another question about varnas

[Guest guest]

> In SB 1.11.20 purport, Srila Prabhupada writes:

>

> "It appears that five thousand years ago the society also needed the

> services of the dramatists, artists, dancers, singers, historians,

> genealogists, public speakers, etc. Dancers, singers and dramatic

> artists mostly hailed from the sudra community, whereas the learned

> historians, genealogists and public speakers hailed from the

> brahmana community. All of them belonged to a particular caste, and

> they became so trained in their respective families."

>

> It seems to me that at a certain level of professionalism, the

> sudra/brahmana distinction is becoming blurred, as even sudra

> professions require brahminical qualities like mind and sense

> control, spiritual knowledge, deep understanding (f. ex., artists

> and poets need it to compose prayers and works of art) In

> present-day India, there are specialized schools for actors,

> musicians, architects, etc. They have special sastras, often

> ancient, which they study under a guru.

>

 

We do not understand the highly exalted qualities of a vedic sudra.

To us, a sudra is a dirty worker with no intelligence. Actually, a

qualified sudra who performs for the people, even for brahmanas, must

have highly developed qualities in order to do his work nicely.

However, this does not make him a brahmana. He is still a sudra, but

a real qualified one, something that we have not seen in the Western

world. Further, poets were not sudras, for they were brahmanas.

Artists were sudras and artists did not compose prayers, but rather

used their hands to create art pieces for the pleasure of others.

Everyone should have mind and sense control. It is simply a matter of

degree. The sudras may control their minds nicely while they play

their instruments, for they have the goal to please their audience,

but they cannot control their senses in the same way as a brahmana

when faced with sense gratification.

 

> On the other hand, some brahminical/vipra activities (f.ex.,

> astrology and medicine, SB 1.12.29) require technical knowledge and

> skills.

>

 

Improper understanding of what is technical. No where does it say

that being expert in mathematics and astronomy or medicine is a sudra

art. These things require knowledge which is beyond the sudra's

capacity. Sure, if you want, everything needs knowledge and skill,

but you cannot compare the skill of playing a musical instrument or

making a dramatic performance, which are to a large extent rote skills

(meaning that one has to simply memorize patterns over and over again

till the hands are accustomed to them or the mouth can speak some

words) with the ability of a brahmana to treat the internal diseases

of a patient on the spot, or to cast a chart within his head in a few

moments. Surely you can understand the difference in degree?

 

> To put it short, the doubt is: if someone is highly qualified and

> creative in a particular field of expertise and it either is a

> traditional sudra field or it is a modern one about which no sastra

> can tell us what varna it belongs to -- will we not do injustice to

> such a person by designating him/her as a sudra?

>

 

And by this reasoning, we should allow the sudras to take over the

world because it would be an injustice to them if we were to tell them

the truth? Why do I have to be governed by a sudra, or taught by a

sudra simply because he has some ego problems? Why must we subject

all the people to degradation simply because of some communistic

ideal?

 

Neither are we interested in designating anyone anything. We are

interested in finding out their inherent qualities and training them

in a varna which is best suited to them. After they are happily

situated in their varna, we can then teach them how to relate to the

other varnas, and thus stop all the mixed up improper relationships

that we have today. It is high time that the modern men understand

that they should not be leaders of the state when they are

sophisticated sudras.

 

 

 

> Your servant,

> Dhyana-kunda dasi