Below-the beginnings of my Prabhupada photo album of pictures I took
over the years of Srila Prabhupada-sending more 35 mm neg's today to get digitalized ...
Jan 9 1973 SP letter...
Understanding is one thing, and practical application of that understanding is another. But as devotees of Krsna, being engaged in the practical work of spreading Krsna consciousness, that is already the highest realization. That's all right, that is our real mission, to deliver the world by preaching Krsna's message to others, but even higher realization, the highest realization, is to save oneself.
May 17 1975 Perth
Paramahaṁsa: But even if we can't stay here, we all have to die, our sons and their sons, if we do something now, then maybe they won't have to suffer so much in the future.
Prabhupāda: So why you are thinking of your son's future, your grandson's... Why don't you think of your future?
Paramahaṁsa: It makes me happy to think that they'll be happy.
Prabhupāda: That is madness. That is madness.
Paramahaṁsa: If I get insurance policy then they will have some money after I go...
Prabhupāda: No, no, that is natural, that you think of future. But the foolishness is you don't think of your future. That is foolishness. This is natural. Because every living entity is eternal, therefore he has future. But for himself he is thinking, "There is no life, next." And he is thinking of the life which will come as his grandson or son, what will be their future. And he is blind about the own future. This is fourth-class man. Suppose some danger is coming. So shall I take care of you: "How you will be saved? How you will be saved?" How I will be saved—that is my first business. That he does not know. There have been many cases. There is all of a sudden fire. The man has left everything, and his baby was there. He was crying, "Oh, I have left my..." The natural tendency—"First of all save me." Self preservation is the first law of nature. So why did he forget about his baby? Now, when he comes out, he is thinking about baby. This is natural, that he does not think about himself; he is thinking about future generation.
"What nonsense will come as my son or grandson?" Just see. This is fourth-class man.
Amogha: So he should first save himself, then think about how to save others.
Prabhupāda: Yes. First of all he must know what will actually saving. That he does not know. He is thinking of his country. Suppose next birth he becomes a cow and his countrymen will send him to the slaughterhouse. So what is the use of having your country? The same country, the national... The cow is also national, you are also national, but the law is the cow is to be sent to the slaughterhouse. Therefore they have been all described as mūḍhāḥ, rascals, only rascals. Except a Kṛṣṇa conscious person, all persons are rascals. Do you admit or not?
Paramahaṁsa: Yes.
June 26 1968 Montreal
My Guru Mahārāja used to give one nice example that a man was drowning. Another man came, that "I shall save this man." So he jumped on the water, and when coming out of the water he brought the shirt and coat: "Now I have saved the man." The so-called service, or any service which is going on, that is serving the shirt and coat. Nobody is serving the soul. That is the mistake of modern civilization. There are many hospitals to cure the bodily diseases, but there is no hospital to cure the disease of the soul.
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to cure the disease of the soul. Disease of the soul. Every soul, every person, is mistaken to accept this body as his self or the mind as his self. This is the difference. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke, saeva go-kharaḥ [SB 10.84.13]. Anyone who is accepting this body as self, he's either an ass or a cow. Misconception. So people are not interested
Compiled by Damaghosa Das