Guest guest Posted April 28, 2001 Report Share Posted April 28, 2001 Dear devotees, I would like to open up a discussion on the nature of varna and jaati. My understanding of Srila Prabhupada's position is that one's varna - braahmin, kshatriya, vaishya, shuudra depends entirely on one's qualification and work. However, I have encountered several contradictory viewpoints which ought to be addressed: #1: One's varna is based on one's birth. In other words, if you are born in a braahmin family, then if you take up the brahminical qualifications you can be braahmin. If you are not born in braahmin family, no matter what qualifications develop in you, you cannot be considered a braahmin. #2: One's varna is fixed by birth. In other words, you can be born into any family, but what varna you take up is more or less predestined. This is also known as the "intrinsic varna" theory. According to this theory, one's varna is intrinsic to the soul (or perhaps to the mind, intelligence, ego, I'm not sure). Is there any merit to these viewpoints? Agree or disagree based on guru, saadhu, shaastra. yours, S. HariKrishna Cleveland, OH Achintya List URL: achintya Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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