Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: The karmī and the jñānī are both within the material world. Is the jñānī considered more elevated than the karmī?

Prabhupāda: No, jñānī is on the margin between material and spiritual world. He is trying to understand what is spiritual world or spiritual life, what is material, that much.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: So he is better off than the karmī.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Karmī has no knowledge, what is the aim of life, but jñānī is understanding that "I have executed material activities so long, but I have not become happy. Then what is the reason?" That is jñānī. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. "What is real life?" But because they are not trained up as bhakta, they come to the conclusion of "The impersonal Brahman is the final." That is the defect. So anyway, they are better than the karmīs.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: So the jñānīs are very rare though, aren't they?

Prabhupāda: Eh? No, bhaktas are rare. (break)

(Morning walk--------Johannesburg).

Guest (1): No, no, just see. And then you see the population of these, for instance, chickens, pigs, and those, they have increased. So the population of human being that is increasing, is it due to these wild animals and other they have done good deeds, so they are coming up as a human being?

Prabhupāda: First thing is, I am asking you, why you are bothering about the increase of population? First, that is my question. The animals, they do not bother. You are so advanced in knowledge. Why you are bothering? First of all answer this question.

(Morning walk--------Bombay).

Indian man: How can you reconcile this birth control with that?

Prabhupāda: Birth control—by brahmacārī. You become brahmacārī.

Indian man: No, by this contraceptive and otherwise.

Prabhupāda: That is most sinful activity. Birth control should be done by restrained sex life.

(Morning walk---------Hyderabad).

Prabhupāda: Yes. But they're... Just like Lord Buddha. We accept him as incarnation of Kṛṣṇa. But he preached, "There is no Kṛṣṇa. There is no God. I don't care for the Vedas."

Guest (2): He's flaunting the authority of...

Prabhupāda: No, he is authority himself. Keśava dhṛta-buddha-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare. He's personally Kṛṣṇa.

(Room conversation--------Bombay).

Guest (1): Was he preaching karma-kāṇḍa?

Prabhupāda: He said that there is no God, but he's God. Just like the policeman sometimes cheats. He goes as a gambler, but he's a policeman. So that is another thing. Therefore if you become Kṛṣṇa conscious, then you understand all these different activities. Yasmin vijñāte sarvam idaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati. If you understand Kṛṣṇa, then you understand everything. And you become liberated. Janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ. If anyone understands what is Kṛṣṇa, why He comes, what His activity is, then tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (B.G.4:9), simply by understanding Kṛṣṇa, you, after giving up this body, you haven't got to come again in this material world. Simply by studying Kṛṣṇa. Therefore we are preaching, "Simply try to understand Kṛṣṇa." This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. (break) ...life is meant for to possess complete knowledge of the Supreme. That is perfection of knowledge. That is possible in the human form of life, not in the life of cats and dogs. That is not possible. So we have got this opportunity. If we spoil this life, living like cats and dogs, then we are missing the opportunity. This is the opportunity to understand Kṛṣṇa, God.

(Room conversation--------Bombay).