Srimad Bhagavatam – 1.14.41 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | May 25, 2025 |
Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya
Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya
Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya
nama om vishnu-padaya Kṛṣṇa-preshthaya bhu-tale
srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine
namas te sarasa vate deve gaura-vani-pracharine
nirvishesha-shunyavadi-pashchatya-desha-tarine
jaya sri-Kṛṣṇa-chaitanya
prabhu Nityananda
sri-adwaita gadadhara
shrivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Reading from Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 1 Chapter 14 Verse 41.
ŚB 1.14.41
kaccit tvaṁ brāhmaṇaṁ bālaṁ
gāṁ vṛddhaṁ rogiṇaṁ striyam
śaraṇopasṛtaṁ sattvaṁ
nātyākṣīḥ śaraṇa-pra-daḥ
Synonyms
kaccit — whether; tvam — yourself; brāhmaṇam — the brāhmaṇas; bālam — the child; gām — the cow; vṛddham — old; rogiṇam — the diseased; striyam — the woman; śaraṇa–upasṛtam — having approached for protection; sattvam — any living being; na — whether; atyākṣīḥ — not given shelter; śaraṇa–pradaḥ — deserving protection.
Translation
You are always the protector of the deserving living beings, such as brāhmaṇas, children, cows, women and the diseased. Could you not give them protection when they approached you for shelter?
Purport
The brāhmaṇas, who are always engaged in researching knowledge for the society’s welfare work, both materially and spiritually, deserve the protection of the king in all respects. Similarly, the children of the state, the cow, the diseased person, the woman and the old man specifically require the protection of the state or a kṣatriya king. If such living beings do not get protection by the kṣatriya, or the royal order, or by the state, it is certainly shameful for the kṣatriya or the state. If such things had actually happened to Arjuna, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was anxious to know about these discrepancies.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So here, Yudhishthira is asking Arjuna if he has been faulty in giving protection. So the word ‘kṣatriya’ actually means one who gives protection. So the kṣatriya is defined as the protector of the people under him. And of course, the kṣatriya has to protect all living entities. But particularly, some of these are mentioned here, so brāhmaṇas , children, cows, old people, sick people, and women. Of course, every human being has a responsibility to protect himself. However, some of these living entities have less ability to do so. And thus, special protection has to be given by the kṣatriya.
Also, in considering who to protect, some of these living entities are very important or valuable. So the kṣatriya has to protect the brāhmaṇa, because the brāhmaṇa preserves Vedic knowledge. The kṣatriya has to consult the brāhmaṇa in order to rule properly. In other words, the kṣatriya does not operate independently. Of course, normally we think the kṣatriya is there, the king is there, so they are the most powerful person in the state. This is particularly true when they have to punish. So in many states, this is where it stops. However, in the Vedic system, the kṣatriya is controlled by the brāhmaṇas. So the brāhmaṇa is more powerful than the king. So brāhmaṇas are very important because they give knowledge.
If one doesn’t protect children and women, there will be no population. If one doesn’t protect the cow, the economy suffers. So what about old people and sick people? If one is simply a profit minded leader, he will say, well, they are not important, they are not giving any money to us. So we don’t have to support them at all, let them die. And thus in many countries, that’s the law, they don’t get any support. However, we do know that in the Vedic system, the elders are obviously given great respect. Within the family, the elders have knowledge. And thus, generally, the family will protect the elders. So people may get sick, but they are also capable of getting cured. And so when they are cured, then they also contribute to society. So the kṣatriya protects all these people, so the society can run properly.
Of course, one of the principles of dharma is to give respect and give protection to all living entities. But as we know, particularly the human being has to be particularly taken care of. So all the rules of the varṇāśrama system are there to facilitate this protection. It operates on the family level, but also on the broader social level. And where family cannot fulfill these purposes of giving proper protection to the women or the sick people, the elders, etc, the king should supply that. In other words, the king, the kṣatriya in general, is like a father for a family. But the family is not one’s immediate family, the family is the whole country. It requires the kṣatriya to have a very wise vision.
And thus, the kṣatriya has to study the Vedas. The kṣatriya must know that ultimately all living entities are Jivas. And all the Jivas are at different stages of advancement. To help the Jivas, we have the rules of varṇāśrama. There are rules for people in tamo-guṇa , rajo-guṇa and sattva-guṇa . The leader’s duty is to enforce those rules, so that all those people in tamo-guṇa , rajo-guṇa and sattva-guṇa can advance. So the true kṣatriya must know the difference between soul and body. He must also understand that the ultimate goal is not in the body, but beyond the material body. So material sciences only deal with material bodies. What are the rules governing atma? Science has no knowledge about that. Thus we have to go to the scriptures. So the kṣatriya has to know scriptures. We see that persons like Bhishmadeva had great knowledge of scripture.
However, the brāhmaṇa has greater knowledge of scripture. Why? Because he is prominently in sattva. The kṣatriya is a mixture of rajo-guṇa and sattva. Because of the mixture of rajo-guṇa , the meaning of scripture may not be clear. What is the quality of rajo-guṇa ? Enjoyment [Laughs]. Well, of course, the kṣatriya is better than the sudra or the vaisya. That striving for enjoyment is blended with sattva. Thus he can control the rajo-guṇa. However, rajo-guṇa is there and that may influence the kṣatriya. For instance it says the kṣatriya, he can drink liquor, he can go out and hunt. However, it is also said that, if the kṣatriya becomes addicted to killing animals or hunting or addicted to liquor, he is no longer qualified as a kṣatriya . If he is too much influenced by rajo-guṇa , he will not be able to protect the citizens properly. So, to help the kṣatriya , we have the brahmana, he has better knowledge of scripture. So the brāhmaṇa gives advice and then the kṣatriya can implement that advice. And in this way, the kṣatriya can rule nicely without exploiting the citizens.
So the system is set up very delicately and exactly by the supreme Lord. The Lord supplies all the rules in the dharma sastras. The Lord empowers Manus and their descendants to implement those rules. In the 8th canto, it is described how Manu and his descendants are empowered to enact dharma. Even then, sometimes we find discrepancies. So we have a nice line coming from Svayambhuva. But then, we get a big demon like Vena popping up [Laughs] in that line. So it is not a foolproof system, but at least it helps out in general. And if we have a person not empowered by the Lord, not in the line from Manu, then they are going to have more problems. So in the 9th canto and again in the 11th and 12th cantos, the history of Kali yuga is described. We see gradually the line from Manu gets destroyed. And thus we are left in Kali yuga with no line at all. So therefore very difficult for a kṣatriya to rise up and implement all these rules of protection.
So what is a human being supposed to do in kali yuga? Srimad Bhagavatam gives a very clear answer. Kali yuga is ocean of faults. And whatever you do, is going to be faulty. But one good quality is there. And that is Nama Sankirtan. So though it is difficult to rule, difficult to get protection, everybody suffers because there isn’t an ideal king, the solution is Nama Sankirtan. And of course we can always argue, well that is a spiritual process. What about the material world? Everybody is suffering.
If you chant Hare Krishna, but if you get sick, where is the hospital? Where is the doctor? And of course, Krishna says at the end of Bhagavad Gita, just surrender unto me, forget everything else [Laughs]. Still, we have a material body. So we have to take care of the material body somehow or other. Similarly, Nama Sankirtan is the solution to everything. We still have to take care of our body. However, we should understand that in kali yuga, we cannot depend on other processes to help us, even for the body. The government is not completely dependable. Of course, in kali yuga, even the family is not dependable. So we have to put a great emphasis upon Nama Sankirtan. Any solution we try to come to in terms of body and society, must always be linked to Nama Sankirtan. So based on Nama Sankirtan, it can be somewhat successful, even though it is kali yuga.
Hare Krsna !
Q & A
1) Thank you Maharaj, in a traditional Vedic society, brāhmaṇas have a responsibility of their own. In the present contemporary modern world, in one sense ISKCON has a responsibility of making the society. In this situation where the state leaders are demoniac, what is the role of ISKCON especially towards this demoniac state leaders.
We see in Bhagavatam, sometimes the demons get control. Hiranyakashipu gets control, Bali gets control [Laughs]. Of course this is not pleasing to the Lord, nevertheless the Lord also gives good counsel. So sometimes he counsels, okay now the demons are empowered, so you have to hide. He tells the devatas [Laughs], go into disguise, disappear for some time [Laughs]. When time is unfavorable because tamo-guṇa and rajo-guṇa are too prominent. But the tamo-guṇa and rajo-guṇa do not continue forever, so at a certain point sattva will become prominent and then you get your positions back.
2 ) Hare Krsna Maharaj, So generally the reference is made everywhere that the brāhmaṇas have to be protected and nourished. But we don’t see mention of Vaishnavas who is considered above brāhmaṇas . So how to understand this Maharaj?
So some of the instructions or statements in Bhagavatam are general. So in terms of Varanashrama and duties of kṣatriyas and Kings, then it will speak in terms of Varanashrama. And therefore it will talk about brāhmaṇas . Of course, other places in Bhagavatam will see that brāhmaṇas who don’t worship the Lord are also useless [Laughs]. And we also see statements that if he is not a Brahmana, may be a Sudra, he may not even be a Sudra, he may be a mlechha, but if he worships the Lord, he is superior. So we have to see the meaning of statements according to their context.
3) What we should do, to understand Srimad Bhagavatam when we read it?
Well, first qualification is, one should be a devotee. If one is devotee, Bhagavatam will give the nectar. If one is not a devotee, one does not get the nectar.
4) These subject matters which are described in Srimad Bhagavatam, will they change in the other Yugas?
Well, in different days of Brahma, then some of the details may be different. So most of the stories in Bhagavatam as we have it are told for this day of Brahma, starting from Svayambhuva Manvantara onwards until Vaivasvatha Manvantara. So every day of Brahma, will be 14 Manvantara periods, it will be 1000 Yuga cycles, the Yuga avatars will appear, the lila avatars appear, so in general, pattern is the same, but details may be different sometimes.
5) In Kali Yuga, we don’t have qualified brāhmaṇas and qualified kṣatriyas. Being the case, what will happen to old men, women and diseased people?
Well, we see the result in Kali Yuga. The old people, the sick people, the women, the cows and the young people are not protected. However, we’ll see in some countries, they have an arrangement of the government, so that most of this is taken care of. So this gives us a chance to judge the standard of the governments of different countries. How much the government is protecting the children, the women, the old people, cows, etc.
Of course there are other standards as well, but this one standard we can look at.
If the government cannot take this responsibility then who takes the responsibility ?
So one, in the Vedic system, responsibility would taken by the family. So the family takes care of the elders of the family and the children and the sick people and protects the women. And of course, this is in cooperation with the government. So if the government fails, at least we still have the family. So in some countries, we’ll see that both systems fail, government fails and family also fails.
Devotees: Grantharaj Sri Srimad Bhagavatam Ki.. Jai !! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj Ki.. Jai !!