Room Conversation — July 31, 1976, New Māyāpur

Prabhupāda: Organize it and keep hundreds of books. They will live peacefully. But don’t entangle in sinful activities. Then it will be all right. Such a nice place, the city residents cannot imagine. What a nonsense life—clubs, slaughterhouse, gambling places, drinking house. This is like hell. Try to save people from this hellish condition of life, without any knowledge, like animals. And nature therefore creates a wholesale slaughterhouse in war, to cut throat all—finished. Many millions and millions are finished. From 1914 to 1950, how many years? 

Harikeśa: Thirty-six. 

Prabhupāda: Within thirty-six years there were two big wars, slaughter. Especially Europe. Nature will create. Pestilence. Somewhere there is pestilence, somewhere there is war, somewhere there is scarcity of food. But you cannot indulge in sinful activities. Then you’ll be killed. Nature’s law will act. You may defy, that’s your business, but nature will act in her own way. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā [Bg. 7.14]. You cannot surpass. That is not possible. But they are foolish; they are trying to conquer over nature by their so-called scientific knowledge. They are such a rascal. You change the color of this fruit and flower, conquer over nature. So rascal, they talk rascal, “It will take millions of years.” We have to wait million. “Yes, from chemical we shall bring life. Wait million of years.” This is going on. And for such thing, big building, laboratory, research, scientific research. Big, big signboard. And the students, out of disappointment, going to the roof and falling down, committing suicide. I saw it? 

Harikeśa: Berkeley. 

Prabhupāda: Berkeley. Very horrible condition. Let them do whatever they like; you live apart from them. Live peacefully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Be happy. Let these cats and dogs go to hell. What can be done? We are trying to educate them as far as possible, but if they do not take it, that is their business. We are doing our duty, going door to door, “Read these books. If you like, you can come and live with us.” What we can do more? We do not make any condition, that if you have to live with us you have to fulfill. Of course, the condition is that you should not act sinfully. That is the first condition. But we never say that you have to pay so many dollars. Come. Whatever little food we have got, we shall share. So try to understand the importance of this movement. Kṛṣṇa is giving us. This is a first-class place. You can develop it into a Vaikuṇṭha. It is already Vaikuṇṭha—Kṛṣṇa is there. But develop it very nicely, peacefully live, hundreds of miles away from the hellish cities. For little conveyance we can have bullock carts, when we have to get transport. Very peaceful life. Introduce it and live peacefully. Am I right or wrong? 

Devotee: Oh, yes. 

Prabhupāda: These farming projects therefore I introduced. New Vrindavan, it is successful; Philadelphia, it is going on nicely; New Orleans; here also. In London we haven’t got much land, but still we have got sufficient land. 

[pause] 

Prabhupāda: So if we have to go by jet plane on Saturday, then we shall get down Iran. 

Harikeśa: We were just deciding whether… I think it’s easier in Geneva, because the airport is only fifteen minutes from the temple. 

Prabhupāda: Where? 

Harikeśa: In Geneva. The temple and the airport are very close, and there’s a direct plane on Friday from Geneva to Bombay. 

Prabhupāda: Oh. How many hours? 

Harikeśa: About seven. 

Prabhupāda: That’s nice. That is also nice. 

Harikeśa: So we’re just going to decide after this which is exactly the best thing to do. 

Prabhupāda: That is also nice. Which day the…? 

Harikeśa: The airplane is on Friday. 

Prabhupāda: Friday, that is also… Harer nāma, harer nāma [Ādi 17.21]. Everyone is happy, the children, the woman. They don’t demand anything, that “Give us this, give us that.” They have simplified. Automatically they have simplified their life. And gradually develop, make little cottages, and grow little vegetable, little barley or wheat and milk. That is sufficient. We don’t require much. We don’t want luxury. We want just to subsist. Yāvad artha-prayojana. We hate the idea of luxury, [coughing] unnecessary. Do the outsider come to see? Yes? [more coughing] 

Bhagavān: Yes. 

Prabhupāda: What do they say? 

Bhagavān: They are impressed with how much we have done. 

Prabhupāda: They will be more and more impressed. What is this city life? In Paris, simply to fulfill the necessities of life, a professional prostitute, so many. And people from all over the world, they come here for indulge in prostitute. From our childhood we know. What a civilization they have made, spoiling the life. Then, after finish this life, you just become a cat, a dog, or a tree and stand up. And all other planets are vacant. [laughter] Simply this planet is filled up, overpopulation. Kill them. Why not send there, so vacant land? [laughter] “That we cannot do.” Then what is your scientific research? “Yes, we are trying. Wait millions of years.” [laughter] These bluffing rascals. Don’t be misled. Live peacefully here, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. 

Hari-śauri: If you like, we can set up for the film now. 

Prabhupāda: Now I have given the ideas, the philosophy, in the books. So it is your business to develop all over the world. You are very intelligent, Europeans and Americans. Give it a shape, for the world prosperity. Give it a practical… It is practical. There is no difficulty. So much land, very good, fertile land in Africa, Australia, in America. All of them can be utilized for the happiness of the whole world. [background discussion among devotees as door opens] The potol [a type of gourd] has come or not? 

Yogeśvara: I haven’t seen any new devotees come from London, so probably not. 

Harikeśa: No, it was air-freighted. It’s sitting in the Paris airport. 

Yogeśvara: It is? How do you know? 

Harikeśa: [aside:] Potol’s in Paris airport, no? 

Hari-śauri: Well, it was there at ten o’clock this morning. Did they pick ‘em up? [background discussion about going to get it] 

Prabhupāda: That don’t mind labor[?]. You try to grow potol here. You have got greenhouse. 

Devotee: Some bitter melons. Some kārela melons. 

Prabhupāda: Everything. Bījaṁ māṁ sarva-bhūtānām [Bg. 7.10]. The bijā is there. Properly put it into the womb of mother earth. That is the process. [heavily coughing] Bījaṁ māṁ sarva-bhūtānām. Ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā. Harer nāma. 

[film projector comes on; background discussion as devotees set things up] 

[watching movie] 

Bhagavān: Last year’s European tour. 

Devotee: This is the City Hall in Geneva, Switzerland. After you spoke with the mayor of Geneva, Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was worried about the economy of the country, when you explained if we cultivated grains there will be no problem. 

Yogeśvara: “If people become devotees of Kṛṣṇa, then who will work?” 

Prabhupāda: What was the answer? 

Hari-śauri: What answer did you give? 

Yogeśvara: Do you remember the answer Śrīla Prabhupāda gave? 

Devotee: Prabhupāda said we work better if we cultivated grains. [indistinct] …wanted all the living entities to live together peacefully. 

Hari-śauri: This is in the temple? 

Devotee: Yes, this is the old temple. 

[projector goes off] [break] 

Prabhupāda: Very good. 

Bhagavān: You have done something very extraordinary. 

Prabhupāda: Therefore I was explaining of ecstasy. [laughter] Who will feel that ecstasy? That is not possible. They can lecture only. No ecstasy. Here is ecstasy. That is the difference. Ecstasy means immediately on the spiritual platform. [end] 

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