Blog

When Shamika rshi heard that his son Shrngi had immaturely used his brahminical powers and cursed Maharaj Parikshit for throwing a dead snake on his neck, Shamika rshi was upset and he advised his son that he had committed a great sinful action, by cursing the king for an insignificant offence. He further

explained to him the dangers of abolishing monarchical regime and the condition of people and nation in the absence of kings who are devotees of the Lord. In Srimad Bhagavatam verse 1.18.45, Shamika rshi says

 

tadaarya-dharmah praviliyate nrnaam
varnaashramaacaara-yutas trayeemayah
tato 'rtha-kaamaabhiniveshitaatmanaam
shunaam kapeenaam iva varna-sankarah
 

"At that time the people in general will fall systematically from the path of a progressive civilization in respect to the qualitative engagements of thecastes and the orders of society and the Vedic injunctions. Thus they will be more attracted to economic development for sense gratification, and as a result there will be an unwanted population on the level of dogs and monkeys."
 
1. yathaa raaja tathaa prajaa: Nowadays most of the countries are not having monarchical regime, nor or there kings who serve the country considering them as representatives of God. So we can practically see how the words of Shamika rshi has come true. In the absence of king, who is representative of God, the condition of people will be bad as they have no one to guide them in dharma, artha, kaama andmoksha. The words 'artha-kaamabhiniveshita', in the above verse means those who are after economic development and sense gratification. The present rulers in so called democracy are only after looting money from the public and engaged in sense gratificatory activities. So the public will also follow the same way - yathaa raaja tathaa prajaa. If king is strict about religious principles, subjects will also follow same path - whereas if the rulers allow opening of wine shops everywhere, they themselves drink and even while asking for votes come in a drunken state, then subjects also will pick up the same bad habits.

 

In purport to Srimad Bhagavatam verse 1.12.34, Srila Prabhupada very nicely mentions how in the ancient times, saintly kings ruled the planet. He gives the example of Maharaja Marutta who was gifted a mountain peak of gold in Himalayas. Maharaj Marutta conducted many opulent sacrifices and gave away so much gold and gifts to the brahmanas that they were leaving behind the excessive gold plates and other gifts after the sacrifice. The gold plates were lying all around the sacrificial arena. But neither the Maruts, nor the brahmanas, nor the citizens, nor the Pandavas grabbed the unclaimed gold. Only when Lord Krishna advised them to go and collect the unclaimed gold for use in Rajasuya yajna sacrifice, Pandavas went and took them. This shows how neither the kings were greedy, nor the subjects. They were all self-sufficient and satisfied with what they had. 

 

Even now in Orissa and Trivandrum, kings although are deprived of powers of administrating the state, continue to inspire people in their cities to do seva for their Lordships, by showing personal example. In Sri Anantha Padmanabhaswamy temple, even today the practice is followed that if the king is delayed in

coming to take darshan of the Lord in the temple, he has to pay a fine of 11.00 Rs. This shows the purity of the Vedic system. In Puri also recently we heard from one of the Pandas that they consider the king as Jagannath's first servant. He also said, how few years ago during the Rathayatra, Lord Jagannath's car did not move. Jagannath is Lord of Universe and He moves by His own will. But not knowing His potency, the chief-minister of state casually said that they can just use cranes and bull-dozers and move the cart. Hundreds of people tried to move the cart. But Jagannath did not move an inch for two days. Then the king of Orissa, walked bare-foot towards Lord Jagannath, paid obeisances and with devotion cried to Him to forgive any offence committed and requested Him to move. After that moved by the king's devotion, the Lord's cart easily moved just with the help of 4 to 5 people. 

 

2. Need for Proper Engagement: Another important phrase in the above verse is 'arya dharma praviliyate'. dharma-praviliyate means 'engagement is systematically vanquished'. Kali made a systematic plan to vanquish this progress towards dharma by destroying the brahmana class (by making Shrngi proud of his position) and through the brahmana's curse, the saintly kings also (when Parikshit Maharaj had to leave the planet). This way the society in kali yuga is systematically vanquished. Our beloved spiritual master H H Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj says, "Constant flow of lakshmi keeps us in mode of goodness." It is important for the higher class of people like brahmanas and kshatriyas to guide the lower class people in attaining this position and keep them in the mode of goodness to the best possible. When there is no king to properly engage the subjects in their dharma, then people idly while away their time in artha and kaama. Idle mind is devil's workshop.

 

In the purport of Srimad Bhagavatam verse 2.1.36 Srila Prabhupada says, "Disruption in the matter of discharging the specific duty assigned to each and every living being is the cause of disharmony between one living being and another, but when the relation is reestablished in relation with the Supreme Lord, there is complete unity between all living beings, even up to the limit of the wild animals and human society." Arya means progressive civilisation. So the king should facilitate for his subjects to progressively improve on path of self-realisation, back home back to Godhead. But since that kind of relation is not being developed, there is disharmony and disunity. Also in monarchy strict punishment is given for people who do crimes. Now in name of democracy, the punishments are not so strict, but are mild. So this is provoking more and more people to engage in crimes. People are behaving like dogs and monkeys and as a result there is varna sankara and such children are also becoming victims to more bad things in this world, due to lack of proper care for them. If the subjects are not properly engaged in prescribed occupational duties in the mood of devotion by the rulers, they willremain encaged in this material world.
 
In conclusion, there is a need for Krishna conscious rulers or rulers who take advice from devotees and who care for the material and spiritual welfare and development of subjects. However this will take its own time to materialize and until then we need to follow the process of chanting, scrutinizing study of Srila Prabhupada's books, and serving the instructions of our spiritual masters strictly and guiding the interested personalities in the current administrative positions to ensure the progress towards this ultimate goal of Vedic civilization.