Prabhupāda: …Personality of Godhead, who stops our struggle for existence and raises to the platform of eternal life, bliss, and knowledge. To be more clear, everyone is trying to get eternal life. The whole human society is trying to get the highest perfection of knowledge, and they are trying also, by so many methods, to become happy, blissful. But they are being confused and baffled. Therefore if we take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, these things will be easily achieved. Interviewer: Would you give me a background, the history and origin of Kṛṣṇa consciousness? Prabhupāda: No history can trace out the origin of Kṛṣṇa consciousness because the living entities, they are eternal. The bodily concept of life is not correct. Nobody dies, nobody takes birth. Everyone is eternal. This change of body is considered a change of dress. Therefore nobody can say that “This is the beginning of life.” So whenever there is life, there is consciousness also, and originally the consciousness is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But due to our long material association that consciousness is covered. Therefore we are out of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This movement is to revive that Kṛṣṇa consciousness again, so that he can be raised to his original position.

Prabhupāda: Nice if she does not marry, that’s nice. Anyone who has got children, he should not marry, I think so. Because marriage means not for sense gratification. Putrāyate kriyate bhāryā, putra-piṇḍa-prayojanam. To get nice son, that is the idea of marriage. Not for sense gratification. Those who are after sense gratification, according to Vedic scripture, they are, I mean to say, recommended to go to the prostitute. Therefore in Hindu society, still, there is a prostitute class. They are allowed… They do not allow it within the society. I mean to say, extravagant sex life. Especially spiritual life. Spiritual life means gradually forget sex life. Material life means sex life. In the spiritual world there is no sex life because there is no birth, there is no death. That is stated in Bhāgavata. Although the women are very, very beautiful, many thousand times more beautiful than here… Their stature of body, their everything, youthfulness, everything. But still they are so much engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, in chanting the glories, that they are not, I mean to say, influenced by the lust. That is stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavata, in the Vaikuṇṭha. There are women. They also, men and women there is, and they also go by airplane, fly in the sky for trip, and all of them are devotees to Nārāyaṇa, Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa associate. So these things are described. So similarly, amongst the gopīs also. So in the spiritual life there is nothing like this sex pleasure. And the more we forget sex life, that means we are advancing in spiritual life. So this should be the attitude, that women, Godsisters, they should be nicely treated so that they may not feel any… After all, they are weaker. That should be our policy. Anyway… And if somebody agrees to marry, oh, that is welcome. There is no objection. Marriage is allowed. And so many married couples, they are very nicely living. Those who have gone to London, they were not married in the beginning, and I got them married. Similarly, here also, Harṣarāṇī and others. In New York also, Balāi dāsī, Advaita. So if the boy and girl agrees to marry, it is very nice. There is no objection. If not, they should be given all protection. Is that all right?

Prabhupāda: Just like… What to speak of ordinary man. President Kennedy. Oh, how much labor he had to undergo to occupy that post, how much money he spent to become president. But he had to quit his family, his wife, his state, his post. So this is going on. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate. For sometimes we are engaged in this way; then again we are annihilated. Again begin another life, enter into another mother’s womb, construct another body, then come out, then again begin work, again the same thing, digging and piling, digging and piling, again going away. Is that very good business? This is the karmīs. Karmīs means worker, fruitive worker. They want some result for their work. They are called karmīs. So the karmīs are engaged in this way. [Doorbell rings] In Bhagavad-gītā these karmīs have been described as rascals, mūḍha. Mūḍha. Because they do not know why they are digging, why they are piling and why they are leaving again everything. You can sit here, in the corner. I, I… Ask these boys, yes. This is the problem. The whole world is engaged very busy. Any city you go, they’re very busy. The motor car is going this way, that way, and everywhere is constructing and so many things are going on. But if you put this question, “Why you are doing this business, digging somewhere and piling somewhere, again leaving the whole thing?”… [Aside:] Hare Kṛṣṇa. They have no answer.

Nitāi guṇa-maṇi āmār nitāi guṇa-maṇi—this is a song sung by Locana Dāsa Ṭhākura, almost a contemporary of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He has got many books on the life and precepts of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. So he is saying that Lord Nityānanda is full of good qualities, guṇa-maṇi. Guṇa-maṇi means the jewel of all qualities. So nitāi guṇa-maṇi āmār nitāi guṇa-maṇi. He is repeatedly uttering that Lord Nityānanda is the reservoir of all good qualities. Āniyā premera vanyā bhāsāilo avanī. And on account of His spiritual qualities, he inundated the whole world by the flood of love of God. It is by His kindness people can feel what is love of God. Premer vanyā loiyā nitāi āilā gauḍa-deśe. When Caitanya Mahāprabhu left home and took sannyas, He made His headquarter at Jagannātha Purī. So after His accepting the sannyas order, when He left His home and country Lord Nityānanda Prabhu also accompanied Him up to Jagannātha Purī. So after a few days, Lord Caitanya requested Him that “If both of us remain here, then who will preach in Bengal?” Bengal is known as gauḍa-deśe. So under the order of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He brought from Him the flood of love of Godhead and He distributed in the whole of Bengal, gauḍa-deśe. And in that flood of love of God, all devotees became drowned. Only those who were not devotees, they could not drown but they were floating, dīna hīna bāche. But so far Nityānanda Prabhu is concerned, He does not make any discrimination between devotees and nondevotees. Dīna hīna patita pāmara nāhi bāche. Poor or rich or enlightened or foolish, everyone could take the instruction of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and become drowned in the ocean of love of Godhead. Such love of Godhead is brahmār durlabha. Even Lord Brahmā, who is the supreme teacher within this universe, he also cannot relish. But by the grace of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Nityānanda Mahāprabhu, this love of Godhead was distributed to everyone without any discrimination.

Prabhupāda: Give service to Kṛṣṇa, then every day is perfect. Best service to the humanity—to awaken their God consciousness. We are reminding like this. A rich man’s son, he has come out of his home and he is suffering—just like there are so many hippies. But we are trying to remind the rich man’s son that “Why you are suffering? Why don’t you go to your father to become comfortably situated?” This is our business. “You are not to suffer. You are very rich man’s son. Your father has got so much money that you haven’t got to suffer. Why don’t you go back to home?” That is our home. Who can be richer than God? And everyone is son of God, then why not return Him too, and then all sufferings finished? That is our Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Why you are trying to become happy in this nonpermanent situation of material life? Go home and enjoy permanent life, blissful life. Dance with Kṛṣṇa. No. Even by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, a little restraining, they will go back to home back to Godhead, and all problems solved—they will not accept. They will make a scientific research to find out petroleum in the midst of the ocean. Therefore they are called rascals, fools, trying to be happy eh?

So Bali Mahārāja is one of the authority. Out of the twelve authorities, first is Lord Brahmā; the next, Nārada; the next, Lord Śiva; then next, the Kumāras; then Kapiladeva; then Manu, Vaivasvata Manu; then Prahlāda Mahārāja; then Janaka Mahārāja; then Bhīṣmadeva; then Bali Mahārāja; then Śukadeva Gosvāmī; and then Yamarāja. It is stated in the śāstra that mahājano yena gataḥ panthāḥ. You cannot understand transcendental subject matter simply by dry speculation and argument. You cannot understand. Neither by reading Vedic literature. The conclusion is that you have to follow those who are authorities. Mahājano yena… Dharmasya tattvaṁ nihitaṁ guhāyāṁ mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ. Guhā. Guhā means the cave, mountain cave, and guhā means the heart. So suppose something is very valuable is there in the cave of the mountain, and you do not know how to search it out. But if you know somebody who knows it, if you follow him, that “He is going there, so I may also follow…” So religious principles cannot be manufactured, neither it can be made by speculation. So actually, there cannot be many religion. The rascal theory that “There are as many religious system as I can believe. You believe something, that’s all right. I believe something, that’s all right. He believes something, that’s all right,” no. It is not like that. Then everyone will believe like any nonsense thing, that becomes religion? No. Religion means dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam. Religion means the codes, the laws, given by God. That is religion.

Prabhupāda: “Nature, the Enjoyer and Consciousness.” This is the Thirteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā. The Lord is describing what is this material nature, who is the enjoyer of this material nature and what is the consciousness. We are preaching about Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Now, in this chapter Kṛṣṇa Himself is describing what is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Arjuna uvāca, Arjuna inquired: prakṛtiṁ puruṣaṁ caiva kṣetraṁ kṣetrajñam eva ca etad veditum icchāmi jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ ca keśava Kṛṣṇa is addressed here as Keśava, “the killer of the Keśi asura.” You know, in Vṛndāvana, there is Keśi-ghāṭa. That Keśi-ghāṭa is famous because Kṛṣṇa killed one asura of the name Keśi. He appeared in Vṛndāvana as a ferocious horse, and Kṛṣṇa killed him. Since then, His name is Keśava. Kṛṣṇa has got many names according to His activities. He killed the demon Madhu, therefore His name is Madhusūdana. He killed the demon Kaṁsa, therefore His name is Kaṁsāri[?]. There are many names. Some of the names are in relationship with His devotees, and some of the names are there in relationship with the demons.

So Vyāsadeva… This Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, mahā-muni-kṛte. It is not written by ordinary person. In the beginning it is said, śrīmad-bhāgavate mahā-muni-kṛte. Not only muni, but mahā-muni. Kim anyaiḥ śāstraiḥ: under the instruction of his spiritual master, Vyāsadeva revealed the scripture by spiritual experience. Bhakti-yogena, praṇihite amale. Bhakti-yoga, he could realize. Nārada Muni asked him to write simply on the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He had written so many books—all the Vedas, Upaniṣads, Purāṇas. But he was not feeling satisfied even after writing the Vedānta-sūtra. So at that time Nārada Muni happened to come to him, and he chastised him, that “You have written so many books, but they’re not very useful.” Because people are generally attracted to dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa. They’re attracted. Those who are civilized men, they are attracted with some sort of religion, system. It doesn’t matter whether he’s Hindu or Muslim or Christian; they have some sort of religious practice. That is the beginning of human civilization. When there is no religious practice, that is not civilized man. Just like in the jungle, aborigines, or the animals, they have no religious system. In the human society there is some religious system. Therefore when the human society becomes without any religious understanding, dharmeṇa hīnāḥ paśubhiḥ samānāḥ, immediately they’re animals. They’re not human beings.