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Prabhupāda: So under the circumstances, we should now make combined effort that it can be pushed on more organizedly. I am doing now alone, with the help of these... But no Indians are coming. This is the difficulty.

Indian man: I think, with all due respect, many Indians are trying to do things in their own villages or in their own districts.

Prabhupāda: Nobody is doing.

Indian man: Well, I mean, if you had been to Bharatpur recently, about 5,200 beds were there for netra-yajña, for the eyes operation.

Prabhupāda: I know. That I know. But I am speaking of this culture.

Indian man: Culture, yes.

Indian man (2): That is a difficulty. Everyone is giving. Because in observing karma-phela, somebody's taking care of.

Indian man: In bhakti and in...

Prabhupāda: But one thing is that we are preaching Bhagavad-gītā as it is. In Bhagavad-gītā there is no such statement that you take care of the eyes of the people. There is no such statement. That is your manufactured. But we are preaching Bhagavad-gītā as it is. That is the difference. Our preaching is that instead of giving relief to the eyes, give him relief in such a way he hasn't got to accept any more this body with eyes. You cannot make a solution of the problem. Somebody is taking care of the eyes, somebody's taking of the finger, somebody of the hair, somebody of another, genital, and so on, so on. This will not solve the problem. The problem is, as it is said in the Bhagavad... janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). This is intelligence. As soon as you take birth, then you will have eyes, you will have eye trouble, vyādhi. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi. If you accept janma-mṛtyu, then between janma-mṛtyu there is vyādhi and jarā. You have to accept. You may give some relief, but you have to accept. So that is not solution. The solution is how to stop this janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi. That is solution. That is bigger solution. So we are giving that thing—there will be no more eyes' trouble. The main disease...

Suppose one man is diseased, so sometimes he is feeling headache, sometimes eye-ache, sometimes finger-ache, and you are applying some medicine for headache. That is not the solution. The solution is that this man is suffering from this disease. How to cure it? So Bhagavad-gītā is meant for that purpose. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9). And as soon as you accept body—kleśada. Na sādhu manye yato ātmano 'yam asann api kleśada āsa dehaḥ (SB 5.5.4). Asann api. This body is not permanent. So because the body is not permanent, the disease also not permanent. So Kṛṣṇa's advice is tāṁs titikṣasva bhārata. Mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ (BG 2.14). You make the solution—that is the greatest solution, that how to stop janma-mṛtyu. But that they do not know, that this can be stopped. They are simply busy with their temporary problems. And they are taking it as very great. What is great? Suppose if you have got a boil here. Simply by pinprick (makes blowing sound) will it cure? There must be surgical operation, get out the pus.

So this movement is for that purpose. It is not for this janma-mṛtyu, I mean, temporary jarā-vyādhi. That is all right, but Kṛṣṇa says—if we take Kṛṣṇa's advice, Bhagavad-gītā—that is not problem. If there is little trouble, tāṁs titikṣasva bhārata. Real problem is that janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi (BG 13.9), try to stop it. That is intelligence. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya (BG 4.9). That is culture; that is education—not to be very much bothered with the temporary. That is not very intelligence. Give them this culture, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So we have got this body. So long you have got this body, you may give relief to the eyes, but another trouble will come. It is not guarantee that by giving them relief to the eyes he gets relief from all kinds of disease. That is go... That will go, going on, janma-mṛtyu... er, mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya (BG 2.14). So give relief, and the real relief, how to stop... That is our Vedic civilization, that you should not become father, you should not become mother, if you cannot give protection to your children from the cycle of birth and death. Pitā na sa syāj jananī na sā syāt na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum (SB 5.5.18). This is real problem. Real culture is that "This child has come to me, so we shall train him in such a way that no more accepting body." Because as soon as we accept body... It is very difficult subject matter, of course, to understand, but Bhagavad-gītā teaches, yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati (BG 4.7). When people forget this problem, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi, Kṛṣṇa personally comes to teach them that "This is your problem."

Indian man (3): Gurujī, just now the problem is of starvation also...

Prabhupāda: Well, starvation... Suppose you are diseased, and if your father does not give you to eat, well, you have... that is your blessing.

Indian man (2): And what about... he will die or...? Or this will go away?

Prabhupāda: Why you are complaining? Suppose your father, he gives you everything. But when you are diseased, if he said, "My dear son, you cannot eat everything," is that starvation?

Indian man (3): But anyway...

Prabhupāda: First of all give me answer this. Is that starvation?

Indian man (3): No...

Prabhupāda: This is cure. This is cure. In the Vedas it is said, nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetānām eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). God is giving food to the cats and dogs. Nobody is starving. If you are starving, that is your blessing.

Indian man (3): But then, Gurujī, suppose we see somebody...

Prabhupāda: We do not suppose. We get the reference to the śāstra. That is our disease. We don't manufacture. We don't manufacture anything. Our point of view is if there is starvation, then we take it mercy of Kṛṣṇa. Tat te nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam (SB 10.14.8). When we are put into starvation, we take it blessings of God. We don't complain, that "I did something wrong," or "There is something wrong, so God has put me into this position." It is His blessing. This is our view.

(Srila Prabhupada Room Conversation, Bombay, January 8, 1977)

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