Guest (4): St. Francis of Assisi founded our . . . (indistinct) . . . theory . . . (indistinct) . . . utilizing material for God, and St. Francis used to talk about "brother dog" and "sister cat" and "sister water" and "brother wind." What does His Grace think of St. Francis's approach and theory?
Madhudviṣa: (repeating question) St. Francis, the founder of this particular order which we have been invited to speak to, found God in the material world. And he used to address the aspects of the material world as "brother" and "sister." "Brother tree," "sister water," like that. What is your view upon this?
Prabhupāda: This is real God consciousness. This is real God consciousness, yes, not that, "I am God conscious, and I kill the animals." That is not God conscious. To accept the trees, plants, lower animals, insignificant ants even, as brother . . . samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu. This is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu (BG 18.54). Samaḥ. Samaḥ means equal to all living entities, to see the spirit soul, anyone . . . it doesn't matter whether he is man or cat or dog or tree or ant or insect or big man. They are all parts and parcel of God. They are simply dressed differently. One has got the dress of tree; one has got the dress of king; one has got the . . . insect. That is also explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. Paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ (BG 5.18): "One who is paṇḍita, learned, his vision is equal." So if St. Francis was thinking like that, that is highest standard of spiritual understanding.