King's business

Expressions researched:
"business of king" |"business of king" |"business of the king" |"king business" |"king's business"

SB Canto 4

Generally this is the business of King Indra of the heavenly planets.

SB 4.18.29, Purport:

Generally the mountainous and hilly portions of the earth are made flat by the striking of thunderbolts. Generally this is the business of King Indra of the heavenly planets, but King Pṛthu, an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, did not wait for King Indra to break up the hills and mountains but did so himself by using his strong bow.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

The king's business is to see that everyone in the country is properly employed and engaged in their own business. There was no question of unemployment.

Lecture on BG 1.28-29 -- London, July 22, 1973:

Because so many rascals, simply by getting votes, go to the government, and what do they know how to rule over? Therefore, at the present moment, all over the world there is no good government. There is no good government. The America was considered to have very good government. Now we can see the behavior of Mr. Nixon. It is not possible. Formerly the kṣatriyas, they were trained up how to govern. They were trained up by military men, just like Droṇācārya trained Arjuna, Duryodhana. All the royal princes were trained up how to kill. Not only killing, also, according to śāstra, how to rule over. The king's business is to see that everyone in the country, they are properly employed and engaged in his own business. That is king's business. There was no question of unemployment. This is government's first business. Because if a person is unemployed, then the devil's workshop. Devil's, work... If he hasn't got to do anything... That is being done now. Rich man's son, he hasn't got to do anything, so his brain is devil's workshop.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

It is the duty of the government that everyone is discharging his duties. That is king's business, rāja-daṇḍa. If one does not observe the regulative principle, then he should not declare himself as brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra.

Lecture on SB 1.2.8 -- Bombay, December 26, 1972:

Lord Kṛṣṇa said that cātur-varṇyaṁ māyā śṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ: by division of quality and activities. So everyone, brāhmaṇa must be qualified and must be engaged in his particular duties. Kṣatriyas also, they should be engaged in their particular duties. Vaiśyas and śūdras also. And it is the duty of the government that everyone is discharging his duties. That is king's business, rāja-daṇḍa. If one does not observe the regulative principle, then he should not declare himself as brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. So, just like at the present moment, the government has got inspectors to see, inspect the schools, whether the teachers are duly discharging their educational curriculum, similarly, formerly the king, he was rāja-daṇḍa-vit. So not only he was inspecting that everyone is discharging his professional or particular duties, but everyone has got employment. That was also the king's duty. No one should be unemployed.

The king's business is as soon as he sees one undesirable element, immediately he would kill him. That is real protection.

Lecture on SB 1.8.46 -- Los Angeles, May 8, 1973:

So the king's business is as soon as he sees one undesirable element, immediately he would kill him. That is real protection. Just like when Parīkṣit Mahārāja was going on tour, he saw one black man was trying to kill a cow. Immediately saw, "Who are you? You are trying to kill cow in my kingdom? I shall kill you." He immediately took out his sword. This is king, that... Not that animals should not be given protection, only man should be given protection. No. Prajā. Prajā means one who taken birth in the kingdom. That is called prajā. So animal is also American, man is also American, but there is no protection for the animal by the government. So that kind of government, rascal government, was not there. Equal right. Your country says equality given. Why not equality to the animals? That is defect. It is due to, I mean to say, absence of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

The brāhmaṇa must be there, the kṣatriya must be there, the vaiśyas must be there and the śūdras must be there, and the state should look that these things are observed scientifically and they are being educated in that way. That is king's business.

Lecture on SB 1.8.46 -- Los Angeles, May 8, 1973:

You can say that "There is no need of kṣatriya; let there be all śūdras." No, then there will be social scandal. Everything must be there. The brāhmaṇa must be there, the kṣatriya must be there, the vaiśyas must be there and the śūdras must be there, and the state should look that these things are observed scientifically and they are being educated in that way. That is king's business. He must see that the kṣatriyas, those who are kṣatriya spirited, they are being trained up as kṣatriya. The brāhmaṇas are being trained up as brāhmaṇa. Everything is required. Just like in your body, all the four divisions... Just like head, that is brāhmaṇa; the arms, that is kṣatriya; the belly, that is vaiśya; and the legs, they are śūdra. So as much as the head is required, so much the legs are also required. You cannot say, "One class will do." No. But the modern tendency is one class of men. And therefore therefore there is confusion. There must be four classes. That is scientific.

As far as possible, he controlled. That is king's business. The government's business is to control these things, and citizen must be happy in every way.

Lecture on SB 1.15.37 -- Los Angeles, December 15, 1973:

When these things will increase, one should know that the influence of Kali-yuga is increasing. Anyone can understand. This world... This material world is so made that these things are very prominent: greediness, kāma-lobhādayaś ca, lusty desires and greediness, kāma and lobha. Generally, people are attached to these things. Then diplomacy, "How to satisfy my lusty desires, my greediness?"

But the king was so responsible that now he wanted to retire. There is no other way. As far as possible, he controlled. That is king's business. The government's business is to control these things, and citizen must be happy in every way. Even Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira's time, there was no excessive heat or cold; neither there was prominence of disease or pestilence, famine. These things were absent. Because Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja himself was very pious, and he conducted his government in such a way that people were also pious.

The king's business or the president's business is to see that the citizens, they mistakenly have come to this material world to enjoy sense gratification. They should be trained up in such a way that they can go back to home, back to Godhead.

Lecture on SB 1.15.37 -- Los Angeles, December 15, 1973:

King or president, the chief of the executive... He should be exactly the representative of God. As guru is representative of God, similarly, the king or president is also representative of God. In every planet... Because every planet... Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). Everything belongs to God. Bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram: (BG 5.29) "I am the supreme owner of every planet." So every planet is the property of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore to govern that planet, there must be a king who is actually representative of Kṛṣṇa. The king's business or the president's business is to see that the citizens, they mistakenly have come to this material world to enjoy sense gratification. They should be trained up in such a way that they can go back to home, back to Godhead. That is king's responsibility. Similarly, that is father's responsibility. Similarly, that is guru's, spiritual master's, responsibility. Similarly, the relative's responsibility. Suppose one has no father, mother; then it is the responsibility of the relative. It is the responsibility of the king.

Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja, first business is, before appointing his grandson, he was very eager to know, "Whether he is competent, exactly my representative?" This is the business of the king.

Lecture on SB 1.15.38 -- Los Angeles, December 16, 1973:

So who will control? If the king, the head of the government is perfect, then he will control. So that is all gone. Therefore we are suffering. Therefore Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja, first business is, before appointing his grandson, he was very eager to know, "Whether he is competent, exactly my representative?" This is the business of the king. And toya-nīvyāḥ patim. Toya-nīvyāḥ patim means the whole world, not the modern India, a few yards of land, no. The India was governing. India, the king or the emperor of Hastināpura, he was the emperor. Now, seven seas, seven islands, they are mentioned in the Vedic literature. Seven islands. So the emperor would be emperor of the whole earth and there was everywhere the Vedic culture. Everywhere the Vedic culture was, more or less, principally in that part which is known as India. But in other parts also, the Vedic culture was there.

It was the business of the king to see that things are going on. First of all, there is classification: intelligent class or brāhmaṇa; and the administrator class or kṣatriya; and the mercantile class, money-producing class.

Lecture on SB 1.16.4 -- Los Angeles, January 1, 1974:

The śūdra is not fit for government management. As such we find so many difficulties in the government because the head or the head man, they are all śūdras. They have dressed like administrator, but they are śūdras. This is the symptom of Kali-yuga. There is no brāhmaṇa, there is no kṣatriya, there is no vaiśyas. Maybe a few vaiśyas, and all śūdras. A brāhmaṇa means the good quality, first-class quality. That is very, very rare to be found.

So it was the business of the king to see that things are going on. First of all, there is classification: intelligent class or brāhmaṇa; and the administrator class or kṣatriya; and the mercantile class, money-producing class. So everyone is engaged, and he's doing his own business. But this division must be there. Without division the society will be in chaos.

Although Viśvāmitra Muni could kill, but no, that was not the brāhmaṇa's business. To punish, it was king's business.

Lecture on SB 3.25.21 -- Bombay, November 21, 1974:

Viśvāmitra Muni, when he approached Mahārāja Daśaratha to take with him Rāmacandra and Lakṣmaṇa—They were boys—to kill the Tāḍakā Rākṣasī... There was some disturbance. So although Viśvāmitra Muni could kill, but no, that was not the brāhmaṇa's business. It was the, to kill, to..., was the, to punish, it was king's business. So therefore they approached. So at that time Mahārāja Daśaratha greeted Viśvāmitra Muni: aihiṣṭaṁ yat tat punar-janma-jayāya. Just like when we meet a friend, if he's a businessman... Suppose he comes to see me. I am a sannyāsī, and he's a businessman. I ask him, "How your business is going on?" Because he's engaged in that way. And the gentleman who comes to see me, he will ask me, "Swamiji, how your preaching is going on?" He'll not ask me, "How your business is going on?"

King's business is, if somebody is doing wrong, then the king must punish.

Lecture on SB 6.2.4 -- Vrndavana, September 8, 1975:

We are getting these flowers from earth. We are getting these fruits from earth. We are getting foodstuff from the earth. We are getting minerals from the earth—everything. Sarva-dughāṁ mahī. So nature will supply you sufficiently, provided you follow ideal life. Otherwise nature will punish you. There will be no supply.

These are all described in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. The nature was not supplying sufficiently, and then Mahārāja Pṛthu, the personified Prithivi, he was going to kill her, punish her. King's business is, if somebody is doing wrong, then the king must punish. So he was prepared to punish Pṛthvī. She submitted that "King, why you are trying to punish me? It is my business when people become demons, I restrict my supply." So this is nature's law. As soon as you become demons, godless, nature will restrict supply. There will be no rain, no production. There will be scarcity, everything.

For one Sītā He had to fight with Rāvaṇa and finish the whole dynasty, because Rāmacandra is the ideal king. It is the king's business to chastise such rogues and ruffians.

Lecture on SB 7.9.11 -- Mayapur, February 18, 1976:

Just like Lord Rāmacandra. He... His one wife Sītādeva was kidnapped by Rāvaṇa. Of course, Rāvaṇa cannot kidnap. It was externally, Māyā Sītā. Still, taking for exception Sītā was kidnapped, so Lord Rāmacandra could have possessed many millions of Sītā by His will, but for one Sītā He had to fight with Rāvaṇa and finish the whole dynasty, because Rāmacandra is the ideal king. It is the king's business to chastise such rogues and ruffians. That is king's business. That is for the benefit of Rāvaṇa. Rāvaṇa means the same Hiraṇyakaśipu. Kumbhakarṇa-Rāvaṇa. First they became Hiraṇyakṣa and Hiraṇyakaśipu, the next, Kumbhakarṇa and Rāvaṇa, and the next, they became Śiśupāla and Dantavakra. In this way, because Kṛṣṇa wanted to give them liberation again back to home, back to Godhead, so this killing of Rāvaṇa, killing of Hiraṇyakaśipu, killing of Śiśupāla, is for the benefit of the persons, not for Kṛṣṇa's benefit. He killed them for their benefit.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

King's business is to give protection to the faithful and punish the unfaithful.

Room Conversation with Reporter from Researchers Magazine -- July 24, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: No... King is... King means a devotee. Because the king did not remain devotee, now monarchy is abolished. King means Kṛṣṇa's representative, nara-devatā. The king is supposed to act on behalf of Kṛṣṇa. Just like Kṛṣṇa's business is paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8).

Reporter: Yes, yes.

Prabhupāda: Similarly, king's business is to give protection to the faithful and punish the unfaithful.

Reporter: But today's kings...

Prabhupāda: Today's no... I'm speaking... Today's good and tomorrow is bad, that is not.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

It is not because they are on the same throne, therefore of the same conscious. Mosquito's business is to bite, and king's business is to rule over.

Interview with Newsweek -- July 14, 1976, New York:

Prabhupāda: But the mosquito is mosquito, and the king is king, although they are sitting on the same place.

Bali-mardana: Both sitting on the throne.

Rāmeśvara: Everyone is here on this planet. Some people are affected by the material conditions...,

Prabhupāda: He's mosquito.

Rāmeśvara: He's the bug.

Prabhupāda: This is the best example. On the throne, both of them are sitting, but king's consciousness and mosquito's consciousness are different. It is not because they are on the same throne, therefore of the same conscious. Mosquito's business is to bite, and king's business is to rule over.

1975 Correspondence

The example is The King and the bed bug, both of them are sitting on the same throne, but the business of the King is to rule and the bed bug's business is to bite.

Letter to Tikandas J. Batra -- New Delhi 30 November, 1975:

Regarding your question about Vaikuntha; the example is The King and the bed bug, both of them are sitting on the same throne, but the business of the King is to rule and the bed bug's business is to bite. The place is the same, but the consciousness is different. It is said the Lord is situated in everyone's heart, so that means Krishna is also in the heart of a hog, and he is also in the heart of a demigod, but that does not mean that God has become a hog, or a demigod, God is always in Vaikuntha. Similarly, those who are God conscious, Pure devotees of the Lord, they are always in Vaikuntha, there is nothing like material for them.