Why should Krishna divide His own people thru Varnashrama dharma?
Question in detail:
“Hare Krishna anna. One of my college friend passes abusive words about Krishna telling that he is the person who started divided the people by creating caste system in the name of varna asrama. What reply I should give him?”
REPLY:
The view that Krishna created caste system is wrong. Krishna just classified the people for the convenience of administration of social system.
Varna is the system of classification of people according to their profession. It was arranged by Krishna Himself so that every varna co-operates with other three varnas and live peacefully.
Why & How Krishna classified the people thru Varnashrama system?
Let us see that in detail:
(Are Inter Caste marriages prohibited by the Scriptures? Is it allowed for devotees? READ HERE!)
(1) BRAHMANAS – TO GUIDE THE PEOPLE IN DHARMA
Duties of Brahmanas: To guide the kings in their ruling the country adhering to the Kshatriya dharma, Performing Vedic rituals and guiding the people as instructed by the scriptures. This varna was arranged so that the society will function under the guidance of brahmanas to keep the dharma among the people to avoid deterioration of dharma making the people insecured.
What if there are no brahmanas (Or, teachers) in the society?
Without brahmanas, the people of all the other 3 varnas will go immoral and the rulers will deviate from dharma. So, the people, ie, other three varnas will be insecured.
Other varnas are guided by the advice given by the brahmanas. Being a brahmana is not a cool thing. The brahmanas have to live getting biksha, ie, donations from the people. They should not save for tomorrow and buy big properties.
So, the people offer dhan (donations) to brahmanas thereby they reduce their karma, ie, they transfer part of their karma to brahmanas. The brahmanas accept the heat of karma of the people.
Therefore, being a brahmana is not easy. They teach the people in the scriptures, accept donations from other three varnas and live. This incurs transfer of the karma of the donors to the brahmanas. Thus, brahmanas accept new karma. Therefore, we should see the brahmanas who live with the donations as great people who sacrifice themselves for the elevation of vulnerable people.
Therefore, we should offer all the honours to them and it is the duty of other three varnas to support the brahmanas regularly. In other words, the brahmanas are the gurus of other three varnas. So, others should offer Guru dakshina to avoid sins as they gain knowledge and vedic services from brahmanas. It is also said that if a person learns from a brahmana without giving dhaan to him, the education will not help him in elevation and hence useless.
So, the brahmanas are the Gurus and guides for the whole society. They should exist
(Who is a Brahmana? Will there be no brahmanas in kaliyuga as said by Bhagavatham? READ HERE!)
(2) KSHATRIYAS – TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE FROM ENEMIES
Duties of kshatriyas: The rulers and security people. They were classified so to protect the people and help them live peacefully. Military and police services also come under kshatriya varna.
NOTE:
Without kshatriyas, the country and people of all the other 3 varnas will be under the threat of enemies and thieves. If there are no kshatriyas, other three varnas can not either live or sleep peacefully. The kshatriyas sacrifice many happy moments of their own personal life and protect the borders, land, properties of the people, etc.
Just imagine a society without policemen. The thieves will get more strength and threaten others and loot their properties. If there is no military, countries will always face unrest. We have also seen even in India that the anti national and antisocial elements increase their activities to destabilize the country when there is no strong government in the centre and states. Therefore one should give all the respects and honours to the military/ Navy/ air force/ police personalities. We should keep the government administrative system strong to keep the anti national and anti social elements under control.
(Is it true that Vaishnavas are equal to Brahmanas? Why? READ HERE!)
(3) VYSIAS – TO PRODUCE & TRADE TO SUPPLY THE NEEDS OF PEOPLE
Duties of Vysias: Producing goods and trading them. Simply, they are business community. They perform agriculture and produce milk to feed the people; They also trade (buy & sell) the grains and other needs of the people. So, the people will get all the required things to lead their life.
NOTE:
Without vysias, the people of all the other 3 varnas will starve due to the lack of grains, milk and other products. If we discourage the vysias, they will stop producing and trading and hence other varnas can not get their needs. Therefore one should give all the respects and honours to the trading community, farmers, milk producers/ sellers etc.
(4) SUDRAS – TO WORK, EARN & LIVE
Duties of Sudras: Working class. They work for all the other three varnas and get salary for that so that all the functions of the society such as discipline, protection, production and trade are properly maintained.
(REGULATIVE PRINCIPLES FOR FOUR VARNAS AND ASHRAMAS! READ HERE!)
NOTE:
Without sudras, the people of all the other 3 varnas will not get workers and hence all their business and efforts will come to standstill.
Every varna needs working people to perform some tasks related to their works. Therefore, the working class of people are ‘the must’ in a society.
Just because these working class of people work and get salary from other three varnas others should not insult or ill treat the working class. They dedicate their energy to work for other three varnas to earn in their business and receive their due of salary. Without them no business can be performed.
Did Krishna mention any Varna as inferior to other varnas?
Now, you would have understood that NO VARNA IS INFERIOR AND EVERY VARNA IS THE BACKBONE OF A SOCIETY. Every varna is important for the maintenance of the affairs of this society.
Krishna too never said that any varna is inferior to other varnas!
Does Varnasrama Syatem exist now? Why?
However, without understanding the importance of every varna in the society, some people considered themselves as superior.
For example, A section of people of other varnas failed to realize that without the working class (sudras), all the other three varnas can not survive. Without this realization, they treated the sudras as lower class.
(Was Krishna cursed and killed and then left this world? READ HERE!)
This made many sudras to think: “Why should we live like the slaves of others without respects? Let us too become like vaishyas and start trading. Let us too become a kshatriya and protect the country and get respects.”
Therefore, the working people wanted to become business persons. Now a days, most of the working class are switching to other professions and hence there is deficiency for the workers in some industries. For example, even for the farming activities, getting workers has become very difficult as every farmer tries to make his sons and daughters as doctors or engineers, and they do not want their children suffer like them. Since a job as engineer is considered as more respectful and profitable than farming, such demand for farm workers now a days. The farmers and construction workers bring the workers from thousands of miles away because of the lack of local workers.
Therefore, all the working class should be given their due of respects and honours by other three varnas because the working class of people are helping the other varnas in their duties. This is the plan of Krishna.
If any varna is suppressed by other varnas that makes them stop performing their assigned duties, the entire social system collapses. Therefore, thinking that Krishna created caste system to dominate each other is wrong. If followed properly, Varna system initiated by the Lord Krishna Himself, will keep all the four sections of the people happy.
(HOW KRISHNA IS THE CAUSE FOR THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE INCIDENTS IN OUR LIFE? READ HERE!)
But, due to the advancement of kaliyuga, the “Profession based varnas” gradually disappeared and “Birth based castes” are followed. This has made the people think that Krishna created caste system existing today.
Now a days, most of the people have become sudras as most of us are working and earning. Even many of the so called brahmanas (by birth) are going to companies and offices for working and they are actually sudras, not brahmanas.
Thus, the Varna system created by Krishna is almost not existing now.
Because of the selfish and superior acts of other varnas, the sudras have started to think that being workers is not respectful and profitable. This has created demand for the workers and hence other varnas have to pay enourmous payments for the available workers.
Other varnas have spoiled the well balanced varna system initiated by Krishna, that expects every varna to honour the importance of other three varnas and live happily.
(Are Inter Caste marriages prohibited by the Scriptures? Is it allowed for devotees? READ HERE!)
Every man gets a kind of pleasure when he suppresses others. This “superiority complex” of some people, has collapsed entire “cooperative” system of society.
Most of the people are not ready to serve others, but, they always want to lead others.
This is the real cause for the collapse of the Varna system initiated by Krishna Himself. Any system will be useful ONLY UNTIL EVERY MEMBER OF THAT SYSTEM COORDINATES WITH OTHERS UNDERSTANDING THE IMPORTANCE OF OTHERS IN THE SOCIETY.
Hope you are clear about the real intentions of Lord Krishna in creating Varna System. He gave a necessary system. We made it to collapse and made the people think that Krishna created caste system.
So, do not think that Krishna divided His own people thru Varnashrama system and do not blame Krishna for the current degradation in Varnasrama dharma caused by the people themselves.
(The right process of sanyasa and devotion in kaliyuga in the absence of varnashrama dharma! READ HERE.)