The Krishna Consciousness movement restores humanity's true identity as eternal souls beyond the temporary body.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Room Conversation with Mohsin Hassan — July 18, 1971, Detroit 710718R1-DETROIT [37:11 Minutes] Conv_710718R1-DETROIT Mohsin Hassan: ...quite, came four weeks ago, and I received the response from you. I think I had the letter with me, and you indicated that you would like to meet me and give me some hint, a suggestion for my thesis writing. So here I am first to introduce myself to you and hope to learn some more about the objective of the movement. And maybe I could put in the thesis, and to be... Prabhupāda: We require help from personalities like you, because it is very important movement, checking a great mistake in the modern civilization. The [break] modern civilization is very risky.
Risky in this sense: that the human form of life is an opportunity for self-realization, but our leaders, they are miseducating, that "You are this body.'' A basic mistake. But I am not this body, but just like you are sitting there, if I take account of your shirt and coat only, not you as a person, then there is a great mistake. Similarly, the modern civilization, education, everything is based on this bodily concept of life. But actually we are not body. Body is my shirt and coat.
Mind, intelligence and ego, that is the shirt, finer dress. And this five-element body—earth, water, air, fire, ether—this is gross. Just like shirt and coat. Similarly, we are dressed, the spirit soul.
The spirit soul is also a measure, one ten-thousandth part of the tip of the hair. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is very important in this sense, that they are trying to bring people to the constitutional position. A living entity is transmigrating from one body to another, as we are in our present body also, we are transmigrating. In my childhood I had a small body. That body is no longer existing, but I am existing.
So there is no reason to believe that when I give up this body I'll not exist. No. I shall exist, but in another body. So people are not interested to make research work how the soul is working and so on. This is ignorance.
So Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is trying to revive the pure consciousness of the human society so that he can know himself and act accordingly. Then his life is successful. Mohsin Hassan: May I ask you, my master, how did this movement formed, came to the Western world? [loud sound of mṛdaṅgas] Prabhupāda: [indistinct] Your question is how this movement...? Mohsin Hassan: Yes, how this movement was formed when you came here. You are the father of this movement.
How this idea was created in the beginning? Because everybody asks me this question, how this movement...? Prabhupāda: The movement of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is very firm. [makes comment about other room; loud sounds of kīrtana and fire yajña] Bhagavad-gītā was there, so Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement was there. India, it was existing.