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TEXT 50
agrahid asanam bhratra
pranipatya prasaditah
prajah sva-dharma-nirata
varnasrama-gunanvitah
jugopa pitrvad ramo
menire pitaram ca tam
SYNONYMS
agrahitaccepted; asanamthe throne of the state; bhratraby His brother (Bharata); pranipatyaafter fully surrendering unto Him; prasaditahhaving been pleased; prajahand the citizens; sva-dharma-niratahfully engaged in their respective occupational duties; varnasramaaccording to the system of varna and asrama; guna-anvitahall of them being qualified in that process; jugopathe Lord protected them; pitr-vatexactly like a father; ramahLord Ramacandra; menirethey considered; pitaramexactly like a father; caalso; tamHim, Lord Ramacandra.
TRANSLATION
Being pleased by the full surrender and submission of Lord Bharata, Lord Ramacandra then accepted the throne of the state. He cared for the citizens exactly like a father, and the citizens, being fully engaged in their occupational duties of varna and asrama, accepted Him as their father.
PURPORT
People are very fond of the pattern of Rama-rajya, and even today politicians sometimes form a party called Rama-rajya, but unfortunately they have no obedience to Lord Rama. It is sometimes said that people want the kingdom of God without God. Such an aspiration, however, is never to be fulfilled. Good government can exist when the relationship between the citizens and the government is like that exemplified by Lord Ramacandra and His citizens. Lord Ramacandra ruled His kingdom exactly as a father takes care of his children, and the citizens, being obliged to the good government of Lord Ramacandra, accepted the Lord as their father. Thus the relationship between the citizens and the government should be exactly like that between father and son. When the sons in a family are well trained, they are obedient to the father and mother, and when the father is well qualified, he takes good care of the children. As indicated here by the words sva-dharma-nirata varnasrama-gunan-vitah, the people were good citizens because they accepted the institution of varna and asrama, which arranges society in the varna divisions of brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya and sudra and the asrama divisions of brahmacarya, grhastha, vanaprastha and sannyasa. This is actual human civilization. People must be trained according to the different varnasrama occupational duties. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (4.13), catur-varnyam maya srstam guna-karma-vibhagasah: the four varnas must be established according to varying qualities and work. The first principle for good government is that it must institute this varnasrama system. The purpose of varnasrama is to enable people to become God conscious. Varnasramacaravata purusena parah puman visnur aradhyate. The entire varnasrama scheme is intended to enable people to become Vaisnavas. Visnur asya devata. When people worship Lord Visnu as the Supreme Lord, they become Vaisnavas. Thus people should be trained to become Vaisnavas through the system of varna and asrama, as they were during the reign of Lord Ramacandra, when everyone was fully trained to follow the varnasrama principles.
Simply enforcing laws and ordinances cannot make the citizens obedient and lawful. That is impossible. Throughout the entire world there are so many states, legislative assemblies and parliaments, but still the citizens are rogues and thieves. Good citizenship, therefore, cannot be enforced; the citizens must be trained. As there are schools and colleges to train students to become chemical engineers, lawyers or specialists in many other departments of knowledge, there must be schools and colleges to train students to become brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas, sudras, brahmacaris, grhasthas, vanaprasthas and sannyasis. This will provide the preliminary condition for good citizenship (varnasrama-gunan-vitah). Generally speaking, if the king or president is a rajarsi, the relationship between the citizens and the chief executive will be clear, and there will be no possibility of disruption in the state, because the number of thieves and rogues will decrease. In Kali-yuga, however, because the varnasrama system is neglected, people are generally thieves and rogues. In the system of democracy, such thieves and rogues naturally collect money from other thieves and rogues, and thus there is chaos in every government, and no one is happy. But here the example of good government is to be found in the reign of Lord Ramacandra. If people follow this example, there will be good government all over the world.
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