“By remembering Shri Rama’s holy name, even those who are born into a low caste become worthy of fame, just as the wild trees that line the roads in the heavenly realm are famous throughout the three worlds.” (Dohavali, 16)

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राम नाम सुमिरत सुजस भाजन भए कुजाति
कुतरूक सुरपुर राजमग लहत भुवन बिख्याति

rāma nāma sumirata sujasa bhājana bhae kujāti
kutarūka surapura rājamaga lahata bhuvana bikhyāti

In this story, we have one person who is intent on sharing the teachings of sanatana-dharma. They will not discriminate much as to the recipients. No quotas. No requirements for an even distribution across demographic groups for the potential audience. No push for an equity of outcomes. As long as there is an open mind, a willingness to learn, a genuine spirit of inquisitiveness, with some respect for the tradition, the teacher will be patient enough to stick with the process. They will abide by the parameters set forth in Bhagavad-gita, in the recommendation to approach a tattva-darshi, or someone who has seen the truth.

तद् विद्धि प्रणिपातेन
परिप्रश्नेन सेवया
उपदेक्ष्यन्ति ते ज्ञानं
ज्ञानिनस् तत्त्व-दर्शिनः

tad viddhi praṇipātena
paripraśnena sevayā
upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ
jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ

“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.34)

We have another person who objects to this approach. They are friendly with the first person. This means they are comfortable in sharing their concerns. In a casual conversation, they mention the following:

“Sorry, but you have to be born into this culture. You cannot bring an outsider in. They lack the requisite qualifications. In addition, they come from a different culture, one that does not value life. They see the life force within the cat and the dog, but not the cow. How silly is this? The presence of life, of innocence, of warranting compassion, is not based on how good the particular flesh tastes. You expect such people to understand? No, it is strictly forbidden. Those people must wait their turn, for elevation in a future life, before they can be considered aligned with sanatana-dharma.”

To illustrate the folly in this line of thinking, we review some of the principles discussed within Bhagavad-gita, which is like a summary presentation of the culture which is without beginning and without end, sanatana. We can test several of the principles to see if there is a limitation in applicability. In other words, for what Krishna explains to Arjuna, does the math add up for others? Is the instruction limited to people like Arjuna and others born into a specific culture, or do the truths apply across the entire spectrum of the living experience?

1. Benefitting from the sun

“Yes, it is a bright, sunny day. We have been longing for this. I even recently read that there is a term to describe the feeling this time of year. It is called ‘apricity.’ We are experiencing the warmth of the sun in the otherwise cold winter. Even our sacred text that is the Ramayana subtly references this experience, wherein Lakshmana praises the winter season to his elder brother, Shri Rama.

अत्यन्त सुख संचारा मध्याह्ने स्पर्शतः सुखाः
दिवसाः सुभग आदित्याअः छ्हाया सलिल दुर्भगाः

atyanta sukha saṃcārā madhyāhne sparśataḥ sukhāḥ
divasāḥ subhaga ādityāaḥ chhāyā salila durbhagāḥ

“In the middle of the day, it is exceedingly pleasant to go about and it is delightful to the touch. In the daytime the sun is pleasing, while the shade and water are not pleasing.” (Lakshmana speaking to Lord Rama, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 16.10)

“Bhagavad-gita explains that it is the same Rama, the Supreme Lord, who is the light of the sun. In other words, God is responsible for that amazing solar body, which is vital to the continuation of civilization. But you should not bother so much with the sun. These teachings only apply to those who are born into the culture. You likely will not be able to experience the glory of the sun or appreciate what it has to offer.”

रसो ऽहम् अप्सु कौन्तेय
प्रभास्मि शशि-सूर्ययोः
प्रणवः सर्व-वेदेषु
शब्दः खे पौरुषं नृषु

raso ‘ham apsu kaunteya
prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ
praṇavaḥ sarva-vedeṣu
śabdaḥ khe pauruṣaṁ nṛṣu

“O son of Kunti [Arjuna], I am the taste of water, the light of the sun and the moon, the syllable om in the Vedic mantras; I am the sound in ether and ability in man.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.8)

2. Feeling sadness due to failure

“Why am I down today? Why do I look depressed? I guess my face gave it away, huh? I experienced a terrible failure yesterday. It may not seem like a lot, but I was anticipating a different result. It will take some time to get over the sadness. These are the ways of the world. It is a great reminder that we are not the doer, that material nature must first cooperate for any result to manifest. Anyway, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. These principles only apply to those born into the culture. You probably can’t relate to what I am going through.”

प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि
गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः
अहङ्कार-विमूढात्मा
कर्ताहम् इति मन्यते

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
kartāham iti manyate

“The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities, which are in actuality carried out by nature.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 3.27)

3. Developing through the different phases of life

“Yup, I know exactly what this is. I vividly recall being able to sleep anywhere, in any condition. I never worried about waking up late or missing the bus to school the next day. That was youth, and today things are different. I am always nervous. It takes a long time to fall asleep at night. My body aches more. I am the same individual, though. This is what Krishna teaches, that the individual is spirit soul and that they merely go through changes to the body. You wouldn’t understand, though. These teachings only apply to those born into the culture.”

देहिनो ऽस्मिन् यथा देहे
कौमारं यौवनं जरा
तथा देहान्तर-प्राप्तिर्
धीरस् तत्र न मुह्यति

dehino ‘smin yathā dehe
kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptir
dhīras tatra na muhyati

“As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.13)

4. Contemplating the sum collection of energy

“How do I think of God? What if I removed some of the sentiment, intentionally deviating from the visible affiliation with the all-attractive one, who is also known as the butter thief of Vrindavana? One way to think of Him is to consider the sum collection of energy. The universe is like its own mechanism, but at a scale we cannot comprehend. There is no on/off switch that we can detect, but everything is always moving. Someone or something must be behind that. We can think of God like the original instigator or spark. He is like the first fire, which is always burning, which then distributes its heat and light across the entire range of known space. Anyway, you shouldn’t bother with such things. These principles do not apply to you, as you are not born into the culture.”

एक-देश-स्थितस्याग्नेर्
ज्योत्स्ना विस्तारिणी यथा
परस्य ब्रह्मणः शक्तिस्
तथेदम् अखिलं जगत्

eka-deśa-sthitasyāgner
jyotsnā vistāriṇī yathā
parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktis
tathedam akhilaṁ jagat

“Everything that is manifested within this cosmic world is but the energy of the Supreme Lord. As fire emanating from one place diffuses its illumination and heat all around, so the Lord, although situated in one place in the spiritual world, manifests His different energies everywhere. Indeed, the whole cosmic creation is composed of different manifestations of His energy.” (Vishnu Purana, 1.22.52)

5. Surrendering to the Supreme Personality of Godhead

“Dharma refers to the intrinsic properties of something. When we refer to the individual, dharma is their inclination towards service. Sanatana-dharma is that service which applies across all periods of time and which can be followed absence a cause, without expectation of reciprocation, and without interruption. This same definition of sanatana-dharma is nicely passed long in a single shloka from Bhagavad-gita, wherein Krishna recommends full surrender, in simultaneously abandoning all other concocted systems of regulation, or dharma.

सर्व-धर्मान् परित्यज्य
माम् एकं शरणं व्रज
अहं त्वां सर्व-पापेभ्यो
मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः

sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 18.66)

“You shouldn’t worry about these things, though. You must have your own way of viewing the world, of dealing with difficulties, of finding direction in life. That surrender recommended by Krishna only applies to people born into the culture.”

…

Of course, the restrictions imposed above make no sense. Nowhere does Krishna mention a “Hindu” religion or the requirement for someone to be born into a specific culture. Rather, even those who would otherwise be considered low-born, destined to suffer the results of past sin, papa-yoni, have the opportunity to reach the highest destination, param-gatim.

मां हि पार्थ व्यपाश्रित्य
ये ऽपि स्युः पाप-योनयः
स्त्रियो वैश्यास् तथा शूद्रास्
ते ऽपि यान्ति परां गतिम्

māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya
ye ‘pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ
striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdrās
te ‘pi yānti parāṁ gatim

“O son of Pritha, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth – women, vaishyas [merchants], as well as shudras [workers]— can approach the supreme destination.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.32)

Of course, within a collective force such as a large society, when dealing with stature and the like, it may be that certain people will be restricted. They are not within the privileged group, to inherit rights from ancestors, but that has no bearing on the connection to Divinity. As Goswami Tulsidas nicely describes, even those with a so-called “low” birth can be respected, worshiped, and worthy of honor. The comparison is to the small trees that might line the roads in the heavenly region. Whether small or large, due to their affiliation with a higher region, those trees are respected. The same applies to the devotee who is always connected in consciousness to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

In Closing:

Suffering from sins of the past,
Now stuck in a lower caste.

These things not applying to you,
Meant only those born into.

But truth that even smallest of heavenly trees,
Each resident as worshipable sees.

Affiliated with Supreme Lord when,
Taken as object of worship then.

Categories: the five

Tags: caste system, dailyprompt, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry, varnashrama