{"id":23118,"date":"2016-01-02T14:04:20","date_gmt":"2016-01-02T13:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=23118"},"modified":"2016-01-02T14:04:20","modified_gmt":"2016-01-02T13:04:20","slug":"vaishnava-etiquette-and-culture-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=23118","title":{"rendered":"Vaishnava Etiquette and Culture (5)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

By Bhaktividya Purna Swami<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today we\u2019ll continue with the questions. May be you have anything you feel relevant to our topic what we discussed or how to applicate these kinds of things that would make anything more useful or you have some ideas you would like to perceive with that.<\/p>\n

Emotional Exchange<\/p>\n

The concept is that everybody according to their varna has a particular way in which they work best and feel the most comfortable. But as there is anything, because when you\u2019re dealing with the religious principles there\u2019s a restriction, so the freedom is given where it will give rights to the manifestation of the best part of the nature and the restrictions are given where that will control your undesirable parts .If it\u2019s done properly then you can get a proper blend of social interaction that works. The problem comes when somebody\u2019s nature, the bad side comes out and the good side is repressed or misused. Then you have a problem.<\/p>\n

You find that character in everyone. Just like for children because they\u2019re younger naturally they tend to be frivolous At the same time because they\u2019re younger it\u2019s very obvious for them that they are not to be senior persons. They\u2019re not the most knowledgeable and most experienced. So if you bring out the side of them respecting others and learning to work with others and you restrict the frivolous part, just some time in the day they have for playing or some occasions, then you get a very nice child. While if you go the other way \u2013 they figure that they\u2019re expert in whatever they do and they play whenever they like and don\u2019t respect others, then it is a big problem.<\/p>\n

So the whole idea is if you restrict their respect and allow the frivolous side to go, then it\u2019s a great problem. The system that you\u2019re using is not the most essential point. It\u2019s just practical. If you want to do a particular work, a particular tool works best for that. You want to get done, you may be able to improvise. One has to understand what principles you\u2019re trying to obtain.<\/p>\n

So in this when we see in the different status of society, you\u2019re common general mass of people, they work best when they\u2019re under the protection of the government and basically taken care of. This kind of socialistic kind of aspect works very nicely for them. But we see that the socialist idea, it just takes care of the people but it doesn\u2019t encourage economic development nor necessarily proper caring government.<\/p>\n

So this means that the actual business itself has to be able to work according to principles of capitalism that they are able to buy and sell and do these things to create economic development. S o that must be allowed. Though at the same time, that must be restricted so that they do not unnecessarily exploit the situation. In other words this aspect always brings out the service side or the benefit side and restricts that side which will create exploitation. For example, general populists, they take care of. But at the same time in that character must also be developed like that aspect of service, loyalty and gratefulness- all these nice qualities. Then you feel like taking care of someone. Just like if you have a child and he behaves properly, you want to take care of him. But if he becomes arrogant even though it\u2019s proper for the parents to take care of the children it becomes a great burden. The emotional exchange is lost.<\/p>\n

So the idea in the Vedic culture, the most important thing that someone needs is the emotional exchange. The idea is we have to transform that from emotional exchange on the material platform and the emotional exchange in the spiritual platform, with the Lord and His devotees. That\u2019s the purpose. And the senses and all that come with when there\u2019s an emotional exchange will do it through mediums that the senses are taken care of. \u201cDadati prati-grihnati guhyam akhyati prichati bhunkte bhojayate.. \u201c you\u2019re giving gifts, something to eat or discussing confidentially \u2013 all these things. You\u2019re using your eyes, ears and nose and all these things are being used for the expression of relationship or Rasa.<\/p>\n

So the culture is meant that the emotional exchange is kept on its optimum and those that restrict that or disturb or reduced. So if the common people do their work and being taken care of, they don\u2019t have to worry about things. They also have to be grateful to that loyal to those people taking care of them. Then you get a nice balance. Then those who are doing the economic growth they have to be able to feel that they are doing this work, they\u2019re respected for that work. The more they can produce wealth, the more they\u2019re respected. Just like for the common person- the more they expert in their area of art, the more famous they are, by their age they\u2019re respected then they feel satisfied.<\/p>\n

So in the business community those who are able to create more economic development they must be respected. Then they have to give a portion of that for the overall governance of the community, of the society. And they have to feel that it\u2019s going for someone\u2019s good, that there\u2019s no exploitation. They\u2019ve worked very hard. They created this economic development. They can\u2019t just feel that someone is just coming and taking it away. Therefore there is a restriction of how much you can take. The governance can take 25 or 18 percent. These are generally the 2 figures between 18 to 25, probably depending upon what is needed, what is necessary \u2013 25 will be the maximum and 18 probably will be general minimum.<\/p>\n

So in taking the businessman\u2019s mind can be fixed when he knows how much has been gone. So the mind just accepts that and he knows what\u2019s left \u2013 that\u2019s theirs. Then it\u2019s recommended \u2013 now you give the charity and do all different things. You do good work also with that money. And then they feel \u201c I\u2019m doing the work\u201d because may be they mind so it\u2019s taking away someone else that uses , does good this work but they don\u2019t\u2019 feel they\u2019re getting any credit for that. If course they are, but they don\u2019t\u2019 feel it because there is no emotional exchange there. They give to someone in charity, people respect that, appreciate that, they\u2019re glorified for that. So that aspect must be there.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why sometimes you have a devotee doing business or generating a lot of funds and then it\u2019s just thought that if you don\u2019t give all to the temple just like that without thinking then you\u2019re in Maya. But the thing is that mentality doesn\u2019t go with the generation of funds. So the person who\u2019s expecting it doesn\u2019t necessarily understand psychology. He doesn\u2019t understand personal relationships. Someone may give once but then that\u2019s it. A businessman may generally give up all his business and everything once and then take vanaprastha. They won\u2019t do it many times. They won\u2019t do it then after 3 months. It means that there\u2019s a certain amount that they can expect. \u201cYes I want to give this every month\u201d and then if there\u2019re other projects, they\u2019re encouraged and inspired and like the people who they\u2019re working above them, so they naturally like to give, especially for specific things. It\u2019s general no one likes to give for maintenance. They like to give for projects that something you could see \u2013 capital investment or big festivals. So it has to see that nature and deal with that and that\u2019s how someone will give.<\/p>\n

The idea is you\u2019re getting profit. So you see instead of just getting material profit they\u2019re getting spiritual profit. But one has to do within the mentality. So this means that the next level up must then be very fair and equal in the dealings and very proper and the mood of taking things is for that shelter. It means the tax is simply for shelter of the whole community. They take that money and with that they do good work for facility for the people. They maintain roads and water, whatever is necessary for the interaction, the protection, whatever is needed in the government. So people can see that they\u2019re getting some benefits from it \u2013 one gives taxes and then they see if the level of pranamaya is maintained very nicely- your justice , your common facilities, the economic growth, all these different things are taken care of. So then one is very satisfied with that mentality.<\/p>\n

Kshatriyas, vaishas and shudras<\/p>\n

Those who are leading that community, the main element of their work is that they can give shelter. They train properly the scriptures. They know what the standards are and the actual laws of God. And they have devotion for the Lord. In other words they know the purpose \u2013 to serve the Lord and benefit themselves and others with this understanding. And they have the marshal spirit. So they have no problem to take up the challenge. If there\u2019s something\u2019s going right then everything\u2019s peaceful. And if something\u2019s going wrong they\u2019ll step forward.<\/p>\n

For example, everyone wants to do something. So that person who comes forward and does it properly with fairness and proper consideration everybody respects. If something\u2019s going wrong in a community or society, everyone wants a solution. But the problem is no one can step forward and do it because they don\u2019t have these qualifications. They don\u2019t have proper knowledge, proper devotion nor they have the proper marshal understanding, resourcefulness and protection and all these different things which are required. So that mood is there then everybody else doesn\u2019t mind giving tax or following the rules that are given and when they give, they deal with their justice and all these things it\u2019s respected. But it has to be that fairness is there. In other words a businessman gives his word but then afterwards if he sees that it\u2019s bad for the business he\u2019ll go back on his word. It\u2019s just common. He decides \u2013 okay, this is the deal and you\u2019re happy, he\u2019s happy and come back tomorrow. And then he goes off and thinks about it and recalculates it and figures out \u2013 it\u2019s not making so much profit or there\u2019s a loss. Then you come the next day ready for everything and then he says- I\u2019m sorry, there\u2019s been something that we can\u2019t. They have some very nice excuse, worded very nicely, that it\u2019s just they broke their promise. But a king, even if it means loss he won\u2019t break his promise, means personal loss, social loss that won\u2019t be allowed, but personal loss that they have no problem with.<\/p>\n

Because basically a kshatriya and a brahman are practically the same entity. Just the one has more passion and another more wants to see that the knowledge of the scriptures is applied. And they know they have the resources to do it and they have that marshal\u2019s spirit to see everything through. They\u2019re not afraid of anyone.<\/p>\n

Like we see Abhimanyu, he\u2019s only 16, is just married. Sixteen years old \u2013 you generally expect to just be sitting around and doing some kind of stupid stuff. He\u2019s out on the battlefield and it takes seven Maharathis to defeat him. And he\u2018s just using a chariot wheel. He has no weapons other than chariot wheel that he spins it in such a way that when they throw the weapons at him he catches them with the chariot wheel and throws it back at them. So it takes seven Maharathis including Bhishma, Drona, Kripa \u2013 all them to defeat him. He\u2019s just a 16 year old kid.<\/p>\n

The kshatriya\u2019s spirit is a special spirit but in the fighting it\u2019s not passion such as we think. We think passion generally we must take ignorance for passion, just anger. Like someone always angry and someone\u2019s very passionate. No, anger is ignorance if it\u2019s just anger for oneself. You see that kshatriyas and their anger over when religious principles are not being followed. Because it means that someone is being affected. The society can\u2019t run. The laws of God are being broken. They get angry. They fight over that. They don\u2019t get angry over themselves. That\u2019s not the point.<\/p>\n

So it\u2019s a different a thing. They\u2019re not angry over their senses. So therefore they can be in the battlefield. And when power is shown, as they deal with power, they appreciate it. That\u2019s why they like the battlefield because so much power is being shown. And when someone else does something very good, they appreciate that. It\u2019s not that when the other kshatriya does something they say \u201cah that\u2019s not ah\u201d\u2026 No, they appreciate it that was very good. In fact they want to fight with someone who has some power because if you\u2019re going to be defeated you want to be defeated by the best.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a certain group of warriors. Arjuna did it that one day when he vowed by sun down: \u201cIf I don\u2019t kill Jayadratha then I\u2019ll enter the fire\u201d. So it\u2019s a particular battlefield vow. And so many days, practically every day there\u2019d be a group, sometimes thousands of people who would make their vow -that today I will fight and kill Arjuna otherwise I will enter the fire. So because they have this vow that the rule is that they get the first fight. Even if someone else\u2019s challenge first, they get first right because the other person will be around tomorrow. This person says by sun down \u2013 if I haven\u2019t fought either won or lost then I\u2019ll enter the fire. They get the first right to fight. So everyday Arjuna would be dealing with 10,000, 15,000, 25,000 of these persons who would come forward. So that we\u2019ll be the first business on the agenda then he would get down to the other bigger kshatriyas because it\u2019s a glory that you die on the battlefield but he wasn\u2019t just some shnook. You\u2019ve been killed by the hand of Arjuna. And people say \u2013 that\u2019s a real kshatriya. He went forward, such powerless and he still went forward to fight with him. So that means they have some potency.<\/p>\n

So it\u2019s a rasa they\u2019re tasting. It\u2019s not just passion or anger. It\u2019s an exchange. The modern thing is \u201cI get angry\u201d. Like you see the marshal arts in films when a guy is just himself . His rasa\u2019s with himself and his ego. There\u2019s no rasa between him and the other person. The people that are fighting are shudras not kshatriyas. Because everybody \u2013 vaishas, kshatriyas and brahmans have shudras that assist them in their field. So on the battlefield shudras assist kshatriyas who fight with them. They\u2019re the foot soldiers. That\u2019s why you don\u2019t have to challenge them. You shoot some arrow, chant some mantras, turns into 50,000 arrows and kills 50,000 of them. They don\u2019t mind and no one else does. But as kshatriya you have to challenge first. You can\u2019t shoot them from behind.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Bali was so upset, that you shot me from behind. Why didn\u2019t you come forward and present yourself? You\u2019re from the dynasty from Ayodha. You\u2019ve heard a lot about it and now we\u2019ve found out you\u2019re just a coward \u2013 fight, shooting from behind the tree and shooting me in the back. Then he made the point: \u201cWell, you are just the monkeys and that\u2019s for humans. \u201c But he says: \u201c Okay, but you see how we\u2019re fighting and I expected more from you\u201d. So this is a whole rasa going on there. And it wasn\u2019t until there was the point of \u201cyou\u2019ve taken someone else\u2019s wife\u201d. And that person is there and can\u2019t take care. It wasn\u2019t that he had no shelter, no, you had, you could take care, you took, that \u2018s against the religious principles. Therefore you are not on the proper standard of religion. Therefore I didn\u2019t want to bother and challenging you and fight because you are not fit the challenge. Because you are not on that platform. Then Bali said: \u201cYes, I accept that argument\u201d. And he died peacefully.<\/p>\n

But the point is it\u2019s a rasa, very strong rasa. So when the kshatriyas come out on the battlefield and they see fighting and they see all the blood and everything like that, they become very encouraged because they hear some real show of power and the people that are on that battlefield they\u2019re not afraid. So I\u2019ve mentioned that fight with Jarasandha and Mathura. He will come so many times and it\u2019d just be the elephants like mountains, little hills and the pearls were like pebbles and the blood was like rivers . And they said that those who were of weak heart they couldn\u2019t see. They just turned away. But the kshatriyas become very inspired and be looking around for their men to arrange their chariots and checking their weapons.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a total different. It\u2019s a flavor. So that flavor to take challenge and meet it \u2013 that is a kshatriya. And it\u2019s for the benefit of somebody else. All those kings are perfectly situated in the kingdom. They don\u2019t have to come over and fight with Duryodhana. But here you\u2019re talking about a religious war. It started on a religious place, the religious war based on the religious principles and so they want to take part. Be cause religion is being established here, so they want to come. Duryodhana is the only one in the battlefield that is not in the proper mood. But everyone else is coming with the proper spirit. He\u2019s just got the wrong attitude. And everybody else\u2019s good clean fun. So they\u2019re all coming. So they\u2019re not on the battlely platform there.<\/p>\n

This whole idea that they must have the prestige, the honor but that is because if the seat is not honored, if the family is not honored who wants to follow them, who wants to pay tax, who\u2019ll be satisfied with this person, taking my money and I trust him. Because in our family, no one has ever gone back on their word so that\u2019s a great honor. The king has a place where there\u2019s a special courtyard. And if someone through the normal channels of justice hasn\u2019t gotten justice they can go to that courtyard and be beat on that drum and get direct audience with the king. So it\u2019s a great prestige for a family that in our family line this drum has never been beaten. So if somebody beats on that drum that\u2019s considered not very good. It means somebody through your management has not been satisfied in justice and now they\u2019ve had directly go to the top because your whole system failed. So it\u2019s always considered that it\u2019s not proper. Therefore also the person who comes to beat the drum that they have a good reason otherwise the guards, could end him up in jail. Because that drum is just not beaten unless it\u2019s a real serious thing.<\/p>\n

So we see that a brahman came and approached directly Arjuna. \u201cMy sons are being taken and none of you can protect. You\u2019re not kshatriyas. What are your management skills?\u201d So Arjuna took this very seriously. \u201cI\u2019ll do it myself personally\u201d. So previously in Dvapara-yuga seems to be able to more often used but in Treta-yuga it was just like never used. The kings were so expert. I think that another brahman came, \u201cthey took 10,000 of my cows and what are you doing about it?\u201d So then Arjuna went to get his bow. He has to catch these people. These thieves have taken this brahman\u2019s 10000 cows. But now what does it mean him doing his duty? That means to go into the room where Yudhishtira and Draupadi are. And the rule they made between the brothers is that whenever someone is ultimately alone with Draupadi no one else can come into the room, otherwise 12 years to the forest. But to do his duty for him is more important and go to the forest for 12 years than not to go for his own personal reason. Otherwise how anyone could have faith in him. Someone has put to full surrender, so he has to give that full shelter that means it is not difficult for him. So he goes in there, takes the bow, goes and defeats thieves, gets the brahman\u2019s cows, back and then prepares to go to the forest. So even though Yudhishtira says: \u201cNo, that\u2019s a normal thing and emergency. You don\u2019t have to do that\u201d. But no, the word has been given, he\u2019ll do that.<\/p>\n

So it\u2019s a mood, that makes the kshatriya. And it\u2019s very special and rare \u2013 someone who likes to fight. It is not like to be passionate or anyone who likes to collects a lot of things and does it through managing. It means you can take management as an art. So because you can manage, that doesn\u2019t make anyone as a kshatriya. It\u2019s an art. Anyone can perform it. So we see that people do business, their business is management. Like a landlord, his business is management. So he runs so many villages and takes the tax but that\u2019s a business. He protects the people because if you don\u2019t protect the people working in your company, then you don\u2019t get your returns. So he sees all the people that are under him is a part of his business. So he protects them. He may keep a small army. He may do all these things. He takes the tax. And then he gives whatever he needs to the ones above him. He keeps his share and that\u2019s his business. Even though it looks the same, it\u2019s totally different because the mood\u2019s different.<\/p>\n

You see the time of Syamananda in that story when he\u2019s talking about the local kings. Sometimes he called them kings, sometimes \u2013 gopas, because they\u2019re vaishas, aristocratic vaishas. We see Nanda Maharaja. He\u2019s a vaisha, the king of the vaishas. The benefits one will get from hearing the story of Pitu. It says a brahman will become the topmost of the brahmans, a king will become an emperor, a vaisha will become a king amongst the vaishas and a shudra will become a devotee. So being the king of vaishas means they\u2019re still vaishas but that\u2019s their king.(51:22) They have that mood, taking care this or that. It\u2019s part of their business. It\u2019s different. In other words the flavor is different. That\u2019s how you identify the varnas \u2013 by the flavor. Generally we take it by what we\u2019re doing. Someone wants to get a profit out of many areas then we try to claim that we\u2019re all these varnas. But it\u2019s one single mood and you can tell what varna they are. It doesn\u2019t matter what they\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

Because you have these government officials like ministers, some more brahmans but other are shudras. They\u2019re just hired people, like Ramananda Rai. He was the manager of the whole of South India. Iit\u2019s not a small place. It\u2019s the third of India he\u2019s managing. But he\u2019s doing it on the behalf of Maharaja Prataparudra. It\u2019s not his land. He manages \u2013 he takes the taxes, does all these things but it\u2019s not his tax. It\u2019s not his money. The land is not his. So he\u2019s not a kshatriya, he\u2019s a shudra though he\u2019s a big time manager. When you go to Harvard School of Business Management, then unless you got out and open your own business (but if you go to work for someone else) you\u2019re a shudra. So Harvard School of Business Management, trains skilled shudras in the art of business management but a businessman, a vaisha is the guy that owns the company. Even if he doesn\u2019t come in, doesn\u2019t sell. He hires people. Just because you can sell doesn\u2019t make you a vaisha. All those guys when you go into big shops and all the guys sitting around are all shudras. That guy over at the corner wearing the torn shirt, with chewing gum and has a little box there that\u2019s a vaisha. But all the swank looking guys have dressed nicely and doing all the things, they\u2019re all shudras.<\/p>\n

So it\u2019s a very fine thing. It\u2019s a mood in what you\u2019re doing. That\u2019s why it\u2019s a culture. Because it\u2019s not so cut and dry. Like I remember ,we had a very old picture. You have the absent minded guy at the chalk board putting equal mc square. That\u2019s a brahman. Then the next was some guy with an army outfit with an AK 47. He\u2019s a kshatriya. Then you have two really happy looking guys sitting on a mountain of grain. That\u2019s a vaisha. That\u2019s right. And then you have a shudra with the jackhammer. So that\u2019s also right but there\u2019s another end. The another end is you have a guy like Picasso or Salvador Dolly. They\u2019re artist but they have a philosophy. They\u2019re respected all over the world for their intellectual but they\u2019re shudras. But they have philosophy, they move with the biggest top people, the biggest political people, the biggest economic. Anything they can move because they\u2019re of a fine character and intelligence. So shudras can be super qualified like what we\u2019re saying Ramananda Rai. He\u2019s taking that position. The king depends upon him to manage the whole South India. Because he\u2019s a manager. He\u2019s a hired man. The difference is you have a king of South India and he is a vessel for the bigger king. It means he runs a kingdom and he pays a tax if the other king needs it. And if the bigger king has to fight, he\u2019ll come and bring his army. Or if he has a problem, the bigger king will come and help him. So there\u2019re two kings. But here he\u2019s managing on behalf of someone else.<\/p>\n

So it\u2019s a very different flavor. It\u2019s just like when you have a corporate business. Technically you\u2019re not dealing with vaishas unless somebody\u2019s got 51 percent. 51 percent and they know how to run it, organize it. They\u2019re vaishas. But just because they bought a few shares from somebody sitting in there, play somewhere and they see some shares and want invest in it \u2013 it doesn\u2019t make him a vaisha. All the managers don\u2019t necessarily have to be vaishas. They might be but they don\u2019t have to be. They just have to know how to manage business. So it\u2019s been thrown into the modern culture kind of perverted varnas.<\/p>\n

You have a doctor that works for a hospital. He seems to be like a kind of hired by the hospital but he\u2019s doing brahminical work. They\u2019re not fully satisfied they generally see. Those ones they know you\u2019re the best. The ones that are really outstanding. The ones who want their own chambers and they come and they do something at the hospital. They only have their visiting times. The hospital can say \u2013 we can get avail to the facilities of this particular person. They\u2019re the real like brahminical. Otherwise just their art they know how to cut up bodies and do different things. But all the assistants to the doctors, the anesthetists and all those kinds of people -they\u2019re all shudras. They\u2019re not doctors.<\/p>\n

So it\u2019s a very fine point between all these. The kshatriyas are very special and so they have to work on monarchy. They hear everything and then they give a decision. So the vaishas are working on like democracy. They get together and discuss this and that like the Chamber of Commerce. They get together and discuss how to make more money or train amongst themselves and this and that. And then somebody of course is the leader of it. So you have a committee and you have a leader of the committee. But he\u2019s just one of us but he\u2019s naturally richer and fatter so we accept him. And as soon as he\u2019s not richer and fatter then whoever else is richer and fatter they\u2019ll be sitting there. That\u2019s the term \u201csate.\u201d \u201cSate\u201d means you\u2019re rich and that\u2019s generally obvious by how fat you are. Because vaishas won\u2019t spend anything on food unless. like if they\u2019re making billions of dollars then they\u2019ll spend a little more on something to eat. Otherwise they won\u2019t. They always eat less. At the same time because they\u2019re making so much, like reaching their peak in performance they become very peaceful. So when they\u2019re peaceful there\u2019s no anxiety, they become also fat. So a fat businessman is a good sign. But in some communities like you see in Gujarat they\u2019re always skinny. You\u2019ll never see fat ones. The Rajastanis are fat.<\/p>\n

The vaishas work on democracy, shudras on socialism, kshatriyas work on monarchy. Now the interesting system in the Vedic literature, in Vedic system is the village level also works on like committees, village heads. And the vaishas work on that. Then all that piles up you have in a village you have one leader. Then you have 10 villages amongst those 10 village leaders, there\u2019s one leader. So 10 villages, they meet together and 1 of them is a leader. Then 10 of those and then there\u2019s a leader amongst themselves. So how much is your population that much levels you have, to finally get to a level which is the lower court. And then at that point it\u2019s still a democratic process. They discuss amongst themselves, discuss all these different kinds of things. Then they present their problems to the king \u2013 plans, problems, everything to the king. And then that\u2019s where democracy stops. Democracy is that they have the right to present their ideas, their difficulties and their experience but the decision on what will happen, that comes from a king. That\u2019s a monarchy. So everything has its line, it stops there.<\/p>\n

Like a shudra, he\u2019s a part of the business, he has everything in the business but he just gets his paycheck. He doesn\u2019t get kickbacks of the shares. It means the businessman is pleased with his performance, the festival or something where there was extra work. He always gives something. But he will give it according to the personality. He won\u2019t give more. If you give too much to a shudra he will become very proud. He will become lazy. You have to be very careful. Give how much is actually deserving. Only when it\u2019s needed. Because they should work hard anyway. But because of the relationship and you\u2019re especially pleased you\u2019re doing. It\u2019s not just \u2013 I work hard you give me more. No, it\u2019s a relationship. You\u2019re part of the business. You work hard and the business prospers. The business prospers \u2013 you get more money.<\/p>\n

In other words the rasa of the worker is they care for the welfare of the businessman. They care for whoever they\u2019re working for -the kshatriya, the brahman they\u2019re working for. Whatever they\u2019re doing will prosper. And if I may be able to help I do as best I can. And we have a relationship you take care. So it\u2019s not business that I do this and you give me this. See the basically the businessmen are so clever they\u2019ve allowed the shudras to think they\u2019re businessmen. And they get things they don\u2019t deserve.<\/p>\n

For example, we may think \u2013\u201cIt\u2019s a great modern thing. Oh, you don\u2019t have to work so hard, we\u2019ve made you this nice washing machine or dishwasher- saves your time.\u201d So the person thinks, \u201cYeah, that\u2019s great\u201d and he goes and buys one. But that\u2019s not the real thing. Then the person has to go to the health clinic to get their health back because he doesn\u2019t do any work. The real thing behind it is that the vaisha gets money and he\u2019s figured a clever way to exploit shudras. Or you want a house. Okay, you can take a mortgage and all these different things. For a businessman it\u2019s his business. But a shudra goes his whole life paying it back. Instead of just paying the normal amount he pays much more. He makes more profit or is something as 50 percent more, 60 percent because his sense stretched out and because he\u2019s not a good businessman. A businessman will say: \u201cNo, I won\u2019t do that. I\u2019ll better get my money together and buy the house and car for cheaper. And then that money saved all will invest at something else to make profit from that\u201d. A shudra never thinks like that. \u201cWow! I can\u2019t get my car and house today, just I want it\u201d.<\/p>\n

So he\u2019s being exploited by the businessmen. Kshatriyas keep vaishas from doing that. The business is to keep the vaishas from overly clever. So the point is, they turn them into businessmen to get more out of them and when you don\u2019t like you can fire them but before they were part of the family. It means shudras in the business and they were part of the family. They were the family members, one of the workers. If it\u2019s their daughter\u2019s time to get married then the businessman will help with the arrangements, give something because it\u2019s like part of the family. So the whole thing is relationship. The bodyguards, foot soldiers with the king, that\u2019s part of the whole thing. He cares for them. They care for him. The queen Devaki had her assistants and when she got married she came with 2000 maid servants. So they\u2019re all shudras. So they are the servants of the queen. They don\u2019t have another husband. So basically, technically they\u2019re the assistants of the queen, married to the king. So they\u2019re kind of an indirect way also wives of the king but their children can\u2019t sit on the throne. They\u2019re called shudranis. So their children like Vedura, he was the son of a shudrani. So they\u2019re given all the facilities, basically royal prestige. But they can\u2019t sit on the throne. They grew up in the palace. They knew so many things. Their mothers are always with the queen so they know what\u2019s going on. They see everything but they\u2019re fully taken care in everything there.<\/p>\n

That mood of being able to be satisfied, seeing someone else\u2019s satisfied is a very special quality that they experience that the other three orders don\u2019t as directly. That\u2019s what it says that a brahman will become the best of brahmans, a king \u2013 the best of emperors, a vaisha \u2013 the king among vaishas. But it doesn\u2019t say anything about becoming a great devotee but a shudra becomes a devotee because a shudra is already in that mood of when someone else\u2019s pleased, I\u2019m pleased. When my master\u2019s please, I\u2019m pleased. So they just understand that the Lord is our ultimate master. It\u2019s very easy for them. So the Vedic society gets advantages of where subsiding disadvantages is also a great advantage. So they may say that shudras always have to work and serve others but because of that it\u2019s very easy for them to just serve the Supreme Lord. They have to serve anyway and they know it. So I\u2019ll serve the Supreme Lord or I\u2019ll do my service but without understanding. So there\u2019s nothing to distract them. I\u2019m serving anyway. I\u2019m serving someone higher with greater quality. So it\u2019s very easy for me to understand the Supreme Lord.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why the devotee always takes the position of the servant \u2013 das or dasi. So that\u2019s the best situation in which to advance. It\u2019s a great advantage for them on that side. That\u2019s why it\u2019s not bored. And you see so many examples of stories where a shudra is advancing very nicely while someone on the higher level is not because of mentality. A kshatriya gets carry away by his power and what he\u2019s doing he sometimes forgets. That\u2019s why we need the next level \u2013 the brahmans. They are independent of the government and have no obligations to anybody but the Supreme Lord. And the Supreme Lord has given a code of conduct and so they follow that. They don\u2019t have to establish it for others. They don\u2019t have to do that themselves. So they are directly under the God. But because it\u2019s within their rules, they know the system because of their detachment and intellectual abilities. So therefore they advise everybody how to follow it nicely and that\u2019s their dharma. That\u2019s how they add into the society.<\/p>\n

In other words vaishas, shudras have to be controlled. Otherwise they may veer from the path. You can, you see in the Gita \u2013 a brahman can only do his duties if he has qualities. A kshatriya can only do his duties if he has qualities. Krishna doesn\u2019t mention all different kinds of brahminical duties or all the different kshatriya\u2019s duties. He doesn\u2019t mention. Fo vaishas and shudras He just mentions their duties, but He doesn\u2019t say anything about qualities. Because you can be a great businessman and be a number one demon. But you can\u2019t be a great kshatriya if you\u2019re a demon. You have to be a devotee. To be a good Brahman you have to be a devotee. Vaishas and shudras just need some control. Then their mind is peaceful. But because of the nature of their work the mind becomes can be dissatisfied very easily. You\u2019re doing business and it\u2019s not satisfied when you\u2019re just into how to make more and more. So if there\u2019s some restriction the mind is peaceful. When the mind is unrestricted, it\u2019s crazy and one is very frustrated. Like you see, sometimes when you sit down, the mind runs over and you want to do something. You feel very bad. And when the mind is very peaceful and just fix on some point you feel very good. So the Vedic culture is how to make the mind peaceful. So the businessman knows- this is my limits. So his mind is peaceful. Shudras are always thinking how to develop and have a direction for that. They know they have to do it like this. Otherwise they don\u2019t fit into the society. No one\u2019s going to care for them. If you don\u2019t do your work nicely, don\u2019t have proper relationships with people, not loyal, trustworthy then no one wants you. So it makes the mind very fixed and they\u2019re peaceful and very satisfied.<\/p>\n

Kshatriyas rule and they see what happens but they\u2019re kept in line by brahmans. Brahmans keep them in line that \u201cin the shastra here, you\u2019ve considered these three points but you\u2019ve forgotten these two. Therefore, you\u2019re having difficulty in applying your solution. So if you look at all these five then you\u2019ll have a better result.\u201d But that\u2019s where they stop also. This is very important. This is also a major failure that we would have in application is that brahmans come to that point: \u201c These are all the scriptures say, all these books and these five points to consider. Now it\u2019s up to you what you do\u201d. Vaishas and shudra\u2019 come up to a point where the democracy and they stop. The king makes the decision. Brahmans come down with their advise and they stop. The decision is the king\u2019s. And if you make a decision that they don\u2019t really approve up, again they\u2019ll advise. He takes it, doesn\u2019t take it, it doesn\u2019t bother them personally. And they bother that the country may not be run properly. But personally they don\u2019t take it. He didn\u2019t take it because they know. The king\u2019s absorbed in all these things, sometimes they get carried away. Like a Shaunaka Rishi. He\u2019s a king. He\u2019s running around fighting, hunting, doing all these things. You\u2019ll get totally into you. You don\u2019t notice what\u2019s going on. You get totally fatigued and thirsty and then he walks in and gets no reception. He does a big deal. He\u2019s a kshatriya.<\/p>\n

The whole point is that you shouldn\u2019t do this to someone who\u2019s a subordinate. So brahmans are seeing the kings just like for your children go out and yell, scream and play and make themselves tired and they come in and they\u2019re in a bad grumpy mood and all this and that and you\u2019re busy doing something and they freak out. They\u2019re just kids. So you don\u2019t take it so seriously. So that is the point. Otherwise we think, \u201cWhere are brahmans?\u201d, \u201cWhy are they not listening this and that\u201d. That means because there\u2019s a desire on the doer. \u201cI said it is done.\u201d Let it be written, let it be done!\u201d That\u2019s the kshatriya\u2019s thing. \u201cWhat I speak happens. Run: 1 word, 1 arrow, 1 wife. If he said it, it will happen\u201d. If he said: \u201c I\u2019m going to kill Ravana\u201d, he\u2019s going to do it. It\u2019s just the way it is. But a brahman\u2019ll speak. Kshatriyas take it fine. They don\u2019t take it it\u2019s their problem. It\u2019s not brahman\u2019s problem. Krishna\u2019s taking care of them. Because they depend upon God. So they\u2019re not in anxiety.<\/p>\n

So this is what brahminical mission means. You advise those who knows what\u2018s going on but either can\u2019t or don\u2019t want to get involved in day to day hands on management. They give advice when they\u2019re asked and then that\u2019s where they stop. And those who have the ability to actually organize it, they should be given that facility. And even they make mistakes. It\u2019s part of the game. Everybody\u2019s making mistakes. And they\u2019re encouraged. Only one is just seen that they\u2019re bad. And they don\u2019t actually have a good organization. Their character is very bad. They\u2019re devotionally very bad. Then one will make some adjustments. You\u2019ll see kings may fight amongst each other but will be based on this. One king see the next king is not qualified and his subjects are suffering. So because of that, he\u2019ll come in, fight, take over that kingdom for the benefits of those subjects, either makes that king a vassal or removes him and puts someone else on the throne. Or if he has that great of ability, he may manage the whole thing.<\/p>\n

But otherwise their point was just the citizens have to be taken care of. So in a community you have somebody, someone who\u2019s not able to take care of their children properly, they\u2019ll come and help with that. You can\u2019t get away with something. You can\u2019t have another person in the community, their kids are crazy running around, bothering everybody and no one\u2019s going to say anything. No, because a grihastha means they know how to give shelter to the children. So this child is unsheltered. His parents are unqualified. If they\u2019re going to be a part of our community, they have to become qualified or they have to leave the community. Liberalness means allow the society or the community to be destroyed. That\u2019s liberality. Broadmindedness is needed. It means that broad mind helps to see what\u2019s good, support what\u2019s bad for Krishna, what you have that\u2019s good, he preserves. What you don\u2019t have, he provides.<\/p>\n

For example, a lady has a kid. No husband. There\u2019s a lack. The child is not going to have a full input of authority in the family structure. If you want to take this person in the community, the community has to be willing to put in what\u2019s missing. Otherwise don\u2019t complain. Don\u2019t complain your kid doesn\u2019t respect authority because there\u2019s no father, so what do you want? What do you expect? So the community to take them must be willing to put that in. However it is.<\/p>\n

So brahmans are independent and they work under the king. It means they work advising the king. So they come and sit in his court and do all these different things, it looks like they work under him. But actually they do not. And then there are those who work under him but they do have a brahman who works above him. That\u2019s the Raj Guru. The Raj Guru doesn\u2019t manage but they know management better than anybody. They know what to do. TheyHH could run the whole thing themselves because brahmans don\u2019t. Like we see Vasishtha. He can run everything \u2013 no problem. So they have their own management system. They have their own people they work with and those who are independent from the king. And then they see that the things are going on, how they are being organized. And in this way they check and then tell the king -this was good, this was not good. So those dealings are private. Because it\u2019s a prestige of the king. In the court with the other brahmans, administers, they are there. They mention their thing. The king makes his point. If everybody say \u201cJi ho\u201d then the court is closed. And if they have something in private, they tell. And even after that if that doesn\u2019t work then the Raj Guru comes and says: \u201cYou know, this is a problem\u201d.<\/p>\n

The temple president (Must he be more brahminically or kshatriya inclined?)<\/p>\n

Brahmans and the kshatriyas are the same entity. Just one doesn\u2019t want to get involved in the management and the other does. Otherwise they go in the same training and everything. They have the same body of knowledge. The kshatriya manages from the same body of knowledge that the brahman works in. Just he is the marshal side. In other words the Dharma shastras and the Vedanta vedas\u2013 these are his main field. And he does that through understanding the philosophy, Sanskrit, rituals, astrology, history, logic and argument -all these things, the different arts and crafts.<\/p>\n

Like you see Krishna\u2019s education is totally complete. There\u2019s nothing more in Vedic education to learn. He first took Upanayanam then he practiced the sadhana in a Krishna book. And then when Sandipani Muni was pleased with that, then he told them all the 14 books of Vedic knowledge. So that was all the Scripture. Sadhana and the Scripture that were learned. Then because they were kshatriyas they specifically learned all the politics and the marshal things. Then after learning all that, so that their culture didn\u2019t refined then they learned 64 arts.<\/p>\n

Arts teach how you exchange with people and create a nice atmosphere. The arts create the niceness \u2013 how to put the lights, how to decorate, flower arrangements, deity dresses, kirtan, these are all arts. That\u2019s what makes the whole things nice. The Scripture is the deity should be offered nice clothes. One should glorify the Lord with kirtan. That\u2019s the Scripture. The art is how nice you do it, how you arrange it, how you put it on.<\/p>\n

So the arts are very necessary to encourage and enlighten the human society. That\u2019s why shudras are such an intricate part. And everybody knows arts. Vaishas know some, kshatriyas know some, emperors will know all of them. Emperors and queens study all the arts. And others \u2013 according to their interest. The king has to know everything. Otherwise how does he know if they have done proper decoration, how does he know if the singers are singing properly or the dancers are dancing properly? How does he know painters painted properly? How does he know if the Sutas who are singing his glories are saying so many things in the proper, they may not be using proper Sanskrit? Because he knows Sanskrit. How does he know brahmans are doing the right rituals because he knows what rituals are? How does he know If they pick the right time? Because he knows times. He doesn\u2019t just sit down and do it. The pick the proper time they\u2019ll say \u201cMaharaja\u2019s we found this time\u201d. \u201cOh explain to me what are the glories of this time\u201d. And so they say \u201cthis planet is in this house, and this Nakshatra and this\u201d. Because he knows it then \u201cyes very good, very nice time\u201d. So they have to know everything \u2013 all the knowledge, all the arts. Then they work very nicely.<\/p>\n

So the point is they are brahmans but they do kshatriya\u2019s activities, so they\u2019re kshatriyas. Just like Drona. If he doesn\u2019t step foot on the battlefield, he\u2019s a brahman. As soon as he steps foot in the battlefield and start fighting instead of teaching, he\u2019s a kshatriya, you can kill him. He\u2019s no longer a brahman. Because a brahman won\u2019t go to the battlefield. So now he\u2019s on the battlefield, he\u2019s a kshatriya. He\u2019s not a brahman anymore. You see Priyavrata. When his brother, Utanaphrata took up the throne, he just went off to the forest. He was happy in his meditation. Lord Brahma had to come and said \u201cHey, come back\u201d because kshatriya\u2019s nature duty is there, people are suffering; \u201c Okay, I\u2019ll do it\u201d. But for his own: \u201cNo I\u2019d rather stay in the forest.\u201d Then you see as soon as the sun is ready gone. Parchina Barhishad, as soon as the Prachetas were ready, he went. Every king. Parikiya was ready, Pandavas went. Because of that nature.<\/p>\n

Therefore they re detached. So this idea \u2013 passionate attached, when someone\u2019s attached -that\u2019s ignorance. It stems from passion but if they think they\u2019re going to get some out of that. Kshatriya has all these things. It just helps one if you have a lot of opulence people, think that this guy is really great. If the king walks in just very simple and humble, everyone will go \u201cThat\u2019s the king?\u201d If he comes in and says \u201cdo this or that\u201d, then everyone \u201coh!\u201d. But it\u2019s not from self. It\u2019s for doing that duty and you can tell it. Someone may say, it\u2019s not for me. But you can tell it is. You can also tell, it\u2019s not for them because it\u2019s not. Neither they let anyone take advantage of it nor they take advantage of it. It\u2019s used when it\u2019s needed. And when it\u2019s not it\u2019s not. So it\u2019s a very fine point.<\/p>\n

When we look at the culture, we always want to point a finger \u2013 well this one\u2019s fault, it\u2019s everybody\u2019s fault because it\u2019s a mood. The point is like the president wants to say: \u201cWhere are the managers, the JBC should be brahmans and give us a break.\u201d But when it comes to financial problem, manpower problems, then they should solve it themselves. Do not expect that the JBC will arrange it. And when the JBC comes and says \u201cThis is a below standard. Your temple has a below standard. It\u2019s not clean. It\u2019s not maintained. The sadhana is bad to your devotees\u201d. You have to listen because they\u2019re brahmans. So the point is the knife cuts both ways but the problem is where the expert that they have a duck logic and that\u2019s it. And just a concept that there\u2019s a whole duck and it\u2019s alive. We\u2019re used to a dead half of a duck. We\u2019re not used to alive the whole duck. So the problem is not in the system. The problem is that we don\u2019t want to take our part in the system. Because we have our own ideas of control, power, influence, wealth, facilities. And so that\u2019s a great problem.<\/p>\n

So if everybody understands where they fit and just do it will work perfectly. The head has no problems with arms. It means it picks up the food and puts it into the mouth. Heads really like food. But the mouth doesn\u2019t mind that after chewing on it a while it swallows and it goes to the stomach. So the economic development happens in the stomach. Then they get it and distribute it. So the whole thing works very nicely. Just we accept our part \u2013 it works nice. What if the kids all the time will think: \u201cI don\u2019t want to be just on the bottom and just a small guy in the family. I want to be on the top. My word is as good as everybody else. I\u2019ve got a mouth. I\u2019ve got a modem. I\u2019ve got a bigger modem than most GBC.\u201d That\u2019s not reality.<\/p>\n

So we have to look at our place from a very detached thing and figure it out or take shelter of others who can give us that direction. So the trust has to start from something. We may say: \u201cI don\u2019t trust?\u201d So it has to start from somewhere. So the whole point is you should just go and try. But that point is there. It goes all the ways, both ways. Someone who wants to be the hands of a manager and wants everyone to keep their hands off. Then whether it sinks or swims then that\u2019s theirs. You can\u2019t expect that the GBC has to put in money. The GBC does not put in money. When the kingdom has hard times the king doesn\u2019t go to the Brahmans and says: \u201cYou have to arrange the money for us.\u201d It just doesn\u2019t function.<\/p>\n

So the point is that I just don\u2019t want to decide what\u2019s happening and that\u2019s it. When they say: \u201cWell, my own idea is that the one that has power on the top.\u201d It\u2019s not. The one who has the detachment is on the top. And brahmans also work as a group because they\u2019re individuals. But it\u2019s not a committee and power. They get together and talk. Everybody gets the idea and they just do it. That\u2019s the thing. You get a bunch of brahmans together doing the puja. They just know what has to be done and they just do it. They will say after the deity\u2019s address before the darshanartik there\u2019s the 10 things that has to happen: they have to move this, put this on, do this and that. So you may have a general thing \u2013 who does what? But it\u2019s generally quite loose, you\u2019ll see amongst brahmans. They don\u2019t get that much into organization. They just know. Okay I generally do point 2 and 3. But I see also 4 and 5 has to be done now, I just do it. That\u2019s a very different mentality. Because they just click into the mood. And they just do it. It\u2019s a very subtle thing.<\/p>\n

In other words brahmans have things done without having organization. Kshatriyas have to be organized. Vaishas will only organize if there\u2019s a profit. If there\u2019s profit I\u2019ll do it. If there\u2019s no profit, I won\u2019t do it. Kshatriya \u2013 it\u2019s religion, it\u2019s to be done, whether there\u2019s profit or not. Because they know if it\u2019s done, there will be profit. From Dharma comes Artha, comes economic development. So when Dharma\u2019s established, the society will be prosperous. Just like it said when the wife is like Lakshmi in her chastity and behavior, then the family is prosperous. Economic development is automatic. Because the mood, everything is so nice. Everybody is so satisfied. Everyone does the best. But if her mood\u2019s bad, everybody becomes so misery. No one can do their best. So from Dharma comes Artha.<\/p>\n

So in our approach to social development, we want solutions and we generally talk about economic solutions. To solve our economic solutions, there should be some management. But this is a vaishas approach. That\u2019s why you\u2019ll say the social development, circles and they also talk \u2013 well, one of the brahmans come out and get their hands dirty and grow a few carrots. Because that\u2019s to them. If there\u2019s no tangible material profit then there\u2019s no benefit. But that\u2019s why in the Vedic culture it\u2019s approach them in a different angle. It comes from the philosophy into the Dharma, then down to Artha. That is the approach. If you establish Dharma, Artha is automatic.<\/p>\n

I mean I didn\u2019t hear of any financial problems up until we threw respective authority out of our movement, in the mid 80\u2019s. Up to that time the principles are going on. They may not have been going nicely. There may have a lot of people with a lot of bad attitudes. But because they were doing what they were supposed to do there was a great opulence. And as soon as you threw out a respective authority, then the whole movement became poor.<\/p>\n

That was what Maharaja was talking about \u2013 \u201cThe new bhakta knows everybody can say anything they want about anybody\u201d. That situation will never prosper. Never. You can bring Covey (referring to Stephen R. Covey to The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) pod or any pod you want. You will not prosper. Impossible. Because the only reason Covey\u2019s principle work is because you do something and you make an economic profit out of that. If the person doesn\u2019t function, you fire him. So these principles work in the business world. I guarantee you the people who are the big political leaders that run countries and that don\u2019t read Covey these are all business managers. Because we have the idea that if you manage you\u2019re a kshatriya. But a housewife is managing a house. It doesn\u2019t look nice just by magic. It\u2019s hard work going in and deciding what colors, what goes where; keep everything in its place and that. It\u2019s a big management. So management\u2019s an art. Kshatriyas use management as one of their major tools and they use it in a very serious way. Even just being an administrator, you can still be an administrator and be a shudra. Bureaucracy is used by kshatriyas but just being a bureaucrat doesn\u2019t make you a kshatriya. That\u2019s also a shudra art. How to push the papers around it\u2019s an art. You decide, these ones are useful. These ones are not so useful. That\u2019s an administrative art. It doesn\u2019t make you a kshatriya. Kshatriyas we describe before is a mood. It\u2019s a challenge and we come to that challenge.<\/p>\n

Brahmans can manage. Though it may not be as economically wonderful. Sometimes it is if they know. like you see Shanakya. He organized and did everything for 8 years. He did heavy duty organization and management for 8 years until he got the king on the throne. And when the king was on the throne, it was safe. He was situated there, no enemies. Then he stepped back. Just like Drona. Drona could run a kingdom. He got half of Droupad\u2019s kingdom. You never hear that he wasn\u2019t run properly.<\/p>\n

Yamuna Acharya was a brahman, a brahman kid. He hears about the king has a very proud puffed up, unqualified as far as culture goes but very qualified intellectually. He had a chief priest. And he was fighting, verbal fighting logic with everybody. He\u2019s very nasty person. Yamuna Acharya heard about him and decided to go. And I think he was just a little kid. I think he was 12. He sent a message to the palace that says, \u201cI\u2019m willing to fight with this person. You just send somebody to pick it up.\u201d And they thought: \u201cWhy do we have to send somebody?\u201d if you don\u2019t want a discussion -fine but if you want a discussion, if you\u2019re going to talk to the Raj Guru, we expect some reciprocal. If we\u2019ve come to defeat the Raj Guru, we expect some reciprocal respect. So then they sent the palanquin and all royal thing to bring him from the ashram and when he came, he stepped out of the palanquin, they were surprised that it was a 12 year old kid. The queen because she knew all the sciences and all that, saw the kid and this kid will win. She just knew this is the kid. When he came in and Raja Guru said: \u201c Ah, I don\u2019t argue with a kid. It\u2019s against my prestige and I argue with mature brahmans. So In other words, you\u2019re afraid I\u2019m going to defeat you.\u201d Then he can\u2019t say anything. So then they sit down and then Raja Guru said: \u201c Because you\u2019re a kid, so the junior always asks the questions first\u201d. Because asking the questions is the hard part than giving answer. So the senior is the one who gives the answer because the junior asks first. \u201cSo, you ask the questions first\u201d.<\/p>\n

So he says: \u201cOkay, I have 3 questions. One is I want you to prove by shastra, that you yourself, meaning the Raj Guru, your mother is barren means that she has no children. You have to prove that the queen is unchaste and the king is a sinful man by shastra. Raj Guru is thinking, \u201cHow do I do that? I\u2019m here, it means my mother had a child, she\u2019s not barren and how can I say that to the king and queen. I\u2019ll lose my head.\u201d So he couldn\u2019t say anything. As soon as he said the questions, the queen stood up and said \u201cHe\u2019s the one\u201d. And then, he said: \u201cWait, wait, wait. Okay, okay. Let\u2019s go through this. Now you\u2019ve asked these questions. Then the point came up is very nice questions but what if there\u2019s no answers. May be he just asked some crazy questions. I mean there is a point that a fool can ask more questions than a wise man can answer. So maybe you just made these up. Let\u2019s first see you answer them. If you answer them, then I accept defeat\u201d. So then Yumana Acharya said: \u201cYes, so the first point is that, your mother is barren. It means that according to the Dharma shastras, when a woman has two children she\u2019s known as Sumangali and she\u2019s considered barren. Because if one dies then she has no kids. The shastras say when she has two then that\u2019s considered that now she is like fully mother . Then he said: \u201cAs far as the queen. Since the queen, he says, that \u201cchastise\u201d means a girl never been associated closely with another man. So before marriage according to the shastra there\u2019 re 7 demigods living reside in the body of the girl. That\u2019s why kanyas or unmarried girls are considered very auspicious. Because all the demigods are residing in her. Then at the time of marriage they agreed to leave and then the husband takes over. So she\u2019s already be associating with 7 men before she even got married. And then the 3rd question, about the king. Because he takes a 6th of the tax of the people. He takes 1\/6 of their karma. Therefore he gets these sinful activities. He\u2019s sinful\u201d.<\/p>\n

Then the king was defeated. He had promised to give a half of his kingdom. So Yumuna Acharya got that. He managed it expertly. So he got so involved that then his Guru later after some time said \u2013 \u201cnow it\u2019s time to get him back\u201d. He sent another disciple. He says \u201cyou go there and get him back.\u201d So the disciple started to think how to get him back. He was thinking for long time and then he thought that he really liked a particular type of spinach. So that brahman, his god brother, went out and collected all the spinach, a special kind of wild spinach. It only grew in the forest. You can\u2019t get it in the cities. He went to the back door, knocked on the cook\u2019s door and said: \u201c You cook this for the king. The king will give you plenty of blessings. I know he likes this\u201d. So the cook cooked it. Then the king ate it, liked it and he told the cook that it was very nice .And then the next day that Brahman came and gave again it. So it was lasted for 3 months. Every day he came and gave the spinach but one day he didn\u2019t\u2019 come. And then the spinach didn\u2019t come and the king called the cook. \u201cEvery day you cook the spinach. Why did you cook it?\u201d He says: \u201cWell, to tell the truth, I don\u2019t arrange it. There\u2019s some sadhu who comes everyday and brings the spinach. I don\u2019t know who he is.\u201d The king said: \u201cGet me that sadhu\u201d. Of course the next day, the brahman shows up and then he gets audience with the king. He recognizes his god brother, he preaches to him and then he left. Then he gets those prayers by Yamuna Acharya \u201cwhenever I think of sense gratification I spit of a thought.<\/p>\n

So that means the brahman who was technically called Shrikarya, means they are able to manage. They are generally in their proper position, they are the secretary to the Acharya like Sruti Dharma to Lord Caitanya. They\u2019re the head pujaris and managers for the deities. They manage the festivals and all these kinds of things or they\u2019re administers to the kings. So they know management. They can manage but generally they don\u2019t. But if it needs, they can. Vaishnavas can do so many of these things because they do it for Krishna. It means a vaisha is doing a vaisha\u2019s work for Krishna without attachment, without desire, without wanting result, without ego. What\u2019s the difference between him doing that and a brahman doing it? It\u2019s going to be the same result. So a brahman knows how to do it. And if it needs to do it, he\u2019ll do it. When there\u2019s no need he won\u2019t do it. So therefore he could do business if it needs be. A vaisha, whether he needs it or not, he will do business. That\u2019s the difference. So you have a very unique platform for the vaisha. It means one should find one\u2019s own thing, but there\u2019s emergency. And when emergency is over one actually comes back to one\u2019s position. In other words everybody is in the boat together. Everybody has come from a bad background. As in one of the reverses in Maharaja\u2019s class, Suta Goswami is saying: \u201cI\u2019m coming from biloma\u201d \u2013 It just means low birth. But by association with devotees one can become qualified; by glorifying the Lord\u2019s position. So by association of devotees we become qualified to actually take up a human life within the varnashram system. It means human life starts with that. Otherwise it\u2019s not human life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"HareBy Bhaktividya Purna Swami<\/strong><\/p>\n

The concept is that everybody according to their varna has a particular way in which they work best and feel the most comfortable. But as there is anything, because when you\u2019re dealing with the religious principles there\u2019s a restriction, so the freedom is given where it will give rights to the manifestation of the best part of the nature and the restrictions are given where that will control your undesirable parts .If it\u2019s done properly then you can get a proper blend of social interaction that works. The problem comes when somebody\u2019s nature, the bad side comes out and the good side is repressed or misused. Then you have a problem. You find that character in everyone. Just like for children because they\u2019re younger naturally they tend to be frivolous At the same time because they\u2019re younger it\u2019s very obvious for them that they are not to be senior persons. They\u2019re not the most knowledgeable and most experienced. So if you bring out the side of them respecting others and learning to work with others and you restrict the frivolous part, just some time in the day they have for playing or some occasions, then you get a very nice child. While if you go the other way \u2013 they figure that they\u2019re expert in whatever they do and they play whenever they like and don\u2019t respect others, then it is a big problem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23118"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23118\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23120,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23118\/revisions\/23120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}