Bhagavad-gītā recommends—Kṛṣṇa says personally, the Supreme Personality of Godhead—cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). So that process is applicable at all times. And Nārada Muni, he also gave description to Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja while they were talking about the varṇāśrama. So Nārada Muni gave different symptoms of different varṇa: brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. Then, at the conclusion, he said,
- yasya hi yal lakṣaṇaṁ proktaṁ
- varṇābhivyañjakam
- yady anyatrāpi dṛśyeta
- tat tenaiva vinirdiśet
- (SB 7.11.35)
He said that "I have already explained the different symptoms of different varṇas—brāhmaṇa will be like that; kṣatriya will be like that; vaiśyas will be like that; śūdras will be like that—so," he says, "if these symptoms are found," anyatra . . . suppose one is not born in the brāhmaṇa family—he might have taken birth in a lower family—but he has acquired . . . if he has acquired the qualities of a brāhmaṇa, he should be accepted as brāhmaṇa. This is the process. Or if one is born in a brāhmaṇa family but he has not attained the qualities, neither he is working as a brāhmaṇa, then he should be accepted either kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra.
So this is the system. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu also wanted to introduce this system.
- kibā śūdra kibā vipra nyāsī kene naya
- yei kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā sei guru haya
- (CC Madhya 8.128)
He never accepted this, that by birth. No. Either he is a brāhmaṇa or he is a śūdra, by caste or by birth, kibā vipra kibā śūdra nyāsī kene naya; either he's a gṛhastha or a sannyāsī, it doesn't matter. He can become a guru. How? Yei kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā. One who knows the principles of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one who understands Kṛṣṇa, he can become a guru. So guru is the post given to the sannyāsīs, to the brāhmaṇas. Without becoming a brāhmaṇa, nobody can become a sannyāsī, and sannyāsī is supposed to be the guru of both all the āśramas and all the varṇas.
So the preaching work . . . we require so many sannyāsīs. People are suffering all over the world for want of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. My Guru Mahārāja used to say that there is no scarcity; this is false propaganda. The only scarcity is that there is no Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the difficulty. Actually that is the fact. Take some practical example: I have traveled all over the world many times. I have seen America from village to village, Africa, Australia. There is so much land vacant that if we properly utilize them, we can produce so much food grains that we can feed ten times as many population as it is now. That's a fact. We do not utilize the land properly. And Kṛṣṇa has given us the formula, annād bhavanti bhūtāni (BG 3.14): "You produce anna." Annād bhavanti bhūtāni. Then the animals and the human being will be well fed and they will be happy. If anyone, either animal or man, has his belly filled up with sufficient food, he'll never be dissatisfied. That is the nature. So unfortunately we are not following the instruction of Bhagavad-gītā. If we follow the whole social system, political system, economic system of the whole world will be very, very nice, and everyone will live very peacefully and there will be no fight, no "ism," no schism. Everything will be all right. That is the purpose of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Don't think that Kṛṣṇa consciousness is a matter of sentiment. No, it is practical.
The . . . just like in America, they produce huge amount of grains. Sometimes they throw it in the sea on account of overproduction. Why overproduction should be given on the sea? It should be utilized. There are so many people starving. But this political situation is there that everyone is thinking, "This is my country. This is my home. This is my land." This is called māyā. Ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8). Janasya moho 'yam ahaṁ mameti. Everyone is under this impression, "I am this body, and anything belonging to this body, that is mine," or "my nation." This conception should be given up. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). Everything belongs to the Supreme Lord. In the Bhagavad-gītā also, the same thing is confirmed:
- bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ
- sarva-loka-maheśvaram
- suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
- jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati
- (BG 5.29)
The śānti . . . everyone is trying to have peace—peace of the mind, peace of the society, peace of the nation. Very good. But you do not know how to get this peace. That is described in every Vedic literature.
Therefore Vedic knowledge is so important. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). The Supreme Lord is the leader. He's also a living being like us. He's not a dead stone. He is . . . just like Kṛṣṇa, when He comes, He lives like us, just like human being. So similarly the . . . not similarly. Kṛṣṇa is a living being like us. He has got also two hands, two legs, one head, as you have got. But what is the difference between you and Him? The difference is that eka, that singular number living being. Vidadhāti kāmān bahūnām, He maintains everyone, and we are maintained. That is the difference. We plural number living entities, we are maintained, and He, the Supreme Lord, being, Supreme Being . . . In the dictionary, English dictionary, God means Supreme Being. So Supreme Being, He's also living being. He's not a dead stone. The difference is that He is the maintainer, and we are maintained. He is the ruler; we are ruled. This difference we have to understand. And He is the proprietor; we are servants. Caitanya Mahāprabhu's philosophy is this. That is a fact.