Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.5.17

Pradyumna: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. [devotees repeat] [leads chanting of verse, etc.] [break]

kas taṁ svayaṁ tad-abhijño vipaścid avidyāyām antare vartamānam dṛṣṭvā punas taṁ saghṛṅaḥ kubuddhiṁ prayojayed utpathagaṁ yathāndham [SB 5.5.17]

[01:18]

Translation: "If someone is ignorant and addicted to the path of saṁsāra, 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." [break]

Prabhupāda:

kas taṁ svayaṁ tad-abhijño vipaścid avidyāyām antare vartamānam dṛṣṭvā punas taṁ saghṛṅaḥ kubuddhiṁ prayojayed utpathagaṁ yathāndham [SB 5.5.17]

So one person is utpathagam yathāndham, another person is vipaścid tad-abhijñaḥ. 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-gītā, cātur-varṅyaṁ mayā-sṛṣṭaṁ guṅa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ [Bg 4.13].

[According to the three modes of material nature and the work ascribed to them, the four divisions of human society were created by Me. And, although I am the creator of this system, you should know that I am yet the non-doer, being unchangeable.]

There must be four classes. In order to manage things very nicely, you cannot make classless society. Four classes. The most intelligent class, brāhmaṅa; and then next intelligent, the kṣatriyas; and the next intelligent, the vaiśyas; and the last one, who has no intelligence, śūdra. 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, brāhmaṅa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. They are all classless.

Classless means fools, rascals, śūdra. If you classify... Classify means "Here is intelligent class, here is next class, here is next." If you don't classify, that means śūdra. So śūdras, 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 Bhāgavata it is said, śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-kharaiḥ saṁstutaḥ puruṣaḥ paśuḥ [SB 2.3.19]. Here is our president. Here is our prime minister. But what is he? He is elected by the śūdras, so he is a big śūdra, 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 Bhāgavata says, "Yes. This is all good, but by whom he is praised?" Śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-kharaiḥ saṁstutaḥ puruṣaḥ paśuḥ. 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 brāhmaṅa or kṣatriya. This is going on. The Bhāgavata therefore says, śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-kharaiḥ saṁstutaḥ puruṣaḥ paśuḥ. The next line I just forget. So anyone, if he is not Kṛṣṅa conscious, he is a paśuḥ, animal. Because human life is meant for that purpose. Tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena śuddhyet sattva [SB 5.5.1].

[Lord Ṛṣabhadeva told His sons: My dear boys, of all the living entities who have accepted material bodies in this world, one who has been awarded this human form should not work hard day and night simply for sense gratification, which is available even for dogs and hogs that eat stool. One should engage in penance and austerity to attain the divine position of devotional service. By such activity, one's heart is purified, and when one attains this position, he attains eternal, blissful life, which is transcendental to material happiness and which continues forever.]

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 Kṛṣṅa says, cātur-varṅyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭam... [Bg 4.13].

[According to the three modes of material nature and the work ascribed to them, the four divisions of human society were created by Me. And, although I am the creator of this system, you should know that I am yet the non-doer, being unchangeable.]

You cannot violate the laws given by Kṛṣṅa, 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: brāhmaṅa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra. 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. Guṅa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ [Bg 4.13]. Kṛṣṅa never said, "This classification should be by birth." No. Janmanā jāyate śūdraḥ. By birth everyone is rascal, śūdra. That is to be accepted. Even if one is born in a brāhmaṅa family, he is to be accepted as śūdra, janmanā, by birth. Otherwise why, even a person is born in a brāhmaṅa family, he requires to be educated, he requires to be initiated, sacred thread? Saṁskārād bhaved dvijaḥ. There must be saṁskāra. If he is born brāhmaṅa, then where..., there is no need of saṁskāra. 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 brāhmaṅa family, if that family is strictly following the brahminical rules and regulation... In the śāstra it is said that in higher section, brāhmaṅa specially, if garbhādhāna-saṁskāra is not observed the whole family immediately becomes śūdra. They cannot be called even brāhmaṅa family. That is the injunction of śāstra. Saṁskārād bhaved dvijaḥ. Daśa-vidha-saṁskāra. That must be strictly observed; otherwise he is śūdra. Śūdra has no saṁskāra. Śūdra has only one saṁskāra—marriage. And the brāhmaṅa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, they have got daśa-vidha-saṁskāra. 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 Parīkṣit Mahārāja, when he was born, immediately all the brāhmaṅas came, jāta-karma ceremony. A child is born, there will be some pūjā, pāṭha, and then there will be horoscope made immediately, in what moment this child is born, what will be his feature. All the brāhmaṅas made immediately horoscope. You'll find in this Bhāgavata. This is called saṁskāra. Not that like cats and dogs they are born without any saṁskāra, and because he is born in a certain family he becomes brāhmaṅa, kṣatriya, vaiśya. No.

So there must be a first-class man in the society. Śamo damo titikṣa. Where is that educational institution at the present moment that "Here is a school where education is given how to become a brāhmaṅa"? 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 brahmacārī—brahmacārī guru-kule vasan dānto guror hitam [SB 7.12.1]—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 brāhmaṅa, how to become preacher." Nobody gave me. They said, "Swāmījī, what they will be by becom..." Because they have seen the so-called brāhmaṅa begging, no education, and if there is no begging, then stealing, then cheating. So a gentleman sees that "This is brāhmaṅa in the society." You will find in Vṛndāvana so-called brāhmaṅa, paṅḍita, paṅḍas—no education, and they do everything. It is known to everyone. So because there is no training... Paṅḍas, they were guiding the tourists or the visitors. They were trained-up brāhmaṅa, paṅḍitas. Now practically higher section of the society, they do not come. One gentleman asked me in Delhi in the beginning that "Swāmījī, why you have made Vṛndāvana as your headquarters?" Because they have got a very bad experience. So even the Vṛndāvana 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 gosvāmīs' 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. Śamo damo titikṣa. 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 taṁ svayaṁ tad-abhijño vipaścid avidyāyām antare vartamānam. 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 avidyā. Avidyāyām antare. Śarīra avidyā-jāl. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung, śarīra avidyā-jāl. This material body is a network of avidyā, ignorance. Śarīra avidyā-jāl, jaḍendriya tāhe kāl. On account of this body of avidyā, ignorance, the blunt senses are simply... They have been described sometimes as kāla-sarpa. Kāla-sarpa indriya-paṭalī, durdānta-indriya-kāla-sarpa paṭalī [from Caitanya-candrāmṛta 5]. So therefore yoga system is recommended to control this kāla-sarpa, the indriyas. Yoga indriya-saṁyamaḥ. Real yoga, ordinary yoga, nobody is getting that yoga-siddhi, aṣṭa-siddhi. Generally the so-called yogīs, they show some āsana, dhyāna, dhāraṅā, praṅāyāma, but that is meant for controlling the senses. Yoga indriya-saṁyamaḥ. Without sense control nobody can make any progress in human life. Tapasya. That is called tapasya. The yoga is also another tapasya.

Tapo... Tapasā brahmacaryeṅa [SB 6.1.13]. So any path you take, the brahmacarya first thing. Without brahmacarya there is no question of tapasya.

tapasā brahmacaryeṅa śamena damena vā tyāgena satya-śaucābhyāṁ yamena niyamena vā [SB 6.1.13]

[To concentrate the mind, one must observe a life of celibacy and not fall down. One must undergo the austerity of voluntarily giving up sense enjoyment. One must then control the mind and senses, give charity, be truthful, clean and nonviolent, follow the regulative principles and regularly chant the holy name of the Lord. Thus a sober and faithful person who knows the religious principles is temporarily purified of all sins performed with his body, words and mind. These sins are like the dried leaves of creepers beneath a bamboo tree, which may be burned by fire although their roots remain to grow again at the first opportunity.]

This is human life. This is human life, not that upstart, foolish, rascals, śūdras, 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 kṣatriya is required, the vaiśya is required, the śūdra is also required. Just like it is given in the śāstra 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 śūdra 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 "Kṛṣṅa 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 brāhmaṅa. That variety. This is called variety, not nirviśeṣa-vada, classless: "No brāhmaṅa required, no śūdra 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 brāhmaṅa class must be there, I mean to say, the properly trained-up brāhmaṅa, not by caste brāhmaṅa or... Śamo damo titikṣa... Otherwise where is the ideal class who will teach? And it is the business of brāhmaṅa to teach. Those who are śūdras, avidyāyām antare vartamāna, how they can teach? They cannot teach. Therefore brāhmaṅa business is paṭhana pāṭhana yajana yājana dāna pratigrahaḥ. Six. Ṣat-karma-nipuṅo vipro mantra-tantra-viśāradaḥ [Padma Purāṅa]. Still, if he is not a Vaiṣṅava, avaiṣṅavo gurur na sa syāt [Padma Purāṅa]. If one is qualified brāhmaṅa but..., mantra-tantra-viśāradaḥ, everything is well equipped, but if he is not a Vaiṣṅava, if he is impersonalist, Māyāvādī, he cannot teach others. Avaiṣṅavo gurur na sa syāt. He cannot be guru. Sad-vaiṣṅavaḥ śva-paco guruḥ. And if a person born in a family of dog-eaters, śva-paca, means caṅḍāla... There are many kinds of meat-eaters. So the class of men who are dog-eaters, they are the lowest. They are the lowest, caṅḍāla. So if a person born in a dog-eaters' family, he can be also trained up. Sad-vaiṣṅavaḥ śva-paco guruḥ. So guru does not mean a rascal. A śva-paca, a person born in the family of śva-paca, he can be also trained up to become Vaiṣṅava. That is also a claim by Kṛṣṅa. Māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ [Bg 9.32]. This person who is born in the śva-paca family, caṅḍāla family, he is called pāpa-yoni. Yoni means mother, and bīja means father. Bīja may be nice, but if the yoni is not nice, that is called varṅa-saṅkara. These are the things. Yathā bījaṁ tathā 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? Māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya. If he takes to Kṛṣṅa consciousness, then he can be trained. There is no harm. Māṁ hi... Kṛṣṅa says, māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya [Bg 9.32].

[O son of Pṛthā, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth—women, vaiśyas [merchants], as well as śūdras [workers]—can approach the supreme destination.]

So if we take shelter of Kṛṣṅa's lotus feet, then we can become first-class men. There is no doubt about it. Otherwise Kṛṣṅa says, te 'pi yānti parāṁ gatim. So do you think parāṁ gatim is available for the third-class, fourth-class, last-class men? No. Kṛṣṅa says in another place—these things are to be studied very minutely—yeṣāṁ anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṅya-karmaṅām te dvandva-moha... Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate [Bg 7.19].

[After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.]

So one who has become Vaiṣṅava, does it mean he is fool still? No. Training. Training is there. Otherwise how Kṛṣṅa recommends, ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ te 'pi yānti parāṁ 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 Vaiṣṅava. Oh. He can be.

So Sanātana Gosvāmī recommends, tathā dīkṣā-vidhānena dvijatvaṁ jāyate nṛṅām [Hari-bhakti-vilāsa 2.12]. Tathā dīkṣā-vidhānena. If dīkṣā-vidhāna, initiation process, is done nicely from the right person... There are so many śāstric ref... Śuddhyanti yad-apāśrayāśrayāḥ, kirāta-hūṅāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ, ye 'nye ca pāpā yad-apāśrayāśrayāḥ śuddhyanti [SB 2.4.18]. These are things are there. So by the disciplic succession, by the instruction of the Gosvāmīs, everyone can be purified because they will properly train up. Avidyāyām antare vartamānam. They will not misguide. Dṛṣṭvā punas taṁ saghṛṅaḥ 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 Kṛṣṅa under the guidance of proper spiritual master, then everything will be all right. He is no more śūdra or caṅḍāla. He will become... Caṅḍālo 'pi dvija-śreṣṭha hari-bhakti-parāyanaḥ. By advancing in Kṛṣṅa 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. That is, 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]