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730302LE.JKT
Lecture
Jakarta, March 2, 1973 Devotee (1): This is their temple. They sit here and they pray. The priest sits on there platform there, all, and offers prayers. There's a chair on the top, and the god should be sitting there.
Indian man: This is district of (indistinct). They want to construct here also, some kind of (indistinct). (Indonesian music plays for a few minutes) (welcoming speech in Indonesian in the background, being translated into English:)
Indian man: We (indistinct) Indonesia welcome His Holiness to this temple (indistinct). We are very grateful that His Divine Grace has make time to come and see us here. Later, after we pray to God for (indistinct) prayers, welcome, we ask His Divine Grace to give us some message to our Hindus at Indonesia. Before that, we are going to recite Gayatri mantra, to pray to God. (group chants mantras followed by chanting of Hare Krsna kirtana)
Prabhupada: (chants pranama mantras) So I shall sing Jaya Radha-Madhava. You can play with me? (sings Jaya Radha-Madhava and chants pranama prayers) So somebody translate? Somebody translate my...
Devotee (1): A translator?
Prabhupada: So Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you very much. The Gayatri mantra, which you have chanted just now, we also chant the same Gayatri mantra: om bhur bhuvah svah tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya dhimahi. So we have got Gayatri mantra general, as well as specific. Just like we have got Gayatri mantra for Guru-Gauranga, then Radha-Krsna, that completes the Gayatri mantra. So this Gayatri mantra is also mentioned in the beginning of Srimad-Bhagavatam. In the beginning of Srimad-Bhagavatam there is the statement, satyam param dhimahi [SB 1.1.1]. Satyam param dhimahi, this dhimahi mantra is in reference to the Gayatri. So we have got very intimate relationship. You have uttered the name of Pundarikaksam, Narayana, these are very known terms in the Bhagavata prstam(?). Sripada Sankaracarya has mentioned about Narayana, narayana para avyaktat. Narayana is the Personality of Godhead beyond this material world. Narayana is not the person of this material world. So there is another word which is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gita: paras tasmat tu bhava anyah [Bg. 8.20]. There is another nature, bhava-bhava means naturewhich is beyond this material nature. So we, living entities, we also belong to that spiritual nature. We are also part and parcel of Narayana. So some way or other we have come to this material world. Some way or other we have come to this material world, therefore we have got this material body. And because we have got this material body, we are subjected to birth, death, old age and disease. So our real problem is that although we are spiritual beings, we have been caught up by material bodies. How to get out of these clutches of birth, death, old age and disease, that is described in the Bhagavad-gita.
So we are preaching the teachings of Bhagavad-gita all over the world. So we invite you also to join this movement. You have already the sense of Vedic culture. Now, if you cooperate with us fully, we can develop a very nice cultural movement here also. The problem of birth, death, old age, and disease is for everyone. But, on account of their material association, they do not take this problem very seriously. So one who does not give any importance to these problems, he is no better than animals. The problems of birth, death, old age and disease are there in the animals, as well as in human society. But the animals cannot make a solution. But the human being can make a solution. And to make the solution of these problems, there are the Vedic literatures. [break]
So I think that you ladies and gentlemen here should take very serious account for this movement and join us. I shall invite some of your leading persons to meet me today or tomorrow, because tomorrow I shall be going. And if you are serious, we can preview some plan how we can cooperate. So you have got nice place, combinedly we can develop it into very nice center for spiritual culture. And that cultural movement will be interested by everyone in the world. Even those who were not aware of the Vedic culture, they're also joining and taking part in this movement. So my earnest request is that you should seriously think over the matter and join with this Krsna consciousness movement.
Thank you very much.
Guest: And we from the Hindu side, Indonesia, we thank His Divine Grace for giving us advice and encouragements. (indistinct) And some of us will try to come to see His Divine Grace to talk about this matter and we will take it further.
Prabhupada: Thank you. That's all. Chant Hare Krsna. Now you play your (indistinct), we shall chant Hare Krsna. (chanting of maha-mantra for some minutes) (leads pranama prayers) Thank you very much. Hare Krsna. So we can go?
Devotee: Yes.
Devotee (1): He would like to say something.
Prabhupada: Accha.
Guest: (indistinct) five o'clock.
Prabhupada: Five o'clock. (indistinct) [break]
Devotee (2): ..., Prabhupada. They listened too. I was watching. They were all listening very carefully.
Devotee (2): You like those gongs?
Prabhupada: Eh?
Devotee (2): You like those gongs.
Prabhupada: Yes, yes. Very nice.
Devotee (1): This type of temple and culture is prominent in that island of Bali. Many, many people. Here there are just a few, in Jakarta.
Prabhupada: So we have to introduce this here. And if they give place, immediately take it.
Devotee (1): We have it. We'll take. It's very close to the man's house who built this temple, the man who was speaking in Indonesian. He gave us the house. Over a month ago they offered it to us.
Prabhupada: So then take it.
Devotee (1): Before we were coming every Saturday here to teach their children, just kirtana and some stories. The children of that man, when I first came there and I was saying Hare Krsna, they started saying "Bhima," "Arjuna," "Yudhisthira," like this. They know many stories. Of course, many stories are wrongly told, but they have some familiarity with Vedic knowledge, a little. They have paintings also of Krsna with the gopis, stealing their clothes, Krsna and Arjuna on the chariot. But they don't know how to present Krsna as He is in His original form. They make Him more like a man because they don't know. But it's a basis. [break] ...nice. Maybe we can do that in some of our temples in India. Playing mangala aratika over the loudspeaker.
Devotee (2): Like the Muslims, they chant...
Prabhupada: Yes.
Devotee (2): I remember in Allahabad they used to have some camps that were doing that every morning.
Devotee (3): In Mayapur they play tapes all day.
Devotee (1): With big speakers like that?
Devotee (3): Yeah. Be heard all around.
Devotee (1): That's very nice. (end)
Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/classes/general/jakarta/march/02/1973 Previous: Lecture -- Jakarta, March 1, 1973 Next: Arrival -- Dallas, May 19, 1973
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