731229 - Lecture SB 01.16.01 - Los Angeles

Lectures by Date, 1973

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

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731229SB-LOS ANGELES - December 29, 1973 - 34:48 Minutes

Pradyumna: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. (leads chanting of verse) (Prabhupāda and devotees repeat)

sūta uvāca

tataḥ parīkṣid dvija-varya-śikṣayā

mahīṁ mahā-bhāgavataḥ śaśāsa ha

yathā hi sūtyām abhijāta-kovidāḥ

samādiśan vipra mahad-guṇas tathā

(SB 1.16.1)

(break)

Prabhupāda: Finish.

Pradyumna: sūtaḥ uvāca—Sūta Gosvāmī said; tataḥ—thereafter; parīkṣit—Mahārāja Parīkṣit; dvija-varya—the great twice-born brāhmaṇas; śikṣayā—by their instructions; mahīm—the earth; mahā-bhāgavataḥ—the great devotee; śaśāsa—ruled; ha—in the past; yathā—as they told it; hi—certainly; sūtyām—at the time of his birth; abhijāta-kovidāḥ—expert astrologers at the time of birth; samādiśan—gave their opinions; vipra—O brāhmaṇas; mahat-guṇaḥ—great qualities; tathā—true to that. (break)

Translation: "Sūta Gosvāmī said: O learned brāhmaṇas, Mahārāja Parīkṣit then began to rule over the world as a great devotee of the Lord under the instructions of the best of the twice-born brāhmaṇas. He ruled by those qualities which were foretold by expert astrologers at the time of his birth."

Prabhupāda: Hm. So, there are many important words in this verse. The first is dvija-varya-śikṣayā, "Trained by the best of the brahmiṇs." Dvija. Dvija means twice-born: first birth by the father and mother, and second birth by the spiritual master. That is Vedic civilization, dvija-varya. One must take twice birth. Once birth, father and mother, that is done by the cats and dogs. Any birth, either you take a birth as a cat or dog or human being or anything, they requires father and mother.

So that birth is not sufficient. Therefore a Vaiṣṇava kavi says, janame janame saba pitā-mātā pāya, kṛṣṇa guru nahi mile bhaja hari ei (Prema-vivarta). In any birth you will get father mother. It is natural. Without father, mother, how can you get a body? So therefore it is said, janame janame: in any birth. Either human being, or cats, dog, snake, or tree or insect, you will get father and mother. But in every birth you cannot get Kṛṣṇa and guru. That is not possible.

So this birth you can get. This human form of birth you can get. That is the special significance. Father, mother, you can get any birth. It doesn't matter. But you cannot get Kṛṣṇa and guru. That you can get in this birth. Therefore twice-born. You must get another birth, through the initiation of the spiritual master, dīkṣā. Dīkṣā means initiation. Di means divya jñānam, and kṣa means kṣapayati. From the day of initiation, you simply get spiritual knowledge, transcendental knowledge. That is the special significance of human form of body. Therefore in the Vedic civilization, the classification is made: first-class, second-class, third-class, fourth-class men.

There are three guṇas. The material world is conducted by three guṇas, means the quality of goodness, the quality of passion, the quality of ignorance, and mixed. So first, second, third, and the mixed is called fourth. That is called varṇāśrama. Cātur-varṇyam. Guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13): according to quality and karma. So the first-, second-, and third-class division, they are all dvijas, twice-born. Brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya and vaiśya. Dvija means saṁskāra, reformation, to mold the character. That is called saṁskāra.

Just like you can train even a tiger, even an animal, to dance according to your desire. That is practical. So you cannot train a human being to become a brāhmaṇa? With such intelligence? But there is no such training. They are simply training all cats and dogs. But the Vedic civilization takes this opportunity of human being, to make him perfect in his life. What is that perfection? That perfection is to understand God and become His devotee. That is perfection. Not that to become very stout and strong, as strong as the tiger or as cunning as the jackal. Not that. That is not training.

So according to division, the training was there. The first-class training is brāhmaṇa. Brāhmaṇa means they must be truthful first. Satya śamo damas titikṣā (BG 18.42). They must be able to control the senses, control the mind. Satya śamo damas titikṣā. Must be tolerant, titikṣā; ārjava, very simple; jñānam, full knowledge; vijñānam, practical application in life. Satya śamo damas titikṣā. Śuciḥ, cleanliness. Brahma-karma svabhāva-jam. So they should be trained. A class of men should be trained for these qualities. They are called brāhmaṇa. Similarly, another class, second class, they should be trained up as kṣatriya, very powerful, never goes away from the challenge of fighting. Yuddhe cāpy apalāyanam.

Not that the fighting is going on, and the so-called president is sitting in his parlor and smoking cigarette. No. Yuddhe cāpy apalāyanam, "Oh, everyone is fighting there? I must go in the front." He will fight. Otherwise how people will be encouraged? The chief man is in the background, and poor men, they are fighting? No. Yuddhe cāpy apalāyanam. That is kṣatriya.

So similarly, vaiśya. Vaiśya, they should be trained in three things, productive—kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyaṁ vaiśya-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.44)—kṛṣi, agriculture; go-rakṣya, cow protection. Go-rakṣya. That is essential, agriculture and cow protection. And vāṇijyam. Vāṇijyam means trade. If there is excess milk product, if there is excess grain product, then you can sell to others. Nowadays the trade is that you take as much milk as you can, and then kill the animal and sell the flesh to other countries. That is going on. No. Go-rakṣya. Go-rakṣya.

Cow protection is very, very essential in human society because it gives the milk, the miracle food. You can prepare hundreds and thousands of preparation, all not only delicious, but brain-maintaining. You can get good brain. Therefore go-rakṣya, cow protection, is especially recommended, not that animal protection. If you want to eat meat, you can eat many other animals, there are. But don't eat the cows. This is Vedic civilization. Kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyaṁ vaiśya-karma svabhāva-jam. Paricaryātmakaṁ kāryaṁ śūdra-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.44). And those who are neither brahmiṇ—they have no brain to become brahmiṇ or to become kṣatriya or vaiśya—they are called śūdras. And śūdra's business is to serve the other upper three classes, laborer, worker classes, and satisfied with some service.

So here it is said that, tataḥ parīkṣid dvija-varya-śikṣayā: "He was educated and trained up by the best class of the brahmiṇs," not by the śūdras. Śūdra's training, what he can become? He can become a rascal, that's all. The training was entrusted to the first-class brahmiṇ, who is himself trained up to speak truth, satya śamo damaḥ, to remain clean, to become very simple in habit, to become master of knowledge, and practically application. Such person should be the trainer, should be the teacher. Not a third-class rascal becomes a teacher and professor. He has no idea how to speak truth. He is speaking all lies, theories, and getting Nobel Prize. Such a śūdra is honored at the present moment. You see? Who has no knowledge. So many so-called philosophers and scientist, simply speaking lies and untruth. They have no knowledge. As soon as you challenge them, they will say: "Yes, we are trying. In future we shall do it." But if you are trying, then where is your knowledge? Why you are taking the post of a teacher? You are a cheater. You have no full knowledge, and still, you are putting some theory to mislead the people.

For example, just like they are putting on this theory that matter, from matter, life has come, "All right, matter, life has come from matter. Just prove it. Take matter, whatever materials you want, take, and produce a life." "That we shall see in future." Then why you are talking this nonsense? Science means observation and experiment. There must be experiment also. But without experiment, they are putting on this theory and getting Nobel Prize, although it is not a fact. We know. We. We are followers of Vedic principle.

We know that matter or life, everything comes from life, not from matter. We know it certain. How do you know? Kṛṣṇa says. Mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate, "Everything comes from Me." And Kṛṣṇa is the supreme life. So we have no difficulty, because we know, mattaḥ sarvaṁ prava . . . sarvam means matter and life both, everything. There are two things: matter and life. There is no third thing. So Kṛṣṇa says, ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ (BG 10.8): "I am the original source of everything." "Everything" means matter and . . .

There are two things: matter and life. That is not very difficult to understand. So sarvam . . .

ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo

mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate

iti matvā bhajante māṁ

budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ

(BG 10.8)

Iti matvā. When one understands this, that Kṛṣṇa is the source of both matter and life . . . so the devotees are not rascals. They are in full knowledge. Iti matvā, "When they are confident that Kṛṣṇa is the source of everything," iti matvā bhajante mām, "oh, they become My devotee." Iti matvā bhajante māṁ budhāḥ. Budha means highly elevated in knowledge, budha. Just like Lord Buddha, elevated knowledge. So budhāḥ. So how this knowledge can be gotten unless one is trained by dvija-varya-śikṣayā, first-class learned brahmiṇs? One has to learn from him, not from the rascals, fools, cats and dogs. No. That is not learning. Dvija-varya-śikṣayā.

So Parīkṣit Mahārāja, his first qualification is . . . not only Parīkṣit Mahārāja, but all the kings during the monarchy. Monarchy does not mean because he is the son of king, therefore he should be king. No. He should be fully trained up by the dvija-varya, by the best class of brahmiṇs. That is monarchy. So Parīkṣit Mahārāja . . . tataḥ . . . tataḥ means "thereafter." After his fathers—means pañca-pāṇḍava, his father and uncles—retired and left kingdom, entrusting everything to the grandchild . . . because their sons all died in the Battle of Kurukṣetra. Parīkṣit Mahārāja, only he was saved, because he was a posthumous child. After the death of his father in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, he was in the womb of his mother. He took birth, and these grandfathers took care of him. This is Parīkṣit Mahārāja's life. He did not see his father from birth. So these grandfathers . . . so grandfathers, they retired entrusted . . . the whole kingdom was entrusted to the grandchild, Mahārāja Parīkṣit. So he was trained up by the first-class brahmiṇ. Tataḥ parīkṣid dvija-varya-śikṣayā mahīṁ mahā-bhāgavataḥ śaśāsa ha.

Mahīm. Mahīm means this earthly planet. Up to Mahārāja Parīkṣit, five thousand years ago, the whole world was being ruled over by one king, one emperor. There were no so many nations or no so many presidents or . . . no. Simply one king. Mahīm, this world. Mahīm means the earthly planet. This is the history. From Mahā-bhāgavata, er, Mahābhārata we understand that, that the whole world was under one flag, these Pāṇḍavas. Now United Nation means three thousand flags, three thousand nations. So that is not democracy, or that is not good ruling.

The best ruling is monarchy, and monarch means he must be a perfectly trained-up person by the best brahmiṇs. That is perfect government. Not that this democracy, some rascals and fools they are voting another rascal and fool, and by hook and crook he comes to the post; he does not like to give it up, and makes things very miserable. This kind of government . . . now your Senate is proposing, "Let us pray to God how we can get good government." (laughter) They are coming down to again. But why not train? "Now you are going to pray to God, 'Please give us good government'." Why don't you elect a person mahā-bhāgavata? Mahā-bhāgavata.

That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement that, "People . . . you become devotees, bhāgavata, and you select one mahā-bhāgavata to be your ruler. Then you will be happy. Not only bhāgavata. Not of your caliber, but still further." There are bhāgavata . . . there are three kinds of devotees. Three kinds of devotees means neophyte, middle class and mahā-bhāgavata. Mahā-bhāgavata. Mahā-bhāgavata means one who can see God in everything and everything in God. That is mahā-bhāgavata. That is explained in Bhagavad-gītā, sarva-bhūteṣu yaḥ paśyati ātmā (Cāṇakya Paṇḍita): "He does not see anything except God. Everything in God, and God in everything." That is the qualification of mahā-bhāgavata. So just see how elevated was Mahārāja Parīkṣit, that he was mahā-bhāgavata. In another place, he has written . . . I forget that word. That is also mahā-bhāgavata.

So Parīkṣit Mahārāja was not an ordinary person. He was mahā-bhāgavata. Mahīṁ mahā-bhāgavataḥ śaśāsa, ruled over, a great devotee. It does not mean a great devotee is simply engaged in chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. No. A great devotee may be the chief of the executive function of the state. He can become. That is required. Not that only mahā-bhāgavata required in church or temples. No. Mahā-bhāgavata required also as the head of the chief executive function. That is also required. Otherwise, how people will be happy? Every field, there must be mahā-bhāgavata.

So my Guru Mahārāja used to say that when we shall see that the high-court judges are devotees of Kṛṣṇa, then our preaching will be somewhat forward. So that is the aim of Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, that everyone, at least those who are ruling, those who are on the executive function, they must be all mahā-bhāgavata. Under them everything should be ruled. Then people will be happy. Because they will never do anything unjustly. Their only desire is, mahā-bhāgavata, is how to give relief to the suffering humanity. That is mahā-bhāgavata. So Parīkṣit Mahārāja was mahā-bhāgavata, and therefore he was entrusted to rule over, not an ordinary man.

Yathā hi sūtyām abhijāta-kovidāḥ. Here is another important word. So yathā, as he was foretold, sūtyā. Sūtyā means in the maternity condition, maternity home or maternity room, sūtyā. Still, the system is current in India that when a lady is going to give birth to a child, she is offered a separate room where the child will take birth and all taken care. Nowadays they are sending in the hospital. That is another thing. But the system is when the delivery is imminent, then one room is selected.

That is called sūtikā-ghara, or sūtikā room. That is referred here, sūtyā, means, sūtyā, as soon as the child is born, sūtyā, in that maternity room, immediately, abhijāta-kovidāḥ. Abhijāta-kovidāḥ means . . . kovidāḥ means expert learned scholars, and abhijāta, they will immediately make horoscope and tell about this newly born child, what is going to happen in his life in future. That is called astrologer. It is called jāta-karma, reformation.

There are ten kinds of reformation. The first reformation is garbhādhāna-saṁskāra. Garbhādhāna-saṁskāra means when the father is going to give birth to a child. It is not a secret affair. It is open affair, "Now this is the good, auspicious day, and today the father will implant the seed of the son in the womb of the mother." There is great function. That is called garbhādhāna-saṁskāra. And there are witnesses, all the brahmins that, "This day, such-and-such time, this king or this person has begotten this child."

Just like when the child is born, it is recorded in the government book, similarly, when one is going to give birth to a child, that is also recorded. That is called garbhādhāna-saṁskāra. Not that like cats and dogs in secrecy we have sexual intercourse, and if there is pregnancy, give some contraceptive pill or kill the child. Oh, how rascal and animal have been introduced in the human society. Just see. Here the garbhādhāna-saṁskāra, a child has to be born. How it will be nice? When the mentality of the father and mother is completely Kṛṣṇa conscious, so that when there will be sexual intercourse, the mentality of the child will be Kṛṣṇa conscious. This is garbhādhāna-saṁskāra.

So as before giving birth there is a reformation ceremony, similarly, immediately child is born, there is another reformation ceremony; that is called jāta-karma. Jāta-karma means immediately learned scholar, brahmiṇs, astrologer, will come and they will make the horoscope of the child. So here it is said, yathā hi sūtyām abhijāta-kovidāḥ samādiśan. As they foretold that, "This child will be hero like this, he will be like this, like this . . ." That are described in the Bhāgavatam. And it was also said at that time that, "This child will die, being cursed by a brahmiṇ." That was also foretold.

It is still, such kind of astrology, there in India. They will speak what you were in your last birth, and what you are now, and what you will be in your next birth. That is astrology. So still there are, Bhṛgu-saṁhitā. Anyone go, and you simply give them your exact time of birth, then they will make immediately horoscope. Immediately. Still there is. As I told you that in my horoscope it was declared that after seventieth year, I shall go to the foreign countries and I shall establish many temples. In my horoscope that is. Now I see it is coming practically. You see? So that is horoscope.

So these abhijāta-kovidāḥ, expert astrologers, whatever they predicted, everything was performed by Mahārāja Parīkṣit. Samādiśan vipra mahad-guṇas tathā. So all the high qualities . . . Parīkṣit Mahārāja was, in his childhood play, he was worshiping Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Deity. Childhood play. Just like our children, some of them, they are worshiping Jagannātha. This is required from the very childhood. Our Prahlāda Mahārāja therefore says, kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān iha, durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma (SB 7.6.1). Just like I began that this human form of life is the only opportunity to become free from this material entanglement, to become perfect. So it is the duty of the father, it is the duty of the guru, it is the duty of the king, government, to give all opportunities that, "No more birth. This is the last birth. Now you go back to home, back to Godhead." That is government. No more again coming as cats and dogs and trees. And if we do not do that, then again we enter into the cycle of birth and death. This is the risk.

So this civilization is so risky that people are not being given the real right that human being has the right to understand God and to make his relationship reestablished and go to home, back to Godhead, back to home. That is the real facility to the people. The program should be made like that, that the human life may not be missed. That is government. Therefore a mahā-bhāgavata, a great devotee, advanced devotee, should be on the head of the executive function. That is the idea of Vedic civilization.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya . . . (cut) (end)