The man killer, will he take that benefit? If somebody comes that "I shall kill you for your benefit," that he will be afraid of. But he is philosophizing, "mercy killing." This is going on. So one should be respectful also to the old men. According to Vedic knowledge, brāhmaṇa, old men, child, woman and cow, they have no fault. They are free. They are not within this jurisdiction of law. So therefore cow-killing, brāhmaṇa-killing, woman-killing and elderly person–killing, they are accepted as the great sinful activities. So gurv-agny-atithi-vṛddhānāṁ śūśrūṣur anahaṅkṛtaḥ. Anahaṅkṛtaḥ, not with any pride or puffedness; anahaṅkṛtaḥ, very humbly. Sarva-bhūta-suhṛtam. This is the most exalted qualification, to become well-wisher of all living entities. Not that we open hospitals for the human being and we send the cows to the slaughterhouse or poor animals should be slaughtered. That is not suhṛt sarva-bhūtānām. That is partiality, and it has no meaning. If you become envious to other living entities and if you become friend of particular living entity, that is not good qualification. Suhṛdaḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ. Sarva-bhūtaḥ-suhṛt sādhu. He is sādhu. Sādhavaḥ sādhu-bhūṣaṇāḥ (SB 3.25.21). These are the qualification of a sādhu. Suhṛdaḥ sarva-bhūtānām. Sādhavaḥ sādhu-bhūṣaṇāḥ. Everything is described in the Vedic literature, all, I mean to say, description.
So this Ajāmila's past qualification is described in this, that he was well-qualified brāhmaṇa, well trained, because these qualification became manifested in his life. Then his degradation began.
- ekadāsau vanaṁ yātaḥ
- pitṛ-sandeśa-kṛd dvijaḥ
- ādāya tata āvṛttaḥ
- phala-puṣpa-samit-kuśān
- (SB 6.1.58)
- dadarśa kāminaṁ kañcic
- chūdraṁ saha-bhujiṣyayā
- (SB 6.1.59)
That, this. . . we may describe later on, and how degradation begins even to exalted person, as described, Ajāmila. So the degradation began—dadarśa, he saw on the way. . . Kāminaṁ kañcic chūdram. Chūdram, these male-female behavior. . . Nowadays, not so much in India, but in the Western countries it is very usual thing—a young man is embracing another young woman or kissing. So there is no fault. But according to Vedic civilization, this is fault - because it will give chance to others. Nowadays in picture they are also shown, to enthuse others to become lusty, and that is the beginning of his falldown. But there is no restriction. The young men, they are seeing daily in the cinema, on the road, in their school, college. But this Ajāmila, although he was so exalted a brāhmaṇa, simply by seeing one śūdra. . . Śūdra means who has no training—fools, rascals. So they, he was embracing another woman, and that became attractive to this Ajāmila, and then he wanted to do the same thing and he became degraded.