SPD04-10 Lecture at La Trobe University, July 1, 1974, Melbourne

[14:00 minutes]

[01:45] [Madhudvisa:] So without any more verbiage, I will present our spiritual master.

[02:08] [Prabhupada:] God is the Supreme Being, full with six kinds of opulences;

[02:38] therefore He attracts everyone. This is the definition of the word Krsna.

[02:48] This Bhagavad-gita is spoken by Krsna, the perfect person.

[02:56] We receive knowledge from the perfect person.

[03:02] When we receive knowledge from imperfect person, the knowledge is not complete. [break]

[03:11] ...but the same water in the summer season will be very pleasing.

[03:15] So the water is the same, but due to seasonal changes, sometimes the

[03:23] water is very pleasing, and sometimes it is very painful.

[03:29] So this material world, so long we shall remain in the material world,

[03:34] the pains and pleasure on account of this material body, we have to feel.

[03:41] But if we come to the spiritual platform, that is, understanding of the soul,

[03:44] then in any condition we shall be happy.

[03:53] That is stated in the Bhagavad-gita:

[03:57] brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannatma na socati na kahksati, samaḥ sarvesu bhūtesu mad-bhaktim labhate param [Bg. 18.54].

[04:07] Brahma-bhūtaḥ means self-realized, that "I am not this body."

[04:12] This is the first realization, self-realization.

[04:17] This Krsna consciousness movement is educational movement.

[04:21] It is not a religious sentiment; it is a science. And we have got our books also,

[04:29] you have seen. There is demonstration of the book.

[04:33] We have got already twenty books of four hundred pages each, and we are going on,

[04:41] writing more books. Everything will be finished in eighty books.

[04:47] So if you want to know through science and philosophy, we have got our books. You can read.

[04:53] And even if you read the complete set, it will take your whole life to finish it.

[05:00] But if you cannot read, or if you do not want to...

[students in the hall playing music and disturbing; Madhudvisa asks them to be quiet]

[05:10] [Madhudvisa:] Well, the people that want to listen in an orderly fashion are waiting to hear the meeting continue, and those who want to ask questions can please have respect for them and let us continue with the lecture, and then we'll have questions and answers afterwards. [indistinct comments by Prabhupada]

[05:43] Our spiritual master has traveled about ten thousand miles to come and speak to you.

[05:48] We've not come here to bribe anyone to come and listen to him.

[05:54] We have rented this hall. We have rented this hall here, and we have invited people cordially

[05:59] to come and listen as representatives of the intelligentsia of Australia.

[06:06] Now, if the intelligentsia of Australia cannot sit for half an hour and listen

[06:12] to a gentleman speak about love of God, it does not speak very well for you.

[06:18] We are simply not asking for disturbance. We are not asking for violence.

[06:23] But we will meet violence with violence. We are not artificially pacifists.

[06:29] We are asking you to listen like gentlemen. We have come here in good will.

[06:34] We have come here not to cause any disturbance.

[06:38] So we ask you please to have that much respect for our spiritual master.

[06:44] Now at this time, if there is any questions about Krsna consciousness philosophy...

[06:49] Not about fighting. We can go out on the street and fight, and we can solve everything out there.

[06:53] We have come here to speak about spiritual matters.

[06:56] If we want to speak about spiritual matters, let us speak together like brothers and sisters.

[07:01] Let's not cause a disturbance. I have an ego; you have an ego.

[07:06] If you do something to flick off my ego, I may get mad.

[07:08] If I do something to flick off your ego, you get mad.

[07:12] So we'll go out into the street and settle it like a cat and a dog? No.

[07:16] We're not here in this university to act like that.

[07:19] We're supposed to have raised above that platform.

[07:22] So please, we ask you to present sober questions to our spiritual master.

[07:31] Yes, sir?

[07:34] [explaining question] The question was, this man is a follower of Lord Jesus Christ, and he would like to know what our opinion is of Jesus Christ.

[07:41] [Prabhupada:] We respect Jesus Christ as you do. Because he is the representative of God, son of God,

[07:46] and we are also speaking of God, so we respect him with our greatest veneration. [break]

[07:52] No. I am not Jesus. I am servant of Jesus.

[07:55] [Young man:] You're a son of Jesus.

[07:57] [Prabhupada:] I am servant of Jesus.

[07:58] [Young man:] What does that mean?

[07:59] [Prabhupada:] I don't say I am Jesus. No, I have no power of Jesus.

[08:03] [Young man:] Well, I've got the power of Jesus. [laughter]

[08:09] [Prabhupada:] That's all right. You are Christian, we are Krishnian-practically the same thing.

[08:22] [Young man:] And one other question.

[08:24] [Prabhupada:] Yes.

[08:25] [Young man:] I believe Jesus is coming back, and not Krsna. And what are you guys going to do when you see Jesus?

[08:30] [Prabhupada:] What is that?

[08:32] [Madhudvisa:] Jesus. He believes Jesus is going to come back again.

[08:34] [Prabhupada:] Well, he is coming, welcome. We shall welcome. Yes. It is very good news that Jesus is coming.

[08:45] [Young man:] Jesus had no reputation. He wore sandals, and he was crucified between two thieves.

[08:50] [Young man 2:] He didn't carry flick knives...

[08:53] [Young man:] And your spirituality is in a Rolls-Royce, on a padded seat, and you're all into money, you Krsnas.

[09:00] You want money. You rip off people in the streets.

[09:03] [Prabhupada:] No. I don't want money.

[09:05] [Young man:] You said "Violence with violence." And you said "Violence with violence,"

[09:11] that's what you believe. Jesus turned the other cheek, and he expects his followers to.

[09:24] [Madhudvisa:] There are many ways to handle a problem. Lord Buddha also taught how to handle a problem,

[09:34] and Lord Jesus Christ also taught a way to handle.

[09:37] You have had three questions. Maybe somebody else who has a question? One question.

[09:44] [Young man 3:] You think you people can attain perfection.

[09:47] [Madhudvisa:] Through serving God we can.

[09:49] [Young man 3:] Well I say you can't. It says here you'll never, mate. [indistinct] If you can all attain perfection, can you really say haven't seen [indistinct]?

[10:02] [Madhudvisa:] Another question? There? Yes, sir?

[10:07] [Young man 4:] Do you consider your movement the major form of enlightenment

[10:11] emanating from the United States today?

[10:15] What order of priority has your movement in the White House psychological warfare department?

[10:24] Will you also be coming on to our July 4 demonstration again this year to try and f**k it up.

[10:31] and divert people away from taking up real political issues concerned with Australian government?

[10:35] [Madhudvisa:] All right, we can answer one at a time. I can answer them for you, if you like.

[10:40] Our movement is not coming from the United States. If you have some paranoiac stigma about

[10:49] everything coming from the United States, well, that's your hang-up, not mine.

[10:56] Second of all, our spiritual master, he came to the United States to start this

[11:02] Krsna consciousness movement because he got a free ticket on a boat to go there.

[11:11] And because it was the mercy of this one lady who gave him the free ticket on the boat,

[11:15] he came to America on the orders of his spiritual master.

[11:19] This is the reason he came to America to start Krsna consciousness.

[11:22] If you had sent him a free ticket, he probably would have come to Australia first.

[11:27] He was a monk. He was a monk, a penniless monk in India, and he was trying to follow

[11:32] the orders of his spiritual teacher by spreading love of God.

[11:36] He was not trying to start any kind of a political movement.

[11:39] Actually, he is trying to spark a revolution in consciousness.

[11:43] I think that you are also interested in revolution. We are also interested in revolution also.

[11:49] But we are interested in the revolution which will help people to feel peace with themselves,

[11:55] whether they are Communists or Marxists or Leninists or whatever "ist" you like.

[12:01] We're trying to help people feel happy, whether they're in the city

[12:05] or whether they're in the country or whether they're under any...

[12:08] This is what we're trying to do.

[12:12] So we are also revolutionaries. We are also revolutionaries.

[12:16] And actually, we request you to cooperate with this Krsna consciousness movement

[12:20] so that actually we can change the consciousness of the world,

[12:24] not just change from one political system to another political system.

[12:28] That's been going on from time immemorial, and we see there's no solution,

[12:33] because people are changing their politics; they're not changing their consciousness.

[12:38] They're not changing their consciousness.

[12:40] They're not changing themselves inside. They're just changing their "ism,"

[12:43] from Communism to capitalism, and from capitalism back to something else "ism."

[12:48] We're asking people to try to get a little bit beyond that superficial political system

[12:54] and find out what actually motivates each and every one of us.

[12:57] That is God consciousness, or love of God.

[13:01] That love of God is much more powerful than any temporary political system. [many people yelling]

[13:08] [Man:] Hey, listen. If you're that bloody good, why'd you beat up my mate?

[13:10] [Men:] Yeah!