Morning Walk Conversation Prabhupada: …lower animals. Nobody is starving. Have you seen any bird, died of starvation? There are so many hundreds, thousands of birds in this garden. Devotee: Even in all these countries, Srila Prabhupada, they are always complaining about there are so many starving people, but nobody has ever seen anybody die. Prabhupada: (chuckles) In India also. They, “Poverty, poverty, poverty.” Have you seen anyone dying? Srutakirti: No. Prabhupada: They are purchasing eight rupees kilo rice. Srutakirti: Even the poorest person seems to be maintaining somehow. Even the poorest people seem to be maintained. [break] Prabhupada: …of knowledge, not starvation of food. Virabahu: The modern scientists, they even admit that the body, a human body, is the most perfect machine. They admit this in college. But the same teacher, I heard him saying this, though he says this, he says, “There is no God. This is an invention of the necessity of man.” Prabhupada: Then why do you die? Why do you die? Hrdayananda: If it’s a perfect machine? Virabahu: No, he says is the most perfect. No one can make something better. Prabhupada: Where is perfection? Why do you die? You don’t like to die. Where is perfection? Nobody wants to die, but it is sure that he will die. Where is perfection? Virabahu: He says because of the fear of dying, one invents God. Prabhupada: Stop it, this. Then we shall not think of God. You are scientist, rascal. You stop it. Then we shall not think of God. Why you ask stop thinking of God before making arrangement that we shall not die? First of all make this arrangement. The cause of fear, death… “Death is the cause of fear; therefore we are thinking of God.” So you stop this cause. We shall not think of God. You were present when this rascal was talking? Virabahu: Yes, yes. That was long time ago. Prabhupada: Oh, long time ago. You could not answer? Virabahu: Oh, yes, I was new in the movement (indistinct) Prabhupada: Ask this rascal that you stop the cause of fear and we have no… (to devotee who is walking too close:) Don’t come so far. You may… We admit that we are afraid of death. You are also afraid of death. Are you bold enough? If I kill you immediately you shall stand. Ask the scientist, “Are you bold enough to die immediately? I shall kill you?” At that time he will be afraid: “Call police! Call police!” “Why you are afraid of death? You are great scientist. What is your answer?” The scientists are not afraid of death? They are not afraid of death? Virabahu: I really don’t know what they will answer. They should be. Sure, they are, inside, but they are puffed up. Hrdayananda: They are very much afraid. Prabhupada: Very much afraid, yes. Hrdayananda: There is one great scientist when I was a student, and he was trying to prove how there was no God, and he was so nervous, sometimes he could hardly speak he was shaking so much. (laughter) Virabahu: Oh, yes, that is what happens. When one starts speaking of God, they just… Prabhupada: So long you have not solved the four prominent miserable condition of life, birth, death, old age and disease, you cannot say there is no God. There is controller who is forcing you to accept these conditions. Therefore there is authority. How you can avoid this? Virabahu: They say, “Some day. Some day we will do.” Prabhupada: Some day, rascal, somebody will come and kick your face with shoes. (laughter) Hrdayananda: Prabhupada, if we go back this way, we’ll get back around the right time. Prabhupada: Why so soon? Hrdayananda: Jaya. [break] Prabhupada: …accept that they are controlled? Virabahu: They have many contradiction because I learned also that… Prabhupada: No, what is contradiction? Everyone is being controlled. Where is contradiction? Virabahu: One day they say one thing; one day they say something else. Prabhupada: That means rascal. That means rascal. One day something, one day…, that means the rascals. Just like yesterday or day before yesterday, “Maybe, perhaps.” And “You cannot talk because you have no knowledge. You say, ‘Perhaps, maybe.’ What is the value of your knowledge? Don’t talk.” Virabahu: There was this great scientist. His name is Nernst. He said that everything was infinite. That the universe, everything, was eternal, that this universe was eternal. So he got very mad, very vexed because another scientist was telling him, this was, a young scientist was proving that the universe has a time, a specific time, and it will finish. Prabhupada: No, no, that does not require a great scientist. Anything in this material world which has got a beginning, it has got end. We can experience from our body. The body has got a beginning; therefore it must have an end. Anything which has beginning, there must be end. This is our experience. You take anything material. This tree, it has got a beginning; it has got end. Virabahu: But because it didn’t suit to his theories he said that… Prabhupada: No, no, that means they are rascals. That means they are rascals. They are simply mental speculators. They have no value of their knowledge. We should take them like that, that “These are all rascals.” They may be very big man in the estimation of other rascals, but we are not such rascals. We are not going to take their version. (end)
with His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
February 23, 1975, Caracas