# Prabhupada's First Visit to Australia, Sydney, 1971 **Location:** Sydney (1971) **Duration:** 6:53 <div class="video-container" style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%;"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8fk5J8xzsTA" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; pointer-events: auto; z-index: 10;" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div> [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fk5J8xzsTA) --- ## Transcript **[00:39]** His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. **[00:44]** A spiritual master who knows the absolute truth arrives on time in a blue Volkswagen combivan. **[00:50]** For members of the Hare Krishna movement it's the first coming. **[00:54]** For the press, just another Indian mystic, and for the Paddington mob, another curious visitor. **[01:00]** His Divine Grace founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in 1966. **[01:05]** But it is said that his disciplic succession can be traced back directly for five hundred years. **[01:11]** According to his followers he is the divine representative of God and he is completely pure. **[01:17]** Basically the movement he heads is austere and exclusive. **[01:21]** Alcohol, tobacco and sex, other than for procreation, are frowned upon and diet is strict and simple. **[01:27]** Disciples surrender everything they own when they join the movement **[01:31]** and they survive on money from publications, donations and they say, "Krishna." **[01:38]** God, or Krishna, is all-pervading. From His energy the five elements, material elements... **[01:54]** The history of the movement they say can be traced back five thousand years **[01:58]** when Krishna first spoke the truth in India. **[02:01]** These days the headquarters are in Los Angeles where, according to one member, **[02:05]** there are more frustrations. **[02:07]** But today they say the most perfect person in the world is in this Paddington flat **[02:12]** and the fifty members of the Sydney branch are ecstatic. **[02:15]** Today, say the disciples, is a day of rejoicing and of peace, love and humility. **[02:20]** But behind the facade there is some conflict and some sadness. **[02:24]** Sheryl Zimmerer is eighteen, she tried university and a job in Treasurery **[02:30]** before leaving both to join the sect a few months ago. **[02:33]** Today, after her initiation by the spiritual master, she says she has found true happiness. **[02:38]** But her mother and her aunt are not so sure. For them the ceremony represents **[02:43]** an alienation from the type of life they hoped Sheryl might lead. **[02:47]** Well I'm not happy with it, I don't go along with it, but it's her life, it's what she wants. **[02:51]** So my husband and I make the best of it. **[02:54]** What worries you about her being initiated? --Her future. **[02:57]** Her whole future and the fact that they are teaching them not to have sex. **[03:02]** I came here last night and the spiritual master was telling them that to have sex is like animals. **[03:09]** Well this isn't the way I've brought my children up. **[03:12]** When I hear this sort of think I wonder what her future is. **[03:15]** She has given up university to do this, she's given up everything, she's not working **[03:20]** and I can't see any future in it at all. What's going to happen in ten years time? **[03:24]** And what religion are you, can I ask? --Church of England. **[03:28]** And do you feel that... **[03:30]** She's been christened, she's been confirmed in our own church **[03:34]** and she's suddenly turned to this in a matter of two months. **[03:37]** What do you think has attracted her most of all about this? **[03:40]** Well she's been looking for something, she's and introvert, **[03:43]** and she's felt that she's wanted more out of life than she's been getting. **[03:47]** She's obviously getting it isn't she because she seems very happy since she has been here. **[03:53]** Her ideas coincide with these peoples' ideas and I think they are very good living people. **[04:00]** They are very sincere in their ideas, but they are not my ideas. **[04:04]** This is one of the things you don't particularly appreciate is the prostrating... **[04:08]** No, I can't see the point of doing this. **[04:10]** Sheryl why do you in fact prostrate yourself like that. **[04:13]** Well, it's a sign of humility. The spiritual master, he is a messenger from God, **[04:19]** an associate of God. He's actually Krishna's friend, God's friend. **[04:23]** This is why we bow down to the spiritual master **[04:26]** because the spiritual master is giving us this knowledge, **[04:29]** how to go back home, back to Godhead, back to Krishna. **[04:32]** It's so potent in the world. **[04:37]** We have fifty-two temples all over the world today. **[04:40]** Your mother is worried that all the things you are saying are largely due to brainwashing. **[04:47]** Are you worried that she is worried? **[04:49]** Well, yes, I'm worried that she is worried but I don't think that she should be **[04:53]** because you can see that there is peace and happiness there. **[04:56]** Everybody has one goal. There's no bad relationships in the temple. **[05:06]** People realize that we are all spiritual souls, all part of Krishna. **[05:10]** Do you feel that she could have spiritual happiness and peace with herself without doing this? **[05:16]** Of course. I thought that's what she was getting at home. **[05:20]** I mean we love her very much at home. She's been brought up to the Christian religion. **[05:26]** But there just seemed to be something lacking somewhere. **[05:30]** This is a very hard question but if your parents wanted you to come home **[05:36]** and to perhaps ignore all this and to perhaps get married like most normal **[05:42]** eighteen year old girls, what would you do? **[05:44]** I'd say I can't because we are all spirit soul and were only on this lifetime... **[05:53]** This lifetime is like an eye-wink in the eternal time so we have to try to go back home, **[05:59]** back to Krishna as soon as possible. **[06:01]** There's no other bona fide spiritual master, this spiritual master is pure. **[06:05]** You can tell just by association that he is pure. **[06:08]** You can find out for yourself just by association. We don't ask you to believe... **[06:13]** Just because he is such a pure soul, a lover of God. He's completely devoted to God. **[06:19]** So Krishna says if you serve the spiritual master then it is better than serving Me. **[06:26]** Krishna would rather you serve the spiritual master than He would to serve Him. **[06:32]** Because the spiritual master is the friend of Krishna. **[07:18]** This kind of objections are always made by the atheist class of men. **[07:23]** Even Jesus Christ was crucified. **[07:26]** So, this is material world, you'll find always such nuisance class of men. **[07:34]** It must cost you a lot of money to go traveling around the world all the time. **[07:38]** Yes. We have got about one hundred and two branches all over the world. **[07:43]** Where do you get the money? **[07:44]** We get money from God. We especially get money from selling our books. **[07:53]** You have seen our books? We are selling, according to Indian exchange, **[07:59]** we are selling about twenty-five to thirty thousand rupees worth of books daily. **[08:41]** We can spend all of the money of the world. Unfortunately you do not give us the money. **[08:49]** Well how do you spend it your grace? **[08:52]** We are spending at least, at the present moment, eight hundred thousand dollars per month. **[09:05]** Our religion does not say asceticism. Our religion teaches to love God. **[09:10]** You can love God in your, this dress, there is no harm. **[09:13]** But it is a self-denying...