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Why Var£§ªrama is Special
CHAPTER TWO Why Var£§ªrama is Special
The number of societies worldwide and the purposes they all serve are too many to list. They may go under different political and social aliases, but in effect they offer the same goal—sense gratification, economic development, and religiosity. There is no true concept of liberation. And while these societies may promote religious and moral values, both those goals are in a free-fall of qualitative degradation that is underscored by the world’s current economic collapse.
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The net result is that people the world over are destined to lose their valuable human form of life. In other words, the very social fabric that is meant to elevate people instead condemns them. And what else would one expect, when unqualified citizens vote for unqualified leaders, neither knowing the goal of life, how to achieve it, nor any willingness to do so even if they did?
But K¥¢£a created this world and the men and women that inhabit it, and He also created a social system to facilitate the goal of life, which is going back to Godhead. That social system is var£§ªrama-dharma. K¥¢£a says, tasya kart§ram api m§m, “I am the creator, the father, of this social system [var£§ªrama].”1
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Without following the laws of God, K¥¢£a’s laws, people are like irresponsible children playing games with their valuable human form of life. But if they follow K¥¢£a’s direction on the four var£as and four §ªramas, then they will fulfil their mandate on earth.
That is what makes var£§ªrama special: it is created for the purpose of liberation. It is conducive to and elevates its followers to spiritual perfection. And it does so by engaging everyone in the social order, var£a, and spiritual order, §ªrama, that corresponds to their conditioned nature. Being thus properly situated, people are further connected to the devotional service of the Lord, the practice of which is compulsory for everyone.
The qualities and duties of the var£as and §ªramas can be summarised in the following way:
The quality of a brahmac§r¦ is studiousness, of a g¥hastha religious responsibility to his family and society, of a v§naprastha detachment, and of a sanny§s¦ renunciation. Similarly, the main quality of a br§hma£a is the search for the absolute truth, of a k¢atriya protection of dependents and obedience to br§hma£as, of the vaiªyas independent industriousness, and of ª¡dras dependence on the higher castes.
K¥¢£a summarises the duties of the four §ªramas in this way:
“The main religious duties of a sanny§s¦ are equanimity and non-violence, whereas for the v§naprastha, austerity and philosophical understanding of the difference between the body and soul are prominent. The main duties of a householder are to give shelter
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Why Var£§ªrama is Special
to all living entities and perform sacrifices, and the brahmac§r¦ is mainly engaged in serving the spiritual master.”2
Similarly, the four var£as have their respective duties: the main duty of a ª¡dra is service to superiors, of a vaiªya to engage in religious economic development, of a k¢atriya to give protection to others, and of a br§hma£a to teach transcendental knowledge.
And yet there will be some people who fall foul of the var£§ªrama system. K¥¢£a indicates the qualities by which they can be recognised:
“Dirtiness, dishonesty, thievery, faithlessness, useless quarrel, lust, anger, and hankering constitute the nature of those in the lowest position outside the var£§ªrama system.”3
When devotees engage in duties in both the social and spiritual fields—var£as and §ªramas—that correspond to their natures, then they are properly situated. Under such circumstances they will be most productive to society and best aligned for practising K¥¢£a consciousness. This is the substance and purpose of var£§ªrama-dharma. N§rada mentions one benefit of faithfully following the Vedic codes of conduct:
v¥tty§ sva-bh§va-k¥tay§ vartam§na¤ sva-karma-k¥t hitv§ sva-bh§va-ja° karma ªanair nirgu£at§m iy§t
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“If one acts in his profession according to his position in the modes of nature and gradually gives up these activities, he attains the ni¢k§ma stage.”4
What this verse says is that the freedom from material desires, ni¢k§ma, for which yog¦s perform austerities and jñ§n¦s study endlessly, can be attained by devotees who give up hereditary customs and serve K¥¢£a according to their individual natures. Being rightly situated, devotees become free from the accoutrements of their var£a and §ªrama, and from material desire.
In conclusion, we may profit by noting well the famous statement of Manu-sa°hit§: dharmo rak¢ati rak¢it§¤, “dharma protects those who protect dharma.”5
Having been conditioned by modern concepts of democracy, egalitarianism, libertarianism, and the idealism that one can be anyone and do anything, even we devotees are often reluctant to accept a social system that is authoritarian, hierarchical, and which predestines our work according to our natures. However, this is the social system K¥¢£a established as being the most suitable material basis for elevating conditioned souls to perfection through K¥¢£a consciousness.
The phrase dharmo rak¢ati rak¢it§¤ assures us that if we follow K¥¢£a’s system we will benefit individually and collectively: do the right thing and you will get the right result—both materially and spiritually. It’s a matter of faith in K¥¢£a and in the process of dharma.
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Why Var£§ªrama is Special
NOTES
1. Bhagavad-g¦t§ 4.13. 2. ¼r¦mad-Bh§gavatam 11.18.42. 3. ¼r¦mad-Bh§gavatam 11.17.20. 4. ¼r¦mad-Bh§gavatam 7.11.32. 5. Manu-sa°hit§ 8.15.
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