Unreleased Lectures and Incorrect Transcriptions
BY: GAURAKISHOR DAS
Jan 29, USA (SUN) — There are lots of conversations not transcribed properly. Surf to CauselessMercy.com and look at this Geneva Lecture. Suddenly the lecture ends without the question and answer part. However, there are tons of important points mentioned there:
Geneva, June 6, 1974
Yogesvara: The people move to the cities and as a result of this push there are so many problems in the cities. Do you recommend in this plan to have land, where.. that we shun technology?
Prabhupada: There is no need of technology. What is the use of technology? But even if you don't want, there will be cripples who are interested in technology.
So, we do not waste our time, let them do that. We are concerned for Krishna consciousness. We should not waste our time for technology.
Yogesvara: In other words, are we simply trying to set an example……
Prabhupada: We cannot waste our time in any other way. Our only business is, how to advance in Krishna consciousness. That is our business.
Yogesvara: There was one politician I spoke to in India, in Jaipur. He is in charge of a political party. He said that 80% of the people in India live in the villages. And the program of this party was to increase the technology on the farms. And as a result of this so many people would be forced to leave the farms and not work on the farms and they would have so many problems already in the cities, this would increase the problems in the cities many, many times over. Increase the technology on the farms…?
Prabhupada: What is that technology?
Yogesvara: Like tractors. Instead of people having to cut down the wheat they have machines to come along with this. Cut down the wheat. And instead of having bullocks to pull the plow, they have a tractor. To cut down the wheat. Would the people be forced into the cities?
Prabhupada: Of course, there are machine facilities, but, in India so many men are unemployed that to introduce machine this is not a good proposal. Instead of cutting with a machine, if they cut by hand, they have employment.
Everyone is employed. Machine means 100 men's work done by one machine.
But why there are so many unemployed?
Why not engage 100 men instead of one machine? Here also, there are so many unemployed in the Western countries. In one sense, machine creates unemployment.
Just like because in your Western countries … everything is on machine, therefore you are creating so many hippies. That is also another kind of unemployment, everyone should be employed.
Otherwise, it will be devil's workshop.
Idle brain is devil's workshop. So, when there are so many people without any engagement, why there should be machine?
Machine is not good. One machine means to make another 100 men unemployed.
The policy should be – nobody should be unemployed. Everyone should be busy.
Yogesvara: On the other hand, they say, machines are freeing us from so many….
Prabhupada: Freeing from what, for drinking wine and indulging in nonsense policy. What is the meaning of this freedom?
If you are made free for cultivating Krishna consciousness that is another thing. Even coming to our Krishna consciousness camp, they are sleeping.
This camp is not made for eating and sleeping. But for cultivating Krishna.
So anywhere, here and there, the policy should be, that everyone is employed. Everyone is busy. Then there will be nice civilization. If everyone is busy then he cannot cultivate something rascaldom.
That is Vedic civilization. It is the duty of the king to see, that everyone is working. Either as a brahmana, ksatriya, or as a sudra.
Everyone is working. Then there is peace.
At the present moment we can see that on account of this machine there is unemployment and lazy fellow.
What do you think – these hippies are lazy, that's all. They don't want to do anything.
What do you think? One side laziness and one side unemployment. This is not a very good situation. Everyone should be employed. There is a verse in the Bhagavad-gita (BG 3.8)..… in India we have seen, many villagers come and they request one shopkeeper or any gentleman, please give me some work, I don't want salary. If you like you can give me to eat. Otherwise I don't want that also.
Who is that gentlemen, if you work at my place, I won't give you to eat?
Immediately he gets some occupation, simply on the basis of eating only. So he gets shelter. So when he's working and the man sees he's working very nicely, alright you take some salary. So therefore they say that instead of unemployment it is better to work without salary or without any regular employment. This is very good principle. Nobody should be allowed to remain lazy without any work. That is a very dangerous position. Modern civilization on account of the machine there is so much unemployment and so many lazzies also. So this is not good. It is not freedom, it is rather freeway to hell, that's all.
It is not freedom. Everyone should be engaged in work according to his capacity.
If you have got better intelligence you may be employed as a brahmana. Do the work of brahmana, study sastras and write books, give knowledge to others, teach others. That is brahmana's business.
And you don't bother for your subsistence, society will supply. Therefore, brahmana they did not work. They are busy with the study of Vedic literature, teaching others and giving knowledge. And society gives them – food. This is brahmana. And ksatriya means to give protection. There will be danger, there will be attack, the ksatriya will protect.
And for that purpose the ksatriya used to levy tax. So their business is to levy tax. Similarly the less intelligent class, the mercantile community, they engage themselves in producing food and giving protection to the cows. These things are required. And rest, sudras, they help other three higher classes. This is natural division. And that is very good. That means everyone is employed. The intelligent class is employed, the managerial class, mercantile class is employed, and the rest sudra, they are also employed. So there is no, I mean to say, forming party, political party, and fighting, there was no such thing. The king was the supervisor to see that everyone is engaged and everyone is engaged actually in their respective duties so they have no time to form false political parties and make agitation and fight one another. There is no such chance. [...]
Source: Full Lecture at Causelessmercy.com
ys,
Gaurakishor das
