Varna: NOT by birth

[Guest guest]

> Guna, karma and janma (quality, work and birth) are, as far as I´ve

> > understood, the factors deciding your varna.

>

> >

 

>

> I am afraid that our conception that varna is determined by birth is the

> unfortunate consequence of our tendency to accept all practices of

> Hinduism as bona-fide without actually testing them against Srila

> Prabhupada's instructions.

 

While your strong objection of considering someone's birth

as an relevant factor in deciding one's varna is in the

place, from the point of right intention to reject the perverted

system of varnasrama dharma, I would nevertheless like to offer

a look on "janma" as a deciding factor along guna and karma, from

an another point of view.

 

 

As we have just seen, some of those authorities in determining

person's varna used to be -- astrologers. Now, how they do

it, we all know. They, on the first place, take in consideration

the person's _birth_. And then they calculate out the needed

info.

 

The birth (which includes getting the particular "set of parents"

as well) is the result of the activities and desires of person's

previous life. It is not an accidental happening. There is an

incredible amount of info that may be obtained from simply studding

the birth of a person. And as far as parents are considered, it

used (and perhaps it uses to be so still) to be practically almost

the rule: "a son/daughter of a brahmana" meant - a brahmana. "A son/

daughter of a ksatriya" meant - a ksatriya. And so on. "Such a

father, such a son", what people would commonly say.

 

Of course, the problem of taking only the janma in consideration

and *only* the "social" part of it (parent's varna, without even

the proper astrological chart being conducted), became later on

that what we know as perverted cast system, or asuric type of

varnasrama society. This is what, as I understand, you are rightly

objecting. However, if *guna* and *karma* are taken in consideration

along with janma (on the proper way), then there shouldn't be the

fear of taking *janma* as well as in the account when finding out

person's varna. Just that something has been very badly misused

over past centuries, should not become a "signal" that it is

not relevant, or of no importance.

 

 

It is also stated (but I got no evidence at hand, just recollection

of some previously posted) that it is practically the same varna

that one is born into, that a person go with the whole life. Without

really changing it for an another varna "later on". This may be an

another discussion, but I am mentioning it now for the sake of simply

illustarating how one's varna can be quite well determined even

with the very birth itself, provided that the person finding it

out is qualified. The qualities associating with the particular

combination of the three modes of the material nature (that one

is born with as the result of the previous life-style) are simply

becoming more and more obvious and more clearly manifested to

the "nake eye" with the aging of a child (boy/girl), so that then

even the less expert people would be able to recognise these

and (re)confirm: "Ah, he is gona be a good merchant, just like

his father".

 

The condition of the birth may be so strongly determined that

even if someone happens to transcend his guna&karma, he still

got to "stick" to varna. Like, someone might develop all good

qualities of a Vaisnava, yet he would still be rather tilling

the earth, or managing the society, than giving the classes

and teaching Deity worship. Krsna told to Arjuna not to even

try acting as a brahmana, since he was "born to fight" (the

quotation marks are not really indicating Krsna's exact words).

 

 

 

ys mnd