226 . THE SCIENCE OF SELF-REALIZATION

much research that they cannot understand this. If you tell them they are
going to be trees in their next life, they think you are speaking nonsense.
After all, what can we learn by research? When the cause of all causes is
known, then everything knowable becomes known, and nothing remains
unknown. As the Vedas state: yasmin vijfidte sarvam evam vijfidtam
bhavati. If we know the Absolute Truth, all other truths become known,
but if we don’t know the Absolute Truth, we are in ignorance. One may
not be an official scientist or philosopher, but he may challenge anyone
and talk boldly if he only knows one thing—Krsna.

This contemporary civilization is so proud of its independence, but ac-
tually it is so much dependent on oil. If the oil supply is stopped, then
what will these rascal scientists do? They cannot do anything. Let them
try to manufacture oil in their test tubes, enough oil to run their civiliza-
tion on. At present there is a scarcity of water in India. What can the
scientists do about this? They may know the chemical composition of
water, but they cannot produce it when there is a great scarcity. They re-
quire the help of clouds, and all that is God’s manipulation. Actually they
cannot do anything. They have gone to the moon, but for all their labor
they have simply taken away some dust and rocks. The rascal govern-
ment exacts taxes and spends money unnecessarily. This is their intelli-
gence. It is a state of asses, that’s all. The politicians have no sympathy or
compassion. They do not consider that the hard-earned money is coming
from the public and that they are spending it by shooting big rockets off
to other planets. All they do is promise to bring back more dust. First
they may get a handful of dust, then they promise to bring back tons of
dust. What is the meaning of all this?

Karandhara dasa: They believe that there may be life on Mars.

Srila Prabhupada: They may believe or not believe—what is the gain?
What we do know is that life is here. They know this, yet they are
engaged in fighting and in killing life. Here is life. Here is a human being.
Life is here undoubtedly. But they are busy trying to destroy it with their
big bombs. This is their scientific advancement.

Dr. Singh: They are very curious to know what is going on, on other
planets.

Srila Prabhupada: That means that for their childish curiosity they are
spending so much money. They can spend so much to satisfy their
curiosity, but when so many poverty-stricken countries ask them for
help, they say there is no money. They are very proud to go to the moon,
but why don’t they take information how to go to Krsna’s Goloka
Vrndavana? If they go there, all their curiosity will be satisfied. They will
