Swamy Dayananda Saraswati on BG Verse 4.13 - Part-1

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praNAms

Hare Krishna

 

Off the list I had asked mAtAji Lakshmi to share the notes of Sri Dayananda

Saraswati of Arsha Vidya on BG verse 4.13 *chAturvarNyam mayAsrushtaM

guNakarma vibhAgashaH.....She has kindly agreed & written four posts based

on swamiji's home study material......As suggested by her, I am sharing the

same with the group for the benefit of all the members.

 

Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!

bhaskar

 

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praNAms mAtAji

Hare Krishna

 

Kindly let me know the comments of Sri Dayananda Saraswati on Gita verse

4.3 chAturvarNyam mayA srushtam...I would like to know whether varNa is

based on one's birth or one's role in society.

 

Namaste Bhaskarji,

 

"Kindly let me know the comments of Sri Dayananda Saraswati on Gita verse

4.3 chAturvarNyam mayA srushtam...I would like to know whether varNa is

based on one's birth or one's role in society.

 

chAturvarNyam mayA srushtam... is verse no.4.13 not 4.3

 

This topic seems to be a topic of fiery discussion and a burning issue in

todays world.

 

I am going to be reproducing some relevant paragraphs  from Swami Dayananda

Sarasvatis book the Gita Home study. pages 60 -68 Book 1

 

If God made all these divisions among people - brahmanas, kshatriyas,

vaishyas,sudras, to use the vedic context - then he must be definitely

partial because the brahmanas seem to be better off.

 

In verse 4.13 to deal with this concern Krishna says he made them all, and

at the same time, says that he is not to blame.

 

cAturvarnyam mayA srstam gunakarmavibhagashah

 

tasya kartAramapi maam viddhyakatAramavyayam

 

maya- by me, guNa -karma-vibhagashah - a division based on duties and

qualities, cAturvarnyam - fourfold grouping of people srstam - was created:

tasya -its kartAram - author api -even , mAm - Me:

avyayam - changeless, akartAram - non -doer, viddhi - know.

 

Meaning of the verse:

The four-fold grouping of people, a division based on duties and qualities,

was created by me. Even though I am its author, know Me to be a non-doer

ever changeless

 

Here Krishna is referring to the Vedic system that divided people into four

groups, saying that he has created both, the people and the groups. As the

creator of everything, srsti-kartA, the Lord cannot deny his authorship,

nor does he here while talking to Arjuna.

 

Although this classification into four groups refers to the Indian context,

what Krishna says here is universally applicabale. in other contexts, we

see people divided in terms of royalty, nobility, wealth and poverty. Still

others refer to groups of people as the upper class, up[per middle class,

middle class, lower middle class and so on. Wherever there are people, such

classifications or groups are always to be found.

 

In the Vedic context, people are divided into four groups on the basis of

their qualities, gunatah vibhagah, and on the basis of what they have to

do, karmatah vibhaga. This division was created by bhagavAn.

 

The Nature of Gunas:

 

The division of people according to qualities, guNa vibhAga, is found all

over the world, not just in India. The qualities upon which this division

is based are psychological, meaning that they refer to the composition and

disposition of the mind. The division based upon the quality of the mind,

mano guNa is fourfold.

 

the GuNas or qualities themselves are three in number - sttva, rajas and

tamas. every one has these three qualities and from certain combinations of

these three qualities, four groups are derived.

 

One possible composition of these three gunas is sttava-rajas-tamas, wherin

sattva is predominanat, rajas is less predominanat and tamas is least

predominanat. A second combination in the order of predominanace is

rajas-sattva-tamas. Similarly the third composition is rajas-tamas-sattva

and the fourth is tamas -rajas-sattva. These four combinations are the only

four compositions possible. There can be shades of each of these four, but

a fifth combination is not possible.

 

Why, you may ask, can tamas-sattva-rajas or sattva-tamas rajas not be a

fifth or sixth combination? By looking at each of these three gunas

involved, we shall see why only four varnas or groups of people are

possible when the division is based on their gunas.

 

Sattva stands for any type of thinking: - contemplativeness, inquiry,

silence(shanti) and the disciplines,shama and dama stand for sattva.

 

Rajas  stands for activity: -  Discipline is also found in a person in whom

rajas is predeominant: but there will also be a lot of ambition,energy,

enthusiasm along with it - the go getter, for example.

 

Tamas stands for dullness, inactivity.- Tamas is a certain dullness,

lethargy and laziness.

 

Every one is a combination of these three and as we have seen, the

combinations can vary. Babies, for example. tamas -rajas-sattva. Tamas

being predominant they sleep for most of the time. As they get older, rajas

predominates. and they become very active. Finally when they are grown, we

expect them to be sattvikAs.

 

 

To be continued in the next.

 

om namo narayanya

 

Lakshmi Muthuswamy

 

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