750509rc.per Conversations 380176/530501 Paramahamsa: Yes. The Christians always say that Christ was eating fish and drinking wine, so what problem have we got? Drinking a little alcohol, eating a little meat? Prabhupada: Then how did he say that “Thou shall not kill”? Srutakirti: That was actually the Ten Commandments. That was given by God. Ganesa: Given to Moses. Srutakirti: That was given to Moses by God. The Ten Commandments. Prabhupada: That is not Christ has said? Srutakirti: Well, Christ enforced it. Paramahamsa: It was accepted by him as one of the rules. Srutakirti: Christ’s greatest commandment was to love God above all things. So if one is to love God, one must follow His instructions. Prabhupada: Who is following the instructions? Srutakirti: We are. Prabhupada: But supposing Christ distributed fish, but did he say that we shall maintain regular slaughterhouse for killing animals? Srutakirti: He was against that. He threw the men out of the temple, because they were selling lambs in the temple to be offered at the altar. So he kicked them out, saying this temple is not a place for sellling animals for slaughter. Paramahamsa: But in one place they say Christ encouraged fishermen. Because he came and the fishermen were fishing on one side of the boat, and Christ came along and said, “You are fishing on the wrong side of the boat.” He said, “Put your nets on the other side, and you will get more fish.” An they did that and they got huge amounts of fish. And so they were encouraged in their fish-eating in this way. Ganesa: Jesus also said to the fisherman, “Give up you fishing and I will make you fishers of men.” He said this to his disciples. Prabhupada: Then on the whole it comes that his instructions are sometimes contradictory. Paramahamsa: Not only that but they say that… Usually when it comes right down to it, the Bible has gone through so many interpretations and so many changes in the last two thousand years that… Prabhupada: Yes. It is very difficult. Paramahamsa: People…, I’ve talked to professors who know the original Hebrew and the original tongues that the Bible was written in. They say that is has changed so much that you can hardly… Prabhupada: Yes, they are changing. Just like he said, “Thou shall not kill.” They are now changing, “Thow shall not commit murder.” They are doing that. Paramahamsa: Yes. They have a modern Bible, using all modern terminology. Prabhupada: So, when you change, then the authority is lost. Just like in our society, sometimes they do something nonsense and they say, “Prabhupada said.” (laughter) They are doing that. We know that. It is deteriorated like that. Therefore Krsna said, sa kaleneha mahata yogo nastah kaunteya: “And in due course of time, this yoga was lost. Therefore I am repeating the same thing, old philosophy to you.” So it requires like that. Paramahamsa: One thing about the Christian religion is that through the last two thousand years, Christ’s original teachings may have been good teachings, may have been potent preaching, but because there were no potent preachers to carry on the preaching, therefore the whole thing has been lost. But if there are potent preachers to continue reestablishing and estabishing the principles,… Prabhupada: So how you’ll find, if everything is now changed? Where you will get the right information? Paramahamsa: That’s the problem. That’s why there are so many hundreds of branches of Christianity, literally hundreds. So many divisions of Christianity. Some people accept this, some people accept this. Prabhupada: Therefore we should advocate that Bhagavad-gita is not like that. It is coming in the same form as it was taught to Arjuna. If you challenge that “How you know that it has not been changed?” the acaryas are there. The acaryas are there, and they are accepting. Therefore it is correct. We have to follow the acaryas. So when we see the acaryas have accepted, then we accept. All the acaryas, Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, before that other acaryas also, they accept. They never say that “This was not in the original scripture. It has been changed.” You don’t find any such statement of the acaryas. The best thing, therefore, if you want a religious system, Bhagavad-gita is coming without any contradiction, change, for the last five thousand years. You accept it. Other scriptures are (unclear), and there are so many doubts, so many interpretations. So, if you want real religious system, this is the scripture spoken directly by God, and accepted by all the acaryas, so take it. If you are really after God, so you take enlightenment from this perfect scripture. If you want truth, it doesn’t matter wherefrom it is coming. I must accept the truth. Paramahamsa: The Christians openly admit that the Bible has been changed, but they also have a lot of doubt about our scripture. Prabhupada: No, even they doubt, the Christian religion is now dead. That we see practically. So many churches are not working. Nobody comes there. Nobody comes. Paramahamsa: As they have seen that their scripture has been changed, they also have a very strong doubt about our scripture. They say “Well, yours in even older than ours,” so somewhere along the line they say it must have been changed. Prabhupada: You say, but those who are the followers of the authorities, they do not say. You are outsider. You say it may be. It may not be, but you have no authority. You are simply taking a hypothesis, “it may be.” But those who actually are following, they do not say. What about this? Whose version is more important? Your or theirs? You are outsider. You are simply suggesting because you had a bad experience. But one who has no such experience, why should he follow your advice? Paramahamsa: Actually if anyone looks at Bhagavad-gita As It Is, presented by yourself, then they can logically see that it is perfect. Prabhupada: Yes, we have got our argument, logic, everything. Why should we blindly follow?
Ganesa: The results can be seen practically that those who are following the Bhagavad-gita written by you, Srila Prabhupada, are giving up these nonsense activities. Prabhupada: Letters are posted? Paramahamsa: No, not yet. Prabhupada: How they can deliver if you don’t post? Paramahamsa: Well the next time someone goes in. This evening someone can post. Prabhupada: There is no letter box? Ganesa: There’s not one close. I can post them tonight. Prabhupada: No, night is useless. Nobody is coming to clear. Ganesa: Yes, there’s one collection at eight o’clock in the night time. Prabhupada: Oh, then why not post there? It is six. Ganesa: Srila Prabhupada, if the knowledge was handed down by the saintly kings, evam parampara-praptam, how is it that the knowledge was lost? Prabhupada: When it was not handed down. Simply understood by speculation. Or if it is not handed down as it is. They might have made some changes. Or they did not hand it down. Suppose I handed it down to you, but if you do not do that, then it is lost. Now the Krsna consciousness movement is going on in my presence. Now after my deparature, if you do not do this, then it is lost. If you go on as you are doing now, then it will go on. But if you stop… (end)