Who is Crazy?

Lecturing on Bhagavad-gita in New York on 17 May 1966, Srila Prabhupada said, “I think there is a line in Shakespeare’s literature, ‘The lunatic, mad, and the poet’ or something like that, ‘all compact in thought.’ ” Actually Srila Prabhupada was referring to the play, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Act V, Scene I wherein in it is said, “The lunatic, the lover, and the poet, are of imagination all compact.” “So a madman and an atma-rati person, self-satisfied man, outwardly, you will find there is no difference, but inwardly, oh, there is a vast difference.” The indication here is that an “atma-rati” or avadhuta or paramahansa may appear “mad,” but this perception is due to detachment (not to be imitated) from the material world.