750703 - Arrival - Chicago

Conversations by Date, 1975

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Listen to a 'Nectar Drop' created from this Conversation

750703AR-CHICAGO - July 3, 1975 - 20:42 Minutes

Devotee (1): Your Divine Grace, this is Royal Kennedy from NBC television.

Royal Kennedy: How do you do?

Devotee (1): She would like to ask you some questions.

(lots of background chatter as things are set up)

Royal Kennedy: I would like to know what the occasion is. Why are you visiting Chicago?

Prabhupāda: Just now I have seen one article in the Times, four, five pages article, "Crime . . ." and what is that?

Brahmānanda: "Why and How to Solve It."

Prabhupāda: "Why and How to Solve It."

Brahmānanda: It's the cover story of Time.

Prabhupāda: So if you are serious, you can take our method and suggestion. Then you can stop this crime.

Royal Kennedy: You have a way to stop the crime?

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes, I have.

Royal Kennedy: Can you explain a little bit more? How do you do it?

Prabhupāda: That we have to suggest. The social, political, educational, cultural—everything has to be changed. So if you come, we can give you in details how it can be done.

Royal Kennedy: Can you tell me how you feel about this welcome that you got?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Of course, by God's grace, wherever I go they welcome me like that.

Royal Kennedy: Are you used to anything a little bit more serene?

Prabhupāda: Serene? Of course, our whole propaganda is serene. Yes. We are distributing God consciousness. It is the most serene movement. People has to learn it very nicely.

Royal Kennedy: Thank you. (break)

Prabhupāda: . . . to stop the crimes of your country. My message is to stop the crimes of your country. This is my sum and substance. We have read the article in the Times, "Crime and How to Stop It." So if you take my advice, that can be stopped. (break) . . . (indistinct) . . . crime . . . (indistinct) . . . (break)

(in car) . . . opportunity to propagate.

Brahmānanda: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Crimes and how to stop . . .

Brahmānanda: Why and how to stop it.

Prabhupāda: Why and how to. That is answered in Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, actually. (break) . . . condition of the world, simply full of criminals, that's all. And our is pāpī tāpī jata chilo, hari-nāme uddhārilo. This is our movement. Crimes means pāpī, sinful. And this is the only remedy for reclaiming the sinful. Simply by law if you want to suppress them, it will not be successful. Deliver them. Then you also come, I mean to say, come along with them. Not that these criminals only should be delivered, and you will go on, continue with criminal activities, slaughterhouse, and killing the child in the womb. You are criminal yourself, the whole state. So reception was very nice.

Brahmānanda: Oh, yes.

Prabhupāda: So we are going to the temple?

Śrī Govinda: Yes, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: (break) . . . New York? No. (break)

Brahmānanda: The city is bigger, but I don't think there's more people.

Prabhupāda: What is this, Dallas Braniff?

Brahmānanda: There's a . . . that's advertising that this Braniff Airlines flies there to Dallas every hour on the hour.

Prabhupāda: Oh. Oh, Dallas is nearer?

Śrī Govinda: Two hours.

Brahmānanda: Two hours.

Prabhupāda: Two hours. (break) Oh.

Brahmānanda: What was it?

Śrī Govinda: Ninety-two.

Brahmānanda: Really? Phew! (break)

Prabhupāda: . . . because śāstra says, pāpī tāpī jata chilo, hari-nāme uddhārilo. Simply by this chanting, all these things can be stopped. There is no doubt about it. They are spending so much money uselessly going to the moon planet and this planet and for stopping crime. The same amount may be spent for distribution of prasāda and chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa in a mass scale, everything will be all right. Mass scale. Simply organize nice prasādam distribution and mass joining Hare Kṛṣṇa. Just see the effect.

Brahmānanda: There is proof of it just in Berkeley, where we have our Ratha-yātrā. The police say that this . . . or we have our parades there, and they are all peaceful, whereas other groups, they have parades, and they always . . .

Prabhupāda: "Window-breaking."

Brahmānanda: Yes, violent.

Prabhupāda: "Window-breaking crowd." We are not that. (break) (laughter) Let them have this O'Hare Kṛṣṇa. (pronouncing Hare as in "Hare" Kṛṣṇa)

Brahmānanda: Yes, O'Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda: Suggest the establishment manager.

Śrī Govinda: That's the name of the airport

Prabhupāda: What is that?

Brahmānanda: He said the name of the airport is . . .

Prabhupāda: Oh. O'Hare? (pronouncing as in "Hare" Kṛṣṇa)

Brahmānanda: O'Hare. (pronouncing the same) (laughs)

Prabhupāda: What is this? This is airport O'Hare?

Brahmānanda: O'Hare (pronouncing as "hair").

Prabhupāda: Hare (promouncing as "hair") it is.

Brahmānanda: O'Hare.

Prabhupāda: O'Hare.

Brahmānanda: I think that is an Irish name.

Prabhupāda: Who was he?

Brahmānanda: Who was O'Hare?

Prabhupāda: We chant O Hare.

Devotee (2): The woman whose cow knocked over the fire, started the fire, Chicago fire?

Devotee (3): That's O'Leary's cow. (break)

(at temple)

Prabhupāda: . . . crime . . .

Brahmānanda: "Crime, Why and How to Solve It."

Prabhupāda: So we can solve this. Why not invite them to hear us how we can solve? Arrange meetings in big, big circle. We shall give the solution. It is a good opportunity for preaching. You have got Times paper?

Brahmānanda: Yes, Time magazine, it's the cover story this month.

Śrī Govinda: Not here. In five or ten minutes.

Prabhupāda: Yes, bring. We shall take this opportunity to preach. "Crime, Why and What to Do?" We shall give all solution. We can arrange big, big meetings on this point, "Crime, Why and What to Do?" A very suitable heading it is. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā (SB 5.18.12). Unless he'll take to God consciousness, all this rascaldom, so-called advancement of civilization, all condemned, everything. All rascals. So why we will not . . . will there be crime? There must be. This is the result of modern civilization, crime. You cannot check it unless you take to Kṛṣṇa cons . . . they are all violating the laws of nature. Nature brings you from evolutionary process to the human life, and if we misuse, then we suffer. This life is specially meant for understanding God. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. This is the only business. Jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā na yaś ceha karmabhiḥ. Jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā. Find out this verse.

Nitāi: First Canto, Second Chapter.

Prabhupāda: We have given all solution. Now our business is how to push it through these leaders who are now thinking, "Crime, why and what to do?" They are thinking. They must think. If they actually want welfare of the country, they must think. And here is the medicine. Yes?

Nitāi:

kāmasya nendriya-prītir

lābho jīveta yāvatā

jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā

nārtho yaś ceha karmabhiḥ

(SB 1.2.10)

"Life's desires should never be aimed at gratifying the senses. One should desire to live only because human life enables one to inquire about the Absolute Truth. This should be the goal of all works."

Prabhupāda: Kāmasya nendriya-prītiḥ. Purport?

Nitāi: "The completely bewildered material civilization is wrongly directed towards the fulfillment of desires in sense gratification. . ."

Prabhupāda: Simply wine, women and beach, and sporting and jumping like monkeys, this is the . . . we require little satisfaction of the bodily demands—that's all right—but not for this purpose. The bags have come?

Harikeśa: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Oh, then that's all right. There is oil.

Harikeśa: Upendra's getting ready for your massage.

Prabhupāda: Read it.

Nitāi: "In such civilization, in all spheres of life, the ultimate end is sense gratification. In politics, social service, altruism, philanthropy and ultimately in religion or even in salvation, the very same tint of sense gratification is every-increasingly predominant. In the political field the leaders of men fight with one another to fulfill their personal sense gratification."

Prabhupāda: In India.

Nitāi: Yes.

Prabhupāda: These are all foreseen. I have already discussed all these things. Then?

Nitāi: "The voters adore the so-called leaders only when they promise sense gratification. As soon as the voters are dissatisfied in their own sense gratification, they dethrone the leaders. The leaders almost always disappoint the voters by not satisfying their senses."

Prabhupāda: Then the protest meeting, procession. But nobody will be able to satisfy them, because they do not know how to keep the mass of people satisfied. They do not know. Lokasya ajānataḥ vidvān cakre sātvata-saṁhitām (SB 1.7.6). These rascals, they do not know. All set of rascals, the so-called philosophers, scientists. I have always said they are rascals. Now they are coming, "What to do?" They will face so many problems, "What to do?" This is the beginning. The whole world will be in chaos if they do not take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So many "What to do?" will come. Just tell them, "And here is the remedy." Now it is the time for preaching. They are thinking. They were sleeping; now they are thinking, "What to do?" They were blindly following sense gratification. Now it has come to the stage, "What to do?" "What to do?" This is athāto brahma jijñāsā: "Now enquire about Brahman." This is the statement. Hmm, then?

Nitāi: "The same is applicable in all other fields. No one is serious about the problems of life. Even those who are on the path of salvation desire to become one with the Absolute Truth and desire to commit spiritual suicide for sense gratification."

Prabhupāda: That is also another sense gratification, to become one with the Supreme. Hmm.

Nitāi: "But the Bhāgavatam says that one should not live for sense gratification. One should satisfy the senses only insofar as it is required for self-preservation."

Prabhupāda: We don't say that, "Stop altogether." No. We say: "No illicit sex." We don't say: "No sex." So we should indulge in sense gratification as far as it is required for the maintenance of the body, and balance time we shall save for brahma-jijñāsā. This is civilization. Otherwise it is animal civilization. So that has come now. So the American people, the leaders, they are now thinking, "What to do?" And call big, big men and give our program, "Here is to do. Come here to do." This is opportunity. Then?

Nitāi: "Because the body is made of senses, which also require a certain amount of satisfaction, there are regulative directions for satisfaction of such senses. But the senses are not meant for unrestricted enjoyment. For example, marriage . . ."

Prabhupāda: That is not enjoyment. Just like sex indulgence. If you indulge in more than necessary, then you will be impotent. Nature will stop. You know impotency? That will be there. Impotency . . . this homosex is also another sign of impotency. They do not feel sex impulse to woman. They feel sex impulse in man. That means he is impotent. It is impotency. So things are coming so rubbish now. This is the time for preaching our program, standard. Then?

Nitāi: "For example, marriage, or the combination of a man with a woman, is necessary for progeny, but it is not meant for sense enjoyment."

Prabhupāda: Now this progeny is bother. It is sense enjoyment, homosex. Progeny, they don't want. They're not interested. Only sense gratification. This is another sign of impotency. When, after enjoying so many women they become impotent, then they artificially create another sex impulse in homosex. This is psychology. So people are degraded so much. Especially in the . . . everywhere, not specially this or that. Everywhere. This is Kali-yuga. But thoughtful leaders, they are thinking, "What to do?" That's very good sign. And take advantage and give them program exactly to the direction of Bhagavad-gītā. Then the world will be saved. Otherwise it is doomed. It is a fact. This is the opportunity for preaching. You can take that paper and heading. There are so many headings. Each heading reply. We are the only person who can give solution. There is no other group or any man in the world. We are only. So let them take advantage of our knowledge and apply in the society to the ben . . . that's all right.

Devotees: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Now all the sannyāsīs have got the good opportunity to preach. Hmm. So where is the key? Keep it. (end)