"The whole world is being misled by the blind leaders; they are keeping the people in darkness. Our present position is that we have got this human form of life after a great evolutionary process and this is the opportunity to understand God Krishna, and revive our original consciousness without which we are sure to go back to the cycle of birth and death.
Krishna Consciousness movement is trying to save the people in general, religionists and philosophers, to save them from the downfall. Opening our center means to educate people in this great science. Krishna Consciousness is not a ism or simply blind following. It is based on authority; scientific and logical."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, January 3, 1977)
"Kavirāja Gosvāmī says, śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-dayā karaha vicāra, vicāra karile citte pābe camatkāra (CC Adi 8.15): 'Just see what kind of merciful is Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. And if you consider it perfectly, you'll see it it wonderful.' Vicāra karile citte pābe camatkāra. 'Oh, here is Caitanya.' Caitanya. Caitanya means living force. He says vicāra. 'Just try to understand by logic, by philosophy, by argument.' That is vicāra. We are not following Caitanya Mahāprabhu blindly. That is not our position.
Just like Arjuna. Arjuna argued with Kṛṣṇa in so many ways. At last he accepted, 'Yes.' Paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitram (BG 10.12): 'You are the Supreme Person. The rascals, they do not understand Your personality, but Vyāsadeva, Nārada, Asita, Devala, they have accepted, and I also see. Therefore, whatever You say, I agree. That's all.' This is experiment. Arjuna did not accept Kṛṣṇa blindly. He knew, but for our sake he gave so many arguments. At last, he accepted. So we have to follow Arjuna."
(Srila Prabhupada Morning Walk, Bhuvanesvara, February 1, 1977)
"There are certain class of men who are simply philosophizing and there are certain class of men who are simply blindly following religious ritualistic process. So Bhagavad-gītā is combination of both. That is scientific. You should be religious, but should understand everything philosophically. Otherwise one becomes fanatic, religious fanatic. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is clearly said that caitanyera dayāra kathā karaha vicāra. You people, you try to understand the gifts of Caitanya Mahāprabhu by your philosophical understanding. Not blindly, philosophically. And vicāra karile citte pāibe camatkāra. If you are actually a wise man, then you'll find it is sublime. And if you simply stick to your own religious ritualistic principles, don't try to understand the philosophy of everything, then you become a fanatic. So we should not become religious fanatics, nor dry mental speculators. Both these classes of men are dangerous. They cannot make any advance. The combination. You should be religious, but try to understand each and every line philosophically.
Just like in the Bible there is the statement, 'God created this universe.' It is a fact. But because modern educated persons have not explained how God created, how the process of creation... These things are explained in the Bhāgavata, how the sky became in existence, then the air became in existence, the fire became in existence. There is a process, general graduation. Actually, God has created the world. There is no doubt about it. But because it is not philosophically explained, the modern educated persons, they don't accept. So Bhagavad-gītā you'll find everything. A combination of religious sentiments plus philosophical understanding. That is wanted."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Los Angeles, December 20, 1968)
"So there is control—by nature. Nature means God's law... automatically working. Foolish people do not see God's law, but there is God's law. The sun is rising just exactly in the time, the moon is rising exactly in the time. The first year, first January, has come exactly in time. So there is control. But foolish people, they do not see it. Everything is controlled.
So to know God and how things are working and how it is being controlled, these things are to be known. We should not go simply by sentiment. Religious sentiment is good for persons who follow blindly. But at the present moment, people are advanced in so-called education. So Bhagavad-gītā gives you full information so that you can accept God with your reason, with your argument, with your knowledge. It is not blind following. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not a sentiment. It is backed by knowledge and practical knowledge. Vijñāna. Jñānaṁ vijñāna-sahitam."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, San Francisco, September 11, 1968)
"If you follow, you'll understand, yourself, 'Yes. I am getting something.' It is not that you are in blindness, you are blindly following. As you follow the principles, you'll understand. Just like if you eat proper nourishing foodstuff, you'll feel yourself strength and your hunger satisfied. You haven't got to ask anybody. You'll feel yourself. Similarly, if you come to the proper path and if you follow the principle, you'll understand, 'Yes, I am making progress.' Pratyakṣa... In the ninth chapter He has said pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyaṁ susukham.
And it is very easy. And you can do in happy mood. And what is the process? We chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and eat kṛṣṇa-prasāda and study Bhagavad-gītā philosophy, hear nice musical sounds. Is it very difficult? Is it very difficult? Not at all. So by this process you'll be asammūḍhaḥ (undeluded). Nobody can cheat you. But if you want to be cheated there are so many cheaters. So don't make a cheater and cheated society. Just follow the paramparā system as it is prescribed in the Vedic literature, as it is recommended by Kṛṣṇa. Try to understand it from the authoritative source and try to apply it in your life."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, New York, January 1, 1967)
"Bhagavad-dūtas, those who are gosvāmīs, they place everything with nyāya, or logic. Their instructions are not blind, dogmatic. Naya-kovidāḥ. Everything what is said by Kṛṣṇa or His representative, they are not dogmas. Those who are not representative of Kṛṣṇa, they will say simply dogmas. Just like in every religion there is a dogma. But in bhāgavata religion, bhāgavata-dharma, there is no dogma.
Caitanya Mahāprabhu's bhāgavata-dharma, the Caitanya-caritāmṛta's author, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, says therefore that caitanyera dayāra kathā karaha vicāra (CC Adi 8.1). Vicāra means you just try to understand the gift of Lord Caitanya by logic, vicāra. Don't follow blindly.
Following blindly something, that is not good. That will not stay. But one should take everything with logic. But the servants of God, they put everything in logic. Caitanyera dayāra kathā karaha vicāra. If you study the Caitanya's philosophy with logic and argument... Don't go by sentiment.
The so-called missionary, they're simply bogus propaganda, without any logic. Without any logic. Just like some missionary people are propagating a man to become God. How a man can become God? There must be evidences how God incarnates. Not that somebody by worshiping a demigod becomes God. So many false propaganda is going on. That is not logical at all. So one should be intelligent to understand the philosophy of Kṛṣṇa or philosophy of Lord Caitanya with logic and argument. Don't follow blindly."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Calcutta, January 6, 1971)
"So everything is there scientific. Simply we have to administer. We have got authoritative scripture, description, answers. Everything is there. It is not blind following. It is not religious fanaticism. It is actually solid ground. Simply one has to understand nicely. That's all. And there is no difficulty. So simple."
(Srila Prabhupada Conversation, Columbus, Ohio, May 12, 1969)
"It is not expected that cent percent population will be able to understand this philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But by the examples of the few, yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhas lokas tad anuvartate (BG 3.21). Just like you'll find in our temple it is always crowded to the fullest extent. We require a more spacious home. But not all of them our initiated student. Out of them, say ten percent may be our initiated student. But still, people are coming to see. They are following. Gradually they will also become student.
So it is a very important movement, scientific movement. I therefore request learned scholars like you, government, scientist, philosopher, they should study. For them we have written so many books. Not only that. It is not that we are simply chanting and dancing.
If you are philosopher, if you are scholar, if you are scientist, we can give you proof in a scientific way, in a philosophical way, scholarly way; therefore these books are there. So my only request is that all the leaders of the society, they should come forward, study this movement and take to it. That will be beneficial. We don't ask blindly, just like one follows some faith or type of religion blindly, and after some times they give it up. No. We say, our predecessor Lord Caitanya says, caitanyer dayār kathā karaha vicara (CC Adi 8.15). You just put your judgment about the mercy of Lord Caitanya, and if you do that, then you will find wonder in this movement."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, New York, July 3, 1972)
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