A brāhmaṇa. . . Everyone has to earn livelihood. That is a fact. Without working, you cannot live. So there are specific. . . Just like brāhmaṇa—yajan yājan paṭhan pāṭhan dānaḥ pratigrahaḥ. He must be very good worshiper of the Lord, and he must induce his yajamāna, his dependent. Brāhmaṇa is the head, and the kṣatriya, vaiśya, they are yajamāna. So they should induce, just like we are inducing all over the world, "Open temple. Worship Kṛṣṇa." This is brāhmaṇa's business.
- śrī-vigrahārādhana-nitya-nānā
- śṛṅgāra-tan-mandira-mārjanādau
- yuktasya bhaktāṁś ca niyuñjato 'pi
- vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam
This is the duty of the guru. He worships himself. Unless he knows how to worship, how he will teach them? So he acts himself as brāhmaṇa, and he teaches the disciple how to work as a brāhmaṇa. Śrī-vigraha. This is called yajana yājana. Paṭhana pāṭhana: he must be a learned brāhmaṇa, and he must teach others how to become learned brāhmaṇa, paṇḍita. Paṭhana pāṭhana yajana yājana dāna pratigraha: he can accept charity from others, and he will distribute it by temple worship, distribute. All that you have collected, worship the Deity and distribute prasādam, distribute this, distribute. . . Dānaḥ pratigrahaḥ. This is brāhmaṇa's business. Paṭhana pāṭhana yajana yājana. And kṣatriya, they will be governor of certain villages or little extended, and they will give protection. Kṣatriya means giving protection. If somebody is coming outside to attack you, the kṣatriya kings will immediately come out, and with sword they will give you protection. And because the kṣatriya gives you protection, therefore you give him some tax. Unless the governor or the government does not give you protection, they have no place to tax. That is not. . . That is illegal.
Therefore kṣatriya can levy tax because he gives protection. And a brāhmaṇa, he elevates the society to spiritual standard. Then simply protection and advancing in spiritual life will not do. We must have food also. So that is vaiśya's business. Kṛṣi-gorakṣya-vāṇijyaṁ vaiśya-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.44). The vaiśyas should produce food. Annād bhavanti bhūtāni (BG 3.14). Unless people eat, how they will live? Simply becoming king for levying tax and simply becoming brāhmaṇa to teach how to worship, but if you have no food, then what you will do? There must be arrangement for food. That is entrusted to the vaiśyas. In this way this is classification. Not by birth one becomes brāhmaṇa, and working less than a śūdra, and he is still brāhmaṇa. This is not. . . This is nonsense. One must be guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). The society is divided according to the quality he is working, accordingly.