Weekly page from Hindu Dharma: What is Varna Dharma?

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This week's page from Hindu Dharma (see note at bottom) is "What is Varna

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

found at http://www.kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part3/chap2.htm.

 

Next week, you will be emailed "Unity in Diversity" (from "The Vedic Religion

And Varna Dharma")

 

Best regards

for kamakoti.org

 

 

Venkatesh

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What is Varna Dharma?

from The Vedic Religion And Varna Dharma, Hindu Dharma

 

In the old days the kitchen fireplace was fuelled with dried wood, cowdung

and so on. On rainy days it was difficult to light it. But if only a few sparks

were produced they could be fanned into a flame so as to set the wood or cowdung

on fire. Our sanatana dharma has not entirely perished. A few sparks of it are

present in the life of a small number of great men still living in our midst. It

is my ardent wish to keep blowing on them with a view to propagating our ancient

religion in its true character.

 

Our reformers want to do away with varna dharma so as to make Hinduism no

different from other faiths.

 

In this context, I must ask you: What is religion? Religion is like a

therapeutic system meant to cure the ills contracted by the self. The physician

alone knows about the disease afflicting the patient and how it is to be

treated. Our sanatana dharma is the medicine prescribed by our sages and

creators of the dharmasastras who never sought anything for themselves and who,

in their utter selflessness, were concerned only about the good of mankind.

 

In other countries other physicians have prescribed medicines in the form of

their own religious systems. Would your doctor like to be told that he should

treat you in the same way as another doctor treats his patient? There are

several systems of medicine. In one there is a strict diet regimen, in another

there is not much strictness about the patient's food. In one system the

medicines administered taste sweet; in another they taste bitter. To be restored

to health we have to follow strictly any one method of treatment, not insist on

a combination of the various therapies.

 

Other religions lay down only such duties as are common to all their followers.

In the Vedic religion there are two types of dharma, the one being common to all

and the other to individual varnas. The duties common to all Hindus, the

universal code of conduct, have the name of "samanya dharma". Non-violence,

truthfulness, cleanliness, control of the senses, non-acquisitiveness (one must

not possess material goods in excess of what is needed for one's bare

requirements, not even a straw must one own in excess), devotion to Isvara,

trust in one's parents, love for all creatures - these form part of the samanya

dharma. Then each varna has its own special code of conduct or "visesa dharma"

determined by its hereditary vocation.

 

If the special duties (visesa dharma) of the various varnas were made common to

all (that is made part of the samanya dharma) a situation would arise in which

no one would observe any dharma. To illustrate, I shall give you an example.

Abstaining from meat was laid down as a common dharma in Buddhism. But what do

we see today in countries where that religion has a wide following? There almost

all buddhists eat meat. In contrast to this is what obtains in our religion. Our

seers and authors of the dharmasastras had a profound understanding of human

nature. They made abstention from meat applicable to a limited number of people.

But others follow the example of these few, on days of fasting, on special

occasions like the death anniversaries of their parents, on days sacred to the

gods.

 

The religions that flourished once upon a time in other countries- religions

that had one common code of conduct for all its adherents - have become extinct.

In Europe the Hellenic religion is gone. So too in West Asia the prehistoric

Hebrew faiths no longer exist. And in the East only a residue remains of

Confucianism, Shintoism, etc. Religions like Buddhism, Christianity and Islam

too have but one code of conduct for all their adherents. Their followers in

various countries now find less and less inner satisfaction. The number of

people who have lost faith in their religion is on the increase in all these

lands. They become either atheists or turn to the yoga, bhakti or jnana schools

of Hinduism.

 

It is difficult to say how long people will continue to owe allegiance to the

religions that arose in various countries during historical times. I say this

not because I happen to be a representative of Hindus nor is it my wish to speak

in demeaning terms about other religions. My wish is indeed that people

following different religions ought to remain in their respective folds and find

spiritual fulfilment in them. I do not invite others to embrance my faith. In

fact I believe that to do so is contrary to the basic tenets of my religion.

Nothing occurs in this world as an accident. People with different levels of

maturity are born in different religions: so it is ordained by the Lord. I

believe that a man grows inwardly by practising the tenets of the religion of

his birth.

 

I speak about what I feel to be the worthy features of Hinduism- features that

are not found in other religions - it is neither to speak ill of the latter nor

to invite their followers to our side. Non-Hindus attack these unique aspects of

our religion without taking the trouble of understanding them and some Hindus

themselves are influenced by their views. That is why I am constrained to speak

about the distinctive doctriness of our religion. Acceptance of concepts like

karma, the Lord's incarnations, etc. will in no way weaken their [of non-Hindus]

attachment to the basic beliefs of their own religions. What is the fundamental

concept of any religion, its living principle? It is faith in the Lord and

devotion to him. For others to view these special concepts of Hinduism

sympathetically does not mean that their faith in God or devotion to him will be

affected in any way.

 

I say all this not because I think that other religions are in any trouble nor

because I have reason to be happy if indeed they are. I echoed the views of

distinguished students of religion like Toynbee, Paul Brunton and Kostler. I

merely repeated their veiw that lack of faith in religion - indeed atheism - is

growing day by day everywhere and that all religions are struggling for their

survival.

 

This trend is seen to be on the rise in our own country. But foreigners who

have made a study of religious beliefs all over the world are unanimous in their

view that in comparison with other countries things are better here. "The

religious urge has not yet reached a lamentable state in your country, " They

tell us, Sadhakas, seekers, keep coming to India in large numbers. A little

thought should show without a shadow of doubt that if religious feeling is on

the decline and atheism on the rise in India it is due to the fact that we have

become increasingly lax in observing varna dharma and have come to believe that

all Hindus should be made into one without any distinction of caste.

 

When a religion divides its followers in many ways, we think that there will be

no unity or integrity among them. It also seems to us that such a religion will

fall apart as a result of internal squabbles. Since the time of Alexander, India

has been invaded by wave after wave of foreigners belonging to other faiths.

Considering the divisions in our religion and the series of foreign invasions,

Hinduism should have ended up in smoke. But what we actually see is different.

Religions which have no distinctions of caste and which prescribed the same

duties and rites for all their followers have disappeared in the flow of time.

Similar systems still surviving today ar faced with danger, as is attested to by

the intellectuals amongst their own followers. But Hinduism with its many

divisions is still breathing. We must try to understand the secret of its

survival without being carried away by emotions.

 

We have practised varna dharma for millennia and it has continued to be a

living force. What is its secret? Or think of this. It is the special duty of

Brahmins to preserve the mantras. But have they ever been in a majority? No.

Have they enjoyed the power of arms? No. Have they had at least money power, the

advantage gained from wealth? The answer again is "No". (Brahmins aquiring the

habit of accumulating money is a recent phenomenon. It is of course quite

undesirable). How or why did other castes accept the divisions laid down in the

sastras created by the Brahmins who did not have the strength derived either

from money or from numbers?

 

A great man like the Buddha or the Jina arose to proclaim: "We do not need the

Vedas, nor do we need the sacrifices prescribed by them. Let us have one uniform

dharma for all people. We do not need Sanskrit either. Let us write our new

sastras in Pali or some other Prakrt, in a language understood by the common

people. "It is true that some people were persuaded to embrace these new

religions, Buddhism and Jainism, but the attraction of these faiths was

momentary and the two gradually declined. The old Vedic religion emerged again

with new vigour.

 

A great man has sung thus: "It is needed a wonder that life remains in this

body with its nine apertures (nava-dvara or nine gates). If it departs it is no

matter to be wondered at. " Likewise, it would not have been a matter for

surprise if Hinduism had perished with all its constant exposure to attack from

outside. It is needed a miracle that it is not dead.

 

If some faiths in India itself and outside have declined and if our religion

alone has survived for ten thousand years, does it not mean that it has

something that is lacking in others? This something is the varna system. Our

present-day reformers argue that the varna division is responsible for the

disintegration of our society. The fact is it is precisely this division, varna

dharma, that has sustained it and kept it intact. It follows that this dharma

has features that are superior in character to concepts like equality, features

that are vital to the very well-being of people. Our society is divided on the

basis of it, but it must be noted that this division has helped our religion to

preserve itself successfully against all onslaughts.

 

 

 

 

 

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/ .