Author: Bhakti Vikasa Swami

In this Parasara-smrti it is said: ksatriyo hi praja raksan sastra, sastra-panih pradandayan. Sastra-pani means always with sword in the hand for the benefit of the prajas. He [the ksatriya] should be so strong. "Oh, you are a thief? You have stolen?" Immediately cut his hand, bas. This one example will stop millions of thieves not to commit stealing. Simply by cutting. Even a hundred years ago this system was prevalent in Kashmir.

Everyone is sinful. The government is sinful, the people are sinful. Then how you can become happy? It is a fool's paradise, sinful paradise. How you can be happy? Therefore despite all sorts of education, scientific improvement, brainwash and so many things, people are unhappy. Diseased, unhappy, dissatisfaction, confusion, this is going on. Because everything is not properly done. The government is not strict.

Guest: Is the exterior clothing important? Prabhupada: Yes, important. Just like officially the policeman must dress, but a policeman sometimes in ordinary cloth also, that's his duty. But that is special case. But external, external dress is also required. In the dress of a police if he is a thief, that is very dangerous. That is very dangerous.

So Krsna consciousness movement is so nice, if you make friendship with Krsna, then you can talk with Krsna as Yudhisthira Maharaja requested: "Krsna, kindly stay a few days more." So Krsna, not few days more, Krsna will remain perpetually with you if you love Krsna.

A devotee always appreciates the activities of other devotees. Yudhisthira Maharaja was appreciating the qualities of Prahlada, and that is one symptom of a pure devotee. A pure devotee never thinks himself great; he always thinks that other devotees are greater than himself. The King was thinking

In the Manu-smrti it is said that if a man, a murderer, one man has killed another man... Why man? Even animal. He's a murderer. Now murdering is no offense. They are killing daily so many babies within the womb, murderers. That has become a custom. They're killing hundreds and thousands of animals daily in the slaughterhouse.

When one develops pure love for the Lord, he derives an ocean of transcendental happiness from the association of the Personality of Godhead. To qualify oneself to reach this stage of life is the highest perfection.

...if one is claiming that he is a brahmana, it is the government's duty to see whether he's strictly following the brahmana principles: samo damas titiksa, arjavam, whether he is strictly following how to become self-controlled, how to remain always pure, clean, suci. Brahmanas' another name is suci, always cleansed. Similarly arjavam, simplicity. Brahmana's life should be very simple. They should not imitate the ksatriyas and the vaisyas and the sudras....

Regarding serving your godbrothers, this is a very good practice. The Spiritual Master is never without His followers, so to serve the Spiritual Master also means to be the servant of His disciples. When you want to serve the king, you must also serve his minister, secretary, and everyone who serves him. And to serve his servants may please him more than to serve the king personally. So the Spiritual Master is not alone.

This spirit of ksatriya was prevalent even, say, three hundred years ago in India. There was a king, Yasomanta Sena. He was the commander-in-chief of Emperor Aurangzeb. So in one fight, he was defeated and came back to his home. So his wife heard that "My husband has been defeated. He's coming back home."

Unfortunately, the so-called government men, they are also sudras. The so-called priests, they are also sudras. The so-called vaisyas, they are sudras. The whole world is now full of sudras. So you cannot expect anything very nice in this situation because everything is being conducted by sudras.