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Prabhupada: ...actually what benefit to the human society? But technology, or high technology. Just like Indian technology. [break]

Tamala Krsna: I don't see any benefit. I see that they only get trouble.

Prabhupada: In India the caste system was very good. From the very beginning the children would learn the technology of their paternal. Just like potter. You'll see the children of the potter, they are also making something-a small bird, a small fruit-and they would be sold. A small playing utensils-small glass, small plate-they're also sold. Other children would purchase. The whole family used to earn something. Nowadays they're sent to school, wasting time, and then unemployment and idle brain. What is the use of sending a potter's son to school?

Tamala Krsna: No, everything he needs to know, he can learn at home.

Prabhupada: That's what I... Similarly weaver, that cloth weaving, "kut-kut." The wife is spinning, her husband is weaving, the children is weaving, and combinedly at the end of the day there is a cloth. And people were satisfied with simple necessities. They would not charge very much for the labor. And one nice cloth requires half a pound cotton. Half a pound cotton means maybe one rupee. Another one rupee for the labor. So now they are paying twenty to thirty rupees. Unnecessarily he has to earn this money and pay to the millionaires, and he will keep three dozen motorcars, so another man will be engaged in motorcar industry. In this way time is being wasted without any search after spiritual realization. Time is wasted in such so-called technology advancement. And the real purpose of life, jivasya tattva-jijnasa [SB 1.2.10], that is missing. And when you present that "This is the most important business of life," they say, "It is brainwashing." And they fight to check us, Communists and others, that "It is useless, God consciousness."

[break] So... Janiya suniya bisa khainu [Ista-deve Vijnapti 1]. Because they are missing the aim of life, they are committing suicide. And this varnasrama-dharma was planned in such a way that everyone would be spiritually advanced. The weaver will get, the potter will get, the blacksmith will get, the brahmana is already there, ksatriya will get-everyone. For them, lower-class men, demigod worship. At least they are accepting there is some higher authority. Among the blacksmith there is visvakarma-puja. One day they will wash the all the instruments of blacksmith.

Tamala Krsna: All the instruments of...

Prabhupada: Blacksmith. Hammer and other things, all are cleaned. And with the fruit, with flower, candana, they'll worship.

Tamala Krsna: They worship the instruments? What is that called?

Prabhupada: Visvakarma-puja.

Tamala Krsna: Visvakarma-puja, oh, yeah.

Prabhupada: So the brahmanas will regularly come, worship Visvakarma or demigods. Visvakarma is the engineer of the demigods. Some demigod also they will worship. Even the butcher will worship goddess Kali, then he will apply the knife to the throat of the animal. Even the butcher. Recognition of higher authority.

Tamala Krsna: Would the blacksmiths do the puja to Visvakarma, or brahmanas?

Prabhupada: No, brahmana will do. Similarly, the spice merchants, they'll worship Gaṅgesvari. The gold merchant worships Laksmi-Narayana.

Tamala Krsna: Who would do that?

Prabhupada: Gold merchant. The student will worship Sarasvati. The merchant will worship Ganesa, Laksmi.

Tamala Krsna: Ganesa, hmm.

Prabhupada: Some sort of worship is there and instruction, many narratives. Women were advised to worship the Yamaraja, Savitri, Satyavan. Then there was samskaras, purificatory method, out of which the higher class will be sacred thread ceremony. Always something spiritual, according to the... And actually learning Vedic knowledge, that was by the brahmanas. They would give advice; people will follow. Brahmano jagato guruh. Just like Gargamuni came to Nanda Maharaja. He took advantage of Gargamuni and performed some purificatory ceremony of Krsna-Balarama. Why these big, big institutions for wasting time and dating between girls and boys, and then they learn expert how to kill child, how to make abortion? Expert. Simply concentration on sex. Then become hippie. Frustration. Worship hog. Do they not?

Tamala Krsna: Yeah, actually there's a group, a musical group. And as part of their performance they keep a pen of hogs in front of them. And as part of the performance they all take off their clothes and jump in and play with the hogs. And all the people applaud, and some of them jump in also. Very popular group.

Prabhupada: The hippies are nothing but a group of madmen, that's all. A madman, they..., means publicly sex, that's all. This Allen Ginsberg's movement is that-homosex, public sex. Ginsberg was very proud that he had introduced homosex. He was telling me.

Tamala Krsna: He was telling you?

Prabhupada: When he first came to me he was very proud: "I have introduced homosex." He thought very brilliant work it was. And another man, what is that? He's put into jail.

Tamala Krsna: Timothy Leary.

Prabhupada: Ha, ha. What is his position now?

Tamala Krsna: I haven't heard about him in the last few years. He's in and out of jail, I think. I saw one time he was just getting out of jail. It just shows... I think he was a big professor at Harvard. So the idle mind, devil's workshop. So he used his big brain for making this LSD. That's the value of this Ph.D. degree.

Prabhupada: He was Ph.D.?

Tamala Krsna: Oh, yeah. Big personality. And because of the fact that he was an important member of the faculty at Harvard, so even though all he produced was an intoxicant, he gave it so much explanation, that "This is..."

Prabhupada: Transcendental meditation.

Tamala Krsna: Yeah, this is transcendental. "This is real psychotherapy," he called it. He made it seem like this is legitimate, this is a bona fide experiment, just like you go to a psychologist or psychiatrist. He tried to explain it as a medical drug for helping the mind. But as a result of it so many people became crazy by using it.

Prabhupada: Howling.

Tamala Krsna: I think you saw so many people who were taking it in America.

Prabhupada: Seventy-five percent. Therefore Devananda presented it: "Hare Krsna movement is hippies' movement."

Tamala Krsna: Devananda. I remember at one initiation ceremony you asked... It was Kausalya. You said to her, "What are the four principles?" So she stated them. Then you said, "What is the fifth?" So she didn't know what to answer. Then you said, "No LSD."

Prabhupada: This Kausalya girl was loitering in the street.

Tamala Krsna: Who, Srila Prabhupada?

Prabhupada: Kausalya.

Tamala Krsna: Kausalya. In Hawaii.

Prabhupada: Yes. No protection. Somehow or other, she came to see me when I got into Los Angeles.

Tamala Krsna: In that way you saved all of us, Srila Prabhupada.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Tamala Krsna: A very nice letter came from Yamuna devi with a few photographs. Would you like to see it?

Prabhupada: Hmm.

Tamala Krsna: She has very good handwriting. "Sri Sri Guru-Gauraṅga Jayate. Dearmost and respected Srila Prabhupada, please accept our repeated humble obeisances at your sanctified lotus feet. Although we are certainly unfit to offer you our prayers and offenseless chanting for your well-being, still we beg to become purified to pour the nectar of the holy name of the Lord into your eternal transcendental service by following your divine instructions. From the beginning you have instructed to serve in sincere faith in vapu or vani. That is our life's work, to make each and every moment a fit receptacle for receiving your benedicting rays of mercy. Enclosed is an offering of digestive spice for your pleasure as well as two photos of Sri Radha-Vana-vihari on Candana-yatra and Sri Nrsimha-caturdasi. Visakha devi remained here to photograph for the upcoming Vedic cookery book. The program here is flourishing under your shelter and glories. We beg to remain your servants eternally, Yamuna devi dasi and Dinatarini devi dasi." They sent these preparations. It says, "savory" and "sweet." It looks like they made these. Very expert.

Prabhupada: So you can give me little bit.

Tamala Krsna: And they sent photographs. These Deities are superwonderful.

Prabhupada: Very nice.

Tamala Krsna: That says, "Sri Nrsimha-caturdasi. Sri Radha-Vana-vihari Mandir." This is Gaura-purnima outfit. [break]

Prabhupada: Continue.

Tamala Krsna: Candana-yatra.

Prabhupada: Everything is very nice.

Tamala Krsna: Do you want those spices now, little digestive spice?

Prabhupada: Hmm. [break]

Tamala Krsna: ...people will just eat themselves, eat each other.

Prabhupada: First thing is... Mamsa. "I'll kill you. I'll eat you." That time is coming. It has already... Russia, there is no food. They are very much proud of the so-called solutions of the world-but there is no food. Mule matha nai [there is no head.] Therefore they are coming again to religion. They are realizing. There is a line, even for flesh.

Tamala Krsna: Around the block, they say.

Prabhupada: I have seen. We wasted so much time.

Tamala Krsna: Prabhupada, I was thinking of giving you that tablet. Maybe you could take it with this drink? Because the feet are swelling again. I wanted to give you that tablet.

Prabhupada: No, let me see.

Tamala Krsna: All right. [break]

Prabhupada: Today I passed stool again before going to the temple. [pause] So many... Actually, we enjoyed life in our childhood. Although we were not very nicely dressed and not very comfortable, the so-called comfortable. We could sleep anywhere. We did not require any nice dress, but nice food. My mother used to prepare very nice food. We were glad in that way. Nice parata, nice vegetable, acara, so many things she used to prepare. Always preparing some food. Puffed rice.

Tamala Krsna: She was cooking with ghee?

Prabhupada: Yes. Our family with ghee. Some fried. That is used, oil.

Tamala Krsna: Fried potal.

Prabhupada: Ghee and oil, both were used. Where is that happiness gone?

Tamala Krsna: No one's happy nowadays.

Prabhupada: Therefore there is struggle-Communist, this, that.

Tamala Krsna: Actually you still see a little bit of that happiness in smaller towns.

Prabhupada: No, in the village. They have got enough milk, grains. Is it not? [Transl. In the village, still there is enough production of milk, rice paddy. Is it not?]

Saccidananda: [Transl. Yes. Yes.]

Prabhupada: Eh? Fruit. They import. They make them poverty-stricken. If the villagers do not sell, ample fruit. But these townsmen, they go there, pay them, and out of greediness they sell their own food only for money. And then they spend for drinking and cinema and... Horrible civilization. [Transl. All people want is to eat a few morsels of food…] Those packets, bring here.

Tamala Krsna: Those packets from Yamuna. Is that what you want?

Prabhupada: No, no, yesterday...

Tamala Krsna: Oh, that, from the medicine cabinet. Upendra put it away. The chalk and other things.

Prabhupada: [Transl. Did you make cowdung cake or not?]

Saccidananda: [Transl. That I am arranging.]

Prabhupada: [Transl. Han?]

Saccidananda: [Transl. [I am arranging that now. Last night I told him.]

Prabhupada: [Transl. Are cowdung cakes prepared?]

Saccidananda: [Transl. I didn't take that responsibility. Let me see.]

Tamala Krsna: Did you taste that savory and digestive from Yamuna?

Prabhupada: I do not know.

Tamala Krsna: They didn't give you any?

Prabhupada: Yes.

Tamala Krsna: Was it any...? Was it good?

Bhakti-caru: [Transl. Srila Prabhupada, about cowdung cake Bhagatji has said…]

Prabhupada: [Transl. I see. He told you, you told him…]

Bhakti-caru: [Transl. No no. Srila Prabhupada, they are already prepared. Bhagatji has got readymade cowdung cake.] [end].