Hare Krsna
Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada
Conversations with HDG A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
One gentleman collected a dried up outer cover of a big squash thrown on the street, a bamboo stick and a wire. He combined all the three things and prepared a string instrument. He joined the bamboo with the dry cover of squash and fitted the string and it began to ting, ting, ting. It is called ektara. There is an instrument in India, which is called ektara. The example is that so many things are individually lying useless. But if somebody knows how to combine them, it becomes an instrument, which is very sweet to hear. Similarly, in this world, so many things are lying dead and frustrated. But if they are combined together by an expert, it becomes useful. So although this world is a dead body, when there is Krishna consciousness, it becomes enlivened. That is our movement. We are trying to inject Krishna consciousness in everything dead within this world.
(Prabhupāda drinks) Now just see all these ingredients of the juice, strawberry, orange, honey and peach, which are all natural products from the jungle. Nobody goes to manufacture them – they automatically come out. But when they are combined together, it is nectarean. None of them is manufactured by man, either this honey or the strawberry or the pineapple. They are all given by God. So in every step, you can perceive the hands of God. That is Krishna consciousness. This nice taste cannot be created by any chemical combination. It is not possible. Because God’s hand is there, it has become such a tasteful drink. Man cannot make. This flower, man cannot make. This fruit… Nothing man can make. This nice flower stick, how nicely it is made! So you can perceive the hands of God in everything. This is Krishna consciousness.
When you perceive the hands of God, presence of God and the presence of the energy of God, then you become happy. That is the way of happiness. This Krishna consciousness movement means how to perceive and realize the presence of God in everything. So there will be no disappointment.
(To guests) Take more? Go on eating.
Īśāvāsyam idam sarvam [Īśo mantra 1]. Everything belongs to God. Actually that is a fact. But people are so foolish. They are not trained up to understand the presence of God in everything. So we are training that status of life to perceive presence of God in everything.
[An excerpt from a room conversation with guests in San Diego on June 30, 1972]
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