Mr. Hemanta Kumar Roy
From the ancient times it is believed that Hindu society is divided into four varnas. From that time onwards, this belief is prevalent in the society that man should work according to his own varna. But nowadays though the social system has totally changed the belief is still current. Today man does not work according to his varna, but he still believes that he belongs to a particular type of varna and some people even feel proud of their varnas, e.g. the Brahmins and Kshatriyas always claim that they are the sons of these highest varnas. But surprisingly enough, they do not follow the stipulated duties and respective works. Hence, the question arises (which is always neglected or ignored by the Hindu social order) ‘Does the Varna system of Hindu society, which are still in vogue in the present society, follow the command of the Holy scripture?’ This point needs to be discussed.
In the Rg.Veda, for the first time, though not directly, it is mentioned that Indian society is divided into four varnas. It is clearly stated that Prajapati Brahman has created the four varnas out of His different parts of the body1. These varnas are called Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra respectively. The Brahmins are created out of Brahma’s mouth, Kshatriyas are from the arms, Vaishyas from thigh and the Shudras from feet of the Brahman. Like the different parts of a body these four varnas are the essential parts of the society. All of them take an equal part in the development of society. A healthy body cannot exist provided all the parts of this body are not healthy. Similarly, a harmonious and peaceful society cannot grow unless the people of the society perform their respective duties according to their varnas. As a matter of fact, there is no higher and lower varna. It would be wrong if we argue that as the Brahmin arose out of the Brahma’s face, he should be regarded as the highest varna and that Shudra should be considered the lowest on the ground that he emerged from Brahma’s feet.
In Srimad-Bhagavatgita, it is clearly stated that God has created the four varnas according to Gunas and Karmas.
Caturvarnyam maya srishtam
Gunakarmavibhagashah2
Gunakarmavibhagashah2
The Sankhya system holds that the universe is composed of three Gunas—Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. Like all other things men are also composed of these three Gunas. “Sattva guna is uppermost in the Brahmin—their field is teaching etc. Rajas is uppermost in Kshatriyas with a streak of sattva—their field is fighting etc. Rajas with a streak of tamas is uppermost in Vaishyas—their field is cultivation and trade. Tamaguna is uppermost in the Sudras—they are to serve the other three classes.”3 So, it is the qualities or gunas which make the difference. But unfortunately, in our society, it is believed that a Brahmin’s son is a Brahmin by virtue of his caste, Kshatriya’s son is Kshatriya and so on. In this regard, we can mention Bankimchandra Chattopadhyaya’s comment. He said, “People are classed as Brahmins etc. not by birth but having regard to their qualities and the work they do. A Brahmin’s son does not necessarily become a Brahmin. If a Shudra’s son has sattva as his dominant quality, he will be a Brahmin, and if a Brahmin’s son has tamas as his dominant quality, he will be a Shudra. This is the common-sense interpretation of the Blessed Lord’s words.”4
Thus, it is ability and quality by virtue of which Hindu society is divided into these four varnas. So there is no room for heredity. But today some so-called higher caste people are spreading a false propaganda that a man is entitled to enjoy the varna rights of the family in which he is born. But this is completely a misconception and misinterpretation. Varnas cannot be gifted, on the contrary, it can be earned. For example, Rishi Vishwamitra was a Kshatriya, but by virtue of his quality and ability he became a Brahmin. Despite being a Brahmin, a man can be degraded into the status of a Shudra if he lacks Brahmanical quality. Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, in his book ‘Religion and Society’, also mentioned that a man can become Brahmin only by virtue of his quality and ability. He said, “…it was not viewed in a rigid way. In special cases individuals and groups changed their social class. Visvamitra, Ajamidha and Puramidha were admitted to the status of the Brahmin class, and even composed Vedic hymns. Yaska, in his Nirukta, tells us that of two brothers, Santanu and Devapi, one became a Ksatriya king and the other a Brahmin priest. Kavasa, the son of the slave girl Ilusa, was ordained as a Brahmin priest at a sacrifice. Janaka, a ksatriya by birth, attained the rank of a Brahmin by virtue of his ripe wisdom and saintly character. The Bhagavata tells of the elevation of the ksatriya clan named Dhastru to brahminhood. Jatyutkarsa is provided for. Even though a Sudra, if you do good, you become a Brahmin.”5 So, it is clear that it is not heredity that confer the caste position, but it is ability as well as quality that actually goes into making the division,if any.
The Varna system is different from casteism. Casteism has its origin in birth and according to it, a man is not entitled to change his caste. A man can only belong to a particular caste by birth, whereas it is by virtue of his working ability that a man possesses a particular type of varna. So the question of heredity is altogether out of place in the Varna system.
The question of higher and lower varna is clearly nullified in Hindu scriptures. The four-fold varnas are equal and identical. They are the manifestations of the same Paramatman. This is the teaching of the Upanisads. Besides, a Smriti text says that man first takes birth as a Shudra and becomes Brahmin afterwards by dint of Sanskara or purifcation.6 In the famous verse of Mahabharata, this point is explained in different way. It is said that people, at first, takes birth as a Brahmin and then scattered themselves into different varnas according to their ability and professions.7 To quote Mahabharata, the serpent god asked Yudhisthira to tell him the virtues of the caste. He says that those Brahmins who were fond of personal pleasures, prone to violence, had forsaken their duties and were red limbo, fell into the category of Kshatriya. Those Brahmins who derived their livelihood from kine, who were yellow and sub-divided by agriculture and who neglected to practice their duties, fell into the category of Vaishyas. Those Brahmins who were addicted to mischief and falsehood and were covetous, lived by all kinds of works and fell from purity and were black went to the condition of Shudra. As a conclusion, the serpent god says that the man in which the marks of a Shudra are not found is no Shudra, whereas while a Brahmin who acts so is not a Brahmin and may be called a Shudra.There was only one varna in the world, but on account of their conduct men are different and established four-fold varnas in the world.8 So, it is clear that Hindu scriptures never told us about the higher and lower varna system; instead, it is frequently stated that despite the existence of four-fold varnas in Hindu society all men are treated as equal and identical since they are the manifestations of the same Brahman or Paramatman.
The most important thing in Varna system is that there is an attitude of social goodness in it. In other words, the aim of the Varna system of the Hindu society is to make a harmonious and peaceful society and it is possible only by means of work-division which is categorically termed in the Hindu scriptures as ‘Varnadharma.’ According to Radhakrishnan, “It is an attempt to regulate society with a view to actual differences and ideal unity.”9 In the Varna system, there is an inner tendency to run the society smoothly so that the people of that society can never suffer from unwanted anomalies. For example, if a person belonging to a particular varna, take the burden on his shoulders to perform all kinds of duties like teaching, business, protection of the country and so on, he can never succeed and the society cannot either be benefitted. In contrast, if we perform our respective duties assigned to us by our society as per the varna system, we can develop not only the society in which we live, side by side individual development can also be observed. This point is frequently mentioned in the Bhagavat-Gita. For Sri Krishna, a man can attain perfection and a society can be developed if and only if every man performs his stipulated duties. Even He went one step further and told that despite the defects in the Varna system, it is better to follow one’s own duty than go after another’s duty carried out to perfection.10
The Varna system of Hindu society implies decentralization of power. In other words, Varna system is democratic. Varna system implies a democratic society where each and every individual is treated as equal and in which everyone can develop himself according to his ability and quality. The Varna system maintains that from the social, economic and political point of view, the contribution of each and every individual towards his society has equal value. So there is no higher and lower varna in Hindu society. But it is unfortunate that for want of proper explanation or interpretation of Hindu scriptures we are different.
Hence, the most important question is : Is the Varna system relevant to the present society? The answer is purely positive. Because in the present society, there are also four classes—intellectual class, class of people engaged in the work of defense, farmers or the class of businessmen and the class of servants or the labour class. These four types of classes are similar to Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra respectively. The duty of the intellectual class is to impart knowledge, teach the students in schools and colleges, engage himself in research works, organize religious and general meetings, and similar other works; the duty of the class of defenders of the society is to protect the country and the people from threats of foreign attacks or invasion; the duty of the farmer or businessmen class is to cultivate and produce the amount of foodgrains required for the country, and import and export various kinds of goods for the people of the country respectively; and the duty of the labour or servant class is to serve these three classes--their contribution to the society depends upon their physical labour. Therefore, there is no doubt that the Varna system of Hindu society is still relevant in the present society irrespective of caste, community, sex and religious considerations.
References :
1. Rg. Veda : 10-90-12.
2. Bhagavat-Gita : Ch. 4, Verse- 13.
3. Jagadish Chandra Ghosh : Shrimad-Bhagavat Gita, pp. 93.
4. Quoted from Jagadish Chandra Ghosh’s Shrimad-Bhagavat Gita, pp. 93.
5. Dr. S. Radhakrishnan : Religion and Society, pp. 131.
6. janmana jayate Sudrah samskarair dvija ucyate.
7. Cp. the popular verse :
anadav iha samsare durvare makaradhvaje
kule ca kaminimule ka jati parikalpana.
8. eka varnam idam purvam visvam asidyudhisthira
karmakriyavisesena caturvarnyam pratisthitam. Aranyaparva.
9. Dr. S. Radhakrishnan : Hindu View of Life.
10. Bhagavat-Gita : Ch. 3, Verse- 35
N.B. Published In ‘Darshan Darpan’ Chilaray College, Dhubri, Assam.
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