"This Tax, That Tax--Tax, Tax..."

Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.20
September 25, 1972, Los Angeles



Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Pradyumna: (leads chanting, etc.)

avatare sodasame
pasyan brahma-druho nrpan
trih-sapta-krtvah kupito
nih-ksatram akaron mahim

Translation: "As Bhrgupati, the sixteenth incarnation of the Godhead, the Lord annihilated the administrative class, or ksatriyas, twenty-one times, being angry with them because of their rebellion against the brahmanas, or the intelligent class."

Prabhupada: So kesava dhrta-bhrgupati-rupa jaya jagadisa hare. Ksatriya-rudhira. What is that verse? Can anyone cite?

ksatriya-rudhira-maye jagad-apagata-papam
snapayasi payasi samita-bhava-tapam
kesava dhrta-bhrgupati-rupa jaya jagadisa hare

So Bhrgupati. Brahma-druha. The administrative class, the politicians, they must obey the order of the brahmanas. That is Vedic culture. Therefore although there was monarchy, king, one king, no democracy, but because the king would follow the instruction of learned sages and brahmana, they would rule over the country very nicely. Take, for example, if your president takes our advice how to rule, then everything will be very nice. Of course, we shall immediately ask the president to stop the slaughterhouse. But it is very difficult. You see? Neither the president is ready... Even if he is ready, he cannot do. Everything is constitutional.

So brahma-druha. The society must be brahminic. Vedic culture means to create every person a brahmana, not to keep him sudra. Of course, in the modern educational system, the purpose is to elevate the general people. But they do not know how to elevate. Therefore there is so much trouble. The elevation should be... There must be some purpose, end. What purpose education is being given? It is purposeless education. Mostly, at the present moment, education means to give facilities for sense gratification. That's all. Boys and girls in the school and colleges, just from the very beginning they are given all liberty for sex life. So this is not education. Education means to lead the people gradually to Krsna consciousness. That is education, God consciousness. Because human life... This is the only life. There are 8,400,000 species of life. This human form of life is the only opportunity to understand God. Cats, dogs, even demigods, they also, because their opulence, sense gratification, is so great that they have no time. Just like here in this world also, those who are too rich, they are simply after sense gratification. They have no time to understand Krsna consciousness.

So to become too much materially opulent means that is another danger. Bhaktivinoda Thakura has said therefore, jada-vidya jato mayara vaibhava. The expansion of material advancement... Material advancement means expanding the sense gratificatory process. That is material. The more you expand how to satisfy your senses, that is material. And the more we expand how to satisfy Krsna, that is spiritual. That is the difference between material and spiritual. It does not mean that material stone, material, and spiritual means it becomes zero. They are thinking like that. Sunyavadi. They think spiritual means just the opposite number of material. "So material, we have got variegated experience, solid experience, so make it zero." That is not spiritual. That is simply negation. That philosophy is the Buddha philosophy, that "You are suffering from some disease painful, so I cut your throat. That's all. Everything finished. No more suffering. Zero. Make it zero." No. The process should be, if you are diseased, if you are suffering, the suffering should be stopped. Not that to kill you to stop the suffering. No. That is our philosophy.

We are changing. Why one is suffering? He is suffering for indulging in sense gratification. We are educating people that "You enjoy your senses through Krsna. Through Krsna. You like to dance? Yes. You dance through Krsna. You want to eat nice? You eat through Krsna. You want to sing? You sing through Krsna. You want to paint? You paint through Krsna." This is our education. Not directly for my sense gratification. I want to paint nice picture. So because I wanted my sense gratification, now painting has become several logs. Especially in your country. What is that painting? That means the tendency toward making it zero. Sunyavadi. We say, "You have got taste for painting. You are nice painter. Just paint Radha-Krsna. You see how nice it is." So painting is not to be stopped. It is simply diverted for Krsna. That is Krsna consciousness movement. We don't want to kill, but we simply divert to Krsna. Purification, that is. If you don't divert your attention to Krsna, then more and more, you will become sinful, and everything will be polluted.

So that was being observed formerly. As soon as there was some discrepancy in the brahminical culture... Brahminical culture means the aim of advancement of civilization is spiritual realization, self-realization, Visnu. Ultimately, Lord Visnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the prerogative. That is a special chance for the human being. This chance is not for any other living being. So for this purpose, there are so many rules and regulation: Manu-samhita, the social system, the political system, the spiritual system, so many things. Everything chalked with an aim: how to understand Brahman. Brahma janati iti brahmanah. As soon as one understands what is Brahman, Parabrahman, Krsna -- Krsna is Parabrahman -- then his life is perfect. That was the aim.

So actually, the administrators, the brahmanas, sages, they gave their verdict, that "My dear king, you rule over the country in this fashion. People will be happy." So when the kings became sensuous, they thought that the kingdom is their father's property. They haven't go to do anything with the people. They can employ the taxes for sense gratification, as it is going on now. Whatever taxes are levied, they are divided among the government servant. That's all. You don't get any benefit. You are simply paid, to pay tax. That's all. You don't get any benefit. That is everywhere, the modern government. So such thing happens because this material world is such that even if you make very nice arrangement, it will deteriorate. The time factor. So sometimes, when it happens so that the administrators, nrpan, the kings, were neglectful in their proper duty, so it was so much aggravated, at that time Jamadagni, Bhrgupati, he took the matter, took his sword. He was a brahmana, but to chastise these irresponsible kings, He killed them, killed them seven into three times, twenty-one times. And from history it appears that many of the ksatriyas, they left India and they came to this part of the world. And so far my guess is concerned, you Europeans, Americans, you belong to that ksatriya family descendant. But because you were separated directly from the Vedic culture, now you have become different. Now again that Vedic culture has come to your service. Take advantage of it. You see?

So one has to take this Vedic culture to make his life perfect, and... Of course, formerly the brahmanas were so strong. That... they did not like to govern directly. They used to live in the forest, cultivating spiritual knowledge, writing books. They had no interest in taking charge of government. No. They never stood for election. There was no election. So ksatriya-rudhira. So He purified this earth, the surface of the earth, by washing it by the blood of these ksatriyas. This is the incarnation of Jamadagni, or Parasurama. Parasurama. Some of the sages, saintly persons, are still living. Still living. They are tri-kala-jna. They have no past, present, future. When this whole universe will be annihilated, then they will go to Vaikuntha or spiritual world personally. So Parasurama, Vyasadeva, and many others, they are supposed to be still living. What is the purport?

Pradyumna: "The ksatriyas, or the administrative class of men, are expected to rule the planet by the direction of the intelligent class of men, who give direction to the rulers in terms of the standard sastras, or the books of revealed knowledge. The rulers carry on the administration according to that direction. Whenever there is disobedience on the part of the ksatriyas, or the administrative class, against the orders of the learned and intelligent brahmanas, the administrators are removed by force from the posts, and arrangement is made for better administration."

Prabhupada: Yes. That was the custom. Not that by removing the king from the throne or killing the king, the brahmanas and the sages would come there to sit down on the throne. No. His son will be given chance to become king. The descendant was picked up, and they would take charge of the minor king, advise him, but they will never touch the throne. There are many instances. Just like Vena Maharaja. He became too much atheistic. He was also killed by the brahmanas and the sages. Then his son Prthu Maharaja became king, and he was a good administration, administrator. So in this way, things were going on.

So the aim was how to make people happy by enlightening them in spiritual knowledge. Not that how to make better arrangement for eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. That was also going on. But the main purpose of life was brahminical culture. Brahma-druha. When the kings were neglectful to see that the people are being enlightened about spiritual self-realization, that wasn't good administration. Without that aim, no nation can become happy. No community can become happy.

So the responsibility was that time to the administrator. They would see that everyone, every brahmana, is following the rules and regulation of a brahmana; every ksatriya is following the rules and regulation of ksatriya. Vaisya, sudra... And nobody can interfere the other's business. Everyone is employed in his own business. And tax. Tax. The brahmana had to pay no tax. Only ksatriyas, they were tax collector. And sudra also, they had no property; therefore there was no tax. Only the vaisya class, the productive class, they had to pay tax. And that tax also was very simple. There was no encroachment. You simply give one fourth of your profit to the government. That's all. No more tax. Sales tax, this tax, income tax, excise tax, this tax -- simply tax, tax, tax. No. Not like that. Whatever he has got profit. "Got" means whatever profit he has made... If he has no profit, there is no tax. That was the government system. So how he will pay if he has not made any profit this year? Just like we are hearing there is no good monsoon in India this year. So there will be no very much good production. But if there is no good production, the government should not levy any tax. But now, at the present moment, "You go to hell, but you must pay the tax. And we divide the tax amongst ourself." That's all. Finished. Or we employ the taxes for fighting, for declaring war. That's all.

So at the present moment we are in a very, very deplorable condition, no good government. Simply by changing, by so-called parties, the government cannot improve. The government can improve when there are Krsna conscious person. So if some day you turn all the people Krsna conscious, then you become president.

Thank you very much. (end)

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.20 -- Los Angeles, September 25, 1972