They are thinking, "We are going to dominate," but they are dominated always. Therefore, because they have no intelligence, they cannot understand. One earthquake can finish all this.

Quake Damage in Italy

Human intelligence and energy given to material endeavors no match for Nature

PRABHUPADA: Yes. Because they are bahir-artha-maninah [considering the external objects of the senses to be very valuable], they are thinking that this is all. A group of men is coming, and they are exploiting the resources, material world. Just like this building. It is nothing but exploiting the resources. Making brick from the earth or stone or iron. And they pile up. Just like the children goes to the beach, they pile up the sand, and they imagine that somebody is making big palace, somebody is...

DHANANJAYA: Big castle.

PRABHUPADA: Big castle. And at a time they left. In the Roman, the... Formerly, the Romans, they also came. They also constructed big, big buildings. Now they are rotting, and another generation, they also are creating the same thing. But exactly like the children, after playing, they are going. Nobody knows where they have gone. Similarly, these rascals, they are coming. They have got the human intelligence. Simply spoiling that intelligence in amassing the external resources of material nature, and they leave the platform, and again go away and take the birth of some other form of life. Everything forgotten just like dream. This is going on. They cannot understand it has no value.

DHANANJAYA: They are thinking their success is in building huge skyscrapers that stand for thousands of years.

PRABHUPADA: Yes. And within that thousands of years, he personally might have gone to the species of some worms and germs. That they do not believe. If they believe that, then they cannot do it. If they think that "After constructing this big, big skyscraper, I may become a tree or a germ or an animal," then they cannot do this. And they do not encourage this philosophy also. Because if they encourage that, then this thing will not be done. People will not be interested. Just like we are not interested. Therefore they do not like to discuss such thing. This is their position. We are trying to get out of these activities, material activities. And they are trying to entangle themselves in the material activities. So much difference. [Remarking on the footpath:] This is a nice path.

DHANANJAYA: So these buildings are mere symbols of their ignorance.

PRABHUPADA: That's all. They have got some intelligence. They are utilizing for piling up these stones and bricks. That's all. This is their intelligence, how to pile up nicely stones and bricks. Crane. The same thing. The real business is to pile up some stones and bricks, that's all. They are making research, engineering. The real business is how to pile up stones and bricks. That's all. The same business as the children pile up some sand and imagine "This is park, this is this, this is that."

DHANANJAYA: Didn't Ravana want to pile up stones and bricks, too, to reach the heavenly planets?

PRABHUPADA: Yes, yes. No, he was a materialist. That is the business of the materialist. What is this? Aerodrome? No.

DHANANJAYA: No, this is a restaurant.

PRABHUPADA: They can eat down. [laughter] These rascals are thinking eating on this top—this is their advancement of civilization. And waste energy. The human energy is so valuable that one can understand his real life, self-realization, [but] that they forget. They're wasting the energy for making a restaurant on the sky. They think it is advancement.

DHANANJAYA: They want to dominate over the material energy.

PRABHUPADA: What is that "dominate"? One kick will finish everything. That is illusion. They are thinking, "We are going to dominate," but they are dominated always. Therefore, because they have no intelligence, they cannot understand. One earthquake can finish all this. All go down immediately. So what is that dominate? Prakriteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani [Bhagavad-gita 3.27]. The prakriti, Nature, is giving chance just like father and mother give chance that the children pile up stone and sand—"Let them play." Similarly prakriti, Mother Prakriti, Nature [is] giving all this: "Let this rascal play like that." What can be done? He does not know that "After this piling of stones and bricks, I will have to leave this place. And I do not know where I am going." So less intelligence. And he does not know what he is. He is thinking, "I am this body," but this body will be finished. That's all. "I was zero. I assumed some body. Now again I shall become zero." That's all. Shunyavadi [nothingness]. Nirvishesha-shunyavadi.

[break]

...viduh svartha-gatim hi vishnum durashaya ye bahir-artha-maninah. Durashaya – some utopian hope of becoming happy. This is called durashaya.

DHANANJAYA: And the futuristic plans for the cities have... They are going to enclose the cities in big domes made of plastic. And all the roads... instead of being on the ground, they will be in the sky too. And they will have aerial roadways.

PRABHUPADA: Means idle brain, devil's workshop. They are thinking, "In this way we shall be happy." Then they will plan another thing, another thing, and everything will be broken. It is same childish play like that.

DHANANJAYA: But these things must have been done before.

PRABHUPADA: That is going on. Therefore it is called punah punash charvita-charvananam: [Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.5.30] "chewing the chewed." That's all. You know the sugarcane? You chew it and throw it, and again another man comes to chew it again. This is going on. They do not have the sense... Even in this Rome city, they see that big, big buildings were constructed by our previous forefathers and they are now lying, now simply relics. So this will be also relics. So what we are doing actually? But they have no sense. Another relic. And other generation come; they will make another relic. This is called punah punash, again and again chewing the chewed. That's all. They have no other brain to do something else, which is actually fact. They are seeing it, that this will be say, after two thousand years it will be all useless. So what actually we are doing?" They have no sense of what is actuality, what is reality, no spiritual knowledge. Therefore bahir-artha-maninah, external something, some engagement, like children. They play with something; they do not know that "It has no future, it has no meaning, what we are doing." They do not know it. But they are very busy. So this is all childish ignorance.

SATSVARUPA: Prabhupada, there was a French philosopher, Voltaire. He said you should not simply criticize negatively, because this is the best of all the possible worlds there is. This is all we have. So they would criticize that our hope in the spiritual world is utopian. Better turn to cultivate the material world as best you can.

PRABHUPADA: No, material world we can see that it is useless. Everyone sees. That I am giving, this example. Before, the Romans, they constructed this big, big building. Now what is the value of that? It has no value. Simply it is kept as sentiment, relics. That's all. So this will be also the same thing. So where is the utility? Spiritual, apart from spiritual, what is the value of your material activity? It is practical. Everyone can see. If one comes to Rome, they can see that these big, big buildings, they were very nice building at that time, very wonderful building, but what is the value of it now? Anyone can see. Any sane man can see. So why should we waste our energy in that way? If there is any valuable work, let us see. That is intelligence. To make another heaps of relics, is that very good sense? Nobody will go there even to urine or pass stool.

DHANANJAYA: No facilities.

PRABHUPADA: No facility. Nobody is...

DHANANJAYA: Only the cats go there.

PRABHUPADA: That's all.