"Laziness Is Less Than Demonic"

Mayapura, February 12, 1976



Prabhupada: ...I am your friend, I am God, so you sleep, I shall do everything. In Russia like that. When Arjuna refused to fight He chastised him like anything. What is the anarya-justam? He's just like non-Aryans, talking foolish. People should clearly understand that we don't encourage laziness. We never encourage. According to your capacity, guna-karma-vibhagasah [Bg. 4.13], you must work. Sarira yatrapi te na prasiddhyed akarmanah, Krsna says, "By not working, even if you cannot put on your body and soul together." Krsna says like that.

Dayananda: Isn't laziness one of the demonic qualities, Srila Prabhupada?

Prabhupada: It is less than demonic. Demonic qualities, they have some activity and laziness is ignorance, darkness. Therefore too much sleeping is very, very bad. That is another part of laziness. Nidrahara-viharakadi-vijitau **, one has to conquer over this sleeping and laziness. Eating, nidra, ahara, vihara, sense gratification, vihara means sense gratification. One has to minimize these things up to the point of nil, that is perfect. When there is no more sleeping, no more eating, no more mating, and no more fearing, that is perfection of spiritual life. And that is not possible, but as much as possible. [break] ...they cannot sleep more that the culture (?) is very great gain, profit.

Hrdayananda: Consider a rich man. A rich man can sleep, a poor man must work.

Prabhupada: Oh.

Hrdayananda: They're always making agitation to reduce what they call the work week. Formerly they were working so many hours per week, now they want to reduce it down to forty, thirty, twenty hours per week.

Prabhupada: So why they're inventing machine? Machine means no work.

Hrdayananda: They think this is progress, everyone can lie down and the machines will work.

Prabhupada: Yes, machine, inventing machine means one machine can work for fifty men. The banks are using this, what is that, computer?

Hrdayananda: Yes, everyone is using computers.

Prabhupada: To save money. Machine means unemployment for many. Tractor, they're using, they're unemployment for bulls and plowmen and then they, bulls have to be killed. This is going on. Unemployment, then kill them. Vietnam, send all the men to fight and kill them. As soon as there is overpopulation, they declare war so that people may be killed.

Hrdayananda: Sometimes the soldiers became so disgusted that they would shoot their own officers.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Hrdayananda: But they would do it in such a way so it appeared to be accidents. Sometimes they would take little bomb and throw it into the tent of the officers and they would all be killed.

Prabhupada: What was the reason?

Hrdayananda: Well, because the officers, they were not qualified. They were simply foolish. They were directing them in such a way that they were all in danger.

Prabhupada: Oh.

Hrdayananda: And they could not understand why they were there. It was a foreign... They were used to America and so they had to go to the jungle but they were, they could not see the point of fighting...

Prabhupada: Mm. (indistinct)

Hrdayananda: So many times they would become so disgusted they would simply kill their own officers, shoot them or throw a bomb. Also in Vietnam, the majority of the soldiers were fighting intoxicated, marijuana and different drugs.

Dayananda: Also I think people have no respect for authority any more.

Prabhupada: No.

Dayananda: There's... All over the world people are not respecting any kind of authorities.

Prabhupada: No.

Dayananda: There are so many false...

Prabhupada: Especially the students. That means chaotic condition. [break] ...type of civilization, this material world.

Dayananda: Tagore (?) is so nice that your divine grace was presenting the perfect authority, Krsna.

Prabhupada: Yes. And one who follows His instruction, he also perfect. That we are pushing (indistinct) Krsna conscious, everything will be all right. Everyone is fallen, I asked this question to Kotofsky. "Sir, you have got a leader, we have got a leader, so where is the difference?" And then I said, "Only you have got a fool leader, we have got intelligent leader." Otherwise you cannot avoid leadership, authority. That is not possible.

Dayananda: They want to avoid but they... Impersonalists are catering to that desire, they want to avoid authority and so the impersonalists are encouraging that. So they are rascals, the...

Prabhupada: No, it is not possible to give up authority. That is not possible.

Hrdayananda: Your interview, those articles that you had spoken about, against Communism, are very, very brilliant. Actually we were struck with wonder to see the different arguments. Very, very important for South America because there the Communism is popular among the young students.

Prabhupada: They read it?

Hrdayananda: Yes, we just published it in our magazine.

Prabhupada: Oh. So they like that argument?

Hrdayananda: Yes, the argument was so intelligent that no one has ever thought of such intelligent arguments against Communism. Also the article on Freud, I think that book is very, very important. It will actually satisfy the students. No one else would dare to call these people fools. (laughter) (end)

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Morning Walk -- February 12, 1976, Mayapura