Interview with Prabhunath Singh

(Q1) INTERVIEWER: Please tell us something about yourself.

(A1) PRABHUNATH SINGH: I teach in a private school and in my spare time I run a medicine shop. I have about twelve people in my family. I am married and I sell herbal medicines (ayurvedic) and also allopathic medicines. Ayurveda was developed by the sages and you find it mention in ancient scriptures. The sages brought herbs from forest and they prepared drugs by hand. Ayurveda is a subsidiary of the Yajurveda. It gives detailed knowledge of herbal medicine. The special quality of Ayurveda is that it has no side effects like allopathy has. On the other hand, allopathic predominates and it is 100% successful in surgery--which used to be called Shalya Chikitsa. Today people want instant cures whereas Ayurveda works slowly, hence people today rely solely on allopathy because it works faster. For chronic illness people first take allopathic medicine for quick relief and then go for Ayurvedic treatment for a total cure.

(Q2) INTERVIEWER: Suppose I have a baby that cries day and night. He's one month old. What would you do if I brought him to your shop?

(A2) PRABHUNATH SINGH: First, I'd check to see whether he's sick. If he isn't I'll pacify him with a chocolate. If he has an ailment of some kind, then first I'll diagnose it. If it is stomach pain then Ayurveda has a lot of medicines giving instant relief. So allopathy --for example, there is spasminidrop or colimexdrip. They give instant relief.

(Q3) INTERVIEWER: Suppose a recently married 18 year old girl has a fever and doesn't like to talk or work. Suppose I am her husband and I come to you and ask what to do?

(A3) PRABHUNATH SINGH: This fever is very common these days. It's because fever is a symptom and not a disease. It can be cause by overwork and an ordinary drug like paracetamal gives relief. Naturopathy that involves applying a cloth soaked in water on the forehead to reduce body temperature. Ayurveda also has many pills to cure fever. Fever is simply indicative of other disease in your body.

(Q4) INTERVIEWER: But she doesn't want to work or talk.

(A4) PRABHUNATH SINGH: I'll try to talk here into working and stop worrying. Initially it wouldn't be wise to tell her what is wrong with her because that will scare her even more and she won't work then. She has to be assured that nothing is wrong with her.

(Q5) INTERVIEWER: You mean that you would give her advice?

(A5) PRABHUNATH SINGH: First advice and only later medicine so that she can get some relief. She won't be allowed to go without medication, no sir.

(Q6) INTERVIEWER: Would some Ayurvedic medicines be good for this?

(A6) PRABHUNATH SINGH: Ayurveda has a lot of rejuvenators, pills, and essences. They would be given to her to relieve fever and restore her energy so that she'd be motivated to work, they'd make her eager to work.

(Q7) INTERVIEWER: Please tell me something about this neighborhood.

(A7) PRABHUNATH SINGH: It is a very nice neighborhood.

(Q8) INTERVIEWER: What's it called?

(A8) PRABHUNATH SINGH: Daiganj .

(Q9) INTERVIEWER: Why is it called that?

(A9) PRABHUNATH SINGH: For no special reason--people just call it that.

(Q10) INTERVIEWER: Well then could you tell us a story about the village?

(A10) PRABHUNATH SINGH: What story, this is a village. People live life here according to rural traditions. Change is common everywhere today. People in the city have changed in terms of lifestyle, culture, customs, etc. But in villages we still live according to the old ways. Simple living. People live in harmony. There is no exceptional show or artificiality here.

(Q11) INTERVIEWER: Well can you tell us a story about this--because you think that people here are honest and friendly. Can you tell us a story that makes it clear that people are honest?

(Q12) INTERVIEWER: So you were saying something. You were saying a lot about the people of the village. Can you give an example? In what way are people honest or friendly?

(A12) PRABHUNATH SINGH: Over here you'll get not one but many examples.

(Q13) INTERVIEWER: I see, I see. Choose one from among them.

(A13) PRABHUNATH SINGH: For example, some people came here from outside. Some people came from the outside to the dhaam [i.e. the abode of Shastri Brahm ] that is here. They stayed here for eight to ten days. They had a whole trunk of goods with them that got left behind. After that happened they got very concerned. They couldn't find the trunk anywhere. What happened was that there was beggar there and the trunk was with him. Often it happens that once someone takes your stuff it's gone for good. You know about Bihar , anyway. But after a while that beggar returned the trunk, safe and sound. I don't think that would happen in the city. In the city whoever would get his hands on it would take it. We hold the countryside in high esteem because even today there is a faith, a conception of honesty among village people. Even today they have honesty inside them, such that one has to acknowledge it. I'm telling you about Arampur.

(Q14) INTERVIEWER: Tell me something about India .

(A14) PRABHUNATH SINGH: About the outside world?

(Q15) INTERVIEWER: India .

(A15) PRABHUNATH SINGH: About India ? About India , there are..

(Q16) INTERVIEWER: Yeah, they are numerous but.

(A16) PRABHUNATH SINGH: Entire stories?

( Q17) INTERVIEWER: Like how India became free.

(A17) PRABHUNATH SINGH: India was a slave to the British. Just as you all were slaves once. First they came here to do business. Kings and princes here--by the way, Indian people are very hospitable and through our hospitality they got the chance they began to live here. While living here they slowly expanded their trade and built their business house in three cities here--Mumbai, Calcutta and Madras . After that what happened gradually was the they got some such ideas in their heads the consequence of which you must already know (since the same thing happened in your country)--imperialism--due to which the first and second world wars took place. So, after that, they needed a huge market where goods made in England could be sold, so their eyes came upon innocent India ! They saw that there was a very big market here. So initially they came here under the pretext of trade, after that what happened was that gradually they entrenched themselves in the social, political and economic spheres. After doing this they enslaved those areas--enslaved India . Initially they said, "we are ruling for your own good." Where the reality was not this. They used to take good from here home. Later people here opposed them. A lot of agitations took place; many people were killed or were hung. Many people were killed. This went on until a lot of agitations took place under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. For example, you must know about the non-Cooperation movement. The Civil disobedience movement took place. The Dandi March took place. After that the August movement revolution took place in 1942 --the quit India movement--it was only then that we met with success in 1947. So on 15 August 1947 we became free. Of course, the fact is that you.

(Q18) INTERVIEWER : What kind of agitation was it, I mean..

(A18) PRABHUNATH SINGH : Non-violent. Non-violent. It was a non-violent movement. Gandhi-ji said that we'd secure freedom only through non-violence. And we did. There is a slight difference in the case of you guys. You guys got freedom a bit earlier. You got your freedom in 1789 and we in 1947. There is a slight difference. It is a margin of 225 years. Also the difference was that in America --we read American history that educated people were in greater numbers there and those people opposed the British as one. This was not so in India . In India there would be rebellion in a few areas and they would manage to suppress it entirely. If the rebellion had happen en masse then we too would have gotten our freedom much earlier. But it took a very long time to come together and so we had to wait until '47. This is the difference.

(Q19) INTERVIEWER : O.K., very nice brother.