Morning Walk
Mayapura
18 Feb

Acyutananda: ...acaryas and paná¸itas of all the sampradayas.

Yasodanandana: One of the leading paná¸itas of the Ramanuja-sampradaya has endorsed us as being bona fide Vaisnavas, and also one of the main Asá¹­amaá¹­has (?) in Uá¸upi, the place of Madhvacarya, has given a letter to define that "The disciple of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, His Divine Grace, is doing very good work for the sanatana dharma, and they are bona fide Vaisnavas. So these letters are very good for our preaching work.

Acyutananda: Sri Rangam.

Yasodanandana: Also in Sri Rangam, the leading paná¸ita, the leading priest of the Sri Rangam temple, that big Visnu temple... We had a program there, and he's very much impressed by your work.

Acyutananda: He's the descendant of Venkata Bhaá¹­á¹­a.

Prabhupada: Oh.

Acyutananda: And that is... His house is called Mahaprabhu Sala. So Lord Caitanya stayed in this house.

Yasodanandana: He also gave a very nice letter.

Prabhupada: He's Gauá¸iya-sampradaya.

Yasodanandana: Ramanuja.

Prabhupada: No, this Venkata Bhaá¹­á¹­a, because Bhaá¹­á¹­a, Gopala Bhaá¹­á¹­a, Gopala Bhaá¹­á¹­a was Caitanya Mahaprabhu's disciple. Sri-rupa sanatana bhaá¹­á¹­a-raghunatha, sri-jiva gopala-bhaá¹­á¹­a dasa-raghunatha. They were direct disciples of Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Acyutananda: There's a big sign on the Sri Rangam temple: "Only Hindus allowed."

Prabhupada: Accha?

Acyutananda: So we took a photograph of ourselves standing next to him with the sign in the picture. So we can use that, in case anybody tries to check us.

Prabhupada: So one thing, if you can do, that India, at the present moment, that Swami Cinmayananda is prominent.

Acyutananda: Yes.

Hari-sauri: He's very big. Especially in the South.

Prabhupada: (laughs) So if you can subdue him...

Yasodanandana: We'll take care of that, Prabhupada.

Acyutananda: All right.

Prabhupada: That will be great triumph. He's a nonsense. That's... But he's very popular at the same time.

Acyutananda: Yes, because...

Prabhupada: He is like Vivekananda.

Acyutananda: He tells some jokes.

Yasodanandana: He always tells nonsense jokes during his lectures. Therefore children and elderly widows are very much attracted to him for his flowery language and joking. But he has no substantial philosophy like yours.

Acyutananda: We went to his program and sold books to the crowd.

Prabhupada: Ah.

Yasodanandana: But some way or other, he has some respect for you, Prabhupada, for the great work you have done, Cinmayananda Swami. He has some respect for you. He knows...

Prabhupada: But he, he wants to keep his prestigious position.

Acyutananda: Oh, yes.

Yasodanandana: Yes. On your order, we shall try to hamper that.

Prabhupada: No, tactfully.

Acyutananda: By preaching your books.

Prabhupada: Keep him as friend. He's friendly. So don't irritate him.

Acyutananda: All right.

Yasodanandana: I think the best way would be to out-preach him.

Prabhupada: Out-preach him. Yes. [break]

Acyutananda: ...letter for our authorization to enter temples.

Prabhupada: Eh?

Acyutananda: You, you sent him a letter for him to copy, and he did that on his letterhead and Vishwa Hindu Parishad. He is favorable.

Prabhupada: Yes, he's...

Acyutananda: I met him once. He is addicted to snuff very, very much.

Prabhupada: Constantly.

Acyutananda: Even during his lectures he makes gestures so that he can take snuff without anybody knowing.

Yasodanandana: And one of his favorite styles is that whenever he goes to a city, he always stays with elderly widows, very rich elderly widows, in their houses. Very strange.

Acyutananda: I think the people know that he is bogus, but they just go for some entertainment because he is so... (Prabhupada laughs) Yes, they just go for some... Some people go just because they want to hear some nice English, to improve their English knowledge.

Prabhupada: He speaks good English?

Acyutananda: Very... He's an orator.

Prabhupada: He's M.A. in English. I know. He's...

Acyutananda: He used to be, I heard, a journalist.

Prabhupada: Yes, journalist.

Acyutananda: But he got into some big embarrassment.

Prabhupada: Journalists, they write very good English. Every journalist, they learn how to write good English.

Acyutananda: He got into some big embarrassment. I don't know how. Then he went to the Himalayas.

Prabhupada: He was in, several times in embarrassment. One friend in Delhi, Mr. Gupta, he told many things about him. He was patronizing him. In those days, when he was not very rich, he had, he gave him 25,000 rupees, that Mr. Gupta. [break] Accha?

Acyutananda: I felt uncomfortable. He was clicking his teeth and moving his hands and talking very quickly. It was very uncomfortable just to be in his presence. I was very nervous. He actually contradicted himself. I was saying we should be respected in all Hindu temples. He says, "Yes, you are Hindus." He says, "Jains and Buddhists, they are also Hindus." I said, "How is that?" He says, "Who is Buddha?" I said, "He is incarnation of Krsna." He says, "No, aside from that, he is the son of a ksatriya." I said, "Then you are bringing it back to birth again." And then he started groping for words and avoiding it. They want to make a unity of Hindus so that they can always sway elections, so that Mohammedan and Christians do not change the election.

Prabhupada: And we want to make Mohammedans Hindus.

Acyutananda: Yes. They also do that. They try and... Mainly they try and reconvert the Christians. They get some results. And they pander to the tribal castes so that they don't convert to Christianity. The Mohammedans and Christians have refused to use birth control, so they think that their population will soon outnumber the Hindus. So they are afraid that the Mohammedan and Christian block will sway elections in the future. [break]

Jayapataka: Brahmacaris don't like to take the instructions from the elder devotees, and then they want to take sannyasa, so they think they can be independent and give orders themself and not listen.

Prabhupada: Therefore not to be given all of a sudden. [break]...to become sevaka. Everyone wants to become sevya.

Hrdayananda: Served.

Prabhupada: Yes. And, ultimately, God. Se pasha pasha pasha bo... (?) When everything failure, then to become God.

Jayapataka: That's why Lord Caitanya said that "I am not a sannyasi or a..."

Prabhupada: Yes. Gopi-bhartuḥ; pada-kamalayor dasa...

Yasodanandana: Naham vipro na ca nara-patir napi vaisyo...

Prabhupada: Bhrtyasya-bhrtya, servant of the servant [Cc. Madhya 13.80]. Everyone, if he wants to become a master, that is materialism. (end)