Room Conversation – August 12, 1976, Tehran

We have to supply in the hole of the body, so any hole is all right

[back at temple]

Prabhupada: What is good action? First of all you know, what is good action?

Peter: Good action by doing something for somebody else.

Prabhupada: Everyone is doing.

Peter: Pardon?

Prabhupada: What is speciality? Everyone is doing?

Peter: No, I'm just… It's… The question is about karma.

Prabhupada: Eh?

Peter: Whether it is possible for me to dedicate it to somebody else, and they can experience…

Prabhupada: Yes. That dedication should be to Krsna. Just like water is to be poured to the root of the tree, not to the leaves. So they are trying to water the leaves, the twigs, the branches, the trunk. It is uselessly wasted. That is not the system. Just like foodstuff. Foodstuff is to be given to the stomach. If you get a rasagulla and push it in the eyes, it is useless. The eyes will be blinded. So that is going on. They do not know where to give service. They do not know. That we are teaching. That is Krsna teaching: sarva-dharman parityaja mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg 18.66].

The people are not ready to serve God. They want to serve here, there, here, there. That is worthless. It will never be successful. It is simply wasted, because you have to pour water in the root. If you serve Krsna, then everyone will be served. And if you don't pour water in the root and pour in the twigs, what will be…, what the benefit will be? That is going on. They do not know where to render service. They are misled; therefore they are baffled. So one must know what is good. If you manufacture good, that is not good. God is all-good. So your answer is there, or not?

Peter: It's not very clear for me, no.

Prabhupada: Why not clear? Why don't you understand this example? If you have to supply food, where you supply?

Peter: The mouth.

Prabhupada: Eh? When you eat, why you supply this hole? Not this hole, not this hole, not this hole, not this hole, not this hole-so many holes there are. Why you are supplying to this hole? There are nine holes in the body, but why you supply particular to this hole? Why? That is the way. If you think any hole will be… There are many rascals, they say, "We have to supply in the hole of the body, so any hole is all right." That is rascaldom. Only hole: mam ekam. That is wanted. These rascals, they do not understand; they are supplying hole, any hole. Therefore they will not… You have to go through the proper channel; then it will be successful. Otherwise it will be bad. There are so many examples. Yatha taror mūla… It is said in the sastras,

That's a fact. Why Krsna says, sarva-dharman parityaja mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg 18.66]? Why? Is He needy? Why He says mam ekam? Is He beggar? Why He says like that? For your benefit, because you are misguided. It is for your interest. You're spoiling. Why Krsna says mam ekam? What is the purpose? Is He hungry? Is He needy, that He says, "Give it to Me only"? It is your interest, because you are spoiling. And He gives assurance: ahahkaraḥ. If you think that "Simply if I supply You, eka, and if I give up all, everything, that I may be criminal, I may be sinful," Krsna assures, "No." Aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksa…[Bg 18.66]: "If you think so," ma sucaḥ, "there is no need of being worried." Aham tvam sarva-papebhyo. "If you think that there will be sin-'If I give up everything I shall be sinful'-something like that, then I will deliver you." But we do not understand. Therefore, you are baffled. This is going on. We will not take Krsna's advice. We shall manufacture. That is going on. The whole world will be immediately happy if they take it. Immediately. But they will not agree. This is going on. They will manufacture: "Why shall I serve Krsna only?" Somebody says, "It is too much. He is asking too much, mam ekam."

Mrs. Sahani: It's the easiest thing He has asked.

Prabhupada: Huh?

Mrs. Sahani: It's the easiest thing He has asked. He has not asked us to break a stone. He has not asked us to build a building. He has just asked us to come to His lotus feet, and that's the easiest thing He has asked.

Prabhupada: Yes. Easiest. That is the easiest. God is the supreme father, and He advises, if you accept the supreme father's instructions, you will become happy. When you manufacture nonsense, rascal things, then you will suffer. Therefore we are presenting Bhagavad-gita as it is. Don't become a rascal to change it. That will not be successful. People do not understand. They say, "Why? I can interpret in my own way. Why shall you interpret it to me?" If you do not agree with Krsna's proposal, do in a…, why you present Bhagavad-gita in the name of Krsna and cheat Him and cheat yourself? That we want to stop. You are taking Bhagavad-gita as very learned scholar, very good man, and then going against Krsna. This is going on all over. Other countries and even in India. There are so many scholars, so many politicians, so many, they are simply going against Krsna, and they presenting themselves as very good scholar of Bhagavad-gita. Therefore I have become enemy of everyone, because we are sticking to this point. That is the reason.

Mrs. Sahani: But what you say is amazing thing, that… It's a perfect thing.

Prabhupada: Yes. I am speaking Bhagavad-gita. I am not…

Mrs. Sahani: What you have said has to be…

Prabhupada: "If you like, you take; otherwise go on." Go on, if you don't like. But I must present the real thing. If you want unadulterated thing, then come here. But if you want mixed hodgepodge, go and do that. We cannot make any compromise with hodgepodge thing.

Mrs. Sahani: There can be no compromise of basic things and traditions.

Prabhupada: No, there cannot.

Mrs. Sahani: That is sometimes, it happens with me also. They ask me what is the tradition. I said whatever… I know Vaisnava tradition. We've just been told...

Prabhupada: No, no. Tradition he does not know. Krsna says…

Mrs. Sahani: Yes.

Prabhupada: …mam ekam. This is tradition. What is to understand it? Why you are so fool, rascal? Here Krsna says. I am not making the tradition; the tradition is here, evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduḥ [Bg 4.2]. This is tradition. Imam vivasvate yogam [Bg 4.1]. Everything is there. Tradition is there.

Mrs. Sahani: That is what I have been telling to so many people, that there can be no compromise. You cannot compromise with tradition and what has been ordered.

Prabhupada: No. Compromise, you can make material things. In spiritual affairs, there is no compromise.

Mrs. Sahani: There is no compromise.

Prabhupada: If you make compromise, it is spoiled. The Indian culture is lost because they wanted to make compromises.

Mrs. Sahani: Compromises.

Prabhupada: That's all. Lost. Now this Vivekananda and company, they are preaching yata mata, tata patha. You know that? "You manufacture your way, and that is also all right." Just see? Krsna says mam ekam, and he has manufactured, "Whatever you manufacture is all right." Yata mata, tata patha. And spoil the whole country.

Mrs. Sahani: Whole country.

Prabhupada: And people, they are not… "I have got my own opinion. I don't need Krsna. I have got." Yata mata. So if you actually want to save the world, you only want what Krsna says, mam ekam.

One who has taken up this philosophy what Vasudeva says, that's all right. Vasudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahatma. That mahatma. Su-durlabhaḥ, very rare. Su-durlabhaḥ. Durlabhaḥ means "rare," and su-durlabhaḥ.

And this stage comes bahūnam janmanam ante, not so easy to accept this philosophy, mam ekam saranam vraja. It is not for ordinary person. Sa mahatma su-durlabhaḥ. But it is very easy if you accept it. You become immediately sa mahatma su-durlabhaḥ. If you have got intelligence that "Krsna says like this. Why shall I manufacture otherwise?" then you will annul immediately. Takes a second's time simply to agree. That's all.

But that we are so unfortunate, we will not agree; we shall persist in our own ways of life. This is misfortune. What you can serve others? What means you have got? You are proposing to serve others. What you can do? It is simply imagination. You are yourself starving. What you can do for others? "Physician, heal thyself." You have got so many needs you cannot fulfill, and you want to do to others? What you can do? You cannot do. If you can do any good to anyone, just inform him, "Surrender to Krsna." That is the only good you can do. You can do nothing else. What power you have got, you want to do some good to others? It is all useless, concoction. That's a fact. These are very sweets to do good to others. You rascal, what you have got? What can you do? If a man is dying, typhoid fever, can you do anything? "Oh, I shall bring good physician, good…" Is that guarantee that he will survive? Then what you can do? If he is going to die, what you can do? What help you can do? Is it possible?

Peter: Pray.

Prabhupada: Huh?

Peter: Pray for him.

Prabhupada: Pray, that is… Why not pray for yourself? You are so anxious to pray for others. Pray to God, "You please save me from this concoction." You cannot do anything; you are helpless. If we can do any service to the humanity, we can simply request him, "Please be Krsna conscious. Please surrender to Krsna." It is very easy, and that is the only service. Nothing else. You are so tightly bound up by the laws of nature, you cannot do anything. So many politicians, so many philosophers, they wanted to do, but what they have done? Many Hitlers came, many Napoleons came, many Gandhi came-what they have done? The world is rotting in the same way. But they fought throughout the whole life to do something good to others. And this in our country. Now, what is the result of svaraj, that here is a lady, she is hesitating to enter her own country. This is the position. If she wants to be happy, she should be banished from there. This is going on. Everyone is afraid to enter into your own country. This independence you have. When a person is hesitating to enter his own home, then what is dangerous position? Everyone likes home sweet home-he cannot enter sweet home. [break] …with great force they come and fall in the fire. You have seen it?

Peter: Yes.

Prabhupada: Phutt, phutt, phutt, phutt, and…

Peter: Yes.

Prabhupada: The modern civilization is like that. Blazing fire of maya's beauty, and people are coming like insect, phata, phata. This whole city, they are going on the street, it is like that, phutt. After death, they do not know. And they have made a philosophy, "After death, everything is finished." So if everything is to be finished, then before birth everything was finished. So before birth there was nothing, and after death there will be nothing. So why during this period, manifested period, so much struggle? Hmm? Before it was nothing, and after it will be nothing. So suppose… It is not a fact from nothing has come so much activities. It is not the fact. But they are saying like that, that it was a zero, then all of a sudden by accident the body is received, and it will become zero. So between two zeros, the little duration of time, why so much struggle? Let him become zero. Why so much plan, struggle? Why?

Atreya Rsi: It's foolish.

Prabhupada: In that case they become foolish. Before zero and after zero, why in the middle for a few years so much struggle and plan?

Atreya Rsi: Planning like eternal life.

Prabhupada: Yes. Then they say that "We are doing it for our grandsons." If the grandson is zero-he is going to be zero-who is grandson and who is grandfather? For zeros you are so…, making so much struggle. From logical point of view, how much foolish they are. So much competition, so much plans, so many politics, so many intrigues, so many fight, war, and so on, so on, so on. Why? What for improvement, if it is going to be zero at last?

Nava-yauvana: They each have a different false idea. One man is saying for the family, one man is saying for my country.

Prabhupada: So what is the country? It is zero. You are going to be zero, so what is the country?

Nava-yauvana: They have such small minds. They are thinking that if the country has an existence of one thousand years, two thousand years, then it is eternal.

Prabhupada: Accha? That is eternal?

Nava-yauvana: They are thinking like that.

Prabhupada: They are changing the meaning of words.

Nava-yauvana: Yes, they do that.

Prabhupada: Well?

Nava-yauvana: Because they are not interested in discovering what is the truth. They're interested only in profit, what they understand as profit.

Prabhupada: Sūnyavadi. Mūḍha, the ass. You have seen the ass loaded?

Peter: No. I don't think so.

Prabhupada: He does not know why so much loads are coming. Therefore it is ass, mūḍha. He has no profit. He is thinking that "Get a morsel of grass and work all day." This is ass intelligence. Before you loaded, it was zero; unloaded it has zero; in the middle he is carrying unnecessarily a load and eat a little grass. This is ass. Mūḍho nabhijanati mam ebhyaḥ param avyayam [Bg 7.25]. Tribhir guna-mayair bhavair [Bg 7.13]. No education, no inquiry, exactly like the ass. Ass cannot inquire, "Why I am loaded?"

Nava-yauvana: All of their intelligence is directed towards reaching this zero.

Prabhupada: Yes. Whole theory is zero, sūnyavadi. Everyone, big, big men, they are calculating, "After death everything is finished." Therefore, enjoy whatever is possible during life. Never mind the so-called sinful, pious; all bogus, enjoy life. Enjoy, also, that is also a fictitious. Whole day working like an ass, and they are thinking it is enjoyment.

Nava-yauvana: In the evening…

Prabhupada: Is that life? They are congested in street, and there is every moment danger of accident. Is that life? But they are thinking it is improvement, they are improved. Everyone is traveling gharar gharar gharar…. And when he eats: two chapati, a little tea, one piece of biscuit, a little meat, that's all. And he has no time even to speak, even to eat-he is eating on the business table. He cannot go home, cannot go, so busy. And brain is being taxed, how to solve this, how to solve this, this problem, that problem, this account, that account. And if you chant peacefully, they will come and attack you, "You are doing nothing." When I see the big cities, these things, I think of that comparison, the small insect falling in the fire-phutt-phutt.

Nava-yauvana: The moth.

Prabhupada: Hmm?

Nava-yauvana: The moth.

Prabhupada: Moth.

Nava-yauvana: Insect. He has wings, and he goes to the fire.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Atreya Rsi: So, Srila Prabhupada, why should devotees live like that too? That is...

Prabhupada: Devotees should not live like that, but the atmosphere is such that without doing that, you cannot live.

Atreya Rsi: I am conditioned to live like that, and my service is like that.

Prabhupada: Not everyone.

Atreya Rsi: I don't see my family; I don't have time to eat prasadam. If I was a karmi, I would be doing the same thing.

Prabhupada: No, you are doing for Krsna. Because if you do not do that, then you don't get your bread also. That is not advised. You have to work for your bread. So Krsna has given you that. You do it, and do it for Krsna, that's all. We are speaking of the general situation.

Atreya Rsi: Yes, that's true. Absolutely it's true.

Prabhupada: Yes. General situation is that everyone is put into this condition. Just like we are traveling. We are traveling on plane. It is dangerous, everyone knows, but we have to take it.

Atreya Rsi: It is dangerous…

Prabhupada: When I was in Vrndavana alone… You have seen my room in the Radha-Damodara?

Atreya Rsi: Yes.

Prabhupada: That's all. I was writing books. But since I have taken this preaching work all over the world, I have to use everything. That I have to do, because I am preaching. Arjuna is recognized devotee. Krsna says bhakto 'si. He could sit down underneath a tree and chant Hare Krsna. Why he is fighting in the battlefield? So devotee's activities, although it appears to be like the ordinary karmi, it is not; it is bhakti. Arjuna, when he is fighting, he is bhakta; he is doing for Krsna.

Nava-yauvana: I always have a question about how does one understand what is one's duty for Krsna.

Prabhupada: That is from…, you have to understand from your spiritual master.

Nava-yauvana: Yes.

Prabhupada: Yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado [Sri Sri Gurv-astaka 8]. You are not directly in touch with Krsna; you are directly in touch with Krsna's representative. So whatever he says, try to please him. That's all.

Nava-yauvana: Yes. That can be experienced also. We each have our own idea, but when… I know for myself, when there is some little insignificant sacrifice made to please Your Divine Grace, then there is the result.

Prabhupada: Yes. Our business is this: that people are suffering for want of knowledge in Krsna consciousness. So as far as possible, try to enlighten them. This is Vedic system.

Atreya Rsi: So the principle of our business is based on Lord Caitanya's mercy.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Atreya Rsi: Compassion. It's the distribution of compassion.

Prabhupada: Yes. And Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, amara ajnaya guru hana tara' ei desa [Cc Madhya 7.128]: "Wherever you are, you deliver them. You become guru." How? Yare dekha, tare kaha 'krsna'-upadesa: simply try to convince him about Krsna's instructions, that's all. For that purpose, whatever arrangement you have to make, you have to make. The purpose is only how to convince him about Krsna's instruction.

Atreya Rsi: And whatever our activity as devotees, if we forget that point, we are missing the point.

Prabhupada: Yes. That you should not miss.

Atreya Rsi: That is the main point.

Prabhupada: That is the main point.

Atreya Rsi: Distribution of Krsna's and your mercy.

Prabhupada: You look better.

Atreya Rsi: Yes, he looks like a beautiful child now.

Prabhupada: Feeling all right?

Devotee: Sure, I'm all right.

Prabhupada: That's nice.

Atreya Rsi: When he says all right, he's all right.

Prabhupada: Hmm?

Atreya Rsi: When he says all right, he's all right.

Prabhupada: Yes, the devotee says "All right." Para ruci khana, para ruci pehanna. Do you understand Hindi?

Devotee: No.

Prabhupada: Apa ruci khana, para ruci pehanna. I think it is Urdu. Apa ruci khana: when we shall eat, it must be to my taste. Apa ruci khana. Khana is Hindi. I think you understand. And this is Urdu. Eatables should be to my taste, and dress should be to other taste. Khana, pehanna. Two things-eating and dressing. So eating should be to my taste, and dressing should be to others' taste. Just like the hippies were not liked by the public because they were not dressing to the other taste; they are dressing to their own taste. So they are not liked. So when you have to dress, you have to dress to others' taste, how the public likes. And when you have to eat, you have to eat it to your taste. Do you like?

Devotee: Yes.

Prabhupada: If I give you something eatable and you don't like it, if I say, "I like it," so that does not mean because I like it, you will also like it. But if you dress to my liking, when you come to me, "Yes, come in. Where from? Come here. You are welcome." And if you dress like hippie, I don't like you, then you will not be welcome.

Atreya Rsi: So, Srila Prabhupada, you can also tell us a little bit about the philosophy of being clean-shaven and dressed like devotee?

Prabhupada: Yes. We Vaisnava like it.

Atreya Rsi: Vaisnavas like it.

Prabhupada: Vaisnava community…

Atreya Rsi: Krsna likes it.

Prabhupada: Huh?

Devotee: Krsna likes it.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Pradyumna: One should eat for oneself and dress for others?

Prabhupada: Hmm?

Pradyumna: You said that one should dress for others and eat for oneself?

Prabhupada: Dress to the taste of others, and eat to the taste of yourself. I cannot eat if someone gives me eggs, meat to eat, and I refuse it. He may say, "Oh, it is so nice preparation. I like it. Why don't you take it?" So I am not obliged to take things to your taste. I may take sandesa, rasagulla, like that. ahare vyavyahare ca tyakta lajja sada... When you eat, you should not be shy, that if you do not like this, "Why shall I eat?" No. You eat to your taste. Don't be shy.

[pause]

Prabhupada: Little watermelon and other melon.

Pradyumna: Green watermelon? Green melon or watermelon? Both? Anything else?