Prabhupada's lecture July 6 1976
Prabhupāda: A learned brāhmaṇa, is not expected to manufacture a watch, but he's more honored than one who is actually... This modern age is: if he manufactures watch he is honored. Not the learned brāhmaṇa. That is Kali-yuga. That is Kali-yuga. They do not know whom to honor. That is the Kali-yuga going on. You kill so many souls, and if you have a great big skyscraper building, then you are successful. And those who constructed the skyscraper, they are going to become dog, never mind, the skyscraper building is there. That's all. That is success. This is modern civilization. After they constructed the skyscraper building all the mistris [craftsmen] are going to hell, that doesn't matter. The building is there. Is it not?
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes.
Prabhupāda: This is civilization. Long ago in 1917 perhaps, in our college, we saw one magazine.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: St. Xavier's College?
Prabhupāda: No, Scottish.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Oh, Scottish.
Prabhupāda: Scottish Churches College. So one American, Scientific American, we have contribute(?). So there the picture was that one skyscraper building is constructed and so many men are working, carrying the beams and so on. So there was—I remember still—that all, some material construction, so many living entities they are being sacrificed(?). I do not know how the Scientific American gave this picture, I still remember. Actually that is a fact. This human being would have been released from this materialistic way of life, back to home, back to... No, instead of giving them the chance, they are engaged in constructing huge skyscraper building. They're spoiled. So it is little difficult to understand our philosophy. And Prahlāda Mahārāja said, tat-prayāso na kartavyo yata āyur-vyayaḥ param. Tat-prayāso na kartavyaḥ. This kind of activity should stop. It is simply wasting the valuable life. But they do not know how they're wasting. They're in such an ignorance. They are thinking that these people, crazy people, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, are wasting time, they're thinking like that. They do not know what is the value of life.
Some Conclusions by Damaghosa das -I think above Prabhupada was referring to the number of construction workers that get killed yearly on the jobs-he calls it -get "sacrificed". And for what? Just to say we have constructed this giant skyscraper. So the building remains for some time, but all the workers are long gone. Prabhupada is trying to impress on our dull minds that this western civilization is not a civilization at all but all ugra or horrible karmic work. He points out the same thing when they were touring the ruins of the early Greek and Italian race. The buildings are still there but all those who did that work are all long gone and nobody ever asks-where did they go? Their buildings are still here but where are those who worked so hard to construct them? And now they are claiming they have landed on Mars ! Even if they did, what good is it for a human being who is meant to go back to Godhead -and not Mars?
Here is what we should be doing.
Hare Krsna
Damaghosa das