VARNA Explained: The Misunderstood and Misused Term of ‘Caste’ System Varna is one of the most misunderstood and misused concepts in Hinduism, and as a result it has a lot of stigma attached to it. “Caste System” is a very poor, if not an incorrect translation for varNa-vyavasthA. This article aims to explain varNa in detail. Most of what is said here is based on the teachings of Swami Paramarthananda Saraswati ji, a traditional teacher of Advaita Vedanta. While this write-up has a lot of Sanskrit terminology, I have given translations for all the words introduced for the first time. Though lengthy and somewhat technical, rest assured your patience will pay off, as some of the subtlest concepts related to the Vedic society have been explored here. Nothing works well without an infrastructure. Whether it is the educational system or the transportation system, we need it for the smooth functioning of society. The infrastructure given in the Vedas is the varNa-dharma, which is a sociological scheme for the growth of society as a whole, focusing both on material as well as spiritual goals. This fourfold division is known as varNa vibhAga; division of varNas. The vibhAga is done based on three criteria. The first is an individual’s guNa vibhAga; division based on his mental attribute/aptitude. The second is karma vibhAga; division based on his profession, and the last is the jAti vibhAga; division based on his parentage. In guNa vibhAga, people are classified into guNa brAhmana, guNa kshatriya, guNa vaishyA and guNa shudrA To understand subsequent topics better, it is imperative to give a short explanation of what ‘guNa’ is. A loose translation of the word guNa would be quality/attribute. Everything that is objectifiable in this universe is endowed with three guNas; they are sattva, rajas, and tamas. It is not possible to accurately define the guNas, however we will still make an attempt to understand them intuitively. Sattva guNa: This includes knowledge, intelligence, purity, wisdom, peace, stillness, serenity, quietude, solitude, spirituality, chastity, divinity and so on. Rajas guNa: This includes activity, motivation, strength, vigor, motion, desire, energy, fire, change, transformation, passion, restlessness and so on. Tamas guNa This is a lack-luster state that deals with lethargy, indolence, laziness, inertia, dullness, and etc. Returning back to our classification of personalities based on guNas (guNa vibhAga) 1) A brAhmana has a predominance of sattva, with lesser amount of rajas, and least amount of tamas. He is known as a sattva pradhAna personality. 2) A kshatriya has a predominance of rajas, with lesser amount of sattva, and least amount of tamas. He is known as a shuddha rajas pradhAna personality. 3) A vaishyA has a predominance of rajas, with lesser amount of tamas, and least amount of sattva. He is known as an ashuddha rajas pradhAna personality 4) A shudrA has a predominance of tamas, with lesser amount of rajas and least amount of sattva. He is known as a tamah pradhAna personality. Based on these guNas we will now give a short explanation of their personalities. 1) guNa brAhmana: loves spiritual pursuits, withdrawal, contemplation, knowledge. The pursuits of the other goals are only incidental, that come as a part and parcel of human life. SanyAs appeals to such a mind, renunciation is welcome. While solitude is a dreadful thing for most, such a spiritual person rejoices in it. 2) guNa Kshatriya: dynamic personality; Outgoing, active and highly motivated in a selfless way. He has a selflessly motivated mind that works in the direction of exercising his power in service of others. 3) guNa vaishyA: selfishly dynamic personality; business oriented, for service of oneself and for one’s own family. 4) guNa shudrA: no motivation either for materialistic or spiritual goals. Passive and lethargic, his main goal in life is mere survival, with neither the inclination towards knowledge like the brAhmanas, desire for social service like a kshatriya, nor desire for self gain like the vaishyA. This sort of personality is most animalistic of all, known as guNa shudrA Thus we see that the predominance of certain guNas endow an individual with different types of personalities. In an ideal situation, a person is most fit to perform a job which corresponds well with his personality. This gives rise to a division based on one’s occupation, called karma vibhAga. 1) A karma brAhmana is assigned the task of learning and teaching scriptures. Not only is this work extensive, but also very intensive. Someone needs to teach Vedas, and it is a highly responsible task, where not only does one need to learn the scriptures very well, but a detailed knowledge of Sanskritam, treatises on logic, and other related works are needed too. Such a teacher must also be able to express the knowledge of scriptures effectively, and be up to date in order to be able to communicate it to a generation of modern minds- old wisdom in a new package. 2) A karma kshatriya is responsible for preservation of law and order, public service etc. Jobs dealing with governance fall into this category. Ministers, police officers, legislators are a few positions that a karma kshatriya holds. Though this is far from the case today, in an ideal situation, the job of a kshatriya is to selflessly serve people. 3) A karma vaishyA is responsible for business oriented work; commercial activity such as trade, farming, banking, shop-keeping etc. A vaishyA contributes to the economic growth of the society. 4) A karma shudrA performs all forms of unskilled or semi skilled labour. He is neither adept with the scriptures; like a brAhmana, nor qualified enough to protect the society; like a kshatriya, nor does he possess business acumen like a vaishyA. There is a lot of stigma attached to the term shudrA, but taking a look at society objectively, we come across some people who are academically interested, some who are endowed with strength and possess a disposition to serve others, some who have a capacity to handle business, and then we have some who are some aren’t gifted in either one of these. Based on each individual’s qualification, they are thus classified. The third and final division is based on one’s ancestry; jAti vibhAga 1) jAti brAhmana, born in a brAhmana family 2) jAti kshatriya, born in a kshatriya family 3) jAti vaishyA, born to a vaishyA 4) jAti shudrA, born to a shudrA Birth does not give anyone superiority or inferiority. This is called the caste system, which has been plaguing society, and wrongly tarnished the Vedas in the eyes of those who are not familiar with the proper classification. Based on scriptural reference, some argue that shudrAs are born from the feet of brahmA ji, and hence they are discriminated against. This too is a fallacy, because after all, it is the feet that we first reach out to touch and seek blessings from. The correct way of understanding the symbolism is as follows: brAhmanas are depicted as born from the head of brahmA ji, symbolizing that they are the teachers and preservers of knowledge, as knowledge is stored in the head. kshatriyas are depicted as born from the chest of brahmA ji, because the chest is a symbol of virility, thus symbolizing their strength and their status as protectors of society. vaishyas are said to be born from the stomach of brahmA ji, because it is through their very economic activity that society can feed itself, and also due to the fact that farmers, who are producers of food, are vaishyAs. Lastly, shudrAs are said to be born from the feet of brahmA ji, because the feet represent labour. It is the feet that take us around from place to place, and shudrAs represent this section of society. There is nothing unholy about feet; after all, it is the feet that one reaches out to touch first. If such symbologies are misinterpreted they can prove to be detrimental to one’s attitude towards the vedic religion. Scriptures abound with examples where the focus is on one’s personality, and not birth. Prahlad, son of a rAkshasa went to become one of the most revered individuals in our culture. Even sage vAlmiki, author of the epic poem rAmAyana, was considered occupationally a forest bandit, but later through his own change in character, became one of the most venerated sages, as did the son of a fisherwoman; sage vyAsa, who was respected for his merits as a teacher of brahma vidyA, and compiler of the vedAs. In conclusion, only with the proper understanding of varNa will we be able to appreciate it fully, failing which we will be victims of the pseudo secular attitude afflicting our nation, which carries an over westernized approach to classify this wonderful system as something barbaric. Caste based discrimination has absolutely no room in our varNa vyavasthA. I request all readers to share their awareness about this. Lastly, we can only take pride in our culture by first adhering to it and then teaching through example, so please uphold the Vedic rites enjoined to your varNa in specific. This will not only keep you steeped in the Vedic lifestyle, giving you spiritual benefits, but also aid in the posterity of our tradition, which in itself is a great dharma. Source: chakranews.com