Crime: Why and What to Do?

In this July 1975 interview, Chicago Police Department media relations man
Lt. David Mozee asks about curbing the upward-spiraling U.S. crime rate.
Srila Prabhupada replies, “If human beings are not given the facility to learn
about God, then they remain on the level of cats and dogs. You cannot have
peace ina society of cats and dogs. .. . The thief and murderer already know
the law, yet they still commit violent crimes due to their unclean hearts. So our
process is to cleanse the heart.”

Lieutenant Mozee: I understand you have some ideas that could help us
in our efforts to prevent crime. I’d be very interested to hear them.
Srila Prabhupada: The difference between a pious man and a criminal is
that one is pure in heart and the other is dirty. This dirt is like a disease in
the form of uncontrollable lust and greed in the heart of the criminal.
Today people in general are in this diseased condition, and thus crime is
very widespread. When the people become purified of these dirty things,
crime will disappear. The simplest process of purification is to assemble
in congregation and chant the holy names of God. This is called
sankirtana and is the basis of our Krsna consciousness movement. So, if
you want to stop crime, then you must gather as many people as possible
for mass sankirtana. This congregational chanting of the holy name of
God will dissipate all the dirty things in everyone’s heart. Then there will
be no more crime.

Lieutenant Mozee: Do you have any feelings about crime here in the
United States as opposed to the crime in your own country of India?
Srila Prabhupada: What is your definition of crime?

Lieutenant Mozee: Any trampling on the rights of one person by
another person.

Srila Prabhupada: Yes. Our definition is the same. In the Upanisads it is
said, iSdvdsyam idam sarvam: ‘‘Everything belongs to God.” So, every-
one has the right to utilize whatever is allotted to him by God, but one
may not encroach upon others’ property. If one does so, he becomes a
criminal. Actually the first crime is that you Americans are thinking this

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