[Posted June 20, 2008]

Value of the Real Thing

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Expect to pay the price

Smithsonian June, 2008 - ULRICH BOSER

Diamonds on Demand

Lab-grown gemstones are now practically indistinguishable from mined diamonds. Scientists and engineers see a world of possibilities; jewelers are less enthusiastic.

...Diamond growers are proud of the challenge they pose to De Beers and the rest of the natural diamond industry. Apollo's slogan is "A Diamond Is for Everyone." So far, though, Apollo's colorless gems cost about the same as natural stones, while the company's pink, blue, champagne, mocha and brown diamonds retail for about 15 percent less than natural stones with such colors, which are very rare and more expensive than white diamonds. Meanwhile, consumers may well be receptive to high-quality, laboratory-produced diamonds. go to story

The Bhaktivedantas World Sankirtan Party and Inside Nam Hatta are hosted by Hansadutta das, a senior disciple of Srila Prabhupada and trustee of The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. Participate or learn more about World Sankirtan Party.

If the gold is discounted, something's wrong

Take It or Leave It - No Compromise, No Argument Hansadutta das

SITHU: So it's like you said if a person goes to buy gold and someone offers him a cheaper price.

HANSADUTTA: Right. How can it be? You should know right away there's something wrong. Gold is gold. I don't have to sell it. I've got it. If you don't want it, it's okay, but I have gold, so I'm okay. I'm offering to share with you. We should always remember that our... in other words, we are not... we cannot offer someone Krishna consciousness at a discount, like gurus initiating people for two rounds. Where does that come from? [laughing] Discount. more

If I can get one man to become Krishna conscious, I will consider my mission fulfilled.

excerpt from Interview with New York Times correspondent John Nordheimer, New Vrindaban, September 2, 1972

JOHN NORDHEIMER: How many followers do you have?

PRABHUPADA: Well, this is a very difficult job, naturally. We don't have a large number of followers. As soon as you try to sell a diamond, you cannot expect many customers. Nonetheless, a diamond is a diamond, even if there are no customers. The number of customers is not the test. The customer must pay the value of the item. In this society we propose that you give up illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication and gambling. When people hear this, they go away saying, "Oh, Swamiji is very conservative." But I cannot become liberal and tell everybody, "Go ahead and do all nonsense and you can become God conscious." I cannot possibly recommend that. Therefore my first condition is that if someone wants to become my student he has to follow these four regulative principles. Consequently I do not have many followers, but I do have a select few. Because they are select, they will bring about a revolution in the world. One moon is sufficient to dissipate darkness. If there is one moon, there is no need for millions of stars. It is useless to expect a large number of followers. We want only one good follower. If I can get one man to become Krishna conscious, I will consider my mission fulfilled. If you talk to whatever small number of followers I have, you will find that they talk better than any great philosopher, better than any scientist or politician. That is the quality of my students. What's the point in talking nonsense? One's words may be simple, but they should be valuable. Every day your employer is printing so many newspapers. On Sunday, especially, the paper is so big that one can hardly carry it. But after reading it an hour, people throw it away. Here is this book, Bhagavad-gita, and people keep it and read it for a lifetime, and in this way it has been read for the past 5,000 years. Give such literature that will be taken and kept forever.

Sri Guru and Gauranga