# April 23 *Lectures from this day: 14 recordings* --- **[[spoken/690423le.buf|Engagement Lecture — April 23, 1969, Buffalo]]** **Prabhupāda:** > om ajñāna-timirāndhasya > jñānāñjana-śalākayā > cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena > tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ > [Gautamīya Tantra] The meaning of this verse... It is offering obeisances to the spiritual master. The spiritual master opens the eyes of the ignorant disciple in the matter of transcendental knowledge. Therefore it is the duty of the disciple, before speaking, to offer obeisances to the lotus feet of the spiritual master. Our Vedic process is not research work. Just like in the mundane scholarship, one has to show his academic career by some research work. The Vedic process is different. Vedic process is that our research work is not complete, because the instruments and the means by which we make progress in research work are blunt and imperfect. --- **[[spoken/720423sb.tok|SB 2.9.1 — April 23, 1972, Tokyo]]** **Prabhupāda:** No, this same verse. Practice it. In this way you practice one *mantra* daily. Each *mantra* will purify you hundred yards daily. Go forward. These *mantras,* these *mantras* are very powerful, given by Vyāsadeva Gosvāmī, vibrated. And spoken by... *Śuka-mukhād drava-saṁyutam.* That is explained in the beginning. Just like a ripened fruit in the tree is already very sweet, and if it is touched by the beak of the parrot, it becomes sweeter. These are natural course. If the parrot touches the fruit, he cuts little by his beak, beak... It is called beak? Then it becomes still sweeter. *Śuka-mukhād drava-saṁyutam.* --- **[[spoken/730423sb.la|SB 1.8.31 — April 23, 1973, Los Angeles]]** [*prema-dhvāṇī* prayers] **Thank you very much. Hare** Kṛṣṇa.* [break]Pradyumna: *Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya.* *Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya.* *Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya.* [leads chanting of verse] [**Prabhupāda and **devotees repeat] **Pradyumna:** *gopī*—the cowherd lady (Yaśodā); *ādade*—took up; *tvayi*—on You; *kṛta-āgasi*—creating disturbances (by breaking the butter pot); *dāma*—rope; *tāvat*—at that time; *yā*—that which; *te*—Your; *daśā*—situation; *aśru-kalila*—overflooded with tears; *añjana*—ointment; *sambhrama*—perturbed; *akṣam*—eyes; *vaktram*—face; *ninīya*—downwards; *bhaya-bhāvanayā*—by thoughts of fear; *sthitasya*—of the situation; *sā*—that; *mām*—me; *vimohayati*—bewilders; *bhīḥ api*—even fear personified; *yat*—whom; *bibheti*—be afraid of. --- **[[spoken/740423le.hyd|Lecture [Hindi] — April 23, 1974, Hyderabad]]** **Prabhupāda:** > śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya > prabhu-nityānanda > śrī-advaita gadādhara > śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda --- **[[spoken/740423mw.hyd|Morning Walk — April 23, 1974, Hyderabad]]** **Mahāṁsa:** ...persons serving..., taking people from..., who are serving Kṛṣṇa into serving their sense gratification. **Prabhupāda:** Yes. Engage them. *Māyā...* It is not actually *māyā's* fault. It is *māyā's* business that all living entities who are within this material world, they have come to enjoy. Enjoy means sense gratification. So *māyā* is kind enough to give them all facilities. That is *māyā's* business. *Māyā* has a machine, these three qualities, and as I want to enjoy, so there are departmental arrangements, "Give him facilities like this." *Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ* [[bg/3/27|[Bg. 3.27] ]]. **Prabhupāda:** Let us see. [break] Just like children, they are given some facilities, they must work according to that plan. Otherwise sometimes there is slap: "Huh, why you are doing like that?" like that. [*japa*] --- **[[spoken/740423sb.hyd|SB 1.2.9 — April 23, 1974, Hyderabad]]** **Pradyumna:*Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya.Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya.Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya.* [**Prabhupāda and** devotees repeat] [leads chanting of verse] **Translation:** "All occupational engagements, or dharmas, are certainly meant for ultimate liberation. They should never be performed for material gain. Furthermore, one who is engaged in the ultimate occupational service, or dharma, should never use material gain to cultivate sense gratification." --- **[[spoken/750423mw.vrn|Morning Walk — April 23, 1975, Vṛndāvana]]** **Prabhupāda:** ...although there is full arrangement for producing food, and because we are rogues and demons, nature will restrict supply. [break] But this machine will be stopped as soon as the increase of population of rogues and demons. The machine is there already. *Mūḍhā nābhijānāti mām ebhyaḥ param avyayam* [[bg/7/13|[Bg. 7.13] ]]. The background is Kṛṣṇa. *Mayādhyakṣeṇa* [[bg/9/10|[Bg. 9.10] ]], under His order. He says, "Don't supply here." *Mayādhyakṣeṇa—t*he supply is stopped. That they do not know. They are making scientific research. What scientific research? Bring water. There is so much water. Bring that water, distill it and throw. Are you such great scientist? And by God's arrangement the sun is there, evaporates the water from the sea, and it becomes purified without any salt, and it is extravagantly thrown on the land. And the same water again flowing down through the river in the sea, the water is reserved. Nothing is lost. **Brahmānanda:** The scientists have been able to artificially take the salt out of the ocean water to make it fresh for irrigation, but it is very, very costly. It requires a great deal of energy. --- **[[spoken/750423sb.vrn|SB 1.7.6 — April 23, 1975, Vṛndāvana]]** "The material miseries of the living entity, which are superfluous to him, can be directly mitigated by the linking process of devotional service. But the mass of people do not know this, and therefore the learned Vyāsadeva compiled this Vedic literature, which is in relation to the Supreme Truth." **Prabhupāda:** > anarthopaśamaṁ sākṣād > bhakti-yogam adhokṣaje > lokasyājānato vidvāṁś > cakre sātvata-saṁhitām > [[sb/1/7/6|[SB. 1.7.6] ]] *Sātvata* means eternal, and *saṁhitā* means Vedic literature. Vedic literature... *Veda* means knowledge. There are two kinds of knowledge: material knowledge and spiritual knowledge. Material knowledge means regarding these necessities of this body. So our educational system, the university, everything, that is simply imparting material knowledge. But material knowledge is superfluous because this body is also superfluous. Every one of us, we know that this body is nonpermanent. It is temporary. We create a certain type of situation, and we get a particular type of body, and we enjoy or suffer. There is no question of enjoyment; it is suffering. Just like we are running on this fan because the body is suffering. Otherwise, there is no necessity of this fan. And we require this light because without light the eyes will suffer. --- **[[spoken/760423bg.mel|Bg 9.4 — April 23, 1976, Melbourne]]** So God... Sometimes some foolish question is there, "Can you show me God?" The answer God is giving, that *mayā tatam idaṁ sarvam:* "I am everywhere. If you have eyes to see, you can see Me." So actually God is everywhere; otherwise how He is God? God means the great. But you do not know how great He is. We simply say, "God is great," but we have no idea how God is great. That is explained in the Vedic literature, that He is everywhere. God is everywhere. There are... Material world means there are innumerable universes. Just like you cannot count the stars and planets. You are every day you are seeing, at least at night you see, but can you count it? No, that is not possible. So this is only one universe, the universe in which our planet, this earthly planet, is situated. It is tiny planet. Out of many millions of planets this is one of. So we cannot even calculate this one planet in which portion, which direction, which country is there, how many population, what is there. We have no calculation. This is God's creation. Anything you take... You cannot count even your hair. You claim, "This is my hair." Can you count it? No. That is God's creation. Everywhere God is present, and everything is innumerable, beyond our counting capacity. --- **[[spoken/760423in.mel|Initiation Lecture [partially recorded] — April 23, 1976, Melbourne]]** **Prabhupāda:** ...in the *Caitanya-caritāmṛta,* while teaching Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, The living entities, they are transmigrating from one form of life to another and wandering from one planet to another, sometimes low-grade life, sometimes high-grade life. This is going on. This is called *saṁsāra-cakra-vartmani.* Last night we were explaining, *mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani *[[bg/9/3|[Bg. 9.3] ]]. This very word is used, *mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani.* Very difficult ways of life, to die. Everyone is afraid of dying, because after death nobody knows what is going to happen. Those who are foolish, they are animals. Just like animals are being slaughtered, the other animal is thinking that "I am safe." So any person with little intelligence will never like to die and accept another body. And we do not know what kind of body we are going to get. --- **[[spoken/760423r1.mel|Room Conversation with Minister Dixon, State Minister for Social Services — April 23, 1976, Melbourne]]** **Devotee (1):** ...social welfare, and also he's minister for sport and recreation. He has come to see you, and this is his secretary. **Prabhupāda:** Preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness, about Kṛṣṇa. You have seen our books, our... Show him. **Prabhupāda:** We have got very good response for accepting our books all over the world, Kṛṣṇa books. --- **[[spoken/760423r2.mel|Room Conversation with Mormons — April 23, 1976, Melbourne]]** **Guest (2):** ...interesting. I see Elder Forester and myself, we feel that we're called to God through a living prophet ourselves. And our feeling is in our own hearts we feel that we have a living feeling in what we call a testimony of Christ. And we feel that he is our savior and that he did atone for the sins of the world. And we were wondering what your feelings were about this. **Prabhupāda:** Our feeling is direct, carrying the orders of God. The direct orders are there, and we have to carry. *Ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanam* [[cc/madhya/19/167|[Cc. Madhya 19.167] ]], favorably to carry out the order of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa means God. **Guest (2):** Great. Okay, supposing when you die, how will there... Will there be another man of your sort who people would look to, like these here? --- **[[spoken/770423me.bom|Meeting with Mr. Dwivedi — April 23, 1977, Bombay]]** **Prabhupāda:** And you want cloth. That is primary necessities. So if you become independent about these things, your eighty percent economic problem is solved. So this is a wrong type of civilization only. That Gandhi's program was very nice. We want to revive. **Mr. Dwivedi:** No, we... In fact, we have sent our students at Sabarmati Ashram itself, and the person... He is still with us. He's top of the list in the Sabarmati Ashram, who was doing it. But now... **Prabhupāda:** Anyway, we can take up this enterprise immediately. Whether we can induce the villagers, neighboring inhabitants, to cooperate? That is wanted. Otherwise, what we shall do with this building? --- **[[spoken/770423r1.bom|Morning Conversation — April 23, 1977, Bombay]]** **Tamāla Kṛṣṇa:** It said thirty billion dollars just for that one episode. In the article the man says that many Americans already feel the same way he does, that it's a bluff. **Prabhupāda:** From the very beginning I have said it is childish, 1958. I am not scientist. I have no... No, there are so many incidences. I never agreed, "It may be they have gone." They did not go. **Tamāla Kṛṣṇa:** He has very elaborately described how they faked everything. He gave in great detail how each part of the hoax was perpetrated. The thing is... --- ## Letters - [[../../letters/1967/670423_hayagriva_shyamsundar_and_haridas.md|Letter to Hayagriva Shyamsundar And Haridas, 1967]] - [[../../letters/1970/700423_sri_birlaji.md|Letter to Sri Birlaji, 1970]] - [[../../letters/1971/710423_manager_of_bank_of_baroda.md|Letter to Manager Of Bank Of Baroda, 1971]] - [[../../letters/1971/710423_professor_g._g._kotovsky.md|Letter to Professor G. G. Kotovsky, 1971]] - [[../../letters/1972/720423_giriraja.md|Letter to Giriraja, 1972]] - [[../../letters/1972/720423_krsnakanti.md|Letter to Krsnakanti, 1972]] - [[../../letters/1973/730423_thakura_haridasa.md|Letter to Thakura Haridasa, 1973]] - [[../../letters/1974/740423_mr._saxena.md|Letter to Mr. Saxena, 1974]] - [[../../letters/1974/740423_niranjana.md|Letter to Niranjana, 1974]] - [[../../letters/1976/760423_ramesvara_ranadira.md|Letter to Ramesvara Ranadira, 1976]] - [[../../letters/1976/760423_shaktimati.md|Letter to Shaktimati, 1976]] - [[../../letters/1976/760423_sons_and_daughters.md|Letter to Sons And Daughters, 1976]] - [[../../letters/1976/760423_yasodanandana.md|Letter to Yasodanandana, 1976]]