Prabhupāda: They are missing the aim of life. That is the . . . the aim of life is, acc . . . not according to Vedic, but anyone, the aim of life is how to realize God. That is aim. In the animal life or in other lives less important than the human being there is no question of God realization. In the human life, the civilized human life, there is religion. It doesn't matter whether one is Christian or a Hindu or a Muslim or a Buddhist.
These are the principal religions of the world. So any civilized man must be inquisitive to know what is the original source of everything. That philosophy is there. It is called Brahma-sūtra or Vedānta-sūtra. Perhaps you have heard the name, Vedānta philosophy. Veda means knowledge, and anta means end. In the materialistic way of knowledge they did not find any end, and they accept it that, "This is progress." But one must come to the end of the knowledge, what is the ultimate knowledge.
So generally they are missing what is the ultimate knowledge. We are searching after knowledge in so many ways, but what is the ultimate knowledge? The ultimate knowledge, Vedānta, means end of knowledge. End of knowledge means to understand the original source of everything, athāto brahma jijñāsā. The human inquisitiveness should be up to that point, what is the origin of everything. Because human life is not a spot (sport?). That . . . the Western people are lacking that understanding. We are thinking that this duration of life, say, for fifty to a hundred years, that is all. No. That is the first instruction in the Bhagavad-gītā, that this body is not everything.
We have to accept another body after death. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). As we are accepting different bodies in our this span of life from childhood to boyhood, from boyhood to youthhood, from youthhood to old age . . . so this is the example. And after this old age, after this body is useless, then I accept another body, and again another chapter of life begins. And on my next life, next body, I am creating, kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgaḥ asya, infection. Just like if I infect some disease, I am creating that disease. If I infect smallpox disease, then I must develop that disease. How it is, subtle way, working, that we cannot see. But if somewhere I have infected some disease, somewhere it will be manifest. It will manifest. You cannot check it.
So in this material world there are three qualities: goodness, passion and ignorance. So as we associate, we develop a type of body. So these crimes means they do not get good association. Naturally they are developing. And now these boys, they are also Americans and Europeans. They are getting good association, and they are becoming free from all bad habits. We generally take bad character on the basis of illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication and gambling.
Mayor: Yes.
Prabhupāda: So they were habituated to all . . . because that is a system in the European, American life. But now they are free. That is Professor Judah's remark in his letter. (aside) Have you got that? Yes. He has written one book, Hare Krishna and Counterculture, about our movement. He has read all our books. Here are . . . (aside) You have shown all these books? So he appreciates. Many gentlemen appreciate. Even the priestly class, they also appreciate.
So this is a Movement which is trying to create at least a section to become first class. The first-class man does not mean that he is nicely dressed or very rich or very opulent. Generally, of course, a first-class man means good parentage, good education, good looking and nicely rich. That is the standard. But . . . that may be first-class position, but first-class man is different. First-class man means he is self-controlled, in the mind he is undisturbed, he is truthful, he is very clean, inside and outside, he is very simple, tolerant, full of knowledge, practical application of knowledge, and believe in God. This is first-class man. There is no mention that he is rich, he is beautiful, bodily, or he is educated. Educated . . . this is a result of education.
Real education means that he is self-controlled—controlling the mind, controlling the senses, truthful. He will speak truth in any circumstances. Even to his enemy he will speak the truth. And clean, and very simple, tolerant. And any knowledge, he has got some, I mean to say, strength over it. Ultimate knowledge, Brahman, he believes in that and he has . . . brahma janātītī brāhmaṇaḥ, This is first-class man. So it is not expected that everyone will become first class. But there must be a section in the society, ideal first class. And they will be advisor to the rest. These brāhmaṇas, they will not take part in politics, but those who are politicians, administrators, they should take advice from these first-class men, how to rule, how to control, what is the ideal. So the ruling class, they are called kṣatriyas. (aside) So find out this verse, śamaḥ damaḥ . . .
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Śamo damas tapaḥ śaucaṁ. You want about the kṣatriya or the brāhmaṇas?
Prabhupāda: Brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya.