Understanding Krishna offers eternal liberation from birth and death; material advancement cannot solve life's fundamental problems.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Pandal Lecture — Bombay, March 17, 1972 720317LE-BOMBAY [30:32 Minutes] Lecture_720317LE-BOMBAY Devotee: …absolutely quiet.
Prabhupāda: [leads jaya rādhā-mādhava] [prema-dhvani] Thank you very much.
Devotees: All glories to Śrī Guru and Gauranga. [06:30]
Prabhupāda: Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you very much for your kindly participating in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. It is already known to you that we are trying to spread this Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world. I was ordered by my spiritual master to go to the Western countries and spread this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. So in 1965, in the month of September, I went to New York with forty rupees in my pocket.
But gradually—this is a long history—in a very short time this movement has spread all over the world by the cooperation of my American disciples, both boys and girls. Now we have got more than ninety branches all over the world, and we have come here in Bombay to open this center in this place where we are now sitting. So by your cooperation we wish to develop this center into a very large institution for spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is very important at the present moment.
It is important in this sense: that throughout the whole world, I have traveled, everyone is practically without God consciousness. This means that this human form of life, which is achieved after many, many births, labdhvā su-durlabhaṁ bahu-sambhavānte [SB 11.9.29]. Bahu-sambhavānte: after many, many births. There are 8,400,000 species of life—aquatics, then plants, trees, insects, birds, bees, then uncivilized human being, then civilized human being.
In this way, especially in India we are considered to be very advanced in culture and religion, still. I read one book written by one Chinese gentleman. It is recommended in the New York University for studies in comparative, philosophical and religion class. In that book this Chinese gentleman writes that “If you want to know about religion and culture, then you have to go to India.” So our background, this Vedic civilization, is very great.