Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.2.3

Nitāi: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. [devotees repeat] Sixth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Second Chapter, verse number three. [leads chanting of verse, etc.]

prajānāṁ pitaro ye ca śāstāraḥ sādhavaḥ samāḥ yadi syāt teṣu vaiṣamyaṁ kaṁ yānti śaraṅaṁ prajāḥ [SB 6.2.3]

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Prabhupāda:

prajānāṁ pitaro ye ca śāstāraḥ sādhavaḥ samāḥ yadi syāt teṣu vaiṣamyaṁ kaṁ yānti śaraṅaṁ prajāḥ [SB 6.2.3]

So yesterday we discussed that aho kaṣṭaṁ dharma-dṛśām adharmaḥ spṛśate sabhām [SB 6.2.2]. Just like in the court, court of justice, if there is adharma, then it is very painful situation. That is happening now in this Kali-yuga generally. Big, big court justice, magistrate, they are giving favorable judgment, being bribed. This is Kali-yuga. But śāstra says, "No. Justice must be given very honestly." That is the rule.

So about this Ajāmila, these Yamadūtas, they came to take him away to Yamarāja, but the Viṣṅudūtas said, "No. He is not to be taken away. He is now cleansed of all sinful activities. You do not know that; therefore you are not giving him justice." So yatrādaṅḍyeṣv apāpeṣu daṅḍo yair dhriyate vṛthā [SB 6.2.2]: "One who is not punishable, if he is punished, that is injustice. So you should not take him away. He is not punishable." Yamarāja is there for punishing the sinful men. So all of them are not sinful. There are many pious men. Sinful men, they are of small number. So one must be very cognizant of justice. Just like in the prison house the number of prisoners are not greater than the number of free persons. That is natural. Although this material world is mixed—sinful men and pious men—still, at least formerly, there were sinful men less. It is said in the śāstra that in Satya-yuga there was no sinful men at all. All pious men. Then, in Tretā-yuga, one-fourth sinful and three-fourths pious. And then, Dvāpara-yuga, half and half. And now, in the Kali-yuga, one-fourth pious and three-fourths sinful. And that will also gradually diminish. And when everyone will be sinful, then there is no more preaching. There is Kalki avatāra, simply cutting the head. That's all. What is that verse? That Kalki avatāra... Keśava dhṛta-kalki-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare.

So at the end of the Kali-yuga people will be so sinful that... It is already becoming. Only five thousand years we have passed, and the number of sinful men is already greater—three-fourths sinful men, one-fourth pious men—and it will increase, and gradually it will become zero. Everyone shall be, at that time, end of Kali-yuga. That will take four lakhs and 27,000's of years. We have passed only five thousand years. Since the Battle of Kurukṣetra, or since the demise of Mahārāja Parīkṣit, the Kali-yuga has begun, and that is five thousand years. And the total duration of life of Kali-yuga is 432,000's of years. That means there is a balance of 427,000's of years to finish this Kali-yuga. And gradually, with the advancement of Kali-yuga, people's duration of life, memory, mercifulness, religious propensities, in this way eight items—they are described in the Śrīmad Bhagavatam—will reduce. We can see practically at the present moment, people are not very strong in body. They are lean and thin. And not only in India—we are poverty-stricken—but in Europe, America, also I see. The Europeans and Americans are no more as tall men or very stout men, very... So reducing their bodily strength and memory. That is also fact. We cannot memorize very sharply. People are becoming more and more dull. No more very brilliant scholars are coming out, philosophers, mathematicians. And duration of life, everyone knows it is reducing. In India the average duration of life is thirty years. So this will reduce. And dharma, sense of religiosity, that will also reduce and become more and more punishable by the Yamarāja. Yamarāja is there.

But this Ajāmila was cleansed of all sinful activity because at the time of his death he chanted the holy name of Nārāyaṅa. That's a fact. When we chant the holy name of Nārāyaṅa, Kṛṣṅa, Rāma, the holy name of God, we immediately become free from all sinful reaction. That's a fact. It is said, eka hari-nāma yata pāpa hare, pāpi haya tata para kari bare nare[?]. This is statement of śāstra: "By once chanting the holy name of the Lord, you become free from all sinful reaction of life." That's a fact. But the difficulty is that we become free; again we commit sinful life. That is the... Otherwise one chanting in life is sufficient. But that we do not do. We chant and again do the sinful activities. Nāmnad balād yasya hi pāpa-buddhiḥ. This is the greatest offense, that "I am chanting Hare Kṛṣṅa; therefore I can continue to commit sinful activities. It will be adjusted. Balance will be zero." No. This is the greatest offense. Greatest offense. Nāmnad balād. Out of ten offenses, this is the greatest offense. Nāmnad balād yasya hi pāpa-buddhiḥ. So this should not be done.

So Ajāmila did not do that. He was sinful, but he never utilized Kṛṣṅa to counteract his sinful life. Aparādha-śūnya, without any offense—that was his qualification. He did not know what is the value of chanting the holy name. He... Fallen down, he became a rogue, rascal. That's all right. But he never utilized the chanting of name for counteracting his sinful activities. No, he never did. He was affectionate to his youngest son, whose name was Nārāyaṅa. So, very much affectionate, youngest son—"Nārāyaṅa, please come here. Take your food. Please drink this milk. Come here. Sit down"—so he was addressing Nārāyaṅa, his son, but it was taken into account by Nārāyaṅa. Therefore it is the system in the Hindu family to keep children's name as Nārāyaṅa dāsa, Kṛṣṅa dāsa, Govardhana dāsa, so that one may be able to chant the holy name of the Lord somehow or other. This is the way. So that is the example of Ajāmila. Simply by loving his son of the name Nārāyaṅa, his account was credited in so many times.

So these Yamadūta, they did not know. So they came to arrest him. But Viṣṅudūta came to save him: "No, no. He is no more sinful. He is free from all sinful life. Don't do injustice." So for... They are regretting, that aho kaṣṭaṁ dharma-dṛśām adharmaḥ spṛśate sabhām [SB 6.2.2]. "Justice must be done very nicely." Prajānāṁ pitaro ye ca śāstāraḥ sādhavaḥ samāḥ. Prajānām, children, or the citizens, prajā... Prajā means who has taken birth, national. Prajānāṁ pitaro. Pitaro means father or anyone who takes the care of the children or the citizen like father. The government or the king—formerly there was king, now government—their position is just like father. As the father's duty is to see that the children, the son, is raised very nicely so that in future he may be very happy. This is the duty of the father, to see, not that simply to feed him and make him fatty. No. In the śāstra it is said, pitā na sa syāt. One should not become a father. This is contraceptive. Pitā na sa syāt jananī na sā syāt [SB 5.5.18]:

[One who cannot deliver his dependents from the path of repeated birth and death should never become a spiritual master, a relative, a father, a husband, a mother or a worshipable demigod.]

"One should not become a father, one should not become a mother, one should not become a guru, one should not become a relative, one should not become a caretaker, one should not become the king..." Who? Na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum: "One who cannot protect the dependent from the clutches of death." This is śāstric injunction. So how much the father and the government or the guru should be strong so that he can save his dependents from the clutches of death.

So how it is possible? Hariṁ vinā na mṛtiṁ taranti. Without becoming Kṛṣṅa conscious, nobody can be saved from death. This is the law. Hariṁ vinā na mṛtiṁ taranti. You can have other benefits from the demigods. There are śāstric... There is injunction that "If you want a beautiful wife, you can worship Umā. If you want to be free from disease, you worship the sun-god. If you want to be very learned, you worship Brahmā, Sarasvatī." There are... That is the injunction, that "If you want this benefit, particular benefit, then you worship this particular." Yānti deva-vratā devān [Bg 9.25].

[Those who worship the demigods will take birth among the demigods; those who worship ghosts and spirits will take birth among such beings; those who worship ancestors go to the ancestors; and those who worship Me will live with Me.]

There is injunction. The demigod worship, there is injunction that "You do this." But for whom? For the less intelligent person. Kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ yajanti anya-devatāḥ [Bg 7.20]: "Except God, the Supreme Lord, when the other demigod worship is allowed, that is for the person, hṛta-jñānāḥ, one who does not know his ultimate goal of life. For them." But one who is interested to stop the cycle of birth and death, they must come to Kṛṣṅa. Otherwise it is not possible. Hariṁ vinā na mṛtiṁ taranti. Kṛṣṅa, Hari, also says, Kṛṣṅa also says, māṁ ca yo... What is that? What is that verse? Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya [Bg 4.9].

[One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.]

Janma karma me divyam. Kṛṣṅa says that "I appear." Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati [Bg 4.7]. "I take birth as the son of Devakī, or I am raised as the son of Mother Yaśodā. So one should understand that ajo 'pi sann avyayātmā: I am aja, I never take birth, but why I come and take birth as a child of Devakī or Yaśodā?" If we simply understand this fact, janma karma me divyaṁ, janati yo tattvataḥ, if anyone understands, then he becomes free from the cycle of birth and death. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti.

So this is possible. Therefore the government, the father, the guru and the guardian—the everyone should try to make his dependent how he becomes Kṛṣṅa conscious. This is the duty. Therefore the Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement is so important, because the human life is meant for stopping the cycle of birth and death. Na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum [SB 5.5.18].

[One who cannot deliver his dependents from the path of repeated birth and death should never become a spiritual master, a relative, a father, a husband, a mother or a worshipable demigod.]

This is the only process. You cannot stop... But they do not know that this birth and death can be stopped. They are so rascal, they are so foolish, that they do not believe, neither they believe in the next birth, neither they have any idea how to stop death or stop next birth. No education. Throughout the whole world there is no education, there is no science. They are callous. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, mūḍha.

na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ māyayāpahṛta-jñānā āsuri-bhāvam āśritāḥ [Bg 7.15]

[Those miscreants who are grossly foolish, lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who partake of the atheistic nature of demons, do not surrender unto Me.]

This āsuri-bhava: "What is God? I don't believe in God. There is no God. Every one of us, we are God. Why you are finding God anywhere, in the temple? You do not know that in the street there are so many gods, loitering, daridra nārāyaṅa?" This is going on. This is going on, all full of ignorance. Therefore we have to push on this Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement at very difficult position.

manuṣyāṅāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye yatatām api siddhānāṁ kaścid vetti mām [Bg 7.3]

[Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.]

Simply by knowing Kṛṣṅa, one can become free from the clutches of cycle of birth and death. That's a fact. But manuṣyāṅāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye, yatatām api siddhānām. It is very, very difficult.

So we have taken a very difficult task, to convince people to take to Kṛṣṅa consciousness. But that is the only benefit, or the supreme goal of life. Kṛṣṅa personally comes to teach this science. Why Kṛṣṅa left Bhagavad-gītā? Out of His compassion, that "After My disappearance people would take advantage of this Bhagavad-gītā. As I instructed My dear friend Arjuna, they will also take advantage and become free from the clutches of death." This is the purpose of Bhagavad-gītā, Bhāgavata-dharma. Unfortunately, people have become so rascal that they do not care for this Bhagavad-gītā instruction. And if anyone poses himself to be a very good scholar of Bhagavad-gītā, he interprets in his own way, he misleads himself and misleads others also. This is the position. Therefore my request to you all who are in Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement—do not be a bluffer. Behave in your life how to become Kṛṣṅa conscious and teach others. Then the whole world will be benefited, and the Yamadūta will not come to them.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya... [break] [end]