Instilling spiritual values in the Indians
Dated: 14 October 2018
Venue: Delhi
Occasion: UDGAAR Youth festival

om ajnana timirandhasya jnananjana salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri gurave namah

This is a festival of goodness and joy! I was thinking about the mantra, which Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada gave to the entire world. Prabhupada would  say, ‘Chant Hare Krishna and be happy! Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!’ I want all of you to repeat after me the names of the Lord. Everyone will say! Relax and say out loud, ‘Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare!’ Thank you!

Well, India’s youth, the NCR’s youth have assembled here in big numbers. I am very pleased to see this. Today Srila Prabhupada must be so happy to see you all here! Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila  Prabhupada ki Jai!

As far as values are concerned, this Hare Krishna maha-mantra is the most   valuable. It is not only a thing, but it is a Personality. Hare Krishna maha-mantra is the Lord.

Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada also called himself an exporter and     importer. Srila Prabhupada exported India’s export quality product or Personality. At one time when Srila Prabhupada was in London, reporters asked him, ‘Swamiji, why have you come to our country?’ Prabhupada said, ‘Well, you also came to our country. Now it’s my turn, so I have come. But your viceroys came and they robbed our country’s valuable objects and took it all to their country. The Kohinoor Diamond or silk or this and that! But your viceroys left behind the most valuable assets of our country.’ When it was asked which valuable    object or personality their viceroys could not recognise, Prabhupada had said, ‘I have brought with me the values of India for which India is famous all around the world. I have brought that culture of India. I have brought the message of the Bhagavad-Gita and Bhagavatam. And I have come to make a hand delivery.’

You are youths, so I will say that when Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada was exporting the most valuable items of our country, the very first to be      benefitted were the youths all around the world. I was also one of those youths. At one time I was also a college student and today I am standing in front of you.

This is by the grace of Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. Prabhupada has spread the values, culture of India to every nook and corner of the world.      Unfortunately today’s education is not man making, but a money making,     machine making system. While dealing and working with machines, we are becoming machines. This is very unfortunate! We have to become humans, but we are becoming demons as we are not realizing the values.

One day I was going to Noida from Delhi. There was one huge billboard which read: ‘Live life king size.’ What should you do to live life king size? Smoke     cigarettes of our brand. (Please excuse me. I am not advertising.) When you use cigarettes of our brand, then you will have a ‘life king size’. After this advertisement, we went a little ahead and there was another sign board which read : ‘Cancer Hospital! This way’

We are becoming demons. Today’s education system emphasises  technology and science. I agree that we need this technology and science, but it is making us blind. If we want to gain eyes then we need to turn towards the Lord. We need to see and evaluate the world with ‘sastra-caksusa’, get spectacles to see the message given by the Lord.

Srila Prabhupada always said that technology and science is fine, but it is blind. Our spirituality of  India, of the East is a little lame. Prabhupada would say, ‘andha pangu nyaya’; one is andha (blind) and the other is pangu (lame). Science is blind and spirituality can be a little lame. They can both help each other. When the blind and the lame come together, they can help each other. What will the blind do? The blind will walk and the lame will sit on his shoulders. They can both reach their destination by helping each other.

By looking at the presentation here, I am feeling some pride of ‘Bharatiyata’ (Indian). So let’s be Bharatiyas. There was one person who would introduce himself by saying, ‘I am not Indian. Mai Bharatiya hun! I am not Indian. I am Bharatiya.’ So become Bharatiya, remain Bharatiya with its values. Don’t copy the Western countries.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare!

Thank you!