168 THE SCIENCE OF SELF-REALIZATION

Srila Prabhupada: No, it is not a question of my religious beliefs. I am
simply pointing out the distinction between human life and animal life.
Animals cannot possibly learn anything about God, but human beings
can. However, 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 in a society of cats and dogs. Therefore, it is the duty of the govern-
mental authorities to see that people are taught how to become God
conscious. Otherwise, there will be trouble, because without God con-
sciousness there is no difference between a dog and a man: the dog eats,
we eat; the dog sleeps, we sleep; a dog has sex, we have sex; a dog tries to
defend itself, and we also try to defend ourselves. These are the common
factors. The only difference is that a dog cannot be instructed about his
relationship with God, but a man can.

Lieutenant Mozee: Wouldn’t peace be a precursor to a return to
religion? Must we not first have peace?

Srila Prabhupada: No, no, that is the difficulty. At the present moment,
no one actually knows the meaning of religion. Religion means to abide
by the laws of God, just as good citizenship means to abide by the laws of
the government. Because no one has any understanding of God, no one
knows the laws of God or the meaning of religion. This is the present
status of people in today’s society. They are forgetting religion, taking it
to be a kind of faith. Faith may be blind faith. Faith is not the real descrip-
tion of religion. Religion means the laws given by God, and anyone who
follows those laws is religious, whether a Christian, a Hindu, or a
Muslim.

Lieutenant Mozee: With all due respect, isn’t it true that in India, where
religious customs have been followed for centuries upon centuries, we
are seeing not a return to but a drawing away from spiritual life?

Srila Prabhupada: Yes, but it is due only to bad leadership. Otherwise,
the vast majority of the Indian people are fully conscious of God, and
they try to follow the laws of God. Here in the West, even big college pro-
fessors do not believe in God or in life after death. But in India, even the
poorest man believes in God and in a next life. He knows that if he com-
mits sins he will suffer and if he acts piously he will enjoy. To this day, if
there is a disagreement between two villagers, they will go to the temple
to settle it, because everyone knows that the opposite parties will hesitate
to speak lies before the Deities. So in most respects, India is still eighty-
percent religious. That is the special privilege of taking birth in India, and
the special responsibility also. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has said,
