Ksatriya culture
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 4
SB Canto 8
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
The brain division is the brāhmaṇa, and the arm division is the kṣatriya, gives you protection. As soon as somebody is going to attack you, immediately, automatically you spread your hands. Kṣatriya. Kṣat means injury. In Hindu it is called kṣatra. So kṣat trāyate. A kṣatriya's business is one who can save you from being injured by others. That is kṣatriya. And brāhmaṇa means the intelligent class. So as in the body, the brain is also required the hand is also required the belly is also required, and the leg is also required. Although the activities of the leg is not so important than the activity of the brain. Comparatively studying, the brain is most important part of the body, this head. If you cut the head of a man, then, in spite of possessing the arms, belly and legs, he is dead man. But if you cut the hand or the leg, he can live, and the brain can work. This is an example. Similarly, when the society is divided nicely in these four divisions, the brahminical culture, the kṣatriya culture, the vaiśya culture, and the śūdra culture... Brahminical culture means people should learn how to speak truth, satya, śama, how to control the mind, how to control the senses. Satya, śama, damaḥ, titikṣā, how to become tolerant, ārjavam, how to become simple in life, how to become cleansed, how to acquire knowledge and how to practically apply the knowledge in daily life.
Jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyam. And āstikyam means full faith in the Vedic literature. That is called āstikya. Āstikya generally is called theism. So if one has full faith and full knowledge in Vedas, he becomes theist. If he has no sufficient knowledge in the Vedas, he becomes atheist. So just like Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, veda nā māniyā bauddha haila nāstika. The Buddhists, they did not accept the authority of the Vedas. Therefore they are called nāstika, or atheist. That is the definition, that if you do not accept the authority of the Vedas, then you become atheist. So this is the brahminical.... One of the brahminical qualification is how to live under the Vedic civilization. That is brāhmaṇa.Mleccha means unclean, without any Vedic culture. They are called mleccha. Anyone. It does not mean that any particular class of men is called mleccha. Anyone who is unclean and does not abide by the injunction of the Vedas, they are called mleccha, yavana. That is the shastric term. So Kṛṣṇa says for the upkeep of the society, there must be this cultural division of the society, namely varṇa and āśrama. But at the present moment people do not know what is the aim of life. They do not know.
- na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ
- durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ
- andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās
- te 'pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni-baddhāḥ
- [SB 7.5.31]
Uru-dāmni-baddhāḥ. Te 'pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni-baddhāḥ, andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānāḥ. People are.... Because the Vedic culture is lost, the system of brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, is no longer existing, neither there is training. One politician, minister in Calcutta, he came to see me, I was talking. "Why there is chaotic condition?" And the simple reason is there is no this cātur-varṇya system is lost. Practically without any brahminical culture, kṣatriya culture, people remain śūdras, the fourth-class man. Or fifth-class men.
So unless there are first-class men, second-class men, at least third-class men, only fourth-class, fifth-class, sixth-class men, how they can conduct. That is not possible. Therefore it is enjoined that cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭam [Bg. 4.13]. This division of the society must be observed.But there must be division. That is scientific. Otherwise the human life will be spoiled. That I have tried to explain last night. There must be division, because it is ordained by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. How we can violate? There must be the brahminical class, the kṣatriya class, the vaiśya class and the śūdra class. Then everything will be maintained very proficiently. Because it is karma, karma-yoga. The material world means you work, and you enjoy or suffer the result of your work. This is material world. Everyone is given facility, but it is karmānubandhanaḥ, karmānubandhanaḥ, just a facility for the living entities who wanted to enjoy this material world. This material world is not wanted. Everyone should live in the spiritual world. There is spiritual world. Paras tasmāt tu bhāvo 'nyo 'vyakto 'vyaktāt sanātanaḥ [Bg. 8.20]. There is no birth and death. Yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma [Bg. 15.6]. Everything is there. People do not know it.
Therefore the karma should be systematized, and it should be regulated by brahminical culture, by kṣatriya culture, by vaiśya culture, by śūdra culture.Therefore he prescribes that brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. Either you become brāhmaṇa or follow the instruction of the brāhmaṇas, then your life is perfect. Both things are there. If you like to be brāhmaṇa, that you can become also. Māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya [Bg. 9.32]. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
Because in this age everyone is a śūdra, kalau śūdra-sambhavaḥ... There is no culture. There is no brahminical culture, kṣatriya culture. Therefore all together, they are simply śūdras. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to raise the śūdras or less than that.Philosophy Discussions
Śyāmasundara: But whenever there are disputes arising between states, then there must be war.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is natural. Just like in our ordinary lives, citizens, they disagree. They go to the court.
Śyāmasundara: But here he says there's no higher body between two, jurisdiction between states, that it can only be settled by war. There's no court or higher authority for judging between states.
Prabhupāda: There is higher body if there is religion, if there is philosophy, if there is learned section, brāhmaṇas, Kṛṣṇa conscious people. There is higher authority.
Śyāmasundara: He says there's no potent world authority.
Prabhupāda: No, you have killed all these things, but the system is there. Therefore the brahminical culture is above the kṣatriya culture. Therefore this division must be there; brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. The administrators, the kings, they are kṣatriyas, but above them the brāhmaṇas are there. But because there is no brahminical class—they have all killed them-therefore he says there is no authority.Page Title: | Ksatriya culture |
Compiler: | Laksmipriya, MadhuGopaldas |
Created: | 29 of Dec, 2008 |
Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=2, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=6, Con=0, Let=0 |
No. of Quotes: | 8 |