Dr. Patel: Sir, if the government is made according to the rule and regulations established by our religions, then that president or the king is above law. Otherwise these fools must be within law. But the way they have been ruling the countries and ransacking the people's morals and material . . .
Prabhupāda: No, no. Anyone, anyone who is within law, he cannot be president.
Dr. Patel: But these are within the law, president. These are the artificial constitutions made up, not the constitution as given by Vedas and Vedic religions. Then king or president is above law, sir—to my mind. I may be wrong. I am open to correction.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Therefore we want rājarṣi. We don't want ordinary king. Rājarṣi.
Dr. Patel: Then it is all right.
Prabhupāda: Imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (BG 4.2).
Dr. Patel: Ah, that was rājarṣis. A king like Janaka.
Prabhupāda: No, everyone should be rājarṣi. Otherwise he has no power to become king. He should be rejected. There are instances. Just like Vena Mahārāja. He was not rājarṣi, so he was killed by the brāhmaṇas, "Get down." There are instances. Then Pṛthu Mahārāja became king.
Dr. Patel: Pṛthu was the incarnation of God.
Prabhupāda: Yes. So king is supposed to be representative of God, if not incarnation.
Dr. Patel: That's right. Then he is above law.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Dr. Patel: Because God is above law. But these people are representatives of the foolish, ignorant majority, and majority is made up of fools. Wise people are few.
Prabhupāda: That is the difficulty. (aside) Jaya. Fools' paradise. Eh?
Dr. Patel: That's right. We are living in fools' paradise. If the whole today universe was governed as it is ordained by Vedas and Vedic philosophy and laws, there would not have been any difficulty for us. But from time immemorial, even in the very place of the cradle of Vedic civilization, there were all these types of wars and Mara-mari (fighting) and daityas and devas and all these things.
Prabhupāda: Yes. I have got some . . . (break) Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is the only remedy to make everyone the first-class human being. Yasyasti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcana sarvair guṇair tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). (aside) Hare Kṛṣṇa. If you want to qualify the human society with all good qualities, then bhagavad-bhakti is the only means. Otherwise not.
Dr. Patel: That is correct, sir. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto yājī (BG 18.65). Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66).
Prabhupāda: So unfortunately nobody is interested. This is the only remedy, and nobody is interested. Rather, they will put blocks in the progress. (aside) Hare Kṛṣṇa.