Spiritual knowledge is rare and cannot spread to masses, yet sincere seekers find Kṛṣṇa consciousness naturally accessible and liberating.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg — May 12, 1969, Columbus 690512R1-COLUMBUS [63:57 Minutes] Conv_690512R1-COLUMBUS Allen Ginsberg: It becomes more and more widespread and is more and more acceptable to people... Prabhupāda: [aside:] A Bengali woman is here, that Lekha? She can come, and you can give. Devotee: Prabhupāda, may I ask you one question? I know that [indistinct] here is an astrologer. I can do astrological charts.
Do you consider that māyā? Allen Ginsberg: Huh. I don't know how... It's difficult for me to conceive everybody in America... Prabhupāda: Nothing is accepted by everybody. Allen Ginsberg: Or even like a vast, vast, vast number of people living a Hindu language-based, Hindu food-based, monastic life in America. Yes.
And many of us..., like, do you remember Gary Snyder, who is the Buddhist boy, I think we met in New York? Kīrtanānanda: San Francisco. He was with you when you visited Prabhupada... Allen Ginsberg: In San Francisco, was it? Yes. ...have all been thinking what form of religious practice, what form of simple meditation exercises could be set forth in America that could be adopted by a great, great, great, great many people on a large scale. We haven't solved the problem.
Now, one thing I've noticed is that the Kṛṣṇa temples have spread and are firmly rooted and solidly based. There are a number of them now. So that really is a very solid root. So I think that will continue. Prabhupāda: Yes. Allen Ginsberg: But I'm wondering what future is there?
[laughs] What's the future of a religious observance so technical as this? So complicated as this? Requires so much sophistication in terms of diet, daily ritual, ārati, ekādaśī, all... The whole thing that you've been teaching, how far can that spread by its very complexness? Prabhupāda: Yes.
All are complex. The whole idea is to keep the devotees always engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the program. Gradually, we shall introduce more and more, so that he has no scope to go outside Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Allen Ginsberg: Well, then the question is... Prabhupāda: First of all you have to understand that we are trying to make people Kṛṣṇa conscious.
So how he can remain twenty-four hours Kṛṣṇa conscious, that is the program. Allen Ginsberg: Well, the Orthodox Jews have a very heavy, complicated, moment-by-moment ritual daily existence in that..., for that same purpose. It was to keep them conscious of their religious nature. And that has maintained a small group of Jews over the centuries as an integral unit, but has tended to disappear in the later generations now, simply because modern life does not allow that much Kṛṣṇa consciousness or Jewish consciousness or religious consciousness and attention, act by act, throughout the day. So my question is how far can total Kṛṣṇa devotion, act by act, all day, spread?