thing. Rādhārāṇī . . .

Indian devotee:' . . . (indistinct Hindi)

Prabhupāda: Tinkadi? Who is Tinkadi?

Indian devotee:' Tinkadi, Navadvip me ek mandir hai, uske goswami hai. Bahut acche sant hai. Vṛndāvana me yehi par rehte hai, kabhi is van me, kabhi us van me, kabhi Belavan me, kabhi Khadirvan me . . . is tarah se che che mahine, ek hi jagah par nahi rehte hai. Bade acche sant hai. (Teen Kori is the goswami of a temple in Navadvip. He is a very great saint. He lives in Vṛndāvana, sometimes in this forest, sometimes in that forest, sometimes in Belavan, sometimes in Khadiravan . . . in this way he spends six months without staying in one place for too long. A very great saint.)

Prabhupāda: Baat yeh hai, hai to bade bade sant hai, gosai hai. Baki hum log ek kshudra kaam liya hai. Caitanya Mahāprabhu chahte hai prithibite ache jata nagaradi grama . . . usko hum log pura karenge. Hum Teen Kori Gosai hone ko nahi chahte hai, prasidh hone ko nahi chahte hai. Hum chahte hai Caitanya Mahāprabhu ka servant ban karke aur dusre ko keh rahe hai je Caitanya Mahāprabhu bataye hai ki ye hath harinam ke liye hai. Bas, ye hum . . . zyada prasidh hone ko hum nahi chahte. Humara kaam yehi hai. (The point is that there are indeed many big gosvamis and saints. But we have accepted a very menial service of fulfilling this desire of Caitanya Mahāprabhu that the Holy Name should spread to every town and village in the world. We don't want to become any Tinkadi Goswami or acquire a lot of name and fame. We just want to become humble servants of Caitanya Mahāprabhu and preach to others about the holy name. That's it . . . we do not wish to become famous. This is our duty.)

Indian devotee:' Wo ISKCON ka member nahi tha. Wo aise hi . . . (That person was not a member of ISKCON. He was just . . .)

Prabhupāda: Ye sab humara shishya ka . . . jo humko guru mana hai, usko bhi yehi kaam karne chahiye, wo idhar udhar bade bade gosai ke paas kyu jata hai? Isme kya labh hai? (All these disciples who have accepted me as their spiritual master, they have only one thing to do. Why should they go to all these big gosvamis? What is the benefit in this?)

Indian devotee:' Bombay se jab aaya tha wo ladka, kehta tha ki bhaiji, do paise - char hazaar rupaye le-deke aye hai aur kuch pustak bhi lane hai Bhagavan ke unko. Un pustako ko le jakar ke maine Bombay me hi . . . (indistinct) . . . kar diya. Waha ke log sochte hai ki Nitai ji gaye Vṛndāvana aur Vṛndāvana ke log sochte hai ki wo gaye Bombay. Aur wo char hazaar rupaye lekar Tinkadi Goswami ke paas . . . (indistinct) . . . (When this boy came from Bombay, he was telling me that he brought some four thousand rupees with him. He had also purchased spiritual books that he delivered to the temple in Bombay. Now the devotees in Bombay think that Nitai is in Vṛndāvana and those in Vṛndāvana think that he is in Bombay. But he went with the four thousand rupees to Tinkadi Goswami . . . (indistinct) . . .)

Prabhupāda: To kitab kaha hai? (So where are the books?)

Indian devotee:' Kitab to Bombay me hi hoga. (The books must be in Bombay.)

Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Nahi, nahi. Bombay me nahi hai. (No, no. It is not in Bombay.) Girirāja was asking me for the books.

Prabhupāda: Just see. The man who paid him, he was inquiring where are the books? Aur wo sabko batata ki hum kitab dekar aye hai. Wo Caitanya Mahāprabhu ek chota vyakti ko bolta hai, khaḍajāṭhiyā beṭā. Jo sab jagah jata hai, usko Chaitaya Mahāprabhu upadhi diya hai, khaḍajāṭhiyā beṭā. (And he is going around telling people that he has given the books. Caitanya Mahāprabhu used to call such people who keep wandering amidst all classes of non-devotees as khaḍajāṭhiyā beṭā.) That Mukunda, His class friend, he was doing that. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu rejected him. Khaḍajāṭhiyā beṭā. "He goes everywhere." Khaḍajāṭhiyā beṭā. We have got index in Caitanya-caritāmṛta. You can find out what is the meaning of khaḍajāṭhiyā beṭā. Caitanya Mahāprabhu ye sab pasand nahi karte the, kabhi idhar gaya, kabhi udhar gaya. (Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not like this thing—going sometimes here, sometimes there.) Doesn't like that. Ekagrata nahi hai. (There is no focus.)

Indian devotee:' . . . (indistinct Hindi)

Prabhupāda: Khaḍajāṭhiyā beṭā. Beṭā.

Indian devotee:' Beta ka matlab. (What is the meaning of beṭā?)

Prabhupāda: Beta ka . . . (Beṭā means . . .) it is an address, one who is rejected. Dhar beta! Khor-jhatiya beta. Bangla sikha hai, bangla bol nahi sakta. Kya bangla sikha hai? (Get lost! Khaḍajāṭhiyā beṭā. You claim to have learnt Bengali but you cannot speak. What Bengali have you learned then?)

Indian devotee:' Padhe hai. (I have read Bengali.)

Prabhupāda: Kya padhe hai? Padhega to bolega, likhega tab to sampurna hoga. Likhna, padhna, bolna. Tab to sampurna hoga. Khali likhne janta hai, khali padhne janta hai. Padhta kya, wahi sunta hai. Aur kaun sunta hai. Wo padhta hai, wo sunta hai. Public me to bolta nahi . . . (indistinct) . . . dusre se sunega nahi. Wahi sunega, wahi padhega. Yehi baat hai ki nahi. Jo padh nahi sakta hai, bol nahi sakta hai to dusra ko sunne ka mauka milega nahi. Bahut padhega, wahi sunega. Yehi baat hai ki nahi. Tumhara . . . mission me tum ao, mission ke activity hai. Caitanya Mahāprabhu khas batate hai ki humare agya se sab guru ho aur sabko batao. Kya bataye? Jare dekho tare kaho Krishna upadesh. Ye Caitanya Mahāprabhu ki kripa hai. Caitanya Mahāprabhu aur to kuch chiz bataye nahi, ye aisa karo. Sab koi bolta hai, sara duniya me bolta hai. Parso, wo Punjabi. Wo ding hankta hai kitna, bola humara mission hai. Wo to prachar nahi karta. To sara duniya me jo kaam ho raha hai, ye kaam sab Sri Caitanya Mahāprabhu panch sau baras pehle batake gaye the, je karo. Wo, ye sab Vṛndāvana vasi kyu nahi kiya? Caitanya Mahāprabhu ka order hai. Caitanya Mahāprabhu ka order khali humare liye to hai nahi. Aur sab bade bade sant, sabhi ke liye hai. Ye log kiya nahi. Boliye. Bade bade sant hai, mahatma hai aur vidvan hai, vaishnav hai, bhajanshil hai baki order humare liye khali. Boliye, iska jawab dijiye. Ya sab mere liye. (What have you read then? After reading you must speak and write, only then it is complete. Writing, reading and speaking. Then it is complete. If you only know how to write or how to read . . . when you are reading, only you are listening to yourself. But you don't speak Bengali in public, so how can you hear from others? If you read Bengali, then you are only listening to your own reading. That is the point. If you cannot speak in Bengali with others, then you will never get a chance to hear how they speak the language. You will read a lot and simply hear yourself. Isn't it so? Come and join our mission, there are a lot of activities for you. Caitanya Mahāprabhu specially declares that you should become a spiritual master on my order and preach to everyone. What should you preach? Whoever you see, you should tell them about the teachings of Lord Kṛṣṇa. This is the mercy of Lord Caitanya. Caitanya Mahāprabhu has not spoken on anything except this. Everybody can boast all around the world. Just like that Punjabi who was boasting yesterday that this preaching mission is his personal duty. But he never preaches. So whatever preaching work is going on around the globe, that was already ordered by Caitanya Mahāprabhu 500 years ago. Why do these Vrajavasis not carry out this order? This is the order of Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself. Is it just for us? It is for all the big saints and great personalities. But they did not do it. Just see. There are so many great saints, great scholars and great Vaisnavas but as far as the order is concerned, it is just for us. Is it so? Give me an answer.)

Indian devotee:' Sabke liye hai. (It is for everyone.)

Prabhupāda: To kyu nahi kiya? Ye jawab dijiye. Bade bade sab mahatma baithe hai, kyu nahi kiya? Jawab do, tumko to . . . (indistinct) . . . karna uchit tha ki nahi? Batao iska age. Kyu nahi kiya? (So why didn't they do it? Give me an answer. So many big personalities are sitting in Vṛndāvana, why didn't they do it? Answer me, you are . . . (indistinct) . . . wasn't it their responsibility? Tell me. Why didn't they do it?) (end)