A Day in the Life of Srila Prabhupada - April 08

April 07 - April 09

Srila Prabhupada's letters, lectures and conversations throughout consecutive years

Click on the year dates to go to the Timeline of Srila Prabhupada's Life for that year.

The Days in the Life of Srila Prabhupada presents 2200+ of his lectures; 905+ of his conversations; 490+ of his morning walks; 65+ of his interviews and 6,570+ of his letters.

This listing covers all available material and includes:

10,300+ links to Vanisource - our repository of all of Srila Prabhupada's words;
450+ short audio clips - Nectar Drops from Srila Prabhupada sprinkled throughout the months;
1,080 short video clips extracted from lectures, conversations, morning walks and interviews, with subtitles in up to 88 languages, sprinkled throughout the months;
13,350+ concise statements, drawn from Srila Prabhupada's lectures, conversations and letters, highlighted within quoteboxes;
For further study on the different subjects addressed, each statement links to the various categories in our thematic section of Vanipedia named Vaniquotes.

These statements from the Days in the Life of Srila Prabhupada offer unparalleled insights into his devotional character; his vision to re-spiritualize human society; his dedication to translate, publish & distribute his books; his expertise to tirelessly lead & manage his worldwide movement; his empowered ability to encourage, care for, train & clearly communicate the disciplines he expects from all his disciples as he engages them in their pursuit of Krsna consciousness & performance of missionary activities. Through all these situations one can also experience how Srila Prahhupada consistently represents the pure teachings of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates.

See also: A Month in the Life of Srila Prabhupada.

1968 - April 08

Letter to Jadurani written from San Francisco

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You are already a great artist. You don't want to become a great artist to satisfy the senses of the public. If your present paintings are not acceptable to the general public, I do not mind; they are fools. You continue trying your best to make your pictures as far they can be nice looking, but not to satisfy the senses of the rascal public.

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Yesterday I have been in a Unitarian Church and there I saw two pictures of only logs and bamboos, and I was explained by our great artist Govinda dasi that these are modern abstract arts. Anyway I couldn't see in them nothing but combination of logs and bamboos. There was nothing to impel my Krishna Consciousness. So, if you want to be a great artist in that way, I will pray that Krishna may save you.

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Whenever there is need of my lecture, I am always prepared to serve; it doesn't matter whether big or small. Probably as you are making fine arrangements, many will come to the Temple to hear me, so in that case, I must come.

Letter to Pradyumna written from San Francisco

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Your endeavors to learn Sanskrit is very encouraging. We want somebody in our society to know Sanskrit well enough for reading, not to be a great scholar, but just enough as needed.

1970 - April 08

Letter to Turya Shramy Maharaja written from Los Angeles

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By the grace of Srila Prabhupada the preaching work is going on nicely and the most important factor is that I have got a number of youthful American and European disciples who are helping me very seriously. As you know the western boys and girls are educated and trained up in practical life.. They are spreading this movement better that any Indian could do. So whatever success is there, it is due to them; I am simply instrumental in giving them direction. They are very kind upon me and offer me the best facilities of comfort. So things are very satisfactory here.

1971 - April 08

Lecture BG 16.2-7 - Bombay

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This is the duty of all responsible Indians, how to make his life perfect, utilizing Vedic knowledge, and then distribute it throughout the whole world. Because in other parts of the world they have no such advantage. Why these American boys are coming to us? Because they did not get the advantage of spiritual life, but they are seeking after spiritual life.

1972 - April 08

Letter to All ISKCON Temple Presidents written from Sydney

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You manage your affairs peacefully and independently, and try to improve the spiritual atmosphere of the centers more carefully.

Letter to Bibhu written from Sydney

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This college program is very good, and you should continue in this way, giving all these student an opportunity to learn this Krishna consciousness philosophy and culture. They are all seeking after some knowledge, but they are being misguided by their blind leaders. It is our duty to give them real knowledge and understanding of the purpose of life.

Letter to Gurudasa written from Sydney

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It has proven to be very troublesome to send money from America to India, but you can get books as many as you like, sell them there to the public at large, and in this way you can raise funds for our Mayapur, Vrindaban and Juhu projects.

Letter to Puri Maharaj written from Sydney

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Last night we had a meeting in the Melbourne Town Hall in the central part of the city, and there was very ecstatic kirtan with more than one thousand persons and many of them joined us by dancing on the stage. So in every respect these western countries are the best field for our Vaisnava culture to spread and take effect, that has been demonstrated.

Letter to Tarkikchuramoni written from Sydney

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I am so glad to learn that you have been such a great help to Bibhu there in our Pittsburgh center. I can understand that you are a very sincere student and are an eligible candidate for going back to home, back to Godhead. And the process is simple. Follow the regulative principles, chant at least 16 rounds of beads daily, read our literatures, go for street sankirtana, etc.

1973 - April 08

Lecture BG 04.13 - New York

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Living entities are part and parcel of God. Suppose God is the big fire and living entities are just like sparks. The sparks, they are also fire. Sparks also, if one spark falls on your body, on your garment, it burns. But it is not as powerful as the big fire. Similarly, God is all powerful. God is great. We are part and parcel of God. Therefore, our greatness is very, very small, infinitesimal. God is great.

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If you study a drop of sea water, if you analyze chemically, you'll find so many chemicals in that drop. So you can understand what is the composition of the sea. The same composition. But in greater quantity. That is the difference between God and ourself. We are small gods, we can say, small gods. Teeny, sample gods. Therefore, we are so much proud. But we should not be proud because we should know that all our qualities are taken from God.

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There is no question of overpopulation. This is a false theory. If God can create, He can maintain also. And actually, this is the fact. I am travelling all over the world. There are so much vacant places upon the surface of the globe that, that ten times more than the present population can be easily maintained.

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Your coat is cut according to your body. Similarly, this material body is cut according our spiritual body. So we have got our spiritual body. This material body is covering.

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Human society, they require good consulting brain, good administrators, good producers and good worker. That is the division of brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says: catur varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭam. In order to keep smooth facilities for human life, there must be four divisions. If you say that "We don't require brāhmaṇa." If you don't require brāhmaṇa, then you'll suffer.

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Actually it is also in the chaotic condition. Because nobody is following the prescription as given by Bhagavad-gītā, guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ. In India, although a person born in a brāhmaṇa family, but his guṇa, qualities, are less than śūdra, but still he's being accepted as a brāhmaṇa. That is the difficulty. Therefore, India's condition is so chaotic.

Lecture SB 01.14.44 - New York (evening)

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By worshiping Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, you simultaneously worship Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa is very difficult to worship. So whatever we are worshiping Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, that is Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa in His Nārāyaṇa form—Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa. In the beginning we should worship Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa in the level of Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa, with awe and veneration, very strictly following the rules and regulations.

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If you think of Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours, Kṛṣṇa will think of you twenty-six hours. (laughter) Kṛṣṇa is so kind. If you do some service for Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa will reward you hundred times. But people, they do not want. They think, "What we shall benefit by serving Kṛṣṇa? Let us serve my dog." This is the misunderstanding. And our attempt is to awaken the dormant love of Kṛṣṇa.

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If we do not love Kṛṣṇa, then our hearts will be harder and harder and harder. Heart is there for love, but why you are so hard-hearted? Why you are so much hard-hearted that we kill another fellow being or another animal—we do not care for it—for my satisfaction of the tongue? Because we have become hard-hearted. Hard-hearted. On account of not being a lover of Kṛṣṇa, we are all hard-hearted. Therefore the whole world is unhappy.

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All living entities, being fallen in this material condition, they are all suffering. So Vaiṣṇava sympathy is there. If actually there is any sympathizer for the fallen conditioned souls, he is a Vaiṣṇava. He knows how, why they are suffering. Therefore he wants to give him the information: "My dear friend, you are suffering simply for forgetting your real lover, Kṛṣṇa. Therefore you are suffering." This is the message, Vaiṣṇava's message.

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First thing is that we have to learn how to love. Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo. That is first-class religion. Religious system you follow, yato bhaktir adhokṣaje. If you know how to love Adhokṣaja... Then when there is question of love, then the next question will be, "Whom shall I love?"

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They also press the same plea, that "Why God should come? Why He should appear like human being?" But they do not know, neither they can answer this question, "Why God would not come?" They say that God cannot come. But if I put the question: "Why God cannot come?" what is the answer? If God is all-powerful, why you are curtailing His power, that He cannot come? What kind of God is He? God is under your law, or you are under God's law?

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What we do with the tongue? We talk: talk of Kṛṣṇa. We sing: chant of Kṛṣṇa. We eat: taste, eat Kṛṣṇa prasāda. You will understand Kṛṣṇa. Any foolish person, any uneducated or any position of life, you can use your tongue for Kṛṣṇa's service. Don’t eat anything which is not eaten by Kṛṣṇa—your tongue becomes your most intimate friend. And don’t talk anything except Kṛṣṇa. If you follow these two principles, Kṛṣṇa will be within your grip.

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This is a scientific process. You Western people, you should try to understand that. And our boys and girls, who have joined, they're trying to understand, and execute the principles. So if you take up this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, which is meant for the brāhmaṇas, if you become brāhmaṇa by quality, then your, the Western nations will be... Especially in America, they'll be first-class nation.

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But at the present moment, there is only this mercantile industrialist and worker. There is no brain. How to conduct society? How to become perfect human society, how to fulfill the mission of human society, for these things, there is no brain.So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is creating some brain of the human society. Brāhmaṇa. And this brain.

Letter to Giriraja written from New York

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Please let me know immediately how the Chhanganlal case has come out. I hope that by now you have received my letter of April 3, 1973 and have taken appropriate steps to secure the Juhu land.

Letter to Sudama written from New York

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Your program for traveling on the West coast holding festivals at schools and communes is approved by me. Especially you must try to convince these students to join us. There is nothing else that will save the world from destruction and it is our responsibility to recruit these young educated boys and girls before they become spoiled by the degraded conditions of this so-called human society.

1974 - April 08

Morning Walk - Bombay

Nectar Drops from Srila Prabhupada

"What is God, first of all. He must exist otherwise why there is question of 'What is God?' So, what is the nature of God, what is our position, what is our relationship with God, what is our duty and what is the goal of life, these things are very thoroughly discussed in Bhagavad-gītā. So if we understand Bhagavad-gītā very nicely, then you understand the whole science of God."

740408 - Morning Walk - Bombay