> > Does it even instill any fear in the criminal?
> > without doing anything to rectify the criminal?
> It needs to be done in conjunction
> with punishment of the criminal.
On 17 Oct 1998, Madhava Gosh dasa wrote:
> Of course, my wifew's suggestion that abusers be
> castrated has not been applied in any of the cases.
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THE SCIENCE OF SELF REALIZATION pg. 187 & 192:
Srila Prabhupada: The difference between a pious man and a criminal is that one is pure in heart and the other is dirty. This dirt is like a disease in the form of uncontrollable lust and greed in the heart of the criminal. Today people in general are in this diseased condition, and thus crime is very widespread. When the people become purified of these dirty things, crime will disappear. The simplest process of purification is to assemble in congregation and chant the holy names of God. This is called sankirtana and is the basis of our Krsna consciousness movement. So, if you want to stop crime, then you must gather as many people as possible for mass sankirtana. This congregational chanting of the holy name of God will dissipate all the dirty things in everyone's heart. Then there will be no more crime.
So our chanting process is for everyone, because it cleanses the heart... The only way to permanently change the criminal habit is to change the heart of the criminal. As you well know, many thieves are arrested numerous times and put into jail. Although they know that if they commit theft they will go to jail, still they are forced to steal, because of their unclean hearts. Therefore without cleansing the heart of the criminal, you cannot stop crime simply by more stringent law enforcement. The thief and the murderer already know the law, yet they still commit violent crimes, due to their unclean hearts. So our process is to cleanse the heart. Then all the troubles of this material world will be solved.
Lieutenant Mozee: That's a very difficult task, sir.
Srila Prabhupada: It is not difficult. Simply invite everyone: "Come, chant Hare Krsna, dance, and take sumptuous prasadam." What is the difficulty? We are doing this at our centers, and people are coming.
BHAGAVAD-GITA 1.36
PURPORT
According to Vedic injunctions there are six kinds of aggressors: (1) a poison giver, (2) one who sets fire to the house, (3) one who attacks with deadly weapons, (4) one who plunders riches, (5) one who occupies another's land, and (6) one who kidnaps a wife. Such aggressors are at once to be killed, and no sin is incurred by killing such aggressors.
Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 1, Ch. 7]
TEXTS 53-54
sri bhagavan uvaca brahma-bhandur na hantavya atatayi vadhar-hanah mayaivobhayam amnatam paripahy anusasanam kuru pratisrutam satyam yat tat sanvayata priyam priyam ca bhima-senasya pancalya mahyam eva casri bhagavan - the Personality of Godhead; uvaca - said; brahma-banduh - the relative of a brahmana; na - not; hantavyah - to be killed; atatayi - the aggressor; vadhah-hanah - is due to being killed; maya - by Me; eva - certainly; ubhayam - both; amnatam - described according to rulings of the authority; paripahi; - just carry out; anusasanam - rulings; kuru - just abide by; pratisrutam - as promised by; satyam - truth; yat tat - that which; santvayata - while pacifying; priyam - dear wife; priyam - satisfaction; ca - also; bhima-senasya - of Sri Bhimasena; pancalyah - of Draupadi; mahyam - unto Me also; eva - certainly; ca - and.
TRANSLATION
The Personality of Godhead Sri Krsna said: A friend of a brahmana is not to be killed, but if he is an aggressor he must be killed. All these rulings are in the scriptures, and you should act accordingly. You have to fulfill your promise to your wife, and you must also act to the satisfaction of Bhimasena and Me.
PURPORT
Arjuna was perplexed because Asvatthama was to be killed as well as spared according to different scriptures cited by different persons. As a brahma-bandhu, or a worthless son of a brahmana, Asvatthama was not to be killed, but he was at the same time an aggressor also. And according to the rulings of Manu, an aggressor, even though he be a brahmana (and what to speak of an unworthy son of a brahmana), is to be killed. Dronacarya was certainly a brahmana in the true sense of the term, but because he stood in the battlefield he was killed. But although Asvatthama was an aggressor, he stood without any fighting weapons. The ruling is that an aggressor, when he is without weapon or chariot, cannot be killed. All these were certainly perplexities. Besides that, Arjuna had to keep the promise he had made before Draupadi just to pacify her. But he also had to satisfy both Bhima and Krsna, who advised killing him. This dilemma was present before Arjuna, and the solution was awarded by Krsna.
TEXT 55
suta uvaca
arjunah sahasa'jnaya
harer hardam athasina
manim jahara murdhanyam
dvijasya saha murdhajam
sutah - Suta Goswami; uvaca - said; arjunah - Arjuna; sahasa - just at that time; ajnaya - knowing it; hareh - of the lord; hardam - motive; atha - thus; asina - by the sword; manim - the jewel; jahara - separated; murdhanyam - on the head; dvijasya - of the twice-born; saha - with; murdhajam - hairs.TRANSLATION
Just then Arjuna could understand the motive of the Lord by His equivocal orders, and thus with his sword he severed both hair and jewel from the head of Asvatthama.
PURPORT
Contradictory orders of different persons are impossible to carry out. Therefore a compromise was selected by Arjuna by his sharp intelligence, and he separated the jewel from the head of Asvatthama which was as good as cutting off his head, and yet his life was saved for all practical purposes. Here Asvatthama is indicated as twice-born. Certainly he was twice-born, but he fell down from his position, and therefore he was properly punished.
TEXT 56
vimucya rasanabaddham bala-hatya-hata-prabham tejasa manina hinam sibiran nirayapayatvimucya - after releasing him; rasana-baddham - from the bondage of ropes; bala-hatya - infanticide; by the jewel; hinam - being deprived of; sibirat - from the camp; niraya-apayat - drove him out.
TRANSLATION
He [Asvatthama] had already lost his bodily luster due to infanticide, and now, moreover, having lost the jewel from his head, he lost even more strength. Thus he was unbound and driven out of the camp.
PURPORT
Thus being insulted, the humiliated Asvatthama was simultaneously killed and not killed by the intelligence of Lord Krsna an Arjuna.
TEXT 57
vapanam dravinadanam sthanan niryapanam tatha esa hi brahmabandhunam vadho nanyo'sti daihikahvapanam - cleaving the hairs from the head; dravina - wealth; adanam - forfeiting; sthanan - from the residence; niryapanam - driving away; tatha - also; esah - all these; hi - certainly; brahma-bandhunam - of the relatives of the brahmanas; vadhah - killing; na - not; anyah - any other method; asti - there is; daihikah - in the matter of the body.
TRANSLATION
Cutting the hair from his head, depriving him of his wealth and driving him from his residence are the prescribed punishments for the relative of a brahmana. There is no injunction for killing the body.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta [Adi-lila, Ch. 9 TEXT 29]
Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 6, Ch. 2 TEXT 14]
One who chants the holy name of the Lord is immediately freed from the reactions of unlimited sins, even if he chants indirectly to indicate something else, jokingly, for musical entertainment or even neglectfully.
THE SCIENCE OF SELF REALIZATION pg. 76:
Srila Prabhupada: Anyone can attain perfection within a second - providing he is willing.
PURPORT
There is no distinction made between those who are fit and those who are not fit to hear or take part in the sankirtana movement.
Srila Prabhupada Letter to Rupanuga Maharaja, April 23, 1974:
"A diseased man is always under the clutches of disease but if he follows the prescribed orders given by the physician he can be cured. Now how to reform. If we ask him to go away the whole society will be finished. In the hospital many patients are there and the attempt is made to cure them, not to tell them to go away or to kill them. They try their best to cure them. If they tell them to get out of the hospital or if they kill them, that is easy."
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Dear Prabhus
Please accept my respectful obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Have I committed any offenses,
taken any quotes out of context,
made any mistakes, and/or
done anything I shouldn't have?
If so, I'm sorry.
Aspiring to be the sincere
servant of the servant,
Yours Truly,
Gauranga Prema Dasa
Hare Krsna