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Srila Prabhupadas statements about the moon landing
Srila Prabhupada: “It is my firm conviction that they did not go to the moon. Neither they’ll be able to go to the Mars as they have planned it.” (Room Conversation, July 6th, 1976, Washington, D.C.)
Srila Prabhupada: “Yes, so where is the doubt? It is a fact that they did not go to the moon. That’s a fact.” (Morning Walk, June 10th, 1975, Honolulu)
Candanacarya: There are scientists in England who agree that they didn’t go to the planet.
Srila Prabhupada: Huh?
Candanacarya: There are some scientists in England who agree with you that they did not go to the moon.
Srila Prabhupada: Yes, they did not. Simply propaganda. (Morning Walk, June 4th, 1976, Los Angeles)
Srila Prabhupada himself said different things at different times. Sometimes he directly said they didn’t go and it was some kind of hoax. And at other times he said they didn’t go to the moon because they didn’t experience the higher dimensional nature of the moon planet, which is a rational way to harmonize the Vedic perspective with the idea of three dimensional space travel. At other times he just said the whole idea was foolish and a waste of money. He saw material space travel as a foolish attempt to reach higher dimensions which can only be reached by yogic practice.
They have not gone to the moon
Excerpt from conversation with disciples, Perth, May 12, 1975
Prabhupada: They have not gone to the moon planet.
Paramahamsa: Really?
Prabhupada: Yes. It is far, far away. Their calculation is wrong. They are going to a wrong planet.
Paramahamsa: It must be the Rahu planet.
Prabhupada: Yes, or something else. Not moon planet.
Paramahamsa: How many…
Prabhupada: It is above the sun planet.
Paramahamsa: Moon planet is further?
Prabhupada: Yes.
Paramahamsa: Oh. Because they say that the moon planet is the closest planet to the earth. That is their calculation. And they say that it orbits around the earth, and then that the earth orbits the sun.
Prabhupada: All wrong. What is the… According to them, what is the distance of sun planet?
Paramahamsa: Sun planet is 93,000,000 miles.
Ganesa: They say the moon planet is only 250,000 miles.
Prabhupada: It is wrong thing.
Paramahamsa: Is their calculation for the distance of the sun wrong also?
Prabhupada: Yes.
Paramahamsa: 93,000,000? It says in the Bhagavatam exactly what the distance?
Prabhupada: The whole universe, diameter, is panchshat-koti-yojana. One yojana equal to eight miles, and one koti is ten miles, er, ten million. So panchashata, fifty into 10,000,000 into eight.
Paramahamsa: Yeah. So it’s fifty crores yojana. Fifty crores yojanas?
Prabhupada: Yes, fifty crore yojanas, panchashat. So one yojana equal to eight miles, one crore equal to ten million.
Paramahamsa: That’s eighty million.
Prabhupada: Hmm?
Paramahamsa: Eighty million times fifty.
Prabhupada: Yes.
Paramahamsa: Means 400,000,000
Srutakirti: Hmm. More than that. Four billion.
Paramahamsa: Four thousand million, which is four billion?
Srutakirti: Four billion miles.
Paramahamsa: Four billion miles is the diameter.
Prabhupada: Is the diameter.
Paramahamsa: You gave that in The Teachings of Lord Chaitanya also.
Prabhupada: Yes. And the sun is in the middle.
Paramahamsa: So two billion miles from the edge of the universe.
Prabhupada: Yes. And they say? 93,000,000.
Srutakirti: That’s from the earth to the sun. That’s not from the sun to the edge. That’s from earth to the sun.
Amogha: Is earth near the edge of the universe?
Prabhupada: No. There are many other planets down. Seven planetary system.
Paramahamsa: The higher planetary systems are closest to the sun? And then…
Prabhupada: No, sun is the middle. This is circumference. Sun is the middle. And the whole diameter is fifty lakhs and… What is…? And moon is above, 200,000 yojanas above the sun.
Paramahamsa: Ah. 200,000 yojanas. That means 1,600,000 miles above the sun.
Prabhupada: Above the sun. How they’ll go? [laughter] They are going to the wrong… bluffing only. I am repeatedly saying, they have never gone, simply bluff. How it is that they brought some dust? So brilliant, it is blazing, full. There is fire blazing.
Paramahamsa: They say that they measured the moon and that it’s very small compared to the earth, very tiny.
Prabhupada: All wrong.
Paramahamsa: If it’s a longer distance than the sun but still it appears so big in the sky, it must be a very large planet.
Prabhupada: Yes. Similarly Venus and others, they are also above.
Paramahamsa: Oh, above the sun.
Prabhupada: The sun is moving near about that. This is one universe, and there are thousands and millions of universe. Jagad-anda-koti. Yasya prabha prabhavato jagad-anda-koti [Brahma-samhita 5.40]. That is God’s creation. And they are becoming God, “I am God.” Yasyaika-nishvasita-kalam athavalambya[Bs. 5.48]. If we simply think of the creation of God, we can appreciate how great He is.
Paramahamsa: That’s why it’s described in the Srimad-Bhagavatam?
Prabhupada: They say, “God is great,” but they do not know how great He is. That is explained in the Vedic literature. Of course, those who are saying “God is great,” they are pious. And those who are saying that “I am God,” how foolish they are. Therefore I say that anyone who says, “I am God,” immediately kick with your shoes on his face. Such a cheater.
Amogha: There is… One of the disciples of Guru Maharaj-ji, Bala Yogesvara, is in Perth. They have their center here. And he is giving lectures daily, and many people are attending.
Prabhupada: That he is God.
Amogha: There was an article in the paper yesterday from India that says that the Indian court has banned Guru Maharaj-ji from leaving India. They have issued an order that he must stay until the court has finished because his brother is suing. Because his brother published a photo showing Guru Maharaj-ji embracing and kissing an American girl in the paper. So the Guru Maharaj-ji published a picture of his brother doing the same thing. But they say it was a fake photo, so the court is holding him in India, and they’re having a legal battle, suing each other to see who is God.
Prabhupada: Farce.
Paramahamsa: It seems like these demons who say that they are God, eventually they will end up destroying each other.
Prabhupada: Yes. Now they are fools, rascal, bluffing, but even the scientists, they are also bluffing. Now Russia and America combined together, going? Just see where they are going.
Paramahamsa: Here’s one article about scientists in the paper. It says, “Wonder food will help control heart disease.” They say they have a new way of feeding beef and poultry so that the food now, when they eat the beef, it won’t give them heart attack.
Prabhupada: Huh?
Paramahamsa: They say if they feed them a special diet they have found it changes the cholesterol level in the beef, so if they eat it, they won’t get heart attack like they used to. And it says, “The director of the National Heart Foundation, Ralph Reeder, said he believed the process was one of the most significant contributions in recent years toward controlling heart disease. ‘It should not be taken lightly by skeptics. It is a world’s first,’ he said.”
Amogha: Now they are also thinking that different types of meat cause cancer, not only heart disease but cancer.
Ganesa: What have the scientists got to gain by bluffing?
Prabhupada: Position. Material world means they want some material gain, some adoration, and some fame. That’s all. This is material world. So if by bluffing you I get some material profit and adoration and fame, why shall I not do it? Everyone is doing that.
Amogha: That’s the cheating propensity.
Prabhupada: Yes. In material world they have come to imitate God—adoration, fame, material profit. Just like this man. He has come to this country. He is getting money, he is getting woman, and becoming God amongst the fools. He is satisfied. That’s all. This is not gain? If I get woman, money and adoration, is it not gain for me?
Ganesa: Yes, just like Hiranyakashipu.
Prabhupada: Yes. Materialistic man means he wants all these things in different way. Somebody is becoming God, somebody is becoming philosopher, somebody is becoming scientist, in this way. Real purpose is these three things: abha-puja-pratishtha [woman, money and adoration]. And our philosophy? We don’t want anything of this. Just see. Negation. Na dhanam na janam na sundarim kavitam [Chaitanya-charitamrita Antya 20.29, Shikshashtaka 4]. Say… All denial, “We don’t want.” That is Vaishnavism. Then what do you want? “We want simply to serve Krishna.” This is our position. They don’t want to serve Krishna; they want to imitate Krishna. And that is their satisfaction.
Simply bluffing, simply propaganda
Excerpt from conversation, Sydney, Apr 1, 1972
PRABHUPADA:The newspaper said that “Mr. such and such went to moon planet.” Oh, immediately believe. See? A newspaper, ten cent worth newspaper. And in the Bhagavad-gita Krishna says, yanti deva vrata devan: [Bg. 9.25] “One who can… One can go to the demigods planets by worshiping them. You can go, yanti deva vrata devan, as others. Similarly, one can come to Me by worshiping Me.” Mad yajino ‘pi yanti mam.So they never worshiped Chandra, and how they can go to the Chandra planet, or moon planet? Then Krishna is false. Krishna is imperfect. They become “perfect”. They are defying Krishna’s instruction. They have gone to moon planet. Then our whole propaganda, Krishnaconsciousness, becomes bogus. Therefore I always protest.
SUDAMA: They have not gone.
PRABHUPADA: They have not gone. We have got our tests. I am speaking from the very beginning, “They have not gone.” And practically you see, even if you have gone, what utility you have made? They are simply planning, again planning. “We shall get petrol from there. We shall have defense from there. “Simply bluffing, simply bluffing. The Americans will go to the moon planet to defend his country from the Russians. Just see. And we have to believe all these nonsense proposals. What defense they will do from there? Is it not the proposal? Yes.
Devotee (2): Did they actually land on the moon, Srila Prabhupada?
Prabhupada: No, they cannot go there. What is the question of landing? They cannot go there. It is far, far away. What you calculated? 1,600,000 miles away, up the sun planet. 1,600,000 miles above the sun. According to your calculation, the sun is away from this planet by 93,000,000 miles. And above that, 1,600,000 miles. Then you go to the moon. How it is possible?
Guru krpa: How is the moon behind the sun?
Prabhupada: Not behind, above.
(ACBSP. 27th May 1975. Morning Walk in Honolulu, Hawaii.)
May 11th 1975 Conversation:
Amogha: He says did they actually get to the moon or not?
Prabhupada: That I am doubtful. Always. [break] …doubt always. They have… They might have gone… Mostly, most probably they have not gone. Simply propaganda. But even they have gone, not to moon. Maybe the Rahu planet. Or there are so many other planets.
Amogha: Is that Rahu planet closer than the moon to the earth?
Prabhupada: Rahu planet orbit is in between moon and sun. So when it comes in between moon and sun there is eclipse. At night it is eclipse in the moon, and daytime it is eclipse in the sun
The Rahu planet comes in front of the moon
SB 4.29.69 P Talks Between Narada and King Pracinabarhi
In this connection, the darkness occurring before the full moon, the lunar eclipse, can be explained as being another planet, known as Rahu. According to Vedic astronomy, the Rahu planet, which is not visible, is accepted. Sometimes the Rahu planet is visible in the presence of full moonlight. It then appears that this Rahu planet exists somewhere near the orbit of the moon. The failure of modern moon excursionists may be due to the Rahu planet. In other words, those who are supposed to be going to the moon may actually be going to this invisible planet Rahu. Actually, they are not going to the moon but to the planet Rahu, and after reaching this planet, they come back. Apart from this discussion, the point is that a living entity has immense and unlimited desires for material enjoyment, and he has to transmigrate from one gross body to another until these desires are exhausted.
740318mw.vrn Conversations
Guru dasa: Why does the moon reflect? They say the moon is sandy, but this sand here is not reflecting.
Prabhupada: That… They are not going to the moon planet.
They are going to some other planet, Rahu planet.
Guru dasa: Rahu?
Prabhupada: Yes. There are many planets invisible. So there is a Rahu planet which comes in front of the moon planet, and that is called eclipse. So there is a planet rotating. I think they are going to that Rahu planet, not to the moon planet.
750301mw.atl Conversations
Balavanta: In the Srimad-Bhagavatam you say that the Rahu planet is visible on the full moon night? The Rahu planet?
Prabhupada: No, when there is eclipse.
Balavanta: Oh, eclipse.
Prabhupada: Eclipse means Rahu planet comes in front.
SB 8.18.5 P Lord Vamanadeva, the Dwarf Incarnation
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, an expert astrologer, explains the word naksatra-taradyah. The word naksatra means “the stars,” the word tara in this context refers to the planets, and adyah means “the first one specifically mentioned.” Among the planets, the first is Surya, the sun, not the moon. Therefore, according to the Vedic version, the modern astronomer’s proposition that the moon is nearest to the earth should not be accepted. The chronological order in which people all over the world refer to the days of the week–Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday–corresponds to the Vedic order of the planets and thus circumstantiates the Vedic version. Apart from this, when the Lord appeared the planets and stars became situated very auspiciously, according to astrological calculations, to celebrate the birth of the Lord.
SB 5th canto:
Above the rays of the sunshine by a distance of 100,000 yojanas [800,000 miles] is the moon, which travels at a speed faster than that of the sun. In two lunar fortnights the moon travels through the equivalent of a samvatsara of the sun, in two and a quarter days it passes through a month of the sun, and in one day it passes through a fortnight of the sun.
PURPORT: When we take into account that the moon is 100,000 yojanas, or800,000 miles, above the rays of the sunshine, it is very surprising that the modern excursions to the moon could be possible. Since the moon is so distant, how space vehicles could go there is a doubtful mystery. Modern scientific calculations are subject to one change after another, and therefore they are uncertain. We have to accept the calculations of the Vedic literature. These Vedic calculations are steady; the astronomical calculations made long ago and recorded in the Vedic literature are correct even now. Whether the Vedic calculations or modern ones are better may remain a mystery for others, but as far as we are concerned, we accept the Vedic calculations to be correct.
Vegetation and water on the moon
“It is understood from this verse that the predominating deity of the moon is the maintainer of all the trees and plants throughout the universe. It is due to the moonshine that trees and plants grow very luxuriantly. Therefore how can we accept the so-called scientists whose moon expeditions have informed us that there are no trees or vegetation on the moon? Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says, somo vrksadhisthata sa eva vrksanam raja: Soma, the predominating deity of the moon, is the king of all vegetation. How can we believe that the maintainer of vegetation has no vegetation on his own planet?” (SB 6.4.6, purport)
“If we hear from those who are actually self realized, then the nectarean rivers, like those which are flowing on the moon planet, will flow into our ears.” (Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 10)
“So moon is not desert. These are simply rascals. They do not know anything, and rascals believe that the moon is desert, and the sun is desert. Only this planet is full of variety and beauty. No. We have to take lessons from the sastras.” (Garden Conversation, October 9th, 1976, Aligarh)
Srila Prabhupada: …the moon planet, there is no rainfall?
Karandhara: No, according to scientists there is no (indistinct) of rainfall on the moon.
Srila Prabhupada: Huh?
Bhagavan: It’s very hot and very cold.
Yogesvara: Have they made another mistake?
Srila Prabhupada: And there is no water also.
Karandhara: No.
Bhagavan: No, water.
Yogesvara: They say that the moon is covered by a very thick layer of dust.
Srila Prabhupada: But according to our sastra, moon is one of the heavenly planets. [break] …is moon in any way? Because there is no water?
Srila Prabhupada: So how you can say there is no water in the moon planet?
Karandhara: Well, they can take samples in the desert and find out if there is certain degree of moisture in the soil. They have taken the same samples on the moon and say that there is no moisture.
Srila Prabhupada: So why the moon planet is bereft of? Material, anything material, it is combination of earth, water, fire, air, ether. Anything material. It is a combination.
Karandhara: Well, there are probably very minute quantities of moisture on the moon. But they say nothing significant, nothing suitable for agriculture.
Yogesvara: There are no plants growing on the moon. In the desert we find some plants, but they have not found any vegetation on the moon.
Srila Prabhupada: That means they have not gone thoroughly. One portion of it.
Karandhara: Well, they have scanners on these satellites which pick up vegetation or life. From hundreds miles away, it will show up on a screen. And they sent it all around the moon, and it hasn’t shown any indication of any organic matter or life. They can send this satellite up around the earth planet and they can locate fields of corn, fields of wheat, from hundreds of miles away, just by the way it shows up on these different electronic devices. [break] (Morning Walk, June 3rd, 1974, Geneva)
COMMON SENSE
Sattava Guna means he can go higher planets. Meat-eaters, drunkards HOW they can go moon?
751128SB.DEL Lectures
You can utilize this body properly for higher standard of life. You can go to the higher planetary system. The higher planetary system begins from the sun. That is another subject matter. But so far we get information from Srimad-Bhagavatam, there sun, then moon, according to Bhagavatam. And I think… We were talking about these things, that whether the moon is the first planet or the sun is the first planet. So far we understand from Vedic literature, the moon is the second planet. The sun is the first planet. If we consider like that, then moon is beyond the sun planet. The estimation is there in the Srimad-Bhagavatam: 1,600,000 miles above the sun the moon is situated. Now, if we take consideration of the sun planet situated 93,000,000 miles from earth, then add 1,600,000 miles again, it comes to 15,000,000…, 95,000,000’s miles away from the earthly planet. And how you can reach there in four days, 95,000,000 miles away? If we apply our common sense, then it appears they have never gone to the moon planet. It is all bogus propaganda. It is not possible.
740620BG.GER Lectures
Prabhupada: Yes. (translator reads German translation) So our natural tendency is to go to other, better planets. Therefore people are trying to go to the moon planet. Similarly, you can go to the sun planet, heavenly planet. There are so many. But the information is, even though you reach the topmost planet of this universe, still, there the four principles of material life, namely, birth, death, old age and disease, are there. So we can go to the topmost planet. There is process how to go.
urdhvam gacchanti sattva-stha / madhye tisthanti rajasah
jaghanya-guna-vrtti-stha / adho gacchanti tamasah
If you keep yourself in sattva-guna, or in the modes of goodness, you are promoted to the higher planetary system. Even to the topmost planetary system. That is called urdhvam gacchanti sattva-sthah. And if you keep yourself in the modes of passion, you shall remain within the middle planetary system. This is middle planetary system. This earthly planet, it is called Bhurloka. Then, above this, there is Bhuvarloka. Then, above that, Svargaloka. That is heavenly planets. The heavenly planets begins from the moon planet. Jaghanya-guna-vrtti-stha adho gacchanti tamasah. And those who are in the modes of darkness, they go down, down, down. The animal life is also amongst the down, I mean to say, modes of life. So this human form of life is a chance to make our choice where we shall go next, in the higher or in the lower, or we shall remain here. So how to go to the higher planetary system, that is also mentioned. Yanti deva-vrata devan. Read this.
yanti deva-vrata devan / pitrn yanti pitr-vratah
bhutani yanti bhutejya / yanti mad-yajino ‘pi mam
Prabhupada: So, if we like, we can go to the higher planetary system, heavenly planetary system. Just like we are trying to go to the moon planet, but we have not been successful. In this way we cannot go there. Each planet, each and every planet, has got different atmosphere. So unless your body is completely competent to live in such planet, you cannot go there. Just like the scientists say that in the moon planet the temperature is two hundred degrees below zero. Similarly, in the sun planet the temperature is very, very high, hundred and thousand times degrees above the normal. So in this way, every planet has got different atmosphere, different temperature, different standard of life, different duration of life. So one has to become competent to transfer himself in a particular type of planet. So we, as spirit soul, dehi, the possessor of this body… Dehi means one who possesses this body, or the occupier of the body, the spirit soul. That is eternal. Changing body only, but eternal. Therefore we should not be interested to these different types of temporary body. That is not very good intelligence. So we have to prepare our self. If we want… There is a full description of each and every planet. And we can prepare our self according to our desire, which planet we wish to go. But Krsna says, mad-yajino ‘pi yanti mam. “Persons who are engaged in My occupational duties, they will come to Me.”
The story of the grocer
Prabhupada: So he went to purchase something from a grocer. The grocer asked him, “Why you are shaven-headed?” “Oh, such person has…, is now dead.”
Trivikrama: Sargal Singh?
Prabhupada: No, I’ll come to that. So the grocer also thought, “Now I also should shave.” Something saying like that. Then another man met him. He also said. He also said. Then at last, one intelligent man, he asked, “Who is this man?” Then again the news come back through the parampara, (laughter) yes, who is this man. Then he called the man, first, who said. He was a dhobi, and his ass was dead. The ass was dead, so hearing, it has gone so far. The other men… The unintelligent persons are like that. They do not know, inquire what is the real thing. Just like twenty years ago I said, “This is all nonsense, moon-going.” And now they are coming: “Oh, it is hoax.” So that is the difference. Twenty years before and “This is all childish waste of money. This rascal will never be able to go to the moon.” And now they are coming. That is the difference. I said from common sense. Naknatranam aham sasi. And we read in the Bhagavatam that to go to the moon planet, one has to execute such yajnas, karma-kanda. We understand from sastra. And how this rascal with a machine will go there? That is a common sense. But they do not believe in the words of the sastra. Rascals, they were bluffed and they believe. Sastra-caknus. Your eyes should be through the sastra. Yah sastra-vidhim utsrjya vartate kama…, na siddhim sa… We believe in this. Therefore I said twenty years before. That is the difference. We take the words of sastra, words of Krnna, ultimate. That’s all. So we have no difficulty. They do not believe in sastra. They do not believe in Krnna. So they were bluffed. That is the difference. We have… I started this movement. It is not manufactured by me. Take the words of authorities and spread. There is no adulteration. There is no alteration. That is… Mahajano yena gatah… (end)
(ACBSP. 1st July 1977. Conversation with devotees, Vrindavana)
Svarupa Damodara: It also makes difficult for others to argue.
Prabhupada: (laughs) When there is argument? Nonsense, how you can argue? And therefore you are rascal. And that is also forbidden. Acintyah khalu ye bhava na tams tarkena yojayet: “Things which are beyond your conception, don’t foolishly argue, rascal.” That will prove your rascaldom. Better accept what the authority says. It is beyond your conception, rascal. Why you are wasting time? That we want to say, that all of them are rascals, and they are simply wasting time by false idea. Cheating. You know, there are companies. They’ll… They have got photographic studio. So they adjust their moon hoax. They’ll help you. If you have got particular idea… They are going to the moon planet, Mars. Nowhere the rascals go. There is no knowledge. How they can go? Teeny, imperfect. So if we can prove that they have no knowledge of the universe, neither of the position of their…
(ACBSP. 21st June 1977. Room Conversation with Swarup Damodar, Vrindavana)
The story of the Himalayan mountain going to deliver a child
Prabhupada: Vibhrama, the Sanskrit is vibhrama-milita-kriya. The arambha, arambha means endeavor. Very gorgeous. The result is sand and rocks. Going to the moon planet, the arambha was so much expensive. And the result is to bring some sand and rocks. This is hoax. And another: parvatan munakodbhavah. Hoax. There was a great advertisement that the Himalayan mountain is going to deliver a child. So people gathered on, to see, “Oh, such a big mountain. The child must be a very big child.” So they went to see there, and they saw one rat is coming from the hole of…. A rat is coming. They expected another Himalayan mountain, and they saw from the holes, one rat is coming. This is going on. And they are satisfied. “Now the Himalaya has delivered the child.” One rat. (laughs) This attempt is like Himalayas begetting a child. If some elephant would have come, it would have saved the…, not even elephant, one rat. And in English, another is, “Much ado about nothing.”
Hari-sauri: Shakespeare.
Prabhupada: Yes. The result is nothing. What is the meaning of “ado”?
(ACBSP. 18th June 1976. Room Conversation. Toronto)
Hari-sauri: When they originally started sending sputniks to the moon, they couldn’t even land them properly. They would crash, they said that they were crash-landing spaceships into the moon’s surface.
Prabhupada: Crashed?
Hari-sauri: Crash-landing. The spaceship was supposed to just smash into the surface of the moon, like that.
Prabhupada: They have never gone. Simply propaganda. Even they have gone, what is the result? Simply with big report that it is inhabitable.
(ACBSP. 2nd July 1976. Room Conversation. New Vrindavana.)
Prabhupada: Oh, in the summer. Venus is very cold? Why they have selected summer season? (laughter) [break] …could not go to the moon, and Venus is far above moon. How they will go?
Bali-mardana: They’re not going to Venus, are they?
Paramahamsa: Are they going to Mars?
Bali-mardana: No, they’re just going around the earth, right?
Ambarina: Yeah, they’re linking up in space.
Devotee (3): Prabhupada, when they said they went to the moon and they showed films of them landing and walking on the moon, was this all a bluff?
Prabhupada: Yes, here they… All laboratory work, that’s all.
Devotee (3): They all made it up?
Prabhupada: Yes.
(ACBSP. 2nd June 1975. Morning Walk in Honolulu, Hawaii)
Madhudvina: The demons are trying to go to the heavenly planets by building their skyscrapers higher and higher.
Prabhupada: Ravana’s, Ravana’s staircase for going to the heaven. He promised that “Oh, what is the use of austerity? I shall make a staircase directly. You can go.” As their… It is the same, Ravana’s staircase and the modern attempt to go to the moon planet, the same thing. They will never be able to go, but imagining that “We shall do it.” The same process, Ravana’s process. For how many years they are going? Since 1950?
Devotee: To the moon expedition?
Prabhupada: Yes, moon expedition.
Devotee: Maybe 1955.
Madhudvina: 1955.
Devotee: The first moon landing was 1961.
Prabhupada: That is beginning. First of all they sent dog. (laughter)
Madhudvina: Space dog. Space mouse.
Prabhupada: Huh? Space mouse.
Devotee: Space monkey also.
Prabhupada: So since 1955 even. So twenty years, what they have done?
Devotee: Spent billions of dollars.
Prabhupada: Yes, simply they have brought little dust, that’s all.
Madhudvina: Now they have found that that same dust is here on the earth.
Prabhupada: Yes. Simply propaganda. They are not going. Now the Russian scientist and American scientist are combined. Because both of them thieves, so one thief is asking, “Don’t expose me. I will not expose you, so that our business will go on.” This is the way. “Let us combine together and cheat these rascals, and otherwise, if you expose me, then I will expose you. Then our business will stop.”
Devotee: They are cooperating.
Prabhupada: Cooperating. Thief, thief’s cooperation.
(ACBSP. 21st May 1975. Morning Walk in Melbourne, Aus.)
It boils down to faith in either God or the scientists
Excerpt from morning walk conversation, Los Angeles, Jun 11, 1976
PRABHUPADA:…If we don’t believe that they have gone to moon planet, they will reject us. They will immediately take as “Oh, these people are crazy. “Even if you give sufficient reason or argument, they will not take it. That is their obstinacy.
RAMESVARA: They’re convinced by the photographs.
PRABHUPADA: Eh?
RAMESVARA: They have some photographs of the men in the spacesuits walking around on that other planet.
KIRTANANANDA: But they are convinced because the scientists have told them. They believe the scientists. They have faith, and the scientists can tell them anything, and they’ll believe it.
PRABHUPADA: Yes, that is…. That is the disease.
KIRTANANANDA: They have put faith. Everyone has faith. You cannot live without having faith in somebody. So they put their faith in the scientists, and we are saying it is wrong.
HARI-SAURI: Nobody could possibly believe that the scientists would cheat them. They think they are very intelligent, honest men.
PRABHUPADA: No, we have got our faith—in Krishna. Similarly, they have got their faith—in scientists.
HARI-SAURI: That article in the last BTG [Back to Godhead magazine]…. Sadaputa, he said, “So what it boils down to is they are putting their faith in chance, and we are putting our faith in God.”
PRABHUPADA: Yes. That is statement of the scientists. Adau shraddha: in everything, faith is the beginning. Adau shraddha. Without faith you cannot make any progress.
A staged production
Eexcerpt from evening conversation, Puri, Jan 25, 1977
SATSVARUPA: What about our promise, in the future also, that you go to Krishna in the future?
PRABHUPADA: We have got proof. Krishna says. We believe in Krishna. You believe in some rascal; we believe in Krishna. That is the difference. Krishna says,tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti [Bg. 4.9]. So we believe that. That’s all. We have got evidence. Youhave no evidence. You are simply suggesting in future you’ll do. But wehave got evidence.
GARGAMUNI: Sometimes they ask, “Show us somebody who’s come [back from there].”
PRABHUPADA: Hm?
GARGAMUNI: “Show us someone who has come from there.”
PRABHUPADA: Many.
GARGAMUNI: “But we don’t find any.”
PRABHUPADA: Many. It is in the shastra. “He was formerly like this, and now he has become this.” There are many.
GARGAMUNI: Well, that’s in the shastra. They say now we want…
PRABHUPADA: But shastra is the proof. Our proof is shastra. Your proof is your “shastra”. Did you go to the moon planet or you believe the newspapers? Have you gone?
GARGAMUNI: No.
PRABHUPADA: Then if you can believe newspaper, why shall I not believe in the Veda, Vedanta?
GARGAMUNI: No, but one man has come.
PRABHUPADA: So one man… You have not done. You have no experience. So one man you believe authority.
GURUKRPA: But we saw the television. They showed on the television.
PRABHUPADA: No. Television could not show that. You can arrange in thelaboratory such television, cheat others. And you have done it. But anyway, television or man or newspaper—you believe on others. You have not personally gone. So you believe some authority. We believe some authority. What is the difference? You take newspaper as authority. We take Vedic literature as authority. Where is the difference? You have personally not gone. How do you believe? The difference is that you believe somebody, we believe somebody. I asked this question to Professor Kotovsky, that “You believe Lenin; we believe Krishna. Then where is the difference between philosophy?” Now it is to be judged whether Lenin is all right or Krishna is all right. That is another thing. But the principle is there. “You believe in Lenin; we believe in Krishna. The process is the same. So where is your improvement?”
The value of seeing
760706r2.wdc Conversations
Prabhupada: Why do they speak about seeing? What is the value of your seeing? I have seen the Atlantic Ocean, that means I have seen everything? This is ludicrous.
Rupanuga: They may simply speculate from a distance, that “Here is the surface,” like here…
Prabhupada: That’s all. Real business is speculation.
Rupanuga: Here it says, here, this is some great, here…
Prabhupada: Oh, that is “I am not stealing.”
Rupanuga: Twelve hundred miles above the surface. Now they want to speculate what is there.
Prabhupada: Who asked him that who is stealing? But he said “I am not stealing.”
Rupanuga: That is perfect, Srila Prabhupada.
Prabhupada: Why he brings Arizona? Who asked him? That means that their business in Arizona.
Rupanuga: They have exposed themselves.
Prabhupada: Rascals, how they are cheating people.
Rupanuga: Such a big hoax. They have spent billions of dollars for such a hoax.
Prabhupada: Now you consider whether I am right or wrong. The moon planet is also Arizona. (laughs) All their business asset is there.
Rupanuga: So one of the things we want to do is expose this cheating. Should we expose this kind of thing directly like this, or should we indirectly deal with it?
Prabhupada: No, you do scientifically. I give you the hint. (laughter)
Svarupa Damodara: If we say that, they will be mad at the…
Prabhupada: Give psychology. Say “Who asked him about Arizona? Why he is speaking Arizona?” That means they are in Arizona.
Seeing through the eyes of shastra
Excerpt from conversation, Vrindaban, Jul 1, 1977
Prabhupada: …Twenty years ago I said, “This is all nonsense, moon-going.” And now they are coming: “Oh, it is hoax.” So that is the difference. Twenty years before and “This is all childish waste of money. This rascal will never be able to go to the moon.” And now they are coming. That is the difference. I said from common sense. Nakshatranam aham shashi. And we read in the Bhagavatam that to go to the moon planet, one has to execute such yajñas, karma-kanda[sacrifices, pious activities]. We understand from shastra [revealed scriptures – the words of the Supreme Personality of Godheadand His representatives, the Acharyas and saintly persons]. And how this rascal with a machine will go there? That is a common sense. But they do not believe in the words of the shastra. Rascals, they were bluffed and they believe. Shastra-chakshus. Your eyes should be through the shastra. Yah shastra-vidhim utsrijya vartate kama-karatah, na sa siddhim avapnoti [Bg. 16.23]. We believe in this. Therefore I said twenty years before. That is the difference. We take the words of shastra, words of Krishna, ultimate. That’s all. So we have no difficulty. They do not believe in shastra. They do not believe in Krishna. So they were bluffed. That is the difference.
Did NASA fake the moon landing? A program
aired on British television explored the possibility
This subject matter is naturally interesting to many devotees because Srila Prabhupada himself was doubtful about the moon landing. A section of the program was dedicated to analyzing NASA photographs, which curiously depict shadows that are inconsistent with the direction of the sunlight. The program clearly proved that shadows in the photographs fall at different angles and at different lengths in the same pictures, as though illuminated by more than one light source close to the scene. Had they actually been on the moon, of course, this would have been impossible as there was no other light source other than the sun. Some photographs taken of the astronauts facing in the shadows are illuminated as if by fill-in lighting.
Experts quoted on the show pointed out that the moon pictures were perfectly framed and exposed even though the cameras used had no viewfinder or exposure meter and were strapped to the astronauts’ chests.
According to moon landing sceptics, there are also numerous inconsistencies between the live TV record and the photographs that were published later.
For example, several photographs, which were supposed to be taken on different parts of the moon’s surface, have identical background landscapes. This suggests that they used the same backdrop for several photos supposedly in different areas. Some rather amusing NASA film footage includes the American flag apparently flapping in the wind, a strange phenomena given that, at least according to the modern understanding; there is no atmosphere and therefore no wind on the moon.
One of the most convincing arguments used against the moon landing relates to an official NASA photograph of the Lunar Module on the moon’s surface. The photograph shows that there was clearly no sign of disturbance on the soft lunar surface caused by the exhaust of the Lunar Module’s powerful descent engine. A crater should have been created in the soft lunar dust.
In response to these accusations, a NASA spokesman on the show said, “There are too many seeming inconsistencies for me to answer to right now.”
Sadaputa das, in his book “Vedic Cosmography and Astronomy” writes on this subject in a sub-chapter entitled “Moon Flight.” I will summarize it’s contents:
Srila Prabhupada often said that the astronauts have never actually visited the moon. His reasoning was that 1) Demigods do not allow human beings to enter the higher planets because human beings are not qualified to do so. 2) The astronauts did not experience the celestial opulence’s actually existing on the moon, and therefore could not have gone there.
Srila Prabhupada also described the attempt of the scientists to reach the moon as being as demoniac as the attack of Rahu (SB 5. 24. 3p), and said that Indra would bar such travel. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 6, Chapter 4, purport to text 6 and Canto 8, Chapter 5, purport to text 34, he comments that since the moon-god is the presiding deity of vegetation, there must be vegetation on the moon. Yet the scientists say it is a barren desert.
Srila Prabhupada also made statements suggesting that higher-dimensional travel is needed to reach the moon and he refers to the futility of trying to use mechanical spacecraft. Finally, he indicated that to reach the moon it is first necessary to cross the Manasa Lake and Sumeru Mountain.
So as ISKCON devotees we are left with various possibilities:
1) Astronauts did indeed land on the moon, but they did not perceive the world of the demigods (Candraloka) because it is invisible to gross sense perception.
2) The astronauts were deluded by the demigods at some stage in their journey and diverted to the planet Rahu. (SB 4. 29. 69p)
3) The entire moon-landing story is a complete conspiracy, which has fooled millions of people all over the world for over 30 years. (Some say that they filmed the “moon’s surface” in a place in America known as Area 51, according to the TV program.)
Perhaps in the near future we will never know for sure, but it is logical to suggest that at some time in the future we will. If the truth is indeed different to how NASA has been portraying it, ISKCON is in a prime position to say something about it.
SB 10.14.7: In time, learned philosophers or scientists might be able to count all the atoms of the earth, the particles of snow, or perhaps even the shining molecules radiating from the sun, the stars and other luminaries. But among these learned men, who could possibly count the unlimited transcendental qualities possessed by You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who have descended onto the surface of the earth for the benefit of all living entities?
FAITH in our BONAFIDE Guru Srila Prabhupada – Prabhus. It requires FAITH. THAT personality who has SEEN Krsna FACE TO FACE – AND – COMES FROM GOLOKA – HIS WORDS ARE TO BE TRUSTED NOT SOME RASCAL WHO IS DETERMINED TO HEAR ABOUT movie made in ARIZONA DESERT “moon landing”.
———
Fake Dutch ‘moon rock’ revealed
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8226075.stm
A treasured piece at the Dutch national museum –
a supposed moon rock from the first manned lunar landing –
is nothing more than petrified wood, curators say.
It was given to former Prime Minister Willem Drees during a goodwill tour by the three Apollo-11 astronauts shortly after their moon mission in 1969.
When Mr Drees died, the rock went on display at the Amsterdam museum.
At one point it was insured for around $500,000 (£308,000), but tests have proved it was not the genuine article.
The Rijksmuseum, which is perhaps better known for paintings by artists such as Rembrandt, says it will keep the piece as a curiosity.
“It’s a good story, with some questions that are still unanswered,” Xandra van Gelder, who oversaw the investigation that proved the piece was a fake, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.
“We can laugh about it.”
The “rock” had originally been been vetted through a phone call to Nasa, she added.
The US agency gave moon rocks to more than 100 countries following lunar missions in the 1970s.
US officials said they had no explanation for the Dutch discovery.
MoonFaker: Australia & The Conspirators
Faked Moon Landing? Compilation of Evidence
NASA Moon Landing was Faked
ApolloHoax-www.billkaysingtribute.com.pdf
Hare Kṛṣṇa Prabhus, pamho all glories to Srila Prabhupada!
This video isn’t an actual Wikileaks release. YouTube has a disclaimer that the footage “may not be genuine”. It was posted by some dude “WeAreAllGnosis333” who has been on it less than six months.
Anyone could’ve pieced together this fake video using archival NASA footage, their own props and actors, and real Nevada desert background. It hardly classifies as proof besides the fact that it isn’t even convincing. Either way, we are free to believe whatever we choose.
It is possible to cherry pick Śrīla Prabhupāda statements to present either side of the argument. That goes for globe Earth/round Earth/flat Earth as well. So what? That misses the whole point of His Divine Grace’s message and only serves to create division amongst devotees.
Ys Sam
हरे कृष्ण
Hare Krsna Bhakta Sam…
The real question:
Is there any ‘intelligent life’ left on Earth, what to speak of the Moon.. lol.
Yfs, Bal.
Hare Kṛṣṇa Balaram Prabhu
Ha ha, I appreciate your humour.
The mood could definitely do with some lightening up here!
(maybe some soothing moonlight?)
Ys, Sam
हरे कृष्ण
I hope I didn’t offend anyone with that comment. I don’t want to appear judgemental for any devotee taking either side of the argument. My point is that the video is obviously a fake, not the moon landing or otherwise. Surely only a gullible fool would think this video is a genuine Wikileaks release of unused genuine NASA footage.
_/\ò_
Haribol
Ys, Sam
Srila Prabhupada: “They have not gone to the Moon planet” (Perth May 12 1975).
Bhakta Sam Prabhu, you prefer to put your faith in NASA, Youtube (which is owned by GOOGLE) and other fallible soldiers instead of Srila Prabhupada which is the action of a fool!. GOOGLE are pathological liars and are a tool of the Satanic Freemason Illuminati (GOOGLE CHROME’S LOGO IS 666). NASA’S (Never A Straight Answer) logo has a red “snake’s tongue” and all the Directors and “space men” of NASA are members of the Freemason Illuminati. They created a new Freemason Lodge after the fake moon landing which they called the “Sea of Tranquility Freemason Lodge” (named after the fake landing site!).
The GOOGLE CHROME ‘666’ and ‘snakes tongue’ form part of Illuminati double-speak ”hidden in plain sight” which is hidden message, but to the majority of the populace of ‘fools, rascals, dupes and half-wits is MEANINGLESS! The Illuminati (who follow mysticism) believe in karma, this is why they leave clues and have a fascination with symbols, numbers and letters as the general populace of sheeple will share in the bad karma of their LIES, whereas the most intelligent ‘will see straight through them!’ after all they are telling us up front that they are ‘liars and satanists!’ with their logo’s so only a ‘dupe’ would believe them!
The ‘fake moon landing’ was a creation of the “THREE EYES” FREEMASON ILLUMINATI (USA) which was a Cold War Psyop in competition with the USSR (now The Russian Federation).
Members of “THREE EYES” (USA) are some of the most powerful persons and are : Henry Kissinger, David Rockerfeller, Zbigniew Brezinski, George H W Bush, Christine Lagarde, Bill Clinton, Gerald Ford, Ted Kennedy, Maurice Oldfield (Director of MI6), Michael Hanley (Director of MI5), William Colby (Director of CIA), Condoleeza Rice, Madeleine Albright; Edward Heath, Alec Douglas Hume,……NEIL ARMSTRONG AND STANLEY KUBRICK! (Eyes Wide Shut, 2001 A Space Odyssey, The Shining).
Movie Director Stanley Kubrick filmed the ‘bogus moon landing’ at the same time he was filming “2001 A Space Odyssey” His ”film version” of Stephen King’s “THE SHINING” (which is different from the book!) is Stanley Kubrick’s “covert” explanation of the “BOGUS MOON LANDING” and is very well explained in the following link………..
Secrets of The Shining
Very interesting stuff!
Try this…….
https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/luna/luna_apollomissions10.htm
Please accept my humble obeisances Sudarsana das. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda.
No, I don’t put my faith in NASA.
I used to be rather paranoid in the old days. Since I stopped smoking dope over a decade ago my thinking appears to have levelled out somewhat (or so it appears to me). My associates in my immediate circle may harbour an entirely different opinion ha ha ha
And I avoid bibliotecapleyades like the plague
Dear Bhakta Sam, what has “being paranoid in the old days” or “smoking dope” got got to do with anything? You do not have to be paranoid to understand that the worlds leaders are demons, psychopaths, mass murderers, pedophiles and pathological liars. These rascals use NASA, GOOGLE, Youtube, the media (and film) to constantly hypnotize, confuse and bewilder the general populace with their lies and deceit. This isn’t a game! The same personalities (including many members of Three Eyes Freemason Illuminati Lodge) are murdering thousands of people on a daily basis. Not long ago they were repeating the “Weapons of Mass Destruction” mantra over Iraq and have murdered over 1 Million people OVER A LIE! The SAME LIARS AND RASCALS THAT FAKED THE MOON LANDING! So please don’t bullshit me about how you ”used to be paranoid” and ”smoking dope!” what has that got to do with anything?
Dandavats Sudarsana Prabhu,
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
What I was alluding to was that as I grow older I have changed my opinions on many things and like to think my head isn’t as full with silly things as it used to be. Part of this mental clarity is from going gluten-free after being late-diagnosed as Coeliac, as is the current trend with males over 50. Of course my associates may offer a differing viewpoint and say I’m just as damn confused as I ever was!
Using a single search term “Illuminati”, I have searched Vanipedia, Vedabase and even Gitabase for any instance of Śrīla Prabhupāda mentioning the illuminati and can’t find a single one. So would I be correct in assuming that this is purely your own agenda?
I am aware that His Divine Grace made reference to a sinister element within Iskcon but I am pretty sure He didn’t specifically name Freemasons, New World Order, Green Lizard Men or the Illuminati. I am only too happy to be proved wrong and will of course take it on if you can show me where.
I mean this in all seriousness. This is, after all, Prabhupadanugas, dedicated to His teachings, not an anti-anything website.
I hope this meets you well
Ys Sam
हरे कृष्ण
Srila Prabhupada. Letter to Hansadutta Sept 2nd 1970……
“It is a fact that THE GREAT SINISTER MOVEMENT (emphasis mine) is within our society”
Dear Bhakta Sam Prabhu, Srila Prabhupada is NOT referring to “a sinister element” but rather “the great sinister movement”. So it is reasonable to have the assumption that the great sinister movement (which was ‘without’ is now within) is not a ‘self manifesting element that has arisen from within the movement’ at least that is my understanding.
Example The grizzly bear is “now within the log cabin” whereas before “he was outside” the log cabin. He did not just self manifest within the log cabin.
So Srila Prabhupada is not (in my humble opinion) talking about the emergence of “handful of wicked malcontents” but rather something much greater that has infiltrated ISKCON.
You obviously do not understand what is Freemasonry is, but you make references to NASA’s “genuine NASA footage” and talk of photographs and data released by NASA such as measurements of distance and physical properties of the planets. So why do you quote data from NASA if you do not know what is Freemasonry?
I was talking to someone about the recent Australian Federal “Election” who indicated he was going to vote Labour. I said to him that “your vote then is in support of The Fabian Society (which all senior members of labour are members) and he said to me “what is that? I have never heard of them!” to which I replied “The Fabian Socialists logo is A WOLF IN SHEEPS CLOTHING (which it is!) and he was a bit taken aback by this!
In The first “Earth Summit” Maurice Strong (a communist con-man who ripped off almost a million bucks from the Food for Oil (scandal) and then fled to Russia presented the “CO2 Global Warming Myth” but also he presented a complete document about AGENDA 21. I was talking to someone I know who recently got his Bachelor of “Science” degree (which took him 5 years) and said to him “what do you think about Agenda 21” to which he replied “what is that?” ……. he did not know!
So you see Bhakta Sam Prabhu what I am saying?
Srila Prabhupada said that they did not go to the Moon planet. So it is NOT a question of ‘go or not go’ but one of massive deception, fakery, lying, and vitrified wood ”moon rocks”
so this is “my agenda” to reveal all of this fake bullshit nonsense, but your agenda seems to be trying to convince all and sundry of “genuine NASA footage” and other nonsense coming from an organization initially put together by Nazi war criminals, murderers, torturers and members of the Freemason Illuminati (of which you admit to know nothing!).
If you want some information of reptillian shape-shifting demons then I suggest that you read the story of The Aghasura Demon in the 10th Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam.
David Ike talks of these reptillians also, but for me my only reference is Srimad Bhagavatam. But Dave has an EXCELLENT vid called AGENDA 21 (I would give this 5 Stars). He hardly even mentions ‘reptillian shape shifters’ on the Agenda 21 vid ha! ha!
The Great Sinister Movement has many names…what would you call it?
The Committee of 300, Freemasons, Satanists, The Round Table, The Bilderberg Group, The Mont Pelerin Society, The Trilateral Commission, CFR, The Club of Rome, The Pilgrim Society, Knights of the Garter, The Knights Templar, The York Rite Illuminati, The 33 degree Scottish Rite Illuminati, The UN, The Royal Institute for International Affairs, Bohemian Grove, The Boules, Hathor Pentalpa, Daath, Atlantis Aletheia, Montesquieu, Thomas Paine, Arjuna Phoenix, Golden Eurasia, Hiram Rhodes Reves, Valhalla, The Ring, Fraternite Verte, Three Eyes, Pan Europa, Skull and Bones, White Eagle, Edmund Burke, Maat, Geburah, Compass Star Rose/Rose Stellar Ventorum, Lux Ad Orientem, The Thule Society, The Lucis (formally Lucifer) Trust, Frater Kronos and on and on it goes….take your pick!
Preach the truth and God consciousness (exposing the demons in the process) and they will find you soon enough…especially if you print books! They found Srila Prabhupada! but he beat them by stealth! and printed his books!!!! And that my friend is why he didn’t mention them! As the books (Srila Prabhupada’s ‘secret weapon’) were too important and this required STEALTH! That is my humble opinion!
Thank you Prabhu for your reply which I read with curious interest. Am I to take it then that Śrīla Prabhupāda never actually said it was the Illuminati (or whatever)?
If I am not mistaken He was very forthright in calling out by name – regardless of status – people He considered of dubious merit or questionable character such as Gandhi, Darwin, various impersonalist yogis famous in the west like Vivekanda etc. Why would He then speak of a “great sinister movement” in an anonymous way?
I am aware that the Illuminati Conspiracy Theory was around (a friend of mine was into it in the early 90s) before the advent of the internet and of course it has exploded since then so it’s not just an internet cult phenomenon. I would gladly change my point of view if someone could show me proof of Śrīla Prabhupāda naming who ‘the great sinister movement’ was – but until then it remains mere supposition and I view all such ‘theories’ with guarded suspicion. Without proof anybody has a hard time convincing me of anything. If Śrīla Prabhupāda said it I would of course accept it.
Please, anyone, proof in writing? Too much to ask to get a straight answer?
Thank you in advance, ys Sam
हरे कृष्ण
Dear Bhakta Sam Prabhu with respect…….
Please just continue with your mental speculation of “a bit from here and a bit from there” quoting nonsense from Freemasons and NAZI war criminal organizations (no conspiracy there!) One cannot convince a fool of anything! Don’t waste my time!
Note: those who are in LOWER material modes eating meat and drinking they can not go to moon. Moon is heavenly planet – demigods are not fools to let them in. Even if one wants to go to USA, Australia , UK countries that have economically developed they have to face many restrictions visa, qualifications, money support etc so what to speak of HIGHER planets where conditions of opulence are far SUPERIOR. Common-sense.
2nd July 1976. Room Conversation. New Vrindavana
Prabhupada: They have never gone. Simply propaganda.
740615rc.par Conversations
Yogesvara: “Is there some, any qualities, in the sense that some people have more receptivity towards the divine than other people?”
Prabhupada: YES. THAT I EXPLAINED, SATTVA-GUNA, RAJO-GUNA, TAMO-GUNA. THOSE WHO ARE IN SATTVA-GUNA, THEY CAN UNDERSTAND EASILY. THOSE WHO ARE IN RAJO-GUNA, THEY HAVE GOT DIFFICULTY. AND THOSE WHO ARE IN TAMO-GUNA, THEY CANNOT. (French)
Overall this is a great presentation here. Including the constructive critique by Sam. No offense taken Sam I am sure. I look forward to more of an in depth reading of it.
Very well presented material.
Thank all of you who contributed,.
The Moon is 94 million 600 thousand miles above the Earth. One million 600 thousand miles above the solar orbit. I have that in the 8th Canto by Srila Prabhupada. Who else am I going to believe?.
Many thanks Hasti Gopala dasa, and please accept my obeisances to the assembled devotees.
Śrīla Prabhupāda’s introduction to His Bhagavad-Gita says it all. Whenever I fail to comprehend any facet of a minute technical detail, I put it down to my own misgivings rather than try to pass it off as a deficiency of the author. We all know that His writings are delivered by the Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself.
Regarding the apparent discrepancy of the proximity of the Moon’s orbit, may I please borrow from Sadaputa das, who describes the angular “Earth viewpoint” as introducing anomalies in technical calculations, to wit distances viewed side-on.
Perhaps the reader is familiar with the reference point of the Vedic Scriptures as being given from the heavenly planets. Such descriptions may not ascribe to Earthly calculations. Viewed from the Heavenly planets, such calculations may be completely erroneous.
Nevertheless, whenever an astrologer makes a calculation, based either on individual observation of the heavenly bodies or referring to an Ephemeris of planetary motions, it needs to be checked and rectified.
Most of us are familiar with archival photographs of ancient Indian observatories. The method is to periodically check presupposed positions with actual observations in real time, to verify the authenticity of any Jyotish chart derived from such calculations. Indeed, practitioners regularly do these checks on a regular basis to ensure their craft is valid. That’s what the observatories are for!
The formulae for predicting any or all planet’s motions is thus verified from time to time by actual observations. That is why they are called Observatories. The ancient Vedic method involved periodic checking. The formulae for such calculations are Earth-based, as there is little facility to dash off in a spacecraft and witness planetary ephemera from anywhere else.
This leads to confusion about the heliocentric/geocentric model of our solar system. Whether it is either is a moot point; the fact is, we can only make observations and therefore calculations from our point of reference – Bhumiloka, planet Earth.
Okay. I’ll cut to the chase now.
Most or all of us are familiar with the dynamics of what constitutes a New Moon, Full Moon, and the various phases. Now, let’s examine the New Moon phase from an Earth viewpoint.
For it to appear as a crescent shape, the angular perspective must be inferior – meaning that the Moon must be inside the Earth’s orbit.
If the Moon was on the other side of the Sun, further away, at the New Moon it would be fully illuminated. Indeed, if the Moon was outside the Sun relative to Earth’s orbit, it would always appear Full.
The reason the Moon exhibits a crescent can only occur when it occupies an inferior angle relative to the Sun.
Skip to Śrīla Prabhupāda’s introduction where He details the four defects of human beings. Yes, we all have imperfect senses meaning we can’t see around corners but it is our eyes and our hands that we co-ordinate to go about our daily functions, eating from the table, passing stool and cleaning ourselves, crossing the road and avoiding traffic.
These imperfect senses are what we use to make sense of the world we live in. As far as Jyotish and even mundane Western astrology goes, it is all we have to work with. How else could the Vedas be written with any other perspective in mind? They must be inclusive of our situation or they will be meaningless.
Geocentric universe, flat earth or otherwise, there is no way to construct an independent (purely objective) efficient manual for astrological calculations. It must always be done with the viewpoint from Planet Earth. There is no other feasible method.
There is debate on whether the cosmology espoused in the Vedic calculations are relative to the Heavenly planets or Earth based. This argument extends into the span of one day of Lord Brahma.
I am an experienced astrologer, albeit Western and not qualified to make a judgement let alone a statement. All I will suggest is that this could be investigated further. I would like to venture that any discrepancy between the Vedic model and NASA’s POV is largely based on semantics and a lack of clarity on the exact definition of terms. As always, I could be wrong.
Your servant,
Bhakta Sam
हरे कृष्ण
Dandavats Hasti Gopala Prabhu,
Thanks… you said, “The Moon is 94 million 600 thousand miles above the Earth. One million 600 thousand miles above the solar orbit. I have that in the 8th Canto by Srila Prabhupada. Who else am I going to believe?.”
I’m not sure about “the 8th Canto”, but in the second book of SB 5th canto chapter, Chart Three, the Sun is drawn 100,000 yojanas (800,00 miles) above the Earth, and the Moon a further 200,000 yojanas (1,600,000 miles) above that..
Neither of these agree with either the Surya Siddhanta or western astronomy which both reckon them to be 93 million and 238 thousand miles away, on average.
So I am not saying that Śrīla Prabhupāda is wrong. I would like to suggest that the Srimad-Bhagavatam is talking about some other aspect of the cosmic manifestation – perhaps another plane of physical reality or another dimension as seen on the heavenly planets by Demigods. Therefore it is not necessary that only one can be correct at the expense of each other. They both may be describing different aspects of the same material world, most likely of planes of varying subtle and gross nature. A similar paradox occurs with the Himalayas, with Mt Everest measuring some 29,028 ft on the gross physical plane yet the Vedas describe them as many, many times that, extending so high that they capture the pure water from the Causal Ocean after Lord Vishnu’s Vamana incarnation pierced the covering of the material universe and eventually became the source of the Ganges.
There is an obvious paradox in that for the Moon to appear crescent shaped as it approaches the New Moon phase, the geometry of the angles suggests it must be between the Earth and the Sun – for if it was further away on the other side it would appear fully illuminated.
I would never be so naïve so as to suggest that the Srimad-Bhagavatam is wrong. Given this simple contradiction of verifiable physical reality I assume that the distances given in SB are about some other aspect. The Moon cannot be further away yet crescent shaped unless there is some sort of mystic illusion. Our senses may be inperfect but that does not guarantee that every conclusion we come to is based on mistakes – just that we make them sporadically and can’t always act perfectly.
I hope this meets you well. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Ys Sam
हरे कृष्ण
Hasti Gopala Prabhu,
I just checked the text SB 8.10.38 and sure enough in the purport it says the Moon is 1,600,000 miles above the rays of sunshine. Yet the text in SB 5.22.8 it says 800,000 miles even though Chart Three at the start of Book Two 5th Canto says 200,000 yojanas! (1,600,000 miles)
I have both books open in front of me (KBI re-edition of original unaltered version) and checking the Devanagari (yes, I can decipher at least 90% of Devanagari script into romanised Sanskrit IAST with diacritics) the words used are लक्षयोजनत (lakṣa-yojanata) which translates as 100,000 yojanas or 800,000 miles – definitely not dvi-lakṣa-yojanata which is 200,000 (1,600,000 miles).
Typesetting errors most certainly confuse the issue. Given that the Devanagari, the romanised IAST transliteration and the English translation in 5th canto Chapter 22 verse 8 all agree on 100,000 yojanas I suspect the chart in Book Two (the last coloured plate) is drawn incorrectly.
I hope this helps?
Ys Sam
हरे कृष्ण
Hare Krsna Bhakta Sam prabhu,
I find it very interesting that if the ‘Moon’ is millions of kilometers away, I can step outside in day or night and with my good quality binoculars (not even a telescope), see all the lunar landscape with the craters etc clearly visible, hardly possible for even a very large object millions of Kms away. During the various ‘phases’ of the Moon, the unlit sections can also be easily observed.
The Moon (the one that we see anyway.. haha) simply reflects Sun-light, otherwise if it were self-illuminating the dark unlit phases would always be shining, as you refer to correctly in your mention of the ‘angular perspective’ being taken into account. We must also understand the Srimad Bhagavatam is not a strict chronological presentation of pastimes & facts. IMHO, us trying to make sense of the intricacies of the Cosmic creation, is like unto an ant trying to understand humanity.
Just my 2 paise worth.
Yfs,
Balaram das.
Thank you Balarama das Prabhu. Namaste _/\õ_
I agree in that for the Moon to be observed in close proximity with mere binoculars, something weird must be going on. I myself have witnessed the triple moons of Jupiter viewed through binoculars when I had the chance, living away fro the bright city lights for a decade or five.
We see the New Moon, parrallax aside, (not that I understand it fully) in the context of our narrow point of view, here on Earth. What else are able to do?
This raises a question:
The moon that we see, OR THE ONE (heavenly) described as a physical body or a heavenly body; who are we to decide which is which? Are they the same? Do we take Her physical manifestation within our observable orbit to be a gracious extension of Her hand so that we may be able to decipher the meaning of Her presence?
Perhaps.
I think that there is much more to the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the Sūrya-siddhānta that we surmise. Perhaps we gloss it over because it is too complex.
It intrigues me. Ever since I ever got a hold of the 5th Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
Ys Sam
I हरे कृष्ण
Sam Prabhu: The moon that we see, OR THE ONE (heavenly) described as a physical body or a heavenly body; who are we to decide which is which? Are they the same?
Mahesh: here is some answers from Srila Prabhupada:
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Prabhupāda: No. If we believe in our Bhāgavata, they have not gone. It is above the sun planet, 1,600,000 miles above. How they can go?
Bahulāśva: Śrīla Prabhupāda, at night, when we see in the sky that moon, that is the same moon that is above the sun?
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Bahulāśva: Yes? So their miscalculations are due to their imperfect senses.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Bhavānanda: Śrīla Prabhupāda, I told Mādhava dāsa in Atlanta that you had said that the sun is actually closer than the moon, and he immediately was able to prove that that is correct. He sat down and he, “Oh…” He was able to prove something by the way they are measuring… They are measuring the distance incorrectly in terms of bending light rays and straight light rays.
Prabhupāda: Oh.
Brahmānanda: Sometimes the moon comes in front of the sun.
Prabhupāda: What is the front?
Brahmānanda: Between the sun and the earth the moon comes.
Jagannātha-suta: Lunar eclipse.
Prabhupāda: No, no. Eclipse is different, not according to their theory. That planet is called Rahu.
Devotees: Ah yes.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It’s not the moon. That’s Rahu.
Revatīnandana: So Rahu covers sometimes the sun and sometimes the moon?
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Bahulāśva: This Rahu planet’s invisible? We cannot see this with our eyes?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Why you believe your eyes so much? (laughter) Nonsense eyes.
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Devotee (3): I was going to ask you, Prabhupāda, is that the moon planet that we see, is that the same moon planet that’s mentioned in the śāstras? The same planet?
Prabhupāda: Yes, same one. But the moon planet where they went, that is a dark planet. That is not moon planet.
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Indian man: So there is life on the moon, Swamijī?
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Indian man: But can you see them? Do they have bodies?
Prabhupāda: First of all you go there. Then see. I don’t admit that they have gone to the moon planet.
Indian man: You don’t believe.
Prabhupāda: It is 1,600,000 above the sun, the moon.
Indian man: One million six hundred…
Prabhupāda: Thousand miles above the sun.
Indian man: Well, they say…
Prabhupāda: They say. They’re all fools.
Indian man: Quarter million miles.
Prabhupāda: We don’t accept them.
Indian man: 1,600,000.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Above the sun.
Indian man: Above the sun.
Prabhupāda: And how they will go?
Indian man: And the sun is 96,000,000 miles away.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That they cannot go there.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: 93,000,000.
Indian man: Ninety-three.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Jaya Prabhupāda.
Prabhupāda: Jaya. [break] (in car:) …ments are there in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam since the last five thousand years, and these people have become civilized for the last three hundred years, and we have to accept their statement or the statement which is made five thousand years at least? At least they discussed or they had some knowledge. You cannot deny that. They’re giving description of all the planets, where it is situated. At least they had discussion. So they were uncivilized?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: The moon that we see in the sky…
Prabhupāda: The same moon.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: That same moon.
Prabhupāda: Yes. And there is fire, blazing fire, just like the sun. But it is surrounded by cool atmosphere. Therefore it is pleasing. Heat coming through cool atmosphere, it is pleasing. This is the statement. What do they know? They cannot explain why it is so brilliant. We explain, “There is firelike flames; therefore it is brilliant.” They say that every planet looks like that. That’s not a fact. Then all the planets together, why they cannot illuminate this earth at night? Only the moon is required.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Well, they give the excuse that all the other stars are so far away that the light doesn’t shine bright enough.
Prabhupāda: There are no other, nearer planets?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Yes. There are other planets like Venus and Mars, but they say these planets are much closer than the sun.
Prabhupāda: That means… So why they do not look so bright?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Their philosophy is that the earth, Venus and Mars, these different planets, they don’t give off any light.
Prabhupāda: Then why do they say that all the planets look like moon? They say like that.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: They think the moon is just reflecting light from the sun.
Prahupada: So why it is not reflecting to other planets, only to the moon? Why special advantage to the moon? They have no reason. All rascals’ philosophy. Why particularly to the moon? Why not others? Simply theories and mental speculation. They have no scientific. And the śāstra definitely gives the distance of the moon from the sun planet-1,600,000 miles. Then similarly [sic:] 1,600 million up, the Mars, then Venus, then…, everything. And moon is specifically mentioned that “It is so brilliant because there is fire, blazing fire. And the blazing fire is so illuminating that even at night it looks white, bright.” This is reasonable because… Not that it is being reflected by the sun. The sun can reflect other planets, but it is there, fire. Just like sun there is fire, similarly, moon there is fire. The sun is not covered by cool atmosphere, but the moon is covered by cool atmosphere. Therefore it is pleasing. When there is sunshine and breeze, it is very pleasing. And no sunshine, simply breezing—it is not pleasing. And only sunshine, there is no cool atmo… That is also painful. But sunshine and breezing is very pleasing. So there is, like sunshine, blazing fire and surrounded by cool atmosphere. Therefore the moon is so pleasing.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: That’s a very reasonable argument, but how do we understand that the moon is 1,600,000 miles…
Prabhupāda: It is stated in the Bhāgavata.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Does that mean that it’s farther away from the earth than the… Does that mean that the earth is farther from the moon than from the sun?
Prabhupāda: Yes, certainly. Sun is in the center of the universe, and other planets there are above the sun and lower the sun. Sun is in the middle of the universe.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: So then the moon…
Prabhupāda: Everything is there. The whole, what is called, radius, no, diameter, from one point to another of the universe is given there. Pañcāśat-koṭi-yojana. Pañcāśat means fifty, and koṭi means ten million. So fifty into ten million. Huh? 500,000,000. Pañcāśat-koṭi. And eight.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Four billion.
Prabhupāda: Four billion miles, the area, this way and that way. So if the distance is so vast then one planet situated some millions of miles away, it is not extraordinary. The whole area is four billion.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Yes. But it appears at least for… It appears that the moon is so close.
Prabhupāda: “It appears”—that is another thing. As soon as you say “appears,” that means you have no knowledge.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Yes.
Prabhupāda: But we say on the authenticity of the description in the Vedic literature. Therefore it is authentic. This proves that they did not go to the moon planet. If it is above, 1,600,000 above, then it is impossible. So this is bogus propaganda, they have gone to the moon.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: It’s a very reasonable proposition because going to the moon, they simply come back with some rocks. Rocks they can get on the earth also.
Prabhupāda: They are all nonsense. Some sand and some rocks, and we have to believe they have gone to. The fools may believe, but we cannot believe. We have got other information. Why shall I believe?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: So all of the politicians are taking the money and they’re saying that…
Prabhupāda: That’s all. That’s all. Exploiting, that’s all. This is their business. Just like Pakistan politicians, as soon as they cannot supply food, they declare war with India. The attention is diverted. Here also we have seen in the last war. When no man was joining, so in India, they created artificial famine. So for want of food they joined military. The government created a situation, purchased all the food grains and stocked. And when the price is very high the government opened controlled shop at high price. The people had no money; therefore they were obliged to join military. These polit…, demons, they are so dangerous, simply to keep their position they are doing all nefarious activities. Simply there is… Because they don’t believe in the next birth, they are not afraid of sinful activities. They can do anything, “Whatever I like. There is no… This life is finished.” That is the whole philosophy of the modern educated man, “There is no life.” Big, big professors, they say like that, “There is no life after death.” Therefore the Ārya-samājī rascal was: “That is Hindu belief.” Why Hindu belief? Does the Mohammedan do not grow old? That answer he could not give. He is such a rascal. And at last he said that “I am God.”
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: They are dogmatic.
Prabhupāda: Dogmatic, no. Why we should waste our time talking with such foolish men? “I don’t believe.” No, what… You believe or not believe; fact is fact. You are going to be old man. If you say “I don’t believe,” then is that a very good proposition? It does not depend on your believing or not believing. The nature’s course will take place. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ [Bg. 3.27]. That will go on. What is there in your believing and not believing? If you keep yourself in such darkness that “If you believe, then it is fact,” then you are a fool, rascal. If you depend only on your belief, then you are a fool. What is the meaning of your belief? “I believe if I touch fire it will not burn.” Will this belief protect me? You touch fire; it will burn. You believe or not believe. What is this argument, “We don’t believe”? This is going on. If nature’s law is that you must die, then if you believe, “No, I’ll not die,” will that belief protect you? You have to submit to the nature’s law. Why don’t you understand this? You are talking of “believe and not believe.” Whole world is going on in this way: “We think,” “I suppose,” “Perhaps,” “I believe,” like this. Where is science? Science does not depend on your “belief, not belief, supposing, perhaps.” This is not science. But they are going on like that. Whole Darwin’s theory is based on this, “Maybe millions of years past…” We want perfect knowledge, not such, what is called, saṁśayam. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, asaṁśayaṁ, “without any doubt.” That is knowledge. And samagram, “complete.” So if we have got the chance of knowing complete, without any doubt, so why shall I go to you, rascal? Your knowledge is based on “perhaps, maybe.” I will have to go somewhere to take knowledge, so why not go to Kṛṣṇa, where the knowledge is complete and without any doubt? Why shall I go to you, you rascal? You simply say “maybe, perhaps, I think.” What is the use of this knowledge? We don’t accept. You cannot say that “You are right; I am wrong” because you are also going to somebody to get knowledge, I am also going to somebody to get knowledge. So here it assured, that “complete knowledge without any doubt.” But you have no such confidence. Am I right or not?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Yes. The difficulty arises in… We say, well, you have to grow old. And then we say the moon is so high above the sun. So…
Prabhupāda: So how can you deny it? First of all tell me. You have not gone there.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: I haven’t gone, but the argument…
Prabhupāda: No, no. The scientists. I challenge that he has not gone there.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: (to someone:) Pay your obeisances.
Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. Jaya. I have not gone, you have not gone, but I have got this authentic literature; you have nothing. So my position is better than yours. You are fool. You are befooled because you are simply contemplating. But I have got a definite literature, information. So my position is better than yours. Whose car is it? Oh, some of them are chanting? Jaya. (end)
Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/conversations/1975/oct/morning_walk/durban/october/09/1975
Namaste Mahesh Prabhu,
All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda हरे कृष्ण
Thank you for your response. I don’t always have the time or energy to read long passages so forgive me if I’ve missed an important element.
First of all the text of SB 5.22.8 says “Above the rays of the sunshine by a distance of 100,000 yojanas [800,000 miles] is the moon”, not 1,600,000 miles as is stated elsewhere. Perhaps the typesetter was distracted by a cat or something when compiling the rest of SB.
The exact words (without diacritics) are uparistal laksa yojana which translates as one hundred thousand yojanas above.
The Devanagari text, the transliterations and the text all agree and say the same thing. It is written in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śrīla Prabhupāda version, that the Moon is 100,000 yojanas or 800,000 miles above (upariṣṭāt) the Sun. Elsewhere we find the figure of 1,600,000 miles quoted again and again.
Secondly… well I get all confused after that shemozzle.
My point is not that I am trying to denigrate or disrespect. It is that we should employ intensive scrutiny before we go quoting willy-nilly what may be a typesetting error or a misquote. . This world is full of imperfections as we all are aware.
As a side note: there are so many contradictory statements in various scriptures that often I wonder how much of a part the British and the Muslim invaders tampered with them. Tgat could explain a lot.
Hare Kṛṣṇa
Ys Sam
हरे कृष्ण
Bhakta Sam seems very critical and uselessly over concern foolishly to the fact stated in the verse SB.5.22.8 which reads ;
“Above the rays of the sunshine by a distance of 100,000 yojanas [800,000 miles] is the moon”
when he compares of else where stating as 1,600,000 miles without giving any reference to it which shows further his state of the mind being controlled and influenced under the strong Three Mode of Material Nature.
That is why he finds contradictory.
These comments are NOT meant to offend any body in any shape, size and style.
ALL of us must read the contents of the revealed Scriptures of Srila Prabhupada’s VANI in the spirit it is described. That is my humble suggestion.
OM TAT SAT.
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.
In my humble opinion the draftsperson who drew up Chart Three, Book Two, 5th Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam got it wrong and everyone has been mistakenly quoting it ever since. SB 5.22.8 clearly states 100,000 yojanas, not dvi-laksa- yojanas (two hundred thousand). In the diagram it is 200,000… see for yourself.
Which do you believe is correct?
Ys Sam
I हरे कृष्ण
Where is you “intensive scrutiny” of NASA as you constantly quoting their figures, data, and images (“genuine” NASA footage). NASA are all Freemason Illuminati, but you waffle on about “proof of conspiracy” Scrutiny is one thing but you are getting you “information” from all and sundry! This is just mental speculation!
“Fossilized wood” moon rocks! That should be proof enough!
Bhakta Sam says:
” I think that there is much more to the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the Sūrya-siddhānta that we surmise. Perhaps we gloss it over because it is too complex.”
My humble suggestion to you, Bhakta Sam is to give up your speculations what you see through your “binoculars, ” at the COMPLEXITY of the Nature which needs to be known and understood only through the perfect descriptions in the Scripture i.e. Srimad Bhagavatam by the Self Realized who has described in His VANI’s description. That is what we, the students, need to follow and understand for a better knowing through the ” Binoculars ” of the Sastrachaksu ONLY.
OM TAT SAT.
All Glories to Our Jagat Guru HDG. Srila Prabhupada.
An ant.
Very well said.
An ant am I
(but a very perspicacious one am I
All glories to the devotees of Śrīla Prabhupāda!
Ys Sam
हरे कृष्ण
In my humble opinion the draftsperson who drew up Chart Three, Book Two, 5th Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam got it wrong and everyone has been mistakenly quoting it ever since. SB 5.22.8 clearly states 100,000 yojanas, not dvi-laksa- yojanas (two hundred thousand). In the diagram it is 200,000… see for yourself.
Which do you believe is correct?
Ys Sam
I हरे कृष्ण
Namaste Balarama Prabhu
One possible explanation is that our piddly Moon is an Earth satellite that is synchronous with Chandraloka, the heavenly planet far, far away. As mentioned by Sadaputa Dasa (Richard L. Thompson) and numerous other authors there are several dimensions of which only 3 or 4 are apparent to us (time is the 4th; the 5th Dimension was a 60s pop group ha ha).
Sadaputa goes on to say that the Sūrya-siddhānta agrees with modern astronomy and that the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam may describe the cosmos as viewed from the Heavenly Planets. I must say that I tend to agree with his point of view very much because it helps to explain for us dumb earth folk (ants) what the discrepancies are a result of – our limited senses and localised (small) viewpoint.
Perhaps it is for Śrīla Prabhupāda’s self-effulgent successor to appear and settle this once and for all?
Ys Sam
हरे कृष्ण
Note: the bodies of the demigods are suitable for the particular atmosphere there. Eg. Indra can make himself invisible. Sattva-guṇa, or in the modes of goodness enables on to go higher planets. Lower modes they go lower planets.
690910BG.HAM
ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā
madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ
jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā
adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ
[Bg. 14.18]
If you keep yourself in sattva-guṇa, or in the modes of goodness, you are promoted to the higher planetary system. Even to the topmost planetary system. That is called ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ. And if you keep yourself in the modes of passion, you shall remain within the middle planetary system. This is middle planetary system. This earthly planet, it is called Bhūrloka. Then, above this, there is Bhuvarloka. Then, above that, Svargaloka. That is heavenly planets. The heavenly planets begins from the moon planet. Jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ. And those who are in the modes of darkness, they go down, down, down. The animal life is also amongst the down, I mean to say, modes of life. So this human form of life is a chance to make our choice where we shall go next, in the higher or in the lower, or we shall remain here. So how to go to the higher planetary system, that is also mentioned. Yānti deva-vratā devān. Read this.
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750212BG.MEX
That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā.
yānti deva-vratā devān
pitṝn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ
bhūtāni yānti bhūtejyā
yānti mad-yājino ‘pi mām
[Bg. 9.25]
The process is there. You can prepare your next life in this life. Just like they are attempting to go to the moon planet, but the fact is they could not go there. Why they could not go there? The reason is that wherever you go, you must be fit for that place. Even in this planet, suppose somebody goes from one place to another place. He has to make himself fit to go there. He must know what is the temperature there. Accordingly, he’ll take his dress. Then he’ll have to take permission of the state, visa, passport. So many things you have to arrange. Then you can go, not that all of a sudden anyone can come to your country, Mexico, without arrangement. Similarly, if you want to go to the higher planetary system, then you have to make your arrangement in this life. You cannot go to the moon planet by force because you have got a tiny airplane. That is not possible. Therefore Bhagavad-gītā says, yānti deva-vratā devān [Bg. 9.25]. A man can go to the higher planetary system when he is preparing himself to go there. So there are millions and trillions of planets.
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TEXT 38
teṣāṁ padāghāta-rathāṅga-cūrṇitād
āyodhanād ulbaṇa utthitas tadā
reṇur diśaḥ khaṁ dyumaṇiṁ ca chādayan
nyavartatāsṛk-srutibhiḥ pariplutāt
SYNONYMS
teṣām—of all the people engaged on the battlefield; padāghāta—because of beating on the ground by the legs of the demons and demigods; ratha-aṅga—and by the wheels of the chariots; cūrṇitāt—which was made into pieces of dust; āyodhanāt—from the battlefield; ulbaṇaḥ—very forceful; utthitaḥ—rising; tadā—at that time; reṇuḥ—the dust particles; diśaḥ—all directions; kham—outer space; dyumaṇim—up to the sun; ca—also; chādayan—covering all of space up to that; nyavartata—dropped floating in the air; asṛk—of blood; srutibhiḥ—by particles; pariplutāt—because of being widely sprinkled.
TRANSLATION
Because of the impact on the ground of the legs of the demons and demigods and the wheels of the chariots, particles of dust flew violently into the sky and made a dust cloud that covered all directions of outer space, as far as the sun. But when the particles of dust were followed by drops of blood being sprinkled all over space, the dust cloud could no longer float in the sky.
PURPORT
The cloud of dust covered the entire horizon, but when drops of blood sprayed up as far as the sun, the dust cloud could no longer float in the sky. A point to be observed here is that although the blood is stated to have reached the sun, it is not said to have reached the moon. Apparently, therefore, as stated elsewhere in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the sun, not the moon, is the planet nearest the earth. We have already discussed this point in many places. The sun is first, then the moon, then Mars, Jupiter and so on. The sun is supposed to be 93,000,000 miles above the surface of the earth, and from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam we understand that the moon is 1,600,000 miles above the sun. Therefore the distance between the earth and the moon would be about 95,000,000 miles. So if a space capsule were traveling at the speed of 18,000 miles per hour, how could it reach the moon in four days? At that speed, going to the moon would take at least seven months. That a space capsule on a moon excursion has reached the moon in four days is therefore impossible.
Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/sb/8/10/38
Note: A sinful person situated in the mode of ignorance and addicted to drinking, meat-eating and illicit sex will never enter the higher planets by mechanical means.
TEXT 5
ārurukṣanti māyābhir
utsisṛpsanti ye divam
tān dasyūn vidhunomy ajñān
pūrvasmāc ca padād adhaḥ
SYNONYMS
ārurukṣanti—persons who desire to come to the upper planetary systems; māyābhiḥ—by so-called mystic power or material advancement of science; utsisṛpsanti—or want to be liberated by such false attempts; ye—such persons who; divam—the higher planetary system known as Svargaloka; tān—such rogues and ruffians; dasyūn—such thieves; vidhunomi—I force to go down; ajñān—rascals; pūrvasmāt—previous; ca—also; padāt—from the position; adhaḥ—downward.
TRANSLATION
Those fools and rascals who want to ascend to the upper planetary system by mystic power or mechanical means, or who endeavor to cross even the upper planets and achieve the spiritual world or liberation, I cause to be sent to the lowest region of the universe.
PURPORT
There are undoubtedly different planetary systems for different persons. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (14.18), ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ: persons in the mode of goodness can go to the upper planets. Those in the modes of darkness and passion, however, are not allowed to enter the higher planets. The word divam refers to the higher planetary system known as Svargaloka. Indra, King of the higher planetary system, has the power to push down any conditioned soul attempting to go from the lower to the higher planets without proper qualifications. The modern attempt to go to the moon is also an attempt by inferior men to go to Svargaloka by artificial, mechanical means. This attempt cannot be successful. From this statement of Indra it appears that anyone attempting to go to the higher planetary systems by mechanical means, which are here called māyā, is condemned to go the hellish planets in the lower portion of the universe. To go to the higher planetary system, one needs sufficient good qualities. A sinful person situated in the mode of ignorance and addicted to drinking, meat-eating and illicit sex will never enter the higher planets by mechanical means.
Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/sb/8/11/5
I have no doubt that the “moon landing” (and other NASA ”missions”) were faked as Srila Prabhupada has clearly stated what remains unclear to many is WHY? As most persons (including many “Prabhupadanugas”) constantly believe the mainstream media, and anything that contradicts this is put under “label” of “conspiracy theorists”, nut-jobs, or paranoid misfits (that have smoked too much dope!).
This would put Srila Prabhupada in the SAME category as he constantly criticized politicians, scientists as the greatest BLUFFERS, LIARS AND RASCALS! AND EXPOSED THE REAL FACTS!
Puranjana (PADA) is constantly quoting the mainstream media (which is all owned by Freemason Satanists, (and members of the “Committee of 300”) such as Rothschilds, Annenberg, Zell, and Murdoch). He is also constantly relaying “Chicken Little” warnings about CO2 “Global Warming” (and other warnings from NASA) which is all pure nonsense! He is condemning GBC (rightly so) but supporting The Mad Bandit! in Bangalore, who is a thief and a liar! WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?
Mukunda Das has a much better understanding of the ‘Political Dynamic’ and the lies of the Vegan, “Global Warming”, Agenda 21, GM “food” and other false agendas, but is pushing National Socialism and Hitler! who was financed by Jew Rothschild’s ‘Bank of England’ (among others) and also Harrimans Bank (USA) run by Prescott Bush (George Bush’s grandfather).
Julian Assange (Wikileaks) was brought up by ”The Family” (Australia), a CIA brainwashing, pedophile cult run by Anne Hamilton Byrne. While Wikileaks has ”exposed” some facts, they have also spread a lot of misinformation just like (CIA) Alex Jones (INFO-WARS). But I do think that the footage is part of this NASA “fake moon landing”.
Here is some info on Julian Assange…….
Aangirfan: ASSANGE FALSE FLAG – https://aanirfan.blogspot.com/2019/04/assange-false-flag.html
The Moon’s position in the cosmos according to Srila Prabhupada and the Srimad Bhagavatam.
8th Canto Chapter Ten Text 38 Srimad Bhagavatam First printing 1976.
Courtesy of Causelessmercy.com site source. http://causelessmercy.com/?P=SB8.10.1
TEXT 38
teṣāṁ padāghāta-rathāṅga-cūrṇitād
āyodhanād ulbaṇa utthitas tadā
reṇur diśaḥ khaṁ dyumaṇiṁ ca chādayan
nyavartatāsṛk-srutibhiḥ pariplutāt
SYNONYMS
teṣām—of all the people engaged on the battlefield; padāghāta—because of beating on the ground by the legs of the demons and demigods; ratha-aṅga—and by the wheels of the chariots; cūrṇitāt—which was made into pieces of dust; āyodhanāt—from the battlefield; ulbaṇaḥ—very forceful; utthitaḥ—rising; tadā—at that time; reṇuḥ—the dust particles; diśaḥ—all directions; kham—outer space; dyumaṇim—up to the sun; ca—also; chādayan—covering all of space up to that; nyavartata—dropped floating in the air; asṛk—of blood; srutibhiḥ—by particles; pariplutāt—because of being widely sprinkled.
TRANSLATION
Because of the impact on the ground of the legs of the demons and demigods and the wheels of the chariots, particles of dust flew violently into the sky and made a dust cloud that covered all directions of outer space, as far as the sun. But when the particles of dust were followed by drops of blood being sprinkled all over space, the dust cloud could no longer float in the sky.
PURPORT
The cloud of dust covered the entire horizon, but when drops of blood sprayed up as far as the sun, the dust cloud could no longer float in the sky. A point to be observed here is that although the blood is stated to have reached the sun, it is not said to have reached the moon. Apparently, therefore, as stated elsewhere in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the sun, not the moon, is the planet nearest the earth. We have already discussed this point in many places. The sun is first, then the moon, then Mars, Jupiter and so on.
The sun is supposed to be 93,000,000 miles above the surface of the earth, and from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam we understand that the moon is 1,600,000 miles above the sun. Therefore the distance between the earth and the moon would be about 95,000,000 miles.
So if a space capsule were traveling at the speed of 18,000 miles per hour, how could it reach the moon in four days? At that speed, going to the moon would take at least seven months. That a space capsule on a moon excursion has reached the moon in four days is therefore impossible.
Many thanks to Mahesh Raja, Bhakta Sam and Hasti Gopal Prabhus for your valuable input and different perspectives as one can approach these things from many different angles and uncover many truths in a lateral way, by always keeping Srila Prabhupada at the center. Much can be revealed with some research into the ‘material dynamic’ as many of these elements such as politics, science (or pseudo-science), secret societies (Freemasonry), astrology, military intelligence and propaganda (as stated by Srila Prabhupada) are at play within this topic of the ‘faked moon landing!’
NASA was formed after ‘Operation Paperclip’ in which Nazi “scientists” including many who conducted horrific ”scientific experiments” which resulted in the torture and murder of hundreds (if not thousands) of concentration camp prisoners, were given free reign (and a “get out of jail free” card) to work in the USA. So Nazism wasn’t defeated it just ‘moved’ to America (and South America also!).
NASA is founded, run and controlled by the Freemason Illuminati as is The Smithsonian Institute that promotes and displays items of NASA such as the “moon module” space suits etc.
NASA (Never A Straight Answer) also promotes the CO2 “Global Warming Myth” which is a huge cash cow for their Freemason Illuminati pals, such as Jew Rothschilds.
One will remember in the 80s when NASA created a similar “doomsday scenario” with “THE HOLE IN THE OZONE LAYER SCAM”…..Yes! all of us down in the Southern Hemisphere were going to die a horrible death from cancer! Now the same question comes up NECESSITY! Jew Charles Bronfman (Committee of 300) was pushing for the banning of CFC gases (such as Freon gas) from refrigeration units.
This has all been exposed as a scam (though not in the media) as the *Dupont patent (*one of the13 Illuminati families) which had the patent for Freon gas WAS ABOUT TO EXPIRE! so they had to get it banned through “scientific fraud” so that others could not use it! and paving the way for THEIR OTHER PATENTED GASES! WHICH WERE MORE EXPENSIVE!
So this was a test run for the CO2 “Global Warming” Myth! Oh! God wer’e ALL GOING TO DIE!
Of course the hole in the ozone (which covers Antarctica and is roughly twice the size) HAS ALWAYS BEEN THERE!…..not a problem! Do people even mention this anymore? The fact is that since the 70s ANTARCTICA IS BIGGER THAN IT WAS THEN! EVEN NASA HAVE TO ADMIT THAT!
Dupont are from the French Illuminati. They made a fortune in WW1 by manufacturing bombs. The Germans were about to call it quits and they had run out of food, so to keep the slaughter (and profits) going Dupont created the Belgian Food Relief Fund, sending tons and tons of food to Belgium, but knowing too well it would be ‘scooped up’ by the Germans. This kept the war going for another 2 years! So when you look at this from a different perspective these demons are scamming the human race to death! It is IGNORANCE AND MISINFORMATION THAT CAUSES SO MUCH MISERY, DEATH AND SLAVERY IN THIS WORLD. THIS IS AN ONGOING CYCLE THAT IS REPEATED OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. WHEN ARE PEOPLE GOING TO WAKE UP!
The Moon’s position SB 5.22.8 is only 100,000 yojans above
Bhakta Sam :The Moon’s position SB 5.22.8 is only 100,000 yojans above
Mahesh: CONDITIONED soul understanding of Srimad Bhagavatam is called licking the bottle of honey NOT the honey. BUT we have to UNDERSTAND Srimad Bhagavatam from Srila Prabhupada:dharmasya tattvaṁ nihitaṁ guhāyāṁ mahā-jano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ:
If one is seriously interested in Kṛṣṇa conscious activities, he must be ready to follow the rules and regulations laid down by the ācāryas, and he must understand their conclusions. The śāstra says: dharmasya tattvaṁ nihitaṁ guhāyāṁ mahā-jano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ (Mahābhārata, Vana-parva 313.117). It is very difficult to understand the secret of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but one who advances by the instruction of the previous ācāryas and follows in the footsteps of his predecessors in the line of disciplic succession will have success. Others will not.
Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/cc/adi/8/7
Note: they think there is no life on moon – but they have no understanding of different atmosphere on different planets and different bodies that are able to live there. They NEVER went to the moon:
751212mw.vrn
Harikeśa: They heard, people on the earth, talking on the moon.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Harikeśa: So it went through the air, it went through the space, sounds.
Prabhupāda: The moon (astronaut) says that “There is no life.” Then who is speaking? Nonsense. (laughter) They talk in the moon, and they hear from here, and “There is no life.” And we have to take these authorities. (laughter)
Akṣayānanda: I remember once you said that we may not live in the water but that doesn’t mean there’s no such thing as a fish.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
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Note: Just like we have got experience within this planet, Europe has got another atmosphere, India has got another atmosphere. Similarly, all the planets, they are of different atmospheres and each and every planet there are varieties of living entities.
And the human race, they are four hundred thousand. These four hundred thousand are distributed all over the universe
730812BG.PAR
The so-called scientists, they cannot explain why there are different types of bodies. There are eight million four hundred thousand different types of bodies. And the human race, they are four hundred thousand. These four hundred thousand are distributed all over the universe. On this planet, may be some thousands, not four hundred thousand, not all of them are here. Yet here also in the human forms we find so many differences. The Europeans, the Americans, the Africans, the Indians, the Chinese, different forms. That also can be counted, maybe hundred, two hundred different types of forms of human beings. But there are four hundred thousands. Four hundred thousand. That is the human race.
And eight millions other forms. Eight millions. The aquatics, the trees, these plants, the grass and the insects. We have experience how many different types of insects are there in Māyāpur. During night, so many different types of insects come to the fire, to the light. This is another illusion. These insects, they are coming, being attracted by the beauty of the light. The electric light, it is not open. Otherwise, these insects come in the burning fire and die. Beauty. Captivated by the beauty of the fire. So actually it is going on. We are attracted by the beauty of māyā and exactly we are falling to the fire and dying.
So there are so many instructions. Even if you study simply these eight million four hundred thousand different kinds of… So how to study them? Kṛṣṇa is explaining. Tat kṣetram. Tat kṣetram means that kind of, that body, there are so many. Tat kṣetram yac ca yadṛk. How they have attained different types of body? The soul is there. Soul, we have already explained, is the kṣetrajñam. But except the followers of Vedic knowledge, nobody knows. Just like the Christian people they say there is no soul of the animals. And how is not? Kṣetrajñam. Soul is there, everywhere, but they have got their different types of bodies. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, tat kṣetram. Tat kṣetraṁ yac ca yadṛk ca. How they have got different? Kṛṣṇa has already explained in the fifteenth chapter, they are all Kṛṣṇa’s part and parcels.
In another place Kṛṣṇa said,
sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya
sambhavanti mūrtayaḥ
tāsāṁ mahad yonir brahma
ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā
[Bg. 14.4]
He’s the seed-giving father. Therefore, all living entities are Kṛṣṇa’s part and parcel. It is foolishness to say that other living entities, other than the human being, they have no soul. It is foolishness. They have got soul. Every… Even the ant has got soul, even the microbe has got soul, even the germ has got soul, everyone has got soul. But they have got different types of body only, outward. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, yac ca yadrk ca. How they have got different types of bodies? So these, subject matters are very subtle things.
But there is no facility for studying this subject matter in the university or any educational institution. Therefore they are called mūḍhas. They do not understand what is God. Who was telling me? Some Bengali professor came here, and he said, “I am agnostic.” Who told me just now, in the car? So mostly the so-called educated circle, they are agnostics. They do not believe in God, they do not believe in the soul, and still they are passing on as educationists, learned scholars, professor. This is the pity. Therefore one should learn from Kṛṣṇa, this education system at the present moment, you cannot learn anything positively. They are all vague.
Here Kṛṣṇa says, try to understand, each and every body, tat kṣetram. Why one soul has got a godly body and one soul has got dog body, one soul has got very beautiful body, another soul has got very ugly body? So one has got nails and jaws, one has very nice beautiful hand, fingers. There are varieties. Kṛṣṇa says that sa ca yo yat prabhavaś ca. Prabhavaś ca. And each body has got a different type of influence. Each type of body. This is God’s creation.
There are innumerable planets. Each planet has got a different atmosphere. Just like we have got experience within this planet, Europe has got another atmosphere, India has got another atmosphere. Similarly, all the planets, they are of different atmospheres and each and every planet there are varieties of living entities. Just imagine the living entities are eight million four hundred thousand species. So even if you divide so many thousands and hundreds, still, eight million. This is God’s creation. God’s creation means all these living entities, they want to enjoy this material world in a different capacity and God has given the facility, “Yes, you can enjoy. You can enjoy.” He is giving facility. Sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo [Bg. 15.15]. He’s sitting, God is so kind, Kṛṣṇa is so kind.
Just like you have seen the master taking his dog. The dog is allowed to do whatever he likes, the master waits. The real business of the dog is to obey the master’s order. But the master gives the dog facility, “Yes, you can walk, you can run, you can pass urine, stool, I’ll wait.” As the master gives facility. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is so kind, Kṛṣṇa is so affectionate, that we have come to enjoy this material world, He is giving us the facilities. Just like the master is giving the facility to the dog. Kṛṣṇa is so kind. But He wants, Kṛṣṇa wants that every living entity should be obedient to Kṛṣṇa. Then that is Kṛṣṇa’s enjoyment.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Note: how can you have foot prints on moon without water? If there is water there is life.
New confession about fake NASA “moon landing” (1969 ) a colossal MASS PSYCHOSIS operation carried out in (two) massive hangars at Cannon Airforce Base in New Mexico USA (near Clovis).
search NASA deathbed confession
sorry couldn’t do as a link.