Verses 18.41–18.48
ब्राह्मणक्षत्रियविशां शूद्राणां च परन्तप | कर्माणि प्रविभक्तानि स्वभावप्रभवैर्गुणै:
brāhmaṇa-kṣatriya-viśāṁ śūdrāṇāṁ ca parantapa / karmāṇi pravibhaktāni svabhāva-prabhavair-guṇaiḥ / / 18.41
Brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras are divided in the work they do based on their nature, Parantapa (Arjuna).
शमो दमस्तप: शौचं क्षान्तिरार्जवमेव च | ज्ञानं विज्ञानमास्तिक्यं ब्रह्मकर्म स्वभावजम्
śamo damastapaḥ śaucaṁ kṣāntirārjavameva ca / jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyaṁ brahmakarma svabhāvajaṁ / / 18.42
The nature of Brāhmaṇa is characterized by their calm- ness, discipline, austerity, tolerance, honesty, knowledge, wis- dom and belief in God.
शौर्यं तेजो धृतिर्दाक्ष्यं युद्धे चाप्यपलायनम् | दानमीश्वरभावश्च क्षात्रं कर्म स्वभावजम्
śauryaṁ tejo dhṛtir dākṣyaṁ yuddhe cāpyapalāyanam / dānamīśvarabhāvaś ca kṣātraṁ karma svabhāvajam / / 18.43
Kṣatriya are characterized by their qualities of heroism, vigor, firmness, dexterity, steadfastness in battle, leadership and generosity.
कृषिगौरक्ष्यवाणिज्यं वैश्यकर्म स्वभावजम् | परिचर्यात्मकं कर्म शूद्रस्यापि स्वभावजम्
kṛṣi gaurakṣya vāṇijyaṁ vaiśya-karma svabhāvajam / paricaryātmakaṁ karma śūdrasyā api śvabhāvajam / / 18.44
Those who are good at cultivation, cattle rearing, and trade are known as Vaiśya. Those who are very good in service are classed as śūdra.
स्वे स्वे कर्मण्यभिरत: संसिद्धिं लभते नर: | स्वकर्मनिरत: सिद्धिं यथा विन्दति तच्छृणु
sve sve karmaṇy abhirataḥ saṁsiddhiṁ labhate naraḥ / svakarmanirataḥ siddhiṁ yathā vindati tacchṛṇu / / 18.45
One can attain the highest perfection by devotion to one’s natural work. Listen to Me how one attains perfection while engaged in one’s natural work.
यत: प्रवृत्तिर्भूतानां येन सर्वमिदं ततम् | स्वकर्मणा तमभ्यर्च्य सिद्धिं विन्दति मानव:
yataḥ pravṛttirbhūtānāṁ yena sarvamidaṁ tatam / svakarmaṇā tamabhyarcya siddhiṁ vindati mānavaḥ / / 18.46
One attains perfection by worshipping the supreme Being from whom all beings originate and by whom all this universe is pervaded through performance of one’s natural duty for Him.
श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुण: परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् | स्वभावनियतं कर्म कुर्वन्नाप्नोति किल्बिषम्
śreyān svadharmo viguṇaḥ paradharmāt svanuṣṭhitāt / svabhāva-niyataṁ karma kurvannāpnoti kilbiṣam / / 18.47
It is better to engage in one’s rightful conduct [svadharma], even though one may not perform it to perfection, rather than to accept another’s conduct and perform it perfectly. Responsibility prescribed according to one’s nature, are never affected by sinful reactions.
सहजं कर्म कौन्तेय सदोषमपि न त्यजेत् | सर्वारम्भा हि दोषेण धूमेनाग्निरिवावृता:
sahajaṁ karma kaunteya sadoṣamapi na tyajet / sarvārambhā hi doṣeṇa dhūmenā gnirivā vṛtāḥ / / 18.48
Every work has some defect, just as fire is covered by smoke. One should not give up the work that is born of his own nature, even if such work is full of fault, O Kaunteya (Arjuna).
Mokṣa Sannyāsa Yogaḥ Drop Everything And Surrender 1295 Sreyān svadharmo viguṇaḥ paradharmāt svanuṣṭhitāt—says Śrī Kṛṣṇa. So-called scholars have interpreted this verse in a very inappropriate way compared to the other verses of the Gītā. The uneducated have also used this verse in order to condemn the Vedic culture. First of all, one must understand how the caste system originated, as well as realize how it became corrupted. In the Vedic culture, under the Gurukul tradition, young children were left in the care of the Master. This is how Arjuna grew up with Aśvattama, Drona’s son. No caste was considered inferior or superior to another. No caste was hereditary. The selection and training was scientific and done impartially.
It enriched society well since everyone was living and expressing themselves according to their aptitudes, their peak possibility and their unique path towards liberation. This is why Kṛṣṇa says it is better to do one’s assigned work imperfectly rather than do another’s work perfectly. It is possible that one can perform elements of another’s work well. A brāhmaṇa, being a schoar, may excel as a vaiśya in commercial calculations; however, he will have neither the heart nor the head to be a businessman. In this Gurukul system, along with the Master, the child also was allowed to select his vocation. The child could express its passion and decide. Over time, this classification of selection and training became corrupted.
Those who were brāhmaṇa wanted their children to be brāhmaṇa and so on. The varṇa or caste system that had originally been a selection and training system in education led to the stratification of society based upon birth. Before we condemn the caste system, realize that every society has stratification. Wherever equality has been forced on society, it has been a failure. Each person is unique and when similar people form groups, there will be stratification and classification. In Vedic India this classification was based upon talents and intelligence. In modern society it is based on money and power. Which is better? Without the brāhmaṇa being the keepers of knowledge, our Vedic treasures would have disappeared thousands of years ago.
Do you know that there is a group of scholars in Chidambaram, the dīkśitars even today, and similarly in other places, who take their traditional job of preserving Vedic wisdom so seriously that they will not travel out of their town limits? They have made this sacrifice for generations and for thousands of years so that this knowledge could be preserved for posterity. We make fun of them, revile them and denounce the system. The people who denounce the system do it for power and money, not for any selfless reasons. They recommend no alternative means of preserving traditional knowledge. I am not a brāhmaṇa. Brāhmaṇas have come to me and hinted at their discomfort at being termed brāhmaṇas.
They are well-educated people. I tell them, ‘Be proud of your culture, your tradition. Without brāhmaṇas, the vedic tradition would have died long ago.’ This praise is for those brāhmaṇas who have remained true to their scholarship. Those who have succumbed to the lure of wealth have no right to be called brāhmaṇas. This is where the varṇa system has failed. From a scientific and efficient work system, it has deteriorated into a power broking system. We need to fix that. Those who are true to their tradition are poor and disrespected. Only those who use their scholarly skills to become kṣatriyas and vaiśyas have gained power, money and respect.
It is better they continue to be where they are respected and happy! The problem with society and the societal structure is that they become exclusive; good societies should be inclusive. Today in the West as well as in other places including India, if we have money or power, we are respected. Does anyone rebel against that? No! How can we call a society advanced or progressive when its main criterion for respect is money? By that logic, I would have been denounced had I been born in any country other than India. For nearly ten years I was homeless! For nine years I traveled the length and breadth of India without carrying money.
Mokṣa Sannyāsa Yogaḥ Drop Everything And Surrender 1297 I never bought train tickets and never paid for meals or lodging. People welcomed me and offered me transport, shelter and food. In the West I would have been locked up in a jail or a shelter! When you see a homeless person approaching your car in the USA, you instinctively raise your windows and lock your doors. You are so afraid. In India, is anyone afraid of a beggar coming and standing in front of them? Why? There is acceptance. People in the West say that acceptance is weakness, not violence. How strange societal values have become! You respect a person only when you are afraid of him.
We cannot evolve unless there is a fundamental change in our thinking. We have come to a stage where negative qualities are the hallmark of respectability. Violence and aggression never win. Acceptance and compassion do. Instructions For Enlightenment