Universal Government

Universal Government

Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.32
San Francisco, July 17, 1975

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Nitai: "Being forbidden in this way, the order carriers of the son of the sun-god, Yamaraja, immediately replied: Who are all of you who have the audacity to oppose the ruling jurisdiction of Yamaraja, the king of religious principles?"

Prabhupada:

ucur nisedhitas tams te
vaivasvata-purahsarah
ke yuyam pratiseddharo
dharma-rajasya sasanam
 [SB 6.1.32]

Dharma-rajasya sasanam. There is a ruling all over the universe under the jurisdiction of Dharmaraja, or the supreme judge, for considering sinful and pious activities. There is a big government within this universe. But those who are thinking very poorly, without any advanced knowledge, atheist, they think that everything is coming automatically. Anisva, anisvara rahuh.(?) They say there is no isvara, supreme ruler, and everything is happening by nature. But they cannot explain what is nature. At least, they have to admit nature is a power which is controlling him. We are not independent of the laws of nature. That is not possible. Even if you accept nature, then you are under the control of nature. That is a fact. Who is controlling nature, that you may not know because your knowledge is very poor. But nature is controlling you, that you can understand, everyone can understand. You cannot supersede the laws of nature. Daivi hy esa gunamayi mama maya duratyaya [Bg. 7.14]. Just like ordinary criminal, thief. The police is chastising him. He does not think that there is any other power over the police. He thinks the police is the father and mother, and he is poor class. He does not know that police is not the supreme power. The supreme power is the president or the minister of law and order. He thinks, "This constable is everything." So poor-class thinking, they think nature is everything. But any way, everyone is under the control of nature.

prakrteh kriyamanani
gunaih karmani sarvasah
ahankara-vimudhatma
kartaham iti manyate
 [Bg. 3.27]

The so-called scientists, thinker, they are thinking that "We are everything. We can create, and we can control over the nature." These are all mad thinking. It is not possible. Nobody has ever been able to control over the nature, what to speak of understanding God. God is the controller of nature. Mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram [Bg. 9.10]. Nature is not independent.

So anyway, we are dependent on the laws of nature. That nobody can deny, even the greatest scientist, he cannot also deny. And because we are under the control of the laws of nature, we must admit, if we are sane man, that there is a system of ruling. If we deny the supreme ruler, we may do it madly, but there must be a systematic action, reaction. So here is Dharmaraja. Just like we have got magistrate. So magistrate's duty is, when a criminal is brought before him, to judge what kind of punishment he should be allowed. Justice there is. Similarly, this Dharmaraja means the criminals are brought before him. Dharmaraja is appointed magistrate by the Supreme Lord. So everyone, after death, he is brought before Dharmaraja, the Yamaraja, and he judges what kind of next body this criminal will have. That is Dharmaraja. He is judged by his work. Karmana daiva-netrena jantur deha-upapattaye [SB 3.31.1]. Just like the magistrate punishes the criminal, what kind of punishment he should be awarded, how he will be allowed to live within the prison house. Just like a political prisoner. In our country just now they have... So many big, big leaders have been arrested. But they are not put in the same level of ordinary criminals. They are given all facilities. They are given nice house, servants and newspaper. They are given all facilities of indepen..., outside life, according to the position. They are called first-class prisoners. And there are similarly second-class prisoners, third-class prisoners. So this is judged by a person.

So here we are all prisoners within the material world, and some of us are first-class prisoners, and some of us second class, and some of us third class. Therefore, we see the higher class of men in the society, middle class of men in the society, either in human society or even animal society... There is first-class animal, second-class animal, third-class animal. In the trees also, the same work is going on by nature. Prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah [Bg. 3.27]. One tree is supplying mango, so this mango tree is respect, and another tree, which is producing nothing, they are cut and made into fuel, because useless, no use. So amongst the trees, also you will find first class, second class, third class. Amongst the birds, beasts, animals, there is... Just like lion. He is also animal, and dog is also animal. They are not on the same level. Amongst the birds there are swans and there are crows. The crow is different from the swan although they are birds. The standard of enjoyment by the crows is different from the standard of enjoyment of the swan, white swan.

tad-vag-visargo janatagha-viplavo
yasmin prati-slokam abaddhavaty api
namany anantasya yaso 'nkitani yat
srnvanti gayanti grnanti sadhavah
[SB 1.5.11]

Now here we are studying Srimad-Bhagavatam or Bhagavad-gita. This is... This literature is meant for the swans, not for the crows. That is the division. And other literatures, sex literatures and these criminal literatures -- there are so many literatures -- they are meant for the crows, crow-class men. And this literature is meant for swan-class of men, swan, paramahamsa. We are also reading... We are not interested with the lump of newspaper. We are interested in Srimad-Bhagavatam. Why? Because within this literature there is glorification of the Supreme Lord, how He is conducting the whole universal affair, how the sun is rising exactly in time by His order, the moon is rising exactly by His order, not a minute's deviation. The big, big ocean, Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, very big, powerful, but still within the limit. The Pacific Ocean cannot come beyond the jurisdiction. So who is managing this? Yasyajnaya bhramati sambhrta-kala-cakrah. Even the biggest planet within this universe, the sun, it is also rotating in his orbit by the supreme order. So there is supreme order everywhere. There is government. There is ruling. But the rascals, they cannot see. They simply believe in the direct experience. Direct experience is not first-class experience. The first-class experience is to receive knowledge from the person who knows. That is first-class experience.

There are there types of experience. One kind of experience is direct experience. That is third-class. And another experience is by history, by books. And another experience is by hearing from the Supreme. So we are gathering experience by hearing from the Supreme. Just like here Sukadeva Gosvami is narrating Srimad-Bhagavatam. He has heard it from his father, Vyasadeva. His father has heard it from Narada Muni, his spiritual master. Narada Muni has heard it from Brahma, the first living creature within this universe. And Brahma has heard it from Krsna. This is called parampara system. So this kind of knowledge is perfect knowledge. Evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduh [Bg. 4.2]. This Vivasvan... Evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduh. Imam vivasvate yogam proktavan aham avyayam [Bg. 4.1]. Krsna said, "I first of all narrated this yoga system to Vivasvan, Vivasvan, the sun-god." Vivasvan manave praha: "So Vivasvan, the sun-god, from him, Manu heard it." Here also it is said, vaivasvata-purahsarah. The vaivasvata, this word, comes from Vivasvan. The Yamaraja is authorized because he also heard everything about truth from Vivasvan. Therefore his name is vaivasvata-purahsarah. And his servants, they heard it from their master. This is the way. This is the way of understanding.

So ucur nisedhitas tams te. They are the servants of Yamaraja, vaivasvata. So therefore they are vaivasvata-purahsarah. The important assistants of Vaivasvata, Yamaraja, they heard that somebody is warning, "Don't touch." In the previous verse we have learned, varayam asuh, forbidden, "Don't touch," ojasa, very strongly. So they became surprised, "Who are these persons? They are interfering with our business. We have come from supreme authority, magistrate." Just like police comes with his warrant of magistrate -- nobody can check it. If somebody wants to check it, then he will be punished. The whole government force is behind the warrant of the police. Nobody can check it. If there is riot, then government will bring military forces to accept. So this is called ruling. So we are under these rulings. However foolishly we may declare we are independent, that is our completely foolishness. When the warrant is there, you cannot check it. The whole power is behind. Either you become the great scientist or philosopher, when the warrant of death will come from Yamaraja, there is no power to check it. Therefore they were surprised, that "Who is this foolish?" But they saw that the persons, they are coming from Vaikuntha. They had different features, so beautiful, four handed, nicely decorated. So they were surprised.

Therefore in the next verse it is:

kasya va kuta ayatah
kasmad asya nisedhatha
kim deva upadeva ya
yuyam kim siddha-sattamah

"You are so nice." Because they are Yamaraja. Their bodily features already described: twisted face and the hair standing just perpendicularly. So they never saw. Why they? Even... We are supposed to be civilized man. We have not seen how the bodies are there in the Vaikuntha. Here you can understand that in the Vaikuntha planets, as the Lord Visnu is four-handed, similarly, all the inhabitants there, they are also four-handed and equally dressed. Just like here, if your President Ford comes, he also dressed like a nice gentleman. And there are many others also, equally nicely dressed. You cannot distinguish who is President and who is ordinary man. Similarly, in the Vaikunthaloka all the inhabitants are equally in external feature: four-handed with the weapons -- the disc, the club, the conchshell, the lotus flower. All the Vaikuntha's inhabitants: the same dress, same garment, same ornaments, same weapons. But still, there is distinction, that kaustubha jewel. That you will find Him hanging. By that kaustubha jewel, one can understand that "Here is Lord Visnu, and here is ordinary living being." Just like the president has got his confidential plaque. If one challenges his credential, he can show, "Yes." The same principle.

So ruling is there. You can say foolishly that "There is no ruling. I can do whatever I like." That you can do. Just like Ajamila was doing. But now the two classes of messengers have come. The Yamadutas have come to take him away because externally he is the most sinful man. Therefore they are protesting, "How is that? It is already settled up. This man has committed so many sinful activities. So they are under our jurisdiction. Who are you, you are forbidding us?" But the Visnudutas have come there because although he was sinful, although he was most impious, although he was a prostitute-hunter and cheater and so many good qualities, still, he has chanted the holy name of Narayana at the end of his life. Immediately Visnudutas... This is the facility. Whole life sinful, ante narayana-smrtih [SB 2.1.6], but he has remembered Narayana at the end of his life. Very painful life. At the time of death it is very, very painful. We have got experience. Therefore you do not wish to die, because it is very, very painful. Similarly, after death, immediately, by the discrimination of Yamaraja, he gets another body. Karmana daiva-netrena [SB 3.31.1]. Daiva-netrena, by the supervision of superior power, the Yamaraja takes away, and then he gives a body. First of all he is put into the hellish condition of life as he will get. Then, when he is little practiced, then he is given the similar body. Otherwise how it...? It will be... Suppose a person from, coming from very high family or king's royal family, but he has acted just like dogs and dogs. Then next life he is going to have a body of hog or dog. So therefore he is put into such life, subtle life -- that is Yamaraja's business -- to be used in that way of life Then he is given a solid body or gross body so that the same royal prince, he can very easily eat stool. This is the process, nature's process is going on. Prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah [Bg. 3.27]. They are simply explaining "nature." How nature is working, these foolish rascals, they do not know. They do not know. Nature is working. That is fact. But how the nature is working, how different forms of body, different activities are going on, by whose judgment, who is looking after, these things they do not know. This is the modern education.

But Krsna conscious person, they know how things are going on, how nature is working, what is the effect. Everything we will find in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, how many different planetary systems are there, what is the situation each and every planet. You will get all this description in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. There are... We have got description. There are many planets. They are simply thousands and millions of miles only gold, thousands and millions of miles only copper. We have got this description from the Srimad-Bhagavatam. There are oceans of milk, oceans of liquor, oceans of oil, oceans of yogurt. These things are there. What information you have got? You do not know fully what is the material nature. Therefore we do not believe that these men went to the moon planet. We have got different description of the moon planet. The moon planet is situated 1,600,000's of miles above the sun. We have got this description: 1,600,000 miles above the... And there is also blazing fire like the sun planet. Sun planet is very hot, and the moon planet is surrounded by very cool atmosphere. Just like when there is cold and heat together, you enjoy it, so moon planet is like that. And those who are in the karma-kandiya, means fruitive activities, those who are actually acting very piously, they are allowed to enter into the moon planet. And there you get life, ten thousands of years' duration of life. And that year is very, very big than our years. Our six months equal to one day in the moon planet. Now, such ten thousands of years you can get your duration of life, and very cold. Therefore you can drink there soma-rasa.

So these are the explanation in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. And it is situated above the sun planet, and above, the distance is also given there: 1,600,000's of miles. And above that, similarly, 1,600,000 miles, there is Mars, there is Jupiter, there is Venus, like that. So universe is not so small that you can ride on your 747 and go. (laughter) It is not so easy. It is not so easy. So therefore, from the circumstances, we can conclude that they could not approach the moon planet. And now they are saying that "It is useless. There is no need of going there. The grapes are sour." (laughter) The jackal jumping, jumping, jumping. When he could not get the grapes, then he is rejecting, "Oh, this is sour. It is no use." So after jumping so many years and spending so much money, they are now rejecting: "The moon planet is not habitable." But we get there. This is one of the heavenly planets, and it is habitable by the most advanced pious men. So these are the difference. Now it is your business to believe the so-called scientist or the sastra, as you like. But we cannot believe. Because we are Krsna conscious, we have to believe what is stated in the sastra.

So there is government. Therefore they were surprised that "Who are you that you are trying to..." Dharma-rajasya sasanam. Sasanam means government. "You are trying to resist us, from the government of Dharmaraja? We have never experienced. How is this? Who are you?" So this is the question. Now we shall discuss next day how this government of Dharmaraja is violated and why it is violated. We will hear next.

Thank you very much. (end)

 

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.32 -- San Francisco, July 17, 1975

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