This week's page from Hindu Dharma (see note at bottom) is "What is Varna
Dharma?" from "The Vedic Religion And Varna Dharma". The original page can be
found at http://www.kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part3/chap2.htm.

Next week, you will be emailed "Unity in Diversity" (from "The Vedic Religion
And Varna Dharma")

Best regards
for kamakoti.org


Venkatesh
(this email is being sent on an automated basis)

What is Varna Dharma?
from The Vedic Religion And Varna Dharma, Hindu Dharma

In the old days the kitchen fireplace was fuelled with dried wood, cowdung
and so on. On rainy days it was difficult to light it. But if only a few sparks
were produced they could be fanned into a flame so as to set the wood or cowdung
on fire. Our sanatana dharma has not entirely perished. A few sparks of it are
present in the life of a small number of great men still living in our midst. It
is my ardent wish to keep blowing on them with a view to propagating our ancient
religion in its true character.

Our reformers want to do away with varna dharma so as to make Hinduism no
different from other faiths.

In this context, I must ask you: What is religion? Religion is like a
therapeutic system meant to cure the ills contracted by the self. The physician
alone knows about the disease afflicting the patient and how it is to be
treated. Our sanatana dharma is the medicine prescribed by our sages and
creators of the dharmasastras who never sought anything for themselves and who,
in their utter selflessness, were concerned only about the good of mankind.

In other countries other physicians have prescribed medicines in the form of
their own religious systems. Would your doctor like to be told that he should
treat you in the same way as another doctor treats his patient? There are
several systems of medicine. In one there is a strict diet regimen, in another
there is not much strictness about the patient's food. In one system the
medicines administered taste sweet; in another they taste bitter. To be restored
to health we have to follow strictly any one method of treatment, not insist on
a combination of the various therapies.

Other religions lay down only such duties as are common to all their followers.
In the Vedic religion there are two types of dharma, the one being common to all
and the other to individual varnas. The duties common to all Hindus, the
universal code of conduct, have the name of "samanya dharma". Non-violence,
truthfulness, cleanliness, control of the senses, non-acquisitiveness (one must
not possess material goods in excess of what is needed for one's bare
requirements, not even a straw must one own in excess), devotion to Isvara,
trust in one's parents, love for all creatures - these form part of the samanya
dharma. Then each varna has its own special code of conduct or "visesa dharma"
determined by its hereditary vocation.

If the special duties (visesa dharma) of the various varnas were made common to
all (that is made part of the samanya dharma) a situation would arise in which
no one would observe any dharma. To illustrate, I shall give you an example.
Abstaining from meat was laid down as a common dharma in Buddhism. But what do
we see today in countries where that religion has a wide following? There almost
all buddhists eat meat. In contrast to this is what obtains in our religion. Our
seers and authors of the dharmasastras had a profound understanding of human
nature. They made abstention from meat applicable to a limited number of people.
But others follow the example of these few, on days of fasting, on special
occasions like the death anniversaries of their parents, on days sacred to the
gods.

The religions that flourished once upon a time in other countries- religions
that had one common code of conduct for all its adherents - have become extinct.
In Europe the Hellenic religion is gone. So too in West Asia the prehistoric
Hebrew faiths no longer exist. And in the East only a residue remains of
Confucianism, Shintoism, etc. Religions like Buddhism, Christianity and Islam
too have but one code of conduct for all their adherents. Their followers in
various countries now find less and less inner satisfaction. The number of
people who have lost faith in their religion is on the increase in all these
lands. They become either atheists or turn to the yoga, bhakti or jnana schools
of Hinduism.

It is difficult to say how long people will continue to owe allegiance to the
religions that arose in various countries during historical times. I say this
not because I happen to be a representative of Hindus nor is it my wish to speak
in demeaning terms about other religions. My wish is indeed that people
following different religions ought to remain in their respective folds and find
spiritual fulfilment in them. I do not invite others to embrance my faith. In
fact I believe that to do so is contrary to the basic tenets of my religion.
Nothing occurs in this world as an accident. People with different levels of
maturity are born in different religions: so it is ordained by the Lord. I
believe that a man grows inwardly by practising the tenets of the religion of
his birth.

I speak about what I feel to be the worthy features of Hinduism- features that
are not found in other religions - it is neither to speak ill of the latter nor
to invite their followers to our side. Non-Hindus attack these unique aspects of
our religion without taking the trouble of understanding them and some Hindus
themselves are influenced by their views. That is why I am constrained to speak
about the distinctive doctriness of our religion. Acceptance of concepts like
karma, the Lord's incarnations, etc. will in no way weaken their [of non-Hindus]
attachment to the basic beliefs of their own religions. What is the fundamental
concept of any religion, its living principle? It is faith in the Lord and
devotion to him. For others to view these special concepts of Hinduism
sympathetically does not mean that their faith in God or devotion to him will be
affected in any way.

I say all this not because I think that other religions are in any trouble nor
because I have reason to be happy if indeed they are. I echoed the views of
distinguished students of religion like Toynbee, Paul Brunton and Kostler. I
merely repeated their veiw that lack of faith in religion - indeed atheism - is
growing day by day everywhere and that all religions are struggling for their
survival.

This trend is seen to be on the rise in our own country. But foreigners who
have made a study of religious beliefs all over the world are unanimous in their
view that in comparison with other countries things are better here. "The
religious urge has not yet reached a lamentable state in your country, " They
tell us, Sadhakas, seekers, keep coming to India in large numbers. A little
thought should show without a shadow of doubt that if religious feeling is on
the decline and atheism on the rise in India it is due to the fact that we have
become increasingly lax in observing varna dharma and have come to believe that
all Hindus should be made into one without any distinction of caste.

When a religion divides its followers in many ways, we think that there will be
no unity or integrity among them. It also seems to us that such a religion will
fall apart as a result of internal squabbles. Since the time of Alexander, India
has been invaded by wave after wave of foreigners belonging to other faiths.
Considering the divisions in our religion and the series of foreign invasions,
Hinduism should have ended up in smoke. But what we actually see is different.
Religions which have no distinctions of caste and which prescribed the same
duties and rites for all their followers have disappeared in the flow of time.
Similar systems still surviving today ar faced with danger, as is attested to by
the intellectuals amongst their own followers. But Hinduism with its many
divisions is still breathing. We must try to understand the secret of its
survival without being carried away by emotions.

We have practised varna dharma for millennia and it has continued to be a
living force. What is its secret? Or think of this. It is the special duty of
Brahmins to preserve the mantras. But have they ever been in a majority? No.
Have they enjoyed the power of arms? No. Have they had at least money power, the
advantage gained from wealth? The answer again is "No". (Brahmins aquiring the
habit of accumulating money is a recent phenomenon. It is of course quite
undesirable). How or why did other castes accept the divisions laid down in the
sastras created by the Brahmins who did not have the strength derived either
from money or from numbers?

A great man like the Buddha or the Jina arose to proclaim: "We do not need the
Vedas, nor do we need the sacrifices prescribed by them. Let us have one uniform
dharma for all people. We do not need Sanskrit either. Let us write our new
sastras in Pali or some other Prakrt, in a language understood by the common
people. "It is true that some people were persuaded to embrace these new
religions, Buddhism and Jainism, but the attraction of these faiths was
momentary and the two gradually declined. The old Vedic religion emerged again
with new vigour.

A great man has sung thus: "It is needed a wonder that life remains in this
body with its nine apertures (nava-dvara or nine gates). If it departs it is no
matter to be wondered at. " Likewise, it would not have been a matter for
surprise if Hinduism had perished with all its constant exposure to attack from
outside. It is needed a miracle that it is not dead.

If some faiths in India itself and outside have declined and if our religion
alone has survived for ten thousand years, does it not mean that it has
something that is lacking in others? This something is the varna system. Our
present-day reformers argue that the varna division is responsible for the
disintegration of our society. The fact is it is precisely this division, varna
dharma, that has sustained it and kept it intact. It follows that this dharma
has features that are superior in character to concepts like equality, features
that are vital to the very well-being of people. Our society is divided on the
basis of it, but it must be noted that this division has helped our religion to
preserve itself successfully against all onslaughts.





Note:
Hindu Dharma is a translation of two volumes of the well known Tamil Book
"Deivatthin Kural", which, in turn, is a book of 6 volumes that contains talks
of His Holiness Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Mahaswamiji of Kanchipuram.
The entire book is available online at http://www.kamakoti.org/ .