I shall try to explain the social structure of the human society as they are described in the Bhagavad-gītā. In previous chapters Śrī Kṛṣṇa has explained: cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). By quality and by work, there is, or there must be, four divisions of the social structure. Cātur-varṇyam: first class, second class, third class and fourth class. That is very natural. Just like in your body, my body, is divided into four divisions.
The head, head department. In every, I mean to say, unit, there is head department, the first-class department, the second-class department. So we can understand from our own body, there is head department, there is arms department, there is belly department and there is the leg department. So head is first class. Because if the arms, belly and legs are there and head is cut off, then everything is useless. If the head is there, arm is cut off, you can go on with your business. So there is four divisions everywhere. Kṛṣṇa says:
- na tad asti pṛthivyāṁ vā
- divi deveṣu vā punaḥ
- sattvaṁ prakṛti-jair muktaṁ
- yad ebhiḥ syāt tribhir guṇaiḥ
- (BG 18.40)
Kṛṣṇa says that either on this planet or in other planets in the outer space, or anywhere, the three qualities or three modes of material nature is working—the modes of goodness, the modes of passion and the modes of ignorance. Everywhere you'll find these three classes of living entities. Not three classes, four classes—the first class, goodness; second class, passion; third class, mixed passion and ignorance; and fourth class, ignorance. And below the fourth class, all fifth class, pañcama.
So according to these three modes of material nature, there must be division of the society. The first-class men are called brāhmaṇa, most learned scholar. Learned scholar means, as I was explaining, one who has complete knowledge of God. That is learned scholar. Otherwise, to know how to eat, how to sleep, how to have sexual intercourse and how to defend, this, these knowledge is also there in the animals. They know how to eat. There is no need of university for teaching how to eat or how to sleep or how to have sex life or how to defend. These are animal necessities. But actually human being should be still more advanced in knowledge. That knowledge is not comprising only eating, sleeping, mating and defending. That knowledge is to understand the Absolute Truth, God. That knowledge.