यत्र यत्र द्विजा गावो वेदा वर्णाश्रमक्रियाः ।
तं तं जनपदं यात सन्दीपयत वृश्चत ॥१२॥

yatra yatra dvijÄ gÄvo
vedÄ varṇÄÅ›rama-kriyÄḥ
taá¹ taá¹ janapadaá¹ yÄta
sandīpayata vṛścata

 yatra yatra - wherever; dvijÄḥ - the brÄhmaṇas; gÄvaḥ - the protected cows; vedÄḥ - the Vedic culture; varṇa-ÄÅ›rama - of the Ä€ryan civilization of four varṇas and four ÄÅ›ramas; kriyÄḥ - the activities; tam tam - that; jana-padam - to the city or town; yÄta - go; sandÄ«payata - set fire; vṛścata - cut down (all the trees).


Text

Immediately go wherever there is good protection for the cows and brÄhmaṇas and wherever the Vedas are studied in terms of the varṇÄÅ›rama principles. Set fire to those places and cut from the roots the trees there, which are the source of life.

Purport

The picture of a proper human civilization is indirectly described here. In a perfect human civilization there must be a class of men fully trained as perfect brÄhmaṇas. Similarly, there must be ká¹£atriyas to rule the country very nicely according to the injunctions of the Å›Ästras, and there must be vaiÅ›yas who can protect the cows. The word gÄvaḥ indicates that cows should be given protection. Because the Vedic civilization is lost, cows are not protected, but instead indiscriminately killed in slaughterhouses. Such are the acts of demons. Therefore this is a demoniac civilization. The varṇÄÅ›rama-dharma mentioned here is essential for human civilization. Unless there is a brÄhmaṇa to guide, a ká¹£atriya to rule perfectly, and a perfect vaiÅ›ya to produce food and protect the cows, how will people live peacefully? It is impossible.

Another point is that trees also should be given protection. During its lifetime, a tree should not be cut for industrial enterprises. In Kali-yuga, trees are indiscriminately and unnecessarily cut for industry, in particular for paper mills that manufacture a profuse quantity of paper for the publication of demoniac propaganda, nonsensical literature, huge quantities of newspapers and many other paper products. This is a sign of a demoniac civilization. The cutting of trees is prohibited unless necessary for the service of Lord Viṣṇu. YajñÄrthÄt karmaṇo ’nyatra loko’yaá¹ karma-bandhanaḥ: “Work done as a sacrifice for Lord Viṣṇu must be performed, otherwise work binds one to this material world.†But if the paper mills stop producing paper, one may argue, how can our ISKCON literature be published? The answer is that the paper mills should manufacture paper only for the publication of ISKCON literature because ISKCON literature is published for the service of Lord Viṣṇu. This literature clarifies our relationship with Lord Viṣṇu, and therefore the publication of ISKCON literature is the performance of yajña. YajñÄrthÄt karmaṇo ’nyatra loko ’yaá¹ karma-bandhanaḥ. Yajña must be performed, as indicated by the superior authorities. The cutting of trees simply to manufacture paper for the publication of unwanted literature is the greatest sinful act.