Finding the Cure for Today’s Social Ills 169
bharata-bhiimite haila manusya-janma ya’ra
janma sarthaka kari’ kara para-upakara
3 [Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi 9.41]
Anyone who has taken birth in India should make his life perfect by
| becoming Krsna conscious. Then he should distribute Krsna conscious-
, ness all over the world.
: Lieutenant Mozee: Sir, there is a Christian parable that says it is easier
| for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to come
: before the throne of God. Do you think the wealth of the United States
! and other Western countries is a block to spiritual faith?
| Srila Prabhupada: Yes. Too much wealth is a block. Krsna states in the
Bhagavad-gita (2.44):
: bhogaisvarya-prasaktanam
| tayadpahrta-cetasam
| vyavasayatmika buddhih
: samadhau na vidhiyate
| If one is materially very opulent, he forgets God. Therefore too much
| material wealth is a disqualification for understanding God. Although
| there is no absolute law that only the poor man can understand God,
: generally if one is extraordinarily rich, his only ambition is to acquire .
| money, and it is difficult for him to understand spiritual teachings.
Lieutenant Mozee: In America, those who belong to the Christian faith
7 also believe these things. I don’t see any vast differences between the
: spiritual beliefs of one religious group and another.
| Srila Prabhupada: Yes, the essence of all religion is the same. Our pro-
| posal is that whatever religious system one follows, he should try to un-
| derstand God and love Him. If you are a Christian, we do not say, ‘‘That
is no good; you must become like us.’’ Our proposition is that whether
you are a Christian, Muslim, or Hindu, simply try to understand God and
| love Him.
: Lieutenant Mozee: If I could return to my original purpose for coming,
| might I ask what advice you could give to assist us in reducing crime? I
| recognize that the first and foremost way would be a return to God, as
: you say—there’s no doubt about that—but is there something that we
| could immediately do to diminish this spreading criminal mentality?
Srila Prabhupada: Yes. As I’ve already outlined in the beginning of our
