Text 25] Lord Ramacandra Rules the World 127
to go out and achieve victory all over the world. It was the custom (and
this custom, in some places, is still current) that all other kings would
have to accept the supremacy of the emperor. If the king of a small state
did not accept the emperor’s supremacy, there would be a fight, and the
king of the small state would be obliged to accept the emperor as
supreme; otherwise, it would not be possible for the emperor to rule the
country.

Lord Ramacandra showed His favor to His brothers by ordering Them
to go out. Many of the Lord’s devotees residing in Vrndavana have taken
the vow not to leave Vrndavana to preach Krsna consciousness. But the
Lord says that Krsna consciousness should be spread all over the world,
in every village and every town. This is the open order of Lord Caitanya
Mahaprabhu.

prthivite dche yata nagarddi grama

sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama
A pure devotee, therefore, must execute the order of the Lord and must
not gratify his senses by remaining stagnant in one place, falsely proud,
thinking that because he does not leave Vrndavana but chants in a soli-
tary place he has become a great devotee. A devotee must carry out the
order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Caitanya Mahaprabhu
said, ydre dekha, tare kaha ‘krsna’-upadesa. Every devotee, therefore,
should spread Krsna consciousness by preaching, asking whomever he
meets to accept the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The
Lord says, sarva-dharmdan parityajya mam ekam Saranam vraja:
“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me.” This is
the order of the Lord, who speaks as the supreme emperor. Everyone
should be induced to accept this order, for this is victory (dig-vijaya).
And it is the duty of the soldier, the devotee, to impress upon everyone
this philosophy of life.

Of course, those who are kanistha-adhikdris do not preach, but the
Lord shows mercy to them also, as He did by staying personally in
Ayodhya to give audience to the people in general. One should not
mistakenly think that the Lord asked His younger brothers to leave
Ayodhya because He especially favored the citizens. The Lord is merciful
to everyone, and He knows how to show His favor to each individual
