Morning Walk Conversation Prabhupada: Matter is also there, but matter means it is sometimes manifest, sometimes not. But life is always existing. Svarupa Damodara: Unless the matter is touched by life, it cannot… Prabhupada: Manifest. Just like this coat. It has not automatically come on my body. I have gathered it. Similarly, life is there, and it is gathering the matter to dress himself in a particular way. This is the varieties of life. Svarupa Damodara: We give that example that the difference between life and matter… We say that the difference is that the material living bodies… We live in a material body, but the material bodies, when a living entity stays inside a body, is fully automated, fully equipped. Prabhupada: Life is enjoying or trying to enjoy the matter. Matter is prakrti, and the living entity is purusa. The chief purusa is Krsna, and we are trying to imitate Krsna to enjoy. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gita. Living entity is superior prakrti. Apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakrtim parah. It is a prakrti, but they are trying to become purusa. This is struggle for existence. Hare Krsna. [break] …trying to live within the water. They are not trying? Svarupa Damodara: Oh, yes. They have several plans to procure food from under the water, under the ocean. So they have all of these different schemes already started. Because the shortage of food on the surface of the earth… They say it’s going to be very imminent in the coming future. So they have already started plans to make some food… Prabhupada: Another nonsense. (laughter) They are not producing food, they are producing motor tires, and still they will say “shortage.” Just see. Now, in this city of Atlanta or any big, big city, who is producing food? Everyone is eating; nobody is producing. Svarupa Damodara: They will say it is produced by farmers. Prabhupada: Yes, but… Svarupa Damodara: Even their soap’s called produce. (?) Prabhupada: Farmers are producing, and you are eating, but you are not producing. Therefore gradually your food will be shortage. You are depending on others. The farmers, they do not produce food for human being. They produce food for the cows. Svarupa Damodara: For the cows? Prabhupada: Yes. You do not know this? These rascals produce for the animals, not for human. Svarupa Damodara: So the human beings are cows, then. Prabhupada: No, no. Tamala Krsna: They eat the cows. Prabhupada: They eat the cows. Svarupa Damodara: Oh. (laughs) Prabhupada: In the Bengali there is a saying, tomara ye bhalo vasa, mussulmane murgi posaya. You know this? That “Your love is like the Mohammedans keeping chickens and love him.” That means “The chickens be fat, and I shall eat it.” This is your love. They are keeping cows not for love, but for eating. Svarupa Damodara: No, I mean in the sense, farmers, that they produce the grains and vegetables. I was thinking in that line. Prabhupada: Oh. That is somewhere in India still. But here they keep cows not for protection, for eating. [break] …chemical. Life is already there. Svarupa Damodara: No, what they are saying is this, that the…, when they examine this body in the minute details—they call the molecular levels—they find only molecules. They don’t see anything. For example, when they analyze the hand, they saw it—this is proteins, protein molecules, some fats, some carbohydrates, and they don’t see anything else except molecules. And at the same time, when they study—they are called the biochemical pathways in the living cells—they find only these DNA molecules and the different molecules that carry out different activities. That is why they say that there is…, what we call life is just nothing but arrangement of these molecules in different ways. So that’s why they say that “Yes, life started actually from these molecules.” Prabhupada: So why they cannot produce life from the molecules? Svarupa Damodara: They’d say that when science started or knowledge started, it takes some time. It cannot come all in a sudden. Prabhupada: So what is this knowledge? The molecules are already there. Svarupa Damodara: But they’ll say in about, say, about two hundred, three hundred years ago, they didn’t know these molecules. Rupanuga: They say, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” Prabhupada: No, no. It was not known to you, but what was the harm? And what is the benefit when you have known it? Svarupa Damodara: Because, they say, without knowing, it’s not advancement of knowledge. Prabhupada: But you have not known it. You have not known it. You cannot claim that you are advanced. You are still foolish. Why you are claiming advancement? You have not known it. Svarupa Damodara: Yeah, but they are saying that “In due course of time we are going to know it.” Prabhupada: Ah, that is another foolishness. That we do not accept. You have not known it till now. You are foolish still. That you have to admit. “In future you will be a rich man, and therefore you give me a post-dated check”—who will accept it? The foolish person will accept it, (laughter) that “I am giving you the check, ten million dollars. You can take it after three million years (laughter) when I shall become rich.” It is a proposal like that. No intelligent person will accept that check. Svarupa Damodara: But they say that “About two hundred years ago, yes, we were foolish, about two hundred years ago.” Prabhupada: You are still… Still you are foolish. (laughter) Why are you claiming intelligent? Admit it, that still you are foolish. “We have known the molecules.” So what is the benefit of knowing? Svarupa Damodara: Because that is a part of our man’s inquiry, inquiry to know something. They don’t want to be in darkness. Prabhupada: The enquiry may be, but whether that enquiry is properly answered, that is the thing. Enquiry there is always. But where is the answer of the enquiry? Svarupa Damodara: The answers, without knowing the goal, remain unanswered. (end)
with His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
March 2, 1975, Atlanta