So at the modern education this independence is being killed. People are becoming unemployed. High technologist means he must find out a job where technological machines are there. Otherwise he will starve, and he will have to go round, factory to factory: "Will you give me some service?"

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Higher education: austerity and self-satisfaction–the wealth of the brahmanas

PRABHUPADA: The so-called advanced civilization going to hell, they do not know. Adanta-gobhir vishatam tamisram punah punash charvita-charvananam [Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.5.30]. Chewing the chewed. So many advertisement, only for drinking and sex. We go... when we go to the beach, two sides, the advertisement full of drinking and sex. That's all. So animal civilization. Don't be proud of this rascal civilization. There is no meaning of this civilization. And big professor, he says, "Swamiji, there is no life after death." Just see. And he is a professor. He's teacher. This is the position. Fools, rascals, they are leaders, professors, and scientists and philosophers, and pushing us towards hell. That's all. Because they do not know what is the value of life. They do not know that there is life after death. Otherwise, why there are so many varieties of life? They concoct their own conclusion. They do not refer to the authorities, what is the actual position. They make, they manufacture their own way of life.

It is very dangerous civilization. Because ... Dangerous in this sense, that this life, human form of life, is especially meant for God realization, but in that subject matter they are blind. There is no educational system, there is no university, nothing of the sort. Simply animalistic way of life, "How we can increase our eating capacity, our sexual capacity," and this ... This is going on. So Bhagavata is pointing out, "My dear sir, by these things you cannot be very much proud." Then? One more verse, yes. PRADYUMNA: [reads:]

shva-vid-varahoshtra-kharaihsamstutah purushah pashuhna yat-karna-pathopetojatu nama gadagrajah [SB 2.3.19]

PRABHUPADA: That's all. So shva. Shva means dog, and vid, vid-varaha... there are two kinds of hogs. One is that we see generally in towns and villages. That is varaha. Varaha means hogs. And they eat stool–vid-varaha. Another, jungle varaha. They have got a big, what is called?

DEVOTEES: Tusk.

PRABHUPADA: Tusk, yes. That is more dangerous. They live in the jungle. And vid-varaha means they live in the forest, finding out "Where is stool? Where is stool? Where is stool?" Shva-vid-varaha ushtra. Ushtra means camel, and khara means ass. So here it is a very terse remark, that "Anyone who has never heard the glories of Gadagraja, the Supreme Personality of Godhead–in other words, one who is not Krishna conscious, does not know anything about Krishna, or God–they are no better than these animals, especially: dog, hog, ass, camel."

Why these four kinds of animals have been selected to compare? That is explained. Shva means dog. A dog, however powerful it may be, very strong, stout, but it, unless it has got a master, its life is very precarious. Dog. Just see our education at the present moment. Very advanced education. Many Indian students come here also to take advanced education. But actually, we consider this education creating dogs. Why? Now, because however technologist you may be, if you don't get a suitable service, all your education is finished. Therefore, after education you'll have to write application, "My dear sir, I am such and such qualified dog. [laughter] If you'll kindly give me some service." And the tail is like this. [laughter] You see? Just imagine.

If by education he becomes independent ... Just like Vedic culture. The brahmanas, the kshatriya, the vaishyas, they are independent. The shudras are compared with the dogs because they cannot live without a master. Brahmana, he will not accept anyone's service. That is real brahmana. A kshatriya will never accept anyone's service. Why the battle of Kurukshetra was there? The Kurus, they took away the whole kingdom of the Pandavas. But they were kshatriyas. How they will live? Therefore the fight was necessity. The kshatriyas must be, must have some land to collect taxes. That is the kshatriya's source of income. The brahmana's source of income, pathana pathana yajana yajana: they must be learned scholar, they must teach others, they must be devotee and teach others how to become devotee. They must take contribution and must spend for Krishna. This is brahmana. No service. Formerly, no brahmana ... Sanatana Gosvami, Rupa Gosvami, they were born in high-class brahmana family, Sarasvata brahmana, but because they accepted the service of Nawab Hussein Shah, immediately they were rejected from brahmana society. It is by the grace of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu that they again became gosvami. Otherwise, they were rejected. No brahmana could take service and especially service of a low-class man. In Bhagavata you will see especially that if a brahmana is in difficulty, he may accept the profession of a kshatriya or utmost of a vaishya, but never take the profession of a shudra. What is the profession of shudra? Paricharyatmakam karyam shudra-karma shvabhava-jam [Bg. 18.44]. One who is hankering after service, he is shudra. He has no capacity to live independently. The brahmana, real brahmana, he will starve, he will die out of starvation. He will never accept anyone's service. That is brahmana. If he has no income, he will go on the field ... And when the grains are taken away, some grains fall down. They will pick up all those grains and live on that. Still, they will not go to anyone that "I am hungry. Give me something." No. So our education ... And why we were so independent? Because the education was very high, Vedic education. Satisfied with Brahman realization. Brahma-bhutah prasannatma [Bg. 18.54].

Not very long ago, say about 300 years ago, there was a brahmana, a very rigid brahmana, in Krishna-nagara, near our Mayapura. And brahmana's business, he was teaching. So the king of that place, means a big zamindar, Raja Krishna-Chandra ... By his name, that place is Krishna-nagara. So he heard about the brahmana, very learned brahmana, but very poor. So he one day came to him and asked him, "Brahmana, can I help you any way?"

So he said, "No, I don't require any help from you."

"No, I see you are so poverty-stricken. You have no sufficient means."

"No, I am not poverty-stricken. My students, they get some alms of rice. So my wife boils the rice, and here is a tamarind tree. So I take some leaves and boil it, and that's sufficient. Why I am poverty-stricken?"

He's satisfied, whatever is coming automatically, that's all. He doesn't require any higher standard of life, any botheration. He is satisfied, little rice and tamarind juice. That's all. So in each and every home, formerly, this independence was very much valued.

So at the modern education this independence is being killed. People are becoming unemployed. High technologist means he must find out a job where technological machines are there. Otherwise he will starve, and he will have to go round, factory to factory: "Will you give me some service?" "No vacancy."

Your degree entitles you to table scraps

The general mass of people, unless they are trained systematically for a higher standard of life in spiritual values, are no better than animals, and in this verse they have particularly been put on the level of dogs, hogs, camels and asses. Modern university education practically prepares one to acquire a doggish mentality with which to accept the service of a greater master. After finishing a so-called education, the so-called educated persons move like dogs from door to door with applications for some service, and mostly they are driven away, informed of no vacancy. As dogs are negligible animals and serve the master faithfully for bits of bread, a man serves a master faithfully without sufficient rewards.

Schools and universities training workers to fill the job market

PARBHUPADA: At the present moment, all the people, they are so dissatisfied that they are all shudras. Shudra is always in want. So who is not, at the present moment, not in want? Everybody's in want. Therefore everybody is a shudra now. And that is his qualification, always feeling in want, shocati. And his work is to serve others, master. A brahmana will not work under anybody. A kshatriya will not work under anybody. Nowadays the industrial development has taken place because people are shudras. They want some service. So-called technologists and laborers, and everything. Everyone is searching after good job. He cannot live independently, just like a dog. A dog cannot live independently. He must have a master. Then he is happy. Is it not? Otherwise it is street dog. So modern education is that they are creating shudras, to become dependent on others. And therefore modern economic development is taking place because there are so many people, they are prepared to give them service. Suppose in your bank, if you withdraw from the service, the bank will stop. Industry will stop. So because there is no such division as brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya, shudra, everyone is shudra. Therefore this economic development, so-called economic development, has become possible. But in spite of all this economic development, because people are shudras, they cannot be happy. Because shocati, they will lament, strike. Even they are getting thousands of rupees, strike. Even they get five hundred thousands of rupees, still there will be strike. Because they are shudras.

GOPAL KRSNA: Even the doctors are going on strike now.

PRABHUPADA: Yes. They are shudras. Therefore, because it is the society of shudras everywhere, there is confusion. No brain. Simply shocati, "want, want, want, want, want." And in brahminical culture, you will find even he is very poor brahmana, no source of income, no fixation of foodstuff even, but he is happy. He is happy. He is happy by his knowledge. He'll satisfy himself. If he does not get his food, then he will think that "This day Krishna desired that I should not have my food. Oh, it is Krishna's pleasure. It is Krishna's mercy." Therefore in Vedic culture, other section, the kshatriyas and the vaishyas, they would call the brahmanas to take food, because they know, "The brahmanas, they will starve; still they will not ask anybody to give him food." ... Vedic culture is the perfect for human society, perfect culture. And this is not bogus humbug, go into the darkness and do something nonsense. It is everything open, in the shastra, in the book. You have to adopt it. Then you become happy. The whole society, the whole human society becomes happy, never mind where it is. It is science, how to live just like human being, not like cats and dogs. That is Vedic culture. Everyone is happy.

"I do not know what I am"

In the material world there are so many gradations of education. Some people never finish grammar school or high school, whereas others go on and receive a university education, a BA, MA, PhD, and so on. But what is this raja-vidya, the king of education, the summum bonum of knowledge? It is this Krishna consciousness. Real knowledge is understanding "what I am." Unless we come to the point of understanding what we are, we cannot attain real knowledge. When Sanatana Gosvami left his government post and came to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu for the first time, he asked the Lord, "What is education?" Although Sanatana Gosvami knew a number of languages, including Sanskrit, he still inquired about real education. "The general populace calls me highly educated," Sanatana Gosvami told the Lord, "and I am such a fool that I actually believe them."

The Lord replied, "Why should you not think you're well educated? You're a great scholar in Sanskrit and Persian."

"That may be," Sanatana Gosvami said, "but I do not know what I am." He then went on to tell the Lord: "I do not wish to suffer, but these material miseries are forced upon me. I neither know where I've come from nor where I'm going, but people are calling me educated. When they call me a great scholar, I am satisfied, but in truth I am such a great fool that I know not what I am."

Sanatana Gosvami was actually speaking for all of us, for this is our present situation. We may be proud of our academic education, but if asked what we are, we are not able to say. Everyone is under the conception that this body is the self, but we learn from Vedic sources that this is not so. Only after realizing that we are not these bodies can we enter into real knowledge and understand what we actually are. This then, is the beginning of knowledge. Raja-vidya may be further defined as not only knowing what one is, but acting accordingly. If we do not know who we are, how can our activities be proper? If we are mistaken about our identity, we will also be mistaken about our activities. Simply knowing that we are not these material bodies is not sufficient; we must act according to the conviction that we are spiritual.

Action based on this knowledge–spiritual activity–is work in Krishna consciousness. This kind of knowledge may not seem to be so easily attainable, but it is made very easy by the mercy of Krishna and Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who made this knowledge easily available through the process of chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.