Resurrect Human Society, Not the Draft

Society of the Dead
excerpt from Krishna Consciousness: The Topmost Yoga System

Fitness Test

Sorting Heads, Arms from Legs A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

The kshatriya class, they would come forward to be recruited by the military department. They will not go away. They will be very glad to accept military service, because in their blood the kshatriya spirit is there. In India there is no scarcity to find out a fighter. But when people are trained as shudra, how he can fight? Therefore it is very scientific. The society must be divided. There is division already, natural. We have to simply pick out, that "This boy is brahmana, this boy is kshatriya, this boy is vaishya, and this boy is shudra." So they should be given separate employment. Then there will be peace. If a person is employed according to his natural tendency, he becomes successful. more

In the Gita, Krishna says to Arjuna, "As a fighter, you have to fight. You cannot step away from the fighting. It is your duty." Nowadays I have practical experience that the draft board of your country is calling for boys to join the army, but they are not willing. They are not willing because they are not trained as kshatriyas, warriors. They are trained as shudras, laborers. Therefore the caste system is very scientific. A section of people should be trained as brahmanas, men of knowledge. Those who are intelligent enough in the society should be picked and trained in higher philosophical science. And those who are less intelligent than the brahmanas should be given military training. We require everything in society—not only military men. How can everyone be a military man? Because they are sending shudras, ordinary workers, to Vietnam, these are unnecessarily being killed. Any country which is very proud of scientific advancement, and yet does not know how to organize its society, is a fool's society.

In the Bhagavad-gita Krishna says that there are four divisions of society, brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya and shudra. That is natural. Some are inclined toward spiritual advancement, and these are the brahmanas. Now we are training boys who are spiritually inclined and they are unnecessarily being forced into military service. The foolish have no knowledge that some boy is being trained up in higher science. Why should he be destroyed when he is being perfected? The intellectual persons, those boys who have brahminical qualifications, are being restrained in brahmacharya student life: they don't take to meat-eating, they don't take part in illicit sex. They are being trained as complete brahmanas, the highest intellectuals, the most purified persons in society. If there is one brahmana in a whole family, then the whole family—the whole society-becomes sanctified. But today they have no knowledge of how to train a brahmana, or how to train a kshatriya. In the other fields of action, in the work of shudras and vaishyas there is nice training. If anyone wants to be a businessman, there are colleges or technological schools. That's very nice. But why should everyone be dragged into technology? Just as in your body: for proper maintenance we require the head, the arms, the belly and the legs. All these parts of the body are required. You cannot say, "We do not require the head." That is nonsense—we require everything. Suppose there is a body without a head—it is a dead body. If the body is now intact, but there is no head, it is called a dead body. The head is considered to be the intellectual part of the body. Similarly, if there is no brahmana in the society, it is a dead body. If there is no spiritual man in the society, it is a dead society.

Therefore, Krishna says, "I have created the four divisions of society, according to quality and work." If someone is working as a brahmachari-brahmana and has acquired the quality of understanding Krishna, the Supreme Lord, then why should he be called for army action? The arm of the body is the kshatriya. Of course that is required; to protect the society, to protect the country, a military arrangement should be there. No one will disapprove. But not the brahmanas. It is putting a race horse before the work cart. A race horse is required for different purposes. The other beasts of burden—asses, mules and oxen—are required for pulling carts.

I say this frankly—everyone may read it—that any society where there are no spiritual persons or Krishna consciousness is a rascal society, because it has no head. Where there is a headless man, there is a dead body. And if there is no brain, there is no head; if the brain is not working properly then he is a madman; if he has no head at all, then he is a dead man.

Do you think that in a dead society or a mad society there can be any peace? No. If the society is full of madmen, then where is the question of peace? Therefore, Krishna consciousness is the most important study in present-day society. The men who are leading the society, the President and the Secretary of Defense, should have the intelligence to understand this science of the soul.

The other day when coming to your country I met a secretary of the Japanese government in Tokyo. I wanted to explain to him that he should cooperate with this movement, but he said, "Oh, we cannot cooperate with any religious movement." He is one of the chief secretaries of the government, and he is such a fool. He is taking this movement as a religious movement, just as we have so many sentimental religions. But this is not sentimental. This is the necessity of society: a class of men should be Krishna conscious. Otherwise the society is doomed; it is going to hell. And, when such rascals are at the head of the government, how can there be peace? How can you expect peace in a dog's society? The dogs are by nature howling—"Woof! Woof! Woof!"—as soon as they see other dogs. So do you mean to say there will be peace if you turn human society into dog society, into cat society, into tiger society? The tiger is very powerful; he can kill many other animals. But does that mean he is a very important animal? No, he has no use in society. And now we are very powerful, and we have good weapons to fight with, and we can kill many people. But these are no qualifications for good men or a good society.

We are not meant to manufacture a society of monkeys or tigers or asses—or rascals who work very hard. Do you mean to say a society of asses will derive any benefit from life? No.

For those who have developed an attraction to Krishna, attachment can be developed. Before my coming to the West, there was no movement like this Krishna consciousness, but now it is developing. Krishna was not born in your country; you do not accept Krishna as your religious God. But Krishna is so attractive that although you are a foreigner, you are not foreign. To Krishna you are not a foreigner. He claims everybody. We make Him foreign, but this is our foolishness.

In the Gita Krishna says, "My dear Arjuna, there are many different forms and different species of life undoubtedly. But I am their father." Just see how Krishna is universal. He is claiming not only human society, but animal society, bird society, beast society—everyone. He says, "I am the father." So how can Krishna be foreign? It is a mental concoction. They say Krishna is Indian or Krishna is worshiped by the Hindus and therefore He is one of the Hindu Gods; and they think that Krishna is saying, "Yes, I am the Hindu God. Yes, I am Indian." But He is like the sun. Why American sun or Indian? Nothing is American or Indian; that is all artificial.

"This planet belongs to the humans, that's all." This is your communism. This present communism is defective because the Russians say that Russia is for the Russians or China is for the Chinese. Why not for others? Just think in terms of human communism! Why human communism? Living being communism! If you take this world as belonging to human society, that is defective. It belongs to everyone! It belongs to the tree community; it belongs to the beast community. They also have a right to live. Why should you cut the trees? Why should you send the bulls to the slaughterhouse? This is injustice. How can you gain justice by yourself doing injustice? We have no Krishna consciousness. We do not know that Krishna is our original father and that we are all His sons. The tree is my brother, the ant is my brother, the bull is my brother. The American is my brother, the Indian is my brother, the Chinese is my brother. Therefore, we have to develop Krishna consciousness. We talk all this nonsense of universal brotherhood and United Nations—all nonsense. Either you acknowledge the Father, or else you have no idea of how to realize brotherhood or humanity. Therefore, they are talking for years and years. They are the same fools. Can't you see the U.N.? They have headquarters in New York. They are simply talking nonsense, that's all. That is their business. So unless there is full Krishna consciousness, there cannot be any improvement of the world condition.

Krishna says that you have to develop your attachment for Him. Begin at the beginning, but you can do it; it is not artificial. I have a few sincere students here, just developing; they are not complete, but they are developing Krishna—attachment. Otherwise, why should they waste their time chanting Hare Krishna? They are doing it, and it can be done. You can develop love for anything if you try for it. But Krishna development is very natural. Because Krishna is not a thing belonging to a particular type of religion or sect. Krishna claims, "I belong to everyone." Therefore originally, we are all connected with Krishna; but we have simply forgotten. This process of chanting is to evoke your remembrance of Krishna. It is not that we are inducting something artificially into you. No, Krishna is already connected with you, but you have forgotten. And we are trying to give you the process for reviving your original consciousness. So you can come to our temple; that is the beginning. You can see Krishna or Krishna's devotees, and you can chant Hare Krishna.