Guest (8): The question remains of how does one discover what God says, and many, many people have been brought up to believe that you find what God says by asking what does the state say. Now, as I understand the Christian tradition, it was quite different to that. The conscience coming from God can often bring you into conflict with the state, as Jesus himself found.
Now, I think I understand what you are saying about the Bhagavad-gītā, and Kṛṣṇa can say a certain war is good, the cause is right. But in today's circumstances the question still remains of can you find what God thinks or God says by finding out what the state wants and . . .
Prabhupāda: God says . . . for the time being you are not in direct touch with God, but you can follow the Biblical instruction. God's agent, Lord Jesus Christ, says—you follow that. The Ten Commandments are there. Lord Jesus Christ said: "Thou shall not kill." So you should not kill. Why should you kill? You follow this instruction, God's representative. Then you gradually develop your God consciousness.
Guest (8): But you haven't answered the question about the conflict between the state and God. You haven't taken that at all.
Upendra: He's giving an analogy that as one must follow . . . he wasn't saying that necessarily we have to follow all the dictates of the state. Prabhupāda was giving the analogy just as one follows the dictate of the state, one also must follow the dictates of God. I believe that was the analogy. It wasn't that he was supporting the dictates of the state or in accordance with . . . (indistinct)