“Be self-sufficient. Save time for spiritual Culture”

Prabhupada, Geneva, June 6, 1974: […] Therefore God has provided for everyone’s sufficient necessities of life. For example, just like we are human beings, only 400,000’s of species. But other species, they’re eight million. Eighty hundred thousand species. In Africa, there are millions of elephants. They eat, at a time, fifty kilograms. Kg. What is that Kg?

Devotees: Kilos.

Prabhupada: Kilos. But they are also eating. There is no scarcity of food for them. So it is a fact that eko yo bahunam vidadhati kaman. But because we don’t believe in God, we manufacture our own ideas; therefore we create simply chaotic condition.

So according to Bhagavad-gita, as we are preaching, we are also opening centers, self-help center. In New Vrindaban, West Virginia, we have already opened a very big community center. We are going to open in California also, and we have already opened in India also, that we occupy a certain tract of land, we produce our own food, we keep our cows and take their milk, and there is no scarcity. Everything, there are. We don’t require to go outside the land for our livelihood. So we are advising, we are making centers like that, that “Be self-sufficient. Save time for spiritual culture.” That is human civilization. This was advised some thousands of years ago by Rsabhadeva. I will recite some verses. That is stated in the Srimad- Bhagavatam. It is stated in the Fifth Chapter of the Fifth Canto. It is said, Rsabha uvaca. Rsabhadeva was a, the emperor of this world. He was advising his sons. So he said,

nayam deho deha-bhajam nrloke kastan kaman arhate vid-bhujam ye tato tapo divyam putraka yena sattvam suddhyed yasmad brahma-saukhyam anantam [Bhag. 5.5.1]

This is the instruction of Rsabhadeva to his sons. “My dear sons, this human form of body, ayam deha, this body, na, not…” Na ayam deho deha-bhajam nrloke. Everyone has got a body. The cats and dogs, they are also possessing a body, and the human being also possessing a body. So what is the difference between the cats and dogs and human society? So Rsabhadeva says, ayam deha-bhajam nrlo…, kastan kaman na arhati yad vid-bhujam. To accept too much labor for the necessities of life, kaman… Kaman means the necessities of life. This life, this human form of life, is not meant for that. It is meant for vid-bhujam, the hogs and dogs. They are… The hog is whole day working to find out “Where is stool? Where is stool?” The human life should not be like that. Human life should be very peaceful and prosperous and save time for spiritual culture. That is stated here. Tapo divyam, for tapasya, tapasya, voluntarily accepting renouncement. This is human life. […]