It is stated in the Bhagavad-gita that the three qualities are also emanated or generated from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And the three qualities are represented by Brahma, Visnu, Mahesvara. The quality of goodness is represented by Visnu, the quality of passion is represented by Brahma, and the quality of darkness is represented by Lord Siva. By the quality of goodness this whole material world is maintained, and by the quality of passion the whole material world is created, and by the quality of ignorance the whole material world is again annihilated. Bhutva bhutva praliyate [Bg. 8.19]. The nature of this material world is that it becomes manifest at a certain time and again it disappears. That is the difference between material world and spiritual world. Spiritual world is eternal. There is no question of occasional appearance and occasional disappearance. Paras tasmat tu bhavo 'nyah [Bg. 8.20]. In the Bhagavad-gita you will find the description that "There is another nature, bhava." Bhava means... Svabhava, bhava, these are the Sanskrit terms of the nature. So that nature is vyaktavyakta. This nature is vyakta and avyakta, manifest and nonmanifest. So, and above this, beyond this manifested and nonmanifest material nature, there is another, spiritual nature, which is sanatana. Sanatana means eternal. And it is also stated, yasmin sarvesu api nasyatsu na vinasyate: "When everything is annihilated, that sanatana nature is not annihilated. That sanatana nature remains as it is." That is the spiritual nature and material nature.

So these three qualities... As from Visnu, Brahma is generated, and from Brahma, Lord Siva is generated, so original cause is Visnu. And Visnu's cause is Krsna. Yasyaika-nisvasita-kalam. In the Brahma-samhita it is said ,

So here it is also said that yena svadhamni bhavah. The svadhamni bhavah. This goodness, this passion, this mode, they are also represented in the spiritual world. They are also represented in the spiritual world, svadhamni bhavah, but a perverted reflection is represented here only. Everything is there. Otherwise, there cannot be any creation. The Vedanta says, janmady asya yatah [SB 1.1.1]. Everything, whatever we see, it has got a source of generation, and that is Brahman, Absolute Truth. So these gunas, these material gunas, they are also generated from the Absolute Truth. That is explained in Bhagavad-gita also. But here everything is perverted reflection. Therefore we see in a different way it is represented. Guna-nama-kriya-rupair vibhavyante yatha-tatham. And those qualities, guna-nama, guna-nama-kriya-rupaih, when the qualities begin to act, they are represented in different varieties, these qualities. These qualities of goodness, passion, and ignorance, when they are interacted, they represent in different varieties of representation. Just like when there is quality of goodness, then it is brahmanism. That is the representation of the quality of goodness. And when the quality of passion is represented, that is the quality of ksatriya. And when the quality of ignorance is represented, that is the presentation of the sudras. And mixed-up quality of ignorance and passion, that is vaisya. Catur-varnyam maya srstam guna-karma-vibhagasah [Bg. 4.13]. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, that "These four qualitative representation, brahmanas, ksatriya..."

So when it is creation by the Supreme Lord, it is not that the brahmanas are to be found only in India. That is another wrong conclusion. Because brahmanas means representation of the quality of goodness. Anywhere you find the quality of goodness, that is brahmanism. So these American, European boys, when they have developed their quality of goodness, Krsna consciousness, they are brahmanas. If they are considered as mlecchas and yavanas, that is narakiya-buddhi, hellish consideration. Vaisnave jati-buddhih. If anyone considers a Vaisnava, a devotee of the Lord, in the categorical estimation of birth, then that is hellish consideration. Vaisnave jati-buddhih. Arcye visnau sila-dhir gurusu nara-matih. Just like here we are worshiping Radha-Krsna Deity. You have all come here early in the morning, and... So does it mean that you are all fools? You have come to see a brass idol is being worshiped here? So anyone who considers the Deity as arcye sila-dhih, made of stone, made of brass, made of wood, that is naraki-buddhih. Arcye sila-dhih. Sila. Sila means stone. So those who are unaware of the Vedic knowledge, they consider that this is idol worship. It is not idol worship. It is directly worshiping the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord has, by His mercy, descended to accept your service. If you want to dress the Supreme Lord, if you take His virad-rupa, universal form, where is your cloth and how you can dress? Eh? You haven't got so much cloth. In spite of having so many mills, you cannot dress the virat form. Therefore Krsna, by His omnipotency, He becomes a smaller just to be handled by you. That is His mercy. Not that... Just like Krsna became a small child of Yasoda. That does not mean Krsna has diminished in His power. He immediately showed. When there was attempt to kill Him by the Putana, immediately He showed His Godly power. So we have to study like that, that God in any circumstances is God. God is never made. Any circumstances, God is God. God... Not that by meditation, pressing your nose, you become God. No. That is not God. God is God. So all the...

Therefore Rupa Gosvami says,

Then again says,

Just like in Bhagavad-gita you will find, satyam samah saucam arjavam titiksa, jnanam vijnanam astikyam brahma-karma svabhava-jam [Bg. 18.42]. By nature a brahmana will be truthful. Satyam samah. He will be controlling of the senses, controlling the mind, very cleansed, saucam. Satyam saucam samah damah titiksa, tolerant. Even in the severest type of danger, he is never disturbed. Tolerant. Satyam samah damah saucam arjavam, and simplicity; jnanam, full of knowledge; and vijnanam, practical application in life; astikyam, firm faith in the scripture and Krsnathese are the qualification of brahmana. Similarly, the ksatriyas' qualificationthey want to rule over. A ksatriya never goes away from fighting. He is never afraid of fighting. He never, I mean to say, he is afraid of the challenge of the other party. Just like Jarasandha. Jarasandha was a ksatriya, and he was... At the same time, a ksatriya's quality is charitable. Formerly the kings, they would distribute! money like anything. They would collect money by taxing, but at the same time, they would distribute. The example is given in the case of Maharaja Dasaratha, that he was exacting taxes just like the sunshine exacts water from the sea, and it turns into cloud and it distributes all over the planet. Similarly, the ksatriya's duty is to collect... Government's duty is to collect tax, heavily tax. But the money should be distributed to all the citizens by different way. That is the way, dana-bhava-jam, not that I collect tax and I engage it in my sense gratification; I employ three hundred prostitutes for dancing before me. These are... This is the cause of falling down of monarchy system. Therefore people are in democracy. And the democracy is also failure. Every democratic member has become another debauchee. So therefore it is coming down to Communism, dictatorship. You see? So in this way things are changing. But actually, if they follow the symptoms of a ksatriya, then it is good for the ksatriya king and the citizens.

But they are not following. Therefore sastra says that the brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra... If one is... Krsi-vanijyam, go-raksya. That is the symptom of the vaisya. As the ksatriyas are entrusted to protect the human beings, the vaisya is expected to protect the cows. Unfortunately, they are not doing that. There is no ksatriya; there is no brahmana; there is no vaisya. Therefore the sastra says, kalau sudra-sambhavah: "In the Kali-yuga there is only sudras." There is no more brahmana. Of course, there is, not "no more," but very minor quantity, very... Manusyanam sahasresu [Bg. 7.3]. Brahmana means one who is aware of the Supreme Absolute Truth. And one who is above brahmana, when the Absolute Truth is worshiped, that is Vaisnava. A brahmana may be qualified in so many ways, but if he is not a Vaisnava, then he cannot be a spiritual master. That is also stated in the sastra: sat-karma-nipuno viprah. A brahmana is very qualified, sat-karma. Sat-karma, six kinds of activities. The six kinds of activities are pathana-pathana yajana-yajana dana-pratigraha. Pathana means he must be very much serious in understanding the Vedic literatures. That is brahmana's qualification, very much studious, high-class scholar in Vedic literature, pathana. And pathana, he must teach the Vedic knowledge.

Formerly, therefore, you know, everyone, that in every village the brahmana had a catuspathi. The brahmana had no other business. He would sit down in his cottage, and he would teach Vedic literature. Even in Muhammadan, the, what is called, maulanas, they also teach Koran. That is brahminical quality, pathana-pathana, not that "I am very much learned; I will not distribute it. I shall..." That is called jnana-khala, envious even he has knowledge. The spiritual knowledge must be distributed. That is the system of our Vaisnava philosophy. Sravanam kirtanam [SB 7.5.23]. The sravanam is pathana, to learn from the spiritual master. That is called sravanam. And then kirtanam, then distribute the knowledge. Whatever you have learned from your spiritual master, you must distribute. Sravanam kirtanam. So pathana-pathana yajana-yajana. Yajana means worshiping the Lord, the Deity. And yajana, and inducing others to engage in that worshiping. This is going on. You kindly mark in this society, we are allowing the students, giving them volumes of books for reading, pathana. Then pathana, then teach others. And they are worshiping the Lord, and they are inviting others to come here and learn how to worship Lord. Pathana-pathana yajana-yajana dana-pratigraha. They are exacting money: "Give us some money. Become our member." But what is that membership fee? That is not being used for their sense gratification. For dana, for distributing knowledge. "You give us some money as membership fee. We give you whatever we have got. We have got this book. Take it." Dana-pratigraha.

So this is brahminical business. Pathana-pathana yajana-yajana dana-pratigraha. Again... (aside:) You can... Again, in the sastra it is said that sat-karma-nipuno vipro mantra-tantra-visaradah: "If a brahmana has become very much expert in this six kinds of business," and mantra-tantra-visaradah, "and he knows also all the mantras and tantras, but he is impersonalist or voidist, then he cannot become guru." Avaisnavo gurur na syat. In spite of having all these qualities, if he is impersonalist and voidist, he cannot become spiritual master. Avaisnavo gurur na syad vaisnavah svapaco guruh: "On the other hand, if a person is Vaisnava, devotee of the Lord, even if he is born in the family of candala, less than the sudra, he can become the spiritual master." These are the injunctions of the sastra.

So guna-nama-kriya-rupair vibhavyante yatha-tatham. Suryah agnih. Now, the creation, the God's creation, is going on, and we are acting under the influence of the material qualities. As such, when we act in tamo-guna, we become entangled with so many sinful activities. Tamo-guna. Tamo-guna means ignorance. We have to act because in the material world sometimes we are under the influence of goodness, sometimes we are under the influence of passion, sometimes we are under the influence of ignorance. So when we are in ignorance... Everyone commits sin or criminal activities simply by ignorance. Ignorance. Just like by ignorance a child touches a fire. The fire will not excuse. Because it is a child, he does not know, therefore the fire excuses? It does not burn his hand? No. Even it is child, the fire must act. It burns. Similarly, ignorance is no excuse of law. If you commit some sin and go to the law court and if you plead, "Sir, I did not know this law," that is no excuse. You have committed this criminal activity; even though you did not know the law, that does not mean you will be excused.

Therefore all sinful activities are done in ignorance or in mixed-up passion and ignorance. Therefore one has to raise himself to the quality of goodness. He must be good, very good man. And if you want to become very good man, then you have to follow these regulative principles: no illicit sex life, no meat-eating, no intoxication, no gambling. These are the four pillars of sinful life. If you indulge in these four principles of sinful life, you cannot become a good man. And if there is want of good men, how you can expect peace and prosperity in the world? If everyone is full of rascaldom, how you can expect? You are... Why you are accusing the government? The government is your representative. You are rascals, fools. You select some rascal and fool. How you can expect good government? Democracy. You become good man. You will see government is good. So therefore the mass education should be how to become good man. And how one can become good man? That is also stated in the sastras: yasyasti bhaktir bhagavaty akincana sarvair gunais tatra samasate surah [SB 5.18.12]. If one is simply made a devotee and he has got unflinching faith in God, Krsna, then all the good qualities automatically develop.

So therefore this is the duty. This is duty of this society, to make everyone a devotee, a sincere, a pure devotee of Krsna. That is Krsna consciousness movement. If you make the people all good, you will have good society, you will have good government. You will have everything good. And if you create rascals and fools, how you can expect good government? That is not possible. Therefore all serious, thoughtful men should take it that Krsna consciousness movement is very, very essential in this world.

Thank you very much. Hare Krsna. [break]