1. War and famine

    Prabhupada: That will take place. Otherwise, how they will be killed?

    Ambarisa: They’re calling it a limited nuclear war.

    Prabhupada: They are accumulated so much sinful load that must be killed. That is sure. The massacre. That will take place.

    Harikesa: The sinless people will survive?

    Prabhupada: Yes.

    Devotee (3): Who is that?

    Prabhupada: We. [break] There was an artificial famine in India and I particularly inquired from all devotees whether they have got any problem in this famine. They said, “No, we haven’t got.” I have taken the statistics. In 1942 the artificial famine created by governmenti So there were big earthquake in Bihar. At that time one of my godbrother, he was government auditor. So I inquired. In that earthquake only his house was saved. I have seen it many times. Kaunteya pratijanihi na me bhaktah pranasyati [BG 9.31]. That is the onlyi.

    samasrita ye pada-pallava-plavam
    mahat-padam punya-yaso murareh
    bhavambudhir vatsa-padam param padam
    padam padam yad vipadam na tesam
    [SB 10.14.58]

    padam padam yad vipadam na tesam. It is not meant for them, all these dangerous condition. Now the nuclear war means it will not continue very long. The first party who will drop the bomb on the other party, he will be victorious, and immediately the war will stop. They are simply arranging how to drop the atom bomb first. So one who will be able to drop the bomb first, he will be victorious. It doesn’t require long time. Just like in Japan, as soon as the Americans dropped the atom bomb in Hiroshima, immediately they surrendered. This will be the result. Now the question is who will be able to drop the bomb first.

    Siddha-svarupa: The Japanese didn’t have any atom bombs to send back, though.

    Prabhupada: No. It was in possession of Hitler. And your American stolen and kept it. Hitler wanted to use it, but, good sense, he did not like. He said that “I can do it immediately, but I will not do it.” So three bombs they kept ready, and when Germany was in awkward condition these Americans, they stolen, and they used it in Japan. This was manufactured by the German.

    Bali-mardana: Most of the American scientific knowledge for going to space, etc., is all gotten from the Germans.

    Prabhupada: Yes.

    Bali-mardana: They stole the German scientists. And the Russians also, after the war, they took many German scientists.

    Prabhupada: I think the aeroplane was made by the Germans first.

    Bali-mardana: Yes, the jet airplane, yes.

    Prabhupada: Yes. And they took it, the idea, from Sanskrit literature. Yes. They purchased the book from Benares.

    Devotee: In India we have, and Hawaii, the firecrackers going up, the idea was from there.

    Harikesa: The Germans also had the idea that this universe is encaged in some hard layers. And they were trying to bounce waves off of the edge of the universe.

    Prabhupada: No, the Germans, they very much praised Indian culture. That my godbrother Soulier, when he came to India he said that “When Indian students come to our country, first of all we inquire how much he has got asset of his own culture. If we find that he has got some knowledge in his own culture, then we receive. Otherwise we reject.” As soon as they found that somebody is made of London culture, then immediately they reject. There are many Sanskrit scholars in Germany.

    Harikesa: All of the good dictionaries are from Germany.

    Prabhupada: No, Max Mueller was German.

    Harikesa: A lot of the devotees have been wondering about book production if there is some war.

    Prabhupada: War? The war will be for a few days only.

    Bali-mardana: Then the presses can go on.

    Prabhupada: This war will not prolong. That is not possible.

    Harikesa: So this is not the big one.

    Prabhupada: No, it is big war, but it will be finished within short time.

    Bali-mardana: Drop their bombs, everything’s finished.

    Upendra: But the argument is that these bombs will create more disturbance than just the blowing up. They createwhat’s called radio-active fallout.

    Prabhupada: Yes, that will do. But the war will stop because the party which will be able to drop the bomb first, he will be victorious.

    Harikesa: They’ve got these fancyi

    Prabhupada: Then after effects, what will happen, that is another thing. But the war will not continue for ten years or five years, like that.

    Bali-mardana: Many Communist countries now, they are not making any more big cities. They are keeping the population very spread out so that after the war they will be able to take over. Because if one has a big city, then the people can be killed very easily in one bomb, finished. [break]

    Prabhupada: They are afraid of death?

    Bali-mardana: Well, the Chinese figure they have so many people that even if there is a war…

    Prabhupada: They are gainer.

    Bali-mardana: There will still be so many of them left.

    Morning Walk, June 16, 1975, Honolulu