Prabhupāda: Similarly hiṁsā, it is used for... Just like in Manu-saṁhitā it is said that the murderer should be hanged. So this is also hiṁsā, to get him a man hanged. But Manu-saṁhitā says that this kind of hiṁsā is necessary. Because the man who's committed murder, if he's hanged, then in this life all his sinful activities finished. Otherwise, in his next life he has to suffer so many things. So it is the duty of the king to take his life so that he may be relieved from other sinful reaction. So according to śāstra, hiṁsā..., ahiṁsā is good, but when there is necessity, hiṁsā is also good.
Reporter: Yes. When there is right hiṁsā, then it becomes a right action.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Reporter: And a right action is inherently inspired with love and devotion to Kṛṣṇa.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Reporter: And therefore it is no more hiṁsā. But when the devilish...
Prabhupāda: And actually it is not hiṁsā.
Reporter: Actually it is not hiṁsā, exactly, but...
Prabhupāda: Just like father gives a slap.
Reporter: Yeah, it is not hiṁsā.
Prabhupāda: It is not hiṁsā.
Reporter: Yeah.
Prabhupāda: Similarly, the hiṁsā, so-called hiṁsā, when it is directed by Kṛṣṇa, that is not hiṁsā. That is love.
Reporter: Yeah. But when it is not directed by Kṛṣṇa...
Prabhupāda: Then it is hiṁsā.
Reporter: Yeah. Then it is hiṁsā. And I am against that hiṁsā which is not directed by Kṛṣṇa.
Prabhupāda: Yeah, that's all right, that's all right.
Reporter: (laughs) Yes. And especially today in the society we are all living in, nuclear age where all the power of destruction in the hands of those who are not devotees of Kṛṣṇa is...
Prabhupāda: That is hiṁsā.
Reporter: That is hiṁsā.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Reporter: Yeah. Therefore we are trying to make how you can, I mean...
Prabhupāda: That you have understood. That is my point.
Reporter: Yes.
Prabhupāda: That so-called hiṁsā, when it is directed by Kṛṣṇa, is not hiṁsā.
Reporter: Yeah, exactly. I agree. That's, that's...
Prabhupāda: The same example as I gave, gave you. That when the king condemns a murderer to death, it is not hiṁsā. It is doing good to him.
Reporter: Yeah. But only if the king is a devotee of Kṛṣṇa.
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.
Reporter: Yeah, yeah.
Prabhupāda: I'm speaking the principle. The king must be representative of God. Therefore we offer so much honor to the King. Exactly like God. Why? Because King is supposed to be representative of God. Our Vedic conception is cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). Brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. This catur-varṇa. It is the king's duty, government's duty, to see that a person claiming to be brāhmaṇa, whether he's acting as a brāhmaṇa. Nowadays that... Such supervision is not there. Therefore a man acting as śūdra, but he's claiming to be brāhmaṇa.
Reporter: Yeah, yeah, yeah. (laughs)
Prabhupāda: Isn't it?
Reporter: Yeah.
Prabhupāda: So it is the king's duty. Just like the king, it is the government's duty to see that nobody cheats. If a person without any medical qualification, if he writes "Doctor, Medical practitioner," he should be punished. Similarly, if one is claiming to be brāhmaṇa, he must act as brāhmaṇa. If one is claiming to be kṣatriya, he must act as a kṣatriya. Now, what are the qualifications of brāhmaṇa, what are the qualifications of kṣatriya, they are there already in Bhagavad-gītā.
Reporter: Yes, yes, yes.
Prabhupāda: So this is government's duty, that you are claiming that everyone should be employed, everyone should be engaged, in his own occupation. That is called svadharmeṇa idanasya(?). Sva-dharma means the brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. By quality. Guṇa-karma. By quality and work. So it is the duty of the government to see that a śūdra is employed, is engaged as a śūdra, a vaiśya is employed and engaged as... Just like vaiśya. Vaiśya, it is said that kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyaṁ vaiśya-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.44). Now the vaiśyas, they are in the share market speculating.