Daiva Varnasrama

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Daiva Varnasrama

 

Q & A with Swami B. V. Tripurari

 

"Those involved in Gaudiya Vaisnavism, regardless of sect, should

understand that they are indebted to Thakura Bhaktivinoda, who saw the

need to interface our tradition with modernity to keep it alive in the

world."

 

Q. What is varnasrama dharma and what is its relevance to Gaudiya

Vaisnavism and the times in which we live?

 

A. Varnasrama dharma refers to India's scripturally based

socioreligious system consisting of four varnas, or social orders

(brahmana-kstriya-vasya-sudra), which vaguely correspond to priest,

warrior, merchant, and laborer, and four ashrams, or spiritual orders

(brahmacari-grihasta-varnaprastha-sannyasa), which correspond to

celibate student, householder, renounced householder, and monk. The

essence of varnasrama dharma is to attain balance in life between

material and spiritual pursuit. The idea behind it is that one who

understands one's psychosomatic reality is better equipped to lead a

well-balanced life and pursue the spiritual ideal. To this extent,

varnasrama dharma has value in relation to the goal of life.

 

The Srimad Bhagavatam says, dharmah svanusthitah pumsam

visvaksena-kathasu yah notpadayed yadi ratim srama eva hi kevalam:

"Execution of one's duty in varnasrama is only so much labor if it does

not give rise to love for Hari katha." (SB 1.2.8) It also says, atah

pumbhir dvija-srestha varnasrama-vibhagasah svanusthitasya dharmasya

samsiddhir hari-tosanam: "O best among the twice-born, it is therefore

concluded that the highest perfection one can achieve by discharging

the duties of varnasrama is to please the Personality of Godhead." (SB

1.2.13) These verses fall in the section of Srimad Bhagavatam where

Suta Goswami answers questions from the sages concerning the highest

dharma. In this very important section, it is explained that varnasrama

dharma is only as valuable as its execution pleases Hari, and we know

from the Bhagavatam itself that varnasrama dharma does not do this very

well compared to how well Bhagavata dharma pleases Hari. Bhagavata

dharma essentially means a life centered on devotion to Bhagavan Sri

Krsna.

 

Q. It seems to me that much of the varnasrama discussion going on in

Gaudiya Vaisnavism today is coming from men trying to maintain the

patriarchate in order to keep women in their proverbial place. There

are legitimate issues of family values behind it as well, as the family

is not faring very well today, but don't you feel that such issues

could be dealt with more easily without mixing in all the extra stuff

the varnasrama debate brings with it?

 

A. I agree that many of those advocating the implementation of

varnasrama have a very superficial idea of what varnasrama dharma

actually consists of. Varnasrama is very detailed and complex. The idea

of four divisions of labor and four ashrams is the basic framework, but

one would have to study the dharma sastra to fill in all the details.

Such a study might disenchant many of its modern-day advocates because

most are simply picking and choosing what appeals to them about

varnasrama while leaving the rest out. A cursory look into the "no

sannyasa for women" issue in the name of upholding varnasrama would be

revealing. Such research would mandate no sannyasa for the vast

majority of men as well, unless they are ready to sleep in the forest

and wear tree bark for underwear. Otherwise, clearly, Bhagavata or

Vaisnava dharma is above varnasrama dharma. Bhakti sastra transcends

the dharma sastra.

 

For information about "the no sannyasa for women" issue refer to the

following Sangas:

 

Women and Sannyasa

http://www.swami.org/sanga/archives/pages/volume_four/m205.html

 

More on Women and Sannyasa

http://www.swami.org/sanga/archives/pages/volume_five/m208.html

 

Sannyasa in Modern Times

http://www.swami.org/sanga/archives/pages/volume_six/m240.html

 

Q. What do you mean when you say that bhakti sastra transcends dharma

sastra?

 

A. Dharma sastra is meant for regulated religious life, which ideally

should lead to bhakti. Bhakti sastra describes the goal and the means

to attain that goal, which in both cases is of course Visnu bhakti.

Bhakti is hearing, chanting, and so on, about Krsna. If one has faith

that all dharmic obligations are fulfilled by bhakti alone, one treads

the path of suddha (pure) bhakti. Performing one's duties in varnasrama

only indirectly pleases Bhagavan, in a similar way that being a good

citizen pleases the president. Varnasrama is not the same as bhakti

because bhakti is about cultivating a personal relationship with

Bhagavan.

 

Ultimately only bhakti can give bhakti, but it is good to be religious

also, which is what the dharma sastras are about. Indeed, advanced

devotees are inclined to preach to the religious sector, giving them

the opportunity to develop faith in bhakti. However, addiction to

so-called dharma--religious duties--can also be a problem. People too

addicted to religious duties may have difficulty developing faith in

bhakti. Such persons tend to be concerned that if they do not follow

the dharma sastra they will be culpable even while engaged in bhakti.

Krsna addresses this in Bhagavad-gita when he says, sarva-dharman

paratyajya: "Forgoing all religious injunctions (dharma), take

exclusive refuge in me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions.

Do not fear." (Bg 18.66)

 

Q. If Vaisnava dharma is superior to varnasrama dharma ,why did Thakura

Bhaktivinoda tell his foremost disciple, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta

Saraswati Thakura, to preach "daiva varnasrama," and what does this

term mean?

 

A. Daiva varnasrama has two meanings. One meaning is a varnasrama

system in which one's varna is not determined exclusively by birth, but

rather in consideration of guna (quality) and karma (vocation). The

second meaning of daiva varnasrama refers to a form of varnasrama for

devotees. This second meaning was conceived of by Bhaktivinode Thakura

to give support to newcomers trying to take up the practice of bhakti.

Vaisnava dharma is superior to varnasrama dharma, but this does not

mean that neophyte practitioners on the path are automatically

transcendental to the influence of the modes of material nature.

Devotees still need to be engaged according to their propensities, at

least until they are pure enough to no longer be driven by those

propensities.

 

Q. What did Bhaktivinoda Thakura mean by the term "daiva varnasrama?"

 

A. Srimad Bhagavatam (12.2.12-14) says, "By the time the age of Kali

ends, the bodies of all creatures will be greatly reduced in size, and

the religious principles of followers of varnasrama will be ruined. The

path of the Vedas will be completely forgotten in human society, and

so-called religion will be mostly atheistic. The kings will mostly be

thieves, the occupations of men will be stealing, and lying and

needless violence will reduce all the social classes to the lowest

level of sudras. Cows will be like goats, spiritual hermitages will be

no different from mundane houses, and family ties will extend no

further than the immediate bonds of marriage."

 

More important than this is what the Bhagavatam has to say about the

beginning of Kali-yuga, which has to do with the speaking of the

Bhagavatam itself. Srimad Bhagavatam 1.18 details how the degradation

of the brahminical class marked the beginning of the age of Kali-yuga.

This chapter describes how after the disappearance of Sri Krsna, a

brahmana boy cursed the great devotee Maharaja Pariksit because the

king had ostensibly disrespected his father. This incident set

Kali-yuga in motion, showing that when brahmanas, who are supposed to

be the leaders of varnasrama society, become proud and corrupt, the

whole varnasrama system becomes corrupt. This also prompted the

speaking of the Bhagavatam, in which it is established that the best

means of deliverance in Kali-yuga is taking shelter of the holy name of

Krsna.

 

Study of essential scriptures, such as Bhagavad-gita,

Srimad-Bhagavatam, and Mahabharata, reveals that one's social position

(varna) is actually determined by one's qualities and activities and is

not simply a matter of birthright. When birth alone is the determining

factor, the result is asura varnasrama, or what's commonly known today

as the caste system. This corruption of varnasrama was prominent during

the time of Thakura Bhaktivinoda, so he ordered his disciple Srila

Bhaktisiddhanta to establish the correct conception of varnasrama, in

which guna and karma determine one's social position (varna).

Furthermore, he wanted to establish a type of varnasrama that would aid

those on the path of Vaisnava dharma, which is superior to ordinary

varnasrama dharma. Of course, at the time, many people thought

differently, thinking that varnasrama brahmanas were superior to

Vaisnavas. Moreover, the same misconception in which birth dismissed

one's actual qualifications had overflowed into Vaisnava dharma, and

thus in some Gaudiya Vaisnava lineages gurus were determined by birth

alone regardless of their qualities or realization. Seeing such

confusion infiltrating Gaudiya Vaisnavism, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta sought

to establish daiva varnasrama for devotees who still had material

desires, even though the path of bhakti transcends varnasrama.

 

Thus Thakura Bhaktivinode taught that basically there were three types

of varnasrama: a-daiva varnasrama (ordinary varnasrama), asura

varnasrama (the caste system), and daiva varnasrama (varnasrama for

Vaisnavas). His idea of daiva varnasrama for devotees comes from the

following verses of Srimad Bhagavatam: "Having awakened faith in the

narrations of my glories, being disgusted with all material activities,

knowing that all sense gratification leads to misery, but still being

unable to renounce all sense enjoyment, my devotee should remain happy

and worship me with great faith and conviction. Even though he is

sometimes engaged in sense enjoyment, my devotee knows that all sense

gratification leads to a miserable result, and he sincerely repents

such activities." (SB 11.20.27-28)

 

Faith alone makes one eligible to tread the bhakti marg , but on

entering this path one is not immediately freed from material desire.

Ordinarily, those with material desire are eligible to follow the karma

marg, or varnasrama dharma. However, faith in bhakti relieves them of

this burden, even while material desires remain. At the same time,

devotees should not artificially act as if they were fully realized

paramahamsas, because in most cases they will be drawn down by their

material propensities in spite of their faith. Therefore, let there be

an arrangement to engage them accordingly in consideration of bhakti.

This is the idea of daiva varnasrama for devotees. It was meant to

serve as a support for bhakti that would provide a sense of material

balance in a society of devotees.

 

Given the socioreligious culture in which this idea arose, Srila

Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura organized his disciples into four

service groups and four ashrams roughly analogous to the divisions of

occupation and spiritual status described in varnansrama dharma. For

example, in his daiva varnasrama those inclined to study, preach, and

worship the Deity were considered brahmanas, and only they could take

sannyasa. Those inclined toward management were considered ksatriyas.

Householders who funded the preaching and temples were considered

vaisyas, and those with faith who performed seva but had little

spiritual discipline were considered sudras. He grouped his disciples

like this while making it clear that Vaisnava dharma was transcendental

to varnasrama dharma.

 

The vision of Bhaktivinoda in this regard and the dynamic attempt to

implement it by Bhaktisiddhanta are noteworthy. Through their vision

and efforts, they provide us with a precedent for emphasizing the need

for horizontal support to bring material balance to those involved in

the vertical growth that Gaudiya Vaisnavism is ultimately about.

Interestingly enough, contemporary spirituality could not agree more.

It stresses that vertical spiritual progress, although not dependent on

horizontal development, is nonetheless facilitated by bringing

psychological and social balance, as well as ethical principles, into

the life of the practitioner.

 

We should be proud to be members of the Bhaktivinoda parivara, and

those involved in Gaudiya Vaisnavism, regardless of sect, should

understand that they are indebted to Thakura Bhaktivinoda, who saw the

need to interface our tradition with modernity to keep it alive in the

world. We would not know of the vision of Bhaktivinoda were it not for

Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura and his disciples.

 

It should be clear that the corruption of varnasrama dharma, which

inordinately stressed birth over one's qualities and activities,

overflowed into Gaudiya Vaisnavism as well. Thus in preaching the

proper conception of varnasrama, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati

Thakura also preached against the idea that birth in a particular

parivara alone qualified one for the position of guru or acarya. This

of course led to his conception of the bhagavata guru parampara, as

discussed in my book Sri Guru Parampara: Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati

Thakura, Heir to the Esoteric Life of Kedarnatha Bhaktivinoda

(http://www.swami.org/sanga/Books/pages/SriGuruParampara.html).

 

Questions or comments may be submitted at the Q&A Forum

http://www.swami.org/sanga/ or email sangaeditor (AT) swami (DOT) org.

 

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Wednesday, August, 31, 2005, Vol. VII, No. 11

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