So generally, the higher class, Aryans, they did not eat meat; and the lower class, those who were eating meat, they were also checked by regulation. So one who was eating meat without any check, they are mentioned here as unlawful meat-eaters. What is that, unlawful meat-eaters? Yes.

So sastra says that "Everyone, every living entity, has got a general tendency for these things: sex life, meat-eating and drinking." Then where is the need of shastric injunction? That shastric injunction is there not to encourage them, but to restrict them. In the human life, pravrttir esa bhutanam nivrttis tu maha-phala. You have got a tendency for sex life, take for example. This is your tendency. But if you can check it, that is your success. Not that because you have got tendency, you have to increase it. That is not human civilization. Human civilization means we have got so many animal propensities, and if we can control them, that is advancement of human civilization. Just try to understand. Not that "Because I have got this tendency, let me increase it without any restriction." That is not human civilization. Human civilization... That is the distinction between animal and human being. Tapasa brahmacaryena jnanena [SB 6.1.13].

Therefore first beginning of human life... (aside:) That child... The first beginning of human life is brahmacari. Brahmacari. Brahmacari means to learn how to restrict himself from sense gratification. That is brahmacari lifethe student, student life. Nowadays, in every college, university, the students are allowed to mix, intermingle, both sex. What is called? Co-education?

What is the impurification of existence? The impurification of existence is this birth, death, old age and disease. Janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi-duhkha-dosanudarsanam [Bg. 13.9]. Everyone is inclined to live, but nature will not allow you to live. Nobody likes to die, but nature will force you to become dead. Nobody wants to become old man, but nature will force you to become old man. Janma... And nobody wants to suffer from diseases, but nature will force you to suffer from diseases. These are the problems. But the rascal civilization, they do not know what is the real problem. They're dealing with petrol problem. Just see. Petrol problem, you have created another problem. Already there is problem. You have created, by so-called civilization, petrol problem. Before these motorcars, the people were living very happily. They were transporting. But there was no such civilization that for your earning livelihood you have to go hundred miles away from your home to work there. Therefore you require vehicle. Then you require petrol. Then you require so many nice road. So many things will be. But formerly, it was village. They will take it, "This is primitive." But remaining primitive, you were more happy than becoming so-called civilized, creating so many problems. You have already problems, but people are so rascal, so blind, they do not see to the real problem. They artificially create problem and try to solve it. Instead of touching the real problem, that is set aside.

The Bhagavad-gita says that problem, one should be very vigilant to the problem. And what is that problem? He says, Krsna says, janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi-duhkha-dosanudarsanam. They do not know what is the real problem. Real problem is repetition of birth, death, old age and disease. This is real problem. Whole Vedic civilization is meant for stopping these problems, janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi. The whole Bhagavad-gita is taught... You are reading Bhagavad-gita. You just try to understand what is the real problem. The real problem is birth, death, old age and disease. Therefore, Krsna says that,

This question I asked... (aside:) Don't be sleeping. Professor Kotovsky. I asked him that "Where is the difference of philosophy between your Communist philosophy and our Krsna consciousness philosophy? You have to accept one chief man, that Lenin or Stalin, and we have also selected one chief man, or God, Krsna. So you are following the dictates of Lenin or Stalin or Molotov or this or that. We are following the philosophy or the instruction of Krsna. So on principle, where is the difference? There is no difference." So the professor could not answer that. You cannot conduct your daily affairs without being dictated by somebody else. That is to be accepted.

So that is the law of nature. So nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam (Katha Upanisad 2.2.13). Then why don't you accept the supreme authority? This subordinate authority... We have to accept somebody as our leader. It is not possible that we can live without leadership. That is not possible. Is there any party, is there any school, or is there any institution that they're conducting without any chief leader or director? Can you show me any instance throughout the whole world? Is there any instance? No. Just like from our camp somebody has left, but he has accepted Gaurasundara or Siddha-svarupa Maharaja as chief. The principle is there, that you have to accept one chief. But intelligent is that which, what kind of leadership we shall accept. That is knowledge. We have to accept the servitorship or underhand, to become underhand of some person. So the intelligence is that "Whom we have to accept?" That, there lies intelligence: "What kind of leader we shall accept?"

So our principle is that Krsna should be accepted as the leader because Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita, mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya [Bg. 7.7]. Krsna is the supreme leader. Eko bahu..., nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam eko yo bahunam vidadhati (Katha Upanisad 2.2.13). Leader means he must... Just like father. Father is the leader of the family. And why father is the leader? Because he earns, he maintains the children, wife, servant, and establishment; therefore naturally, he's accepted the leader of the family. Similarly, you accept the President Nixon as the leader of your country because in dangerous time he gives direction, in peace time he gives direction. He's always busy how to make you happy, how to make without any cares, anxiety. This is duty of the President. Otherwise, why you select one President? Any man can live without any President, but no, it is required.

So similarly, the Veda says, nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam. There are two sets of living entities. One... Both of them are nitya. Nitya means eternal. And cetana means living entity. So nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam. This is the description of God, that God is also a living entity like you and me. He's also living entity. Just like you see Krsna. What is the difference between Krsna? He has got two hands; you have got two hands. He has got one head; you have got one head. You have got... He has got two legs; you have got two legs. You can also keep some cows and play with them; Krsna also. But the difference is there. What is that difference? Eko yo bahunam vidadhati kaman. That one Krsna, although He's similar in so many ways with you, similarity, but one difference is thereHe is maintaining every one of us, and we are being maintained. He's the leader. If Krsna does not supply you foodstuff, you cannot have any foodstuff. If Krsna does not supply you petrol, then you cannot drive your car. So eko bahunam yo vidadhati. Whatever necessities of life we have gotwe require so many thingsthat is supplied by eka, that one living entity. That is the difference. We cannot maintain even a small family, our capacity is so limited. At the present moment especially, in this age, a man does not like to marry because he's unable to maintain even a family, wife and children. He cannot maintain them, even a family consisting of four or five living entities.

But God is the whole family. Eko yo bahunam vidadhati. He's supplying food to the elephants. We are, we are so much advanced in civilization that because we cannot take care of a child, therefore we are killing child even within the womb of mother, abortion. We are so unfit. But God, you see, He's feeding millions of elephants in the Africa. Not only elephants, there are so many. Out of 8,400,000 species of life, there are 8,000,000 species of life nonhuman being, the majoritythe birds, beasts, reptiles, trees, so many other living entities. But they have no business. They have no occupation, profession, to maintain themselves. So who is maintaining them? Who is there? Eko yo bahunam vidadhati kaman. Even if within your room, there is a little hole, sometimes you'll find thousands of ants coming out. Have you got this experience? And who is feeding them? Who is supplying them food? They are living within that hole, millions, and hundreds and thousands of ants, but they're also eating, they're also sleeping, they have got their wife, they have got their children. But who is supplying food? So in this way, if you analyze that everything is being maintained by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that is real understanding of Krsna consciousness, how Krsna is great, or God is great. So that is a real civilization of life, to understand, to appreciate, to appreciate the greatness of God. That is real civilization.

So, there is a process how to appreciate, how to become qualified to appreciate, and that system is called varnasrama-dharma, to divide the whole human society into four classes of men: the brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya and sudra. And those who are not regulated, they are pancamas, below the sudras. So the, our subject matter was unlawful meat-eaters. So even the sudras, who are meat-eaters, they're lawful meat-eaters. What is that lawful meat-eating? Lawful meat-eating is... In any religion, formerly, even the Muhammadans or Hindus or the Jews, they used to kill one animal as sacrifice. They used to kill. Not in the slaughterhouse. Even up to date, those who are strictly religious followers... Suppose the Muhammadans. There in the Koran, the injunction is that "You should sacrifice one animal in the mosque." The Jews also, they sacrifice animal in the synagogue. I have read one book, Lord Jesus Christ, when he was a young boy he was very much shocked when he saw that animal-killing is going on in the synagogue. Therefore he differentiated from the Jews and he started his own religion, Christian religion. Is it not a fact? Am I right? Why... He was also a Jew. Why he deviated? Why he deviated from the Jews? Because when he saw in his young age that animals are being killed in the synagogue, he differed, "No, no, this is horrible. This should be stopped." Therefore, his first commandment is "Thou shall not kill." Am I wrong or right? Eh? That was his first impression, that people should stop killing. So who is Christian? Everyone is violating this first commandment, what to speak of other commandments. Everyone. So it is very difficult to find a real Christian. But if you violate the commandments of Christ, then what kind of Christian you are? This is our question. Who will answer this?

So this is the problem. Animal-killing is not within the category of human civilization. When a man becomes civilized, he knows how to produce food. He can till the ground. He can produce food grains. He can produce fruits and flowers and so many things. Even in the animal kingdom, there are different kinds of animals. They do not touch meat-eating even. They do not touch. Every, every animal has to live by destroying or killing another animal. That is nature's law. Jivo jivasya jivanam. Either you eat vegetable or you eat meat, it doesn't matter. Vegetable has also got life. But there is allotment. Just like the cows or other animals, they do not eat meat, they live on grass. Grass has got (also) life, but because they eat grass life, therefore they will eat meat? No. The allotment. Similarly, human being should be also... There is allotment. For human being, God has given us the foodgrains, the fruits and... Patram puspam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati [Bg. 9.26]. In the Bhagavad-gita you'll find. Krsna is saying that "Anyone who is supplying Me this patram puspam..." Patram means leaves, vegetables, and puspam means flowers. Patram puspam phalam, fruits. Toyam, and milk. So why? He is speaking in the human society. He's not speaking in the animal society. Therefore it is already described what kind of foodstuff we shall take. So patram puspam phalam. This is our Krsna consciousness movement. We offer to Krsna the patram puspamflower, vegetables, grains, milk productsand we take prasadam. This is our movement.

So here it is said that purusadair ivartan. So not only eating meat, but there are cannibals also. I've heard that in Africa still, there are cannibals. Not only Africa, in other parts of the world, they also sacrifice a human being. I think in America also formerly, the Red Indians used to kill a human being? Eh?

So Dharmaraja is asking, "Mother Earth, whether you are concerned because you are not at the present moment very much strong or very much able to give protection to the women and the children?" This is Vedic civilization. You give protection to the women, to the children, to the brahmana, to the cow, and to the old man. First duty. First duty is to give protection to the old men, women, children, cow, and brahmana. That is questioned in the next part, brahma-kule kukarma, kukarmany abrahmanye raja-kule. Brahma-kule. The brahmanas should be protected, but if there are, even in the brahmana family, who are addicted to these sinful activities, that is also becomes a concern. Similarly, if the royal family, or the ruling class of men, they do not respect the brahminical culture, that is also a subject matter of concern.

So in the Vedic civilization there was no such problem as petrol problem and food problem or... No. The problem was whether the civilization was going nicely, whether the human civilization is making progress toward the ultimate goal of life, not to bother with the temporary problems. Temporary problems has been described in the Bhagavad-gita, tams titiksasva bharata. Matra-sparsas tu kaunteya.

The main problem is janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi [Bg. 13.9]. That is main problem. So our cultivation of knowledge, advancement of civilization, should be on the basis of solving the main problems, janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi, not the temporary problem. For the temporary problems, it is advised that the temporary problems, they come and go. Just like nowadays there is the petrol problem. Petrol is there, but because the Arabians are restricting supply, it has become a problem. So there are, as soon as there will be some peace agreement between the Arabians and others, this problem will be solved. Take for example. Best example is given in the Bhagavad-gita, sitosna-sukha-duhkha-dah. You can solve your petrol problem, but you can never solve the problem of winter and summer. That will come and go. So it is not that winter will remain for good, or the summer will remain for good. Agamapayino 'nityah. They will come and go away. So don't be bothered about them. If you feel botheration, just try to suffer or tolerate. That is not your real problem. Real problem is how to stop the birth, death, old age and disease, and that is Vedic civilization, and that is depending on the brahminical culture.

So the king's duty is to see that everyone is following the brahminical culture. The brahmana is executing his occupational duties nicely, the ksatriyas are doing nicely in their occupational duties; similarly, vaisyas, sudras. That is the duty of the government, that everything is going on nicely. Otherwise, it will be a great concern and people will be always filled up with anxieties. There will be so many troubles and problems. We cannot solve them. And it is very difficult to solve in this age of Kali. Therefore sastra has given us injunction that

Thank you very much.