Pradyumna: "Life in the material world is maintained by sucking one's own blood. The central point of attraction for material enjoyment is sex life. To enjoy sex life is to suck one's own blood, and there is not much more to be explained in this connection. The camel also sucks his own blood while chewing the thorny twigs. The thorns that the camel eats cuts the tongue of the camel. And so blood begins to flow within the camel's mouth. The thorns mixed with fresh blood create a taste for the foolish camel, and so he enjoys the thorn-eating business with false pleasure. Similarly, the great business magnates, industrialists who work very hard to earn money by different ways and questionable means, eat the thorny result of their action mixed up with their own blood. Therefore the Bhāgavatam has situated these diseased souls along with the camels."
Prabhupāda: They take risk, so much risk, for earning money and sense enjoyment. The thief, the burglars, they risk their life. They go to steal to a man's house, and it is known that as soon as he is known, "He has come," the man, the proprietor of the house, may immediately shoot him. That risk he takes. So not only the burglar and thieves, every one of us. It is stated padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadām (SB 10.14.58). In every step there is danger. Every step. We are running our motorcars very fast, seventy miles, one hundred miles speed, but any moment there can be great danger. So actually there cannot be any peace in material life. That is not possible. Samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavam. We have to take therefore shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord. If we want to be happy, if we want to be peaceful, then this is the only way. And the... Śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-khara... And in the previous verse, kiṁ grāme paśavo 'pare, na khādanti na mehanti. This eating, sleeping, mating, so it is criticized: "Do the cats and dogs and the camels, they do not eat?"
They also eat. They enjoy. As the camel is enjoying thorny twigs. His enjoyment, that is his enjoyment. Na khādanti na mehanti. Now, another enjoyment. Sex life, discharge. Na mehanti. Again it is described. These are very terse criticism. You see. A fact. Sex enjoyment means you discharge your semina. Your thing, not others. And it is said by medical science, some pounds of blood makes one drop of semina. That means, suppose you allow, if you allow somebody to take your blood, pounds of blood, would you like to do that? Unless it is... Nowadays, blood bank, there is going on. But anyone, if he wants to take your blood, you will protest. But our enjoyment is by giving our own blood. Tul... There is a Hindi poet, din ka ḍākinī, rāt ka bāghinī, palak palak rahe cuṣe duniyā sab bhora hoye, ghara ghara bāghinī pūje (?). It is actual for the materialistic person, that there is an animal, din ka ḍākinī, at, during daytime she is witch, and at night she is tigress.
So din ka ḍākinī, rāt ka bāghinī, palak palak rahe cuṣe. The witches, they also, by their black art, they suck the blood of children. Do you know that? There are witches. You know? I am asking Svarūpa Dāmodara. The kamekha (?) witches, from the black art. The Pūtanā was like that. They suck the blood of children by some mantra. So din ka ḍākinī, rāt ka bāghinī. It is pointing out to one's wife. During daytime she is ḍākinī, witches, and at night she is tigress. So Tulasī dāsa says that. . . Tulasī dāsa's life is very interesting. Therefore he had very bad experience of his wife. Everyone. So bāghinī. Nobody keeps a tigress to suck one's blood, but Tulasī dāsa says, duniyā sab bhora hoye. The whole world, being mad, they keep one tigress. Palak palak rahe cuṣe. In every moment, sucking blood. This criticism is for the materialistic person. Those who are spiritually advancing, this criticism does not apply. For materialistic person, this agent of sucking blood is their happiness, is their happiness.
That is the real fact. Therefore the Vedic system of civilization is seventy-five percent life of celibacy. In the brahmacārī system there is no connection with woman. Student life. Student life, if one remains brahmacārī, he becomes determined. His brain becomes very receptive. Therefore, in the brahmacārī system, complete celibacy, no connection with woman. So up to twenty-five years, if he does not discharge semen, he becomes very stout, strong, and his health is built up for whole life, and he becomes so intelligent that anything he will hear, he will remember immediately. Then after brahmacārī system, if one cannot remain brahmacārī, naiṣṭhika-brahmacārī, then the spiritual master allows him to marry. That is gṛhastha-āśrama. So when one is complete, fit for sex life, he begets children, male children, and after twenty-five years, the child becomes grown up, so he retires. In this way, brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, and sannyāsa. The whole aim is Viṣṇu, how to go back to home, back to Godhead.
Not like, living like this, animals. Śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-khara. Not to live. That is not human life. Śva means dependent. "Unless somebody gives me food, I cannot live." That is the life of a dog. A street dog is never happy. One dog who has got master, he is happy. That is śva. Viḍ-varāha means eating everything, anything nonsense eatable. Varāha, viḍ-varāha. Śva-viḍ-varāha-uṣṭra. Uṣṭra means chewing or drinking his own blood, and he thinks it is very tasteful. And similarly ass. Ass is working hard for the washerman, not for himself, and still, he thinks he is happy. Therefore these four nice animals has been exemplified. That is our life. The karmīs are compared with the ass. Big, big businessmen, day and night working hard, earning money, not for himself. What he will eat? Two cāpāṭis, that's all. Or little milk or little... Not that he has earned 1000 dollars every day and he will eat it. No. He will eat, out of that 1000 dollars, he will eat fifty cents, and balance will be eaten by others.
You see. But still, he is working hard. And the example is ass. The ass takes a morsel of grass. It is worth nothing. The ass can get anywhere the morsel of grass. But still, he thinks that the washerman is feeding me. So he remains there. And in Mexico you found some asses, carrying loads. So they are carrying loads, very heavy loads, tons, for that morsel of grass, which he can get anywhere. But he thinks, "Oh, I will die. If my master does not give me a morsel of grass, I will die. So let me remain here and carry all the big loads." You see. Similarly, the karmīs, they remain at home. They think that "My wife, my children, my family—without them, I shall die. So I have to work to maintain them like an ass." That's all. The karmīs, they are working, accumulating bank balance, more, more, more, more, more, more. But forgetting the real mission of life. Therefore ass. Ass means fool. Whenever one man is called, "You are ass," that means he's a fool. So this human form of life, so valuable...
To realize Kṛṣṇa and go back to Him, that should be our main business. But these karmīs, they do not know what is the mission of this human form of life. They are busy working hard, day and night, for a morsel of grass. That's all. Yan maithunādi-gṛha... There are many other verses. Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45). So śāstra, intelligence, knowledge, means one should study everything very critically, "What is my position? What is my duty?" We should not be like the animals. Śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-khara. Now we have got our great personalities, leaders. They are praised, eulogized, our, these political leaders. "Our Hitler," "Our Gandhi," "Our Churchill," "Our Nixon." But śāstra says these leaders, those who are not spiritual leaders, those who cannot give our life, they are worshiped by these classes of animals, animals. These so-called leaders, politicians, they are eulogized very much by whom? By these class of men: dogs, camels, asses and...
What is the other one?
Devotees: Hogs.
Prabhupāda: Hog. So this is the verdict of... That means one who does not know whom to eulogize, whom to give honor, they give votes to these classes of men, without any knowledge of Kṛṣṇa. They are becoming the great philosophers, leaders, scientists. They have no knowledge of Kṛṣṇa, no knowledge of God. Still, they are leading the society. And who praise them? This class of men—dogs, hogs, camels, and asses. This is the verdict. Now you can challenge. You can talk, if it is right or wrong. This is the challenge given by Bhāgavatam, that "Persons who have no knowledge of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they are praised by these dogs, hogs, camels, and asses." This is the challenge. Now how can you refute it? Can you refute it? This is a great challenge. We are not only... We are accepting some rascal as God, as incarnation of God. So who accept this so-called God? These classes of men. These classes of men: camel, hogs, dogs. So by the vote of camels, dogs, hogs, one cannot become God.
That is not possible. God is a different thing. So we should not be misled. If some incarnation come, "God," who is accepting? These camels, dogs, and hogs and asses. So what is the value? What is the value of their vote? No. Formerly, the votes were taken by highly saintly persons, brāhmaṇas. Just like Pṛthu Mahārāja's father Veṇa Mahārāja. He was disapproved by the brāhmaṇas and the saintly persons, and immediately he was dethroned and killed. Not the public vote. Not vox populi. Vote should be taken from the highly elevated persons, not from the lower-class dogs and asses. What is the value of their vote? What they can select? Vote should be taken... Just like Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa wanted that Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira should be on the throne. That is vote. So nowadays, a vote is franchised. Any common man, any rascal can vote. So how he can elect nice man? That is not possible. Therefore, if you want real government who can lead you back to home, back to Godhead...
That is perfect government. That is the duty of the government. To see the citizens happy in this life. They have no grievance for their living condition. They are happy. At the same time, they are preparing for going back to home, back to Godhead. That is good government. And the government who simply levies taxes somehow or other... Every year, the budget is increasing tax. "You give us tax, and you go to hell. It doesn't matter. You give us tax." And the tax is divided amongst themselves. That is government. Whatever... We know in India, the tax collected, eighty percent is spent among the government servants. That's all.
So this is the position of Kali-yuga. Mlecchā rājanya-rūpiṇo bhakṣayiṣyanti prajās te. That is predicted in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that in Kali-yuga the mlecchas, means the rejected from human society, such persons, rogues and fools and rascals, they will take the post of king. Rājanya-rūpiṇaḥ. They are unworthy to be kicked, but they will take the post of government.
Rājanya-rūpiṇaḥ. And what will be their business? Bhakṣayiṣyanti prajās te. They will eat the citizens. That's all. Vital force. Vital force, blood-sucking, tax. Durbhikṣa-kara-pīḍitāḥ (SB 12.2.9). In one side, there will be scarcity of supply. In other side, they will be perplexed with taxes. These are going to be happened. Kara-pīḍitāḥ gacchanti giri-kānanam. And they will give up their homely life and will go to the forest, to the hills. Just like every year you hear. Now it is going on. Just like in Vietnam. The poor people, they are sometimes evacuating this place and evacuating... vacating this place, vacating that place. They are troubled. The politicians, they are making their own plan, and the poor people ... We have seen. When partition was made in India, all poor Hindus and Muslims, they were in trouble. And the leaders, they were in happy mood in their apartment, ordering and eating very nicely, butter and bread. That's all. This is going on. Therefore the only opportunity of becoming happy is that you preach this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement amongst the people, so if the people become educated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and if they decide that "We shall vote for Kṛṣṇa conscious leader," then there will be happiness.
Just like Pṛthu Mahārāja, the king. We were discussing. So the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement comprehends all sides of life. It is not that a stereotype "churchianity," weekly going to the church and come back and do all. No. It is embracing all sides of our life. But the only aim is how to go back to home, back to Godhead. So we have to educate these classes of men, śva-viḍ-varāha-uṣṭra-khara, these class of men: dogs, hogs, camels, and the asses. The world is full of these classes of men, and you have to educate them. Your responsibility is very great. You have to make an ass a devotee, a camel a devotee, a dog a devotee, a hog a devotee. This is your mission. Next.