Geeta Vahini
Though purity of mind is the primary thing for the protection of society and the individual in the realm of the Divine, Varna organization too is very important. It can never be blown off by ridicule, criticism, or condemnation. For, welfare is essential for all; so rulers and scholars must give up feelings of anger and hatred and calmly delve into the pros and cons and bring the organization into some good order. That is the thing to do. It is not proper that wise men and intelligent scholars should support the meaningless criticisms of the envious and the ignorant. Those who deny caste are themselves forming a caste. Those who deny religion are themselves forming a new religion. Even those who know much become prejudiced against Varna and talk as if they are as ignorant as the rest. That is the wonder!
Every object has certain limits. If it exceeds the limits or breaks through them, it gets destroyed. What is the test of its identity? The coordination between its nature and its form. If it has the form but not the nature, then it is unreal, false. So too, if each class has no special limits, how can it be identified as a class? It will be neither this nor that, an amorphous mass, a confused group. This is a Divinely decided organisation; so it was fostered and continued by the great sages, saints, and elders, for many generations. But in this iron age of Kali, the brainiest dismiss it as useless junk.
Without deep inquiry, without discrimination, if people look at this organisation from the external, the individual standpoint, how can they arrive at right conclusions? Its sanctity and value will be revealed if you have the ‘inner sight’ and the ‘universal’ outlook and the ‘inquiring spirit.’ Just as the butter latent in milk is made patent by the process of churning, so too the specific value of the Four Varnas will become manifest only through the process of discriminating inquiry. Then prejudices will perish, and reality will be revealed.
The four Varnas are like the limbs of the same body. They have evolved out of the same Divine Body—the Brahmanas from the face, the Kshatriyas from the hands, the Vaishyas from the thighs, and the Shudras from the feet. Of course, these expressions have a deeper inner meaning. Those who teach, like the Guru, the principles of Jnana are the Voice. They are the Brahmanas. The strong armed bear the burden of the Earth; they are the Kshatriyas. The social edifice is upheld, as on pillars, by the Vaishyas, and so they are figuratively described as emanating from the thighs of the Divine Person. Like the feet that are engaged in going about on all kinds of activities, the Shudras are ever engaged in the basic tasks of society. The peace and happiness of society will suffer even if a single Varna is slack in its task. And all Varnas are worthwhile and valuable, as all limbs are important. There is no higher or lower. Hatred and rivalry in society are as harmful as the stoppage of work by all the limbs in anger against the stomach!
A sugar doll is sweet all over. Break off its head and eat it, it is sweet. Break off a leg and eat it, it is as sweet as the head. Then how can the Varnas which are the limbs of the selfsame Divinity be pronounced higher or lower?
Limbs are different, but the very same red blood flows in all and animates all. There is no special variety for the hand or leg or face. The system of Varnas is ordained by the Vedas, and so, there can be no injustice in it. It is not an artifice invented by man. So those who try to create differences and hatred, by their inconsiderate remarks about it, are only exhibiting their ignorance.
It looks as if those people who argue that, “the abolition of the Varna system will bring about human welfare,” are the only ones anxious to promote human welfare! They believe that those who consider the system to be beneficial are really eager to promote the downfall of human society! Of course, both are delusions. But this much is true: Those who support the Varnas are really more interested in the promotion of human welfare. The others think that if Varna goes, they will be saving the country. That is a deluded belief. If only virtues and faults are analysed carefully and without prejudice, there will be an end of this uninformed campaign of hatred and enmity. Then there will be a great change in the attitude of people towards the Varna system.
If hatred increases, it will not benefit anyone. To pursue the ideal of “all are equal” is like running after the mirage to slake one’s thirst. It will only breed discontent. The rulers must now assemble and consult the representatives of the people, namely, the Pandits and experienced elders, and discuss the value of this ancient system of social organisation. Instead, if they just decide on the basis of external forms and features that there is some poison in this and run into panic, that will only reveal their ignorance. The rulers as well as the Pandits both have the happiness of the people at heart. Why this Varna system originated and with what end in view, has led to comments because it was not practiced on the continued counsels of the wise.
Take one small example: some nations have manufactured bombs that can wipe out lakhs (hundred thousand) of people at one burst. Though they know this is bad, the rulers are themselves encouraging it. If they are used as the whim takes them, ruin will fall on all. When chaos threatens, they are to be used only for self-defense. The purpose is not the destruction of the world but the protection of the values of one’s own country and culture. So also, the Varna system is to be treated as strong armament to protect the country and culture. The rules and regulations, the restrictions and recommendations are all to defend the people from ruin. They are disciplines that have to be honored in the way they are laid down and followed strictly and correctly. To deal with them as the whim dictates, without regard to the directing bunds, the limits, and the boundaries, is to invite anarchy.
Therefore, the elders, the rulers, the great Pandits, and the leaders of the community guarded and fostered this Organisation and preserved it. Think of this for a while and the truth will flash on you—whether it is beneficial or not. If it was ruinous to society, would they have fostered it? Do you mean to say they were all foolish or that they did not have the present type of scholarship or were they brainless?
No, no, their intelligence, scholarship, spiritual eminence, their spirit of inquiry, and their impartial, unprejudiced approach to social problems can be found only among one in a hundred today. Ascetics who dedicated all their intellectual and moral strength for the welfare of the world, which task was the very breath of their life; Yogis, spiritual warriors, and Maharshis who sought to confer true contentment to the human community—these were the framers of the social organisation which the ‘moderns’ condemn. They were not like the reformers today who yearn for welfare in a profusion of words, but who undermine the very thing they profess to yearn for by their actions! This type of trick was unknown to the ancient sages. Modern ideas and plans are hollow and insincere. The present plans are all castles in the air. They cater more to the conceit of the planners and do not carry much meaning to others. The castles start falling down even while construction is proceeding in another place!
As the body is for the Jivi, the world is for the Lord. Whatever happens in any part of the body affects the Jivi. So too, all that affects any part of the world moves the Lord. He becomes cognizant of it and He reacts to it. Just as you are interested in all the limbs of the body being in perfect trim, the Lord too is interested in seeing that every country and every part of the World is happy and contented. Can He, will He, harm any country which is primarily a part of Himself? In matters relating to the Lord, all have equal rights; all are equal.
Yet, one limb cannot carry out the duties of another. Each must do the task allotted to it. So too, each Varna must carry out its allotted share of the activities of society and contribute its best to the welfare of the country. As the body has stages, society has the Varnas. If all start trading, who will be the buyers? If all are engaged in fighting, who is to provide the wherewithal for their upkeep and maintenance: the food, the armor, and the equipment? So, each has to do his share of social activity and ensure peace, harmony, and happiness. That is the wise course, the best organisation of society.
Now, instead of attending to essential tasks, people are engaged in internecine struggle fearing that the Varnas are great obstacles to progress. How can people who are unable to keep their body under control keep the country within limits? Consider that the fostering of the Varna system, which has been fostered so long by the ancients, is the most beneficial thing that has to be done.
The Lord has not shown any partiality while organising the Varnas. He has no such trait in Him. Some persons ask, why should the Lord have such differences? No, He has no sense of inferior or superior. He is sweet all over, as a lump of sugar. All differences and distinctions are the property of Jivis (the individuals), who do not know the Atmic reality; they are the illusions of the Jivis who falsely identify themselves with the non-Atma.
Consider this example: A mother has four children. But she does not pay the other three as much attention and care as she gives to the child in the cradle. Even if the child does not call out for it, she is ever vigilant to give it food. The other three have to come and worry her for food and things to play with. Observing this, you cannot pronounce her a bad mother or a partial mother. The mother adjusts her activities to the capacity and ability of the child. So too, though the entire world is His, though all are His children, He has fixed upon each a part of the responsibility of the work of society, according to the capacity and ability. To ascribe faults to such selfless, sincere, simple, ever-blissful Providence is like attributing darkness to the Sun! Darkness and the rays of the Sun cannot exist together. How then can the Sun be the home of darkness? People who carp so at the Sun do not know the Sun at all. It is sheer folly, complete ignorance.
Really, from the Adhyatmika (spiritual) point of view, these Varnas can be characterised also in another way. Those who are established in the contemplation of Brahman are Brahmanas. Those who oppose untruth are Kshatriyas. Those who systematically discriminate the true from the false are the Vaishyas. Those who are ever active and follow truth in everyday life are the Shudras. The happiness of humanity can be amply realised only when Varnas function in this way.
Now, we shall revert to the subject: Krishna addressed Arjuna, “The four Varnas have been created by Me on the basis of Guna and Karma. Though I am the doer so far as they are concerned, I am still a non-doer! Pay attention to the fundamental principle and then you will realise that Karma, which is basically jada or consciousnessless and material, cannot affect the Atma, which is Chaitanya or suffused with consciousness. The Atma is inherently devoid of attachment. It has no awareness of agency or of its own needs or nature or of its possessions. It has no ‘I’ or ‘mine,’ for these are the marks of Ajnana. Only those afflicted with Ajnana will suffer from the ego or sense of ‘mine.’ Though it may appear to ordinary eyes that I am the ‘doer,’ I am a non-doer!
“Not only this, Karma does not cease to affect the doer as soon as it is finished. In fact, it is never finished. Karma yields fruits; fruits of Karma breed desire for them that results in impulses for further Karma. The impulses bring about further births. Thus, Karma leads to the cycle of birth and deaths. It is a vicious whirlpool, making you revolve round and round and finally dragging you down into the depths.
“Arjuna, listen well to another point also. Karma as such has no capacity to bind. It is the conceit ‘I am the doer’ that brings about the attachment and the bond. It is the desire to earn the fruit that produces the bondage. For example, the zero gets value only with the association of a digit. Karma is zero. Agency or the feeling of ‘doer’ is associated with the Karma; then it breeds bonds. So, Arjuna, give up the sense of ‘I’ and the Karma that you do will never harm you. Karma done without any desire for the fruits thereof will not produce impulses. That is to say, there will be no impulse for birth even. The aspirants of past ages performed Karma with this high ideal in view. They never felt that they were the ‘doers’ or ‘enjoyers of the fruits’ of any act. The Lord did, the Lord gave the fruit, the Lord enjoyed the fruit—that was their conviction. This world has only a relative value; it has no absolute existence. That was their faith. Arjuna! You too should cultivate that faith and earn that conviction. Do so, then your mind will become clarified and pure.
“Know also the distinction between Karma, Vikarma (Karma done with intent), and Akarma (desireless action, action done with the attitude of a witness). I shall tell you the main points of difference now, listen. Many aspirants get confused about this. Not all can grasp the distinction. They take it that Sva-dharma (one’s own Dharma) is Karma, and that all Karma done, not as Dharma, but with a view to earn Atma-jnana are Vikarmas! Whatever the Karma, if it is done in the darkness and confusion of Ajnana, however hard you may have exercised your abilities during the activity, its results can only be worry, grief, and travail. It can never result in equanimity, balance, or calm. Man has to win Karma in Akarma and Akarma through Karma—that is the hallmark of the wise.
“Akarma means action-lessness according to some. But to explain it in simpler language, understand that the activities of the limbs, the senses, intelligence, the feelings, the emotions, and mind are all Karmas. Now, Akarma means, among other things, non-activity too. That is to say, it is the attribute of the Atma. So Akarma means Atma Sthiti, the characteristic of the Atma. When you travel in a bus or train or boat, the illusion is created that the trees and hills on either side travel along, and the person feels that he is stationary! The movement of the chariot imposes on hill and tree the quality of movement. So too, the person unaware of the principles enunciated in the Shastras deludes himself into the belief that the Atma is doing all the activities of the senses and the body. Which then is the genuine Akarma—activity-less-ness? The experience of the Atma is the perfect activity-less-ness; that is your real nature. It will not do if you simply desist from external acts. You should realise the Atmic fundamental, not merely renounce Karma; for it is impossible to be completely activityless.”
Index
Preface
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII
Chapter VIII
Chapter IX
Chapter X
Chapter XI
Chapter XII
Chapter XIII
Chapter XIV
Chapter XV
Chapter XVI
Chapter XVII
Chapter XVIII
Chapter XIX
Chapter XX
Chapter XXI
Chapter XXII
Chapter XXIII
Chapter XXIV
Chapter XXV
Chapter XXVI
Chapter XXVII
Chapter IX
Though purity of mind is the primary thing for the protection of society and the individual in the realm of the Divine, Varna organization too is very important. It can never be blown off by ridicule, criticism, or condemnation. For, welfare is essential for all; so rulers and scholars must give up feelings of anger and hatred and calmly delve into the pros and cons and bring the organization into some good order. That is the thing to do. It is not proper that wise men and intelligent scholars should support the meaningless criticisms of the envious and the ignorant. Those who deny caste are themselves forming a caste. Those who deny religion are themselves forming a new religion. Even those who know much become prejudiced against Varna and talk as if they are as ignorant as the rest. That is the wonder!
Every object has certain limits. If it exceeds the limits or breaks through them, it gets destroyed. What is the test of its identity? The coordination between its nature and its form. If it has the form but not the nature, then it is unreal, false. So too, if each class has no special limits, how can it be identified as a class? It will be neither this nor that, an amorphous mass, a confused group. This is a Divinely decided organisation; so it was fostered and continued by the great sages, saints, and elders, for many generations. But in this iron age of Kali, the brainiest dismiss it as useless junk.
Without deep inquiry, without discrimination, if people look at this organisation from the external, the individual standpoint, how can they arrive at right conclusions? Its sanctity and value will be revealed if you have the ‘inner sight’ and the ‘universal’ outlook and the ‘inquiring spirit.’ Just as the butter latent in milk is made patent by the process of churning, so too the specific value of the Four Varnas will become manifest only through the process of discriminating inquiry. Then prejudices will perish, and reality will be revealed.
The four Varnas are like the limbs of the same body. They have evolved out of the same Divine Body—the Brahmanas from the face, the Kshatriyas from the hands, the Vaishyas from the thighs, and the Shudras from the feet. Of course, these expressions have a deeper inner meaning. Those who teach, like the Guru, the principles of Jnana are the Voice. They are the Brahmanas. The strong armed bear the burden of the Earth; they are the Kshatriyas. The social edifice is upheld, as on pillars, by the Vaishyas, and so they are figuratively described as emanating from the thighs of the Divine Person. Like the feet that are engaged in going about on all kinds of activities, the Shudras are ever engaged in the basic tasks of society. The peace and happiness of society will suffer even if a single Varna is slack in its task. And all Varnas are worthwhile and valuable, as all limbs are important. There is no higher or lower. Hatred and rivalry in society are as harmful as the stoppage of work by all the limbs in anger against the stomach!
A sugar doll is sweet all over. Break off its head and eat it, it is sweet. Break off a leg and eat it, it is as sweet as the head. Then how can the Varnas which are the limbs of the selfsame Divinity be pronounced higher or lower?
Limbs are different, but the very same red blood flows in all and animates all. There is no special variety for the hand or leg or face. The system of Varnas is ordained by the Vedas, and so, there can be no injustice in it. It is not an artifice invented by man. So those who try to create differences and hatred, by their inconsiderate remarks about it, are only exhibiting their ignorance.
It looks as if those people who argue that, “the abolition of the Varna system will bring about human welfare,” are the only ones anxious to promote human welfare! They believe that those who consider the system to be beneficial are really eager to promote the downfall of human society! Of course, both are delusions. But this much is true: Those who support the Varnas are really more interested in the promotion of human welfare. The others think that if Varna goes, they will be saving the country. That is a deluded belief. If only virtues and faults are analysed carefully and without prejudice, there will be an end of this uninformed campaign of hatred and enmity. Then there will be a great change in the attitude of people towards the Varna system.
If hatred increases, it will not benefit anyone. To pursue the ideal of “all are equal” is like running after the mirage to slake one’s thirst. It will only breed discontent. The rulers must now assemble and consult the representatives of the people, namely, the Pandits and experienced elders, and discuss the value of this ancient system of social organisation. Instead, if they just decide on the basis of external forms and features that there is some poison in this and run into panic, that will only reveal their ignorance. The rulers as well as the Pandits both have the happiness of the people at heart. Why this Varna system originated and with what end in view, has led to comments because it was not practiced on the continued counsels of the wise.
Take one small example: some nations have manufactured bombs that can wipe out lakhs (hundred thousand) of people at one burst. Though they know this is bad, the rulers are themselves encouraging it. If they are used as the whim takes them, ruin will fall on all. When chaos threatens, they are to be used only for self-defense. The purpose is not the destruction of the world but the protection of the values of one’s own country and culture. So also, the Varna system is to be treated as strong armament to protect the country and culture. The rules and regulations, the restrictions and recommendations are all to defend the people from ruin. They are disciplines that have to be honored in the way they are laid down and followed strictly and correctly. To deal with them as the whim dictates, without regard to the directing bunds, the limits, and the boundaries, is to invite anarchy.
Therefore, the elders, the rulers, the great Pandits, and the leaders of the community guarded and fostered this Organisation and preserved it. Think of this for a while and the truth will flash on you—whether it is beneficial or not. If it was ruinous to society, would they have fostered it? Do you mean to say they were all foolish or that they did not have the present type of scholarship or were they brainless?
No, no, their intelligence, scholarship, spiritual eminence, their spirit of inquiry, and their impartial, unprejudiced approach to social problems can be found only among one in a hundred today. Ascetics who dedicated all their intellectual and moral strength for the welfare of the world, which task was the very breath of their life; Yogis, spiritual warriors, and Maharshis who sought to confer true contentment to the human community—these were the framers of the social organisation which the ‘moderns’ condemn. They were not like the reformers today who yearn for welfare in a profusion of words, but who undermine the very thing they profess to yearn for by their actions! This type of trick was unknown to the ancient sages. Modern ideas and plans are hollow and insincere. The present plans are all castles in the air. They cater more to the conceit of the planners and do not carry much meaning to others. The castles start falling down even while construction is proceeding in another place!
As the body is for the Jivi, the world is for the Lord. Whatever happens in any part of the body affects the Jivi. So too, all that affects any part of the world moves the Lord. He becomes cognizant of it and He reacts to it. Just as you are interested in all the limbs of the body being in perfect trim, the Lord too is interested in seeing that every country and every part of the World is happy and contented. Can He, will He, harm any country which is primarily a part of Himself? In matters relating to the Lord, all have equal rights; all are equal.
Yet, one limb cannot carry out the duties of another. Each must do the task allotted to it. So too, each Varna must carry out its allotted share of the activities of society and contribute its best to the welfare of the country. As the body has stages, society has the Varnas. If all start trading, who will be the buyers? If all are engaged in fighting, who is to provide the wherewithal for their upkeep and maintenance: the food, the armor, and the equipment? So, each has to do his share of social activity and ensure peace, harmony, and happiness. That is the wise course, the best organisation of society.
Now, instead of attending to essential tasks, people are engaged in internecine struggle fearing that the Varnas are great obstacles to progress. How can people who are unable to keep their body under control keep the country within limits? Consider that the fostering of the Varna system, which has been fostered so long by the ancients, is the most beneficial thing that has to be done.
The Lord has not shown any partiality while organising the Varnas. He has no such trait in Him. Some persons ask, why should the Lord have such differences? No, He has no sense of inferior or superior. He is sweet all over, as a lump of sugar. All differences and distinctions are the property of Jivis (the individuals), who do not know the Atmic reality; they are the illusions of the Jivis who falsely identify themselves with the non-Atma.
Consider this example: A mother has four children. But she does not pay the other three as much attention and care as she gives to the child in the cradle. Even if the child does not call out for it, she is ever vigilant to give it food. The other three have to come and worry her for food and things to play with. Observing this, you cannot pronounce her a bad mother or a partial mother. The mother adjusts her activities to the capacity and ability of the child. So too, though the entire world is His, though all are His children, He has fixed upon each a part of the responsibility of the work of society, according to the capacity and ability. To ascribe faults to such selfless, sincere, simple, ever-blissful Providence is like attributing darkness to the Sun! Darkness and the rays of the Sun cannot exist together. How then can the Sun be the home of darkness? People who carp so at the Sun do not know the Sun at all. It is sheer folly, complete ignorance.
Really, from the Adhyatmika (spiritual) point of view, these Varnas can be characterised also in another way. Those who are established in the contemplation of Brahman are Brahmanas. Those who oppose untruth are Kshatriyas. Those who systematically discriminate the true from the false are the Vaishyas. Those who are ever active and follow truth in everyday life are the Shudras. The happiness of humanity can be amply realised only when Varnas function in this way.
Now, we shall revert to the subject: Krishna addressed Arjuna, “The four Varnas have been created by Me on the basis of Guna and Karma. Though I am the doer so far as they are concerned, I am still a non-doer! Pay attention to the fundamental principle and then you will realise that Karma, which is basically jada or consciousnessless and material, cannot affect the Atma, which is Chaitanya or suffused with consciousness. The Atma is inherently devoid of attachment. It has no awareness of agency or of its own needs or nature or of its possessions. It has no ‘I’ or ‘mine,’ for these are the marks of Ajnana. Only those afflicted with Ajnana will suffer from the ego or sense of ‘mine.’ Though it may appear to ordinary eyes that I am the ‘doer,’ I am a non-doer!
“Not only this, Karma does not cease to affect the doer as soon as it is finished. In fact, it is never finished. Karma yields fruits; fruits of Karma breed desire for them that results in impulses for further Karma. The impulses bring about further births. Thus, Karma leads to the cycle of birth and deaths. It is a vicious whirlpool, making you revolve round and round and finally dragging you down into the depths.
“Arjuna, listen well to another point also. Karma as such has no capacity to bind. It is the conceit ‘I am the doer’ that brings about the attachment and the bond. It is the desire to earn the fruit that produces the bondage. For example, the zero gets value only with the association of a digit. Karma is zero. Agency or the feeling of ‘doer’ is associated with the Karma; then it breeds bonds. So, Arjuna, give up the sense of ‘I’ and the Karma that you do will never harm you. Karma done without any desire for the fruits thereof will not produce impulses. That is to say, there will be no impulse for birth even. The aspirants of past ages performed Karma with this high ideal in view. They never felt that they were the ‘doers’ or ‘enjoyers of the fruits’ of any act. The Lord did, the Lord gave the fruit, the Lord enjoyed the fruit—that was their conviction. This world has only a relative value; it has no absolute existence. That was their faith. Arjuna! You too should cultivate that faith and earn that conviction. Do so, then your mind will become clarified and pure.
“Know also the distinction between Karma, Vikarma (Karma done with intent), and Akarma (desireless action, action done with the attitude of a witness). I shall tell you the main points of difference now, listen. Many aspirants get confused about this. Not all can grasp the distinction. They take it that Sva-dharma (one’s own Dharma) is Karma, and that all Karma done, not as Dharma, but with a view to earn Atma-jnana are Vikarmas! Whatever the Karma, if it is done in the darkness and confusion of Ajnana, however hard you may have exercised your abilities during the activity, its results can only be worry, grief, and travail. It can never result in equanimity, balance, or calm. Man has to win Karma in Akarma and Akarma through Karma—that is the hallmark of the wise.
“Akarma means action-lessness according to some. But to explain it in simpler language, understand that the activities of the limbs, the senses, intelligence, the feelings, the emotions, and mind are all Karmas. Now, Akarma means, among other things, non-activity too. That is to say, it is the attribute of the Atma. So Akarma means Atma Sthiti, the characteristic of the Atma. When you travel in a bus or train or boat, the illusion is created that the trees and hills on either side travel along, and the person feels that he is stationary! The movement of the chariot imposes on hill and tree the quality of movement. So too, the person unaware of the principles enunciated in the Shastras deludes himself into the belief that the Atma is doing all the activities of the senses and the body. Which then is the genuine Akarma—activity-less-ness? The experience of the Atma is the perfect activity-less-ness; that is your real nature. It will not do if you simply desist from external acts. You should realise the Atmic fundamental, not merely renounce Karma; for it is impossible to be completely activityless.”