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One Who Cheats Like a Rogue, Steals Like a Rogue,
and Lies Like a Rogue is NOT A Brahmin
An editorial by Mayesvara Dasa

In the spring of this year I could foresee the conflicts that have dominated the news lately in regards to bootlegging and the theft of creative rights. The proliferation of copyright infringements is what inspired me to write the piece called "Supporting the Legacy of Bhaktivedanta Swami." The overwhelming majority of the devotees who responded to that essay concurred with my reasoning. The simple fact is that anyone who really understands what it means to be a Brahmin would act like one and naturally honor the copyright laws. Ksatriyas on the other hand are not convinced to do the right thing simply for philosophical reasons. Instead they need to see how a particular choice will increase their reputation before they will act properly. Vaisyas however are motivated only by profit, and that is what we are talking about here and wherein the difficulty lies.

Our legal system is set up to penalize people who infringe copyright laws in order to steal profits that belong to those who produce and market their creative talents. These laws are intended to assist Vaisyas that have no regard for what it means to be a Brahmin and do not know how to act properly. Because they are only capable of understanding the word "profit" the law treats them like Sudras who have no interest in ethics, reputation, or profit, but are simply concerned about the threat of a stick. In the case of the cheating Vaisya, the stick is serious financial consequences in the form of sanctions against their sales, assets, or credit worthiness.

So Vaisyas can be marginally influenced to act either with Brahminical integrity, or Sudra irresponsibility.

Economics is always the final verdict in regards to these types of things. If no one purchases illegal products from bootleggers, they cannot survive. Unfortunately however, there will always be the target market of other Sudras who only care about their own sense gratification and could not care less about the consequences of their behavior... unless the threat of a big stick looms ominously over their fat little swelled heads. So both those who sell bootleg material, as well as those who purchase it, are essentially Sudras because of their inability to appreciate the need to respect the laws of the land. Anyone can throw a bomb, copy a tape, or burn a disk, but it takes a real sadhu to contribute something inspiring, organize something successfully, or change the heart of an individual. This is the root of the social changes Srila Prabhupada asked us to pioneer, and Sudras stealing the fruits of the labor from brahmins is NOT acceptable regardless of how much one attempts to justify it.

His Divine Grace presented to us the Varna-Ashram system and delineated the characteristics of this social order to us in great detail. However he also taught us that besides this civilized structure, there are also individuals who may externally appear to have a human form, but are subhuman because they do not fit anywhere on the Varna-Ashram template. This includes anyone who has lost control of his or her six senses, the foremost one being the rascal mind that can justify anything when given an opportunity to do so. Anyone preoccupied with wine, woman, and song, or what we more traditionally refer to as profit, adoration, and distinction, falls into the subhuman category.

From the Srimad Bhagavatam we learn that prostitutes, money hoarders, cheaters, liars, thieves, rogues, drunks, drug addicts, gamblers, meat eaters, and numerous other types of mlecchas have always plagued the efforts of pious Brahminical devotees. Anyone can claim to be "advanced" and more often than not it is the most fallen who are the first to do so by proposing silly ideas that have no foundation in scripture or precedence. They may even fool others into believing that they are respectable Vaishnavas, but the standard is that those who are actually interested in preaching the Glories of the Lord will always strive to maintain exemplary behavior under ALL circumstances. Anyone can act properly under good conditions, but it requires a real leader to do the right thing when the going gets tough. This is not just a mundane concept, but it is exactly what Krishna instructed Arjuna to do when faced with a much bigger problem than whether he should buy bootlegged goods:

"Whatever action a great man performs, common men follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues."— Bg. 3.21

Perhaps these recent copyright infringements are our collective karma? After all, the empowered Brahmin class we turn to for leadership was lethargic about the plagiarism of NFL graphics that the West Virginia Temple engaged in for many years under the cheap ploy that it was some type of authorized Sankirtana. Perhaps that debt has come due?

It was not too long ago in India that a Brahmin's word was so revered that when the Brahmin died, the eldest son would willingly inherit the responsibility to pay back whatever pending debts his father had failed to paid off. This was done even though the local laws did not require it because this is the natural integrity of a man endowed with a Brahminical nature. Not only is he honorable, but he trains his family to be so also.

Contrast that type of thinking with the fact that in the nearly thirty years that I have been a devotees I am ashamed to admit that I have heard all sorts of frauds proposed by so-called senior devotees involving credit cards, traveler’s checks, and banking scams simply for the sole purpose of financially cheating others. Besides being symptomatic of one who is chronically lazy, grossly dishonest, pathetically immature, unreasonably selfish, and completely unethical, it is also something that His Divine Grace would be utterly appalled by! Yet people who obviously had no concept of basic right and wrong have seriously discussed these types of things with more attention then they would in considering the option of getting a legitimate job! Too many devotees have become comfortable accepting welfare checks because they see nothing wrong with letting the taxpayer finance their preference to sleep late into the morning,… well past when the majority of others have started their day. These things have always struck me as reflective of how unqualified and fallen the initial candidates were who came forward to assist Srila Prabhupada in his service to Lord Caitanya. The fact that he was able to accomplish so much with such a troop of incompetent, unqualified, and undeserving individuals is indeed a greater miracle then anything even the greatest magicians could do.

In time however we can see how more mature and sober individuals are being attracted to this great movement. As the moral caliber of Western Vaishnavas continues to increase, so will our effectiveness to please the desires of our Spiritual Master. Meanwhile, we each have the awesome responsibility of carefully choosing whom we fraternize with, whom we turn to for guidance, and whom we patronize. All these things can have both a subtle and/or a tremendous impact on our consciousness,… which is really all we truly own and the very rudder that leads us into our future circumstances.

So considering all the players on the stage, it is probably idealistic to think that bootlegging will stop anytime in the near future unless someone gets serious about taking legal action in order to help the Sudra-Vaisyas make the right decision via economic penalties.

Meanwhile, let us not forget that Maharaja Pariksit cast the personality of Kali out of his dominion because he knew how Kali’s inability to practice the principals of religion would corrupt the citizens he was entrusted to serve. We learn from that story how the noble Pariksit did not kill the personality of Kali, which was certainly his option and prerogative, but instead he relegated him to those places where gold, sex, intoxication, and gambling were prominent. Similarly, the powers to be may not take legal action against deceitful devotees, but that does not mean we should embrace their association either. If we choose to contaminate our sense of self with the type of cheating, fraud, and dishonesty that only sub-humans would agree to indulge in, we may save a few bucks here and now but we will have a much graver price to pay for it later.

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