Finding the Cure for Today’s Social Ills 187

been ruled by monarchs, but the monarchs would always become tyran-
nical and unjust.

Srila Prabhupada: Because they weren’t trained to be saintly monarchs.
In Vedic civilization, boys were trained from the very beginning of life as
first-class brahmacadris (celibate students]. They went to the gurukula, the
school of the spiritual master, and learned self-control, cleanliness,
truthfulness, and many other saintly qualities. The best of them were
later fit to rule the country.

The American Revolution has no special significance. The point is that
when people become unhappy, they revolt. That was done in America,
that was done in France, and that was done in Russia.

BTG: The American revolutionaries said that if a government fails to
rule the people properly, then the people have the right to dissolve that
government.

Srila Prabhupada: Yes. Just as in Nixon’s case: they pulled him down.
But if they replace Nixon with another Nixon, then what is the value?
They must know how to replace Nixon with a saintly leader. Because peo-
ple do not have that training and that culture, they will go on electing one
Nixon after another and never become happy. People can be happy. The
formula for happiness is there in the Bhagavad-gitd. The first thing they
must know is that the land belongs to God. Why do Americans claim that
the land belongs to them? When the first settlers went to America, they
said, ‘“This land belongs to God; therefore we have a right to live here.”
So why are they now not allowing others to settle on the land? What is
their philosophy? There are so many overpopulated countries. The
American government should let those people go to America and should
give them facility to cultivate the land and produce grains. Why are they
not doing that? They have taken others’ property by force, and by force
they are checking others from going there. What is the philosophy
behind this?

BTG: There is no philosophy.

Srila Prabhupada: Roguism is their philosophy. They take the property
by force, and then they make a law that no one can take another’s pro-
perty by force. So they are thieves. They cannot restrict God’s property
from being occupied by God’s sons. America and the other countries in
the United Nations should agree that wherever there is enough land, it
may be utilized by the human society for producing food. The govern-
ment can say, ‘‘All right, you are overpopulated. Your people can come
here. We will give them land, and they can produce food.’’ We would
see a wonderful result. But-will they do that? No. Then what is their
