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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda Replies to a Questionnaire From Bhavan’s Journal June 28, 1976

And one must carry out the order of the spiritual master and the order of the śāstra, or scripture. Therefore in our Vedic civilization we find so many rules and regulations.

He must go to the spiritual master’s place and act like a menial servant. If the spiritual master says “go and pick up some wood from the forest,” one may be a king’s son, but Even Kṛṣṇa was ordered by His spiritual master to go and pick up some dry wood from the forest. Although His father was Nanda Mahārāja, a village vaiśya king, and although Kṛṣṇa was the Personality

The śāstra says, “You must have sex like this: once in a month and only for begetting children.”

Even in ordinary affairs – let us say you are driving your car on some urgent business and you see a

And that is human life.

Animal life, however, means you can do whatever you like. On the road, animals may keep to the right or …

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: And so, Śrīla Prabhupāda, tapasya includes dietary regulations?

The mother purchases powdered meat and mixes it with liquid and feeds it to the infant.

Tapasya applies to diet, to personal behavior, to dealings with others, and so on and so forth. If one becomes angry and wants to express it by beating someone or doing something very violent, tapasya There is also tapasya with regards to the tongue, belly, and genitals. One cannot eat anything and everything, or at any time he pleases.

So one should practice tapasya in every way – in body, mind, words, personal behavior, and dealings with Tapo divyam: if you want to simply be a human being, and especially if you want to make progress in spiritual

And what is the aim of performing tapasya?

The students are even smoking in front of their teacher, and it is tolerated. No offense. And this tapasya begins with brahmacārī life, learning to control the senses – that is the beginning Not “A-B-C-D” learning, and maybe your character is less than an animal’s, though you have a degree from

Even from the standpoint of basic moral instruction, we must ask: Who today is educated? The educated person is described …

mātṛ-vat para-dāreṣu para-dravyeṣu loṣṭra-vat ātma-vat sarva-bhūteṣu yaḥ paśyati sa paṇḍitāḥ

“The educated man sees another’s wife as his mother and another’s property as untouchable garbage, and

That is the paṇḍita, the learned man. In Bhagavad-gītā [5.18] Kṛṣṇa also describes the paṇḍita:

vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini śuni caiva śva-pāke ca paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ

“The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eater.” A degree-holder who has no tapasya and no character – Kṛṣṇa says he is māyayāpahṛta-jñānā, “his knowledge