View source for My Guru Maharaja used to say that "Suppose you are in a foreign country. You do not know the language. But when there is fire, you get friends without any language."

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[[Category:My Guru Maharaja Used to Say...]]
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[[Category:Foreign Countries]]
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<div id="Correspondence" class="section" sec_index="6" parent="compilation" text="Correspondence"><h2>Correspondence</h2>
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<div id="1970_Correspondence" class="sub_section" sec_index="5" parent="Correspondence" text="1970 Correspondence"><h3>1970 Correspondence</h3>
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<div id="LettertoSatsvarupaLosAngeles21April1970_0" class="quote" parent="1970_Correspondence" book="Let" index="257" link="Letter to Satsvarupa -- Los Angeles 21 April, 1970" link_text="Letter to Satsvarupa -- Los Angeles 21 April, 1970">
<div class="heading">My Guru Maharaja used to say that in a foreign land where you cannot speak the language with the natives very nicely, what do you do when there is a fire in your house just to get their help? In such emergency one has to express himself somehow or other to his foreign friends and get their help to extinguish the fire. But if he wants to learn the language first and then talk with the foreign friends to get help, then everything in the meantime would be finished.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Letter to Satsvarupa -- Los Angeles 21 April, 1970|Letter to Satsvarupa -- Los Angeles 21 April, 1970]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Regarding organization of the artists, there is no need of wasting time for learning the art from study of texts. We should always remember that our time is very short. I think our artists should be satisfied with whatever they have learned already, that is sufficient. They should be simply be engaged in painting pictures always, and that will teach them the art sufficiently.</p>
<p>In the beginning I was seriously corresponding with Indian friends to get some good mrdanga players, but when I found it too difficult to get a man from India some of my students were given the rudimentary lessons in playing and simply by practice they are putting on Sankirtana Party everywhere. My Guru Maharaja used to say that in a foreign land where you cannot speak the language with the natives very nicely, what do you do when there is a fire in your house just to get their help? In such emergency one has to express himself somehow or other to his foreign friends and get their help to extinguish the fire. But if he wants to learn the language first and then talk with the foreign friends to get help, then everything in the meantime would be finished. Similarly if we have to learn and then paint, it will be a long-term affair. But immediately we want so many pictures for all of our books, so all the artists may always be engaged in painting works and that painting itself will gradually teach them how to make things nice.</p>
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<div id="Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" class="section" sec_index="5" parent="compilation" text="Conversations and Morning Walks"><h2>Conversations and Morning Walks</h2>
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<div id="1974_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" class="sub_section" sec_index="7" parent="Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" text="1974 Conversations and Morning Walks"><h3>1974 Conversations and Morning Walks</h3>
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<div id="MorningWalkMarch71974Mayapura_0" class="quote" parent="1974_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" book="Con" index="32" link="Morning Walk -- March 7, 1974, Mayapura" link_text="Morning Walk -- March 7, 1974, Mayapura">
<div class="heading">My Guru Mahārāja used to say that "Suppose you are in a foreign country. You do not know the language. But when there is fire, you get friends without any language." You see? Simply to inform, without any language, you can jump, "Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa." And he will understand.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Morning Walk -- March 7, 1974, Mayapura|Morning Walk -- March 7, 1974, Mayapura]]: </span><div class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Prabhupāda: Everyone will understand. Hare Kṛṣṇa. That is proved. We are going to Africa. We are going to Canada, Europe, America. Everyone chants Hare Kṛṣṇa. That is the language. When a young man and young woman loves one another, there is no question of language. My Guru Mahārāja used to say that "Suppose you are in a foreign country. You do not know the language. But when there is fire, you get friends without any language." You see? In the beginning of British rule, there were not very many English-knowing Indians so a clerk in his office was working. So monkey came and he scattered the office papers. So after the monkey was driven away, he was collecting the papers. In the meantime, his English boss came. "What is this, man?" So he could not say. He began to jump. You see. "Monkey, sir. Monkey, sir. (laughter) Monkey, sir." "All right. All right. That's all right." Simply to inform, without any language, you can jump, "Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa." And he will understand. Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa...</p>
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