Conversation with George Harrison |
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Syamasundara: Anyway, the translation is, "Whatever action is performed by a great man, common men follow in his footsteps. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues." Prabhupada: So this is your duty now. (laughs) By the grace of Krsna you are one of the great men. Although you are young man, but Krsna has placed you in such a high position that there are many young men who follows you. So that is the instruction. George: There is some? You know, Syamasundara and I were talking just on the way here, and it's like when you commit yourself to something, in a way it's like putting your head on the chopping block. Because people, you know, somebody can turn around and chop it off or it may be lucky and, you know, it doesn't get chopped off. Prabhupada: No, it is not chopping off. George: I find that this, um, the more commitment that you make, or that I make, even though it's such a little commitment, I mean, relatively speaking it's such a little one. Now I'm getting in the area where I find that people are? It provokes, um? Prabhupada: Thoughts. George: Well, sometimes it provokes bad reaction. Prabhupada: Accha? Syamasundara: Sometimes people become agitated by his words. Prabhupada: Oh. Murkhaya upadeso hi prakopaya santaya. There is a verse that if one is foolish, if you give him good instruction he becomes angry. Just like the example is given, payah-panam bhujanganam kevalam visa-vardhanam. If you keep a snake and if you give him milk the result will be that his poison will be increased. Payah-panam bhujanganam kevalam visa-vardhanam. So sometimes it happens that ah, if one is foolish, if you give him good advice he becomes angry. Murkhaya upadeso hi prakopaya santaya. But, has it happened like that? No, I don't think so. George: I, you know, you can feel, I can feel a little animosity comes from people who, I don't know for what reason, but people? Syamasundara: Envious maybe. Prabhupada: Envious. George: I don't know which is, in some ways the more committed you are to the thing and the stronger that you are in what you do then the stronger the animosity becomes. Prabhupada: Yes, the other side. George: And I'm not sure if? You know, sometimes I get the feeling that maybe there's one person who it means something real to and ten people who it doesn't mean anything to. And I'm not sure how it, if it all balances out in the end whether... Syamasundara: Well, that one person though, if you reach one person he is worth all of them. George: But say you don't reach any people, and then you have a choice of reaching people and you only reach one, but in, by reaching that one you have twenty people who are annoyed. You know, how do you?? Prabhupada: Yes, sometimes it happens. Syamasundara: His question is that if you preach and you see many men, you meet many men. You may make? If you meet ten men you may make nine of them enemies and only one will become helped by your preaching. So how is that? George: But if you don't say anything then maybe with all the ten of them are quite friendly. Syamasundara: Is that? How is that beneficial? Prabhupada: Yes, the preaching is different, you see. When one preaches he must tell the truth. Just like Lord Jesus Christ. The people did not like his preaching but he did not stop his preaching. That is another point. You see? So in the preaching propaganda there is possibility of creating animosity. |