For want of real knowledge, ātma-jñāna . . . first of all one has to learn actually what he is. Is he this body or something else? That is the beginning. But they do not know. He thinks that, "I am body," deha. And because from this body, I have got relationship with my wife, "Oh, she is my great friend," and the children, "They are my soldiers. They will protect me." Dehāpatya-kalatrādiṣu ātma-sainyeṣu. He is very safe. "I have got good wife. I have got good children. They will save me." Nobody will save you, sir. When death will come, you have to give your own account. If you are going to be next life a dog, not your wife, children or nation or community or anyone will save you. No. Nobody can save you.
The same example, as I have given many times: when the aeroplane, they are going on, but if one aeroplane is in danger, no other aeroplane can save him. Bās. He's finished. Similarly, every one of us is responsible for my own work. Nobody. Even in material world, suppose you have done something wrong. Now you are condemned. You are criminal; you are condemned to death. Will your wife, will your children, will your family, will your community will save you? No. Nobody can save you.
So therefore those who are thinking that, "This material atmosphere, relatives, will save me," they are mistaken. They are ass. They do not know that every individual being is responsible for his own work. Therefore we must be very careful that, "Why should I waste my time in working hard? What is my problem?" These things have to be known. Therefore Vedic injunction is that how you will be saved. Then tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (MU 1.2.12), then "You must approach to a bona fide spiritual master." He will let you know how you will be saved. Otherwise, your so-called society, friendship and love will not save you.
So Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja, such a exalted king. And the Battle of Kurukṣetra was fought for Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja. Kṛṣṇa wanted that . . . Duryodhana is not the fit person. Kṛṣṇa had no business to take part in the battle, because He is God, samo 'haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu na me dveṣyo 'sti na priyaḥ (BG 9.29), He has no enemy. Nobody can become His enemy. If he becomes enemy of Kṛṣṇa, he will be vanquished. Therefore He has no enemy. So why He took part in the battlefield? Because He wanted this Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja, the pious king, he should occupy the throne. So that is the mission of Kṛṣṇa. Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati (BG 4.7), paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya (BG 4.8).
So Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja's another name was Dharmarāja. Dharmarāja. Dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya. So to enthrone Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira . . . because king is representative of God. That is Vedic conception. King or president, the chief of the executive, he should be exactly the representative of God. As guru is representative of God, similarly, the king or president is also representative of God. In every planet . . . because every planet . . . Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). Everything belongs to God. Bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram (BG 5.29): "I am the supreme owner of every planet."
So every planet is the property of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore to govern that planet, there must be a king who is actually representative of Kṛṣṇa. The king's business or the president's business is to see that the citizens, they mistakenly have come to this material world to enjoy sense gratification, they should be trained up in such a way that they can go back to home, back to Godhead. That is king's responsibility. Similarly, that is father's responsibility. Similarly, that is guru's, spiritual master's, responsibility. Similarly, the relatives' responsibility. Suppose one has no father, mother; then it is the responsibility of the relative. It is the responsibility of the king.
The whole target is how to train the citizen go back to home, back to Godhead. Because they have come from God for . . . Kṛṣṇa-bahirmukha hañā bhoga vāñchā kare (Prema-vivarta). He has come to this material world to enjoy false gratification, and he is loitering throughout the whole universe, simply "Where is better sense gratification, better sense gratification?" But he will never be happy by sense gratification. That is not possible. He is forgotten what is actually happiness. Actual happiness is not sense gratification. That is described in the Bhagavad-gītā: sukham ātyantikaṁ yat tad atīndriyaṁ grāhyam (BG 6.21). What is real happiness, that is to be understood beyond sense gratification. Not sense gratification. Therefore you will find nobody is happy, enough he has got facility for sense gratification. Ask anybody, "If you are satisfied fully?" No, that is not possible. Because that is not happiness. That is illusion. That is illusion. We are accepting false thing as happiness. That is not happiness. Happiness beyond sense gratification. Sukham ātyantikaṁ yat tad atīndriyaṁ grāhyam.
Atīndriya means the senses, when they are purified, with that senses, when you try to enjoy, then that is real happiness. That is real happiness. Just like if your tongue is diseased, or if you are diseased, then you cannot taste what is actually rasagullā taste. Because the tongue is detestful (detasteful?), you cannot enjoy it. Similarly, so long your senses are diseased in condition, you cannot enjoy senses. You shall . . . it has to be purified. That purification method is this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You purify your senses. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam (CC Madhya 19.170). Nirmalam means purified.
So how these things can be purified? Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam. You have to be free from all designation. Designation. So at the present moment I am thinking, "This is my hand. I am American. Therefore this is my American hand," "I am Indian; therefore it is my Indian hand." So you have to forget this, or you have to purify: "This hand is neither American nor African nor Indian. This hand belongs to Kṛṣṇa." This is purification.