Weekly page from Hindu Dharma: Division of Labour

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This week's page from Hindu Dharma (see note at bottom) is "Division of Labour"

from "The Vedic Religion And Varna Dharma". The original page can be found at

http://www.kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part3/chap1.htm.

 

Next week, you will be emailed "What is Varna Dharma?" (from "The Vedic Religion

And Varna Dharma")

 

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Venkatesh

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Division of Labour

from The Vedic Religion And Varna Dharma, Hindu Dharma

 

The proper functioning of society is dependent on a number of factors.

Meeting the needs of man entails many types of physical as well as intellectual

work. It is totally wrong to claim that one kind of work is inferior to another

kind or superior to it.

 

We need rice, all of us, don't we? Also salt, clothing, books, and so on. Would

it be possible - or practicable - for each one of us to grow rice or wheat, to

make salt or to produce clothing and books? The tiller grows crops not only for

himself but for the of the entire community. The weaver weaves for all of us.

Some carry on trade for the sake of the entire society. And some wage war on

behalf of all of us to defend the country

 

What about the Atmic well-being of mankind? Well, some people are charged with

the caring of such well-being: they practise meditation, perform puja, conduct

sacrifices and carry out the ordinances of the sastras that are meant for the

good of all mankind. Our dharmasastras have cut out an ideal path of happiness

for us by creating a system which is to the advantage of all and in which

different sections of people are alloted different occupations.

 

How has this allotment been made? Is it according to the capacity of earth? If

so there is the risk of everyone having an excessive idea of his own ability. If

work is assigned according to the predilection of each individual, everyone will

claim that he is suited for jobs that are "prestigious" and, in the end, no one

will come forward to do other jobs. How should a system be devised in which

people fill vocations in a manner that ensures the smooth functioningof all

society? It must be one that works not only for the present but for all time.

This is not possible if everyone competes with everybody else for every kind of

job. It is as an answer to such problems that varna dharma in which vocations

are hereditarily determined came into existence.

 

The principle behind this arrangement is that a man must do the work handed

down to him from his forefathers - whatever such work be - with the conviction

that it has been ordained by Isvara and that it is for the good of the world.

The work he does in this spirit itself becomes a means of his inward

advancement.

 

The religious observances meant to free people from worldly existence vary

according to their callings. We cannot expect a man who does hard physical work

to observe fasts. Those who do intellectual work do not need much bodily

nourishment. They are enjoined to perform many a rite and to observe a number of

fasts so that they will learn not to take pride in their body. There would be no

room for disputes and misunderstandings among the various sections of people if

they realised that the differences in the obervance of religious practices are

in keeping with the different vocations.

 

If we keep performing the rites prescribed even without understanding their

meaning, It will stand us in good stead in later life when we do come to

understand the meaning. It would indeed be commendable if each one of us carried

out the duties prescribed and helped others to carry out theirs. ":Why do you

pursue that vocation, that dharma? Why don't you do the work that I do? Or shall

I take up your dharma, your duties? " We must not give room for such feelings of

rivalry or become victims of the competitive spirt. When a man thinks of

abandoning his dharma - the duties alloted to him by birth - you must persuade

him not to do so and impress upon him that he must remain loyal to his dharma

since it serves not only him individually but all others.

 

As I said earlier there is no gradation among people doing various kinds of

work: the man who does one type of job is neither inferior to the man doing

another kind of job nor superior to him. It is to ensure that society functions

properly that the sastras have divided jobs into a number of categories and

assigned them to different groups of people.

 

If we are guided only by our likes and dislikes in the choice of our occupation

- or if we are engaged in work according to our sweet will - the common purpose

of society will suffer. You see today that everyone is intent on filling his

pockets with other people's money. If there were no principle to guide us in the

fulfilment of the common good, the only concern of people would be that of

finding such work as can bring them a lot of cash. There is no place for any

division of labour in all this and so also no concern for the well-being of

mankind in general.

 

If everyone does his hereditary work and performs the rites that his

forefathers performed, there will be no cause for feelings of rivalry or

jealousy. There is the further advantage that life in the community will go on

smoothly without any hindrance to the common work and, at the same time, each

individual will feel pure inwardly. All this must be taken into account if, in

the name of carrying out reforms, society is not "deformed".

 

The government has the obligation to provide food, clothing and housing to all

irrespective of the work they do. Jealousies and rivalries will develop if

people hunger for things beyond these essentials. All the trouble today arises

from the fact that the satisfaction gained from money is greater than that

gained from anything else. This attitude must change. With maturity of outlook a

man will come to realise that the fulfilment he obtains from doing the work

allotted to him properly is itself his God.

 

You see such a variety of eatables in front of you. The ragas (musical modes)

you listen to are numerous. And many and varied are the types of work essential

to the smooth functioning of society. You add salt to your rasam to give it the

right flavour. But if you add it to a sweet drink the result will be rasabhasa

(the drink will not be palatable). Similarly there would be rasabhasa if the

svara (musical note) of one raga were used in another [the music so produced

would be unaesthetic, not pleasing to the ear]. People today are lacking in

taste. While narrating a moving incident from a puranic story the Bhagavatar

tells cheap jokes which the audience relishes immensely. When there are so many

delectable things to eat, people smoke tobacco which is injurious to health.

These are all instances of rasabhasa on a small scale. The rasabhasa on a big

scale is the confusion created in the varna system [making a mess of it], a

system that has contributed so much to the welfare of o!

ur people through its enunciation of different codes of conduct for different

sections of the community.

 

 

 

 

 

Note:

Hindu Dharma is a translation of two volumes of the well known Tamil Book

"Deivatthin Kural", which, in turn, is a book of 6 volumes that contains talks

of His Holiness Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Mahaswamiji of Kanchipuram.

The entire book is available online at http://www.kamakoti.org/ .