Hare Krsna,
The qualities of demoniac people (and kings) are perfectly enunciated by Lord Krsna in BG Chapter 16. The whole chapter deals with the divine and demoniac natures. In BG 16.13-15, Lord Krsna tells Arjuna,
“The demoniac person thinks: “So much wealth do I have today, and I will gain more according to my schemes. So much is mine now, and it will increase in the future, more and more. He is my enemy, and I have killed him, and my other enemies will also be killed. I am the lord of everything. I am the enjoyer. I am perfect, powerful, and happy. I am the richest man, surrounded by aristocratic relatives. There is none so powerful and happy as I am. I shall perform sacrifices, I shall give some charity, and thus I shall rejoice.” In this way, such persons are deluded by ignorance.”
This verse perfectly portrays the conditions and mentality of demoniac rulers today. Greed is their main driver. Let me take an example. The largest country in the world by size of land mass is Russia. It has 11% of the world land mass. Ukraine, on the other hand, has only 0.4% of the world landmass. But still the bigger country wants to annex the smaller country that is far less powerful and populated. What is the need? Just sheer greed. As Krsna says, “so much wealth I have today, and I will gain more according to my schemes.” In this case, Russia is not happy being the largest country in the world; it wants more land. This greed arises from lack of God consciousness. Because these rulers do not believe in or accept God as the sole proprietor of everything, they want to be the controller and enjoyer of everything in this world. They want to fulfill their sinister desires by trampling on the dead bodies of innocent civilians.
On the other hand of the spectrum, Svayambhuva Manu perfectly exemplifies how a qualified king should rule. He believed and applied the principle of Yajnārtha-karma – that work should be done only for the satisfaction of Visnu. He acknowledged his kingdom and opulence to be gifts from the Supreme Personality of Godhead and thus always engaged in devotional service. Svāyambhuva Manu created an atmosphere of complete Krsna consciousness in his kingdom. There is always chanting and hearing of the glories of Krsna.
“Emperor Svāyambhuva Manu enjoyed life with his wife and subjects and fulfilled his desires without being disturbed by unwanted principles contrary to the process of religion. Celestial musicians and their wives sang in chorus about the pure reputation of the Emperor, and early in the morning, every day, he used to listen to the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead with a loving heart.” (SB 3.22.23)
There is a dire need of a qualified king and ruler in today’s society. That leader will not sprout from today’s society drowned in sheer sense gratification. The leader can only rise from a culture of pure God consciousness or Krsna consciousness. Srila Prabhupada had great hopes to see a Krsna conscious leader in the world. It has been more than 45 years that Srila Prabhupada left this mortal world. But we are still awaiting to see that day when a Krsna conscious leader will take charge. It does not matter what faith the leader belongs to. He/She may be a Vaisnava, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, etc. Whoever he/she may be, he/she should strictly abide by the scriptures and rule according to those principles.
Any leader must always remember the “peace formula” given by Krsna in BG 5.29: “A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.”
By practicing and preaching the simple method of chanting the holy names of the Lord — Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare – let us hope to install a pure devotee of the Lord as the most qualified ruler of this age. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Krsna Katha 