|
|
What is a Bum?
"That was discussed between Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Chand Kazi, the Muhammadan magistrate of Nadia. He, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, challenged the Kazi, Muhammadan, that 'What is your religion, that you eat your father and mother?' This was the challenge by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. What is that, father, mother? Now, mother, your cow is your mother. You drink milk of cow. And the bull is your father. Because without bull, without the cow and bull being united, there is no milk. So how is that you are eating your father and mother? It is a great challenge. Actually those who are meat-eater, beef-eater, they are killing their father and mother and become implicated in sinful life. Therefore we say no meat-eating. No meat-eating. If you become implicated in sinful life, how you can be happy? There must be nature's punishment. Just like if you infect some disease, nature must punish you. You must suffer from the disease. You cannot get out. It is not possible. Why there are so many varieties of life? Why not one class of men, all President Nixon? (laughter) Why not? Why there is bum in the Bowery Street? In your country I am saying. Why there are arrangement of first-class, second-class, third-class, fourth-class, fifth-class men? Or animals, or trees? Everything is there. Why?"
731231SB.LA Lecture
"The feeling which you had by becoming compassionate to the
fallen bum is very good, but the best way to deliver a bum is to
revive his dormant Krishna Consciousness. If you can do that then
give the bums good food and shelter. If you cannot do that, then
simple supplying food and shelter, is serving the Maya. But there
is no benefit to serving Maya, as you know, as it is all false,
temporary or illusion. We are concerned with Reality, not Maya,
and that should be the object of life."
67-08-27.Mri Letter: Mrinaline
Harry: Yes.
Prabhupada: So everywhere we go, as soon as people see us, they say, "Hare Krsna." In Montreal, when I was going on road, the children will chant, "Hare Krsna." So it is now popular. Yes.
Revatanandana: Just last summer we were walking in... Was it St. James' park?
Prabhupada: Yes.
Revatanandana: Around that pond. And one old bum was there on the park bench. He went by and stood up: "Hare Krsna."
(laughter)
730830rc.lon Conversations
Hari-sauri:
He had a muzzle on. See this man here, Srila Prabhupada? He's emptied out all the wastepaper baskets all over the grass, and now he's searching through to see if there's anything of any value.
Prabhupada: What is valuable there?
Tamala Krsna:
Someone may have thrown something out which he could use.
He's a bum.
Prabhupada:
Another madman. In Hong Kong I have seen, they are
searching some food.
Hari-sauri:
You can see in every big city, mainly older people,
they go and look in all the rubbish bins.
Tamala Krsna:
Just like they'll find an empty bottle, and if they
return the bottle to the shop, they'll get a deposit, ten or
fifteen cents for a bottle deposit.
Pu£àa K"£‹a:
In Mayapura we've seen the little children coming looking for prasadam left over in the rubbish outside.
Ramesvara:
This is one of the big problems in the world today. They don't know how to dispose of all the paper and garbage that they go through. They are selling so many goods, and then they have to throw away the packages. They don't know how to get rid of the garbage. They try to throw it in the ocean sometimes.
Prabhupada:
And for manufacturing the paper they are cutting so many trees and committing sinful life.
760713mw.ny Conversations