This is the secret of modern fashionable interpretation. If you want to establish... Suppose you have got some conviction, and if you want to establish it by evidence of an approved literature. Just like Gandhi. Gandhi wanted to establish nonviolence from Bhagavad-gita. He is known to be a great student of Bhagavad-gita, but he was not at all. His political theory was that he wanted to conquer over the enemies by nonviolence method. Nonviolent noncooperation, that was his theory.

(For Durga-puja; from Srila Prabhupada's purport to SB 4.24.19) Lord Siva is always accompanied by his material energy (saktya ghoraya). Material energy -- goddess Durga, or goddess Kali -- is always under his control. Goddess Kali and Durga serve him by killing all the asuras, or demons. Sometimes Kali becomes so infuriated that she indiscriminately kills all kinds of asuras.

No government is helping us. They are increasing brothels, drinking. At least in India there was no drinking propaganda. Now the government is making that. They are opening wine shop. India, even in the British period, drinking was very, very restricted. Very, very restricted. First of all socially if anyone drinks, he is rejected as gentleman. A drunkard was never respected. Similarly meat-eaters. He was considered third-class man. In our childhood we have seen, when people learned to eat...

Do not misunderstand that we are trying to spread Hinduism. Hinduism is a fictitious term...We don't find this word in the Vedic literature...This is the convention of latest age. Actually, we, the followers or Vedic principles, our system is varnasrama-dharma, four varnas and four asramas. Varnasrama-dharma is applicable anywhere. Catur-varnyam maya srstam guna-karma-vibhagasah [Bg. 4.13]. The creation of God... Just like sun. Sun is creation of God. Sun is visible everywhere. Not that something American sun and something Indian...

...transcendence is beyond our mind, bodily activities, mental activities or intelligence. The European philosophers and transcendentalists, they do not know actually what is transcendence. They understand that there is something, but they do not know what it is. Therefore they speculate by their imperfect senses. Gradually it becomes craziness.

...humbleness is of course good qualification, but humbleness you will find in animal also, very humble. If you cut his throat, he will not tell anything. But what should be the aim of life? If we forget the aim of life and simply become humble like ass, is that very good qualification? The ass is very humble. You load upon it tons of loads, it will not protest. Very humble.

Pariksit Maharaja was the emperor of the whole world. Not a teeny village or something. And that empire also, without any disturbance. He was so powerful that nobody could go against him. Rajye ca avikale. Avikale. Vikala means "broken" or "disturbed." But his kingdom was never broken or disturbed. Now the whole world is broken and disturbed, at the present moment. They have got so many countries, independent countries. That means the world is broken into pieces. Formerly there...

...the position of the Pandavas; although Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the greatest among all greats, He remained with those royal brothers, being attracted by their devotion, by their friendship and by their love. That is the proof of how great this process of devotional service is. It can attract even the Supreme Personality of Godhead. God is great, but devotional service is greater than God because it attracts Him. People who are not in devotional service can...

There is no very great scientist, mathematician, philosopher among women. You'll never find, because their brain substance cannot go. Artificially do not try to become equal with men. That is not allowed in the Vedic sastra. Na striyam svatantratam arhati [Manu-samhita]. That is called sastra. You have to understand that woman is never given to be independence. Independence means just like child has to be taken care, similarly, woman has to be taken care.

...if you cannot do anything, simply come and offer your obeisances: "My dear Lord Krsna, I am so poor, so unfortunate, I cannot do all these things, but I offer my humble obeisances unto Your lotus feet."

A man within this material world is just a dead body. In fact, superficially, the living entity is covered by this body, which is nothing but a bag of skin decorated with a beard and mustache, hairs on the body, nails on the fingers, and hairs on the head. Within this decorated bag are bunches of muscles, bundles of bones, and pools of blood, always mixed with stool, urine, mucus, bile and polluted air and enjoyed by different kinds of...

Basu Ghosh Prabhu related: Srila Prabhupada said that modern science and education, like the religions of the West, are the "religions of the meat eaters" (Prabhupada told me this personally -- and Brahmananda Prabhu, who resides at Vrindavan was also present -- on a morning walk at Vrindavan during September 1975).