Brahmana by quality

Expressions researched:
"brahmana by quality" |"brahmanas by quality" |"brahmanas. By quality"

BG Chapters 1 - 6

Although brāhmaṇas by quality are supposed to know about Brahman, the Supreme Absolute Truth, most of them approach only the impersonal Brahman manifestation of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

BG 4.13, Purport: The tendency of a particular man toward work is determined by the modes of material nature which he has acquired. Such symptoms of life, according to the different modes of material nature, are described in the Eighteenth Chapter of this book. A person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, however, is above even the brāhmaṇas. Although brāhmaṇas by quality are supposed to know about Brahman, the Supreme Absolute Truth, most of them approach only the impersonal Brahman manifestation of Lord Kṛṣṇa. But a man who transcends the limited knowledge of a brāhmaṇa and reaches the knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, becomes a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness—or, in other words, a Vaiṣṇava. Kṛṣṇa consciousness includes knowledge of all different plenary expansions of Kṛṣṇa, namely Rāma, Nṛsiṁha, Varāha, etc. And as Kṛṣṇa is transcendental to this system of the four divisions of human society, a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is also transcendental to all divisions of human society, whether we consider the divisions of community, nation or species.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

So if you take up this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, which is meant for the brāhmaṇas, if you become brāhmaṇa by quality, then your, the Western nations will be... Especially in America, they'll be first-class nation.

Lecture on BG 4.13 -- New York, April 8, 1973: There must be the four classes of men, as Kṛṣṇa recommends: cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭam [Bg. 4.13]. There must be a brahminical class of men, a kṣatriya class of men, a vaiśya class... There are already. But they're not very scientifically settled, as it is propounded in the Bhagavad-gītā. Cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭam [Bg. 4.13]. These are guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ. Guna means according to quality. So in India, these four classes of men are there, but they are in the name. Actually it is also in the chaotic condition. Because nobody is following the prescription as given by Bhagavad-gītā, guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ. In India, although a person born in a brāhmaṇa family, but his guṇa, qualities, are less than śūdra, but still he's being accepted as a brāhmaṇa. That is the difficulty. Therefore, India's condition is so chaotic. But this is a scientific process. You Western people, you should try to understand that. And our boys and girls, who have joined, they're trying to understand, and execute the principles. So if you take up this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, which is meant for the brāhmaṇas, if you become brāhmaṇa by quality, then your, the Western nations will be... Especially in America, they'll be first-class nation. They'll be first-class nation. You have got intelligence. You have got resources. You are also inquisitive. You catch up good things. So you have got good qualities. You take up this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement seriously and you'll become the first-class nation of the world. That is my request. Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

So here we are qualifying the students to be raised in the brahminical platform, and they're working also as brāhmaṇa. How they are working as brāhmaṇa? Because they're fully engaged in Paraṁ Brahma's service, Kṛṣṇa's service. Therefore they are brāhmaṇas. Brahma jānāti iti brāhmaṇaḥ. Without knowing, nobody can render service. They are not rendering service in the ear. They are serving Kṛṣṇa factually. Here is sitting Kṛṣṇa with Rādhārāṇī. Therefore they're brāhmaṇa by quality and work.

Lecture on SB 6.1.13-14 -- New York, July 27, 1971: So you are all initiated to become brāhmaṇa. You have become brāhmaṇa. Don't become false brāhmaṇa. Real brāhmaṇa. It is not by birth; it is by education, by practice, by knowledge. So we are offering the sacred thread to the Americans and Europeans in the Western countries, and some of our Indian contemporaries, they are not very happy with my action. They are under contemplation that a brāhmaṇa can be, I mean to say, seen by birthright. No. No. Brāhmaṇa is by qualification. Brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. That is the verdict of Kṛṣṇa. We are concerned with Kṛṣṇa, not any other else. Kṛṣṇa says, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ: [Bg. 4.13] "By division of quality and, guṇa, and work, one must have the symptoms, the quality of a brāhmaṇa, and work as a brāhmaṇa." Not that... Quality will be tested by work. Suppose if you are engineer. You have got the quality of... But if you sit down at home, what is your value? You must be engaged in some engineer work. Suppose you are lawyer, and if you don't go to the court and sleep at your home, then what is the worth of your studying law? Therefore guṇa-karma. One should not be simply qualified as engineer or lawyer, but he must work also, as engineer, as lawyer. Then he's bona fide. Similarly, unless you work as a brāhmaṇa, simply saying that "I am a brāhmaṇa," what is the value? Useless. They..., therefore Kṛṣṇa says, guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ. There must be quality and work also. So here we are qualifying the students to be raised in the brahminical platform, and they're working also as brāhmaṇa. How they are working as brāhmaṇa? Because they're fully engaged in Paraṁ Brahma's service, Kṛṣṇa's service. Therefore they are brāhmaṇas. Brahma jānāti iti brāhmaṇaḥ. Without knowing, nobody can render service. They are not rendering service in the ear. They are serving Kṛṣṇa factually. Here is sitting Kṛṣṇa with Rādhārāṇī. Therefore they're brāhmaṇa by quality and work. Guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ [Bg. 4.13].

The brāhmaṇas..., it is for the brāhmaṇas. By quality, they can understand to some extent. Brahma jānāti iti brāhmaṇaḥ. He has to become Vaiṣṇava. Simply brahminical qualification will not help him. That is the greatest qualification within this material world. But still, he has to surpass that...

Lecture on SB 6.3.12-15 -- Gorakhpur, February 9, 1971: Bhṛgu is considered to be great ṛṣi. But Yamarāja says—he is mahājana, he is authority—that "They are also contaminated." That Bhṛgu dared to kick on the chest of Viṣṇu, being contaminated by the brahminical... "I am so great. I can do that." So when such great personalities like Bhṛgu Muni, Parāśara Muni, er, I mean to say, Vasiṣṭha, and Ātreya, they are so much contaminated, what to speak of others? How they will understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead by mental speculation? They will conclude naturally, "Imperson." That's all. It is not possible for them. Only the devotees, they can understand what is the actual identification of the Absolute Truth. Yasyehitaṁ na viduḥ spṛṣṭa-māyāḥ sattva-pradhānā api kiṁ tato 'nye. What others can do it. So yasya ca līlā durvibhavya ity aham iti vādyam. Na spṛṣṭaṁ rajas-tamaṁ ye iti tam abhyehi pretam ceṣṭitaṁ vā na viduḥ.(?) Although they are freed from the contamination of the lower-grade qualities, still they could not understand, although there is possibility. There is possibility. Sattva-guṇa-pradhānāḥ. The brāhmaṇas..., it is for the brāhmaṇas. By quality, they can understand to some extent. Brahma jānāti iti brāhmaṇaḥ. He has to become Vaiṣṇava. Simply brahminical qualification will not help him. That is the greatest qualification within this material world. But still, he has to surpass that... Just like postgraduate. The brāhmaṇas may be graduate. Others, they are not graduate. They are, say, ISA matriculate, like that.

1971 Conversations and Morning Walks

They are brāhmaṇas by quality. They have got sacred thread. That is also there in the śāstra. Yasya hi yad lakṣaṇaṁ syat. Varṇa has been given. Varṇa, we want to compare symptoms. The brāhmaṇas are this: satya, samaḥ, damaḥ, titikṣa, ārjavam, jñānam vijñānam āstikyaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam. This is the symptom of brāhmaṇa. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. If you find these symptoms anywhere, he is a brāhmaṇa.

Interview with Reporters -- November 10, 1971, New Delhi:

Prabhupāda: So long you will be under the concept of this body, there must be caste division. So we have to come to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then there will be no caste. Just like these boys, Americans, Europeans, Africans, Canadians, they have no caste, they have no nationality. They are simply for Kṛṣṇa. That is casteless.

Reporter: So are they brāhmaṇas?

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Reporter: (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: Yes. Kṛṣṇa conscious means brāhmaṇa. Brahma jānātīti brāhmaṇaḥ.

Reporter: Not by birth?

Prabhupāda: Not by birth. They are brāhmaṇas by quality. They have got sacred thread. That is also there in the śāstra. Yasya hi yad lakṣaṇaṁ syat. Varṇa has been given. Varṇa. Varṇa, we want to compare symptoms. The brāhmaṇas are this: satya, samaḥ, damaḥ, titikṣa, ārjavam, jñānam vijñānam āstikyaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam [Bg. 18.42]. This is the symptom of brāhmaṇa. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. If you find these symptoms anywhere, he is a brāhmaṇa.

Reporter: Except those who believe in Bhagavad-gītā, not (indistinct), sir. They don't believe in that. They believe caste by birth.

Prabhupāda: He does not know what is Bhagavad-gītā.

Reporter: (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: I say he does not know what is Bhagavad-gītā. If he believes in that way, that he does not know about Gītā.

Reporter: He says he's Hindu.

Prabhupāda: Maybe your Hinduism. You lick up your Hinduism. But we are creating real brāhmaṇa all over the world.

Reporter: I can see. What Lord Kṛṣṇa has stated, sir, that "I have created these four castes of āśrama..."

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Reporter: And I as myself, just, as not somebody told me, just my...

Prabhupāda: Guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ [Bg. 4.13]. Not by birth. Kṛṣṇa never says...

Reporter: (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: No, no. These four castes... Not caste. We say caste, but varṇāśrama varṇa. Varṇa. Anyway, it is division. That division, vibhāga, the exact word is "division", not "caste". How you can say caste, it is not there, difference? Division, these four divisions are there. So these divisions are not made by birth. Just like if you are a lawyer. So in the society there are lawyers, engineers, medical men, they are divisions. But these lawyers, medical men or engineers, they are not born as engineer or as lawyer. That is mistake. Anyone who is qualified by the real knowledge, he is a lawyer. Not by birth. Suppose a lawyer's son, a big, big lawyer's son, does it mean that he's lawyer?

1972 Conversations and Morning Walks

This philosophy, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, according to the Bhagavad-gītā and Bhāgavata, we don't accept brāhmaṇa by birth. We accept brāhmaṇa by quality. Cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ. Quality and work.

Room Conversation -- June 29, 1972, San Diego:

Guest (2): How do you define a brāhmaṇa?

Prabhupāda: The brain.

Guest (2): That is for a man, but...

Prabhupāda: That is for everything. The brain of the society should be brāhmaṇa.

Guest (2): By brain what do you mean?

Prabhupāda: What do you mean, that you learn. You come to our school. Then you learn. You cannot learn everything in one minute.

Guest (2): (laughs) No.

Prabhupāda: Then you just hear. Don't make yourself laughing stock.

Guest (2): No, what I mean is brāhmaṇa means by birth or by action or...

Prabhupāda: No, no. Not by birth. By action.

Guest (2): By action only.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Guest (2): You don't recognize brāhmaṇas by birth, then.

Prabhupāda: No no. Then how they are becoming brāhmaṇas? They are not by birth brāhmaṇa? Why don't you see yourself? They are brāhmaṇa.

Guest (2): So if there is a brāhmaṇa by birth, if he doesn't...

Prabhupāda: No, there is no brāhmaṇa by birth. That is not sanctioned by the śāstra.

Guest (2): Oh, I see. So there is no real brāhmaṇa by birth.

Prabhupāda: No. There is no... That is not sanctioned by the śāstra. That is artificial.

Guest (2): I see. So according to you...

Prabhupāda: Brāhmaṇas means by quality. He must have the brahminical quality, then he's brāhmaṇa.

Guest (2): So under these principles then, there are no brāhmaṇas in India, really, then.

Prabhupāda: Yes. At the... Not only...

Guest (2): Not all the brāhmaṇas who are supposed to be brāhmaṇas.

Prabhupāda: Yes. We... Our... This philosophy, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, according to the Bhagavad-gītā and Bhāgavata, we don't accept brāhmaṇa by birth. We accept brāhmaṇa by quality. Cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ [Bg. 4.13]. Quality and work.

1975 Correspondence

They must sit for proper examination after being trained. And then why not accept them as real brahmana by quality and work? This procedure is recommended both in the Bhagavad-gita and in the Srimad-bhagavatam. In the Bhagavad-gita, it is said that the brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra should be selected by quality and work.

Letter to Prabhakar -- Honolulu 31 May, 1975: My first business is to spread Krishna Consciousness all over the world. Actually, this movement is not to be limited in India only—that is the mission Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. As desired by you, I can immediately take up the task of opening a center there and to open a varna-asrama college there affiliated by the university. In this college we shall train up pure brahmanas, (qualified brahmanas), Ksatriyas and Vaisyas. That is the injunction of Bhagavad-gita. And this institution will be open for all without any discrimination. As I am training these European and American boys, most of them coming from Christian and Jewish families, and they are accepting to become a pure brahmana and then a pure sannyasi. This system should be introduced. They must sit for proper examination after being trained. And then why not accept them as real brahmana by quality and work? This procedure is recommended both in the Bhagavad-gita and in the Srimad-bhagavatam. In the Bhagavad-gita, it is said that the brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra should be selected by quality and work. Similarly, in the Srimad-bhagavatam, it is said that if quality and work is present in a different varna, that is to say, if the quality of a brahmana is visible in a person born in sudra family, such person on account of quality and work, should be accepted as brahmana. So, if we start a varna-asrama college in terms of Bhagavad-gita instructions and approved by Srimad-bhagavatam, why the university will not give degree to a qualified person as approved brahmana. This is the necessity of the present day. In the days past, when Prthu Maharaja was the emperor, his government was inspecting to see whether a brahmana is acting actually as a brahmana, whether a ksatriya is acting as a ksatriya, and all the different castes were engaged in all their respective duties. At the present moment, even though one is qualified brahmana, he does not get sufficient opportunity to act as brahmana, and therefore he is obliged to accept the occupational duty of someone who is outside the brahminical post. But if we accept the principle of varna and asrama as they are recommended in the sastra, and if we push on the Krishna Consciousness movement, surely everyone will be engaged in his occupation and the question of unemployment will be finished.