ya uddharet karaá¹ rÄjÄ
prajÄ dharmeá¹£v aÅ›iká¹£ayan
prajÄnÄá¹ Å›amalaá¹ bhuá¹…kte
bhagaá¹ ca svaá¹ jahÄti saḥ
yaḥ - anyone (king or governor); uddharet - exact; karam - taxes; rÄjÄ - king; prajÄḥ - the citizens; dharmeá¹£u - in executing their respective duties; aÅ›iká¹£ayan - without teaching them how to execute their respective duties; prajÄnÄm - of the citizens; Å›amalam - impious; bhuá¹…kte - enjoys; bhagam - fortune; ca - also; svam - own; jahÄti - gives up; saḥ - that king.
A king, governor or president should not take the opportunity to occupy his post without also discharging his duty. He must teach the people within the state how to observe the divisions of varṇa and ÄÅ›rama. If a king neglects to give such instructions and is simply satisfied with levying taxes, then those who share in the collection — namely, all the government servants and the head of the state — are liable to share in the impious activities of the general masses. The laws of nature are very subtle. For example, if one eats in a place which is very sinful, he shares in the resultant reaction of the sinful activities performed there. (It is a Vedic system, therefore, for a householder to call brÄhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas to eat at ceremonial performances in his house because the brÄhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas can immunize him from sinful activities. But it is not the duty of rigid brÄhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas to accept invitations everywhere. There is, of course, no objection to taking part in feasts in which prasÄda is distributed.) There are many subtle laws which are practically unknown to people in general, but the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is very scientifically distributing all this Vedic knowledge for the benefit of the people of the world.