View source for Well, a Beethoven symphony, for example, could you listen to that? (If it is) inspired by God, given by God?

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[[Category:Well]]
[[Category:Beethoven]]
[[Category:Symphony]]
[[Category:For Example]]
[[Category:I Could (Prabhupada)]]
[[Category:Listen]]
[[Category:That]]
[[Category:Questions asked to Srila Prabhupada]]
[[Category:Questions asked to SP... 1971]]
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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="1971_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" class="sub_section" sec_index="4" parent="Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" text="1971 Conversations and Morning Walks"><h3>1971 Conversations and Morning Walks</h3>
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<div id="RoomConversationAugust141971London_0" class="quote" parent="1971_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" book="Con" index="18" link="Room Conversation -- August 14, 1971, London" link_text="Room Conversation -- August 14, 1971, London">
<div class="heading">If it is glorification of God, we can hear. There is no objection.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Room Conversation -- August 14, 1971, London|Room Conversation -- August 14, 1971, London]]: </span><div class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Sister Mary: What about pleasures like listening to music?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes, we chant the glories of God.</p>
<p>Sister Mary: Could you listen to other peoples' music?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Huh? No. If he's chanting the glories of God, we are very eager to hear him. That is our process. Or somebody's chanting, somebody's hearing. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇu. Chanting and hearing about God, that is music.</p>
<p>Sister Mary: Well, a Beethoven symphony, for example, could you listen to that?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Which one?</p>
<p>Revatīnandana: Beethoven's symphony. He means classical Western music. They make some music.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: But if it is glorification of God, we can hear. There is no objection.</p>
<p>Revatīnandana: But there may be no reference to God in it.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No, then we don't hear. We reject.</p>
<p>Sister Mary: Inspired by God, given by God.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Given by God is everything. That is another thing. Just like everything is government property. But do you like to go to the prisonhouse? We say everything belongs to government. We are not so liberal, that "Because everything belongs to government, therefore I shall go to the prisonhouse."</p>
<p>Guest (2): I'm sorry, I didn't get that.</p>
<p>Sister Mary: I take everything is good because it belongs to God, but you do choose, in fact, or you wouldn't choose to waste your time when you should be doing something else.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: But for God's cause we can go. Just like these boys are sometimes arrested and put into jail. That is God's cause. But they are not prepared to go to the jail by pickpocketing. That is not their mission. They are executing God's business and if somebody puts him into jail, "All right. It is God's desire. That's all."</p>
<p>Revatīnandana: The point is that there must be direct connection with God. If God's name is there, if God's service is there, if God's form is there, then we are interested.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Nirbandhe kṛṣṇa sambandhe. Everything must be related with God.</p>
<p>Sister Mary: Well, if you're relaxing, if you need to relax, and you sit and listen to some music, it doesn't say praise God all the time, but in fact is, because it's beautiful.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No, we don't accept anything beautiful without God. Without God, everything is ugly to us. Everything ugly.</p>
<p>Sister Mary: So you have to bless it by offering it to God first.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes, that is another thing.</p>
<p>Revatīnandana: Just like we have so many beautiful songs and melodies and everything. They're very nice. And we sing these songs. They are glorifying the Lord. And we enjoy like that. Music is there, everything is there, but because it is directly in the devotional service of God, therefore there is this bhakti, there is this devotion there. Devotion to God. Without that, everything becomes void. Tasteless.</p>
<p>Guest (2): Can I get one point straight? Is the Beethoven symphony all right provided it is blessed as an object and a work of art. Is it then all right? Or is it not all right because it doesn't use religious themes?</p>
<p>Haṁsadūta: Originally, music and art were employed only to glorify the Lord in the scripture and...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: In Sāma-veda, Sāma-veda.</p>
<p>Haṁsadūta: Gradually, if you study our history, music history, God was left out. Just like you will see landscapes, and there's nothing in there about God. It was left out. But originally the landscape, there was some depiction of the activities of God or His representative.</p>
<p>Guest (2): So a Beethoven symphony is not all right.</p>
<p>Haṁsadūta: It's not a matter of Beethoven symphony. Art means to glorify God. If God is in the... Just like this picture. There is a mountain, there is sky, but what is the point there? The point is Kṛṣṇa. There's a book, but the point is the spiritual master. Here's a landscape, but the point is Kṛṣṇa.</p>
<p>Guest (2): The original point I'm trying to get at...</p>
<p>Haṁsadūta: If there is some music, you must hear something about God's activity.</p>
<p>Guest (2): But suppose that was a beautiful landscape on its own, just the landscape, then it's worthless?</p>
<p>Revatīnandana: Limited and temporary enjoyment only. Limited and temporary enjoyment.</p>
<p>Guest (2): But you accept that the temporary enjoyment is there, would you?</p>
<p>Revatīnandana: Yes. And limited and temporary. It's called capala sukha, flickering.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Now, even there was no God's picture, one who is God conscious, he can see in the natural scenery presentation, he can see, "Oh, how God is artistic. How he has manufactured this flower, how he has painted, how He has made this tree." So that is higher intelligence. That is higher intelligence. Because without God, there can be nothing existing. So one has to learn how to see God in everything. That is another thing. That is higher status. Yes. But in the lower status of God consciousness one is advised that you should not see anything without God. But in the higher status, there is nothing in the world which is without God. But we should not imitate the higher status of life in the lower status of our position. Otherwise, one who has learned about God, he can see God in this flower. Actually, how God's hand has worked out this nice flower. Just like in the Bhagavad-gītā God says, raso 'ham apsu kaunteya ([[Vanisource:BG 7.8|BG 7.8]]). Just like I am drinking water. In the taste of the water I'll see God. God says, Kṛṣṇa says, "I am the taste of the water." And actually, that taste cannot be created by man. The taste in the water, that is God's gift. So as soon as I taste the water, immediately I should remember, "Oh, here is God."</p>
<p>Sister Mary:  So we believe that the holy spirit empowers artists and composers. And therefore we would say that a symphony was a creation of God.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes. Creation... In everything there is hand of God. Therefore one who has learned to see everything in connection with God, he sees God everywhere, every moment. (knock) Yes? Premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti. Premāñjana cchurita (Bs. 5.38). When one has developed love of God, he sees God everywhere, always. Because everything is creation of God; so he can find out, "Here is my Lord. Here is my Lord. Here is my Lord." That is the highest state of loving God. He cannot see anything without connection of God.</p>
<p>Sister Mary: It's a matter of attitude who created this (indistinct)</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Hm?</p>
<p>Sister Mary: It's a matter of your attitude.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Not attitude. Development of my God consciousness. Attitude may be artificial. But it is actual development of God consciousness. God consciousness is there in everybody. It requires simply to be developed. Just like a child. A child has got love within her, within his heart. But when he is young, it develops. It develops. And the girl, boy, automatically becomes attached because that propensity has developed. It is not an artificial thing. It was already there. It has to be developed. So God consciousness is there in everyone's heart. Otherwise, how these boys are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa? Unless Kṛṣṇa was there within. Artificially you cannot force them, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours.</p>
<p>Sister Mary: Do you believe you (indistinct) people, if they hear it? If they hear this?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes. As they hear, they became purified, and that dormant consciousness becomes awakened. Yes. Awakened. That chance we are giving. We are chanting and others are hearing. By this process, chanting and hearing, both of us will be benefited, awakening our original God consciousness.</p>
<p>Revatīnandana: At the stage of awakening, when you're waking up, when you're becoming cured of the diseased condition, you sometimes have to restrict your diet. Later on, when you are healthy, you can take all kinds of foodstuffs in the proper way. But while you're getting over a disease you have to restrict your diet. Therefore we hear things that are directly concerned with Kṛṣṇa's name, form, activities. Later on, then we'll be able to see God in a flower, God in everywhere. Otherwise we'll see the flower however we enjoy a flower because we're not at that healthy stage. So therefore there are regulations that we follow for curing the disease. That means for a little while we restrict the diet. Then when we're healthy...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Just like these flowers. These flowers the devotees are bringing to their spiritual master, to God. They are not enjoying. Ordinary man, if he gets a flower, he'll put it in the pocket. How... You see? That is the difference of God consciousness. The flower is the same, but use is different.</p>
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