to make people Krishna Conscious
|
Imported quote 13479 An executive head should not be callous to the welfare of the general mass of people while he simply goes on collecting taxes. The king's real duty is to see that the citizens gradually become fully Krsna conscious. Krsna conscious means completely free from all sinful activities. As soon as there is complete eradication of sinful activities in the state, then there will be no more war, pestilence, famine or natural disturbances. This was actually prevailing during the reign of Maharaja Yudhisthira. If a king or head of the government is able to induce the citizens to become Krsna conscious, then he is worthy to rule over the mass of people; otherwise, he has no right to levy taxes. If the king looks after the spiritual interests of the citizens, he can levy taxes without difficulties. In this way both the subjects and the king will be happy during this life, and in the next life the king will be able to share one sixth of the pious activities of the citizens. Otherwise, by levying taxes on the sinful citizens he will have to share the reactions of their sinful activities.
(More...) Imported quote 13617 Only a Vaisnava leader can fulfill all the desires of the people (vancha-kalpataru), and he is compassionate because he is the contributor of the greatest benefit to human society. He is patita-pavana, the deliverer of all fallen souls, because if the king or the head of the government follows in the footsteps of the brahmanas and Vaisnavas, who are naturally leaders in missionary work, similarly the vaisyas will also follow in the footsteps of the Vaisnavas and brahmanas, and the sūdras will give them service. Thus the entire society becomes a perfect human institution for combined progress to the highest perfection of life.
(More...) Imported quote 14129 This chapter contains a great lesson concerning the monarchical kingdom in the days of yore. When King Barhisat was considering retiring from the royal duties, he sent his sons to perform austerities in order to become perfect kings for the welfare of the citizens. At the same time King Barhisat was being instructed by the great sage Narada about the material world and the living entity who wants to enjoy it. It is therefore very clear how the kings and princes were trained to take charge of a kingdom. Welfare activities for the benefit of the citizens were aimed at understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The human form of life is especially meant for understanding God, our relationship with Him and our activities in His service. Because the kings took charge of the spiritual education of the citizens, both the king and the citizens were happy in Krsna consciousness. In this regard, we should remember that the monarchical hierarchy of Pracinabarhisat comes from Maharaja Dhruva, a great devotee of the Lord and the most celebrated disciple of Narada Muni. King Pracinabarhisat was then too much engaged in fruitive activities due to performing different types of yajnas. One can actually be promoted to higher planetary systems or to the heavenly kingdoms by performing various yajnas, but there is no question of liberation or going back home, back to Godhead. When the great sage Narada saw that a descendant of Maharaja Dhruva was being misled by fruitive activities, he took compassion upon him and personally came to instruct him about the ultimate benediction of life, bhakti-yoga. How Narada Muni indirectly introduced the bhakti-yoga system to King Pracinabarhisat is very interestingly described in this Twenty-fifth Chapter.
(More...) Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/?qg=1489
|