Society classification in Hinduism

            Every society in every age sees some stratification and classification. It may be tribes or classes in some, clans and others. In India everyone believes it as the caste. The modern caste system was made rigid due to politicians and vote banks, whilst it was never about the birth. The hinduphobic forces coupled with the inherent tamas in the society not to learn about its roots have worsened the case as they believe the western prism more than their own traditional wisdom. While the caste system of today has numerous problems, no one wishes to give up their privileges and continue to perpetuate a false narrative that feeds more hinduphobia, conversion, digestion and sends the society on a downward spiral.

            If one were to believe the distorians or AIT believers, the largest sections of Indian society was oppressed for millennia. The Independence followed by overhyped politicians brought equality. The only danger to this hallucinatory idea is, if we question why we have caste based vote banks. Why don’t people rise above the caste mindset now that the government encourages one to get over it? Why does the government even recognize the hundreds of caste groups? While these may be valid questions for researching the current socio-political framework, our exercise is to understand the early Hindu model.

            Let us cast aside our strong prejudice and open our minds to the numerous literature of ancient times, spanning millennia. The exercise is neither to aggrandize the past nor to reclaim some lost glory, but to study the human psyche, to understand the wisdom of the past and absorb whatever is practical and translatable to the times we live.

Key Hindu concepts

            To understand the societal stratification we need to understand four key ideas – Varnas, ashramas, gunas and Purushartha. Krishna informs us that the universe (could be even multiverse, which will make it ironic), better called as prapancha, a combination of the five mahabhutas. They exhibit a combination of the three gunas – sattva, rajas and tamas. They are constantly in flux both at the cosmic level and at the individual level. They are usually confused as three properties or characteristics of nature. To understand in the best explanation by Swami Krishnananda – “These properties are the very constituent elements of prakriti. They are not qualities like the whiteness of a cloth, which is different from the cloth, and the blueness of a flower, which is different from the flower. That is not the way in which we have to understand the qualities of prakriti. The gunas are qualities of prakriti in the same way as the three strands of a rope are qualities of the rope. We cannot say that the strands are qualities; they are the very substance of the rope. These qualities, these properties, are the very substance, the very stuff, of prakriti; and they cause bondage to the individual—nibadhnanti. Dehe dehinam avyayam: They bind us.”

 

            It is crucial to note that the gunas have different significance depending on the scale at which it operates. Here we limit our focus on human level. Sattva is purity, transparency. It gives clarity of thought and lets us reflect the true nature of the Self, Atman, as it reflects it. It brings happiness, brilliance, sharpness of understanding, knowledge and rationality. Sattva makes us calm and content, satisfied with ourselves. Rajas has inherent dissatisfaction and makes us restless. It pushes one into toiling after desires. There is an insatiable thirst, trishna. This brings in distraction, passion and attachment. Tamas brings idiocy, lethargy, ignorance and a desire to do nothing. Most of us know as habitual proscrastinators the first hand effects of Tamas. It pushes one into illusion and delusion, making one prone to mistakes. In a nutshell, Sattva leads to happiness and satisfaction, Rajas to nonstop activity and restlessness and Tamas to ignorance, inability to decide or act or even discern what is proper and improper.  No person is made of only one guna and their ratio keeps changing all the time. The 14^th chapter of Bhagavad Gita explores in depth and will be a good place to gain some deeper insights.

            Let us look at the next idea – Varnas, which we have dealt it at length in Varnas – a journey to its roots. The society was stratified based on the gunas and karma into Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. On numerous occasions I have emphasized that birth alone does not constitute the varna, though it definitely acts as a factor. The fallacy that the Brahmana and Kshatriya are superior in society to make them as more desirable creation is a mischievous and erroneous one. In Hindu societies of the past, there was no special privileged work, but suffice to say that the work is a choice based on gunas. In “How anyone can become a Brahmana – Bhagwan Krishna’s insight” and ”How anyone can become a Brahmana – Yudhishtra’s insight” we learnt that by cultivating certain traits, anyone can become a Brahmana. There are many examples in the past from Aitreya Rishi to Jabala of the Upanishads or Viswamitra of Itihasas or even many who were initiated to SriVaishnava during Ramanujacharya times. We see this echo even in ISKCON of modern era. In “Kshatriya – do you exist?” we pondered along the same lines which assure us the birth is not the primary qualification to be a Kshatriya, it is one’s gunakarmas.

            The next aspect of classification is Ashrama, based on the focus area of the life. They are again four – Brahmacharya (Student), Grihasta (Householder), Vanaprastha (Detached or recluse) and Sannyasa (Renunciation). This was not specified only for any one Varna but all. We dived a little deeper in Fourfold Hinduism. In “Purusharthas – a simplified insight” we studied the four aspects of the Purushartha as Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha.

Interplay of the Guna-Varnashrama-Purushartha

            Varna literally means color. The rishis attributed a color to each guna – sattva as white, rajas as red and tamas as black. In the modern society we do ascribe colors like in traffic signals, symbols like skull with bones to warn something as dangerous. It is a human way to communicate ideas. From the Varnas, the nonexisting caste was given birth by mixing it with Jati. The word caste is Portuguese in origin (casta). From caste, it further degraded into casteism and secured firmly by Indian politicians as vote banks. To ensure their death grip, they have unleashed secularism and blatant hinduphobia to abuse anything and everything connected with Hinduism with justification.

            Perverted and mischievous minds have twisted the very idea of Krishna’s Gita sloka (4-13) to say Krishna created caste, when the word used is clearly varna.

चातुर्वर्ण्यं मया सृष्टं गुणकर्मविभागशः। तस्य कर्तारमपि मां विद्ध्यकर्तारमव्ययम्।।4.13।।

chātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛiṣhṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśhaḥ । tasya kartāram api māṁ viddhyakartāram avyayam ।।

            Krishna emphatically states that based on the Gunas and Karmas, He has created the fourfold Varna model. If we study the logical possibilities, a person can be dominated by Sattva or Sattva with little Rajas. Such individuals are naturally more contented, immersed in atma vichara. They were called Brahmanas. Their mind was centered on the Moksha. Naturally their goal is to educate themselves and others which became their profession. Rajas dominated people with Sattva inclination were rooted in preserving order in themselves and society. Such individuals were Kshatriyas and gravitated towards Dharma. All the ancient texts highlight the importance of the Kings and rulers of India to be rooted in dharmashastras as they helped maintain order and harmony for all in the society to prosper.

            It may be possible for a person to be predominantly Rajas, yet have a strong streak of Tamas. These individuals work hard but they aspire to relax or enjoy the fruits of their labor. Such individuals were Vaishyas who preferred trade, agriculture and farming. As their aspirations are centered on Artha, it merely expressed as their profession. There is another group which is either mostly tamasic or Tamas mixed with Rajas as secondary. Such a group preferred to give helping hand to the above three groups which showed some direction. They were called Shudras.

            Note neither gunakarma nor profession make one community superior or inferior. Nor did it ever imply that certain privileges were reserved only for certain groups. For instance, the first three groups were given mandatory yajnopavita and rites and rituals, the last one was given the option. Also in any societal endeavor, it was the combination of all the groups that enabled the success of any projects. Valmiki Ramayana quotes elaborately on the broad participation of all the varnas in Ayodhya’s grandeur.

            When we overlay ashrama dharma over Purushartha, we get an interesting picture.  There seems to be a focus on certain aspect of Purushartha to guide the human evolution. The Brahmachari is most prone to lack of discipline due to lack of information. To create a structure in life there was an extra emphasis on dharma. A Grihasta on the other hand is not only in an earning situation, but also one that supports the other three varnas (in the past) or saves for future (in today’s world). Hence he needs to master Artha, not just money, but all resources. This one may be surprising thing as most of us model after Dhritarashtra, who was stuck to his symbolic throne and kingdom for years, despite the death of all his children and Pandavas taking over the rule. In today’s world we celebrate it as retired life. Instead of taming Kama, it becomes a great idea to relive the unfulfilled life. This must have been Vanaprastha, where the mastery of Kama is crucial. The last stage is Sannyasa, though there is no age to enter into it. It is merely a state of mind, where Moksha is the primary driver. 

            The Rishis have thus perfected human society based on guna, karma and their orientation to the predominant Purushartha one tries to tackle. One must note though Purushartha appears fourfold, a careful analysis reveals they are four aspects of the same idea. Kama tempered within Artha’s limits and when both abide within Dharma lead to Moksha. Therefore it is very much possible to simultaneously work on all the aspects of Purushartha while leading normal lives, by constantly working on our gunas and Karmas.

            These patterns also seem to be guided over large spans of time. When Sattva dominates as the primary character of the society, it is called as Satya Yuga or Krita Yuga. In time, this is replaced by Rajas with Sattva as secondary and eventually by only Rajas. Such a period is called Treta Yuga. Slowly Rajas increasingly infiltrated by tamas. This period is known as Dwapara Yuga, which gets slowly replaced by only Tamas. This is the times we live in and it is referred as Kali Yuga. We saw how even in the worst Kali Yuga, by doing Purushartha we can ward off its evil effects.

Usual Hinduphobia, but necessary to clarify

            Most Hinduphobes usually quote selectively some lines from Purusha Suktam found in the RigVeda as evidence of ancient abusive way to segregate into castes (note even there a mistake, varna is not same as modern caste) . Purusha Suktam is also found in the samhita portions of Shukla Yajurveda and Atharva Veda. Purusha Suktam is the veneration of the Cosmic being. It is definitely not treated as a person like Abrahamic Father in Heaven or Allah. But definite anthromorphism is applied to bring this abstract idea into the realm of understandable.

            The criticism stems from highly selective parroting of this line.

ब्रा॒ह्म॒णो᳚ऽस्य॒ मुख॑मासीत् । बा॒हू रा॑ज॒न्यः॑ कृ॒तः । ऊ॒रू तद॑स्य॒ यद्वैश्यः॑ । प॒द्भ्याꣳ शू॒द्रो अ॑जायत । १३

brāhmaṇo'sya mukhamāsīd bāhū rājanyaḥ kṛtaḥ, ūrū tadasya yad vaiśyaḥ padbhyāgï śūdro ajāyata.

      The Brahmana (spiritual wisdom and splendour) was His mouth; the Kshatriya (administrative and military prowess) His arms became. His thighs were the Vaisya (commercial and business enterprise); of His feet the Sudra (productive and sustaining force) was born. – Swami Krishnanada

            Note: In the Hindu civilization, the feet of Bhagawan is the holiest of all. One surrenders to HIS feet, not to his mouth or arms or thighs. Secondly in the visualization of different gunas, different parts of a generic human are assigned to convey that everything came from HIM. 

            What the hinduphobes and critics forgot to do is read the next line and apply the same logic.

नाभ्या॑ आसीद॒न्तरि॑क्षम् । शी॒र्ष्णो द्यौः सम॑वर्तत । प॒द्भ्यां भूमि॒र्दिशः॒ श्रोत्रा᳚त् । तथा॑ लो॒काꣳ अ॑कल्पयन् । १५

nābhyā āsīdantarikśam śīrṣṇo dyauḥ samavartata, padbhyāṁ bhūmirdiśaḥ śrotrātathā lokāṁ akalpayan.
(In that Universal Meditation as Sacrifice) the firmament came from His navel; the heavens were produced from His head; the earth from His feet; from His ears the quarters of space—so they constituted the worlds. – Swami Krishnanada

            By the critic’s logic, the earth came from HIS feet and must be treated with contempt. On the contrary the earth is adored and worshipped as divine, as a Mother. 

            Shallow critic’s logic works only in a polluted secular hinduphobic environment. The only option to counter is to gain depth in our ancient wisdom. This won’t happen without regular reading of scriptures and Sadhana. As we focus on gaining more Sattvic thoughts, our understanding centered on dharmic actions is the only antidote available, even if an avatara is sitting beside to guide us. The Vedic prayer sums it succinctly, “tamasoma jyotirgamaya”, Lead us from darkness to light, in other words from tamas to Sattva. We need to imbibe this as our motto, attitude and mantra.

ॐ तत् सत्