ISKCON and Varnasrama-Dharma: A Mission Unfulfilled
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By Ravindra Svarupa Dasa
Ravindra Svarupa Dasa (Dr William H. Deadwyler, III), an early disciple of Srila Prabhupada, here looks at one of Prabhupada’s more controversial directives; the need to establish varnasrama-dharma (the organisation of society according to the quality and work of the members of the society). He looks at the internal logic of the varnasrama system and then describes some of the understandings of that system which have arisen in ISKCON. The question of how to establish varnasrama-dharma in a modern context has been the source of a longstanding debate within ISKCON, and in this paper Ravindra Svarupa contributes to the debate with his analysis of the situation. This analysis focuses on the need to encourage a brahminical (intellectual) class within society - a brain for the social body.
On the eleventh of July, 1966, in New York, Srila Prabhupada incorporated the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. By then, Prabhupada had already discovered an audience for his exposition of Srimad Bhagavatam, an expositon he characterised as ‘a cultural presentation for the respiritualisation of the entire human society’ (Bhag. Canto 1, Preface). In a further step toward the culture of ‘respiritualisation’, he established ISKCON. ISKCON was to be an exemplary society, within which the culture of Srimad-Bhagavatam would be realised and by which it would be spread to the rest of the world.
While that much has always been bedrock truth to ISKCON’s members, it is a fact that over ISKCON’s thirty-three years, their ideas of what exactly ISKCON is, in terms of its internal articulation, and of how it should relate itself to the surrounding society have been fluid. The ideas of its members have undergone changes. It seems that even Prabhupada’s ideas changed.
The reason for this unsettled state has to do with the accommodations that theory must make to reality. This is recognised in Prabhupada’s own tradition by the maxim that even Absolute Truth must be fine-tuned to the relativities of desa-kala-patra - ‘the circumstantial environments of place, object and time’ (Bhag.1.6.26-30, purport). The often hard-won expertise in doing this is what we call ‘wisdom’ (in Sanskrit, vijnana). In the application of principle to practice we frequently must have recourse to the method of ‘trial-and-error.’ ‘You learn from experience,’ Prabhupada is often quoted as saying. ‘And experience means you make mistakes.’
I hope to acquaint the reader with part of the history of our experience, of our mistakes. I hope you will also find exhibited herein the beginnings of a little hard-won wisdom. I also hope you will get a fair idea of some of the difficulties we are confronting.
To understand these matters, one needs to become acquainted with two contrasting social ideals, or models, transmitted to us by Srila Prabhupada. The first is that of a society of Vaisnavas, of transcendental, liberated devotees who conduct themselves spontaneously in accord with the principles called sanatana-dharma. The second is that of a society of materially conditioned human beings who strictly conduct themselves in obedience to the injunctions of the Vedas under the system called varnasrama-dharma.
To understand both systems, we need to be clear about what is meant when we say that someone is bound or conditioned, on the one hand, and liberated or transcendental, on the other. This is presented clearly in the Bhagavad-gita (the entire fourteenth chapter is devoted to this exposition). To be a bound or conditioned soul means to be bound or conditioned by the three gunas, or ‘modes’ of material nature; they are termed sattva-guna, the mode of goodness, or purity; rajo-guna, the mode of passion; and tamo-guna, the mode of ignorance, or darkness.
The three modes are most readily recognisable in the tripartite cycle of nature: We see that things come into being, they endure for a while, and then they undergo destruction. Then the products of destruction furnish the raw material for a new phase of creation as the cycle begins again. In the Vedic understanding, these three phases exemplify fundamental categories for understanding the material world. When things are being created, nature is said to be acting in the mode of passion, rajo-guna. When things are being maintained, nature is acting in the mode of goodness, sattva-guna. And when things are undergoing destruction, nature is acting in the mode of ignorance, tamo-guna.
According to the Bhagavad-gita, these same modes also function to determine, or condition, the human personality. Thus we have a three-fold psychological typology. The mode of goodness is manifest by an attitude that is detached, dispassionate and interested in knowledge for its own sake. The mode of passion is evident in the hankering and longings that impel strenuous efforts to obtain objects of desire. The mode of ignorance is manifest in apathy, indifference, obliviousness and bewilderment. When, for example, consciousness is conditioned by sattva-guna, it will be alert and attentive (toward nearly any subject presented) and, at the same time, detached and disinterested. Consciousness conditioned by rajo-guna is excited and narrowly focused upon the object of desire. Consciousness conditioned by tamo-guna is unaware, inattentive, easily distracted and disposed toward chronic misperception.
I suspect that most of us can recognise these three psychological states from our own experience. We have probably spent some time in each of the modes. All three modes are present in each person, and among them there is always ‘a competition for supremacy,’ as the Bhagavad-gita (14.10) says. Nevertheless, there is a tendency for a particular mode or combination of modes to predominate in a given individual, conducting him in its own programmatic manner to its characteristic end. Thus, the Bhagavad-gita says that the mode of goodness conditions a person to happiness or satisfaction, and it results in knowledge. The mode of passion conditions one to selfishly motivated activity, and it results in misery (because passionate desires never cease multiplying and goading us into action, never producing satisfaction). The mode of ignorance binds one to delusion, and it results in systematic delusion or madness.
Prabhupada characterised the three ‘pure types’ of the modes like this: ‘One is happy, another is very active, and another is helpless’ (Bg. 14.6, purport).
We have all encountered various organised structures of thought - whether cultural, philosophical, religious, scientific or ideological - which present systems of abstract categories by means of which we can apprehend and understand the world. When we school ourselves in such a system - often trying to get inside of it by the method of sympathetic projection or Hineinfühlung - we sometimes find that the system illuminates or makes intelligible certain areas of experience that we had not before particularly noticed or considered relevant. If we then apply that system to our practical endeavours and find ourselves newly enabled to deal with the world in a manner that seems consistently fruitful and productive, we award the system that highest of accolades, we call it truth.
Thus it was for me - and many devotees - with the Bhagavad-gita, as Prabhupada presented it. I looked at society - and at myself - through the lenses of the Bhagavad-gita, and once the gunas had been pointed out, I could see them plainly. While these categories might not be fruitful to the endeavours of an atomic scientist or an agronomist, say, they were indeed germane to the goal of most who were attracted to ISKCON: We were seeking liberation, transcendence. And transcendence meant, concretely, to transcend the modes of material nature. This was possible, Prabhupada said, for anyone:
… if one wants, he can develop, by practice, the mode of goodness and thus defeat the modes of ignorance and passion … . Although there are these three modes of material nature, if one is determined he can be blessed by the mode of goodness, and by transcending the mode of goodness he can be situated in pure goodness, which is called the vasudeva state, a state in which one can understand the science of God.
(Bg. 14.10, purport)
The initial result of the proper culture of Krsna consciousness should be the disappearance in the practitioner of the symptoms of the modes of ignorance and passion. Lust, greed, anger, and the like should vanish from the heart. In this way, one becomes established in the mode of goodness. The mode of goodness is the existential condition necessary for a person to be able to understand and experience spiritual reality. Thus the mode of goodness is the material platform, the launching pad, as it were, from which one can make the final voyage into transcendence, where there is neither creation nor destruction, but everlasting existence, or, in other words, pure, unalloyed sattva.
In this way, the theory of the modes provided devotees a road map of the material world, with the way out clearly marked.
The theory of the modes also provided the basis for another set of categories, that of the four varnas. Just as the human body is equipped by nature with head, arms, belly, and legs, so the social body is constituted by the four occupational groups: the brahmanas, who comprise the thinkers and teachers (head); the ksatriyas - the governors and protectors (arms); the vaisyas - the producers and traders (belly); and the sudras - the workers and general assistants (legs). Every society requires the specific contribution of these specialists in thinking, governing, producing and working. Krsna states in the Bhagavad-gita (4.13) that this ordering is generated by God, in such a way that each person is naturally disposed toward a particular category by virtue of guna (the controlling mode of nature) and karma (specialised activity and means of livelihood).
The system in which guna and karma thus determine varna is called daiva-varnasrama-dharma, the divinely established system. Prabhupada explicitly contrasts this godly system with the standard Hindu caste system, in which birth is the sole determinant of membership; Prabhupada calls that asura-varnasrama-dharma, or the diabolically created system (see, e.g., the purport to Cc. Madhya 3.6). Prabhupada and his predecessor teachers condemned this hereditary system as a corruption of the authentic system, viewing it as the major source of social injustice and turmoil in India. In several lectures Prabhupada even traces the cause of the partitioning of India back to the injustices spawned by the degraded principle of ‘hereditary brahmanism’ (see, e.g., lecture on Bhag. 1.2.2: Rome, 26 May 1974).
A brahmana must factually be in the mode of goodness, for varna is determined by guna. A good way to think of the system is to imagine the gunas distributed along a continuum, with goodness at one end, ignorance at the other, and passion in the middle. At a somewhat arbitrary line when goodness becomes sufficiently mixed with passion the demarcation between brahmana and ksatriya occurs. Similarly, when passion becomes sufficiently mixed with ignorance, there is a demarcation between ksatriya and vaisya. When ignorance sufficiently predominates over passion there is a division between vaisya and sudra. The individuals situated in the boundary regions could, in principle, be occupationally engaged on one side or the other, according to variables such as education, training or aptitude.
The categories of the gunas and of the varnas are important in understanding what Prabhupada conceived as a primary social mission of ISKCON. Once in the early 1970s I was present when the press interviewed Prabhupada after his arrival at a New York airport. A reporter asked, ‘Why have you come to the West?’ ‘I have come’, Prabhupada replied, ‘to give you a brain. Your society’, he continued, ‘is headless.’ Using the analogy of the human body, he explained the articulation of human society into four varnas. He then asserted that modern Western society was malformed. ‘There are a few vaisyas and everyone else is sudra.’ In other words, those now engaged in research and education, in government and defence, are, knowingly or unknowingly, in the employ of a handful of vaisyas. (Prabhupada’s perception is perhaps supported by the report that in America, five percent of the families now control ninety percent of the wealth.) There are no proper brahmanas or ksatriyas.
Prabhupada’s intention was to re-create a class of genuine brahmanas. This would help rectify the deformities of modern society and ameliorate the spiritual, psychological, social, political and ecological problems spawned by a hypertrophy of economic development and other outgrowths of unrestrained rajo-guna. Prabhupada notes: ‘Modern civilization is considered to be advanced in the standard of the mode of passion. Formerly, the advanced condition was considered to be in the mode of goodness’ (Bg. 14.7, purport). Genuine brahmanas, he hoped, would help reset the priorities of advanced civilisation.
Yet Prabhupada’s mission of creating brahmanas was in a sense derivative, a kind of automatic by-product of the primary mission of producing Vaisnavas. The word vaisnava in the strictest sense denotes a pure devotee of God, one who is accordingly transcendental to all the modes of nature. Brahmanas, however, are conditioned by the mode of goodness, and Prabhupada wanted to produce liberated souls. Such liberated Vaisnavas are more advanced than even brahmanas. Nevertheless, in society his Vaisnavas would function primarily as brahmanas.
It should be recognised that historically speaking the Vaisnava traditions in India have all propagated a socially and spiritually radical teaching. Vaisnavism fostered the spiritual enfranchisement of previously disenfranchised groups, and, in so doing, undercut the spiritual (and social) prerogatives of the hereditary brahminical caste. Hence in the Bhagavad-gita (9.32) Krsna cites groups traditionally considered unqualified for spiritual advancement - he mentions women, vaisyas and sudras - and says that by practising devotion to Him they can ‘attain the supreme destination.’ In the Bhagavatam (3.33.6) it is stated that even an outcaste (svadah - a dog-eater), if engaging in devotional practices, becomes immediately qualified to perform Vedic sacrifice (traditionally, of course, the monopoly of brahmana males).
Such statements reflect the conviction that bhakti-yoga, devotional service to Krsna, is so spiritually powerful that it can quickly uplift even the most morally and spiritually debased people. Thus facilitated, one does not need to spend many lifetimes transmigrating up the caste hierarchy to reach the brahminical platform. Bhakti-yoga can take sudras, and those even less qualified, and transform them into Vaisnavas and brahmanas. Prabhupada’s own Bengali Vaisnava tradition, as reformed by Caitanya at the beginning of the sixteenth century, paid great respect to this spiritual egalitarianism. So schooled, Prabhupada came to try out this principle in the West - in the United States in the 1960s. It was, of necessity, a kind of experiment.
Prabhupada discovered, rather to his surprise, that the main audience for his teachings tended to be drawn from the counterculture, and Prabhupada was not impressed by the counterculture. He described hippies in various places as ‘morose’ (Bhag. 4.25.11, purport), ‘distressed’, ‘wretched’, ‘unclean’, ‘without shelter or food’ (Bhag. 4.25.5, purport), ‘irresponsible and unregulated’ (Bhag. 5.6.10, purport) ‘lying idle, without any production’ (Bg. lecture, 1976), and so on. We should recognise this as a precise catalogue of the characteristics of tamo-guna, the mode of ignorance. When, in 1971, Prabhupada remarked to Kenneth Keating, the then American ambassador to India, that his service to America was ‘turning hippies into happies’ (Letter to Damodara: 3 December, 1971), Prabhupada was, in a witticism, stating that he was taking people in the mode of ignorance and elevating them to the mode of goodness.
Early after his arrival in America, Prabhupada wrote of his mission in these terms:
Though a person be even the most sinful man, he can at once be purified by sys-tematic contact with a pure Vaisnava. A Vaisnava, therefore, can accept a bona fide disciple from any part of the world without any consideration of caste and creed and promote him by regulative principles to the status of a pure Vaisnava who is transcendental to brahminical culture. The system of caste, or varnasrama-dharma, is no longer regular even amongst the so-called followers of the system. Nor is it now possible to re-establish the institutional function in the present context of social, political and economic revolution. Without any reference to the particular custom of a country, one can be accepted to the Vaisnava cult spiritually, and there is no hindrance in the transcendental process.
(Bhag. 2.4.18, purport)
Here, Prabhupada expresses his doubts about the feasibility of a varnasrama system. Yet even without it, he thought he could produce Vaisnavas who could perform the brahminical function of spiritual guide to the people. He makes the same points emphatically in an early Bhagavad-gita lecture:
So at the present moment, there is no possibility of persons following the principles of varnasrama-dharma, either here or anywhere … . Therefore this is the panacea, to engage everyone in Krsna consciousness, chanting Hare Krsna. He comes above the highest principle of brahmanism. This is the greatest gift to the humanity, that even [if] he is in … the most degraded position, he can be raised to the highest position simply by chanting. This is the only remedy. Now you cannot again introduce this system of varnasrama. It is not possible. But if one takes to Krsna consciousness, automatically he becomes immediately a brahmana and above the brahmanas. A Vaisnava is above the brahmanas.
(Lecture on Bg. 3.18-30: Los Angeles, 30 December 1968)
It is also clear that by 1974, Prabhupada had changed his mind about instituting the varnasrama-system. One major reason for his doing so is clearly disclosed in this 1977 conversation concerning a sannyasi who had fallen down from his celibacy vows:
Prabhupada: Just like our [name withheld]. He was not fit for sannyasa but he was given sannyasa. And five women he was attached, and he disclosed. Therefore varnasrama-dharma is required. Simply show-bottle will not do. So the varnas-rama-dharma should be introduced all over the world, and -
Satsvarupa: Introduced starting with ISKCON community?
Prabhupada: Yes. Yes. Brahmanas, ksatriyas. There must be regular education.
Hari-sauri: But in our community, if … we’re training up as Vaisnavas …
Prabhupada: Yes.
Hari-sauri: … Then how will we be able to make divisions in our society?
Prabhupada: Vaisnava is not so easy. The varnasrama-dharma should be established to become a Vaisnava. It is not so easy to become Vaisnava.
Hari-sauri: No, it’s not a cheap thing.
Prabhupada: Yes. Therefore this should be made. Vaisnava, to become Vaisnava, is not so easy. If Vaisnava, to become Vaisnava is so easy, why so many fall down? It is not easy.
And later in the same conversation:
Hari-sauri: Where will we introduce the varnasrama system, then?
Prabhupada: In our society, amongst our members.
Hari-sauri: But then if everybody’s being raised to the brahminical platform…
Prabhupada: Not everybody. Why you are misunderstanding? Varnasrama, not everybody brahmana.
Hari-sauri: No, but in our society practically everyone is being raised to that platform. So then one might ask what is …
Prabhupada: That is - Everybody is being raised, but they’re falling down.
(Room Conversation: Mayapura, 14 February 1977)
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I am all for brahminical training, but we have to remember that Varna ashram is a team concept approach. A key element that has been consistently missing for most ISKCON attempts at brahminical culture has been cow protection. Why is this an essential element?
“Without protection of cows, brahminical culture cannot be maintained; and without brahminical culture, the aim of life cannot be fulfilled.”
Srimad Bhagavatam 8.24.5
Cow protection has always been relegated to “others” who were on farm communities, expected to raise cows and live in stone age conditions.
Cow protection needs to be part of everyone’s consciousness to make brahminical culture work. How brahminical is it to offer milk to the Deities from cows that are exploited and will be slaughtered?
As a field expedient necessity we have used, and continue to use, commercial milk from unprotected cows, but it has become, unfortunately, Standard Operating Procedure.
The idea of purchasing carbon dioxide credits by energy consumers is gaining traction, and to apply the concept to milk production, where commercial milk is used by devotees but some cost above and beyond is paid as an offset that benefits cow protection programs is a very real and available option.
To apply the principles of Varna ashram in an industrial age will require some creativity. Brahmins aren’t living in village cultures and accommodations are made for that; one of those accommodations should be to somehow link the creation of brahmins to cow protection, as the two are invariably mentioned together.
The realization that attaining the mode of goodness is a pre-requisite for further progress has slowly infiltrated our common sense reality checks. Considering the falldowns and general difficulties of maintaining vows, we have to conclude it is a fairly rare acheivement to reach - nishta - in sattva-guna. Barring serious offences, the liklehood of falling down are very slim once having come to genuine goodness. The casualty rates give a healthy clue to whether goodness has been reached or not.
Since on this level knowledge is fortified with understanding, it would take an equally rare show of insight to usher in a mode of living suitable for devotees which can find consnsus all around. But in terms of varnasrama-dharma - whether to start from the top down, or vice-versa - is going to be an ongoing battle of wits, varied opinions and a show of hands.
Education aside, I would personally favour seeing our sannyasis and gurus drift away from managing in a ksatriya mode and let natural leaders assume responsibility in GBC matters and so on. Such a move can only enhance the spiritual standing of the renounced order when they take to increased chanting and learning, thus espousing their wisdom to the devotee community.
As in olden times the brahmanas, or in our case, gurus and renunciates become the advisors of the leaders. If to relinquish important managerial positions is a heavy burden, the burden can still be felt when advising and esuring of checks and balances.
At least then, we would have varnasrama in action and the renounced ‘brains’ doing the necessary for the rest of ISKCON. It would no doubt set in motion a set of events - mistakes included - to fulfil Srila Prabhupada’s wishes.
As we are learning how to become vaisnavas in the strict sense of the term, our versatility in performing any occupation for the pleasure of Sri Sri guru and Gauranga may be a valid reason for maintaining what we have, but sooner or later, implementing varnasrama-dharma will be required to sustain ISKCON, ensuring logevity.
Another huge benefit to arise from the giving up of hands-on GBC duties would be the availability of association - not just for disciples - but for everyone, for longer periods.
Simplistic as this may seem, the practicalities of such a; we could say - revolutionary break from recent tradition will certainly meet with derision or polite non-consideration, but it does strike a chord with some GBC sannyasis who feel the same way. I guess it is a matter of time before the need is felt.
Ys, Kesava Krsna dasa.
Dear Ravindra Svarupa,
You write:
“It had become clear to Prabhupada, after some years of experience in the West, that the elevation of his followers to the brahminical platform of goodness, what to speak of the Vaisnava transcendental platform, was not going to happen universally or swiftly. His earliest hopes were unfulfilled.”
Perhaps our early ‘irrational exuberance’ when it comes to varnasrama-dharma had the same roots: hope, faith, and enthusiasm for the mission? However, it seems to me that after 40 years of learning from experience we should temper our expectations and correct our approach even more than your article suggests.
I agree with your opinion that the first and foremost reason for our failures is that ISKCON, as you put it: “has no brain. Or, at least the brain it has is underdeveloped”. Yet I do not see your proposed solution: “more training” to address that problem, as this problem - at least in my opinion - has a deeper root.
We often assume that anyone can become a brahmana provided they receive a proper training. However both Srila Prabhupada and practical experiences teach us that this is a wrong assumption. Lets read again one of the quotes you use in this article:
————————-
Hari-sauri: Where will we introduce the varnasrama system, then?
Prabhupada: In our society, amongst our members.
Hari-sauri: But then if everybody’s being raised to the brahminical platform…
Prabhupada: Not everybody. Why you are misunderstanding? Varnasrama, not everybody brahmana.
Hari-sauri: No, but in our society practically everyone is being raised to that platform. So then one might ask what is …
Prabhupada: That is - Everybody is being raised, but they’re falling down.
(Room Conversation: Mayapura, 14 February 1977)
————————————–
Can you make a real kshatriya out of a sudra? Very doubtful. Can you make a real brahmana out of a sudra? Even more doubtful. I am not aware of any such transformations in the social sense presented by the Vedic literature. In our irrational exuberance we believe that such transformations will be possible thanks to our “daivi varnasram” system, yet it is clearly not happening at all in real life. So what is the solution? Seems to me that we simply need to follow the original system: give brahminical training to people with brahminical nature. In our society of devotees just about everybody wants to be a brahmana, as their function and position is glorified at every step, and because we are all told that the purpose of Iskcon is to create brahmanas. Your article simply perpetuates the myth that anybody can become a brahmana.
y.s.
Kulapavana prabhu,
Three famous examples of transformations in nature are:
- Sage Valmiki becoming at least a brahmana (his position is too exalted) from a robber and murderer (outcast)
- Sage Vishwamitra becoming a brahmana from a kshatriya.
- Ravana becoming a demon from brahmana.
I think a ‘real kshatriyaor sudra’ is one ho displays those qualities. I personally am able to recognize some sudra qualities in myself lke laziness. I have to accept it and do bhakti, hoping for a transformation with time or birth. It doesn’t bother me now since the prctice of bhakti-yoga is the method for transformation of nature.
I am sure we could come up with many more examples of the transformative nature of bhakti yoga to add to the list begun by kirtan prabhu.
My favorite is Narada Muni, who in his previous life was the son of a maidservant. He had no training in Vedic rituals or scriptural knowledge, but by taking remnants of great devotees and hearing their discourses about Krishna, he acquired a taste, and was able to follow their instructions and become a great transcendental personality.
On the other hand, I seem to recall that he already had some good qualities, such as not talking too much and not being too engaged in frivolous sports like other children.
And Narada’s disciple mrgari the hunter is another example of a very low-class man who became purified.
Of course, one can also remain acting as a Ksatriya, Vaisya, Sudra, Woman, and still attain pure Krishna consciousness. But a pure devotee can do whatever work is required.
Ravindra Svarup’s article is very thoughtful. I have not had the time to consider it all very carefully, as it deserves. I just wanted to chime in about whether people’s inherent natures can be transformed by bhakti.
Another example I remember: When Lord Balarama killed Romaharshan Suta, He stated that Romaharshan’s mixed-caste status as a suta was not to be taken into account while he was acting as a devotee, but when he offended the Personality of Godhead it was immediately taken into account and made him unqualified.
Similarly, ISKCON devotees of low birth who strictly follow and serve Srila Prabhupada are transcendental to their birth and material qualities, but we see that if they fall down they sometimes go back to the bad habits and qualities they had before. Sometimes this is quite a remarkable transformation, in both directions.
Prabhus, the point I was trying to make, that there are no examples in the Vedic literature of people with sudra nature ever becoming brahmanas in the social (functional) sense.
Lets look at your examples.
Maharishi Valmiki was the tenth child of a Pracheta king. His actual name was Agni Sharma and his parents were Kausiki and Sumati. In childhood days Agni Sharma did not concentrate well on studies and did not learn Vedas well. When he reached an age where he needed to take care of family (wife and parents) there was a famine in the kingdom. He moved to forest and as became a robber and used to rob people who pass through the forest. On an inspiration from a sage he tried to rob Agni Sharma decided to give up his trade and take up a life of severe austerity to atone for his sins. He became a tapasvi, not a brahmana in the social sense.
Vishvamitra was a great rajarsi king, wise in counsel and valiant in battle. He loved power and out of a desire for superior power he decided to become a brahmana. Yet, even as a sage he was often unable to conquer his anger and many scholars say his transformation into a brahmana was incomplete.
Narada Muni did not become a brahmana in the same life as when he was born as a son of a maidservant - shastra says that he simply became a mendicant.
None of these examples counters my point, that in the social sense sudras do not become brahmanas and that shastras do not provide examples to the contrary.
y.s
kulapavana prabhu,
Sage Valmiki is well accepted as a person from lowly dalit status. Here is a page from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balmiki
A name like agnisharma does not necessarily signify a caste.
Later on of course sage Valmiki’s status was much more exalted than mere brahminhood. It would be an offense to regard sage Valmiki as a mere brahmin.
Same goes for sages Viswamitra and Ved Vyasa, whatever some scholars may say.
About your point of making a real kshatriya out of a birth sudra, an ultra-famous example in India would be king Shivaji in the 17th century. Although some may nit-pick, his status is well accepted.
rgds
One thing we know: Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur Prabhupada and Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada both offered brahmana initiation to people regardless of birth or prior background, and said they could transform those disciples into fully qualified brahmanas. (This upset some caste brahmanas)
Sri Raghunatha Dasa Goswami was not a brahmana by birth, nor was Narottama Dasa Thakur, nor was Lord Caitanya’s personal servant Govinda Dasa. Didn’t these examples do the work of brahmanas in every sense?
It may be that in Dvapara and Treta yugas people were born with very distinct qualities, generally according to the families they were born into. (Karna, although outwardly thought to be the son of a sudra, had the great noble qualities befitting his actual royal mother and divine father.)
In today’s world, most people are born without very high qualities. Mandah sumanda matayo, manda bhagya . . . Our modern brahmanas cannot light fires by mantra and are not qualified to perform animal sacrifices, which are therefore forbidden in this age of Kali.
Still, it is arguably the leaders of the sankirtan movement who are fulfilling the real essential brahminical role in society today, giving people knowledge of how to make tangible spiritual progress while living in the modern society.
Kulapavana does raise an intriguing question: We know that Lord Krishna says “guna karma vibhagasa” and not “janma”. Srila Prabhupada often reminded us of that. But where are the examples from the scriptures of people performing the work and social function of varnas other than those they were born into? Where are the examples of people who, having been transformed by bhakti, were assigned by God to perform the social role of a different varna?
It does seem that, at least in the olden times portayed in the Vedic litereature, people’s gross and subtle bodies were very distinctive from the time of their birth, and generally followed along the lines of the varnas they were born into, with some notable exceptions.
Jada Bharata, although fully self-realized, outwardly assumed the aspect of a dull, retarded man, being employed as a scarecrow in the fields, and later as a palanquin carrier. But then, he suddenly performed the role of a brahmana, speaking enlightening words to Maharaja Rahugana.
I suppose each example we can come up with could be the subject of a lot of interesting and detailed analysis. Parasurama, for instance, though of mixed birth, was capable of killing all the Ksatriyas. Well, He was an incarnation, too, so that explains a lot.
Even incarnations and transcendental personalities often perform functions suitable to their birth and qualities in order to set the proper example.
I have no doubt that when Krishna told Arjuna that he would act according to his nature whether he fought the battle or not, He was doing so for the benefit of us, the readers. Arjuna was surely capable of going to the forest and meditating if that is what Krishna wanted of him: he was an eternally liberated, transcendental devotee. But Krishna wanted him to win the battle and rule righteously as a Ksatriya, so he did what Krishna wanted.
When Dhruva Maharaja had his childish, Ksatriya ambitions fulfilled by Lord Vishnu, he was very remorseful that he had approached the Lord for something so foolish as a great kingdom, when all he should have really wanted was devotional service. But the Lord made him accept a kingdom anyway, as his duty.
Even though a self-realized person has no duty to perform, he still may perform his outward duties perfectly to set a good example for the people in general, for “loka-sangraham”, so society functions correctly.
We know the duty Srila Prabhupada generally expects of us. He did not want his disciples to go off and chant in a secluded place, but to work together vigorously to spread Krishna consciousness all over the world. We can do that primarily through book distribution.
As Ravindra Swarup prabhu points out, it is essential that we study and teach this books thoroughly. It is encouraging that we are emphasizing serious study and offering academic classes to the public. Otherwise, how can we really spread Krishna consciousness through book distribution, if we do not read and learn the books ourselves?
While we can all find service in ISKCON suitable to our individual pyschophysical natures, the essential function of brahminical spiritual teachers who can explain the bhakti sastras and accordingly engage us in practical worship of Krishna is still fundamental to ISKCON. Those brahmanas come from all social backgrounds, but have become true brahmanas in the highest sense. Srila Prabhupada made many such qualified brahmanas out of low-caste and no-caste non-Hindus.
Dear Akruranatha Prabhu,
You write:
“One thing we know: Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur Prabhupada and Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada both offered brahmana initiation to people regardless of birth or prior background, and said they could transform those disciples into fully qualified brahmanas. (This upset some caste brahmanas)”.
The situation is actually a bit more complex. In the Vedic varnasrama system all three uper varnas receive diksa initiation, sacred thread and authorization to chant the Brahma-Gayatri mantra. Yet, that does not turn all of them into brahmanas. Each varna retains it’s own identity. Both Srila Bhaktisiddhanta and Srila Prabhupada simply expanded that system to include ALL people regardless of their birth. As to the issue of training the brahmanas, they were offering AN OPPORTUNITY for a member of ANY varna (including sudras) to BECOME a brahmana by developing their dormant brahminical qualifications. This is the daivi-varnasrama idea. The caste brahmanas were upset mainly just by that last part - that a person could become a brahmana by qualifications and training irrespective of their birth and perform brahminical functions in society, such as Deity worship or teaching shastra.
Getting a “brahminical” initiation in our tradition does not turn anybody into a brahmana. It merely affords an opportunity to expand our spiritual life by performance of Deity worship and service, and meditation on the Gayatri mantra. This initiation also opens the door for people who have a brahminical nature - but who were not born in brahminical families - to become full-fledged brahmanas. This is our theory, practice, and practical experience. Not that “everybody becomes a brahmana in ISKCON”.
There is no varnasrama without a clear and distinct specification of varna. Just like there is no varnasrama without a clear and distinct specification of asrama. Brahmanas must live and act like brahmanas just like brahmacaris must live and act like brahmacaris. Mixing varnas is like mixing of asramas - completely bogus and counterproductive to spiritual and material wellbeing. There is a need for real brahmanas in our movement - not the mixed-up kind we have had for years, but ACTUAL QUALIFIED BRAHMANAS in every sense of this term. That is what the RSD article is all about. My point is simply that not every devotee has what it takes to become a brahmana and that is why we should concentrate on giving brahminical training to devotees who have brahminical nature and tendencies.
y.s
Thanks for your last post Kulapavana. I was kind of “shooting from the hip”, just chiming into the discussion about examples from the scriptures about the power of bhakti to quickly uplift degraded people. I think that is a worthwhile discussion which gives us an opportunity to analyze different examples from Srimad Bhagavatam and other Vedic literature.
I understand you were not saying varna should be based on birth. (That is the “diabolical” or asura varnasrama that RSD refers to). I wanted to find and discuss scriptural examples to defeat the asuric, birth-based caste tradition and emphasis the power of bhakti to quickly uplift degraded character. That would be, I think, an interesting discussion.
I was finding it surprisingly difficult to meet (what I took to be) your challenge in that regard — i.e., to present examples of personalities whose qualities were transformed by bhakti and thereafter fulfilled the social role of brahmanas in society — and I am encouraged to dig deeper and look further.
I do think in ISKCON we have many examples of good brahminical people who came from degraded, non-Hindu and even hippie backgrounds.
I agree with you that brahminical training and education in ISKCON should be extended primarily to those who demonstrate an aptitude. I think in the same 1977 discussion that was quoted by RSD, Srila Prabhupada mentioned that not every devotee had to be awarded gayatri initiation because some would not be qualified and it was not necessary for them. (And as you point out, gayatri initiation is traditionally offered to Vaisyas and Ksatriyas as well as Brahmanas).
There is no point in rubber stamping a bunch of phony, unqualified “brahmanas” who do not have the qualities of sama, damas, tapah, saucam, etc. We do not want to make a laughing stock of the varnasrama system by having ISKCON members outwardly pretending to be higher than they are, while really continuing as “kali chelas” with uncontrolled senses and bad habits.
I have taken some time to further read RSDs article. I agree that the article emphasizes the need to educate and train up real brahmanas in ISKCON, and suggests we should improve and expand the education for Bhakti-Sastri through Bhakti-Sarvabhauma programs, and training for developing ISKCON’s “brain”. RSD notes the history of the rise and fall of paraphernalia sales in ISKCON as an example of a move away from ISKCON’s brahminical role that was fortunately corrected. RSD is encouraged by some developments toward ISKCON improving its function of education and training and proposes further efforts in that direction.
That seems to be the key theme: if we want to get a better grip on the perennial controversy over ISKCON’s role in promoting and developing varnasrama dharma, we should continue to improve and expand education and training projects to help promote and expand strong, wise spiritual leadership within ISKCON.
[I could add that by more effectively offering spiritual instruction to the public and non-brahminical members, the brahmanas in ISKCON will be fulfilling an important duty of brahmanas. They should liberally educate the public about Srila Prabhupada’s books, rather than miserly exclude anyone from this important knowledge. Academic-style courses on Srila Prabhupada’s books for anyone seriously interested in the subject matter should be promoted and expanded throughout ISKCON]
The article makes a lot of other good points.
It distinguishes the very exalted goal of reestablishing daiva-varnashram dharma on the earth from the even more exalted goal of creating a society of liberated pure Vaisnavas.
It talks about how it may not be possible in the modern economic, political and social climate to establish a daiva-varnasrama society, and reminds us of Srila Prabhupada’s desire that we establish ideal self-sufficient farm communities along a varnasrama economic and social model to show an ideal society.
It talks about some statements by Srila Prabhupada that even though daiva-varnasrama may not be possible in present conditions, the panacea is Krishna Consciousness. [The goal of creating a class of genuine brahmanas may be reached as a byproduct of the primary goal of creating a society of Vaisnavas]
It does mention how the Vaisnava tradition in general and the Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition in particular have historically been radical in giving spiritual enfranchisement and social power to excluded groups withing the asuric varnasrama system of caste privileges. [Srila Prabhupada did not like being described as “conservative” in a newspaper article. Krishna consciousness is radical. It uproots all injustices and even uproots the miseries of material existence.]
RSD acknowledges that there is no solid consensus even within ISKCON’s leadership as to how ISKCON should go about realizing the goal of establishing varnasrama dharma in ISKCON, and proposes the solution is to continue developing our understanding of Srila Prabhupada’s books and training real brahmanas.
I think it is a very good article.
Perhaps the final comment on my part.
The author concludes this article with the following statement:
“I am happy to report that a movement is gaining strength among the leaders to make ISKCON an organization primarily dedicated to education and training. If we continue in this way, I am sure we will become eligible to receive Prabhupada’s legacy and empowered to convey it to the rest of humankind. ”
If ISKCON is to be “an organization primarily dedicated to education and training” should we not at least establish a primary school system for our own children? How many of such schools does ISKCON currently operate? What is the percentage of devotee parents using them? If we cant run our own schools then what business do we have educating and training others? Organizing fee-based training seminars for adults is nice but does not address the fundamental educational issue of all societies: primary education of the new generation.
As a movement, we are very good with theories but not so good with their application in real life, even when it comes to our own back yard. If we do not address this issue of disconnect between theory and practice our dedication to education and training will have very little impact on society - both our own and the one on the outside. People in general have a tendency to seek out training from people who are successful in their field. You don’t expect to get a good advice on financial matters from a homeless guy, just like you don’t expect to get a good advice on social matters from a group of people who cant seem to be able to organize themselves in accordance with their own ideas.
Perhaps if we just stick to preaching pure philosophy and religion our shortcomings in the field of education will not be so apparent. Yet the article is centered on a very practical and pragmatic subject of social organization and we can therefore assume the author is talking about dedicating ISKCON to education and training in practical matters as well. If that is the case, we better make sure our practice conforms to our theory - otherwise not many people will be interested in our teachings. In order to convey Prabhupada’s legacy to the rest of humankind we need to be able to demonstrate in practice at least the basic principles of the new varnasrama society. However, I’m afraid that the movement “gaining strength among the leaders to make ISKCON an organization primarily dedicated to education and training” simply means that - at least in the social sense - we will just be asking others to do what we are unable or unwilling to do ourselves.
Jaya Prabhus, pamho, all glories to Srila Prabhupada
sorry for being a bit late in joining this discussion I hope it might still reach some of you
I’ve been a devotee since 1980 and although varnasrama has always been a recurring topic it was only around the year 2000 that I have taken special interest in the varnasrama issue, actually HG Ravindra Svarupa’s article much motivited me in this direction. Nowadays I’m more and more convinced I’m a sudra, not out of fake humbleness, or as a result of being born in the threshhold of the Kali yuga age, but just as a result of an objective analysis of my personality characteristics.
I would like to add a little food for thought which no one seems to have yet come up with. Actually someone already presented an opposite perspective declaring a brahmana is a brahmana a sudra is a sudra bas. These should be no intersection of varnas , especially between the two so called extremes of the social division. However from a careful analysis we will notice there were sudras who engaged mostly or totally in aiding the vaisya community, sudras engaged in serving the ksatrya community, sudras serving brahmanas, and even sudras serving sudras. Same goes for vaisya and ksatryas. For example some vaisyas would specialize in supplying belic material for the ksatrya community, sudras could for example act as scribes and library staff men for brahmin communities etc. We also know that the principle of association directly affects the behaviour of a person. So for example a sudra serving brahmins would probably have more privileges and respect within the society as a whole but would also be expected to have a higher responsability to set a saintly example for his fellow community, even though due to the vehicle he is riding on ( his body) he would not be able to act as a full brahmin, he would probably not be entrepreneurial by nature, his memory might not be adequate to fully accomplish the academic sastric status expected from a brahmana, he might be more prone to anger, and he might be more subject to falldowns. My visual undetstanding of this is that the varnas are not really defined in a line going from one extreme to another but as circles which intersect themselves, although always preserving the main characteristcs of each one as their principal traits. Think in terms of colour or aromas, the section of the sudra circle intersecting only the ksatrya circle would have a specific colour diferent for example from the colour of the the section intersecting let’s say the vaisya and ksatrya community, although the main nuance of colour would always be the one pertinent to the whole circle. This would also greatly solve the high and low status designations of the caste system and help people realize the spiritual equality among all classes of men. And this take me to a last thought, the daivi varnasrama society will spring up naturally as soon as people become more spiritualized. So considering all this I do believe the solution does not lie in promoting the brahminical order or in starting from the base as has been cited, but just go on promoting the spiritual upheaval of all classes of men (note: this is actually the main objective of Iskcon if we study the mission statement Prabhupada left us, from the base building of book distribution all the way up mission statement number one) the difference being that now we are aware we shouldn’t expect everyone to act as a brahmana even if he is a strict follower. In the past we spoke a lot about a shoe too big that Prabhupada had given us, we must remember many thing Prabhupada did was contextual to an emergency situation. We know
a challenge too big can have an opposite effect and actually demotivate a person. So many actually may have felt demotivated having to comply not exactly with following the principles but with fulfilling jobs not satisfying for them. For example if a sudra gives a good , benign criticism one should not say go and do it, he should thank the sudra who will then feel very satisfied just because he served well. Another paradigm we have kind of promoted along these years was the boiling the milk theory in order to condense and refine it, on the other there is a counter argument, maybe the we weren’t such expert “milk boilers” and what happened during the boiling process is that a lot of the milk was spilt.
I hope this may help in our society’s quest to unfold varnasrama to the world.
Hare Krsna!
I would say that Varnasrama is a way of bringing all society to Krsna consciousness. Varnasrama Dharma puts us all on the path of Vedic culture which ultimately leads to Brahmanism and then Vaisnavism. But, we do have to be careful about tampering with nature here. Varna might be established according to one’s nature from birth, but where are the competent astrologers? When one is sufficiently advanced in Dharma then one can get on the path of Yoga beginning with Karma Yoga. Through the principles of Krsna consciousness one can make rapid advancement on the path of Yoga culminating in Bhakti Yoga. What I would like to get at is I don’t like the word “class” as in “class of brahmanas”.
ys Citraketu dasa
DHARMA