Decreasing The Burden Of The Earth

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BY SRILA A. C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPADA

 

(The following is from the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Ninth Canto, Chapter 24, verse 59 with translation and purport by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder-acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. His Divine Grace wrote this passage in 1976.)

 

SB9.24.59:

aksauhininam patibhir

asurair nrpa-lanchanaih

bhuva akramyamanaya

abharaya krtodyamah

 

SYNONYMS

 

aksauhininam -- of kings possessing great military power; patibhih -- by such kings or government; asuraih -- actually demons (because they do not need such military power but create it unnecessarily); nrpa-lanchanaih -- who are actually unfit to be kings (although they have somehow taken possession of the government); bhuvah -- on the surface of the earth; akramyamanayah -- aiming at attacking one another; abharaya -- paving the way for diminishing the number of demons on the surface of the earth; krta-udyamah -- enthusiastic (they spend all the revenue of the state to increase military power).

 

TRANSLATION

 

Although the demons who take possession of the government are dressed like men of government, they do not know the duty of the government. Consequently, by the arrangement of God, such demons, who possess great military strength, fight with one another, and thus the great burden of demons on the surface of the earth is reduced. The demons increase their military power by the will of the Supreme, so that their numbers will be diminished and the devotees will have a chance to advance in Krsna consciousness.

 

PURPORT

 

As stated in Bhagavad-gita (4.8), paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam. The sadhus, the devotees of the Lord, are always eager to advance the cause of Krsna consciousness so that the conditioned souls may be released from the bondage of birth and death. But the asuras, the demons, impede the advancement of the Krsna consciousness movement, and therefore Krsna arranges occasional fights between different asuras who are very much interested in increasing their military power. The duty of the government or king is not to increase military power unnecessarily; the real duty of the government is to see that the people of the state advance in Krsna consciousness.Demons are very much interested in advancing a plan by which people will labor hard like cats, dogs and hogs, but Krsna's devotees want to teach Krsna consciousness so that people will be satisfied with plain living and Krsna conscious advancement. Although demons have created many plans for industry and hard labor so that people will work day and night like animals, this is not the purpose of civilization. Such endeavors are jagato'hitah; that is, they are meant for the misfortune of the people in general. Ksayaya: such activities lead to annihilation. One who understands the purpose of Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, should seriously understand the importance of the Krsna consciousness movement and seriously take part in it. One should not endeavor for ugra-karma, or unnecessary work for sense gratification. Nunam pramattah kurute vikarma yad indriya-pritaya aprnoti (SB 5.5.4). Simply for sense gratification, people make plans for material happiness. Maya-sukhaya bharam udvahato vimudhan (SB 7.9.43). They do this because they are all vimudhas, rascals. For flickering happiness, people waste their human energy, not understanding the importance of the Krsna consciousness movement but instead accusing the simple devotees of brainwashing. Demons may falsely accuse the preachers of the Krsna consciousness movement, but Krsna will arrange a fight between the demons in which all their military power will be engaged and both parties of demons will be annihilated.