Thus Spake the Divine - Is Cutting The Head Remedy For Headache?

Thus Spake the Divine

Is Cutting The Head Remedy For Headache?

Poojyashree Maha Periyava states that Varna system is the backbone of our religion. Varna system originated from the divine and is not man-made. The four Varnas emerge as natural divisions based on inherent disposition of every human being. And, each Varna accommodates the corresponding type of person.

There has been a great deal of debate on Varna system and supposedly resultant caste systems. The question from top leaders to the common man is “What is the need for Varna system?” One should understand that they are not referring just to the four Varnas but to the whole system incorporating the occupational sub-castes (jatis). They also give more emphasis to caste (jati) than Varna.

Maha Periyava wants people to realise that Varna system is the absolute need for well being of every individual in the society because it acts as a tool for smooth functioning of the society without any chaos. It enables individuals to purify themselves by following the Varna Dharma and move towards liberation.

Periyava states that people need not agree with this point of view just because He is advocating it or Shastras underline the same. He points out that Mahatma Gandhi was also a strong advocate of the Varna System. Periyava quotes statements from Mahatma Gandhi’s book “My Varnashrama Dharma” in which he wholeheartedly endorsed the concept of Varnashrama and acknowledged it as the best system for prosperity of this country as a whole.

To quote Gandhi’s own words, “Varnashrama is, in my opinion, inherent in human nature and Hinduism has simplified it to a science. It does attach to birth. The division defines duties; they confer no privileges. Varnashrama leads to self-restraint in individuals and conserves their energy”. He goes on to say, “I have often shown the distinction between Varnashrama and untouchability. I have defended the former as a rational scientific fact and condemned the other as an excrescence and unmitigated evil. I do regard Varnashrama as healthy work based on birth. Varnashrama, in my opinion, was not conceived in any narrow spirit. On the contrary, it gave the labourer the same status as the thinker”.

Some people might raise some objections and say, “Though Gandhi acknowledged the concept, his staunch support for inter- caste marriage reveals the obvious deviations from the prescribed rules of our Dharma”. Periyava substantiates the stand of Bapuji at this juncture. He says, “Gandhi felt that the Varna Dharma had almost died in its spirits and it is not possible any more to resurrect it. The division of work under the Varna Dharma has been so diluted that there is no meaning in just holding on to the concept externally, without adhering to its basic rules and regulations.”

But Periyava does not endorse this view of Gandhi. Periyava says, “Varna Dharma is the backbone of our religion. If we believe that such a fundamental philosophy of the religion has gone beyond repair and hence it can just be dispensed with, then there is no need for running this Mutt or having a Leader for this Mutt. But I still believe that the scenario is not really very bad. I don’t also think that there is no alternative other than for this system to collapse completely. At least from now on, we should be vigilant and watchful while resurrecting Varna Dharma to the best of our efforts. May be, there have been overlaps in the erstwhile division of work and there is no distinct division of work.”

Nevertheless, practice of Vedas, which is the lifeline for everything, still does exist in Veda Schools running at some of the places. Great efforts are being put in to spread education in Vedas. Many students are joining. Among them, there will definitely be a small group of people who will ensure continuance of Vedas for the benefit of future generations. My duty is to ensure that this effort not only continues but further accelerates its growth. It is not necessary that a Brahmin stands as an example, guides and propagates Vedas. It is enough if at least some people firmly adhere to their traditional footprints. This would act as an influencing force on others to adhere to their own Rules of Dharma.

Periyava further says, “Gandhi strongly supported the philosophy of Varna Dharma. But he gave it up with the view that it can no more be reformed. But for me, though this Dharma is gradually dwindling, I think, there are still sparks, which can be fuelled to ignite the fire. Why? This is because if this Varna system is dispensed with, society will face a lot of disturbances. These disturbances are quite evident from the history of last 50 years in our country. It is also quite evident from the status of religions of other countries, which do not consider Varna system as part of their religions.”

The main reason for downfall of traditional occupations is emergence of industrial revolution and consequent industrial growth. Big factories with huge machines have replaced traditional manual occupations. But there is not much need for machines in small scale businesses. If people engage in their own occupations and live a simple life, they can safeguard their old systems of living. Even Gandhi was of the persistent view that manual efforts are more important to accomplish the required tasks and huge machines should be dispensed with. People should lead a simple life with basic requirements of life; they should not be flamboyant in their life style. The reason behind such a point of view of Gandhi was only to establish the need for the self-supporting Varna system. Now, let us debate on castes. People say that castes should be abolished as they lead to clashes among people owing to some castes being treated as superior to others. According to me, there are no superior or inferior castes as prescribed under the Varna system. If some established system is said to bring in clashes, what is the solution for that? Does the solution lie in destroying the system itself? There will always be views for and against each and everything in this world. There will definitely be differences of views. Destroying systems that create differences of opinions is not the remedy. This tantamount to cutting off the head to get rid of the headache! The remedy is to handle the caste system in a sophisticated and composed way. Explain the concepts in detail and ensure the system stays healthy. To safeguard the society, is it fair and advisable to kill the origin of Dharma itself?

There are two things that cause great disturbances and clashes in the society; one is language and the other is ideology. For that, is it fair to totally discard the language or to totally move away from ideology? If we discard an ideology for the reason that there are differences, how can a country run? The entire government is run by people who have different ideologies, isn’t it? Since there are clashes among different languages, can we totally keep away from languages? Similarly, when there are clashes among castes and religions, will we do away with castes and religions? We can go one step further and say, there are clashes among ourselves because we are all existing (living). In that case, can we... (Periyava becomes speechless and laughs loud!) So, the actual remedy is to resolve clashes and not destroy the origin of Dharma.

People talk loudly against caste system now. Let elections come. Only castes will get paramount importance. All parties function only with the support of castes and their votes. In fact it is totally unjustified to nurture castes, which have no social responsibility or accountability and remain just for their own personal welfare. It is only in the interests of smooth functioning of the society that occupations are divided among different groups based on their traditional lineage. Likewise, there should be a group, which would adhere to the Rules of Dharma, practise Vedas and take up the profession of preservation of Vedas as their lifetime occupation.

Modern thinkers are of the view that there is discrimination among people as being superior or inferior because of existence of Varna system. What I am saying is that Varna system must exist to completely eradicate superior or inferior feelings. If an individual, whatever his status in terms of birth and occupation, inculcates an attitude of accepting things as they are and as per the will of God, he would start doing his best in the interest of the society. He would not envy the other person as he would strongly believe that everything happens as per the will of God. In such a scenario, where is the question of discrepancies among people or groups? All our efforts should focus on only inculcating such an attitude among individuals. For this, we should truly live our ideologies and be honest in this regard. The reason for discrimination is basically non-understanding of the origin of philosophy of Varna system. Hence, we should vow to adhere to the codes of dharma in letter and script, so that we can understand the system in its real sense.

In today’s society, all people seem to be running behind money. Just 70 to 75 years ago, nobody was driven by money; people were driven only by their duty. When money is the priority for an individual, he feels jealous and develops animosity against those who have more money or higher positions in their professions. When duty is of prime importance, then there is no discrimination among people. If the goal is money or position, then the person who is in a higher position is superior to one who is in a lower position. In short, discrimination, which is not prevalent in the Varna system as it is duty-based, crops up when the same system is set aside by the society. Even if caste system fades away and clashes among castes vanish, there still will be class conflicts in different forms. That is what we are actually experiencing right now.

If all people live with love towards others, with mutual trust and extending mutual help, there will be no discrimination or conflicts. There will then emerge a happy and peaceful society. Only to attain this state, I am requesting you all to protect the Codes of Dharma. If we take one step towards this, God will help us to go forward in that direction. I am only praying to God Almighty!

This article is a snippet from the Book Thus Spake the Divine, is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.

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