Room Conversation with Govinda Dāsī – June 30, 1971, Los Angeles

I know everyone, but nobody knows Me

Prabhupada: Oh, so what other news?

Govinda dasi: I have just brought you some Mango.

Prabhupada: Ohhh, Hawaii Mango?

Govinda dasi: Yes. This is nice kind.

Prabhupada: Oh? Fruits and flowers. And this morning, Syama devi sent something. [laughs] So our... That Sai is keeping all right?

Govinda dasi: He is doing very nice.

Prabhupada: [indistinct] coming later. [indistinct]. Any sincere soul trying to serve Krsna, he'll profit. There is no doubt. Simply sincerity wanted. Satya samo dama titiksa arjavam [Bg 18.42]. Arjavam means without any duplicity. Then, his advancment Krsna consciousness assured. Krsna is very intelligent; He is sitting within. You cannot cheat Him. [laughs]

That is not possible. You cannot surpass Him in any way. That is ignorance. And He is the supreme; He surpasses anyone's intelligence. If we want to play a trick with Krsna, He understands everything. Vedaham samatitani [Bg 7.26]: "I know everything." Mam tu veda na kascana: "I know everyone, but nobody knows Me." That is the statement. So anyone who wants to serve Krsna sincerely, his place is secure, [indistinct ].

So here have you got some tulasi?

Govinda dasi: I have a whole sackful.

Prabhupada: Eh?

Govinda dasi: I have a whole bag full. I brought them.

Prabhupada: Eh. But can..., can they be planted here?

Govinda dasi: I didn't bring the plant, I brought the bag. They don't have any plants? They died? They disappeared?

Prabhupada: During winter. [indistinct]

Govinda dasi: They have..., I have gotten letters from very cold climates, from Seattle. One boy says he has a three-foot-high one.

Prabhupada: Hum.

Govinda dasi: And the [indistinct]...

Prabhupada: And they are following their instructions?

Govinda dasi: I think so. I got a letter saying they water too much.

Prabhupada: So you... [indistinct]. There are so many boys and girls, some of them must taking care. You teach them. You have done a tremendous service to the Society by introducing tulasi plants. It will be creditable in history-very good service.

Govinda dasi: She just grew.

Prabhupada: Eh?

Govinda dasi: She just grew. [laughs] I didn't introduce her; she just grew.

Prabhupada: Ah.

Govinda dasi: This big. One boy just came from India.

Prabhupada: Ah.

Govinda dasi: Just some boy, hippie. He said that in all of India he hadn't seen such huge tulasi plants. I was surprised, because I thought they were...

Prabhupada: There is, in Vrndavana.

Govinda dasi: In Vrndavana.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Govinda dasi: This big around, and [indistinct] is in the sun. But in the sun, there is [indistinct], in the shady areas.

Prabhupada: It is a tropical plant.

Govinda dasi: But they have lights, artificial lights...

Prabhupada: [indistinct]

Govinda dasi: ...in place of the sun.

Prabhupada: I have seen in London, John Lennon's house, Titten..., Tittenhurst? Tittenhurst. Tittenhurst Garden. What is "Titten"? Some name?

Gaurasundara: Yes.

Prabhupada: And "hurst"?

Gaurasundara: Mm.

Prabhupada: Tittenhurst Garden. So he has got artificial form, electricity, for growing some plants.

Govinda dasi: It can be done.

Prabhupada: He has got a gardener, expert gardener, one man. He was feeding the ashes.

Gaurasundara: [indistinct] plants.

Prabhupada: That gardener. All are master gardener. So some way or other tulasi plants must be in every center. Now it is tested. Seattle it is growing.

Govinda dasi: It is much colder in Seattle than in Los Angeles.

Prabhupada: Still it is growing. Why not?

Govinda dasi: Really!

Prabhupada: Oh. You sent it? No.

Govinda dasi: I sent the seeds and the instructions.

Prabhupada: Ah, they have no seeds?

Govinda dasi: Ah, we have lots of seeds. We have to cut the flowers off every day, or else there will be seeds. We have so many tulasi plants we don't know where to put them.

Prabhupada: I will find that.

Govinda dasi: They are this close together.

Prabhupada: Ah. That's fine.

Govinda dasi: Gaurasundara won't let me dig up the front yard, though. I want to dig up the whole front yard [laughs] and make it all tulasi.

Gaurasundara: We have on the hill, we planted tulasi.

Prabhupada: Ah.

Govinda dasi: Yeah.

Gaurasundara: There's on another property.

Prabhupada: Ah.

Gaurasundara: We're planting them on the hill.

Prabhupada: Just there?

Gaurasundara: Yes.

Govinda dasi: To get them growing wild. To get them started growing wild.

Prabhupada: Ah.

Govinda dasi: So they will start taking over, you know. Because they spread their seed profusely, everywhere.

Gaurasundara: They're overcrowding us.

Govinda dasi: You see, whenever the seeds ripened they all fell, and I didn't know that, and I came out one day and there were about 300 baby tulasi.

Prabhupada: [laughs]

Govinda dasi: [laughs] And they were, you know, this close together. So I transplanted some of them, and I don't have places to transplant them all.

Prabhupada: So now you have to find out place. And then, you have got another place?

Govinda dasi: Well, there's a hill which is behind the temple, which is not used by anyone.

Prabhupada: So you can, you can...

Govinda dasi: So we are trying to make it take over.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Govinda dasi: Planting them wild. But we water them every day.

Prabhupada: You can send tulasi leaves dried to every center. That will be made for offering.

Govinda dasi: Dried?

Prabhupada: Yes.

Govinda dasi: Sun-dried?

Prabhupada: Yes, why not? Transcendental subject.

Govinda dasi: [sighs]

Prabhupada: There is no question of dry or green.

Govinda dasi: I have brought a big bag of fresh ones for you...

Prabhupada: Ah.

Govinda dasi: ...this time. I could have brought a plant, but I didn't know that they didn't have any.

Prabhupada: Oh. Is this sari got from India?

Govinda dasi: No, it was given to me by someone.

Prabhupada: Here? No.

Govinda dasi: In Hawaii.

Prabhupada: In Hawaii. From Indian?

Govinda dasi: No, I think it was one of the Haiku…, Sai's group.

Prabhupada: Oh.

Govinda dasi: It is American cloth, [indistinct].

Prabhupada: Oh.

Govinda dasi: It is very late. I couldn't get an earlier plane.

Prabhupada: Eh?

Govinda dasi: I couldn't get an earlier plane.

Prabhupada: So that's all right.

Govinda dasi: I don't want to keep you from taking rest.

Prabhupada: So your father is funding his daughter? He's being utilized. Your father is gathering some bhakti seeds.

Govinda dasi: [laughs]

Prabhupada: You're doing service to your father. Hmm.

Gaurasundara: Hare Krsna.

Prabhupada: Eh?

Gaurasundara: [about Prabhupada's servants] They want to know if there's anything else.

Prabhupada: That's all.

Gaurasundara: [pays obeisances]

Prabhupada: So where is [indistinct]?

Govinda dasi: I don't know; I've just got here.

Prabhupada: Huh?

Gaurasundara: She just arrived now.

Govinda dasi: I haven't talked to anyone except Safa. Siddha-svarūpa is doing nicely.

Prabhupada: Eh?

Govinda dasi: Siddha-svarūpa is doing nicely.

Prabhupada: Ah.

Gaurasundara: Everyone is doing nicely.

Prabhupada: Now then let it grow everywhere. One, that Pusta Krsna.

Gaurasundara: Hmm.

Prabhupada: Both husband and wife very nice, very intelligent. Intelligent, very nice wife. The wife is engaged in Deity worship. Oh, Krsna... Unless one is pure in heart, he cannot come to Krsna consciousness.

This is the version of Bhagavad-gita. One who is completely free from the contamination of material sins, yesam tv anta-gatam papam. Papam means sin; anta-gatam, finished, all gone. Te, such persons, dvandva-moha-nirmukta. Dvandva. Dvandva means duality. Nirmukta.

Dvandva-moha-nirmukta knows that everything is display of Krsna's energy. Krsna and Krsna's energy, Krsna's part and parcel, Krsna's expansion, Krsna's plenary portions, incarnation-everything Krsna-one can understand when one is freed from all material sins. Te dvandva-moha. This is moha. Moha means to misunderstand that there is anything without Krsna. That is moha, illusion.

And when one knows that anything I see, this is Krsna's, display of Krsna's energy... Just like sunlight: anything in the material world, it is sunlight, due to sunlight. That is scientific. This flower is growing-how it is a different color? This green flower, only [indistinct], and red flower, it is all due to sunlight, reaction of different position of sunlight making this color in the world.

Anyone can understand it is scientific: heat and light from the sun is the cause of material cosmic rays. Similarly, Krsna has two energies: spiritual energy and material energy. And manifestation of His two energies, two energies is the whole creation.

So one who understands this is scientific. Dvandva-moha-nirmukta: there is no more duality. This is oneness, everything. But at the same time this flower is Krsna, but Krsna is not there. The material world is Krsna's, but Krsna is not there. Krsna is in the spiritual world.

So, go on. Somehow or other you have got some touch with Krsna consciousness. Develop it by service, that's all, and life is success-all problems solved. So try to assimilate and distribute. With these two, give better service. And assimilate without problem; act nice. Without assimilation one cannot distribute. So even if one does not know how to distribute, he can assimilate personally.

So we have got a nice center in Paris also. And Moscow I have been. Many young boys are entering our service, and the government is so demoniac. Always spying, police. Anyone respectable they will ask, "What is your document, you are here? Where is your document?" If you cannot produce any satisfactory document, immediately there will be jail. They are so rascal.

And you cannot live in your own way. You cannot get even foodstuff to your choice. You have to accept whatever the government supplies. This is the position. And simply Lenin, Lenin, Lenin. Lenin is their Krsna. Not that they want Lenin, but they are being forced. Syamasundara was telling that Lenin's face is just like Satan, as described in Krsna book. [chuckles] He is a Satan, granted. I don't think he has given any contribution to his country, simply goondaism. Hmm? What is called, goondaism? Called gunḍa.

Govinda dasi: Aggrand... Aggrandizement.

Prabhupada: Aggrandizement, of course. Outlaws-is that the proper name? Outlaws?

Gaurasundara: Ruffians?

Prabhupada: Ruffian, yes. Gunḍa-ruffian. Yes. So he was a ruffian. What good thing can he do? He killed the whole family, royal family. One of the daughters of the king, she was supposed to be the most beautiful of the world, and she begged and excused for her life, and she was killed. That is the history of Lenin. So merciless. And in this way they established the Communist government.

I don't think that they have got any contribution to the world. What contribution they have? Huh? Any good contribution except ruffianism? What contribution, good contribution? No philosophy, no wise [indistinct]. That is not a very good contribution, not at all. Their contribution is ruffianism, that's all. By ruffianism they have overthrown the royalty, monarchy.

That's all. But so far their contribution… All buildings, big buildings, they were old buildings; they were constructed by the royal order. They have not produced. They have constructed some few skyscrapers recently, we saw [indistinct].

That is also in long term. They have become liberal… Not liberal; they have not so much strict. We are now allowed to be in Moscow. Formerly we were not allowed. But the country, the city is very nice. Better than the Western European cities. But Paris has got still more magnificent buildings. There is a place, Concorde, wonderful buildings all round. You have traveled, Paris?

Govinda dasi: Maybe, [indistinct] Paris. I don't remember.

Prabhupada: You have been only in England?

Govinda dasi: No, I have traveled, in Paris, all the countries of Europe except Spain.

Prabhupada: Moscow?

Govinda dasi: No, just Europe, Western Europe.

Prabhupada: Hmm?

Govinda dasi: Just Western Europe.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Govinda dasi: And Turkey and Greece and Czechoslovakia. Then it was open.

Prabhupada: Hmm. Istanbul. You have been in Istanbul? That is in Turkey. They say that Istanbul is nice city.

Govinda dasi: It is full of mosques.

Prabhupada: Eh?

Govinda dasi: It is full of mosques.

Prabhupada: Mosques?

Govinda dasi: Mosques.

Prabhupada: Oh!

Govinda dasi: Mosques, the Muslim mosques.

Prabhupada: Yes, I see. There in Moscow also, the churches are mosque-like. That means Muslim culture is there formerly.

Govinda dasi: It is very late, Srila Prabhupada.

Prabhupada: Hmm.

Govinda dasi: It is very late.

Prabhupada: So, what you are taking at night?

Devotee: What is that? Prasadam?

Prabhupada: Yes.

Govinda dasi: You see, for me, it is not even eight o'clock yet.

Prabhupada: Eh?

Govinda dasi: For me it is only 7.45.

Prabhupada: Oh! It is not eating time?

Govinda dasi: It is 7.45 in the evening. [laughs]

Prabhupada: You have to wait three hours more. All right, so give her prasadam.

[devotees offer obeisances] [chants japa]

So what shall I give Govinda dasi? I shall give you something. Take this.

Govinda dasi: Thank you.

Prabhupada: [laughs] It is poison.

Govinda dasi: [laughs] What is it?

Prabhupada: Poison.

Govinda dasi: No, I don't believe that. Is this tulasi, the temple's?

Gaurasundara: It is…

Prabhupada: Cardamom.

Govinda dasi: Cardamom seeds.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Govinda dasi: You eat them whole?

Prabhupada: Hmm?

Govinda dasi: You eat them whole?

Prabhupada: Yes. Why not? Take off the skin and taste. The seed is very nice. That is all right. Now enjoy. Break or chew the seeds, it is very nice. It is digestive.

Govinda dasi: I use it for cooking.

Prabhupada: Flavor your mouth. If one has got bad flavor, this is conteract. Hmm. [break] [end]