Sorting Heads, Arms from Legs

Social Divisions

Talks with Dr. Stillson Judah - Part I Hansadutta das

by nature's way, there is a class of men who gravitate towards intellectual pursuits, and a class of men who have a marshal spirit, and who like organization. Here is a man who likes fighting, who likes politics, he's resourceful, he's courageous, he has qualities of leadership, he dictates. Such men should be trained as kshatriyas to assume the office of ruling over the people--not for political whims like capitalism, communism, socialism, all nonsense. They should rule under the guidance of brahmanas to protect the people, who are ignorant. more

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Our Mahatma Gandhi started nonviolence in politics. So that was a political policy, but in politics there is no question of nonviolence, in politics. That is foolishness. Actually, India gained independence not by nonviolence. That is a great history. India gained independence... Gandhi was fighting with nonviolence for thirty, thirty-five years; there was no result. But one of the leaders, when he, I mean to say, ensued fighting, then within, I think, within one year the Britishers left. So in politics there is no question of nonviolence. So a king, a protector, kshatriya... Kshatriya means kshat... Kshat means injury, and tra means deliver. So a kshatriya's business is to deliver a person who is going to be injured. That is kshatriya. Just like this cow was going to be injured, and as soon as Maharaja Parikshit saw it, he immediately took his sword to kill him. So this is kshatriya.

Therefore kshatriyas are allowed to go in the forest and kill some animal, because he has to practice. So what kind of animal? Not the cows or simple animal. He must kill one tiger, one lion, one jungle boar. Ferocious, very ferocious animals—that was the kshatriya's business. Not a rabbit [laughter] or an innocent bird, sports. This kind of sporting was not allowed. If you want to kill, you must kill one rhinoceros. Then one can understand that you have power of killing. That kshatriyas used to do. Even, say, twenty-five years ago, Maharaja of Jaipur, he used to go into the forest every year and he would fight with a tiger, simply with a sword, simply with a sword. He would fight with a tiger in the jungle, and he was so expert, he would kill. And then the tiger would be brought in royal procession. Because the king used to say, "This tiger is the king of forest, or the lion is the king of the forest. I am also king. So after his death, there must be a royal reception." So this was, the function was going on. So kshatriya means they used to kill, practice. Unless they practice, how they can kill? And now our presidents, they practice only smoking, [laughter] that's all. That's all. And when there is fight, he is in the chamber, safety chamber, and others are, the poor boys, they are called by the draft board, and go and fight. This is not kshatriya. These are shudras. Kshatriya, when there is fight, the king must come forward first. The other party's king also. The king will fight with king, and the soldiers will fight soldiers according to position. And when the king is killed, then victory is owned. It doesn't require that all the soldiers were killed. No.

So there are many... This is actually Vedic culture. You will find all this from Mahabharata. Bhagavata also, we are trying to explain as far as possible. The brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya, shudra, this is natural division. So for fighting, kshatriya. In India, because still there are some kshatriyas, there is no such draft board. The kshatriya class, they would come forward to be recruited by the military department. They will not go away. They will be very glad to accept military service, because in their blood the kshatriya spirit is there. In India there is no scarcity to find out a fighter. But when people are trained as shudra, how he can fight? Therefore it is very scientific. Chatur-varnyam maya srishtam guna-karma-vibhagashah [Bhagavad-gita 4.13]. The society must be divided. There is division already, natural. We have to simply pick out, that "This boy is brahmana, this boy is kshatriya, this boy is vaishya, and this boy is shudra." So they should be given separate employment. Then there will be peace. If a person is employed according to his natural tendency, he becomes successful, he becomes successful. But if you give some employment, just like to put a cart before a horse, like that, no, that will not be successful.

Therefore Krishna says that... You can say that "There is no need of kshatriya; let there be all shudras." No, then there will be social scandal. Everything must be there. The brahmana must be there, the kshatriya must be there, the vaishyas must be there and the shudras must be there, and the state should look that these things are observed scientifically and they are being educated in that way. That is king's business. He must see that the kshatriyas, those who are kshatriya spirited, they are being trained up as kshatriya. The brahmanas are being trained up as brahmana. Everything is required. Just like in your body, all the four divisions... Just like head, that is brahmana; the arms, that is kshatriya; the belly, that is vaishya; and the legs, they are shudra. So as much as the head is required, so much the legs are also required. You cannot say, "One class will do." No. But the modern tendency is one class of men. And therefore therefore there is confusion. There must be four classes. That is scientific.

So our Krishna consciousness movement is trying to educate some brahmanas. If the society takes our help and conducts the business of the society—kshatriya, vaishya, shudra—then there will be peace and prosperity. Otherwise there will be chaos and confusion.

How can everyone be a military man?
excerpt from Krishna Consciousness, the Topmost Yoga System

In the Gita, Krishna says to Arjuna, "As a fighter, you have to fight. You cannot step away from the fighting. It is your duty." Nowadays I have practical experience that the draft board of your country is calling for boys to join the army, but they are not willing. They are not willing because they are not trained as kshatriyas, warriors. They are trained as shudras, laborers. Therefore the caste system is very scientific. A section of people should be trained as brahmanas, men of knowledge. Those who are intelligent enough in the society should be picked and trained in higher philosophical science. And those who are less intelligent than the brahmanas should be given military training. We require everything in society—not only military men. How can everyone be a military man? Because they are sending shudras, ordinary workers, to Vietnam, these are unnecessarily being killed. Any country which is very proud of scientific advancement, and yet does not know how to organize its society, is a fool's society.

In the Bhagavad-gita Krishna says that there are four divisions of society, brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya and shudra. That is natural. Some are inclined toward spiritual advancement, and these are the brahmanas. Now we are training boys who are spiritually inclined and they are unnecessarily being forced into military service. The foolish have no knowledge that some boy is being trained up in higher science. Why should he be destroyed when he is being perfected? The intellectual persons, those boys who have brahminical qualifications, are being restrained in brahmacarya student life: they don't take to meat-eating, they don't take part in illicit sex. They are being trained as complete brahmanas, the highest intellectuals, the most purified persons in society. If there is one brahmana in a whole family, then the whole family—the whole society-becomes sanctified. But today they have no knowledge of how to train a brahmana, or how to train a kshatriya. In the other fields of action, in the work of shudras and vaishyas there is nice training. If anyone wants to be a businessman, there are colleges or technological schools. That's very nice. But why should everyone be dragged into technology? Just as in your body: for proper maintenance we require the head, the arms, the belly and the legs. All these parts of the body are required. You cannot say, "We do not require the head." That is nonsense—we require everything. Suppose there is a body without a head—it is a dead body. If the body is now intact, but there is no head, it is called a dead body. The head is considered to be the intellectual part of the body. Similarly, if there is no brahmana in the society, it is a dead body. If there is no spiritual man in the society, it is a dead society.

Therefore, Krishna says, "I have created the four divisions of society, according to quality and work." If someone is working as a brahmachari-brahmana and has acquired the quality of understanding Krishna, the Supreme Lord, then why should he be called for army action? The arm of the body is the kshatriya. Of course that is required; to protect the society, to protect the country, a military arrangement should be there. No one will disapprove. But not the brahmanas. It is putting a race horse before the work cart. A race horse is required for different purposes. The other beasts of burden—asses, mules and oxen—are required for pulling carts.

I say this frankly—everyone may read it—that any society where there are no spiritual persons or Krishna consciousness is a rascal society, because it has no head. Where there is a headless man, there is a dead body. And if there is no brain, there is no head; if the brain is not working properly then he is a madman; if he has no head at all, then he is a dead man.

Do you think that in a dead society or a mad society there can be any peace? No. If the society is full of madmen, then where is the question of peace? Therefore, Krishna consciousness is the most important study in present-day society. The men who are leading the society, the President and the Secretary of Defense, should have the intelligence to understand this science of the soul.