Text 14] Lord Viṣṇu's Appearance in the Sacrificial Arena
781
material world, then how could things as they are go on? And if things are to go on as they ought to, how can a head of state be indifferent to such activities? In answer to this question the word  śreyaḥ , “auspicious,” is used here. The division of activities in society as arranged by the Supreme Personality of Godhead was not blindly or accidentally created, as foolish people say. The  brāhmaṇa  must do his duty properly, and the  kṣatriya , the  vaiśya  and even the  śūdra  must do the same. And every one of them can achieve the highest perfection of life—liberation from this material bondage. This is confirmed in  Bhagavad-gītā .  Sve sve karmaṇy abhirataḥ saṁsiddhiṁ labhate naraḥ : “By executing one's prescribed duties, one can attain the highest perfection.” (Bg. 18.45)
Lord Viṣṇu advised Mahārāja Pṛthu that a king is not enjoined to give up his kingdom and the responsibility of protecting the  prajās  or citizens to instead go away to the Himalayas for liberation. He can attain liberation while executing his royal duties. The royal duty or the duty of the head of state is to see that the  prajās  or the general mass of people are doing their respective duties for spiritual salvation. A secular state does not necessitate a king or head of state who is indifferent to the activities of the  prajās . In the modern state the government has many rules and regulations for conducting the duties of the  prajās , but the government neglects to see that the citizens advance in spiritual knowledge. If the government is careless in this matter, the citizens will act whimsically, without any sense of God realization or spiritual life, and thus become entangled in sinful activities.
An executive head should not be callous to the welfare of the general mass of people while he simply goes on collecting taxes. The king's real duty is to see that the citizens gradually become fully Kṛṣṇa conscious. Kṛṣṇa conscious means completely free from all sinful activities. As soon as there is complete eradication of sinful activities in the state, then there will be no more war, pestilence, famine or natural disturbances. This was actually prevailing during the reign of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira. If a king or head of the government is able to induce the citizens to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, then he is worthy to rule over the mass of people; otherwise, he has no right to levy taxes. If the king looks after the spiritual interests of the citizens, he can levy taxes without difficulties. In this way both the subjects and the king will be happy during this life, and in the next life the king will be able to share one sixth of the pious activities of the citizens. Otherwise, by levying taxes on the sinful citizens he will have to share the reactions of their sinful activities.
This same principle can be applied to parents and the spiritual masters as well. If parents simply give birth to children like cats and dogs but cannot