730228 - Conversation B - Jakarta
(Prabhupāda plays harmonium, no singing)
Prabhupāda: ...for propagating our mission because the state is inclined to take the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā. They have found that this is the wisest (indistinct). Take advantage of this opportunity and (indistinct) in schools, colleges, for teaching (indistinct). They have already translated Bhagavad-gītā, they have got very good results...
Devotee (1): In this language there are three translations.
Prabhupāda: Three?
Devotee (1): Translations. Three editions by different authors in Indonesian language. The most recent, I will try to contact the author today, the man who translated it, I'll try to find him.
Prabhupāda: But unless one is realized soul how he can...
Devotee (1): No. It is impersonal interpretations.
Devotee (2): So we must encourage them to translate Prabhupāda's Bhagavad-gītā, because they're inclined. They like... They want subject matters. So why not translate Prabhupāda's books and let the government distribute them and introduce them.
Devotee (1): Only they several times suggest to me that we donate the books because they don't have money to print their own books.
Prabhupāda: Eh?
Devotee (1): They have not facilities, money, to actually print and publish and distribute. That is why they are so attracted to us because we have the books and they know we have the power to print and distribute. But they have no money, no power to do it.
Prabhupāda: No. If they want, we can do that.
Devotee (2): Tell them to translate and we can publish it.
Prabhupāda: (indistinct) If the government sponsor, then we can invest money and (indistinct).
Devotee (1): Yes.
Prabhupāda: We can print.
Devotee (2): Dai Nippon, we have credit also.
Prabhupāda: We can do anywhere. That is the difference. As far as the government must encourage it as soon as we translate and distribute, they should give us full facility.
Devotee (2): Full facilities for...
Prabhupāda: All the schools, colleges will take it.
Devotee (2): Oh, yes. I see. I see.
Prabhupāda: You can distribute it at cost price. That we can do.
Devotee (1): They should read it all over this country. They...
Prabhupāda: All over the world. It is called spiritual bankruptcy all over the world and leading men are thinking this catastrophe, and the only hope is Bhagavad-gītā. (indistinct) ...religion there is no science. There is no philosophy. Buddhist religion there is little (indistinct). Otherwise...
Devotee (1): They are bankrupt and we are billionaire in spiritual life. (pause) Tomorrow the professor of Sanskrit has made appointment, a lady from University of Indonesia. She speaks English very well also. (pause) I will go speak with them see if they can bring their altar. (offers obeisances) [break]
Prabhupāda: (indistinct)
Devotee (1): Yes. He's very nice. Actually he wants to become initiated but he can't chant. The only thing he doesn't chant rounds...
Prabhupāda: Why?
Devotee (1): He says that if I do that I can't do my business and he has many reasons. For some ten days he chanted sixteen rounds and then he just stopped and now he doesn't chant at all. But he's very sincere. He works very hard.
Prabhupāda: (indistinct)
Devotee (1): I will tell him. I have told him many times. Actually it took a long time to get him to read your books, and then when he read, then we told him, "You must chant. You must hear. It takes time to (indistinct)."
Prabhupāda: (indistinct)
Devotee (1): The only problem is that in his community he's rejected.
Prabhupāda: Rejected?
Devotee (1): Yes, because a few years ago his family left him and his wife and children deserted him, and he... The wife told many stories about him that he was very, doing degraded things, and so everyone rejects him. And when he speaks to Indian people they reject. He irritates them. And also sometimes he is, it can be changed, but he is, he makes them irritated a little too much pride, but he can be changed because he's chanting so much. But he tries very, very hard. Only we have to get him to agree to chant. And now he has another wife and a child.
Prabhupāda: A child?
Devotee (1): A child. One boy was born just before we came here in August and he seems to be a devotee, the baby, because he, whenever you say, "Hare Kṛṣṇa," he smiles.
Prabhupāda: (indistinct) Why he's not married man?
Devotee (1): Another wife, second. He says it was a grave mistake because if we had come sooner (indistinct) So we're trying to engage him. Also this girl which you're going to initiate, she can speak a fair amount of Indonesian already, and she can help translation work (indistinct). That girl has a sister who also chants sixteen rounds and follows the rules. Though sometimes in her past she failed and stopped and she is not as steady. So I didn't recommend. I don't know...
Prabhupāda: (indistinct)
Devotee (1): (indistinct) ...that is better because they're sisters and if one is a devotee...
Prabhupāda: (indistinct)
Devotee (1): Because also, even if someone is expert in English, if they don't practice or come in touch with Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they still cannot say.
Prabhupāda: (indistinct)
Devotee (1): If Macmillan publishes Bhagavad-gītā in English is there any difficulty for us to publish by another company (indistinct)?
Prabhupāda: (indistinct)
Devotee (1): The professor, head of the department of Sanskrit at the University of Indonesia... About 9:30, I made appointment and if we could influence her also then we will have some facility to preach in the university. (indistinct) ...Hindi (indistinct) very nicely, tomorrow morning. They want us to arrive at 7:30 in their temple and many people will come and it will be very nice. They'll bring the vyāsāsana all the way there.
Prabhupāda: (indistinct)
Devotee (1): Actually I think these Indian people are not very intelligent. Even we have preached to them over a year and they say, "Yes, Swamiji. Yes, Swamiji, yes we understand," but they don't. And they're offering respect but how much philosophy they can grasp, I don't think it's very much. But the younger ones, about ten, twelve, fifteen years old, they're very intelligent. There were some boys there also who used to come to our kīrtana. And I remember how they grasped the philosophy before. They could repeat it, but they didn't remain steady. (indistinct)
Prabhupāda: (indistinct)
Devotee (1): That is a problem in this Indian community. They are very, many kinds of envy. And their enviousness makes everyone... For example we had kīrtana . We were having every night but many children told me that "I would like to come but my parents won't let me come." Because they are saying gossip, rumors, things like this. This girl who we want to initiate, she would come every, every day without fail and her, even her parents would say, "Why are you going there? Everybody is talking about you." So, socially, they, maybe now they will change, but so far they are rejected.
Devotee (1): (indistinct) ...newspaper, there's an article about us in the newspaper right here, (indistinct).
Devotee (1): There's a magazine called Express like Time magazine, News magazine and it says, "Attention to the intelligence agency of this country, that the leader of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement is coming here, and they should consider trying to stop you from coming here because it's possible this Hare Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is connected with hippies and narcotics and things like this." But tomorrow there is a reporter from Tempo magazine, which is better magazine, like Time or Newsweek . And if we can get favorable article from him, then it will counteract. Before you came it was announced in all of the newspapers. All of the newspapers, they announced that you were coming, before.
Prabhupāda: (indistinct)
Devotee (1): Not yet. But one man came yesterday who was very interested, big local paper and Associated Press International, the man in charge was in San Francisco for Ratha-yātrā, and he saw you there and took prasādam also. And he wants to take some color photographs for international coverage. (indistinct) I think in Indonesia they're usually a bit slow so a week later they will cover.
Prabhupāda: (indistinct)
Devotee (1): You wrote a letter to me from Sydney in which you said that the preaching program was very nice, but by your experience, it takes much time and money. And how will we do saṅkīrtana and do prasādam distribution and cooking all at the same time? Then you said, "You can think this over with a cool head and we will discuss more when we come."
Prabhupāda: First thing is that we (indistinct).
Devotee (1): (indistinct) The translation we have done so far, some, it seems to me, not right. Although I can't read it, I've tried so many times to print it, but I can never get it printed. And it seems that if it was a good translation...
Prabhupāda: Why not? (indistinct).
Devotee (2): (indistinct)
Devotee (1): (indistinct) We can tell because sometimes we ask their help to clean sometimes. Please make this very, very clean and they (indistinct). There are intelligent here, in Jakarta? They have Theosophical Society with a large following, and there's many Buddhist people who are very intelligent.
Prabhupāda: (indistinct)
Devotee (1): Today is Wednesday. They meet on Thursday. I'll go see her today.
Prabhupāda: (indistinct)
Devotee (1): They meet at 6 o'clock and our meeting is 7 o'clock so maybe I should invite them because I don't think there will be time to go there. If you would like to stay a few more days I can arrange for more meetings.
Prabhupāda: (indistinct)
Devotee (1): In the Theosophical Society, not everyone, but one leader I spoke to, the others too maybe liked it, (indistinct) (pause) Should we go to the same place for the walk? It is too far...?
Prabhupāda: (indistinct) [break]
Devotee (1): (later, on the walk) Yes. Easy Journey, Topmost Yoga, Back to Godhead.
Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa trilogy, you have got?
Devotee (2): I have volume 1 and volume 3, but my volume 2, they are all finished. But I've ordered them from Karandhara. (pause) (end)