Morning walk at villa borghese

 

HIGHLIGHTS: Perform sacrifice and become self-sufficient…king grants land, taxes are in-kind and based on production…paper currency versus barter system…modern mismanagement, Krsna conscious solution

Devotee: Why is it that the rains come in certain parts of the world and in other parts people do not have enough?

Prabhupäda: No, no part of the world is nowadays sufficient rain. Because they are not performing yajïa. Sometimes it is seen that over-rain, overflood, not systematic. But if you perform yajïa, there will be systematic rainfall, which you can utilize properly. Yajïäd bhavati parjanyaù. [Bg. 3.14]: “Rains are produced by performance of yajïa {sacrifice}.”],

Devotee: Kértanänanda Swami says that in New Vrindaban the weather is changing every year. It is getting nicer there. Much more sun and the winter is not so hard.

Atreya Åñi: In New Vrindaban it’s getting better.

Prabhupäda: Yes. Because there are so many devotees. The people are still being maintained on account of our chanting Hare Kåñëa mantra.

Devotee: By the grace of pure devotee.

 

Prabhupäda: Yes. (break) …encouraging in our society to take to agricul ture to support this center. I am purchasing land in Våndävana and Mäyäpura to become self-sufficient. Whatever production you make, you be satisfied. Little vegetable, little grain and little milk. That is sufficient.

 

Yogeçvara: In the Vedic culture, was the land divided, in the sense that some people would receive land free or…?

Bhagavän: This is nice here, this ground.

Yogeçvara: The land in the Vedic culture, some of it was…?

Prabhupäda: Land belongs to the king, and you take land for cultivation, and you pay 25% tax to the king. That’s all. All taxes. If you don’t produce, then don’t pay tax.

 

Yogeçvara: Oh, it wasn’t forced that you had to pay so much.

Prabhupäda: No.

Atreya Åñi: You pay 25% of what you have produced.

Prabhupäda: What you have produced, that’s all. Very simple thing. Everyone was engaged producing. There was no necessity. And here the rascals are advising, produce bolts and nuts, tire, and drill petrol. They are not producing food. And the so-called government men, they are levying taxes, and they are enjoying. They haven’t got to produce food. They are killing animals, eating, and digesting with wine. And then woman. That’s all. This is their business. And food price is increasing daily. They don’t mind because they will print paper, and to the supplier they will give paper. That’s all.

 

Bhagavän: Print more paper.

Prabhupäda: Yes. That’s all. This is the civilization, cheating, bluffing. That’s all. They don’t care for the citizens. And as soon as there is some agitation, they declare war, so that they can be engaged, attention is diverted. This is going on.

Bhagavän: Now with paper money, any country can print any other country’s money.

Prabhupäda: Yes. That is going on. Therefore inflation. Suppose I am an enemy. I print dollars like that, and distribute. So the inflation is there. And the price is increased. If you get money for nothing, you will be prepared to pay anything. Suppose there is one mound of rice. I have got these printed notes. You are offering ten rupees. I will say twenty rupees.

 

Atreya Åñi: That’s inflation.

Prabhupäda: That’s all. Because I did not earn this money, I have printed. I am prepared to twenty rupees. So he says, “Why shall I pay ten rupees? I must wait for the customer, for twenty rupees, and hoard it.” Even there is sufficient stock, he will not sell. Therefore the other man, who is honest, he is suffering. This is going on. So to stop this inflation, the government must stop this paper currency. Then the inflation… There will be no more inflation. But that they will not do. They want to cheat people. “In God I trust. Take this paper and you be satisfied that you have got thousand dollars.” That’s all. This cheating is going on. Why should you pay me paper? Give me real dollar, in gold. That they have none. They haven’t got. That’s all. They will employ laborers and cheat them by paying these papers, and this rascal will think that “I am getting more money.” That’s all. Since this world has taken this paper currency, the situation has degraded.

 

 

Formerly there was barter exchange. That was very good thing. Still in Indian villages, the remote villages, there is barter. Yes. He has produced some grains, paddy. He will bring to the storekeeper. And the storekeeper will take, “For so much oil, you have to give me so much paddy.” So he will weigh and keep it and give him oil. So he will arrange to sell the paddy. But for the villagers, he brings the paddy and he takes.

 

They require little salt, little oil, some spices. That’s all. Otherwise they have got their own thing. They have got däl, their rice, wheat, everything. They have produced. In this way, still there are, Indian villages. There is no question of scarcity.

Bhagavän: The easiest way to manage, then, is to have everything more or less in small villages.

Prabhupäda: Yes, that was Gandhi’s philosophy, village organization. These people, they are attracting villagers to work in the factory, and they are exploiting them. Instead of producing food, they are attracted by so-called high salaries, to the factory, and they are producing bolts and nuts, motor parts. But food is produced somewhere else. But the food producers, they are working in the factory. Therefore scarcity of foodstuff. But this factory owner, he has got more money. He doesn’t care. The poor public, they are suffering.

Our philosophy is that you produce your food anywhere. You stay, and keep cows, take milk, produce vegetables, food grains, and chant Hare Kåñëa. That’s all. This is our philosophy. Make your life successful. By becoming Kåñëa conscious, you become free from all these troubles of material condition. This is our education. Don’t be after these motorcars, television, and all nonsense things, sporting, wine, women. Don’t be after these. Simply eat sufficiently, keep your health nicely, chant Hare Kåñëa, realize Kåñëa, and go back to home. This is our philosophy.

 

 

Satsvarüpa: But sometimes, because this materialistic society is so far advanced, you say we cannot actually hope to change it.

 

Prabhupäda: No, no. That is a fact. We cannot hope to change. But we request everyone to chant Hare Kåñëa.

Yogeçvara: In their factory or wherever they are.

Prabhupäda: Yes. Because it is very difficult to close the factory. That is not possible. So whatever you have done, it is all right. But you chant Hare Kåñëa. Then things will be adjusted. We are giving chance to everyone, who is degraded or who is not degraded, by the simple method of chanting Hare Kåñëa. We do not neglect anyone. We do not say, “You are neglected. We don’t accept you.” No. I accept you and I accept others. What is this? Cemetery? No. It is also part of this park? (break)

 

Bhagavän: …people tolerate such obvious mismanagement.

Prabhupäda: As long as they will not take to Kåñëa consciousness, they have to tolerate. They must suffer. That is nature’s law. That is said in the Bhagavad-gétä: Daivé hy eñä guëamayé mama mäyä… [Bg. 7.14]: “This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome…”] You cannot escape all these miserable conditions of… Mäm eva ye prapadyante. If you become Kåñëa conscious, then you escape. What is difficulty to become Kåñëa conscious? Man-manä bhava mad-bhakto mad-yäjé mäà namaskuru: “Simply always think of Me.” [Bg 9.34] We have got nice Kåñëa. And attend the temple, and we see. And what is the difficulty to think of Him always? Or chanting, hearing His name. So there is no difficulty in remembering Kåñëa always. Man-manä bhava mad-bhaktaù. To become devotee, worship the Lord in the temple, prepare food for Him, and take the prasädam—where is the difficulty? The program which we have introduced, where is the difficulty there? But the rascals will not take. That is the difficulty. They will become hippies, but they will not become devotees. Although a better position. This is their misfortune. Duñkåtina, misfortune. In spite of the things being so easy to perform, they will not take to it, on account of misfortune. Duñkåtina. Because they have committed so many sinful activities, it is difficult to accept this.

Otherwise, the thing which we are presenting is very easy to be accepted by anyone, even by a child. And actually we see. The children, they are also dancing, chant Hare Kåñëa, and very happy. In Dallas. In all schools the children are unhappy, their face. And we see in Dallas, all children, they are so happy. The teacher is happy. The student is happy there. Have you not marked the face in the picture, how they are happy. Did you mark it?

Devotee: Yes.

Bhagavän: To accept our way, though, they think “That means I have been totally wrong.” And they have so much pride that they don’t want to change it.

Prabhupäda: That is their misfortune. Mürkhäyopadeço hi prakopayati na çamyati (?). A mürkha, a rascal, when he is given good advice, he becomes angry. He becomes angry. He does not take for solution of the problem, but he becomes angry. Mürkhäyopadeço hi. Payaù-pänaà bhujaìganaà kevalaà viña-vardhanam (?). Because they are miscreants, like snakes, if you give him milk, his poison will increase. Payaù-pänaà bhujaìganaà kevalaà viña-vardhanam.

Yogeçvara: When I was at the university, there were two kinds of strikes. One was by the students and the other one was by the professors.

Prabhupäda: (laughing) And what about the clerks? They also strike sometimes.

Yogeçvara: They took advantage of the two.

Prabhupäda: Everyone dissatisfied—that’s a fact. This is a bad civilization.

Yogeçvara: Jyotirmayé [dasi] is giving a course in Paris at one university, and there we can’t always have our classes. We are scheduled every week, but we’ve only had two or three. The whole rest of the time the university has been closed because the students were striking. Practically the whole year.

 

Bhagavän: (car screeches as passing by) So fast and they go nowhere.

 

Prabhupäda: He is proud that “How fast I can drive!” Just see. And where you are going? “I am going to hell, that’s all. Never mind.” That is described in the Bhagavad-gétä. Just like the flies. They are coming very forcefully. Where? In the fire. Pat! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!” They are very busy. And as soon as on the fire, finished. Just see. Very busy. Without inquiring, “Where I am going so forcefully?” But they are going to the fire.

Satsvarüpa: We should go on the walk. The cars are coming on the road.

Prabhupäda: So we shall walk? (break) …containing three passengers, wasting petrol. Similarly, hundreds and thousands and millions of cars and buses are running all over the world, simply wasting petrol.

 

Bhagavän: When there was the oil crisis in the United States, they were giving reports how some person would go in his car, go ten miles in a big car to buy one pack of cigarettes.

Prabhupäda: Stick to your own place and grow your food. There is no question of transport. Little transport is required, that bullock cart. Kåñëa was being carried on bullock cart. There is no use of petrol. Use simply the bull. They are already there. Utilize them. No. The bull should be sent to the slaughterhouse. Petrol should be used.

Atreya Åñi: They try to solve every problem by transportation, by airplanes, cars. For example, we had this big conference in Montreal. From all over the world came… (end)