| Home | “It is ironic that the Folio, which has done so much to perpetuate Srila Prabhupada’s corpus, is also limiting it.” (Brahmananda Dasa) |
At Anuttama's, back in late 1996, you told me, "Most of what Prabhupada said is not in the Folio, because 90% of the time, there was no tape recorder running." I have often thought about these words of wisdom, and they have inspired me to write the following (a work in progress).
Your servant, Pratyatosa Dasa
(Brahmananda Prabhu’s reply is at the end of this web page.)
Please note: This list should not include quotes from unreliable sources, quotes that appeared out of nowhere years after 1977, and/or quotes which are obviously self-motivated. If a particular quote seems to fall into one or more of these 3 categories, please let me know.
Pratyatosa Dasa ()
(Quotes most recently added are on top.)
64. Grhasthas should move to one of our farm projects.
Source: This was told to me by Jagadisa Dasa, my GBC representative, when I got married in Chicago in 1973.
Comment: I got the distinct impression that the reason for this was simply that it was a more conducive environment for raising children in Krsna consciousness. No children; no need to live on a farm.
63. A gentleman answers his mail.
Source: An email from Rasananda Prabhu dated August 7, 2009.
62. The Hare Krsna Mantra is like massage oil. Any way you rub it in is nice!
Source: At ISKCON Brooklyn in 1971, Bharadvaja Dasa told me that Srila Prabhupada told him this in reference to leading kirtanas using unusual melodies.
61. A woman who remarries becomes the enemy of her children.
Source: Unknown.
60. According to the Vedic system, it is perfectly acceptable for an 80 year old man to marry an 11 year old girl.
Source: Unknown.
59. Muslims are less intelligent because of centuries of inbreeding. They marry their first cousins.
Source: Unknown.
58. Just like in your country. New leaders every four years. Then we are safe.
Source: Sri Govinda Dasa (ACBSP) told me this right after he had complained to Srila Prabhupada during Srila Prabhupada’s visit to the 55th Street temple in New York City in July of 1976. Sri Govinda’s complaint was that he had been replaced as temple president of ISKCON Chicago (Evanston). The above was Srila Prabhupada’s reply.
57. Competition gives life!
Source: Unknown.
56. 90% of the Radha Damodara brahmacaris will end up getting married.
Source: Dhrstadyumna Svami, Gita Nagari Farm, Port Royal, PA, USA, 1976.
55. A man should not work more than 8 hours a day to maintain his family.
Source: Unknown.
54. Any government which taxes it’s citizens more than 25% is punishable by Yamaraja.
Source: Unknown.
53. Krsna consciousness is ‘kitchen religion.’
Source: Unknown.
52. When I hear Bharadvaja sing, I feel transcendental ecstacy.
Source: I may have heard this from Krsna Kanti in Los Angeles in ’72 or ’73.
Comment: I was told that Srila Prabhupada said this when someone played for him a copy of one of the recordings that I made in 1971 at ISKCON New York (Brooklyn) of Bharadvaja Dasa leading a kirtan.
51. Is it dead?
Source: Danesh Dasa, ISKCON Washington D.C., 1969.
Comment: Srila Prabhupada made this sarcastic remark at ISKCON 2nd Ave, NYC the first time he was served cereal containing raisins. Therefore, devotees, from that point on, only purchased golden raisins. Srila Prabhupada never complained when served cereal containing golden raisins.
50. This was caused by the mayavadi psychic influence, creeping into ISKCON, of my very powerful, but very envious Gaudiya Math godbrothers.
Source: I, along with all of the other residents of 1970 ISKCON Detroit, were told this by the then Detroit temple president, Bhagavan Dasa.
Comment: Srila Prabhupada said something similar to the above when “ISKCON Press” published one of his books listing the author as “A. C. Bhaktivedanta,” Srila Prabhupada was furious with them for not using his whole title. He also said something similar when he was being held a virtual prisoner at ISKCON Los Angeles in 1970. His orders were being ignored by those “senior” disciples who were surrounding him, and his disciples messages to him were being censored. It was right after these two unfortunate events that Srila Prabhupada formed ISKCON’s first “GBC.”
49. New Vrindaban will someday become tropical.
Source: Unknown.
48. There should be cottages.
Source: I may have been told this back in 1976, when I was living in the ISKCON Detroit “Fisher Mansion” temple. I was living in the married men’s quarters, which was the middle bedroom. My wife and infant son were living in the married women’s quarters, which was the servants’ quarters during Lawrence Fisher’s time. Later, the “servants’ quarters” were converted into offices for the temple administrators.
Comment: Srila Prabhupada reportedly made this comment in Detroit one of the first times that he saw the new “Fisher Mansion” temple property. This was his solution to the grhastha housing problem: one family per small cottage on the temple property.
47. What will they do? Kill you?
Source: Unknown
Comment: Srila Prabhupada reportedly made this sarcastic remark when one of his disciples was frantically trying to get ready to leave so that he wouldn’t be late for work.
46. If you don’t bathe using oil, then it’s not a real bath.
Source: Urmila Devi Dasi (ACBSP)
45. The adults should drink one cup of milk a day; the children two cups.
Source: Unknown
Source: Urmila Devi Dasi (ACBSP)
43. It’s a sin to steal, but it’s not a sin to be stolen from.
Source: Unknown. Possibly a quote from Lord Chaitanya?
42. Every night you should have a clean sleeping cloth.
Source: Govardhana Dasa (ACBSP) and Sitarani Devi Dasi (ACBSP) received this instruction in a letter from Srila Prabhupada in 1971, just after they had been married, and just before they started a new temple in Minneapolis.
41. What is the need for such a system? Everything should simply be provided.
Source: Sri Govinda Dasa (ACBSP), the temple treasurer of ISKCON Detroit in 1970, wrote to Srila Prabhupada describing a petty cash system involving little envelopes and slips of paper. The above was Srila Prabhupada’s reply.
40. A brahmin always leaves a place cleaner than he found it.
Source: Unknown.
39. Motorcycles are for those who want to commit suicide.
Source: Unknown.
38. In reference to the Vietnam War: If a country engages in war, they should fight to win. They should not hold anything back.
Source: Unknown.
Comment: IMHO, this means that, according to Srila Prabhupada, the U.S. should have nuked China, who was assisting North Vietnam, back to the stone age, if they refused, after repeated warnings, to give up their involvement.
37. My guru maharaja used to say, ‘He who chastises me is my friend; he who flatters me is my enemy’.
Source: Aja Dasa, Temple President of ISKCON Boston, 1975.
36. Govinda Dasi is perfectly qualified to be on the GBC, except she is a woman.
Source: Unknown.
35. Puffed rice is too difficult for you to make. You should simply purchase.
Source: Devotees from the original ISKCON Washington D.C. temple on Newport Place in 1969.
34. If Krsna likes you, He’ll give you everything; if He loves you He’ll take everything away.
Source: Unknown.
33. If you eat meat, then you must also drink wine in order to properly digest the meat.
Source: Unknown.
Source: Unknown.
31. Vegetable oil is for external use only.
Source: Unknown.
30. Deleted.
29. The mouth is the dirtiest part of the body. It’s even dirtier than the anus.
Source: Fellow brahmacari, probably in 1972 or 73.
28. Perspiration means good health.
Source: Unknown.
27. They are killing mother cow in the slaughterhouse. They are killing babies in the womb. Therefore they will have to send their sons to the slaughterhouse of war.
Source: Unknown.
26. Just by reading my books they are initiated.
Source: Krsna Kumari Devi Dasi (The original URL of the article, http://guru.krsna.org/Articles/2001/08/007.html, no longer works, but the following web page includes a portion of the article: http://istagosthi.org/archive/open-forum/000032-16.htm. After bringing up the page, do an Edit/Find (on This Page) for “Just by reading my books they are initiated”).
25. You can’t criticize a man for being dirty when he’s in the shower.
Source: Unknown.
24. Here is Krsna coming to kill me.
Comment: When Calcutta was being regularly bombed by the Japanese during World War II, most people left the city. Srila Prabhupada, however, refused to leave. He once made this comment while the bombs were falling.
Source: Unknown.
23. If someone does not know the date, it can be understood that he is insane.
Source: Unknown.
22. I do not trust any individual GBC man, but the whole GBC body I trust.
Source: Unknown.
Source: Pratyatosa Dasa (ACBSP) - Chicago - 1973
Comment: This statement was made by Srila Prabhupada to my father-in-law, Mr. Manischewitz. At the time, I noticed that Makhanlal Prabhu, the temple president of ISKCON St. Louis, was recording the conversation, but somehow or other, it never made it into the VedaBase.
20. The men may not bathe naked.
Source: Karandhara Dasa (ACBSP) - Los Angeles - 1972
Comment: The Los Angeles brahmachari quarters, at that time, had one large shower room with multiple shower heads, and the men would all bathe completely naked. After Srila Prabhupada made this statement, Karandhara Prabhu, the resident GBC man, instituted a rule that the men had to have their genital area covered while bathing.
19. Do not distribute my song tapes without the purports.
Source: Dinesh Dasa (ACBSP) (Washington, DC, 1969)
Comment: At that time, Dinesh Prabhu was the official ISKCON “tapesvara.” His duties included distributing copies of Srila Prabhupada’s kirtan, bhajan, and lecture tapes to all of the temples. One thing that Dinesh Prabhu told me is that Prabhupada said that his songs should never be distributed without the purports, because Prabhupada wanted his disciples to learn the meanings of the songs.
18. Distribute my lecture tapes in their entirety or NOT AT ALL.
Source: Krsna Kanti Dasa (ACBSP) (Los Angeles -1973)
Comment: Krsna Kanti Prabhu told me this within minutes of Srila Prabhupada having told it to him. Krsna Kanti was a little disappointed, because the reason that he had asked Srila Prabhupada this question is because he wanted to include excerpts from Srila Prabhupada lectures in his “The Krsna Show” series of weekly radio shows which were, at the time, being aired on several radio stations throughout the country.
17. I do not know very much about these subject matters, but my Guru Maharaja: he knows!
Source: Danesh Dasa (ACBSP) (Washington D.C. - 1969).
Comment: In the early days of the movement, Srila Prabhupada was once challenged by a guest at New York’s 2nd Ave. temple. The guest said something to the effect that, “How can the Moon be further away than the Sun?.” Srila Prabhupada humbly replied, “I do not know very much about these subject matters, but my Guru Maharaja: he knows!”
16. Someday history will record that the Hare Krsna movement saved the world.
Source: Unknown.
15. An intelligent person never gets bored. If he has nothing to do, he will count the beams in the ceiling.
Source: Unknown.
14. Hope for the best, plan for the worst.
Source: COM: Madhava Gosh Dasa (ACBSP) (New Vrindaban - USA).
13. Srila Prabhupada once told us to pray for a devotee right after he or she (I can’t remember which) passed away. I was told that Srila Prabhupada said that it was like serving as a favorable witness at a trial.
Source: Unknown, but it was probably stated in Los Angeles in 1972 or ’73 when I was living there in the temple, and Srila Prabhupada was visiting there.
12. Deleted.
11. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta was very critical of his overweight sannyasi disciples.
Source: Brahmananda Dasa (ACBSP): “This I can also confirm. It may be in the books or lectures.”
10. You can say anything, just don’t put it in writing.
Source: Brahmananda Dasa (ACBSP) (Vrindaban - India)
9. The women can go on the altar as long as their husbands are also there [on the altar with them].
Source: Tamala Krsna Dasa GoSvami (ACBSP) and Pratyatosa Dasa (ACBSP)
Comment: I was on Srila Prabhupada’s last morning walk in New York in 1976. Suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks and I heard him tell Tamala Krsna Dasa GoSvami, “The women can go on the altar as long as their husbands are also there [on the altar with them].” This was in responce to an earlier conversation wherein Srila Prabhupada was informed that the NY Temple brahmacaris were complaining that they were becoming sexually agitated because of the women on the altar with them. A couple of years ago I asked TKG, by email, whether or not he recalled this statement, and he confirmed that he did remember these exact words.
8. My disciples should not make more than 10% profit off of each other.
Source: Unknown.
Comment: In 1971, devotees were complaining to Srila Prabhupada that ISKCON Press was charging high prices to devotees for their services, so Srila Prabhupada stated that his disciples should not make more than 10% profit off of each other.
Source: Unknown.
6. They can dance on the heads of the men. Then they will be satisfied!
Source: Unknown.
Comment: When told that the women would be restricted to the balcony during the morning program in the new temple room in Los Angeles, Srila Prabhupada replied, “They can dance on the heads of the men. Then they will be satisfied!”
5. The third generation will be a generation of pure devotees.
Source: Unknown.
4. We can use anything in Krsna’s service.
Source: Sri Govinda Dasa (ACBSP), temple president of ISKCON Chicago, who said that he personally witnessed this conversation.
Comment: In 1973, in New York, after being told by Bali Mardan Dasa (GBC) that my father-in-law, Mr. Manischewitz, owned a big company that made wine, Srila Prabhupada said, “We can use anything in Krsna’s service.”
3. If you want education, then go to London; if you want culture, then go to Rome; if you want sense gratification, then go to Paris; if you want money, then go to New York.
Source: Navadvipa Dasa, Detroit, Mi, USA, 1980’s.
2. Don’t be amazed when someones dies; be amazed when someone lives.
Source: Brahmananda Dasa (ACBSP) (Vrindaban - India).
1. Just see what he has done!
Source: Unknown.
Comment: Whenever Srila Prabhupada would hear about some great accomplishment of one of his disciples, he would say, “Just see what he has done!” He wouldn’t say, “Ultimately Krsna is doing everything.,” or “He is being used as Krsna’s instrument.” or “His talent is on loan from Krsna.,” but, just like a proud father speaking about a great accomplishment of his son, he would say, “Just see what he has done!”
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
What you are doing in compiling what Srila Prabhupada said is interesting. Perhaps every devotee should do this and a compilation could be made. We are reaching a point that if something that Srila Prabhupada said is not in the Folio, either in recorded conversation, lecture or letter, it is being challenged, doubted, and rejected. For instance, the most notable quote about the books being the law books for mankind for 10,000 years. But, so much more was said that was not recorded. It is ironic that the Folio, which has done so much to perpetuate Srila Prabhupada's corpus, is also limiting it. After our generation of devotees is gone, Srila Prabhupada will only be known by what is in the Folio. Our witnessing will be gone. Yet, in philosophy, verbal testimony, sabda pramana, is accepted as a means to the truth. What you are doing is important.
Your servant, in the service of Srila Prabhupada,
Brahmananda dasa
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