Devotee: They say that if you have a herd of sheep and one... the first part of the herd falls off of a cliff, then all the rest of them will simply walk off the cliff.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is called veriya dāsan. In Hindi, veriya dāsan.
Devotee: What is that called?
Prabhupāda: Veriya dāsan.
Devotee: Veriya dāsan. What does that mean?
Prabhupāda: No, veri means lamb or sheep. If you can push one of them in the slaughterhouse, all of them enter. This is called veriya dāsan. You haven't got to endeavor to push others. You just push one only. "Fut, fut, fut, fut, fut, fut, fut," they all enter. (laughter) In Hindi it is called veriya dāsan. Just cheat one veri, and all others will be followers.
Long ago, when we were boys, we saw one comic cinema. That old cinema player was... His name was Max Linder. Max Linder. So this Max Linder was going to a ball dance, and he was waiting in the park, and the ball dance coat, you know? It has got a tail. So he was sitting in a bench, and some naughty boys came and they, what is called, nailed the tailing part. So when he got up it became torn, like... So his... this hip was visible. So when was dancing in the ball, others were seeing his, "What is this?" (laughter) So he went to the mirror, he saw, "Oh?" So he began to dance and show everyone like this. So others said, "What is this?" "This is the latest fashion. This is the latest fashion in ball dancing." "Oh?" Then all cut their tail coat. You see? "The latest fashion."
Devotee: That's how they got the cut now. There's a cut in the coat in the back.
Prabhupāda: This is the veriya dāsan. (break) ...taken the story from the Aesop's, no, Hitopadeśa. Laṅguli-hīna śṛgala, a jackal without tail. So this is the world. Any nonsense you do, and if you say, "It is the latest fashion," everyone will take. The mini-skirt. One girl made it, so all girl. The veriya not only amongst the sheeps, and the so-called animal sheeps also do that, human sheeps.
(Srila Prabhupada Morning Walk, Honolulu, June 7, 1975)
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