Life time achievement award
Pune
10 February 2020

Prabhupada used to say, ‘Even Hippies have become Happies. Once, those who were Hippies, became HAPPIES.’ So, there is much to say. Talks related to Lord Ananta are Ananta, unlimited.

Thanks to all for your presence and for accepting me as one of you and for this honor and award etc. In fact this is the honor of the Lord or the honor of India. Or this honor is of our, we can say Bharat-ratna (the jewel of India), Bhakti Vedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, he was the gem. He understood India, the wealth of India. Therefore Prabhupada used to, ‘I haven’t come here in your country to take something.’ So far whoever came, the politicians, scientists, etc, they came to take something. ‘Give to us, give to us!’

Therefore our country at one time, now gradually the situation or their thinking or acceptance is changing. But, they used to ask me also, ‘From where you have come?’ ‘Oh! India!’ ‘Oh! That beggar’s country? You came from that beggar’s country?’ Such is the publicity, image, because whenever we went, we went to take something. Give us loan, give us computer, and this and that. ‘That beggar’s country?’ But Prabhupada used to say, ‘I have not come here to take anything. I have come to GIVE you. Take this wealth of our country.’ He, the Bharat-ratna Bhaktivedant Srila Prabhupada, understood the glories of this country, the real wealth of this country.

It is very necessary, technological point of view, the west countries are advanced. Prabhupada used to say, ‘But they are blind. Indians are having eyes, little eyesight, but they are lame.’ Prabhupada used to talk about ‘Andha-pangu-nyaya’, the logic of blind and lame. One is blind and another one is lame. They both want to go to one place, so what they can do? One who is lame can sit on the shoulder (of the blind). This lame man will show the way and the blind will walk. In this way they both could help each other. Technology, science and this and that of the West and the culture and religion of the East, or India, combination of these two, friendship of these two, they could help each other. And they should do so.

Bharata bhumite manunya-janma haila yara
janma sarthaka kari’ kara para-upakara [Cc. Adi 9.41]

Si Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, ‘if we have taken birth in India and want to make our life successful, then what we have to do? Kari’ kara para-upakara, do para upakara, do well to others. Don’t only take but also give. So, that which we have with us to give, give Krsna, give Bhagavad Gita.
Here also we have our ISKCON’s temple. We have thousand temples all over the world. It is here in Puna also. Today only discussion was going on. Our Puna temple, in the month of December, that month in which comes appearance day of Bhagavad Gita, that month in which Lord gave the instructions of Bhagavad Gita,

dharma-ksetre kuru-ksetre

In that month our temple devotees as well as congregation devotees, many of them are present here, all together they distributed 3,14,000 Bhagavad Gitas in one month. This is the score of one temple. Of course, this year ISKCON Pune is number one in the world. We have inter-temple competition. In this competition, through all over the world, in book distribution, our ISKCON Puna temple won. Here, Radhesyama Prabhu is the temple president. He is M Tech and what not. He is highly educated youth.

Our international society for Krsna consciousness is doing the work of character development of the highly educated youths. Quality of the person, qualified person is required. There is no need of reducing the quantity. It is the misconception that we will become more prosperous, everyone will get more food and home and more clothes and roads and more water if the quantity will be less. This is misconception. Un till we are selfish, till then, if we will keep reducing the quantity more and more and when by the end there be only two persons left on the earth, then also what they both will say? Two is too many. How many should be there? Only one, and that one is me. This aham, selfishness, is the enemy.

So the character development work, developing qualities, this work is being done by the International Society for Krsna Consciousness. And their news, news of their work and news of truth, news of Gita, Bhagavat, Prabhupada Ghat which is established in Pandharpur, or there are goshalas and Harinama Sankirtana is going on and this and that, so many news. Our great grandfather, Bhakti Siddhant Saraswati Thakur, used to say, ‘there are so many spiritual news that we can publish newspapers at every minute.’ There are so many good news; the best news!

So, let all of us together serve the Lord, let us serve the souls of the Lord; not only service to the bodies of the living entities, not the senses but the souls. Then that soul will become happy, will become happy, will become devotee and then ultimately by attaining the Lord, amhi jato amuchya hava, I am going back to Godhead, this will also take place. And then after reaching there, deva deyila visava, we will live peacefully. So our home is like this, where the Lord lives and we are His children, Vithu maza lekurwala.

So, we are trying to do such kind of guidance and preaching; let us do this work together, work of dharma, religion, establishment of religion. When there will be establishment of religion then,

dharmo raksati raksitah (Manu Smrti)

If the religion is saved then only that religion will save us. Otherwise the world is facing very difficult situations and they have no solutions. There is solution, solution is Gita; solution is in Bhagavatam. You have no solution, actors and politicians of now a day they have no clue. God knows, His devotees know. They are scientists. One who understands Bhagavad Gita is scientist in real sense. Gita Bhagavatam is sastra, idam sastram. Not only chemistry is sastra, and not only bhugol (Geology) and khagol (cosmology), but it is a big gol, zero. There should be one. And in front of ‘one’ when one zero comes then it becomes ten and with two zeros it becomes hundred. But if there is no ‘one’ then these zeros together will become a BIG ZERO. Then how come we are hero, Zero!

So, this is the honor of all of you, honor of all living beings, it is the part of Lord’s glorifications. Otherwise everything is opulence of Maya. How can the living being be saved from the clutches of Maya? This is the question. And there are answers to this question. So the International Society for Krsna Consciousness is letting everyone know all these answers to all over the world,

sarvatra pracar hoibe mora nama

Lord caitanya said, ‘My Holy Name will be heard in every town and village of the world.’) [CB Antya-khanda 4.126] Okay thank you. Let one time say everyone together, raise your hands and say loudly,

‘Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare’!