No question of birthright or community
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
There is no question of birthright or community.
SB 1.16.20, Purport: There are gradations of human beings in terms of proportionate faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The first-class faithful men are the Vaiṣṇavas and the brāhmaṇas, then the kṣatriyas, then the vaiśyas, then the śūdras, then the mlecchas, the yavanas and at last the caṇḍālas. The degradation of the human instinct begins from the mlecchas, and the caṇḍāla state of life is the last word in human degradation. All the above terms mentioned in the Vedic literatures are never meant for any particular community or birth. They are different qualifications of human beings in general. There is no question of birthright or community. One can acquire the respective qualifications by one's own efforts, and thus the son of a Vaiṣṇava can become a mleccha, or the son of a caṇḍāla can become more than a brāhmaṇa, all in terms of their association and intimate relation with the Supreme Lord.
| Page Title: | No question of birthright or community |
| Compiler: | Laksmipriya |
| Created: | 28 of Dec, 2008 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=1, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 1 |