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Prabhupada: Six rupees. And a small mrdanga I gave to my youngest son-three rupees. (laughter) So it is long..., not long ago, say about forty years ago. So it was, smaller, three rupees, and bigger, ten to twelve rupees, like that. So what about your purchasing house?
Prabhupada: Yes.
Bali-mardana: It is... And the..., three minutes from the center of the city, and right across the street... [break]
Prabhupada: ...earning and cow protection. You must do it. The other day I was explaining that not from economic point of view, even the cows do not supply milk, still, they should be protected.
Prabhupada: Because that stool and urine is also useful. Cow is so important. They'll eat and they'll pass stool and urine. That is also important. If they supply milk, it is well, very good. Otherwise the stool and urine is also important. From that point of view we should give protection. So they are doing this cow slaughter business. (aside:) For you. Therefore they are suffering so much. So Krsna has given you very nice occupation, translation work, and you are earning your livelihood independently. So do it very nicely. And if there is strain to work, then don't work. We shall pay you for the rent, etc... It doesn't matter. But you must maintain your status of translating work. That is very good. If you can work, you can work. Otherwise don't worry.
Bali-mardana: Just like we were paying Hayagriva something just to maintain to edit, so he could edit. And if he wants to just translate, then we can...
Prabhupada: Yes. Hayagriva wife has come? No.
Ramesvara: No, she has left.
Prabhupada: Then what is his maintaining? (laughter)
Ramesvara: That is... He is deviating a little.
Prabhupada: Huh?
Ramesvara: He's enjoying a little bit the senses.
Prabhupada: So that is not very good idea.
Ramesvara: He's got one son. He has his boy.
Prabhupada: Oh.
Ramesvara: He has got the older boy. His wife has got the younger boy.
Ramesvara: He comes to the temple once or twice a month.
Prabhupada: What you have to pay?
Ramesvara: Five hundred dollars a month. Pays for rent and gas and food.
Prabhupada: He pays that five hundred. Hm. But he is very slow nowadays in editing.
Ramesvara: He finished editing the Kapila book, and he finished the first volume of the philosophy book since he last saw you.
Prabhupada: Hm. Do whatever you think is good.
Ramesvara: Well, after we finish the second volume of the philosophy book, there will not be any more work for him.
Prabhupada: Then?
Ramesvara: Jayadvaita is editing the Bhagavatam.
Prabhupada: Yes.
Ramesvara: So after that, he'll have to get some other occupation.
Bali-mardana: Prabhupada, there is a house on the property just for you. There is a house that is fixed up for you on the property.
Prabhupada: Why this light does not work?
Prabhupada: Change it.
Bali-mardana: So when you come there the house is waiting. It is very peaceful place for translation, and there's no winter. There is no winter. Seventy-five degrees, wintertime.
Prabhupada: Oh.
Prabhupada: And the summer?
Prabhupada: Not...
Bali-mardana: But it rains. Summertime is rainy season, two or three months rainy season, so it is also...
Prabhupada: Near the sea?
Ramesvara: So that's only fifteen minutes by car.
Prabhupada: The ocean is on the southern side? Ocean?
Prabhupada: East.
Bali-mardana: Eastern coast of Australia. And it is twenty-five minutes from the airport. So it is very easy to get to. It is right near all of the resorts where the Australians go for going to the beach and vacation during the winter months.
Prabhupada: One can get good appetite?
Prabhupada: Nowadays I cannot eat.
Prabhupada: Anyway, you maintain cows and get ghee.
Bali-mardana: When we were flying over Australia when you first came there, you pointed down and you said...
Prabhupada: Yes.
Prabhupada: Yes.
Prabhupada: Oh, yes. You remember it.
Prabhupada: Yes.
Prabhupada: Purnam idam [Isopanisad, Invocation]. Everything is complete by the arrangement of Krsna. Simply we mismanage. That's all. I do not know why people are engaged with politics, fighting, and so on, so on. By Krsna's grace everything is complete. You eat sufficiently, you be strong and keep your health good and chant Hare Krsna. This is the arrangement. These rascals, they have created civilization, simply animosity-fighting, politics. This is Kali-yuga. Kali means simply unnecessarily fights. There is no need of fighting, but they'll create a situation, fighting. That's all. This is Kali-yuga, unnecessarily. Why politics? Why so much discussion, barking in the United Nations? Krsna has given the formula. Annad bhavanti bhutani [Bg. 3.14]. In America, Australia, Africa, they can produce so much grain that ten times of the population as it is now can be maintained. Similarly, Australia can produce ghee. So by Krsna's arrangement everything is all right, the economic problem. Why they create this situation and occasionally fight and finish the whole...? Such a rubbish civilization, raksasa, unnecessarily increasing military power and spending all the revenues. Russia spends sixty-five percent-unnecessarily. And still starving. So this is mudha, duskrtina. Duskrtina, only engaged in sinful activities, duskrtina, and rascals, mudha, naradhama. He got the opportunity of this human life, and it misusing unnecessarily-naradhama. And their university education-mayayapahrta, useless knowledge, useless. Apahrta-jnana. Actually they have no knowledge. Why? The only fault is there is no God. Asuram bhavam asritah [Bg. 7.15]. So one... That is the basic fault. Everyone is trying: "There is no God. Science." This is the basic principle. So the whole human society is suffering on account of these fools and rascals. So our Krsna consciousness movement is para-upakara, how to bring them in peaceful condition, in normal mental condition, and make this life successful by chanting Hare Krsna. So we have to do it very carefully. It is para-upakara. So always remember this fact, that they are..., the whole world is being controlled by asuram bhavam asritah, atheist class of men, and people are suffering everywhere. But Krsna also descends when such condition prevailing. Yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati [Bg. 4.7]. So now Krsna has descended in His name. Nama-rupe krsna-avatara. So try to do some good to the society. You have got a great mission and don't deviate. Try to... And Krsna will give you all help. So, but always keep in mind that this civilization is a wrong civilization. Wrong civilization. It is not quite civil. What do you think? In Hong Kong I have seen. People are living so wretchedly.
Devotee (1): They keep iron gates in front of the doors. When you knock on the doors, and they open the doors, and they just become very afraid and they slam the door right in your face.
Prabhupada: That is in America also.
Devotee (1): Hong Kong. But here even more so.
Prabhupada: Hong Kong?
Prabhupada: Yes.
Devotee (2): Attack. Attack dogs.
Prabhupada: In Hong Kong there is no dog, only people. (laughter)
Brahmananda: They ate all the dogs.
Trivikrama: Srila Prabhupada, there's one boy here, Bhakta Lou, he joined with us in Taiwan. He speaks a fluent Chinese, this boy.
Prabhupada: Oh. American? He's American?
Trivikrama: Yes, he's from Indianapolis.
Prabhupada: So he can help. He's in Hong Kong already?
Trivikrama: He was there just now, yes. (some devotees enter)
Devotee (3): Prabhupada, I have brought you some gift from Hong Kong for you.
Prabhupada: Oh.
Bali-mardana: Australia, all the devotees have brought you ghee. They are engaged in distributing your books all day long.
Prabhupada: Just see.
Devotee (1): And honey with the hive in it.
Prabhupada: Krsna has given so much nice thing in Australia, and they are doing killing business? Just see how much fallen.
Bhagavata: The hive of the bee is still inside. (laughter)
Prabhupada: They can eat so many nice things.
Trivikrama: Now you must get appetite, Srila Prabhupada.
Prabhupada: This is their civilization. They have got so nice thing to eat, but they are making business by killing. How much insane. Killing is done by the uncivilized men when they are hungry. But when there are so many things to eat, why they should kill? And that is not for themselves. For others.
Brahmananda: Two pounds.
Bali-mardana: No, no, it's four pounds six ounces. Four and a half pounds. Less than one dollar per pound, little bit less.
Prabhupada: Per pound. What is the price here?
Devotee (4): About eighteen rupees.
Bhagavata: Sixteen or eighteen rupees a kg.
Prabhupada: No, in India?
Bhagavata: Sixteen or eighteen rupees, one kg.
Prabhupada: That is not pure ghee?
Prabhupada: Pure ghee is not available. So at least we can import pure ghee for our own use. If possible, we can sell also. At least for our own centers, food distribution.
Pancadravida: Srila Prabhupada, when we first got to Argentina it used to be for three dollars you'd get five kilos of butter, or for a dollar you got, like, twenty-four quarts of milk.
Prabhupada: Australia.
Prabhupada: Argentina, oh.
Ramesvara: They have the reputation in Argentina of killing more cows than any country in the world.
Prabhupada: No, because they do not know what they will do except killing.
Pancadravida: They have twenty million people, and they have sixty million cows. That's the estimate I heard, three cows for every person.
Trivikrama: He has brought you one Chinese script.
Devotee (3): This is Chinese character scroll. It says, "Books are the basis, preaching is the essence, utility is the principle, and purity is the force." It was translated wholly by myself, and the characters were written by...
Prabhupada: Is that all right?
Devotee (5): I can read, but I don't write. Ah... That's not purity. It should be... It's not so exact.
Prabhupada: What did he say in the trans...?
Devotee (5): It's cleanliness rather than purity.
Caru: Srila Prabhupada? There's some devotees here from Berkeley temple, and they'd like to make a gift. These are some pictures of the temple which has just been newly redecorated. That's the simha-dvara.
Prabhupada: Oh. Nice, very nice.
Prabhupada: This is done in America? This?
Caru: Yes. In Berkeley.
Prabhupada: This is temple?
Devotees: Yes.
Prabhupada: Very nice. [break] ...yogam dadami tam. Krsna says He'll give intelligence. Tesam satata-yuktanam bhajatam priti-purvakam [Bg. 10.10]. You know this verse?
Prabhupada: Where is your wife? She has come?
Prabhupada: Do it into the...
Pancadravida: Srila Prabhupada, two boys are here. They are from Caracas. This one boy is Ramanujacarya. He distributed over three thousand Bhagavatams in the month of December. He did over a hundred books every day. (devotees exclaim)
Prabhupada: Wonderful. Thank you very much.
Prabhupada: Oh. Very good. The more you distribute books, the more you are blessed. There is no more or less. Everyone is blessed... (laughter) There is no such discrimination, but still, there is some competition. (laughter) In Vrndavana there is no discrimination that gopis are the highest and others... No. Every one is all right. Still, from neutral point of view, the gopis are the highest. Caitanya Mahaprabhu..., ramya kascid upasana vraja-vadhu vargabhir ya kalpita,(?) that "There is no standard of worship, what was conceived by the gopis." Caitanya Mahaprabhu said. There is no distinction between the cowherd boys and the gopis or the trees and the flowers and the calves and cows. It is the absolute platform. But still, in the spiritual world also there is distinction between living entities. That is variety, spiritual variety, visesavada.
Prabhupada: I have seen this.
Prabhupada: Yes. So where is that girl who has designed?
Caru: They asked her to leave.
Prabhupada: She has not come?
Prabhupada: Oh. Very good.
Prabhupada: Very good intelligence.
Caru: This has all the significant temples of India, and just included in there is the ISKCON temples. Right as they come in the front door is a very nice cultural exhibit.
Prabhupada: Increase more temples. Prthivite ache yata nagaradi grama. As many towns, as many villages. At least as many towns, and then push through the villages. What is your news about our palace in France? I am asking you, Bhugarbha.
Bhugarbha: Chateau palace in France?
Prabhupada: Huh? Yes. Is it going nice?
Bhugarbha: It is going on. I haven't been to the palace.
Prabhupada: Oh.
Bhugarbha: I go to the Paris temple.
Prabhupada: So it is very nice temple.
Prabhupada: Oh, you designed?
Brahmananda: She has brought some ghee.
Prabhupada: Oh. What is this, 3.92?
Bhagavata: Three dollars, ninety two cents, Australian money, for four pounds of ghee. Seven cans.
Prabhupada: So Australian dollar, about ten rupees?
Jayatirtha: Same as an American dollar now.
Prabhupada: So about ten rupees, Indian ten rupees.
Bali-mardana: Although the rate in India they give less, for some reason, because it was just devalued. So it's about 8.90 for cash, about 9.70 for Australian travelers checks.
Prabhupada: No, the Amer..., is ten rupees. It is one kilo?
Bhagavata: This is two kilos. Four pounds, 6.5.
Prabhupada: So about five rupees per kilo. Very cheap.
Bhagavata: That's forty rupees... No... Kg...
Bhagavata: No. It's forty rupees for two kgs.
Bhagavata: Twenty rupees per kg. If you tried to buy some ghee in India now, butter ghee, you'd have to pay about twenty-five rupees.
Bali-mardana: But this... The export... The Australian ghee in Australia is cheaper. This is export quality, is much higher quality. Higher...
Prabhupada: Oh.
Prabhupada: Higher.
Bali-mardana: But now they are going to cut down the amount of ghee they make, because not many countries are buying ghee.
Prabhupada: India is not buying?
Prabhupada: They have learned to eat meat. Meat-eaters, they don't like ghee. Meat-eaters, they say (Hindi). (laughter) "A dog cannot digest ghee." Because they are meat-eaters.
Bhagavata: Here's some more ghee.
Bali-mardana: These are all the book distributors. They have all come for your darsana with ghee. (laughter)
Bhagavata: Soon I will not be able to see you.
Jayatirtha: Also meat-eaters can't stand the smell of ghee cooking. No?
Prabhupada: This ghee should be distributed in all our Indian centers.
Devotee (5): There is a nice picture of our Deities we have in Australia in our bus.
Bali-mardana: This is our traveling bus. They distribute prasadam all over Australia, with Gaura-Nitai. They have cast...
Devotee (5): They were made in Australia.
Prabhupada: Hm. The face is not very good.
Prabhupada: Anyway, it is nice.
Prabhupada: The face is inproportionate.
Prabhupada: Anyway, this is an attempt. It will improve by doing more work. Why there is no light in the veranda? [break]
Satsvarupa: ...here. And at the end is a full report on Germany. That's the last country. [break] ...who actually began the standing orders in India. That's what... They began the year after festival last year in India and then began Europe.
Bhugarbha: Gargamuni Maharaja told us that it was not possible to do standing orders in India. So we started it, and now he has taken over.
Ghanasyama: (laughter) [break] They want to buy the book themself. [break] ...and sell them to individuals.
Prabhupada: That I was proposing
Satsvarupa: This man, Ghanasyama...
Prabhupada: I proposed to you?
Satsvarupa: Yes.
Prabhupada: Next program.
Satsvarupa: He is very expert at doing it. He thinks he can do it. But is it all right... There's still more universities to be done. The question is whether one man should be spared to try out this new field...
Prabhupada: Yes. That I proposed.
Satsvarupa: Yes. I know you did, many times.
Prabhupada: Individual standing orders. Unlimited field.
Satsvarupa: You told the method too. You first call up... First send out mail to some respectable person. Then a week later call him on the phone and ask if we can visit him-has he received our mailer, and now can we visit him? Try that.
Prabhupada: What do you think, this idea?
Tripurari: Well, we tried it a little bit in the United States, but I think that the major difficulty was getting the people to pay. They would pay, perhaps promise to pay, but then they wouldn't follow through. We were afraid they would cancel the order.
Prabhupada: That you have to manage, how to collect. You give him in credit, but keep men also to collect.
Prabhupada: Yes. Then it will be successful. You can give it... Americans are expert to take in credit, but the banking arrangement is nice, that they get back. Similarly, you give them credit. They will take it and then make such machinery that it will be collected. Collected means to go and ask. Then it will be collected.
Prabhupada: Go and ask. In India it is called takata. Takata(?) means "send men." If somebody owes money, you go and ask him. So he'll pay something. If not all, he'll pay. In this way realize.
Devotee (6): Srila Prabhupada? Currently there's only about six or eight people that are doing this type of work in Europe and then other parts of the world, excluding India. And if we were to start this program, there would be a necessity of more men that would have to be supplied...
Prabhupada: As you are preaching, more men will come. Man will come; money will come. Everything will be all right. Krsna will supply. Now, here, this Chinese Gita, they have already sold.
Prabhupada: Therefore I said that you first of all have the stock. Then sell. You must have stock.
Bhugarbha: But to do these standing from house to house... We should also continue standing orders in universities. Should that stop while...?
Prabhupada: No. Side by side, you can go on. Krsna is eternal. His business is also eternal. It will never finish.
Pancadravida: This standing orders to individuals, is that something like life membership program?
Prabhupada: Yes. There are so many educated, enlightened men. They will take.
Tripurari: So we should pick out certain individuals, then, to approach, not just go door to door.
Prabhupada: This is Melbourne.
Prabhupada: Yes.
Prabhupada: Yes, Sydney Deity.
Prabhupada: Hm. Very nice. Thank you very much.
Prabhupada: Let them become life members.
Tamala Krsna: Yes. What would be... I don't see the advantage of this program, because life membership, you get more money.
Prabhupada: Yes.
Lokanatha: But they don't get the books.
Prabhupada: So either become a life member or customer.
Lokanatha: We have cut down the number of the books that we are giving to the members now and giving only five big books.
Prabhupada: Let them read and exchange.
Ramesvara: Let them read them first.
Bhagavata: Another point, though, is Srila Prabhupada, that the membership needs to give two thousand rupees at one time. But there is a class of gentlemen who are not in that bracket of earning that they can pay two thousand rupees at one time but can afford to pay, let's say, five hundred rupees down payment and, every month, a hundred rupees or fifty rupees. For one book every month, fifty rupees a month they can pay without difficulty.
Prabhupada: So make that.
Bhagavata: There's a class of men who will do that. Every month, they will pay fifty rupees for one book.
Bhagavata: Yes. Middle class we cannot approach for membership. They cannot afford to pay at once two thousand.
Ramesvara: In America and in England they are making life members, but very rarely does someone give the whole fee at once. They have already...
Prabhupada: Doesn't matter.
Ramesvara: They make time payments every month to become life members in America and England.
Prabhupada: Yes, this is a very good.
Jayatirtha: That way, gradually they will be...
Ramesvara: Get more money by doing membership.
Jayatirtha: ...steady income. Very good.
Lokanatha: Srila Prabhupada, our experience with installment members is not very good in India. Very rarely have they raised the installment. It's very hard.
Pancadravida: It doesn't matter, because before the program was always never give them any more books than they paid for, so you'd never lose that even if they don't continue the installments. There's still no loss.
Prabhupada: (chucking) Yes. You are giving only five books.
Pancadravida: Yes. You pay more than that...
Prabhupada: No... So actually, even if we give them free, there is no life membership(?) Let them read it. But if you give free, they will not read.
Prabhupada: At least, educated Indians can be approached.
Ghanasyama: Srila Prabhupada, since the life member program is going on here and England and places like that, maybe it's better to start this individualized standing order program in places where there is not so much of a life member program, as we'll be in some cases asking the same people.
Prabhupada: Do it conscientiously, as it is suitable.
Prabhupada: So, it is time now?
Devotees: Jaya Srila Prabhupada. (end)
Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/conversations/1977/feb/evening_darsana/mayapura/february/25/1977 Previous: Arrival of Devotees -- February 24, 1977, Mayapura Next: Room Conversation With Artists and About BTG -- February 25, 1977, Mayapura
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