Conversation Before Lecture – April 29, 1969, Boston

690429R1-Boston [11:46 Minutes]

We don't hate the hippies. We have nothing against

[devotees chanting japa in background throughout]

Miss Rose: It's not in good order, Swamiji.

Prabhupada: Eh?

Miss Rose: It's not in good order.

Prabhupada: Which order?

Miss Rose: Well, my house where I live.

Prabhupada: No, no. I say that you purchase one house.

Miss Rose: Participate in one house?

Prabhupada: Purchase.

Christian Kindler: Purchase. Buy.

Miss Rose: Oh. [laughter] Am I gonna dig gold?

Prabhupada: Oh, you have no money?

Miss Rose: To buy a house? I wish I did. I'd take all of the disciples and put 'em all in one house.

Prabhupada: Yes. You just make one down-payment, and they will pay monthly.

Miss Rose: Krsna!

Prabhupada: Yes. Krsna will help you.

Miss Rose: Krsna! [laughter]

Christian Kindler: Sell your car!

Miss Rose: I've got a bad back. I can't walk.

Christian Kindler: Your car helps your back?

Prabhupada: Oh, your car is so nice. If I would have remained here, I would ask you to donate this car to the Society.

Miss Rose: Can never tell what I do for [Prabhupada chuckling] all my sisters and my brothers.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Miss Rose: These are all my sisters and brothers, Swamiji. Right?

Prabhupada: Yes. certainly. So don't worry. Krsna will give you better place.

Satsvarūpa: That was a disappointment, because we almost..., almost had it.

Prabhupada: Yes. No question of disappointment. In Los Angeles, we had so many disappointment. At last, we got very nice place. Now we are after bigger place.

Christian Kindler: Tell Swamiji about the church we want to get.

Miss Rose: The church...?

Prabhupada: Then that article has worked adversely?

Satsvarūpa: Yeah. The real estate man said if it had only come out a week later, he said, "You'd be in."

Prabhupada: So publicity like this is not good for us, that people are thinking they are hippies.

Miss Rose: Yes. That's true, Swamiji. Yeah.

Prabhupada: So then you should not give publicity. You must even in the beginning verify that we are not hippies.

Miss Rose: I have to tell a lot of people like this myself.

Prabhupada: Hare Krsna movement is not for hippies. In many places this is a notion, that we are hippies.

Devotee: Montreal.

Prabhupada: Eh?

Devotee: Montreal, too, the same thing.

Miss Rose: Yes, but a lot of hippies have gone back to... They've went to Florida, Swamiji. Thousands of hippies went back to Florida. They left Boston. But I don't know...

Prabhupada: They are, most of them, in Hawaii also.

Miss Rose: Oh, there's some in Hawaii too?

Prabhupada: Yes.

Miss Rose: Oh.

Christian Kindler: Prabhupada, I think he was worried because... [break]

Prabhupada: ...all right. We don't hate the hippies. We have nothing against. But these people misunderstand. That is... That is another thing. We welcome everyone. We have no such distinction.

Miss Rose: Oh, yes, yes. Everyone can come.

Prabhupada: Never mind.

Miss Rose: Krsna's good.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Christian Kindler: Krsna wants a better place for us.

Miss Rose: Krsna wants a better place.

Prabhupada: And also it is a fact that many of our students have come from the hippies. [chuckling]

Hamsadūta: Almost all of them. [laughter]

Prabhupada: [laughs] So they are our best candidates. So you can advertise that "We are not hippies, but we are converting many hippies to the sane condition of life." That's a fact. They are searching after something better, but they have no leader.

Miss Rose: Yes, that's true. That's it. They haven't got the leader to understand...

Prabhupada: They have no leader. Now, if they come to us seriously, they get the right thing. But that is also their defect. When we propose, "Come and take this Krsna," they don't want. They want that marijuana. [pronounces "mariana"]

Christian Kindler: Prabhupada, my mother had the idea of going to rich parents who are very anxious about their children who've become hippies and saying that this movement...

Prabhupada: So you should write article that "We are not hippies, but we are converting hippies to the sane condition. So father, mothers who are anxious for their children, let them send their children to us. We take care." In this way you make impression in the public mind.

Christian Kindler: And also they make donations.

Prabhupada: Yes. So our New Vrindavan scheme is there. Let them help and send their children. We make just opposite number of hippies. Yes.

Miss Rose: Swamiji, but that has to be advertised in papers...

Prabhupada: So why don't you do it? This is a service. You can do it.

Miss Rose: Yes, right.

Prabhupada: You are acquainted with so many people. You are experienced.

Miss Rose: But I mean so people can read it. So they'll understand it's not hippies.

Prabhupada: Yes. You go to responsible men and see, that "This is a nice movement. Why don't you patronize it to save your country from the hippies' falling down, confusion?" We are saving. Practically this Society is giving the best service to your country.

They should appreciate, but they should not misunderstand us. How we can be hippies? We completely... That is also said. How foolish man he is, that, er... In that article, Satsvarūpa, in that article, it is clearly stated that we are refusing all these things. How they conclude that we are hippies?

Satsvarūpa: It wasn't a bad article.

Prabhupada: Oh! What a nonsense he is!

Christian Kindler: He is worried that hippies come to the ceremonies to see us.

Prabhupada: Oh.

Christian Kindler: I think that's why he's worried about hippies.

Prabhupada: Oh.

Christian Kindler: Because he saw photographs that audience was hippies.

Prabhupada: Oh. So that we cannot cancel, that "Hippies are not admitted." No. We admit everyone. We cannot say that "Such and such person cannot enter into our temple." We cannot say. Everyone is welcome.

Miss Rose: I understand. I understand that.

Prabhupada: Everyone is welcome. And, if they do not come, how they'll converted?

Christian Kindler: Can we just finish four more words?

Miss Rose: I think that the confusion is...

Prabhupada: We cannot say, just like, in some hotels, that "Such and such persons are not admitted." No. We cannot. We admit everyone. Our mission is to elevate persons from down state of life to the highest state of life. So everyone is in down state. Lord Jesus Christ also said that "You do not hate the sinners, but hate sin."

Is not that, Lord Jesus Christ said? So hippies may be sinners. We raise them to the pious life. But we say, "Don't do this. Don't do this sinful act. Don't take intoxication. Don't do this. Don't do this." We hate sin, not the sinners, actually. If we hate sinners, then where is the possibility of our preaching?

Miss Rose: If the hippies would come, come, come...

Prabhupada: Yes.

Miss Rose: ...then you can get them out of this hippie into Christian[?] conscience, faith. See.

Prabhupada: Yes. That is our mission.

Miss Rose: Yes. I can understand that.

Prabhupada: Hare Krsna. All right. Krsna will see. So you just give service to Krsna, impressing people that "These Krsna conscious people are not hippies."

Miss Rose: Oh, yes! I told a lot of people. You know, Swamiji, the first time when I heard about 95 Glenville Avenue, the first time, a woman told me that..., she says, "You know," she says, "gypsies, we have neighbors, gypsies on the street." And I said, "Gypsies! I haven't seen any gypsies." Well, I put my shoes on. I went downstairs. I went to the door and I start reading. I says, "This is spiritual. This is beautiful. This is spiritual." I got right away.

So she came to the door, Jadurani. She came to the door and she said, "Hare Krsna," and she said, "Come in." I came in and she started talking to me, and that's... I got started. So when I seen her, I said, "That's not gypsies. That's not gypsies." And I explained it to her. "Oh," she said, "I seen the curtains in the window," she said, "and I thought they were gypsies." "Oh, well," I explained it to her. "Oh," I says. I let her have it, there was no gypsies there. So she used to see me coming down to go to the temple. It's so nice, yeah? Do you like that place, Swamiji?

Prabhupada: Which place?

Miss Rose: Where the disciples are now, on Glenville Avenue? Or do you think they should need another place?

Prabhupada: No, sometimes the..., some children disturb. They broke...

Miss Rose: No. Oh, I know they broke the windows. I know that. You know, Swamiji, it's very hard to find apartments, and, Swamiji, they're very expensive-$125, $135, $145 dollars a month, the apartments are. See. Yeah. [indistinct] And they're very, very hard to find. And sometimes I want to get out of there myself. Because, I mean, there is so many... It's really turning out to be kind of a bad..., a lot of children there.

Prabhupada: Let us see. As Krsna desires. [end]