Quotes: Crisis of Culture (Srila Prabhupada)

(vox populi) Morning Walk. May 16, 1975, Perth. People may take or not take, but a God's servant must speak the truth. Just like Jesus Christ. He was crucified. Nobody took his words. But he did it. If people would have accepted his philosophy, then why he was crucified by the judges? It was done by the judges, Roman judges. So this is the position of the world. Socrates was killed because he said that there is soul. This is the defect of Western civilization. They want vox populi. What is that vox populi?

People's vote. The people may be asses, but still, their votes will be taken, the vox populi. The fourth-class, fifth-class men, and they are giving vote. And the mistake is detected. Just like this Nixon was voted, and the mistake was detected. But still, they follow the same process, vox populi. What is the value of the votes of the fourth-class, fifth-class men? Better one intelligent man, if he knows things, if he is liberated, if he says, "This is right," that should be taken. That is Vedic civilization. We are accepting Krsna. We are not accepting the vox populi. One person, the Supreme, that's all. This is our process. We don't accept vox populi. All these Vedic literature are accepted not on the people's vote, but who is presenting? Vyasadeva is presenting, Krsna is presenting, Parasara Muni is presenting. Therefore they are accepted. You cannot expect the mass of people very intelligent. That is not possible. So what is the value of their votes if they are not intelligent?

But in the Western countries this is the disease, vox populi. Socrates said there is soul, and he was killed because vox populi was against. Christ was killed because vox populi was against. This is the defect of the Western civilization. During the lifetime of Christ, nobody accepted. When he was killed, or crucified, then the other saintly persons, they gave their experience, what they learned from Jesus Christ.

(inverted values - child and pet) "Dog's mother." Why don't you call in one word, "I am dog's mother." When the natural tendency is to get child, but child is killed, and a pig is taken. This is their civilization. Child is killed and pig is taken, dog is taken. This is their civilization... Naturally you take child, take it: "No, that kill." And take artificially a pig or dog or cat. Take it.

(inverted values - cow and dog) Room Conversation with Sister Mary. August 13, 1972, London. Vegetarians are naturally peaceful. Just see between a dog and a cow. [laughter] Dog unnecessarily will talk: "Gow! Gow! Gow! Gow!" [laughter] without any fault. "Why you are here? Why you are here? Why you are here?" That is dog's qualification. A cow, so useful animal, it will never agitate. The dog has no use, but still he's the best friend. [laughter]. And cow, actually giving us milk -- sending to the slaughterhouse. Just see. This is human civilization. A dog is worshiped, and a cow is slaughtered. Do you think it is civilization? Do you think? Can you support this?

Morning Walk. June 18, 1975, Honolulu. That is the modern civilization. They are avoiding cow dung and associating dog stool. [laughs] This is modern... Cow dung is so beneficial. That they are avoiding. And they are associating dog stool. The dog mentality. The master and the servant, and the, er, dog, both of them watching. The master writes by signboard... What is that? "Keep away. Keep away. Private property." And the animal also making, "Gow! Gow! Gow!" Both of them are dogs. He is making "Gow! Gow!" by signboard, and he is doing it as nature, but both of them are dogs. One is two-legged dog, another is four-legged dog.

(cultivation of addiction to alcohol and meat) Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.5.30. October 2, 1975, Mauritius. Sinful activities mean sense gratification. Sense gratification, they are... When one becomes very much addicted to sense gratification... The symptoms are very prominent in this age. Everyone is working very hard simply for sense gratification. And as soon as you take this life of sense gratification, you are sure to commit sinful activities. For example, throughout the whole world there are so many breweries manufacturing liquor. Especially in the Western countries you will find so many, the advertisement, liquor advertisement, whiskey advertisement, cigarette advertisement. And what to speak of slaughterhouse? There are many, many hundreds and thousands of slaughterhouse. And innocent animals are being killed all over the world unnecessarily. People can live with food grains. That is allowed for the all living entities.

(social entertainment into anxiety) Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, 1.1.10, purport. “In this age, men are victims not only of different political creeds and parties, but also of many different types of sense gratificatory diversions, such as cinemas, sports, gambling, clubs, mundane libraries, bad association, smoking, drinking, cheating, pilfering, bickerings and so on. Their minds are always disturbed and full of anxieties due to so many different engagements.”

https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/1/1/10/

(4 principles) Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 9.41, purport. “ At present, for want of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or God consciousness, the entire world is in darkness, having been covered by the four principles of sinful life — meat-eating, illicit sex, gambling and intoxication. Therefore there is a need for vigorous propaganda to educate people to refrain from sinful activities. This will bring peace and prosperity; the rogues, thieves and debauchees will naturally decrease in number, and all of human society will be God conscious.”

https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/adi/9/41/

(education on the mind) Lecture, 8 Nov 1972, “Yes. Our so-called advancement of education means to live on the mental platform. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā manorathena [SB 5.18.12]. They have no information of the spiritual platform. They... After bodily concept of life, the next platform is mental and intellectual concept of life. But spiritual life is beyond mental and intellectual concept of life. So unless one comes to the spiritual platform, even on mental and intellectual platform he cannot do anything good to the society.”

https://prabhupadavani.org/transcriptions/721108ndvrn/

(brahmins will adopt secular culture) Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, 1.16.12, purport. “The administrative heads as a class will condemn the tenets of Vedic wisdom and will prefer to conduct a so-called secular state, and the so-called educated brāhmaṇas will be purchased by such unscrupulous administrators. Even a philosopher and writer of many books on religious principles may also accept an exalted post in a government which denies all the moral codes of the śāstras. The brāhmaṇas are specifically restricted from accepting such service. But in this age they will not only accept service, but they will do so even if it is of the meanest quality. These are some of the symptoms of the Kali age which are harmful to the general welfare of human society.”

https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/1/16/21/

(secularism) Letter to Sri Padampat Singhania,  7 May, 1957. “As a matter of fact the so called intelligent persons of the modern age have taken the shelter of secularism on the strength of past unfortunate religious feuds. This is another type of nonsense.”

https://vedabase.io/en/library/letters/letter-to-sri-padampat-singhania/

(sin) Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 9.41, purport. “”