NOTE: This blog was used as a basis for delivering a lecture on Varnas. The length should not be a deterrent for the eager reader as the document is aimed at providing a deep insight into this critical topic.
Varnashrama is perhaps the most abused Dharmic idea ever. Today it is being exploited by politicians, hinduphobes, proselytizing cheats, antinationals and even foreign entities that bay for India’s blood that includes many liberal social media companies that like to Jack with our civilization. Thus it becomes imperative to add some correct perspective, especially to educate on the intent and past use.
Varna is not Jati: Initially introduced by the colonial abusers Britain to force people to comply with listing Jati as Caste, the idea got more fuel post independence by politicians adopting the idea of Caste as Vote Banks. This became a deeper idea by introducing caste based reservation system which is used to engineer more divisions in the society, besides openly promoting proselytizing. The irony is blatant as the same people who argue that (misinterpreted) Varnashrama is a birth based societal abuse, use the same birth based quota system to exploit more social abuse. Jati is a naturally occurring idea. Jati refers to the categories, varieties, groups and communities. Jati is definitely wrong cast as caste. Even though diamond and graphite is carbon, they are practically so different. Even within diamonds, we have different grades. We find varieties in plants and animals, for instance, breeds of dogs.
What is Varna? Wisdomlib records 41 definitions for the word “Varna”. The self certified google scholars and meritus from Whatsapp University like to shoehorn the word Varna as caste, which is certifiably wrong. Natyashastra views varna as notes produced in a certain way or the pitch of the vowels. In Chandas, a measure of metres in Vedic sounds, chandas is calculated by the measurement through letters. Contextually thus Varna has diverse meanings. The literal translation of Varna is color. That begs the question, “The color of what?” The Rishis of ancient India found that the entire universe, be it at an individual level or at the macro level is a mere representation of the three gunas – Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, though the interpretations of these words at the cosmic and individual levels are different. Humans like to represent many important ideas in the world through colors – traffic lights, Red Cross for hospital and even color coding of boys as blue and girls as pink and even mixing up every illogic for making a rainbow. In the same way Sattva is represented by White and it is obvious as it invokes idea of purity, harmony, clarity, balance, awareness and wellness. Rajas is represented with red color and it is easy to correlate with activity, dynamism, energy, passion, movement and excitement. Tamas is represented by black color and we can readily equate with darkness, inertia, heaviness, laziness, inactivity and insentience.
Coffee and Gunas: Just like coffee is a concoction of coffee (decoction), milk and sugar, the gunas reflect the intrinsic nature of all embodied beings. It is very evident as one travels to the different parts of the world, coffee can be real dark or overloaded with milk; sugary or sugarless. All beings are a product of these gunas. Even the highest sage has some Rajas and Tamas. On the same hand, the vilest of persons still has a tinge of sattva. The gunas of the individual is never static and is constantly changing its ratios. It changes not only during the lifetime of a person, but also at different times of the day. Our Karmas constantly impact the gunas and in turn are a product of the gunas, thus forming a tight pair that guides the Jiva. Apart from Guna and Karma, the past vasanas and the world of sense objects constantly shape the Gunas. Thus the Jiva is constantly at the mercy of its own nature or by the efforts it takes. In the tussle between Purushartha and Vasanas, the dominant one leads the Jiva, either along the path of Samsara or one that liberates it from this perpetual cycle of mire. The expression of a person’s character, personality and viewpoint of understanding is directly correlated to their gunas. Typically there is one primary and one secondary guna and the third one fills the balance. The primary and secondary thus have dominant influence in the expression of a person’s every aspect of existence.
Only valid permutations:
From the permutations possible with these three gunas, only distinct Primary-Secondary permutations are possible. A logical inquiry shows that Sattva-Tamas and Tamas-Sattva combination is not possible as there can’t be light and darkness in the same space. This leaves only four distinct possibilities – Sattva-Rajas, Rajas-Sattva, Rajas-Tamas and Tamas-Rajas. Each combination is given a unique name and assigned a color. Sattva-Rajas where Sattva dominates take the person more towards goodness and an inner journey is represented by white color and is given a name – Brahmana. Rajas-Sattva is represented by red color, drives the person more towards dynamism and activity is called Kshatriya. Rajas-Tamas combination is represented by yellow and is referred as Vaisya. Tamas-Rajas is represented by black color and is referred as shudra.
The colors are emphasized in numerous texs. In the Mahabharata’s Shanti Parva, the biggest book within it, categorizes these colors –
ब्राह्मणानां सितो वर्णः क्षत्रियाणां तु लोहितः | वैश्यानां पीतको वर्णः शूद्राणामसितस्तथा ||
It is critical to understand that these tendencies are not only in India, but they are true human expressions of personality, irrespective of nation or the time/culture they belong to. Just like one must not read too much into traffic lights, except understand its nature, one must not read too much into the color coding and infer them as good or bad. A shudra doesn’t represent the bad in the society as much as the Brahmana is not representing the good.
A peep into Asrama: The four Asramas are Brahmacharya, Grihasta, Vanaprastha and Sannyasa. Asrama is frequently misunderstood as a stage of life. It is secularized by equating it with unmarried, married, (since no equivalence of Vanaprastha is followed) misinterpreted as old age and (since sannyasa is naturally observed only by a few) as a renunciate. But even a cursory look at Itihasapuranas and written history can clarify that Adi Shankara was a sannyasi at eight years, whilst Hanuman is a naishtika brahmachari as well as a chiranjeevi. Most Vedic Rishis were married, thus Grihastashrama is glorified. Vanaprastha is definitely a preparatory step for a Grihasta to become a Sannyasi. It is also obvious that each asrama appears to have a strong emphasis on a certain element of Purushartha.
Brahmacharya, which merely means strict discipline is enforced for the individual to live high ideals, emphasizes Dharma, Hence the early stage of life is the right time to inculcate, so students form the main group in this category. Grihastha involves not only maintaining the family but also the responsibility of maintaining the other three varnas. Thus there is a heavy orientation towards Artha for the married householder. Vanaprastha is a stage where the individual is trying to detach from likes and dislikes, develop dispassion. Therefore, there is a strong emphasis on Kama, understanding its role and regulating it. Gita refers this stage as Tyaga. Sannyasa can be arrived from any Varna. It is a complete giving up of doership, the ahamkara, the identity. Such a focus culminates in mumukshutva, hence Moksha is the only Purushartha these individuals gravitate towards.
Gita’s insight: The Bhagavad Gita has been targeted by Hinduphobes who distort with intense passion to promote a horrible narrative that Krishna promoted caste based classification. These characters merely pick partial slokas, not even bother to read the context. So it becomes imperative to dispel these commonly repeated lies.
The goal of all living beings is dukha nivritti, suka prapti, reducing sorrow and pain while increasing happiness. Krishna declares that it is human nature to fall into these natural traits. Since Nature is one of his inherent nature, it is obvious that he declares it as his creation. (चातुर्वर्ण्यं मया सृष्टं गुणकर्मविभागश: | chātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛiṣhṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśhaḥ BG 4-13). It is imperative to understand that Krishna uses the word guna-karma-vibhagasha which means the classification of humans is based on their nature and action. One may be good natured, but if their actions contradict their nature, it also gets reflected in their Varna. Also this classification is not based on birth.
For the persistent tamasic characters who specialize in deliberate misinterpretation, Krishna reiterates that Varnas are the Karma that guides the classification is rooted in the qualities (gunas) and not by birth alone. (ब्राह्मणक्षत्रियविशां शूद्राणां च परन्तप | कर्माणि प्रविभक्तानि स्वभावप्रभवैर्गुणै: || brāhmaṇa-kṣhatriya-viśhāṁ śhūdrāṇāṁ cha parantapa karmāṇi pravibhaktāni svabhāva-prabhavair guṇaiḥ BG 18-41). Gita keeps reiterating the fact that Varna is solely dependent on the qualities and actions of the individual. We already understood that both gunas and karma are in a constant state of flux, yet it largely aligns along broad patterns.
Krishna’s deep insight prompts every individual to introspect on their qualities and is definitely not a tool to profile others. The first Varna mentioned is Brahmana. Krishna defines nine qualities any human must possess if one has to qualify as a Brahmana.
शमो दमस्तप: शौचं क्षान्तिरार्जवमेव च | ज्ञानं विज्ञानमास्तिक्यं ब्रह्मकर्म स्वभावजम् || BG 18-42
śhamo damas tapaḥ śhauchaṁ kṣhāntir ārjavam eva cha jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam
Serenity, self-restraint, austerity, purity, forgiveness and also uprightness, knowledge, realization, belief in God (Higher power) – are the duties of the BRAHMANAS, born of (their own) nature.
ब्रह्म अणतीति ब्राह्मणः is the definition of a Brahmana, which means the one who walks the path of Brahman. It is evident that the standards are very high. This individual is naturally oriented towards Sattva and thus orients towards Moksha.
शौर्यं तेजो धृतिर्दाक्ष्यं युद्धे चाप्यपलायनम् | दानमीश्वरभावश्च क्षात्रं कर्म स्वभावजम् || BG 18-43
śhauryaṁ tejo dhṛitir dākṣhyaṁ yuddhe chāpy apalāyanam dānam īśhvara-bhāvaśh cha kṣhātraṁ karma svabhāva-jam
Prowess, splendor, firmness, dexterity, and also not fleeing from battle, generosity, lordliness – these are the duties of the KSHATRIYAS, born of (their own) nature.
क्षतात् त्रायते क्षत्रियः is the definition of a Kshatriya, which implies the one who protects the endangered. These seven qualities determine if a person is a Kshatriya and it is obvious to understand why such individuals gravitate towards the Purushartha – Dharma.
कृषिगौरक्ष्यवाणिज्यं वैश्यकर्म स्वभावजम् | परिचर्यात्मकं कर्म शूद्रस्यापि स्वभावजम् || BG 18-44
kṛiṣhi-gau-rakṣhya-vāṇijyaṁ vaiśhya-karma svabhāva-jam paricharyātmakaṁ karma śhūdrasyāpi svabhāva-jam
Agriculture, cattle-rearing and trade are the duties of the VAISHYAS, born of (their own) nature; and service is the duty of the SHUDRAS, born of (their own) nature.
विशाम् प्रजानामिमे वैश्यः is the definition of a Vaishya, which implies as the one who safeguards the welfare of the people. Only three qualities which are merged with their professional orientation are given. It is obvious with such a heavy focus on assets; the natural Purushartha they are drawn to is Artha.
शुचात् द्रवतीति शूद्रः is the definition of a Shudra, which means one who cannot tolerate distress (theirs and others). Alternatively, शोकं करोति इति शूद्रः. Thus as an individual driven towards pain removal, they find themselves naturally attracted towards service of others. We already saw that Dukha nivritti, sukha prapti as the core of every Jiva. Thus all Jivas gravitate towards Kama, it may be colored through their gunas. Just as a drug addict may imagine the drug to be a source of pleasure, though it may be killing him.
To the quick reader it may result that this hierarchy implies Brahmanas are at the top, which Shudras are at the bottom, which is the farthest from truth. Note that as one moves from Shudras to Brahmanas, the qualities demanded get more stringent and numerous. In the very next verse (BG 18-45), Krishna advises that one’s emancipation, progress and perfection is only by doing what is the Gunas one is born with - स्वे स्वे कर्मण्यभिरत: संसिद्धिं लभते नर: | sve sve karmaṇy abhirataḥ sansiddhiṁ labhate naraḥ. The twisted minds of sickulars will imagine this to be a punishment for a person to remain in one varna.
Due to the intrinsic nature, every individual is born (due to/) with their vasanas and due to its effect, each individual comes with certain strengths, aptitude and attitude. Krishna’s advice is to build on your strengths, rather than stretching into what is attractive but not yours.
More Mahabharata insights: In Shanti Parva, Rishi Bharadwaja raises the question of varnas (colors) to Rishi Bhrigu. He questions since desire (kama), anger (krodha), fear (bhaya), greed (lobha), sorrow (shoka), anxiety (chinta), hunger (kshudha) and work (shrama) affect all living beings, how can they be used as a yardstick for varna classification? (कामः क्रोधो भयं लोभः शोकश्चिन्ता क्षुधा श्रमः | सर्वेषां नः प्रभवति कस्माद्वर्णो विभज्यते || )
Rishi Bhrigu notes that Brahma created everyone as Brahmanas with no special difference and different varnas evolved based on their Gunas. (न विशेषोऽस्ति वर्णानां सर्वं ब्राह्ममिदं जगत् | ब्रह्मणा पूर्वसृष्टं हि कर्मभिर्वर्णतां गतम् ||)
By giving up evolved focus on Brahman, by abaoning their svadharma and by tainting itself with desire and objects of pleasure, by developing a fierce nature and anger, backed by courage, kshatriyas became red in their limbs. (It is akin to saying blood on their hands) (कामभोगप्रियास्तीक्ष्णाः क्रोधनाः प्रियसाहसाः | त्यक्तस्वधर्मा रक्ताङ्गास्ते द्विजाः क्षत्रतां गताः || )
Dvijas, by abandoning their svadharma, and by focusing on cattle rearing, agriculture, they became Vaisyas and adopted yellow color. (गोषु वृत्तिं समाधाय पीताः कृष्युपजीविनः | स्वधर्मं नानुतिष्ठन्ति ते द्विजा वैश्यतां गताः |)
A Brahmana by giving up his qualities and by developing interest in falsehood and violence develops the black color. Due to avarice becomes prepared to do any work and thus Shudra Varna was born. (हिंसानृतप्रिया लुब्धाः सर्वकर्मोपजीविनः | कृष्णाः शौचपरिभ्रष्टास्ते द्विजाः शूद्रतां गताः ||)
This insight tells us that intrinsically everyone is a Brahmana and the tainting qualities distort one to become a different varna. Note again, that to be a Brahmana, Guna-Karma are strongly emphasized. Skanda Purana takes an opposite view that everyone is born as a Shudra, only by samskaras one becomes a Dvija, by studying Vedas one becomes a Viprah and those who know (or aligning themselves to know) Brahman through their vision, qualities and action (Guna and Karma) alone are Brahmanas.
जन्मना जायते शूद्रः संस्कारात् भवेत् द्विजः | वेद-पाठात् भवेत् विप्रः ब्रह्म जानातीति ब्राह्मणः |
Janmana jayate sudrah, samskarat bhavet dwijaha , Veda pathnat bhavet viprah, brahma janath iti brahmanah
Irrespective of whether all human beings are born Shudras (avoiding pain) or as Brahmanas (as Brahma created in the very first iteration), two things are certain – Gunas and Karma alone determine Varna. Secondly, Varna is not static and not something that is condemned due to birth.
Fluidity of varnas: Deliberately the anti Hindu forces have played into the historical and scriptural ignorance of the masses. In Varnas – a journey to its roots, we had encountered many rishis and individuals who successfully changed their birth Varna. Also it is important to understand that Asrama is a parallel classification. In Valmiki Ramayana, we get to know of a Rishi Shravanakumara, who was killed accidentally by Dasaratha. His father was a Vaisya and his mother a Shudra, yet Valmiki registers them honorably as rishis.
Before the skeptic jumps to the conclusion, let us look at some firm directives from the often scorned Manusmriti.
शूद्रो ब्राह्मणतामेति ब्राह्मणश्चैति शूद्रताम् । क्षत्रियाज् जातमेवं तु विद्याद् वैश्यात् तथैव च ॥ 10-65
śūdro brāhmaṇatāmeti brāhmaṇaścaiti śūdratām | kṣatriyāj jātamevaṃ tu vidyād vaiśyāt tathaiva ca ||
The Śūdra attains the position of the Brāhmaṇa and the Brāhmaṇa attains the position of the Śūdra; the same should be understood to be the case with the offspring of the Kṣatriya or of the Vaiśya.
Even the most distorted translation cannot hide the fact that the birth Varna doesn’t matter, but one can alter their guna-karma to reflect on their varna. This conclusively proves that Varnas are fluid, unlike what the current political dispensation has done since Indian Independence following the colonial model to freeze the Jatis into wrongly mapped Varnas. Immediately the critics point out to the previous sloka 10-64 to highlight such a transformation may take within seven generations. Again to highlight the intensity of effort put determines the ease and pace of transformation.
Besides the fluidity of Varnas, the Atharvana Veda clearly instructs to maintain harmony and love amongst all the Varnas in the society. (Priyam ma krnu devesu priyam rajasu ma krnu, priyam sarvasya pasyata uta sudra utarye). Unlike other societies, respecting the Atman in all and treating them as equal members of the society has been repeatedly highlighted. In Ramayana, in Ayodhya Kanda, numerous slokas repeatedly emphasize the harmony amongst all sections of the society and how all of them participated in all events. In the Mahabharata and the Srimad Bhagavatam, we again find a similar emphasis of mutual harmony amongst all the Varnas, despite their distinct differences in the gunas and Karmas.
Purusha Sukta – a Vedic insight: While a complete Vedic viewpoint will be way outside our current research, it is imperative to correct one important misguided criticism about the Purusha Sukta. This verse, “brAhmaNo asya mukhamAseet | bAhoo rAjanya: krta: | ooru tadasya yad vaishya | padbhyAm shoodro ajAyata |”, is used by the harshest critics to highlight that Varnas in Vedas are derogatory form of societal classification. Nothing can be farther from such ludicrous misinterpretation.
Purusha Sukta is a meditation of the Cosmic Being, Viraat Purusha, a representation of Naryana Himself. It appears in numerous places – Rig Veda (10.7.90.1-16), Taittiriya Aranyaka (3.12, 13), Vajasaneyi Samhita (31.1-6), Sama Veda Samhita (6.4) and Atharva Veda Samhita (19.6). Portions of it are also found elsewhere, demonstrating the importance. It is also elaborated in the Bhagavatam and the Mahabharata.
The fore mentioned sloka instructs one to visualize the Viraat Purusha from whose face Brahmanas emanated; from the arms the Kshatriyas; from the thighs the Vaishyas and the two feet gave rise to the Shudras. The criticism is that the feet is a menial place and hence the shudras are lower in order.
It is traditional to metaphorically represent ideas like root of the problem, heart of an idea, face of the enemy and the like. Even in Bhagavad Gita, Vibhuti Yoga, Krishna repeatedly uses metaphors to represent his real nature. The Brahmanas give a lot of emphasis in pronouncing the Vedas phonetically correct and hence their strength is in their face. Therefore, the metaphor correctly points out the Viraat Purusha’s face represents a Brahmana. Similarly Kshatriyas rely on the strength of their arms, be it for waging war or doing dana and thus the Viraat Purusha’s arms are pointed as their origin. The Vaisyas rely on the strength of their thighs for their trade, agriculture or even cattle rearing. Thus for meditation their strength of their thighs is highlighted as Viraat Purusha’s. Finally the Shudras who rely only on their feet to be at their best in service are represented as Viraat Purusha’s feet. The issue is non practitioners and hinduphobes are trying to wrest the narrative with their deliberate misinterpretations. If one needs to learn the message and lessons from Purusha Sukta, should that be from an atheist hinduphobe or from one who is deeply benefited from thousands of years of spiritual seekers?
The most important place of Bhagawan for any Bhakt is HIS lotus feet. The critics who specialize in studying Sanatana Dharma by selecting cutting few verses out of context to highlight a mangled lie usually find their lies vaporize when anyone studies a few more verses before or after the selected one. A couple of slokas later, we find “nAbhyA Aseedantariksham | sheerSHNau dhyau: samavartata | padbhyAm bhoomir disha: shrotrAt | tathA lokAm akalpayan ||“, which translates as “Space emanates from his navel, Sky from his head, Earth from his feet and the directions from his ears”. Will the arrogant mind also label the Earth as a lowly creation, akin to the Shudra?
Swami Krishnananda educates us that the four great themes – the nature of the Ultimate Reality, the process of creation, the status of the individual and the mutual relationships between the individual (society) which is the essence of all Philosophy is the subject of Purusha Sukta. This Universal Being, who is not a representation of any Devata, but that of the one who transcends Space and Time. The entire Sukta is a Yajna by itself, besides being a meditation. The human mind is used to seeing the diverse and separate objects, but this Sukta instructs us to see the One Universal Being hidden within. This supramental thinking, divine meditation that educates us to see the SUPREME SINGLE HIDDEN TRUTH cannot be allowed by the meanest of prejudiced Hinduphobes to distort it for peddling a bigoted narrow minded selfish lie.
Mapping to the modern mind: Owing to the diluted understanding and even watered down practice, the modern mind needs an easy mapping to absorb this subtlety. Again one must heed to the oft repeated message that guna and karma are at the root of the classification, most certainly not birth.
A loose mapping of the qualities-action categorization will yield us thinker, administrator, businessman and worker. Everyone works for a livelihood. But the one with limited aspirations that translate to working for making ends meet will not be in the same league as someone who is aspiring to rise to the higher echelons of the company. Some may not even want to get into owning businesses, but merely get a share of the company stock to achieve their resource needs. A third category aspires to get into leadership positions, be it within the organization or society and is more driven by systems, their creation and implementation. The last category is most certainly the least numerous. Thinker in any field would imply the person with sufficient patience and rigor to ponder on deep topics. It is said that Edison did a thousand experiments before he invented the incandescent bulb. This kind of rigor is not going to be found from a person belonging to the other categories. This doesn’t forbid anyone from becoming the next Edison, except their qualities and action.
To understand it better, every individual has a thinker, administrator, businessman and a worker in them. When the person is pondering about an issue to solve, (s)he is a thinker, when the same person is organized in running a family or for that matter even arranging their life, they morph into an administrator. When we shop for deals or invest our money we don the businessman hat and in our daily grind, irrespective of the profession, we are the mundane worker. Though we may perform all the roles every day, we still predominantly orient ourselves to one certain role, due to our qualities and action. For instance, a police officer works as hard as the laborer and the scientist. Their roles differ due to their actions, so does their contribution to society and pay. But all are an equal member of the society. Profession, qualities and action doesn’t take away their basic privileges as an equal member in the society.
Expanding the focus: Every individual strives for self preservation. It has a strong rooting in its assumed identity – ahamakara. The individual is bound to things that are close to its assumed identity like its body, mind and family. This vision is definitely limited, but doesn’t mean it has to be classified as bad. Note we mapped the Shudra with the focus on Kama (desire). Each life form wants to mitigate the pain and increase in what it defines itself as pleasure. This is the foundational vision each individual has.
Yet the aspiring ones expand their vision to include it to obtain greater resources (Artha). Depending on their vision, it may be a small business to a huge empire. This vision incorporates a larger viewpoint than the previous one. As one expands their vision, it is obvious to understand large entities as systems and systems imply the need for an order. These individuals focus on laws, organizing and systematizing. It is obvious their vision drives their activities that drive the attention ranging from politics to dharma protection. This would be the Kshatriya way where Dharma is at the center. Dharma has several meanings, one being order.
The Brahmana vision, according to the shastras is to rise above the Ahamkara. This definitely implies that one has to expand one’s consciousness to include everyone and everything, irrespective of likes and dislikes. This expansive vision comes with a microscopic attention to our gunas and karma, naturally leading us deeper into an inner journey towards the True SELF and hence leans towards spirituality and Moksha is its final culmination.
The vision of each individual must certainly not be put on a good and bad scale. As demonstrated our gunas and karma reveal this foundational spectrum of our vision ranging from a limited survival mode to expanding it to the cosmic consciousness level. The vision drives the karma which in turn impacts our gunas and thus the cycle repeats. As one gets entrenched in performing proper actions depending on their guna-karma, each individual elevates oneself in their alignment to the Supreme Consciousness.
Varna is a philosophical construct that urges every individual to focus on their own Gunas. Each category can overcome its shortcomings by the prescriptions of the spiritually advanced Rishis. The ones who are tied to mere work like Shudras can achieve Moksha through Nishkamya Karma, the path of Karma Yoga. They can use their natural tendency to avoid pain, to care and alleviate others’ pain. The ones immersed with Artha like Vaisyas can overcome their natural tendency to covet by sharing. This is exemplified by Dana. The Kshatriyas can take advantage of their tendency to regulate and bring order, by rooting themselves in Dharma. This will involve spreading the wisdom of the Vedas, Upanishads and the Gita to others, besides being the best example. Ultimately the Brahmanas, who have a natural affinity for Shastras, due to their Gunas and Karma, not due to their birth alone, can raise the bar of personal example. This is done by more discipline, Sadhana and Tapasya.
Varna is not a way to segregate the society, but to elevate the individuals by showcasing their strengths, their potential pitfalls, their responsibilities and a constant reminder that the current position they occupy in the spiritual journey is a temporary one. The final destination is still Moksha and is the birth right for every Jiva, irrespective of the Varna.
ॐ तत् सत
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