Mālatī: Śrīla Prabhupāda, in the United States' Constitution there is a Bill of Rights that says that any religion can be practiced. Do we mean to say that . . . (indistinct) . . . can be practised. Therefore anything goes and people become atheistic?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Don't you feel that your people are atheistic?
Mālatī: Yes. Because they can do anything.
Prabhupāda: They are simply after wine and women. So that is fall of religion. Just like Mahārāja Parīkṣit: As soon as he saw that one man was trying to kill a cow, immediately took his sword, "Who are you? You are killing a cow in my kingdom?" So if the state does not take steps in maintaining religion, then religion will fall down. Just like a father—if he does not take care of his son to be a man of character, he becomes a debauchee. That is natural.
So according to Vedic principles, the kings were very much highly trained to see how the people are advancing in the spiritual knowledge. Just like one king . . . you will find in The Nectar of Devotion. There was law that . . . (chuckles) He said that, "If I do not find any one of my citizens with tilaka, then I shall punish him."
So everyone, out of that fear, they used to have this tilaka. And they were looking all Vaiṣṇavas. (laughs) Although they had no very much faith in Viṣṇu, but out of fear of the state orders, they were having tilaka. So sometimes authority orders are accepted in that, out of fear. Hare Kṛṣṇa.