Guest guest Posted January 26, 2002 Report Share Posted January 26, 2002 The Vedic civilisation prefers monarchy. People liked the government of Lord Ramacandra, the government of Maharaja Yudhisthira and the governments of Maharaja Pariksit, Maharaja Ambarisa and Maharaja Prahlada. There are many instances of excellent government under a monarch. Gradually the democratic government is becoming unfit for the needs of the people, and therefore some parties are trying to elect a dictator. A dictatorship is the same as a monarchy, but without a trained leader. Actually people will be happy when a trained leader, whether a monarch or a dictator, takes control of the government and rules the people according to the standard regulations of the authorised scriptures. (SB. 9/13/12) “So monarchy or dictatorship is welcome. Now the Communists, they want dictatorship. That is welcome, provided that particular dictator is trained like Maharaja Yudhisthira. [---] But the king or the dictator should be so perfect and he will guide the citizens in such a way that they will not feel all these disturbances. That kind of dictatorship wanted. He will direct in such a way that even this natural adhyatmika, adhibhautika... Adhibhautika means “You are envious of me, I am envious of you.” So there is always cold war, struggle. This should be stopped. There should not be unnatural heat or unnatural cold, excessive heat. People will feel in all respects happy. If that condition can be brought in, like Maharaja Yudhisthira or his forefathers, or even his grandson. After Maharaja Yudhisthira, there was no kingdom of Maharaja Yud..., of the son of Yudhisthira or Arjuna. All died in the Battlefield of Kuruksetra. Only one grandson was in the womb of his mother, posthumous child. He was saved only. So up to that point, Maharja Pariksit, the whole planet was very nicely governed by dictatorship. So we can bring in such dictatorship, provided that dictator is perfectly Krsna conscious.” (Lecture July 10, 1973) “All the kings in those days, they were trained up in such a way that they were saintly persons, although they were the king. Not debauch. So one person, if he’s authorized... Just like the communists, they are thinking of dictatorship. This is also another kind of dictatorship. But if the dictator, or the king, is a perfect man, then his dictatorship or royal power is quite... But that, that is not possible at the present moment. But at the present moment, the democracy is also not perfect. Because the mass of people, they have no perfect knowledge. By sentiment. So it may be they’re electing a wrong person. That is the defect of democracy.” (July 23, 1973) Ambassador: Your Grace, what you want is really a sort of complete... Prabhupada: No, I don’t want. Ambassador: ...a strong, obedient, disciplined society. But the moment the disciplinarian becomes a dictator, it is... Prabhupada: It is, it is the duty of the government to see. That is the government. Strong government means... Ambassador: It’s the Rama-rajya ideal. Prabhupada: Yes. Strong government means that, that government should be very, very vigilant that citizens are doing their duty properly. That is the first duty. They should be given all protection. At the same time... Just like the father gives protection to the children, at the same time, very strict that they are morally and disciplinary, they are going, coming out nice. That is father’s duty. It is government’s duty. If the father thinks, “Let my son go to hell. I don’t care. I give them some food. That’s all.” Is that father’s duty? No. Father’s duty, to arrange for their food, for their dress, for their shelter, at the same time, to see that they are growing nice, not rascals. That is father’s duty. Similarly, government’s duty is that. We see from Vedic sastra government duty is that. Otherwise why there is need of government? Government... Now it is government. But formerly it was the king. The king must be representative of God. Because...(September 5, 1973) “We have got another example in our country—Gandhi. When he was political leader, he was practically dictator, but because he was a man of very high moral character, people took him, accepted him as the dictator. So dictatorship is good, provided the dictator is highly qualified spiritually. That is the Vedic verdict.” (July 28, 1975) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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