Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.1.10
—
Dallas, May 21, 1973
So Vidura... Kṛṣṇa consciousness includes varieties of activities. They, in..., the press representatives they asked me, "Whether your students, do you take part in politics? Is it sanctioned?" Why not? Our Bhagavad-gītā is produced in battlefield, in battlefield. So why should I deride battle? No. When there is need for fighting, there must be fighting. This world is like that. Otherwise there is no need of fighting. But there is a class of men who will fight. Still it is existing. When there is fight, those who are meant for military purposes, they fight. Not the civilians go and fight. No. Similarly, in the society, there must be divisions. Not that everyone should be called, "Come on, you go to fight." Where is his training? That was not the system. First of all, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭam [Bg. 4.13]. These children, according to strict Vedic principle, by practical psychology, they should be tested, "What is the tendency of this boy?" There can be four kinds of tendencies: brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. Some child is to become a brāhmaṇa, some child is to be become a kṣatriya, some child is to become a vaiśya, and the rest, śūdras. They do not... Śūdras does not require any training. Śūdra means no training. Ordinary worker class. Otherwise other three, especially two, namely the brāhmaṇas and kṣatriyas, they require very magnificent training. Because they will administer the whole affairs of the society.
So brāhmaṇas, they would give advice to the kṣatriyas, and kṣatriyas, according to their advice, would rule over the citizens. This was the system. Cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ [Bg. 4.13]. Vibhāgaśaḥ, "by division of quality and work." A brāhmaṇa must be qualified and at the same time work as a brāhmaṇa. So we are training, especially, our students to become qualified brāhmaṇas. We cannot take up all other department. Similarly, others may take up the line of training... Military men... Others may take... There are training classes. Maybe mercantile firm, you can get your lessons. So there was organized method to train these mercantile men, administrator and brāhmaṇa. So Vidura, although he was born of śūdra mother... His mother was śūdra, maidservant. Formerly, when a prince was married, along with the princess, a few dozens of maidservants would go with the king. So to become king, always it is to be understood he has to maintain more than one wife. That is king. Even in Muhammadan kingdom, Nawab was Ridali Shah (?). After the Mogul period... In Lucknow, if you go... So he had 164 wives, begam(?) And all of them had children. And when Britishers occupied, the Britishers had to give them pension according to the share. So amongst the Muhammadans also, polygamy was allowed. And Hindus, especially the higher class, brāhmaṇas and kṣatriya, polygamy is allowed. Now they have made laws. But that is quite natural. If every woman has to be married, then polygamy must be there. Otherwise how every woman is going to get a husband? Because male population is always shorter than the female population.
So Vidura was born of a maidservant. The father was the king. The father was the same, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, er, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and the father, Vidura, the same, and the mother different. So Vidura, because he was not born of the queen, he had no share in the throne. But Dhṛtarāṣṭra loved him very much. Although stepmother's son, he would like him very much because he was very intelligent. So on every occasion he would consult him, and his consultation was so valuable that later on it became vaidurikam, "consultation as expert as given by Vidura." So he was invited. Diplomacy, politics were going on, how to cheat the Pāṇḍavas. That was his politics, Dhṛtarāṣṭra. Dhṛtarāṣṭra was born blind, although he was eldest son of his father, but he was born blind. So he could not occupy the throne. His next brother, younger brother, Pāṇḍu, the father of the Pāṇḍavas, he occupied. He became king. Now, this Pāṇḍu died at an early age, and the sons of Pāṇḍu, they were minor children. So Dhṛtarāṣṭra took charge for their maintenance as his other sons. But his policy was that "I could not be elevated on the throne because I was blind, but actually the kingdom belongs to me. So anyway, my brother occupied the throne. Now he is dead and gone. So why his sons should be king? My son should be king." This was the politics. So he was trying how to kill the Pāṇḍavas from the very beginning. And Vidura was restricting him, restraining him. So this is the subject matter. He called Vidura, "What is to be done?" Vidura, he disclosed everything to Vidura. Vidura said, "No, you cannot do that." That will be discussed next morning.
Thank you very much. (end)