View source for How does Krsna consciousness relate to the Hindu religion? Because that is also based on the Bhagavad-gita

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[[Category:Questions asked to Srila Prabhupada]]
[[Category:Questions asked to SP... 1975]]
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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="1975_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" class="sub_section" sec_index="8" parent="Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" text="1975 Conversations and Morning Walks"><h3>1975 Conversations and Morning Walks</h3>
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<div id="RoomConversationwithReporterMarch91975London_0" class="quote" parent="1975_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" book="Con" index="25" link="Room Conversation with Reporter -- March 9, 1975, London" link_text="Room Conversation with Reporter -- March 9, 1975, London">
<div class="heading">Kṛṣṇa is not meant for the Hindus, but Kṛṣṇa appeared in Hindustan. Therefore it is the duty of all Hindus to know Kṛṣṇa first. And they also conscious. Every Hindu knows Kṛṣṇa. Every Hindu observes the Janmāṣṭamī, Kṛṣṇa's birthday. But they are not very serious to understand Kṛṣṇa as a follower. Just like Christian. They admit they are Christian but don't follow the Christian principles. So that Hindus are also like that. Nobody is following Kṛṣṇa's instruction.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Room Conversation with Reporter -- March 9, 1975, London|Room Conversation with Reporter -- March 9, 1975, London]]: </span><div class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Reporter: Do I understand that the children in your school in Texas, that they're brought up in what you consider spiritual consciousness...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Oh, yes.</p>
<p>Reporter: Will they be virtually living outside...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. Outside also you can live. Simply you must know how to live. At the present moment you do not know how to live. That's all. And there is no education how to live. All of us being sent to the slaughterhouse, that's all. They do not know how to live. In the Vedic civilization you will find the first proposition is how to live. Cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ ([[Vanisource:BG 4.13|BG 4.13]]). How to live... First the human society is divided into four: the brāhmaṇa, the kṣatriya, the vaiśya, or the śūdra. The first-class intelligent man, they are educated as brāhmaṇa. Brāhmaṇa means satya śama dama titikṣa ārjava, jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam ([[Vanisource:BG 18.42|BG 18.42]]). Just like we are training engineer, similarly, a class of men, those who are very intelligent, they should be trained up as brāhmaṇa. They should be trained up how to speak truth any circumstance. Even to the enemy he will speak truth. This requires training, not that foolishly, a cats' and dogs' life. What is the value of this life? The modern civilization, they do not know how to live. They are simply interested in eating, and that's also any nonsense eating. But according to Vedic civilization, "This eating is first class. This eating is second class. This eating is third class. This eating is fourth class." So many things required to correct the mistaken way of civilization. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.</p>
<p>Reporter: And is the correct way of living merely a way of doing, actually, a sort of higher state of consciousness where you're experiencing something different to...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Experience, why? If we live in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, why shall we experience differently? There is no question of.</p>
<p>Reporter: You're not experiencing differently.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No. Just like we are teaching these boys how to live, Kṛṣṇa conscious. Then... (to devotees:) What is our program, just explain. What is our program in the temple from the early in the morning.</p>
<p>Haṁsadūta: Rising at 3:30, take bath, then go to the temple for kīrtana and lecture. Then chant our rounds, take breakfast, and then do duties.</p>
<p>Reporter: What time do you take breakfast?</p>
<p>Haṁsadūta: 8:00, 8:30. So before taking breakfast, we are already awake four hours. Most people sleep till eight.</p>
<p>Reporter: And then through the day?</p>
<p>Haṁsadūta: Through the day we're engaged. Some people are typing; some people are painting; some people are preaching; some people are printing books. We do everything, because this society is complete. As Kṛṣṇa says, "Whatever you do as work, whatever you eat, whatever you give away, everything should be done as an offering unto Me. By this principle of work you are freed from all sinful reaction and you come to Me." So the goal of life, or the goal of this society, or human society, should be to go back home, back to Godhead, back to Kṛṣṇa.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: We are going to have the next body. That's a fact. So Bhagavad-gītā says that how you can have the next body.</p>
:yānti deva-vratā devān
:pitṟn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ
:bhūtejyā yānti bhūtāni
:mad-yājino 'pi yānti mām
:([[Vanisource:BG 9.25|BG 9.25]])
<p>"So you can go to the higher planetary system. Prepare yourself in that way. You can go to the pitṛloka. You can remain within this world. And you can come to Me also." So if I have to prepare myself for the next life, why not go back to home, back to Godhead? Why unnecessarily go to the other planets or to the dogs and cats? Prepare in such a way that tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti ([[Vanisource:BG 4.9|BG 4.9]]). No more material body. You go back to home, back... That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the best. After all, you have to prepare yourself for the next body. So why not prepare yourself for the next body as good as Kṛṣṇa's? Sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). It is very intelligent movement. Any intelligent man should take it very seriously. If I have to prepare for my next life, why not prepare next life—just we are talking with you, you can go and talk with Kṛṣṇa. You can dance with Kṛṣṇa. You can eat with Kṛṣṇa. You can play with Kṛṣṇa. If there is such possibility, why should we waste our time in different way? That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. After all, we are going to die. And tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ. You have to accept another body, just you have already accepted. Kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā. We have accepted a different body. I was a child. Now I have got different body. So we are accepting different body. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ ([[Vanisource:BG 2.13|BG 2.13]]). Similarly, you accept another body after death. Now what that body should be, everything is there.</p>
:ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā
:madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ
:jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā
:adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ
:([[Vanisource:BG 14.18|BG 14.18]])
<p>If you associate, infect tamasic, ignorance, then you go down and down, become animal. And if you associate with goodness, then you go higher planetary system, even up to God. And if you infect rājo-guṇa, passion, then you remain here. Everything is there. Simply we have to accept and do it nicely. Then our life is successful. That we are teaching. Hare Kṛṣṇa. So you have no other question? Finished?</p>
<p>Reporter: Yeah, I've run out of questions.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: All questions are answered in the Bhagavad-gītā. You read Bhagavad-gītā thoroughly, and you will get all answer, all problems solved. Unfortunately, the so-called politicians and scholars, they misinterpret Bhagavad-gītā and ruin their career and misguide others. That is going on. All rascals are doing that. "This word means this," as if Kṛṣṇa left this word to be explained by a rascal. This is going on. He does not think of his position, that at any moment he will be kicked out of this platform of so-called leadership, so-called educated teacher, and he is commenting on the words of Kṛṣṇa. This is going on. He does not understand his position, that "What I am?"</p>
<p>Reporter: How does Kṛṣṇa consciousness relate to the Hindu religion? Because that is also based on the Bhagavad-gītā.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa is not meant for the Hindus, but Kṛṣṇa appeared in Hindustan. Therefore it is the duty of all Hindus to know Kṛṣṇa first. And they also conscious. Every Hindu knows Kṛṣṇa. Every Hindu observes the Janmāṣṭamī, Kṛṣṇa's birthday. But they are not very serious to understand Kṛṣṇa as a follower. Just like Christian. They admit they are Christian but don't follow the Christian principles. So that Hindus are also like that. Nobody is following Kṛṣṇa's instruction. Kṛṣṇa says, "I am God." Mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat: ([[Vanisource:BG 7.7|BG 7.7]]) "There is no more superior person or superior position than Me," Kṛṣṇa says. And "God" means that. In the dictionary "God" means the Supreme Being. Supreme Being means nobody is greater than Him; nobody is equal to Him. That is called supreme. So here God personally says that mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya ([[Vanisource:BG 7.7|BG 7.7]]). But this rascal will not accept. They will say, "No, here is another dini-kṛṣṇa." They will bring one competitor. That is going on. "God" means there cannot be any competitor. Nobody is equal to Him; nobody is greater than Him. But they will bring so many competitors. "Why Kṛṣṇa alone will be God?" This is the position of the modern Hindus. They have lost their own culture, and they wanted to imitate Western culture. That they could not do, neither they could maintain their own culture. Therefore in the wilderness, very precarious condition.</p>
<p>Reporter: So thanks very much indeed for talking to me.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Hmm. Give him some prasādam. This is Kṛṣṇa's prasāda.</p>
<p>Reporter: Thank you very much.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. Thank you. (guest leaves)</p>
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