This post is again inspired from Sri Bannanje Govindacharya's discourse on Bhagwadgita.
One of the reasons Arjun gives for not fighting the battle is the fear of Varnasankara. ie mixing of varnas. What this means is, if a war happens many young men will die leaving behind their young wives or sisters. And then these women are most likely to be raped/murdered or used by rogue men. Thus women from different "varnas" may be raped by men from different "varnas" and hence the offspring born is going to be "mixed'.
This has probably been one of the most contentious verses in the BG. As if to add fuel to fire, Krishna later on says that he is the creator of varnas! So what IS a varna? Is it same as caste ie jaati? This question had be plaguing me since a long time. I never got satisfactory answers from pundits who are on most occasions reluctant to talk on this. Most of the traditional pundits prefer to say that caste=varna. But we cant just say this because there are many examples inter-caste marriages in our shastras. After listening to Sri Bannanje's lecture i am convinced to some extent about what this actually is and hence i ll share that with you people.
Varna in sanskrit stands for many things. One popular meaning is COLOUR. So what does mixing of varnas mean? Mixing of colors? Neah..that s foolish you may say. But Sri Bannanje gives a wonderful example here.
We use sentences like "Now he has shown his TRUE COLOR", or in kannada "Avana Banna Bayalayitu". So what is the meaning of color here? It means nature. Inherent nature. Every soul has its own inherent nature as per Madhwa philosophy. This nature itself is varna. So what does Krishna mean when he says "I created the varnas"? He means that he classified the souls according to their nature into 4 categories and gave each category a name (Brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya and shudra). A soul which belongs to a brahmana(category) is rich in wisdom. Likes to read, write and teach. Follows rituals, is godly etc. A kshatriya soul is inherently a leader. Interested more in ruling the world, strong and is courageous. A vaishya soul is interested in business, agriculture etc. A shudra soul is interested more in serving others, working under someone etc. For any system to work properly all these 4 categories are necessary.
Then what is jaati. It is that which comes by birth, ie with the body. So if a person is born and brought up in a orthodox brahmin family he is more likely to religious. Same holds elsewhere. So what is "varnasankara" or mixing of varnas? It means mixing of people with opposite nature. for eg. A person who is interested in studies will get tortured if asked to do business. So if a brahmin soul is born in a brahmin caste ie a family in which there is religious he will be more happy than if born in a family of politicians.
Thus caste or jaati comes by birth (created by us) and varna is inherent to the soul. This understanding is able to solve many of the common questions that arise in our scriptures. Any suggestions will be entertained!
One of the reasons Arjun gives for not fighting the battle is the fear of Varnasankara. ie mixing of varnas. What this means is, if a war happens many young men will die leaving behind their young wives or sisters. And then these women are most likely to be raped/murdered or used by rogue men. Thus women from different "varnas" may be raped by men from different "varnas" and hence the offspring born is going to be "mixed'.
This has probably been one of the most contentious verses in the BG. As if to add fuel to fire, Krishna later on says that he is the creator of varnas! So what IS a varna? Is it same as caste ie jaati? This question had be plaguing me since a long time. I never got satisfactory answers from pundits who are on most occasions reluctant to talk on this. Most of the traditional pundits prefer to say that caste=varna. But we cant just say this because there are many examples inter-caste marriages in our shastras. After listening to Sri Bannanje's lecture i am convinced to some extent about what this actually is and hence i ll share that with you people.
Varna in sanskrit stands for many things. One popular meaning is COLOUR. So what does mixing of varnas mean? Mixing of colors? Neah..that s foolish you may say. But Sri Bannanje gives a wonderful example here.
We use sentences like "Now he has shown his TRUE COLOR", or in kannada "Avana Banna Bayalayitu". So what is the meaning of color here? It means nature. Inherent nature. Every soul has its own inherent nature as per Madhwa philosophy. This nature itself is varna. So what does Krishna mean when he says "I created the varnas"? He means that he classified the souls according to their nature into 4 categories and gave each category a name (Brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya and shudra). A soul which belongs to a brahmana(category) is rich in wisdom. Likes to read, write and teach. Follows rituals, is godly etc. A kshatriya soul is inherently a leader. Interested more in ruling the world, strong and is courageous. A vaishya soul is interested in business, agriculture etc. A shudra soul is interested more in serving others, working under someone etc. For any system to work properly all these 4 categories are necessary.
Then what is jaati. It is that which comes by birth, ie with the body. So if a person is born and brought up in a orthodox brahmin family he is more likely to religious. Same holds elsewhere. So what is "varnasankara" or mixing of varnas? It means mixing of people with opposite nature. for eg. A person who is interested in studies will get tortured if asked to do business. So if a brahmin soul is born in a brahmin caste ie a family in which there is religious he will be more happy than if born in a family of politicians.
Thus caste or jaati comes by birth (created by us) and varna is inherent to the soul. This understanding is able to solve many of the common questions that arise in our scriptures. Any suggestions will be entertained!
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