Varnashrama Dharma: A Logical View

Article of the Month - April 2015 by Nitin Kumar

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With the rise of individual ideologies, there has been a noisy protest against varnashrama
dharma, with the argument against it running as follows: "The concept of the division of varnas
as practiced now is erroneous. Any attempt to protect it is not correct. It is wrong to say that
people born in the respective castes naturally belong to that particular varna and it is also wrong
to prescribe unique functions and a unique way of life for each varna on the basis of birth. This is
because the supposed characteristics that are the distinguishing marks of different varnas are
really not unique to the members of that particular varna only. The so-called unique qualities
gunas of a particular varna are not exclusive but found in the members of the other varnas
also".
This argument needs to be examined carefully with a balanced mind. Before critically examining
it, one has to consider what this argument has already conceded and then analyze what remains
to be decided. It concedes that for an orderly social life a division into four groups based on the
principle of varnadharma is necessary. It is also conceded that this arrangement should be based
on gunas. Further, what the Shastras prescribe as appropriate guna for a particular varna should
be the deciding factor for inclusion in a varna whether the varna be decided on the basis of the
present guna of the individual or on the basis of birth. Their argument is that varna should be
decided by worth and not birth by an individuals actions and character acharana and charitra.
How far is this contention correct? It is evident that all the three gunas, sattva, rajas and tamas,
are found in every individual. Each individual sometimes acts in a sattvika manner while at other
times he may act in rajasic or tamasic manner, which means that the manifestation of a particular
guna depends on circumstances and its presence cannot be detected if it is not manifest. Further,
the very same guna gets manifested in different persons differently. Tamas may render a person
lazy and keep him without activity. But it may send another person to sleep and may induce
somebody else to get drunk. A person may be angry under the effect of rajas while one may just
frown, another person may thrash and another may even kill. When sattvaguna is predominant
one may embrace a child with love while some other may begin to study a holy book and yet
another go into deep meditation.
Why do such differences exist? It depends on the intensity of the other two gunas. Though all the
three gunas are present in everyone, different persons are driven to act differently. It may also
drive a person to act differently at different points of time. Therefore, if only one could decide by
observing a person the proportion in which these gunas exist in him and in what direction these
are changing, then one may perhaps be able to decide his varna. But is it humanly possible to
decide or measure these changes? Can any doctor examine one's pulse and give a certificate for
this? Or can it be measured with the help of any instrument? Even if it is possible, will anyone
accept such results arrived at by another person? Even if someone can decide it, what can be the
criterion of this validity? If one can decide it unilaterally for oneself, it should not lead to conflict

in society because the system of varna is only for peace and harmony in the society.
Who can then determine the gunas of individuals? And for what purpose and how? These are the
questions that confront us. Who can decide it if not God Himself? That which is not to be done
by any human can be done by God alone. This can be taken as the definition of God. None else
can create either the world or the living beings. It is only the omniscient and omnipotent God
who can create them. I am the one who indulges in karma as prompted by my crazy will and who
must perforce enjoy its fruits. On the other hand, the Almighty God is free from the performance
of any karma or the enjoyment of its fruits, but is the perennial witness to my gunas and the
karmas I indulge in under their influence. Thus it is only He, who is immanent in all beings, who
can decide the individuals characteristic guna.
If one asks what is the need for deciding the individuals gunas it is this: I am caught
inextricably in the maze of these gunas and the karmas that they induce me to perform. I must
transcend these gunas to attain absolute peace. It is only He who can lift me out of this morass
and bless me with salvation - the state which transcends these gunas and leads me to absolute
bliss. I have to agree to attain this state of moksha, I have to perform appropriate karma,
prescribed by Him, to become deserving of attaining moksha. The karma that I have to perform
should depend on my inherent gunas and should have the ability to regulate these gunas. But I
am ignorant of both: what those gunas are and how I can transcend them through karma. It is
Almighty God who alone can determine this. How does God determine my gunas? He Himself
has declared this. Gunas and karmas have a non-exclusive relationship and are mutually
dependent. Each one is affecting the other perpetually. That is why gunas are extremely
complicated. God, who is always witness to my gunas and karmas at the time of my death,
determines my gunas in the next birth, making me take birth in an appropriate family. When I am
born in that family, the appropriate karma is prescribed by Him for me. If I follow that, I can
evolve to a higher plane. If I discard it, it leads to my regression. The declaration
"Chaturvarnyam maya srishtam guna karma vibhagashah" (Gita 4.13) clearly enunciates how
gunas originate: They have their source in individual swabhava. It implies that they are the
product of the individuals samskaras acquired in his past lives, and karma is what is prescribed
for the present life.
Ashrama Dharma

Thus far regarding varnadharma. Now what is ashrama dharma? A man

with discrimination knows that tireless effort is inevitable all through
life "Kurvanneveha karmani jijivishet shatam samah" (Isha
Upanishad 2). Effort for what purpose? For attainment of moksha. But
there is no worldly life in moksha, and as man is under the influence of
the gunas, there is no liberation of man from worldly life. There is no
instant transition to moksha. An individual has to make his way towards
moksha only through worldly life. In view of this, Shastras have
prescribed a four-stage advancement towards the goal of moksha. These
are the four ashramas. The foremost is the brahmacharya ashrama

wherein the effort is directed towards adhyayana or study. This adhyayana should at least
introduce him to the concept of moksha. The second is grihastha ashrama. In this stage the effort
aims at performing karmas that prepare the mind for attaining moksha. The third is vanaprastha
ashrama. Though as a householder, one enjoys the worldly pleasures being prompted by gunas,
subsequently the person having attained wisdom decides to spend his life in a forest abode and
his effort there is directed towards performance of tapasya to attain moksha. When this effort
reaches its fulfilment, the person, having reached a state of complete renunciation, will lead his
further life always immersed in the thought of Almighty God and this is the final stage of
sannyasa ashrama.
These ashramas are meant to lead a person by stages through virtuous deeds, enabling him to
transform his gunas and finally attain moksha that transcends gunas. Therefore, it is wrong for a
person to claim "I am endowed with the guna of some other varna, and hence I can perform the
karma of that varna better and I will adopt that karma." But that is not correct Shreyan
swadharmo vighnati Paradharmath swanushtitaah. Swadharme nidhanam shreyah, para
dharmo bhayavahah Even if a person cannot perform the karma of his own varna properly, the
attempt made by such a person to perform his prescribed karma brings him credit. Adopting the
karma of another varna can only be harmful. Performing the karma prescribed for ones varna
alone is the way forward (Gita 3.35).
Current Issues in Varnashrama

It is true that passage of time brings about deterioration in any system and people governed by
that system start showing laxity in observing the codes of that system. This is the law of nature.
Shastras reveal that even this dharma established by the sages of yore gradually loses its hold on
the society in the course of time. Dharma which stands firmly on four legs in the Krita Yuga,
with the advent of new yugas gets deprived of these supporting legs one by one, till in the Kali
Yuga it is left with only one leg for its support. With the entry of the Kali Yuga, Parikshit, who
was none other than the scion of the noble Pandavas, being the son of Abhimanyu and grandson
of Arjuna, behaves like a depraved youth. Offended on getting no response to his query from
saint Shamika, who was seated in deep meditation, Parikshit garlands him with a dead snake. If
such is the effect of the Kali Yuga even on a person of noble descent, what could be its effect on
common people! They begin to lose faith in the Vedas and
start to value more their own little knowledge. Varnashrama
dharma, which is the bedrock of a healthy social order,
gradually loses its hold on the society. Some clever people,
who depend solely on mere perception and inference,
formulate their own individual ideologies.
Thus, whenever deficiencies crop up in a system, attempts
should be made to set them right and not destroy what has
come down from times immemorial. Remedy for headache
does not lie in cutting off the head. The varnas are the limbs
of the purusha. Varna dharma is the blood of this society.
Therefore, it is in the interest of all that the intellectuals and
well-wishers of the society try to clean up this system and

make it workable. Intellectuals of our society should apply their minds and examine the
deficiencies that have cropped up in varna dharma dispassionately and thoroughly and suggest
solutions which can lead to peace and harmony in the society.

This article is based almost entirely on the teachings of Pujya Swami Paramanand Bharati Ji.
However, any errors are entirely the author's own.

References & Further Reading:

Bharati, Swami Paramananda. Mahaparivrajaka (A Novel Based on Shankaracharya's

Life and Philosophy)

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