What is the difference between the spiritual and the material worlds? In the spiritual world, everyone is serving Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And these lovers of Krishna are also serving one another. Even Krishna relishes serving His devotees. It cannot be fathomed. No one wants to get ahead, be the best, or have the most. Everyone is situated in a transcendent state of joyfulness and knowledge. Vaikuntha, the spiritual kingdom free from anxieties, is permeated with loving exchanges arising from the various types of affection in serving the Supreme Lord.
The material world is very different. There are unlimited activities of exploitation, cheating, and duplicitousness. For the most part, the material world is permeated with greed and envy. Everyone is eager to conquer others physically, emotionally, and intellectually. Everyone is running after false pleasures that soon dissolve into suffering. The material world is a madhouse—a world of the cheaters and the cheated.
At its core, the Vedic culture is gentle, a culture of high principles guided by the brahmanas, with the aim of helping us all to return to Vaikuntha. Ideally in the Vedic culture, assistance, service, and protection are provided on all different levels.
The living entities, entangled in the material world, are often confused and trapped. Because of the constant dangers and calamities, the Vedic culture is arranged to provide guidance and protection to ensure a regulated and prosperous lifestyle. Protection must be offered to everyone, especially women, children, cows, the brahmanas, and the elderly. Human society cannot foster a peaceful and prosperous atmosphere without this element of protection in place, protection which extends to all citizens of the land, even the animals and trees. In the Bhagavata Purana (Srimad Bhagavatam – 3.16.10), the Lord explains that protection must be extended to “defenseless creatures,” who are an extension of His own body. The material world is a ruthless place, and the defenseless are especially vulnerable.
There are many instances in the Bhagavata Purana where the issue of protection arises. In the great city of Dwarka, a brahmana came to the king’s palace each time a child of his died shortly after birth. He declared that this was happening because the leaders of the kingdom were unqualified, envious, greedy, and not at all attentive to the welfare of the citizens. It seemed the leaders of Dwarka felt helpless, and Arjuna stepped forward to find the brahmana’s deceased children.
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