BHAGAVAD-GITA 4:13

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BHAGAVAD-GITA 4:13

 

catur-varnyam maya srstam

guna-karma-vibhagasah

tasya kartaram api mam

viddhy akartaram avyayam

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

catuh-varnyam--the four divisions of human society; maya--by Me;

srstam--created; guna--of quality; karma--and work; vibhagasah--in

terms of division; tasya--of that; kartaram--the father;

api--although; mam--Me; viddhi--you may know; akartaram--as the

nondoer; avyayam--unchangeable.

 

TRANSLATION

 

According to the three modes of material nature and the work

associated with them, the four divisions of human society are created

by Me. And although I am the creator of this system, you should know

that I am yet the nondoer, being unchangeable.

 

PURPORT

 

The Lord is the creator of everything. Everything is born of Him,

everything is sustained by Him, and everything, after annihilation,

rests in Him. He is therefore the creator of the four divisions of the

social order, beginning with the intelligent class of men, technically

called brahmanas due to their being situated in the mode of goodness.

Next is the administrative class, technically called the ksatriyas due

to their being situated in the mode of passion. The mercantile men,

called the vaisyas, are situated in the mixed modes of passion and

ignorance, and the sudras, or laborer class, are situated in the

ignorant mode of material nature. In spite of His creating the four

divisions of human society, Lord Krsna does not belong to any of these

divisions, because He is not one of the conditioned souls, a section

of whom form human society. Human society is similar to any other

animal society, but to elevate men from the animal status, the

above-mentioned divisions are created by the Lord for the systematic

development of Krsna consciousness. The tendency of a particular man

toward work is determined by the modes of material nature which he has

acquired. Such symptoms of life, according to the different modes of

material nature, are described in the Eighteenth Chapter of this book.

A person in Krsna consciousness, however, is above even the brahmanas.

Although brahmanas by quality are supposed to know about Brahman, the

Supreme Absolute Truth, most of them approach only the impersonal

Brahman manifestation of Lord Krsna. But a man who transcends the

limited knowledge of a brahmana and reaches the knowledge of the

Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krsna, becomes a person in

Krsna consciousness--or, in other words, a Vaisnava. Krsna

consciousness includes knowledge of all different plenary expansions

of Krsna, namely Rama, Nrsimha, Varaha, etc. And as Krsna is

transcendental to this system of the four divisions of human society,

a person in Krsna consciousness is also transcendental to all

divisions of human society, whether we consider the divisions of

community, nation or species.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.