Brahmana class
Expressions researched:
"brahmana class"
|"class of brahmanas"
|"class of brahmana"
|"One class must be brahmana"
|"one class should be brahmana"
|"First-class men, brahmana"
|"brahmana, first-class"
|"class of men who are to be called brahmana"
|"one class, brahmana"
|"brahmana, a class of ideal men"
|"first-class men, brahmana"
|"first-class twice-born is brahmana"
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
BG Preface and Introduction
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
SB Canto 3
SB Canto 4
SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
Lectures
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
- namo brahmaṇya-devāya
- go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca
- jagad-dhitāya kṛṣṇāya
- govindāya namo namaḥ
Festival Lectures
Initiation Lectures
Philosophy Discussions
Conversations and Morning Walks
1970 Conversations and Morning Walks
1971 Conversations and Morning Walks
Dr. Singh: First priority is to try...(break)...function.
Prabhupāda: What do you mean by this first priority? That I want to know from you.
Dr. Singh: No, you were talking, Swamiji, about the unification of the world.
Prabhupāda: Yes. The world is going on. We simply say that you take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and you will be happy. Happy in this life, happy in the next life. So you are going on in this way. "In this way" means either out of the four classes. You may name in a different way. I say brāhmaṇa class, you say intelligent class. Do you agree that in the world there is an intelligent class of men?
Dr. Singh: Yes, but they can also work.
Prabhupāda: Everyone is working.
Dr. Singh: They can be very good worker.
Prabhupāda: When your brain... Brain is the intelligent part of this body. So unless the brain works, nobody can work.
Dr. Singh: Everybody has a brain, all classes.
Prabhupāda: Therefore, the intelligent class means the brain of the society. They must work. Otherwise, how others will work? Working is compulsory for everyone.1974 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: In India the, the brāhmaṇa class, they say, "Oh, I am born in brāhmaṇa family. Why shall I do this work?" You see. Therefore the whole society has gone to hell. In your country still, they accept any kind of work. It doesn't matter. And here, in India, if he happens to be a brāhmaṇa, he'll not take any kind of work. Means... Just like plowing. He'll not agree. Therefore so much land. The kṣatriya is thinking, "I am kṣatriya." The brāhmaṇa is thinking, "I am brāhmaṇa." And the land is lying fallow. There is no production. He will go to the office and fight with the pen as a kṣatriya. And instead of studying Vedas, he'll study the rules and regulations given by the office. But he'll not come to plow. Therefore this scarcity of food. He'll go to a mill to work as ordinary laborer. (Hindi) He'll not come. So much land we see lying unutilized. And they're crying for grain. Why? The same example. I was writing that in New York City, the whole city is full of dirty things, garbage, for want of cleaners, and you go to the Central Park, you'll find so many hippies are lying down idle.
Ātreya-ṛṣi: Unemployment.
Prabhupāda: Not employment. They'll not work. That means mismanagement. Why they should remain down? Why they should remain without any employment? But the government is not doing that.Prabhupāda: The symptoms of rajo-guṇa is excessive lust and greediness. And sattva-guṇa, they are in knowledge.
Therefore the society must be divided into four classes of men, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ [Bg. 4.13]. There are three guṇas, and the sattva-guṇa, brāhmaṇa, a class of ideal men, must be there in the society so that people can follow them. Yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhaḥ lokas tad anuvartate [Bg. 3.21]. If there is no ideal men in the society, how they can be of good character? Therefore the brahminical class of men, I mean to say, in quality, satyaṁ śamo damas titikṣā ārjava, jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam [Bg. 18.42]. There must be an ideal class of men, brāhmaṇa.Prabhupāda: Yes. They want to remain in degradation, and they will protest again. Therefore to save the degradation, this cātur-varṇyam must be established. That I... The ideal class. People will follow, "Oh, here is the ideal class." So we are trying to make an ideal class of Kṛṣṇa conscious people. And if you treat yourself as degraded, then who will care for you? You should remain an ideal class. People will follow gradually.
Mahāṁsa: If a brāhmaṇa class is created, then automatically the kṣatriyas and vaiśyas and śūdras will be changed.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes. The ideal, if you be ideal class, gradually they will take your advice, what to do. Then immediately the whole degradation will be finished.
Satsvarūpa: Why will they take advice? Will they actually be attracted to the virtues?
Prabhupāda: Yes, naturally. Just like people come to see me. Similarly, everyone comes.
Akṣayānanda: Everyone is attracted to you, Prabhupāda.1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Brahmānanda: So eventually we should divide up our society in this way? Our members...
Prabhupāda: Yes, just to show people how to... The first-class men, brāhmaṇa, second-class, kṣatriya, third-class, vaiśya, fourth-class...
Satsvarūpa: But all in our society are Vaiṣṇavas.
Prabhupāda: That is our real position. This is for management.
Nityānanda: How many kṣatriyas can I have on this farm? How many kṣatriyas can we have on one farm?
Prabhupāda: I told. Find out who is going to be kṣatriya. Then... Take your time (?).
Nityānanda: You can have more than one?
Prabhupāda: No, no. (Why not??) There is no rule. As according to the work, if people are interested to work as vaiśya, let them become vaiśya. If he is intelligent, if he wants to work as brāhmaṇa, let him work as brāhmaṇa. Let him work as kṣatriya. And the fourth-class, let him work as śūdra. So the management should see that nobody is unemployed or not engaged, men, women. Woman can take care of the milk products or spining (spinning). And śūdras can be engaged for working as weaver, as a blacksmith, a goldsmith. There are so many things.1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Hari-śauri: Still, we still met a lot of people in India who are actually following the regulative principles just as a matter of social training. But they're becoming very few now.
Prabhupāda: In, actually, in Bengal, Bengal has lost its original culture. In other provinces the brāhmaṇa class, they are keeping very strictly the original culture. Even a brāhmaṇa would not accept foodstuff prepared by his wife, because woman is considered śūdra. The woman, when she becomes the wife of a brāhmaṇa, then she is called brāhmaṇī, but she's not offered brahminical culture. She remains as śūdra. So therefore a strict brāhmaṇa does not accept foodstuff prepared by his wife.1977 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: So everything is required. It is not that everyone should become brāhmaṇa. Neither it is possible that everyone should be able to become brāhmaṇa. It is not so easy thing. But a class of brāhmaṇa must be maintained. A class of brāhmaṇa must be there as ideal to consult with them.
Rāmeśvara: There must be still education so the people will... Say we are one day...
Prabhupāda: No education, no. Education will be required only for the guiding class: brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, not for anyone, śūdras. They are two only. Others will... What education required? Suppose if you produce... If you..., you are accustomed to agriculture, cow protection, there is no need going to college and schools. If you remain illiterate, still you can do.
Rāmeśvara: But in America...
Prabhupāda: No, no, America is not... I am talking of the (indistinct), the class who will guide the aim of life, brāhmaṇa class, and a class that will give them protection from injuries by others, kṣatriya class. Then the next class, food-producing men, they do not require. Actually only brāhmaṇas, they require education, or all others, they will simply see and learn. So little education required—that you can learn by hearing only, that's all. Suppose a brāhmaṇa class says that "This is good; this is bad." So you hear and accept. It doesn't require to go to school and college. So education will be simplified. [break] It has become very much complicated.Prabhupāda: Arrange all this. Our philosophy is "Eat nicely, live nicely, and advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness." First problem is eating. That we shall supply, no problem. Eating and clothing we shall give. And shelter. Make this propaganda. They put this logic, "If we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, who shall earn? Who will earn for us?" The Indians, they do that. Rascals, they do that. They do not know Kṛṣṇa provides. So we give them that "You... I give you shelter, food, cloth. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa."
Bali-mardana: Full program.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Bali-mardana: Everything provided. Wherever we open these farming communities, people then they respect us.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Bali-mardana: Say, "Oh, you are doing something."
Prabhupāda: That is Kṛṣṇa's order, kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyam [Bg. 18.44]. [break] ...is important, not that the learned brāhmaṇa class is important and śūdra, he is not im... He is also important. He is giving you service according to his quality. Cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭam [Bg. 4.13]. And center is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. I think from Africa also they can send because...Correspondence
1972 Correspondence
1974 Correspondence
Page Title: | Brahmana class |
Compiler: | Visnu Murti |
Created: | 19 of Oct, 2008 |
Totals by Section: | BG=1, SB=7, CC=2, OB=0, Lec=30, Con=17, Let=2 |
No. of Quotes: | 59 |