Replacing One Politician with Another

This is Democracy?

Fools Elected by Fools Hansadutta das

“Oh, you should have democracy. You can vote.” Vote for what? [laughing] Two men are running for office, and ten million people are voting. So what is the big choice? Both of them are rogues. [laughter] Fool’s paradise. The people are foolish, and they are given the right to vote. “You vote.” So amongst all the fools, they select one grand fool. more

We are preaching Krishna consciousness, but most people are not interested. Had I been an expert in a new kind of technology, or in teaching an improvement in electronics, thousands of people would be coming to hear me. Because I would have been dealing with the ingredients of the external energy, people would have thought, "This technological knowledge will give me happiness." That is durashaya, a useless hope. The Bhagavatam says this kind of material advancement is useless. It will not give you any happiness. But people are foolishly hoping it will.

Now the Bhagavatam says, andha yathandhair upaniyamanah [SB 7.5.31]. This means that those people who are hoping for happiness through material advancement are spiritually blind. They do not know the goal of life, and their leaders also do not know the goal of life. People are thinking that with the change of some politician something new will be done and they will be happy. Now there is an advertisement: "America needs Nixon now." People are thinking, "When Nixon will be president instead of Johnson, we shall be happy." [Laughter.] But from which stock are this Johnson and Nixon coming? The source of supply is the same. If the source of supply is the same, what is the use of replacing Johnson with Nixon or Nixon with Johnson?

The leaders are spiritually blind: they do not know the ultimate goal of life. If the people are blind and their leaders are also blind, what will be the result? If a blind man leads one hundred other blind men across the street, certainly there will be some accident. But if the leader can see, he can lead hundreds and thousands of men safely.

Now the Bhagavatam explains, te 'pisha-tantryam uru-damni baddhah: "Both the blind leaders and their blind followers are very tightly bound by the strong ropes of material nature." The leaders promise, "My dear citizens, my dear countrymen, the country needs me at the present moment. If you give me your vote, I shall give you all comforts, all solutions." But all these leaders are tightly bound up by the laws of God, the laws of nature. You see? If your hands and legs are tightly bound, how can you work? The leaders do not know that they are under the stringent control of the laws of nature. Suppose there is a heavy earthquake, or suppose the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean mix together. Then how can you check the laws of nature? Your hands and legs are tightly bound by nature's laws. You cannot check them. So how can blind leaders, who are so tightly bound up by the laws of nature, lead people to the ultimate goal of life? The ultimate goal of life is God, or Krishna, but the leaders are enamored by the glitter of this material nature. So they cannot lead us to Krishna.

Then what is the solution to our problem? If it is not possible to attain Krishna consciousness by speculation, by assembly meetings, or by deriving knowledge from authoritative sources, then how is it to be attained? How can the goal of life be reached?

The next verse of Srimad-Bhagavatam [7.5.32] answers this question:

naisham matis tavad urukramanghrim
sprishaty anarthapagamo yad-arthah
mahiyasam pada-rajo-'bhishekam
nishkiñchananam na vrinita yavat

One cannot fix his mind on the lotus feet of Krishna unless one has the opportunity of touching the dust of the lotus feet of a person who has given up all material hankerings (nishkiñchananam) and who has dedicated his life cent percent to Krishna (mahiyasam). When one comes in touch with such a person, by his grace one can attain Krishna consciousness—not by any other method. One must approach a bona fide spiritual master and by his mercy, by his grace, receive Krishna consciousness. And as soon as a person receives initiation into Krishna consciousness, he feels spiritual satisfaction, and his liberation from material entanglement begins. Then, as he makes further and further progress, his life becomes sublime.

The first benefit of Krishna consciousness is that as soon as a person comes in touch with Krishna he immediately gives up all the unwholesome activities of material existence. In fact, we can test if someone is in contact with Krishna by seeing how free he is from sinful activity. For example (not a very gigantic example—a very small one), take our students. As soon as they are initiated into Krishna consciousness, they immediately give up so many sinful activities. The basic activities of sinful life are illicit sex, intoxication, meat-eating, and gambling. It is very difficult for people to give up all these habits, especially in the Western countries. But my students are giving them up very easily.

In 1935 one of my Godbrothers went to London and met the Marquis of Zetland, a man from Scotland. He was very interested in Indian philosophy. (He had previously been the governor of Bengal, and in my youth I had met him; he had come to my college.) So the marquis inquired from my Godbrother, Goswami Bannerjee: "Bannerjee, can you make me a brahmana?"

Bannerjee said, "Why not? Yes, we can make you a brahmana, but you have to follow four rules. You must give up illicit sex, intoxication, meat-eating, and gambling. Then you can become a brahmana."

"Oh, that is impossible."

You see? The Marquis of Zetland was such a big personality—he was interested in philosophy, he held a high government position, he was a responsible man—yet he flatly denied that he could give up these four sinful habits. But our students, hundreds of boys and girls who are coming to Krishna consciousness, are giving up these habits very easily. And they don't feel any inconvenience. This is the first benefit of Krishna consciousness: In the very beginning one is finished with all sinful activity.

How can our students give up these things? Because they are feeling spiritual satisfaction in Krishna consciousness: Our students can sit down before the Deity and chant Hare Krishna for 24 hours. Bring any student of any other yoga society and ask him to sit down for five hours. He'll fail; he'll be so restless. These so-called yoga societies simply teach their students some official meditation: fifteen minutes to a half hour of closing the eyes and murmuring something. But our students are engaged in Krishna consciousness 24 hours a day. Anyone may come and ask them how they are feeling. Unless they feel some spiritual satisfaction, how can they give up everything and simply serve Krishna?

Now, one may ask, "Suppose a person takes up Krishna consciousness out of sentiment but he cannot complete the process. What is his position?" This question is also answered in Srimad-Bhagavatam [1.5.17]:

tyaktva sva-dharmam charanambujam harer
bhajann apakvo 'tha patet tato yadi
yatra kva vabhadram abhud amushya kim
ko vartha apto 'bhajatam sva-dharmatah

The word sva-dharma means "specific duty." Everyone has some specific duty or occupation. So somebody may give up his specific duty and begin practicing Krishna consciousness. All of my students were engaged in something else, but all of a sudden they gave it up and joined the Krishna consciousness movement. So, anyone may do this. After hearing some lectures on Krishna consciousness, someone may decide, "Now I shall begin Krishna consciousness." So he gives up his occupation and begins chanting Hare Krishna and following the other devotional principles. But all of a sudden he gives them up. For some reason, because of some unfortunate circumstances, he cannot prosecute Krishna consciousness nicely and he gives it up. So the Bhagavatam says that even if one gives up Krishna consciousness because of immaturity, still there is no loss, because he will take it up again in the next life.

But then the Bhagavatam says, ko vartha apto 'bhajatam sva-dharmatah: "What profit is there for someone who very steadily engages in his occupational duty but is without any Krishna consciousness?" He is simply a loser, because he does not know the aim of his life. But if a person takes to Krishna consciousness even for a few days, if he gets the injection of Krishna consciousness, in his next life he'll take it up again. So he's not a loser. That one injection will someday make him perfect in Krishna consciousness, and he's sure to go back to Godhead.

So execute Krishna consciousness, and try to spread Krishna consciousness as far as possible. Rest assured, your efforts will not go in vain. They will not go in vain. Krishna will reward you abundantly. Thank you very much.

Replacing One Politician with Another - No Change