Blog

Wednesday, 7 May 1975

A notable feature of Prabhupada's visit to Perth was his animated morning walk conversations. During these lively discourses, Srila Prabhupada demonstrated that philosophical analysis need not be a dull, abstruse affair, but could be a dynamic cutting edge into every sphere of life. Nothing could escape Prabhupada's keen intellect, deep spiritual insight and uncommon wit. Rejecting superficial and dogmatic thinking, he edified, challenged, cajoled, charmed and enlightened his young students, as he carefully guided them to increased insight and understanding.

Srila Prabhupada's first walk was on City Beach. The air was cool, and apart from the gentle, rhythmic sound of the waves breaking on the beach, all was quiet. The sun rose a little before 7am. Prabhupada strode briskly, a brown woollen chaddar protecting his body from the cold with his head wrapped in a thick crocheted multi-coloured scarf. Amogha walked nearby, recording anything that Prabhupada might say on his Sony portable tape recorder.

Prabhupada, his head high, lightly marked the sand with his varnished, bamboo-textured cane. With each firm step he would point the cane ahead, again poking it into the soft white sand then lifting it, rhythmically marking the pace. His silk, saffron-coloured robes looked very elegant on his body, and reflected the first rays of the sun.

The theme of the morning walk was "Krsna, the operator of the universal machine". Both Srutakirti and especially Paramahamsa Swami, a bright young American disciple, took obvious pleasure in posing as materialistic scientists in an enthusiastic mock debate. It had become an established tradition that Srila Prabhupada would regularly engage his disciples in such debates to sharpen their preaching skills and remembrance of the philosophy. Now, presenting the atheistic view of the universe, the two men tried their best to convince Prabhupada that there was no intelligence behind the creation.

Prabhupada dismissed their claims as childish: "A child will think the motor car is running automatically, but a sane man will understand that there is a driver, so persons who deny the existence of God are like that."

The whole universe, he added, was just like a great machine, and Krsna was the operator. "How could people argue that it is not a machine? Everything is being systematically done." The vast ocean, he pointed out, never encroached beyond its prescribed point on the beach. And the sun always rose on time.

Playing the devil's advocate, Paramahamsa said that the universal machine was especially wonderful because it was going on without an operator. In reply, Prabhupada chastised him for being a dull-headed rascal. He challenged him to find a machine anywhere in the creation that was not operated by a person. Paramahamsa suggested "automatic" machines. Prabhupada dismissed the idea. There was no such thing as an automatic machine. Automatic, he said, meant "in the hands of an operator".

Ganesa interceded in Paramahamsa's defence. "We can see the operator of these small machines, Srila Prabhupada, but we cannot see the operator of the big machine."

"Have you seen the operator in the powerhouse?" asked Prabhupada.

"No," replied Ganesa.

"Then how do you think the powerhouse is going on?"

Paramahamsa suggested that they could drive to the powerhouse and see the operator immediately.

Prabhupada saw no contradiction. "Yes, you can see. You could go to Krsna and see Him. That requires qualification."

"That's not as easy," Paramahamsa said.

Prabhupada disagreed. "No, it is very easy. It is simply, as we are teaching our students, just become a devotee, offer namaskar, always think of Him, and you will go to Him. It is not at all difficult."

Paramahamsa tried to sidetrack the issue by arguing that there was no real need of meeting the powerhouse operator. Rather, it was sufficient to enjoy the facilities offered by the powerhouse.

This was the opinion of a dull student, Prabhupada rejoined. An intelligent man would be eager to find out the identity of the operator.

"Just like we read one story. One little boy, he was beating on a drum. So, he became inquisitive: 'Where is the sound coming from? Somebody must be within it.' He took a knife and cut it. This is intelligence. Where from the sound is coming? He was beating, dum, dum, dum. He became inquisitive, that is intelligence."

"A dull student thinks: 'Coming, that's all.' And intelligent man -- he tries to find out; that is intelligence. So if one is very dull, just like cats and dogs, he cannot enquire: 'What is this machine? What is behind this?' It is the human form of life. These enquiries should come, otherwise he remains like the cat and dog."


- From "The Great Transcendental Adventure" by HG Kurma Prabhu