780
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 4, Ch. 20]
he is the substitute for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. ( Bhāg.  11.17.27) One should treat the spiritual master as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and never be envious of him or consider him to be an ordinary human being. If we follow the instruction of the spiritual master and execute devotional service to the Lord, we will remain always free from the contamination of bodily or material activities, and our life will be successful.
TEXT 14
श्रेयः प्रजापालनमेव राज्ञो यत्साम्पराये सुकृतात् षष्ठमंशम् । हर्तन्यथा हृतपुण्यः प्रजाना- मरक्षिता करहारोऽधमति ॥१४॥
śreyaḥ prajā-pālanam eva rājño yat sāmparāye sukṛtāt ṣaṣṭham aṁśam hartānyathā hṛta-puṇyaḥ prajānām arakṣitā karahāro 'gham atti
śreyaḥ —auspicious;  prajā-pālanam —ruling over the general mass of people;  eva —certainly;  rājñaḥ —for the king;  yat —because;  sāmparāye —in the next birth;  su-kṛtāt —from the pious activities;  ṣaṣṭham aṁśam —one-sixth part;  hartā —collector;  anyathā —otherwise;  hṛta-puṇyaḥ —being bereft of the results of pious activities;  prajānām —of the citizens;  arakṣitā —one who does not protect;  kara-hāraḥ —tax collector;  agham —sin;  atti —receives or suffers.
TRANSLATION
To give protection to the general mass of people who are citizens of the state is the prescribed occupational duty for a king. By acting in that way, the king in his next life shares one sixth of the result of the pious activities of the citizens. But a king or executive head of state who simply collects taxes from the citizens but does not give them proper protection as human beings has the results of his own pious activities taken away by the citizens, and in exchange for his not giving protection he becomes liable to punishment for the impious activities of his subjects.
PURPORT
The question may be raised here that if everyone engaged in spiritual activities to attain salvation and became indifferent to the activities of the