“To
provide for the common defense by requiring all
persons in the United States, including women, between the ages of 18
and 42 to perform a period of military service or a period of civilian
service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security,
and for other purposes.”
If
this bill or other bills “related” to this
bill are passed it will give president Bush or the next politician that
steals the American vote for the presidency the power to draft all
living in America whether or not they are a citizen into the military
for a period of 2 years unless exempt.go
to story
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.
His Divine Grace A.C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada 