View source for When he was arrested and he was being judged by Alexander, the thief pleaded that "What is the difference between you and me? You are a great thief. I am a small thief." So Alexander understood it and got him released, "Yes." This is generosity

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<div id="Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" class="section" sec_index="5" parent="compilation" text="Conversations and Morning Walks"><h2>Conversations and Morning Walks</h2>
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<div id="1975_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" class="sub_section" sec_index="8" parent="Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" text="1975 Conversations and Morning Walks"><h3>1975 Conversations and Morning Walks</h3>
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<div id="RoomConversationwithTwoLawyersandGuestMay221975Melbourne_0" class="quote" parent="1975_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" book="Con" index="88" link="Room Conversation with Two Lawyers and Guest -- May 22, 1975, Melbourne" link_text="Room Conversation with Two Lawyers and Guest -- May 22, 1975, Melbourne">
<div class="heading">Although he is hero, he must be generous. Just like Alexander the Great. Perhaps you know the story. He arrested one thief. So when he was arrested and he was being judged by Alexander, the thief pleaded that "What is the difference between you and me? You are a great thief. I am a small thief." (laughter) So Alexander understood it and got him released, "Yes." (laughter) This is generosity.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Room Conversation with Two Lawyers and Guest -- May 22, 1975, Melbourne|Room Conversation with Two Lawyers and Guest -- May 22, 1975, Melbourne]]: </span><div class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Guest 2: I think the problem in western society, because in western society if you're not the head, then you're inferior.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Hmm?</p>
<p>Guest 2: If you're not the head, you're inferior. In Indian society that's not so.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Who shall be the head?</p>
<p>Guest 2: All want to be heads, in one way or another.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: What is that?</p>
<p>Amogha: He says that we all want to be heads.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No. That is a very good idea, but the leg is also required. If you simply keep the head and there is no leg, then it is incomplete. Everything is required. To keep the body fit you require head, you require arms, you require belly, you require leg. That is the system of varṇāśrama-dharma. In India you have heard that there is a class, brāhmaṇa. Now it is now broken. But this is the Vedic civilization, that one class of men should be the brāhmaṇas, first class. One class of man should be kṣatriya, the administrators, politicians. One class of man should be food producer, vaiśya. And one class of man should be laborer, who has no brain but he can assist the other three.</p>
<p>Guest 2: The ideal in western societies is all people should be equal.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No, that is not ideal and neither it is possible. Not that everyone is going to be lawyer. Even though everyone has got the ambition to become a first-class lawyer and earn like anything, but that is not possible. So therefore it requires selection, who will become a lawyer, who will become a scientist, who will become a medical man...</p>
<p>Guest 2: In our society you are taught in school that if you try hard enough, you can become prime minister.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No, no, there is no harm. You become prime minister. But I say that not everyone is capable to become prime minister. That has to be. If one man is not capable and if he takes education to become, he will waste his time.</p>
<p>Guest 2: But once you have the idea in your head that you can be prime minister, you don't want to be a laborer.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Then you become. But if he is a loafer and he wants to become prime minister, then it will create havoc. Just like in America. He was not fit for the president's post. Nixon was elected. Then again he has to be dragged down. We say the fit man should go to become a particular...</p>
<p>Guest 2: Our system, I think is not very good. But everyone is taught this way in our system.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No, there must be... Just like first-class men. They should judge for which purpose this man is. Practical psychology there is. I think. They can decide like that. Anyway, the society must have all divisions of men, and then the society is perfect. We have already many divisions, but we are lacking one division, that, the first-class men, first-class ideal men. That is lacking.</p>
<p>Guest 1: I think everybody acknowledges that.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes, that first-class man is stated here. Read that.</p>
<p>Amogha:</p>
:śamo damas tapaḥ śaucaṁ
:kṣāntir ārjavam eva ca
:jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyaṁ
:brahma-karma svabhāva-jam
:([[Vanisource:BG 18.42|BG 18.42]])
<p>Translation: "Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, wisdom, knowledge, and religiousness—these are the qualities by which the brāhmaṇas work."</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: So we have to train men like that.</p>
<p>Guest 1: I don't think anybody would disagree with anyone of those.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Huh?</p>
<p>Guest 1: I don't think anybody would disagree with any one of those.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes. So as you are training lawyer, as you are training medical man, you can train some men like that. It is possible. If you train from the childhood, it is possible. It doesn't matter from which family he is coming, but it will require, trained up. Just like you have been trained up as lawyer, it doesn't matter from which family you have... It may be lawyer's family or engineer's family. It doesn't matter. But training. So at the present moment, to make the society perfect, a class of men should be trained as it is described here. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. And if the first-class men are there, people will consult them, people will follow them, the whole society will be nice.</p>
<p>Guest 2: What about soldiers?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Huh?</p>
<p>Guest 2: Soldiers?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Soldiers, they should be also trained up. They are being trained up. Kṣatriyas. Just read the kṣatriya...</p>
<p>Amogha:</p>
:śauryaṁ tejo dhṛtir dākṣyaṁ
:yuddhe cāpy apalāyanam
:dānam īśvara-bhāvaś ca
:kṣātraṁ karma svabhāva-jam
:([[Vanisource:BG 18.43|BG 18.43]])
<p>Translation: "Heroism power, determination, resourcefulness, courage in battle, generosity, and..."</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Courage in battle.</p>
<p>Guest 2: American soldiers.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No, whoever may be. Not that I sit down in my armchair and I give direction. The poor soldiers are fighting. No. He should go. Courage. He should personally give direction, "Do like this." Who is doing that? The minister of defense is very comfortably sitting on his chair, and the poor soldiers are fighting. That is not required. He must go first of all: "Do like this." Just like in Battle of Kurukṣetra, Arjuna is in front; the other side, Duryodhana. The real fighters, they are face to face. Soldiers are assistant. Where is that? So they should be trained up. So unless he is by his nature very powerful, śauryam... What is that?</p>
<p>Amogha: Śauryam, heroism.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Heroism. Therefore the kṣatriyas are allowed to hunt in the forest to become hero because he has to fight. Just like in medical laboratory they first of all dissect some poor animal before touching human being. Therefore kṣatriyas are allowed to hunt to become hero. Facing the tiger, "Come on." And still, say, about twenty-five years ago, there was a native prince in Jaipur. Every year he would go to the forest and face the tiger, without any weapon. So that is required.</p>
<p>Guest 2: That is good?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: That is required. Those who are politicians, those who are going to be president, they must be like that.</p>
<p>Guest 2: In our society that wouldn't be thought good.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No, your society whatever you may be, this is the idea.</p>
<p>Guest 1: Well, that's almost the description of General Amin.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Huh?</p>
<p>Guest 1: That's almost the description of General Ahin.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: General...?</p>
<p>Guest 2: Where is he?</p>
<p>Guest 1: Idi Amin? Uganda.</p>
<p>Amogha: There is a general in Africa who is very powerful, but he's demonic.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No, no. They should not be demonic. Other things are there. Śauryaṁ tejo...</p>
<p>Amogha: "Heroism, power, determination, resourcefulness, courage in battle, generosity, and leadership..."</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Generosity.</p>
<p>Guest 2: So he hasn't got generosity.</p>
<p>Guest 3: No, he's got another one, insanity. (laughter)</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Not insanity.</p>
<p>Guest 1: You can't substitute.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes. Everything is there. He must be at the same time... Although he is hero, he must be generous. Just like Alexander the Great. Perhaps you know the story. He arrested one thief. So when he was arrested and he was being judged by Alexander, the thief pleaded that "What is the difference between you and me? You are a great thief. I am a small thief." (laughter) So Alexander understood it and got him released, "Yes." (laughter) This is generosity. He must agree to the principle.</p>
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