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761105SB.VRN
Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5.17

Vrndavana, November 5, 1976
Pradyumna: "If someone is ignorant and addicted to the path of samsara, how can one who is actually learned, merciful and advanced in spiritual knowledge engage him in fruitive activity and thus further entangle him in material existence? If a blind man is walking down the wrong path, how can a gentleman allow him to continue on his way to danger? How can he approve this method? No wise or kind man can allow this."
Prabhupada:
kas tam svayam tad-abhijno vipascid
avidyayam antare vartamanam
drstva punas tam saghrnah kubuddhim
prayojayed utpathagam yathandham
[SB 5.5.17]
So one person is utpathagam yathandham, another person is vipascid tad-abhijnah. Two classes of men generally: one who knows the things as they are and one who does not know what is the value of life, how to make progress. So one does not know and one knows. So naturally there must be two classes of men to make real social progress or any, anything. Actually we see that there are a class of men in the school, colleges, universities, who can teach, and class of men who are taught. So without these two classes of men, how society can make progress? But the modern theory is "classless society." Modern rascal theory is classless society: "There is no need of teacher, or there is no need of higher class, or there is no need of... One class." Therefore they fall down. Even in socialistic country like Russia, first of all they wanted to make classless society. Later on they have made a manager class and worker class, because this is not possible.
If you want to manage things, there must be two classes of men, and two classes can be divided into so many other classes. Therefore the intelligent way of civilization is described in the Bhagavad-gita, catur-varnyam maya-srstam guna-karma-vibhagasah [Bg. 4.13]. There must be four classes. In order to manage things very nicely, you cannot make classless society. Four classes. The most intelligent class, brahmana, and then next intelligent, the ksatriyas, and the next intelligent, the vaisyas, and the last one, who has no intelligence, sudra. These four classes must be there. Without this division of classes, society, who will guide them? At the present moment, without any class the government has made adult vote. Anyone who is above certain age, say eighteen years or twenty years, he can vote. But there is no class, that "This class can vote; this class cannot vote." There is no such thing. Anyone who is above eighteen years old, he is competent to cast his vote. And people are not educated in this division, brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra. They are all classless.
Classless means fools, rascals, sudra. If you classify... Classify means "Here is intelligent class, here is next class, here is next." If you don't classify, that means sudras. So sudras, they have got votes. Similarly, what they will elect? They will elect another rascal, that's all. Big rascal. A small rascal and big rascal, that's all. Therefore in the Bhagavata it is said, sva-vid-varahostra-kharaih samstutah purusah pasuh [SB 2.3.19]. Here is our president. Here is our prime minister. But what is he? He is elected by the sudras, so he is a big sudra, that's all. How you can expect nice things? If you say, "Now he is elected President, he is so much honored and he's exalted post, His Excellency," so Bhagavata says, "Yes. This is all good, but by whom he is praised?" Sva-vid-varahostra-kharaih samstutah purusah pasuh. Just like lion. Lion is very strong animal. He is considered to be the king of the forest. So all other small animals, they are very much afraid of, very respectful. But does it mean because he is lion he is not an animal? He is animal. He may be lion, very powerful, very strong, he can subdue others. But that does not mean he is any advanced intelligent person like brahmana or ksatriya. This is going on. The Bhagavata therefore says, sva-vid-varahostra-kharaih samstutah purusah pasuh. The next line I just forget.
So anyone, if he is not Krsna conscious, he is a pasuh, animal. Because human life is meant for that purpose. Tapo divyam putraka yena suddhyet sattva [SB 5.5.1]. Otherwise he is animal. So this is going on at the present moment, that some small animal accepting one big animal as leader. So both of them, all of them, are animals. But this is not social system. The social system, as Krsna says, catur-varnyam maya srstam... [Bg. 4.13]. You cannot violate the laws given by Krsna, God. You must have. You must make, train. Just like you are training some men as engineer, some men as medical men, some men as lawyer, some men as technologist. There are so many divisions in the society. Therefore, similarly, if you want to make the human society perfect, then you must have these four classes of men: brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, and sudra. Otherwise there is no possibility. If you make all classes one, very liberal"Very good idea. There is no classification"no, there must be classifi... But that classification is not by birth. That is not by birth. Guna-karma-vibhagasah [Bg. 4.13]. Krsna never said, "This classification should be by birth." No. Janmana jayate sudrah. By birth everyone is rascal, sudra. That is to be accepted. Even if one is born in a brahmana family, he is to be accepted as sudra, janmana, by birth. Otherwise why, even a person is born in a brahmana family, he requires to be educated, he requires to be initiated, sacred thread? Samskarad bhaved dvijah. There must be samskara. If he is born brahmana, then where..., there is no need of samskara. There is no need of education. Suppose a person is born the son of high-court judge. Does it mean that he is high-court judge? No. He requires education, he requires training. But he has a good chance to become a high-court judge. Because his father is high-court judge, he knows how to train his sons, how to educate him how to become a lawyer, and he has got influence in government society. He can recommend him. He has got the chance to become a high-court judge. But not that because he is born of a father who is high-court judge, therefore he is high-court judge. That is going on.
A person born in brahmana family, if that family is strictly following the brahminical rules and regulation, in the sastra it is said that in higher section, brahmana specially, if garbhdhna samskara is not observed the whole family immediately becomes sudra. They cannot be called even brahmana family. That is the injunction of sastra. Samskarad bhaved dvijah. Dasa-vidha-samskara. That must be strictly observed; otherwise he is sudra. Sudra has no samskara. Sudra has only one samskaramarriage. And the brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, they have got dasa-vidha-samskara. Before birth, when the child is in the womb, there is ceremony. Then when he is born there is ceremony. Then he's little more, little more... Just like Pariksit Maharaja, when he was born, immediately all the brahmanas came. Jata-karma ceremony. A child is born. There will be some puja, patha, and then there will be horoscope made immediately, in what moment this child is born, what will be his feature. All the brahmanas made immediately horoscope. You'll find in this Bhagavata. This is called samskara. Not that like cats and dogs they are born without any samskara, and because he is born in a certain family he becomes brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya. No.
So there must be a first-class man in the society. Samo damo titiksa. Where is that educational institution at the present moment that "Here is a school where education is given how to become a brahmana"? This is Kali-yuga. Nobody will go there. Nobody will go there. If you start a school... I was thinking that now... Just like we are starting this gurukula to train small children how to become brahmacari. Brahmacari gurukule vasan danto guror hitam. But I am very doubtful whether people will send their children here. Because before starting this movement I wanted some boys from respectable family, that "Give me your one son. I shall train him how to become brahmana, how to become preacher." Nobody gave me. They said, "Swamiji, what they will be by becom..." Because they have seen the so-called brahmana begging, no education, and if there is no begging, then stealing, then cheating. So a gentleman sees that "This is brahmana in the society." You will find in Vrndavana so-called brahmana, pandita, pandasno education, and they do everything. It is known to everyone. So because there is no training... Pandas, they were guiding the tourists or the visitors. They were trained up brahmana, panditas. Now practically higher section of the society, they do not come. One gentleman asked me in Delhi in the beginning that "Swamiji, why you have made Vrndavana as your headquarters?" Because they have got a very bad experience. So even the Vrndavana city, you see how they are neglected. We are a little far off from the city. You go. How they are neglected city, no up-to-date gentlemen can go there because the culture is lost. And from big, big Gosvamis' family they are becoming rogues and thieves because training is not there, training, the first-class man to train them.
So therefore it is our little attempt that to train some boys to become first-class character. Samo damo titiksa. That is required in the society. Simply all fourth-class, fifth-class men, how the society will improve? That is not possible. And therefore, kas tam svayam tad-abhijno vipascid avidyayam antare vartamanam. And one who is actually educated in the Vedic knowledge, how he can say that "You are all right"? He cannot say. He gives chance for being trained to be free from the avidya. Avidyayam antare. Sarira avidya-jal. Bhaktivinoda Thakura has sung, sarira avidya-jal. This material body is a network of avidya, ignorance. Sarira avidya-jal, jadendriya tahe kal. On account of this body of avidya, ignorance, the blunt senses are simply... They have been described sometimes as kala-sarpa. Kala-sarpa indriya-patali durdanta-indriya-kala-sarpa patali. So therefore yoga system is recommended to control this kala-sarpa, the indriyas. Yoga indriya-samyamah. Real yoga, ordinary yoga Nobody is getting that yoga-siddhi, asta-siddhi. Generally the so-called yogis, they show some asana, dhyana, dharana, pranayama, but that is meant for controlling the senses. Yoga indriya-samyamah. Without sense control nobody can make any progress in human life. Tapasya. That is called tapasya. The yoga is also another tapasya. Tapo. Tapasa brahmacaryena [SB 6.1.13].
So any path you take, the brahmacarya first thing. Without brahmacarya there is no question of tapasya.
This is human life. This is human life, not that upstart, foolish, rascals, sudras, that is human society. That is dog society. That is not human society. Human society must be intelligent class of men. They will train the other people. Everything is required. The ksatriya is required, the vaisya is required, the sudra is also required. Just like it is given in the sastra that to keep a fully equipped body there must be head, there must be arm, there must be belly, and there must be leg. Leg is also required, not that simply brain is required. Brain is required to direct the way: "Go this way; go that way." In that sense sudra is also... Brain cannot walk; the leg will walk. So the brain will give direction, the hand will give protection. Everything is required. Therefore we have named this "Krsna conscious society." "Society" means all classes of men required. But we train them how to make life perfect. That is wanted, not that one-sided, simply brahmana. That variety. This is called variety, not nirvisesa-vada, classless: "No brahmana required, no sudra required." No, everything is required. Everything is required, but they should be properly trained up.
So one class. First-class man, first of all teacher, they require. Therefore the brahmana class must be there, I mean to say, the properly trained-up brahmana, not by caste brahmana or... Samo damo titiksa... Otherwise where is the ideal class who will teach? And it is the business of brahmana to teach. Those who are sudras, avidyayam antare vartamana, how they can teach? They cannot teach. Therefore brahmana business is pathana pathana yajana yajana dana pratigrahah. Six. Sat-karma-nipuno vipro mantra-tantra-visaradah. Still, if he is not a Vaisnava, avaisnavo gurur na sa syat. If one is qualified brahmana but..., mantra-tantra-visaradah, everything is well equipped, but if he is not a Vaisnava, if he is impersonalist, Mayavadi, he cannot teach others. Avaisnavo gurur na sa syat. He cannot be guru. Sad-vaisnavah sva-paco guruh. And if a person born in a family of dog-eaters, sva-paca, means candala... There are many kinds of meat-eaters. So the class of men who are dog-eaters, they are the lowest. They are the lowest, candala. So if a person born in a dog-eaters' family, he can be also trained up. Sad-vaisnavah sva-paco guruh. So guru does not mean a rascal. A sva-paca, a person born in the family of sva-paca, he can be also trained up to become Vaisnava. That is also a claim by Krsna. Mam hi partha vyapasritya ye 'pi syuh papa-yonayah [Bg. 9.32]. This person who is born in the sva-paca family, candala family, he is called papa-yoni. Yoni means mother, and bija means father. Bija may be nice, but if the yoni is not nice, that is called varna-sankara. These are the things. Yatha bijam tatha yoni. Therefore they must be equally qualified. Anyway, so papa-yoni, born in the womb of a low-class yoni. But he can be trained. How? Mam hi partha vyapasritya. If he takes to Krsna consciousness, then he can be trained. There is no harm. Mam hi... Krsna says, mam hi partha vyapasritya [Bg. 9.32].
So if we take shelter of Krsna's lotus feet, then we can become first-class men. There is no doubt about it. Otherwise Krsna says, te 'pi yanti param gatim. So do you think param gatim is available for the third-class, fourth-class, last class men? No. Krsna says in another place. These things are to be studied very minutely. Yesam anta-gatam papam jananam punya-karmanam te dvandva-moha... Bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate [Bg. 7.19]. So one who has become Vaisnava, does it mean he is fool still? No. Training. Training is there. Otherwise how Krsna recommends, ye 'pi syuh papa-yonayah te 'pi yanti param gatim? To become high-court judge, does it mean it is ordinary qualification? If you say that "That man has become high-court judge and the other man who has seen him before, that he is not born 'No, no. How you can become high-court judge? No, he is born of a very low-class family. No.' " "No, no, he has become a high-court..." "No, no. I don't believe." "No, I have seen it." This is possible. It is not that because one is born in low-class family he cannot become high-court judge or he cannot become a Vaisnava. Oh. He can be.
So Sanatana Gosvami recommends, tatha diksa-vidhanena dvijatvam jayate nrnam. Tatha diksa-vidhanena. If diksa-vidhana, initiation process, is done nicely from the right person There are so many sastric ref... Suddhyanti yad-apasrayasrayah, kirata-hunandhra-pulinda-pulkasa abhira-sumbha yavanah khasadayah, ye 'nye ca papa yad-apasrayasrayah suddhyanti [SB 2.4.18]. These things are there. So by the disciplic succession, by the instruction of the Gosvamis, everyone can be purified because they will properly train up. Avidyayam antare vartamanam. They will not misguide. Drstva punas tam saghrnah kubuddhim. Merciful: "Never mind." But there is no disqualification because one is low born and high born. Everyone can take. But he must follow the direction of the proper guide. Just like we say, "No meat-eating, no intoxication, no illicit sex." If he follows the rules and regulation and chants Hare Krsna under the guidance of proper spiritual master, then everything will be all right. He is no more sudra or candala. He will become... Candalo 'pi dvija-srestha hari-bhakti-parayanah. By advancing in Krsna consciousness he can be raised to the highest plat... So it is the duty of the guide not to engage him in lower class of occupation. Therefore there must be a class of men first-class who can teach the society how to advance in human civilization.
Thank you very much.
Devotees: Jaya! (end)

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