Oct 4 1975 Mauritius conversations
Harikeśa: Actually, nobody cares about philosophy. Nobody follows philosophy.
Prabhupāda: No. He cares for death. That is the ultimate philosophy, that they have to die. Say, “I don’t care for this order. I’ll not die.” Then your disobedience is all right. But you have to die. You have to become old man. How you can disobey?
Cyavana: So if death is imminent, then I should simply try to enjoy myself as long as I can.
Prabhupāda: Enjoy. What is that enjoyment if you are going to die?
Harikeśa: It’s so incredible how crazy everything is.
Brahmānanda: Well, at least before I die, I can get as much pleasure as I can.
Prabhupāda: Nobody can, if he is actually afraid of death. Suppose if you are given a beautiful woman—”Enjoy, and as soon as you come out I will shoot you.” (laughter) Will you enjoy?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: That’s a great example. That example would change the world.
Prabhupāda: That is the difference between a man of knowledge and a fool. Man of knowledge, that is that he knows he has to die. “But I don’t wish to die. So what is the solution?” That is man of knowledge.
Harikeśa: Sometimes they say “Well, why worry about death? It’s gotta happen anyway, so why should we worry?”
Prabhupāda: But you… You… Because you are rascal number one, you don’t worry, but that is the psychology. This is the example.
Harikeśa: But I want to enjoy right now.
Prabhupāda: Suppose that you enjoy this woman for few minutes. Then you will be shot down. Then will you be able to enjoy?
Brahmānanda: Actually they do that. When some man is to be executed in the prison they give him one woman the night before as a special consolation.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: They finish him off completely. They ruin him. (laughing)
Cyavana: But death is very far away from me. I am only thirty years old. I don’t have to worry about death.
Prabhupāda: What is the guarantee that you will live thirty-one years? What is the guarantee that you will live thirty-one years? There is no guarantee.
Cyavana: But everyone else around me appears to be having fun and enjoying.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: They can use this argument though, Prabhupāda. I’ve heard it before, that “So God has placed us in this world. Okay, there is God, and He has placed us in this world, and He has created the world also, and He has made these things very, very enjoyable, sex life, and this and that. So why not enjoy if God has created it?”
Prabhupāda: That is foolishness. That is foolishness. It is not enjoyable. That is… If a criminal says, “The prisonhouse is very enjoyable,” it is like that.
Cyavana: But all the travel brochures and the advertisements, they say it’s nice here. All the advertising and travel brochures, they say it is nice.
Prabhupāda: Let him say, but prisonhouse, is it nice? That is foolishness.
Cyavana: But everyone else says it’s nice.
Prabhupāda: Everyone? I don’t say.
Cyavana: You are the only one who says it is not nice.
Prabhupāda: I am the only intelligent person. (laughter) That’s a fact. Mūḍho nābhijānāti.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Kṛṣṇa says, antavat tu phalaṁ teṣāṁ tad bhavaty alpa-medhasām: [Bg. 7.23] “Men of small intelligence worship the demigods, and their fruits are limited and temporary.” So does this mean that these less intelligent people who are simply interested in temporary benefit… Even they don’t worship demigods per se, it could be anyone.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Demigods… Yes. Just like one who is trying to get some good service. So they are worshiping this boss, that boss. That is also demigod, because without flattering some boss he cannot get some good job; without flattering the voters he cannot get the ministership. That is demigod worship. They have to flatter somebody. Why this Ram Gulab has gone to…? He has to flatter there. This is going on. The big bosses in the United Nation, they are demigods, supposed to be. He thinks, “If I flatter them, then I will be able to keep my position.” But he does not think that this position will be lost after some years. Tad bhavaty alpa-medhasām. He has forgotten his eternal life, Kṛṣṇa, and he is flattering these demigods. That’s all. What he will gain? He will die. That’s all. At the time of death what these United Nation leaders will do?
SB 7.5.30–Prahlāda Mahārāja replied: Because of their uncontrolled senses, persons too addicted to materialistic life make progress toward hellish conditions and repeatedly chew that which has already been chewed. Their inclinations toward Kṛṣṇa are never aroused, either by the instructions of others, by their own efforts, or by a combination of both.
Some Conclusions-SP tells us that this world is not meant for enjoyment, still try as we do. He says that if one actually understands this world is like that then he cannot try to enjoy his senses. How can you “ enjoy “ if you really understand that you must die-at any time? He gives the nice example of being given a beautiful woman to enjoy and then when you are done you get shot dead? Only an insane person would agree to such a proposal.
But because we are rascals we dont understand that, but SP says- that is the psychology-a man of knowledge knows he cannot enjoy in a place of suffering.
He puts it into another perspective and asks-is a prison house enjoyable? Unless we understand we are in the prison house of Maya, then we will continue to try to enjoy our senses for sense satisfaction.
And last point which I like very much is that most people don’t understand that by serving your boss or some leader for some financial gain is the same as demigod worship which is condemned in Bhagavad gita as only for the less intelligent.
Hare Krsna
damaghosa das
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